The Righteous Man'S Refuge
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
Fortable, Oh! when ſhallwe have done with our unbelieving its and buts, our queſtionings and doubtings of the power, wiſdom, and tender care of our God over us, and learn to truſt bim over all. Now thejustfhall live byfaith ; and he that lives by faith ſhall never dieby fear.
The more you truſtGod, the lefs you will torment yourſelves.
I have done; the Lord ſtrengthen, ſtabliſh, and fettle the trembling and feeble hearts ofhis people, by whathath been ſo ſeaſonably offered for their reliefby aweakhand. Amen.
** * ****** THE
RIGHTEOUS
MAN'S REFUGE.
THE EPISTLE TO THE READER.
Chriftian Reader, IF *Heinfius, when he had shut up himself in the library at Leyden , reckoned himself placed inthe very lap of " eternity, becauſe he converſed there with ſo many divine
" fouls, and profeſſed, he tookhis feat in itwith ſo lofty a ſpi- " rit and ſweet content, that he heartily pitied all the great
" and rich men of the world, that were ignorant ofthe happi- " neſs he there daily enjoyed :" Howmuch more may that foul rejoice in its own happiness, who hath thut himself up in the chambers of the Divine Attributes, and exerciſeth pity for the expoſedand miferable multitude that are left as a prey to the
" temptations and troubles of the world.
That the days are evil, is a truth preached to us by the convincing voice of ſenſe; and that they are like to be worſe, few can doubt that look intothe moral cauſes ofeviltimes, the impudent height of fin, or into the prophefies relating to theſe
* Plerumque in quafimulacpedem pofui, foribus peſſulum obdo, et in ipfo aternitatis gremio inter tot illuftres animas fedem mihi fumo; cum ingenti quidem animo, utfubinde magnatum memifereat quifelicitatem hancignorant.
Epiftola primar.
VOL. IV.
The Epistle to the Reader. latter days; for whom the ſharpeſt ſufferings are appointed, to make way for the ſweetest mercies .
A faithful + watchman of our own, hath given us freſh and late warning in theſe words of truth:
Hath God faid nothing ? doth faithfee nothing of a floodcoming upon us? Is therefuch a deluge offin amongus, and dothnot that prophecy to us a deluge of wrath? Lift up your eyes, Chriftians, ſtand, and look through the land, eastward and westward, northward and fouthward, and tell me what you fee? Behold, a flood cometh ; aflood offin is alreadybroken forth upon us, the fountains of the great deeps are broken up, and the windows of hell are opened, &c.
Inſuch an evil day as this is, happyis the foul that hath madeGod its refuge, even the moſt highGod its habitation. He ſhall fit Noah-like, Mediis tranquillus in undis, ſafe from the fear ofevil.
In confideration of the diſtreſs of many unprovided fouls for the miſery that is coming on them, and not knowing how short my time will be ufeful to any, (for I know it cannot be long) I have endeavoured once more,the afſſiſtance ofpoor Chriſtians in theſe two ſmall treatiſes, one offear, the other ofpreparation for the worst of times ; which, it maybe, is the laſt help I ſhall this way be able to afford them.
It is therefore my earnest requeſt to all that fear the Lord, and tremble at his word, to redeem their timewithdouble diligence, becauſe the days are evil ; to clear up their intereſt in Chriſt and the promises, leſt the darkness of their ſpiritul eſtate,meetingwith ſuch a night ofoutward darkneſs, overwhelm them with terrors inſupportable.
Some help is offered in this treatiſe todirect the gracious foul to its reſt in God: May the bleſſings of his Spirit accompany them, and bleſs them tothe foul of him that readeth; it will be a matter ofjoy, beyond all earthly joys, to the heart of,
Thyfriend andfervant in Christ,
JOHN FLAVEL.
† Mr. R. A. ofGodly Fear, p. 19 .
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
Ila. xxvi. 20. Come my People, enter thou into thy chambers, and Sout thy doors about thee : hide thyselfas it werefor a little moment, until the indignation be over-paft.
CHAP.
Wherein theliteralandrealimportance ofthe textis confidered, the doctrine propounded, and the method of thefollowing discourse ftated.
Seft. I. MANbeing aprudent and proſpectingcreature, can never be fatisfied with preſent ſafety, except hemay alſo ſeehimself well ſecured againft future dangers. Uponall appearance of trouble, it is natural for him to feekare, fuge, that he may be able to ſhunwhat he is loath to ſuffer, and furvive thoſe calamities which willruin the defenceless and expoſed multitude.
