14th year or 2 d 7th And when I bring back Thy Captivity then I will bring back Sodom also thy sister and Samaria As the 2 wives of David at Ziglag or of Jacob who served twice 7 years and Then had Joseph who was bound as long and Then Foretold the 7 years Famine After 7 of Plenty The Ark was a Captive To the Philistines 7 years and Then was brought home at Wheat Harvest or at the Tabs And Ester was taken into the Royal House in the 10th month of the 7th year And David was Persecuted 7 years or Reigned 7 years and an half at Hebron before he got Jerusalem From the Jebusites who Trod it down as their name in Hebr Till He Took it As a Type of the New Jerusalem And then he made the Solemn Feast to All the People and dismissed All with Bread and Wine and flesh Although it be not called the Feast of Tabernacles As Solomons Dedication was In the 7th Month and Dayes of Tabs with his Solemn Feast After 7 years and 6 Months of his Temple As a Type of that to come in 7 Prophetick years and 6 Months After Which end about the year of Christ 1700. But Davids 7 years and half about 1666. And Nehemiah kept the Feast of Tabernacles and Release As it had not been From Josuahs Time As Neh. 8. 17. And to Clear this by the Numbers in Daniel and the Revelation 1260 or 1290 and 1335 are Dayes or Years As Hâ—urs of signal Fasts Feasts in the Jewish year As first They Fast on the 10th of the 1â—t For Mâ—riams Death and of the 2 d for Elies and his Sons with the Ark Taken Shadowing the Church As the P. Lambs Tyed up and Tryed on the 10th Which we call The Day of Tryal slain on the 14th in Hour of that year 333. As there were 333 Dayes of Hamans Lots From the 13th of the 1st To the 13 of the 12th which was also the Annual Feast for Nicanor slain as Haman at Purim the 14th and 15th of the 12th and there were 333 Dayes between the Day of Tryal and the 13th of the 12th month called Adar Pentecost the 65 t of the year and 65 more To the Great Doom of not Entring into Rest and Burning Both Temples the 9 or 10 of the 5th we call it Dooms Day Which was 65 before Tabs As the Palms or Hozanna was 65 before the Feast of Dedication on the 25 of the 9. As the Fast on the 10 of the 7 was 65 before the Desolation on the 15 of the 9. As the Fast for the Seige on the 10 of the 10 was 65 before the Last of Purim Thus the Passeover was 52 Dayes Before Pentecost the 52 d After Pass As the Fast for Jeroboams Sins was 50 Dayes before Doomsday the 52 d before the Feast of Trumpets And Nehems New Jerusalem was finished in 52 Dayes as weeks of a year or 1260 Hours which are Dayes 52. ½ As 1290 Hours come up to Noon of 54 Dayes Signal To the Jews For Reading the Law in 54 Sections As the City was Burnt 54 Dayes before the Feast of Trumpets And their annuall Fast for Aarons Death was 54 Dayes before the 24 or 25 of the 6 month For Creation in the Talmud and the 2 d Temple in Hag As for Finishing the City in Nâ—h 6. 15. But he was at Jerusalem 3 dayes before he began to work and so 54 or 55 Dayes which make 1290 or 1335 Hours As the Feast of Trumpets was so many Hours After the Day before the City Fired in the last of Kings As Pentecost was 1335 Hours After the first of the Day of Tryal which was 1290 Hours before the Preparation to Pentecost which was 1260 Hours from the Preparation to the Passover which was the first of Hamans Lots and Plots against the Jews As Ester 3. 12. 1260 Dayes are 3 years and 6 Months Ending at the 7th For Release of Hirelings Deut. 18. Esay 16. Or beginning the year in the 7th month As it did in Civils They come out in the 1st month or 1st Pass As 1290 Days in the 2 d month or 2 d Passover And brought up the 3. years Tithes and Offerings with One of the Solemn Confessions and Doxologies in Deut. 26. And the other came with the First Born and First Fruits of Wheat in the 3 d. Month about the Pentecost Which was 1335 Dayes From the said year so beginning in the 7th Month As 1335 Hours From the 1st Hour of the Day of Tryal But 1260 Hours From the Preparation to the Pass-over And for Years The Ark was at Zion in 1260 and the Temple was 1290 Or 1335 From the First Desolation of the Flood As Nehems New Jerus about 1260 from Jacob or 1290 from Joseph in Aegypt or 1335 from Jacobs Flight To Laban As the Dedication in the Macabs was just 1335 from Aegypt or the Golden Calf and 1290 from Their Setling in Canaan or 1260 From their First Bondage of 7 or 8 years To Mesopotamia Typing These 7. Prophetick years as 70. years in Babylon and 70 more To Nehemiahs Times And just 1260 years before the Christians Took Jerusalem A Type of the New Jer. to come And for Dayes also The City was Profaned by Antiocbus but 1260 Days or 3 years and half The Temple was clensed by Judas and Antiochus Dead in 1290 Dayes Azotus Taken and All cleared in 1335. As the Machabes and Jacob Cap. But Eupator got the Tower of Zion and Nicanor Swore to Burn the Temple So that All was not Fully Cleansed Till He was slain in 2300 Dayes from the First Profanation As in Dan. 8. 2300 Dayes are 6 years and as many Dayes As From the 15 of the 9th Month when the Temple was Profaned To the 13 of the 12th For Nicanor slain As Haman before And 2300 Hours come to the Evening Sacrifice of the 96 Day in which Time the Sun cometh from the Vernal Equinex To his Highest Apogeum As From the City Taken by the Caldees on the 9th of the 4th month To the Great Feast of Tabernacles on the 15 of the Seventh And in Lunar Months 2300 days are 6 years and 6 Months Coming to the Great Day of Creation or Finishing the 2 d Temple and Nehems New Jerus the 25 of the 6 Month. Or To the Beginning of the 7th with its Feast of Trumpets and Solemn Release and Feast of Tabernacles kept by Nehemiah So that 2300 Dayes are a Piece of the Law of Release which was a part of the 4th Command For the Lords Sabbath Which may be the Sum of All the Second Table As we saw before And From the Blood of Righteous Abell or First Bondage of the Church of God To the Coming out of Aegypt Or From the Great Declension of the Church In Jareds Time as his Name imports To Davids Zion Or from Enochs Birth To Solomon or from Enochs Translation To Josiah Or from the Flood To our Saviour there were much about
