apt to move from place to place to go yea readily to run circuite for the administration of justice But I will hang this aside you may look upon it when you please in Gods book I shall go no further then my text out of that I present you with this Shield or escouchion the whole devise a piece of Ezekiels Vision The field is a Marble colour because the appearance was by the Temple-wall the matter whereof was marble the charge a great wheel with twenty four spokes joyning together in one Nave and bound about with one ring and in the strake eyes in stead of nails the colour of the wheel a sea-green Verse 9. the appearance of the wheel was as the colour of a beril 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which was the colour of the sea The crest the head of a Cherub with the Wings and four faces the face of a Man the face of a Lion the face of an Ox and the face of an Eagle and over the crest above I dare not be so bold as to represent the Son of God sitting upon a throne but the name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 surrounded with glorious rayes and from that glory a beame of light darting down to the wheel and in it the word O Wheel By that which you have heard he that runs may reade the meaning For the Crest that also speaks to Magistrates the Cherub or Angell with wings minds them of a heavenly conversation that they should be winged and cheerfull in ministring justice and doing the whole will of God The four faces commends unto them four vertues requisite in Governours The face of a man wisdome the face of a Lion fortitude the face of an Ox patience and unwearied labour the face of an Eagle swiftnesse of motion and heavenly-mindednesse by these creatures God doth his great and wonderfull works And for the word O Wheel I hope you can reade that But I beseech you you I say whom God hath lifted up this day into the highest seat in this City I beseech you mark whence the voice doth come look upwards it comes from Jehova it is the God above that gives the word of command to the Magistrate Ever ever in all your proceedings look upward eye God hearken to his word of command what ever you do have a word from God stir not move not O Wheel except you have a word from the Throne of glory and when God cryeth to you stand not still but turn and be doing and if you walk according to this rule peace shal be upon you and mercy and upon the Israel of God The Lord hath honored you lay out your self to honour God be faithfull and then I promise you another O! an O of gratulation and exultation At the great day of retribution when the Son of God shall sit upon his Throne to judg the world and to give to every one according to his work Then shall the Lord say unto you O wheel thou hast turned very well thou hast done worthily in thy place Well done O thou good and faithfull servant thou hast been faithfull in a little I wil make thee ruler over much enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Oh Wheel thou didst turn painfully in my service Now rest and shine like the Berill stone for ever I was even about to stop here but let me remember my self one word more I beseech you and then I cease By wheels are chiefly meant reasonable creatures that 's apparent Then welbeloved Christians we are all wheels and then we must also al conceive that the Word is cryed to every one of us in particular from the Throne of glory O Wheel To thee and to me the Sonne of God cryes O Wheel turn turn God hath appointed to every one of us that are here in his presence a severall motion to one he hath appointed one work to another another work one wheel he placeth in the Church another in the Common-Wealth O let us all move in our severall Spheres according to the word of God Not only Magistrates those great wheels in their places but let us Ministers in the orb of the Church move diligently and faithfully Let us preach the Word be instant in season and out of season let us reprove rebuke and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine let us watch in all things endure asslictions do the work of true Evangelists and fulfill our Ministry The Lord cryes to us O Wheels Let all the people move in their severall orbs with all diligence it's cryed to the least wheel O Wheel turn turn turn do the work of God in thy place What-ever thy hand finâ—s to do do it with all thy might Let the Master do his duty in his sphere let the servant do his duty in his orb let the tradesman do his duty in his calling Let every one be ever turning rolling and acting in the duties of his generall and particular calling And let us not only do Gods work in our severall stations but let us do it with readinesse alacrity and cheerfulnesse Let 's be all round the sphericall bodies are most apt to turn lay a perfect round ball upon a plain and the least touch will make it roll O that with the Prophet I could hear the ratling of the wheels and the noise of the clapping of the wings of the living creatures which expresse their activity and zeale in the service of God And let us be constant in our motion like the wheels let us run on and not turn back till we have quite finished our course The living creatures move the Angels move the wheels move swiftly and shall we stand still To move us to this diligence and alacrity in the service of God it is enough that we remember we are wheels The Wheel as it must have a motion so it must of necessity have an end of motion God hath decreed just how long every wheel shall move that is from the day of our birth to the day of our death but how long that shall be or how short none knows but he that sits on the Throne of Glory and with the hand of his providence turns every wheel This is certain our motion still is neerer and neerer to the end what a deal of our motion is spent since we came together into this place James the Apostle calls the progress of our life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the wheel of nature our life runs upon wheels and none can stop them till our bodies roll into the grave It is but a very little while we have to move therefore let us hearken to the voyce of the Apostle Gal. 6. 10. While we have time and opportunity let us do good Hieroms translation reads my Text rotas istas vocavit volubiles the Lord called them swift-turning wheels let us turn swiftly for we have but a very little time to move This is it which Solomon presseth Eccles 12. in the first Verse
he exhorteth to early turning Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth his argument from the brevity and uncertainty of mans life the evil days will come shortly the Sun Moon and Starrs will be darkned the keepers of the house shall tremble and the strong men bow and the grinders cease man posteth to his long home shortly the golden bowl shall be broken and the pitcher shall be broken at the fountain and Verse 6. The Wheel shall be broken at the Cistera and what is the meaning of that I shall shortly tell you what I conceive not condemning other mens judgments The Stomack is the Cistern All the parts and members of the body are the wheel the blood that as judicious Physitians tell me keeps a constant circular motion in the body wheeling about continually whilest a man liveth as the wheel draweth water out of the well so the several parts and members of the body draw nourishment from the stomach which is conveyed by veins and arteries as by the rope and bucket the wheel is broken at the cistern when nature ceaâ—eth to do her offices and man dyeth Oh then dearly beloved Christians oh wheels let us turn speedily to the Lord our God! let us abound in the work of the Lord with all zeal and alacrity let us give all diligence to make our calling and election sure for we cannot tell how soon the pitcher shal be broken at the fountain and the wheel shal be broken at the cistern Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the Spirit unto GOD who gave it FINIS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 July 23. 1647. Eccles 12. 11 Et fâ—gam illum paxillum 2. Kings 19 2. Gen 41. 40. 45 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 et erit in solium gloriae Doctr. Zach. 10. 4. Princeps est sustentaculum subditorum et infirmorum Esa 9. 6. Fnlera seu fundamenta populi Esa 49. 22. 1 Sam. ii 5. 1 Pet. 2. 14. Vse 1. Corollaric Grave esse Exo. 18. 13. 18 Iudg. 9. 9 10 11 c. Vse 2. Vestimenta clavata The instruments of a foolish shepard Zach. 11. 15. Ezek. 34. 4. Fruges consumere naâ—i Ezek. 15. 2. 3. c. Ezek. 15. 6. 7. Vse 3 1 Pet. 2. 2. Act. 24. 26. Amos 5. 24. 2 Sam. 15. Deut 16 19. Levit. 19. 15. Psal 82. 3. 1 Sam. 2. 30. Exod. 18 21. Clavus capitatus Psal 2 10. 2 Chron. 5. 9. Psal 2. 10. 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Peter 2. 17. Rom. 13 7. Exod. 18. 17. 18. 1 Tim 〈…〉 1 Pet. 2. 13. Act 4 19 Act 5. 29. Anselm Epist li. 3. Epist 95. Psal 128. Zach. 8. 4. Psal 144 13. Psa 123. 13. 14. Ezra 9. 8. Ephes 4. 28 Doctr. Prov. 8. 15. 16. Applic. Ecclf. 12. 11. 2. Doctrine Hester 3. 1. Hester 7. 6. 1 Sam. 2 12. 34. 35. 1 Sam 2 35. 1 Chron. 29. 22. Prov 2. 22. 23. Dan. 4. 31. Vers 16. Vse 2. Vse 3. Vse 4. â—evel 2. 20. Judic â— 21. Doctr. 1 King 14 15. â— Sam. â— 10. Psal 104. 23 Psal 137. 3 4 Psal 122. 6. 7. 9. Applic. Gen. 8. 9. Psal 109. 5 â— Job 3â— 3 4. Mica 4. Rom 9. 4. Iâ—venal Satyr â— Gen. 41. 32. v. 1. c. r. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Jer. 18. 3. Esa 28. 27. 28. Lavat in loci Theod. Exod 14 25. Job 38. 11. Psal 37 23. Reason Gen. 1. Caelifer Atlas Cap. 1. 10. Mat. 10. 29 30 Plenus negotii Deus Ephes 1. 11. Vse 1 2 Sam 16 10 Vse 2. 2 Kings 6. 2 Kings 7. 6. Reasâ—â— Vse Observ 1 Sam. 30 3. Eccles 1. 4 Job 14 1 2. Vse 1. Dan. 4. 29. Vse 2. 1 Cor 7 29 30. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal 102 â—5 26 27. Augustine 3. Quest Answ Doctr. Vse 1. Ezek. 8. Vse 2. Dan. 5. 16. Luâ—◠〈…〉 1 King 22 27 Object Answ Jude 8. Mica 6 9. Prov. 15. 5. Indignandi Dolcndi Vocandi Optandi 1. Non volubiles Prov. 20. 26. 〈…〉 Sapientes Matth. 23. 15. 2 Tim. 3. 7. Observ Isa 42. 14. Ezek 2. 9 10 ☜ Ver. 2 3 7. Isa 66. 15 16. 2 Thes 1 8. Ezek 9 3. Ezek. 11. 23. Prov. 1. 24. 26. Nah. 3 2. Ezra 10. 2. 1. Jocl 2 12 13. 2. Prov 20 26. Psalm 82. 3. 1. 2. Mat. 5. ult 3. 1 Sam. 2. 30. 4. Josh 1. 5 7â— 5. Rev 2. 19. Gal â— 7. 6. 1 Sam. 10. 6. Esay 11. 2. 7. Ephes 4 3. See Num 11. 16 17. Gal 6 16. 2 Tim. 4. 2. Eccles 9 10. Cap. 3. 12. 13. I am 3
