and come up upon my neck he hath made my strength to fail the Lord hath delivered me into their hands from whom I am not able to rise up Yea although Zion should be made to spread forth her hands Ver. 17. and say Now have I none to comfort me for the Lord hath commanded concerning his people that their enemies should be round about them Yet even then have they reason to rejoice in the Lord yea howbeit that also be enrolled amongst their bitter Lamentations which the Church hath Lament 2. 5. and Ver. 7 8. where sorrowful Zion bemoaneth thus The Lord hath encreased in the Daughters of Judah mourning and lamentation and hath violently taken away his Tabernacle and made his Sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion for he hath cast off his Altar and abhorred his Sanctuary Yea and howbeit she concludes Ver. 8. That the Lord hath purposed in his heart to destroy the wall or defence of the Daughter of Zion having covered her with a cloud in his anger Ver. 2. Which may cause pain in her inward parts making her cry out as one that is far spent in a deadly Consumption Mine eyes fail with tears my bones are troubled my liver is powred out upon the Earth for the destruction of the Daughter of my people Yea though she be necessitated Chap. 5. 9. to seek her bread with the peril of her life because of the sword of the wilderness And the Women and Maids are ravished in the Cities of Judah Which is not one of the smallest miseries accompanying a lot of persecution Yea howbeit Her Princes be hanged up by the hands of her Enemies Chap. 5. 12. So that it would seem that all hope were gone yet among all these anxious perplexities she may conclude Chap. 3. 24. The Lord is my portion saith my soul therefore will I hope in him For it is good that a man even in such a sad perplexed condition both hope trust and quietly wait for the salvation of his God For though he be a little angry and therefore causeth grief Ver. 31 32. Yet will he have compassion according to the muititude of his mercies It is fabled of a kind of Sea Creatures that when the weather is fair they weep because that after a blink there will be a storm but rejoyce when it is tempestuous because that after such sowr blasts there will be a fair day I shall not say what truth is in this Fable yet it hath a good morality to the people of God For howbeit they may have a whole night of weeping though manifold afflictions yet joy cometh to them in the morning And howbeit they may carry out the precious seed of their supplications mourningly yet shall they return rejoycing bearing the precious sheaves of the return of their supplications with them So that they have reason when among the most tempestuous and tossing waves of manifold tribulations to rejoyce and have most solid ground of gladness of heart even when their affliction is most bitter We need no further proof of this than the words which now we have read unto you The Disciples of Christ were in most sad afflictions and had great sorrow of heart and no wonder for their dear Lord was to be taken from them and slain yet even in that non-such condition of sorrow did the Lord propose this ground of encouragement to them What sadder and more bitter case could they be in than this their dear Master was to be murthered and slain and the hour was very near which heightned their sorrow and bitterness yet the Lord doth encourage them against that non-such affliction Ye now therefore have sorrow but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce I shall give you a short hint of the meaning of the words and so draw forth the particulars therein contained whence we shall draw some points of Doctrine Explication Ye now therefore have sorrow This therefore hath a particular reference to what he had spoken concerning his approaching sufferings and departure but especially they are to be referred to vers 22. where he sets down their condition by way of similitude taken from the sore pains of a woman in Travail when her hour is come she hath then more sorrow and bitterness than formerly because the hour of her Pains and sore Labour is come and this is your condition I have told you that I am now shortly to suffer and that this night I am to be taken from you and because this is the time wherein we must part my Caption and Death being near therefore now ye have great sorrow Yet be not too Sore cast down and Disconsolate for I will see you again neither the Cross the Grave the Tomb-stone laid upon me the Guards and Bands of men nor your Scattering and Banishment shall keep us at distance we will meet again for I 'le rise from the Dead and we shall see one another which shall bring great matter of joy unto you your Heart shall rejoyce your now discouraged hearts shall then dance and leap for joy within you When I shall see you again your heart shall beat within you for joy and gladness when you shall see so unlike and so unprobable a Resurrection these discouraged fainting hearts of yours shall then be swallowed up and filled with exceeding great surprizing overcoming and uncredible joy Now for the division of the words you see that the whole verse contains first the sad case of Christs Disciples because that now the hour was come wherein he was to be taken from them in this phrase Ye now therefore have sorrow Secondly there is the Encouragement Christ gives them against their Heart-fainting and sorrow of Soul viz. the assurance of his return unto them and the great joy of heart they then should have