AnExpojition of the Epinle ~ Go, take his chofen People the ]ews; they were the only Nation, his darling; Serm.Xll. theirs were the Oraclesot God, the l'romifes, the Covenant ..and they were all tn ~allwith him for many thoufand years. Why? he fcatters them,breaks them all in pieces; the Tw Tribrs he carrieth captive away long before the Two Tribes, and then the Two Tribes: And when he had thus fcattered them all, what is his Pro– mife? ljai. 1 LIO, TJ. Itjha!lcome to pafs (faith.the Ttxt) that the Lord jb,i/1 f't hi& ha1ld agam the Jecolld lime to recover the rem11ant of his People: Aud ( verfe 12.) hejba!lgather again the dijperfed of .ft~d,lhfrom the four CorJJers of the Earth. He will gather them together in one again. What faith the Apofllc, Rom.1 1.11? HtlVe the)'.flttm61ed, faith he, that theyJbot~ld fo/1? Or as the Pro– phet Jeremy expre!Tetlt it, we may allude to it, if it be not the meaning of the place, Jer.8 + Sh,,/ltheyfall, aud 11ot rifo? He compareth the calling off of the .'Jewsbut to a llumbling , it was no more; yet it was the greatellllumble that ever was, for)hey llumb!ed upon the Rock, Chnjl; they crucified him,and ) et God calls it but a llumbling; but it was a llumbling of a long !!ride, for i.t was 16oo years. But, /hcl/1 they f/umble, faith he, that they jba/1 fall? No, he will recover them agam. Shall they fall, mtd 11ot ·r,fe? Yes, and their rifing fhall be life from the dead, as it followeth verfn,q. In Ezek.37-3- God com– pareth them todry Bo11es; Ca11theje dry Bo1/fs live, faith he? Their hope wos gone, all was gone. Behold, faith he, verfc ) • I <vilt cmife breath to mter i111o theje Bo11es, and tbey ./ball twe. He comes over rhem the fecood time, and makes all thefe Bones come together, and flefh comes upon them, and they fhall live, and he will never cafl them off again. Compare but Rom.li.26. the A– poflle quoteth but one Scripture to prove the Calling of the .fews there; it is out of I!m.59• Read but that Chapter, and you fhall find, that when they ore once called, he wdl never cafl them off agam; but thetrfeedsJeedjballremai11for ever. And Ifai.6J.l7· he faith, that theformer Heavm m1d EarthjhatttJOmore 6e 'remem!Jred, iJvr co·me illto '11JZ1Jd . This, my Brethren, is the manner of God. I fhould give you the reafon of it, but I mull pafs on, I will conclude with a fhort Ufe. You fee here , how all Mankind ran into a confufion, here is a !hatteriog in pieces of Heaven and Earth, and God gathred up all again. Fear not God's fhattering nor breaking thinss in pieces. You think our Kingdom now is running into confufion, confu– fion tn Opinions; the Saints are divided, one runs one way, and another runneth another; one holdeth one Opinion, and another holdeth another. My Brethren, although the revealed Will of God is, that they fhould all agree, yet notwith– flanding all this fcattering and divifion, God will in the end bring forth a glorious gathen11g together i11 o11e. If he pull down the Tabe'rnacle fet up, and the frame and form of it, he will fet up a better. If he pull down the Temple , it is in three days to build i't up again, and make it better, as Chrif\'s Body was, when he rofe again. Never fear, I fay, God's !battering things, God's unbuilding. To give you an Inflance, God fet up a glorious Church in the Primitive times, and it was according to the pattern. What doth he do? He fendeth A11tichnfl into the world, and he pulls it down and defiles all the wodhip of God; there is a jalti11g away to be ( f.1ith he, fo he calls it 2 Thejf.2.3 .) both in worfl1ip and doctrine. And, what hath God done? He bath reafonably well built it up again, recovered this Temple out of the hands of Alltichrifl; he had ooce all Natious following him, as you have it,Rev. I 3·4·7· Why, ere Chrill bath done, all Na– tions fhall worfhip him; he had loll them all, he gathers all again. Fear not his fcattering then. There was a Reformation made, when firfl: we came out of Popery. My Bre– thren, what is imperfect, God will pull down certaioly; he will fcatter you, he will melt you; and what is his end ? to fetch out the drofs , and when he hath done, you fhall have a purer Reformation come out of all. This is his manner. Fear not, I fay, therefore his fcattering: And he will never ceafe till he bath brought the Church, not only to that purity that was in the Primitive times, but to a purer. When the Whore is burnt and call off, and the Bride cometh to drefs herfelf forthe Lamb, as you have itRev.14, andChap.18. the Apoflle faith, he fell down tmdworfbipptd the Angel, that brought this news. This, faith he, is htter than ever I jaw, than ever was in his time, he would never have worfllipped
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=