templi Go to Shebna the overseer of the temple that is say they the high-priest †Again from the 21. verse where it is said and I wil cloth him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle they conclude those garments to be the Vestments of the high priest according to that in the 20. of Num. v 28. And Moses stripped Aron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son But certainly if we go to the fountain this can never be made out that Shebna was high-Priest or any Priest of the second order For †In the 15. verse it 's only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 super domum not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 super domum dei Over the house there 's not so much as a hint that it should be over the house of God †Again v. 21. The robe and girdle were ensigns of authority and Magistracy Job mentions the girdle of Kings Baltheum regum dissolvit Job 12. 18. He looseth the bond or girdle of Kings and thus did Pharaoh to Joseph he arrayed him in royal robes and put a golden chain or girdle about him Gen. 41. 42. So here I wil cloth him with thy robe that is that robe which thou didst wear when thou wert the great manat Court †Yet further he was not capable of the office of Priest-hood They which received the office of Priest-hood were all of the Children of Levi but Shebna was of another stock not so much as a Jew but an Alian a stranger That is obliquely signifyed and intimated verse the 16. What hast thou here and whom hast thou here that thou hast hewed thee out a Sepulchre here c. which is as if he should have said what business hast thou in this Land what kindred Why shouldest thou take up thy rest to live and dye in the Lords land and to be buried in Jerusalem whereas thou art an Assyrian or of some other strange Country †To put all out of question There was another high priest at the very same time Azariah by name you shal read of him 2. Chron. 31. 13. He was ruler of the house of God that is by the consent of all interpreters the high priest and therefore Shebna what ever he were could not be the high priest What was he then Let 's gather up his titles of honor together and by that time we have done we shal understand his place certainlâ—y In the 15. verse he is called first the treasurer and then Shebna Who is over the house that is over the Kings house In the 37. Chapter of this Prophesy verse the 2. and often other-where in scripture he is stiled the Scribe not an ordinary or Common Scribe or notary but such an one as we call a Chancellor or Secretary This is then the sum of all Shebna was at that time the great favorite of the King he had all the chief offices the highest honors and dignitys of the Kingdom conferred upon him He was Lord treasurer he was ruler Governor Controller of the Kings house he was the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of state In a word he was the chief in Court and Kingdom and under the King Lord President of the whole Country just as Joseph was under Pharaoh Thou shalt says the King be over my house and according to thy word shal all my people be ruled only in the throne wil I be greater then thou Thus was Shebna Him God deposed and put Eliakim into his place into the very same favour dignity honor Authority and Magistracy The LXX renders it thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Constituam cum principem I wil make him a great Prince in Juda Eliakim is fastned as a nail namely in the highest place of the Kingdom And that In a sure place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in loco fideli The word is derived from truth q. d. in a true and faithful place that is in a firm stable permanent condition for where truth is there is certainty and stability And here is an Antithesis or opposition 'twixt Shebna and Eliakim Shebna was as a nail but in a hollow unsound or rotten wall and therefore shal fall out he shal come down from his eminency But as for this Eliakim saith the Lord I wil six him in a solid wall a sound post or strong pillar out of which he cannot fall nor be pluck'd out that is plainly I wil so confirm and establish him in his place that he shal never be deposed as Shebna was but he shal stand sure and immovable And he shal be for a glorious throne to his fathers house A throne is a Kings seat full of Majesty and glory He shal be for a throne that is for a glorious ornament to the King to the Kingdom and to his own stock and family He shal do worthily in Juda and so carry himself in his place authority and Magistracy he shal so administer as shal be for the honor of the King the glory and prosperity of the whole Kingdom and for the preferment of his fathers house he shal advance his kindred and make his whole family famous and renowned For the meaning this may suffice Now in the 2. place I am to give you the sum and substance of all in one general proposition Good and faithful Magistrates are nails fasten'd in the walls of Gods house in the Church and Common-wealth So are they called Ezra 9. 8. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place What nail the Princes and the Priests that were left a remnant of Godly Magistrates and Ministers The very same expression you have in the Prophet Zechariah Chap. the 10. the 3. and 4. verses Where God promiseth to visit his flock the house of Judah and to give them all things that may make them safe and happy The words run thus Out of him came forth the corner out of him the nail out of him the battel-bow and out of him every appointer of tribute also The corner i. the supream the King the chief Governor who is like a foundation and corner-stone to bear and couple the building The nail i. Princes Magistrates Governors faithful Counselors such as are in authority under the King The battel-bow i. e. Commanders Captains Souldiers Ammunition and all things fit and necessary for a warlike and potent people The appointer of tribute i. e. Officers to impose exact and collect tribute of all those forraign nations which they shal conquer Shortly they shal have all things to make them a blessed and flourishing people and as a principall thing they shal have the nail viz. a good Magistrate Reason But why are Magistrates called nails Not properly but by way of similitude they are tanquam as nails very like nails and that in regard of their end and use A nail peg or pin is fastned in the wall
not see one good nail fastned not one sound and painful preacher and be earnest with God to pul to pluck out and to throw down all rotten and useless nails and to put and fasten good and able right and straight substantial and serviceable ones in their room We have seen who fastens the Nail proceed we to the 2 Particular and let 's look upon the nail that 's fastned What nail is it Or rather who is it For it 's a living nail It is a man and a good man Eliakim that 's his name He was the servant of the Lord that 's his goodness And he it is that the Lord fastens in a sure place And here the Doctrine wil teach us what kind of nails they be which God fastens namely good nails and none else God establisheth only good men in high places of Authority A base rotten nail may be driven into a wall and stand a while but not long The Lord plucks wicked men out of their places and preferrs his faithful servants into their room He puts down the mighty that is the proud and wicked great ones of the world he puts them down from their seats and exalteth them of low degree the humble and Godly ones Luk. 1. 52. Haman was promoted by the King advanced as a nail into a high place his seat was above all the Princes but he was a rotten and scragged nail tearing the people of God 't was wicked Haman But the Lord soon plucked him out of his seat threw him down and fasten'd good Mordecai in his room Hophni and Phinehas the young Priests they were sons of Belial they were exceeding wicked and knew not the Lord and what saith the Lord concerning them They shal be deposed from their office of Priesthood in one day they shal dye both of them Yea both of them and Eli their father and pluck'd out in one day And saith the Lord I wil raise me up a faithful Priest that shal do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind and I wil build him a sure house and he shal walk before mine anointed for ever Old Eli was pluck'd out as a rusty nail and Zadok annointed high-priest in his room God wil establish only good good men in their places This point must not pass without some application and it may be various 1. For our instruction we may observe what shal be the end of good and evil Magistrates and of all in eminent places Princes and Rulers the great men of the earth Prophets and ministers of the Gospel What shal their end be Solomon wil tel you Such as walk in the way of good men and keep the paths of the righteous shal dwel in the land they shal stand as a nail in a sure place But the wicked be they never so great shal be cut of from the earth and the transgressors shal be rooted out off it Yes this is an undoubted truth the wicked though they be placed never so high and seem to stand so fast that they can never be moved yet the Lord wil pluck them out at the last and put better in their room In the eye of the world who could be faster rivetted in his high place then Shebna He was the great favorite at Court he had in his hand all the chief Offices the highest Honours and dignities of the Kingdome as you have seen before he did flow in wealth and greatnesse there was none above him in the Kingdom save only he that sate upon the Throne A grand Polititian he was which some of the learned in the holy tongue have gathered from one of his titles verse 15. Go get thee 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad the sauraâ—ium unto this Treasurer so it 's commonly turned but the word seems to signifie another thing It comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies fovere vel calefacere to warm cherish and to favour And then thus we must reade it Go get thee to this favourer Shebna that is to him that cunningly doth favour and cherish all parties I hinted you a while ago that some thought Shebna to be the High Priest I have disputed the point once and I wil meddle with it no more but I am sure he had the very tricks of our High-priests now adayes For as I have it from good Authors he kept in with all sides Being favorite to Hezekiah King of Juda he did seem to favour the King he did flatter and fawne and use all his skill to warm the Kings affection and cherish his good opinion and every way to endear him Also as an Arch-traytor most perfidious to his good Master he held fair correspondency with Sennacherib King of Assyria Hezekiahs enemy He was a Pentioner to the King of Assyria he was his Intelligencer he held a secret league and confederacy with him and was by compact engaged unto Sennacherib to betray the King his Master and the City Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Juda into his hands whensoever he came with his mighty host And thus by his craft and policy he thought to secure himselfe against all events come what would come prevaile who would prevaile he would stand sure if Hezekiah prevailed against Sennacherib then Shebna was well enough he was the Kings favorite if Sennacherib prevailed against Hezekiah yet Shebna would do well enough for he was also the King of Assrria's servant and did secretly make way for him to invade and conquer And now the proud ambitious Traytor growes to a height of confidence he thinks he stands as a nayl that cannot be stirred nor plucked out of his place And in this presumptuous confidence he erects a stately monument for himself in Jerusalem as you may reade vers 16. He hews himself out a Sepulchre on high and grave 's a habitation for himself in a rock Hee concludes his owne safety that if Hezekiah prosper he is his Favorite to his dying day if Sennacherib conquer he shal be his Deputy or Viceroy as long as he lives And at last that he shal dye with honour at Jerusalem and all his pomp follow him and his name be famous to all generations being written in marble and brasse upon his Sepulchre Thus thus silly man he flatters himself But now observe the end As it was with proud Nebuchadnezzar glorying in his great Babel while the word was in his mouth the Voice fell from heaven saying The Kingdom is departed from thee So commeth the word of the Lord to Shebna What hast thou here and whom hast thou here Why dost thou think thy self fastened here as a nayl that cannot be removed But that thou shalt live here and dye here and lay thy bones here Behold the Lord will pluck thee out and carry thee away with a mighty captivity He will surely violently turn and tosse thee like a ball into a large country there shalt thou dye and there the chariots of thy
