otherwise understood in this of Christ which is to succeed them all as they have succeeded each other both in time and place as the 35. vers doth fully declare and as the falling of the stone upon the feete of the Image upon the last and divided Kingdoms of the iron Empire doth probably imply For if the Kingdome of God there spoken of were to be understood of a Kingdome which should so be set up in the dayes of these Kings that their reigne should notwithstanding continue together with it as not onely these but all former Kingdomes also have done with the Militant Church with the Kingdome of grace which therefore cannot be the Kingdome there foreshewne then doubtlesse it should have beene represented by some part of the Image it selfe as the contemporating Kingdomes of the divided Empire are by the mixture of iron and clay and not by a thing so different from it and adverse unto it by a stone I say so wonderfull for its beginning operation and increase For it was cut out without hands and when it had smote the Image became a great Mountaine Ver. 34.45 Ver. 35. and filled the whole earth which the Church as yet never did whose fall and growth too as they import a more powerfull speedy and generall conquest over these Kingdomes by this Kingdome then either the gold received from the silver the silver from the brasse or the brasse from the iron so they imply the utter extirpation and totall abolition of the manner of policy and government which these Kingdomes have used of which it is said that they became like the chaffe of the summer threshing-floores and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them vers 35. And with this sense of the interpretation of the vision very well agreeth that in the second Psal at the 8. vers Aske of me and I shall give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession Thou shalt breake them with a rod (a) Rev. 2. v. 27. ch 19. v. 15. of iron thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessell And that in Psal 110. at the 2. vers The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thine enemies The Lord at thy right hand shall strike thorow Kings in the day of his wrath Hee shall judge among the Heathen he shall fill the places with dead bodies he shall wound the heads over many countries He shall drinke of the brooke in the way therefore shall he lift up the head Yea and that too in the 149. Psal at the second vers Let Israel rejoyce in him that made him let the children of Zion be joyfull in their (b) 1 Sam. 1 v. 9.10 Psal 47. Psal 98. King Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute vengeance upon the Heathen and punishments upon the people to binde their Kings with chaines and their Nobles with fetters of iron to execute upon them the judgement written This honour have all his Saints And that nought else is meant by the world to come in the second of the Heb. at the 5. vers but the Kingdome of our Saviour it is evident by the authority there alleadged out of the 8. Psal which prophecy is therefore made use of by the Apostle as a plaine proofe that Christs manhood is exalted above the chiefest of the Angels because it shewes that it is to Christ as man and not to any of the Angels that God hath put in subjection the world to come And if there be yet a world which is to be put in subjection to Christ as man then it must needs be a distinct world from (c) 1 Cor. 15 v. 24 28 Rev. 21. v. 3 that in which as man he shall give up the Kingdome to his Father for that which is to be given up is already past And it is no where said that the new Jerusalem the City of eternall glory shall be subjected to Christ as a creature but that Christ as a creature shall after the judgement of the dead be there subject to the Father 2. By expresse prophesie And thus it hath beene proved by consequence that our Saviour shall heareafter reigne on earth You shall now heare it directly and expressely affirmed Behold saith the Angell to the Virgin Mary thou shalt conceive in thy wombe and bring forth a Sonne and shalt call his name Jesus he shall be great and shall be called the Sonne of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him (d) Matth. 2 v. 6. Acts 2. v. 30 31. the Throne of his Father David Luke the first at the 31. v. Behold saith (e) Ch. 33. v. 15.16 Ieremiah in his 23. c. at the 5. v. the dayes come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch and a King shall reigne and prosper and shall execute judgement and justice * Whatsoever losse the disobedience of the first Adam brought on himselfe and his posterity that no doubt the second Adam hath recovered with advantage for himselfe and his chosen But the first Adam lost not onely his right to Heaven but the happy estate too which an innocent life would for a long time have continued to him and his on earth And therefore that intercourse and familiarity with God that rule and command over men and all other creatures which Adam before the advancement of mankind to its highest happines should have here enjoyed if he had not fell that and farre more then that shall Christ with his chosen inherit at his next appearing And now seeing even reason it selfe doth thus strongly conclude for our Saviours future soveraignty what unreasonablenesse were it in us any longer to misdoubt the literall accomplishment of these and all other sacred revelations which so fully describe and so clearely confirme it in the (f) Is 8. v. 8. Iob 19. v. 25. Heb. 1. v. 2. earth In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his Name whereby he shall bee called The Lord our righteousnesse Behold saith Zech. in his 6. chap. at the 12. vers the man whose name is the Branch and he shall grow up out of his place and he shall build the Temple of the Lord and hee shall beare the glory and shall sit and rule upon his Throne and he shall be a Priest upon his Throne and the counsell of peace shall be betweene them both And in the 34. chap. of Ezek. at the 22. vers I will save my flocke and they shall no more be a prey and I will judge betweene cattell and cattell and I will set up one Shepheard over them and he shall feed them even my servant David he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepheard And I the Lord will be their God and my servant David a Prince
among them I the Lord have spoken it and in his 37. chap. at the 24. vers David my servant shall be King over them and they shall have one Shepheard and they shall also walke in my judgements and observe my statutes and doe them and they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant wherein your Fathers have dwelt and they shall dwell therein even they and their children and their childrens children for ever and my servant David shall be their Prince for ever And in the 9. chap. of Isaiah at the 6. vers Vnto us a child is borne unto us a Sonne is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderfull Counseller the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end Vpon the Thron of David and upon his Kingdome to order it and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever the zeale of the Lord of Hosts will performe this And in the 52. chap. at the 13. vers Behold my servant shall deale prudently he shall be (g) Ps 1â—8 v. 22.23 24 c. exalted and extolled and be very high As many were (h) Luke 2. v. 34.35 astonied at thee his visage to wit at the time of his suffering was so marred more then any man and his forme more then the sonnes of men so to wit at his next appearing shall he sprinkle many Nations the Kings shall shut their mouthes at him for that which had not beene told them shall they see and that which they had not heard shall they consider And in the 4. chap. of Micah at the 6. vers In that day saith the Lord will I assemble her that halteth and I will gather her that is driven out and her that I have afflicted and I will make her that halted a remnant and her that was cast (i) Rom. 11. v. 12.15.32 off a strong Nation and the Lord shall reigne over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even for ever And in the 72. Psal at the 6. vers He shall come downe like raine upon the mowen grasse as showers that water the earth In his dayes shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the Moone endureth He shall have dominion also from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth They that dwell in the Wildernesse shall bow before him and his enemies shall licke the dust The Kings of Tarshish and of the Iles shall bring presents the Kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts Yea all Kings shall fall (k) Isa 45. v. 22.23 Phil. 2. v. 10 downe before him (l) Ps 22. v. 27 28. Rev. 14. v. 6 7. ch 15. v. 4 all Nations shall praise him And in the 102. Psal at the 13. vers Thone shalt arise and have mercie 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 feare the name of the Lord and all the Kings of the earth thy glory When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appeare in his glory Now that these prophecies doe concerne the reigne of Christ alone I thinke no man doubts and that they are already fulfilled it cannot bee proved For neither did Christ at his first comming sit on Davids Throne nor any other of Davids linage or of that Tribe or of the other Tribes for the Scepter was then departed from Judah and a