all which joy ye have in this phrase But I will see you again and your Heart shall rejoye VVe had occasion the last Lords day in another Congregation in this City to speak somewhat from the first part of the verse and entred also to speak upon the encouragement given to them by Christ and we shall not at present speak of any thing which we then touched save in so farr as may lead us to that which we are now to speak unto you and this being your present condition with all the sorrowfull people of God we shall touch the same a little at present The first thing we noted was from Christs distinct up-taking of their case comparing it with verse 5 6. where they were so damped with sorrow that they could not inquire where he was going yet both there and here he did take up their case distinctly whence we observed 1. Obs That Jesus Christ is more distinct in taking up the perplexed condition of his discouraged people than they themselves can be And this we noted for the encouragement of such of the Lords people as are often-times so filled with perplexities that they neither know where to find
snell and stormy blasts is the most joyfull and dancing dayes of his people This we find clear from many Scriptures when this glorious Sun shineth after a dark Ecclipse in the Firmament of his Church all the Sons and Daughters of Zion are made to rejoyce and no wonder for she hath many bruises and he comes with healing under hir Wings And in the text ye have now sorrow but I will see you again and your hearts shall rejoyce We shall give you some Scripture considerations to cleare the point a little further passing by what we said formerly as to their seeing him pacified when he returns whereas his going away prognosticates anger and as to their being freed of much misery for his going away is the most cronning misery Wo also unto them when I depart from them Hos and so it may be turned over yea and all blessings unto them when I return unto them which must make them as joyful dayes but further the point will be clear if ye consider Cons 1. Consider first her geting on her new apparel Zion hath her mourning garments in mourning dayes when she lyes in the dust O but when the Lord returns again unto her she gets on Garments of Gladness shake thy self from the dust O Zion and put on thy beautiful Garments O Jerusalem Isa 52. 1 2. therefore seeing she gets on brave Apparel must she not be made very glad and so have not reason in this respect to say that the time of Christs return after such blasts is the joyous dayes of his people Cons 2. Oftentimes Zion gets the intimation of her pardon ere she come out of the Furnace Isa 40. 2. Tell her that her iniquities are pardoned And therefore in this respect the time of Christs returning must be the most joyous dayes to his people Cons 3. Zious stoutest enemies who ranted her down in the dayes of her affliction are made to submit themselves to her when the Lord sees her again Isai 60. 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 shall call thee the City of the Lord the Zion of the holy oue of Israel Though they repreached you in the day of your low condition yet they shall be forced to acknowledge you to be my people when they shall see my goodness to you at my seeing you again must not that be very comfortable to the people of God when they see those who formerly in their affliction domineered over them treading on their necks coming and submitting themselves unto them and confessing them whom formerly they persecuted to be the Lords people and so there is ground in this respect to say that the time of the Lords returning after cold and stormy blasts is the joyous and dancing days of his people Cons 4. Consider 4. when the Lord returns for delivering his people he both surprize them with unexpected deliverance and also maketh much of his glory appear 126 Psal When the Lord brought back our captivity we were like them that dream we were so amazed with such an unexpected deliverance that we were like folks speaking in their sleep for joy then was our mouth filled with laughter and so our dancing dayes began Psal 102. 16. When the Lord builds up Zion he appears in his glory he maketh the bright rayes of his glory glance upon his Church making it evident that he regards the prayer of the destitute which formerly he seemed to despise howbeit he did not so indeed and so setteth their hearts a dancing again Consider 5. Zion hath then her spring time of flourishing and heareth his most sweet voice and is invited to communion with him of whom she could not get a blink formerly Cant. 2. 10. Arise my love my fair one and come away for the winter is past wrath and anger is now departed the rain is over and gone thy stormy dayes are by thy hand and the flowers appear on the earth and the time of the singing of birds is come Heartless Zion must now have her Songs again for the winter is over the fig-tree puts forth her young figs and the vines with their tender grapes give a good smell there is a brave spring time of all Zions graces and the sweet smelling of her ointments when the Lord of whom she had been deserted sees her again and so have we not reason in all these respects to say that the time of the Lords returning is the joyous and dancing dayes of his people But while we are speaking of the joyous dancing and merry dayes the people of God have when he sees them again we would give you advertisement that the point whereupon we are is a large and noble dish of the glorious marriage