wonderful greatness the height of their rings the swiftness of their motion the brightness of their colour and the multitude of their eyes This was the vision but what was the signification That 's the material question In general this was to set forth the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. But more particularly The man sitting above upon the throne is the Lord Jesus Christ The living creatures or Cherubins they are Angels good Angels which are immediatly under the Command of Christ But the wheels at the feet of the Cherubins what are they A wheel is instrumentum volubile a round turning instrument there are divers sorts of wheels chariot-wheels clock-wheels bel-wheels mil-wheels and many others which perhaps we shal meet withal by and by The wheels that appeared to Ezekiel are thought to be chariot-wheels The general conceipt is that he saw a compleat chariot and that the living creatures were the drawers and movers and the man on the throne the guider of it and the word Synechdochical rota proâ—â—â—â—u the wheel for the whole Chariot The wheel is an instrument of very great and frequent use Many works are done by the turning of the wheel The Chariot Coach and Cart are carried on their way by wheels The husbandman plows and thresheth and grindeth beats out his corn with wheels The huswife spins her thrid upon the wheel and the work of justice as we shal hear more afterward is done by the wheel A wise King scattereth the wicked and bringeth the wheel over them Prov. 20. 26. And by this time it is not hard to find out what is meant by the wheels namely all instruments and second causes by which God useth to work in the dispensation of his providence The glorious Angels first even they themselves are Gods great wheels Then the round celestial orbs and lights which are continually wheeling about next the lower world the elements and all creatures in the aire earth and wide sea But especially we are to understand by the wheels reasonable creatures as Kingdoms Common-wealths Citys Churches which are societies of men Kings Princes Magistrates chief Captains Armies Ministers preachers of the Gospel and all people in their several places who ever hath any employment under God is a wheel in the chariot of his providence These are the wheels Now it was cryed unto them From the throne above The Lord Jehovah that sate aloft upon the glorious throne he Cryed that is aloud earnestly with a mighty voice he called to them O Wheel not simply 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wheel but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oh Wheel This is demonstrative and points to some special wheel Though the voice be generally cryed to all the wheels to every creature in heaven and earth as if the son of God should say O World Yet here we must conceive that it is directed in an especial manner to Jerusalem and her wheels to the princes priests and Commons which were left there and were not carried into Babylon with the rest of the Captives For this vision was shew'd to the Prophet for Jerusalems sake to signify to him what was shortly to come to pass in the City and it is as if the man upon the throne had said O Jerusalem O This O! is an adverb or interjection of calling God calls to all the wheels and crys O Wheel This is a word of Authority and Command by which the Lord either drives the wheels on excites them to do something impâ—ratum fuit ipsis ut volverentur converterentur he spake to them to roul and turn about he gave them some commands which here are not expressed Or else it 's a word of countermand and he checks them for some irregular motions and it is as if the son of God should say O Wheell stop turn your course the right way obey In a word this is the word of Gods power whereby the world and all the creatures in it all second causes and all persons are over-awed and their motions determined You have the sence of the text next I l'e give you the general doctrin It is concerning the general and particular providence of God The voice of him that sits on the throne commands and over-aws all the wheels So universal and so particular is the providence of God that it governs and rules all things in heaven and earth The powerful providence of God doth dispose all second causes as he pleaseth and orders all creatures in the world and all motions in the world according to the counsell of his own will if the Lord do but cry O wheel all the wheels are at his beck and turn as he bids them There 's not the least motion of a Chariot wheel but the Lord appoints it This appears by Pharaohs Chariot wheels The Lord took off their Chariot wheels that they drave them heavily He had said before O wheel carry Pharaoh into the midst of the Sea now he gives them a check and cry's to them O wheel fly off from your axletrees and as the word comes from God so do the wheels move and turn Behold the power of God's word and how his voyce commands all things Psalm 29. vers 3. The voice of the Lord commands it to thunder or not to thunder the voice of the Lord commandeth the waters to ebbe or flow to be rugged or calme Vers 5. The voice of the Lord commands the Cedars he bids them grow and they come up again he speaks but to them and they are broken down also when he pleaseth he makes them skip like a Calfe or like a young Unicorn Vers 7. The voice of the Lord commands the fire he sayes to the watry cloud divide and it breaks in sunder and the lightning darts forth and scattereth it self through-out our Haemisphere in the twinkling of an eye Vers 6. and 8. The voice of the Lord commands Lebanon and Cadesh at his word the mountains daunce and the wildernesse tremble Vers 9. The voice of the Lord commands the wild beasts of the forrests he speaks to the Hinds and they Calve again he sayes the word and they are barren In the Forrest a leaf falls not from a tree the woods are not made bare without his word Vers 10. The Lord sits upon the floud yea the Lord sitteth King for ever his voice commands the sea he saith to it hitherto shalt thou come and no further and here shalt thou stop thy proud waves Yea the voice of the Lord commands the sons of men and they move according to his word For in him we live and move Act. 17. 28. He orders all our steps and goings Prov. 20. 24. But what may be the reason or ground of this That the voice of the Lord should thus command and over-aw all the wheel's Yes good reason What hand should turn the wheel but the same that made it By the voice of the Lord all creatures were made
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them Psal 33. 6. He did but say Let there be light and there was light He did but say Let there be a firmament let there be sea and dry land let there be grasse and trees in the earth and lights in the heaven and fishes in the sea and immediatly it was done it was so Yet further his voice did not only command these wheels to be made the same word also preserves them maintains them in being He upholds all things by the word of his power Hebr. 1. 3. God made all creatures therefore of right he may dispose of them and order all their motions as he pleaseth He is the great Atlas bears up heaven and earth and all things upon the strong shoulders of his providence and therefore he hath power to move all things as he listeth He that bears a burden upon his back may carry it whither he will The cunning Artificer who makes a clock or curious pocket-watch he also disposeth and ordereth every wheel in what place it shall be what motion it shall have how long it shall go So the Almighty and infinitely wise God he made the wheel's and turns the wheels he made the greatest and the least creatures and he causeth and over-ruleth the greatest and the least motions To give you the whole doctrine in one Embleme Ezekiel was an Aenigmaticall Prophet and me thinks he gives us that which was first shewed to him in a vision the most elegant and significant Hieroglyphick of Divine providence that can be found out in the whole world it is a Chariot A Chariot commonly is drawn by four horses by them at their feet are four wheels above a seat wherein the man sits who guides the engin he with his reins and whip and voice commands the beasts the wheels the whole Chariot and all things in it and they are moved and turned as he pleaseth Such is the Chariot of Providence God sits in the seat even above in heaven upon his glorious Throne and by his word and power commands guides and moves all inferiour things Next under God are the living creatures the Angels they are ministring spirits immediatly moved by him that sits upon the Throne The Angels they move the wheels God governs inferiour things by the ministry of Angels There are four living creatures and four faces and foure wheels to represent the foure corners of the earth The summe of all is this in one word The providence of God doth rule and commaud in all the four quarters of the world God hath wheels every where and he turns them all by his word of command O wheel You have the generall doctrine To make some use of it And here I might be large and apply it variously I might first for our instruction gather this Corollary That there is no Contingency in the world nothing fals out by chance Not a wheel stirs but it 's moved by Gods hand Not a Sparrow fals to the ground nor a haire from our heads without your Father Not an ax-head flies off from the helve but it 's thrown and directed by God's hand Indeed in regard of us and in relation to second causes things may seem chanceable and contingent because something fals out that was not like to happen at all or else the thing was like to fall out quite otherwise then it doth we being ignorant of the causes of such casualties But in regard of God nothing is contingent he is the first and supream cause the universall provisor and moderator sitting on his Throne as a Judge and a King taking notice and taking care of the least things of the smallest wheels in the Chariot in respect of him all things are necessary He worketh all things according to the counsell of his will Yet again I might apply it by way of reprehension and give a check to the heathenish language of many Christians that speak Luck and Chance as familiarly as Heathens use to do and attribute all things to Fortune This was my fortune this was my luck What are these but Atheists and such as deny Providence The iniquity of the house of Israel is exceeding great and the City full of perversenesse saith the Lord because they say the Lord hath forsaken the earth and the Lord seeth not The eye of his providence is not abroad the wheels move by chance Oh that such would be humbled for their sin Augustin writ Retractations and the very first thing he corrects in himself and bewail's is that ever he did use the word Chance or the name of Fortune But I let pass these And I wil apply the doctrine only as St. Paul teacheth me Rom. 15. 