Contemplations. LIB. IX. wanted not wit; and now the fame wit thatwonne Joj/;uaand lfrael to their friend- A. fh1p and protetlion, teacheth them to make ufe of.thofe they had wonne. If tlicy had not more truflcd JojiJua,than _their wals, they had never flolnc that League; and when fhould they have ufe ofthur new proteClors,but now thatthey were aflailed? \'Vluther fhouldwe fhc,bur to our Jofhua?when the powers ofdarkncs(like mighty Amontcs)havebefiegcd us? If ever we will fend up our prayers to h1m, itwil1 be when we are bclcagured with evils. If we trufi: ro our ownc rcfifiancc, wee cannot Jland; we cannotmifcarry, ifwe trufl ro his: in vaine (hall we fend to our Jofhua in thefe Hrairs,ifwe have not before come to him in our freedome. Which ofus would not have thought Jofhua had a good preroncc for his forbearance, and havcfaid, You have flolneyour League with me; why doe you cxpcCl helpe from him whom ye have deceived? All that we promifed you, was a fuffer- B ancc to live: enjoy what we promifcd,we wil not take your ,Jife from you. Hath your faithfulnefli: defervcd to expet! more than our covenant? We never promifed to hazard our lives for you, to _give you life with the Io(fe of our owlle. But that good man durfl not conflrue Ius o•vne covenant to fuch an advanrage:bekne1v little difference betwixt killing them with his owne fword, and the fword of an Amorire: whofoevcr ll1ouldgivethe blow, themurder would be his. Even pcrmif.. fion in thofc things we may remedy, makes us no leffe actors than confent: fome men kill as much oy looking on, as others by fmiting: We are guilty ofall the evil we might have hindred. The noble difpofition of Jofhua, befides his ingagcment, will not let him forfake his new va!fals : Their confidence in him, is argument enough ro dra>v him C mto the F1eld. The greatefl obligauon to a good mmde, IS anot!iers trull;which to difappoint, were mcrcildly perfidio>Is. How much Ie(fe fhall our true Jofhua faile the confidence ofour faith? Oh, my Saviour, ifwe fend the meffengers ofour _prayers to thee into thy Gilgal, thy mercy bindes thee to reliefe : never any fou}e mifcarried that trufted tbce l we may be wanting in our trufi, our trufican never .vant fucccffe. ' · Speed in bellowing, doubles a gift; a benefit deferred, loresthe thankes, and · proves unprofitable.Jofhua marches allnight,and fights all day for the Gibeonites: Theytookc not fo much paines incomming rodcceivehim,as he in going to deliver them. It is the nobleft vitlory to overcome evill with good: If his very lfraelites had been in danger,he could have done no more: God,and his Jofhu•,make no D difference betwixt Gibeonires lfraelited,and his owne naturall people. All are lfraclites whom he bath taken to league: we llrangers of the Gentiles, are now the true !ewes; God never did more for the naturall Olive,~ than for that wild Impe which he hath grafted in.And as thefe Hivires could never he tbankfull ~nough to fuch aJoPJua;no more can we to fo gracious aRedecmer,wbo forgetting our unworthines, defcendtd to our Gibeon,and refcued us from the powers of he! and death. J•fhua fought, but God difcomfited the Amorites. The praife is to tbeworkeman, not the m(hument: Neither did God llay them onelywith Jofhuar fword, but with Ius owne haile-fiones; that !lOW the Artiorites may fee both thefe revenges come from one hand. Thefebullets ofGoddoenot wound,butkill: It is no wonder that thefe five Kings fly; they may foone runaway from their hopc,neverfrom E their horror. If they lookebehind,tbere is the fwordoflfrael,which they dare not turne upon, becaufe God had taken their heart from them,before their life : iftl>ey Iooke upwards,there is the hail-l110t of God fighting againfl them out of heaven; which they can neither refifl, nor avoid. Ifthey had no enemy but lfrael,they might hope tO r~n a":'ay from ~eath,fith fear is a better footman, than defire of revenge;but nowwhlther,foever they run,heaven will be abc.ut their heads : and now, all rhe reafon that is left them in this confufion of their thoughts,is towifh themfelves welldead ; there i~ no evafion, where God intends , revenge. We men have devlfcd to Imitate thefe milruments ofdeath, and fend forth deadlybullers out ofa cloudoffmoak,wherin yet as there is much danger, fo
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