his ways and we will walk in his paths For out of Sion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem Here it is evident that he will then clearly discover his will about his Worship to his people and that his people shall purely worship him A parallel place to this we have Zech. 8. 20 21 22. And there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts I will go also Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. What is meant by Jerusalem here spoken of Whether it may be mystically or literally taken I will not here dispute but whether it be taken mystically or literally this is cleer that in this time the multitudes of the Saints of God in all Nations shall cleerly know the minde of God about his worship and by the Spirit shall be enabled purely to perform it But here some may question what Ordinances shall be used at that time And how shall Saints then worship God To which in answer I say That what Ordinances there shall then be used is hard to be determined in regard the Scripture speaks not directly and particularly what the Ordinances are that shall then be used but as the practice of some of them is to be referred for those times onely so likewise is the cleer knowledge of them not to be had till those times And for my part I shall not dare not presume to speak any thing about the Ordinances or manner in Worship that shall be in these times but what the Scripture cleerly holdeth forth which is doubtless sufficient for us to know And first to speak of what shall not then be practised I finde it implyed by Paul 1 Cor. 11. 26. * That the Ordinance of the Supper shall then cease that the Ordinance of breaking bread shall not be then practised for he says there that in that Ordinance they do shew forth the Lords death till he come implying that when he cometh and is present with his people it shall not be then practised they shall not need to do that in remembrance of him as now they are commanded to do But whether any other Ordinance shall cease or not the Scripture is silent And the Scripture being silent who dares say that any other shall cease Though on the other hand there be no ground to say that such or such an Ordinance shall continue if the Scripture say it not But secondly This the Scripture cleerly speaks that that part of the worship of God which consisteth in * How God shall then be worshipped in prayer and praises Prayer and Praise shall continue So that it concerns all to beware how they say that it shall cease for that these shall continue is cleer in the forementioned place Zech. 8. 20 21. Where it is said that many people shall go to seek the Lord of hosts and to pray before the Lord. And Isa 12. 1. 45. In that day thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee and ye shall 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 known in all the earth Cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Sion for great is the holy One of Israel in the midst of thee And Isa 65. 24. In that day it shall be that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear And Jer. 33. 11. In that day there shall be heard the voyce of them that rejoyce and say Praise the Lord of hosts for the Lord is good for his mercy endureth for ever and of them that shall bring the Sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. Thus is it cleer in these Scriptures that this part of the worship of God which consisteth in Prayer and praise shall then continue But thirdly There are some things about the worship of God that shall be in these times which the Scripture speaks of but not cleerly as that there shall be an observation of * That there shall then be an observation of new Moons and Sabbaths and a keeping a feast of tabernacles wherein God shall be worshipped new Moons and of Sabbaths wherein God shall be worshipped and a keeping of a feast of tabernacles As Isa 66. 23. And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbathto another shall all flesh come to worship before me saith the Lord. And Zech. 14. 16. And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from yeer to yeer to worship the King the Lord of hosts and to keep the feast of tabernacles Here it is expresly said that from one new Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord. But what Sabbaths these shall be and what worship shall be performed on these Sabbaths the Scripture speaks not cleerly of And here it 's said that there shall be an yeerly keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles wherein they shall worship the King the Lord of hosts but what feast of Tabernacles this shal be and for what particular end it shall be observed is doubtful We know that under the Law the Feast of Tabernacles was kept at the ingathering of all the fruits of the fields wherein they were all to rejoyce before the Lord. But this rejoycing Feast that shall then be kept may be for higher things then these but positively to say this or that we may not for the Scripture is therein silent But fourthly The Scripture cleerly declares That in that time they shall have the Lord himself to be to them * That Saints shall then have no need of a Temple no need to be taught by others the Lord shall be in stead of a Temple to them in stead of a Temple As Revel 21. 22. And I saw no Temple in the new Jerusalem for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it The Temple in this place is to be understood as the place where they were wont to resort for knowledge for in the Temple was the Ark of the Testament there the Will of God and the Laws of God were to be understood And therefore David Psal 73. 16 17. professes his ignorance until he went into the Sanctuary and there received knowledge But in this time there shall be no need of a Temple for this For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it And it follows vers 23. And the city had no need of the sun neither of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten
and having salvation and he shall speak peace unto the heathen and his dominion shall be even from sea to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth And Zech. 8. 21 22 23. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts I will go also Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and pray before the Lord. And in those days men shall take hold out of all languages in the nations even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew saying We will go with you for we have heard that God is with you Thus the Spirit of God in Scripture hath cleerly set forth the conversion of the Gentiles together with the Jews in these several Scriptures that I have mentioned And as it is cleer in these Scriptures so there are several other Scriptures wherein it is as cleer but I shall adde onely one more and it 's a Scripture that speaks of the conversion and turning to God of two particular Nations which at this day are yet Idolaters as well as many others and in the state of gross darkness and unbelief and they are the Egyptians and Assyrians Isa 19. the Prophecy hereof begins at vers 18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of hosts one shall be called the city of Heres or of the Sun or of shining glory In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord and it shall be for a signe and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors and he shall send them a Saviour and a great one and he shall deliver them and the Lord shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the Lord at that day Yea they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and shall perform it and the Lord shall smite Egypt he shall smite and heal it and they shall return unto the Lord and he shall be entreated of them and shall heal them In that day there shall be a high-way out of Egypt to Assyria and the Assyrians shall come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria even a blessing in the midst of the land whom the Lord of hosts shall bless saying Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria the work of mine hands and Israel mine inheritance In this Prophecy it is very cleer that there is a time to come wherein the Jews shall again be the beloved people of God for never yet was there a time when Israel Egypt and Assyria were all together at one time acknowledged to be the people of God but the time is coming when it shall be so when not onely the Gentiles alone but the Jews also and not onely the Jews alone but the Gentiles also shall be the people of God and when in particular the Egyptians and the Assyrians which are now so deeply involved in darkness and blindness and have no knowledge of God shall be a people blessed of the Lord. For there are in these verses such expressions as do very plainly and cleerly speak the conversion of these Nations As that the Lord shall be known to the Egyptians and the Egyptians shall know the Lord and that they shall engage themselves to the Lord which is expressed under the terms of swearing to the Lord and vowing to the Lord which do cleerly hold forth the engaging of their hearts to the Lord. And again it is said that the Egyptians being oppressed shall cry unto the Lord but they shall not cry in vain for in answer unto their crying he shall send them a Saviour and a great one and he shall deliver them And besides it is said that the Egyptians being smitten of the Lord shall return even to the Lord and he shall be intreated of them and heal them and that the Egyptians being thus converted they shall then and therein be in fellowship with the Assyrians and the Assyrians with them and they both with Israel And thus now is it cleer in these several Scriptures as well as in many others which I forbear to mention to avoid prolixity that the Gentiles shall be plentifully and abundantly brought in to the obedience of Christ whose dominion must be from sea to sea from the rivers unto the ends of the earth and that not onely some Nations but all Nations shall seek after the Lord And that not onely the mean and inferiour sort of the people of the Nations but some of their Kings and Queens and the greatest among them shall come and see the glory of the Lord and become his servants and be supports under him to his people Kings shall be their nursing fathers and Queens their nursing mothers and bring their forces to their support and they not weak ones but many people and strong Nations saith Zechariah in the place forementioned shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts And now having shown that the preaching of the Gospel to all Nations is to follow upon the Lamb his overcoming the ten Kings and that this will probably be the time of the bringing in of Jews and Gentiles because that by the Lord Jesus his so gloriously appearing for his own people and against that scarlet whore Rome and the beast and all that crew way will be made for the coming in of Jews and Gentiles But this by the way I desire may be taken notice of That as many of the Nations as the preaching of the Gospel shall not prevail with to bring them in to the obedience of Christ for multitudes as I have made it evident must come in that way them shall the sword of Justice subdue both before and at and after the ruine of Rome Those whom the grace of the Gospel the tenders of love and the offers of peace win not them vengeance and wrath shall overtake If they will not listen to that voice of the Spirit that says to the Kings of the earth Be wise now therefore O ye Kings and be instructed ye Judges of the earth kiss the Son lest he be angry and ye perish c. then shall he speak unto them in wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure and he shall break them with a rod of Iron and dash them in pieces like a potters vessel Thus he will do with the ten kings and thus he will afterwards do with the other Nations But if any of these ten kings that yet stand out shall be overcome by his love and by receiving the cleer light of the Gospel for there is no question but those his called
