a Month according to the Egyptian Account it doth just amount to one thousand two hundred and sixty days of years at which time the Lord will come and then the Beast shall be taken and cast alive into a Lake burning with Fire and Brimstone and the Devil bound up and then will be the first Resurrection of which St. John speaks in Rev. 20.4 And I saw Thrones and they that sat upon them and judgment was given unto them and I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the witnesses of Jesus and for the word of God and which had not worshiped the beast neither his image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years 5. But the rest of the Dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished this is the first Resurrection V. 6. Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second Death hath no Power but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years It is said in Isa 1.26 where God telleth them I will restore thy Judges as at the first and thy Counsellors as at the beginning afterward thou shalt be called the City of Righteousness the Faithful City Pray mark the Words Here the Lord doth not tell them that they should have such Judges as they had at the first and such Counsellors as they had at the beginning but that the Lord would restore them Judges that they had at the first and those Counsellors which were at the beginning Therefore the Lord said unto Daniel in Chap. 12.13 But go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in thy Lot at the end of the days Now the Lord in the fore part of the Chapter tells him of the end of the world and what shall then happen and also tells him that he shall rest and stand in his Lot at the End of the Days Here the Lord doth not tell him that he shall stand in his Lot at the End of his Days but at the End of the Days after he has rested which is at the Resurrection By this of Daniel it doth further clear to us the first Resurrection on whom the second Death shall have no Power but that they shall be Priests of God and Christ and reign with him a thousand years And Isaiah saith Chap. 24.23 Then the Moon shall be confounded and the Sun ashamed when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Sion and in Jerusalem and before his Ancients gloriously Not that Christ and his Saints shall reign no longer than the Thousand Years but that the Visible Glory may not so eminently appear among them after Satan is loosed that thereby he may accomplish his final Overthrow when he has deceived his Gog and Magog of which I shall speak more to in another place Whereas the Angel saith Rev. 10.6 That there should be time no longer That is no longer time for this wicked World to have Power and time of Repentance for their time should be no longer But there will be a glorious Time for the People of God in the renewed Heavens and Earrh when the Lord reigneth And as there will be another World so another Generation and another Time Of which times the Lord saith in Esdras 9.6 The Times also of the Highest have plain beginnings in wonders and powerful workings and endings in Effects and Signs The Lord grant that we may be awakened by the Signs of the End which End is now approaching And in John Martha said to the Lord concerning her brother chap. 11.24 Martha said unto him I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day The which last Day is the last day of this wicked World and when this World shall be judged For the Saints are raised before the Wicked are condemned Therefore by this last day must be meant the last day of their Time For to take it otherwise it cannot be for it is said when this World is past that Day and Night lasteth for ever and for ever as in Revelations where the Devil receives his Last Judgment he is there said to be cast into Hell to be tormented day and night for ever and for ever The same is said of God That he liveth for ever and for ever Rev. 4.9 And as to what St. Paul saith in 1 Thess 1.5 VVhich is a manifest Token of the Righteous judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which ye also suffer Verse 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you 7. And to you that are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels 8. In flaming fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 9. VVho shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the Glory of his Power 10. VVhen he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that believe Now whereas he saith counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which they did also suffer In answer to which it is said in Rev. 11.15 The Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our God and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever Verse 17. Saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned Verse 18. And the Nations were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy Servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that fear thy Name small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the Earth Now it is at this time when the Lord cometh that the Kingdoms of this World will become the Kingdoms of God and Christ And it is then God will give Rewards to his Servants at which time the wicked Worldlings that are dead in sin will be judged and then shall they be destroyed which destroyed the Earth which Earth is their fellow brethren upon the Earth And also by the words of St. Paul before mentioned it is when the Lord shall be revealed that then to the wicked will be recompensed Tribulation and to the Saints Rest and Consolation And when God and Christ have taken possession of the Kingdom then shall the Saints reign on the Earth as in Rev. 5.10 And hast made us unto God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth And according to this it is said in Ephes 2.7 And also in 1 Pet. 2.9 Where he mentions those things which are to come as if they were present which way of speaking is often used in
should wholly fall off And by what Dan saith of his Children in his last Testament is to the same effect For he saith I am sure in the latter days ye shall depart from the Lord and walk in naughtiness working the abominations of the Gentiles and haunting wicked Women in all lewdness by the Working of deceitful Spirits in you For I have read in Enoch that Satan is your Prince and that all the Spirits of Fornication and Pride shall ply themselves in laying Snares for the Children of Dan to make them sin before the Lord. Here we may see what was the reason that none of Dan was of that Number which was to be Sealed for the Glorious Tabernacle when the Lord again comes which is the Sion that shall be revealed and then shall Jerusalem again be built having twelve Gates as in Ezek. 48. from the 31. v. to the 35. called after the Names of the Tribes of Israel according to that of the New Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven of which it is said There is no Temple in it Rev. 21.22 And I saw no Temple therein for the Lord God almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it But as to the New Earthly Jerusalem there is said will be a Temple for from under the threshold of which shall issue forth the Waters spoken of Ezek 47.1 Now that these Waters here spoken of are real Waters is certain in that there is nothing in the whole Book of God to prove it a figurative speech and we are not to makefigures and that there shall be by these Waters real Fruit Trees as is said and also abundance of Fish in the River For the Lord hath declared that then the Earth shall abound with all good things And then of Jerusalem it shall be said from that day the Lord is there as in Ezek. 48.35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures and the name of the City from that day shall be The Lord is there And then it is the saying of the Apostle will be fullfilled in the Manifestation of the kindness of the Lord to them in the Ages to come as in Eph. 2.6,7 And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus Now in Heaven we neither read of Ages nor Generations and were the Ages here spoken of meant of them that are in Heaven he would have said That the Ages that are past might see the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards them because that they being in Heaven would sooner behold the exceeding Kindness of the Lord toward them than those that are afterward to go to Heaven of the following Generations or Ages Therefore the kindness here spoken of must be manifested here when the New Jerusalem shall descend out of Heaven when that Glorious Tabernacle shall be Revealed which the Lord shall pitch and not Man over the Land of Canaan And the Land that is given by the Lord in Ezek. 47.14 appears to be far larger than what Israel has had in Possession Now as to what Obadiah saith in the first part of the Chapter where he treats of the Real Seed of Esau and from the 15. v. downward of the Day of the Lord being near upon all the Heathen by which he comprehends the Wicked of the World that their reward should then be given them At which time there should be deliverance on Mount Sion as it is said in the 17. v. But upon Mount Sion shall be deliverance and there shall be Holiness and the House of Jacob shall possess their possessions 20. And the Captivity of the Host of the Children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites even to Zarephath and the Captivity of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad shall possess the Cities of the South 21. And Saviours shall come upon Mount Sion to Judg the Mount of Esau and the Kingdoms shall be the Lords Here you see this Prophet with Esdras comprehends all the Wicked World under the Name of Esau And this Prophet also gives us to understand when the Kingdom shall be the Lords That is when Saviours come upon Mount Sion and the World is Judged By which words we see that now the Kingdom is not termed the Lords not till such time that he comes to Judg the World and to restore Israel's Inheritance to them And then at that time the Kingdom will be the Lords St. Paul Terms this World as it is now to be ruled by the Devil Whereas he saith 2 Cor. 4.4 The God of this World hath blinded the minds of them which believe not And in Eph. 6.12 he saith We wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers and against the Rulers of the darkness of this World and against Spiritual Wickedness in high places And the Devil boasting to our Saviour of his Power Luke 4.6 When he shewed him all the Kingdoms of this World in a moment of time and the Devil said unto him all this Power will I give thee and the Glory of them for that is delivered unto me That is after mankind again became wilfully wicked God left them to Satan's Delusion And although the Devil is the Father of Lies yet he would scarce have told them to the God of Truth who knew how far his Power did extend And the Lord himself saith John 14.30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you for the Prince of this World cometh and hath no part in me But you may say I thought God had ruled all things in Heaven and Earth God doth invisibly over-rule the Devil or else he would destroy all the Righteous from off the Earth were not his Power limited by the most high but the visible rule as is declared by the Apostle is in the Devil who carries on the Darkness of this World Eph. 6.12 by himself and all his adherents for it is said That he ruleth in the Hearts of the Children of the Disobedient but you may say the Lord did say to his Disciples Mark 9.1 Verily verily I say unto you that there be some of them that stand here which shall not tast of Death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with Power Which was made out in his Transfiguration in 2. v. Six days after Jesus taketh Peter James and John and leadeth them up into an high Mountain apart by themselves and he was transfigured before them 3. v. And his Raiment became shining exceeding white as Snow so as no Fuller on Earth can white them 4. v. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses and they were talking with Jesus 7. v. And there was a Cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the Cloud saying this is my beloved Son hear him Now the other Evangelists say a bright Cloud Which makes it out to us where the Heavenly Powers
times Matth. 16.3 The which became destructive to them but St. Paul saith Ye are not in darkness that that day should come upon you at unawares 1 Thes 5.4 And blessed will they be that upon the warning the Lord gives them will so prepare for him as to have their Lamps trimed and their lights burning For the Lord compareth himself to a man that took a long journey and gave to every man his work and commanded the Porter to watch And the Lord saith watch ye therefore lest coming suddenly I find you sleeping Mark 13.34,35,36,37 These places shew the dreadful condition those Christians will be in that will not take warning by the Signs given by him and the Lord also saith If the good man of the house had known what hour the Thief would have come he would have watched and not have suffered his house to have been broken through Luke 12.39 For as the Thief comes to destroy so the Lord will come to the destruction of them that profess they know him yet will not make preparation for him Chap. V. The Signs of the Times NOW as concerning the Time and the Signs of the Time that is that the time of the Signs and Wonders to the time of Christ's coming and afterwards till such time as the Wicked are taken off from the Earth it doth clearly appear will be forty five years according to which time Israel lay in the Wilderness and were Conquering their Enemies in the Land of Canaan before they were peaceably setled there for in numbers it is said According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel what hath God wrought Numb 23.23 The like is said in Micah According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt I will shew unto him marvellous things the nations shall be confounded at all their might Mich 7.15,16 And it is said in Zechary 14.3 Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battel And in Daniel there is just forty five days difference in the number of the days and he is said to be blessed that comes to the last number Dan. 12.12 And that we are now far gone in this forty five days of years is certain by the Signs of the Times and if they began in 1663. when the great Blazing Star appeared which the Astronomers said was a Rod to whip the Earth withal And since we have had Signs in the Sun and in the Moon and oft repeated Blazing Stars according to the Word of the Lord Luke 21.25 or whether the beginning of the limited time was when the Evil Spirits mentioned in the Revelations Chap. 16.13,14 came out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet which has gathered together the Kings of the earth to the battel of the great day of God Almighty And by these the World is now in an uproar as in 2 Esdras 9.3,4 and also the Lord saith in Luke Chap. 21.25,26,27 There shall be distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves thereof roaring mens hearts failing them for fear and looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken By which is meant the ruling powers of the earth which in Scripture is also called the Heavens And then it is the Lord will come as in ver 27. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory And it is also given us as a Sign of the Lord 's coming the often breakin gs forth of fire out of the earth altho' History gives us an account that the Mountains were fired before Christ came The Romans being formerly the afflicters of the natural Seed of Jacob as since they have also been of the adopted Seed of Jacob for which with their other abominable sins the anger of the Lord has been kindled against them yet before the coming of the Lord it is declared by the Angel to Esdras There shall be confusion in many places and fire shall be oft sent out again 2 Esd 5.8 which hath lately in a wonderful manner been fulfilled Now all along in the Scripture the Afflictions of the Natural and of the Adopted Seed are joyned together so here in Isaiah 5. from the beginning to the 14. verse in a particular manner treats of the miscarriage and punishment of the natural Seed of Jacob. And beginning at the 14th verse to the 24th treats of the punishment of the adopted Seed of Jacob. For in the 16th verse he saith The Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in Judgment At which time the Lambs shall feed after their manner Therefore this is to be fulfilled when the Lord again comes Against which time it is said Isa 5.14 Hell hath enlarged her self and opened her mouth wide without measure and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoyceth shall descend into it This doth evidently appear that Hell hath enlarged her self by these often torrents and rivers of Fire Pitch and Bitumen which God hath lately sent out thence According to the Word of God in Deuteronomy Chap. 32.22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn to the lowest Hell and shall consume the Earth with her increase and set on fire the foundations of the Mountains By these words we are to understand that the fire of Hell and the fire in the Foundations of these Mountains extendeth it self from the one to the other This is further treated of in a Book that is to come forth And it is also said in Isaiah 30. v. 30. For Tophet is ordained of old yea for the King it is prepared he hath made it deep and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it This Tophet here spoken of is Hell the King for whom it was prepared is the Devil but Man that is insnared by him does also fall into it For the Lord saith Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Matth. 25.41 But all Hell will not be fired till the last and final Judgment when all the dead will be judged Rev. 20.14 And whereas it is said The pile thereof is fire and much wood That is much combustible matter fit for fuel as Brimstone Pitch Sulpher Bitumen Coperas and the like These things the Lord hath so placed and by his breath and command he hath kindled it And it is said of the Beast and false Prophet that after the Lord comes they were both taken and cast alive into a Lake of fire burning with Brimstone Rev. 19.20 which Lake is already kindled into which they shall be cast which reacheth to the lowest Hell Chap. VI. Whirlwinds from the Lord. NOW are the Whirlwinds of the Lord gone forth according to the Word of
for a shadow to them in the day time from the heat and for a covert from the storm and from the rain Of which Tabernacle I shall speak more to hereafter Now whereas it is in some places of Scripture set down the first coming of the Lord with his second coming whereby it hath made those Scriptures appear more dark to the Reader but it is no other than as the Kingdom of Christ is intermixt in several places of the Psalms and elsewhere with the Kingdom of David and Solomon and whilst some lie poring on these places they leave Twenty nay many more clear Texts of Scripture unregarded whereas they should look in all places to the Scriptures way of speaking But I must needs own that a false receiv'd Opinion does mightily blind the Understanding And also in that it is the ordinary way of Scripture speaking both in the Old and New Testament of things that are decreed shall be done to mention them as though they were already done the which does something darken the meaning of it to the Reader But the Omnipotent God looking on all things that he has determined to be done in time to be as though it were already done But when we find it hath not been done it remains sure and certain to us that it will be done being promised by that God and Lord that cannot lie Neither will he perform his promise unto us by the halves But when I consider the Strong Promises of God to Israel even to both the Houses of Jacob which are scattered through the Face of the whole Earth that he will again restore them and that all these wonderful Blessings shall be then made good unto them in their own Land and to their Children after them and that they should have all the good things of this Life and that in such a wonderful manner And also God having promised an Everlasting Covenant with them that he will never depart from them nor leave them to depart from him and that the City shall be built upon her own Heap and that they should continue a Nation upon the Earth as long as the Sun and Moon endureth And in that these things are set down in so many places of Scripture when they should be made good to Israel as at the day of the great slaughter when the Towers fall when a Nation shall be born at once and at the End of this World And when there is a New Heaven and Earth all which will be when the Lord comes to judge the World in the Valley of Jehoshaphat Having these plain places of Scripture it strikes me with Astonishment to think with what Darkness we have read them But whereas St. Paul saith in 1 Cor. 15.50 That Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God neither doth corruption inherit incorruption It is true Flesh and Blood cannot inherit the Kingdom which is in the Heaven of Heavens Neither as it is here said can Corruption inherit Incorruption which is Flesh and Blood with its corrupt Affections and Lust cannot inherit the Kingdom of Christ which then will be made like to Eden the Garden of God as it is said in Isa 31.3 no more than Adam could enjoy Paradice after he had sinned But as for Flesh and Blood we know he had it in the first Creation but it was his sin made him obnoxious to God for which he was cast out of Paradice But Israel when again restored will be past that danger through the Everlasting Covenant that God will then make with them when they are made partakers of the Glory that shall be revealed And St. Paul speaking of the Resurrection of the Dead saith in 1 Cor. 15.42,43,44 So also is the Resurrection of the Dead It is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption it is sown in dishonour it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness it is raised in power 44. It is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body Now the Apostle tells us that this great Change in Verse 52. will be in a moment in the twinkling of an Eye at the last Trump for the Trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed 53. For this corruption must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on Immortality 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in Victory 45. O Death where is thy sting O Grave where is thy Victory 56. The sting of Death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law 57. But thanks be to God which giveth us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ We see there is no other raised here but them that truly sing O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory Now whereas St. Paul saith in 1 Thes 4.13,14,15,16 I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him 15. For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a Shout with the Voice of the Archangel and the Trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shall we be ever with the Lord. Now whereas St. Paul saith 1 Cor. 15.51,52 We shall not sleep but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an Eye at the last Trump for the Trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed Here he saith we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an Eye at the last Trump Now in these words the wicked are not included for they are never numbered with the righteous And it is said When Christ cometh the wicked shall be slain by the Sword that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord and that all Fowls were filled with their Flesh as in Rev. 19.21 Therefore not changed because they then knew a temporal Death as well as a spiritual Therefore by this word we all the Apostle doth only include those that were to bear their Testimony to the Truth as the first Churches did and as the Vaudois have remained a continual Standing Witness to the Truth If by this Change here spoken of he doth include also at that moment an Immortal Change then it doth appear to be none but the Witnesses that are said to lie in the Street
