agree with their rule then shall they agree one with another 3. Churches and Saints in them shall be like themselves As like Christ like one another so like themselves not subject to declinings and decays as now they are All shall be growing onwards towards perfection and none shall backslide Round things are easily turned this way or that way but what is of a four square Figure lies firm All will be firm and stable in the Church here set forth Saints will not be like Reuben unstable as Water or double-minded Men unstable in their ways but like David who said My heart is fixed O God my Heart is fixed It is a good thing that the heart be established with Grace Heb. 13.9 And at this time the Lord will perform this good thing in establishing the Hearts of all his People with Grace so that they shall not fall from their own stedfastness but he that is righteous shall be righteous still Rev. 22.11 Consid 4. A Sabbath will be observed in this time when the Jews shall be called both by them and the saved Nations Chap. 46.1 mention is made of Six Working-days and of the Sabbath-day not a Jewish but a Gospel Sabbath the First day of the Week which is conceived to be hinted Chap. 43.26 27. Seven days shall they purge the Altar and when these days are expired it shaâ—â— be that upon the eighth day and so forward the Priests shall make your Burnt-Offerings c. when the seven days are expired and so the Seventh which was the Jewish Sabbath ended then upon the Eighth day the First day of the Week which is the Christian Sabbath shall the Priests make your Burnt-Offerings And so forward that is upon every First day after the ending of the Jewish Sabbath Now the Sabbath mentioned Chap. 46.1 is this Eighth day so called in relation to the Seventh expired but the First day of the Week to be observed by the Jews when they shall be called This of the Sabbath may well be taken in a literal sense for we ought not to leave the literal and go to a mystical sense when there is no necessity for it What is spoken of the New Moon must be taken in a mystical sense because that was an observation purely shadowy and ceremonial but not so the Sabbath Let it be owned then as truth that a Sabbath shall in this glorious state of the Church be purely kept True in the New Jerusalem there will be a perpetual Sabbath but not so amongst the Tribes in the Land As Adam in Paradise had work to do and if he had continued in his innocency should have wrought the six days and have kept the Sabbath So shall the Saints do in the times of restitution for they will be restored to the doing of that which Adam should have done As they shall be restored to Priviledges so to the performance of Duties of which the exact keeping of a Sabbath is one And for the farther clearing of this so considerable a truth let Isa 58.13 c. be compared with this place of Ezekiel If thou shalt call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord c. Where observe that several great and precious Promises are made to the Jews and the keeping of the Sabbath is the condition upon which the accomplishment of them doth depend And these Promises were not fulfilled at the Return of the Jews from Babylonish Captivity or at any time since but shall be fulfilled when the Jews shall be called Let the particulars be well weighed v. 8. Then shall thy Light break forth as the Morning and thine Health shall spring forth speedily What Light is this but that mentioned Isa 60.1 Arise and shine for thy Light is come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee The Jews have been long in Darkness but the Glory of the Lord shall at last be revealed and the Veil shall be taken from their hearts that they may see it And thy oighteousness shall go before thee that is The Lord thy righteousness This then respects the time when the Jews shall be called by this Name which hath not been yet for they at Christ's first coming went about to establish their own righteousness and did not submit to the righteousness of God they would not then be called by this Name And farther 't is said The Glory of the Lord shall be their reward It shall be with them as with the Jews in the Wilderness when they had the Cloud and smoke by Day and the shining of a flaming Fire by Night Which when Pharaoh pursued them was their reward v. 10. Then shall thy Light rise in obscurity and thy Darkness as the Noon-day The Jews are under Darkness within and without Darkness covers their Hearts and their State for they lie hid in obscurity and darkness and none knows where the Ten Tribes are but at last they shall be brought forth to the wonder of the World for it shall be said These where had they been Isa 49.21 v. 12. They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places and raise up the foundations of many Generations When they returned from Babylon they were the Foundations onely of one Generation of Seventy years that were raised up This promise then must look further v. 14. I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth Not onely of Canaan but of the Earth And lastly I will feed thee with the Heritage of Jacob thy Father Which intimates the calling and gathering of the Ten Tribes also When the Jews returned from Babylon they were fed onely with Judah's Inheritance For the Ten Tribes did not then return which may be proved from Hos 1.6 7. I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel but will utterly toke them away But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah and will save them by the Lord their God Therefore when Judah was saved from Babylonish Captivity Israel was not saved But at last Judah and Israel shall be saved together v. 11. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint them one Head and then they shall be fed with the Heritage of Jacob. 'T was the whole Land of Canaan which was Jacob's Heritage which he divided amongst his twelve Sons And how exactly doth this agree with Ezekiel's Prophecy about the division of the Land amongst the twelve Tribes which shall be fed with the Heritage of Jacob their Father It s most evident then that these Promises are to have their accomplishment when the Jews shall be called But observe what must be done by them If thou shalt call the Sabbath a delight Therefore first a Sabbath will then be kept even a Christian Sabbath by the Jews And if a Sabbath was to be kept by Adam in Paradise if it was to be observed from the beginning and shall be by the Jews when called If the Church in the times