Law-giver from betweene his feete Neither were Judah and Israel then in the land together neither was the Temple then destroyed but afterwards and therefore the things here spoken of are all to be accomplished at his second comming and that not in Heaven but on earth On earth I say and in (m) Is 33. v. 20. ch 50. v. 1 2 3 9 10. Jerusalem (n) Ps 122. v. 5. Davids Throne was For his feete shall stand in that day to wit when he comes to receive his appointed Kingdome on the Mount of Olives which is before Ierusalem on the East from which Mount also he ascended and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst therof toward the East toward the West there shal be a very great valley and halfe the Mountaine shall remove toward the North and halfe of it toward the South And ye shal flee to the valley of the Mountains for the valley of the Mountaines shall reach unto Azal yea ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the dayes of Uzziah K. of Judah And the Lord my God shall (o) Iude v. 14 15. Rev. 19. v. 11 12 13 14 15 16. come all the Ss. with thee and it shal come to passe in that day that the light shall not be cleare nor dark but it shall be one day which shall be knowne to the Lord not day nor night but it shall come to passe that at evening time it shall be light And it shall be in that day that (p) Ps 46. v. 4. Ezek. 47. v. 1. c. Ioel 3. v. 8. living waters shall goe out from Jerusalem halfe of them toward the former sea and halfe of them toward the hinder sea in Summer and in Winter shall it be and the Lord shall be King over all the earth in that day shall there be one Lord and his Name one All the Land shall be turned as a plaine from Geba to Rimmon South of Jerusalem and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place from Benjamins gate unto the place of the first gate unto the corner gate and from the Tower of Hananiel unto the Kings Wine-presses and men shall dwell in it and there shall be no more utter destruction but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited Zech. the 14. at the 4. vers You see here that our Saviour comes not onely to conquer death which is the last enemy that he shall destroy and therefore not wholly to be destroyed till the last resurrection but also to take the Kingdomes of this world unto himselfe to put downe as Saint Paul hath said all the rule and all the authority and power of other Nations that there may be one Shepheard and one Sheepfold that the (q) Dan. 7. v. 27. Kingdome and Dominion and greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole Heaven may be possest by the people of the Saints of the most High That is as the former prophesies doe expound it by the people of (r) Ps 148. v. 14. Israel And this as I thinke is the time of which he spake these words Verily verily I say unto you (s) Iohn 1. v. 15. Hereafter shall yee see Heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending upon the (t) Heb. 1. v. 6. Sonne of man For that this may be fulfilled it
Records as they challenge no lesse then beleefe to what I have written from them that equall these Scriptures with the Canonicall and are indeed altogether incompatible with a Jewish Antichrist so they manifest also to the whole world that I have uttered no yesterdayes doctrine no deformed issue of a private and distempered Spirit hatcht in a corner and nurst in a conventicle studyed in a closet or cloister and preacht onely in a chamber or covent but such things as accompany (r) Heb. 6. v. 9. Salvation Such words as every free Christian every uncaptived conscience will plainely perceive and publikely confesse to be the (s) Act. 26. v. 25. words of sobernesse and Truth Even her words (e) Prov. 1. v. 20. c. whose wont it is to utter t her voyce in the streetes in the chiefe place of concourse in the opening of the gates and in the City saying How long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity and the scorners delight in their scorning and fooles hate knowledge Let old Tobit speake for the rest I beleeve that our Brethren shall lye scattered in the earth from that good land and Jerusalem shall be desolate and the house of God in it shall be burned and shall be desolate for a time And that againe God will have mercy on them and bring them againe into the land where they shall build a Temple but not like to the first untill the time of that age be fulfilled and afterwards they shall turne from all places of their captivity and build up Jerusalem gloriously and the House of God shall be built in it for ever with a glorious building (v) Act. 3. v 19 20 21. as the u Prophets have spoken thereof And all Nations shall turne and feare the Lord God truely and shall bury their (w) Is 2. v. 20. Idols So shall all Nations praise the Lord and his people shall confesse God and the Lord shall exalt his people and all those that love the Lord God in truth and justice shall rejoyce shewing mercy to our brethren Gloria Deo Vita Regi Pax Regno Glory to God on high on earth increase To the Kings age and to the Kingdome peace FINIS GOG AND MAGOG OR THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTIE By ROBERT MATON Minister and Mr of Arts and sometimes Commoner of Wadham Colledge in OXFORD Hab. 2. v. 3. The vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speake and not lie though it tarry wait for it because it will surely come it will not tarry LONDON Printed by R. Cotes for Daniel Frere and are to be sold at his shop in little Britaine at the signe of the red Bull. 1642. DEUT. 32. v. 2.36.43 The Lord shall judge his people and repent himselfe for his servants when he seeth that their power is gone and there is none shut up or left Rejoyce O yee Nations with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance to his adversaries and will he mercifull to his land and to his people Jerem. 10. v. 11.10 The (b) Isa 2.20 Zeph. 3.11 gods that have not made the heavens and the earth even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens But the Lord is the true God he is the living God and an everlasting King at his wrath the (c) Isa 2.19 21. Rev. 6.15 16 17. earth shall tremble and the Nations shall not be able to abide his indignation Isaiah 14. v. 24. c. The Lord of Hosts hath sworne saying surely as I thought so shall it come to passe and as I purposed it shall stand That I will breake the Assyrian in my land and upon my mountaines tread him under foot then (d) Isa 10.24 25 26 27. shall his yoke depart from off them and his burden from off their shoulders This is the purpose that is purposed upon the (e) Eze. 38 39. Ioel. ch 3. Micah 4.12 13. Zeph. 3.5 Zek. 12.14 whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the Nations For the Lord of Hosts hath purposed and who shall disannull it and his hand is stretched out and who shall turne it backe Isaiah 30. v. 27 c. Behold the Name of the Lord commeth from farre burning with his anger and the burden therereof is heavie his lips are full of indignation and his tongue as a devouring fire And his breath as an over-flowing streame shall reach to the middest of the necke to sift the Nations with the sieve of vanitie and there shall be a bridle in the jawes of the people causing them to erre Ye shall have a song as in the night when an holy solemnity is kept and gladnesse of heart as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountaine of the Lord to the mighty one of Israel And the Lord shall cause his glorious voyce to be heard and shall shew the lighting downe of his arme with the indignation of his anger and with the flame of a devouring fire with scattering and tempest and hailestones For through the voyce of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten downe which smote with a rod. And in every place where the grounded staffe shall passe which the Lord shall lay upon him it shall be with tabrets and harpes and in battels of shaking will hee fight with it For Tophet is ordained of old yea for the King it is prepared he hath made it deepe and large the pile thereof is fire and much wood the breath of the Lord like a streame of brimstone doth kindle it GOG AND MAGOG OR THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTIE EZEK 38.2 Sonne of man set thy face against Gog the land of Magog the chiefe Prince of Meshech and Tuball and prophesie against him c. THat we may the better know what enemies are meant by Gog and Magog in the 20. chap. of the Rev. it will not be amisse first Vers 8. to examine who are meant by Gog and Magog in the 38 and 39. chap. of Ezekiel And this can no way be so well found out as by comparing Ezekiels prophesie with other Prophesies For albeit this of Ezekiel be in forme and manner of expression somewhat different from others and in matter much more copious than others that being delivered here plainly fully and together which is in some but obscurely glanc't at and in others revealed but in part or at most by parcels as we say that is some part in one place and some in another yet that Ezekiel goes not alone in the subject of this Revelation it is evident by the Querie made by God himselfe in the very same Prophesie Thus saith the Lord God Art thou hee of whom I have spoken in (a) Hab. 2.3 old time by my servants the Prophets of Israel which prophesied in those dayes many yeares that I would bring thee against them chapter the
