<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2014-08-14</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140613.apex.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B10006">
<STC T="W">S2640</STC>
<STC T="C">R183740</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]69648924</BIBNO>
<VID>185077</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON Preach'd on <HI>May</HI> the <HI>29th.</HI> 1673.</P>
<P>IN ONE OF His Maje&s;ties <HI>LICENS'D MEETINGS</HI> in <HI>DEVON.</HI></P>
<P><FIGURE>
<FIGDESC>woodcut of bird and dragon on either side of a chalice</FIGDESC>
</FIGURE></P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>T. P.</HI> and are to be &s;old by <HI>Michael Hide,</HI> Book&s;eller in <HI>Exon,</HI> 1673.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>YO&V; have this Sermon <HI>verbatim,</HI> as it was preach'd, and taken in <HI>Short-hand.</HI> The Author him&s;elf knows nothing of its Publication; <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span"> far was he from de&s;igning, or preparing it for <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">at end. However he needs not be a&s;ham'd to <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">e it abroad, 'twill recommend it &s;elf to all &s;erious <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1+ letters">d ingenuous per&s;ons.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="3">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>I&s;a. 40. 3.</BIBL>
<Q>The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderne&s;s, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make strait in the de&s;art an High-way for our God.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THe Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> in his 2 <HI>Epist. 1 ch. 19 v.</HI> recommends unto the Faithful, to whom he wrote, the <HI>word of Prophe&s;ie,</HI> as he termeth it, and commends them for <HI>heeding</HI> of it; They <HI>did well,</HI> he &s;aith, in &s;o doing. That <HI>word</HI> which <HI>Peter</HI> means, is indeed <HI>a light &s;hining in this dark place of the Earth,</HI> where we walk not by &s;ight; 'Tis the <HI>great Foundation</HI> of Faith, and Hope, until the day of Glory dawn, and we in Gods own Light, &s;ee all Light. But that worthy Recommendation the Apo&s;tle &s;econds in the two following Ver&s;es, with a weighty Rea&s;on; <HI>Knowing</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that no Prophe&s;ie of the Scripture is of any private Interpretation:</HI> That is, Not of any private humane Inven|tion,
<PB N="2" REF="4"> or Extraction; 'Tis not an effect of any mans <HI>peculiar</HI> temper, or more than <HI>ordinary</HI> skill, That this is meant, the after-words in the &s;ame Context do plainly evince; for, &s;aith <HI>Peter, The Prophe&s;ie in old time, came not by the will of man; but holy men of God &s;pake as they were mo|ved by the holy Gho&s;t.</HI> The Spirit of God, (the publick Interpreter, and Revealer of the Coun|&s;el and Mind of God), He in&s;pired the Pro|phets, and was the Author of their word: The things (my Beloved) which are <HI>reported</HI> and <HI>affirmed</HI> in Scripture are (many of them) evi|dently Divine, The Heart of Man could not have <HI>conceived</HI> them: The Commands and Precepts in Scripture, are (many of them at lea&s;t) evi|dently Divine. The Spirit of a Man could not have formed them, nor enjoined them, as there they are. The Promi&s;es and Threatnings in Scripture have Characters of a Divine Origi|nal upon them in like manner, they could not be of Man; And I confe&s;s, I much incline to think, that the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> comprehends even all the&s;e under the Prophe&s;ie of the Scriptures,