whole Earth be filled with his Glory Amen and Amen And then he concludes this and all other his Psalms with these words v. 20 The prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended Whence may be gathered that this Psalm contains the remainder of the last words of David and that this Psalm was the last of David's Psalms though it be not set last in the Book of Psalms For the clearing whereof two things may be considered 1. The Psalms are not all placed according to the time of their composure or the occasion of them for Psalm the Third is a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom Now many made before this are set after it as Psa 34. A Psalm of David when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech And Psa 51. A Psalm of David when Nathan the Prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba Soe also Psa 57 and 63. So then this may be the last though not set last 2. The Psalm it self gives us ground to conclude that it was the last and made by David a little before his death For thus he begins it Give the King thy Judgments O God Which shews that Solomon was now made king for so he is here called And this Psalm was made when both Father and Son were Kings Give the King thy Judgments There David is called King and thy Righteousness to the King's Son There Solomon is called King And that Solomon was King David's own words do declare 1 Kin. 1.48 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which hath given me one to sit upon my Throne mine Eyes also seeing it By this 't is evident that the plain literal sense may stand that this was the last of the Psalms of the sweet Psalmist of Israel who never sung more sweetly than now And to this these three things may be added 1. The matter of this Psalm contains that which was the sum and scope of David's Prayers even that Christ might reign gloriously and that in his days the Righteous might flourish This is all my desire and in this my Prayers will reach their end 2. David being carried in spirit to the Day of Christ's glorious reign and being set in the View of his blessed Kingdom and seeing him breaking Oppressors in pieces and perfecting that which concerns the Saints and at last delivering up the Kingdom to God the Father breaks out into this joyful Acclamation The Prayers of David the Son of Jesse are ended They are fulfilled and fully accomplished they are all consummated So much is in the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Prayers of David and of all the Saints will at last have a full accomplishment and Faith may even as God doth call the things that are not as though they were So by a voice of Faith he might well say The Prayers of David the Son of Jesse are fulfilled 3. When Christ shall take to himself his great Power and Reign and shall have put down all that is to be put down and shall present all the Saints faultless before the presence of his Glory with exceeding Joy then Prayers will be ended As the Prayers of Saints so Christ's also who is David the Son of Jesse Hos 3.5 They shall serve the Lord and David their King There Christ is called David And Isa 11. A Rod shall come forth of the Stem of Jesse there he is the Son of Jesse So the Prayers of this David the Son of Jesse will be ended All that ever he prayed for will be accomplished yea all that he hath to pray for will be granted For then all the good things contained in God's Decrees shall be brought forth and whatever Christ hath purchased for shall be enjoyed by the Saints All Promises will be fulfilled to them and all the desires of their hearts given them And then as Faith will be swallowed up in Vision and Hope in Fruition so Prayers will end in everlasting Praises That the great things contained in this Prophecy in which we have been thus running to and fro may be the better understood and improved somewhat shall be added upon these following particulars 1. The Calling of the Jews 2. The Restitution of all things 3. The Description of the two Beasts Revelat. 13. 4. The Day of Judgment and the World 's perishing by Fire 5. Some Signs of the times when the Fall of Babylon is at hand 6. Some Advantages which the knowledge of these Truths will afford 7. The Conclusion of all in some Counsels and Directions 1. The Calling of the Jews We may conceive that there will be a twofold Calling of the Jews A First Calling will be at the ending of the One thousand two hundred and ninety days Dan. 12.11 At that time the Jews Deliverance will begin and there will be then a calling and a gathering of them But at this time many will be called but not so many chosen This calling will be inward and effectual to some but to many but outward and in profession only For after this their calling they will have many Enemies causing great trouble to them Dan. 11.31 there is mention of an Enemy and 't is said Arms shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the Sanctuary of strength And v. 45. He shall plant the Tabernacle of his Palace in the glorious holy Mountain Zach. 14.2 I will gather all Nations against Jerusalem and the City shall be taken Now as this will be a time of great tryal so many of the Jews shall fall away Dan. 11.30 This Enemy shall have indignation against the holy Covenant and have intelligence with them that forsake it v. 33. some he shall corrupt by flatteries and some of them of understanding shall fall some such as Peter and others such as Judas The second Calling will be at the end of one thousand three hundred and thirty five days which is forty and five years more than the former number 't is said blessed is he that cometh to these days At this time all Israel will be saved as from their persecuting Enemies so from sin and all will be called and chosen and faithful Rev. 19. Thy People shall be all righteous Isa 60.21 All shall be effectually called and their Children shall be as aforetime Jer. 30.20 these shall be of the Church and like John Baptist shall be sanctified from the Womb. No Noah shall have a cursed Cham no Isaac a prophane Esau for this would be a grief of heart contrary to that promise there shall be no sorrow God shall put the Law in the mind and write it in the heart and they shall no more teach every man his Neighbour saying know the Lord for all shall know him from the least even to the greatest of them They may need to be instructed farther in the knowledge of the Messias but no need to be taught which is the Messias no need to be taught as Andrew did Peter Joh. 1.41 We have found the Messias as the
