how pitiful ignorant many professors are of this truth Christ in them How ready are they to disclaim it and put it away from them and not to own it by teason of their not knowing and ignorance of it Friends do ye believe it is it a truth to your souls Then why do you not rejoyce and sing why are ye sad seeing the Lord God in the midst of you is mighty If it be so wait upon God till he reveal his Son in you Paul did not know Christ to be in him before God revealed him When it pleased God to reveal his Son in Paul then Paul knew him to be in him No man knows the Son but he to whom the Father will reveal him Therefore desire the Father to reveal him in you If it be so awake him not till he please Cant. 3. 5. I charge you O ye daughters of Jerusalem by the roes and hindes of the field that ye stir not up nor awake my Love till he please And Cant. 2. 7. he speaks of the like thing We are ready to awake the Lord and stir him up when he doth not please we are not contented that he should awake when he pleaseth If he doth not awake when we would awake him and discover himself in us and to us then we are discontented and troubled at it The Spouse chargeth the daughters of Jerusalem not to do it by the roes and hindes of the field the meaning is The Spouse doth call the very dumb creatures to witness against stirrers up of Christ and we are charged also not to do it And therefore Friends take heed be patient wait wait till he is pleased to make known himself in you If it be so then take heed of conferring with flesh and blood which is men or the fleshly part of the soul when he doth please to reveal himself This we are ready to do and then immediately we question whether it be true or no that he is within us Paul saith Gal. 1. 16 that he consulted not with flesh and blood when he had adiscovery of Christ in him whether it was true or no If ye go to ask flesh and blood the truth of your discoveries it will tell you that all your discoveries of Christ are false Have a care therefore of going to flesh and blood so soon as ever you have a manifestation of Christ in you flesh and blood will make you question all your discoveries of Christ and the reason is because it is an enemy to the soul If it be so that Christ is within us Then let us confess him with our mouthes this is our duty to confess him Whom Jesus Christ How confess him To be within us Where In our hearts That which is required on our parts is I say to confess him to be within us That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus He is in us it is so it is no lye Whether we confess it or no this is the true saying of the righteousness of faith and therefore let us confess him Object But may some say How shall I confess him when I do not know whether or no he is in me Whether you know or do not know it he is there But I cannot acknowledge it saith the soul Why cannot you acknowledge it Because I do not feel him to be within me nay surely he is not within me Why do you say so What makes you say so What makes you think he is not within you I am such a vile wretch saith the soul so sinful so ungodly my heart is so filthy so vain and that makes me conclude and think he is not within me it doth not consist saith the soul with Christs holiness to be in such a vile unclean heart Answ. 1. To this I answer What thou sayest is a cleer Argument to me that he is in thy heart for else if he were not there how camest thou to have such a discovery of the baseness of thy heart Who gave it thee Where hadst thou it Deal seriously with me did not Christ within thee discover it to thee Thou canst not have otherwise a discovery of thy heart but by Christ within thee He that hath an ear to hear let him hear Answ. 2. I answer to it thus I can prove it to you that he is in the worst of sinners See in Hos. 11. 9. I will not execute the fierceness of my anger I will not return to destroy Ephraim for I am God and not man the holy One in the middest of thee Ephraim was as vile as could be yea as thou canst be we shall see this if we look into Hos. 8. 11. Because Ephraim had made many Altars to sin Altars shall be unto him for sin Idolatry is a great sin in the account of God it is worse then Witch-craft and yet he committed it And then that in Hos. 8. 9. For they are gone up to Assyria a wild ass alone by himself Ephraim hath hired lovers And that in Hos. 6. 10. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel there is the whoredom of Ephraim And so throughout all the chapters of Hosea the Prophet discovers Ephraims wickedness And he was in Paul the chiefest of sinners before God revealed him in him Gal. 1. 16. So that now I think your objections are answered Selah Answ. 3. And by way of answer to that you do not know him to be in you I say thus That though you do not know him to be in you yet you shall know him to be within you See Joh. 14. 20. At that day you shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in him That day is to be understood when Christ does send the Comforter And that in Joel 2. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the middest of Israel and that I am the Lord your God and none else The time is coming yea it is at hand that you shall know Christ to be in the middest of you and to be your Lord and God you shall know him nothing shall hinder you from knowing of him neither sin nor devils O it is a good word of God praised be God you shall not onely know it but God is willing to make it known to reveal it See that in Col. 1. 17. To whom God is willing to make known Christ in you the hope of glory and all the promises in Christ are Yea and Amen He is very willing to do it See that in Zach. 2. 5. For I saith the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the middest of her Which is spoken of Jerusalem ver. 2. See likewise Gen. 45. 1 2 3 4. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him but he must discover himself to his brethren for he had no power over himself And he cryed Cause every man to go out from me And there stood no man with