feast of the Gospel and therefore before we go any further to make application hereof we do in the name and by the authority of our dreadful Lord and Master Jesus Christ excommunicate and debarre from this blessed part of the Gospel feast first all those that have been active in carrying on our deâ—â—ctions from God and his way that they take â—ut upon them to meddle with this joy the people of God shall have at his return being strangers to all the toyl his people are put unto in labouring to keep their garments clean Secondly we do excommunicate from this blessed part of the Gospel feast all casters off of the yoke of God in the holy band of our Covenant Thirdly all those that have not heart-sympathy with Zion in this day of her low condition fourthly We do excommunicate and debarr from this part of the Gospel Feast all those in whose heart it is at present to do any thing to the hightening of the affliction of any of the people of God in relation to his new controverted but glorious work in this present distress whether by false accusation of them or false witness bearing against them surely such shall not tast of this blessed part of the marriage supper and Gospel feast fifthly All those who are not willing to adventure their whole Estate I and Life and Geir in the same broken Ship with Zion to die and live sink and swim with her in all her afflictions and all such as upon the greatest hazards will not as they are called in their stations do all way tend to her instruction and incouragement And lastly we excommunicate and debar from this noble dish of the Gospel feast viz. the joy the Lords people have at his return all such as willingly without remorse or endeavour to amend are wallowing in the same sins wherein they did lie before the Lord began to smite us especi-O you four hours professers who think ye love Zion and do approve the things that are best yet are not leaving off your four hour-companions be it known to all of you whom we have named it is not for your sakes that our
Lord Jesus will see or visit us again wherefore we say unto all of you keep your hands from off the precious bread which is appointed for the mourning and heavy hearted sons and daughters of Zion for only they share with Zion in her consolations when the Lords sees her again who so loved her and mourned for her in her low condition and without the Wedding garment of repentance for these evils and a forsakeing of them together with a heart and practical sympathy with Zion in this her distress you shall never tast of this choice part of the Marriage supper and Gospel feast wherewith the fainting and trembling discouraged hearts of the people of God shall be cheared up and revived when he sees us again but we desire not altogether to leave you here and therefore we say if ye will be so wise for yout selves as to joyn your selves to Zion and from a principle of heart honesty take a share of a suffering lot with her you shall be very welcome and upon these terms we heartily invite you to come and partake of these dainties otherwayes you cannot be admitted for none can rejoyce with the people of God but they who mourn with them none can land with them upon the shore of consolation with them save they who set their face to the stormy and tempestuous waves swimming thorough the deep flouds of persecution and affliction with them But upon the other hand we do in the blessed name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ heartily invite you to this blessed Feast of joy who are the fainting and sad hearted people of God we are not speaking to you of the great consolation wherewith your souls shall be satisfied when our Lord sees us again draw near therefore O ye discouraged sons and daughters of Zion eat of this fat and drink of this sweet for only to you doth this blessed feast belong and unto you and you only is the word of this consolation sent O rejoyce in the hope of what dancing dayes you shall have when Christ sees us again which joy shall then wreath a necessity of gladness of heart upon you as a Chain about your neck draw near therefore with all humble boldness and chearful confidence unto this feast of joy Eat O friends drink abundantly O beloved feed largely eat and drink for the time to come and journey that is before you Now for further application may not all we have said make it appear that the people of God as to their state are a most blessed people and may not all we have said be sufficient for engaging the hearts of you that are as yet strangers to the first dancings of a glorious work upon your hearts to come and joyn your selves to Zion to take a life and death with the people of God seeing they have that which may bear them up in the dâ—â—â—est afflictions and most tempestuous flâ—â—â— wherein they may be tossed But that we may draw to a close we would now speak a word unto you the people of God as to your present duty from all we have said ye see we have cleared this good ground to hope that our Lord will see you again and that ye shall have very joyfull and dancing dayes when that shall be for your hearts shall rejoyce O therefore blessed hearts be comforted in him in the hope and sure expectation of this precious day let us in the hope hereof resolve chearfully to set about those duties suitable to us in order to his seeing us again let us resolve to be faithful unto him in his absence let us resolve in the strength of him to bide by his precious truths and interests let us keep our selves