<PB N="3" REF="4"> which he &s;peaketh of. But Prophe&s;ie, in the &s;trict &s;en&s;e of it, and Foretelling of things to come, This mu&s;t needs have a <HI>peculiar</HI> Acknowledg|ment in this behalf. That of this nature, which is in Scripture, is, in the very eye of Rea&s;on, more illu&s;triou&s;ly Supernatural, and Divine. But I tarry too long in Generals.</P>
<P>The particular Text which I have been ca&s;t upon for the pre&s;ent Time and Occa&s;ion, for our holy <HI>exerci&s;e</HI> now, (my much Re&s;pected and Beloved) is of this Quality; A <HI>little,</HI> but a <HI>remarkable</HI> piece of a <HI>remarkable Prophe&s;ie;</HI> It is a few of the words which this Man of God <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> &s;pake as he was moved by the Holy Gho&s;t: And I cannot but conclude, from what hath been already intimated, That <HI>we &s;hall do well to give heed unto them.</HI> Yea, if the &s;ame <HI>Spirit</HI> by which <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;pake them, vouch&s;afe to a&s;&s;i&s;t us, in our poor degree, we &s;hall profit by them.</P>
<P><HI>The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderne&s;s, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,</HI> &amp;c. The&s;e are the words.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="5">
<P>Now at my entrance upon them, I doubt, I &s;hall a little &s;urpri&s;e you: For from a parti|cular Prediction, (as the words are) I &s;hall rai&s;e a general Doctrinal Ob&s;ervation; and the Ob|&s;ervation I &s;hall lay down, before I at all open the Prediction: The Ob&s;ervation too at fir&s;t &s;ight, will &s;eem to have no alliance with the Prediction: But I hope, upon a little progre&s;s ye will neither <HI>wonder</HI> at my <HI>method,</HI> nor <HI>di&s;|approve</HI> the <HI>matter.</HI> To me they have &s;eemed <HI>both</HI> convenient. The Ob&s;ervation then, or Doctrine which I &s;pake of, and &s;hall begin with, is this:</P>
<Q><HI>Doct. That</HI> God in the cour&s;e of his Providence over the pre&s;ent World, doth make, &s;ometimes, Magnificent and Royal Manife&s;tation of Him|&s;elf.</Q>
<P>This I take to be a <HI>genuine i&s;&s;ue</HI> of the words, and I make it a <HI>foundation</HI> for the <HI>Expo&s;ition</HI> of them, and the <HI>general Subject</HI> of my Di&s;cour&s;e. The &s;ame God who is <HI>named</HI> and <HI>concerned</HI> in it, be pre&s;ent with us, and grant us &s;ome <HI>en|crea&s;e</HI> in the <HI>under&s;tanding</HI> of his <HI>word,</HI> and in
<PB N="5" REF="5"> the <HI>good knowledg</HI> of <HI>Him&s;elf;</HI> even for <HI>his good|ne&s;s</HI> &s;ake, through Je&s;us Chri&s;t our Lord.</P>
<P>But to the matter: I &s;hall fir&s;t clear the <HI>ex|pre&s;&s;ion</HI> of the Text, and of the Ob&s;ervation; and next, enquire into the <HI>thing intended</HI> by the Prophet; and la&s;tly, accommodate, as I may, the <HI>whole</HI> unto the pre&s;ent <HI>occa&s;ion,</HI> and our <HI>u&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>1. For the <HI>expre&s;&s;ion:</HI> Great Princes do put forth their Princely Power and Wi&s;dom, in the ordinary, con&s;tant <HI>government</HI> of their People, and <HI>ordering</HI> their great Affairs; and they are hereupon <HI>acknowledged,</HI> and <HI>awfully honoured</HI> o|ver all their Dominions: But &s;ometimes <HI>they</HI> come abroad, and appear in <HI>&s;pecial</HI> Pomp, and Princely Glory; As when they Ride in State on &s;pecial occa&s;ions in Peace; or when they March in the Front of Pui&s;&s;ant Armies un|to War: Then the whole Country &s;eeth them, and makes Shouts and Acclamations to them. (Beloved) God is the Great King, the Soveraign of the Univer&s;e, his Divine Power, and Wi&s;dom, and Righteou&s;ne&s;s,