of Israel by the rivers and in all the inhabited places of the Country I will feed them in a good pasture and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be there shall they lie in a good fold and in a fat pasture shall they feed I will feed my flock and cause them to lie down saith the Lord I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away and will binde up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick God will feed his flock himself and cure them and heal them himself Ezek. 34. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. If it be so that the Prophet Nathan never went about any thing without a Call from God Then take heed of those that venter upon any thing without a Call from God as there are many of our Priests do they preach and prophesie without a Call from God they have been at Cambridge and have taken their Orders and Degrees and have been chosen by men to the work and they think that is a sufficient Call from God Paul had not his Ministery from man nor by man but as he was taught it by the revelation of Jesus Christ and therefore these are false Priests and Prophets There shall false Prophets arise that shall deceive many if it were possible the very Elect. If the Priests in our age were put to prove their Call to the Ministry there would be found very few of them that could prove their Call from God Beware therefore of these Wolves take heed of the voice of strangers lest they devour you they will pretend that they are fearful of offending or troubling the consciences of Gods people but if any child of God makes a scruple in his conscience of paying Tythe and that it is a trouble to his conscience to pay it and he should if he dist pay Tythe sin against his conscience yet the Priests will have it What care they for offending the Conscience of Gods people How shall we live say they else It is not Conscience say they it is rather humor and besides Tythes is a Civil Right and a soul need not scruple them say they This is a divelish cloak to cover the Priests baseness But we hope you would have us have a livelihood Yes God forbid else work with your hands as the Apostle saith and live no more upon the sweat of other mens brows else you must fast and not eat See 2 Thes. 3. 10. For even when we were with you this we commanded you that if any would not work neither should he eat And if any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed ver. 14. We do work they will say we sweat and take pains day and night for the good of peoples souls But do you work with your hands and set upon some manual calling or other I know you take a great deal of pains for to study and get by heart this mans and that mans writings and to preach them in publike Congregations to get a living but do you work as the Apostles did with their hands Obj. But it is said in Scripture that the Lord hath ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live on the Gospel and Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the Temple they which wait at the Altar are partakers with with the Altar Or I onely and Barnabas have not we power to forbear working Who goeth a warfare at his own charges Who planteth a Vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof Who feedeth a flock and eateth not of the milk thereof Say I these things as a man Or saith not the Law the same also For it is written in the Law of Moses Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the Ox that treadeth out the corn Doth God take care for Oxen Or saith he it altogether for our sakes For our sakes no doubt this is written that he that ploweth should plow in hope and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope If we have sown unto you all spiritual things is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things If others be partakers of this power over you are not we rather 1 Cor. 9. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. Answ. I answer thus It is true that those that preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel but you preach other mens books and writings You preachers of the Gospel What you ambassadours of Christ and have not matter to speak from Christ but speak other mens experience Neither as I said before had you your Ministery from Christ nor by Revelation as Paul had If you had your Ministery from Christ you would trust Christ for a livelihood you would not first seek a Living and then go and preach the Gospel You cannot preach without other mens books and therefore are not fit to preach the Gospel Can you preach all books being taken away from you save the Bible at any time when you are desired to do it Can you preach twice every day of the week throughout the yeer without other mens books If you cannot you are not to live on the Gospel for ye are no true Preachers of the Gospel Secondly I answer thus Though those that preach the Gospel may live on the Gospel as Paul and Barnabas might yet saith Paul We have not used this power but suffer all things lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ 1 Cor. 9. 12. But I have used none of these things neither have I written these things saith Paul that it should be so done unto me for it were better for me to die then that any man should make my glorying void 1 Cor. 9. 15. What is my reward then Verily that when I preach the Gospel I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge that I abuse not my power in the Gospel 1 Cor. 9. 18. For your selves know how ye ought to follow us for we behaved not our selves disorderly among you neither did we eat any mans bread for nought but wrought with labour and travel night and day that we might not be chargeable to any of you 2 Thess. 3. 7 8. Let me see you Priests do so where is there such a spirit as Paul had among you O how you make the Gospel of Christ chargeable Your reward is Tythes but this was Paul's reward His preaching the Gospel for nothing he abused not his power in the Gospel as you do he wrought with labour and travel night and day that he might not be chargeable to any you are idle and mad upon taking Tythes Object But you will say We have done good many of us and converted souls and are worthy of somewhat for our pains Answ. This was Paul's reward his preaching the Gospel for nothing and it is a bigger reward then taking Tythes O that you