not Planted And if Sin come Vnder These Plants or Those Promises may we not hope it shall be Rooted out and quite destroyed As the Church is bid to Cry Take away All Iniquity Not onely Ours but All. and Let the Iniquity of the Wicked come to an end As it is Prayed and Therfore Promised in the Psalms and we are bid to cry for All Forgive Vs our Sins Yea and Christ Prayeth This In us and with us Therefore it shall be Granted for He sayeth Lord Forgive As I and These and All my Children Do forgive And we do not read God Cursed Adam or Eve but the Serpent Though he laid Pain and Travel on Eve with Labour Toyle and Sweat on Adam But of Noah it was said This Man shall give us Rest or Comfort in our work and Toyl because of the Earth which the Lord hath Cursed And when Noah built an Altar After the flood God smelt a savour of Rest as alluding to the Name of Noah Rest and said in his Heart his very Heart I will not again Curse the Ground Any more for Mans sake Which may speak it Cursed before for Mans sake or else For Mans sake I will bless it Now and Curse it no more And God Blessed Noah and his Sons which is not read of Adams Sons and did not only give him Leave to Rule the Creatures as before to Adam but a Larger Commission in the Beasts of the field which were not so put Vnder Adam and the Serpent was more subtile then All other Beasts and other Particulars which are now All put under Noah and delivered up into his Hands with a Promise also that his Dread should be upon them And That Promise is made Good in Christ In whom he makes a Covenant for us with the Beasts of the field when He hath Marryed Vs and saved us by the Lord Jehovah as the Prophet Hoze And Then the Earth also shall yeeld her increase and God even our God shall bless us and his saving light shall be Vpon All Nations As the Psalms in divers Places And our Saviour may allude to Those Promises to Noah and His name of Rest and Giving Rest from Labour when he calleth All That Labour and are heavy Laden Adding I will Give you Rest And again You shall find Rest to your Souls however it be to your Bodies That of the Rainbow we find in other Scriptures describing the Throne of God As by an Eye with its Rainbow and the Revelation Cloatheth Christ with the Rainbow As a Circle which himself can never break Which is also Round about the Throne that it may be Ever seen and Never out of Sight or Mind To witness the Everlasting Covenant with Noah and Mankind As afterward with Israel in the Prophets Esay and Jeremy And we All are In That Covenant made with Noah and it is no small Matter to be in Any One Covenant with God That of Slaying the Man-slayer may seem to put Every Man Vnder Coertion That cannot be dispenced with For if it be laid on All Mankind to slay the Blood shedder who can Exempt himself or others And is God indeed so careful for our Blood and is he not more for our Souls Is He so strict which Beasts and Men and every Mans Brother and is he not As strict with Satan or Any that devour our Souls And is not Christ in This also Seeing himself branded Cain for Hating his Brother or saying Am I my Brothers Keeper But God hath made Every Man his Brothers Keeper and our Saviour more then All. As Psal 72. He shall save the Soul of the Needy and Pretious shall their Blood be in his sight He shall Redeem their Souls from Deceit and Violence Men shall be Blessed in Him All Nations shall Call him Blessed The Blessed Seed for he speaketh not of Seeds as of Many but of One which is Christ to Bless All Nations and All Families or Every Family of the Earth As it is repeated both to Abraham and Jacob and the Psalmist saith God hath set him for Everlasting Blessings or Blessings for ever and to the Great Multitude in the Temple Courts The Apostle said God hath sent him to Blesse you by Turning Every one of you From your Iniquities God hath sent him on This Errand and hath put him Vnder this Law which is much to be pleaded with him And the 4th Command requireth him to Keep the Rest of God not only himself and his Sons and Daughters but his Men-Servants and Maid-Servants and Cattle and Stranger also in his Gate They must All be brought to Rest the Rest of God That thy Man-Servant and thy Maid-Servant may Rest as well as Thou That thine Ox and thine Asse may be refreshed And the Psalmist may allude to This as often as he Calls himself A Stranger with God or the Son of His Handmaid And This 4th Command may be found the Sum of All the 2 d. Table Which requireth Every Man and Christ also as a Man to Love his Neighbour as himself and to endeavour that Servants and Strangers also may be brought To the Rest of God and be Refreshed As well as We. And moulded into the Image of God For they All Groan for the Glorious Rest and Freedom of the Sons of God And the Beauty of That Image To be Formed in them will so recompence All the Labour of Christ that He will Never Repent it And He is so much in Love with That Image to be Formed in Vs that his Many years of Suffering and Service are but As a Few Dayes in his Eyes For the Rachel of his Love For he shall see the Travel of his Soul and shall be Fully Satisfied and be at Rest And the Sabbatical year of Rest was For the Earth also the Earth which the Lord Cursed Nor might they reap What grew of its Self For it is a year of Rest unto the Land and the Sabbath of the Land shall be meat for Thee and thy Maid and Hired Servant and for the Stranger that Sojourneth with thee and the Gleaning of every Harvest must be left for the Poor and Stranger As the 19th of Levit. Where we have also the Sum of All the Royal Law of Love As it lieth on Every Man as Man and so on Christ Also Thou shalt not Hate thy Brother in thy Heart Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy Neighbour and not suffer Sin upon him A blessed Law to be pressed much on Christ And the Sum of our Coven ant is To submit to his Teachings and Rebukes or Chastenings which are called the Rods of the Covenant Very pretious things And Thus he promised the Holy Spirit to Reprove the World And we should beg it much As David Cryes O Search and Try me If any Evil way be in Me and Lead me in the Way Everlasting All other wayes will quickly end As Thorns in a fire Thoushalt not Avenge or Bear any grudge against the Children of thy People But
to hear him speak by Mases when they could not hearken for the Anguish of their hearts But I have seen I have seen Ephraim yea and seen his Frowardness also but I will heal And when the Poor want and cannot Cry For their Tongue Cleaves to their Mouth I will open a fountain in the Wilderness As of old I did to Hagar But we must see This also to be part of the Law that so we may lay it on Christ and plead it with him And God did not onely shew us This in his own Bowels Promising to Comfort All that mourn and to Replenish Every Empty Soul and Every sorrowful Heart on which the Prophets sleep was sweet to him But it was so in his Heart that now it is also a part of the Law Which is but an Image or shadow of the Heart of God Beware there be not a Thought in thy Wicked bea rt against thy poor Brother Saying so or so But then shalt sure'y Lend and Give him enough or sufficient for his want and yet not a word of Asking Make thy shadow as the Night in the midst of Noon Hide the out-casts and bewray not him that Wandereth Be a Covert from the Face of the Spoyler Let mine Out-casts Dwell with Thee O Moah As alluding to Davids bringing his Parents Vnto Moah till he knew How God would deal with him And again Is not This the Fast