Chap.17. according to S' MATT I-I a vv. _ 453 fioine of heavenly husbandry. As it is aLfo in all torts of Chri- Bj <c n on filar, to be fober in prayer,' Pet.4.7. that is, as one faith, to keep rag, Gods couniehnot to be proud, or boaft of fuccefle, or (peak of aG the fecret fweetneffeofGods love without calling : it is, to conceal the familiarity of God in fecret. Verte Io. Why thenfay the Scribes, &e.] Chrift had anfwered them this queltion once afore : but they were unfatisfied byany thing he could fay, becaufe ftrongly pofleft with the conceit cf an earthly Kingdom. But the occafion of the queftion might be this : Our Saviour had forbidden them to tell any man the vifion : Hence they might thus debate it. Forafmuch, as Elias mutt firft come (fo the Scribes teach, and they have a text for it, M4/.4.5.) and now he is come, as wehave fèen in the Mount why fhouldeft thou Lord,forbid us to tell it abroad,Gth this might be an effe&uall argu- anent with the Jews, to move them to acknowledge thee for the trueMeflias ? 'fo this cur Saviour anfwereth. Vetft 1I. eArnd reftore all things] viz. In Malachias fenfe, i.e. not ¡imply, abfolutely, perfectly : for the royalty of reftoring all things fo, was referved forChrift alone, Ails 3.21. but com- paratively to thehate of theold Church. So thole renowned Re formers,Luther,Farelhu, &c. abroad, Cranmer, Cromwell, &c. here at home, freed the Churches from many burdens and bonda- ges,did ( for their time) worti,,ly inEphrata, and are therefore fa- mous inBethlehem. But as epefdcm non eft invenire &perfi.- cere (it is a praife proper to Chrift only, to be Alpha and Omega, Rev,[. Authour and Finifher of that he Pets about) thole brave men left Heb.1a.a, many abufès and diforders in the Church unrectified,unreformed, which either they did not fee,or could not help. But now as more light is diffufed, fogreat thoughts of heart,yeaand.great hopes are conceived, that God will fini lh the work and cut it fhort in righ. Rom g.i8. teotr taefie, that he will cut off' thenames of the Idols out of the land and they (hall be no mere remembred: yea that he will caufe Zech.I.3,a... the falle Prophets, and with them the unclean.fpirit, to paffe ono of the land. We (hall reade Neb. 8. 17,18, of a feaif of Taber- nacles fo well kept by the J.ewes newly come out of captivity, withdwelling in booths, andreading every day out of the Law, &c. as had not been done in many hundred years before, no nct ii the raignof David and Solomon. Verse 1 2. Fur I fayunto you that Elias is come] \llthat is like- ly to come,however the Papift (as it were to thwart Chrilt) by. depraving
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