Christ a being in every place but not in our hearts The cause of Unbelief is Ignorance we are ignorant of this truth Christ in us and therefore cannot believe it If it be so that there is a readiness in those who feel not the Lord Jesus in them to enquire who shall ascend into heaven and who shall descend into the deep to fetch Christ from thence into their hearts Then say not in your hearts Who shall ascend and who shall descend to fetch Christ from heaven and the deep into your hearts it is the voice of the righteousness of Faith Why do you say so what is the reason of it Because saith the soul I do not injoy him nor possess him within me How do you know that you do not injoy him Because I feel him not I should feel him within me if he were there Poor soul he may be within thee though thou feelest him not and it is thy being carryed out after more Feeling then Faith that blindes thine eyes 2. If it be so This may serve to discover what manner of spirit we are of it discovers the baseness of our spirits that though the righteousness of faith saith Say not in your hearts Who shall go up into heaven and who shall go down into the deep to fetch Christ from thence into our hearts yet we will say so and do say so often in our hearts though we have no ground to say so seeing Christ is within us A second Corollary from the words is this That that Christ which we take care for who shall ascend into the heavens and who shall descend into the deep to bring him into our hearts is within us even in our hearts This is cleer from the words They enquired who shall ascend and who shall descend to bring Christ into their hearts whenas he was within them To prove this truth further we shall bring divers places of Scripture See that in Joh. 15. 4. Abide in me and I in you he speaks to his Disciples that were offended at his fleshly departure from them and that in Joh. 17. 23. I in them and thou in me and then that in 2 Cor. 13. 5. Examine your selves whether ye be in the Faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates That is unapproved or rejected As if the Apostle should say You are reprobates if Christ be not in you and therefore he puts them upon trying proving whether he be in them or no And that in Eph. 4. 6. One God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all And that in 1 Joh. 4. Ye are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you then he that is in the world speaking of Christ that he is in us and is stronger then he that is in the world which is the devil It is very sweet to consider this well and the right consideration of it will take away the fear that is many times in our spirits of the devil and of Christ not being in us And that in Gal. 2. 20. I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ lives in me I am crucified and yet I live This is a paradox a strange thing how can a man be crucified and yet live The meaning of it is he was crucified to the world and lived to God And in Psal. 46. 5. God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved Friends God will not suffer us to be moved away from the hope of the Gospel but will help and that early when a temptation seizeth upon us because he is in the midst of us And that in Jerem. 14. 9. Why shouldst thou seem to be as a man amazed with us and as a mighty man that cannot save us They ask God this question Yet that is Though it be so thou art in the midst of us thou art neer to us we are called by thy Name that is We are thine and therefore leave us not Just so poor souls many times say to God when he seems to their souls as a man amazed and as one that cannot save them Why art thou so Lord tell us the reason of it notwithstanding this thou art in the midst of us thou art ours and we are thine we are called by thy Name do not forsake us And that in Zeph. 3. 5. The just Lord is in the midst thereof speaking of his Sanctuary he will not do iniquity that is sin Friends the holy Lord is within us see the fifteenth verse The Lord is in the midst of thee thou shalt not see evil any more Therefore in the fourteenth verse he calls upon his people to sing Sing O daughter of Zion shout O Israel be glad and rejoyce with all the heart O daughter of Jerusalem Is not this good news Friends why do ye not sing and shout for joy seeing the Lord is within you And in the seventeenth verse he speaks of the same thing The Lord thy God in the midst of thee or he that is thy God is in the midst of thee he is mighty that is he is strong he will save thee nothing shall hinder him neither sin nor devils he will rejoyce over thee with joy that is he will spend his joy upon thee thou shalt have his joy he will love thee and he will rest in that love he will lie down and take his ease in that love wherewith he hath loved thee He will not onely rejoyce over thee with joy but he will joy over thee with singing he will sing and joy over thee thou shalt be the subject of his joy and rejoycing Now in the sixteenth verse it is said In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem Fear thou not I am in the midst of thee and to Zion Let not thy hands be slack that is be not unbelieving The reason why I mentioned all these places of Scripture was that so the Objections might be fully satisfied concerning this truth Christ in them If it be so that that Christ which we take care for who shall ascend into the heavens and who shall descend into the deep to bring him into our hearts is within us that is in our hearts Then Friends be peswaded of this truth that Christ is within you But who is it that saith that Christ is within us The righteousness of faith and the Scriptures say so that he is in us in the midst of us nigh to us even in our hearts O glorious truth O excellent truth This is sweet sweet But you seem to make no difference between Christ's being in all the world and his being in the Saints Yes but I do there is a great deal of difference He is in all the world more generally he is in his Saints more particularly If it be so then this may serve to discover this truth to us O
