felves. And this fhall certainly be done, as fure as the word of God is true, and as fure as the Lord lives, to make good his word. For, This is the heritage of the fervants of the Lord. That is, you shall have this by as fure right as any man hath an inheritance, that is entailed upon him. This is your heritage, O ye fervants of the Lord, to make void the force of every weapon that is used against you, and to condemn every tongue that judgeth you. This promife is our portion, and the lot of our inheritance; and in this we rejoice, that while we serve the Lord truly and faithfully, neither the hands nor tongues of the enemy fhall hurt us, but in the end we shall be more than conquerors over all. Let my portion fall in this pleasant place, and I fhall have a goodly beritage. And their righteoufnefs is of me, faith the Lord, That is, these fervants of mine, are not men of a human and moral righteousness only, but they partake of the righteousness of God in Chrift; Their righteousness is of me; or thus, though they are finners before the world (for as the world reckons their own fin for righteousness; so it reckons God's righteousness for fin,) yet they are righteous before me, and in my eyes. So that however the world reckons us evil doers, and not worthy to live in the world, yet God reckons us righteous, and our righteouf- · nefs is before him. To conclude: feeing God hath engaged himself to fecure us in his ways, both from the weapons and tongues of men, Go and tell the foxes, that we will walk without fear in the world both to-day and to-morrow, and the third day we fhall be perfected. A H 4 In a Sermon preached before the Houfe of COMMONS, on Wednesday, November 25th, 1646. By WILLIAM DE L L, Minister of the Gospel. JOHN Vii. 12. And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him; for fome faid, And thefe things will they do unto you, becaufe they have not known the Credo me theologum effe chriftianum, & in regno veritatis vivere; ideo me debitorem effe, non modo affirmandæ veritatis, fed etiam afferendæ, & defendendæ, feu per fanguinem feu per mortem. Luth. To the READER. Chriftian Reader, T HE times we live in are dangerous times; it is dangerous to conceal the truth, and dangerous to publish the truth; if we publish the truth God hath taught us, and we have heard and learned from the Father, we fall into the hands of men; if we conceal it, we fall into the hands of God. And therefore in this cafe, in a contrary choice to David, I reckon it much better, to fall into the hands of men, than into the hands of God; seeing the wrath of men can but reach the body; but the wrath of God, body and foul. I fhall therefore willingly confefs Chrift, amidst an adulterous and finful generation, not doubting but Chrift will confefs me before his Fa ther, and before his Angels. And for the reproaches of men, it is beft conquering them, as Luther was wont to fay, Silendo & contemnendo, by filence and contempt of them; feeing a man may as eafily reftrain Satan himself, in his various workings, as ftop the mouths of his inftruments. And therefore it is good for us christians, to do the work of God, without fo much as taking notice of fuch men: and if fometimes we are fenfible of these things, because we are flesh, yet as we are chriftians, we are above them in the Spirit, and fee already in certain faith and hope, all evils and enemies under our feet: And I am refolved, neither now nor hereafter, to take them any more into confideration, than the business itself neceffarily requires: and where they may be omitted without prejudice to the truth, to let them quite alone: being every day, through the use of affliction, enabled to patience, and through patience brought to experience, and fo to a proportionable measure of hope: And this carries me above the fhame of the world, in the ftrength of the love of God. For the doctrine contained in this discourse, thou shalt not find it new light, (as fome men flanderously affirm) but the antient light that sprang forth in the first morning of the gofpel, but was fince obfcured by the new darkness of Antichrift, which thefe men love better than that old light, and |