4. Whatsoever things were written were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope So whatsoever hath been spoken it hath therefore been spoken That you might have Patience Comfort And so hope The first use is of Exhortation and here I am to perswade you to patience Is every wheel turned by the voice of the son of God No motion but by his appointment Learn then willing submission and cheerful contentation in all conditions What do not the wheels move to thy liking Art thou displeased at the motion of the King Or at the motion of the Parliament or at the motion of the Army those are the three great wheels of the Kingdom Bestil they move as God bids them it was said unto them in my hearing O Wheel The Kings heart the Parliaments heart the Armies heart are all in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water and he turns them whethersoever he wil. Prov. 21. 1. Whatever hath been or whatever shal be hereafter peace or war order or confusion safety or ruin what shal we say It is the Lord hath spoken and he himself hath done it Esa 38. 15. To descend to lesser wheels do not things go with thee according to thy desire I wil make thee the living creature and thou hast thy wheels about thee how do they move Thy yoke-fellow thy children thy dearest friends thou wouldest have these sweetly to move with thee in a perpetual communion but God turns them another way they roul out of thy house and society into the grave and for this thou dost mourn and art discontented As for the world thou would'st have it run in upon thee upon wheels but God turns it another way and it runs away from thee upon wheels yea faster it flies away Riches certainly make themselves wings they flee away as an Eagle towards heaven Pro. 23. 5. thou growest into decay and poor and hereupon thou art troubled and discontented The tongues of people thou wouldest have them move rightly and speak the truth yea speak wel of thee but the Malignant tongues of the world run upon wheels of fire and clamour against thee prate to thy disgrace invent
slanders report vile things of thee and hereupon thou art vexed and discontented And what 's the reason of all this impatience Thou lookest only at second causes and dost not consider that the voice of the Lord over-rules and sets all the wheels on work It was said in my hearing O Wheel There is not the least motion of the least wheel without his special providence Shemei curseth because God bids him curse Be therefore patient in all changes in all conditions under all afflictions murmure not repine not object not against the dispensations of Gods wise providence but ever resolve with David to be dumbe not to open thy mouth because the Lord it is that doth it Psal 39. 9. Again secondly this may be applyed for the comfort of Jerusalem for the consolation of the Church and people of God and that many ways 1. In the times of confusion as it is with us this day The Chariot-wheels of our Kingdom move strangely and dreadfully how are they hurried up and down backward and forward hither and thither and we are all in a maze we know not what to think of things nor what to do nor whether to turn us all is like to be overthrown and broken and turned topsy-turvy Truly we can see nothing by the wheeling of things but ruin of all of Religion and Laws and utter desolation of the whole Land But here 's our comfort it 's not a young rash Phaeton that sits in the coach-box who wants both skil and power to guide his fathers fiery steeds No No it 's the Ancient of days that sits in the seat of glory he commands the living creatures to draw the wheels which way he pleaseth and that by his only word and after all the wheelings and crooked turnings of his providence he knows the way to bring about a happy peace and settlement in this Church and Kingdom which the Lord of his mercy grant O thou son of God that sittest between the Cherubins drive on drive on by thy wisdom and power to thine own glory and the comfort of thy poor dejected people 2. Again doth the voice of the Lord command all wheels This then may comfort the Church and people of God against all potent enemys Indeed the enemys of Jerusalem are commonly many and mighty such as were the Babylonians and Assyrians these were the great high and terrible wheels which God was now bringing over Jerusalem to break it in pieces they were now coming upon the City the ratling of the wheels was heard and they could not but come for it was cryed unto them from the Lord O Wheel come and execute the fury of my wrath upon Jerusalem Now the same powerful voice can give the wheels a check and call them back again this is the Churches comfort Saul pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon he and his numerous Army turned upon him as a dreadful wheel and wheeled about the mountain to have crushed him in pieces but when he was in his swiftest motion it was cryed unto him from the Lord O Wheel O Saul come back There came a messenger unto Saul saying haste thee and come for the Philistins have invaded the Land So Saul returned from pursuing after David here the wheel was drawn off Let the wheels run on never so furiously if God do but cry to them they must come back if he cry to the wind peace it ceaseth and if he say to the raging sea be stil there 's presently a great calm Marc. 4. 39. It is not hard for him to curb and call in his creatures Saul was a bloody persecutor a restless wheel running over the faithful servants of God Act. 9. but v. 4. he had a check it was cryed unto him from the son of God Saul Saul why persecutest thou me You have seen Princes Prelates Potentates moving fiercely against the Church but the Lord in our hearing and sight hath given them a check and cryed unto them O Wheel go no further and they have stood stil or gone back The wheels come not towards us by blind chance but upon Gods call they move not a hairs breadth further then God bids them and when hepleaseth he calls them back by the word of his mouth this is the Churches comfort 3. And yet here 's a further comfort to Jerusalem Doth the voice of the Lord command all wheels Then let not the Church and people of God be troubled when they are at a low ebb when their dangers are great their enemies many and mighty and all succour fails and there 's none to help them when they are without all strength let them not dispair God sits upon the throne and commands the wheels he can call in help from unexpected places In the 2. book of the Kings chap. the 6. God calls for a great wheel even Benhadad King of Syria with his mighty host to break Samaria and Samaria was brought into great straits a potent enemy without and a grievous famine within and no help appeared all seemed desperate but Chap. 7. upon the prophets intercession as I conceive the Lord called in wheels to their help on earth all help failed therefore the Lord relieves them from above for he made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise in the aire of Chariot wheels and a noise of horses even the noise of a great host and these imaginary wheels in the heaven which the voice of God called in to the rescue of Samaria discomfited the Syrians put them all to flight they ran away as fast as they could and now there is plenty peace and joy in the City Thus the mighty Jehovah that sits above upon the throne can bring order into the Church out of confusion he can make the most formidable enemies of the Church to go back yea to fall backwards he can call in help to his Church when they are at their wits end and all by the word of his mouth Here is Jerusalems comfort I have done with the general Doctrine Now in the 3. place I return to the parts of my text to handle them I purpose to search and examine every particular and I doubt not but we shal find something as we go that may be useful You may remember the parts were three 1. The word cryed 2. To whom the word was cryed 3. The witness in whose presence the word was cryed Of these strictly and in their order The Lord be with us 1. The word cryed O Wheel in the singular number mark that The prophet speaks in the plural as of many As for the wheels says he but the man upon the throne crys out in the singular as if there were but one wheel in all What 's the reason of this It is because the wheels though they be many and their motions different yea contrary yet all move to one and the same end they all joyn as one in bringing about Gods work In mans eye there are many an