Scripture And the like is in Dan. 7.27 And in 2 Tim. 4.8 It is said The Crowns are given in that day to all them that love his appearing For now it is said in Rev. 6.9 The Souls are under the Altar Now in the next place we are to take notice who are those that do chiefly fall under this everlasting Punishment mentioned by St. Paul in 2 Thess 1.6,8,9 which in especial manner appears to be those rhat were the Afflictors of the the Servants of God as in Verse 6. Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompence Tribulation to them that trouble you By which we see these will be the great sharers of his Wrath when the Lord comes as in verse 8. In flaming fire taking Vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 9. VVho shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power Now altho he saith this of them that know not God Now those are said not to know God that in works deny him in not obeying the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ Now this word was more particularly directed to them that would not have a practical Knowledg of God and of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as to be obedient thereunto Now that this Condemnation did not extend to all that had not the knowledg of God and of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is evident for in his words there is not all expressed for he did not say of all them that knew not God and all them that knew not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ but to them chiefly that knew it and would not obey it for the Lord saith he that knoweth not his Masters Will and doeth it not shall be beaten with fewer stripes For St. Paul also knew that the Jews that neither did know nor obey the Gospel were to be called in at the coming of the Lord is evident by what is said in Rom. 11.25,26 That when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in then all Israel should be saved He saith according as it is written in Isa 59. read there from the V. 14. to the end of the Chapter in which is contained Christ's coming to Judgment and the Redemption of his People and it is at that time when he comes to Mount Sion That he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And then will the rest of the promised Elect be gathered in Now when the Lord was upon the Earth he did not in the plain Letter of the Word either bid us pray for Jerusalem or the Conversion of the Jews but in the Second and Third Petitions of that Prayer that he taught us they are both included Where he saith Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven For the Lord knowing that Israels time to be restored would not be until his Second Coming at which Time should be the Restitution of all Things And then will the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of our God and of his Christ And then will Israel be restored and the promised New Covenant made with them And then will the Will of the Lord be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven and this the Lord would have us to pray for before we ask our daily bread for the Time was not so absolutely determined but that the days may be shortned And the Lord said to Esdras Pray for few days unto you And Christ in Matth. 24.22 saith For the Elect's sake those days shall be shortned And St. Peter speaking of Christ's second coming in Acts 3.19,20,21,22,23 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 20. And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you 21. VVhom the Heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began 22. For Moses truly said to the Fathers a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you 23. And it shall come to pass that every Soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people Here the Apostle absolutely tells us The Lord will again come and then will the Times of Restitution be the which he saith hath been declared by all the Prophets and by them I here prove the same unto you And in 2 Esdras 11.37 And I beheld and lo as it were a roaring lion chased out of the wood And I saw that he sent out a mans voice unto the eagle and said V. 38. Hear thou I will talk with thee and the highest shall say unto thee V. 39. Art not thou it that remaineth of the four beasts whom I made to reign in my world that the end of their times might come through them V. 46. That all the earth may be refreshed and may return being delivered from thy violence and that she may hope for the judgment and mercy of him that made her Now we have all of us been under a very great mistake as to our Lord 's coming to judgment taking his coming to judg the World for that last and final Judgment spoken of in Rev. 20.12 wherein the Dead both small and great shall stand before the Throne of God At which time the Sea and Hell and Death shall deliver up their Dead which are in them But when Christ comes to Judg the World there is mention made of no such thing But whereas St. Paul saith in the 2 Tim. 4.1 That the Lord Jesus Christ shall judg the quick and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom Here we must not forget whom the Lord calls Dead it is also them that are dead in sin and it is those Dead wirh the living Saints and restored Jews that he will first Judg. And whereas it is said in his Kingdom pray take notice of the word Kingdom which Kingdom would be but of a short continuance were it but for a natural day therefore it is said that he must Reign till he hath put all his Enemies under his feet which is till the last general Judgment when the Sea Hell and Death shall deliver up their Dead Now as to what our Lord saith concerning his coming Matth. 25.31 when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy Angels with him Then shall he sit upon the Throne of his glory V. 32. And before him shall be gathered all Natiions and he shall seperate them one from another as a Shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats Now whereas the Lord saith he shall fit upon the Throne of his Glory which words argue a continuance of some considerable time upon his Throne And the Lord here
are there is the Kingdom of God which Vision was a Figure of the Glory which shall be Revealed For there Christ appeared in his Glory accompanied with his Saints from Heaven and with his Living Saints on Earth and the Voice of God thereby to inform us that we might not mistake and take mean and low things for the glorious Kingdom of God and Christ of which our Lord is not yet in possession of It was then within two days before he that is now in Possession was to be turn'd out for a Thousand years is but as one day and one day as a Thousand years with the Lord nor to us a Thousand years will appear but as one day compared with Eternity Heb. 10.37 And at the appointed time he that shall come will come and will not tarry But as to what the Lord said after he arose in Matt. 28.18 Jesus came and spake unto them saying all Power is given unto me in Heaven and Earth That was He then had compleated the Purchase thereof and had the full assurance of it from the Father altho he was not in the real possession of it But it is our way of speaking and much more the Scripture way of speaking that when any thing is given us and so confirm'd on us that we cannot be disappointed of it then we say such an Estate is given us altho the other that injoys it is not at present put out of Possession The which the Apostle in Hebrews 2. doth make it more plainly appear wherein he saith in the 8. v. God hath put all things in subjection under his Feet for in that he put all things in subjection under him he left nothing that is not put under him but now we see not yet all things put under him That is we see not yet the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of our God and of his Christ 9. v. But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the Angels for the suffering of Death crowned with Glory and Honour And St. Paul saith much the same words in 1 Cor. 15.27,28 And it is also said in Heb. 10.12 This man after he had offered one Sacrifice for Sin for ever sate down on the Right Hand of God 13. v. From henceforth expecting till his Enemies be made his Footstool This ever signifies whilst this our World lasteth all which time he expecteth till his Enemies be made his Footstool but by these words it is fully Evident to us that his Enemies are not made his Footstool Now David was a Type of Christ and he was anointed King whereby he was assured of the Kingdom a long time before he received the Power of the Kingdom But his Followers knowing him to be the Lord 's Anointed owned him to be their Prince and King when he was not in the Possession of the Kingdom but at the time God had determined he removed his Enemies and set him on the Throne of Israel his People So Christ will not have only his suffering time with David here where none but a few shall own him to be their Prince and King But also his Reigning time on the Throne of his Father David at which time all his Enemies shall be made his Footstool and then it is that all the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdoms of our God and of his Christ Now that the Lord does speak of things that are to come as tho they were already past I will give you one more clear proof which is in Jer. 31.15 Thus saith the Lord a Voice was heard in Ramah lamentation and bitter weeping Rachel weeping for her Children refused to be comforted for her Children because they were not You see that this is spoken of as tho it were already done and past altho it was about five hundred years before this Prophesy was fulfulfil'd as in Mat. 2.16 Then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise Men was exceeding wrath and sent forth and slew all the Children that were in Bethlehem and in all the Coast thereof from two years old and under according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the Wise men 17. v. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the Prophet saying 18. v. In Ramah was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great mourning Rachel weeping for her Children and would not be comforted because they are not Now Herod by Slaying these Children did think to take off the Lord of Glory but God disappointed him upon which remarkable thing Rachel was Prophesied of And also these things gives us light how to read the Scriptures as I before told you That those Prophesies and Sayings in Scripture which speak as if they were already done if we do not find they are done it remaineth good to us they shall be done Now although the Lord did say all power was given him in Heaven and in Earth yet the Lord to let us understand that his time was not yet saith in John 18.36 His Kingdom is not of this World Therefore the Lord Instructeth us in Luke 9.23 If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross daily and follow me 24. v. For whosoever will save his Life shall lose it but whosoever will lose his Life for my sake the same shall save it 25. v. For what is a man Advantaged if he gain the whole World and lose himself or be cast away 26. v. For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own Glory and in his Fathers and of the Holy Angels By this we see when the Lord's time will be that is when he comes to Judg the World and at the time of the Restitution of all things And the Apostle tells us Ephes 6.11,12,13,18 That our Life here must be a continual Warfare Heb. 11.13 And that the Saints are but strangers and pilgrims upon the Earth 1 Pet. 5.8,9 And that we have an Adversary the Devil as a roaring Lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour Whom resist stedfast in the Faith Put on the whole Armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil 12. v. For we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World and against Spiritual Wickedness in high-places 13. v. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the Evil Day He also adviseth us To be fervent in Prayer serving the Lord. And to do this let us not go out in our own strength but with strong Crying and Prayers unto our God that we may be able to stand in the evil Day And St. John perswades us 1 John 2.15,16,17 not to love the World neither the things that are in the World If any man love the World the love of the
which the Lord for our better inlightning tells us in Mat. 13.52 That every Scribe that is well instructed bringeth out of his Treasury things New and Old That is for the better understanding of the New Testament we must search the Old For indeed they both give light the one to the other And as to the meaning of the Lord in his saying this generation I was ignorant of how to apprehend it And being formerly asked by a Gentleman that had no belief of the Bible how I could since my Lord had so falfyfied his word in his promise as concerning his coming in that generation and since there has been so many generations and the Lord is not yet come At which time I could not give him a satisfactory answer neither any that could prove so to my self At which I was much troubled altho it did no way shake my belief in the Lord as not to believe him to be the Son of God and as being so he had made satisfaction for all them that truly love and fear him for through Mercy I had had those Experiences of the Lord unto me that I was not staggered therein notwithstanding my trouble was very great that my Lord should be termed a Deceiver in being worse than his word After which a considerable time I hearing of the Earth-quakes and the Cities of the Nations falling I thought it my best way to take the Lords Advice and search the Scriptures with more diligence than ever and I earnestly besought the Lord with Prayers that he would inlighten my Understanding therein And blessed be God he hath granted my request and not only so but having found out these several places the which are and will be standing witnesses to my Lord to prove that he hath not falsified his word to us in the Promise of his Coming but that he will certainly come in this Generation whose coming is just at hand which will be the day in which Christ will Judg the World and give rewards to his Servants at which time there will be none of these Corruptions for St. Paul and Esaras saith they shall be changed 2 Esd 6.26,27 The men that are received shall see it who have not tasted Death from their Birth and the Hearts of the Inhabitants shall be changed and turned into another meaning for evil shall be put out deceit shall be quenched as for faith it shall flourish and corruption shall be overcome and truth which hath been so long without fruit shall be declared Then will the saying of the Angel to the Blessed Virgin be made good concerning Christ as in Luke 1.32,33 He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the Throne of his Father David And he shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever and of his Kingdom there shall be no end Now the Throne of his Father David was on Mount Sion and Jerusalem And Christ saith to Nathanael in John 1.51 Hereafter you shall see Heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man When this eminent Glory of Christ shall be Revealed then also will come to pass the saying of the Apostle as in Ephes 2.7 That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus This exceeding Riches of the Grace of Christ will be manifested toward them in the World to come Of which World to come shall proceed Ages and Generations And God saith of Israel in Isa 45.17,18 Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting Salvation ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded World without end For thus saith the Lord that Created the Heavens God himself that formed the Earth and made it he hath established it he created it not in vain he formed it to be inhabited I am the Lord and there is none else And St. Paul instructing the Church by Timothy saith 1 Tim. 6.19 That they do good that they be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to communicate Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on Eternal Life We see here is another time spoken of and if it's time it is then before Eternity and so before the final Judgment wherein 't is said the Sea Hell and Death shall deliver up their Dead And whereas there is spoken of three Generations and three Worlds and three Times the which three ways of expressing includes one and the same thing and that there will be a time wherein the Glory of the Righteous shall be reveal'd as there has been times wherein they have been despised and therefore St. Paul saith Rom. 8.18,19,20,21,22 But I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us 19. For the earnest expectation of the Creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God 20. For the Creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope 21. Because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God 22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together until now Here the Apostle speaketh in the usual Scripture way in that he mentions that which is to come as tho it were then present the which by his following words he doth so explain himself as in the 23. v. where he saith And not only they but our selves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our Body 24. For we are saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth why doth he hope for 25. But if we hope for that we see not then do we with patience wait for it As concerning this Hope the Lord puts forth the Parable in Luke 19.12,16,17 He said therefore a certain noble man went out into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return By this we see the Lord was to return again when he had received the Power of the Kingdom and then he will give here rewards to his Servants according to their diligence imployed in his Service as in the 16. and 17. v. Then came the first saying Lord thy pound hath gained ten pounds And he said unto him well thou good servant because thou hast been faithful in a very little have thou Authority over ten Cites And here we see according to the improvement of the Talent he gives us so will his rewards be for the God of Judgment will not be such a partial Judg as some has thought him But the Judg of all the World will do right Now by the Parable that the Lord put forth concerning the Wedding
are put out of a Capacity of being such any longer And had this City been in Heaven as some would have it when the Wine-press is trod it must have taken up the whole confine of the Heavens or otherwise the Wine-press of God's wrath would appear to be trod in the Heavens without the City But this being too great an absurdity St. John to end all Controversy saith in Rev. 2. He saw the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven And in the first verse he saith I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more Sea The New Heavens and the New Earth is as I before shewed you The New Powers and New People in whom dwelleth Righteousness As Christ and his raised Saints the New Heaven and his Elect the New Earth Now whereas he saith there was no more Sea And St. Jude terms the wicked The Raging Waves of the Sea foaming out their own shame And where the Destruction of Babilon is spoken of the Multitude that came against her is said to be the Sea Jer. 51.42 The Sea is come up upon Babilon she is covered with the multitude of the Waves thereof Now the Sea has a prevailing Power therefore the Sea spoken of in Revelations which shall be no more is that the wicked shall then have no more prevailing Power For altho the Devil does gather together after the thousand Years his Gog and Magog yet it will be to their utter Destruction And the Lord spenking in Isa 57.20,21 of Israel's Peace and Healing and of the Wicked Worlds Destruction as in the 20. v. But the wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt There is no Peace saith my God to the Wicked Here the wicked are said in the day of their Destruction to be like the troubled Sea And at the time when Israel shall be delivered from under the Power of all his Enemies it is said Psal 68.22 The Lord saith I will bring again from Basham I will bring my People again from the depths of the Sea Here we see that the wicked are the depths of the Sea from which God will bring his People from under their Power And the wicked as a Sea shall never more prevail And it is said Jer. 33.23,24 Thy tacklings are losed they could not well strengthen their Mast they could not spread the Sail. Then is the Prey of a great spoil divided the lame take the prey The Inhabitants shall not say I am sick the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their Iniquity When the Lord comes then the wicked can neither spread their Sail nor strengthen their Mast Then will the prey of a great spoil be divided then will the lame take the prey That is the Afflicted People of Israel And at that time the Inhabitants shall not say I am sick And whereas St. John saith Rev. 21.2,3,4 And I John saw the Holy City New Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband And I heard a great Voice out of Heaven saying behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his People and God himself shall be with them and be their God And God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are past away And the Lord saith Rev. 3.12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God which is the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and I will write upon him my New Name Here the Lord as well as St. John saith the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven from God Now as to what this City is that comes down out of Heaven from God it does plainly appear to be the whole Church triumphant for St. John saith it is this City the New Jerdsalem which he saw prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband Then it cannot be any outward glorious Fabrick which the Lord is said to espouse or is fit to be the Lamb's Wife But the Lord has promised to espouse his Church to himself at the great Wedding-Supper For as yet the Souls are said to be under the Altar and therefore not yet made Partakers of the Glory that shall be revealed But at the Last Trumpet when the Dead shall be raised incorruptible and the Bodies of the Saints again to them re-united and those that have been the Lord's Witnesses mentioned in the Revelations with them caught up in the Clouds to meet the Lord in Air. And then as it is said God shall wipe away all tears from their Eyes and then there shall be with them no more Death neither sorrow nor crying And by the promised new Covenant Israel will then fall little short of this when the Lord hath taken away their sins and so secured them in himself as they shall never more sin against him For altho afterward thay shall know a temporal Death Yet the Lord in John 11.26 John 6.50 Terms that not a dying And Revelations 19.11 It is there declared how the Lord shall come For St. John saith Râ—v 19.11,14 That he saw Heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sate upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth Judge and make war 14. And the Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses cloathed in fine Linen white and clean By which we see these Armies here spoken of come out of Heaven And St. John in the 14 Chap. 14. v. Doth open to us what these white horses are For he there saith Rev. 14.14 He beheld a white Cloud and upon the Cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man having on his head a Golden Crown and in his hand a sharp sickle You see here that the white horses are white Clouds and that the Lord will come in the Clouds of Heaven as was declared by the Angels in Acts 1.11 And the Lord also told his Disciples John 14.2 In my fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self Now without doubt in the Clouds there will be Receptacles of Glorious mansions for the Lord and his chief raised Saints and Angels And St. John saith Rev. 21.9 There came unto him an Angel and talked with him Saying come up hither and I will shew the bride the lambs wife 10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain and shewed me that great City
the Holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God Here he does not say that it did descend down upon the Earth Neither in the same Chap. at the 2. v. He doth but say he saw it coming down from God out of Heaven but he did not say that he saw iâ— upon the Earth And as to what the Lord saith Rev. 3.12 Where he speaking of the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God By these places we see there is no mention made of its being seated upon the Earth But it is certain that it will come down out of Heaven And the Psalmist speaking of Christ Glorious Kingdom in the Psalm 68.33,34,35 To him that rideth upon the Heavens of Heavens which were of old Lo He doth send forth his voice and that a mighty voice 34. Ascribe the strength unto our God his excellency is over Israel and his strength is in the Clouds 35. O God thou art terrible out of thy Holy places The God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people blessed be God Here we see the strength and Glory of the Lord in the time of his Kidgdom is said to be in the Clouds The which is plain there is something more comprehended in it than we have hitherto apprehended The which Isaiah doth fully make appear in Isa 4.4,5,6 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughters of Sion and shall have purged the Blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Sion and upon all her Assembles a Cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming Fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defence And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the Heat and for a place of refuge and for a Covert from the Storm and from the Rain In the first of these Verses the Prophet tells us when this Glory shall be Revealed which will be at the time when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the Daughter of Sion by the Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of burning This appears to be the Baptism St. John speaks of where he saith Mat. 3.11,12 He that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with Fire Whose fan is in his hand and he will throughly purge his Floor and gather his Wheat into his Garner but he will burn up the Chaff with unqueuchable Fire Now it is said that Christ Baptised none but after his Ascension the Disciples were Baptised with the Holy Ghost But then Christ did not gather his Wheat into his Garner neither then did he burn up the Chaff with unquenchable Fire therefore this has a more special reference to the Lords second coming at which time he will throughly purge his Floor and gather his Wheat into his Garner and then it is that he will burn up the Chaff with unquenchable Fire And whereas the Prophet saith Isa 4.5,6 That the Lord will Create upon every dwelling place of Mount Sion and upon all her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming Fire by Night These words does not only take in the dwelling Places of Mount Sion but all her Assemblies the which comprehends all Israel whose Dominions accoring Scripture is larger than whatever they have yet had in possession over which this glorious cloud here spoken of will be extended which does fully appear to be the Tabernacle spoken of in Heb. 8.2 Which the Lord shall pitch and not man According to which Isaiah saith in the 6. v. And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the Heat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from the Storm and from the Rain Now the Cloud that Isaiah speaks of being like unto flaming Fire and I cannot conceive that there could be a more fit resemblance than Gold that is like to clear Glass to the appearance of flaming Fire And it is said Rev. 21.18 The City was pure Gold like unto clear Glass And in the 21. v. And the Street of the City was pure Gold as it were transparent Glass Now Isaiah saith in the 4. c. at the 6. v. That the Tabernacle should be a shadow from the Heat and a place of Refuge and a Covert from the Storm and from the Rain Under which the Elect will be secured from the Judgments that will be poured upon the Earth after the Lord comes Here you see in this Rev 21. he saith that the Street of the City was pure Gold like to Transparent Glass And here by this one street he comprehends the Pavement of the whole City the which being over the Heads of the Children of Israel will appear though of the Colour of Gold yet it is said to be so clear as to look like Transparent Glass so that Israel underneath this Tabernacle may all see the Glory that is there Revealed And in Isa 60.1 Arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee Now the City that St. John speaks of in the 21 c. 2. v. He therein comprehends the raised Saints but herein the same chap. at the 18. and 21. v. he there speaks of the outward fabrick or glorious Mansion for in Scripture the People are termed a City as well as a material Building is so termed And St. John saith in the forementioned Chapter after he had related the coming down of the City He then speaks of the Glory of the same Rev. 21.11 Having the glory of God and her light was like a stone most precious even like a Jasper clear as Cristal 12. And had a Wall great and high and had twelve Gates and at the Gates twelve Angels and names written thereon which are the Names of the twelve Tribes of the Children of Israel And St. John saith c. 21. 15. v. And he that talked with me had a Golden Reed to measure the City and the gates thereof and the Wall thereof 16. And the City lieth four square and the length is as large as the breadth and he measured the City with the Reed twelve thousand furlongs the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal Now we see by the large extent of this City which according to account of eight furlongs to a Mile to be fifteen hundred Miles not only in length but that the breadth and heighth thereof are equal this being the Tabernacle which the Lord shall pitch and not Man and then will the Lord make good his Promise to Israel that there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat and for a place of Refuge and for a covert from the storm and from the rain And in Isaiah it is said Isa 60.1.2
Arise shine for thy light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee For behold darkness shall cover the Earth and gross darkness the People but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his Glory shall be seen upon thee For as the Lord is said in Numb 14.14 to be over Israel in a Cloudy Pillar when he delivered them out of Egypt which was but a Figure of the great deliverance to come at which time the Lord will be in the Clouds and his Spouse his chief raised Saints with him This Tabernacle Covert or City is said to be twelve thousand furlongs not only in length and breadth but the same in heighth by which it does appear that the top thereof may reach to Heaven and that the Heavens may remain open above it as it was when it descended until this Glory that shall be Revealed be drawn up again and that the Throne of God in the highest Heavens may be placed over Mount Sion That as it is said in Gen. 28.12 That the Ladder which Jacob saw set upon the Earth the top of which reached to Heaven and that the Angels of God did ascend and descend upon it and the Lord God stood above it By which it doth appear that this Ladder will prove the white Clouds and that the Top of them will reach to Heaven whilst one part of them may extend so low as Mount Sion and these appear to be the Ladder upon which the Angels ascended and descended upon the Son of Man as the Lord saith John 1.51 Hereafter ye shall see Heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man The which words of the Lord in saying that you shall see the Heavens open doth seem to signify the continuance of their remaining open for some time And St. John saith Rev. 21 22. He saw no Temple in this City which came down from Heaven for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it 23. And the City had no need of the Son neither of the Moon to shine in it for the Glory of God did lighten it and the lamb is the Light thereof Now if the Heavens be open over this City and the Throne of God just above it as it is said of the Ladder God stood at the top of it then must the Glory of God inlighten this City as well as the Lamb is the light thereof And according to all these places of Scripture it doth so appear to be neither can it properly be said that there is a distinction of Glory between the Father and the Son for Christ saith to the Father in John 17.5 Glorify thou me with thine own self with the Glory which I had with thee before the World was Therefore where the Glory of the Son is there is the Glory of the Father also And St. John speaking of the Angel saith Rev. 22.1 He shewed me a pure River of water of Life clear as Crystal proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Now we read nothing of the Holy Ghost but whereas it is said This River proceeded out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb and it is said of the Spirit to proceed from the Father and the Son and the Lord termeth the Holy Spirit to Water in John 4.14 But whosoever drinketh of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of Water springing up into everlasting life And the Lord farther saith in John 7.38 He that believeth on me as the Scripture hath said out of his Belly shall flow Rivers of Living Water 39. But this spake the Lord of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive And in Isa 44.3 God saith I will pour Water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed and my blessing upon thy Off-spring And in Psal 46.4 There is a River the streams thereof shall make glad the City of the most High Therefore this River here spoken of the which proceedeth from the Throne of God and of the Lamb must be meant of the Spirit And it is said of this Heavenly City Rev. 22.3 There shall be no more Curse but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it 4. And they shall see his Face and his Name shall be in their foreheads These words shew that the Saints will always be about the Throne both in the time that is to come and also in Eternity And to what Isaiah saith in the 60. c. which treats of the Heavenly Jerusalem and also of the new Earthly one For it is there said the Lord shall rise upon thee 3. v. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightness of thy rising By which it does appear that the Gentiles and Kings that is as many of them as have had an interest in Christ and are departed this World shall come to the brightness of their Rising or Glory the which is in the Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven And from the 4. v. of the same Chap. to the 18. it treats of them that are to be call'd in with the Jews at the second coming of the Lord. But it is said 9. v. Surely the Isles shall wait for me Now this waiting could not be at Christ's first coming for then the Isles had no knowledg of the Lord and therefore could not be said to wait for him they knew not And in the 19. and 20. verses of this 60. chap. speaking of the Heavenly Jerusalem where it is said 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 and thy God the Glory 20. Thy Son shall no more go down neither shall thy Moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended And in the 21. v. it speaks of the People of Israel Thy People shall be all righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting the work of my hands that I may be glorified 22. v. A little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong Nation I the Lord will hasten it in his time Here the Prophet speaks of the People of Israel who in a more peculiar manner belongeth to this City that they should be all righteous and that they shall Inherit the Land for ever and that they should multiply therein and increase and that this should be in its time which will be at the Restitution of all things and then will there be a new Earthly Jerusalem built upon her own heap as Jer. 30.18 And then as the Lord sath Isa 54.12 I will make thy windows of Agates and thy Gates of Carbuncles and all thy Borders of pleasant Stones According to this Tobit
precepts of men Is not this like building on the Sand of which the Lord speaks in Matth. Where he saith in the 26. v. Mat. 7.26,27 Every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and whom the Lord forewarns that their building shall not stand in the day of trial And the Lord also saith in 21. v. Mat. 1.21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven And also St. James saith Jam. 1.22 But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves And he farther saith Jam. 2.20,21,22 But wilt thou know O vain Man that faith without works is dead was not Abraham our Father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his Son upon the Altar seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect So the Lord saith unto Esdras in the 7. v. 2 Esd 9.7,8 And every one that shall be saved and shall be able to escape by his works and by faith whereby ye have believed shall be preserved from the said perils and shall see my salvation in my land and within my borders And in Matth. 20. Mat. 20.2,4,6,7 The Lord did not call any into his Vineyard without putting them to work therein And in Matth. 26.41 The Lord bids them watch and pray that they enter not into temptation And St. Peter bids us 1 Pet. 5.8 Be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour Therefore we had need watch continually over our own hearts thoughts words and works For the evil one in all our ways does lay traps nets and gins to insnare us Therefore St. Paul bids us Eph. 6.11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand Stand therefore having your loyns girt about with truth and having on the breast-plate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace Above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints Praying always that is praying dayly Which is as if any one gives us our dayly food as long as we live we say that they continually give us our food Praying all Prayer That is upon all occasions for our selves and for the Saints and for all Men that have not excluded themselves from his mercy And St. John tells us 1 John 2.4,5 He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected hereby know we that we are in him That is if our wills are brought over to be truly obedient and if so there will not want an earnest endeavour to persevere in a holy life Which is unlike those that Paul to Titus speaks of That Tit. 1.16 profess that they know God but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient and unto every good work reprobate How think you it will then prove with such in the great day For St. Paul saith 2 Thes 1.7,8,9 When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power I hope this dreadful sentence will awaken many sleeping Christians before it is too late Therefore to day whilst it is called to day harden not your hearts but make preparation for the Bridegroom of your Souls Now as to what St. Paul saith Rom. 9.30 What shall we say then that the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness even the righteousness which is of faith That is the Gentiles that were first brought home to Christ by the call of the Gospel no sooner savingly believed in the Lord Jesus as to accept him as he is tendred in the Gospel but the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them as though they had never sinned For St. Paul saith That Col. 2.10,11 ye are complete in him which is the head of all principality and power In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the â—…ns of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. And again he saith Eph. 2.10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them Now whereas he â—aith that they were created in Christ Jesus to good works That is they are â—o sooner taken into mercy but that the â—ghteousness of Christ is imputed to â—hem whereby they appear in the sight â—f God as though they had never sinned â—…om their Creation But when he told â—hem they were created in Christ Jesus to good works you see also in the same ver he tells them that God had ordained that they should walk in them And he saith likewise Col. 2.6,7 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught abounding therein with thanksgiving And he saith farther Col. 3.1,2,3,4,5,6 If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God Set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth For ye are dead and your life is had with Christ in God When Christ who is your life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory Mortifie therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence and covetousness which is Idolatry For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the Children of disobedience For we are not only to shun the doing evil but we must also learn to do well And whereas the Apostle saith Rom. 9.31,32 But Israel which followed after the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness
But by the word it may be easily proved there is several ways for the elect to be brought into Christ For first after the fall of Adam they were to observe the ordinances then declar'd to them by God and also looking to the promis'd Seed for satisfaction and reconciliation if they were found in their obedience to God After which Moses his time God gave them the Law upon mount Sinai But still they were to look to Christ in the promise in that he should bruise the Serpents head and take away the sting of Death from them And here God saith to Israel as he said to Cain Gen. 4.7 If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted but if thou doest evil sin lyeth at the Door So God saith to the Seed of Jacob Deu. 11.26 Behold I set before you this day a blessing and a curse 27. A blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day 28. And a curse if you will not obey the Commandments of the Lord your God but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day You see here was the free Grace of God manifested to them above the rest of the World in that God had so far renewnewed or inlightned them as to bring them to the knowledg of himself the which the rest of the world was almost wholly ignorant of And here God gave Israel a rule by which they should walk the which it they had so done they had enjoyed the blessings that God had there promised them and that He would also be their God for ever and they should be his people And after Christ came the Gospel was published wherein all Nations were invited that whosoever would might come and take of the Waters of Life freely Rev. 22.17 But although there was none excluded yet there was the Condition of the tender of Grace to be observed by all them that are made partakers of the blessedness Which Condition was Repentance from Dead Works with Love and Obedience to God and Christ and thankful acknowledgment of the mercy and benefit purchast by Him Now as concerning Election which consists of Three Distinctions FIrst The Election of the Church Secondly The Election of the children of the Church as being in covenant and if they die in their Infancy accepted for their Parents sake so as they shall not see Hell and in the Last Judgment there is none condemned to feel punishment in that body in which they never had offended Therefore the children shall return from the Land of the Enemy as I shall hereafter prove And Thirdly Of the special Elect which the Lord terms the very Elect of whom he said they should not be deceived And now to make clear these Elections I shall here prove to you that there was neither Predestination nor Reprobation before the Foundation of the Material Heavens and Earth And in the first place I shall prove there was none reprobated as I shall make appear by the Word and Oath of God For God saith in Ezekiel 33.11 Say unto them as I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the Deash of the Wicked Now had God made a Decree before the Foundation of the Material Heavens and Earth that the greater part of mankind should be Reprobates and for being so they should be damned and 〈◊〉 Decree to pass before they had a being or the World in which they offended then of necessity God must have delight in the Death of a sinner But God foreseeing that Israel and we would be apt to attribute their miscarriage unto him therefore by his Oath he confirms to us the contrary swearing by Himself because he could swear by no Greater And in 2 Esdras 8.59 it is said For it was not his Will that man should come to nought And Abraham said to God Shall not the Judge of all the World do Right And how would the Justice of God appear to make so many Millions of Souls on purpose to damn them and only in pretence put them in a capacity of Obedience when his unrevokable Decree was to the contrary The which be it far from any soul to think it being contrary to his Justice and Mercy and contrary to his Oath and Word Now as St. Paul saith in Ephes 1.4 They were chosen in him before the Foundation of the World The which Foundation admits of several Interpretations The First Foundation was the Material Heavens and Earth Secondly The People of the World is far oftner termed the World than the Real Earth is For in John 15.18,19 the Lord terms the People the World no less than six times in two Verses And so by the Prophets and Apostles the People is term'd the World Now the Foundation of the World of People has been several â—mes laid The Old World in Adam this World in Noah and the Foundation of the World to come in the Seed of Jacob as I shall hereafter prove to you when the Lord brought them out of the Land of Egypt at which time he marked them for himself to be the chief Foundation of the World to come at which foundation the Lord Christ was figuratively slain in the Paschal Lamb. As it is said in Rev. 19.8 The Lamb stain from the foundation of the World And it is said 1 Pet. 1.20 That Christ was foreordain'd before the foundation of the World but was manifested in these last times for you These words admit of a two fold interpretation in as much as there is several Foundations and it may as well be rendered that Christ was Ordained at the Fall of Adam to make satisfaction for mankind which was before the foundation of that World which is to come which afterwards the Foundation was laid in Israel when the Pascal Lamb was slain as I shall make clear to you And whereas St. Peter saith was manifest in these last times the which is the last times of this World of People Now whereas St. Paul saith in Ephes 1.9 Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ At which time he spake this it is evident they were not in Heaven and therefore spoken for time to come And whereas he saith in verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the World that we should be holy and without blame before him in Love Now after Israel had fallen off the Lord tells Esdras in chap. 2. verse 11. Their glory also will I take to me and give these the everlasting Tabernacles which I had prepared for them Verse 12. They shall have the Tree of Life for an Oyntment of sweet savours they shall neither labour nor be weary By which it doth seem to appear that God did make choice of others for the Glorious Tabernacle before them which were the Foundation And St. Paul saith Ephes 2.20,21,22 That they are built
upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone In whom all the Building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord In whom you also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit Whereas he hete speaks of growing is to shew us that the building is not yet compleated which Temple or Building will be compleated when the New Jerusalem from Heaven shall be revealed as in Rev. 3.12 the Lord saith Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of the City of my God which is the New Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and I will write upon him my New Name Now St. Paul saith Ephes 2.6,7 That God hath raised them up together and made them sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Now it is certain they were not at that time set with Christ in Heavenly Places therefore spoken for time to come as his words in the following verse make out where he saith verse 7. That in the Ages to come he might shew the exceeding Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards us through Jesus Christ Here St. Paul doth absolutely declare that God will shew forth the Riches of his Grace in his kindness towards them in the Ages to come Now it is evident that there has not been such exceeding kindness shewed forth to them in the Ages that are past St. Peter saith that Christ came in the last times Therefore it is as Balaam said of Israel According to this time it shall be said of Jacob what hath God wrought That is when Israel shall again be restored and the Glory of the Saints be revealed in that Tabernacle which the Lord shall pitch and not Man Then it is that the exceeding riches of his Grace will be manifested to those Ages that are now to come And that is the time when Christ again comes of which St. Paul saith Whom he did foreknow them he also called That then the Lord will call them of whom he had a foreknowledge of as by a promise from the Father And then it is that will be made good which Moses said of God to Israel in Deut. 7.9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithful God which keepeth Covenant and Mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandments to a Thousand Generations Here Moses saith God will keep Covenant and Mercy to a Thousand Generations with them that love him And as yet we cannot well reckon up an Hundred Generations from the first Creation of Mankind for from Adam to Christ St. Luke reckons up about sixty Generations Therefore this keeping Covenant and Mercy hath its Extent to the other World which is the New World or New Earth of people which is to come in whom as St. Peter saith will dwell Righteousness and here as Moses hath it will love God and keep his Commandments the meaning of which is both one and the same thing And what Moses saith makes it farther clear that it is when the Lord again comes at which time he saith verse 10. the Lord will repay them that hate him to their Face to destroy them he will not be slack to him that hateth him he will repay him to his Face That is when the Lord cometh then will be their visible destruction for he will then repay them to their Face according to what the Psalmist saith Psal 58.10 And St. Paul speaking of the Glory which the then Church should receive at the coming of the Lord saith to the Ephesians Chap. 1.12 That we should be to the praise of his Glory who first trusted in Christ V. 13. In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of Truth the Gospel of your Salvation In whom also after that ye believe ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise Now if they were Sealed when they received that Holy Spirit of Promise then was their Calling and Election confirm'd to them and this Holy Spirit of Promise was the giving the Holy Ghost the which was also for the Establishing of the first Christian Churches and to confirm the truth of the Gospel But he saith in v. 14. The Spirit is the earnest of their Inheritance until the Redemption if the purchased possession unto the praise of his Glory By which we see although the Debt and Purchase was paid yet the Redemption or Purchase was not yet in possession of him by whom it was purchased And St. Peter saith in c. 2.9,10 They were a chosen Generation or Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a peculiar people that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light V. 10. Which in time past were not a people but are now the People of God which had not obtained Mercy but now have obtained mercy The which words of St. Peter does make it plainly appear that they were not chosen before the foundation of this material Earth was laid for then it could not have been said they had not received Mercy if they were predestinated to it before the First Creation And therefore the forementioned words of St. Paul must have its reference to the New Heavens and Earth and the foundation of that World to come of which World they are already chosen to be the Kings and Priests of in that Glorious Tabernacle and to be of the New Jerusalem which comes down from Heaven and then will they reign over that New World and the Foundation of it is Israel from whom will arise many Generations and continue for ever and then as it 's said in Dan. 7.27 The Kingdom and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints of the most high whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and all Dominions shall serve and obey him Now whereas St. Peter saith in the 2. c. 9. v. They were a chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an holy Nation You may be sure that they are chosen so for time to come and that this speaking of his is after the Scripture way of speaking in that he mentions things that are so come as tho they were already done and the Saints which are in Heaven in Rev. 5.10 say Thou hast made us unto God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth Here the Saints speak according to our method in that they neither say they did Reign or do Reign on the Earth but that they shall Reign on the Earth the which will be in the World to come then are they to be Kings and Priests of it for which they were chosen before the World was that is now to come for the same Apostle tells us Heb. 2.5 That unto the Angels hath God not put into subjection the World to come whereof we speak And
but forbids his Prophets to pray for them as in Jer. 7.16 the Lord said Therefore pray not thou for this people neither lift up Cry nor Prayer for them neither make intercession unto me for I will not hear thee And God also saith in Jer. 11.14 Therefore pray not thou for this people neither lift up Cry nor prayer for them for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble By which we see that Repentance will not be accepted at all times For the Lord also saith Jer. 14.12 When they fast I will not hear their cry and when they offer burnt-offerings and an oblation I will not accept them but I will consume them by the Sword and by the Famine and by the Pestilence And it is said Jer. 14.10 Thus saith the Lord unto this people thus have they loved to wander they have not refrained their Feet therefore the Lord doth not accept of them he will now remember their Iniquity and visit their sins We see here that the Lord doth not require of them that which they could not do but that which they could do for they might have refrained their Feet and laid a restraint upon themselves Therefore the Lord saith Isa 50.1 Thus saith the Lord where is the Bill of your Mothers Divorce whom I have put away or to which of my Creditors is it to whom I have Sold you behold for your iniquities have you sold your selves and for your Transgressions is your Mother put away Here the Lord declareth that he was Married to Israel but because of their Sins they were put away And here the Lord speaketh in derision to them Wherein he saith Unto which of my Creditors have I sold you As much as to say I have kept Covenant with you but you for your Iniquities have sold your selves Now had God Reprobated these before the Foundation of the Material Heavens and Earth to Sin Death and Damnation there is no deceit can be like it seeing God has thus here declared against it and in Ezekiel by his Oath and word avouched it But whilst we were too much poring on the sayings of St. Paul since we no better understood them and too slightly passing over the Oath and Word of God and not weighing the dangerous consequence that doth attend a mistake herein But our usual saying is fore-warn'd fore-arm'd but we were not so wise as to take the warning for St. Peter cautions us that in St. Paul's Epistles there are some things hard to be understood which some wrest to their own destruction And this St. Peter saith where he speaketh of the New Heavens and Earth of which St. Paul saith in some places before the World began and also he saith from the foundation of the World and again he saith the World to come Now the words of St. Peter are these in the 2 Pet. 3.13 Nevertheless we according to his promise look for New Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness 14. v. Wherefore beloved seeing that ye look for such things be diligent that ye may be found of him in Peace without spot and blameless 15. v. And account that the long-suffering of our Lord is Salvation even as our beloved Brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you 16. v. As also in all his Epistles speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the other Scriptures unto their own destruction Now St. Peter doth make it clear that in all St. Paul's Epistles he did speak to them of these things that is of the World to come and of their Election and Choice for that World before that World began the which St. Peter here terms the New Heavens and Earth Now whereas he saith That it is they that are unlearned and are unstable that did wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction And now tho we have men of Learning and stable in these our days amongst us Yet those that first brought in this darkness were neither learned nor stable in the school of Christ And whereas St. Paul saith Heb. 1.2 God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son whom he hath appointed Heir of all things by whom also he made the Worlds Now what were the Worlds that were made To which I Answer First The Material Heavens and Earth Secondly The world of People that did proceed from Adam the which is generally called the old World Thirdly The world of People which did proceed from Noah of whom we sprang And also the World to come the Foundation of which is Israel as I have already proved for the Earth is said to be set fast in them And St. Paul saith 2 Tim. 1.9 Who hath saved us and called us with an Holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us iâ— Christ Jesus before the World began That is at the first Establishing of the Gospel there was a general call not of their works but according to a purpose in God which was given in Christ before the World began which is the World to come for in Heb. 2.5 he tells It is the World to come of which he speaks Now whereas he saith in 2 Tim. 1.10 But now is made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath Abolished Death and brough life and immortality to light through the Gospel Now here he speaks in the Scripture way of speaking In that he saith hath abolished Death and brought Life and Immortality to Light At which time Death was not Abolished therefore spoken for time to come which then at the appearing of Christ all the Dead Bodies of the Saints will be raised and his Living Saints so chang'd that there shall be no more fear of their falling off so as to tast Eternal Death And he tells us how this Life and Immortallity comes to light That the knowledg of it is through the Gospel of which he saith He was made a Minister Now seeing Life and immortality comes to light through the Gospel we should in all things labour to walk in Obedience thereunto which Gospel includes the whole Moral Law The which is if we perform the Conditions we shall be made partakers of the Promises which is Immortality and Eternal Life For now God expecteth Fruit from â—s as he did from Israel But if there is no other found with us than was with them that is in shew only we must ook to be hewen down and cast into the Fire at his coming Now whereas St. Paul saith in Titus 1.2 In hope of Eternal Life which God that cannot lie promised before the world began Now this Promise without doubt was all along as to Adam and before the World which sprang from him and so to Noah Before this World was that sprang from him But I believe
giving this Belief reneweth his Creature in their Wills and Affections so what afterward is not wilfully committed is not imputed therefore by Christ we are restored to that we lost in Adam For although the Believer that is thus Renewed hath not an inherent perfect Righteousness yet he hath an imputed perfect Righteousness Col. 1.28 Col. 2.10 John 6.47 1 Cor. 10.12 And therefore said to be perfect in Christ Jesus And Christ saith The Believer hath Everlasting Life in him But him that thus standeth let him take heed lest he fall For our standing is like Adams in Paradice for had he never sinned he had never Died. So the Believer if he sins not wilfully shall ever have this Eternal Life abiding in him so as he shall never see Hell for the Believer that is not of the very Elect stands no securer than our First Parents did in Paradice the words of St. Paul make out where he saith 2 Cor. 11.2,3 I am jealous over you with a Godly jealousy for I have espoused you to one Husband that I may present you a chast Virgin unto Christ But I fear lest by any means as the Serpent beguiled Eve through his Subtilty so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ This is spoken of the Church which was espoused to Christ and stood as our first Parents did of whom he was afraid they should be deceived as our First Parents were And also by what he saith to them of whom he said They were ordained to Eternal Life the which Ordination appears to be no other than this of the Corinthians which was that they were chosen of God for Eternal Life and in being so God put them into a caprcity of Obedience in which they were continually to Labour to make their Calling and Election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 For the Eternal Life that the Believer here receiveth they hold but on conditions of their Obedience Therefore St. Paul saith of these that were Ordained Acts 13.43 When the Congregation was broken up many of the Jews and Religious Proselites followed Paul and Barnabas who speaking to them perswaded them to continue in the grace of God Now these being those of Antioch of whom he saith in the 48. v. was Ordain'd to Eternal Life Now had this Eternal Life been given absolute without condition he would not have perswaded them to continue in the grace of God for then he would have known they could not have fallen from it Now this word ordain is after the manner of speaking which St. Paul doth apply to them that were made Bishops where he saith Tit. 2.16 That Titus was Ordain'd Bishop The like word is applied to the Ministers When we say such an one is an Ordain'd Minister that is when he is so made by the Church whom the King allows of and this Ordination is for his Life upon which he receives his Benefice But notwithstanding this Ordination and Benefice which is given him for his Life yet if he is found in Rebellion to the King his Ordination and Living and his all is forfeited And so it is with those that God Renews and Restores and puts into a capacity of Everlasting Life The gift being free as from God but if any of them fell short of Receiving it it was because they were wanting to themselves And also St. Paul saith 2 Tim. 2.10 Therefore I endure all things for the Elect's sakes that they may also obtain the Salvation which is in Christ Jesus with Eternal Glory That is there was a possibility that the Elect might not obtain Salvation for whose sake he had the more Afflictions laid on him that he might be an example to them to suffer And St. Paul saith concerning his Apostleship Gal. 2.8 For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the Circumcision the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles Here we see St. Peter was chosen the Apostle of the Circumcision to whom he wrote this Epistle 1 Pet. 1.2 Peter an Apostle of Jesus Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus Galatia Cappadocia Asia and Bythinia Elect according to the foreknowledg of God the Father through Sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ Now in that St. Peter saith that he wrote this to the strangers that were scattered throughout all those places whereby it is evident that it was Israel who were theâ— a scattered People and whereas he saith Elect according to the foreknowledg of God through Sanctification of the Spirit unto Obedience for from Israel is chosen a certain Number of the very Elect that was so secured by the Spirit of Grace as they they should not fall away which were also foreknown of God and not only so but God had afore determined that the Churches that first trusted in Christ as I have already proved was chosen for the Glorious Tabernacle and for the accomplishment of this God poured forth his Spirit upon them whereby they became Sanctified and so obedient but yet he does not say 't was impossible for some of them to fall away for by his following words he saith 1 Pet. 1,3,4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4. To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Here he tells them that they were begotten again into a lively Hope of this Inheritance that is incorruptible And whereas he saith in the 5. v. Who are kept by the Power of God through Faith unto Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time That is most certain that none can stand without the assistance of the Almighty God Yet it was not impossible for some that were of the first Churches through their own Neglect and Satan's Subtilty to fall away therefore he saith 1 Pet. 1.13 Wherefore â—ird up the loyns of your mind be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ 14. As obedient Children not fashioning your selves according to the former lusts in your ignorance 15. But as he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation 16. Because it is written be ye holy as I am holy 17. And if ye call on the Father who without respect of persons judgeth according to every mans work pass the time of your sojourning here in fear As to what St. Peter saith in the 2. c. he there speaks after the Scripture way of speaking as in the 9. v. But ye are a chosen generation a royal priesthood an holy nation a peculiar people that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light This was absolutely spoken for the time to come for at the then present time St. Paul
