S.2. This Prayer bath two Parts.

The Analysis of the Prayer in time of Plague.

2. Time of King David.

mer dea

ling with the Jews as to:

2. Their Deliverance at thy mercy, didů save both times.

1.In general by craving pity.miferable Dinners,

Their Rebellion against CrimeHofes and Baron, and alfo in the time

and yet remembzing

the rest,

Habe pity upon us,

A Practical Difcourfe upon this Prayer.

5.III. Almighty God, who in thy wrath did send a Plague upon thine own People in the Wilderness for their obftinate rebellion again Moles and Aaron.]

When we fee fo many Instances of God's mighty Power in his cutting off the Lives of our poor Brethren, we may very properly call upon him by the name of Almighty; and we ought to tremblé before him, fince he can as eafily deftroy us, as any of those numbers that have already taken poffeffion of the grave: And that our affections may be the more effectually wrought upon, we do here commemorate a Calamity Parallel to our own, which is described by all its Circumstances, every one of which deferves our Confidera

tion.

I. The Author, viz.almighty God: he was the Inficter of that Plague, and he is of this; for this Judgment (as was noted before) comes immediately from the hand of God.

II. The Punishment was the fame with ours, a grie vous Peftilence, whereof there dyed 14700 in a very few hours fpace, so that our misery is not without a Parallel, we have had many Fellow-fufferers in all Ages.

HI. The Perfons who fuffered by this Plague were God's own people, yea the only People in the world at that time, that he had chofen to be his inheritance, a Nation that he had delivered by Miracle, and separated from all the people in the world, taking them into his cfpecial Protection, yet when they provoked him by their Sin, he did not fpare them for their priviledges,

but

but punished them more feverely for their ingratitude: So that we muft not flatter our felves, that we shall be free from thefe grievous Judgments, because we profefs the true Religion, and are moft eminently the People of God: for Judgment very often begins at the houfe of God,1 Pet.iv.17. And the fpurious are difmif fed, when the lawful Children are corrected,Heb.xii.8. Our being the true Church may aggravate our Sin, but will not avert our Punishment; for God himfelf faith to Ifrael: You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth, therefore will I punish you for your Iniquities,

Amos iii.2.

IV. The Scene whereon this Tragedy was acted, was in the Wilderness, where the Air is ufually the most pure, and furtheft removed from the danger of Infection. But no Place can fecure us, if God refolve to punish us; he can poison the pureft Air,and turn the healthful Wilderness into Infection, to bring about the deftruction of Sinners; and furely we have lefs caufe to wonder, if we fall in Cities, where we breath in a Croud,fince we fee the Wilderness it felf was not free from a dreadful Plague.

v. The Causes only remain to be confidered, the firft is the internal Caufe which did inwardly move the glorious Author to fend this Curse, viz. his

zath: he was highly incensed against them, and therefore he did thus chastise them;hence Mofes here fays, There is wrath gone out from the Lord, for the Plague is begun, Numb.xvi.46.And afterwards in the Cafe of Baal-Peor,They provoked him to Anger with their own inventions, and then the Plague broke in upon them, Pfal.cvi. 29. And the fending of a Peftilence is called God's pou-. ring out his fury upon a Land,Ezek.xiv.19.From whence we may infer, that God is now angry with us, and in great Wrath against us, or else he had not corrected us

with this Rod, which he never makes use of, but when he is in wrath, and hath been highly provoked. Secondly, therefore let us enquire, what was the external Caufe, which did ftir up the wrath of the Almighty, and that was in the general Sin. Whatever be the natural Cause, Sin is the moral Cause of every Plague, Deut. xxviii.15,2 1.Sometimes one kind of Iniquity, fometimes another: Thus the Luft of the Ifraelites was avenged on the borders of Moab,Numb.xxv. And thus was the irreverence of the Bethfhemites punished, 1 Sam.vi.19. and perhaps of the Corinthians alfo, 1 Cor.xi.30. The blafphemy of Senacherib was thus requited, Ifai.xxxviii. 56. And the Idolatry of the ten Tribes was repayed by this direful Judgment, Amos iv. 10. But in the prefent Cafe, the Plague was fent for their obftinate Rebellion 2gainst Moles and Aaron. There is ufually fome peculiar Sin, which doth provoke the Almighty, and is the Cause of the Mortality; and we fhall do well to enquire, what it is that hath occationed our Misery, that we may especially repent of that Sin. Let us enquire, if it be not (as this was) foz Kebellton and Schifm. Mofes had the Legislative and Royal Power, Aaron had the Pontifical and Spiritual Dignity and Honours. Now Corah,a Levite, thought Aaron, the High Prieft, to be proud and covetous, and cenfured him for engroffing the Profits, and the Jurifdiction of the Priesthood to himself, when there were many Levites, yea Laybrothers as well gifted as he. And Dathan and Abiram gave it out that Mofes was too abfolute in his Monarchy, and ought to behave himself only as the Trustee of the people, without whose confent he ought to do nothing (the lively Embleme of our late Schifmaticks and Rebels) Now 'tis very likely, that Corab believed he only aimed at a juft eqnality among the Church Officers: And Dathan and

Abiram fancied they ftood for the Liberty of the Subject, they imagine that they oppofe nothing but an Arbitrary Government in Church and Ssate, and who would not take this to be a Holy Caufe, fufficient to enrol them Saints and Martyrs, that dyed in fo good a quarrel? But alas! God feeth not as we fee: He accounts it Sedition, Schifm and Rebellion; yea an impious refifting his own Authority in those whom he had given the Government unto: Wherefore, firft he caufeth the Earth to swallow up the Heads of this accurfed Faction. Secondly, he fends Fire from Heaven to confume the pert afpiring Levites, that their angry heats against their lawful Governours might be fuitably punished by a devouring fire (i). Laftly, for the rebellious and giddy rabble, they were cut off by a fudden and fevere Plague; which, I hope, will be a warning to us hereafter, not to rebel or move Sedition; left we follow them in their Punishments, whom we imitate in their Sins; yea and I wish it may warn us to take heed of all Sin, for all forts of Iniquities confpire to bring this dif mal evil upon us: And this is the ufe we may make of the firft Example.

(i) Ut qui contra juftos Principes ira cundia igne intus ftiffime vindicta flimexarferant, foris juma conflagrarent. Auguft, de mirab. Script.

S.IV.