changed and get the next sight This before ye heard taught to you Now in the text we haue red the Apostle takes occasion of that which he spoke of immediatly before concerning the ranking and order of those that shall bee found dead on that great day To enter in this matter more deeplie and to fall out in a description of the Lords comming in that latter day He pointes out the manner of it and that glorie that shall appeare Thereafter he commes to that effect that shall follovv there-vpon The first effect shall be the resurrection of the dead ere euer they vvho are alyue be changed vvhich shall be in a moment the dead rysing first shall be rest vp to the cloudes and then they vvho shall be changed shall be rest vp after them The estate of both is they shall meete the Lord and bee vvith him for euer Then in the last verse he desyres the Thessalonians vvith such speaches as these euerie one to comfort another vvhether he sorrovv for his owne or for anothers death and to speake one to another of the resurrection and of the glorie that shall followe on it Now this text standes in a narratiue of the forme of Christes comming vvhereof I vvill speake no farther nor I can gather thereof out of the Scripture and with as great shortnesse as I may For it is follie to speake any thing heerein vvhich is not reuealed and spoken of in the Scriptures Now Brethren I shall speake first according to the Scriptures of God of the signes and tokens that shall appeare in the world before Christes comming For ere he be seene they who shall be found aliue at that great day shall see signes and tokens of his comming Next I shall speake of his comming and of the manner of it And in the third rovvme I shall speake of the effectes that shall followe in the vvorlde immediatlie on his comming As for the signes that shall be seene ere he be seene There are some of them that shall goe before his comming immediatlie before he ryse out of his Throne vvhere he sittes at the right hand of his Father euen immediatlie before his rysing there shall some signes be shovven to vvarne the vvorlde that the King of Glorie is comming Then there shall be some other signes that shall be adjoyned vvith his comming as hee commes through the Heauens and aire to judge the world So the signes are of tvvo sortes some signes before his comming immediatlie Signes immediatly preceding Chrâ—stes comming some joyned with his comming The signes immediatlie preceeding the Lords rysing out of his Throne to judge the vvorld are The vvhole vvorlde shall shake Heauen and earth shall trimble they who shall be liuing at that day shall see it The vvhole povvers of the Heauen shall be shaken The Sunne the Moone shall be darkned all shall be obscured the Sunne shall haue no light the starres shall fall downe or at the least shall appeare so because they shall giue no light and light shall be away nothing in the face of the earth but darknesse nothing in Heauen but darknesse Ye may read this Matt. chap. 24. verse 29. Luke chap. 21. verse 25. Christ giues these same signes himselfe that shall be immediatlie before his comming What shall be the estat in the mean-time of those who are liuing when these signes shall appear Al consciences shall be wakned all shall get vp there shall be no sleeping The murtherer vvho hes his conscience sleeping now shall be wakned then the harlots conscience shall waken There shall be two sorte of folke found liuing then some reprobate some elect the world is neuer vvithout these tvvo As for the reprobate vvhen they shall looke vp and see such a wonderfull alteration the shaking of the Heauens the darkning of the Sunne and Moon then they shall beginne to shudder and to be striken with such a terrible fear that they shal be as they wer dead and for fear of that judgment that is to follow they shall run and seeke holes and secret places to hide them from the face of the Lord and cry Hilles fall dovvn on vs Mountains couer vs Yea euen ere they see the Lord before his comming down Read of this in Luke 21. 27. Reuelat. chap. 6. verse 16. c. Now as to the elect that shall be found aliue at that tyme they shall conceiue at the sight of these first signes an vnspeakable joye and shall not be afraide but shall avvaite for that Redemption which they shall see to be at hand that full Redemption in the Redeemer the Lord Iesus And therefore they shall not runne away and seeke holes to hyde them in but they shall stand vp and lift vp their heades and faces to the Heauens and shall looke greedilie for the comming of the Lord Iesus Christ indeede it is true they shall conceiue a sorrowe and shall be touched vvith a remorse and shall vveepe bitterlie but a sweete weeping they shall weepe that euer their sinnes procured the death of the Lord Iesus Christ that Lord of glorie