et
from God the latter. "When the host goeth forth, then, and then chiefly,
thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing." When Judah's king marched
out, assisted with Israelitish auxiliaries, which were idolaters; let
not (saith the prophet) "the men of Israel go with thee, for God is not
with Israel:" if thou do, thou shalt not prosper. If there were no evil
sin in your hearts, no evil man in your hosts, God would be with you,
with a shout, even the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

And 2. Your success depends on God's presence. When thou seest
multitudes of armies encircling thee, fear not, for God is with thee,
and God is with thee to save thee; He walks with thee to fight for thee,
and to prosper thee. We shall be cast back, yea, quite off, if God go
not forth with our armies; or, in our armies; the word bears either:
when God goes not in our armies, rules not in our hearts, lives,
conversations, by holiness; then He goes not forth with our armies by
victory and success.

3. The want of godly agents, to manage a godly cause, a great
lamentation. "Help, Lord, save, O God, for the godly fail, and the
faithful cease from among men:" were there any such in being, they would
bear rule with God, and be faithful for the saints, their persons and
prayers would gain prevalency with God, their endeavours and constancy
would show fidelity to the saints, and then in Judah, our land, would
things go well: and as once Ezekiel of the scarcity of fit governors to
rule, so we of fit men to fight, when corruption and looseness hath so
possessed the hearts, and lives of our men of war, that there remains no
sanctified and godly man to make a soldier; "This is a lamentation, and
shall be for a lamentation."

4. What ground have we to expect good? When the sons of darkness go to
cast out the prince of darkness, is this possible? Can Satan cast out
Satan? It is a satisfactory answer, that we rest in, and stops the
mouths of all not incurably blinded, when we hear of protestations, and
promises to maintain the protestant religion and laws of the land; when
we see, that the effecting of the one is by the sword of papists, of the
other, by the hand of delinquents; except we should think, that man can
(as God) work happy ends by contrary means. For we say, how can Satan
cast out Satan? So to ourselves, 'tis not very likely, that, if Satan
keep the hold he hath of our souls, you should dispossess him of that
strong hold he hath of our land