that I have Chosen to loose the bonds of Wickedness and to undo the Heavy Burthens and to let the broken go Free and that ye break Every Yoke Is it not to deal thy Bread to the Hungry and that thou bring the Poor afflicted or cast out into thy House and when thâ—u seest only seest the Naked that thou Cover him and that thou hide not thy self from thine own flesh If thou draw out thy soul to the Hungry and satisfie the afflicted soul Then shall thy light arise in Obscurity and thy Darkness as the Noon day and the Lord shall Guide thee continually and satisfie thy soul in Drought and thou shalt be like a Watered Garden whose waters never fail or lie and from Thee shall be They that shall build up the old waste places and thou shalt be called the Repairer of the Breach One of the Sweetest places in the Bible As lying on our Saviour also when ever he Sees Vs Want For there is not a word of Asking but of Want When thou seest the Naked that thou Clothe him and hide not thy self from thine own flesh and may we not plead it with Christ Is not He Vnder This Law also That He Hide not himself from his own flesh or from That which is Lost or As Holy men cryed in the Scripture O Lord behold mine Affliction And again See O Lord and consider for I am become Vile I am full of Confusion O see my Affliction Or as Hezekiah O Lord I am Pressed Very Hard but Vndertake for me Or be my Surety and Mediator which is clearly spoken to Christ And so David cryeth out Iniâ—uities Prevail Over me But Thou shalt Thou shalt make Atonement or Expiation as the word signifieth Clearly spoken Unto Christ And so again Be surety for me and strike Hands for thy Poor Servant And the Disciple whom our Saviour loved tells us that If a man see his Brother in Wam he must not stay for Tears or Prayers but if he do but see him in Wam and shut up his Bowels How doth the Love of God Dwell in such a Man And again If any man see his Brother sâ—n a sâ—n which is not unto Death He shall Ask it is not left at pleasure but commanded He shall Ask and he shall give him Life A sweet Promise As God bid â—liphaz Go to Job and promised that He should intercede and my Servant shall pray for you and I will accept him Which we should Press on Him that was Typified out by Job Telling him that God hath Promised that He shall pray and He will Hear him for us And when Job prayed for Them God turned His Captivity and Healed Him and Them also And so Here He shall Ask and he shall Give him Life And though he say not He shall Ask for Him that sinneth unto Death Yet he doth not forbid him but only saith I say not that he should pray for such As Christ I say not that I will pray for you And when men do not only Trample Precious Pearls but Turn and burn and Tear those that bring them As they fall out of Others Teachings So they may do Out of their Prayers also that I say not Out of Christs Intercession Which is much in the hearts of his People and I wish and beg and Value This for me and mine Above the World And once a Father told me You may Hope or Know that Others Pray for you when you do Pray for them But we see the Prophet Jeremy praying most sweetly Then when he was forbidden to pray For that People And our Saviour had a Great Portion Given him for pouring out his Soul for sâ—n and making Intercession for Transgressors And the Great Command He ever received from his Father was to Ask Souls of him For it was not only permitted but Commanded As the Great Character by which he should be Known and Owned to be the Son of God And so it is in us also For when ever God begers a Son he gives him a Crying Praying Spirit As if he said Thou art My Son This day have I begotten Thee Nâ—w Ask of Me and I will Give thee Even as Abraham blessed God for Giving him one Great Victory by saying Lord God what wilt thou Give me However it is very Clear It was so required of Christ and expected from him As the Sâ—n. So that here we may Plead he must be More Faithful then Moses Who was Faithful indeed as a Servant But Christ As a Sâ—n. And his Great Work As a Son was This Ask of me and I will Give Thee And it was not only Commanded but written in his heart as himself saith in the 40 Psalm that he should do the Will of God and his Great Will is that he Ever be Asking Souls and what he doth Once in This he doth still and for Ever So that he is Ever Asking and Ever Receiving from his Father and ever Giving Out and This Last he counts his Greatest Happinesse For it is a More Blessed thing to Give then to Receive And he very much disappoints his Fathers End and Ayme in Sending him into the World or Raising him up from the Dead If he be not Very much in Asking of his Father For it is the Only Command he layeth on him when he brought him forth Aske of Me and I will Give thee All Nations and the Vtmost ends of the Earth And That of Solomon Open thy Mouth for the Dumb in behalf of All Appointed to Destruction was but a little Branch of the Great Law of God to Christ
the Beast also 42 months And yet they do not seem to end together Except we grant him More then his Reigning Time of 42 Months From his Deadly Wound For he lives and prospers so at the End of 1260 Days that he killeth the 2 Witnesses and They lye Dead 3 dayes and an half which may be 3 years and an half or somewhat more then 3 dayes or 75 Hours and 1335 are 75 more then 1260. And at Rising of the Witnesses the 10th part only of the City fell whether it be the Great City following which Reigned over the Kings of the Earth Or the Holy City Before yet called Sodom where the Lord was slain As in the Prophets And the 10th of that City may allude To Neehmiahs Time When the Tenths of All the people were chosen out by lot to dwell in Ierusalem so that All that City was but as the Tenth of Israel And the Tenth in Esay 6 and other places seems a Type of Gods Elect Or else there may be somewhat more in it For the First Fruits are The Elect whose Heb name is akin to That of First Fruits As we touch on Davids Micol and Baburim in another place But Tenths are proper most to the Iewish Church And when the Fruits of All the Earth come in as All Kingdoms At the Rising of the Witnesses It is no great wonder That Tenths should Fall With All the Ceremonious Pendants To the Iewish Levites And the very word for Dragon is in Hebrew Tan or Tannin and Levitan akin to Levi Tan or Ten And the Levites crying Ten Ten which is Give Give as the Horsleach Else I will Take it with This Fleshook by Force And Levitan may be Levi the Dragon or Cruel Levi. As Their Father Iacob said Adding also But my soul shall not be in their Secret or in Sodam As the word is There and maketh just 666 alluding unto Lots flying out of Sodom to Zoar. As Moab of Lot is bidden in Esay 16. As to mind the Heifer of 3 years old in Gen. 15. Moses told the Levites they were a stiff Rebellious Generation Deut. 31. 25. 