the seed of the Woman is come and how he hath overcome Principalities and Powers and how the Devil hath opposed him now we see the meaning of this Prophecy And now we can bless God so much the more for Christ Christ is no other than the Lord did in Paradise formerly Prophesie of And so divers other Prophecies in the Old Testament as The Scepter shall not depart from Judah unto Shilo come Alas none of the Jews almost did understand this And that not a bone of Christ should be broken and so I might name you forty such Prophecies so just as now The Prophecies that were Prophesied of concerning Christs coming in the Flesh were very obscure in the Old Testament but were made clear by the fulfilling of them to us in the New So the Prophecies of the glorious state of the Church when Jerusalem shall be made as the praise of the whole Earth they are obscure to us yet but when it comes to be made clear the Saints of God will praise and bless God that now they come to enjoy that that so many years ago was Prophesied of And therefore comfort your selves in this when you Read the Prophecies in the Word But certainly when it shall come it will be a blessed time and therefore pray for it give the Lord no rest till he set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth For then shall the Book of God be opened and things shall be seen mighty plain when that comes I will give you one Scripture for that of the clear opening of things when Jerusalem shall be made the praise of the whole Earth You find in the fourth of the Revelations and vers 1. There was a Door opened in Heaven nothing else but a Door But afterwards you find that Heaven it self was opened In the 19. Chap. vers 11. And I saw Heaven opened and behold a white Horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true c. First A Door was opened and then the Heaven of God was opened Noteing that there should be a Progress in the state of the Church at the first they should have but a little knowledge but afterwards they should have abundance of knowledge And in the 11. Chap. the 19. vers And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven and there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his Testament c. How comes that to pass for in the time of the Law there was no such opening of the Temple as to see the Ark of Gods Testament for that was kept hid But now speaking of the glorious times of the Church in the state of the Gospel the Temple of God was opened in Heaven and there was the Ark of the Testament of God seen it was made clear Then the Ark of Gods Testament it was kept hid from the People that they could not see it in the time of the Law But when Jerusalem shall be made the praise of the whole Earth the Temple shall be opened and the Ark shall appear the word of God shall be made open in the Promises and Prophecies of it Therefore let us pray and believe let us believe and pray that this time may be hastened The Second SERMON On a Fast-Day at Stepny Octob. 31. 1645. IN the fourth place the time when Jerusalem shall be made the Praise of the whole Earth what shall be done then We shall be delivered from all Oppressions The Titles of the Church made good visibly Prophecies and Promises fulfill'd And in the fourth place there shall be a wonderful Confluence of People that shall joyn with the Saints in the way of God's Worship It 's true now there are but a very few that do joyn to worship God how little is God known in the World and Jesus Christ how little is he acknowledged in all the world if we should divide the World as some have into thirty parts we find not above five of those thirty that do so much as acknowledge Jesus Christ all the other are Heathens at this very day And then among those that do acknowledge Christ in the Grecian Churches though he is acknowledged to be Christ the Saviour yet they are extream ignorant generally And what a great part of the Christian World hath Popery under it And among those that make profession of Christ how few are there that do honour him and worship him according to his own way But when this time comes that Jerusalem shall be made the Praise of the whole World you shall have a mighty Confluence of People It shall not be said any more Little Flock fear not little little Flock but it shall be a great Flock and therefore you find in the Book of the Revelations that Jerusalem when it comes to be measured it is said to be a great City a mighty Confluence shall be unto the Church In the 2 of Daniel v. 35. it 's said there speaking of the Church as I remember 't is by way of resemblance of a Stone that it should grow great as a Mountain and it should fill the whole Earth there should be the generality of the World called in the fulness of the Gentiles together with the Jews I will not say every one but generally they shall be called in to the true Worship of Jesus Christ and to the embracing of the Gospel That Scripture in the sixtieth of Isa ver 3 4. and so on it is remarkable for this And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the Brightness of thy Rising Lift up thine Eyes round about and see all they gather themselves together they come to thee Thy Sons shall come from far and thy Daughters shall be Nursed at thy side Then thou shalt see and flow together and thine Heart shall fear and be enlarged because the abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee Mariners and those that converse at Sea they shall be converted unto the Church 'T is a Prophecy shewing that the Lord hath a special care of Mariners that have gone on in wayes of Ignorance not knowing Christ and the way of the Gospel saith he Abundance of the Sea shall be converted unto thee He doth not mean the waters of the Sea but the People that do converse in the Seas Mariners in the Sea that they shall even come over the Sea to joyn when they hear the Gospel comes to be set forth in the beauty and Power of it And so he goes on still further in the 6 vers The multitudes of Camels shall cover thee the Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah all they from Sheba shall come they shall bring Gold and Incense and they shall shew forth the Praises of the Lord. Read but this sixtieth of Isaiah and you shall find both this of the multitude of People And of abundance of Glory of Jerusalem that shall be which in the very Reading of it you cannot think that this hath been
JERVSALEMS GLORY Breaking forth into the WORLD BEING A SCRIPTURE-DISCOVERY OF THE New-Testament-Church In the Latter Dayes immediately before the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST LONDON Printed by J. A. and are to be 〈…〉 most Booksellers 168◠TO THE CHRISTIAN READER THIS Precious Treatise of the New Testament Church in the latter Dayes Preached many Years a-go by that Evangelical Prophet Mr. Jeremiah Burroughes was committed to us by a Citizen of Zion to whose ready Pen the World is much engaged for Preserving the Mantles of divers of our late Elijah's which they let fall from their Pulpits before they went to Heaven If thou hast seen and tasted that Gracious and Warm Spirit which runs through His many other VVorkes Published by Himself and His Brethren it will certainly encrease in thee a Spiritful Thirst and Longing after what else he hath received from his LORD and MASTER and hath freely Communicated as His Embassadour to His People which are yet to be printed The Principal Scope of this Small though weighty Book is to give us Scriptural notice that Jesus Christ will usher in His second Coming by making Jerusalem His Church a Praise in the Earth a Glory throughout the World This is plainly demonstrated according to the WORD by this Apollos mighty in the Scriptures and an Interpreter one of a Thousand Therefore seriously peruse every Text without a prejudicate Opinion Judge not rashly lest thou be judged For this Master-Builder hath set before thee nothing but that which is grounded upon the Pillar of Truth and which is according to the Golden Reed of the Sanctuary Here is a singular Collection of several Scriptures of the Old and New Testament looking one the other in the face as the Cherubims of Gold did which Moses made at each end of the Mercy Seat and shaking Hands together for the more evident and firm Demonstration of this Great Gospel-Truth following the Apostles Rule Comparing spiritual things with spiritual things so that you will find this Soul-ravishing Point that Christ's Church shall be the Praise and Glory of all the World as the Light of the Sun breaking forth more and more to a perfect mid-day of Glory Oh! how welcome will that day of Christ's Espousals and Coronation be to His Love-sick Spouse as the Dove with the Olive Leaf was to Noah or the re-appearing of the Star to the Wise Men Let us resolve in the strength of Christ who is the only Supream Head of His Church constantly to make it our solemn business to plead at the Throne of Grace those glorious Prophesies and Promises in his Name in whom they are Yea and Amen even till He Establish and till He make Jerusalem a Praise till He have not only laid the foundations with Saphirs but finished this City of Pearl not only brought forth the Corner stone but the Top Stone of Jerusalem and all the Earth with shouting cry Grace Grace to it 26 th of this 3 d. Month 1675. Less than the Least of Jerusalems Remembrancers William Adderley THE EPISTLE THE Publisher of these Sermons is desirous they might pass with Testimonial into the World that they might pass with the greater Freedom But indeed the Name of the Author so well known may be sufficient Argument for their Reception in every place These Sermons are but some Fragments of the VVorthy Authors Judicious and Pious Labours But Christ gave order to his Disciples that the Fragments should not be lost Faith may here find some food as it takes a prospect of the Glory that is hereafter to be revealed For here you have the Author's Sentiments about the last times and of the Catastrophe of all things at last After the Dragon and the Beast have acted their parts in their opposition to the Lamb and his followers wherein he hath presented to our View the many ancient Prophesies recorded in Scripture that bear witness to these things So far as you see Prophetick Light shine before you take heed to it which is all that is desired of the Reader and by the Publisher Who having this Commodity I mean this Copy lying by him was willing to bring it forth as men bring Corn and other necessaries to Market for publick Use and benefit only remember that it was not in the Author's Intention for to have it so Had his own hand been upon the Frame you should have seen the Lines drawn with more Accuracy and the Truth more fully searched into And if any hath thoughts different from the Author 's in these ensuing Sermons let him shew however that Respect to so Reverend a Man as to reject nothing Rashly that is Asserted by him and if he doth not Receive let him Consider And let us all be waiting and preparing for the Bride-groom's coming Amen Even so come Lord Jesus ISA. 62. v. 7. And give him no rest till he establish and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth SERMON I. IN the former Chapter there are many Promises of an excellent and Glorious state that God would bring his Church into in his time with those Promises the heart of this Prophet Isaiah was much taken and therefore in the beginning of this Chapter saith he For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the Righteousness thereof go forth as brightness and the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burneth And as he himself would not rest nor hold his peace so he would that all the Watchmen that were set upon the Walls of Jerusalem and so after all the Ministers of the Church that they should not rest yea he would that they should give God no rest until he establish and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth Give God no rest he speaks here after the manner of Men to note what importunity there should be among the people of God in seeking of God to make good all those glorious Promises that he hath made to his Church for the raising of it up to a glorious state as a man that is importunate of any business he is not satisfied if he doth Petition and nothing comes of it he falls to it again and again and seeks to get by importunity and resolves that he will be at no rest And so God speaks after this manner not that his rest or not rest doth depend upon us But that we should be as importunate with him for so great a mercy as this is as with any man in the world that we were resolved that till he had given us an answer we would give him no rest and give him no rest until he hath established and made Jerusalem a praise in the Earth Till he establish Till he makes good his word till the Church be brought to a settled way of mercy and into a safe and sure condition For sometimes as if the Prophet should say we find the Promises beginning to work and God is doing good for us but at other times things seem