days here as well as in many other of his Prophecies even to the time when Jerusalem shall be a quiet Habitation a Tabernacle that shall not be taken down v. 20. Q. What then shall we understand by this Fire A. It is such a Fire as the Righteous shall dwell with and not be hurt by and therfore not Hell-Fire so they shall not dwell with it Why should not the Fire which Peter speakes of be here meant That Fire to which the World that now is in Being is reserved called everlasting Burnings because as to the wicked which will be consumed by them they will be the beginnings of everlasting burnings For the ungodly ones who shall perish by them shall never be out of the Fire afterwards Now who shall dwell with those burnings who shall live when God doth this and when this dreadful Conflagration shall be who shall be like Moses on the Mount that burned and not be consumed The Answer is He that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly And 't is farther promised Thine Eyes shall see the King in his beauty That is Hezekiah say Interpreters who as in the time of the Siege he did rend his cloaths and covered himself with Sackloth so when that great Deliverance was wrought he was seen in his beauty again but the Chaldee Paraphrase gives a better sense which in Latine is thus rendered Gloriam Majestatis regisâ— seculorum in decore suo videbunt oculi tui Thine Eyes shall see the King eternal as he is called 1 Tim. 1.17 in the glory of his Majesty Even that King spoken of v. 22. The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King And 't is farther promised They shall behold the Land that is very far off That is say some Senacheribs Siege shall be raised and then the Jews shall go abroad in the Land again But what reason was there to call any part of Judea the Land very far off from Jeurusalem Surely somewhat else seems hinted and why may we not think it to be meant of a Land very far off in respect of the time of its being For as we read of times afar off so there was a Land far off in regard of the time of its existence even the new Earth which is to be created in which Righteousness shall dwell and upon which the Saints shall reign with Christ This was in Isaiah's time The Land very far off but now very near which they that walk in Righteousness shall behold 6. Pray earnestly that this Kingdom may come God delights much in such Prayers We may see what a large Commission is given for praying for these things Isa 45.11 Ask me of things to come concerning my Sons I have spoken much of them and do you ask me of them Ask and you shall know much of them Ask and they shall come ask me of them and you shall have a share in them when they come And concerning the works of my hands command ye me 1. Command ye me God hath put himself under a Law by his gracious Promise Covenant and Oath He that Commands all yields to be Commanded by the Prayer of his People 2. Concerning the works of my hands command ye me Which may either look back to works already wrought or forward to works to be wrought First to works already wrought My Sons are the works of my hands created to good works and formed for my praise Now do you command me concerning them and then I will command their Enemies to let them go free I will say to the North give up to the South keep not back bring my Sons from far and my Daughters from the ends of the Earth Secondly to works to be wrought I will create Jerusalem a rejoycing and her People a joy I will make the new Heavens and the new Earth and concerning these works which my hands shall make command ye me Those that would at last reign must now overcome First within there is an Old Man to be overcome and you must get the Rule of your own Spirits which is better than to rule a City Let Grace reign over Corruption Spirit over Flesh Let Faith Love and the Fear of God rule in patience possess your Souls Let there be a Kingdom of Patience and then shall there be at last a Kingdom of Power Secondly you must overcome without There is a World to be overcome and that both the good and the evil of it The good thus All things are lawful but I will not be under the power of any Covetous Men are under the power of Riches let it not be so with you do you through Grace rule them and use them as you ought and let not them rule you And as for the evil things of the World meddle not with them but keep your selves unspotted of the World Save your selves from the Sins and so shall you from the Plagues of an untoward Generation There is a Satan also to be overcome 1 John 5.18 He that is born of God keepeth himself and that evil One toucheth him not Tactu qualitativo that is by a touch altering the Nature he shall not destroy the Divine Nature or Seed of God in the Regenerate He touched Adam and he died but he can't so touch a true Saint There is lastly a Beast to be overcome There is a twofold overcoming the Beast First In his temptations and endeavours to subject the Hearts and Consciences of all to him So Saints choosing to suffer from him rather than to serve him do overcome There is a Victory gotten over his Mark and over the Number of his Name when many do adore him and reverence and honour his Name as a Name above every Name as exalting himself above all that is called God they have his Name in greatest contempt when some call him the Vicar of Christ the Head of the Church and when he shews himself that he is God The faithful Witnesses overcome all these high Titles and great Names and call him by his right Names the Antichrist the Man of Sin and Son of Perdition Secondly In his Power and Kingdom Overcome him in the first sense and 't will not be long before the Saints shall see him overcome in this latter sense Great Promises are made to Overcomers in the Second and Third Chapters of the Revelations and they look to the Day of Christ's Personal Reign as the special time for their accomplishment Not but that the Spirits of Just Men have the substance of them in Heaven but when their Bodies shall be raised then will be the eminent time of fulfilling them For then shall they rule the Nations with a Rod of Iron and sit with Christ upon his Throne Be Overcomers then and you shall be able to say at last as Joshua did Not one thing hath failed of all the good Word which the Lord hath spoken Written by William Alleine Minister of the Gospel FINIS Some Discovery OF THE NEVV