Kingdomes round about being for the most part taken away by meanes whereof the Kings of the East that is the Christian Kings and professors of the truth whom God shall stirre up against her in these parts shall have a notable advantage to bring her to ruine And the ground of all this is that in the 17. chap. of the Rev. at the 16. vers where 't is said that the ten hornes which are ten Kings who were for a time to give their Kingdome unto the Beast with whom in one houre they received power as Kings shall hate the whore and make her desolate and naked and eate her flesh and burne her with fire But unlesse the abettors of this interpretation will deny that the seven vials do containe seven distinct plagues which are successively to begin at the powring out of their particular vials and not before and this were to contradict the Holy Ghost who hath left upon record seven severall descriptions of seven different plagues unlesse they will do this I say they can never prove the decay of the Popes revenues to be the meaning of the drying up of Euphrates For seeing that the abatement of the Antichristian profits must needs be an act of equall standing with the reformation of the Church under the Protestant Princes and that the beginning and continuance of that work is ascribed by the foresaid Expositors to all the former vials and surely if this be the time of the vials experience tels us that the reformation of religion pertaines to most of them I say seeing these things are so it necessarily followes that the drying up of Euphrates in this sense cannot possibly be the proper event of the sixt vial where onely it is mentioned but must be a thing common to al or most of the first six vials the consummation and perfection whereof is to be referred to the sixth vial and the beginning and augmentation to the rest Neither is it more likely that by the Kings of the East are meant the ten Kings which shall hate the whore and make her desolate for First at the destruction of that mighty army which is to be gathered against the Kings of the East the Kings that shall take part with the Beast and false Prophet shall be slaine as it is foretold in the 19. chap. of the Rev. at the 18. vers but when the ten Kings who are to hate the whore shall burne her with fire the Kings that shall then take part with her shall not perish in battell for 't is said that they shall bewaiâ—e her and lament for her when they see the smâ—ake of her burning Rev. 17. at the 9. and 10. verses which words also do further shew that this destruction of Rome cannot be that which is to concurre with the over throw of the great army at the effusion of the seventh viall because this is to be by fire but that by an earthquake exprest in the 16. chap. at the 19. vers and represented here in the 18. chap. at the 21. vers by an Angel casting a great milstone into the sea and saying Thus with violence shall that great City Babylon be throwne down and shall be found no more at all Againe at Romes destruction by fire the Kings of the earth shall bewaile Her because her glory is departed But at Romes downefall by an earthquake they shall bewaile themselves because the (l) Rev. 6.14 15 16 17. c. 16. v. 18 19 20 21. Luk. 23.30 Isa 2.19 20 21. great day of the Lambs wrath is come They shall then I say have no regard of the losse of worldly honour or possessions but shall even wish that they might enjoy the finall judgement of that great City that with it they might be found no more at all for what else is to be understood by their calling to the Mountaines to fall on them and to the Rockes to hide them Secondly seeing the ten Kings shall hate the whore and make her desolate and naked and eate her flesh and burne her with fire It followes First that this expedition is to be made by these kings against the false Prophet and not by him against them Secondly that this desolation shall be wrought by the ordinary power of men And Thirdly that it shall rather be a destruction of Rome and the Popes temporalties than of the Pope or Papacie it selfe But the expedition spoken of under the sixth vial is to be made by the Beast false Prophet against the Kings of the East not by these against them their perdition shal be personal final proceeding immediately from Christ himself For they shall be taken and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone and the remmant shall be slaine Rev. 19. at the 20. and 21. ver And what is an utter perdition what an everlasting destruction if to be cast into hell be not and to whom is this (m) Joh. 5.27 power committed but to Christ onely Thirdly if the successe of the ten Kings against the false Prophet belongs to any vial it must be to the fift and not to the sixt to the fift I say which is to be powred out on the very seat of the Beast for what is the seat of the beast but the great City which in Saint Johns dayes (n) Rev. 17.3.18 raigned over the Kings of the earth and what is that great City but (o) Vers 5. Babylon the great the Mother of harlots and abominations of the earth and consequently the whore whom the ten Kings shall burne with fire Fourthly and lastly it is much to be doubted that the ten Kings shall help make up that great army which is to be gathered against the Kings of the East For First it being apparent that they cannot be Kings of the East how can they be excluded from being a part of the Kings of the earth and of the whole world for though there be not expresse mention of the ten Kings at the gathering together of the great Army yet there is expresse mention of perswading the assisting kings to battell by such a cursed and detestable course as would be altogether needlesse if they were to be such Kings with whom the authority and friendship of the Beast and false Prophet should be able to prevaile Secondly it is said that these ten Kings shall make warre with the Lambe and the Lambe shall overcome them for he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings Rev. the 17. at the 14. ver and how can these words be referred to any other warre but that which is spoken of in the 19. chap. of the Rev. where it is foretold ver 14.16.19 that the Army of the Beast and false Prophet is to be overcome by our Saviour himselfe when he shall be revealed from heaven when he shall mightily and visibly manifest himselfe to be Lord of Lords and King of Kings in (p) Isa 66. v. 15 16. 2 Thes 1. v. 8.10
that is the Judge of Israel before spoken of that hee I say shall stand and feed or rule in the strength of the Lord in the Majesty of the Name of the Lord his God and they that is the Jewes shall abide for now that is at this comming of our Saviour hee shall bee not as when hee tooke our nature upon him of no (k) Isay 53. v. 2 3. forme nor comelinesse a man despised and rejected of men a man of sorrowes and acquainted with griefes but he shall be (l) Zech. 9.10 Psal 72.8 great unto the ends of the earth that is over all the world untill hee and his shall at the last judgement exchange the earthly Hierusalem the (m) Jer. 3. v. 17. ca. 14. v. 21. Throne of his Kingdome which is to be (n) Jer. 31.38 built againe by men for that imperiall Hierusalem not (o) 2 Cor. 5.1 made with hands eternall in the heavens Another Prophesie much like unto this is that of Amos in his 9. chap. at the 8. vers Behold the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinfull Kingdome and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob saith the Lord for loe I will command and I will sift the house of Israel among all Nations like as corne is sifted in a sieve yet shall not the least graine fall upon the earth And at the 11. vers In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David that is fallen and close up the breaches thereof and I will raise up his ruines as in the dayes of old that they may possesse the remnant of Edom and of all the Heathen that are called by my Name saith the Lord that doth this I will bring againe the captivitie of my people Israel and they shall build the wast cities and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and drinke the wine thereof they shall also make gardens and eate the fruit of them and I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them saith the Lord God Now although this Prophesie tooke effect on the tenne Tribes at their transplantation began by (p) 1 Chro. 5. v. 6. 2 King 15. v. 29. Cap. 16.9 Tiglath-Pileser King of Assyria and ended by Shalmaneser his successour who also brought up strange Nations and placed them in their stead (q) 2 King 17. v. 5 6 24. cap. 18. v. 9 c. which people were from Samaria the ancient metropolis of that Province called (r) Joh. 4.9 Samaritanes yet who is able to maintaine that it was fulfilled on the other two for not the house of Joseph nor the house of Judah only but the house of Jacob wholly is here spoken of and why else is the Tabernacle of David afterwards exprest as a prime agent in the restauration if it were not before included as a succeding patient in the dispersion of Israel who then I say is able to maintaine that this Prophecie was fulfilled on Judah and Benjamin untill their overthrow by the Roman Emperour Vespasian ever since which time they also remaine forsaken scattered and despised captives yea who dares affirme it when God hath said that at their returne from this universall captivity †The usuall answer of a condititionall promise will take no hold on this or the like places of the Scripture for as God hath here past his word that hee will no more pull them up out of their land so in the 32. chap. of Jer. at the 39. 