in respect of the Excellency of the Church to a deal of Lumber of Cloaths and such things indeed as have some worth in them But when you come to the Church there be the Jewels of God the Pearls of God and the heart of God is upon them there God communicates the Riches of his goodness Oh! it 's a blessed thing to be one of Gods people then thou art one of his Jewels of his treasure of his peculiar treasure Now doth it appear to the World that the Church is the peculiar treasure of God why it 's trampled under foot by men but God tells us that there is a time that it shall not be so as now it is In the third of Malachi There is a time that he will make up his Jewels Now the Jewels of God lie trampled under feet they seem to lie in the dirt but vers 17. They shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts in that day when I make up my Jewels and I will spare them as a man spareth his own Servant that serveth him There is a time a coming for God to make up his Jewels there are many precious Jewels lie in the dirt and no body regards them But a time shall come when it shall be known that there is a difference between him that feareth God and him that fears him not why do not we know it now those that are Spiritual know it But this Scripture seems to hold forth this thing that there shall be a time that all the world shall know it Now the time is that we cannot discern by any outward things a difference between Love and Hatred But there will be a time that we shall discern between the Love and Hatred of God apparently before the world There will be a time when it shall be said Verily there is a reward for the Righteous verily there is a God that Judgeth in the Earth That 's the fourth Expression The fifth is The Church is called the Glory of God In the fourth of Isa Vpon all the glory shall be a defence and so in another place I will place Salvation in Zion for Israel my Glory The house of Gods glory So it 's called in the 60. of Isa v. 7. It 's called the Crown of glory In the 62. of Isa v. 3. And it 's called the Throne of Gods glory Jer. 14.21 The glory of God The House of his glory The Crown of his glory The Throne of his glory All these Expressions hath the Church of God in the Old Testament Certainly God intended that these being Typical should Typifie some glorious condition that the Church should be in in time to come We find that the Church is called by way of Type Gods Ornament Ezek. 7.20 As for the beauty of his Ornament he set it in Majesty It 's the Ornament of God The Beauty of his Ornament The beauty of his Ornament set in Majesty All these three are in one Verse spoken concerning the Church of God As for the beauty of his Ornament he set it in Majesty but they made the Images of their Abominations and of their detestable things therein The force of the Argument is thus Saith God Why was not my Church and Ordinances there more glorious than their false Worship was not my Temple more glorious than their Images As for the beauty of his Ornament That is the Temple that was a Tipe of the Church he set it in Majesty Yet saith he they went and made Images O wretched People that when they had such a glorious Temple where my presence was so much and yet that they should turn to Worship stocks and stones As if God should say to any wretched Man or Woman Hast not thou come to the Word and heard the Excellency of my Son set forth unto thee and hast not thou had the glory of God in the Gospel shining before thine Eyes hast not thou heard of those blessed things that are revealed in the Doctrine of Grace and yet wilt thou turn after base things to satisfie thy flesh and mind nothing else but that O unworthy wretch that ever thou shouldest be partaker of any of those Excellent and glorious things that are revealed in my Gospel Just in such a manner doth the Lord speak to this People What go and forsake my Temple and Ordinances and go and turn to Images when it was so glorious O unworthy that ever they should receive mercy from the Lord Now was the Temple of God at such a time as that Gods Ornament so beautiful and set in Majesty surely Gods Church that is Tipified by it is one day or other to be an Ornament to God and a Beauty and set in Majesty and glory And then it 's called the Royal Diadem in the Book of Isa There is a time therefore when this must appear to be so which is when the Lord shall set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth Now if the state of the Church in the time of the Law that was Typical was so mark what the Apostle saith concerning the tipes and shadows of the Law Heb. 10.1 The Law having a shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the things can never with those Sacrifices which they offered Year by Year continually make the comersâ— thereunto perfect The Law had but a shadow of the Image of things as is observeable It had not so much as the Image it was but a shadow then surely they could but barely resemble the good things to come here this Scripture may be understood by the way that Limners or Picture-Drawers use when they would make a Curious Picture of a Man First they draw a shadow with a piece of Chalk or Cole by which you may see a little proportion of the man but what 's this to the Image of the man now that 's more excellent and much beauty there is in that But in the man himself there doth appear more glory still than in his Image why the time of the Church under the Law that was like the drawing of a man upon a piece of Board with a Cole But now the state of the Church under the Gospel that 's like the Image it self and the state of the Church in Heaven that 's as the Man himself So then I make use of this Scripture thus If the Lord speak so of his Church in the time of the Law when the state was but Typical That it was his Portion his Peculiar Treasure his Inheritance and his Diadem and Ornament and the like what shall it be in the time of the Gospel when we come to have the Image of the thing not the shadow but the Image and then what must it be in Heaven when it comes to be the thing it self in glory And this is the second thing that shall be when the Church comes to be the praise of the whole Earth Oh now give God no rest Lord let it appear thus this point
will help you to pray much and you should put this into your Petitions Lord make thy Church appear to be thy Portion Thy Treasure Thy Glory Now come Lord Jesus come quickly O that that day might come The third thing is this That when God sets up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth then God will make good the Promises that he hath made unto his Church in the Old Testament And the Prophecies of the glory of his Church which are very many that the truth is we do not know what to make of them we are fain to make Allegories of them when it 's very probable that they are to be in a literal way to be understood and all for the want of the knowledge of this one thing that there is a time for God to set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth Commonly we find that Divines have opened the promises of the Old Testament either by way of an Allegory or of the state of the Church in glory so that there hath been a great mistake in this thing We find in the 54 of Isa v. 17. when the Lord makes a promise to his Church that no weapon that was formed against that should prosper he concludes it and saith This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. All the promises in the Old Testament are the Inheritance of the Saints of God It 's a very sweet place it 's an Excellent place to poor People that have no Riches nor Inheritance left them by their Parents but they have the Promises for their Inheritance Thou may'st look over the Book of God and watsoever promise thou findest made to the Church thou mayst look upon it as thine Inheritance Many carnal men that have great Inheritances other ways they have nothing to do with the Promises of the Saints But the poorest Saint hath all the glory that there is in the Promises of the Word of God they are their Inheritance But in the mean time I have little Why thou art under age yet and God he is thy Guardian and God will be accountable to thee for all and the longer thou stayest before thou comest to thine Inheritance the more shalt thou have when thou comest to it and therefore remember that all the Promises in the Word are to be made good to thee one way or other and all that concern his People will be made good in this world when God shall come and set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth We shall understand that hereafter and therefore we find in the 5 th of the Revelations that there the Lamb he only is able to open the Seals of the Book There was brought a Book Seal'd and a Proclamation was made to know who was worthy to open the Book and to loose the Seals thereof Now the Text saith that John saw none found worthy At length there appeared a Lamb as it had been slain and he was found worthy and the Book was given to him and he opened the Seals of the Book this Book is the Book of the Prophecies of the state of the Church in the new Testament and the promises of God for the glory of the Church of the new Testament Now these things have been kept Sealed for a long time and especially before Christs time But Jesus Christ the Lamb that hath been slain it is he only that is able to open this Book and the Seals of it and there is a time that he will open it he opens it by degrees to his Church And therefore I find it 's very observable in the 22. of Revel vers 6. There comes an Angel to John and said unto him These things are faithful and true And the Lord God of the holy Prophets sent his Angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done Why now John was before speaking of the glorious condition of Jerusalem the Jerusalem that came down from Heaven Now saith he The Lord God of the holy Prophets sent his Angel Why is it said here The Lord God of the holy Prophets The meaning is this that the Lord now sends his Angel to make his Servants to understand what was in the Prophets and therefore the Lord hath this title The Lord God of the holy Prophets It 's not said here The great God or the holy God only or the Father of Christ or any such title But the Lord God of the holy Prophets That is I here will manifest to my Servants what I did Inspire the holy Prophets with in former times and will open their Prophecies unto them O it will be a blessed time when we shall come to understand the Prophecies of the Old Testament and how they do aim at the New Testament you Read their Book and how often do you shut the Book and say O Lord I cannot understand I do not know the meaning of these things and so likewise the book of the