is their General said to come ver 11. But it is no wonder for he always walks in the midst of his golden Candlesticks his Witnesses his Saints his Churches Rev. 1. 13. But again these Armies in Heaven are said to follow their General upon white horses As he is upon a white horse which shews his purity so also are they upon white horses which shews their purity For he hath put his own Frame and Spirit upon them which further appears in that they are also said to be clothed in fine linen white and clean which also imports purity and undefiledness And thus we have the Description of the Lord General and his Army on the one side On the other side The chief among them is called the Beast which shews his unworthy filthy beastly nature and with him are the Kings of the earth they are not of heaven but of the earth and of the earth they may be said to be in opposition to the heavenly nature of those whom they oppose And for the Armies that are under them they are said to be Their Armies implying that they were earthly corrupt Armies because they did belong to those that were of the earth And this is all the description that we have in this place of the other General and his Army Now these being thus described It is said that the Beast and the Kings of the earth and their Armies were gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse and against his Army It seems they have hopes to overcome him and his Army because they gather together against them The event of the Battel But what is the event of the battel The Beast and his Army are overcome and the Beast and the false Prophet is that with him are taken What this false Prophet is is doutful for there is no mention made of him before this at least not under this Title * The false Prophet not in all the book of the Revelation but it may be it is some new sort of deceiver which he will make use of to deceive the Nations by false miracles when he draws them to ingage in this battel But whether so or no whatever he be when this battel is sought the Beast and the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him are both taken and of them is it said That they particularly were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimston and the remnant are slain with the sword and their flesh is given to the fowls of the aire even the flesh of Kings and Captains and mighty men c. And this is the success of this battel or the event of it as far forth as it is in this place spoken of But because the day of the battel is to be such a great and terrible day to wicked men being that great and terrible day of the Lord so much spoken of by all the holy Prophets and Apostles and Saints of God which day is represented unto us in such a dreadful terrible and glorious manner as if it were the General day of judgement but that it is cleered not to be that day by the declarations of the things that must follow it which are laid down in the several Scriptures which speak of this day I say seeing it is represented unto us in a dreadful and wonderful manner and since so many wonders shall be shewn at that that time and so much of the glory and majesty of God shall then be seen and such strange changes shall then be made in the world I say these things being so wonderful and so glorious I shall be the larger in giving the description of this day from several other Scriptures Thus Of the great day of the Lord. This day is that great day which is called the day of the Lords vengeance and the year of recompences for the controversies of Sion Mentioned Isa 34. 8. That day of which he speaks when he says The day of vengeance is in my heart and the yeer of my redeemed is come Isa 63. 4. For though it be true that he hath already begun to take vengeance upon his and his peoples enemies and to plead the cause of his people and though he hath begun to recompence his wrath upon these enemies for the controversies his Sion hath against them yet the compleatment hereof is reserved unto that day which of all days shall be the most terrible to wicked men because it shall utterly overthrow them and they shall not escape nor avoid it for then he will tread them in his anger and trample them in his fury yea they shall be troden in the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God And their blood shall be sprinkled upon his Garments and he will stain all his rayment As Isa 63. 3. But who shall live when God doth this was Balaams expression when he spake of the ruine of several Nations Numb 24. 23. for let all wicked men look to it when this day comes for to them it will be very terrible For this is the day which is spoken of Isa 66. 15. For behold the Lord will come with fire and with Chariots like a whirl-wind to render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many How terrible will this day be when the Lord shall thus plead with all flesh by fire and sword and render his anger with fury and his rebukes with flames of fire Who shall live when God doth this It is answered by the Prophet in the same Chapter that at the same time The hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants and his indignation toward his enemies and their hearts shall rejoyce and their bones shall flourish like an herb They shall be so far from being quailed or discouraged or amated or terrified when this terrible day comes as they shall then flourish most and be most joyful at heart Again this day is spoken of Joel 3. 9 10. where the Lord summons all the Gentiles to gather together and make themselves as strong as they can for war and says that when they are gathered together round about in ver 11. that thither he will cause his mighty ones to come down at v. 12. That there he will sit to judge all the heathen round about then declares that the Sickle shal be put in to cut down this harvest of wicked men for the wickedness is great and that multitudes shall be cut down when the Lord shall thus judge these men and decide the controversies of his people for which cause it shall be called The valley of decision And then vers 16. The Lord shall roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shall shake This is that once more wherein he will shake not the earth onely but the heavens
also of which Paul speaks Heb. 12. 26. And therefore this is called Joel 2. 31. The great and terrible day of the Lord. But who shall live when God doth this When the Heavens and Earth shall shake c. Why it 's answered in the same 16. vers But the Lord shall be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel Of this day also Paul speaks 2 Thes 1. 7 8 9. Where he says that the day is coming when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power Thus doth Paul render this as a most terrible day and as the Prophet Isaiah in the forementioned place says the Lord will then render his anger and his rebukes with flames of fire So Paul here says that the Lord Jesus shall in flaming fire take vengeance on them that know not God c. punishing them with everlasting destruction from his presence But who shall live when God doth this The Apostle tells us that then the Lord Jesus shall come to be glorified in his Saints to be admired in all them that believe in that day v. 10 The Saints shall then live and glorifie him and admire him Of this day also speaks th Prophet Malachi Chap. 4. 1. For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud yea all that do wickedly shall be stubble and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch But who shall live when God doth this It follows in vers 2. 3. But unto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall And ye shall tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this saith the Lord of hosts Thus in a terrible manner is this day here also represented being a day that shall burn as an Oven Of this day also speaks the Apostle Peter and represents it in the same terrible manner 2 Pet. 3. 7. But the Heavens and the Earth which are now saith he by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men or as Isaiah says the day in which the Lord will plead with all flesh rendering his rebukes with flames of fire But says Peter vers 10. This day will come suddenly upon men as a thief in the night And indeed this numerous Army that shall be gathered together against the Saints shall little dream of such an overflowing scourge as shall overtake them but rather promise themselves a victorious overcoming of the Saints but alas Miserable creatures this day of their destruction and perdition says Peter shall come as a thief in the night in which the Heavens shall pass away with a noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat The whole world shall be on fire about their ears on a sudden and there shall be an utter destruction of them and their corrupt and filthy courses shall perish with them The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up And vers 12. The Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved But what might some say shall the Elements melt with fervent heat and the Heavens being on fire be dissolved and the Earth with the works that are therein be burnt up Who shall live when God doth this Peter in the very next words seems to prevent this question and says Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness As if he had said it is the perdition and destruction of ungodly men onely that I speak of take notice of that And this day that shall burn as an Oven shall burn up onely such as do wickedly but it shall not in the least manner touch nor trouble the Saints But we when these wicked men are burnt up shall have new Heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness It shall be a new time to us when these corrupt men shall be burnt up And this we have a promise for And this promise they had in Isa 65. 17. where this day is spoken of the promise runs thus For behold I create new Heavens and a new Earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde but be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy c. And so he goeth on to declare the happy estate that Saints shall live in in these new Heavens and new a rth But this terrible day to wicked men is again mentioned Isa 33. 14. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire Who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings Here are the same expressions or expressions to the same purpose with those we have already mentioned where Malachi says The day that cometh shall burn as an oven and Paul and Peter speak of the Lords taking vengeance in flaming fire on wicked and ungodly men The Prophet having this in his eye cries out Who shall dwell with devouring fire who shal dwell with everlasting burnings When the Lord comes to render his rebukes with flames of fire who shall dwell in those flames But lest the Saints should be discouraged he presently addes That though the sinners in Zion are afraid and fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites yet verses 15 16 c. he that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly he that despiseth the gain of oppressions that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes that stoppeth his ears from hearing of bloods and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil he shall dwell on high his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks bread shall be given him his waters shall be sure Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty they shall behold the land afar off c. Thus the righteous upright man that is free from dissimulations is no hypocrite that will not oppress though he may gain much thereby is so far from so doing as he disdains he despises such gain and he that not onely refuses a bribe when it is offered to him but when it 's put into his hand will not keep it shakes his hand from holding of it and he to whom the cruel and corrupt courses of men are irksome even to hear of it or see it and therefore he stops his ears and shuts his eyes from it This man shall hold proof in these times and he shall dwell on high he shall have as sure a defence in these times as the munitions of rocks for he is fixed in the
people who are in this frame and to none but such whose hearts are thus spiritual and who so little regard these things in comparison of spiritual even to such will God in these times we are speaking of abundantly give not onely these spiritual injoyments and priviledges but all other things shall be added unto them that so their joy may be compleat and nothing may interrupt it And now I come to declare how comfortably and if I may so say how happily the Saints shall live in this new world in respect of outwards Concerning which hear how the Lord expresses himself Isa 60. 15. For I will make thee an eternal excellency the joy of many generations It is a short but a full word for speaking of the external glory that he will confer upon his Church he says that his Sion shall have as much outward glory as ever any people had nay he says not onely so but that they that excel others he will make them an external excellency The outward glory that was conferred upon Solomon the type of our King of peace was very great but this shall excel it and excel all kingdoms that ever were before it for outward things as well as spiritual It shall be an exâ—…rnal excellency and it shall be the joy of many generations such outward glory and such excellency above all others shall be conferred upon it as shall be the joy as shall glad the hearts of all that live in those generations or that shall be brought forth in those times while these thousand yeers shall last And what the outward glories of it shall be is in part exprest in the following words For brass I will bring gold and for iron I will bring silver and for wood brass and for stones iron These are the things wherein the external glory of a land consists and he says withal that they shall suck the milk of the Gentiles and suck the breasts of Kings Which imports that the treasures and outward glory of the Nations and of the Kings and great men of the world shall be all drain'd together and brought in to them they shall suck the sweetness of them and shall injoy them all And thus will the Lord make his Sion an eternal excellency in outward respects as well as in inward or spiritual respects But now more fully to declare what this external glory of this new world shall be thus There shall be no outward thing wanting to the Saints that may make their life outwardly comfortable for what is it that can be desired or that heart can think of that ever at any time maketh the lives of people comfortable but the Lord hath promised that his people shall enjoy it in these times And first * Saints shall then have that outward blessing of long life and a comfortable enjoyment of all their relations until they come to a good old age Doth the enjoyment of neer relations without losing of them make the life comfortable Are children outward blessings in which men take much outward content and delight And is it a very desirable thing to have our children the Lords children to be the blessed of the Lord And is it a bitter thing to lose an onely son a sad thing to lose children and neer relations and is the contrary a desirable mercy And is long life a blessing and an outward favour lawful to be desired According to that Psa 91. 