Chamber of Presence all Glorious Tapestry there LORD make you Ready for that Day And the Shaddow flee away or Mist This Life is all but a Night because of the Ignorance and Darkness of our Mind We see but the Portrait of the Kingdom in the Glass of the Word and Sacraments Then when that Day Dawns we shall see Him Face to Face So long as the Night is we do Nothing but by the use of Candle When the Sun rises the Candle is blown out lest we should burn Day-light The Gospel is GODs Candle to let us see the Way to Heaven But when it is Day-light and Christ Lighted to us from Heaven then shall come Light and Heat from Him Clear Light and Knowledge that shall endure for ever Our Soul here is like a House in the Night when Doors and Windows are closed In that Day the Doors and Windows shall cast up that the Sun may shine for ever upon us We shall not need to seek Communions The Lamb of GOD shall be present with you for evermore Rev. 21. I saw no Temple there for the Lord God Almighty is their Light We get but here the Parings of GODs Bread and a Four Hours Drink to speak so There the Board shall be Covered and the Great Loaf set upon it and all shall Eat and all be Welcome and the Table shall never be Drawn Ye shall have your fill of CHRIST Ye shall Drink and Drink at the Wells Head the Cup of Salvation for evermore Secondly One Night here But we know not what we are Marches are not redd betwixt GOD and Satan here We are but Silly Bodies here Earthen Vessels often in Trouble I Corinthians 1. and yet Kings Sons 1 John 3. 2. Behold now we are the Sons of GOD and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He doth appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is A Friend from a Foe cannot be known in the Night Care not what the World think of you it is Night they cannot well see you Thirdly It is Night because of Great Trouble which besets us Luke 3. 1 2 Let us be content with an hard Bed the Morn will be a Good Day and think ye what a Comfort it will be to you when GOD puts up his own Holy Hands to your Face and to your Watry Eyes and shall Dry them with the Napkin of his Consolation Now this Short Night ly still in Peace and Sleep by Faith in GOD Be content to ly down in your Grave for a Night or Two for your Husband Christ shall be at your Bed-side soon in the Morning Turn My Beloved and be thou like a Roe or a Young Hart upon the Mountains of Bether As Psalms 71. 21. Thou did turn about and comfort me Turn about and come to me as swiftly as a Roe or a Young Hart upon the Mountains of Bether or Bithven The Mountains of Division or Separation Mount Gilead severed or parted from the rest of the Land of Judea by the River of Jordan In the which Mountains there was Pleasant Hanting here She Desires his Presence either in the Last Judgement or in his Incarnation or by the Comfort of his Holy Spirit and prays that he as Roes and Harts are not Hindered any Whit by any Craigs or Down-falls of the Rocks to Descend and Meet one with another So CHRIST would be Kind to His Love and count Mountains as Valleys and let no Craigie-way Hinder the LORD JESVS to come She can never get Her Fill of CHRIST She is so Browden on CHRIST that She ever would be at an Union with him There is Kissing Verse 7. The Place where he Dwells Chapter 2. under his Shaddow in his Wine-Celler We cannot be far enough on in going to CHRIST We can never be near enough hand him Cry ye to him come For he crys to you come and then ye will Meet Ill-Gate will not Hinder our Bridegroom to come he cares not for a Showre of Rain or a Dark Night He Loups over Hills to be at his Kirk Give ye him a Meeting Amen Let us Pray
says GODs Justice be it so says CHRIST Man sinned and I the Man CHRIST shall Die 2. Man took on the Debt therefore an other cannot pay for him Be it so says CHRIST I the Man shall pay the Ransom 3. Man behoved to make amends because Man did the Fault Let it be so said CHRIST I the Man CHRIST shall make amends again Secondly If CHRIST had not been our Rock there had been no Dwelling in him he would not have keeped Wind and Weather off us Therefore the Divine Nature was a Pillar on which the Humane Nature did hing and this is the Cause why CHRIST-man leans to the Divine Nature as his Warrand in all that he does For if ye will consider in this Work there is Three Bargains or Covenants to speak so First GOD and Man bargained together ye shall believe that 's your Part. I shall give you Life Eternal that 's my Part says GOD Now Man dare not promise this of himself without CHRISTs Bond to Relieve him that is to Enable him throw his Grace to believe Secondly GOD Bargains with his Son Isaiah 53. 