The true soldiers convoy A sermon preached upon the xvjth. day of May 1640,…The true souldiers convoy A sermon preached upon the xvjth. day of May 1640,…

Though the people of God be scattered yet they are gathered again. For great shall ¹be the day of Jezreel. yet more fully Jer 23 2 3 4 Therefore thus ⟨p. 32⟩saith the Lord God of Israel against the Pastors that feed my people, ye have scattered my flock & driven them away & have not visited them, Behold J will visit upon you the evil of your doing, saith the Lord, And J will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whether I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase, and I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them, and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. Yea they are therefore scattered that they may be better gathered. 34. Ezek: 11. 17. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I even I will both search my sheep and seek them out as a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day ⟨p. 33⟩that he is among his sheep that are scattered, thus saith the Lord God, behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats, before their scattering the goats were mingled with the flock; upon their gathering, the goats were separated: a good garment may be ripped into pieces, that it may be better sewed, good is that speech of Augustine, He that ²killeth considereth not how he slasheth and rendeth, but he that cutteth to cure, considereth how he cutteth, or thus, Suppose a man be to cut two men; the one to cure him, the other to kill him, that man which he cutteth to cure, he considereth how he cutteth him, but he taketh no care how he slasheth him ⟨p. 34⟩whom he intendeth to kill, so doth God deal in the cuttings and scatterings of his own children, and the vile world: or thus, an army you know, may be scattered two ways, The Soldiers when they come from their trenches, every one goeth to his hut, and the whole army is in some measure scattered and divided, but in order, this is an orderly scattering: but when they are routed, that is another scattering, wherein there is no order, Gods people are scattered as those that go to their huts, but the wicked are scattered otherwise, their scattering is a full routing, that is never gathered, this is the punishment of the enemies of the Church, they shall be scattered.