16. With long life will I satisfie him and shew him my salvation Why all these things hath the Lord promised to his people in these days when these new Heavens and new Earth shall be as we finde in these Scriptures Isai 65. 17 18 c. Behold I create new heavens a new earth and then what follows I will rejoyce in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying But if they should lose their children lose their relations before they come to a ful age there would be mourning and weeping for these things usually prove sad afflictions to the best Saints even to Jacobs and Davids But they shall not lose these then for vers 20. it is said There shall be no more thence an infant of days nor an old man that hath not filled his days for the childe shall die an hundred yeers old So that this is clear No infant of days shall die none shall die while they are young all shall come to a good old age They shall not be afflicted for the loss of their children for they shall live till they be an hundred yeers old and not an old man shall die that hath not filled his days Again Zech. 8. 3 4 c. Thus saith the Lord I am returned to Sion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem and Jerusalem shall be called A city of truth and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain wherein the Lord will dwell And what follows Thus saith the Lord of hosts There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem and every man with his staff in his hand for multitude of days and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof Thus shall the Saints in those days enjoy those desirable blessings of children and of long life they shall have a numerous issue The streets shall be full of boys and girls and old men and old women shall live till they come to a good old age till they walk with a staff in their hand for age But me thinks as I am speaking of these outward blessings I cannot too often insert this as a caution by the way That to a holy heart these things are but secondary comforts under-comforts their chief comfort consists in spirituals But I proceed In Jer. 33. the Lord speaks of the great things he will do for his people in that day and vers 9. he says They shall be for a name of joy and praise and honour before the nations which shall hear of the good that he will do unto them And vers 11. There shall be heard among them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride and the voice of them that shall say Praise the Lord of hosts c. Thus shall they comfortably enjoy children and all relations and praise the Lord. Nay and to make their children which they shall enjoy a complete blessing and mercy to them indeed it is said that they shall be all holy unto God Isa 65. 23. They shall not labour in vain nor bring forth for trouble for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them Their children being thus blessed with them shall be a joy unto them whereas otherwise they might be a grief and trouble to them Again to the same purpose is that Isa 54. 13. and Isa
Scotland were all three fallen and the late King was he that came in the roome of these three and entirely possessed the Kingdomes of all three So that this part of this Prophesie is exactly fulfilled in that King and not in any other of the Kings nor in any other person can these things be said to be so exactly fulfilled as in him So that if the Spirit of God here had no further described this little horne it would have been evident that this Prophesie had been fulfilled in this King these three Kingdomes being thus subjected to one King or Prince that formerly were governed by three before whom three were plucked up c. But it is made more apparent that this Prophesie was fulfilled in him by that further description which the Spirit of God in this Scripture gives of the dispositions actions and end or death of this King which we have as it followes Vers 25. And hee shall speak great words against the most High and shall wear out the Saints of the most High c. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ John 15. tels his Disciples that whosoever despised them despised him and whosoever despised him despised him that sent him Whereby its clear that that person that speaks great words against the Saints of the most High doth therein speak great words against the most High That this King did speak great words against the Saints of the most High threatning the ruine and destruction of all Puritans and Round heads as hee termed the saints of God is so well known as there needs nothing to be further spoken to make it appear nor need I mention the the persons which long before the wars which meerely for their being servants of God were persecuted imprisoned fined banished and otherwise threatned and as he spake great words against the most High in his saints so hee spake great words against the Lawes and Ordinances of God prohibiting of them requiring godly and faithfull Ministers to refrain from the worshipping of God from publike praying and preaching of the Word of God upon the first day of the Week Whereas many a poor soul might have been converted to and confirmed in the waies of God in those ordinances but hee constraind as it were the people of the Kingdom to a prophane loose life to dishonour God by inviting and requiring of them to practice prophane and wicked sports upon that day which was appointed for a holy worshipping of God Whereas many poore soules needed rather to haue been encouraged and call'd upon to have more frequently attended upon the Ordinances of God for they perished for want of knowledge And as he thus spake great words against the ordinances of the most High so he nourished and supported many wicked and abominable Priests when many holy and faithfull Ministers of Christ were rejected who did most profanely abuse the Scriptures and despise the very spirit of God and that publikely of which sort there were many among those Centuries of scandalous Ministers that were in the beginning of this Parliament sequestred for their delinquencies Thus in that this King spake great words against the saints and ordinances and spirit of God and had pleasure in such as so did he therein did as here is said of him speake great words against the most high And shall wear out the Saints of the most High Was it not long before the sitting of this Parliament given out by this King that hee would not leave untill hee had left no more Puritans in England then there were Protestants in Rome and is it not generally known what meanes and waies were used to wear them out and to make them weary of living in the Kingdom insomuch as many godly and faithfull people being weary of the impositions upon their consciences of those things which were evill and the prohibitions of them from that which was good as their meetings to call upon the name of the Lord and to confer one with another of the things of God and the repetitions of Sermons did being thus wearied leave their native Kingdom though in all outward respects to their great disadvantage and those that remained how did they groan under their burthens and complain to heaven day and night against the insufferable and wearying proceedings of that unworthy King Thus did hee wear out the Saints of the most high And shall think to change times and lawes and they shall be given into his hand untill c. Therein also he is more exactly characterized and described for it is well known that hee did think and intend to change times and lawes he thought to have made sad times for all circumspect and holy Christians whom he called Puritans and times of joy and rejoycing for all popish and prophane persons And hee thought to have changed those Lawes which had been by preceeding Princes made for the priviledges of the people in civil and spirituall respects and to have imposed lawes destructive to the peoples freedom and liberty and to have ruled all by his own will and made the people slaves thereunto And they shall bee given into his hand untill c. As hee thought to change Lawes and times so he did they were given into his hand for a while he had times and lawes in his hand to change them at his pleasure and he thought to have done so alwaies And to this end consulted with wicked Bishops Popish Lords and profane Judges and to this end also he raised Armies first against the Scots and afterward against all well-affected people in Ireland and also in England Thus this Horn that came up in the room of three did in all things answer this description of him which is given in these 24 and 25 verses and hee comes in no tittle short of it There is but one thing more spoken of him in this Chapter whereby he is any further described then as in these three verses and that is in the 21 verse which I will here take in before I proceed to what followes It is in these words And I beheld and the same horne made war with the Saints and prevailed against them untill c. And herein also did this Horne or King most exactly act according to this which the Spirit of God by Daniel so long since predeclared of him For he did make War against the Saints and that in such a manner as no King Prince or Potentate ever yet did For no History can declare nor in any age or time can it be said that ever armies were raised more properly to fight against and to make war with the Saints as being Saints then these late Armies raised by him and by authority from him have been Many combustions have been in the World and many wars in this and severall other Kingdoms but was ever the quarrell so exactly against Saints and saintship in any War as in this For it was against Saints in a more especiall manner that this horn made War
they have been in a mourning and a sad condition wearing sackcloath for a time times and halfe a time Now the high praises of God shall be in their mouths and whereas the heathen viz. profane men have trampled upon them and made them as the filth of the world and as the off-scouring of all things Now they shall have together with the high praises of God in their mouth a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to bind their Kings in Chaines and their Nobles with Fetters of Iron to execute upon them the judgement written This honour have all his Saints Thus Kings and Nobles and mighty men are to be subjected to his Saints This honour have all his Saints The fourth Scripture which I shall produce for the illustrating of this truth shall be that in Isa 51. 21. c. which is a promise to this purpose also in these words Heare now this thou afflicted and drunken but not with wine Thus saith the Lord the Lord and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the cup of my fury and thou shalt no more drink it again But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee which have said to thy soule bow down that we may go ever and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over Here it is expressy said that the cup of trembling and fury should be so taken out of the hand of the Church as they should never any more drink it againe and not only so but that it should be put into the hands of them that afflicted her So that those great and wicked ones that most ragefully and most bitterly have afflicted and destroyed the Saints of God must now drinke off the dregs of that cup both that scarlet Beast the Pope and all those Kings Princes Prelates and inferiour persons that continue implacable enemies of his Saints Another cleare passage to this purpose is in Isa 51. 