ever the like,ver.3. A fire devoureth before them, and bebind them a flame burneth; the Land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a defolate wildernesse, yea and nothing can escape them: And ver.4. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and as horfemen, fofhall they run. Like the noife of chariots on the tops of mountains fhall they leape, like the noife of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people fet in battel array. I know fome interpret it of the Babylonians thus described; but if the Text be looked into, wee thall cleerely fee it meant of the Locusts and Caterpillars, therefore the expreffions are metaphorical all along: As horfes, as a ftrong people in battel array: And ver.6. Before their face the people fhall be much pained all faces fhall gather blackneffe,even those who had impudent, brazen foreheads in wayes of wickedneffe, & would not feare the mighty God,even these stout hearts fhall tremble before the Locusts. God will put fo much terror into thefe poore creatures, that all faces fhall gather blacknesse,they fhall look fwarte for feare of them.ver.7. They shall run like mighty men, they shall climbe the wall like men of war: And ver. 8. When they fhall fall upon the fword, they fhall not be wounded. They fball run to and fro in the City, they fhall climb up upon the houfes and enter in at the windows. Ver. 10. The earth fhall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble; the fun and the moone shall be darke, and the stars fhall withdraw their fhining. They fhall bring fo much terror with them, as even to affect the very heavens,it shall be like as if the fun and moone had loft all their light,as if there were earth-quakes in every place where they come. Ver. 11. And the Lord fhall utter his voice before his Armie. As Commanders (peak with a voice R.

of

10.

of majestie before their Armies,fo the Lord fhall utter his voice before this his Army, he fhall even glo ry to be the Leader of such an Armie as this, for faith the Text, His camp is very great, and strong that executeth his word: the day of the Lord is great, and very terrible, and who can abide it? All this ftill is the army of Locusts and Worms,for fo it is ver.25. I will restore to you the years that the Locusts have eaten, the canker-worm, and the cater-piller,and the palmer-worm, my great Army which I fent among you. Now if God can raife to this height Locusts and Worms to be fuch a dreadfulArmy, how dreadfull then is the Lord able to make all his other great Hofts? Surely a glorious Lord of Hofts is this God.

10. This great Generall is himselfe the strength of all his Armies, and he hath infinite strength in himselfe alone, beyond what all his Armies in heaven and earth have, the power of his Hofts is but a little of his power given to them, amongst men it is otherwise, the strength of a Captain a Generall, is in the strength of the Soldiers of the Army, not the ftrength of the Army in their Captain or Generall their wisdome and courage indeede helpes much, but their ftrength lyes in the Army; if the Souldiers leave them, if they faile, what can the General doe? but it is otherwife here, God gives all the ftrength, he supports it,he draws it out, he bleffeth it, it is onely in the power of his might that any of them is able to doe any thing; and if all their force were united in one, God hath infinitely more in himselfe without them,and can doe infinitely more by his word alone in an inftant, then they can doe as long as the world stands. Oh how great is this God, this Lord of Hofts!

To

To apply it in a few words.

1. Who would not feare this God then? Føb 13. 11. Shall not his excellencie make you afraid? Behold here a great part of the excellencie of his name, let it strike a reverentiall feare into our hearts. Pfal.76.4. Thou art more glorious and excellent then the mountains of prey.The ftout-hearted are spoiled: At thy rebuke O God of Facob, the chariot and the horse are caft into a dead fleep. Then the inference,ver.7. Thou, even thou art to be feared, and who may stand in thy fight when once thou art angry?

2. Surely then it is good being on Gods fide, to be of his party, this is the strongest fide, this certainly will have the victory. It is fafeft to joyn with the Lord, and it is most honourable. You know what Chrift faid to his Difciples to ftrengthen them against feare,I could pray to my Father, and he would fend me twelve Legions of Angels. David, Pfal.27. though alone, yet he thinks himfelfe fafe enough with the Lord of Hofts, ver.3. Though an Hoft fhall encampe against me, my heart fhould not feare; Though Warre fhould rise against me, in this will I be confident: In what? ver.1. That the Lord is his light, his falvation, and the ftrength of his life. If we be with the Lord,we may be fure that we fhall ever have with us more then againft us. 2 Chron.32.7,8. Be strong and couragi ous,be not afraid nor difmayed for the King of Affyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be moe with us then with him. With him is an arme of flesh,but with us is the Lord our God, to help us,and to fight our battels. And the people, fayes the Text,refted upon the words of Hezekiah. Here is a full object for our faith to rest upon. If we look upon God onely in this latter confidera

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tion of him as The Lord of Hofts, we need never feare want of Souldiers, feeing all creatures in heaven and earth are his armed trained Souldiers, and he himfelfe is infinite in himself. Oh how happy fhould we be, if we could in all our ftraits exercise faith in this Lord of Hofts, looking upon him in this confide ration !

You will fay, It is true, this Lord of Hofts is indeed a full object of faith, were it not that we have forely provoked him to come out against us; yea we. are afraid he is now appearing in wrath against us.

I will give you one Text of Scripture in fuch a cafe as this is, when your provocations of him lye heavy upon you, and it is as fweet, and full, and encouraging a Scripture as any I know,Zach.1.17.The Lord had profeffed in the beginning of the Chapter, that he had been fore displeased with their Fathers, ver.. 2. yea and it appeares by the 3.and 4. ver. that they were no better then their Fathers, and ver. 12. it is. faid,The Lord of Hofts had had indignation against Ferufalem these threefcore and ten yeeres; fo that even at that prefent whenthe Prophet fpake to them, it féemes God was in fuch a way towards them, as his indignation appeared against them: but that their hearts might break, and their faith be raised; marke what a gracious, promife comes in to them even now, in this 17. ver.Cry yet faying, Thus faith the Lord of Hofts, My cities through profperity (or through good, fo the word is in the Hebrew) fhall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord fhall yet comfort Sion, and shall yet choose FerufaLem. Mark, here are foure yets in this ver. and they are very gracious ones, Cry yet, fhall yet be spread, shall yet comfort, and shall yet choose Ferufalem, and all these

from

from the Lord of Hofts, yea and from the Lord of Hofts forely difpeafed,yea although he was provoked to indignation. We have finned, cry yet. We have provo. ked wrath,- fhall yet be spread. We are miferable wretched creatures,fhall yet comfort. We are unworthy, fhall yet choofe. O the free grace of our God to his people ! Thou troubled, diftreffed foule, look up to him, as making himselfe knowne by this glorious name, cry to him by this name, Lord thou commandeft Angels, heavens, earth, feas, now let thy power worke for the good of my foule; give commandement from heaven to this distemperd heart of mine, to yeeld to fubmit to thee, to these lufts that rise against thee, that they may be fubdued,yea deftroyed. Lord, in any difficulties we finde our felves brought into let us not be discouraged, We cannot fee how Antichrift fhould be brought downe: But Revel.18.8. Her plagues fhall come in one day, he fhall utterly be burnt with fire, for ftrong is the Lord God who jud geth her.

And further,it is moft honourable to joyne with,to be under this Generall. Souldiers boaft much of the power, greatneffe, magnificence of their Generall they account themselves honoured by it. The people of God have infinite caufe to make their boast of this Lord of Hofts, under whose banners they fight, he is their praife and their glory. Pfal. 148. God is gloriously fet forth with his Hofts about him. The conclufion, ver: 14. is this, He is the praife of all his Saints: Not onely Objectively, because the Saints are exercised in his praifes, but Relatively, he is a praise and honour to his Saints; his Saints glory in this,that they ferve under fuch aCommander. There are two Captains in the world, under whofe command

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