the Psalmist O my God! of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of thy hands They shal perish but thou shalt endure yea all of them shal wax old like a garment as a vesture shalt thou change them and they shal be changed But thou art the same and thy years shal have no end The earth is round like a tennis-ball and the creatures in and upon the earth are voluble as wheels and all things under the Zodiaque Variable and transitory the refore aspire higher Pant after God make him the portion of your inheritance and dwel in him Say unto the Lord Fecisti nos Domine ad te inquietum est cor nostrum donec quiescat in te Thou Oh Lord hast created us to thy self and our heart is restless til it rests in thy self Fix not here but mount your thoughts upwards towards the new-Jerusalem the City that hath foundations where there is no volubility nor vanity Though you be on earth yet dwel in heaven above the spheres above the way of the year and the sun and all these lower turning wheels Rest your souls upon the unchangeable God! I have done with the 2. part and particular The third and last part of the text follows viz. the witness in whose presence the word was cryed In my hearing The question is why should the son of God cry this word O Wheel in the Prophets hearing For the more ful answer to this demand I wil first give you the Original Hebrew that wil make the business something more clear It was cryed unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in auribus meis in mine eare To speak in ones eare is more then to speak in ones hearing A word may be spoken in a mans hearing that concerns him not at all but no man directs his speech into the eare of another but we conclude presently it was a speech of some special concernment to him that was rounded in the eare You know it 's our common expression I wil speak a thing in your eare by and by that is some word that more neerly concerns you then others So then this word was not only spoken in Ezekiels hearing but the Prophet was neerly concerned in it And now in a word I wil shew you the reason why God spake this word in the prophets eare You have the reason chapt 3. v. 17. Son of man I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me The Observation is clear What God speaks in the eare of his prophets the prophets must speak in the eares of the people Most likely God did not speak immediatly to the wheels but God spake to the Prophet that he might speak to the wheels in Gods name and every word which Gods messengers receive from the Lord they must shew it unto the people clearly and faithfully Whether it be a word of command the Prophet must shew the whole wil of God unto the people So Exod. 19. 9. when God gave the Commandments on mount Sinai the Lord said unto Moses Lo I come to thee in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with thee and beleeve thee for ever Or if it be a word of promise of grace and mercy the Prophet of the Lord must prononnce the favour and good wil of God Ezek. 9. 4. The Lord said to the man clothed with linnen go through the midst of the City even of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof and in the first verse this was cryed in mine eares with a loud voice saith the Prophet why That he might comfort the mourners with these words Or if it be a word of reproof and threatning of cursing from mount Ebal the Prophet of the Lord must denounce it unto the people in the 9. of Ezek. v. 5. The Lord said to the executioners of his justice and wrath who had the slaughter-weapons in their hands go through the City and smite let not your eye spare neither pity and says the Prophet this was said in my hearing why that so he might warn the people And this chiefly is intended in this text and Chapter a word of reproof and threatning to Jerusalem The vision concerns Jerusalem Jerusalem had sinned grievously and the Lord was now about to depart from Jerusalem but before he goeth quite away he cryeth aloud in the Prophets hearing O Wheel thou movest disorderly destruction is coming upon thee and now the Prophet hearing this must reprove the City and admonish them of their danger Cry aloud says the Lord spare not lift up thy voice like a trumpet and shew my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins Esa 58. 1. The Lord cryed in the eare of Elijah the Tishbite 1. King 21. 17. it was a word of threatning and the Prophet went immediatly and thundred it in the eares of King Ahab Thus saith the Lord hast thou killed and also gotten possession Thus saith the Lord in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shal dogs lick even thy blood also The Lord speaks in the eare of Nathan and he thunders in the eares of David 2 Sam. 12. The Prophets of the Lord must cry boldly to the greatest and most dreadful wheels they must reprove and threaten and not spare if the Lord speak in our hearing we must cry it in their ears To make some application of this And first of all to you that are Gods Prophets and Ministers be faithful and bold Doth God cry any word in your hearing Keep it not back from the wheels shew it unto the people That which the Lord hath set down in the holy Scriptures he hath spoken in our hearing He takes us as witnesses to what he speaks and we must depose and testify for God before all men before all the world When God gives a word of command in our hearing we must exhort when God holds forth a promise in our hearing we must comfort and when God hath a controversy with a people in our hearing we must rebuke sharply and shew the people their danger Opposition we must look for Behold I send thee saith the Lord to Ezekiel and to us also as wel as to him I send thee to a rebellious nation they wil not hear I send thee among briers and thornes and scorpions But whether they wil hear or whether they wil forbear Son of man be not afraid of them neither he afraid of their words neither be dismayed at their looks Thou shalt speak my words to them whether they wil hear or whether they wil forbear Behold I have made thy face strong against their faces and thy forehead strong against their foreheads Chap. 3. 8. 9. As an Adamant harder then flint have I made
tell me I pray doth the reproving the faults and negligences of Magistrates strike at the root of Magistracy Is that the way to bring it into contempt No no this is the way to establish Magistracy and make it glorious As for the wheels of our curious clocks and watches is it a prejudice to them to be filed when they are rusty to be scoured when they are foule to be oyled when they turn too sluggishly You are convinced I dare say that all this is for the good of the wheels to make them shine more bright move more nimbly and do their office more faithfully The application is easie I leave it to your selves I shall draw to a conclusion of this point As for the wheels be they little wheels or be they great wheels be they high or be they low be they rich or be they poore whatsoever is spoken from God in our hearing concerning them we must cry it again in their eares if we that are set as watch-men see their sin and danger and for feare or flattery shall forbear to warn them how dreadfull is our doom Thus saith the Lord Ezek. 3. 17. Son of man I have made thee a watch-man unto the house of Israel therefore hear the Word at my mouth and give them warning from me vers 18. When I say to the wicked thou shalt surely dye and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life the same wicked man shal dye in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand vers 19. Yet if thou warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickednesse nor from his wicked way he shal dye in his iniquity but thou hast delivered thine own soul This for us Ministers that shrink from our duty Now hear O you wheels great and smal you that kick at reproof and hate him that shal search and dress your sores and count those the only brave preachers that speak roses and their lips like the whorish womans drop as an hony-comb A word for you Read Esa 30. 8. Now go write it before them in a table and note it in a book that it may be fore the time to come and for ever 9. That this is a rebellious people lying Children Children that wil not hear the Law of the Lord. Why what 's their special wickedness Mark v. 10. They say to the Seer's see not and to the Prophets prophesy not unto us right things speak unto us smooth things prophesy deceipts 11. Get you out of the way oh you reproving preachers cause the holy one of Israel to cease molesting us with such bold reprehenders But now take in what follows the punishment 12. Wherefore thus saith the holy one of Israel because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perversness and stay thereon 13. Therefore this iniquity shal be to you as a breach ready to fall swelling out in a high wall whose breaking cometh suddainly and in an instant 14. And he shal break it as the breaking of a potters vessel that is broken in pieces he shal not spare so that there shal not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth or to take water withall out of the pit Behold ye despisers and wonder and vanish away the contempt of the word spoken of by the Prophet is the contempt of him that sits on the throne He that despiseth you says our Lord Jesus Christ despiseth me Luke 10. 16. It is the See'rs duty to cry and to cry earnestly to cry with an O O O! unto all the wheels and wo be to us if we cry not That which we cry is nothing else but what was spoken in our hearing from the throne of glory It is the Lords voice that cryeth unto the City and the man of wisdom wil hear the rod and who hath appointed it that is he will humbly and patiently hear the Prophets of the Lord when they cry as wel as when they sing when they reprove as wel as when they comfort when they preach the Law as wel as when they publish the Gospel he wil hearken to the doctrine that shews him his sins and threatens the rod but he that despiseth instruction and reproof is a fool THE APPLICATION Hitherto Wel-beloved Christians you have had the Exposition of the text the general doctrine and particular observations which grow out of the text and all the way I have shewed you the Uses what to do with those doctrines and observations that they may be rendred profitable Now one thing yet remains and that is to make Application to bring it home to the present time and occasion to the place and persons It 's true this word O Wheel is cryed to the whole world and all things in it as if he that sits upon the Throne should have said O world O heavens O earth oh Kingdoms of the world But yet it is most clear and certain to any one that minds the scope of the Chapter that this word O Wheel was in a more especial and peculiar manner cryed unto Jerusalem The whole Vision concerned Jerusalem it was to admonish Jerusalem and to foreshew things that should shortly be accomplished in Jerusalem Then thus Jerusalem was the chariot the Princes Priests and people were the Wheels And these things are recorded for our instruction what was then cryed to Jerusalem is now cryed to Norwich This City is the Chariot the Magistrates the Ministers and the Commons are the Wheels to these it is cryed in my hearing Oh Wheel O! This adverb or interjection O! makes the application plain and brings it close and home This O! is a servant to the passions and is useful to express various affections It is ever Signum allocutionis a sign of the Vocative case it speaks by calling loud unto another and it principally signifieth and expresseth these following passions with their effects 1. Indignation So Act. 13. 9. Paul set his eyes on Elymas the Sorcerer with indignation and said O! full of all subtilty and all mischief thou child of the devil 2. Reprehension the effect of indignation So Math. 3. 7. John the Baptist when he saw the Pharisees and Sadduces come to his Baptism he said O generation of Vipers 3. It expresseth anger which is declared by threatning So Math. 23. 37 38. Jesus brake forth Oh! Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee behold your house is left unto you desolate 4. It discovers grief So 2. Sam. 18. 33. David upon the news of his sons death burst out in passion O my Son Absalom my Son my Son Absalom would God I had dyed for thee O Absalom my son my Son 5. It 's ever a sign of calling As Ruth 4. 1. Boaz called to the Kinsman and said Ho! such an one turn aside sit down here 6. It shews vehement desire