me it is my portion Secondly Here is the reason of that saying Wo is me and that is For I am undone that is cut off Thirdly Here is the ground why he said he was undone which is threefold 1. Because I am a man of unclean lips that is because he was vile 2. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips 3. Because mine eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts That which we shall raise from the words is this That a true seeing the Lord is accompanied with these things following First It undoes a man Secondly It makes him cry out Wo is he Thirdly It makes him cry out that he is a man of unclean lips Fourthly That he dwells in the midst of a people of unclean lips I. First of all A true discovery of the Lord undoeth a man that is cuts him off from what he is or can do As for Samaria her king is cut off as the foam upon the water Hos. 10. 7. As the foam upon the face of the water is cut off so is that man cut off and beheaded that hath seen the Lord Or it may be meant that Isaiah was cut off in his own apprehensions thoughts Or the word undone may be taken thus An undone man is one that hath nothing to live upon of his own no victuals or cloathes of his own Friends to be undone is to have nothing to live upon of our own as parts gifts righteousness doing working being thinkings conceits self-perswasions high estimation of our selves fancies fictions and the like but to live upon somewhat of another which is Christ There is in a true undoing of a man by the sight of the Lord these things following First There is a striking of a man down When God intends good to a soul the first work that God takes with him is he strikes him down stark dead that he never lives any more to himself or to sin or to the devil but unto God In this manner Paul was struck down as he journeyed with letters to Damascus he came neer to Damascus and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven and he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Acts 9. 3 4. Much like to this is that in Rev. 1. 17. And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead Secondly A true discovery of the Lord takes away a man's sight that he cannot see with his own eyes Friends if God intends us good he will put out our eyes he will blinde us that we shall not see in our own light as he did Paul And Saul arose from the earth and when his eyes were opened he saw no man but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus See Acts 9. 8. and 22. 11. We would live and see but God will destroy our life and sight if he intend us good Thirdly A true discovery of the Lord takes away a mans strength and breath See Dan. 10. 16 17. And behold one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips Then I opened my mouth and said unto him that stood before me O my Lord by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me and I have retained no strength for how can the servant of this my Lord talk with this my Lord for as for me straightway there remained no strength in me neither is there breath left in me It takes away our breathing after God and our strength our power to do this and that to subdue sin withstand temptation and to wrestle with God ond the like We are ready to vaunt and say This is that which we have done by our might for the honour of our majestie but God will if he intend good to us confound our breathings and strength yea all that we are or can do Fourthly A true discovery of the Lord confounds a mans Understanding See Prov. 30. 1 2. The words of Agur the son of Jakeh even the prophecie the man spake unto Ithiel even unto Ithiel and Vcal Surely I am more brutish then any man and have not the understanding of a man Our understandings are a great hinderance to us in the knowledge of the things of God and till our understanding of things be destroyed we shall not see into the truth of things Fifthly A true discovery of the Lord destroys our Knowledge We would and do know things and no further then things do sute with our knowledge do we take things to be truth We make our Knowledge the measure of all Truth But a true sight of God will confound it If once you come to see the Lord then you will say you have not the understanding of a man As I was forced to say Sixthly A true sight of the Lord destroys our Wisdom that makes us wise in our own eyes We think we are wise and we need not the wisdom of God whenas our wisdom is foolishness We think we carry our selves wisely but God will destroy the wisdom of the wise We think we are wise to do good and all other wisdom is nothing to our own but a true sight of God will put an end to it Seventhly A true discovery of the Lord destroys all mans Holy walkings Not that I am against holy walkings if they be the holy walkings of Christ it destroyeth all that a man hath trusted in and put confidence in beside the Lord all his natural faith and hope of being saved all his speakings pride selfishness and the like II. A true sight of God doth not onely undo a man but discovers sin to him and makes him cry out that he is a sinner that he is a man of unclean lips that he hath sinned against the Lord Against thee thee onely have I sinned and done this evil It makes a man abhor himself I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye hath seen thee wherefore I abhor my self and re pent in dust and ashes Job 42. 5 6. III. A true sight of God makes a man cry out that he dwells among a sinful people O it is a wicked people among whom I dwell and live It makes him cry out of their sinfulness A soul that hath seen God cries out of sin whereever he sees it and of his dwelling in the tents of Sechem It doth not onely make a soul cry out that he is a man of polluted lips but makes him acknowledge that the people among whom he dwells are sinful A man that hath seen the Lord will not onely cry out that he himself hath sinned but that those among whom he dwells have sinned IV. A true sight of God makes a man cry out Wo is him wo and destruction belongs to me for I am undone I am a man of polluted lips for I have seen the Lord Friends if once you come to see the Lord then you will cry out Wo is you wo is you we are undone we
