Boo! 111. THE WORD OF GOD COMPARED TO RAIN. $77 METAPHOR. fruitful Scafons. Are I here among the Vanities of the Gentiles the;• that can cauft Rain.::' Or can the Heavens give Showers? Art not thou he, 0 Lord .P Jer. xiv. 22. !I. Rain falls by divine Direc– tion anfl Appointment; God caufes it to ralfl upon one City, and not up– on another, .Amosiv.7. You often fre a Cloud dilfolve and fpend it– telf upon one Place, when there is not a Drop within a few Miles of it; one Land may have Rain and a fruitful Seafon, when another mav have none. ill. There is a great deal of Dif– fere nce in the Showers of Rain that fall upon the Earth, fometimes you l1ave it in fmall Drops ; a driOing Rain which comes gently, but con– tinuing long, it waters the Earch and the Fruits thereof thoroughly, going to the very Root; at other Times it comes down in a ha{ty and violent Manner, caufing rhf. Streams to nm, but it is gone pre· fently, and cloth but little good. IV. Some People in the World have no RJin, as the /Egyptians, for it is faid, that it fddom or never rains tht:re. V. Rain comes down fucceilive– ly and gradually, now a little ond then a little ; it cloth not fall all at one Time, befort: it give over, bur it comes now a Shower and then a Shower as the Earth and Fruits thereof need it. PARALLEL. you are not to look upon thofe Truths that iVIi– nitters difpenfe as the mere Effects and Fruits of' their Inventions an·d Parts: He is the Minifler of God, &c. the Office is from Heaven, the Doctrine be preaches is from Heaven, the Effi·cacy and Suc– cefs of it is from Heaven: What I received of the Lord, I delivered alfo unto you, 1 Cor. xi. 23. II. So the Word of God is fent to one Peo– ple and not to another, to one Kingdom and not to another; what glorious Influences of the Gof– pel hath God fent to this Land ; and what a Drought and Scarcity is there of it in many others not far off; and what precious Showers have fame Places had in England beyond what others enjoy I 'I'o you is the Word of this Salvation ftnt, Acts xiii. 26. it comes not by Chance, but by Commifiion and the fpecial Command of God. III. The Word of God in like Manner fome• times co:11es down moderately, yet continuing long before God takes is away from a People o( Soul, at length it proves effectual, arrd thorough– ly waters and foaks their barren Hearts, and makes them fruitful; but at another Time, the Word in a Sermon, comes like a fudden Spout of Rairr, feeming to carry all before it, and ftartles the Sin– ner, but it is foon over, and cloth but little good, it abiding not upon the Confcience. IV. So there ate fame People, nay, many in the World, that never had the Gofpel preached as yet to them. V. So the Word drops and diftils like Rain and Showers that water the Earth, now a little and then a little, as the Condition of the Soul requires; a Drop in this Sermon, and a Drop in another :':ermon; Precept muff be upon Precept, and Line upon Line; here a little and there a little, lfa. xxviii. 10. now one comforting Influence anc.l then another; nowonequickeningimpulfeand then· another, now one Pro:nife is rained down then another. r. Chrift would that his People fhould have a con!l:ant Dependance on himfelf. 2. He would have them wait upon every Sermon, upon every Ordinance and OpportHnity. 3· He would not have them furfeit upon his Word, therefore he obferves a fucceilive Diftilla·tion of the Blefiings rqereof upon them. 4- He would have every Doctrine, and Prec~pt, and Promlfe foak 111to the~r Heans. 5· Chnft would endear every Drop of his Grace, and Morfel of his Word to his People; he would have them lofe nothing he beftows, and therefore gives it them as they are able to receive it. 6. The Souls of Believers are like narrow-mouthed Veffels, they ca.nnot receive much at a Time without fpilling. 7· \Ve are fuch bad Hufbands, Chnft w!ll not truft us with all at once. VI. The Rain comes down, as VI. The Word falls upon Sinners. Wh~n is noted of Dew, irrefill:ibly; God gives Command with mighty Power, the when God doth. by his Word of Influences of the Word and Spirit work with Command fpeak to the Clouds mighty Efficacy upon the Heart; 'The Word is to difti it down t~pon the Earth, quick and powerft<l, it breaks the Heart in pieces; it is not in the power of all the in Conviction it caufes the Sinner to cry out, Creatures to hinder its falling. Lord, what wilt thou have me do? it fhall accompliOl that for which it was fent. See Light. 7H VII. So
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=