Therefore they shall be both joyfull and sorrowfull joyfull because the Redeemer is at hand sorrowfull for their sinnes that Christ should haue died for them that they should haue peirced him through with them Reade of this at length Luke chap. 21. verse 28. Zachary chap. 13. verse 11. Reuel chap. 1. verse 7. yea they who peirced him through with their sinnes shall bewaile him All the godlie Kinges of the earth shall bewaile him all the elect shall sorrow that their sinnes should haue procured the death of this sweete and glorious Lord. This for the signes immediatly going before his comming Vnderstand brethren that there shall be a processe of tyme in the day of judgement so that one thing shall by a certaine space goe before another It shall be sodaine but not so sodaine but they who are aliue shall see one thing done by a space of time before another it shall be so sensible that euerie one that is liuing at that day shall see euery thing done sensible Now to come to the signes joined with his comming At his down comming Signes ioyned vvith the comming of Christ when the Lord rises out of his Throne before he be seene the whole world that shooke before he rose shal be set on fyre and there shall be a terrible dissolution All thinges shall be dissolued and so shaken lowse that the world shall not appeare vnto the tyme it bee made a nevv Worlde a nevv Heauen a new Earth as Peter speakes Come to the particulares As to the Heauens they shall bee burnt vp and being burnt vp they shall passe away with a sound and noyse saies Peter as the sounding of Chariot-wheeles The elements the aire the water all shall be consumed with fire and be burnt vp and euanish The earth and all the workes on the earth planting building all shall be burnt vp with fire nothing shall be spared
in the hour of their death had they any cōfort joy and when they saw there was nothing but death and all pleasure was away then there was nothing but sorowe Hadrian the Emperour I remember who was one of the most glorious Conquerours in the world when he was on death-bed he flatters with his owne soule to see if she would haue bidden within the body saying My litle soule wilt thou bide within the body thou waits not where thou art going to without hope he was and therefore comfortlesse and dies in dispair To let vs see there is none that deceasses without the hope of lyfe and of that glorious resurrection but they die all in dispare from the King to the begger Who euer died since the beginning of the world without Christ and hope in him yea before he was manifested in the world but they deceassed in dispare So as ye wold die in joy striue to get Christ It is a thing flesh and bloud wil not giue thee and it is a greater wonder to see Christ nor to see a man through a rock ther are so many impediments to hinder his fight from 〈◊〉 Therefore we haue to craue that the sprit of Iesus wold lighten the eye of the mynde in vs aboue nature to see him and then we shall see him and so haue comfort in death Now to go forward in the wordes and to come to the heades in particulare concerning them that are departed The first thing he instructs them in I take it vp when he saies Concerning them that are asleepe is in respect of their estate present while as they lye in graue Bodies of the godlie sleepe in the graue The bodies lying in the graue sayes he is not dead Ye beleeue they be dead No death is one thing and sleepe is another They are onely sleeping for if ye will speake of death what it meanes properlie The death of the creature properlie is the euerlasing punishment and destruction of it for euer And they vvho dies and are dead they shall neuer liue againe at the least they shall neuer haue a sense of joy So the bodies of the godlie are not dead but sleeping and lying in graue and they haue a verie being a man that is sleeping is a man and hes a being a bodie in the graue hes a being and bydes lying in the graue in substance and shall abide continuallie And if it should be burnt in the fyre or drovvned in the vvatter the dissolution of the bodie in the graue shall not destroye the being thereof The turning of it in ashes is no other thing to speake of it properlie but a fyning of it as the goulde is fyned by the fyre and the drosse burnt vp so the bodie is fyned in the graue and the drosse of the bodie is but at vp that at the latter day the substance of the bodie being purified may rise as gold glistering to be conjoined with the soule The Apostle 1. Cor. 15. 53. 54. 55. when he speakes of death he sayes that the graue is not able to svvalovv the bodie but that mortality which is sin death in the body may be svvalovved vp of immortalitie So it is the mortalitie and drosse of the bodie that is burnt vp and not the substance but the substance of the bodie is cleansed and purified that it may raigne with the head Christ in glorie for euer Now to speake of this word sleeping The Scripture when it speakes of death cals it sleeping And when Iesus speakes of Lazarus he saies Our friend Lazarus sleepes but I goe to vvake him vp Ioh. 11. 