454 The Deceit ofApptarance. that wee lbould defire him? Who that lbonld have feen his lkinne all dewed with A. peatles of bloody fweat, hisback bleeding, his face blubberea and befmeared, his forehead harrowed, hishands and feet pierced, his fideguOJirgour, his head bowed down indeath, and lhould withal! have heard his dying lipsfay, My God,mJ God,wh7 haft thouforfa4en mdwould not have nid,He ir defpiftd•ndrtje{Jed ofmro,yea(in appearance)ofGod himfelfe. Yet even this while, to the :uttingofthe finews ofthofe fiiff-necked Jewes, the Angelsowned him for their Lord, the Sages adored him, the Star dctigned him, the Ptophets fore-lbewed him, the Devils confefied him, his Miracles evinced him, the Earth fi10ok, the Rocks renr, the Dead Jookt our,the Sunne lookt in,.,flonilhed at the fufferings oftheGod ofnature; Even whiles he was defpifed ofmen , he commanded the Devils to their chaines: whiles bafe men lhot out their tongues at him, Principalities and Powers bowed their knees to him; whiles he hanged defpicably upon the tree oflhame,, the powers ofhell \vere dragged cap- B tive after the tr)umphanr chariot of his Croffe; the appearance was not fo comemplible,as the truth ofhis ef\ate glorious.]Hdgt nol theref•re according to appe•,.nce. Should appearancebe the rule, how fcornfully would the carnal! eye overlook the pooreordinancesofGod? What would it finde here but foolilhnefie ofpreaching, homelineffe ofSacramems,an inky Lemr,a Priefislips,a favorleffe meffage,a morfell ofBread, amomhfull ofWine,anhandfull ofwater, a fiander-beaten CroiJe , acrucified Saviour, amilitant Church, adefpifed p10feffion. When yet this foolilhneffe of preachingis the power ofGod 10falvarion; thefemute Lertcrs the lively Oracles of God; thefe vile lip• theCabinetsofheaven ro preferve knowledge; this unplaufible Mel7age,1lugnalia Dei ;.this Water, the Water oflife in the midfi of the Paradifeof God' ("""''""'''A>p)this Bread theManna ofAngels, this WineheavenlyNefrar; thisChurch the KingsDaughter, all glorious within , this dyingSacrifice the Lord C ofLife,'thisCro!Te the Banner of Vicrory,this profefiion Heaven upon Earth. ]t~dge "otthereforeaccording to appeara11ce. Should appearance be the rule,woe were Gods children,happy were his enemies. Who that had feen Cai11 fianding mafierly over the bleeding carkaffeof Abel,]ofoph in his bonds,hisMifireffe in herdre!Te, Mofot in the Flags,PbQraoh in the Palace,David fculking in thewilderneffe, Sa•I commonding in theCourt, Eli.,. fainting under his Juniper tree,Jezebel painting in her clofet,Mi<halah in the prifon,Zid/,jlah in thepr<- lence,]eremie in the dun~ton,Zede~ab io the throne, Daniel trembling among the Lions,the MedianPrincesfeaf\ing in their Bowers, ]ohm head bleeding in the Platter, flerodt fmiling atthe Revels, Chrifi attheBarre, Pi/ate on the Bench, the Difciples fcourged, theSctibes andElders infulting; would not have faid; 0 happy Caln,Potib<rt wife,Pharaoh,S••I,Jrzebei,Zidkjiah,Zedtkjah,Median Princes,Pi/att,Herod,EI- D dert;miferable A bel,]ofoph,Mo{et,Daviii,Eiiah,M,cbaiah,Jmmie, D•nitl,]obn,Chrifl, the Difoipkt: Yet we know Caint vil:lorywasas wofull,asAbdtmarryrdomegloriom; ]ofophs ironswere moreprecious,than the golden tires ofhisMif\r<ffe; Mofet Reeds weremore fure than PharoahsCedars; Davidt Cave in the Defarr more fate than the Towersof ~aNI; Eliahl Raven amore comfortable purveyor than all theOfficersof J<"tbei;MitbaiahtpriCon was the guard-chamber ofAngels,when AhJ!t prefence was he counfell-chamberofevill fpirits; Jeremits dungeon had mqre true light ofcornfort than the lhining llate of Zedekioh;Daniel was betterr,uarded with the Lions, than D•ri•sand theMedianPrinceswith theirJanifaries; ]ohDs head W3S more tichwith the Crown ofhis martyrdome, than Her•d• with the Diadem ofhis Tetrarchate; chrijJ at the Barre gave life and being to Pi/ate on the Bench, gave motion to thofe handsthat firuck him, to thattongue thar condemned him, and in the mean while E gave ftnrence on his Jud~e; The Difdpltr were betterple:~fed with rheir llripes and I wales than theJewifhElders with their proud Phylafrerie•. Afterthis, who that had feen the primitiveChrifiians, fome broyled on Gridirons , others boyled in Lead, 1 fome rolled, others frozen to death,fome fleaed, others toroe with horfes, fomecra- I I fhed in peeces by the reethofLions, others caft downefrom the rocks to the flakes, 1 fome fmiling on thewheele, others in theflame, all wearying their tormentors ,od 11baming their Tyrants with their patience,would not have faid 1 of•//things IwoNid t not
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=