L1s.XVIII. Elijah with the'BaA!iter. A mantle bath the advantage ofmy robe and Scepcer: ifl cari commanda peece ofthe ---- earth, !feehecancommandheaven. The edge ofhis revenge is taken offwitha doubtful! expetlation ofthe iifue:and nowwhen Elij•h offers himfel!l!wthe eys of .Ahab,He who durft not ftrike,yet durft challenge the Prophet,Art th•• he thAt troubltth lfrad~ ItrobMms hand was frill inAhabsthoughts;he holds it not fa fafe 10 fmite a.stoexpoftulate: He,that was the head oflfrael,fpeaks out that which wasin the heart ofall his peopl~,that Elij•b was the caufe ofall their farrow: Alas, what bath the righteous Prophet done~ He taxed their fin,heforctold the judgements; hedeferved it not,he inflitled it not~ yet he fmarts,and they are guilty: As if fame fond people lhould accufe the Herald or the Trumpet as the caufe oftheir warre; or as if fame ignorant peafant, when he fees his fowles bathing in his pond,lhould cry out B ofthem as the caufes offoule weather. . Oh the heroical Spirit of Elijah!he ftands alone amids all the traine of A ha~, and dares not onely repell this charge, but retort it, I havenot troHbltd l(r•li, btttthou and thy fathtrs houft,in thAt ye h•ooefor[a ftn the Commandtments ofthe Lord, Andtho• h4}l follorrudBaalim. No earthlyglory can daunt himwho hath the cleare and heanning vifions ofGod: This holy Seer difcerns the true caufe ofour fufferings to be our finnes : Foolifh men are plagued for their offences; and it is no [mall pan of their plague thatthey Ceeit not ; The onelycommon difturber ofmen, Families, Cities, Kingdoms, Worlds, is fin; There isnofuch TraytortoanyState,asthe wilfully wicked; the quieteft and moft plaufible offender is fecretly feditious, and ftirreth quarrels in heaven. c The true meffengers ofGod carryauthority even where they aremaligned:E Uj•h . doth at once reprove the King, and require ofhim th.e improvement of his power in gothering all Ifrael to Carmtl,in fetehingthither all the prophets of B.al. Baal was rich in Ifrael, whiles God was poor; Whiles God hath but one hundred Prophets hid clofely in ob•diahs caves,Baa/ bath eight hundred & fifty;foure hundred and fifty difperfed over the villages & townes oflfrael,foure hundred at the Court; Gods ProphetS are glad of bread & water1whiles the foure hundred TrencherProphetS of Iezebd feed on her dainties: They lurke in caves, whiles thefe Lorditinthe pleafanteft groves. Outward profperity isa falfe note of truth : All thefewith all Ifrael,doth Elijah requireAhabto fummon unto Carme/. It is in the power ofKings to command the Aifembly ofthe Prophets; 1 he Prophet fues tothe Prince forthe D inditlion ofthis Synod: They are injurious to Soveraignty who arrogate this power to none but fpirituall hands. How is it that Ahab isas ready to performe this charge as Elijah to move it~l dare aAfwer for his heart,that it was not drawn with love : Was it out ofthe fenfe ofone judgment, and feare of another~ hefmarte<l with the dearth and drought, & well thinks Elijah would not be fo roundwith him for nothing: Was it out ofan expetlation offome miraculous exploit which the Prophet would do in the fight ofal Ifrael~ Or,was it out ofthe over-ruling power ofthe Almlghty~The heart ofKings is in the hands ofGod,and he turnes it which 111AJ foev tr he pltafeth. . Ifrael is lllet together,E/ijah rates them, not fo much fortheir fuperflition, as for their unfetledneife, and irrefolution: One Ifraelite ferves God,another Bddl; yea the E fame Ifraelite perhaps ferves both God and Jla<l. !low long halt yet betwetne two opiqions? lfthe Lordbe God,followhim; b11t ifB.al,then foUow himc Nothing is more odious to God thena prophane neutrality in maine oppolitions ofreligion : To go upright in a wrong way, is a ]e(fe eye-fore to God, then to halt betwixtright and wrong;The fpirit wifheth that the Laodecean were either hot or cold;either temper would better be borne, thE neither,thenboth : In reconcileable differences nothing is more fafe then indifferency both ofpraCtice & opinion;but in cafes offo neceifary hollility, as betwixt God , and F aal , he that is on neither fide, is the deadlieft enemy to both: Leife hatefull are they to God that ferve him not at all, then they that fervc him witha rivall. Whether out of guiltineife,or feare,or uncert:iinty, Ifrael is filent;yet whiles their mouth was fhut,theireyeswereopen : It was a faire motion of Elijah, lAm onel1 remammg
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