11. And it is said of Steuen Act. chap. 7. verse 60. He sleeped In the olde Testament commonly there is a word added to it he sleeped with his Fathers he was joined with his Fathers Now to come to the purpose There are two parts of man A bodie and a soule When it is said that a man sleepes thinke not that his soule sleepes referring this word sleeping to the soule Some vaine men thinkes that the soule after the deceasing sleepes vntill the comming of Christ No the soule liues and sleepes not it liues and shall liue in dispyte of all the world either in paine or pleasure for euer The soule of the vngodly is translated immediatlie after death to paine and hes a wonderfull sense of paine and a liuing in paine a continuall paine anguish and torment If there were no more to testifie this but the parable of Lazarus and the rich Glutton it may suffice It tels thee that the soule of the riche Glutton had in Hell the own paine Luc. 16. 19. The soule of the godlie againe after death liues in joy And so Paul Philip 1. verse 23. sayes I vvould be dissolued and be vvith Christ viz. liuing in soule And 2. Cor. chap. 5. verse 8 I loue rather to remoue out of the bodie and to goe to God to dvvell vvith him And God is said to be the God of the liuing that is to say of the soales that liues in glorie Matt. 22. 32. So the word of sleeping is not to be referred to the soule but to the bodyes of men and wemen for as a bodie lyes downe in his bed so the bodie after dissolution is laid downe in the graue to sleepe vntill the day of resurrection There is no sleepe that by nature is euerlasting and vvhen a man hes sleeped and is satisfied vvith sleepe he must waken So the bodie if it sleepe in the graue of necessitie it must waken againe If there were no more but this word sleeping it testifies that there shall be a resurrection Now vnderstand farther that the word sleeping in the Scripture is referred to the bodies both of the reprobat and elect The bodie of the reprobat is said to sleepe The bodie of the elect is said also to sleepe So Daniell sayes chap. 12. verse 2. Many of them that are a sleepe in the dust in the earth some of them shall rise to lyfe some of them to shame and ignominie We are all sleeping but I see a diuersitie in resurrection the bodie of the elect shall rise to euerlasting glorie the body of the wicked to eternall death and damnation And yet albeit this word be common to both yet most properly it is ascriued to the bodies of the godly For euen as a man sleeps to this end that he may rise vp again more chearfully and be more able to take in hand any handy-worke do his calling So it is the body of the godly onely that sleeps to rise more chearfully to the actions and doings of that life eternall It is a wonderful change It lyes down a weak and infirme body it will rise again a strong body it lyes down in ignominy it wil rise againe a glorious body and there was neuer a man so altered comforted by naturall sleepe as the body of the elect shall be altered and comforted by that sleep in
all the Lords hand will draw thee out be where thou wilt be It is true at that latter day before Christes comming some will runne to one hole some to another hole some will cry Hilles couer vs from the vvraith of the Lambe Shall the hilles couer them No no the Hilles shall present them to the judge all the creatures shall serue that God and search them out The watter shall spew them out the verie fyre shall present them to that Iudge No escaping from the sight of that Iudge Then ye haue the suddentie of this judgement the eternitie of it and paine of it Let all these holde vs in awe Paul sayes Knovving the terrour of the Lord I trauell to be faithfull in my calling I exhort men 1. Corint chap. 5. verse 11. So let vs thinke on all these thinges and set our selues to serue God in this lyfe that we may be fred of paine for euer The Lord graunt vs grace to doe so for Christes sake To whom with the Father and the holy Spirite be all honour and praise for euer Amen THE XX. LECTVRE VPON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAVL TO THE THESSALONIANS 1. THESSA CHAP. 5. vers 4. 5. 6. 7. 