27. And it was a Levites Concubine that plaid the Whore at Bethlem Till at length she was filled and divided into 12. As the 10 and 2 Tribes scattered all about Till there were not left 666 Reliques of Benjamin And yet he Had the Ruler Saul and He cut his Oxen As the Levites Concubine and then the Temple came in Little Benjamin The Lord must dwell between His shoulders And the Altar had a corner cut that so it might be all in Benjamin To Devour the Prey in the morning sacrifice and to gnaw the Bones in the Evening As Jacob first and Then the Prophets do allude And the Jews observe the Levites were but 22000 to Teach their 22 Letters for neglecting That They were carried Captive in their 22 d Generation As the Priests cut off by Saul Before Davids New Jerusalem And Solomon Put off Abiathar also the Relique of the Priests And Nehemiah chased a Son of the High Priest allied to Samballat And when Solomon came to Dedicate his Temple which perhaps the Priests expected But As soon As all the people did agree to Blesse the Lord and sing For he is Good Because a mighty word As if He were not Good But That His Mercy doth Endure for Ever Then the Glory of God came Down and Filled the Temple so that the very Best of All the Priests could not Enter or Durst not So that Solomon was fain to Pray will God Indeed Indeed come Dwell in Clay and Blesse the People Which by Gods Command was most Peculier to the Sons of Aaron and Solomon was neither Priest nor Levite But of Judah whence our Lord did spring And he cut off 22000 Beasts in One Day which Themselves compare to the 22000 Levites Adding also that Pompey slew 22000 about the Temple and was Beaten after it by Caesars 22000 To as many more in Pompeys Army As 22000 in That of Apolonius in the Machabes And when Joash came up in the 7th year and did desire the Levites to Repair the Temple or to help it forward They Pretended but 't is said They Hastned it not And again in Twice 7 years The Priests had not Repaired the House as 2 Kings 12. with 2 Cron. 24. as 12 and 24 in all Temple matters And at length They consent to Receive no more money nor to Repair the House which was therefore Put out as the Vineyard To Other persons That did work and do it Faithfully without Priests and Levites Which might be a Type of somewhat in our Saviours Times and Farther And though we read of First Fruits still Even in Ezechiels New Ierusalem Yet of Tithes very Seldom or never that I find in all the Bible of the Gostel Times but of the Pharisees Boast of Paying Tithes and Tithing Mint or Any-seed But the Tenth might also Note The Tribute Paid to Kings over them Which Samuel fixed by the Tenth of All they had or Got. And when the Romans Took the Didragm or half shekle For Redemption of Souls As in Matthew with Josephus They had Tithes also The Common Tribute to Hercules with other Demigods And so the 10th days of all or divers months were mourning fasting Dayes as we saw before And thus the Fall of the Tenth of the City Whither it be Jerusalem or Rome or Any Other or All Others For it may be in All Successively may speak the Fall of All Their Tolls and Tributes Tythes and Offerings or whatever else was Appendant to the Levitical Policy or mearly Jewish Or Legal Bonds or Bondage And They that defend Those things should be sure They come not to confess They have Acted As Jews but were not As in several of the Churches Which were much Distinct Although so near in One Lydian Asian Province That they might have soon made One National Church if That had been the Only way and All their Angels might have laid their Faults upon One High Arch Angel But Ezechiels New Altar rejecteth all the Old Levites that stayed with Israel and Chooseth the House of Zadoch the Righteous as Solomon took him for Abiathar And Ezechiel 45 determines All Tribute to their King also with a strikt Command upon the Prince To Take away his Exactions on his People whose Exactors must be Peace And One of 200 Lambs with a 60th part of Corn or 100 part of Oyle is Fixed for the Tribute But How Long These Tenths or other Tolls may last I know not any Text determines clearer Then the 14th of the Revelation Bringing us To the Feast of Tabernacles in the following Chapters After Harvest and Vintage As Exod. 23. 16 and 34. 22. Deut. 16. 13. As the Ark came Home From 7 Months Wandring as 7 years Release and Rested in the Field of Josuah some Type of Jesus when the Jews were At Their Wheat or Last Harvest Before the Showers fell that were
Mighty stress on This that in All his Offices our Saviour is and so was made Our Brether And the Author to the Heb. is bold to say that In All things even All things It behoved Him for Our and His advantage also to be made like His Brethren And although it was so in All things yet in special that He might be a Merciful and Faithful High Priest For Every High Priest is Ordained For Men and Taken From among Them For them Not Against them Wherefore Holy Brethren partakers of that Heavenly Calling of a Brother Look upon and much Consider the Apostle prophet and High Priest we so Profess or Own and Claim to be our Brother And again Let us hold fast this Profession or this Claim of Christ in such Relation For we have not an High Priest that cannot be touched with our Infirmities or Feeling of them but was in All Points Tempted as We are Even in All points both of Substance and Circumstance also To Presume and to Despair yea and to destroy Himself and other horrid Temptations Let us Therefore even Therefore Come with Boldness to the Throne of Grace that so we may obtain mercy and find Grace to Help in a time of Need. For Solomon saith A Brother was born for a Time of Need or For a Day of Adversity And the very sigh by which we express sorrow in all Languages Ah Ah is also Brother Brother in the Mother Language As if God would teach us still in sorrow both to think of a Brother and Call for his Help To which himself may allude in that of Jeremy They shall not Lament saying Ah Brother or Ah Sister And we never cry Ah Ah but our Saviour hears and knows we need Him crying Brother Brother And he knoweth also and hath told us There is No Temptation on us but was common to our Nature and to Him as made in it And He is Faithful and will not suffer us to be Tempted Above our Strength or His in us As Paul writeth to Every one that Calls on the Name of Christ Their Lord and Ours and yet our Brother also This was it the Spouse longed for O that thou wert my Brother that sucked the brests of my Mother when I found Thee I would Kiss Thee and I should not be despised I would lead thee to my Mothers House as Isaac led Rebecca into Sarahs Tent and I would give Thee Spiced Wine and Pomgranates as of mixed Nature And his left hand should be under my head and his Right hand should embrace me Not afraid of either Hand it seems And He is now so made Our Brother As