C. 4.

making eloquent Orations before the Emperor for Cap.18. them and another Quadratus Athenienfis, when Eufeb. 1.4 Adrian came to Athens, he prefented a Book to him, Cent. pleading for Chriftian Religion; God bleffed the Magd. endeavors of thefe much, for the mollifying the Cent, 2. Emperors heart towards the Chriftians.

Sixthly, we must be willing to fuffer with them; we must be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren, much more fuffer with the brethren: we must be willing to have fellowship with them, not onely in their priviledges, but in their fufferings, Rev. 1. 9.1 Fohn who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the Kingdom and patience of fefus Chrift many are willing to be brethren, and companions in the kingdom, but not in tribulation, and in the patience of Jefus Chrift; Heb. 10. 33. it was the commendations of thofe Chriftians mentioned there, that they were companions of those that were ill used for the caufe of Chrift.

c. 3. p. 16.

6.

Wherefore for application, let us know our duty, use. and fhew our felves more ready and forward to joyn with, and fhew our felves to the fervants of God in their perfecuted eftate; in the times of their profperity there is not fo much need we should manifeft our felves to be for them; this is the time wherein we are called, especially to manifeft our love to them, our fiding with them; The greater their affliction is, the more we must appear for them: When the people of God were in a comfortable eftate in Egypt, as they were in Fofephs time, Fofeph did not leave the Court to joyn with them, but when they were in an afflicted eftate, as in Mofes his time, Mofes left all to joyn with them; here you you have a tryal upon what fide you

Cap.18. will be, now you have an opportunity to witness for

God.

Those words, Hofea 11. 12. Fudah ruleth with God, the old Latine hath it,Teftis defcendit cum Deo, He defcends a witness with God, and fo the words will bear,if the pricks be altered,which may be,being according to the opinion of many put in,in latter times; Ribera maintains this reading, and hath two good notes upon it:

First, Others leave the true worship of God, but Indah continues, and fo witneffes to his truth.

Secondly, He defcends, he is content to be in a lower condition; though he be fewer, and not fo flourishing as Ifrael, yet if he may be Gods witness, he is content. Thus fhould we be willing to defcend to witnefs for the truth, to leave the flourishing people of the world, and to joyn with the lowest and meaneft.

Ordinarily men deal with the fuffering fervants of God, as Demas dealt with St. Paul,they forfake him, embracing this prefent world, but if you finde any inclination of heart that way, conceive as if Chrift were now fpeaking to you, Will you alfo forfake me? Take heed of flattering your felves, of putting off this duty with any vain pleas,or pretences, or excuses; God fees what lies at the bottom. We read Judg.5. divers of the Tribes are blamed, for not coming in to help to joyn with Barak and Deborah, and in their rebuke,their excufes are mentioned, as fome were to follow their business at fea, they could not come : and efpecially Aher, he was to stand in his own breaches to defend himself, ver. 17. Reuben must follow his bufinefs, and look to his sheep, he could not come,

ver. 16.

ver. 16. yet these are rebuked, but Zebulon and Nepthali are commended for a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death, they are honored for this. The people of God were now in a low condition, in great affliction, and no excufe could ferve turn, for their not joyning with their brethren; whatsoever neceffities, inabilities we may pretend, that keep us from appearing in the behalf of, and joyning with Gods people in their afflicted eftate, it will not bear us out before the Lord; In times of ftorm, all fhould come in and help. The two Tribes and the half on the other fide Iordan, muft not think to abide peaceably in their poffeffions, while their brethren were warring for theirs, but they muft joyn with them in their battels, until they were in their poffeffions like

wife.

It is a fore and great evil, not to joyn with Gods fervants in their troubles; but how great an evil then is it, to adde affliction to their affliction, to joyn with their enemies against them, especially. when they are weak in their fuffering condition? Gods wrath against Amalek was, becaufe he came out against Ifrael in the wilderness, and not onely fo, but fmote the hindmost of them, even all that were feeble behinde them, when they were faint and weary, Deut. 25. 18. Now you fhall finde that the wrath of God was never fo dreadful against any, as against the Amalekites: for,

First, obferve what expreffions of indignation the Lord hath against them.

Firft, This wickedness of Amalek, and his deftruction, must be wrote for a memorial in a book, and rehearfed in the ears of Iofhua.

Secondly,

Cap. 18.

Cap. 18.

Secondly, God will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven.

Thirdly, The Lord fwears that he will have war with Amalek, from generation to generation, all these Exod. 17. 14, 16.

Fourthly, Gods anger for many years after continued against Amalek. Numb. 24.20. His latter end shall be, that he perifh for ever: and Deut. 25. 19. Mofes gives a charge, that after Ifrael was poffeffed of his inheritance, that he muft blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven, Thou shalt not forget it. And further, although at the first, when Amalek came against Ifrael, there was a great flaughter of them, yet more then four hundred years after, 1 Sam. 15. 2. God fays, He remembred what Amalek did to Ifrael, and gave a charge to Saul to go and fmite them, and utterly to destroy all they had, not to spare, but to flay Man and Woman, Infant, Suckling, Ox, Sheep, Camel, and Afs, and it is obfervable, whereas in all other places that were not of Canaan, though they did fmite the male, yet they were to spare the women, the little ones, and the cattel, and all that was in the City, as Dent. 20. 14. but not fo in Amalek, yet Amalek was not of Canaan; God had a more special quarrel against Amalek,then against any of the other Countries: Yea, whereas in Canaan, although men and women were deftroyed, as in Ai, Ioh. 8. Yet the cattel, and the spoyl of the City they took to themselves, ver. 27. but they might not do fo in Amalek, the deftroying the Cattel, and all there was in it, was for the greater horror, to fhew what an abominable, and an accursed thing AmaLek was.

Yet

Yet further, although in Fericho they deftroyed Cap.19. men, women, and cattel, and fo it was more accurfed theni, for there the cattel were faved, yet in Fericho the gold, filver, brass, iron, were confecrated unto God, Ioh. 7. 19. but fo it must not be in Amalek, for that must be more accurfed then Iericho. And God was fo ftrongly fet upon revenge of this people, that because Saul spared Agag, and the fat of the cattel, though in pity, though under pretence of Sacrifice, the Lord therefore rejected him, and accounted his fin as rebellion and witchcraft, fo as he would not have Samuel fo much as mourn for him, 1 Sam. 16.1. And when Agag was brought before Samuel, because he was the King of the Amalekites, Samuel, though he were a loving fweet natured man, yer he took a fword, and himself hewed him in pieces before the Lord, being filled with Gods indignation against Amalek, 1 Sam. 15. 33. And Pfalm 83.7. Ammon and Amalek is joyned together; God pronounces of the Ammonite, that to the tenth generation none of them fhould enter into the Congregati

of the Lord for ever; Why? Because they met not Gods people in the way with bread and water, when they came up out of Egypt, Deut. 23.4. but hired Balaam to curfe them.

God expects that his people in their afflicted eftate fhould be relieved, and not curfed, the curfe of the Lord will purfue thofe, who deny help to them in this condition, efpecially fuch as feek to adde to their affiction. What was the reafon that Shimei must not go to his grave in peace? It was because of his rayling against David, when he was in his affliction; The Jews gave Chrift gall and vinegar when he was upon

the