4 But ye brethren are not in darknesse that that day should come on you as it were a thiefe 5 Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day vve are not of the night neither of darknesse 9 Therfore let vs not sleep as do other but let vs vvatch be sober 7 For they that sleepe sleepe in the night and they that be drunkē are drunken in the night BRETHREN ye heard that it was a thing most sure and certaine that the Lord Iesus will come againe to judge the quicke and the dead ye heard againe in the beginning of this chapter the vncertaintie of the day and houre of his comming vvhat age he shall come in vvhat yeere he shall come vvhat month what day vvhat houre vvhether in the morning noone-tyde midnight cockcrow c. No man knowes neither is it reuealed neither is it a thing to be knowne it is not for our well to knowe it but for our wel to be ignorant of it for if we knew it it would ingender a securitie in vs the ignorance of it is or at the least shold be an occasion to vs of waking and preparation of vs for it makes vs ready at what time soeuer he shall come to meete him Alwaies when he shall come to the vngodly there shall be a destruction Iudgement shall suddenly ouertake a great nomber of men and wemen that shall be found alyue at his comming especiallie these who shall be glorying in the face of the world saying all is well shall be suddenly striken as the dolor commes on a woman with chylde and they shall not escape Now to leaue all thinges taught before and to come to this present matter I haue read The Thessalonians to whom the Apostle writes hearing that at Christes comming there shall be a sudden destruction might haue consaued a feare as no doubt some of them did they might haue thought that that sudden destruction should haue ouertaken them at the comming of Christ The Apostle meetes this feare with a comfort and he sayes to them who were turned who were translated from darknesse to light Brethren vsing an homely style Ye are not in darknesse the sudden destruction shall ouertake them onely who at the comming of Christ shall be found in darknesse lying in blindnesse not knowing Christ but as for you brethren that day shal not come on you as a thief that sudden destruction shall not light on you Indeede it is true it shall come on you at vnawares but it is as true albeit it be vnawares yet it shall not destroy you The reason is because ye are not in darknesse ye are translated out of that darknesse ye were before into to light to the light of Heauen and so ye shall be found waking when the Lord shall come and so ye ye shall escape that destruction that shall ouertake them who shall be found sleeping in grosse ignorance at that day This is the meaning shortlie of the Apostle in this place Now to marke something Learne heere first when the judgementes of God are threatned when mention is made of that latter judgement and of that sudden destruction that shall be at Christes comming Who are they that feares and trimbles vvho are they that are striken vvith feare and terrour It is not the wicked of the world that is lying in darknesse in the ignorance of God and of Christ that is feared for any threatning of a judgement Threaten on a yeere the wicked who is indured in heart will neuer be striken with feare The vvicked mocks the iudgment of God tell him of judgement the judgement shall neuer moue him a whit◠albeit it pertaine to him Speake to him of the sudden destruction that shall be at Christs comming in the world tell him there shall be a day of count and albeit he seeme in the mouth to acknowledge it yet he shall scorne it in his heart Reade the second Epistle of Peter chap. 3. verse 4. There the mocker is brought in saying Where is the promise of his comming for since the Fathers died all thinges continue alyke from the beginning of of the creation Christ indeede shall come to judge the quicke and the dead there shall be a generall judgement and a count and reckoning for all our actiones and vvorkes done in this world good and euill and a sudden destruction of the world yet tell the mocker of these thinges he shall scorne them all and he will thinke all are but vaine fectlesse threatninges Yea not onely will the wicked contenine all the threatning of judgment but also the verie judgement it selfe that is lighted on him except it be all the heauier he will contemne it Read Fsay 9. 10. They say sayes he in the pryde of their heart it is but bricke and clay houses that are casten dovvn to vs when the judgement commes on them but vve shall build vp again houses of stone Se the contēpt of the judgement of God So except the judgement be the heauier they shall contemne it and scorne God in his face Experience telles this The Earle the Lord c. wil say when his house is casten down in the just judgement of God What matter that this house be casten down I shall builde vp one farre better but the Lord may make that new house fall about thy eares So the world will neuer know the judgements of God vntil the judgement light on them to their destruction Well then if the wicked fear not the judgments of God then who feares the godly they whom to the judgment of God pertains not The godly feare gods iudgmēts And I dar say in Edinburgh the godliest is euer most feared for Gods judgments The Lord is terrible when he commes in judgment Paul