Natural men ſeek refuge in natural things.
" The rich man's wealth is his ſtrong city, and as anhigh "wall in his own conceit,"
Prov xviii. 11. Hypocrites make lies their refuge, and under falſhood do they hide themſelves, Ifa. xxviii . 15.not doubting but they ſhall standdry and fafe, whenthe over-flowing flood lays all others under water.
But, GodlymenmakeGod himself theirhiding-place, tohim they have ſtill betaken themselves in all ages, as often as calamities have befallen the world, Pfal. xlvi. 1. " God is our
" refuge and ſtrength, a very preſent help in trouble." As chickens run under the wings ofthehen for fafety when thekite hovers over them, ſo do they fly to their God for ſanctuary,
Pfal. lvi. 3. " At what time I am afraid I will trust in thee;" q. d. Lord, if a ſtorm oftrouble at any time overtake me, I will makebold to come under thy rooffor ſhelter ; and indeed not ſobold as welcome; it is no preſumption inthem after ſo gracious an invitationfrom theirGod, "Come, mypeople, enter
" thou into thy chambers."
Myfriends, a ſound of trouble is in our ears, the clouds gather andblackenuponus more and more: Diſtreſs of nations withperplexity feems tobe near, our day haſtens to an end, and the ſhadows of the night are ſtretching forth upon us. What greater ſervice therefore can I do foryour fouls, than by the lightofthis fcripture (as with acandle in my hand) to leadyou
The Righteous Man's Refuge. toyour chambers, and ſhew youyour lodgings in the attributes and promiſes ofGod, before Itake my leave ofyou, and bid you good night.
O with what fatisfaction ſhould I part with you, were I but fure to leave you under Chriſt's wings ! It was Chriſt's lamentation over Jerufalem, that they would not be gathered under hiswings, when theRoman eagle was ready to hover over that city; and you know how dear they paid for their obſtinacy and infidelity.
Be warnedby that dreadful example, and among the reſt ofyour mercies bleſs God heartily for this, that ſo ſweet a voice ſounds from heaven in your ears this day, this day of frights and troubles; " Come, mypeople, enter thou in- " tothy chambers," &c.
This chaptercontains alovelyſong fittedfor the lips ofGod's Ifrael,notwithstanding their ſad captivity; for their God was withtheminBabylon, andcheered theirhearts there withmany promiſes ofdeliverance, and in the mystical ſenſe, it relates to the new teftament churches, of whoſe troubles, protections, and deliverances, theJews in Babylon were a type.
This chapter, though full of excellent and teaſonable truths, will be too long to analize; it ſhall ſuffice to ſearch back onlyto the 17th verſe, where you find the poor captivated church underdeſpondency of mind, comparing her condition to that of awoman in travail, who hath many ſharp pains, and bitter throws, yet cannot be delivered, much like that in 2 Kings xix. 3. " The children are come to the birth, and there is no " ſtrength to bring forth."
Against this diſcouragement adouble relief is applied in the following verſes, the one is a promise of full deliverance at Jaſt; the other aninvitationinto a ſure ſanctuary and place of defence for the preſent, until the time of their fulldeliverance came. The promisewe havein verſe 19." Thydead men ſhall live, togetherwith mydeadbody ſhall they arife: awake and " ſingye thatdwell inthe dust," &c.
Their captivity was a civildeath, and Babylon as agrave to them.
So it is elsewhere deſcribed, Ezek. xxxvii. 1, 2, 3, 14. " I will open your graves,
" and cauſeyou to come up out ofyour graves, and bring you " intothe land of Ifrael ."
And therefore theirdeliverance is carried under the notion of a refurrection in that promife.
Object. Yea, (might they reply) the hopes of deliverance at Jaſt is fome comfort, but alas, that maybe faroff: How thall we fubfift till then?
Solut. Wellenough, for as youhaveinthat promiſe a fure ground of deliverance at laſt, ſoin the interim here is agraci
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
-ous invitation into aplace ofſecurity for the preſent, Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers. In which invitation four things call for our cloſe attention.
1.Theform of the invitation, including in itthe qualified fubject, Come, my people. God's own peculiar people, who havechoſenGodfor theirprotection, andrefignedupthemselves fincerelytohim inthe covenant, are the perſons here invited, the famewhich hebefore called the righteous nation that kept the truth, ver. 2. he means thoſe that remained faithful to God, as many of them did in Babylon, witneſs their forrow for Sion, Pfal. cxxxvii. per totum ; and their folemn appeal to God, that their hearts were not turned back, nor had their ſteps declined though theywere fore broken in the place of dragons, and covered with the ſhadow of death, Pfal. xliv.