free from touching the unclean thing for this will hasten his seeing us again let us do all things that tend to the good of his cause that the cause of our Lord Jesus may win the day though we should fall in the field of suffering guard against all pollutions of his Ordinances keep close by the covenant whereof ye need not be ashamed for it binds you to nothing but holiness towards God and Loyalty towards your Prince and so is the most clear â—eâ—eanly and sure Oath of Allegiance under Heaven yea 〈◊〉 the Marriage contract between God and 〈◊〉 Land so ye need think no shame of any thing in it but may cast up your face before all the World owning and avowing it before Heaven and Earth Angels and Men in a word let us set our face as flint against the storm resolving upon the greatest of hazards in the Lords strength not to yield to any thing not agreeable to the word of God when matters are violently carried on against Jesus Christ his interests and people it is the duty of all the faithful seed to set their face as flint against the storm and not to yield in a foot to any thing prest upon them contrary to his word Now 1. here is your work be faithful unto him bide by the truths of him who endured the Cross for you defile not your selves with abominations prest upon you 2. The simpathy and fellow feeling of our great high Priest who is touched with the feelings of all our trials together with the precious promises is your expence and charges whereupon you are to spend on your way 3. Christs seeing you again together with the joyful and danceing dayes ye shall then have is your incouragement O therefore up with your fainting and discouraged hearts for nothing shall keep him away from you he will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce sometimes he has even returned to these places where they had formerly sought to slay him What said his Disciples wilt thou go up to Jerusalem knowest thou not that not long ago the Jewes sought to stone thee Joh. 11. 8. Yet he went and so will he return again to us he will give us a gracious visit and our hearts shall rejoyce but many others shall look very blank at that day when he sees us again but your heart shall revive at that day O therefore comfort your fainting hearts in the hope of it that ye may go chearfully through the present distress committing the keeping of your souls unto him in the way of duty and well doing as into the hands of a faithful Creator who will make a glorious accompt of all that is committed unto him Now we have told you that our Land is a married land and that therefore he will see us again and we call God to record upon our soules that he laid a necessity of speaking this unto you and that under no less hazard then of being rejected of him never to be countenanced in his work again but to be made a weathered spectacle of his displeasure for disobedience durst we forbear to say these things unto you and we are sure it is from the Lord unto you And receiving his tender hearted Christian friends trembling which he supposing might be for fear of his danger he speaks these words What ayleth you O faithful friends in the Lord Jesus Christ and why does your faces look pale are ye affraid of the approaching storm O may not this quiet your hearts that he will carry you well through will see you again and cause your hearts rejoyce Why then are ye disconsolate are ye affraid to lose a friend for Christ and his cause O may not this satisfie your hearts as to this that it is not lost which Christ getteth it falls in a friends hand Secondly We say unto you that there is protection and security in our God in the most tempestuous and stormy day Isai 26. 2. We have a strong City what is the City there it's Gods salvation salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks where ye may see that when the Lords people have no outward protection neither walls nor bulwarks then the Lords Salvation is walls and bulwarks for their protection and shelter so that he can shelter them as within strong holds even 〈◊〉 they are amongst the greatest of snares and so may not this quiet your hearts that the Lord can protect your friends though in the midst of trouble and you have this to make up all your losses our Lord Jesus will see you again we leave you with the same soul comforting promise in your bosome that howbeit now you have sorrow because your hour is come yet he shall certainly and without all doubt see you again and your heart shall rejoyce and shall add no more â— but unto him that is able to perswade your Hearts of this That he will see you again and who can manifest the same in your joyfull experience we desire to give Praise The end of the first Sermon FINIS