40. vers the 50. chap. at the 20 vers In the 36. of Ezek. at the 27. vers in the 37. at the 23. in the 39. at the 7. vers and in the 3. of Zeph. at the 13. vers All which Prophesies do in the time of their fulfilling concurre with this he hath likewise promised to give them one way and one heart that they may feare him for ever Never to turne away from them to do them good but to put his feare into their hearts that they shall not depart from him That the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sinnes of Judah and they shall not be found That hee will put his spirit within them and cause them to walke in his statutes and to keepe his judgements and doe them That they shall defile themselves no more with their Idols nor with their detestable things not with any of their transgressions That he will make his holy name knowne in the midst of his people Israel and will not let them pollute his holy Name any more And that the remnant of Israel shall not doe iniquity nor speake lies neither shall a deceitfull tongue be found in their mouth And therefore God having thus equally engaged himselfe as well to keepe the Iewes from sinne as to free them from bondage it is as impossible that the accomplishment of this Prophesie should be frustrated and the fruition of these blessings forfeited for want of obedience as that God should either forget or not regard or be unable to fulfill his word and consequently the appointed time for the finishing of such Prophesies is yet to be expected hee will so plant them in their Land that they shall no * more be pulled up out of it which yet should not be true if it it had beene spoken of any deliverance before our Saviours comming to suffer The next Prophesie shall be that of Joel who mentions the very signes which our Saviour said should be the immediate fore-runners of the Jewes Redemption And it shall come to passe afterwards saith hee in his 2. chap. at the 28. vers that I will powre out my spirit upon all flesh and your sonnes and your daughters shall prophecie your old men shall dreame dreames and your young men shall see visions and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those dayes will I powre out my spirit and I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth blood and fire and pillars of smoake the (Å¿) Isa 24.23 Mat. 24.29 Rev. 6 12. Sun shall be turned into darknesse and the Moone into blood before the (*) Great not onely in regard of the strangenesse and dreadfulnesse of events of things then to come to passe but great also in regard of the long continuance and tract of time which God in his revelations hereafter to be fulfilled doth by the word Day as well without this epithet as with iâ— frequenâ—ly import great and terrible (t) Eze. 39. vers 8. Malac. 4.5 Jude ver 6. Rev. 16.14 day of the Lord come And it shall come to passe that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be delivered for in mount Zion and in Hierusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call And at the 3. chap. at
the 1. vers Behold in those dayes and in that time when I shall bring againe the captivitie of Judah and Hierusalem I will also gather all Nations and will bring them downe into the valley of Jehosaphat which in the 14. vers is called the valley of decision and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the Nations and parted my land And at 15. vers againe The Sunne and the Moone shall be darkned and the Starres shall withdraw their shining the Lord also shall roare out of Zion and utter his voyce from Hierusalem and the (u) Isa 2.19 c. Eze. 38.19 20. Hag. 2.22 Mat. 24.29 Rev. 16.18 c. 6.13.14 heavens and the earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel I am not ignorant that the darkning of the Sun and Moone is sometimes taken allegorically and by way of allusion but that therefore it should be so understood here it doth not follow for where it is figuratively applyed it signifies the judgement it selfe which is to befall those people of whom it is spoken but where it is literally used it is put onely for a signe of an eminent destruction which shall suddenly follow it as the great and terrible day of the Lord shall do at the accomplishment of this Prophesie Neither have I forgotten that the first of these Prophesies was made use of by Saint Peter to stop the mouthes of such as jeered the Apostles when by the descent of the holy Ghost upon them they began to speake with other tongues Act. 2.4 but that this Prophesie was then fulfilled I deny for when some mocking said These men are full of new wine Cap. cjusd vers 13. c. Saint Peter replyed Ye men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Hierusalem be this knowne unto you and hearken unto my words for these are not drunken as ye suppose seeing it is but the third houre of the day but this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel And it shall come to passe in the last dayes saith God I will powre out my Spirit upon all flesh as if he had said My brethren these are not the effects of wine but of the Spirit of God which is now powred out on the first fruits of the Jewes as a pledge assurance of that bountifull effusion of it which as Joel hath said shall one day happen to the whole (u) Isay 32. vers 15. Ezek. 39. vers 29. Zech. 12 vers 10. Nation And that this is all S. Peter meant it may thus appeare first because the chief and most remarkeable effect of the Spirit in the Apostles at this time was the gift of tongues of which the Prophet makes no mention and secondly because as the Prophet revealed so hee repeats this powring out of the Spirit as a contemporary event with the wonders which shall be shewne in the heavens and in the earth before the great and terrible day of the Lord come Which day can no way be referr'd to the first comming of Christ when he came to (x) Luk. 9. vers 56. Chap. 19. vers 10. Joh. 12.47 save sinners and not to destroy them when hee would not take upon him to be (y) Luk. 12.14 Joh. 6.15 Judge and Ruler over them for then it must have beene an antecedent of his birth of the time he lived and not a subsequent of his death and departure which hath no analogie with a day Is remaines then that it is an expression of his second coming which is called a great and terrible day in regard of the generall destruction which shall be brought on all Nations that oppose themselves against the Jewes at that time For in mount Zion and in Hierusalem as you have heard shall be deliverance and in the Remnant whom the Lord shall callâ— And to put it out of doubt that Gods bringing downe of the heathen into the valley of Jehospaphat is meant onely of his gathering them together to a battell and consequently of a judgement on the living and not on the dead to put this out of doubt I say the Prophet makes it to be a concomitant of the Jewes (z) Rev. 16. v. 12 13 14. return from their captivitie and in the 9 10 11 and 12. vers provokes the Gentiles to prepare warre to assemble their mighty men and to breake their plough-shares into swords and their pruning-hookes into speares a preparation which as it would be fruitlesse so doubtlesse they shall neither have time power or will to make when they are summoned to receive the dreadfull sentence of Goe yee cursed And for my owne part I am perswaded that this great army here spoken of is the very same that shall be gathered together to the battell of that great day of God Almighty by the three uncleane spirits like frogs which Saint John saw come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false Prophet Rev. the 16. at the 13. vers Of this (a) Psal 2.1 2 3. Ps 46.6 8. Ps 68.30 Isa 2.12 13 c. Ch. 24.21 22. ch 26.20 21. ch 34.1 2 3 4 5 c. ch 49. v. 26. chap. 66. v. 14 15 16. Micah 4.12 13. destruction also speakes Zephaniah in his 3. chap. at the 8. vers Therefore wait upon mee saith the Lord untill the day that I rise up to the prey for my determination is to gather the Nations that I may assemble the Kingdomes to powre upon them mine indignation even all my fierce anger for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousie for then will I turne to the people meaning the Jewes a pure language that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent And at the 19. vers Behold at that time I will undoe all that afflict thee and I will save her that halteth and gather her that was driven out and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have beene put to shame At that time I will bring you againe even in the time that I gather you for I will make you a name and a prayse among all people of the earth when I turne backe your captivity before your eyes saith the Lord. And yet more fully Zechariah in his 12. chap. at the 3. vers In that day will I make Hierusalem a burdensome stone for all people all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it In that day will I smite every horse with astonishment and his rider with madnesse and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah and will smite every horse of the people with blindnesse In that day will I make the Governours of Judah like a hearth
