Chap. 41. an Expoßrion upon the Book, of J o a. Vert. /9. my at him, they cannot hurt him. Gamaliel (Aar á. 39.) gives warning againa this ; take heed what ye do,refrain from theft men, left Imply ye befound, even to fight againfl God. They fight again(! God, who fee themCelves to do miichief ; but what miïchief foe- ver they do to men, or among men, they can do none to God, their weapons reach him nor. As Solomon tells us (Prov.21.30.) There is no wifdom nor coupfelagaing the Lord; fo there is no wea- pon again( the Lord: Sword, and (pear, anddart, whether materi- al or metaphorical, are but Hubble before bino. And as the Lord him felf is beyond the reach of weapons, and the rage of many fo are they whoare under the Lords protection ; therefore it is faid of the Church (Ifa. 54.. 17.) No weapon formed agjainfl thee fhall profper; that is, it (hall not have the intended effect of the Smith that made it (as that Scripture fpcaks) nor of the hand that weilds it. Thefword of bim that layette at the Church of God, (hall not hold ; the(pear, the dart, nor the habergeon. As none are fo much a(faulted as the Church, fo none are fowell armed andde- fended. Secondly, As no offenfive weapon can hurt the Lord, fono defenfve weapon can flicker us from hurt, if under the wrath of the Lord. Though we have got an Habergeon,though wehave fcales orbucklers like Leviathan, yet the Lord bath a fword, a (pear, a dart,that can (}rike through them, that is, through all the defences of the mots hardned (inners in the world. There is no (helter to be found, nor defence to be made againft the weapons of divine wrath, but only in and by Jefus Chril{. God is a (hield and Buckler, a Helmet and an Habergeon for belie- vers, againft all offenfive weapons of men or devils ; but where (hall unbelievers find a (hield or a buckler to fccure themCelves again( the offenfve weapons of God ! Again, fome inallegorizing this Scripture, fay, that Leviathan is an emblem of the Devil. Now, though it be a truth, that no outward weapon, no fword nor dart can terrifie or hurt the De- vil, yet the Lord hach furnifhed us with weapons that can pierce the Devil, that Leviathan, and defend us from his power (Epb. 6. 14, 15, 16.) The fword of the Spirit, the Word of god, will wound that old Leviathan ; the Brea(l-plate of Righteottf'. nefs, the Helmet of Salvation, the Shield of Faith, will pre- ferveus from woundings, in the midaof all his fierydarts. How loon
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