Revelations and sometimes you are ready to think why doth God write so in his word But be satisfied in this thing in your Reading the Scriptures there are some things very dark But now the main things that concern thine everlasting Salvation are clear enough and bless God for that But now if you would know why other things are dark they are dark because the Lord intends in them to manifest some glorious thing that he will do towards the latter end of the world for his People that the truth is God would not have generally known till then You will say why then have we the Scriptures Yes we have them now that God may appear so much the more glorious when they are fulfill'd that they may be manifested to his Saints that these are no other things than the Prophets did Prophesie of divers thousand Years ago Now this will mightily add to the Joy of the Saints when they shall come to see O this is partly fulfilling of such a Prophecy in Isa and in Ezek. and in the Revelations now it adds to the Joy of the Church to know that these things that now they have are no other than God did foretel by his holy Prophets as no question now when Christ was Prophesied of For he was Prophesied of for four thousand Years before he came into the world and in a Mighty dark way as now this first Prophecy of Christ The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents Head what could they understand of this and yet under this Prophecy was the whole Gospel Prophesied of and he shall bruise thy heel there all the sufferings of Jesus Christ were Prophesied of under that Prophesie Now I am confident that for the general part of the Jews they understood no more of that Prophecy to be meant of Christ and his sufferings than we when we Read in Ezekiel and in the Revelations do understand what God will do for his Church in time to come But now when this Prophesie is fulfill'd that we find
yet fulfill'd since the time of this Prophecy and therefore is yet to come And so in the 66 of Isa For this Prophet Isaiah is the most Evangelical Prophet that speaks more of the Glory of the times of the Gospel than any Prophet vers 7 8. Before she travelled she brought forth before her pain came she was delivered of a Man-Child Who hath heard such a thing who hath seen such things shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day or shall a Nation be born at once for as soon as Zion travelled she brought forth her Children Here 's the Number and the Suddenness of it together It shall be done even in a sudden way That Promise shall be then fulfilled to Christ wherein the Lord hath said to him That he would give unto him the Heathen for his Inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for his Possession Now though that Promise be made to Jesus Christ yet the Lord is a great while afore he doth make it good to the uttermost that he did intend Well then may we be content to wait for the fulfilling of Promises when as the Promise that God hath made to his own Son he is fain to wait for the fulfilling of it And that 's the fourth thing A great confluence of People shall come into Jerusalem it shall be a great City And then in the fifth place Where there are multitudes coming in will there not be a great deal of dross and filthiness It is usual that a Church while it hath but a few it may continue in some purity but let a Church have many to joyn with it have but any considerable Number it usually doth quickly corrupt There grows a great deal of soyl and filthiness where there are a Number joyned together But now this shall be the Glory of this Jerusalem that though it shall be very great there shall be a mighty Confluence of People yet it shall abide in its purity there shall be a great deal of Purity in the Ordinances that they shall have and in the Professors that shall joyn together And for that we have that Prophecy in the 44. of Ezek. verse 9. which is a place by all Divines understood of the state of the Gospel Thus saith the Lord God No Stranger uncircumcised in Heart nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my Sanctuary Not so much as uncircumcised in Heart ☞ Mark here it seems in the times of the Gospel a meer outward Profession is not enough for one to profess himself to worship God and the like but if he be uncircumcised in Heart he must not enter You will say How can we know the Heart It 's true we cannot know the Heart unless it be some way discovered but if there be any thing to discover wickedness in the Heart such a one in the times of the Gospel must not be received into the Church of God ☞ And there will be a time of greater discerning than now there is and therefore you find it in the 21. of Revel where St. John doth Prophesie of the New Jerusalem at the last verse And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh abominations or maketh a lie But they which are written in the Lambs Book of Life In no wise no no there 's two negatives there though we in our English Tongue make two Negatives to be an Affirmative yet the Holy Ghost doth not there shall not not no in no wise shall there enter any unclean thing into it Now it is apparent by divers things in this Chapter that this must be meant not of the Glory that there shall be in the highest Heavens but of some Glory of the Church here For it is said in the 24. verse That the Nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it and the Kings of the Earth do bring their Glory and honour into it Now the Kings of the Earth do not bring their Glory and Honour to the highest Heavens there 's no difference between a King and the poorest and meanest they must there be stript of all their Robes and the Kings of the Earth shall bring no more Glory to that than meaner men Therefore it must be understood of an Estate here where the Kings of the Earth do bring their Glory to it 'T is very hard to conceive that it is impossible for any Hypocrite to get in yet the Scripture speaks so as it shall not be ordinary for an Hypocrite to get in Indeed in the state of the Church as hitherto it hath been or as yet it is there are abundance of Hypocrites and therefore that 's no Argument against labouring to cleanse the Church from prophane ones to say Why the best of all have those that are Hypocrites Though it 's true yet when men do some way or other discover themselves to be Hypocrites they must not be received into the Church But now here 's the Question Whether there should be any but those that should give such Testimony of Godliness as may appear to the judgments of men to be so And if once they appear to be otherwise they should be cast out of the Church This must be a certain Rule those that ought to be cast out if they were in they must not be received in if now they were to be received If no Prophane one but must be cast out if they were got into the Church when they appear to be so why then certainly they are not to be taken in appearing to be prophane We are now to labour what we can to come as near to that glorious Jerusalem as we are able We are now to labour to promote the condition that the Church shall be in then but we cannot expect for to have it yet till the Lord doth put another Spirit upon men than hitherto Therefore when God intends to make Jerusalem as the Praise of the whole Earth there will be certainly another Spirit upon men than yet there is for the present Therefore in the sixth place the Gifts and Graces of the Saints shall be exceedingly raised and enlarged Those that are now poor and low and mean shall be then very much enlarged and raised For that take these Scriptures Isa 65.20 There shall be no more thence an Infant of dayes nor an Old Man that hath not filled his dayes For the Child shall die an hundred years old but the Sinner being an hundred Years old shall be accursed This apparently speaks of an Estate in this World But now the meaning is this That there shall thence be no more an Infant of Dayes that is those that are weak shall be raised to a very high pitch of Ability and Understanding even Young ones shall be raised very high to have the understanding of men in them and so proportionably the gifts of the Saints shall be raised in that time And in the 12. Zech. 8 verse there it 's
more clear In that day shall the Lord defend the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David and the House of David shall be as God as the Angel of the Lord before them Mark he that is feeble shall be as David at that day and the House of David shall be even as an Angel of God Those that are weak Christians yet at that day when the Lord shall set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth weak Christians shall be as David and he that is strong shall be as an Angel of God Now I would but know when was this what time was this was this ever in the time of the Gospel I verily believe the times of the Gospel are as glorious at this day as ever they were since the Apostles days in regard of the graces of Gods Spirit There is as clear Revelations of Christ and as strange workings of the Graces of Gods Spirit in the generality I must except those that are eminent as the Apostles and those that had miraculous and extraordinary gifts but to speak of the generality of Christians they have as much knowledg of Jesus Christ and the wayes of Christ as ever any yet can we say now that even strong Christians are like David If we should examine and see what David was how short should we come where have we almost any that may parallel with David but there is a Prophecy that the feeble shall be like David and the strong ones shall be like the Angel of God In the forty fifth Psalm there the Church is described The Cloathing of the Kings Daughter is of wrought Gold and she shall be brought unto the King in Rayment of Needle-work Which is but to signifie the excellent Gifts and Graces of the Saints that they shall be cloathed as it were with their Gifts as Princes Daughters that have such Cloathing And Revel 22.3 4. there 's a Prophecy that they shall continually stand before the Lord and serve him night and day they shall be unwearied in the service of the Lord they shall serve him night and day Now you are quickly tired a little time in the worship of God doth tire you but there is a time coming when the Saints shall be so strengthened with the Gifts and Graces of the Spirit of God as they shall be able to serve him night and day The seventh thing that shall be done when Jerusalem shall be raised as the praise of the whole Earth it shall be the glorious presence of Christ that shall be amongst them I say the Glorious presence of Christ I do not say the Personal presence of Christ in his Body for that would require arguing and much dispute therefore we meddle not with it But that there shall be a more glorious presence of Jesus Christ in his Churches than yet hath been That the Scripture seems to be clear enough in As in the 21. Revel verse 22. And I saw no Temple therein that was in the New Jerusalem For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it And the City had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the Glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof That is there should not be such need of help as now there is either from Creatures or Ordinances in comparison for the Lord God shall be the light of that place and the Lamb shall be instead of the Temple In the 2 Pet. 1.19 compared with the Rev. 2.28 There is very much to give light to this and yet that we are not able to understand throughly the meaning of it We have also saith he a more sure word of Prophecy whereunto you do well that you take heed as unto a ligâ—â— that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the Day-star arise in your Hearts This more sure word of Prophecy he means certainly the Scriptures that we have and the way of Gods revealing himself there You do well to take heed saith he unto