8 c. in these words Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice with the voice together shall they sing for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring againe Sion break forth into joy sing together ye wast places of Jerusalem for the Lord hath comforted his people he hath redeemed Jerusalem The Lord hath made bare his holy arme in the eyes of all the Nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God Here then its cleare that not only some but all the Nations shall see the glory and all the ends of the earth the Salvation of our God He will make bare his holy arme in the eyes of every Nation and People under heaven and they must all stoope to the Scepter of his Son Another clear confirmation of this truth we have Isa 60. 1 2 3 c. in these words Arise shine for thy light is come for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for behold the darknesse shall cover the earth and grosse darkness the people but the Lord shall rise upon thee and his glory shall be seen upon thee and the Gentiles shall come to thy light and Kings to the brightnesle of thy rising Then thou shalt see and flow together and thine heart shall feare and be inlarged because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee They shall bring Gold and Incense and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord. Surely the Isles shall wait for me and the ships of Tarshish first to bring thy Sons from far 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 glorified thee and the Sons of strangers shall build up thy walls and their Kings shall minister unto thee and the Nation and Kingdome that will not serve thee shall perish yea those Nations shall bee utterly wasted The sonnes also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet and they shall call thee the City of the Lord the Sion of the holy one of Israel whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated I will make thee an externall excellency the joy of many generations Thy people also shall be all righteous they shall inherit the Land for ever the branch of my planting that I may bee glorified a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong Nation I the Lord will hasten it in his time These words are a Prophesie of the glorious estate which the Church must in these latter daies after all her sufferings be advanced unto And first it is said of the Church that is the saints of the most high that the Light of the Lord shall rise upon them and his glory shall bee seen upon them and that so evidently and cleerly as that the Gentiles i. e. the prophane men of the world shall come to that light And not onely the poore and the mean among the Gentiles but some of their Kings and great ones shall be converted and imbrace the light and come to the brightnesse of the saints rising And secondly as abundance of the heathen shall bee converted so those of them that have formerly afflicted the saints of the most High shall come bending unto them and those that despised them shall bow themselves downe at the soles of their feet and that out of pure love to them because they shall see that they are the people of the Lord and the Sion of the holy one of Israel And thirdly those converted Gentiles shall further manifest their love to the saints of the most High by bringing in their wealth their riches their treasures their silver and their gold to them and by building their wals for them in this also their Kings ministring unto them And fourthly the Church the saints of God seeing these things and being thus favoured and blessed of the Lord shall be in in a sweet frame of spirit being filled with joy and therewith inlarged and heightned and this joy mixed with a holy feare and trembling walking altogether in the paths of righteousnesse And fifthly the Church or saints at this their rising shall grow so potent as that a little or despised one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation And sixthly The Nation and Kingdome that will not serve Sion i. e. the saints shall perish yea those nations shall bee utterly wasted And seventhly whereas the saints have been during the time of the prevalency of the Beast a despised and a contemned people they shall now be an eternall excellency and the joy of many generations Thus in this Scripture is this truth most evidently demonstrated That there must be such
a time when the saints must bee so lifted up out of the dust as they must be the top and the head of all Nations and whatsoever Kingdome and Nation will not serve them must perish which yet hath not been accomplished the Kings and Princes of the Nations bringing in their treasures to Sion the redeemed of the Lord. And as full to this purpose also is that passage Esa 65. 8 9 c. Thus saith the Lord As the new wine is found in the cluster and one saies destroy it not for a blessing is in it so will I doe for my servants sake that I may not destroy them all and I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountaines and mine elect shall inherit it and my servants shall dwel there and Sharon shall bee a fold of flockes and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie downe in for my people that have sought me But ye are they that forsake the Lord that forget my holy mountaine Therefore thus saith the Lord behold my servants shall eate but ye shall be hungry my servants shall drink but yee shall be thirsty Behold my servants shall rejoyce but yee shall bee ashamed behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart but yee shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howle for vexation of spirit and yee shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen For the Lord God shall slay thee and shall call his servants by another name that he who blesseth himselfe in the earth shall blesse himselfe in the God of truth and hee that sweareth in the earth shall sweare by the God of truth because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hid from mine eyes For behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembred nor come into minde but be you glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy and I will rejoyce in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying There shall bee no more thence an infant of daies nor an old man that hath not filled his daies for the child shall die an hundred yeeres old but the sinner being an hundred yeeres old shall be accursed and they shall build houses and inhabite them and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them They shall not build and another inhabit they shall not plant and another eate for as the daies of a tree are the daies of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands They shall not labour in vaine nor bring forth for trouble for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their off-spring with them and it shall come to passe that before they call I will answer and whiles they are yet speaking I wil heare The Woolfe and the Lambe shall feed together and the Lion shall eate straw like the Bullock and dust shall bee the Serpents meate they shall not hurt nor destroie in all my holy Mountaine saith the Lord. This Scripture also fully concurres with the former in clearing this truth most sweetly holding forth that Christ who was to come of the seed of Jacob and of the tribe of Judah and his Saints here stil'd Gods elect shall inherit the Mountaines or Kingdomes of this world which are the Lords verse 12. And that when that time comes the saints former afflictions and sorrow shall be so done away as they shall be as forgotten and hid from their eyes verses 16. 19. And to make them joyfull yea full of joy they shall have all the good things that their hearts can wish for For first they shall be filled with the spirit and blesse themselves or see themselves blessed in the God of truth and the Lord will rejoyce in them and joy in his people verses 16 19. And secondly all their prayers shall bee speedily heard and answered ver 24. And thirdly as they shall bee the blessed of the Lord so shall their of-spring be also that so their joyes may be without mixtures of sorrow ver 23. And fourthly they shall inhabit the houses which they build and eate the fruite of the vineyards which they shall plant none shall take them from them but they shall long enjoy the work of their hands and they shall have abundance of flockes and herds and eate and drink and rejoyce in the Lord and sing for joy of heart verses 10 13 14 21 22. And fifthly they shall live till they come to a good old age and be blessed verses 20 22. And sixthly no ravenous or hurtfull or devouring creature shall then do any hurt to man or beast verse 25. And because the condition of the Saints shall be so happy and the Kingdomes of the world shall be put into such a new posture and be so changed from what they were therefore the spirit of God here calls them new heavens and a new earth ver 17. and the holy Mountaines of the Lord verses 9 25. for so they will bee when these things are accomplished and the confusions and combustions and oppressions and troubles that were in the old frame of the world shall be forgotten verses 16 17. Againe This is also cleared Jer. 30. 16 c. and 31. 1 2 c. in these words They that devoure thee shall be devoured and all thine adversaries every one of them shall go into Captivity and they that spoile thee shall be spoiled And ye shall be my people and I will be your God behold the whilewind of the Lord goeth forth with fury a continuing whirlewind it shall fall with paine upon the head of the wicked and the fierce anger of the Lord shall not returne untill he have done it and untill he have performed the intents of his heart in the latter daies ye shall consider it at the same time saith the Lord will I be the God of all the Families of Israel and they shall be my people Againe I will build thee and thou shalt be built a virgin of of Israel thou shalt againe be adorned with thy tabrets and go forth in the dances of them that make merry For thus saith the Lord sing with gladnesse for Jacob and shout among the chiefe of the Nations publish ye praise ye and say O Lord save thy people the remnant of Israel Heare the word of the Lord O ye Nations and declare it in the Isles afar off and say he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepheard doth his flock therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Sion and shall flow together to the goodnesse of the Lord for wheat and for wine and for oyle and for the young of the flocke and their soule 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 Though these words do more particularly and peculiarly concerne the seed of Abraham after the flesh or the naturall Israelites who shall againe be received into the love and favour of God which shall be to them and others as life from the dead Ezek. 37. 5. Rev. 11. 15. and be pardoned and cleansed from all their sins Ezek. 36. and become very glorious yet in generall do they also concerne all the Saints and people of God and must be applied to them and whereas they have for many hundred of yeares been oppressed and devoured and spoyled and as captives imprisoned and afflicted the Lord here assures them that they that thus dealt with them shall be devoured and spoyled and captivated and destroyed themselves and that his fury and fierce anger that hath been so provoked by the unjust malicious and cruell dealings of those wicked ones with his own deare precious and beloved people shall go forth like a whirlewind and fall with paine with a witnesse upon the head of those wicked ones and not returne untill he have performed the intents of his heart and this must be in the latter daies And is this all God will then do for his people to avenge them upon their enemies and to bring down their power and pride No this is not all but at the same time will he lift up his people and build them and gather them and make them glorious and fill them with joy and rejoycing and turn their mourning into joy so that they shall not sorrow any more at all Thus this Scripture also speakes the same truth with the rest foregoing and by all these is this truth sufficiently confirmed And though I am sure that multitudes of faithfull and judicious ones are fully acquainted with these truths yet knowing that some yet are not and that those that are will be rather delighted than wearied by taking a review of these Scriptures compared together and considering the wilfulnesse of some in shuting their eyes against the light breaking forth both from the word and works of God in clearing these things I shall therefore add some other Scriptures in which this is further manifested and the next shall be thaâ— Dan. 2. 37 38. and so on where Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzars dreame declares that after the foure Monarchs the Golden the Silver the Brasse and the Iron Monarchs have been set up in the world and continued their appointed times that then the God of heaven shall set up another Kingdom which shall as a stone cut out of the Mountaines without hands break in peeces this last Monarch of Iron and clay and stone and shall it selfe become a great mountaine and fill the whole earth and this Kingdom shall never be destroyed nor be left to other people but it shall stand for ever This is that Kingdome that Christ and his Saints must possesse whose rise and beginning may seem small but as a little stone cut out of the mountain and that without hands without the help of the strength and power of the Kings and great ones of the earth and yet this seeming small rising of Christ and his Saints shall be hard enough and potent enough to break in peeces the Roman Iron legs that last and worst Beast and to make the Iron and the Clay and the Brass and the Silver the Gold to be as the chaffe that is carried away of the wind and this is undoubtedly that which is now a doing Another confirmation of this we have Joel 3. 