she longed And we may press it on him If He be Indeed That Prophet promised to Moses Then he is our Brother Else we may not Take him for our Prophet or our King For God expresly tells his people If at any time they Choose a King They may not Take a Stranger But a Brother One amongst thy Brethren and repeats it yet again and adds Thou mayest not set a Stranger over thee Who is not thy Brother And again When he is set Over thee he shall take heed he do not exalt himself above his Brethren but must still own himself to be Their Brother that he may prolong his Reign Over them And the Kings of Israel were to read that Scripture in a Solemn Manner at Releases And when King Agrippa came to Read it so He wept Vntill they cryed that he was their Brother and the Law did own him so And so is Christ That we may go to our Saviour As They came to Joseph And as the words are They gave him a Charge in the Name of their Father saying Our Father bid us say Forgive I pray thee now the Trestass of thy Brethren and when Joseph heard them speak He wept and so he did when first he made them know he was their Brother And Thus Ruth was sent by Naomy to Boaz one of Might a Type of Christ the next a kin to Ebimeleck My God the King and bid to lye down at his feet and said Spread thy skirt over thine Handmaid For thou art a near Kinsman And the Law hath put a special blot on him that will not Own his Kindred or do the Office of a Brother when he is Required For the Woman was to pull off his Shoe and spit in his face and thus it shall be done And may we not come and tell our Saviour that his Brother Adam Dyed without Issue to God and that He only can Raise it up In Vs who are now Widows And That it is not only permitted but Commanded and our Duty Thus to plead with Christ in our addresses to him may be Farther Cleared from Solomon Not only Bidding us Say to Wisdom Thou art my Sister and to Vnderstanding Thou art my near Kinswoman But also to keep This Law as the choysest of All Lawes and As the Apple of our Eye the tenderest part of all the body And he plainly shews us This is the way to be kept from the Spirit of Error and Delusion His Deceitful Woman Thus to come to Christ and plead our Kindred and Relation to him For it is He only that is True Wisdom In whom are hid All Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge The Power and Wisdom of God and so described by Solomon also in divers places As in his 8. Chap. Where Wisdom shews its pedigree and Coming forth from Eternity And yet There also This Wisdom professeth that although He were With God and brought up with him and Daily His Delight Rejoycing alwayes before him Yet I rejoyced in the Habitable parts of his Earth and my Delight was with the Sons of Men. And not onely with Adam in Innocence but even After the Fall Till which we find no Sons of Men. But my Delight was with the Sons of Men. Now Therefore Hearken to me O ye Children Where he maketh His Delight in the Sons of Men the Ground of his Call and we still run away From all his Calls till we believe They Spring from His Delight In us or at least some Love To Vs. As we may see in the Very Prologue of the Law Which is All founded on This I am the Lord Thy God and Thy Redeemer Therefore Thou shalt have No Other Gods or Wayes of Worship but shalt Love my Name and keep my Sabbaths Because I am Thy God and have Loved thee which we may find the first and last of All or most Commands in all the Laws of Moses For God saw it strange or vain to aske Our Hearts or such Respect and Reverence as became a God Before he gave us His Heart and Owned himself to be Our God and to Love us Heartily For Who hath first Given or hath Lent to him that it might be paid or recompensed I dispute not here To Whom the Law was Given though we may believe him that tells us it was Given to the Worst of Sinners And how Else
For What in one place is a Brothers Ox or Asse In another is an Enemies and His that Hateth us and yet His Laden straying Asse must be Pitied and Helped Wilt thou Cease to Help him Or to leave thy Business for him as the Margent of our Bible Thou shalt surely Leave it to joyn with him and help him Exod. 23. 15. And although our Souls be as the Wild Asses Colts yet we may plead This Law also with our Saviour Though they be the Asses of his Enemies and them that Hate him Yet in straying or being Laden He will keep This Law and surely Joyn to Help them And to This he might allude when he sent his Disciples to loose the Asse Tyed in the Broad way where 2 wayes met and then came Meek and Lowly As the King of Zion upon an Asse the Foal of an Asse And the paralel place in Deut. speaking of a Brothers or a Strangers Ox or Asse by That Occasion giveth a General Rule of All things that are Lost In like manner shalt thou do with his Asse and so shalt thou do with his Rayment and with All Lost things Thou mayest not Hide thy self A very sweet Law and much to be pressed on our Saviour when we fear our Souls Most Lost As they may be most in them that are Least sensible Doth he not say he came to seek and Saâ—e That which is Lost And so he clearly expresseth it diverse times In the Last Sheep Lost Groat and the Great Joy in Heaven at Finding Any lost Sinner And This is written in his Heart also both to the Lost Image of his Father and our Lost Souls and the Law saith Thou Mayest not plainly Mayest not Hide thyself from That which is Lâ—st And How doth God complain against the Evill Shephards that did not strengthen the Weak or heal the Sick oâ— bind up the Broken or bring home that which was Driven away or seck out That which was Lost But I will search and seek them out and I will bind up that which is Broken and I will strengthen that which is sick and I will bring home That which was Driven away and I will seek out that which is lost and I will set One Shepard over them which our Saviour also Took upon him for His Duty And Other sheep I have and them also I must bring in And whoever These were How many so ever or How few yet He plainly owneth Men as Sheep before Conversion In their Natural State of Wrath as wel as others And so Peter also speaketh of some before Conversion that they were As sheep going astray but Then returning to the Great Shepard of the Flock And Esay saith We Alâ— strayed As Lost sheep and the Lord made our Inicuities to meet upon Him And in divers Psalmes Al Nations and People of the Earth are Called in because they are His People and the sheep of his Flock and the sheep of His Hâ—nds And As a Sinner in a state of Sin may be a sheep so a wicked man is a Brother and Owned so in the Law that saith The Judge shall beat the Wicked Man deserving stripes and yet but 40 Least Thy Brother Though a Wicked man be Vile in Thine Eyes And Christ himself may allude to This when he speaketh of Many stripes to him that knew his Masters Will and yet but 40. For