926 AFFLICTION coMPARED TO THE WINTER. Book IV. AFFLICTION COMPARED TO THE WINTER. For lo, the Winter is pajl, &c. Cant. ii. 11. SOME underftand byWinter, the State of the Elecl: before Converfion; but others in my Judgment, upon better Grounds, thofe cruel Perfecutions the Church of God !hall be under during the Reign of the Tyrannical and Antichriilian Powers of the Earth: 'Ihe Winter is 'pajl, the Rain is over and gone, &c. Thefe Things, faith Mr. Ainfdlorth, ' may be applied to the outward Troubles and Grievances of this Lite by ' the Malice of the World, as when Ifrael was brought into the Bondage of Egypt, 'and ' of Babylon, and after was releafed: Likewife to the fpiritual Winter, Rei<>n, and ' Rage of Antichriil: ; after which the Graces and Fruits of the Gofpel be<>an ~o-ain to ', llourilh : It may alfo fignify the Affiictions of the Soul. 0 0 P A R A L L E L ~ I. WINTER is a Time of Cold, attended with Snow, Froft, Storms, and !harp Weather: So whilil: the fpiritual Winter of the Church continues, !harp and bitter Storms of Perfecution frequently arife upon the Godly. II. "Winter, though it be !harp, yet it is a profitable and wholefome Seafon of the Year, in refpect of the Body of Man, and Fruits of the Earth: So is the fpiritual Win– .ter of the Church, or Soul; the Godly can no better be without Adverfity, than we can be without Winter. III. Winter-frofl:s, &c. kill the \Vorms, Weeds, and Vermin: So do Affiictions, and the Froil:s of Perfecmion, deil:roy the Weeds of our Corruption, and free the Church from carnal Profelfors, who are like Worms, and bafe Vermine, that hinder the Growth of God's choice Grain. IV. In Winter it is a difficult and hard Thing to travel fome Roads: So it is a diffi– cult Thing to travel in the Way to Heaven, i. e. to keep on in the Path of Gofpel Ho– linefs and Obedience, in a Day of Perfecution. V. In Winter many Things look as if they were dead ; Trees, Flowers, and Plants have no Beauty in them, they are not pleafant to the Eye: So whilil: the Winter-time of the Church continues, the blelfed Trees and Plants of Righteoufnefs feem as if they were withered, and their Beauty and Glory gone, by means of the Tyranny and Op– preilion of the Ungodly; but when the Winter ispail:, and the. longed-for Spring be– ginneth to appear, they wdl fprom up, and flounlh agam glonouny. VI. In Winter we have now and then fome good and comfortable Weather: So now and then' in the Winter-time of the Church, there is a fweet, ferene, and calm Time of Peace and Tranquility: '!'hen had the Churches Rejl throughout all Judea, Galilce, and Samaria, and were edified, and walking in the Fear of the Lord, and i11 the Comfort of the Holy Ghoft were multiplied, ACls ix. 31. VII. The Winter makes the Spring and Summer much more acceptable and fweet: So the Storms, Tempefts, cold Froils, and nipping Time of Trouble, Opprefiion and Perfecution, will caufe the golden Age of the World, viz. the Reign and Kingdom of Chriil:, like the Spring and Summer, to feem much more fweet and acceptable to the Saints, and all that fear God. This is fignified by the Singing of Birds, &c. <Ihey jhaiJjing in the Heights of Zion, &c. <Ihe Wildemefs and the folitary Place jhall beglad, and the Defart"jhall rejoice, and blojfom as the Rofe; it jhall b!ojJom abundantly, and re– joice even with Joy and Singing, &c. Jer. xxxi. 12. lfa. xxxv. 1, 2. VIII. In Winter, Froils, and cold pinching Weather ufually !all not long; they are but for a Seafon; a Thaw will come: So the affiicted State of a godly Man, though it be unpleafant, yet it is not Jail:ing, to be fure not everlailing. Though fome Frolls hold longer than others, yet none hold always; Summer will come: And ufually where Winter is fiercelt, Summer for a Recompence 1s pleafantdt Our modern Geo– grapher,* having defcribed the Sharpnefs of Winter in Mufcovia, concludes thus: • Such is their Winter, &c. Neither· is their Summer lefs miraculous; for the huge • Seas of Ice, which in a Manner covered the whole Surface of ch·e Country, are at firrt • He_y,fin's Geography. 'Approach
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