remnant of my flocke out of all Countries whither I have driven them and will bring them again to their folds and they shall be fruitfull and encrease and I will set up Shepheards over them which shall feed them and they shall (d) Isa 33. v. 20.21 22 24. Zeph. 3. v 14 15. feare no more nor be dismaid neither shall they be lacking saith the Lord and in his 31. chap. at the 10.27 and 31. vers Heare the word of the Lord O yee Nations and declare it in the Iles a farre off and say He that scattereth Israel will gather him and keepe him as a Shepheard doth his flocke for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger then he therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion and shall flow together to the goodnesse of the Lord for Wheate and for wine and for oyle and for the young of the flocke and of the herd and their soules shall be as a watered garden and they shall not sorrow any more at all Then shall the Virgin rejoyce in the dance both young men and old together for I will turne their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoyce from their sorrow and I will satiate the soules of the Priests with fatnesse and my people shall be satisfied with goodnesse saith the Lord. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast and it shall come to passe that like as I have watched over them to plucke up and to breake downe and to throw downe and to destroy and afflict so will I watch over them to build and to plant saith the Lord. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I tooke them by the hand to bring them out of the Land of Egypt which my covenant they brake although I was an husband unto them saith the Lord but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Law into their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour every man his brother saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more And in his 32. c. at the 17. v. Behold I will gather them out of all Countries whither I have driven them in mine anger and in my fury and in great wrath and I will bring them again unto this place I will cause them to dwell safely And I will give them one heart and one way that they may feare me for ever for the good of them and of their children after them And I will make an everlasting covenant with them and I will not turne away from them to doe them good but I will put my feare into their hearts that they shall not depart from me Yea I will rejoyce over them to doe them good and I will plant them in this Land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soule For thus saith the Lord Like as I have brought all this great evill upon this people so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised And in his 33. chap. at the 6. vers Behold I will bring it health and cure and I will cure them and will reveale unto them the abundance of peace and truth And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to returne and will build them as at the first and I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against me and I wil pardon all their iniquity wherby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against me And it shall be to me a name of joy a praise and an honour before all the Nations of the earth which shall heare all the good that I doe unto them and they shall feare and tremble for all the goodnesse and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it And in his 46. chap. at the 27. vers and his 50. chap. at the 19. vers But (e) Chap. 30. v. 10 11 feare not thou O my servant Jacob and be not dismaid O Israel for behold I will save thee from afarre off and thy seed from the Land of their captivity and Jacob shall turne and be in rest and at ease and none shall make him afraid Feare thou not O my servant Jacob saith the Lord for I am with thee for I will make a full end of all the Nations whither I have driven thee but I will not make a (f) Deut. 32 v. 26 27 36 43. Psal 89. v. 31 32 33.34 Psal 94. v. 14 15. full end of thee but correct thee in measure yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished I will bring Israel againe to his habitation and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan and his soule shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim and Gilead In those dayes and in that time saith the Lord the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for and there shall be none and the sinnes of Judah and they shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve Read also what Ezek. hath written in his 28. chap. at the 25. vers Thus saith the Lord when I have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they be scattered and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the Heathen then shall they dwell in their Land that I have given unto my servant Jacob and they shall dwell safely therein and shall build houses and plant Vineyards yea they shall dwell with confidence when I have executed judgements upon all those that despise them round about them and they shall know that I am the Lord their God And in his 34. chap. at the 12. vers As a Shepheard seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheepe that are scattered so will I seeke out my sheepe and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and darke day and I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the Countries and will bring them to their owne Land and feed them upon the Mountaines of Israel by the rivers and in all inhabited places of the Countrey I will feed them in a good pasture and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be there shall they lie in a good fold and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the Mountaines of Israel I will feed my flocke
2. cap. 16. p. 410. reasons which Wendelinus in the 19. chap. and 2. Section of his naturall Contemplations at the 391. pag. brings to the contrary will give abundant satisfaction For first the Apostle doth apparently distinguish the Jewes from the Gentiles by the word Israel when he saith that blindnesse is in part happened to Israel untill the fulnesse of the Gentiles be come in And therefore I much doubt whether he would in the very next line by the same word indifferently comprehend both Jewes and Gentiles especially seeing the Israel that is to be saved must needes have relation to the Israel that was before said to be in blindnesse And then too what is become of the mystery here spoken of if the words And so all Israel shall be saved should not signifie such a conversion of the Jewes as must follow the vocation of the Gentiles for that some particular Jewes were at that time to be gathered to the Church they knew before seeing many such were then amongst them some of which did first conveigh the Gospell to them And therfore in my judgement those Divines deale most sincerely with the Text who acknowledging the literall sense thereof doe send us to that of Isaiah in his 66. chap. at the 8. ver as to a plaine proofe of this opinion who saith he hath heard such a thing who hath seene such things shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day (l) Zech. 3. v. 9. or shall a Nation be borne at once for as soone as Zion travailed she brought forth her children Where the wonderfull and unheard of conversion of a whole Nation at once such as never happened to any Nation of the Gentiles together with the expresse mention of Zion and the evidence of the following verses should me thinks be motive enough to make any impartiall Reader understand this Prophecy of the Jewes which yet implyes not so much a returne of the whole Nation to their Country as to their God and therefore could not be fulfilled by the returne of a part of them from Babylon at which time too the Kingdome of God that is the true worship of God the meanes by which that Kingdome is obtained was amongst them onely but hath since according to our Saviours Prophecy in the 21. chap. of Matth. at the 43. ver beene taken from them and shall againe according to this be suddenly and extraordinarily restored into them as Joel also before intimated by the plentifull distribution of Gods Spirit in the last dayes 2. That the surviving and subjected Gentiles shall gladly embrace the knowledge and seaâ—e of God with the Jewes You have hitherto heard of the deliverance and happinesse of the Jewes only I shall now acquaint you with their partakers which shall be such as are left of the Nations that are then to be destroyed as you may see in the fore-quoted chap. of Isai at the 15. and 19. verses Behold the Lord will come with fire and with his Charets like a whirlewind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire for by (m) Ezek. 39. v. 4 5 6 c. Mal. 4. v. 1. Psal 50 v. 3 2 Thess 1.1.7 8. c. fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slaine of the Lord shall be many And I will set a signe among them and I will send those that escape of them unto the Nations to Tarshish Pul and Lud that draw the bow to Tuball and Javan to the Isles afarre off that have not heard my fame neither have seene my glory and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles And they shall bring all your Brethren for an offering (n) Isa 18. v. 7. unto the Lord out of all Nations upon Horses and in Charets and in Litters and