18, 19, 20. Theſe are the people invited to the chambers of ſecurity. And the form of invitation is fullof tender compaffion; Come, my people; like a tender father that fees a ſtorm coming upon his children in the fields, and takes themby the hand, faying, Come away, mydear children, haften homewith me, left the ſtorm overtake you ; or as the Lord ſaid to Noah before thedeluge, come thou and all thy houſe intothe ark, andGod ſhut him in, Gen. vii. 1, 16. This is the form of invitation, Come, mypeople.
2. The privilege invited to; Enter thou into thy chambers.
There is ſome variety, and indeed variety rather than contrariety in the expoſitionof theſe words.
In this all are agreed, thatby their chambers, is not meant thechambers of their own houſes, Ezek. xxi. 14. for alas, their houſes were left unto them deſolate; and if not, yet they could be no ſecurity to them now, when neither their own houſes, nor their fortified city, was able to defend thembefore.
Grotius expounds it of thegrave, and makes theſe chambers the fame with the chambers of death.
Ite in cubicula, i.e.fepulchra vestra.
The grave indeed is aplace of ſecurity, whereGod ſometimes hides ſomeofhis people in troubleſome times, as is plain in Iſa. Ivii. 1, 2. but I cannot allow this to bethe ſenſe of this text; God doth not comfort his captives with a natural, against a civil death, but with protection in their troubles upon earth, as isevident from the ſcope of the whole chapter.
Bychambers therefore, others underſtand the chambers of Grotiusonthe place,
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
Divine Providence, where the faints are hid in evil days.
So ourAnnotatorson theplace, andnodoubt but this is in part the ſpecial intendment of the text.
Others underſtand the attributes and promiſes ofGod tobe here meant, as well as his providence. And I conceive all three make the ſenſe of the text full, (i. e.) the divine attributes engaged inthe promiſes, and exerciſed or actuated in the providences of God; theſe are the ſanctuaries and refuges of God'speople in days of trouble.
Calvin underſtands it of the quiet repoſe of the believer's mind in God, but that is rather the effect of his ſecurity, than the place of it.
It isGod's attributes, orhis name (which is the ſame thing) to which the righteous fly and are ſafe, Prov. xviii. 10.
Object. But you will fay, why are they called their chambers? Thoſe attributes are not theirs, but God's.
Solut. The answer is eaſy, though they beGod's properties, yet they are his people's privileges, and benefits ; for when
God makes over himself to them incovenanttobe theirGod, hedoth, as it were, deliver to them the keys of all his attributes for their benefit and ſecurity; and is as if he ſhould ſay, my wisdom is yours, to contrive for your good ; my power is yours, to protect your perfons; my mercy yours, to forgive your fins ; my all-fufficiency yours, to ſupplyyour wants ; all that I am, and all that I have, is for your benefit and comfort.
Theſe are the chambers provided for the faints lodgings, and into theſe they are invited to enter.
Enterthou into thy chambers. By entering into them underſland their actual faith exerciſed in acts of affiance and refignation to God in all their dangers.
So Pfal. lvi. 3.
Atwhat time I am afraid (faith "
David) I will trust in thee : " q. d. Lord, if a ſtorm come I will makebold to ſhelter myself from it under thy wings by faith; look, as unbelief ſhuts the doors of allGod's attributes and promiſes againſt us ; ſo faith opens them all to the foul : and fo much of the privilege invited to, which is the ſecond thing.
3. We have here a needful caution for the fecuring of this privilege to ourſelves in evil times,Shut thy doors about thee. Or דרעב behindor after thee, i. e. faith Calvin, Diligenter cavendum ne ulla rimula diaboli ad nos pateat.
•Care must be taken thatno paſſage be left open for the devil to creep in after us, and drive us out ofour refuge ; for ſo it falls outtoo often withGod's people, when theyare at reſt inGod's name or promiſes, Satan creeps inbyunbelieving doubts and as the Syriac renders
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
puzzling objections, andbeats them out of their refuge back again intotrouble; it is therefore of great concernment, in fuch times eſpecially, not togive place to the devil, as the phrafe is,
Eph. iv. 17. but cleave toGod by a refolved reliance.
4. Lastly, We are to note with what arguments or motives they are preſt to betake themselves to this refuge.
There are two foundin the text, the one workingupon their fear, the otherupon their hope.