1 3 c. For behold in those daies and at that time when I shall bring again the Captivity of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all Nations and wil bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat and I will plead with them there Proclaime yee this among the Gentiles prepare war wake up the mighty men let all the men of war draw neer let them come up beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hookes into speares Let the weak say I am strong assemble your selves and come all yee Heathen and gather your selves together round about put yee in the sickle for the harvest is ripe get ye downe for the presse is full for the wickednesse is great multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is neer in the valley of decision The Lord also shall roar out of Sion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the Heavens and the Earth shall shake but the Lord wil bee the hope of his people and the strength of the Children of Israel So shall yee know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Sion And it shall come to passe in that day that the Mountaines shall drop downe new Wine and the Hils shall flow with milke and all the Rivers of Judah shall flow with waters and a Fountaine shall come forth of the house of the Lord and shall water the Valley of Shittim In these words here is a very great war proclaimed for what end To bring againe the Captivity of Gods people ver 1. or to inlarge and set them at liberty and bring them out of all their troubles and to this end the Lord saies that hee will plead with all Nations that have afflicted his people ver 2. And being determined to shew forth his great power and glory and his tender love to his people he proclaims a War and summons all the Nations to gather themselves together and to prepare for War and to awaken all their mighty men all their most puissant and valiant men of War and to make the greatest provision of men and ammunition that 't is possible for them to make To that end to beat their instruments of Husbandry into instruments of War and to gather together the greatest strength imaginable and when they have done this then will he sit to judge the heathen and thither cause his mighty ones to come to bee as a sickle to cut downe this ripe harvest of wicked men whose wickednesse is great and then by destroying their multitudes to decide the controversie between them and his owne people which shall be an occasion of calling the place where it is done the valley of decision for there the Lord will marvellously shew himselfe to the causing of the whole earth to shake but to the joy and consolation of his people for he will then be their hope and their strength and then it shall be knowne that the Lord dwelleth in Sion and they shall abundantly enjoy the blessings of the Lord and bee delivered from all their troubles for evermore Another Scripture which speakes of these same times though it doe not so fully declare particulars is that in Act. 3. 19 20. c. Where Peter speaking unto the Jews charges this upon them that they had denied the
saints I say not that they shall never any more make war against the Saints in these three Nations nor in France nor Spaine or Portugall or Germany or any of the other Kingdomes or any part of the world but this I say they shal never any more overcome them in war They shall no more tread them under feet for it was but * Rev. 13. 5 7. 1260. years that the Beast was to make war against the Saints so as to overcome them and that time is expired and in this ye are 1645. did it come to a period at the expiration whereof the Lord appeared in his glory and raised up his Saints out of their low condition and gave them to overcome their enemies and to go on by Jesus Christ their great Lord Generall conquering and to conquer causing them to tread downe strength to overcome the little Horne giving him into their hands causing them to do justice upon him and his Associates and to overcome all that rise up against them This hath already been done and now to describe what is to succeed as the Scripture declares it thus and now must they go on hence-forward to get victory over the Beast Of the overcomming of the ten Kings And as the Lord Jesus hath by his Saints already begun with that little Horne who came up in the room of three of the ten Kings so he will go on to overcome all the ten Kings as appeares Rev. 17. where at the 14. ver it is said that the ten kings while they were under the Beast should make war with the Lambe and this we know they did for as the Beast made war with the Lambe and with his saints so did the ten Kings also they gave up their power and strength unto him but what followes They shall make war with the Lambe and the Lambe shall overcome them But here it may be questioned how the Lambe shall overcome them And in what way And by what meanes To which I answer * The meanes by which the Lambe will overcome the ten Kings That as they are making war with the Lambe for in making war with his saints they do make war with the Lambe the Lambe shall overcome them we know how the late King made war with the Lambe and how the Lambe overcame him we see now how the King of Scots is making war with the Lamb and how the Lambe is overcoming him and so when the rest of the Kings shall make war with the Lambe shall the Lamb overcome them that is plainly thus the Lamb shall overcome the ten Kings that make war with him in his Saints by being in and among and with the Armies of his Saints subduing their enemies before them and as this is cleere by what he hath already done so also is it cleare in this very Scripture that speakes of the Lambe his overcomming of them thus And they shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithfull where it is clear that when the ten Kings make war with the Lambe and that he being Lord of Lords and King of Kings overcomes them that his servants that are called and chosen and faithfull attend him and are his instruments in this businesse else why are they said to be with him when he doth that worke But it cleerly implies that by the Armies of his saints he doth it as in the 19. of the Revelation it is said that when he commeth to destroy the Beast and that in righteousnesse he doth judge and make war that in that war also the armies in heaven or of his saints followed him so that the Lord Jesus is the great Lord Generall that goeth forth to overcome the ten Kings and his saints his choice called and faithfull ones are the Armies that follow him The lawfulness of fighting against the enemies of Christ with the materiall sword cleared But some may here object or say is it lawfull or warrantable for saints under the Gospell to fight upon such an account Doth not the Gospell require them to live peaceably and not to avenge their own quarrell but to suffer patiently the wrongs done unto them and whosoever smites them on the one cheeke to turne to him the other also and to blesse them that curse them and to do good to them that dispitefully use them and persecute them and are not saints appointed to a suffering condition in this world now under the Gospell especially and saith not the Apostle that he who would live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution and seeing these things are so how can it be lawfull for saints to fight to maintaine their own peace and to preserve themselves from suffering at the hands of those that would persecute them and do them wrong To which I answer first that it is indeed true that saints should be meek and peaceable and suffer wrongs and do good for evill in their own private cases they are not to avenge themselves and I beleeve they will not but rather than render evill for evill will do good for evill but yet withall we are to consider that this is as true that those saints that are Magistrates are indispensibly bound to do justice upon evill doers * Rom. 13. 4 5. and that those saints which are subjects are to be subject to those Magistrates in all just commands and this being not denied as it cannot be denied then it follows that if a Godly Magistrate hath some that are evill doers under him as that are the eves or robbers or murtherers or the like it is his duty to do justice upon them for he is appointed of God for that end to be an encouragement to them that do well and for the punishment of evill doers that justice may take place and that he suffer none of his people under him to be injured or wronged that would live peaceably and Godly and if such a Magistrate should neglect to do his duty in this case it would be his sin and he would not answer the end for which he is ordained of God This being so then if the case be so as that an Army of injurious men should rise up either within the territories of good Magistrates or without thus to rob and spoile and kill their subjects they are to command such of their subjects as they think fit to suppresse those evill doers and if possibly they can to prevent them from injuring and wronging and spoyling those people whom they are to protect and their subjects ought to obey them in these their just commands for it is the duty of godly people to obey their superiours in all lawfull things and now these things may be done by Magistrates and people now under the Gospell and yet they may inviolably observe those rules in respect to their own private cases of suffering patiently the wrongs
river of Egypt yet it doth not follow but that there may bee other rivers besides this dried up to make way for them if any other rivers shall be in their way although the Scripture be silent in it and mention not particularly any others But secondly the river of Egypt is chiefly mentioned as that it shall be dried up because that lieth in the way in which they must come when they come out of the land of Assyria where its probable that greatest numbers of the Israelites are for though the two Tribes may be scattered and are scattered in all parts of the world yet wee know that the ten Tribes that were first carried captives into the Land of Assyria were never brought forth from thence so that it is probable that there may bee and is a greater number of the Israelites there then in any part of the world besides and that may bee the reason why the Scripture when it mentions any particular places from whence the Children of Israel shall be gathered when they shall bee converted It doth chiefly speak of Assyria as Isa 11. 11. And it shall come to passe that the Lord shall set his hand againe the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam c. Here Assyria is chiefely mentioned and so again in this place Isa 27. 12 13. It is said Ye shall be gathered one by one O ye children of Israel and they shall come which were ready to perish in the Land of Assyria and the out cast in the Land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy Mount at Jerusalem and so againe in Zach. 10. 10. I wil bring them again out of the Land of Egypt and gather them out of Assyria and will bring them into the Land of Gilead c. In all these places Assyria is especially mentioned from whence the Children of Israel must bee brought And because of the great number which must bee brought out of the Land of Assyria the river of Egypt is to bee dried up to make way for them to come to their owne Land that they may againe inhabite Jerusalem and the Mountaines of Israel according to the many promises which are made unto them to that purpose as Ezek. 36 2 3 c. And Jer 32. 41 42 c. and Zach. 10. 