to Christ and are translated from this vvorld that ye thanke him in prosperitie and aduersitie in vvell and vvoe there is the meaning Then ye see in this place a speciall vvill of God concerning this calling vve stand in and the speciall vvill of God concerning vs Christians is that vve thanke him Christian men and vvemen are most debtfull to thanke him and ought aboue all creatures to thanke him Fy on thee that vvill take the name of Christ on thee and not thanke him Thanke him in all things he can lay before thee It is his will that thou thanke him at least striue to thanke him for well and woe prosperity and aduersity for death aswell as life As for other men Iewes Turkes and Pagans c. that are not Christians God craues not this thanksgiuing at them A maruelous thing The Turke he hes the glory and wealth of the vvorld and yet the Lord sayes I vvill haue no thankes of thee neither in vvell nor in vvoe because thou art not in Christ all my glory is in Christ all the seruice I craue in the vvorld is in Christ So the pratling of the Turke and Ievv that makes them to thanke God is all but vanitie he craues it not of them O hovv great a honour is it to call a man to thanke and to serue him No neuer King got such great honour as vve get vvhen vve are called to thanke and to serue that King of Kings all our glory standes in seruing and making homage to God so blessed are they that are called to this honour through Iesus Christ Therefore he sayes through Christ meaning that in Christ is the matter of all thanksgiuing There is matter in Christ of all thanksgiuing In vvell and vvoe Christ is to me aduantage both in lyfe and death sayes Paul If thou hast aduantage in death vvhy should not thou thanke him In one word where Christ is there is matter of thanksgiuing to God in the greatest misery we can be in the world Againe where Christ is not and who are not in him as members of that glorious body ioyned in society with that glorious head if they had all this broad world they haue no cause to be merie nor to thanke no to open their mouth to praise And to speak the trueth they cannot be merie They may laugh but the true ioy is in God he is the Lord of ioy a man may well laugh but he can haue no true ioy except he haue Iesus in his hart That man in aduersitie and in the point of death will laugh more sweetly and vtter greater ioy nor the greatest worldly man in the midst of his prosperitie So I say and I command thee looke that thou reioice not without Christ I say to all men reioyce not but be sad if thou hast not Christ The Lord hes not ordeined thee to be glad it is his will onely that they that are in Christ reioyce and be neuer glad vntill thou get Christ I counsell you if ye had all the world if ye find not Christ in the hart be neuer glad What matter hast thou to be glad when the great God turnes his back on thee It may be he will cast a kingdome to thee ouer his shoulder as it were a bone casten to a dog what is that to thee if thou get not his ioyfull presence Read Dauid in all his Psalmes he was neuer glad but when he had the presence of God Now I come to the next precept Quench not the spirit The wordes are few but they conteyne great matter Quench not the spirit put not out the holy Spirit of Christ Take heed He â—es bene speaking before of the graces of God What is patience in suffering wrong What is joy What is thankfulnesse but the graces of the Spirit He hes beene before speaking of his graces and recommending them to thee Now he commes to that glorious person himselfe vvho is the giuer and vvorker of all these graces of Patience of Joy of Prayer and Thanks-giuing The holie Spirit the third person of the Trinitie that God giues to me and thee if thou be Gods seruant It is vanity to think that a true Christian man gettes onely the graces of the Spirit they get the verie Spirite No it is not the graces of the Spirite that will dwell in the hart and soule and bodie of a man no but the Spirit it selfe The Spirit will dvvell as surelie vvithin thy hart as euer a man dvvelt in an house That Comforter that Christ promised to his disciples when he was going vp to Heauen was not the graces of the Spirit no but the Spirite it selfe to dwell in our hart and to work it in al the graces So it is not the graces but the spirit he speaks of here when he saies quench not the spirit Paul saies Ephes chap 4. vers 30 Grieue not the holy spirit It is a simple guestning to make thy guest sad make not the spirit of Christ sad Paul saies in another place that the spirit is giuen thee as an arlispenny of thy saluation Ephes cha 1. vers 14. Thou â—oses the arles-pennie