1. That which works upon their fear, is a fuppofition of a ſtorm coming, the indignation ofGod will fall like a tempeft ; this is ſuppoſed in the text, and plainly expreſſed in the words following, " For the Lord cometh out of his place to punish
" the inhabitants ofthe earth ," ver. 21 .
2. The other is fitted to work upon their hope, though his indignation fall like a ſtorm, yet itwillnot continue long; it ſhall be but for a moment, better days, and more comfortable diſpenſations, will follow.
From all which the general obfervationis this,
Docr . That the attributes, promises, andprovidences ofGod, arethe chambers ofrest andsecurity, in which his peopleare to hide themselves, when they foresee thestorms of his indignation coming upon the world.
" The name ofthe Lord (faith Solomon) is a ſtrong tower; " therighteous run into it, and are ſafe," Prov. xviii. 10.And his attributes are his name, Exod. xxxiv. 5. Forby them he is known, as a man is knownby his name, and this his name is a ſtrong tower for his people's ſecurity; nowwhat isthe uſeand endof atower in a city, but to receive and ſecure the inhabitants when the out-works are beaten to the ground, the wall ſcaled, and the houſes left deſolate?
And as it is here reſembled to a tower, ſo in Iſa. xxxiii. 16. it is ſhadowed out unto us by a munition of rocks, "Hisplace
" of defence ſhall be a munition of rocks."
How ſecure is that perſon that is invironed with rocks on every fide? Yea, you will ſay, but yet a rock is but a cold andbarren refuge, tho other enemies cannot, yet hunger and thirſt can invade andkill him there.
No, in this rock is a ſtorehouſe of proviſion, as well as a magazine for defence; ſo it follows, " Bread ſhall be
" given him, and his water ſhall be ſure."
And ſometimes itis reſembled to us by the wings of afowl, ſpreadwith much tenderneſs over her young for theirdefence,
Pfal. Ivii. 1. " Yea, in the ſhadow of thy wings will I make " myrefuge, until theſe calamities be overpaſt."
So Pfal. xvii.
8. " Keep me as the apple ofthineeye, hide me underthe tha
The Righteous Man's Refuge.
" dow ofthywings." No part ofthebodyhath more guards uponit, thanthe apple of the eye. God is as careful to preſervehis people, as men are to preſerve their eyes; and he that toucheth them toucheth the apple ofhis eye. Butwe neednotgo fromonemetaphor to another, toſhewyou where thefaints refuge is in time of danger ; you have awhole bundle of them lying together inthat one fcripture, Pfal. xviii. 2. " The Lord
" is my rock and my fortreſs, and my deliverer, myGod, my ſtrength, inwhom I will truſt, my buckler, and the horn of my ſalvation, and my high tower."
Where you find all kinds ofdefence, whether natural or artificial, under a pleaſant variety of apt metaphors, aſcribed toGod for the ſecurity of hispeople.
Now for the cafting ofthis great point intoas eaſy and profitable a methodas I can; I ſhall reſolve this general truth into theſe following propoſitions, which are implied or expreſſed in the text anddoctrine thence deduced; and the firſt is this;
Prop. 1. That there are times andfeaſons appointedby Godfor the pouring out of his indignation upon the world.
Prop. 2. That God's own peopleare concerned in, and ought to be affected with thoſejudgments.
Prop. 3. That God hatha special and particular care ofhis peoplein thedays of his indignation.
Prop. 4. ThatGodusually premonishes the world, especially his ownpeople, ofhisjudgments before they befal them.
Prop. 5. That God's attributes, promises, andprovidences are prepared for thesecurity of his people, in thegreatest diſtreſſes that befal them in the world.
Prop. 6. That none but God's people are taken into thosechambers of security, or can expect his special protection in evil times.
And then I hall apply the whole in the proper ufes of it.
CHAP.
II.
:Demonstrating the first propofition, that thereare times andfeafons appointedby Godfor thepouring out ofhis indignationupon the world.
Sect. 1 .THIS HIS is plainly implied inthe text, that there are times of indignation appointed to befal the world; yea, and more than this ; not onlythat ſuch times ſhall come, but the duration andcontinuance is alſo under an appointment.
The Righteous, Man's Refuge.
" Hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignationbe " over-paft." The prophet tells us in Zeph. ii. 2. that theſe ſtormy times are under a decree, and that decree is there compared toa pregnantwoman which is togo out her appointed mouths, and then to travail and bring forth: Even ſo it is in thejudgmentsGod brings upon the world. We see themnot in thedays of provocation,fed adhuc foetus in utero latet,but, all thiswhile it is in thewomb ofthedecree, and at the appointed ſeaſon they ſhall become viſible to the world. As there are innature fair halcyon days, and cloudy, overcaſt, and ſtormy :
So it is in providences, Eccl. vii. 14. "God hath ſet the one " over-against the other."
