Opene.d.and Applied. the Lord calling ~he wretched Jews in his Word, the Lord c~lls thee; and when the Lord in his Minidery comes to them, he comes w you; and to havl! thy name in rhefenfeof rhe S~r ipture, is moH forch7gloryof the Spirit, and fuir ing befhvith the work of fa,tth, and mo!Hure, and mofHweer ro you ; bur efpecially I fay, I\ hen the.Melfengers of God come to you, rhey .make things particularly clear ; whtcn were but generally fer down : 0 conlider · therefore the Lord is earnefl: in his fuic ro have thee receive him. S E C T. VI. I.IT breaks the heart of the Lord JeJus to fee thee depart away,and go a whoring from him;when a man is fo fer in bis de!ires that when ne is crolfed of 117 lhishopes in marriage,it makes him lick and pine away with grief, becaufe hf: is very earnefl: for the match ; fo it is here, E:u:/z, 6.g. And rherefore we fhall fee 0U"ar~8 ,n. rhe Pharifees who had feen all his works, yet an adulterous oenerarion fought after a fion, it is faid Cbrifl: !igheddeeply in fp ;rir for this; ~orhinggrieves rhe Lordfo"much as rh is i to defpife any part of his will, or poorett·memberof his, grieves him; but rodifpife himfelf, this much mor·3; as we lhall not find any joy in Scripture like this, when the Lord harb overcome the unkinde heart of a rebdlious !inner; and hence heaven and earth and If•. H· ' · defercs are commanded to rejoyce at this: devi~e to grieve him, and you cannot do it fo much as by refufmg him. z. The Lord is fo de!irous of it, that he will pafs by all thy former lewdnefs, if now thou wiltreceivehim,Jer.3.r.wirh 4- men will not do fo, yet the Lord will ; what, when fo many vanities are loved more than the Lord, can the jealoufie cf Chri!t receive me? Yes that he can. 3· When the Lordhath c;til off a poor creature forrefufing him, yet then his heart yearns and his foullong;; for it (many times) again, /fa·54·'i,6· the Lordhath called thee as a wife of youth when refufed; i.<. when God did appear to them, ro refufe them ; Oh wonderful ! that when che foul hach refufed rhe Lord, and rhe Lord . it, and all creatures refufe to love it, yet thefe the Lord calls agan; and hence rbeLord comes upon his people Ifa.)p. that complained, (; •d had sttterly re jelled them, and all the fault is in him; . no their fins bad done it; buc then he blames rhein rhat when he came, no ma.n anfwered,&c. 4- All rbe anger of Chrifl:, efpecially his greatefl: anger is exprelfed againll a fq1l for wanr of thisbeing willing ro receive him ; when you fay HOI'/ dot!i the Lord regard or delire rf!e, when he fighrs againll me? Firtl, Is there ~n evil not infliCted, but devifec'! ~gai.nfl: thee? (as many a , one fears what ts not yet made known ) this Is to mak§ 1ou r>turnr, Jer. 18. II. ' . Secondly, Are there any farrows upon thy confcience, upon thy outward man, .that God tak$s all comfort from thee~ Hof.z.9. 14- 16. Thirdly, Are there any evils infliCted upon orhers in rhis life,. efpe,:ially whole Churches, rbeir Ordinances broken, Temples confumed, and laid into dung-heaps? it is to get thy good wilt, }er.3.8. Fourthly, Are there any gone down to Hell, who did once flourilh here, that ·you have even feen the flames and rears before you of crying Gbotls ; if fo, I then know ic , it iJ that thou mighreft draw near the Lord , Pfalmr:: 73, z6, 27. · 'i· The Lordprofelferh that he will give the choicell of all bleflings to rhem 1 _______________________ r_ha_r..____l.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=