upon Mules and upon swift beastes to my holy mountaine Jerusalem saith the Lord as the children of Israel bring an offering in a cleane vessell into the House of the Lord. And I will also take of them for Priests and for Levites saith the Lord. For as the new Heavens and the new Earth which I will make to wit at the judgement of the dead when this Heaven and Earth shall passe away as it is in the 20. of the Rev. at the 11. ver and in the 21. at the 1. ver as these shall remaine before me saith the Lord so shall your seed and your name remaine to wit after the foresaid returne from their captivity And it shall come to passe that from one New Moone to another and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to (o) Psal 68 u. 29.31 Psal 100. v. 1.2 4. worship before me saith the Lord and they shall goe forth and looke upon the carkeises of the men that have transgressed against me for their worme shall not dye neither shall their fire be quenched and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh And in his 60. chap. at the 9. ver and the 61. at the 4. ver They shall (p) Iâ—a 53. v. 12. build the old wastes they shall raise up the former desolations and they shall repaire the waste Cities the desolations of many generations And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks and the sonnes of the alient shall be your Plough-men and your Vine-dressers But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord Men shall call you the Ministers of your God ye shall eate the riches of the Gentiles and in their glory shall you boast your selves For your shame you shall have double and for confusion they shall rejoyce in their portion therefore in their Land they shall possesse the double everlasting joy shall be unto them Surely the Isles shall waite for me and the Ships of Tarshish first to bring my Sonnes from farre their silver and their gold with them unto the name of the Lord thy God and to the Holy One of Israel because he hath glorifyed thee And the Sonnes of Strangers shall build up thy wals and their Kings shall minister unto thee For in my wrath I smote thee but in my favour have I had mercy on thee Therefore thy gates shall be open continually they shall not be shut day nor night that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles and that their Kings may be brought For the (q) Ier. 12. v. 14 15 16 17. Nation and Kingdome that will not serve thee shall perish yea those Nations shall be utterly wasted The sonnes also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves downe at the soles of thy feete and they shall call thee the City of the Lord the Zion of the Holy One of Israel Whereas thou hast beene forsaken and hated so that no man went thorow thee I will make thee an eternall excellency a joy of many generations Thou shalt also sucke the milke of the Gentiles and shalt sucke
of the Sunne and the Light of the Sunne shall be sevenfold as the light of seven dayes in the day that the Lord (h) Mal. 3. v. 17 18. bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroke of their wound But the great increase of the light of the Sunne and Moone here spoken of is in the 60. Chap. at the 19. ver plainely gainesaid the words are these The Sunne shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightnesse shall the Moone give light unto thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory Where if it had been said That the Sunne should no more burne them by day nor the Moone by night as it is in the 121. Psal Or smite them as it is in the 49. of Esay at the 10. ver I could have sent you for an answer to the 4. chap. of the same Prophet at the 5. ver The Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion and upon her assemblies a cloud and smoake by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night for upon all the glory shall be a defence And there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow in the day from the beat and for a place of refuge and for a covert from storme and from raine But seeing it is said The Sunne shal be no more thy light by day These places will be better reconciled if we acknowledge that in the 60. Chap. there is a mixt rehearsall of those blessings which are proper onely to the Heavenly Jerusalem which as it is Rev. 21. ver 23. and chap. 22. ver 5. hath no need of the Sun neither of the Moone to shine in it with those which the Jewes shall receive at the restauration of their earthly Jerusalem for such a mixture of things which shall in their execution be many generations apart is very usuall with the Prophets And it is the more likely to be so here not onely because the words immediately following in both Prophecies are in sense all one for they shew the same reason wherefore the Sun and Moone should no more give light unto them but also because the happinesse which the Jewes shall then be made Heires of shall never againe be interrupted by any misery For the ransomed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtaine joy and gladnesse and sorrow and sighing shall flee away Esay the 35. at the 10. ver And lest we should conceit that the judgement of the dead plainely described in the 20. Chap. of the Rev. shall either suspend Ver. 11 12. c. ver 2. or disturbe this joy Saint Paul in the 1. to the Cor. and the 6. Chap. hath told us that The Saints shall judge * These first words may not unfitly be referred also to the time of the Saints reign on earth for it is their priviledge at their entrance into their Kingdome and throughout the whole space of their reign To judge the World that is all Nations of the Gentiles with the judgement of government and reformation with the exercise of a civill and temporall power over them as in the prophecies of the Gentiles subjection unto them it may plainely be seene And it is their priviledge at the â—aâ—â— resurrection To judge the world and the Devill that is all evill as well Angels as men by a joynt approbation of their finall and perfect condemnation of the full accomplishment I say of their eternall reprobation the world that is the wicked men that have beene their oppressors ver 3. and judge the Angels that is the evil spirits that have been their tempters And therefore shall not be thrust downe to the bar amongst them but advanced to the bench against them An addition doubtlesse to their happinesse and no abatement of it And this is as much as I need say though not above halfe that the Prophets say concerning the Kingdome in the Text. I will therefore shut up all with that solemne Protestation of God in the 31. of Jer. at the 35. ver Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the Ordinances of the Moone and of the Starres for a light by night which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roare the Lord of Hoasts is his Name If those Ordinances (i) Ier. 33. v. 20.25 depart from before me saith the Lord then shall the seed of Israel also cease from being a Nation before mee for ever Thus saith the Lord If Heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done saith the Lord. And with that humble complaint of Israel whom God in the 7. of Micah at the 8. ver makes to prophecy thus of her selfe Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy when I fall I shall rise when I sit in darknesse the Lord will be a light unto me I will beare the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him untill be plead my cause and execute judgement for me He will bring me forth to the light and I shall behold his righteousnesse And so I passe from the thing to be restored which is the Kingdome of Israel to the Person by whom it is to be restored which is Christ the Lord at his next appearing For they asked of him saying Lord wilt thou at this time restore againe the Kingdome to Israel That our Mediatour hath undergone the offices of a Priest and Prophet the Gospel is our witnesse That Christ shall reigne on earth proved 1. By consequence Isa 14. v. 1 2 3. but considering that the Jewes are yet to receive a Kingdome a Kingdome in which they shall bold them captives whose captives they are and in which peace and righteousnesse shall flourish on the earth considering this I say we may justly doubt whether our Saviour hath as yet executed the office of a King and so much the rather because he tooke our nature on him as well to performe his kingly office therein amongst us as either his priestly or propheticall the glory of this being indeed the reward of that contempt and torment which he suffered in the others and though it cannot be denied that he hath already (k) Col. 2. v. 15. spoyled principalities and powers that is the evill spirits and hath made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in his crosse nor that he is (l) Eph. 4. v. 8. ascended up on high and hath led captivity captive and given gifts unto men nor that he is become the (m) Col. 2. v. 10. Head of all principality and power that is of the Saints and holy Angels and is set (n) Heb. 1. v. 3. ch 8. v. 1 ch 10. v. 12. ch 12. v. 2. downe at the right hand of the Throne of God so that he
