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A52172 The midnight cry a sermon preached on the parable of the ten virgins / by J.M ... Mason, John, 1646?-1694. 1692 (1692) Wing M918; ESTC R32054 17,923 30

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The Midnight-Cry A SERMON PREACHED On the PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS Watch therefore for you know not the Day nor the Hour when the Son of Man cometh St. Mark 13. 35. By J. M. M. A. Rector of W in the County of B The Fourth Edition with the Addition of two Hymns the coming of Christ By the same Author London Printed for Nathanael Ranew at the King's Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1692. The Epistle Dedicatory TO All the sincere Lovers of Sion THE Apostle hath an Observation that they which sleep sleep in the Night and the dreadful frame is suited to the state of ignorant and benighted Souls but that they who are of the Day though they do not sleep as do others should slumber in the Light is justly wonderful The Spouse saith she slept but her Heart waked but the sadness of our case is that our Hearts are asleep When the Son of Man comes indeed shall he find Faith on the Earth As the People of God by Persecution have been at their Wits-end so by the long delay of Deliverance they are almost at their Faiths-end and they that have obtained Faith in the Cross find it difficult to attain to Faith in the Kingdom It is worth a serious Enquiry why the Doctrine of Christ's Kingdom hath met with so cold a Reception especially when as the time of the End draws near many have ran to and fro i.e. by comparing Scripture with Scripture for which the following Discourse is so highly valuable and Knowledg in these things is much increased Our Blindness I conceive is but too much caused by the Dust that hath been raised by some who have driven furiously in by-paths amongst whom I reckon those most blame-worthy who have advanced Phancy so far above Faith as to run into carnal Notions of sensual Enjoyments more suited to a Turkish Paradise than the Kingdom of Christ their Carnality hath made this Doctrine to grate in a Christian's Ears to whom one Hour's Communion with God is preferred above all the Pleasures that the World can afford The next to these are they who have drawn or wire-drawn strang Consequences from this Doctrine to establish seditious Principle and Practices against the Powers that be whereby some hae gone beyond the filthy Dreamers who despised Dominions and spake evil of Dignities To these we may adjoin some grea● and good Men of whose Works many have complained that thy have darkned instead of enlightning their Eyes when they have too considently asserted the personal Presence of Christ on Earth for a thousand Years whereas it is not said that Christ shall reign with the Saints but that they shall reign with him then even as they suffer with him now but especially when they have retended to determine Day and Hour and so by their frequent Mistakes and Disappointments have exposed Themselves and heir Labours to Contempt Let us then take the Doctrine as refined from all this Dross and it will appear pure Gold The ●nly doubt is whether the asserting the Nearness of this bright Day be not equivalent to a fixing the Day and Hour and on the same Account dangerous I humbly conceive that the Scripture doth ab●ndantly make the difference in which we are not only forbidden to pry into Secrets which the Father has in his own Power but we are commanded to go by Scripture-Signs that as no Man knows the one viz. the Day and Hour so when we see such and such things come to pass all may know the other viz. the Nearness of it I desire to be ashamed of my own Darkness and Vileness that I have not attained to that Evidence and Perswasion of our being now come to the time of the End that I know some of the dear People of God have arrived unto But I bless God for what I have seen and I could wish I had words to declare it to the World that they who live in the daily Expectation of the coming of Christ are the most lively zealous Christians that ever I have known or heard of in these latter Days the wonderful Impressions which they have upon their Spirits about it are soul-ravishing inflaming their Hearts with Love to him They are Soul-replenishing that they even overflow and run over in all their Discourse with the most affectionate speaking of Christ and for him whereby they are rendred some of the most useful Saints upon Earth and whereas all Enthusiastical Opinions are wont to puff up these Impressions have tended to make them the most humble and lowly Christians that ever I came near As the Generality of Christians are without these Expectations so by woful Experience we know how cold we are in our Hearts and Lives in our Converse and Families We stand in need of the Notes of some Boanerges some such awakening Discourse as is here presented to you Though we come behind other Christians as to the Plerophory they are raised up to yet by Grace we are assured that the Lord is not slack as some count Slackness We abhor the Malignity of the Scoffers that say Where is the Promise of his Coming We fully know that he that shall come will come in his own time and will not tarry This is enough to rouse us from our Security and to make us prize a Discourse that is more than ordinarily suited to the awakening of a drousy World This is enough to make us more fervent when we pray with the Church THAT THE KINGDOM OF THY DEAR SON MAY COME QUICKLY AND THAT ALL HIS ENEMIES BEING MADE HIS FOOTSTOOL HE WHO IS THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS MAY REIGN TO ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH Though I am engaged by Promise to say nothing of the Author which indeed is not necessary in any place where his Name is known yet I take it to be a point of Justice to him and to the World to say thus much of his Work that this Sermon was preached in a Country-Church I am perswaded without the least Design of being made Publick and that the Copy was written out and sent to the Press though not without the leave yet in the Absence of the Author so that the Judicious will easily believe with what Advantage it would have come forth if it had been on purpose prepared for publick view and the Copy had been corrected by the Author 's own Hand Vpon the whole seeing the Author has withdrawn his Name you must ascribe all the Praise to the Grace and Assistance of our coming Saviour and all the Faults to the poor Publisher who having nothing of his own worth offering is glad that he has credit enough to borrow such a Piece to cast into the Treasury and does only beg this great Bounty That when any Souls are raised into a lively frame by this Sermon and are blessing God for the Author they would also put up one Prayer or Groan for the quickning of him who was instrumental of conveying it unto