10. Son if Thou shall lay down Thy Life Thou shall see Thy Seed and Prolong Thy Days and have many fair Children Psalms 2. Ye shall have the Heathen to Serve You. Heb. 1. I will be Your Father and Ye shall be My Son CHRIST is content but he cannot do this alone he must borrow Flesh and Blood from Man and in it Suffer Thirdly The Man CHRIST Bargains with the Divine Nature The Humane Nature says I Love Man and I will Die for him The Divine Nature says now I shall hold Thee up under Thy Sufferings and Thou shall overcome Death The Man Christ without the Back-bond to speak so durst not for Ten Thousand Worlds have ventured to Yoak in the Fields with the Justice of GOD and Death and Hell and Sin and the Devil except he had the Divine Nature in a Personal Union to bear him up under his Sufferings Therefore CHRIST when he looks upon his Sufferings looks also upon his Warrand Isaiah 56. I gave My Back to the Smiters and My Checks to them that pulled off the Hair These be the Words of the Man CHRIST Now because it might have been said a Man will Suffer all that his alone But here he looks to his Warrand Verse 7. and says I have my Warrand with Me The LORD GOD will help Me I shall not be confounded I have GODs Warrand who is united to Me in a Personal Union to bear Me up Even Sick-like CHRIST goes down to the Grave Psalms 16. 10. Thou wilt not leave My Soul in Hell or the Grave neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see Corruption As if Christ would say I am sure LORD Thou will be as Good as Thy Word and make Good Thy Bargain and will Warrand Me against Death See then how it goes The Man Christ takes Man by the Hand to bring him out from under GODs Wrath. So Beloved Be Glad in such a Saviour come all into the Rock for God Christ and Man all these Three are linked together as in a Chain and Christ in the middle link of the Chain Now let all the Kings of the Earth that boast of Fair Houses and Stately Palaces come and see if they can compare with the Dove that Dwells in the Holes of the Rock Nebuchadnezer said Is not this Great Babylon that I have built c. Surely Men are to be rebuked that are carefull for Houses and settling in the World and has no Assurance of this Lodging Worldlings are but Ravens that big in the Wild Mountains The Kirk is only at Home biging in Faith These be indeed Dear Chambers being built by Christ Himself GOD has made Holes and Windows in Christ that his Doves may flee into and make their Nest in his Heart O Dear and Precious Dwelling The Lodging cost us Nothing yet we are desired to Dwell in it Now what is Christ's Petition Cause Me to hear thy Voice It 's ordinary for Man to beg from GOD for we be but his Beggars But it is a Miracle to see GOD beg at Man Yet here is the Potter begging from the Clay the Saviour seeking from Sinners What is his Suit It must be some Great Thing it is even a Sight of his Bride He is even saying to her my dear Spouse be kind to Me let me see thy Face be not Blaite and Wavering be plain with me your Husband tell me all your mind in Prayer I delight to hear your lisping and hisping and speaking to me in Prayer Ye may see all the Wooing comes on Christ's Side of it She cannot hold up her Face or let one Love-blink on Christ but as He commands her and wakens her up She is a Soure Bride of her self if she Laugh it is He that makes her Rejoice by the Holy Spirit that is given to her Romans 5. 5. She keeps her Chamber and is ashamed to go forth He bides her be kind and shew her Face We cannot Love Him while he first Love us 1 John 4. 19. We run because he draws us Canticles 1. 2. John 6. 44. We apprehend Christ but we are first gripped of him Philippians 3. 12. Beloved there is great skill in wooing Christ every Bride has not the gate of it but he must teach us In all other Matches ye will find Two Things that are not here First In other Matches the Bride makes some Wooing of her own sort but here Men cannot move but as Christ's Spirit wooes in us and teaches us In other Contracts the Bride and her Friends are bound for their Part the Bride has some Toocher of her own or she may be an Heretrix she may have all and he Nothing But here the Bridegroom in this Contract is obliged for all he give his Name for himself and his Wife Ezekel 36. 