the Glory of God in that it did so much Eclipse his Justice and Mercy in making of him so partial a Judg and also hurls the Soul into a sleeping Lethargy of security whilst they fancy themselves thus Elected and makes them unmindful of the knowledg of the coming of the Lord although he has told us if he comes upon us in an hour that we are not aware of he will give us our Portion with Hypocrites and Unbelievers Now having all along shewed you what was the Election or Calling of the first Christian Churches the which was after they were ingrafted in Christ they were to fight to keep their ground Heb. 6.4,5 so as to make their calling and Election sure for else as I have proved the very Sealings of the Spirit might be cancelled to them And although the Names of the Children of the Church are written in Heaven yet they may be blotted out thence For God said to Moses Exod. 32.33 Whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my Book And after God had espoused Israel he is said to give her a Bill of Divorce Isa 50.1,2 And the Lord to the Church of Philadelphia saith hold fast that thou hast that no man take they Crown And Christ also saith Rev. 22.19 If any man take away from the words of the Book of this Prophesy God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life and out of the Holy City and from the things that are written in this Book We see that this was spoken to them that had a share in the Book of Life to let them know that if they did wickedly their part therein would be lost that is taken from them Of the Election of Children NOW as to the Election of the Children of the Church the which every sincere Hearted Christian is a Member If any of their Children dye in their Infancy before they have been guilty of actual Sin they are taken into Mercy as being in Covenant Acts 2.29 For the promise is unto you and to your Children and to all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call And also the Covenant was made with their little ones Deut. 29.11 And St. Paul saith 1 Cor. 7.14 The unbelieving Husband is Sanctified by the Wife and the unbelieving Wife is Sanctified by the Husband Else were your Children unclean but now are they holy Then if they are Holy they are fit for Heaven if taken away before they commit sin And the Lord saith in Esdras 2.29 My hands shall cover thee so that thy Children shall not see Hell By what is here said it is certain that all the Children of true Believers that are begotten after their Parents are Regenerated are holy and if they die in their Infancy will be blessed Now the Children of Believing Parents being from their Birth in Covenant with God they are by their Parents to be brought up in the strict ways of Holiness that they may grow in Knowledg and the fear of the Lord and not look in for a New Call but to walk with all diligence in the ways of God that they may be made partakers of Eternal Life which God hath promised to them that obey him for God requireth fruit of us as he did of Israel we being the Children of the Visible Church which if he finds not we shall likewise also be cut off And God wonderfully commendeth Abraham where he saith Gen. 18.19 I know him that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him But we have not followed the Example of Abraham But O that we would consider our ways to be Wise and cry out mightily to him that is able to save us for he hath said They that seek me shall find me if they search for me with the whole heart So if we are not wanting to our selves God will be found of us But gray Hares are upon us altho we know it not O that we were well awakend out of this sleeping Lethargy of sloth and security so as to take hold of the Covenant of God and Mercy as it is offered by Christ and to give our selves wholly up to him beging strength of him that we may be inabled to live unto him and perform the Conditions that â—e requireth of us Now as to the special Elect. The which the Lord terms the very Elect where he saith Mat. 24.24 If it were possible they should deceive the very Elect. And also of whom the Angel makes mention of where he saith in Rev. 17.8 And they that dwell on the Earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the Foundation of the World The which Foundation is as I have already proved to you which Foundation of the World was laid in Israel when the Lord fixt them in the Land of Canaan For Israel was chosen to be the Foundation of the World of people which is now to come And at which Foundation Christ was figuratively slain in the Paschal Lamb. And the Lord foreseeing the miscarriage of Israel it doth appear that God would have a certain number so secured as they should not fall away but to remain as standing witnesses through the World Whilst the rest were but put in a Capacity of obedience Now at the destruction of the old World it is said Gen. 6.8 Noah found grace in the Eyes of the Lord. And it is said in the 9. v. Noah was a just man and perfect in his Generations and Noah walked with God That is had walked in obedience to God and had improved the Talent which God had given him Whilst the other had wholly corrupted their ways As in the 12. v. And God looked upon the Earth and behold it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the Earth But God finding Noah in the Capacity that he had put him in that he had not corrupted his way but had improved the Talent which he had given him therefore was blessed of him By which we may plainly see that there was no absolute election through the first World And it doth appear when God had again renewed the World in Noah As in Gen. 9.1 And God blessed Noah and his Sons and said unto them be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every Beast of the Earth and upon every Fowl of the Air upon all that moveth upon the Earth and upon all the Fish of the Sea into your hand are they delivered Now although after the floud God had restored to man his power again and put them all into a fresh Capacity of obedience yet notwithstanding they did almost all backslide again Then God chose Abraham and blessed him As in Gen. 12.1 And afterward he proved him Gen. 2. And
in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats That the Sheep went into everlasting Life That is that none of them which the Lord then will receive into Mercy shall ever see Hell but have Everlasting Life although they may afterward taste of a Temporal Death According to which the Lord saith in John 8.51 Verily verily I say unto you if a man keep my sayings he shall never see Death Now it is very clear that the Lord did not mean that they should not die a Temporal Death because vve see that all die So the Lord said of all the Sheep that they went into Everlasting Life because they were all of them then secured from Hell And St. John saith to them to whom he wrote wherein he includes himself John 3.14 We know that we have passed from Death to Life because we love the brethren And the Lord saith John 6.50 This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die We see when the Lord hath taken away the sting of Death from his people he afterwards counts their departure hence not a dying So the Lord after this way of speaking said of his Sheep in the Parable that they vvent into Life Eternal Now if we will ever understand the Scriptures we must understand the Scripture way of speaking and when the Lord comes at which time his Sheep will be gaihered then will Christs Sheep be brought into One Fold and then shall we be all taught of God Then it is there will be One Fold and One Shepherd And then also shall Japhet dwell in ths Tents of Shem. And now as the very Elect follows the Lord through all Persecutions and Afflictions so Israel shall obey him in the fullness of all things Now the Lord when he was upon the Earth spake to the Jews in dark Sentences and Parables because they seeing might not see and hearing they might not understand The which makes the sayings of Christ more dark to us Now that the Waldenses and Albigenses are the very Elect spoken of by Christ it does certainly appear because they have ever remained undeceived by the Beast and False Prophets when all the rest of the World was fallen off according to the Declaration of the Angel in Rev. 17.8 The Beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless Pit and go into Perdition and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of Life from the foundation of the Wâ—…ld Now these Waldenses and Albigenses continuing stedfast and being never drawn off by the beast it doth certainly appear they are the very Elect spoken of by Christ Matt. 24.24 Now the Lord said to his Disciples Luk. 10.20 Rev. 21.27 Your Names are witten in Heaven But he did not say to them that their Names were written in Heaven from the foundation of the World and altho it doth appear that the Names of the Children of the Church are written in Heaven by what God said to Moses in Exod. 32.33 And the Lord said to Moses whosoever hath sinned against me him will I blot out of my book And by what David saith of the Enemies of Christ as in Psal 69.28 Let them be blotted out of the Book of the Living and not be written with the Righteous By which it doth appear that the Children of the Church as they come into the World that their Names are written in Heaven till by their Sin their Names are blotted out thence for the Covenant being made with them and their Children the which shews that the Childrens Names must be written in the Book of Life till such time that by their wilful sinning they Exclude themselves from the Mercy promised by that Covenant and then are their Names blotted out of the Book of Life Now whereas St. Paul in Ephesians saith That they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the World So here in the Revelations those that should remain a standing Witness are said to be Written in the book of Life from the foundation of the World the which fully declares there is a two fold meaning in it The which is as I have already proved to you Now it being impossible to deceive the very Elect it does thereby appear to be the Jews because there was a certain select number chosen of the Jews the which was according to the Election of Grace the which the words of St. Paul makes appear and the words of Christ doth seem to signify as much where he speaks of the Sheep which his Father had given him as in John 10.27,28,29 Now the Christian Jews were said to be all warned to go out of Jerusalem before the Destruction thereof but where they went we know not And they being Christians and living amongst the Christians it might be those that retained their Religion when all the rest fell away And so these Waldenses and Albigenses do therefore appear to be these Christian Jews because there is said there is a certain number of the sews that does follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth And also it is said when the Servants of God were to be Sealed there was a certain number of every Tribe Sealed excepting Dan Rev. 7.3,4 The Angel saying hurt not the Earth neither the Sea nor the Trees till we have sealed the Servants of â—od in their foreheads And I heard the number of them that were Sealed And there were Sealed an hundred forty and four thousand of all the Tribes of the Children of the Israel In the first place he saith he heard the number of them that were sealed but he does not tell us what that number was but leaving that he goes on and tells us how many were Sealed of all the Tribes of the Children of Israel And in the following verse he saith of every Tribe there was Sealed twelve Thousand And having spoken of the Sealing he saith in Rev. 9. After this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all Nations and Kindreds and People and Tongues stood before the Throne clothed with white Robes and Palms in their Hands 10. v. And cried with a loud voice saying Salvation to our God which siteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb. This appears to be spoken of the raised Saints and the Glorious Tabernacle where the Throne of God will be And whereas he saith in the 11. v. And all the Angels stood round about the Throne and about the Elders and the four Beasts and fell before the Throne on their Faces and worshiped God Now these four Beasts doth seem to be the People of the Nations that are saved alive to live upon the Earth after the Glory of the Lord is manifest that then they will be gathered to Canaan to Worship where the Throne of God will be in the glorious Tabernacle Now in Rev. 4. There is no mention made of the multitude of People of all Nations that
works ready to distribute willing to communicate laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life Thereby shewing there is another time after this time before Eternity in which the Saints will be blessed and then it is that Israel will be saved with an everlasting salvation Is 45.17 the which will be at the time of the restoration of all things Acts 3.20,21,22 And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you Whom the Heaven must receive until the times of the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of aâ—… his Prophets since the world began For Moses truly said unto the Fathers A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your Brethren like unto me him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you And now is this Scripture ready to be fulfilled Chap. III. The Coming of the Lord. SAint Paul saith 1 Thes 4.16,17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Arch-angel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Whereas the Apostle here saith we which are alive all know that in this we the wicked are not included neither in this we are all the righteous then living included but by this we he comprehends those that were to bear their testimony to the Gospel as the first Churches did and as the standing witness hath continued to do the which are those who are said to be clothed in Sackcloth and lie in the street of the Great City which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt c. Rev. 11.8 and these are those that are said will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and these are the Elect that cry day and night unto him Luke 18.7 but the other Believers will be gathered according as by the Lord is declared Luke 17.34,35 There shall be two men in one bed the one shall be taken and the other shall be left two women shall be grinding together the one shall be taken and the other shalt be left And the Lord saith It will be as in the days of Lot Whereby it doth also appear that the other Believers will be lifted out of danger by the Angels as Lot was out of Sodom whilst the Wicked will be left to receive part of their punishment here And those that are thus to be taken and gathered are those that have the Gospel and live in obedience thereunto But as for Israel that now own not the Gospel they shall be called in according as the Lord by the Prophets hath declared to them whose testimony they have received and they likewise shall be brought to Jerusalem as it is written upon Horses and in Chariots and in Litters and upon Mules and swift Beasts Isa 60.6,7,9 Isa 66.20 And then it is that with weeping and supplications the Lord will lead them Jer. 31.9 For the Lord will keep to his usual way and method in bringing them home by a sense of their own miscarriage before he giveth them the Holy Ghost And tho' the Apostle saith of them that were chosen to bear their testimony to the truth that they should at the coming of the Lord be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an Eye Yet the others that are then saved will not then be so suddenly changed neither will their natural body then be changed into a spiritual body but their natural body will be then healed of all infirmities and their mind also 2 Esd 6.26 And when their time of returning will be then will others of the Heathens of all Languages of the Nations take hold of the skirt of a Jew saying we will go with you Zech. 8.23 For as there was a mixt multitude went out of Egypt with Israel so again when Israel which will then be his Elect Ro. 11.28 which will be gathered from the four winds into which the Lord hath scattered them then also there will a mixt multitude of the Heathen go with them according as it is said But the poor Christians that have lost their Day and Season of Grace will not be so permitted to do And tho' at first the Lord will lead Israel with weeping and supplications yet also their return to Sion will be with singing and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and mourning shall flee away Isa 58.11 And also it will be after the Lord comes that most of those great Plagues mentioned in the Revelations will be poured forth upon the wicked of the Earth so that according as it is said they shall gnash their teeth and melt away Psal 112.10 after which will come the storm mentioned in the Psalms of Hail Fire and Brimstone which will be the portion of their Cup Psal 11.6 and then as Isaiah saith The Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies Isa 28.17 Now this is spoken to them that have the word for we are not permitted to judge them that arâ— without 1 Cor. 5.12 Now whereas St. Peter saith The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat 2 Pet. 3.10 These words of the Apostle have a twofold meaning first he hath an allusion to the figurative Heavens and Elements which by fire will be dissolved or burnt up secondly the Airy Heavens and Material Earth will be purged or purified by the tempest of fire so as the outward face of the Earth will be burnt up And then again God will make all things new at which time the raised Saints will be in the glorious Tabernacle and the Believers and Israel and all the promised Elect which the Lord will call in at his coming will be secured in the Holy Land and between Mount Olivet Zech. 14.4,5 This is further proved by Scripture and explained in the fore-mentioned Book Chap. IV. Be ready for the Coming of the Lord. WO to the Christians that shall be found in darkness at that day and tho' Christ said Of that day and hour knoweth no man Mark 13.32 But however he hath left upon record the certain Signs of the times which when they are seen he bids such as have an interest in him lift up their heads and look up for their Redemption draweth nigh Lu. 21.28 thereby shewing that all that expect to have an interest in him must prepare for him For it was those that would not take the warning both in the Old World and in the time of Lot that were destroyed And also the Lord said of the Jews that they were a wicked and adulterous generation which could discern the face of the sky but could not discern the signs of the
they shall never depart from him Jer. 32.40 But we not understanding aright this Kingdom or World to come which has been the causes of turning the plain word of God in the old Testament into figurative Speeches and thereby made the Oath and Promise of God to Israel void Of which St. Peter exhorts the Church to take heed to the sure Word of Prophecy as unto a light that shineth in a dark place 2 Peter 1.19 Chap. XI Where the Great Glory of the Lord will be when he comes to deliver his people WHEN the Lord again comes to deliver his People his infinite glory will then again be in the Clouds in which will be those glorious mansions into which he will receive his raised Saints John 14.2,3 and there will be that Tabernacle which the Lord shall pitch and not man Heb 8.2 which will be over the Land of Canaan from whence he will descend to Mount Olivet and also from the Tabernacle he will descend upon Mount Zion and there will he Make the place of his feet glorious Isa 60.13 For as the Lord formerly descended down in a Cloud into the Tabernacle Exod. 40.34 So the Lord will again descend upon Mount Zion And as the Lord was over Israel in the Clouds when Pharaoh was drowned in the Sea Exod. 14.19,20,24 So again the Lord will be in the Clouds when the Beast and false Prophet shall be taken alive and cast into a lake of fire burning with Brimstone Rev. 19.20 And as the King of Aegypt and Babylon with all their Prognosticators and Diviners could not by them have any knowledge of their near approaching ruine So will it be with those in our days for they will not foresee the near approaching pressedness or misery according to the word of the Lord Isa 44.25 The Lord frustrateth the Tokens of liars and maketh Diviners mad that turneth wise men backward and maketh their Knowledge foolishness This will again be alike at the time of Jacobs deliverance And it is said of Christ in Isa 64.1 Oh that thou wouldest rent the Heavens that thou wouldest come down that the Mountains might flow down at thy presence V. 4. For since the beginning of the World men have not heard neither perceived by the Ear neither hath the eye seen O God! besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him 1 Cor. 2.9 Psalm 31.19 And oh that there might be many amongst us and elsewhere found such as are true waiters for him so as thereby to become the blessed of the Lord and not found as the fruitless Fig-tree which of the Lord received the curse Chap. XII The Fruitless Fig-Tree MARK 11.13 And Jesus seeing a Fig-tree afar off having leaves he came if haply he might find any thing thereon and when he came to it he found nothing but leaves for the time of figs was not yet This Fig-tree was the representative of the body or generality of Israel on whom the Lord when he came found nothing but leaves only The which was only an outward shew and Form of Religion having nothing of real holiness and of upright walking amongst them as in Matth. 23.23,24,25,26.27,28 For tho' the time of ripe fruit as Figs were not yet yet there might have been green Fruit as sincerity and an upright and holy conversation But as for Israel's bearing ripe fruit it was not to be in this time but in the time to come after the ever of this time is past and gone Then it is they will be made partakers of the continual fresh springs of the Spirit of God which is drinking of the River of his pleasures Psal 36.8 For then they will have an Inherent perfect righteousness and that secured by the establishing of that now-promised new-everlasting Covenant which will crown Life to the Soul Isa 45.17 But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting Salvation ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end For the everlasting covenant when established and the Crown of Life is one and the same thing only two ways worded And the Believer comes in by Christ as Heir to that promised Covenant Gal. 3.28,29 Eph. 2.12 But the Believer in Christ is no longer a Believer than he believes Salvation is to be had according to the tenour of the Gospel which is in the way of our love and obedience no more than a Righteous man is a Righteous man in the day that he comitteth iniquity Ezek. 33.13 Chap. XIII Concerning the Remnant and first Churches and also the World BUT whereas the remnant and first Churches were fore chosen of God according to the Counsel of his own will for the purpose he had determined for them which was to bear their Testimony to the truth and for the glory that should follow And tho' they were not thus fore-chosen for their fore-seen willing and running yet afterward when they had embraced the Faith they were to run for the price for the hopes sake that was set before them which is the Crown of Life which was to be obtained by their willing and running by which way it is to be attained by all that will lay hold on it For when the Gospel was establisht we that followed after were to take to the way and keep the Rule set before us Heb. 2.2,3,4 And the Lord will be with us in his way and never forsake any while they keep his way by walking in a holy and upright Conversation And all that know the Lord by the Gospel should go to him for strength for he hath promised his assistance Now after the world was convinced that Christ was the Son of God they were put into a capacity of obedience as many as have the call of the word and the good motions of the Spirit of God therefore if afterward they miscarried it was thro' their own negligence and barrenness of the Soil into which the Seed of the word was cast according to the Parable of the Lord Ma. 13.20,21 which brought forth Fruit for a time and afterward withered away For when the Lord had laid the World under a Conviction by the which means it was part of the world embraced the Faith and brought forth Fruit according as it did in the Church of Golosse Col. 1.6 And the Lord laid Israel under a conviction when he shewed them his glory in the Wilderness and gave to them his Laws and Statutes Exod. 19.9,16,18 And when God would have healed Babylon it was by bringing her under a conviction in pulling her great Monarch down from his Throne and making him eat Grass like the Oxen till his hairs became like Eagles feathers and his Nails like Birds Claws and he made to acknwledge to all Nations that the Great God of Heaven ruleth over the Children of men Dan. 4. â—3 ch 3.29 Now when God hath convinced his Creatures he takes delight to see them improve that rational understanding that he hath given them to their Souls advantage and then it
