li ·t A SE RMON on pins to fiand there all tile while, and he expedcth fomething at Jail: So God hath bmlt thts World, ~nd bath fet up IllS_Shop, (for Chnfi is faid to fet up his Shop,) and he hath mvited Men to come m and deal With him, to receive him and s,,Jvatio11 ; but he hath had bm little Cufiome in the World, and he bath fuffered the World to fiand frill, !Ill thefe lafl daies, and now he expects the 'more to come 10. Uje l· If they be the lafi days_, look for perilous days, look for more oppo– iiuon ot godhnefs, worfer enemies than the Ph.1rijes were if worfer can be. look for as bloody Perfecutions as there have been , as damnable Herefies. A~ ~here hath been [ora, 'Dathmz m1d Abiram, fo there Jhall be the fpawn of thefe m thofe days, for thofe are the lajl d.1JS ; And as m the kennel the lower it is the more dirt is fwep t down into it; fo all the fins of our forefathersare fwept down to us : The World IS now1m~re Wicked, they are the lafl da)·s,and more perilous, and therefore look for fuc.1 umcs; though 10 the end there are great promif:s of great prorperity to the Church. For therefore the Apofile faith, That rn tht !. 1 ft d,rys he h.1thjpokm to tu by hu Son; for all the promifes by the Prophets ran in– to the !tJ/ier d,!)'s, and therefore the Apofile mennons It; and happily in the latter of the J,rfi d.rys, there may be better times wherein the Lord may more fully reveal and difcover himf:lf to the Church, though not with fo great an al– teration as Chrifi wh n he came; There are bctttr da) s coming, Jor the 141 d rl)'! arc the perfection or the former days, they are the perfeCtion as of fins and wickedn•:fs, fo of grace 1nu godiinefs , and happily of pea.ce ~nd profperiry. . hat God l1ath to d J in the end we know not, there are great promiles made of JTl• k-ing aNew Heavm and a new Earth, which fignifieth the bringiug in of the "' ~nd Gmttles; thefe things are to be done in the J.rjl dJ\·s,and thefc we are ~ 't _-,,' i..g thus explained what is meant by th• !aft d,!Js, I am now to give the Reafons, why the c;oming of Chrifi was deferred to thofe la!\ days. · Firft, Chrift was to come l~fi, after all the Prophets, becaufe he was the great Promife. Secondly, As alfo to convince the World the mo", as it is in the Parable in M,Jttbtw, ThEL ordof the Vituyardfent forth hi; Strvmzts to the ll:ubandmm, them thq·_(!ew; tht11 he fmt forth other Strvrmts, more than theformtr; ( for God will cncrcafc means to convince a People,) and !afl of' all he ]•111 his Son. T hirdly, When all other Wifdom fail'd, then Chrift came , there being but one remedy to magnify it; it was fit that all other means fl10uld be tried firft, therefore for 4ooo. years, God let them try what Philo(ophy could do, and na– tural Confcicncc and the Law, Whm the World i11 wifdem knew 1101 God, tlten he fcnt the footij/J1Jefs of Preachi11g, 1 Cor.r . 21. the fubjeet of which is, Chrij/ cructjied, vn·. 2 s· Whm we were withotttjlretzgth Chrij/ died for the 11ngod!y, Rom. >· 6. the world was without firength before, but God would have them know it full y, and then was a fit time for Chrifi to come. Fourthly, To fl1ew God's Faithfulnefs, Rom. !•25. Whom God bath je11tforth a propitiatto11, to dec/,we hi; Righttouji1efs for the remif!ion of ji11s t6at art pafl, through thtf orbe,zrmlce of God. The meaning is this, God hath pardoned ma– ny a lin under the Old Teftament, through his forbearance, for as yet he had re· ceivcd no fatisfadion, but was long out of purfe, and trufled Chrifi upon his bare word 4090. years; therefore Chrif/ cam• i11 the fulnefs of time, to lhcw his own faithfulncfs, God having trufted him fo long,and his Father's faithfulnefs alfo, having promired his Son fo long. Fifthly and Lallly, Becaufe the Iaft Revelations are always the cleareft, fa God deals with particular men, upon your death-bed it may be God will fpeak _more to you, by his Son and Spirit, then in all your life before ; God revealed hunfelf more fully to St. P attl, then to all the reft, bccaufe he came Iall, God's Jail works put down his former, Th0•.fha!J >·cmember 110 lo,.grr their fle!tverance or1t of Eg)'ft, but,or1t of t hr N orth Cotmtr;· ; 88. was a great deliverance, but the gun· powder·treafon was a greater.
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