<PB N="6" REF="6"> and Mercy do <HI>operate</HI> and <HI>appear</HI> in the <HI>ordinary</HI> cour&s;e of Nature, and in his <HI>common</HI> govern|ing and di&s;po&s;ing of all things: Oh that he might be <HI>acknowledged</HI> and <HI>honoured</HI> hereupon in all places of his Dominion. But &s;ometimes he <HI>ari&s;eth,</HI> as the expre&s;&s;ion is, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 12. 5. &s;ome|times he <HI>comes abroad,</HI> as may be &s;aid, and as indeed the term in effect is, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 96. 13. and divers other places. That is, he worketh &s;ome|times in an <HI>unu&s;ual</HI> manner, in a manner <HI>un|thought</HI> of, and above all <HI>appearing Probabilities;</HI> &s;ometimes, he &s;heweth his Royal Greatne&s;s with Pomp, as I may &s;peak, that every one <HI>&s;eeth</HI> and <HI>admireth,</HI> and &s;aith, <HI>'tis He;</HI> &s;ometimes he doth <HI>marvellous Acts, great things,</HI> as the Scripture &s;tileth them: Now, this I call his Magnificent and Royal Manife&s;tation of Him&s;elf. And 'tis <HI>&s;uch</HI> an effect that my Text refers unto, as doth evidently appear by what followeth in this &s;ame Prediction here, at the <HI>5th. ver. The glory of the Lord,</HI> &s;aith the Prophet, <HI>&s;hall be revealed, and all fle&s;h &s;hall &s;ee it together.</HI> The <HI>plenary</HI> and <HI>per|fect</HI> Manife&s;tation of the Glory of God is to
<PB N="7" REF="6"> be in Heaven alone, there within the Vail, there only is the Beatifick Vi&s;ion of him; But even here on Earth without the Vail, &s;ome &s;ea&s;ons be, when he gives <HI>&s;ignal</HI> tokens of his Glory unto the <HI>conviction</HI> of men, and unto the high <HI>affecting</HI> of their hearts. Such an <HI>event,</HI> I &s;ay, the Prophet here in this Prophe&s;ie foretells. But to come nearer the words, I mu&s;t advance a &s;tep farther in that <HI>re&s;emblance</HI> of which I have made u&s;e: As Princes then when they go forth in State have the way prepared for them, and as much as may be made plain and commodi|ous; there is a diligent clean&s;ing, and righting of every Street and every Road through which they are to pa&s;s, and oftentimes Order is publickly given, Proclamation made unto that end, as ye know; &s;o here, <HI>The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderne&s;s, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,</HI> &s;aith the Prophet. The purpo&s;e of God was repre&s;ented to the Prophet under the <HI>likene&s;s</HI> of a <HI>Royal Progre&s;s</HI> intended; and thus he in his rich and copious manner doth expre&s;s it; he in|timates a <HI>Proclamation</HI> (as may be &s;aid) to <HI>clear</HI>
<PB N="8" REF="7"> and <HI>level</HI> the way before the coming of the Lord: This is the voice of the <HI>Cryer</HI> here. Not that there &s;hould be literally &s;uch a thing in all that the Prophe&s;ie intendeth; But the meaning is, that God intended to manife&s;t him&s;elf in a <HI>Roy|al</HI> and <HI>Splendid</HI> manner; would work in a <HI>re|markable,</HI> and an <HI>unu&s;ual,</HI> and <HI>magnificent</HI> man|ner; 'tis &s;aid, <HI>Make &s;trait in the de&s;ert an High|way for our God;</HI> In the De&s;ert, where there was no way, nothing but <HI>Hill</HI> and <HI>Dale,</HI> no|thing but <HI>winding,</HI> and <HI>uneven,</HI> and <HI>unpa&s;&s;able</HI> ground. He &s;ignifies, the Lord would do what there was no <HI>vi&s;ible</HI> means to do; would do what no one did imagine how it could be done. And this I take to be the true rea&s;on of the Prophets expre&s;&s;ion; <HI>Ye that attend unto it, judg of it.</HI> God would reveal his Glory, as in a Royal manner; in token of this, <HI>The voice</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet) <HI>of him that cryeth, Prepare the way.</HI></P>