Canaanite in the land of which thing John speaks of when he speaks of the new Jerusalem-state in Rev. 21. 27. Quest But may some say It will be a long while before what you have said will come to pass Answ. To this I answer It will come to pass in that day and how soon God may come we know not he may come presently and deceive many for ought that we know Secondly I say this that all the promises of Christ are yea and amen in Christ and we are not to look upon prophecies and promises as altogether at a distance and to be fullfilled hereafter but â—â—gh and fulfilled in Christ CHAP. VII Some sweet Manifestations of the neerness of Christ's coming and of those glorious things that shall follow after his coming out of Zech. 14. the later end of vers 5. and v. 6 7 8 9. Vers 5. And the Lord my God shall eome and all the saints with thee 6. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark 7. But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord not day nor night but it shall come to pass that in the evening-time it shall be light 8. And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem half of them towards the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea in summer and in winter shall it be 9. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day shall there be one Lord and his Name one IN the first Verse of this Chapter the Prophet speaks of the coming of the day of the Lord Behold the day of the Lord cometh saith he Behold as if he saw it and therefore called upon them to see it and tells them that their spoil shall be divided in the midst of them He bids them behold and take notice of the coming of the day of God lest it should come upon them unawares He gives them the reason why he would have them take notice of the coming of the day of God For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battel and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled and the women ravished Here he speaks of the ruine of Jerusalem And half of the city shall go forth into captivity Here he speaks of leading one half of the City into Captivity And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city Here he would save a remnant that should possess and enjoy those glorious things prophesied of in this Chapter Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations or as it is in the margine of some Bibles in the middle or among those nations gathered together against Jerusalem not as an enemy but helper And he shall fight as when he fought in the day of battel for Gideon Judg. 7. 22. God setting every mans sword against his fellow and as at the red-sea causing his enemies to be drowned in the sea and his people to go over dry-foot And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east God would fight upon that mount against Jerusalem Or it may be taken thus By this manner of speech the Prophet sheweth Gods power and care over his people and how he will as it were by miracle save them And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west and there shall be a very great valley and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south so that there shall be a very great valley insomuch that out of all the parts of the world they shall see Jerusalem which was before hid with this mountain This is to be understood of spiritual Ierusalem the people of God See Isai. 66. 23. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains All you believers shall run unto the people of God to be safe from the destruction of Ierusalem Or it may be taken thus The Prophet speaketh of the hypocrites that could not endure the presence of God but should flee into all places where they might hide themselves among the mountains For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal that is to the place he separated for his people which the word Azal signifieth Yea ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Vzziah king of Iudah which fleeing was with fear and trembling And the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee Because they did not credit what the Prophet said to them he turneth to God and comforteth himself in that he knew these things should come to pass and saith And the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee to perform this The Prophet speaks to the Lord as his God and can claim an interest and propriety in him as his as the Psalmist in many places of the Psalms doth Thou art my God and I will praise thee Oh how sweet a thing it is when a soul can claim an interest in God and can say Thou art my God The Lord my God shall come The Prophet cannot onely claim an interest in the Lord as his God but he can command God He shall come he had power with God as Iacab had over the Angel Friends what an excellent thing it is for a soul to command God to have power with God for any thing to subdue sin repel a temptation conquer the devil A believer hath this priviledge and power he may command the Lord as his God for things to come things concerning his sons or the work of Gods hands and he will be commanded by him See Isai. 45. 11. And there was no day like that before it or after it that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man for the Lord fought for Israel See this in Iosh. 10. 14. And this is the confidence that we have in him or concerning him that if we ask any thing according to his will he heareth us and if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petition that we desired of him 1 Joh. 5. 14 15. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it Joh. 14. 13 14. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing Verily verily I say unto you Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you Joh. 16. 23. The Lord my God shall come There are three sorts of the coming of Christ in Scripture First There was a coming of Christ in flesh Great is the mystery of godliness God