27. I will put My Spirit in you and cause you to Walk in my Judgements Here the Kirk has no Toocher of her own and yet she has not the Good Manners to look up to her LORD but as he commands and holds up her Head All the Toocher is Christ's and the Inheritance is Christs the Kirk has Nothing he has the Houses John 14. He has the Land Romans 8. The Fine Gold Revelation 3. and buys the Spousing Cloaths of the Religion that came in with her Saviour Christ and that is the best Religion in the World for it gives most to GOD and least to Man I will tell you who are meet for Christ even these that are out of themselves and lays all upon Christ The best Schollars that Christ gets are Publicans and Sinners Whores Harlots Blind Lame Criples and such like and such as feels themselves Sinners Look how much ye trust in your selves and rest upon the World and Loves your Lusts as far ye are from Christ and when ye are all out of your selves and changed into GOD's Image from Glory
the Contract to be his as he is Yours Take therefore the Law and this Sweet Saviour both together bind your Selves to him to be his as he is bound to be Yours He Feedeth among the Lillies To prove that Christ doth Esteem her as his Kirk and Flock his Wife his Beloved She says He Feeds her amongst the Lillies that is the Pure and Uncorrupted Word of GOD or the Lillies are the Fruits of the Spirit opposed to Stinking Roots and Bitter Roots that grow in the Kirk When Judgement is like Hemlock or Wormwood Or the Lillies the Saints of GOD that are Lillies amongst Thorns Fifthly However it be it is certain the LORD feeds his Kirk with as much Spiritual Food as holds in their Life in the Way to Heaven while their Day of Marriage come Romans 8. 23. We receive here the first Fruits When a Man has shorn a stouk of his corn-field that puts him in assurance of the whole croop GOD would have Israel to Taste of the Vine Grapes of Canaan to assure them they should get the Land it self 2 Chronicles 1. 22 GOD hath sealed us and given us the Earnest of his Spirit in our Hearts There be Two Words First GOD does with his Children in this Life as a Merchant does with his Wares he has bought because he cannot Transport them presently he puts a Seal or Mark upon them and then it may be Sold to no other Body and his Children stricks hands he writes his Name and his Arms the Image of GOD in their Soul and then when the Devil comes throw the Mercat to buy for he offers ay Money in hand Pleasure Lusts Honours Ye have an Answer to give him Tell him your Soul is sealed already You have blocked with an Honest Merchant Christ and he has put his Mark upon you that ye may not Sell and it were a pity to beguile him And therefore bid that Deceiving Loun go seek his Mercat in another place ye are not his Merchant The Devil will promise them as fair as GOD he will not prig with them he will not care to promise much more than Heaven She shall be like GOD But he pays not so well as GOD doth Agree not with him Block not with him There is another Sweet Word used that GOD gives to his Children The Earnest of His Spirit in this Life He gives them Arles Faith Hope Joy these be like Six or Seven Shillings to warrand that Ye shall get the Principal Beloved had GOD blocked with you and given you Arles he would therefore that the Bargain hold Will ye not then take GODs Arles and block with the Devil By GOD's Arles ye have Assurance of this GOD will come and Loose his Arles Rew not of the block never any Man had cause to Rew the block with Jesus Christ There is another Word used John 16. Christ is going to Heaven to Leave His Disciples He promised to come again to them to see them How Sorry were they to want him and blyth were they of that word that he said he will come again Therefore in Sign and Token that he would come again he promised them a Pawn that was His Holy Spirit Ye know Christ and We are contracted in this Life We will be Married again at the Day he comes to Judge the World Now all the Wooing-Time there goes Love-Tokens betwixt Them and Missive-Letters Tell me when ye got a Letter last from Christ There will be Messengers going betwixt You. The same Word is a Messenger the Sacraments are Love-Tokens that our Wooer has left to assure us that he is contracted with Us I pray you take no Gifts from the Devil away with Ill-Conquest Away with Lusts and the Love of the World I hope ye are not minded to Marry with Sin if ye do ye are ashamed then for all your Days Ye are come off GOD's House and are his Image Fy it is a shame to hear tell of it to Marry with a Base Slave the Devil I