if thou make him sad But to the wordes The speache when he saies Quenching of the spirit quenche not the Spirit appeares to be metaphoricall It is borrovved and not proper and it is borrovved from a fyre or candle that vses to giue light and heate Then if it must not be quenched It must follovve that the Spirite of Christ must be a fyre vvithin vs It must follovve he must be a light inlightning our soules as a lanterne and lampe of light set vp within the darke and dead soule to let the soule and affectiones haue light and the Spirite of Iesus shynes vvithin the darke soule of a man as a lanterne shynes in a darke night and puttes out that masse of darknesse that is in the soule of man And therefore because it is as a fyre he sayes Quench not And Paul to Timothie 2. Epistle chap. 1. vers 6. sayeth stir vp or kindle the gift that is in thee it is lyke a flamming fyre the gift of it is but a light or flam that commes from this fyre So he sayes Stir vp kindle vp the gift that thou hast receiued Now ye see by experience a fire or light is two maner of waies quenched take me away coales timber or such other matter to burne take me away the nourishment that holdes in the fire it will die out Another way cast water on it smore it it will also die out albeit ye take not burning thinges from it So it is with this heauenly fire First draw me away the meanes whereby the Spirit is fostered and the fyre of the Spirit is holden in for as the fire feeds on the subject so the fire of the Spirit feeds on the own nutriture and foode take me away this foode of the Spirit as thou seest a fire die out so he will die out Take me
avvay this word and prophecying euen this word preached take me away the ministrie Meanâ— to 〈◊〉 the spirit in spyte of thy hart the Spirite shall die out The world would faine haue this word away but this is a maine violence done to Iesus to put the light of Iesus out of the hart O Lord vvhat count shall there be at that great day for the contempt of this word But is there no more to be had but the hearing of this word to enterteine the Spirit of Iesus Yea. It will not be the hearing only that wil hold in the Spirit Thy lyfe must be answerable to the word Thou must feede him with holy motions and thoughts within the hart feede him with holy speaches in the mouth Paul Ephesians 4. chap. 29. verse speaking of certaine vyces to be contempned he meanes planely that rotten talke puts out the Spirit Last he is fed within the soule with holy actions that holds in the light of Iesus Spirit As the oile holds in the fire take away these materials the Spirit shall die within thee The other meane to put him out is not onely to draw away from him the matter he feeds on but to giue him as it were poison to feede on An harlot poysons him with an harlatrous hart A murtherer with a bloudie hart A blasphemer with a blasphemous hart we poyson him with foull thoughts in the hart foull speaches in the mouth wicked actions in the hands this is water to put out the fire Then brethren learne one lesson As euery one should take heed to the graces of the Spirit to keepe patience joy prayer and thankfulnesse continually these are the graces of the spirit So specially and before all we should take heed to the workâ— of all the holy Ghost that dwels in our soules as a temple Take heed how thou treatst him what enterteinment thou giuest him looke that thou treat him well doe euery thing thou thinkest may pleasure him absteine from all thinges may offend him Set thy hart to please him and let thy pleasure be in pleasing him and pray euer Lord if thou hast giuen me thy Spirit giue me grace to enterteine him that I anger him not Lord giue me grace to doe all thinges to please him to doe nothing to offend him Alas if a honourable man would come in thy house and take a nights ludging thou would looke diligently that all the house and family were in good order So hold thy bodie and soule in reuerence and order for the holy Spirits sake that dwels in thee othervvaies he vvll not ludge with thee Murtherer fyle not thy hands vvith bloud if thou vvould haue him to dvvel vvith thee Paul sayes 1. Cor. chap. 6. verse 19. 