that are Professors in deed and not in shew onely hold fast your good Profession let not Satan drag you out of your Profession into earth Hold fast and repent if thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief saith Christ and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee Rev. 3. 3. Watch ye therefore when the master of the house cometh lest coming suddenly he finde you sleeping And what I say unto you I say unto all Watch Mark 13. 35 36 37. Watch therefore for ye know not at what hour your Lord will come Matth. 24. 42 43 44. But know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up Therefore be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh Surely Jesus Christ is not far off but will steal in upon us unawares when we look not for him Therefore watch with oil in your lamps And to encourage you to watch consider that place of Scripture in Luke 12. 37. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde watching verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meat and will come forth and serve them And if he shall come in the second watch or come in the third watch and finde them so doing blessed are those servants But if that servant shall say in his heart My Lord delayeth his coming the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him Luke 12. 45. If it be thus Be patient unto the coming of our Lord be ye patient also for the coming of the Lord draws nigh it is at hand James 5. 7 8. It was nigh in the Apostles times it is neerer now For ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise For yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry Heb. 10. 36 37. Certainly he is not far off but will steal in upon us when we never expect him If it be so wait and look for Christ's coming Ye come behinde in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord 1 Cor. 1. 7. Looking for and hasting to the coming of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the element shall melt with fervent heat 2 Pet. 3. 12. Look for him from the clouds expect him to come down in a cloud of darkness into your spirits for he will break thorow your darkness and turn it into light Wait who knows but that he may come down in a cloud of darkness into your hrarts If it be so Little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may not be ashamed at his coming 1 Joh. 2. 28. For as the days of Noe were so shall also the coming of the Son of man be For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noe entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of man be Matth. 24. 37 38 39. The very God of peace therefore sanctifie you wholly and I pray God that your whole spirit soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord 1 Thes. 5. 23. If it be thus Then Occupie till Christ come God hath given every one of us a Talent let us improve our Talents and let us not say when Christ comes as one of those Ten did Lord here is thy Talent which I have kept laid up in a napkin for I feared thee because thou art an austere man that thou takest that up thou layest not down and reapest that thou didst not sowe but let us give him his own with overplus Luke 19. 20 21. Let us not be as one of those Husbandmen to whom God committed his Vineyard till he came that when God should send one of his servants or his Heir for the fruit of his Vineyard that should beat or wound any of his servants that he sends or kill the Heir and cast him out of the Vineyard lest he come and destroy us Luke 20. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark There are three things in these words to be enquired into First What that day is It is the day of God's coming of his appearance as appears by vers 5. Secondly What is meant by light here I may be taken either for a natural or spiritual light Thirdly What is meant by that expression The light shall not be clear nor dark The meaning is It shall be a medium betwixt both part clear that is precious and part dark that is darkness not altogether clear nor yet altogether dark we cannot say that it shall be clear nor yet can we say it shall be dark but it shall be betwixt both But it shall be one day Or The day shall be one that is to say One perpetual day The Prophet's meaning is that there shall be continual light in the Church of Christ under the Messiah though sometimes more dim and dark then at other times yet ways some light Or one perpetual day may be taken thus In which there shall be no darkness at all Rev. 22. 5. And there shall be no night there and they need no candle neither the light of the sun for the Lord God gives them light And they shall raign for ever and ever Or it may be taken for a singular day to wit of Christ's death when the Sun was darkened at noon Amos 8. 9. And it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord God that I will cause the sun to go down at noon and I will darken the earth in the clear day Which thing God did and so remained three hours see Matth. 27. 45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour Or it may be taken for the day of Christ's coming and the reason of it are the words following Which shall be known to the Lord Of that day and hour knows no man no not the angels in heaven but my Father Mat. 24. 36. Not day nor night It shall not be day neither shall it be night What then shall it be It shall be somewhat of either But it shall come to pass that at evening-time it shall be light When we look for nothing but darkness to approach when dark night draws on then light shall break forth when we look for darkness then behold glorious light See Isai. 60. 19 20. The sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light