Jacob shall rejoyce and Israel shall be glad Psal 106. v. 4 5. Remember me O Lord with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people O visit me with thy salvation That I may see the (i) Ier. 32 v. 42. ch 33. v. 9. good of thy chosen that I may rejoyce in the gladnesse of thy Nation that I may glory with thine inheritance Micah 7. v. 14. c. Feed thy people with thy rod the flock of thine heritage which dwelleth solitarily in the wood in the midst of Carmel let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the dayes of old According to the dayes of thy comming out of the Land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things The Nations shall see and be confounded at their might they shall lay their hand upon their mouth their eares shall be deafe They shall licke the dust like a Serpent they shall move out of their (k) Isa 2. v. 19.20 Re◠◠v. 19 holes like wormes of the earth they shall be afraid of the Lord our God and shall feare because of thee Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the (l) Isa 65. v. 9.15 Zeph. 3. v. 12 13. Rom. 11. v. 5 28. Remnant of his heritage he retaineth not his anger for ever because he delighteth in mercy He will turne againe he will have compassion upon us he will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt cast all their sinnes into the depths of the Sea Thou wilt performe the truth to (m) Isa 65. v. 8. Rom. 11. v. 16.28 Jacob and the mercy to (m) Isa 65. v. 8. Rom. 11. v. 16.28 Abraham which thou hast sworne to our m Fathers from the dayes of old Isaiah 12. In that day thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me Behold God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song he also is become my salvation Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the Wels of salvation And in that day shall yee say Praise the Lord call upon his Name declare his doings among the people make mention that his Name is exalted Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things this is knowne in all the earth Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion for great is the HOLY (n) Isa 55. v. 5. ch 60. v. 9.14 Luke 4. v. 34. Acts 2. v. 27 ch 3. v. 14. ONE of Israel in the midst of thee Isaiah 63. v. 15. c. Looke downe from Heaven and behold from the habitation of thy holinesse and of thy glory where is thy zeale and thy strength the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercy towards me are they restrained Doubtlesse thou art our Father though Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledgeth us not thou O Lord art our Father our Redeemer thy Name is from everlasting O Lord why hast thou made us to erre from thy wayes and hardned our heart from thy feare returne for thy servants sake the Tribes of thine inheritance The people of thy holines have possessed it but a little while our Adversaries have trodden down thy Sanctuary O that thou wouldest rent the Heavens Ch. 64. v. 1. c. that thou wouldest come down that the mountains might flow downe at thy presence As when the melting fire burneth the fire causeth the waters to boyle to make thy Name knowne to thine Adversaries that the Nations may tremble at thy presence When thou diddest terrible things which wee looked not for thou camest downe the mountaines flowed downe at thy presence For since the beginning of the world (o) 1 Cor. 2 v. 9. men have not heard nor perceived by the eare neither hath the eye seene O God besides thee what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him Nunc fera mucro fames nunc (p) Rev. 6.8 mórsque fidelibus instat Quos manet haec merces gloria vita quies Warre wilde beasts want and death doe now besiege The sacred troopes whose future priviledge Is this to shine in glory and to raigne In peace with him who makes their death their (q) Phil. 1.21 gain The Testimonies of the Authors quoted in the margent of the 19. page ISraelitae non fuerunt liberati unquam à suâ terrenâ captivitate nec redierunt in patriam ut patet ex superioribus Hoc etiam historiae docent abducti enim ab Assur in Assyriam Mediam non leguntur ab eo fuisse dimissi Regno verò Assyriorum Babyloniis per Merodacum subjecto in captivitate itidèm permanserunt Babyloniis subjecti Cùm verò posteà Deioces qui primus apud Medos regiâ dignitate usus est ab Assyriorum Babyloniorúmque jugo Medos liberasset Israelitae multis de causis fuerunt è terris Medorum in ulteriores regiones nempè in Septentrionem quò omnis spes redeundi ad suos illis tolleretur expulsi quidem dispersi Quâ de re videatur Funcc comment lib. 1. pag. 23. Itaque videamus cùm Media Babylonia Assyria in manū pervenit Cyri regis factâ libertate omnibus Israelitis redeundi in patriam solos Jehudaeos Benjamin quae conjuncta erat cum Juda Levitas qui quonià m noluerunt vitulis sacrificare expulsi à Jeroboamo redierunt Hierosolymam cum Judaeis se conjunxerunt ut est 2. Paralip 11. v. 13 14. ch 13. v. 9. rediisse ut est Ezra cap. 1. cap. 2. Nisi fuissent reliquae Tribus in ulteriores regiones dispersae illae potuissent quoque redire Tempore etiam quo natus est Dominus Samaria cum aliis terris Israelitarum occupata erat ab illis gentibus qui eò missi fuerant a rege Assur Israelitarum loco ut est 2. Reg. 17. Itaque videmus Israelitas nunquà m à captivitate terrenâ liberatos in patriam rediisse Hier. Zanch. Quaeritur ab interpretibus Nùm ex hâc prophetiâ certò colligatur decem tribus nunquà m ex captivitate rediisse quemadmodùm aliae duae post aliquot annos ex captivitate Babylonica redierunt Ratio dubitandi est quòd in hoc ipso cap. subditur Et cōgregabuntur filii Juda filii Israel paritèr c. Ezek. cap. 37. Sub Symbolo duorum lignorum in unum coeuntium vaticinatur Judam Israel conjungendos Jer. cap. 50. v. 4. apertè dicit Venient in tempore illo filii Israel ipsi filii Juda simul Ubi videtur certa spes restitutionis etiam decem tribubus fieri Nihilominus certum est Rempublicamillam decem tribuum nunquà m posteà coivisse eorum captivitatem dispersionem in populos perpetuam fuisse quod hic comminatur Deus nec solutam unquà m fuisse eorum captivitatem quod Josephus ipse Ant. Jud. lib. 11. cap. 5. agnoscit Dum scribit
the Cities of the (h) Num. 23. v. 9. Deut. 32. v. 43. Ps 95. v. 5. Luke 12. v. 30. Rev. 2. v. 29 ch 11. v. 18. ch 16. v. 19. Nations which are no where called by such names Secondly we finde in the 11. chap. of the Apocalypse that Jerusalem is intitled the holy City in a prophecy which concernes the very time of its desolation this present time wherein it is (i) Luke 21 v. 24. trodden under foote of the Gentiles And much rather then may it be call'd the beloved City in a prophecy which concernes the time of its exaltation the time wherein it shall become the royall City of Christ and the Saints in his Kingdome Thirdly Jerusalem is by ancient Geographers termed the Navell or Center of the habitable earth Yea it is said in the fifth of Ezek. at the 5. vers This is Jerusalem I have set it in the midst of the Nations and Countries round about her And where but neere the midst of the earth can that City be which the Nations of the foure quarters of the earth shall beset Fourthly and lastly In a prophecy which contemporates with this and such prophecies doe best expound each other it is thus written Out of Zion shall go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem and therefore by the Beloved City here Jerusalem must needs be understood Now the foresaid prophecy is delivered by Isaiah in the beginning of the second chap. and by Micah at the entrance of the 4. chap. And as the title and superscription in Isaiah doth infallibly prove the literall interpretation of the prophecy So doth the subject thereof the impossibility of its accomplishment untill the things foreshewne here by Saint John shall come to passe to wit untill the shutting up of Satan a thousand yeeres and the living and reigning of the Saints with Christ all that time For seeing Satan is to bee bound up for no other end but this That he may not deceive the Nations and seeing that when he must be loosed againe he shall presently deceive the Nations it necessarily followes that no other time but the time of Satans imprisonment can concurre with that pious and peaceable condition of the world which Isaiah speakes of heare his words It shall come to passe in the last dayes saith he that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines and shall be exalted above the hils and all Nations shall flow unto it And many people shall goe and say Come yee and let us goe up to the (ii) Ezek. 43. v. 12. mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his wayes and we will walke in his paths for out of Sion shall goe forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Ierusalem And be shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall beate their swords into ploughshares and their speares into pruning bookes Nation shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learne warre any more And is not this the time then of which it is said in the 10. of the Revel at the 7. ver That in it the mystery of God shall be finished as hee hath declared by his servants the Prophets And is not this the Rest also which Saint Paul in the 4. of the Heb. at the 9. vers concludes to be yet remaining to the people of God Surely in my conceit if the Rest promised to that people the people of Israel were not to be enjoyed in the (k) Isa 8. v. 8. Land whither Joshua led them then the Apostle went a wrong way to worke The first resurrection the thousand yeeres reigne of the Saints on earth more fully examined◠confirmed