them Vntill the Day dawn and the Day-star arise in your Hearts He seems to speak here of another manner of manifestation of light from God that shall be besides that sure Word of Prophecy that is the Day-star rising in their Hearts Now compare this with the 2. Revel and the 28. There is promised to such as do overcome in Antichristian times that at length the Lord will give unto them the morning Star Now these two being compared together may cause us thus much to see that there certainly shall be some further Presence of Christ among the Saints than in former times hath been For Christ he is the morning Star and God will give them the morning star that is he will give them Christ the Presence of Christ shall arise in the Hearts of the Saints in another way than formerly for they were Godly to whom this morning Star is promised but if you continue to be Godly and to overcome in the Antichristian time you shall have this blessing you shall have the morning Star They had Christ to justifie them and to sanctifie them But they were promised to have Christ yet further in another more high and glorious presence of his to be as a morning Star arising in their Hearts And in the 33 of Isa v. 17. there it 's promised to them that are upright that they should see the King in his Glory Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty The Promise is made to those that are described in the 15. vers Jesus Christ the King that was so much desired in former times shall appear in his beauty and glory unto them And in the 102. Psam there 's a clear Prophecy of this Estate of Jerusalem when the Lord shall make it the praise of the whole Earth Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come vers 16. But in the 15. vers So the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy Glory When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his Glory There will be a glorious appearing when God shall come to build up Zion and make Jerusalem as the Praise of the whole Earth God hath appeared gloriously in all his works in former times but this great work is the greatest next the sending of his Son into the World to be made flesh It is the greatest that ever was done the building up of Zion Then God shall appear in his Glory When the Marriage of the Saints shall be the new Jerusalem that is the Spouse of Christ As Parents do use to put on their best Garments in the time when they marry their Children so in the time when the Lord shall raise Jerusalem thus it shall be as a great Marriage-day of the Church to Christ Now there is a Marriage of particular Souls to
Christ but then there shall be a glorious Marriage of the Vniversal Church to Jesus Christ as in a Body and then the Lord shall appear in his Glory There shall be a more glorious presence of God and Jesus Christ with the Saints than yet we have had The eighth thing That there shall be when Jerusalem shall be set up as the praise of the whole Earth Powerful Godliness and the Saints shall be honoured in the World As they have been trampled under feet and disgraced and vilified in the World So when this time shall come they shall be honoured in the World and their Enemies shall stoop to them We have a great many Scriptures that tend that way In the 49. of Isa v. 23. You may Read there how the Enemies shall come and stoop to the Saints that did despise them before And so in the 3 d. Revel vers 9. Those that hated them shall come and bow unto them I will make them of the Synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not but do lie Behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee They will not own them now but God hath his time to make wicked and ungodly men to come and acknowledge that these are the beloved ones of the Lord verily these are the Servants yea they are the Children of the most high God And more specially those Scriptures that you have in the Prophecy of Isaiah Chap. 60.6 and so vers 13. V. 6. The Multitude of Camels shall cover thee the Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah all they from Sheba shall come they shall bring Gold and Incense and they shall shew forth the praise of the Lord. All the Flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee the Rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee And vers 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee the Fir-Tree the Pine-Tree and the Box together to beautifie the place of my Sanctuary and I will make the place of my feet glorious Mark The Church it is the place of Gods feet It 's under God but the Lord hath his time to make it glorious before all the world For if you speak of the Spiritual glory of it so it is so glorious now Gods Church it was always glorious spiritually before God and was the most glorious Object that God had to view in the World But here 's a promise that he will make it glorious before others Vers 14. The Sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the Soles of thy feet and they shall call thee The City of the Lord the Zion of the Holy one of Israel It may be they called them before nick names they call'd you Hypocrites and you were they that made such a show of Religion but you were a company of proud People that would seem to be holier than other men But now they shall call thee the City of the Lord and the Zion of the Holy one of Israel And vers 15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated so that no man went through thee I will make thee an Eternal Excellency a Joy of many Generations This is not spoken only unto Godly men personally and particularly but to Godly men as in a Society as in the Church they shall be made an Eternal Excellency and a Joy of many Generations And again for the 9. of Zech. v. 16. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the Flock of his People For they shall be as the stones of a Crown lifted up as an Ensign upon his Land They shall be as the stones of a Crown lifted up This shews the Excellent glory that shall be put upon the Saints Now they are as stones in the dirt but then they shall be as the stones in a Crown that 's lifted up And so in the 12. Chap. vers 5. And the Governours of Judah shall say in their hearts The Inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of Hosts their God It is not shall be that 's in another Character and they in that Jerusalem they shall be honoured by the Governours of Judah And the Governours of Judah shall say well our strength it is in the Inhabitants of this Jerusalem In the Lord of hosts their God We accounted them before but as Schismaticks and precise Fools but we see that God is with them And the Governours of Judah shall say Our strength is in the Inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord of Hosts their God This will be a blessed time when Governours shall acknowledge the Saints to be those that the Lord doth own and they shall acknowledge the very strength of a Nation to consist in the Saints They shall see that the Saints have a propriety in God beyond others there is such a time a coming however they be despised now In the third of Mal. v. 3. The Lord makes a promise that he will gather up his Jewels and there shall be a time when there shall be a known difference between him that feareth God and him that feareth him not The Saints of God are compared to Jewels that lie in the dirt and Swine trampling upon the Jewels but there is a time that the Lord will gather up these Jewels and at that day there shall be known a difference between him that feareth God and him that feareth him not this time is coming and this is the time that my Text speaks of that we should give the Lord no rest untill he make Jerusalem thus Certainly when this is it will be the praise of the whole Earth The Ninth thing is when Jerusalem shall be made the praise of the whole Earth it will be made a quiet Habitation there shall be a blessed Union of the Church then shall divisions be taken away Now that that hinders the beauty of the Church and of the Saints and doth exceedingly darken their beauty it is their Divisions were it that the Saints of God could live in union one with another and so grow up in holiness they would be a great deal more beautiful in their conversations My beloved is one and the Daughters saw her and blessed her But the divisions and contentions that there are among the Churches do exceedingly take away the beauty and glory of them and therefore they are not now the praise of the places where they live but many times they make themselves the scorn of the places but there is a time a coming that this Spirit of division shall be taken away from among the Saints you will say that will be a blessed time indeed I 'le give you two or three Scriptures that are very observable for this In the 11. of Isa vers 13. There 's the first promise of Vnion that there shall be among the Churches The envy also of Ephraim shall depart and the adversaries of
Judah shall be cut off Ephraim shall not envy Judah and Judah shall not vex Ephraim Now ordinarily in Scripture Ephraim and Judah is made Typical of the Churches there was a great deal of contention between Ephraim and Judah one envying another Now this Prophecy is not yet fulfill'd for we never Read of Ephraim that is the ten Tribes and Judah were joyned in that near League and Union one with another as yet For the ten Tribes were carried Captive and never returned Judah indeed was carried Captive and they did return but not the ten Tribes Therefore it is spoken of an Estate of the Church afterwards Though my Church shall be in after times the times of the Gospel like Ephraim and Judah one envying another I 'le take away their envy they shall not envy but they shall love one another and joyn one with another Ephraim shall not envy Judah and Judah shall not vex Ephraim And then another Prophecy is in the 14. Zech. vers 9. And the Lord shall be King over all the Earth in that day shall there be one Lord and his Name one It 's true all of us that are Christians we acknowledge but one Lord but we call him by divers Names and one saith This is his mind and another faith the other is his mind but saith he In that day as there shall be but one Lord so his Name shall be but one There shall not be those different apprehensions of Christ as now there are but Christians shall generally joyn together in one There shall not be such opinions to divide Christians one from another as now there are there shall be but one Lord and his Name shall be but one And a further Prophecy which is very remarkable is in the third of Zeph. v. 9. For then will I turn to the People a pure Language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord to serve him with one consent In the Original it is with one Shoulder now how do Christians shoulder one another and push one another by the shoulder as it were opposing one another what they can but then they shall joyn their shoulders together and all shall be but as one shoulder they shall serve the Lord with one shoulder with one consent their hearts shall joyn in one and then their strength shall joyn together Now this is that that shall be done when the Lord shall make Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth you that mind the Lord and the things of his glory give him no rest untill he do establish this that he hath promised and make Jerusalem the praise of the whole Earth In the tenth place there shall be a great change of things in the world at that time a great change in the whole frame of the creation of Heaven and Earth And I think verily that place in the eighth of the Romans and there is ground for it why we should think so is meant of this time Vers 20 21. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the Sons of God For the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Children of God For we know that the whole Creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together until now And not only they but our selves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit Even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the redemption of our Bodies Now that this should be then in such an Estate of the Church in this World this is the Reason Either you must grant it to be so or otherwise you must grant that after the day of Judgment in the state of glory that the Saints shall have which Divines generally say shall be in Heaven you must grant that then there shall be the continuance of all the Creatures as now they are and that the Saints must live here Now that is hardly granted by any Divines But this speaks of the whole Creation to be delivered from their bondage and to come to partake of the benefit of the Adoption of the Sons of God That is at that time when the Adoption of the Sons of God shall appear gloriously that there shall be such a change in all the Creatures that they shall be restored to the first perfection that they had in the state of Innocency They groan to be delivered from the bondage surely they do not groan to be Annihilated and turned into nothing Therefore there is a time for the Heavens and Earth and Sea and Plants and Beasts to be in another condition than now they are And to say that this shall be at the day of Judgment or after few Divines have thought But this is spoken of a time when all the Creatures in this world shall have a mighty change put upon them And to that end the Scripture likewise in the 2 of Peter the 3 d. Chap. though one would think in the Reading of it if you did not mark it throughly that it should be meant at the day of Judgment but if you observe it throughly it seems to be spoken of a great change that there shall be when the creatures shall be delivered from bondage In the 10. vers But the day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the night in the which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up and now observe the 13. vers Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness There shall be a mighty change in the world by Fire or some other way and so as all things shall seem as if they were brought into nothing but saith the Apostle by the Holy-Ghost We according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness Now suppose all the world were dissolved how new Heavens and a new Earth then shall the Saints after the day of Judgment have a new Earth and live upon the Earth here This I suppose you would think to be but a very strange Doctrine But now this is such a change of things as shall have New Earth as well as New Heavens and this is according to the promise now what promise have we in all the Book of God that this hath reference to I find all Divines referr it to the 65. of Isa For you have no other Scripture that you can refer this promise to in the 17. vers For behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into mind But be ye glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her People a Joy So
that this Scripture in Peter though in some passages of it may seem to referr to the great day of Judgement yet compared with Isa out of which it is taken it appears to be but a very comment upon my Text and I find generally Interpreters do Interpret this of Isa to be meant of the Church of God in this World And so by comparing one Scripture with another we may find out much truth And besides the Prophets did Prophesie very little about the Eternal life after the day of Judgment though something there was about it but very little in comparison and therefore we have a great deal of Reason to think it to be meant concerning this time of this new Jerusalem when God shall make it to be the praise of the whole Earth Lastly This shall add to the beauty of this new Jerusalem that Prosperity shall do it no hurt and therefore as I remember in the 4 th of the Revelat. the state of the Church in this time is compared to an Eagle there were four Beasts the first like a Lyon the second like a Calf the third was like a Man and the fourth was like a Flying-Eagle Noting the four states of the Church and the last shall be as an Eagle that is they shall be lifted above all these outward things At first when the Church was raised from persecution in Constantines time the History of those times tells us that there was a voice heard in the Air To day is Poyson poured into the Church It was at that time when Constantine did endow the Church with great Endowments and we find it now that we have weak stomacks and are not able to bear much prosperity and therefore God hath thought it rather fit to keep his Church low but when that day comes for Jerusalem to be made the praise of the whole Earth there shall be no fear of hurt from prosperity For Christ shall be all in all to them There shall be a more immediate enjoyment of God and that will keep them from taking hurt by what they have in the creature Now let 's put all these together and see what a glorious condition the Saints shall be in surely when all these things shall be fulfilled then you must needs say that Jerusalem will be made a praise in the whole Earth That is First When there shall be a Resurrection a new creation a new world when all Tears shall be wip'd away when all wicked men shall be kept under When the Church shall appear to be the pleasant Portion of God his Inheritance his dearly Beloved his Glory and when all Promises that have been made to them and all Prophecies of their glory shall be fulfilled when there shall be a wonderful confluence of the Nations Jews and Gentiles to them and yet there shall be a great deal of purity in ordinances there shall not be filth among them as now there is And the gifts and graces of the Saints shall be mightily inlarged and raised when there shall be a glorious presence of the Father and of Jesus Christ with them when Godliness and the Saints shall be honoured in the World as much as it is contemn'd when there shall be a blessed Union among all the Churches when there shall be a mighty change of the creatures and when there shall be no fear of any danger of any hurt by any Prosperity that they shall enjoy surely then will Jerusalem be made a praise of the whole Earth Therefore let the Saints give the Lord no rest until Jerusalem be thus made as the praise of the whole Earth You will say are these things so are they so indeed This may seem to be very strange and a strange point to some of you But in former times it was not so accounted those that are learned will find that Lactantius 17. Book 18.23 24. Chapters spends them almost all upon this Argument and he speaks of very strange things which I am loath to mention It may be he might go too far and he liv'd about 1300. Years ago But Justin Martyr that was long before him for he was but thirty Years after John the Disciple speaking about this point that I am speaking of I and all that are Christians of the Orthodox Faith hold this that there is such a time a coming of a glorious condition of the Church I know that this hath been abused by those that they account Millenaries there were some that did abuse this Doctrine and made the glory of the Church to consist in fleshly pleasures and the like and so they were condemn'd But I make the glory especially to consist in Spiritual good yet so as it shall appear to all the World And I find some Expressions in the Revelations where the Holy Ghost speaks of this of Christs coming to appear in this glorious manner he hath another manner of phrase to express it than I find in all the Book of God when other things are spoken of In the 19. of the Revel v. 9. He had spoken before of the Kingdom of Christ And he saith unto me Write blessed are they which are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me These are the true sayings of God Are there any false sayings of God It were blasphemy to think so one would think that if he did but say these are the sayings of God it were enough or these are true sayings But to make it sure that we may believe it These are the true sayings of God Not only the sayings but the True sayings of God Now if you say How can these things be To that I answer as in the eighth of Zech. v. 6. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts if it be marvellous in the Eyes of the Remnant of this People in these days should it also be marvellous in my Eyes saith the Lord of Hosts It 's marvellous in your Eyes should it therefore be marvellous in my Eyes I am the Lord of Hosts We may be ready to think these things cannot be But the Lord intends to put forth an Almighty power in bringing this to pass and it is that that is much in the heart of God to do These things the nearer the time comes the more they will be known and therefore I think it very useful at some time or other that people should be acquainted only Ministers had need have a Spirit of sobriety and moderation because not yet being fulfill'd they are not throughly understood and therefore we must not dare to be too bold in our guessing at things that are not clear But such things as appear clearly so as we may see there is footing for we should exercise our selves in and labour to make others acquainted with But now If you ask me when shall these things be when shall Jerusalem be made the praise of the whole Earth I Answer thus The Third SERMON IT 's very hard to determine the particular time but surely at the end
of the disposition of Christians a little before this Kingdom shall be made the praise of the Earth Now mark what those do desire that shall live a little before these times In the 24. vers I said O my God take me not away in the midst of my days As if he should have said O Lord I hope that e're long thou wilt build up Zion and appear in thy glory and fulfill thy promises concerning Jerusalem O Lord take me not away in the midst of my days It is I say a Prophetical Prayer of the Christians that shall live a little before Gods building up of Zion But you will say Why shall any desire to live for if one should die if he be Godly he shall go to Heaven and will it not be as good to be in Heaven as to live to see Jerusalem the praise of the Earth To that I answer that though it 's true It will be as good for the Soul but for Soul and Body to live here to see that glorious administration of God in the World to see God honoured upon the Earth where he hath been so much dishonoured certainly it cannot but be an abundant satisfaction and contentment to those that are gracious and that it is desirable notwithstanding the objection I make it clearly thus from the promise that God gave to Children that did obey their Parents in the fifth Commandment Honour thy Father and thy Mother why That thy days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee God makes a promise that they should enjoy the Land of Canaan And why Godly Children should go to Heaven if they had died But it was accounted a mercy to live long in the Land of Canaan Now the Land of Canaan was but a Type of the glorious Church so that this is a more glorious promise Therefore I say it is desirable to live to see what God intends to do in these Concussions It is observ'd by some that John did never fall down to worship the Angel but twice and twice he fell down and worshipped the Angel But you shall observe it if you examine the places It was when the Angel brought him the tidings of this glorious Jerusalem and Johns heart was so taken with these tidings as indeed he forgets himself so far as to fall down and worship the Angel which was sinful but I note it for this end to shew how mightily the heart of John was taken with the tidings of this new Jerusalem And God expects that though we have but a glimpse of it now yet that our hearts should be much taken with the tidings of this glorious Jerusalem when it shall be made the praise of the Earth Christ hath humbled himself in this