he is a Brother And the Great Law of Redemption Is but a Branch of Loving God and our Neighbour and of Seeking All that is Lost or ready to be Lost from God and His Vnder Tenants For you are Mine saith the Lord and Your Land is Mine You shall not sell or pawn or Alienate your selves or your land from me for Ever But There shall be a Redemption Either the Person himself or his next Kinsman that can shall Redeem him and his land Is there Any Kinsman Nearer then Christ that Can Redeem us Doth not This Law lie upon him also Dotb God indeed take care of Oxen Asses Bodies Lands and Houses of Clay And did he not take care of our Souls the Souls which He hath made as himself speaketh more Pretious then the World beside And This Redemption of Persons and Lands is but a shadow of Redeeming Souls and a â—ledge or Earnest hereof As we may see plainly by comparing Lev. 25 and 26. As the sum of the Law and Gospel also Which After Dreadful Threatnings Concludeth sweetly in the 44. vers Yet nevertheless For All This or That I will not cast them away neither will I abhor them to destroy them Vtterly or Break my Covenant with them Which is often pressed on God in the Psalms and Prophets Forsake me not Vtterly And Hast thou Vtterly rejected Zion And be not our Souls as Little our own and as Much the Lords as the Jews Bodies Lands and Houses were Yet These might not be Sold or Alicnate for Ever But There must be a Redemption Because they are the Lords and He will not part with His Right and careth he not that we sell our Selves to Sin or Sathan for Ever and hath he not provided a Redemption in This Case also and shall not the Lawful even the Lawful Captive be delivered Even when a Man hath Sold himself for nought as God expresseth And If none Either would or Could Redeem them Yet were All to go out at the Jubile Which was also but a Type of Christ our Great Redeemer and our Jubile Yea and in the mean time They must not be Ruled with Rigour which is often forbidden and complained of in the Pastors and Rulers in Ezekiel that They Ruled with Force and Rigour Which was so contrary to the Rule of God and Christ Who was told his People should be Free in the Day of his Power By the Beauties of Holinesse And he told his Disciples he had All Power in Heaven and Earth and Therefore They should Teach But not Compel or Command with Rigour Not as Lords over Gods Inheritance but Ensamples to the Flock And so our Ancestors told Austine in This Island That Religion Ought to be Free and not Compelled or Forced and the Apostles left it so and the Laws also To That Time As we read in Bede And Alfreds Will declares his subjects Free as his own Thoughts and following Kings were sworn to the Saxon Laws and Customs of our Ancestors And how much God was against Ruling with Rigour we may see by his forbidding to deliver up Any Slave that had run away from his Master which may be a great encouragement to run to Christ for the Law forbids him to deliver us back to Sin or Sathan or any hard Master And when God threatned Hard Masters unto Aegypt as they had been to Israel yet in That oppression he declareth they should Cry and be would hear for he is Gracious and would send a Saviour and a Great One and He shall Deliver Them and They shall Come to be a third with Israel and Assyria
and There Where it was said Loamâ—ni and Lorubama I will yet have Mercy on you and you shall be my People and I will be your God And in other places he saith he will have Mercy on the Whole House of Israel Though he had said I will not have Mercy on them Or I will not declare it for a Long or Vncertain Time Which is often called Ever or Never As the servant shall serve for Ever yet but Till the Jubilie and Moth shall Never Enter which another text limits by 10. Generations and Ruth was about the 10th from Lot As Boaz from Abraham Or at most I will not have is but I will not shew Mercy on them Or I will so Chasten As if I meant to shew No Mercy Thus Solomon bids a Father Chasten his Son and not spare or Pardon And Esay saith Forgive them not And He will not Forgive or not Acquit the Guilty Which is said of Job and of Gods Dearest Children several times in Jeremy with the very worst phrase ever used in the Law which is the Root or measure To the Worst in all the Bible And Christ doth demean himself To the World As if he did not Pray for them And yet he saith God sent him not to Condemn but to save the World And again I came not to Judge the World but to saâ—e the World And so he is called The Saviour of the World and That Lamb of God that beareth away the Sins of the World And God was in Christ Reconciling the VVorld to himself And He often speaketh of Gods Loving the World also As Moses in his Blessing Israel saith God loved the Nations or All Peoples also as the words import a Carrying in his Bosom but he hath a peculiar Chosen People who sit at his Feet and receive the Law at his Mâ—uth And these he Loveth with Delight and others with Pity And in That very Prayer also Christ seemeth to Act as at his Going to the Feast of Tabernacles â—ot Openly but as it were Secretly And so he prayeth for the World also That they may know God hath sent him and hath Loved His as he Loved Him And he Plainly saith that To know God and Christ is Life Eternall Which is yet promised to All and All shall Know my Name And himself remembers it written in the Prophets You shall All be Taught of God And All flesh shall see the Glory of God As it is in Esay with some of the Psalms but in others Thus All flesh shall praise him and All the Trees of the Forrest shall Clap hands and rejoyce and every Eye shall see his salvation As also the Gospel expresseth it For our Salvation is the Glory of God And he promised to Convince the World of Sin Righteousness and Judgment And When I am lifted up I will Draw All men unto me And he is gone up Above all Heavens To fill All things And when Paul received his Commission to the Gentiles It was to make All men see What is the fellowship of the Mistery which from the beginning of the VVorld was hid in God who Created All things by Jesus Christ That the Angels also might know by the Churches and of several Forms and Latitudes and yet by All and manifold Churches the Angels must Vouchsafe to Learn the manifold wisdom of God According to his Eternall purpose Which in 2. Epistles he declareth to be To gather together in One and to Reconcile All things to himself by Jesus Christ Whom we preach Warning Every Man and teaching Every Man in All Wisdom That we may present Every man Perfect in Christ Jesus Whereunto also I labour striving according to his working which worketh in me mightily For I would you knew what Great Agony I have For you and for them of Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh that their Hearts might be comforted being knit together in Love And when King Agrippa