And here it wil be seasonable to give you the sum and parts of the Chapter and to shew you more clearly the coherence of the text The Vision doth most neerly concern Jerusalem in the 3. Vers you shal see the Cherubins standing on the right side of the house that is of the Temple of Jerusalem The proper end of the Vision was to shew the certainty and the neer approach of the destruction of the Jews the living creatures Gods Angels were armed with power from God to take vengeance on them they were winged swift for execution and Jerusalems wo came running upon wheels There 's a tow-fold judgment threatned to Jerusalem which cuts the Chapter into two parts 1. The Lord first shews to the Prophet that he wlll burn the City with fire in the 7 first Verses The Lord spake to the man clothed with linnen and said go in between the wheels and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the Cherubims and scatter them over the City and he went in in my sight Ezekiel and took the fire accordingly ver 7. and went out to do execution 2. Then secondly the Lord sheweth to the Prophet and testifieth by his appearing in the Temple that he is about to depart from the Temple City and Nation from the 8. Ver. to the end most plainly in the 18. Ver. Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house Now before the Lord goeth quite away his voyce eries to the City O Wheel O Jerusalem repent or else O Jerusalem I will have no more to do with thee I will depart and suddain and fearful destruction shal come upon thee The sum of all is An O! of Commination ever follows an O! of Reprehension if the Lord call to a people and they be not humbled and reformed then the Lord will cry against them in his wrath even with the cry of a travailing woman and quite forsake them and utterly destroy them Hear what the Lord saith concerning the Jews Jer. 44. 4. I sent unto you all my servants the Prophets rising early and sending saying Oh do not this abominable thing that I hate There 's an O! of Admonition and Reprehension 5. But they hearkened not nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness to burn no incense unto other gods 6. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth and was kindled in the Cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem and they are wasted and desolate as at this day The Application will come close to Norwich to England to our selves hear and tremble As for the sins of Jerusalem and Judah I am sure we are as deep as they Had I time to gather a catalogue of sins out of Ezekiel you would verily think that he had received his visions in our City the very same sins are as rife with us as with the Jews You shall find them accused if you read the Prophesie of abominable Idolatry gross Superstition Corruption in the worship and service of God horrible contempt of the Word despising mocking persecuting Gods Messengers scorning at all goodness perfidiousness breaking their Covenants with God and man Fearful prophanation of Gods holy Sabbaths barbarous oppression pride luxury fulness of bread abundance of idleness hardness of heart and unmercyfulness to the poor there was then a strong Malignant party that with all their wit and strength opposed the Reformation endeavored by Jeremiah Ezekiel and others and now what think you mutato nomine change but the name for Ierusalem read Norwich for Iuda and Israel read England and doth it not hold right are not those sins and many more ours When the Lord saw that their iniquity was great and their sin very grievous he cryed unto them with a mighty voyce for it was in the Prophets hearing the voyce came from the Throne over the Temple in Ierusalem and Ezekiel was by the river Chebar in Babylon a voyce indeed that could reach so far So loud the Lord cryed O Wheel an O of Reprehension and admonition O do not these abominations which my soul hateth but they refnsed to hearken I know you cannot miss applying of it hath not the Lord cryed in our ears by his sons of thunder have not the faithful messengers of the Lord shewed the people their transgressions and rebuked them sharply Have they not discovered their dangers and called them to repentance saying O do not these abominable things which the Lord hateth Mark how God proceeds with them when he sees they continue thorns and briers and scorpions and rebellious and an obstinate people then with a stretched out hand from heaven he reacheth forth to Ezekiel a roll of a book and when it was spread before the Prophet he saw that it was written within and without and there was written therin lamentations and mourning and wo he threatens dreadful destruction he cries out Chapter the 7. An end the end is come upon the four corners of the Land an evil an only evil shal suddainly come and in this 10. Chap. The Execution is begun the Angel scatters coals of fire about the City I would to God the Application were not so manifest as that none can miss it We have continued a stiff-necked people we have walked stubbornly kicked at reprehension and we have hated to be reformed and now the Lord hath scattered coals of fire about our Cities and Country even the hot fire of war and contention the coals of juniper blown up by the spirit of division O the fire burns the fire burns poor England is consuming apace and is like to be turned into ashes shortly And here I cannot but set a hand to point at two remarkable Circumstances by the way One is the Circumstance of the place whence the coals were taken namely from between the Cherubims in the Temple to admonish that they were Temple-sins that kindled the fire of Gods wrath contempt of the Word and Ministers false Doctrine Corruption in Gods Worship Prophanation of the Sabbath Sacriledg and Idolatry nothing doth so much incense the Lord and provoke him to fury as Temple-sins Corruption in Religion and Doctrine The other Circumstance remarkable is the person that takes and scatters the coals about Jerusalem it 's the man clothed with linnen who is described in the 9. Cap. ver 2. 4. to have a writers inkhorn by his side whose office there was to set a mark upon the foreheads of them that mourn which sure is none other but the Lord Jesus Christ in the former Chapter you see him a protector a Saviour here in this Chapter he is a consumer a destroyer Christ first comes to seek and to save to call sinners to repentance but if they hearken not then he changeth his work and he comes armed with flaming fire to execute vengeance upon all impenitent persons O sad condition when Christs comes in anger against a people then is ruine dreadful and
unavoydable when the Lord cries to us by his Ministers and calls us to repentance as long as we hearken to his voice we have Christ to plead for us but when our advocate becomes our enemy how deplorable is our condition I fear I fear it is the man in white linnen that is now scattering coals of fire about our City and Country and the Lord is departing from us But yet before he departs from Jerusalem he calls to it O Wheel The Lords departure from Jerusalem is by degrees he doth not fly away in an instant no no the Lord leaves them as if he were loth to depart Observe a little his motions In the former Chapter Verse 3. The glory of the God of Israel went up from the Cherub to the threshold of the house that is from the Mercy-seat in the holy place to the door of the Sanctuary ready to go out and there the Lord tatries a while before he depart In this tenth Chapter verse 18. he removes a little further The glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house and stood over the Cherubims That is he went forward to the East gate of the great Court on the top of that gate aloft were placed Cherubims and there the Lord rested a while before he went quite away In the next Chapter verse 23. he removes yet further The glory of the Lord went up from the middest of the City and stood upon the mountain which is on the East-side of the City that is Mount Olivet and there he rests a while But why doth he abide upon mount Olivet Truly some are of opinion that the Lord stayed upon the mount to see the burning of the City and to triumph over it As did Nero when Rome was fired he gate him up to the top of a hill and there did sing and rejoyce at the spectacle The Lord had often called to Jerusalem and they had refused he had stretched out his hand and none would regard therefore now he sits upon the Mount and laughs at their destruction and mocks at the comming of their fear But I rather think and hope he staid a while upon the Mountain to be called back again Before he went out of the City he cryed to them O Wheel Oh Jenusalem yet yet seek me and I will be found of you call to me and I will return and dwell with you Neither here can you avoid the Application Doth not the Lord seem to be departing from England But he hath not taken his slight all at once he hath with-drawn himself by degrees In the time of the late prelaticall tyranny and persecution when the worship of God was corrupted the faithfull Ministers of the Gospell silenced all manner of popish superstitious innovations obtruded then God seemed to be gone to the threshold ready to go out of England but departed not When the Commotions and concussions began between the two Kingdoms of England and Scotland threatning the breaking of both Then God seemed to be going still further from us from the threshold out of the door onward on his way from England but yet he departed not When the bloody intestine warre began between the King and his Parliament then the Lord seemed to be departing quite away then was thè noise of a whip and the noise of the ratling of the wheels and of the praunsing horses and of the jumping chariots The horse-man lifted up both the bright sword and the glittering spear and there was a multitude of slain and great number of carcasses and the Lord seemed to sit aloft upon his holy Mountain laughing at our destruction But blessed be his holy Name we find he is not quite gone there 's a little stay of his judgements I hope beloved Christians the Lord stayes yet upon Mount Olivet the Mountain of peace and he expects when we should call him back again Yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing The Voice of God from the Throne hath called to us a long time Oh Wheel Now let us call to Mount Olivet O Lord our God Depart not from us let us call him back with our true and hearty repentance with our thorough reformation with our team and prayers who can tell but God may yet repent and return and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not Return Oh Lord to thy thousands in our Israel and dwell amongst us again Amen 3. At the last I come to the third and last Pair of O-s to wit the O of Calling Desiring And here I am to speak in the Vocative case and to call every one to their duty to set every wheel on turning and that for prevention of the dreadfull ruine threatned and as I go along I cannot but make it the desire of my heart that the word of God may take good effect O si ô ut inam And first in generall I call to all the wheels what was spoken from the Throne of glory in my hearing that I cry in the eares of every wheel O Wheel Turn turn for this is a word of command yea turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with fasting and weeping and with mourning and rent your hearts be humbled for all your irregular and preposterous motions and turn to the Lord by unfamed repentance a thorough reformation a holy conversation and newnesse of live Let thy Spirit Oh God come upon all these Wheels And O wheels roll run Sion-ward let your eyes your spokes your rings all turn heaven-ward Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear the Lord and keep all his Commandments always that it might be well with them and with their children for ever Deut. 5. 