it is not hid from thee neither is it far off 14. v. But the Word is very nigh unto thee in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou mayest do it 15. v. See I have set before thee this day life and good and Death and Evil. The Covenant we see here in the 6. v. was the promised Covenant in which God would Circumcise their heart and the heart of their Seed that they should love the Lord their God with all their Heart and with all their Soul that they may live and do all his Commandments As it is said in the 8. v. But now it is the knowledge of the Covenant is put into our mouths and in our hearts And therefore he saith that they and we may do it For he saith I have set before thee Life and Good Death and Evil. 16. v. In that I Command thee this Day to love the Lord thy God to walk in his ways and to keep his Commandments and his Statutes and his Judgments that thou mayest live And when a Lawyer asked our Saviour Christ what he should do to inherit Eternal Life Luke 10.26,27,28,29 He said unto him what is written in the Law How readest thou 27. v. And he answering said Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind and thy Neighbour as thy self 28. v. And he said unto him thou hast answered right this do and thou shalt live And the Lord saith in Mat. 22.40 On these two Commands hang all the Law and the Prophets And when the young Man in the Gospel came to our Saviour and asked him What he should do to inherit Eternal Life The Lord said unto him â—eep the Commandments as in Matth. 19.17 By all which we see that the Law of God should 〈◊〉 the Rule of our Lives in all things And Moses in his Song Deut. 31.30 also goes on in his former way of speaking in that he includes the adopted Seed with the Natural Seed of Abraham And in the 31. chap. and last ver it is said Moses spake in the ears of all the Congregation of Israel the Words of this Song until they were ended Wherein he saith Give ear O ye Heavens and I will speak and hear O Earth the words of my mouth We also here see that Moses terms the Princes of Israel and the People to be the Heavens and Earth To whom the Words of this Song to the half part of the 21. ver do particularly belong In which he makes mention of those things which were to come upon them as tho they had been already past And from the half part of the 21. verse to the 25. verse he speaks of that degenerate Root of Gall and Wormwood of whom God said in the latter part of the 21. v. to Israel I will move them to Jealousie with those that are not a people I will provoke them to Anger with a foolish Nation Now St. Paul directeth these very Words in his Epistle to the Romans Rom. 10.19 as knowing they were the foolish Nation vvith vvhom Israel should be moved to Jealousie and provoked to Anger vvithal First moved to Jealousie in that the Messias vvas preached and offered to them to bring them into covenant vvith God Secondly Anger in that they brought on them that miserable destruction vvhich remains to this day Novv vvhen St. Paul vvrote this Epistle to the Romans but sevv of them had received the Gospel But he to bear vvitness to the truth and knovving that it vvas that Nation vvhich by God vvas termed to be the foolish Nation A foolish Nation in that vvhen they had received the Knovvledge of the Truth they abode not in the commandment delivered to them by vvhich Christ and the Promises are attainable The which was made with their Fathers at Mount Sinai when they came out of the Land of Egypt that they should not worship other Gods nor make unto themselves any Graven Images that they should not commit Idolatry nor Blasphemy Murder Breach of the Sabbath Adultery Fornication and Theft all which and much more is their continual practice And their Theft is in taking the peoples substance for their Pardons and Indulgences for there is none that can forgive sins but God only These horrible crying sins with their unsatiable blood-thirsty cruelty to the Saints and Servants of God By which their willful and abominable Disobedience excludes them from the mercy promised in and through Christ and will bring upon them all those intolerable Curses which are here pronounced against their Land and themselves they being that Root of Gall and Wormwood against whom those worser Curses did particularly belong Novv that this Foolishness vvas meant by their falling off Paul makes it further evident by vvhat he vvrote to the Galathians In vvhich he says O foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth Novv vve see here that he terms these Foolish upon the same account as the other vvere so termed But here he rehearseth not the Words of God by Moses because they related not unto them but unto the former For in the follovving Verse of Moses his Song God saith of this Foolish Nation Deut. 32.22,23,24 For a fire is kindled in mine Anger and shall burn unto the lowest Hell and shall consume the Earth with her increase and set on fire the Foundations of the mountains 23. v. I will heap mischiefs upon them I will spend mine arrows upon them 24. v. They shall be burnt with hunger and devoured with burning heat and with bitter destruction I will also send the Teeth of Beasts upon them with the poyson of Serpents of the dust Now we know that these Judgments here set down were not inflicted on Israels Land but we see them evidently made out in this Roman Esaus Land vvhich is that root of bitterness And vvhereas God saith a Fire is kindled in mine Anger vvhich shall burn to the lovvest Hell by vvhich vve may plainly see that there is more than one Hell And this Word of his gives us fully to understand vvhence this Fire comes that does thus consume the Foundations of the Mountains that it is the Anger of God vvhich causes it vvhich Fire extends it self dovvn to the lovvest Hell and riseth upvvard into the Earth the vvhich conumes the Earth vvith her increase by those Torrents or Rivers of Fire the vvhich proceed from the Foundations of those Mountains the vvhich Mountains God hath set as Signs for these several hundred years as a mark for the fulfilling of these Prophesies and to inlighten the thinking Christians that they might know to vvhom these Judgments did appertain and also that they might make preparation for the Lord. Novv vvhereas God saith in the 24. v. I will also send the Teeth of Beasts upon them with the Poyson of Serpents of the Dust The meaning of which vvords is much like to vvhat Isaiah saith
in it that cannot be by reason in the Bowels or Heart of the Earth will be the Devils and all the Damned And man is now said to dwell on the Face of the Earth and not in it And therefore this New Earth wherein is said will dwell Righteousness is as I have here shewed you but as to the outward Fabrick of Heaven and Earth they will be wholly renewed and we know what the Word calls a New Creature is but a Renewed Creature So this Heaven and Earth will be renewed except that part unto which God has denounc'd that dreadful Curse against the which will stand as a Remembrancer of the Ages to come as the Lake of Sodom has been a standing Witness in this our World of God's sore displeasure against Sin But the Prophet Isaiah in the 30th Chapter informs us how the Excellency of the Heavens and Earth will appear in ver 25. he saith There shall be upon every high Mountain and upon every high Hill Rivers and Streams of Waters in the Day of the great slaughter when the Towers fall 26. Moreover the Light of the Moon shall be as the Light of the Sun and the Light of the Sun shall be sevenfold as the Light if the seven days in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroke of their wound Now he here tells us again when the Earth is to be so replenished or renewed that it is in the day of the great slaughter when the Towers fall He also tells us That it is the Day in which the Lord will bind up the breach of his People and heal the stroke of their wound And then will the Light of the Moon be as the Light of the Sun and the Light of the Sun shall be sevenfold as the Light of Seven Days Isa 30.27,28,29,30,31 Behold the Name of the Lord cometh from far burning with his Anger and the burden thereof is heavy his Lips are full of Indignation and his Tongue as a devouring fire 28. And his Breath an overflowing stream shall reach to the midst of the Neck to sift the Nations with the Sive of Vanity and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people causing them to err Because they have no delight in the waies of the Lord therefore they will be snared that they may be taken 29. But Israel shall have a Song in the night as when a holy solemnity is kept and gladness of heart as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord to the mighty one of Israel 30. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard and shall shew the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger and with the flame of a devouring fire with scattering and tempest 31. for through the voice of the Lord shall the Assirian be beaten down which smote with a rod. By the Assirian here is comprehended Israels enemies which now holds them in bondage as the Assirian did formerly And Isa speaking of Israel in the 29 Chap. v. 5 c. Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like the small dust and the multitude of thy terrible ones shall be as chaff that passes away Yea it shall be at an instant suddenly v. 6. Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of Hosts with Thunder and with Earthquake and great noise with storm and Tempest and Flame of devouring fire v. 7. And the multitude of all the Nations that fight against Ariel even all that fight against her and her munition and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision v. 8. And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his Soul is empty Or as when a thirsty man dreameth and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint and his Soul hath appetite So shall the multitude of all the Nations be that fight against mount Sion v. 9. Stay your selves and wonder Cry ye out and cry they are drunken but not with wine they stagger but not with strong drink v. 10. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the Spirit of deep Sleep and hath closed your eyes the Prophets and your Rulers and Seers hath he covered 11. v. And the Vision of all is become unto you as the words of a Book that is sealed which when men deliver to one that is learned saying read this I pray thee and he saith I cannot for it is sealed v. 12. And the book is delivered to him that is not Learned saying read this I pray thee and he saith I am not Learned Now of certain this Scripture doth in a particular manner point to us Christians that are now in the latter day for the beginning of the Chapter treats of the Destruction of Jerusalem And the 5. v. downward speaks of the Destruction of the World and Israels Enemies with the extraordinary Stupidity that they should then lie under And the Prophet in v. 11. hath hinted it fully to us Wherein he tells us the vision of all is become as a book that is sealed That is wherein is comprehended the destruction of the world the restoration of the Jews and the Glory of Christs Kingdom And Isa Saith in the 65. Chap. v. 17. For saith the Lord Behold I create new heavens and a new earth And the former shall not be remembred nor come into mind v. 18. But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create For behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy Whereby you may see plainly that this new heavens and earth will be at the restoration of the Jews And in the 19th Verse the Lord saith I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the Voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying V. 20. There shall be no more thence an Infant of Days nor an Old Man that hath not fill'd his Days for the Child shall die an hundred Years old but the sinner being an hundred Years old shall be accursed V. 21. And they shall build Houses and inhabit them and they shall plant Vineyards and eat the Fruit of them V. 22. They shall not build and another inhabit they shall not plant and another eat for as the days of a Tree are the days of my People and my elect shall long injoy the work of their hands V. 23. They shall not labour in vain nor bring forth for trouble for they are the Seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them v. 24. And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer and whilest they are yet a speaking I will hear Now we must not take this sinner here spoken of neither to be in Jerusalem nor one of Israel but of some of those Nations that were saved which afterwards their Seed may fall off For in Jer. 31.33,34,35,36,37,38,40 There
Unrighteous shall cease from their Naughtiness but the Righteous shall rest in Him and He shall open the Gates of Paradice and stay the Threatning Sword against Adam and feed the Lambs with the Fruit of Life and the Spirit of Holiness shall be in them He shall bind up Belial and give his own children power to tread down Hurtful Spirits and the Lord shall rejoice in his children and accept them as his Beloved for evermore Then shall Abraham Isaac and Jacob be glad and then shall I and all Saints rejoyce Now my children ye have heard all therefore chuse unto you either Light or Darkness either the Law of the Lord or the Works of Belial and we answered our Father saying We will walk before the Lord according to his Law And my Father said The Lord is Witness and his Angels are Witness and I am Witness and your selves are Witnesses of the Words of my mouth And when we answered We will be Witnesses Levy rested with this charge be given unto his children And Daniel speaking of the time when the Kingdoms of this World should become the Kingdoms of God and Christ And of the reign of the raised Saints Dan. 7.9 he saith I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the antient of days did sit whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his Head like the pure wooll his Throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire V. 10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the Judgment was set and the Books were opened V. 11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake I beheld even till the beast was slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame Ye see here also that Daniel makes mention of the Destruction of the Beast and whereas he saith he beheld till the Beast was slain which may only signify that he received the Sentence of Condemnation and his body destroyed his greatness and his grandeur of his Power broken After which he is given to the burning flame Soul and Body And as St. John says after Christ came The beast was taken alive and cast into a lake of sire burning with brimstone And Daniel saith V. 12. As concerning the rest of the beast they had their dominion taken away yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time V. 13. I saw in the night Visions and behold one like the Sun of man came with the Clouds of Heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him V. 14. And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all People Nations and Languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed And whereas the Prophet saith there was given to Christ Dominion Glory and a Kingdom which was that all People Nations and Languages should serve and obey him And in v. 18. it is said The Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom for ever even for ever and ever Here it is said That the Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom that is be possest with the Kingdom or made partakers of the Kingdom of which Christ is head And he tells us in the 27. v. That the Kingdom Dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven shall be given to the People of the Saints of the most high whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey him We see by these words that it is fully cleared where this Kingdom is said to be which will be given to the People of the Saints of the most High That it is the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven Therefore it must be upon the Earth at the time of the restitution of all things For Isaiah saith c. 24. v. 4. The Earth mourneth and fadeth away the world languisheth and fadeth away the haughty People of the Earth do languish In these last words the Prophet tells us his meaning in saying the Earth Mourneth and the World Languisheth For he saith it is the Haughty People of the Earth do Languish V. 5. The Earth also is defiled under the Inhabitants thereof because they have transgressed the Laws changed the Ordinances broken the everlasting Covenant Whereby we see that the Earth is defiled through the sinfulness of man that is upon it Now Christ dyed to restore lost man that he might purchase to himself a Glorious Church withour spot or wrinkle And he will restore the Earth to be for what it was intended in the first Creation which was for the bringing up of a Holy Seed and to be Israels inheritance and the Earth was prepared for their Nourishment which as the Earth did fill God might translate them to those Heavenly habitations Now in the day of the Restitution of all things Christ has more than a ruling Power in the Hearts of his People or with his Saints in Heaven But then will be given to him all the Kingdoms of the Earth to serve and obey him Then shall it be term'd but one Kingdom as having but one Head to be the chief Ruling Power and the raised Saints to Rule under him And Daniel doth further assure us by the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzars Dream Dan. 2.44 That in the days of those Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a Kingdom which never shall be destroyed and the Kingdom shall not be left to other People but it shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it shall stand for ever V. 45. For as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the Mountain without hands and that it brake in pieces the Iron the Brass the Clay the Silver and the Gold the great God hath made known to the King what shall come to pass hereafter and the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof is sure Now whereas the Prophet here tells us that the Dream is certain and the interpretation thereof is sure that is we may bind upon it that the God of Heaven will set up a Kingdomwhich never will be destryed And that the Kingdom shall not be left to other People but it shall break in pieces and consume all other Kingdoms and stand for ever For although it is said Christ and his Raised Saints shall reign a Thousand Years the which as I before said those words doth not at all signifie that the Reign of Christ and his raised Saints shall continue no longer than the thousand years but that the Glory may not so eminently or visibly appear after Satan is loosed to accomplish his wickedness in his deceiving his Gog and Magog after which he shall receive his final Doom Now whereas the Lord saith in Isa 26.19,20,21 Thy dead men
Hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken 27. v. Then shall they see the son of man coming in a Cloud with power and great glory 28. v. And when these things begin to come to pass then loob up and lift up your heads for your Redemption draweth uigh These Words of our Lord admit of wonderful Comfort to the Saints And in all these forementioned places the Lord makes no mention of the damned being raised at his coming And the Lord saith Luke 21.31,32 When ye see these things come to pass know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand 32. v. Verily verily I say unto you this Generation shall not pass away till all these things be fullfilled Now we see by these Words that the Lord doth assure us that he will come in this Generation which words of the Lord is confirmed to us by the Evangelists But you may say I desire to know the meaning of the Lord in his saying that he would come before this Generation shall pass away and since that there has been so many Generations and the Lord is not yet come As to the meaning of this Generation the Psalmist himself makes it fully out to us in Psalm 12.7 v. wherein he saith Thou shalt keep them O Lord thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever Which is as much as to say such a wicked sort of people as is now shall continue ever That is the ever of this World or as long as that lasteth In which all the Wicked God looks upon as one generation being guilty of one and the same sins as Idolatry Adultery Fornication False Swearing Prophanation of the Sabbath Druokenness Debate Deceit making a man an Offender for a Word and upon all Occasions their flight is unto the Refuge of Lies That wheresoever ye hear any almost run down so as though they were not fit to live upon the Earth it is commonly they are the Innocent Party for they that are in the Wrong think to carry off all before them with their Lies whilst the Innocent and Righteous are loth to speak the worst they know of their Adversaries taking Example by their Lord and Master And like the Angel in St. Jude durst not bring a Railing Accusation against the Devil but said The Lord rebuke thee Whilst the Wicked are raising all their Instruments to broach their Clamour of their own Inventions through Town and Countrey But the Lord saith in Isa 28.17 Judgment will I lay to the Line and Righteousness to the Plummet and the Hail shall sweep away the Refuge of Lies The which being the storm that at last shall carry them all away This Scripture hath its special reference to the time when the Lord cometh by the Hail that is here mentioned Now it is just with us Christians as it was with the Jews when the Lord first came that was they thought themselves secure enough they being of the Seed of Abraham So the generality of the Christians think themselves safe enough in that they are baptized and go by the Name of Christians and are of the Outward Church They rest there and think they need not concern themselves any farther Not considering that also they must put on Christ and thereby become New Creatures or else it will avail them nothing And another sort there are that think that if they get but themselves into a separate Congregation and fancy themselves elected they then think themselves past all danger The which will prove but self-deceiving And like that of the Jews who fancied themselves safe because they were of the Seed of Abraham But as to the sure Rule the which is Warrantable by Scripture to bring us to Eternal Happiness is That God requires of us our true Love to himself above all other with a filial Fear of his Majesty continually before our Eyes and in a holy Resignation of our Wills to his Law and so to walk in sincere Obedience unto him The which if we so do and so continue to do the Lord will give us 2 Tim. 4.8 at his appearing as it is written a Crown rf Righteousness for the Lord died not to save us in our sins but to save us from our sins that sin might not reign in our mortal bodies to fulfil it in the Lust thereof That is not to give liberty to any known sin let it be never so near or dear to us Now as I before shewed you God looks upon all the Wicked of this World as One Generation And again the Prophet David makes it out in Psalm 22.28,29 There speaking of Christs glorious Kingdom he saith in the 30. v. A Seed shall serve him and it shall be accounted to him for a Generation Although to our way of reckoning and the Scriptures common way of reckoning are many Generations But being made partakers of one Blessedness therefore accounted of the Lord but as One Generation And David again speaking of the time to come saith in Psalm 24.5,6 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation 6. This is the Generation of them that seek him that seek thy Face O Jacob. Selah And the Lord again terms all the Wicked of this World as One Generation Luke 16.8 For the Children of this World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light And the Lord saith to the like effect Luke 17.24,25 For as the lightning that lightneth out of the one part under Heaven shineth unto the other part under Heaven so shall also the Son of man be in his day 25. v. But he must suffer many things and be rejected of this Generation Here the Lord tells us of the visible Glory that he shall have in his day which is the day in which he shall Judge the World which is the day of the Thousand Years But first he faith he must suffer many things and be rejected of this Generation Wherein by this Generation he includes the Wicked of this World which will continue till he again comes And having further proof of this in Tob. 14.5 where he declared to his Son before his Death That again God would have mercy on them and bring them again into their own Land where they should build a Temple but not like the first until the time of that Age he fullfilled That is that Generation or that Age or such a sort of People their time be accomplisht After which he saith They should return from all places of their Captivity and build up Jerusalem gloriously The Lord foreseeing what Darkness we were like to fall under and in especial manner as to that concerning his coming and therefore the Lord doth assure us he will come in this Generation After which he saith Heaven and Earth shall pass away but his word shall not pass away That is the Wicked Powers and People shall pass away Of