10. And so much shall suffice to bee spoken of the conversion of the Jewes Of the Gentiles conversion ANd thus having discoursed of the conversion of the Jews I now come to describe also the conversion of the Gentiles which about this time are also abundantly to be brought in For so I made it evident before out of the fourteenth of the Revelations that after the Lamb hath overcome the ten Kings or part of them before the fall of Babylon that the everlasting Gospel is to be preached to all Nations and Kinreds and Tongues and People Now as the preaching of the Gospel at that time will be the more effectual upon the Jews because then the wickednesses of Babylon shall be declared against and detested and Jesus Christ shall manifest himself against that wicked crew so also will the preaching of the Gospel be the more effectual upon the Gentiles because then the judgements of God will be so terribly manifested against the Idolatrous sinful and prophane practices of wicked men For mark in that fourteenth of the Revelation where it is said that the everlasting Gospel is to be preached to all Nations which shall teach men to fear God and to give him glory and to turn from Idols and to worship him that made the earth and the sea and the fountains of waters the motive that is given to prevail with men to receive the Gospel is this ver 7. Because the houre of his judgement is come And if we would know what is meant by the hour of his judgement it follows in the eighth verse Babylon is fallen is fallen Herein the judgement of God will be evidently manifested against prophane ungodly men when he comes to ruine that great whore who corrupted all Nations So that the light of the glorious Gospel now shining forth and the judgements of God being evidently manifested against wicked men doubtless the Nations that are yet unconverted shall then also be abundantly brought in to the obedience of Christ And the Scripture everywhere plentifully speaks of this abundant bringing in of all Nations As Isa 2. 2. 3. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains and what then not onely the Jews nor onely some of the Nations but all nations shall flow unto it and they shall not come in by drops scatteringly one now and another then but they shall come in by multitudes they shall flow unto it That which comes flowing in comes in abundantly Again Isa 60. 1. It is said to the Church Arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee This Chapter all along describes the rising and shining glory of the Church I have already quoted it I shall here onely mention those passages in it that speak to this present purpose And vers 3. It is said And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising And vers 5. The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee and the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee And vers 9 10 11. 14. 15 16. It 's said that the Isles shall wait upon the Lord. And again 't is said that the Kings of the Gentiles and the forces of the Gentiles shall come in to the Church and be ready to serve and minister to it Again Isa 62. 2 3. where the glory of the Church is also described it is said thus to Sion The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness and all kings thy glory and thou shalt be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name and shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord c. And Isa 49. 23. Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and their Queens thy nursing mothers and they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth And Isa 66. 12. It 's said that the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream shall come into the Church And vers 18 19 20. I will gather all nations and tongues and they shall come and see my glory and I will set a signe among them and I will send those that escape unto the nations to Tarshish Pul and Lud to those that draw the bow to Tubal and Javan to the Isles afar off that have not heard my fame neither have seen my glory and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles And Zech. 9. 9 10. Rejoyce O daughter of Sion behold thy King cometh unto thee he is just
and chosen and faithful ones those first-fruits whom he hath now called forth and engaged in his works shall having the Spirit of their Lord upon them do according to his ensample first * What course the Armies of the Saints under Jâ—sus Christ first will take with the Nations or ten Kingdoms offer peace and publish the cleer light of Gospel to them that if possible they might be that way won I say if any of the ten Kings shall this way be brought in they wil doubtless be very acceptable to Christ And who knows whether or no the Lamb may overcome some of them this way Whether Spain and other kingdoms may not be so gained to Christ and made to hate the whore But if not so then will he deal with those that are implacable of them in the way of his justice and overcome them I mean those of them that are implacable for some of them shall hate the whore when they are overcome in his wrath and sore displeasure as he hath already done with those that in maintenance of the beast stood it out against him making his people to execute upon them the judgement written for overcome them he will Of Romes ruine And thus having shewn how that the Lamb will overcome the ten Kings and that about that time when some or all the ten Kings or kingdoms are overcome and made to hate the whore the Gospel shall be universally preached all the world over I now come to shew that when the Lord Christ hath thus in larged his kingdom and diminished the kingdom of the beast he shall then go on to cause his people those especially of the ten kingdoms to go on in their work of breaking down the strength of the beast and bringing it to nothing that the Lord Christ may be all And in order thereunto they shall be the instruments of the utter ruining of Rome which is that whore mentioned Rev. 17. 1. As appears vers 18. The woman or the whore which thou sawest is that great city which raigneth over the kings of the earth which Rome then did I say the Saints of the ten kingdoms about this time when these things are done shall then be instruments of ruining this whore And this appears Rev. 17. 10. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast these shall hate the whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire Where it is very cleer that the ten Kings being overcome by the Lamb they shall have such a cleer sight of the light of the Gospel as shall not onely cause them to forsake the principles of darkness that are imbraced by Rome but they shall hate those principles and hate Rome for her filthiness and cursed lewdness and shall manifest their hatred in disrobing her of her strength and glory and pomp with which the text says she is decked Rev. 17. 4. All which they shall take from her and make her naked And shall that be all they will do No for they will not onely make her naked but will eat her flesh will make her destitute not onely of her outward robes of pomp and glory but will eat her very flesh that is they will devour and consume that without which she can as little consist as a man can whose flesh is consumed So that they shall so far manifest their hatred to Rome as they shall reduce her to the greatest straights that can be imagined And shall they leave there No but they shall burn her with fire And that the Saints shall deal thus with her is again expressed in chap. 18. vers 6 7 8. Where the people of God are bid to reward Babylon that is Rome even as she hath rewarded them and double unto her double according to her works in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double how much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her For she saith in her heart I sit a Queen and am no widow and shall see no sorrow therefore shall her plagues come in one day death and mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her Thus it 's cleer that the Saints in the ten kingdoms shall so hate Rome as they shall plague her make her desolate expose her to great misery and utterly burn her with fire And when this City is thus burnt with fire * Rev. 18. 6. because she hath made her self drunk with the blood of the Saints and the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus and because she hath made all Nations drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication * vers 2. and the Kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and because that when she comes to be destroyed * vers 24. in her will be found the blood of Prophets and of Saints and of all that were slain upon the earth therefore when she comes to be destroyed she shall be made a monument of vengeance as being the most cursed City in the world and therefore it is said that when Babylon is fallen she is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird Rev. 18. 2. And the voice of harpers and musicians and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee no crafts men of whatsoever craft he be shall be found any more in thee And the sound of a milstone shall be heard no more at all in thee and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee for thy merchants were all the great men of the earth for by thy sorceries were all Nations deceived Thus Rome when it is destroyed shall be no more inhabited by the sons of men it is such a cursed City but on the contrary it shall become the hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird and the wild beasts of the desart shall lie therein and it shall be full of doleful creatures Owles and Satyrs and Dragons as it is at large exprest Isa 34. 9 10 11 c. And Isa 13. 19 20 c. Thus Rome shall be ruined and over it's ruines shall the Saints rejoyce as Rev. 18. 20. Rejoyce over her thou heaven and ye holy Apostles and Prophets for God hath avenged you on her But her confederates will greatly lament and bewail her As vers 9 10 c. Thus much for Romes ruine Of what is to follow Romes ruine But the enemies of Jesus Christ and his Saints are not wholly ruined when Rome is thus destroyed but many will be left to bewail it and amongst the rest it appears that the Beast viz. the Pope still remains undestroyed for he is one of the last that shall be
destroyed and the manner how it shall be is this When these things we have spoken of shall be thus done viz. When the ten Kings are overcome and do yield obedience to the Lamb and the Gospel is universally preached and Jews and Gentiles are abundantly converted to Christ and Rome is ruined the Pope being then turned out of Rome and he with his Cardinals Bishops and Jesuits being lurking in some other places up and down in the world shall still act like himself and shew himself to be the Beast still retaining his cursed nature continuing in enmity against Christ and his Saints and being so shall resolve not to give all for lost yet though he be thus far prevailed against but shall resolve to make one desperate attempt more against the Saints and to this end shall send abroad his Emissaries unto all the unconverted Kings and great men of the earth whom neither the Gospel of peace nor sword of war hath overcome and shall gather them all together which shall make a very great Army with which they shall think to destroy all the Saints who at this time will be increased to a very great number the Jews and multitudes of the Gentiles being brought in before this last battel but when they are brought in they will meet with opposition from this man of sin and from the rest of the wicked of the world who will not have Christ to raign over them And this Beast I say will gather together all the unconverted Kings of the earth and all their Armies thinking to destroy the Saints Jews and Gentiles but they shall not neither first nor last prevail upon them but they shall be overcome and foiled still so that now at last they shall grow desperate and say as some now do they will now fight for it and they will either win all or lose all for the Beast and the Kings of the earth are gathered together with their Armies of prophane wicked men for none else are with them to make war against Jesus Christ and his Armies of Saints In which last battel wherein the utmost strength of all the enemies of Christ and his Saints shall be united together shall the controversie between the one and the other be decided and the flesh of these Kings and Captains and mighty men of the earth and of all their Armies shall be given to the fowles of the aire and all this more largely appears Rev. 19. 11. 