said Thou doest almost perswade me to be a Christian he replyed I would to God not only Thou but All that hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am except these bonds And I could wish my self Accursed For my Brethren and my Kinsmen in the flesh And to the Thessalonians he writeth thus Now the Lord make you to increase and abound in Love to one another and to All men even as we do towards you That so he may establish your hearts Vnblameable in Holiness As plainly shewing Their hearts would not be established in Holiness Without Abundant Love to All Men. And To Brotherly Kindness Add Love And when he requireth Prayers For All Men he plainly saith This was Good and Acceptable unto God our Saviour VVho would have All men to be saved and come to the Knowledg of the Truth VVho gave himself a Ransome For All to be Testified in Its Proper Seasons As the Words are For as Peter expresseth it He is not willing that Any should Perish but that All should come to Repentance And account the Long suffering of God to be Salvation As our beloved Brother Paul hath written to you As before Whence was All This Striving and Longing in Paul or Any other for the Salvation of All men but from His Spirit who promised to Draw All men to him and though we do not yet see it done we may Remember who also said we do not yet see All things Put under him which yet must be Nor may we think he offereth Any thing to Men but what he Heartily desireth they should take and enjoy For he bids us not to eat the bread of Him that hath an evill eye Saying Eat and Drink When his Heart is not so And he that hateth Hypocrisie so much in Others Sure will hate it more in himself and He that sweareth he hath no Pleasure in the Death of a Wicked man but that he Turn and Live is very Active also in the use of means to turn him and Reall in it Devising meanes that his Banshed also may not Perish but return to him And as It is Said He doth not afflict from his Heart so when ever he doth afflict or punish his Greatest Enemies As Moab Ammon Edom yet he doth it Weeping So his Heart doth mourn for Moab and his Bowels yearn and are Pained for him And his fugitives shall flee to Zoar As his Father Lot from Sodom And the Heifer of 3 year old may allude to the Covenant made with Lot and Abraham as the Turtle and the Pigeon in Gen 15. 9. As the Lot or Veile in Esay 25 To Gen. 13. 14. And he pitties Edoms Widows and Children As the Daughters of Zelophehad Though their Father Dyed in his Sin And so he Wept over Jerusalem And in Judgment still remembreth Mercy As his Throne is White and yet the World will run away And so we shall All except he stay and Turn us And as the Law requireth that the King even when he sate upon the
Babylon or Parts about it As Thera in Justine akin to Abraham And Cyrus Took Babylon about 1666 years After its first Building at 100 years After the Flood And Peleg was born 101 and His Name is Scattering as at Babel And to look Westward Creete is about 1600 Furlongs in length and 666 miles from Jerusalem Taken by Pompey As That by Metellus 66 years before our Saviour Eubaea So many Furlongs Round as Days in a Year And Athens Twice so many miles from Jerusalem Or from Canaan about 666. Rome was Built as many years After the First Olympiad As there be Hours in a Day and From the Flood as many years as Hours from Pentecost To the Doom of Both Temples A little before Hoseahs Captivity about 1666 from the Birth of Sem. As about so many Miles from the Tents of Sem or 1600 from Jerusalem And the Blood ran out from the City 1600 Furlongs And there was no place of Canaan so far from Jerusalem or Any of Ezypt much nearer But if it be for years from the First Christian Persecution and the Roman War at 65 1600 years are fully out at 1666. As at 1670 from the City Sackt Or 1695 from the Revelation About 95 by All the Antients but Epiphanius who placeth it sooner As before Thyatyra swallowed by Earthquake But it was soon Rebuilt again As by the Subscriptions of Divers Councels before Strabo and Ptolomy mention it with All the Rest But the Revelation hints an Hour of Darkness and Temptation which must come and Try the World immediately before the New Jerusalem of Those that Conquer in That Last Great assault As when the Foule Spirit was to be Cast out at our Saviours coming Down It Tore the Child most Sore and left him As Dead This Last and Great Hour of Temptation just before the New Jerusalem As Chap. 3. 10 11 12 may be That which afterwards is called The Slaying of the Witnesses Or Tearing and Leaving Them As Dead And some long since described it a Civill Death rather then Natural Or so at least That they be not Buried If Dead but their Carkases lye in the Streets of the City As the Hasidim or Puritans the very word of the Psalm cited in that famous account of the Asideans slain against the Publick Faith that All the People said There is no Truth or Righteousnesse in These that have broken the Covenant and Oath themselves made oâ— Took As both Books of the Machabes and Josephus of Nicanors Time at Purim 333 days from the Passover As Ester is in Heb near 666. Which might also be shadowed in the P Lambs Tied up 3 Days and an Half from the 10th To the midst of the 14th And then slain 3 Hours and Half before the Paschal Supper and 3 Days before the Lambs of the Congregation were Raised or Heaved up with the First Fruit Omer on the 3 d Day As Christ was raised on the 3 d Day And so about the 7th Month also Before the Great Feast of Tabernacles The Jews assert a General Judgement on the Dead of the year before And As the Paschal Lambs were Tyed up in the first month So was Israel in the 7th To a Solemn Fast and Expiation by Blood also Upon the 10th of the 7th And although it were commanded but for One Day Yet They used Fasting much for 3 or 4 Days together as Preparation To the Feast of Tabernacles But They were not slain as the P Lambs and Christians of the Primitive Times but only Lay in Sackcloath and Ashes As Rev 11th Retired or Hidden and Useless To the World but in Fasting and Praying or the Last Act of Their Prophesie Which was hinted before in the Seed Royal slain by Athaliah with Naboth and his Sons in Jezerel which is Prophets or Prophesy in the Seed of God By Jezabel To which the Revelation doth allude But They shall Rise again As we saw before in Joash or the Man Despairing Raised in the year of Release As an Emblem of some Greater Thing to follow Though he Then also Repayred the House of God but slew Zechariah between the Porch and Altar As if Cutting off the Lords Remembrance Hinted All things New and Forgetting Old and all that is past in Esay with the Revelation The First Witnesses were Lambs at Beershebah the next at Mispa and Gilead the Stones of Witness For Jacob and his 2 Wives as Emblems of the 2 Churches of Jews and Gentiles As Davids 2 Wives led Captive