world and hath been dishonoured here and therefore the Father will advance him and honour him in this World as well as in Heaven And the Heathen and uttermost parts of the Earth are given to Christ for a possession but Christ hath not had it yet and therefore let us strengthen our Faith and joyfully expect such a time as this is Those whose hearts are carnal and sensual they mind only carnal and sensual things and cannot believe these things but such as have Faith to believe they are able to rejoyce in the Expectation of this glory that is to be revealed Fourthly These truths that have been delivered about this glory of the new Jerusalem they call for heavenly hearts they call off all our hearts from the Earth why should we have our hearts groveling upon the Earth when as God hath revealed such glorious things as these are In the 60. of Isa v. 1. Arise shine for thy Light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee I may make use of it at least by way of Allusion thus O arise and shine in heavenliness and shake off the dust of this Earth for here you hear of the glory of this Lord and who knows but it may very suddenly within a little time arise upon us yet the very hearing of it were enough to cause us to shake off all Earthliness from our Spirits when John was shown the new Jerusalem he was carryed up upon the mountain so if we would understand the glory of this Jerusalem we must get up our hearts on high It is an Observation of Mr. Brightman upon the 4 th of Revel Where we have described the four living Creatures the Lyon the Oxe the Man and the Eagle Now saith he these four living Creatures do set forth the four Estates of the Church The Lyon sets forth the state of the Church in the Primitive times they had Lyon-like Spirits that were able to encounter the rage of persecuting Emperors to endure all kind of Torment without having their hearts daunted at all The second State of the Church was the Oxe that is Antichrist prevailing they were as an Oxe that is a heavy and dull Creature fit to bear burthens But then the third is the Man that is a man comes to inquire after the reason of things and to understand things and doth desire liberty Why now saith he in the beginning of the Reformation the state of the Church was like a Man They would not be under such base Thraldom to take the yoke of Antichrist as they did before before they were lead like beasts but now they were as Men they would understand what they did And then the fourth was like an Eagle that is soaring aloft on high When the Church shall be in this glorious condition Men shall be of Heavenly minds they shall soar up like the Eagle to be above the Earth And certainly such dispositions are fit for this new Jerusalem and though it be not yet come yet we should labour to be of such dispositions as are fit for it And that 's the fifth Use To prepare for these times fit our selves First By the Wedding Garment for now comes the Bridegroom and we should prepare for him by the Wedding Garment You will say What is the Wedding Garment by which the Saints are prepared to meet with Christ The applying of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ by Faith that 's the Wedding-Garment when Christians come to understand clearly the point of Justification without mistake There are some kind of hastenings about it in these times more than before and inquiring after the very grace of God in the point of Justification but certainly that point is darkened much by many errors But now the clear understanding the point of Justification of Gods Righteousness applyed by Faith this is the Garment by which we are to meet with Jesus Christ when he shall appear in his glory and I verily believe that in the time of the new Jerusalem the point of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ will be the main point of Religion that then will be known and that the hearts of the Saints will be taken up withall the main point of Religion and as we
a Curse all that time For First all Creatures are subject to vanity and that vanity shall not be taken off nor the bondage till this time Secondly There will be trouble and Wars continually till this time there will be no certainty nor settledness of things till Jerusalem come to be made as the praise of the Earth There will attend affliction to the people of God yea and to others too Yea and there is a Curse upon mens Spirits which will not be taken off till this time comes The truth is when we look upon what is in the Earth we can see little that should make us desire to live in respect of the earthly comforts that are here and for my own part thinking in my thoughts about this point this Meditation came into my mind I wonder why men that live here and are not useful and serviceable to do service for God I wonder why they should desire to live for what pleasure is there in the Earth The Earth is under a curse Now were it not for this one thing that we might live to make our peace with God and to do God service I say it 's a wonder that any should desire to live for the truth is Afflictions and Fears and Troubles will countervail the Comforts of any that do live But indeed that will countervail our affliction if we may live to do service for God but let us give God no rest till this be because till then the Earth is under a curse It is this that brings a glory to the Earth O! it will be worth living in the World when God shall be set up in the World when Jesus Christ shall rule in the World it will be worth the living and not till then And then further give God no rest because that the time is near now howsoever it is near in respect of what it was when this Prophet thus spoke for â—t was above two thousand Years ago â—hat the Prophet spake these words Now the end of the world it 's even up on us and Christ seems to be even at the door Now as it is in nature a heavy thing the nearer it comes to the center the faster it moves so the nearer we are come to this time the more should our hearts be stirred for the time is even at hand and therfore let us pray now mightily as we find in the 9 th of Daniel Daniel did understand by Books that the time of their deliverance was near Mark at the third Vers the Text tells us that Daniel set his face to seek the Lord O then he fasted and prayed indeed My Brethren when you have such things as thâ—se presented to you and some hâ—â—â—â—â—l Arguments presented likewi 〈…〉 are near learn to set your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord and resolve never to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 king till he make this Jerusalem to be the praise of the whole Earth O my Brethren now a praying heart is worth something it is a miserable thing for any Man or Woman not to have a Spirit of Prayer in these times a dangerous sign that such a one shall never be partaker of the glory of this new Jerusalem that hath not a praying Spirit in these times Yea now we find there are mighty stirrings abroad in the world the hearts of men are more raised to expect it than ever they were before I remember it 's observed of the woman of Samaria you may see by her that there was a general expectation raised of the Messias at the time that he came saith she when the Messias comes he will tell us all things and truly there is the greatest expectation of the Saints of God and those that are the most strict and holy the greatest expectation of these times as ever yet was and we find the Lord is so stirring in the world as makes us think that he is bringing about some glorious things and therefore pray pray pray and you that want matter to pray among other things put this into your prayer both in your Closets and Families pray the Lord and cry to him so as to give him no rest every day O Lord make Jerusalem the praise of the Earth O Lord we see abundance of darkness in thy Churches and Godliness is little Honoured in the world but O Lord make thy Churches glorious set up the glory of Godliness in the world pray thus privately and so publickly And a further motive to give God no rest is this That in this your heart doth joyn with the work of God that is most acceptable to God and that his Soul doth take delight in and that 's a comfortable thing And besides give him no rest for God hath appointed Prayer to be a special Engine and a great means to further this In the 102. Psalm saith the Text The Lord will regard the Prayer of the destitute Alas may some say I am a poor weak Christian a poor Body I am able to do but little I may Sigh to God but what are my prayers worth Mark the Text speaking of the glory of these times and of the way to further it The Lord will regard the Prayer of the destitute Though thou beest but as a poor shrub the Lord will regard thy Prayer and mark what the Text saith This shall be written for the Generation to come vers 18. This is written for thee Prayer hath done great things hath made a mighty change of things and if ever People were encouraged to pray now they may be encouraged because they have seen so much that Prayer hath done already We have many Scriptures which I had thought to have spoken of for the encouragement of you in Prayer for these things that you might go on and not faint Though you see things seem to go very Cross yet be not troubled at it but still go on give him no rest it may be God will do nothing now yet still give him no rest but be constant till the thing be done for certainly it will be done at length and if it should not come to pass in your life yet this I will conclude withall When you die die in the Faith of it Any of you that have been earnest in prayer for this thing and yet you see little come of it yet die in the Faith of it when you die as it is said of Joseph in the 50. of Gen. 24. Behold I die and God will surely visit you and bring you out of this Land unto the Land which he sware to Abraham c. So you may speak to your Children I die now I must not see this new Jerusalem but there is hope that God will bring you into it though I perhaps shall not see it and close your Eyes with this belief when you are to die I die yet in the Faith that there is a time a coming that the Lord will make Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth FINIS The Witnesses not yet slain
