Chap. t. Sett. 2. J4.ookmg unto 'jjefttS'. Book VI. 621 Come Lord Jefu, let thy Kingdom come; .but is not the Jlelh afraid, left God fhould hear thy prayers? Oh tha1 we could loath our loathnefs in that refpet'l:! oh that we could long for this fecond coming of Chri£1: to judgment! And Chriltian•, this is attainable, or otherwife 1 lhould not perfwade you to it. I am ir. a ftrait ( faid Paut) Phi!. 1. 23. bmveen two, having a dejire to depart, and to be withChriff "'hich i< far better : And this is the voice of rhe defolate bride, Come; for the Spirit of Cbri£1: within her faith come, 1he Spiritand the Bride fay come. Yea, ~he whole creation faith come, Waiting to be Rev. 12. 17. delivered from the bondage of corr-uprwn tnto the glorto!H !tberty of the Sons of God; and Rom.8.2 1,23· not oncly they, but our [elves alfo.which have the jirff-fruits of the Spirit, even we our [elves groan within our[elves, wattmg for the adoptzon, to. wit the redemption of our body. Oh that we couldgroan ! oh that we could come up to rhis high pitch, even to figh out, not our breath, but our fpirits! even to groan our, not fome vapours, but our hearts! · I know it is fuitable to Jlelh and blood to tremble at the thoughts of judgment; Whm Pa11l reafoued of righteoufnefs, temperan", and of judgment to come, Felix trembled. Acts 24- 25· Weak Chrilrians as well as Heathens may have many terrible fancies and notions of that day: Ohtothinkof atime, Whenthere fhailbeagreat earthquak!, when the Sun jhallRev.6. 12 , 13 , become black_ as jet, And the Moon red as blood, when the Stars of Heaven fha/i fall, and '4•'5••6,!7· when the Heavens thcmfelve> jhall depart M afcro/1; whtn the Trumpet jhall found, that will]hake the EArth, 11nd evtrY Mou»tainand ljlandjhall be rnoved om oftheir pla<es ; when the Kings of the earth, t<nd thegreat men, and the rich men, and the chief Captains, and every bonds-man, and every free-man Jha/1 hide themfclves in the dens, and'in the r~efl..! of the mountains, and {hallfay to th,rockJ and tothe mo,.ntains, fall on m, 4nd hide uofrom theface of him thatjitteth on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for tbefreAt d..y of his wrath wcome, and who]hall be able to ftand ? Will it not be terrible? i the people were fo afraid when rhe Lord ca.ne without fuch att~ndams to give the Law upon Mount Sinai; certainly much ~ore terrible mu£1: fuch a coming in this manner be, when he lhall come like a revengmg Judge to take an account of the world for the keeping, or forthe breaking of that Law. In thisrefpeCl:, I wonder not at fome weak Chriftians, that cry out, 0 Lord thou k_no>reff, that I have not defired thw woful day ; A wife Jew was wopt to fay, from a deep fore-light of terror of this day ; The Mef]i.P.h will come, but Lord let me not live to fee his coming. Now to conquer this fear, and to abaQ<' fuch/layilh terror in fuch fouls· oh that they would confider it in the whole notion of it, not onely as it ./hall be a da}: of blacknefs and of terror, bur as it lhall alfo be a, day of r.eft and of releafe. Some are apt to take it up in the half notion of it, they look on it onely as aday of judg– ment, and a day of condemnation, and fo they By from it 'IS from a Serpent, but if they would take it up again, and look on the other fide, th< Serpent would lie turned into a Rod. Tbe day which will be fo dreadful to the ungodly, and the beginning of their mifery, it wiH be as joyful to the Saints, and the beginning of their glory. But in wl1at refpeCl: is this day of Chri£1: fo d~fi.rable a di!y? l anfwer, in thefe particulars --- - l. It is ".da.yof refrejhing. Here the Sainr~work'in afu:nace ; Huftreuin Zion, Allq. 19 . ~<nd hu furnace in {eru}alem; but Chrt£lm h1s fecond c~ommg ( when all the world !fa. 31 , 9. ~J.aiLbe on fire) IJNII fan wind (as I may•fay) on his Saints to cool them; ro the wicked tt ts an hot day, a day of everla£ling ouroings ; but to the Saints it is a day of cooling, qmckning, re·:iving, and refrel)ling. 2. It is ad.y of r<floring of all things. Every creature is now in it's work-day dref- Allq •r fed, all defiled with fin., but at that day there lhall be a rellimtion of all things; all ' • ' the d1forder.s and ruines which fin hath brought into the world (hall then be repaired, and man h1mfelf whofe fin is the caufe of all, lhall then be reO:ored to his original glory. 3· It is." d.y of the manifeftatioll of the Sons nf God, Then lhall it be known who Rom. 8. '9· lU'e ttue Samts, oamLwho are reprobates; here we live in confufion, and in our moO: re-' lined Churches ( 1f we have none fcandalous) yet we may have many hypocrites, and we cannot dtfcern ut~~m; but in that day it fhall be known who are the Lords, and who are not; the hy[l(lwte lhall then be unmanrled, and the fons of God lhall lhine and glitter as the Sun, that all may run and read, Tht{e are God's EleEL-, the[e are the Sons >~nd D~ughrcrs of the Almighty. ' 4· It
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