A word in season to this present generation, or, A sober and serious discourse…

Fifthly, To move you so to order demean and carry ¹your selves, as that you may enjoy the gracious presence of God with you, in your greatest troubles and deepest distresses, consider that in great troubles, deep distresses and most deadly dangers, you will most need the favourable signal presence of God with you. We always ⟨p. 173⟩stand in need of the Divine presence, but never so much as when we are under great troubles and deep distresses; For, 1. In days of trouble and distress mens affections are most apt to be greatly disordered, and their hearts discomposed, as you see in Job and Jonah. 2. Now their ²fears, doubts, and disputes are apt to rise highest; when the wind rises high and the sea roars, men are most apt ³to be afraid. 3. Now Satan commonly is busiest, Satan ⁴loves to fish in troubled waters; when the hand of God is heaviest upon us, then Satan will shoot his most deadly ⁵darts at us. The sons of Jacob fell upon the Shechemites when they were sore; and Amaleck fell upon Gods Israel and smote them, when they were weak, and feeble, and faint and weary; and Satan falls foul upon Christ, ⁶when he was in the wilderness, and when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, and was a hungry; And as he dealt with the head, so he still deals with the members. 4. Now unbelief is most turbulent, strong, and mighty in operation, as you may see in the Spies, We be ⁷not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. The Land through which we have gone to search it, is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the