532 Faith's Eccho, or this wilderncfs, to enjoy it. This therefore is a prong reafon wherefore the people of God mull needs fay,Come,Evenfe,Amen ; lee it be fo,becaufe (1 fay) they know till Chrift come-the fecond time, they mull not expo&'thcaccomplithmcnt of their hopc,and the perfe&ion oftheir happincfs. ' The fourth anti laft "(caftan of this Point may be this;becaule we are taughtbyour Lord and Saviour Chrift to pray, 'Thy kingdom come. That is, not only that the, kingdom ofgrace may cane into our hearts while we are here, butthat the king- dom ofglory may haften upon us : and we arc lure that this Petition (hall never beI granted to us, till Choit his return again to judgement, till he cometo accomplish, this main.promifeofall: for then only Chrift comet's as our Lordand efxt. Thcn he cosneth as a Lord, and makesan end ofail the wars òf the Church, then he (hall) throw down all enemies before him, treading sathan, atnd all Isis iuftrunseat.s under his feet, then he fhall manifcft to the world that he hash the Keyes ofhe(I,andofdeath, l then he(hall dcltroy the kingdomof Antichrift,t1 at mull be aboliili ed by the bright_ nefsof his coming. ai ed then, and not till then, Fe (hall come as a Saviour toper- form.perfc&falvationforhis Church, to (It liver his Church,not only from condetn- nation,but fromthe moleflation offia,not only from tyranny andoppreffiou ofcne- mies, but even from all the pretence of enemies, that at that day a reparation being made, it may be laid to the Saints of God, as ,/`LLfes raid to the Ifraelttes when they were afraid of the Egyptians, Rand Rill, fear nothing, theenemies that your eyes have feentoday,ye'hallnever feethem more,they (hall be fo far from oppreffing the Church, that they (hall nevermoleft the Church not fo much as by their prefence,then he (hall difpofe the kingdom to his members,as theFather lathdifpofed the'kingdomto him. Thefe arc fhrongand effe&ual teafons to prove this point tous,that themembers of theChurch, truebelievers cannot poffibly but wait and expe&, and vehemently delire the coming ofChrift the fecond time, for the faivation ofhis Body, the final falvationofhis people. Here one objedtionmay be madeby the way, and fo we will defcend to the Ufe and Application of it. Here it may be faid; But why do the people of God thus expo&and wait for the coming ofCbrift,in all the Ages oftheNew Teftament for the (pace oftboó ;ears, and yet he cometh not ? What reafon have they to be commanded to expert and wit h, and wait for the coming of Chrift, when he commis not in fo toes a time ? Have not all beenfrulirate of their expeftation? e 4ndmay not vs-e as trell as they that lived in the t ?ges before us, for we fee no appearanceofhis cooling, no more than was many hundred years fiuce ? To thiswe anfwer ; That the patient abiding, and waitingof thejuit never mil - earrieth: theSaints of God neverloaner lhalllolc for their expe&ing,and waiting for Chrifts fecund coming to Judgment: The Saints ofGod in former ages t600. '' Years ago waited forChrifts coming;but w erethey Infers by it though he came not? This expectation of his coming, it kept them in the exereile of their faith, of their hope,oftheir patiencc,oftheir watchfulnefs,it keptall their gracesa working,there- forethey were no bolas by it,though they had not the accompli(hment of the main nromife: inexpedingthe promife, they were lavers and no lo'ers,becaufcall their graces were kept in ex mite. Befides this in the fecond place, the.very cx citation of Ch,ifs in the Agcsofthe New_Telament, though he came nor, it is fruitful and ufcfel to draw up the hearts and minds of the godlyto heavenly thoughts, and to a heavenly converfation : and fo in thevery fielt Ages of the New-Teftnnent, the poltic tells,us that this is the are of their expe&ation : Phil. 3. F9. our converfùtton is in heaven;from whence we Isoli for aSaviour: they lookedfor aSaviourthco, whenhe-was but newly Id-tend- ed: was it fruitlefs !Decade he carne not of i600 years after i No, but curconver- fation is therefore in heaven, becosotfe we waitfor his coming. In all ages hace, this expe&ation bath been a means to raife theheavy mold of cards, the heart ofman to heaven and beavenly.mindednefs : therefore this expeftation doth not fail, bccaufe it is of life to help them tothe full fruition of it its the time of it. Befides, the Saints ofGod never murmur,becaule Chriftcomethnot,"thcynever murmur
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