allow you here to be Wife and Prudent in your Marriage Marry not for Gear keep your self to be a Good Match There be a sort of Indifferent-men that ye call Harmless-meu they have neither Good nor Ill they Love not Falshood they Love not Popery and yet they will not Burn for the Truth They are like Blank-paper as it is thought neither GOD nor the Devil has blocked with them But has not GOD given you Arles nor no Pawn Satan will get you But do this first hold your self with Christ then ye have an Answer to give other Lovers the World and the Devil Ye may Laugh and say ye are too long in coming I have promised my Self away to another Husband and therefore I cannot have you also for I will not have Two Husbands 1 Cor. 6. 19. The Apostle takes a Reason to Prove that the Body should not be given to an Harlot it is the Temple of the Holy Ghost Set the House of your Soul to GOD and then for shame ye cannot win off him to cause him Flit Ye are bought with a Price Married Folk has not many Wooers The Devil is busie to seek them that are Virgins and Love not Christ to be their Husband While the Day Dawn That is The Marriage-day and in Hebrew called Your Day for Excellency To say the Truth it is a Day and called the Day of Christ the Day of Redemption 2 Timothy 1. 2. It is called the Day for these Causes It is the Day when Christ is Perfect in his Members Now Christ's Body is Mangled Arms and Legs and Hands in sundry places Some not Born some Born But in the Devils Service some Rotten in the Earth and casten in the Sea Christ is Bleeding in his Members There is many a Wound in the Mystical-Body of Christ this Day all will be gathered in that he gets His Bride he enters in Peaceable Possession of Her Secondly That Day Christ shall give in his Accompts and all his Fathers Generally he shall Render an Accompt of all that he took by the Hand and shall put up his Sword and never Draw it again And as the Chief Shepherd he shall make an Accompt of all his Lambs and tell his Father these be all My Silly-Sheep They have win away with their Life I went throw Woods and Waters and Briers and Thorns to Gather them in and My Feet was Pricked and My Hands and My Side Pierced ere I could get a grip of them but now here they are Good Cause shall the LORD have to Clap Christ's Head that Day And judge ye if ye will have a Blyth Heart to hear Christ and his Father to Compt together when we shall be all standing under the broad Scarlet Robe of Christ's Righteousness and as many Glorified Angels looking on Thirdly And every Souldier that Day shall shew his Wounds to his LORD saying LORD I have losed this and this for Thee and GOD shall clap our Head and take us benn to his
to Glory as by the Spirit of the LORD 2 Corinthians 3 18 then ye are meet for Christ begging Poor Sinners are our LORDs Schollars The Lintel-stone of our LORDs School-door is a Low-stone ye must stoup Low and Lout Ye will be on your Knees with it or ye can win in Ye must be very humble else that Stone will take your head and ding you back and ye will not win in than be Fools that Christ may be your Wisdom 1 Corinthians 1 30 There is as much merit in Christ as will buy a Thousand Heavens Now if our Wooer Christ were not Kind and sought our Kindness even Words of us and brought the Love Tokens the Friendship betwixt Christ and us would soon wear out of Date grow Cold Christ ay blows at the Coal ere it wear out Christ would win a Friend yea a Foe to be kind to him He is ay thriping and claiming Kindness of us as if he were the Beggar and the Poor-man and we the King O he claims Kindness to us Then surely we need not think shame of our Friend Would ye ken for whom Christ Died and Payed even for Dyvours such as Swore themselves bare and came out of Prison upon Caution or a Cessiobonorum Poor-men that has been upon the Dyvours-stone and are far from Payment by the Dyvour-bill when there is not a finger in all your hand fastened upon your self then ye are meet for Christ For who are better met and yoaked than a Poor Sick Dying-man and a skillfull Physician Who is better yoaked than a crying Begging-sinner and a Rich Christ But oh it is ofttimes not so for Christ would give us more nor we will receive He scatters his Gold we Proud Beggars will not bow our back and lout down and gather He would fain Sell we will not Buy so there will be no blocking Let Me see thy Countenance An Allusion to Israel that was to present themselves before the LORD Thrice a Year in the Tabernacle The meaning is