20. The Lord hes boght thee out of the deuils hands out of thy ovvne hands for thou vvould lose both thy soule and thy body if it vvere in thy hand He hes boght thee with the bloud of the immaculat Lambe and to this purpose to be a ludging of the holy Spirit to dwell in He is speaking to harlots he sayes Thou art not thy ovvn Thou art boght vvith a pryce God hes boght thee with the bloud of Christ to be a temple of the holy Spirit Where the Spirit ludges there is the Father and the Son the whol Trinitie So in effect the man boght with the bloud of Christ is a ludging to the Trinitie the Father Son and holy Ghost Alas if thou could looke to this for all the world thou would not destroy that ludging of God If once this trueth of God could sinke in mens harts for all the world they would not quenche this Spirit and defyle this temple of God Alas the blindnesse of men vvho knovves not vvhat estate they stand in for vvant of sight and attention for want of regarding of the trueth we go to Hell And if euer thing was to be deplored in this world this is to be deplored that the Spirit of God is abused when he commes to sanctifie men and wemen he gets villanie and wrong done to him they wold pollute him when he commes to sanctify them Indeed he is disludged of his ludging These murtherers takes him by violence as it were and with their hands puts him out of their hart by the shoulders God keepe vs from the sin against the holy Ghost Goe thou on this way ay conteâ—ning the Spirit thou shalt enter in this sin vvhich shall neuer be for giuen thee in this life nor in the lyfe to come Now to speake of the way how we may know that we haue this Spirit These things cannot be told by words thou must go to experience and there is none of you that hes had a taste of the sweetnesse of the Spirit but ye will feill him dwell in you if ye haue him thou wilt knowe him aswell as euer thou knew any guest that ludged with thee for he brings with him such a faire light such a lyfe and joy c. that thou may easily know him He commes in joy in prayer in thanks-giuing thou wilt knowe him in these but thou wilt finde him in experience if thou growest in his seruice to honour and reuerence him as he dwels in thee To treat him as thou wouldst treat a honorable man that ludges with thee he will dwell with thee but if thou be â—â—uggish in these things thou wilt finde he will draw himselfe to a nuke of thy soule as it were for a tyme thou wilt find him cease from his working of regeneration within thee if thou cease to enterteine him by praier godlines in hart holy speaches in the mouth holy actions in the hand he will ly closse within thee for a time and do nothing And then if the man be godly he will be â—ad and sory For no ioy in the godly but when he feeles the Spirit within him Now if when he is not well 〈◊〉 he depart How much more when we striue as it were to poyson him when we bring vp euill motions in spite of him when we fall out in euill language in mouth euill deeds in the hand shall he withdraw himselfe and depart so that we will finde no sense of joy When a man failes to harlotrie he smores the Spirit As for exemple Dauid if euer man felt the Spirit of Iesus in him he felt him yet when he fell to adulterie and murther the spirit lay so closse in him that he found him not Then he wakens and sayes I haue bene sleeping I find not the joy that I was wont and so he saies Restore to me thy spirit again Psa 51. verse 12. Would he haue said restore except he had found the Spirit of God which he had before withdrawen in working within him What shall I say No joy nor rest without this Spirit be enterteinde within vs. The Lord giue vs grace to enterteine him in soule and bodie in holy speaches thoughts and deeds To this Lord be glorie and
sayes 14. vers the Lord 〈◊〉 come vvith thoulands of his Sâ—ints And I say as I think there shall not be an Angell in Heauen but all shall come with Iesus And what shall be then habite They shall come like an armie al as it were in aâ—mes Men who are in their armour in their harnes they appeare most glorious to the world So all the Angels shall come as an army armed with power and therefore it is said Angels of his povver terrible to the wicked because they shall be enarmed against them comfortable to the godly for they come for their defence The Angels in their owne nature are strong by their creation potent they are principalities powers by vertue of their own nature But the word would import more They shall not onely be strong with their owne power but they shall come enarmed with the power of Christ with an exceeding and extraordinary kinde of power such a power that they were neuer sene in before in such a majesty as neuer was seene of before and al to the glory of that glorious Lord Iesus who is Lord and judge blessed for euer An earthly king when he is in his greatest glory is but accompanied with selie infirme creatures who hes little strength But the Lord Iesus who is King of kings shall be accompanied at his comming with Angels of such an infinite strength that the deuill and all the world shall not be able to withstand any one of them Now to goe forward the next companie that shall be with him shall be creatures something inferior Not so glorious as the Angels Flaming fyre shall accoÌ„pany Christ. but very glorious a flamming fire a fire with a great flame and therefore fire that shall cast downe from it exceeding great heat and light to the world Ye will aske what fire will this be I will not be curious heerein but I think that that fyre that shall be at that day shall be that same naturall element that the Lord created when he made the rest of the creatures This appeares very vvell of Peter in his second Epistle chap. 3. vers 6. 