A SERMON on him in humility and meeknefs of Spirit; feek Meebufs above all Graces elfe . And 6. Do all this fpeedily, brfore the decree come forth. · And in the Third and La{t place, To {tir up all to this, both good and bad he adds Motives. ' Fir!1:, Such as might quicken the Bad: As, r. God's Patience was big with aVecrec,and that a Decree of Wrath. 2. Afet day wa' appointed for the birth when it would bring forth. 3· The Child would prove the fierce A 11ger of th; Lord: Which , 4· would co11jume them al Chaff, and they" not able to refill: it. Secondly, He adds a particular Motive to the godly, that in cafe the Day of the Lord's A11ger come upon the Impenitent, yet if they would feek God now they lhould be llid in it. ' 1n handling of which Particulars, I have rather chofen to give you the juyce and f\rength of them as f\ramcd and concocted mto Application, and an Ufe of Exhortauon,as here the Prophet cloth,than tofpend this precious time afforded us in Doctrinal difcourfes. In which, if I /hall be courfe and plain, and not prophecy fmooth things to you, confider Sackcloth becomes this day, as to Pray m, fo to Prophefyin . as the two WJ t11ef{es arc alfo faid to do, R ev. ILl· ' Speak fir{\, you fee hcre,the Prophet cloth o_f, and to the whole Nation in the general; and fo l have more efpCCJal Comm1i1lon to do thisday, wherein eve– ry particular Congregation allembled, is to rel'refent and perfonate the whole ; and take upon them the fins of the whole Natwn, to confcfsthem as their own as the Saints of old, Ezra and VmJiel, did in all their Faf\s. But more efpe: cially We, who arc~ Nation of our felv_es (Gens tog ata,) and as a Co lony fe– lect and cull'd out of •ll the Corners of 11; and fo our fins are as the Index of all the Sins of the Nation ; and not only fo, but as the original ,Fountain of all the dif\empers through the whole. , ~ The firil thing he exhorts this Nation to, .is to Gather together; that is, ( as I have it expounded .7oei2,I) . 16.) J'a11t'!tfie a Fajl, call a jotemll af{em61y, ga• ther the P ooplr, (!)c: God will have publick penance, ere he grants out a gene– ral pardon. And gathered together we are this day to this very purpofe, fo as that Exhortation would be out of date; only let us blefs the zeal and wifdom of Authority, that bath thus gathered us together before the 'Decree 6ri11g forth; for that is the right fcafon of this great Ordinance. Preventing-Phylick is bef\, and fo this is here prefcribed, .and fo harh been taken by rh~ Saints of old. In · the 91h of E z ra, when the People bad married the Daughters of the Nations and the Princes had been chief in this trefpafs; as foon as Ezra did but hear of this fin, he rent his garment, fat down af\onied, and faf\ed and prayed , as fore– {eeing a {\orm when fuch grofs Vapours afcended; For tho11gh ) 'et, fays he, w e remai1t efi:aped, yet woutdjl thou 110t be angry till thou h01djl conji1med tu? (!)c.V.I4i'J)· But to Gather together, and to call a general Congregation, that is not all the Prophet exhorts here the Nation unto; he calls them to a fcrutitl)', alfo Search your felvn The Original word, fay all Interpreters, lignifies Srarchi11g as well as Gathering ; and, fay fome, thefe two being conjugate Duties, the Holy Ghof\ therefore concludes both in a word indifferently-fignilying both; fo as the word being twice repeated , they tran!late the fir{\ Gather, the fecond , Search. Searchi11g, which is the beginning of Wifdom and Repentance, being the end of Faf\ing. And befides, that the plaill and proper fignification of the word bears both, fo by way of Metaphor it bears both alfo; for Repentance , whereof [earchi11g our [elves is the beginning, is in Scripture phrafe cxpreifed by Gather– ing a mmt' s mindor wits together, (that all our life perhaps before have been gadding apreferment Gathering, learning Gathrriug , credit Gatheri11g , and the like things without us;) but then to recollect and call in our thoughts, to come to our [elves, as the Prodigal's Repentance is exprcifed Lttke I). 1 7· To be– think our ]elves, or Bri11g back to our hearts, as the Margeot varies it in 1 K ing. 8.47· fpeaking there, as here, of true Repentance. So as you fee every way they agree both R e (!) nomiue. And
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