29. In the next place more especially I call to the great wheels to the heads of the people to the Magistrates As for those wheels it is cryed unto them from the Throne of Glory O Wheels Turn regularly in your proper Sphaeres Judg you the people with just judgment Scatter the wicked O let the great wheels turn over them Let not swearers and drunkards and houses of drunkeness and prophaners of Gods Sabbaths Malignant Priests that begin to rake up their old Superstitions again O Wheels have you not eyes Do you not see what abundance there are of these Why do you let them lie so quietly O Wheels turn over them either mend them or remove them or break them In the 77. Psa ver 18. says Asaph the voyce of thy thunder was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in rota in the wheel so it is in the Hebrew O wheels let 's hear the voyce of thunder from you thunder against this wicked crue And oh Wheels accept not persons do justice to the smal as well as to the great Defend the poor and fatherless do justice to the afflicted and needy deliver the poor and needy rid them out of the hand of the wicked Take heed what
ye do for ye judg not for man but for the Lord. I pray cast your eyes upon the Lords Throne Dan. 7. 9. The ancient of days did sit his throne was like a fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire Gods Throne moves upon Wheels What 's the meaning of that It signifieth to us that God is the great King and Judg of all the world he sits above and by his powerful providence governeth and judgeth all things But how not immediately he carryeth on his judgment by wheels those wheels below the Throne are Kings and Judges of the earth by them God acts and executeth his judgments O Magistrates remember you are the wheels of Gods Throne Oh that these wheels were as burning fire that they would consume the wicked like dross that their light might shine before men that they would be hot zealous for God that they would move swiftly turn with facility count it a joy to do judgment O si O utinam would to God our Magistrates were all such Finally I come yet more close to the work of the day and in the last place I shal crave leave to speak the word to a particular wheel the greatest of the wheels the chief Magistrate new elected I have observed of late years the Preacher commonly hath directed his speech personally to the New-Elect and given him a charge or rather a word of Exhortation I shal follow former Presidents and so much the rather because the chief Magistrate to whom I am to speak lives under my charge and also because my Text calls me to call particularly O Wheel I will endeavor to dispatch all in a few particulars O Wheel drive prosperously Be not offended that I set the Wheel a going to day I hope it will turn the better all the year after And first O Wheel it is with you this day as it was with the Wheel under my hand Chap. 1. 19. it was listed up from the earth and so are you lifted up above your brethren Remember who it is that hath advanced you even the Son of God that sits upon the Throne of Glory For promotion cometh neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South but GOD is the Judg he putteth down one and setteth up another Psa 75. 6 7. Be not impatient then under the great burden of Government that is fallen upon your shoulders at your election it was the Lord that turned all the wheels and he serued you up into this place of honor do you submit to this dispensation be thankful and move swiftly and zealously for that God who hath lift you up be a wheel of burning fire O Wheel be round be round Totus teres atque rotundus a round is the embleme of perfection as being every where equal and like it self it is the fittest figure for motion and the most capacious The Sphaeres are round the lights of heaven are round the heads of beasts indeed are long and square and corner'd but the heads of men are round and the wheels of Gods Chariot and Throne ought to be round away away with all unevenness with all corners every sin is as a corner or a knob that will hinder the pleasant turning of the Wheel be round O Wheel be round be perfect as your heavenly Faaher is perfect O Wheel move and turn as my wheel doth here that is in the Temple The care of Religion lieth upon the Magistrate therefore honor God with your authority O Wheel with all your weight turn over Idolaters Hereticks Blasphemers Schismaticks Sabbath-breakers suppress them and make much of them that fear the Lord. Promote to your utmost power the service and worship of God see that Gods poor be provided for and that Gods faithful Ministers may have countenance and maintenance O Wheel O Wheel never leave turning and turn all wheels to bring more faithful and able Ministers into the City Oh it 's a sad thing that there should be 36. Parishes within the Walls and I think above half of them have no Ministers at all and many of the rest have such Ministers as they had as good have none perhaps better Oh Wheel put on to settle Church-government to settle the Union of Parishes to procure Pastors for every stock to see the Sabbaths of the Lord sanctified Honor God for those that honor him he will honor O Wheel lift up God lift up Christ into his Throne and the Lord will lift you up higher O Wheel Be well shod be couragious how can the Wheel move long without shattring except it have a good strake Fortitude it is the strake of Gods Wheel You are now Gods special instrument by which he doth his work of Justice and Government go on boldly fear not the frown of any regard not the favor of any In the name of God move with your own proper motion I do not mean according to the dictate of carnal reason neither that you should consult with flesh and blood but that motion which the Law of God commands and the Spirit of God suggests that 's your proper motion O Wheel let not any hand turn you the wrong way V. 10. it 's said there was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rota in medio rotae a wheel in a wheel a lesser wheel within that turns the greater wheel as it pleaseth and hath it not been so amongst our wheels Hath not this been a common word whosoever be New-elect we know who will be Maior O Wheel move with your proper motion and fear not the Lord wil be with you as he was with Joshua He will not fail you nor forsake you only be thou strong and very couragious that thou mayst observe to do according to all the Law which God hath commanded thee turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that thou mayst prosper whithersoever thou goest O Wheel move constantly this is the description of the wheels Chap. 1. 17. When they went they went upon their four sides and they returned not when they went O Wheel run on in a good way and return not commonly the motion of a Wheel is slow at first and by degrees swifter and swifter be you so more and more active and zealous for the advancement of Gods glory and the publick good grow better and better in your office let your works be like the works of that Angel in the Revelation more at the last then at the first Oh what hopes have we had of many Magistrates at their first coming on in the beginning of their office how have the wheels ratled how nimbly have they turned how forward and active have they been in reforming abuses and doing for the good of the City but before their year hath come out yea in a little time all our hopes have come to nothing the wheels have flagged in their motion or turned the wrong way Amphora coepit Institui currente rota cur uâ—ceuâ— exit
doom upon all such rotten nails and upon all that hang upon them Even the sentence upon Shebna ver 25. In that day saith the Lord of hosts shal the nail that is fastned in the sure place be removed and be cut down and fall and the burden that was upon it shal be cut off for the Lord hath spoken it Therefore my beloved I say again if you love your own safety hang upon the right nail Here 's a pattern for all such as he in Authority The Lord displaceth rotten and unprofitable nails and sets up good and useful ones in their room let them do so I have already discovered unto you abundance of base nails both in the City and Church-wall Corrupt Magistrates Masters of misrule blind dumbe useless scandalous covetous drunken debauched Ministers such as do no good but a world of mischief in their places Now give me leave to speak freely to you that are Magistrates I cannot but say to you as the son of God once to the Angel of Thyatira I have a few things against thee that thou sufferest the Woman Jezabel which calleth her self a Prophetess to teach and to deceive my servants to make them commit fornication The same to our Rulers you have suffered Malignants and loose Magistrates scandalous and superstitious and factious and error-teaching Ministers verily this is a great fault amongst you At last awake and be followers of God Use your power to pluck out depose and remove these rotten and useless nails and set more comely and serviceable ones in their room Be unto those pests and plagues of our City and Country like Jael's nail Smite through their temples and fasten them to the ground mistake me not I call not upon you to take away their lives but to bring them lower and restrain their power and dispose of thier places better Let your word be of every place in Church and Common-wealth and concerning every preferment Detur digniori Follow the Counsel and decree of the wise men of King Ahasuerus Ester 1. 