the Work to be his own And as for most of the great Judgments spoken of in the Revelations they will be upon the Earth after the Lord comes And as for the drying up the River Euphrates it was never given us by Christ or his Apostles as a sign before his coming Neither was the Fall of Babylon given us as a sign before the coming of the Lord. But if Babylon does fall before the coming of the Lord it will be upon the Discovery of the great Delusions that is now made manifest being accompanied with the Angry Face of Heaven in the Earthquakes and fiery Mountains that have been amongst them But if the City as well as the Beast do remain till the Lord come at which time Dan. 7.11,12 The Beast will be destroyed and given to the burning flame and then the rest of the Beast or Kings will have their Dominion taken away Yet their Lives will be prolonged for a Season and a Time Then may the Kings that gave their Power to the Beast when they become sensible of the intolerable Vengeance that they are fallen under then may they make good that which is said in Rev. 17.16 And the Ten Horns which thou sawest upon the Beast these shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire Now in the destruction of this City there is no other mentioned but them that had given their Power to the Beast And what is faid here and in Daniel and what the Lord in Matth. 22.8 where he speaks concerning his Invitation to us by the Gospel it doth not appear to be after the Lord comes for it is said in the 5. v. They made light of it and went their ways one to his Farm another to his Merchandise 6. v. And the remnant took his Servants and intreated them despightfully and slew them 7. v. But when the King hear'd thereof he was wrath and sent forth his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City Now we here have had the Call of the Gospel and neglected it But it has and is the Roman Power that does take the Servants of Christ and use them despightfully and slay them for which it is said that the King sent his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City Now the Murderers being said to be destroyed when the City is burnt up whereby it doth more clearly appear to be after the Lord comes And the Lord hath inform'd us of this City by St. John in Rev. 17. That it is mistical Babylon as in the 5. v. And upon her forehead was a Name written Mistery Babylon the great the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the Earth Here the Lord mentions this City under the Name of a Woman And in the following verse it is said And I saw the Woman Drunk with the Blood of the Saints and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondred with great admiration And in Rev. 18.1 I saw an angel come down from Heaven 2. And he cryed mightily with a strong Voice saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen and is become the habitation of Devils and the hold of every foul Spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird This being the same as Isaiah saith in Isa 34.10 and so to the end And in the forementioned Chapter of the Revelations 3. v. For all Nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her Fornication and the Kings of the Earth have committed fornication with her And in the 4. v. And I heard another voice from Heaven saying come out of her my People that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues 5. v. For her sins have reached unto Heaven and God hath remembred her iniquity 6. v. Reward her even as she rewarded you and double unto her double according to her works in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double 7. v. How much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her for she saith in her heart I sit a Queen and am no Widow and shall see no sorrow 8. v. Therefore shall her Plagues come in one day Death and Mourning and Famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her Now that we might not be mistaken as to the City her Merchandise makes it clearly out where it is said in Rev. 18.13,17,18 She makes Merchandise of the Souls of men And in the 17. c. by the Angels words we are fully assured which this City is For in the 18. v. he saith The Woman which thou sawest is the great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Now by this demonstration here it is fully made evident that this City here mentioned is Rome in that no City under the face of the whole Heavens can be said to Reign over the Kings of the Earth but Rome and she doth by her Pope and Cardinals and the rest of her Crew which are there situated And also of this City or Woman it is said in Rev. 17.4 She was arrayed in Purple and Scarlet Colour and decked with Gold and Precious Stones and Pearls having a Golden Cup in her Hand full of Abominations and the filth of her Fornications This Cup being another clear proof that it is Rome that is here ment for it is said in the Cup is the abomination and the filth of her Fornications The which she sets up as a God and Worships and with which she commits Spiritual Fornication And now having shewed you who this City is I leave her to her near approaching Judg. Now as to what is said in Zachariah chap. 12.7 v. The Lord also shall save the Tents of Judah first that the Glory of the House of David and the Glory of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnifie themselves against Judah Now the house of David came of the Tribe of Judah and they were the Chief of that Tribe and yet here 't is said that they should not magnifie themselves against Judah and therefore underneath these Words appears there 's something veil'd and the true Christians come in by the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah and therefore it does appear to be these of Judah that will de saved first of whom Christ saith Two shall be in one Bed the one shall be taken and the other left two Women grinding at the Mill the one shall be taken and the other left whilst Israel and the promised Elect come in Multitudes And in Zach. 12.8,9,10 verses it is said In that day shall the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David and the house of David shall be as God as the Angel of the Lord before them 9. v. And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the
Nations that come against Jerusalem 10. v. And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of Grace and Supplications and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his onely Son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first born Here in these verses the Lord tells us that at the restoration of Jerusalem the weak Saint shall be as the house of David and the house of David shall be as God That is as David was King over them so will Christ the Lord who is as God And then shall they see him whom they have pierced As also it is said in Rev. 1.7 Behold he cometh with the Clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all the Kindreds of the Earth shall wail because of him Now it will be when the Lord comes in the Clouds of Heaven that they shall see him whom they have pierced And the people shall mourn apart as in Zach. 12.12 The land shall mourn every Family apart the Family of the house of David apart and their wives apart the Family of the house of Nathan apart and their wives apart 13. v. The Family of the house of Levy apart and their wives apart the Family of Shinei apart and their wives apart all the Families that remain every Family apart and their wives apart Here we see there is no mention made of the Mourning of them of Juda which is spoken of in the 7. v. by which it does more plainly appear to be the true Christians they coming in by the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah And it is said in Esdras 5.8 There shall be a confusion also in many places and fire shall be oft sent out again Which Word of the Lord is made good by the often repeated fires that he has lately sent out of Mount Etna and Vesivius And it is now according to what is said in Esdras 5.12 At the same time shall men hope and nothing obtain they shall labour but their ways shall not prosper And also it is said in Esdras 6.24 At that time shall Friends fight one against another like Enemies and the Earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein the Springs of the Fountains shall stand still and in three hours they shall not run Now whereas it is said the Earth shall stand in fear with those that dwell therein Which Earth is the Earth of people which stands in fear of those Armies which are amongst them And as for the Springs of the Fountains standing still they did so at Taurmins and thereabouts in the year 1694. And also the Springs of Water were stopt for some time in Jamaica in the great Earthquake This Book of Esdras has been laid aside because they apprehended not the Restoration of the Jews should be at the Judgment of this World and their Glory to be in the Renewed Heaven and Earth at Christ's Second Coming Although it is all along declared to be so both in the Old and New Testament but in some places more veil'd Now this Esdras is the same which is called Ezra in that Book set down in the Bible before Nehemiah For in Ezra 10th chap. the 9 16 and 17. verses is exactly the same with that in the first Book of Esdras the 9th chap. 5 6 16 and 17. verses As to the difference of the Name the Prophets are not in the New Testament named as they are in the Old Testament Now since the Signs are come which the Lord hath given us to prepare our Hearts for him that thereby we may be continually upon our Watch longing and waiting for his coming and that we may be found of him in peace and not of the Tares that are said in the Parible to be bound in bundles and cast into the Fire of Hell I shall now here speak of the new Jerusalem which is spoken of in Rev. 21.1 wherein St. John saith He saw a new Heaven and a new Earth For he tells us that the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away And in the 6. c. from the 13. v. to the 17. he tells us there of Stars falling the Heavens being rolled together and also every Mountain and Island were moved out of their places and the Kings of the Earth and the great men the Rich Men the chief Captains the mighty men every bound man and every free man hid themselves in Dens and Rocks of the Mountains and said to the Rocks and Mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wraâ—h is come and who shall be able to stand I shall not here inlarge upon it because I have already proved it unto you what are the Heavens that will be rolled together whilst the Kings of the Earth for some time remain upon the Earth to be ruled with a rod of Iron till dashed to pieces like a Potters Vessel That is those wicked Kings that have been the Afflictors of the Servants of Christ and so continue without repentance until the Lord comes Here we may see that the writings of this Book by this place and others has been very much misplaced in that they have set down the great day of the Wrath of the Lamb and the destruction of the World before the rice of the Beast And in the 14. chap. from the 15. v. to the 20. it treats of the Earth being Reaped and also the Vine of the Earth being reaped was cast into the Wine-press of the wrath of God which Wine-press was trod without the City Thus the Earth with the Vine of the Earth being reaped are the Heavens and Earth which are said to pass away And in the 20. v. it is said the Wine-press is trod without the City And in Rev. 22.14,15 it is said Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the tree of Life and may enter in through the Gates into the City For without are Dogs and sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie This City here mentioned being the City spoken of in the 14. c. at the 20. v. Where the Wine-press is said to be trod without the City And the 14. chap. is much misplaced by reason it is set before the Fall of Babilon And also the two last Chapters are misplaced which treats of the New Jerusalem in that they have placed them beyond the final and last Judgment For this New Jerusalem being the City without which the Wine-press was trod And without which were Dogs and Sorcerers Now had this City been after the final Judgment it would not have been said without were whoremongers and Idolaters Sorcerers and the like for such being in Hell have then no such term for then they
Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited Now in that the Lord saith there will be no more utter destruction there whereby it doth appear that there will be some destroy'd but not an utter Destruction for after the thousand years the Gog and Magag will come up against Jerusalem which company will be all destroyed I have given a more full Account of this Gog and Magog where I have spoken of the very or special Elect and therefore shall not here further enlarge upon it A Prophecy of Luther 's which is wonderfully remarkable and also it is worded according to the Scripture Stile LVther began to Preach the Gospel of Christ and to fall off from the Pope in the year 1515 and he Lived and Preached till 1546. and in the time of his Preaching the year is not set down he did assure them before two hundred years be expired if not sooner by the coming of the dreadful day of Judgment they be consumed that all their abominable Blasphemies Idolatries and damnable Religion will utterly be extirminated and destroyed And on the contrary we who for the sake of professing God's Holy word in truth are tormented terrified banished imprisoned and slain here on Earth by that man of Sin and God's Enemies the Antichrist and Pope of Rome at the last day with unspeakable comfort shall injoy and take possession of the Fruits of our assured hopes namely everlasting Consolation Joy and Salvation This saying of Luther's was before the former by reason he mentions that the Gospel was not at that time Preached in England when he spake this as followeth Ah Loving God said Luther come once I wait continually for that day when Early in the morning in the Spring the day and the night are alike long I see a very clear Morning Red. For these are my Cogitations whereof I purpose also to Preach that swiftly out of the morning red will come a black thick Cloud out of which will issue three flakes of Lightning afterwards there will come a clap and in a moment will strike all on a heap Heaven and Earth The Name of the Lord be praised who hath taught us to sigh and yearn after that day indeed we ought to desire the speedy approach thereof When the Turk said Luther begineth a little to decline then certainly the last day will come for then it must needs be of the necessity of the Scripture the loving Lord will come as the Scripture saith and when I come I will move Heaven and Earth and then shall come the desire of all Nations At the last there will be great Alteration and Commotion for then all the Elements shall be melted to Ashes the whole World shall be made a vast lump again as in the Begining then there shall be a New Heaven and Earth and we shall be changed but the Devil shall remain as he is for he hath nothing of the Elements as St. Paul sheweth who had great Revelations But I hope seeing the Gospel in such sort is contemned that the last day is not far two hundred years hence God's word will decrease again and fall and there will be a great darkness for want of upright faithful Servants of the Word as then the whole World will be wild and Epicurish and then the Voice will come and sound behold the Bridegroom cometh Now whereas Luther saith strike all on an heap Heaven and Earth Here he speaketh in the Scripture way of speaking terming the Powers and People to the Heavens and Earth for a great State of Power and People is term'd Heavens and an Earth as I have before show'd you in several places As the old Babilon was so termed when at the Destruction thereof it was said that the Heavens and earth were removed out of their places and this Romish Babilonian Power is also by the word said to be the Heavens and Earth And here he says they are to be struck on an Heap That is thrown down like an heap of Rubbish without any distinction of their Honour and Dignity till the Judgment of the Lord destroys them all and in that he terms it the last day his meaning is the last day of the Power of this World And as to the coming of Christ Luther hath given us for a certain sign the Turks declining the which is already come to pass and then it is he saith will be the last day of the Power of this wicked World for then Christ will come But when all the wicked are to be destroyed from off the Earth then he saith there will be great Alterations and Commotions so as the Elements will be burnt to Ashes and then will the Earth of People with the material Earth lye as a vast lump again as in the begining as in Esdras it is said Seven days and then the renewed Heavens and Earth will appear more Glorious for then the Heavens and Earth will be renewed to that Perfection as 't was in the first Creation then shall some that sleep in the dust awake as it s said in Daniel and Esdras for all that are raised do not Rise to the Glorious Tabernacle of whom Ezekiel speaks of when he saith they shall sleep in the Woods which is like unto that of Adam in Paradice Now the Elements that are here said to be burnt to Ashes are the Elements of Mans Body and this by his own way of expressing of it is made clearly Evident in that he saith the Devil shall remain as he is because he hath nothing of the Elements in him These forementioned Elements are the Elements St. Peter speaks of which shall melt with fervent Heat And of whom the Psalmist saith They shall melt as the Fat of Lambs even with smoke shall they consume away But as for the material Heavens Air Sea and Earth in the Bowels of which is inclosed Hell And for us to think that these shall be burnt to Ashes is altogether repugnant to Scripture for God hath set the Sun as I have already proved as a faithful Witness in Heaven and when the Devil is at last cast into Hell it is said Rev. 20. he was confined there day and night for ever and for ever And also it is said of the Wise in Dan. 12. They shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness shall shine as the Stars for ever and for ever And it was Prophesied of Luther by Holy Men As first a Learned Frier at Eisenach named John Hilten who Prophesied touching Luther's time namely That about the year 1516 Popedom would greatly decline as God be praised was through Luther fulfilled and especially concerning Luther and touching his Powerful Teaching and Preaching John Huss Prophesied in the year 1415 as he was to be burned at Costnitz who said This day ye Rost a Goose but one hundred years hence ye shall hear a Swan Sing Huss is called a Goose and Luther a Swan him ye shall not be able to Rost nor overcome