shall be made the praise of the whole Earth then there shall be new Heavens and a new Earth created That is there shall be as great a change of things as if there were new Heavens and new Earth created There shall be a mighty glorious power of God manifested towards his Churches as if God were Creating new Heavens and new Earth again Oh! we do not know but that either you or some of your Children may yet live to see such times as these are And it 's another World indeed It 's not the World that we live in now there shall be a kind of new World And therefore some Scriptures that many times we think are meant concerning the Life in Heaven after the day of Judgment because they are spoken of another World they are rather to be understood of the state of the Church here in this World And to the end that I may shew this for otherwise all that 's said is but in vain It may be you will say that the Prophet mean't that State of the Church Triumphant in Heaven And so the Apostle St. John in his reference to what the Prophet saith he seems to mean it of the glorious state of the Church in Heaven And I verily believe the most of you that have read with Observation the latter end of the Book of the Revelations you have thought it hath been meant of the State of the Church in Heaven but that it cannot be be meant I 'le give you a Reason or two why the 21 of the Revelations cannot be meant of the Church in Heaven First Because the Text saith That Jerusalem shall come down from Heaven after he had described it in the 10 Vers He carryed me away in the Spirit to a great and high Mountain and shewed me that great City the holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God That is the Glory of Jerusalem shall not come from the Earth nor from any Earthly means Though men ought to do what they can yet it shall be too great a Glory for any earthly means to be able to bring but it shall come down from Heaven there shall be some admirable glorious work of God from Heaven to bring Jerusalem into such Glory as it shall be brought into And that 's one thing That it is not the State of Heaven for it comes down from Heaven And then besides that that is an undeniable Reason is that which you have in the 24 and 26 Verses And the Nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it and the Kings of the Earth do bring their Glory and Honour into it They do not bring their Honour to the State of the Church Triumphant in Heaven The Saints in Heaven shall have no need of any of the Glory of the Kings of the Earth the meanest poorest Servant or Boy that is Godly shall be more glorious than all the Kings of the Earth ever were in this World but this is such a State that the Kings of the Earth shall bring their Glory to it And in the 26 verse They shall bring the Glory and Honour of the Nations into it The meaning is that when this time comes the Lord will make all the Kings of the Earth and all the Nations of the Earth to be some way serviceable to the Glory of his Churches that 's the plain meaning of it that whereas now the Kings of the Earth and the Nations do persecute the Church generally and as in the second Psalm you have it the Kings of the Earth they combine themselves together against Jesus Christ and will none of his Government but yet for all this the Lord saith that he will set his King upon his holy Hill And then here is the Prophecy that there shall be such a work of God upon the Kings and Nations of the Earth as they shall all come in and bring their Glory to Jerusalem to the Church to do the uttermost they can to make the Church to be Glorious This is in General the state of Jerusalem when it shall be made the Praise of the Earth But now that I might come to move Particulars about this The first thing is this When that time shall come all Tears shall be wiped from the Eyes of Saints the People of God shall be delivered from all Enemies they shall never be any further pestered with wicked and ungodly men to be enemies to them but be fully freed from them all We groan under the burden of the Enmity of wicked Men and their Opposition I but let us be content to bear it and to endure Oppositions from wicked and ungodly Men for there is a time a coming that thou shalt be delivered even in this World You will say when we come to Heaven we shall be above the Malice of all the wicked Men in the World Nay there is a time when the Saints shall be above the Malice of wicked men upon this Earth In the 28 of Ezek. A Chapter that speaks so much of the Glorious Condition of the People of God verse 24. There shall be no more a pricking Briar nor any grieving Thorn of all that are round about them that despised them They shall be so far from having any power to do any mischief to the People of God as they shall not be so much as able to prick them no grieving Thorn nor no bryer pricking of the Saints of God as heretofore they have done It will be a blessed time when the Saints shall be delivered from the Curse of the Earth the Bryers and Thorns it brings forth Where are wicked men certainly those are the worst Bryers and Thorns in the World and do the most mischief here in the World Now the Lord hath promised that they shall be delivered wholly from them Rev. 21.4 There is a Scripture leading to that way And God shall wipe away all Tears from their Eyes and there shall be no more Death neither Sorrow nor Crying neither shall there be any more Pain For the former things are passed away This is prophesied of for such times as these are for those that then liv'd the Saints are like to live when Christ shall come in that Glorious state of Judgment and have no pain nor sickness and therefore be delivered from all Enemies and from all evils both from without and within in regard of any pain or misesery and in the 19 of the Revelations we have it there prophesied of Christ that he shall come and have his Vesture dipt in blood in the overcoming all the wicked and ungodly Verse 13. And he was cloathed with a Vesture dipt in blood and his Name is called the Word of God And the Armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white Horses cloathed in fine Linnen white and clean and out of his Mouth goeth a sharp Sword that with it he should smite the Nations and he shall rule them with a Rod of Iron and he treadeth the Wine-press
say Are they not now No certainly not so as then in that we do not see such an eminency of Christs taking the Kingdoms of the Earth now more than formerly and I say this is an evident Argument that the Witnesses are not slain In the 12 of Daniel there you have a Prophecy of the same times that we have here But mark how he begins this Prophecy there saith he in the 1 vers And at that time shall Michael stand up the great Prince which standeth for the Children of thy People and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a Nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered every one that shall be found written in the Book Though the time of trouble without be great such as never was the like yet these that are written in the Book shall be delivered And so he goes on describing the glorious condition of the Church of God as it shall be I spake something to that in the opening of the Glory of this new Jerusalem and shewed you that it could not be meant there of the Glory of Heaven but of the glory of the Church here that should be upon the Earth And then in the 3 d. of Revel vers 10. we Read of an hour of Temptation that should be throughout the face of the Earth there is a time of Temptation that shall go quite through the whole world and whether yet this is come upon us doth not certainly appear and therefore let the consideration of this prepare us for suffering before hand For God will cause sufferings to try men who are true and will cleave to him and who are not but will desert him And so I remember Lactantius the former Author quoted he speaks as clearly of this as if so be that he did live and had seen it saith he A little before these times times wil grow so evil in comparison of the times that we live in now in which wickedness one would think were grown to the greatest height that possibly could be yet in comparison of these there shall come such evil times just before this glorious time of the Church as our times may be accounted Golden and Happy times in respect of those sad times for saith he good men they shall be a prey to wicked men and they shall be in contempt and poverty all right among men shall be confounded all Law shall perish and no man shall know what 's his own things shall be in such a cumbustion and confusion that no Law shall prevail and no man shall know what 's his own this shall be a little before saith he the glorious state of the Church wherein Christ shall appear Now if he could say so so long before certainly none then having Scripture so suitable to it have cause to fear that yet we may live to meet with very hard things ☞ Although it will be but short that 's the comfort if there should be great sufferings just before the day break and it should be darker than it was yet it will continue but a while three Years and an half will be the most But the times of the great sufferings of the Church before Jerusalem is to be made the praise of the whole Earth these three Years and a half will put men so to it that if they have not true grace they will fall off The Administration of Gods Providences are very strange we have had thoughts that all had been blowing over that we should have liv'd in safety and peace but clouds gather still And though the former clouds seem'd in some measure to be gone yet new clouds are gathering and therefore it 's wisdom for the People of God that fear God and look into his Word to see what God hath made known in his Word I say it 's their wisdom to prepare for the hardest that possibly can come That they may be bright and made white with all the troubles that they meet with and be not among them that shall not be found written in the Book and so to be cast out of all the good of this Jerusalem that shall be made the praise of the Earth Thirdly Though we should prepare for sufferings yet let us strengthen our faith and rejoyce in the hope of such times as these are in the midst of sufferings rejoyce it 's an Excellent thing when a Christian is able in the midst of sufferings to rejoyce in the assurance of a promise when things go never so contrary yet to keep in Gods ways upon the expectation of a promise to be fulfill'd You have an Excellent Scripture in the 64. of Isa vers 5. Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh Righteousness those that Remember thee in thy ways behold thou art wroth for we have sinned In those is continuance and we shall be saved If you read this Chapter you shall find that the Church was in a sad condition but mark Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh Righteousness In the saddest times there were some that did not only work Righteousness but did Rejoyce and work Righteousness Though God was wroth and all things did seem to be very dismal yet there were some that went on in the ways of Righteousness and rejoyced in the ways of Righteousness It 's a most Excellent Scripture and of marvellous use to us if God should bring us into sad times for us not only to keep in the ways of Righteousness but to rejoyce in the ways of Righteousness to rejoyce that ever we were brought into it and that 's upon an expectation that the Lord will save us Whatsoever sufferings you meet withall yet strengthen your faith and rejoyce in the Expectation of this Glory of Jerusalem The believing of such times as these are really makes Life desirable especially because God is so stirring in this Age not for any great matters that we shall have outwardly in the World for a while but that we may come to see the Issue of all these stirs and at length out of all the Confusion to see Jerusalem to be the praise of the whole world And therefore in the 102. Psalm which I think verily hath reference to these times you shall find the Title of it to be A Prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord. But mark in his pouring out his complaint before God how he comforts himself in the 13. vers Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion for the time to favour her yea the set time is come For thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favour the dust thereof so the Heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the Earth thy glory When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his glory The Lord shall appear in his glory in building up Zion that is now cast down I say it 's a Prophetical Psalm