7. When he sayes the first world was destroyed by vvater and the second vvorld shall be destroyed vvith fyre Certainely as the first vvorld vvas destroyed by a naturall vvater so shall the second vvorld be destroyed by a naturall fyre This fyre shall then appeare in such a glorie quantitie and light as it vvas neuer of before because it is imployed in the seruice of a most glorious Lord. Would ye knovve vvhat shall be the vse of this glorious fyre Read 2. Epist of Peter chap. 3. This fire going before him shall burne first the heauens then it shall come to the elements and melt them all vvith heat It shal next come to the earth and shall burne vp the earth and all the works Would ye know what shall come after There shall be a new heauen and a new earth And so this fire shall serue for the purifying and burning of the drosse of the creatures for all the creatures the Heauen the Earth the Sunne the Moone heâ— drawen on a corruption through our sinnes But is there no other vse of this fire This fire shall also in the Lords justice be a fire to deuoure the aduersaries Heb. chap 10. verse 27 to burne the reprobate for eeuer And therefore vaine man who takes pleasure in thy sinnes let â—he memorie of this flamming fire terrifâ—e thee that in tyme thou may repent Now this much for that glorious companie where-with the Lord Iesus shall be accompanied in that glorious comming Now come to the effects in the next words When he is come from the Heauen accompanied with the glorious Angels and flamming fire certainely he will not come for nothing Kings in the earth may fliâ— their campes for nothing but the King of glorie will not doe so Now the effect in one word is rendering repaying recompencing the judgement is in rendering to euery one his owne due In rendering first he beginnes at the godles and wicked after his comming in such a glorie He shall render the wicked that which is due to them that is vengeance To whom To them that knovv God on this earth 〈◊〉 them that obeyed not the Gospell of the Lord Iesus Marke it The Lord keepe vs from the causes of this rendering There shall be none that knew not God Faith accoÌ„panied vvith a troup of graces and obeyed not the voyce of Christ in the Gospell but vengence shall ouertake them in that glorious appearing of that judge in the world These are the two great â—aultes and sinnes that shall procure in the day of judgement vengence from Iesus Christ Now as there are two thinges that procures this vengence so there are two things that brings life at that great appearance of the Lord Iesus Christ The first is the knowledge of God The next is the knowledge of his Sonne the Lord Iesuâ— Christ Iohâ— chap. 17. verse 3. This is lyfe euerlasting to know thee to be the onely God and whom thou hast 〈◊〉 Iesus Christ knowe these two knowe God knowe Christ in his Gospell 〈◊〉 vengence shall not ouertake thee Then by the plaine contrare There are two grounds and causes of death and damnation The misknowing of God and the 〈…〉 of Iesus heere 〈◊〉 in his Gospell and these two are 〈…〉 gether Then brethren in one word Let not the Iew be bold to say he knowes God when he knowes not his Son all the knowledge a man can haue of God when he knowes not his Sonne is nothing for God the Father cannot be knowne but in his Son Iesus Christ and without the knowledge of God in his Son there is no saluation from judgement The Son is the Image of God and God will be knowne in him Heb. chap. 1. verse 3. He is the brightnesse of his glory and the ingraued forme of his person So that there can be no sight of God but in the face of Christ the man Ioyne these two together know God know the Son know the Son that thou may know the Father for no sight of the Father but in the Son This further wold be marked When he speaks of obedience to Christ He sayes not they that obeyed not the Lord Iesus but he sayes They vvho obeyed not the Gospell of the Lord Iesus This is spoken to the commendation of the Gospell and of the preaching of it and this base ministry which men esteemes so litle of Looke how he rankes this Gospell and the preaching of it with Christ himselfe He counts them that obey the Gospell to obey Christ and he counts them who are rebellious to the Gospell to be rebels to Christ And therefore say I boast as thou wilt of Christ and of the knowledge of him if thou despise this Gospel and this base ministry vengence shall light on thee Thou wilt say thou knowest Christ and in the meane time there wil be nothing in