we have in our new Translation turned into Charity which in the old is Love for Charity will not sufficiently explain the meaning of the word Therefore it is said in the 3. v. Though I bestow all my Goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing That is if we have not Love for Love cannot be without Charity but Charity may be without Love for we may be Charitable by the way of Merit thinking to purchase Heaven by it and that will not do But if we are without Charity in the way of our Duty and Love in the fellow feeling of one anothers sufferings then is not the Love of God in us For St. John saith in the 3. chap. 17. v. But whosoever hath this world's goods and seeth his Brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of Compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him 18. v. My little Children let us not Love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth And St. James saith in the 1.17 Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their Afflictions and to keep himself unspotted from the World And he saith in the 2. c. 13. v. For he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy and mercy rejoyceth against Judgment 14. v. For what doth it profit my brethren tho a man say he hath Faith and have not Works can Faith save him 15. v. If a Brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily Food 16. v. And one of you say unto them depart in Peace be you warmed and filled Notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the Body what doth it profit 17. v. Even so Faith if it hath not works is dead being alone We are not here now to wait for new Calls but to improve the Talent that God hath given us in that we have his word the good motions of his Spirit and the Checks of Conscience the which Talents well improved will bring us to Eternal Blessedness for if we take to the rule which he hath set before us and according thereunto beg his continual Assistance God will then never be wanting to us And St. Paul saith of the Scriptures 2 Tim. 3.15 That from a Child thou hast known the Scriptures which is able to make thee wise to Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus By which the Promise is obtainable for as there is an absolute Election of whom it is said their Names was Written in Heaven from the Foundation So there is a conditional Election and us a Day of Grace Therefore as the Apostle saith having a promise of entring into his Rest let us fear lest we should fall short of it Therefore let us up and be doing that thereby we may make our Calling and Election sure for we are not of that number that are chose to be his standing Witnesses thro' the World and therefore may fall away the which I have clearly proved by the word where I have spoken of Election Of Baptism AND whereas St. Paul saith Gal. 3.27 For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ The which is meant 〈◊〉 the Spiritual Baptism whereby they become conformable to Christ as in Rom. 8.9,10 Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is Life because of Righteousness But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you The which indwelling of his Spirit is this Spiritual Baptism Now with the Spiritual Baptism there is joyned a sign or Seal the which is the outward Baptism of Washing or Plunging So as to be buried under the Water and therefore said buried with him in Baptism for as Christ was underneath the Earth so we should be plunged under the Water the which doth also signify to us that we should be Spiritually Dead to the World as having no delight in it or to it Now the Children of believing Parents are said to be Holy therefore fit to receive this sign of Baptism and they also being in Covenant as well as their Parents And by the Blood of Christ it is that both are made partakers of the Promises but to any that are of Maturity and not Believers the which Belief is such as brings our Wills over into a conformity to the will of God then Christ dwells in us by his Spirit and then are we Spiritually Baptised And if the outward sign and Seal is fixt on them that within them is not sound the thing signified It is but like a Seal to a blank Bond For St. Paul saith Rom. 2.28 For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the Flesh 29. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the Heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of Men but of God Now Children are innocent as to any actual Sin and if they come of believing Parents are said to be Holy and so fit to be Baptised and the Covenant of God made by Moses was as well made with Children as with those of Maturity Of the Trinity THe meaning of the Trinity is this That the Infinite God consists of three Glorious Beings or Persons as God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost and these three to be one God being of one Will one Mind one Power one Glory this being the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity which was from all Eternity and so continues to all Eternity the only true God blessed for ever more Amen Heb. 1.3,8 John 5.21,22,23 1 John 5.20 Col. 1.15,16,17 John 1.3 Acts 5.3,4 Wisd 7.24,25,26,27 Let us all learn to know God in Christ Christ in Faith by an Holy reliance upon him and a self Resignation of our Wills and affections to him and to know our Faith by good works and so to know the Will of God as to do it and before the knowledg of all other things we should learn to know our selves Whereas it is said in 1 John 5.7,8 that the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost are One so it is said the Spirit the Water and the Blood a gree in one as to the renewing of a sinner the Spirit of the Lord doth again Renew us the Water in Baptism washeth us and the Blood of Christ 't is that Justifies us if we take hold of the tender of his Grace according to the condition as it is offered And again the Spirit the Water and
it is this World to come that he has been instructing the Church in And also in Ephs 1.17 he saith to the like effect in that he saith The eyes of their understanding being inlightned that ye may know the hope of his calling and what is the riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints V. 19. And what is the exceeding greatness of his Power to us ward who believe according to the working of his mighty Power V. 20. Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the Dead and set him on his own right hand in Heavenly places V. 21. Far above all Principalities and Powers and Might and Dominion and every name that is named not only in this World but also in that which is to come Now what can be this world to come Heaven cannot be said to come which was from all Eternity and we all have held the Saints are to go thither and altho Christ was at that time in Heaven yet the Apostle then speaks of the Power that Christ should have in the World to come by all which we may plainly see that it is that World which is not yet manifest and since it is to come it must be here manifested and David speaking of the Glorious Time Psal 96.10 Say among the Heathen the Lord Reigneth the World also shall be established that it shall not be moved He shall Judg the People Righteously and Govern the Nations upon Earth Now St. Paul speaking of Israel in Heb. 4.3 saith Altho their works were finished from the Foundation of the Word The question is whose works were these that were finished from the Foundation of the World To which I answer It was those whose Carcases fell in the Wilderness because of their unbelief that they murmured and would not Fight for that Kingdom which God had promised them they being then chosen for the Foundation of the World to come Therefore St. Paul saith to them in Heb. 3.9 When your Fathers tempted me proved me and saw my works forty years V. 10. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said they do always Err in their Heart and they have not known my ways V. 11. So I sware in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest Now how could the great God say he was grieved if he had determined their Destruction before the Material World was or do we think the Infinite God a deceiver like our Selves But the Apostle in the following verse le ts the then Church understand they stand upon no other terms than Israel then did Therefore he bids them in v. 13. Exhort one another daily while it is called to day lest any of you be hardened through the Deceitfulness of sin V. 14. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end V. 15. Which is said to day if ye will hear his Voice harden not your Hearts as in the Povocation By which we see that our Promises are but conditional Promises as Israels was for he here speaks of himself and the Church in V. 14. Wherein he says we are made partakers of Christ with a proviso That they are not so in but that they may be cast out again And therefore in his following words he says if we hold the beginning of our Confidence stedfast to the end V. 16. For some when they had heard did provoke howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses V. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years was it not with them that had sinned whose Carcases fell in the Wilderness V. 18. And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his Rest but to them that believe not V. 19. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief Now we see they entred not in because of their unbelief And what was this unbelief It was in that they followed not the Lord fully They did believe that the Lord was the true God and that he had promised them a blessing but they were to ingage themselves into a War before they could obtain this blessing but the Enemy appeared too great for them to grapple with Now the Lord told them that they should overcome but they not willing to fight for the Blessing Their Carcases sell in the Wilderness underneath the Lord's displeasure So it is with us we believe there is a God and Christ and that he hath satisfied for sinners even for as many as come to God in and through his Name and this they say they believe and are well pleased with it But when they find it is only such a belief that will stand them in stead in which they must follow the Lord fully then they shrink at it and like it not for they no sooner so believe but they must immediately ingage in a War with the World the Flesh and the Devil And against their own Hearts Thoughts and inclinations Will and Affections or else the Promised Blessing is not to be had This sort of belief by no means they like not of and care not for it but it is so that if we will not wrestle for the blessing we must fall under the Condemnation of God which is Hell Fire And now in a more especial manner it behoves us to wrestle for the Blessing now we are at the brink of Eternal Happiness or misery for when the Lord comes which coming is just at hand and then we shall be judged according to his word which dreadful sentence to the wicked is Go ye cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels But as St. Paul saith Heb. 4.2.3 Let us therefore fear least a a promise being left us of entring into his rest any of you should seem to come shout of it V. 2. For unto us was the Gospel Preached as well as unto them but the word Preached did not profit them not being mixt with Faith in them that heard it V. 3. For we which have believed do enter into rest In this he speaks of that which is to come as though it were already done as he said As I have sworn in my wrath if they shall enter into my Rest although their works were finished from the foundation of the World As in Numb 14.28,29 Whereas the Lord saith unto them As truly as I live saith the Lord as ye have spoken in mine ears so will I do to you Your Carcasses shall fall in the Wilderness and all that were numbered of you according to your whole number from Twenty Years old and upwards which have murmured against me Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein save Caleo the Son of Jephunneh and Joshua the Son of Nun. But your little ones which ye said should be a prey them will I bring in and they shall know the Land which ye have dispised But you may say how could God be angry when he had
expired then will his Foes be made his Footstool And then as to what is said of the Glorious Kingdom of Christ in Psalm 89. will then be made manifest as in 27. to 37. v. Also I will make him my First-born higher than the Kings of the Earth My mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my Covenant shall stand fast with him His Seed also will I make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven If his Children forsake my Law and walk not in my Judgments If they break my Statutes and keep not my commandmandments Then will I visit their transgression with the Rod and their iniquity with Stripes Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him Nor suffer my Faithfulness to fail My Covenant will I not break nor alter the things that is gone out of my Lips Once have I sworn by my Holiness that I will not lie unto David His seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the Sun before me It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful witness in Heaven Selah Here we see that these Promises hath only a reference as to the time of Christ's glorious Kingdom and in the former part of the Psalm it has a reference to David and Solomon and whether or no this promise now in this time hath any further reference as to the Natural Seed of David is uncertain but because of Manassah I am apt to think it might have a further reference to a Line in his Seed and the promise concludes in a single person in that it is said my loving kindness will I not take from him that is Not from David Solomon and Christ when he bore the sins of the World Now the Church is no where mentioned as He but always term'd a She they or them and so in this promise is neither included the Body of the Church in this time or in that time that is to come for then is Israel and as many of us as shall become new Creatures will then be put into such a capacity as never to offend any more and therefore to receive no more stripes but the promise is not so then to Egypt and Syrria therefore to them and others after the Thousand Years there is but upon their offending threatned a temporal punishment as in Zach. 14.17,18 And whereas St. John saith 1 John 5.18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not This he speaks of them whom Christ terms his very Elect who does not wilfully commit sin and who are so secured in Christ that they cannot fall away and also their diligence is so imployed in the ways of God as it is said of them They keep themselves so as the evil one toucheth them not accordingly it is said of them which are to be sealed for the glorious Tabernacle Rev. 14.4 That they followed the Lamb wheresoever he goeth And also 5. v. They were without fault before the Throne of God Therefore if we would know our Election and Calling let us examin our selves how closely we walk with God since it is those that securely stand that keep themselves as the evil one touch them not That is they improve all the grace that God has given them as they are not wanting to themselves but that we do not all so securely stand as I have fully proved by Christ and all the Apostles it being yet but a conditional Covenant but so if we will not be wanting to our selves God will never leave us nor forsake us but as for tryals we must expect But St. Paul saith If we once have the knowledg of the Truth and a belief and delight in the ways of God and then wilfully fall away he then saith There remains no hope Heb. 6.4,5,6 For it is impossible for those that were once inlightned and have tasted of the Heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost And have tasted the good word of God and the Powers of the World to come if they shall fall away to renew them again by repentance seeing they Crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame And also he farther saith in Heb. 10.26 to the 31. If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledg of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sin But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the Adversaries He that despised Moses's Law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punshment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was Sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despight unto the Spirit of Grace For we know him that said Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompence saith the Lord. Accordingly it is said in 2 Pet. 2.20,21 The Sin against the Holy Ghost AS to the sin against the Holy Ghost in the Regenerate is one thing and in the unregenerate it is another thing Now we see by those Scriptures before mentioned that wilfully and presumptiously to Sin after we are once Regenerated as to have the knowledg of the Truth so as to tast the good word of God and the Powers of the World to come That is to have a belief in his Word and the experience of the love of God to our Souls after which to fall away and sin wilfully by the words of the Apostles it clearly appears to be the Sin against the Holy Ghost in that he saith They Crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh for which there remains no more Sacrifice for sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment in Fiery Indignation which shall consume the Adversary But to the Unregenerate or outward Church that have not had the saving Knowledg of God they have far larger extent before sin in them is termed the sin against the Holy Ghost which is as far as to the absolute renouncing God and Christ as Witches do or to do a thing in despight to the Spirit of Grace as Julian the Apostate did when he threw dust into the Air in despite and said thou hast overcome me thou Galilean And as to what St. Peter saith of the false Teachers they are in much the like condition for he saith in the 2. chap. 3. ver Through Covetuousness shall they with feigned words make Merchandise of you whose judgment now of a long time lingreth not and their damnation stumbreth not And if we continually check Conscience till it is mute that thereby God leaves them to blindness of Mind and hardness of Heart we have little reason to think that it will prove any other than the sin against the Holy Ghost Now there has been some that I have read of that has been drawn in to sell themselves to the Devil for some
they that Seek him shall find him if they search for him with the whole heart Christ saith VVhosoever will let him come And tho we can do nothing without Gods assistance for in him we live moâ—e have our being it is he that hath laid the Spiritual meat before us Hosea 11.4 whereby to guide our feet into the way of peace hath promised that whilst they 〈◊〉 the way he will be with them And the Prodigal that knew that he had wandered from his fathers House first lookt home before his father lookt on him and tho God may some times go out of his ordinary way of working and pluck as it were a brand out of the burning yet he no longer securely stands then he is found in his obedience for it is those that will fall under the condemnation that will not choose the fear of the Lord Prov 1.29 but for those that thro long continuance in sin have seared their Conscience whereby they become left of God to a stupid sense it is such cannot learn to do well no more then the Ethiopian can change his Skin c. but whilst we have a sense to see the evil inclinations which our natures are prone to we may continually pray Lord turn thou us and we shall be turned And if man does his endeavour God will never be wanting to such And if we resist the devil he will flee from us And if we draw nigh to God he will draw nigh to us James 4.7,8 But whereas the Lord saith No man can come to me except the Father draw him And the drawings of God are the tenders of his Grace with the good motions of his Spirit and checks of Conscience the which the old World and Israel had till they resisted for which they were condemned Gen. 6.3 Acts 7.51 And whereas the Lord saith Except a Man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven This was spoken to Nicodemus who had embraced this present World and therefore came to Jesus by Night as being ashamed to own him and such are to be born again or brought off from the World or they cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven as is more fully proved in the book where the Faith of Abraham is fully explained and also there in is made appear what is meant by the Wind blowing where it listeth and likewise therein is shewed Who they are that are not under the condemning power of the Law for their past sins Rom. 3.25 but under Grace that they are such as will and do walk in Newness of Life and if we will enter into Life we must keep the Commandments Mat. 19.17 For all are his servants to whom ye obey whether of sin unto death or of Obedience unto Righteousness Rom. 6 16. And whereas it is said It is not for the works of Righteousness that we have done but of his Mercy he saved 〈◊〉 This was spoken of the Elect who wâ—… then brought out of Idolatry and has no reference to us as is proved XXII Whereas the Apostle said Ye are saved by Grace not of works that is Man could not perform good works to that perfection as to become justified by them without the Merits of Christ and therefore saved by Grace but there is none that live in the performance of good works but shall be rewarded according to their works Rev. 22.12 The Eternal Life that is now in this time given the Believer excepting the very elect which is the standing witness is no otherwise given then it was to Adam and Eve in Paradise for had they never sinned they should never have dyed so the true Believer that believes salvation is to be had in the way of his obedience according to the word of the Lord he shall never be cast off but the Man that Departs from the Lord by wilful committing Iniquity he is no longer a Believer according to the Gospel as is proved XXIII Whereas the Lord said when he sent his Disciples forth to preach the Gospel to all the World He that believeth shall be saved and he that believeth not shall be damned Mark 16.15,16,17 That is He that believeth the Doctrine that he sent them forth to Teach and the Mercy and Condemnation was to them that accordingly Believed or refused Believing the same as not to obey the truth Mat. 28.19,20 For the Lord speaks by the Law and Gospel but to them that hears it as proved But whereas Christ said He that Believeth not is condemned already This the Lord spake to the Jews who had heard him but believed not and therefore were condemned and thereby it also sheweth that more of Israel might have been saved had they been willing to take hold of the offered Mercy I here gather so many heads together that thro' the misinterpretation of the Scriptures Satan might not beguile so many of their Souls for if we take a text of Scripture as it stands alone without weighing how it is spoken and what the whole scope of the Scripture tends to we may raise as falce Doctrine as God is True O God who of thy great Mercy hath made thy word plain in those things we have been mistaken in give more of thy Assisting Grace for to improve the knowledge of the Truth These things which are here but hinted with the other disputable places and also the signs of the Times with the near approach of the coming of the Lord are now fully explained and proved in about four small Treatises The Books contain so many several heads that I have not here room to incert them but by them the word is so plain that none need any longer remain in mistakes that are willing to understand the Truth I shall only here mention the chief Title of each Book First The Explaination of the Faith of Abraham Price bound 10. d. bound up with the Christian Belief which has the Eexplanation of the Trinity Price 1 s. 2 d. The signs of the times and coming of the Lord bound up with the Prophesie of Moses that foretold the firing of the Mountains Price bound 10 d. all three bound up togather Price 1 s. 6 d. The book that Proveth there Worlds and three Foundations with the Tree of knowledge of good and evil Price bound 1 s. And are to be Sold at the places before mentioned in the Title The book of the Figurative Speeches is not yet out My aim is at the good of Souls and therefore that they that understand not the word may be convinced of the Truth I Refer my Books to the Lord Bishops who I believe are men of that integrity that will not oppose the Truth to whom I shall by Gods assistance give further satisfaction if required and when God had inlightned my understanding in his word I did dare do no other then leave and venture the little concern I had and come above a Hundred Miles to acquaint the Nation what God is a going about to do this being the little time that is given the Christianâ— to prepare God make this Nation a Light to Christian 〈◊〉 FINIS