see the nearer we grow unto these times the more clearer is the point of Justification revealed to us O what strange conceits in times of Popery had People of Justification and I verily believe that many of your Consciences may tell you that a very few years since you had very strange thoughts about that point and understood but little of it but it begins to be clear more and more and we should study that point more for surely it is that point of Religion that will take up the heart of the People of God most in such times as these are It is called the fine Linnen of the Saints which is the Righteousness of the Saints That that 's Translated in your Books Righteousness it is the Righteousnesses of the Saints that 's this Not only the knowledge of the Righteousness of Christ applyed by Faith But Righteousness before Men too is the fine Linnen of the Saints they shall appear Righteous before men and Righteous being cloathed with the Righteousness of Jesus Christ And I would therefore commend that to those that speak much of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ know they must have Righteousnesses in the Plural Number that is not only be careful to have Righteousness before God through Christ but Righteousness before Men and that 's the second thing that is to be done for preparation of us for Christs coming to have our Lamps burning Holiness shining in our conversations before Men to live convincing conversations to make the ways of Godliness amiable And then let 's watch O take heed of slumbering And let us be constant in our holy profession take heed our Lamps do not go out And let us humble our selves for our former defilement we have defiled our selves by superstitious vanities in former times O let us humble our souls for them thereby shall we be fitted for this glorious time If new Jerusalem should come and you not humbled for your former defilements you would be unfit for this time Sixthly Seeing there is such a time for this new Jerusalem why then let us labour to further what we can the cause of God in his Church to make the Church as near to Jerusalem as we can now For though it 's true it shall be brought to pass by the Almighty power of Jesus Christ yet he requires that his Saints should put their hands to it and indeed this should be the care of all that make profession of Godliness to do what they can to make Jerusalem to be the praise of the world now O 't is a blessed thing to live to see the glory of God as it shines in this new Jerusalem But if it be blessed to See it it is more blessed to have a hand in it O let us be willing to consecrate all that we are or have for the furtherance of the glory of this new Jerusalem let us labour to draw all that we can to Godliness and be Godly our selves That should be the work of all those that profess Godliness to labour now to walk so as to make every body in Love with Godliness and to labour to wipe off all the aspersions that are cast upon the ways of Godliness there are strange errors and miscarriages of men why now those that are faithful should labour to wipe off all those things But on the other side let them know that make profession of Religion now and walk scandalously and are abominably erroneous in their Opinions they do what they can to hinder the glory of this Jerusalem though it 's true God will bring it about but thou dost what thou canst to hinder it O wo to thee that thou wert born to such a time as this is It 's ill that thou shouldest live in such a time as this is to cast any stain upon Religion that Religion should suffer any thing for thee Now every one that makes but any profession of Religion O they should labour to walk exactly and humbly and faithfully and conscionably that they may win others and so others being won by their conversation why then the People of the Land might joyn together and say Well verily it is these are the servants of the living God and we will joyn with them and set up their ways for we see them to be the ways of God I this were very hopeful that Jerusalem were lifting up indeed if so be we would convince men by our holy conversation But now when there appears so much folly and baseness of Spirit in those that are Professors why it makes men hate Religion more than ever they did and indeed but that we know God can bring the greatest good out of the greatest Evil one would think that there were as great a stop to the glory of the Church in these times as ever there was but wo to those that are the stoppers And howsoever some cry out such men stop it and such men stop it but the Lord I hope will come e're long and will make it appear who hinders the glory of his Churches whether it be those that in the sincerity of their hearts labour to raise up Godliness to the strictest form of all or those that will content themselves with a form Certainly those that give up themselves to promote the most strict way of Godliness and the most pure Ordinances they are not those that hinder the Reformation but Christ will own them to be those that further the Glory of this Reformation The Scripture speaking of this Jerusalem saith that no impure thing should enter into it that is Men should be as careful as possibly they can to keep out all things that are impure and so to raise up the ways of Godliness to the strictest and highest rule that possibly they can these are they that further the glory of this Jerusalem The Last thing is that we have in the Text Give God no rest till this be We might make it a several point of Doctrin but I only bring it in here by way of Use The truth is when Christ taught us to pray Thy Kingdom come he had an Eye at this for the Kingdom of Christ is not fully come till this time be come and as in that 36. of Ezek. 37. When the Lord had promised there such glorious things to his People saith he I will yet for this be enquired of by the House of Israel to do it for them So though God doth intend to raise up Jerusalem thus yet the Lord will be sought unto for it must be furthered by Prayer All Gods People should cry out Come Lord Jesus come quickly how long how long holy and true will it be before thou dost this before these things come to pass my precious Lord God loves importunity especially in such things as these are Divers motives I had thought of to have put you on to this to be mighty in Prayer First Till this time till Jerusalem be thus raised the truth is the Earth is under a Curse
Christianity is of the side that will prevail one day and therefore come in and joyn with them Though it's true there are many things now that seem to darken Religion but certainly Religion is getting up in the World though the Devil doth bestir him as much as ever he did since he was a Devil to darken Religion and the Glory of it in the World yet certainly Religion is getting up and it will prevail Take heed you be not like the five foolish Virgins which I find divers do apply to this very time when the Bridegroom shall come when Christ shall come in his glory to set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole Earth that then the wise Virgins shall enter in with him and be partaker of the glory of the times but the foolish Virgins shall knock at the door saying Lord Lord open to us but he shall say I know you not depart ye workers of Iniquity You that make but a meer out-side of Religion and have but a formal profession of Religion you have Lamps but you have no Oyl in your Lamps burning when Christ shall come you shall be shut out and not be Partakers of the glorious Jerusalem that shall be made the Praise of the whole Earth And likewise this is a great Argument to move you to bring up your Children in Godliness and to instruct them in the wayes of Godliness because if you should not live to it yet your Children may Therefore labour to infuse what you can the knowledge of Christ into them now betimes that so they may partake of those glorious things that are spoken of in the Word But Secondly Is there a time that Jerusalem shall be made as the Praise of the whole Earth let us be willing to mourn with Jerusalem while it is in a mourning condition and be willing to suffer for Jesus Christ a while seeing there is a time that all sorrows shall be turned into Joy and all Sufferings shall be done away and wherein the Saints shall be all honoured and recompensed abundantly In the eleventh of the Revelations you find that the Witnesses were to prophesie in Sackcloath in a mourning condition for a long time It can't be meant of two men because they were to prophesie 1260 Years but what made them go on in that mournful condition they did believe this time Therefore in the 12. verse you shall find how they that had prophesied in Sackcloath for so long a time they were slain a little before this time came and for three years and an half together there was a slaughter made of them and the Text saith After three dayes and an half that is three years and an half the Spirit of life from God entred into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them and they heard a great voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither And they ascended up to Heaven in a Cloud and their Enemies beheld them They were mightily honoured before their Enemies Those that had been prophesying in Sackcloath and were willing to suffer for Christ for a long time now they were called up and honoured before their very Enemies Let us be willing to suffer and that will be an evidence that we shall rejoyce with this new Jerusalem when it shall come to be made the Praise of the whole Earth So in the 66 of Isa v. 10. Rejoyce ye with Jerusalem and be glad with her all ye that love her rejoyce for joy with her all ye that mourn for her All that mourn'd for Jerusalem when the glory of it was darkened shall come and rejoyce with Jerusalem when Jerusalem shall be made as the praise of the whole Earth And the very Book of the Revelations is written on purpose for to encourage the Saints to be willing to suffer all the time of Anti-Christ's Reign And hence it hath been that in the time that Antichrist hath Reign'd there hath been so little known of the Book of the Revelations because it hath been applyed only in a metaphorical way and all the glory hath been interpreted of the glory of Heaven Because I say there hath been a darkness on the face of the Earth in the time of Antichrist's prevailing And it hath been the care of Antichrist to darken this and to keep under the Saints and to make them suffer very hard and grievous things But as I remember I have read of Caius the Emperour that when Agrippa had spoken for him before he was Emperour and suffered for his sake after Caius came to be Emperour he put a Chain of Gold about his Neck and gave it him just as heavy as his Iron Chain had been before So look what any one suffers for Jesus Christ now before he comes to take this Kingdom to himself before the time comes when the voice shall be heard from Heaven saying The Kingdoms of the Earth are become the Lords and his Christs and he shall reign for ever I say look what measure of sufferings any have for Christ now Christ will put a Chain of Gold upon them as heavy as ever their Sufferings were And especially now we had need prepare for Sufferings if it should prove that this time be at hand for we find that a little before this glorious time there 's like to be as great Sufferings to the People of God as at any time as in the 11 of the Revelations where it 's spoken of the Witnesses prophesying in Sackcloath they prophesied for 1260 Years But they were not slain until three Years and a half before this glorious time was risen and then they were slain So that immediately before the time that Christ shall come and appear in his Glory there will be greater Sufferings unto his Churches than there were in former times for you find that just upon their slaying that they were call'd up to Heaven And the seventh Trumpet sounded presently after and there were great voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever As if the Holy Ghost should say Now all sufferings are done with all and now the Kingdoms of the World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever And the four and twenty Elders which sate before God on their Seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying We give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned Whereas before men had power now God hath taken his great power to himself ☞ This follows presently upon it which is a very great Argument why those Witnesses are not yet slain because immediately upon their being slain there should follow such strange things as these are And then the Kingdoms of the Earth should be the Lords and his Christs You will