174 An Expoption of the Epifile ~ help themfelves, and ail in vain; then, Oh, that the Redeemer 'WOII/d come Otlt of Strm.Xlf. Ztoll! Now is the time for the defire of all Nations, the Redeemer longed for v-v--.J to come; he fpeaks it upon occafwn of the univerfal corruptioh of all Mankind. Here was afi•lneJ! of" {(ajim, when God fent his Son into the World to gather in one both Jew aod Gentile. So now you fee what is meant by fulnejS cf time, and by ftdneJS of jea(o11. FuJneJSof time, is, when all the times appoint~ by God were run out, fulfilled. Fttlne{s of" feafim, is, whenas there was the fulnefs of Seafon for the .7ews, that was to be a Child grown to age; for the Gmtdes, when they had a!l.corrupted their ways, then it was a ftt feafon for the Mejfiah to come. And that is the Firft. But Seco~dly, What is meant by 'Dijpet~{ation,,:";""~;.,, ifl, orfor tbe dijpm– Jation of thefrtlllefsof timts. The truth is, to read it for is more genuine and more natural; and what is the meaning of it? Some interpret it, !11 the di{pm– IatiotJ of times, that is fay they, Time wifely difpenfed. God is the Steward of Time, and he did wifely difpenfe it; he gave every Age a portion, and in the end brought forth this Jitlnefs of time, wherein he dtfl'enftth his Son. But I take it, it is not fo much meant of the dJ[pm[tlttoiJ of t1mes properly taken, of Times ordered, although that is a true meaning of it, But it is taken Meta• phorically; the Fulnefs of time is faid to have a dijpmfatiotJ, a 11ew d•Jpt1l/a– tion, which new difpenfation is to gather alJ thi11gs i11 o11e. The latter daies, when Chrift came into the World, idhould have a new bufinefs, a .new difpenSeeJ"ifon, fation; there !hould be a new admtmftratlon of chafe tttnes, to begm from that Book 7·P'4' • time and continue to the end of the'World, We know that Time, is faid,to do that which is done in time; As for Example, you find in Scripture, a day is faid to brillgforth, fo here·it is faid, that time doth dzjpm/e. He compareth it to a StewarJ, as m other' places he compareth it to a Womb, or a Mother, fo here to a Steward that hath a 'Di{pmfatiotJ. It is not meant of difPm/atio temporis, fo much as diJPeufztio rtrtJm, of tbi11gs iu time. In the 6th verfe of the Epi!lle of ,'l11de, the great Day of the Lord is exprelfed thus, The .'Judgme>Jt of the-Great 'D.ry. Why, the Great Day is not the Judge l It iscalled the Jud~ment of that Day, becaufe it is done in that Day. So here, The dijpe11[atio11 of the fte!tufs of tzme, it is not the difpenfation of time pro– perly taken, the ordering of time, though that is included; but it is meant the 6ufoufs of time. So that the fcope is this, That God did appoint that the latter daies,(which is meant thefitlne{s of time,from the time that Chrifi was born,and [o on,) he intended this to be the difpenfation, the buQnefs, the adminifiration of the World from that time, to gather alJ togttber ;, o11e. It agreeth with what the Apo!Ue faith, He6.1.1 r. God, faith he, did atIuniry times,a11diu divers mmmers, jpeak i11 timts pafl tmto otlr Fathers.6y the Pro– phets; he hath i11 thefC!a.fl drrys fpokm u11to m 6yhis Son. There is a new bu– finefs, a new difpenfation of things belonging to the fulnefs of time, to the lat– ter daies, from the time of Chrift. He beginneth to alter the difpenfation of himfelf to his Church; he turneth the Jewifh Church into Chriflia11, out of one Nation to another ; he turneth all the types of the Law into his Son, for his Soa is nothing but the types of the Law really expreft. This is now the dij'pm[<z– tion of thefult~efs of time; he makes that the bufineCs of the lafi Age, to fend his Son into the World, to make him the Head of his Church Vifible; whom Angels !hall acknowledge, whom all things that are in Heaven and in Earth, !hall come in to that, are his Eled both Jews and Gmtiles. This was. faith he, referved for thefitlnefs of time, to be the bt!finefs of tht latter /lge. This is the meaning of it. l will come to an Obfervation or two, and fo end. You fee, my Brethren, that there was a fulnejs of time when Chrifi came into the world; the World {hied long firft, it ftaid four thoufand years. Learn this Obfervation from it, That i{)'011 wait for agrrat Mercy, ygu m11jl htlve mauy timts mJd daies rtm out btforetbe (ttlne[sof time cometh, to have it. You cacnot have a greater inf\ance; for how long did the World flay for Chrif\? Four thoufand years, as I fa id before. Thou art a poor Soul, that half waited for Chrift long to come in– to thy heart ; how many years hail thou waited ? The World waited Four thoufaod
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