19. Let their royal estate be taken away from them and give it unto others that are better then they There are none but good Nails of Gods fastning The 3. Particular follows viz the Vbi where this nail is fastned in loco sideli in a sure place that is I wil establish him he shal stand sure he shal not be plucked out nor removed He shal keep his station and never be removed and this is promised as a blessing to Eliakim And affords us this observation that to dwel safely and sure in a fixed habitation and setled condition is a very great and a very sweet blessing It was Shebnas curse and punishment that he should be violently turned and tossed like a ball into a large Country as it is v. 18. His condition shal be like a tennis ball struck with the hands of them that play from side to side and from end to end and at every bandy a hazard or like about which is thrown in the alley or in a plain or steep place down-hill and then it runs and runs and rests not til another hand takes it and throws it back again Or like the stone of Silyphus rolling up-hill and down-hill continually such was the condition of Shebna This the Lord threatned as a curse against Israel that he would smite them as a reed shaken in the water that he would root them out of the good land which he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the river because they made their groves and provoked the Lord to anger 1 Kings cap. 14. v. 15. It was the curse of Cain for his fratricide his bloody murther A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth Gen. 4. 12. But on the other side a fixed habitation and a settled condition is ever promised as a blessing Moreover saith the Lord when he wil do good to his people I wil appoint a place for my people Israel and wil plant them that they may dwel in a place of their own and move no more To enjoy a fixed station in a land of peace procureth blessing to the body soul estate †The body hath rest The painful labourer though he goeth forth unto his work and to his labour yet it is but til the evening then the poor swain rests his weary limbs refresheth himself with his plain company and sings in his thatched cottage and lays him down and his sleep is sweet and in the morning he awakes and ariseth as a man new created and goeth lively about his business again †Further such a fixed estate is very advantagious to the soul In exile when people are wandring up and down in forraign Countrys they cannot enjoy the precious ordinances they cannot perform the duties of publique worship The Babylonians did but abuse and jeer the Israelites when they required of them a song and mirth saying Sing us one of the songs of Sion and the poor Captives could return no other answer but this How shal we sing the Lords song in a strange land They were now banished from the Sanctuary of the Lord and so were deprived of their soul-comforts But when the Lord gives a people rest round about there they may build Synagogues enjoy Church-assemblies and holy meetings and publique soul fatning ordinances the pure worship of God and true religion and all the means of Grace Therefore sayes David Pray for the peace of Jerusalem Say Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces And why Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good The peace of Jerusalem and the setled condition thereof is the means to advance religion and the Publique worship Blessed are they that dwell in thy house Psal 84. 4. They that have a setled habitation in a land where Gods worship is established And why Because they will be still praising thee they will ever be doing good to their own soules Finally A setled condition is a marvailous advantage to wealth and to the estates of men The rolling stone never gathers mosse An unsetled person will never be rich Exile and banishment strips off all The ancient beleevers wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins in deserts and in mountains in dens and caves of the earth And what estate had they They were altogether destitute afflicted and tormented Hebr. 11. 37 38. But in a setled course wealth and riches are to be gotten Upon a fixed nayl there hangs a load of wealth England hath been a quiet and setled Land for many years and hath it not grown a Magazine of wealth Doth it not abound with flourishing Cities and fruitfull fields Silver and gold have been as the stones of the streets It hath been a Land of coor and all manner of fruits of shâ—ep and oxen and all manner of cattell a Land like Canaan flowing with milk and honey In a word the glory of all Lands And
what hath made England so rich What but this The Lord hath given England rest and the inhabitants have been as fixed nayls in a sure place To apply this shortly Is a fixed and setled condition such a sweet blessing And is it so grievous to be driven from our habitations Then Let us sympathize with our brethren the poor servants of God that in Germany Ireland and in the North and West of England are plucked out of their pleasant places and now are tossed as a ball from place to place and with Noahs Dove cannot find rest for the sole of their foot Alas Alas for our poore brethren the deare servants of God! What miseries do they endure They wander up and down in the desert out of the way and they find no dwelling place hungry and thirsty and their soul faints within them Or as Job They flee into the wildernesse desolate and waste they cut up mallows by the bushes and juniper roots for their meat the springs and fountains if at least they can meet with any are to quench their thirst Oh let our bowels be troubled for them Let 's relieve them to our power and let us pray for them earnestly and incessantly that the Lord would bring home his banished again and restore them to their country and to their habitation and settle them as a naile in a sure place And for our selves learn we to esteem and prize our own happinesse in these associated Counties We sit every man under his Vine and under his Fig-tree and none makes us afraid We enjoy peace and plentie and libertie and proprietie and friends and all in our own Land where we were born And above all we have the adoption and the glory and the Covenants and the Gospell and the Service of God and the promises and the Communion of the faithfull Oh let us praise the Lord for his goodnesse Let us walk answerable to so great mercies let us make use of our standing and improve all our advantages to the glory of our bountifull God and let us pray unto the Lord incessantly to fasten us still as a nayl in a sure place The fourth and last particular now presents it self to your view viz. The end and use of this nayl Erit in solium gloriae He shal be for a glorious throne to his Fathers house And concerning this many things might be spoken but because I have held you too long already I shall only commend unto you in a word this Observation To what end we are fastened in our places Let Magistrates Ministers and every one here present duly consider wherefore they serve namely to bear burdens for the honour of God and for the glory of their Countrie and Citie and fathers house Joseph made his fathers house glorious he enriched it with the wealth with the treasures of Aegypt and made it famous and renowned through all the world as it is to this day Our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ who is the Nayl spoken of Zach. 10. 4. He is the glory of his fathers house even of the people Israel I speak first to the chief Magistrate and then to every one in his place Know that you ought not to be for your base private ends for your own honour and wealth but you must be men of publique spirits you must be for the good and for the glory of your Citie and your Countrie of the Church and Common-wealth You must endevour the publique good before your own You must be content to bear any load of pains or charge to procure the wealth and prosperity of the Kingdom that the reformation may be perfected true Religion established Popery superstition and the proud tyrannicall Hierarchy may be utterly extirpated the rights and priviledges of Parliement and the liberties of the Kingdom preserved That the Kings person and authority in the preservation of true Religion may be defended that the peace of the Kingdoms may be continued that delinquents may be brought to condigne punishment that England may be made a sure place a happie Nation a famous Kingdom Know that you are set for a throne of glory Be all of you for the honour of your Citie for the glory of Norwich Make it famous and happie this year Mind not your own things but the publique benefit The devise of Alphonsus King of Arragon was this A Pellican pecking her brest and drawing out blood wherewith to feed her young the word Pro lege pro grege So should every good Magistrate not count his blood dear for the welfare of the people The Motto of Aelius Adrianus the Emperour was Non mihi sed populo A man set in authority should not be for himself for his own profit or ease but all for advancing the common good Abate of your excesse make lesse and fewer feasts and do more good for the publique Lay lesse upon your backs and do more for the publique I know what people are ready to say for themselves That if Mayors and Sheriffes shall not make as great feasts at Sessions and other times as others before them they should be disgraceed and talked on all the Town over they should be counted covetous and miserable and people would say they knew not what doth belong to their office and it would be a dishonour to the Citie Alas alas my beloved Is it for the honour of your Citie to have Sodoms Character That pride fulnesse of bread and abundance of idlenesse is in her Gentlemen if any shall jeer you for not feasting as your predecessours as if you knew not what belongs to your places Answer them as once Themistocles did who being at a sumptuons feast and not singing with the rest of the jovial company and meeting with some checks for his silence he said unto them I confess I have not learned to sing to the pipe at feasts but I have learned rempublicam ex parva magnam facere to raise a Common-wealth from a poor estate to a flourishing condition So do you answer all the world You have not learned to squander away vast sums of money in rich clothing sumptuous and excessive feasts but you have learned to lay out your money better and to part with your estate freely even to the utmost farthing for the publick safety and good I beseech you be for a throne of glory be all for the honor of your City and Country Usually you shal hear men boast much of their Country City Progenitors and they brag that they were born in such a famous place or that they are descended of such illustrious ancestors as if that were such egregious and singular nobility which consists in the vertues and noble acts of their forefathers Such cracks as these the Poet rightly reprehendeth and jerks Stemmata quid faciunt c. What is it to thee if thy progenitors were Noble Heroicall Vertuous If thou in the mean time be un-deserving unworthy and base Let me therefore tel you