12 c. And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge and make war his eys were as a flame of fire and on his head were many Crowns and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself And he was clothed with a vesture dipt in blood and his name is called the word of God and the Armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the Nations and he shall rule them with a rod of Iron and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And I saw an Angel standing in the Sun and he cryed with a lowd voice saying to all the fowls that flie in the midst of heaven Come and gather your selves together unto the supper of the great God that ye may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both of free and bond both small and great And I saw the Beast and the Kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army And the beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast and them that worshipped his image These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sate upon the horse which sword proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh In these words we see is a plain description of two Generals and their Armies and of a battel fought between them and of the success of the battel The description of the great Lord General of the Army of Saints The first General is described by his Name by his Frame and by his Aym. First by his Nanme And he is called faithful and true and his name is called the Word of God and he hath a Name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And this is the Name and Title of the Lord Jesus Christ alone But secondly He is described also by his Frame and posture in which he is thus He sat upon a white horse Which manifests his purity And his eys were as a flame of fire Which shews the piercing discerning nature of them being the searcher of hearts and trier of the reins And on his head are many Crowns Which shews that all the Crowns of all Kingdomes must be put upon his head who is KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS And this is the Frame and posture in which he is But thirdly He is described also by his Aym thus that in righteousness he doth judge and make war He ayms at doing justice making war against the Beast and judging that other Army according to righteousness and that he may so do his Aym is to give them blood to drink and that in righteousness for they are worthy and therefore he is said to be clothed in a vesture dipt in blood and that out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it he should smite the Nations Out of his mouth it goeth that is he commandeth with the word of his mouth a sharp sword to smite the Nations and this justly And his Aym is to rule the nations with a rod of Iron And this in righteousness and to tread the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God And in all this may it be said unto him Righteous art thou O Lord who hast judged thus The Description of his Army But in the next place we have his Army described thus And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen white and clean Where first we may observe the place where they were and that is heaven which shews that they are armies of the Church that they are Saints for the Church of God is all along the Prophecy of the Book of the Revelation called Heaven Now these Armies that follow this General are the Armies in Heaven the Armies in the Churches of Christ and out of heaven also
it and the Lamb is the light thereof They shall then have no need of those men that shine as the Sun and Moon to the Church to inlighten others no but then as I have said They shall be all immediately taught of God and they shall not need to teach one another saying Know the Lord but the glory of the Lord and the Lamb shall lighten them And thus as far as I have been enabled and the Scripture giving clear testimony have I answered that Question What Ordinances shall be used at that time and how shall Saints then worship God I proceed Sixthly The Saints being filled with the Spirit they shall then be enabled to worship the Lord with one * The Saints shall then all worship the Lord in one way minde and one heart and in one way It shall not be then as now in these dark times it is wherein one is of this minde and another of that minde and a third of a third minde about several parts of the Ordinances of God and these divisions in Opinion rest not there onely but make divisions in Affection also But then it shall not be so and therefore we finde mention made but of one street in the New Jerusalem Rev. 22. 2. implying that they shall all walk in one way And Zeph. 3. 9. the Lord says that he will turn unto the people a pure language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord and serve him with one shoulder And this appears also in that fore-mentioned place Zech. 8. 20 21. where it is said that the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts I will go also Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts Where it is clear that all people in all Cities and Nations shall be of one minde in the Worship of God And Jer. 32. 39. the Lord there says that in that time he will give his people one heart and one way And seventhly The Saints being thus in that time abundantly filled with the Spirit all * Justice and righteousness shall flourish in those days just and righteous things shall be done by them And this is clear Isai 60. 18. Violence shall no more be heard within thy land nor wasting nor destruction within thy borders Though there hath been violence in the Land formerly yet then there shall be no more but vers 21. Thy people shall be all righteous they shall inherit the land for ever the branch of my planting that I may be glorified And so full of the spirit of judgement and righteousness shall the Saints then be as it is said Isai 32. 16. that judgement shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field In the verse before it is said that the Spirit shall be so poured out as that those that had been as a barren wilderness should now become as a fruitful field and in this verse it is said that in all whether they were such as had been a wilderness or such as had been a fruitful field judgement and righteousness should dwell And to this same purpose is that Isai 1. 26 27. Afterward thou shalt be called the citie of righteousness the faithful citie The like is said of it Jer. 31. 23. They shall use this speech of thee The Lord bless thee O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness How full are these expressions shewing how glorious for holiness this new world shall be And for this cause it is that when these new heavens and new earth are promised they are distinguished from the old or former heavens and earth by this character WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOVSNESS Thus the Saints in these times shall be so full of righteousness and judgement as they shall receive their very denomination from it And as it is said of the Lord God Almighty that his Name is holy so is it said of them They shall be called The city of righteousness the faithful city the habitation of justice the mountain of holiness so gloriously shall they then shine in righteousness and justice Eighthly By this abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon the Saints in that time they shall be put into a very * The meekness of the Saints in those days meek and sweet frame of spirit In Psal 149. which is a place I have already cited shewing that it is a Prophesie of these times at vers 4. it is said that the Lord will beautifie the meek with salvation whereby it is clear that they shall be meek spirits that shall then be beautified with salvation that shall be members of that kingdom And indeed it must needs be so for their Saviour is so they do learn and shall learn of him to be meek and sweet and lowly in in their hearts and carriages but not so but as that this meekness shall be consistent with courage stoutness and valour also when God calls them to exercise it And therefore as our Saviour is a Lamb and a Lion so they shall be as meek as * How a Lamb-like and a Lion-like nature may be consistent Lambs and yet as bold as Lions and not fear to do the work about which they are set as appears vers 6. 7. where it is said They shall have the high praises of God in their mouthes and a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to binde their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron Thus meek and sweet in spirit shall the Saints be and withal full of life and courage Again that the Saints shall be full of meekness at that time appears by that speech of our blessed Saviour Matth. 5. 5. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth Now the Saints could never be said so fully to have this promise made good to them as they shall in that time for many of the Saints in a sence never inherited the earth And as their Saviour spake of himself in the days of his humiliation so may it be said of them in these days of their humiliation That they have not many of them where to lay their heads And for the most part wicked men have possest the earth but many of them never had any inheritance in it And I am perswaded that our Saviour had this time in his eye when he said Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth So that though yet this promise was never fully made good yet there is a time coming wherein it shall be clearly and fully made good And of this time also speaks David when he says Psal 37. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth shal delight themselvs in the abundance of peace He had said in the two former verses that evil doers should be cut off and that though the wicked did flourish for a
while yet it was but for their time and after that they should be no more And in vers 13. that though the wicked plot against the just yet the Lord shall laugh at him for he seeth that his day is coming In all which he speaks of a time and a day when the wicked shall be wholly cut off but saith he the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace And vers 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be for ever So that it 's clear that those that shall inherit the earth at that time and be delighted in the abundance of peace shall be of meek and sweet spirits And again ninthly When the Spirit shall be thus abundantly poured out upon the Saints in these times there shall be then no such complaining among Saints as there hath been formerly and yet is That Oh they are weak * Saints shall then have no cause to complain of weaknesses and they are ignorant and they are foolish and they are dull and slowe and lame in duties and many times they are dumb or at least stammerers when they come to pray or prophesie but the Spirit then shall be so abundantly poured out upon them as it shall remove all these impediments from them as appears Isai 35. 1. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad and the desart shall rejoyce and blossom as a rose This is spoken of the pouring out of the Spirit upon those that were as a barren wilderness which shall make them thus to blossom as a rose Well but what follows Vers 5. Then the eyes of the blinde shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped then shall the lame man leap as an hart and the tongue of the dumb shall sing Here then we see that all these complaints shall be removed They that complained of ignorance their complaint shall be removed the eyes of the blinde shall see They that complained of deadness and dulness their complaint shall be removed the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped They that complained of weakness and lameness in duties their complaint shall be removed then shall the lame man leap as an hart A hart is a swift creature they shall have more then ordinary abilities and strength and activity which before were lame and weak The lame man shall leap as an hart And answerable to this is that passage Isa 32. 3 4. And the eys of them that see shal not be dim and the ears of them that hear shall hearken The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly Thus all these weaknesses and infirmities shall be removed and Saints shall be compleatly furnished with abilities whereby they shall be enabled to serve and worship the Lord and they shall no more do it stammeringly and brokenly as formerly they did And this is to be done as appears vers 1. at that time when a King shall reign in righteousness and Princes shall rule in judgement When the Lord Jesus Christ shall be King and of his Saints he shall make * Ps 45. 16. Princes in all the earth Then then it is that all these infirmities shall be removed from all his people This likewise is that which is spoken of Zech. 12. 8. In that day he that is feeble among the Saints shall be as David and the house of David as God as the Angel of the Lord before them Such strength and power will he put upon all his people Tenthly When the Spirit shall be thus abundantly poured out upon his people they shall all speak * They shall speak a pure language a pure language a spiritual language having a holy heavenly stile For as in their actions and doings there will be a glorious reformation so also in their words and therefore Zeph. 3. 9. the Lord saith That in that great day when all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of his jealousie that then He will turn to the people a pure language or a pure lip as the word is which implyeth pure speech There shall be no foolish defiled speech coming from them No they shall have a pure lip and call upon the Lord and this pure language or this pure lip is that which is called The language of Canaan Isa 19. 18. Where it is said That the Egyptians being converted unto the Lord they that are in the Land of Egypt shall also speak the language of Canaan or the lip of Canaan or with this pure lip or this pure speech which the Lord shall give to his people And that by a pure lip is meant a pure speech is cleer Prov. 22. 11. Where Solomon hath this expression He that loveth pureness of heart for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend Implying that from a pure heart proceedeth gracious language such a man hath grace in his lips a pure lip Thus in an eminent manner shall Saints then have grace in their lip have a pure language when the Spirit shall be so gloriously poured out upon them Eleventhly When the Spirit shall be thus abundantly poured out upon the Saints their mindes and affections shall be raised and put into a * The Saints shall be in a rais'd high and heavenly frame heavenly posture It will be much below them to have their mindes set upon vanitie and though it be certain that they shall injoy all outward injoyments to the full yet they shall not manifest that vanity in the use of them as now appears in most people as to observe the fickle nice phantastical and foolish customs or fashions of the time in their cloathing househould furniture and deportments towards each other wherein much vanity and foolery oft-times appears No these things will be far below them * It will be fabelow the Saints to minde vain fashions and fooleries to have such unsetledness and such vanity in these respects appearing in them But they being filled with the Spirit will manifest more gravity sobriety and composedness of Spirit and will not minde such vanity Not that the wearing rich apparel or having rich furniture and utensiis in the house is a sin or unbecoming a Christian for riches they shall then plentifully injoy But deforming apparel and the fickleness of the minde and fancie about these things is I fear the sin of I am sure it is very unbecoming to Saints For Saints to be thus light and vain and every day to be minding the new fashion and altering their apparel several times before it is worn out How uncomely is it And how unsuitable to their high calling as if they had not things of a higher nature to minde Not that in speaking thus I do commend those that keep themselves in such fashions as wherein they appear ridiculous to all others being altogether out of use nor do I say that it
