Remains of that excellent minister of Jesus Christ, Mr. Joseph Alleine being a collection…Remaines of that excellent minister of Jesus Christ, Mr. Joseph Alleine being a collection…

Brethren, though it hath been a time of great calamity, yet God hath herein heightened his mercy to you; you have seen the Bush of God burning and yet not consumed. The portion of Gods Children hath been taken away, and yet our cheeks have been fat. We have been cast with Daniel into the Lyons den: but God hath sent his angel and shut the Lyons mouth, and we have not been destroyed but are here together to praise the Lord.

Brethren, though it hath been a time of great calamity, yet God hath herein heightned his mercy to you; you have seen the Bush of God burning and yet not consumed. The portion of Gods Children hath been taken away, and yet our cheeks have been fat. We have been cast with Daniel into the Lyons den: but God hath sent his angel and shut the Lyons mouth, and we have not been destroyed but are here together to praise the Lord.

Methinks there are several periods of time, •ine the time of our calamities, wherein God hath appeared to us, when we thought all had bin gone. One period was when your Ministers ⟨p. 101⟩were shut out of public by the Act of Uniformity. Another when we were cast out of our private Meetings, by the Act made against •ditious Conventicles. So called by the iniquity of the times. Another by this Act that doth now cast Ministers out of their Habitations. And me thinks every period should end with praise. We read, that when they removed the Ark, that when they had passed such a number of paces then they slew a sacrifice: so me thinks as we pass these periods of time, at the end of every period we should offer pr•ise. What though God hath separated your preachers from you, ye as he said, if the Soldier dies fighting, and the preacher preaching, and the swan singing, then the Saints should part praising. Oh Christians this is the spirit that should be in you, that what ever God doth with you for the time to come, you should resolve to end in his praise for the mercies past. If it were the last day we should have together, surely methinks we should end in praise. And since the Alarm hath been sounded, by the late unhappy Act, that saying of Sampson hath run often in my mind, let me dye with the Philistines: so methinks I would say, let me dye with praise. And now O God, let my hands and heart be lifted up with thy praise: that I may touch their hearts; that every heart of theirs, may sound forth thy heavenly praise. But 'tis easy to be lost in praise, the mercies of God are a deep that cannot be fathomed. Where shall I begin or end? How shall I reach to the top? or when shall I come to the bottom? however I will not say