when he endeavoured to prove a Rest yet remaining to them because Ioshua gave them none For no man can once imagine that by bringing them into Canaan he either did or could bring them to that Rest which was never to be had there And thus much may suffice in answer to the Querie it selfe But to make good what hath been said against all contradiction we must take into our consideration the thousand yeares reigne of the Saints as it is founded upon the spirituall interpretation of the first resurrection And because some Scriptures urged against the opposite Tenet are the onely props of this exposition I shall by the way propose a saying upon which the maine confidence of the Antimillinarians doth rely it being taken by them to be altogether inconsistent with a double resurrection of the dead and consequently with the literall sense of the first resurrection The words are in the 5. chap. of Saint John at the 28. vers and runne thus The houre is comming in which all that are in the graves shall beare his voyce and shall come forth They that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evill unto the resurrection of damnation I must confesse if touching the matter in question we had no light but from this present text or that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were of a simple signification onely the place alleadged might passe for an undoubted proofe of a single resurrection a resurrection of all mens bodies at one time But as we know that there are many passages in the Apostolicall writings which make more for us then this doth against us and which ought therefore rather to be the measure of this then this of them so we know also that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is of large use even in the Scripture it selfe For though it properly signifies that artificiall part of time which is called an houre as Matth. the 20. at the 6. vers Yet sometimes it is metonymically taken for a dangerous time as John the 12. at the 27. vers and sometimes synecdochically contracted to a moment as Luke the 12. at the 12. vers or lengthened to a day as Marke the 6. at the 35. vers or stretcht out to moneths yeares and ages and then it is usually interpreted by the word Time And there be nothing in this place of Saint Johns Gospel repugnant to such a translation nor in such a translation to the Millenarian assertion why should not we as well read The time is comming as others doe The houre For if the same word doth in the first (l) Phil. 4. v 5. James 5. v. 8. Ep. of Saint John the 2. chap. at the 18. vers comprehend all the time from our Saviours death unto his comming againe which amounts already to above one thousand and sixe hundred yeares much rather may it here include all the time from the beginning of our Saviours reigne unto the last judgement which is to be but a thousand and odde yeares and consequently this text may very well agree with a double resurrection and be thus ex ounded The time is comming in which that is
the breasts of Kings and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and Redeemer the Mighty one of Jacob. And in the 49. chap. at the 22. ver and the 25. at the 6. ver Thus saith the Lord God Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles and set up my Standerd to the people and they shall bring thy Sonnes in their armes and thy daughters shall be carryed upon their shoulders And Kings shall be thy nursing Fathers and their Queenes thy noursing Mothers they shall bow downe to thee with their faces towards the earth and licke up the dust of thy feet and thou shalt know that I am the Lord for they shall not be ashamed that waite for me And in this Mountaine shall the Lord of Hostes make unto all people a feast of fat things a feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow of Wines on the Lees well refined And he will destroy in this mountaine the face of the covering cast over all people and the vaile that is spread over all Nations He will swallow up death in victory and the Lord will wipe away teares from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it And in his 14. chap. at the 1. ver The Lord will have mercy upon Jacob and will (r) Dan 7. v. 18.22.27 yet chuse Israel and set them in their owne Land and the (s) Isa 55. v 5. Zech. 2. v. 9.11 strangers shall be joyned with them and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob and the people shal take them and bring them to their place and the House of Israel shall possesse them in the Land of the Lord for servants and for hand-maides and they shall take them (t) Ezek. 39 v. 10. captives whose captives they were and they shall rule over their oppressours And in chap. 2. ver 2. It shal come to passe in the last dayes that the mountaine of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountaines shal be exalted above the hils and al Nations shal flow unto it And many people shal go and say come ye and let us go up to the mountaine of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will (u) Isa 49. v. 6. cha 60. v. 3. 1 Tim. 2. v. 4. teach us of his wayes and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall goe forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem And hee shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people and they shall breake their swords into plow shares and their speares into pruning hookes Nation shall not (w) Psal 46 v. 9. lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learne warre any more The same Prophecy also you may finde it the 4. chap. of Micâ—lâ— at the 1. ver And not much unlike this is that in the 8. chap. of Zech. at the 20. ver And that in the 14. chap. at the 16. ver Thus saith the Lord of Hostes it shall come to passe thâ—â— there shall come people and the inhabitants of many Cities and the inhabitants â—â—done City shall goe to another saying Let us got speedily to pray before the Lord of Hostes I will goâ—â—lâ—o Yea many people and strong Nations shall come to seeke the Lord of Hostes in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. Thus faith the Lord of Hostes in those dayes it shall come to passe that ten men shall taketh old out of all languages of the Nations even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew saying We will goe with you for we have heard that God is with you And in shall come to passe that every one that is lest of all the Nations which came against Jerusalem shall even goâ— up from yearâ— to yeare to worship the King the Lord of Hostes and to keepe â—nd foâ—st of Tabernacles And it shall be that who so will not come up of all the Families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King the Lord of Hostes even upon them shall be no raine I know the most of these Prophecies are chiefly interpreted of the joyning together of the Jewes Gentiles in one Church and rightly but to say that this is now fulfilled in the time of the substituted Gentiles Vocation is to overthrow what was before affirmed and to take great paines to beguile our selves and others of the Truth It is I say to put out our owne eyes and bid others follow us For Saint Paul in the 11. of the Rom. tells us plainely that the Jewes are broken off from their Olive Ver. 19 20. v. 17. v. 15. v. 7. v. 32. ver 11. And that we are graffed in for them That they are cast away that they are hardned That God hath concluded them all in unbeleefe And that through their fall salvation is come unto us to provoke them to (x) Deu. 32 v. 21. jealousie And therefore it cannot possibly be maintained that the Jewes and Gentiles are as yet (y) Ioh. 10. v. 16. one sheepefold And as for those which were converted at the first Preaching of the Gospell and at other times since they are but the first fruites and roote as I may say of the branches and lumpe which shall follow after them by a generall conversion And therefore the calling of these can no more be accounted a conversion of the Jewes then the calling of those Gentiles which were gathered to the Church before Christs Nativity can be taken for the conversion of the Gentiles Who were as time hath shewne us but the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fore-runners and pledge as it were of al those Nations which were a long time after converted by the Ministery of the Apostles their successors And besides how the bringing of the Jews out of all Nations Vpon Horses in Litters and in Charets upon Mules upon mens shoulders can beare any other but a literal sense Or how The vaile that is spread over all Nationâ— can now be said to be destroyed when as so many of them run a whoring after their owne inventions I cannot conceive Yea Even unto this day saith Saint Paul of the Jews in his time when Moses is read the vaile is upon their heart Neverthelesse when it shall turne unto the Lord the vaile shall be taken away 2 Cor. 3.15 and 16. ver But we see not yet Israel returned yea we see it fallen into more grosse ignorance and superstition and therefore the vaile is not yet taken away and consequently is not yet Destroyed from all Nations Againe I know no reason why we should give more credit to the Metaphoricall interpretation of these Prophecies then to the Figurative exposition which some presume to put upon those words in the 12. of Zechariah at the 10. ver Although Saint John in his 19. Chap. at the