Yea, one is the occafion ofthe other; for look as the fun in a hot day exhales abundance ofvapours from the earth and ſea, theſe occaſion ſhowers, thunder, and tempefts, and thoſe again clear the air, and diſpoſe it to fair weather again. So it is here, proſperity is the occaſion of abundance of fin, this brings on adverſity from the juſtice of God to correct it ; adverſitybeing ſanctified,humbles, reforms, and purges the people ofGod, and this again bymercy procures their profperity : So you find the account ſtated in Pfal. cvii.
17. " Fools becauſe of their iniquities are afflicted, then they " cry to the Lord in their troubles, and he ſaveth them out of " their diſtreſſes ."
Andthis appointment of times of diſtreſs is both profitable and neceffary for the world, eſpeciallyGod's own people in it.
In general, hereby the being and righteousness ofGod is clearedand vindicated against the atheism and infidelity of the world, Pfal. ix. 16. " The Lord is known by thejudgments
" that he executeth." Impunity is the occaſionofmany atheiſtical thoughts inthe world, Jer. xlviii. 11. " Moab hath been
" at eaſe from his youth, and he hath ſettled onhis lees, and " hath not been emptied from veſſel to veſſel, neither hath he
" gone into captivity; therefore his taſte remaineth inhim, and " his ſcent isnot changed." So Pfal. lv. 19." Becauſetheyhave no changes, therefore theyfearnotGod." Kingdoms, families, and particular perſons, like ſtanding water andponds, are apt to corrupt by long continued peaceand proſperity; the Lord thereforefees it neceſſary to purge the worldby his judgments ;
" When thyjudgments are in theearth, the inhabitants ofthe "worldwill learn righteouſneſs."
Thoſe ſermons thatGod preaches from heavenby the terrible voice of his judgments, ſtartle and rouze the ſecure world, more than all the warnings and exhortations ofhis minifters could ever do.
Thofe that
VOL . IV.
The Righteous Man's Refuge. ſlept ſecurely under our miniſtry, will fear and tremble under his rods; thoſe that are without faith, are notwithout ſenſe and feeling, their own eyes will affect their hearts, though our words could make no impreffion on them.
Sect. 2. But of what uſe ſoever theſe nationaljudgments are toothers, tobeſure theyſhallbe beneficial toGod's own people; when others die by fear, they ſhall live by faith ; if they be baneful poifon tothe wicked, they ſhallbehealthful phyſic to the godly.
For, 1. By theſe calamitiesGod willmortify and purge their corruptions; this winter weather ſhallbe useful to destroy and rot thoſerankweed's,which the fummerof prosperitybred, Ifa.xxvii.
9. " By this therefore ſhall the iniquityofJacob be purged."
Phyſic in itsown nature is griping and unpleasant; but very useful and neceffary topurge the body from noxious and malignant humours, which retained, mayput life itſelf inhazard :
And it is with thebody politic, aswith the body natural.
2. National judgments drivethe people ofGodnearer tohim, andone toanother; they drive thepeopleofGodto their knees, andmake them praymore frequently, more fervently, and more feelinglythan they everwere wont todo ; inthis poſtureyou find them in ver. 8, 9. of this chapter. " Yea in the way of thy
" judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee, the defire of 66 our fouls is tothyname, and totheremembrance ofthee. With my foul have I defired thee in the night, yea, with my ſpirit
" within me will I ſeek thee early."
3. In aword, by theſe diſtractions anddiſtreſſes ofnations, the people ofGod are more weaned from the world, and made to long more vehemently after heaven; being now convinced by experience that this is not their reſt.
When all things are tranquiland profperous, God's ownpeople are buttoo apt tofall aſleep anddream of pleaſure and reſt on earth, toſay as Job in his profperity, " I ſhall die in my neſt, I shall multiply mydays
" as the ſand." And then are their heads and hearts filled with many projects and deſigns, topromote their comforts, and make proviſion for their accommodations on earth: the multiplicity, of earthly cares and comforts takeup their time and thoughts too much, and makethem that they minddeath and eternity too little.
But faithGod, this muſt not be ſo, things must not go on at this rate, the profperous world must not thus enchant my people; I muſt imbitter the earth that I maythereby ſweeten heaven the more to them; when they find no reit below, theywill furely feek it above.
Theſe, andſuch like,are thegraciousdeſignsandends ofGod