righteous it shall be well with him c. I command you speak comfortably to them though it should cost you never so dear and may not this perswade you to it seeing it is his command therefore set about it 2 Motive You run a great hazard if you comfort them not Ezek. 3. 17. Thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me when I say to the wicked thou shalt die say thou so and surely speaking freely against the wicked makes much for the strengthening of the godly It may cost you dear your life may be in hazard for speaking freely against them and to comfort the godly But if you do it not their blood will I require at your hand 3 Mot. Comfort the people of God against the storm and you shall imitate your blessed Master who comforted his Disciples when going away with this I will see you again 4 Mot. If you do not comfort the people of God e're they enter in the furnace it will be more difficult to get comfort born in upon them when their hearts are down and they in the heat and bitterness of their affliction their present sorrow will not let them admit of comfort Christ knew this well for he saith let these sayings sink down into your hearts ground your comfort well now else ye will be very incapable of hearing comfort when I am taken from you and slain And in the Text he comforted them because he knew they would not hear of comfort in the furnace and may not this stir you up to this duty of comforting the Lords people now e're they enter the furnace that it will be a hard work to get them comforted when in the hot furnace of affliction 5 Mot. Comfort the people of God e're they enter to the heat of the furnace for ye know not if ye shall be near unto them when they shall have most need of comfort from you if a persecution for Christ did send away faithful Ministers and their people into one shlp when banished or to thrust them into one prison together ye might suspend your comforting them till you were sent into banishment or prison together but the nature of a persecution for Christ is to smite the shepherd and to scatter the flock he is either thrust into prison or banished out of the land or out of the world and the flock is scattered so that he cannot have opportunity to speak comfortably unto them and what trouble may he have in that case if he hear of any thing falling wrong in them if they faint in the furnance his heart must challenge him for not comforting and strengthening them when he had opportunity And may not this encourage you to your duty O therefore to your work while you have opportunity 6 Mot. O comfort the people of God and strengthen them for the storm and ye shall have great peace when taken from them Christ had this to say John 17. that he had given them his fathers word And this was Paul's great encouragement in his last discourse at Miletus Acts 20. 26. that he had told them the whole counsel of God and so was free from the blood of all men O how great an encouragement is this when a godly Minister is thrust from his charge or is a dying if he can say now I am put away from my work but blessed be God I never withheld any thing from them might tend to their encouragement or edification There is not one sentence in my mind that ever I refused to speak nor is there one text of Scripture in my mind that the Lord bid me to preach from unto them tending to their instruction or encouragement that ever I refused to preach from upon the greatest hazard and therefore I have no more ado for my work is ended with my opportunity as I am to have no more liberty to labour among them so also I have no more work to do I laboured while I had opportunity and so now my work and opportunity are ended at once O how great peace may this give and may not this incourage you to comfort the people of God e're they enter the heat of the Furnace 7. Mot. There shall not a hair of your head perish for your faithfulness they are all numbred and your time is in Gods hand Rev. 11. the two Witnesses cannot be killed nor put from their work till they have finished their Testitmony and prophecyed unto the end of the dayes appointed them of God ye can neither be slain nor put from your worke as long as blasteth though all the World should oppose you therefore with all peace and safety you may go about your work of comforting the Godly as being in his blessed hand who can preserve his people though amongst the midst of adversaries therefore encourage the people of God for this your sure preservation while he has work for you is undoubted Vse 3. Is it so that the Lord Jesus useth to send a word of comfort to his people e're he enter them into the furnace for his name then they should imbrace the same good word that is sent unto them though it be far off I say they should make use of the expectation of future comforts for their present distress You see Christ give his people a promise the sweetness of which they were not to enjoy till after the storm yet he wills them to draw incouragement from it for bearing up their fainting and discouraged hearts It was also Davids practicn Psal 27. I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living It was but a far of look of comfort my faith got all that I could come at was the hope of seeing his goodness in the land of the Living once e're I should go off this World yet though it was far of I was glad to grip to it I durst not put it away but laid hold on it and so incouraged my self by it against my present faintings of heart Therefore we say unto you that are here you see this is your duty to comfort your selves in the expectation of future consolation yea it is for this very end that Christs sends it O therefore make it practicall when God sends a word of consolation unto you close with it for your comfort it is your duty so to do especially when it it is conveyed to you with danger hazard and so I shall say no more unto you but leave it on you for you will have enough to do with all your comfort far off or near to you when ye meet with the storme therefore let not a word fall to the ground when he sends it for yout comfort I come to the last note which is the blessed effect should flow unto them upon his return which is joy of heart I will see you again and your heart shall rejoyce Obs That the time of our Lord Jesus return after