from Ziglag and detained 3 days and Then recovered As the 2 Spies of Jericho were Hidden for 3 days and Esters Fast of 3 Days Which was also the Time of Isaaks being Dead in his Fathers eyes and of Egyptian Darkness and of Preparation for the Law and again for Entring Canaan and spying Jericho And for years also Elijah prayed till it rained not for 3 years and Half Samariahs Seige was 3 full years and the Jewish Wars 3 years and Half The Famine for Saul was 3 years and Davids Pestilence 3 days As of Jonas in the Whale And of Jesus in the Grave As Lazarus 3 days and part of the 4th And Paul had 3 days Darkness at Damascus and we read of the 3 d day of his Storm Which ended not Till the 14th Day As the 14th Day for Passover and 14th year in Gen. 14. And the Crises of Jerusalem in the 14th of Amaziah the 14th of Hezekiah And Paul went up to Jerusalem in the 14th year And the 14th Hour of the Day brought up the morning Sacrifice and 14th from the Morn Evening Sacrifice Which may be called the Daily Witnesses At the Tabernacle of Witnesse the Ark of the Testimony and Altar of Witnesse As in Iosuab Iudges Ps Vnto which the Tribes of the Lord go up unto the Testimony of Israel And the Congregation hath an Hebrew Name akin to Witnesse And God calleth them His Witnesses in divers places as in Esay 43. and 44. As the Cloud of Witnesses in Hebrews 12. Yet some special Persons are Especial Witnesses in several Ages As Moses and Aaron Caleb and Josuah Barak and Deborah Lightning and Thunder Elijah and Elisha Zorobabel and Joshuah Nehemiah and Ezra the Helper and the Lords Comforter as Types of Jesus and the Comforter As From Jesus Christ the Faithful Witnesse and again Who is the Amen the Faithful and True Witnesse As in Esay You are my Witnesses and He whom I have Chosen And the Witnesses in Revelation times are Divers As he saw the Souls of them beheaded for the Witnesse of Iesus And the Angel saith I am thy fellow Servant and of the Prophets who have the Witnesse of Iesus And again The Witnesse of Iesus is the Spirit of Prophecy and All that had That Spirit are Witnesses Yet in comparison of others They are very Few and therefore called Two As the Lowest Number which the Law required for Witnesse And there may be Two more especial in the Latter Times also As the Outer Court
be more than Hivites that is Serpents flying from Joshua Though the Times agree with the Poets Penulus and other Remains of Hebrew Pillers or some flying from Canaan And their Brother Phoenix is the Great Man in Phaenicia Father to another Belus whence Sicheus Pigmaleon and the Famous Dido As perhaps also to the Red Sea or Phaeniciax that is Red and a kin to Erythrâ—â— Phinâ—us and Cepheus with his Daughter Saved from the Dragon by Perseus With Wings also For flying from These Dragons or Serpents and a Flood from the Dragons Mouth And the Phaenix Rising out of her Ashes and Odors may be an emblem of Him and Them that were by Death to Conquer Death and live beyond the Phaenix Which yet liveth 660 or 666 years The Jews give it 1000 as the only bird that did not taste the Forbidden Fruit As they speak on that of Job I shall dye in my Nest as the Phaenix In Herodotus or others though the Romans knew it not till after Christ or 66 of Augustus 666 from Josiah 1666 from the Flood or 5 times 666 from Creation Slain by a King of Egypt or Sodom where our Lord was slain When Jacob cursed Levies Cruelty He said Let not my Soul be in their Secret or in Sodam which in Hebrew is just 666. And Cheleem that makes them Men the Number of a Man 665. And God doth much forbid Chelaim their Mixing Seeds As they are caught in Chelaim which some translate the Stocks in Isa 42. And Chelaim is Michael Turned almost Backward Myster or Mystery an Hebrew word As Sithrah and Hester Hidden Making 666 As Thorus or Taurus in Hebrew 666 and so is Satur 666 Secret or Full and ready to vomit As he speaketh at his Making All things New In Laodicea As at drinking on the Cross It is finished Which was from Egypt as many years as there were Hours in the year before Pentecost or its Prep and from the first Pentecost in Canaan as many years as That was after Enoch And as Moses Face shining might represent our Saviours shining with Moses in the Transfig So might His Long stay in the Mount denote ours Saviours stay in Heaven while the Chief Levite or False Prophet makes a Golden Calf or Image of the Beast as Psalm 106. with Revelat. â—3 And Moses Last Coming from the Mount to make the Tabernacle at the Feast of Tabernacles might denote our Saviours Last coming to the Feast of Tabernacles yet to come And as 40 dayes Rain in the Flood did shew us so many years between the first Ark and the 2 d at Shilch As there be Hours in 40 dayes So there were as many years between the 2 d Ark and 2 d Temple As Hours in Moses 40 Dayes 960. And Moses Breaking the first Tables at his first 40 dayes might note their Breaking of the Law and their City Broken by the Caldees in the same month and season when he brake the Tables And the Renewing of Those by God might shadow both Their Renewall by Joshua Zorobbabel Ezra and Nehemiah And the Law renewed and written in our Hearts As put in the Ark and Mercy-Seat by our Saviour and His Making All things New As at the Tabernacles in the Revelation And the Feast of Tabernacles was After the Day of Pentecost or giving the Law to Moses 130 Dayes or 3120 Hours As there are 3120 years from Moses To 1666. which is from Christ As many years as from Creation to the Church Restored After the Flood As If His saying The Dayes of the Son of Man shall be as the Dayes of Noah did intimate as many years from his speaking That To his Coming There described As there were Years to Noahs Flood Which was at the first Hour of the 70th Day of the World Or at 1656 years As 1656 Hours come to the 70th Day ending at 1680 Hours And then He should come again before 1680 or at most about 1690. which is from His speaking As many years as the Flood was from Creation And his saying No man knew the Day and Hour of the End of the World may teach us to measure Times by Dayes and Hours also Which may be now better known since the Revelation And although there may be Hints of his Coming To the Great Feast of Tabernacles As he came and shewed himself In the Last and Great Day of Tabernacles John 7. yet i◠〈◊〉 be said that No man knoweth the End of the World with its Day or Hour For though there must be a New Heaven and a New Earth yet All the Works of God and in special The Earth shall abide for ever But the Meek shall inherit the Earth and Righteousness shall dwell in it Righteousness and Peace Wait on the Lord and he shall exalt thee To inherit the Earth And When the Wicked are cut off Thou shalt see it So that a man shall say Verily there is a Reward for the Righteous Verily there is a God that Judgeth in the Earth FINIS