Walk before me It is not enough that thou believe and so dwell by Faith in the Holes of the Rock but thou must also shew thy Faith by Good Works and Prayers and Worshipping of GOD Christ loves not Professors that never wan or Love to Pray and such as hates not the World But you will see they are Believers by their Holy Living Matthew 13 The VVord of GOD is Seed sown that brings forth Thirty Sixty and an Hundred Fold Ilk Boll brings out Thirty Ilk Sermon ilk Communion should bring out an Hundred Good VVorks Beloved GOD's Land is Set at an High-price he is a Master that will have all his own from his Tennents and as the Song says Every one of GODs Sheep brings out Twins Hebrews 7 8 There is a Ground that drinks in Rain from Heaven and yet brings forth Briers and Thorns it is near a Curse Bring forth Fruit or else ye will make GOD say my Curse and GODs Mallison be upon thy Heart thou hears much and brings forth no Fruit Therefore beware Beloved a Tree that once gets a dadd with GODs Ax it will never do well again Ye shall become like the Girdle Jeremiah 13 17 which he did hide at the River Euphrates it was profitable for nothing it was marred it shall never go about GODs Wast again Beware then that ye be not Blasted Professors Fruitless Christians but be ye always in his Sight For there be some that comes never in GODs Sight they are GODs Dyvours They are aughting so much that they dar not come to GOD and Compt and Pay Outlaws and Borderers that comes not or keeps not Christs Kingdom but runs like Wild Asses and Drumadaries up and down the Mountains and snuffs up the Wind at their Pleasure I compare their Life to those that rides Post Many a Horse has Satan in his Stable and when these Out-laws has wearied their Greediness after Sin and has gotten they know not what they mount upon a Fresh-horse Some upon Pride and they ride once out of GODs Sight they run while they be in Hell in the end For the Devil is upon the Horse and the Rider GOD seeks Dear and for his Money ye must give him more than Ten in the Hunder For Five Talents he must have Ten again he must have double Stock Look what Grace ye receive by Weight render to him his own in Weight and more If his Gold want an Ounce he will cast it to you again For one Bolls sowing ye must give him Thirty again GOD would have his Servants ay keeping his Chamber if they go their own length from him he misses them Ye must not be GODs Chamber-pages and steal out of his Presence and give the Devil a Baggadge-yoaking nay he must ay see your Face and hear your Voice There be many that would serve GOD and be in Christs School but they are like Trowands that takes the Play and runs to Play sometimes with the World and the Devil and loves to sport themselves with the World and the Devil But GODs Schollars may not take the Play Let me see thy Face The Kirk might have said Dear LORD my Face Oh does Thou desire to see my Face it is very Black I am Sun-burnt Sin hath made me deformed and for my Voice it is both Harsh and Mistuned What then says Christ I think not so my Dear Spouse I think it is a Fair Face I think ye have a Sweet Voice It is Great Comfort for GODs Children when they rise many times off their Knees from Prayer with a woe heart thinking because they have no Heart nor Feeling nor Sence that GOD is offended with their Prayers and thinks little of their Works when as their Prayers and Tears and Works are accepted before GOD Ye think nothing of one Tear yet GOD puts it in his Bottle and nothing of one Sigh but GOD gathers it in his Treasure If GOD thought of us as the World does and as we think of our Selves oftentimes wofull would our Case be But GOD has not a Pleasanter Sight in the World nor the Face of a Child of GOD No Musick Delights Him more nor the Sighs and Tears Complaints and Prayers of his Children See ye not the Spirit of GOD bringing in Christ longing for a Sight of his Wife longing for a Word of her Proverbs 8. 31. Christ Rejoiceth and Sports and Plays in the Habitable Parts of the Earth and his Delight is with the Sons of Men Ye will see more of this upon the last words of this Song Take us the Foxes It 's a Speech of Christ to take the Kirk to take Convince Censure Rebuke Cut off and Excommunicat all Inordinate Livers and Offenders in the LORDs Vineyard Ezekiel 13. 4. O Israel thy Prophets are like Foxes in the Deserts Jeremiah 12. 10. Many Pastors have Corrupted My Vineyard O what can there be upon the Earth to make a Kirk Happy But it is here To hear a Kirk Sick