shall not then break out and uncleanness shall not then appear in them and this appears Isa 62. 12. And they shall say to the daughter of Zion Behold thy salvation cometh behold his reward is with him and his reward before him and they shall call them THE HOLY PEOPLE the redeemed of the Lord and thou shalt be called Sought out a citie not forsaken And Joel 3. 21. For I will â—…eanse their blood that I have not cleansed for the Lord dwelleth in Zion And Isai 1. 25. And I will turn my hand upon thee and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy tin And in Isa 60. 21. and Jer. 21. 23. places already mentioned Again in the fifteenth place the Spirit being thus abundantly poured out upon them it shall make them appear very * Great spiritual glory will then appear in Saints glorious in the eyes of all for herein will their greatest glory then consist this is that which will make Sion the praise of the whole earth That she shall be thus gloriously adorned with the Spirit which is that glorious apparel which maketh the Kings daughter all glorious within as well as without Psal 45. 13. The Kings daughter is all glorious within her clothing is of wrought gold And therefore it is that Rev. 21. this New Jerusalem is thus described The building of the wall of this beloved City which vers 2. is said to be prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband I say the building of the wall of this City is said to be of Jasper and the City is said to be of pure gold like unto clear Glass and the foundation of the wall of the City to be garnished with all manner of precious stones the first Jasper the second Saphir the third a Chalcedony the fourth an Emerauld the fifth Sardonix the sixth Sardius the seventh Chrysolite the eighth Beryl the ninth a Topaz the tenth a Chrysoprasus the eleventh a Jacinct the twelfth an Amethyst And the twelve gates are said to be twelve Pearls every several gate of one Pearl and the street of the City to be of pure Gold as it were transparent Glass All which serves to set out that lustre and glory which shall appear in the Saints the beloved City of God by reason of that abundant measure of the Spirit which they shall enjoy in that day And expressions to the same purpose we have Isa 54. 11 12. O thou afflicted and tossed with tempest and not comforted behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours and lay thy foundations with Saphirs and I will make thy windows of Agates and thy gates of Carbuncles and all thy borders of pleasant stones The Saints of God which for a long time have been afflicted and tossed with tempest and not comforted both by reason of enemies from without and corruptions from within so that no beauty nor comeliness hath appeared in them shall then be so freed both from outward afflictions and by the plentiful enjoyment of the Spirit from inward corruptions as they shall appear very glorious all fair and richly garnished and adorned with the choicest spiritual jewels And therefore not without cause doth David say Psal 87. 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee O city of God Again in the sixteenth place The Spirit being thus abundantly enjoyed by the Saints in these times they shall thereby be enabled to make a holy use of all the creatures which * Saints shall not sin at all in the use of the creatures they shall then enjoy And that which was said of those holy men of old shall be then truly said of them they shall visit their †Job tabernacles and not sin and they shall walk within * Psal 101. 2. their house with a perfect heart They shall indeed build houses and inhabit them and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them but they shall not defile their houses by sinning in them nor shall they sin in using the creatures which they shall enjoy their corn and wine and oyl and flocks and herds and fruits of the trees and of the field which they shall enjoy shall in no sort be abused by them for the Spirit shall guide them to use all the creatures in a holy manner enabling of them to receive them with prayer and thanksgiving as Joel 2. 26. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the Name of the Lord your God And Isa 62. 8 9. Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine for the which thou hast laboured but they that have gathered shall eat it and praise the Lord and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness And as they shall thus praise the Lord for all his mercies so doubtless shall they pray unto him for a holy use of them though the Scripture do not particularly speak of it for at this time though they shall be assured of all mercies of all sorts yet shall it be no * A full assurance of having mercies is no hinderance to a real Saints praying for mercy hinderance to their praying for them as to make them argue thus Why I am sure I shall have these and these mercies whether I pray for them or not and therefore what need have I to pray for them No but as now those that have most true and real assurance of mercies are most in prayer as the Lord Jesus himself was and as Paul was so shall it be in these times when the spirit of grace and supplication shall be most a bundantly poured out so that all creatures shall be sanctified to them being received with prayer and thanksgiving They shall eat and be satisfied and praise the Lord. And in the seventeenth place The Spirit being then thus abundantly showred down upon the Saints it shall fill them with holy * Saints shall be filled with joy joy without any mixtures of sorrow at all joy and gladness of heart for it is the very nature of the Spirit to be a Comforter and therefore where much of the Spirit is there must needs be much joy and so indeed there shall be and therefore it is said Isai 65. 18 19. Be ye glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her people a joy And I will rejoyce in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying It 's true that to compleat this joy they shall have many external or outward mercies but the pouring out of the Spirit is the main ingredient of their joy and without it their joy in all other enjoyments could be no joy no true joy The voice of weeping nor the voice of crying shall be no more heard among them and it is true that in respect of outwards
them in deceiving of them as he did Eve that he will it's likely perswade them to believe that they shall by their power overcome the Saints and as he perswaded Eve to believe that in eating the forbidden fruit they should be as gods knowing good and evil so he will perswade these that in making war they shall overcome the Saints though Jesus Christ be with them Thus this old deceiver and lyer shall deceive the unconverted miserable people among the Nations of the world who during all the time of the thousand yeers will be quiet and never dare to attempt any such thing and yet then they shall gather togetner against the Saints and think to overcome them but when they shall attempt to do it the Saints shall then have no need of swords nor spears to defend themselves against that brunt that one assault for the text says Fire shall come down from God out of heaven and devour all these wicked men Thus is declared what will be done after Satan is loosed and what his reward for this work shall be is declared vers 10. And the devil that deceived the nations was cast alive into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever And now comes to be declared what shall follow immediately upon this and that follows in vers 11 12 13 14 15. And I saw a great white throne and him that sate upon it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire In these verses is declared that immediately upon the ruining of all the wicked of the Nations the last and general day of judgement is to follow When comes the Resurrection of all both just and unjust I say the last and general day of judgement and resurrection of all for in this twentieth chapter of the Revelation it is cleer that here is a mention made of two Resurrections and the one to be a thousand yeers before the other and the first is treated of in the 4 5 and 6 verses and is there called the FIRST RESURRECTION and the second is laid down in these verses where it is said that the Heavens and the earth are then to be annihilated to flie away at the presence of the Lord who upon his white throne of righteousness after these thousand yeers are finished is to appear and to judge all the dead small and great who are to stand before him being all raised out of the Graves and out of the Sea and all places where the dead have been laid and to be judged righteously according to the Gospel and according to their works and they being so judged it will follow that whosoever is not found written in the book of life shall be cast into a lake of fire And this general day of judgement here treated of is also treated of in several other Scriptures as in Mat. 25. 31 32 c. Where our Saviour thus describes it and says that in that day he shall sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was c. And then shall he say also unto them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels for c. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal Thus in this Scripture is this general day of the final judging of all spoken of also wherein to every one is to be rendred according to his works Again another Scripture to this purpose is that in the first of the Corinthians at the fifteenth chapter where Paul more largely discourses of the doctrine of the Resurrection in some particulars of it then it is any where else in Scripture treated of where in the first part of the chapter he makes it his work to prove the certainty of the Resurrection of the body against those Pharisaical spirits that denyed it And having proved the Resurrection by many undenyable and unanswerable Arguments he comes to declare at the twenty third verse and so on in what order the Resurrection shall be he having before said that all shall be raised But says he it shall be every man in his own order Christ the first fruits and afterward they that are Christs at his coming Here is the Order of the Resurrection Christ the first fruits Well Christ was to be raised first in order of time and that was done already Christ was raised when the Apostle writ this Epistle But who are to be raised next The Apostle tells us It must be they that are Christs And when must they be raised The Apostle answers At his coming Afterward they that are Christs at his coming This is the first Resurrection wherein the Saints must at the coming of Christ be raised to reign with him spoken of Revel 20. 4. But then the general Resurrection and the last great day he speaks of in vers 24. 25. and 28. Where he says Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet the last enemie that shall be destroyed is death And when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all Here he declares that Jesus Christ being come and having received his kingdome and his Saints being raised at his coming to reign with him that after his coming and reigning and ruling and putting all enemies under his feet and death it self Then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to his father and the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all That is there shall be a cessation of the