<P>Having taken this view of the <HI>expre&s;&s;ion,</HI> we mu&s;t next enquire into the thing <HI>intended</HI> in par|ticular; Now ye may plea&s;e to follow me, and ob&s;erve to this end:</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="9" REF="7">1. That God doth &s;ometimes <HI>manife&s;t Him|&s;elf</HI> as ye have heard, unto <HI>Judgment; &s;trangely,</HI> and <HI>wonderfully</HI> puni&s;hing the <HI>Scandals,</HI> and <HI>Enor|mities,</HI> and <HI>Refractorine&s;s</HI> of People. Of this you read in the <HI>26th.</HI> Chapter of this <HI>Prophe&s;ie</HI> of <HI>I&s;aiah, 21 v. The Lord cometh out of his place,</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet there) (as the Soveraign and Judg of all the Earth) <HI>to puni&s;h the Inhabitants of the Earth for their Iniquity.</HI> Thus the Lord came forth when he brought the Flood upon the old World, <HI>Gen.</HI> 7. Thus when he de|&s;troyed <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah,</HI> and the other Ci|ties of that Luxurious Plain, <HI>Gen.</HI> 19. Thus he came forth when he &s;mote <HI>Judah,</HI> and <HI>Jeru|&s;alem,</HI> and gave them up into the Hands of <HI>Ne|buchadnezzar, 2 Chron.</HI> 36. 17. And thus again, when he overthrew, after &s;ome Three&s;core and ten years, the whole Empire of that &s;ame <HI>Ne|buchadnezzar,</HI> and laid that great, proud <HI>Baby|lon</HI> he had built utterly wa&s;te, <HI>Jer.</HI> 51. 25. And thus God will come, in due time, to Judg the <HI>Grand Harlot</HI> of the Earth, the <HI>my&s;tical Baby|lon, Rev.</HI> 17. 8. Gods <HI>full revelation</HI> of his Righ|ou&s;ne&s;s
<PB N="10" REF="8"> will be at the la&s;t, great Day: But mean time he will pre&s;erve in the World &s;ome &s;en&s;e that he is Ju&s;t, and doth Judg. Be&s;ides, at that great day, 'tis but particular Per&s;ons that &s;hall be Judged; There will be no States, and King|doms then; therefore the Lord vi&s;its tho&s;e in the pre&s;ent World, where only they have their Exi&s;tence: And when the <HI>mea&s;ure</HI> of the Im|piety of Kingdoms is full, then he &s;aith unto them, as he did to <HI>I&s;rael, Amos 4. 12. Prepare to meet your God, ye &s;inful People.</HI> He judgeth them with Terror, and there is no Coun&s;el, nor De|fence again&s;t him. Let not the mo&s;t Pro&s;pe|rous, or Triumphant Nations be &s;ecure. But our pre&s;ent occa&s;ion (Beloved), and that like|wi&s;e to which my Text doth refer, is of no &s;uch di&s;mal Nature. Therefore note,</P>
<P N="2">2. Sometimes God <HI>comes forth,</HI> and <HI>manife&s;ts Him&s;elf</HI> in Magnifick Royal manner, to <HI>&s;hew mercy,</HI> to <HI>refre&s;h,</HI> to <HI>deliver,</HI> to <HI>re&s;tore,</HI> to <HI>build up,</HI> to <HI>ble&s;s,</HI> and <HI>put into a State of Renown upon Earth.</HI> He is <HI>good</HI> with the very <HI>goodne&s;s</HI> of an Al|mighty and ever Ble&s;&s;ed God; and &s;ometimes
<PB N="11" REF="8"> he makes <HI>glorious,</HI> and almo&s;t <HI>incredible</HI> Demon|&s;trations of it; Unto him be Glory. Thus he did when he fir&s;t brought <HI>I&s;rael</HI> out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and led them into their Inheritance, <HI>Then his way was prepared in the wilderne&s;s indeed:</HI> But with what <HI>glororious Pomp</HI> did he make his <HI>Pro|gre&s;s:</HI> The <HI>&s;trength</HI> of <HI>Egypt,</HI> that ancient migh|ty Kingdom was utterly broken, and fainted; the Waters of the <HI>Red Sea</HI> were divided, and ca&s;t up in Heaps on one Hand, and on the other; the Mountains did burn and &s;hake; the Clouds and Sky thundered; Nations upon every &s;ide did tremble; All Nature did Re&s;ent the Pre&s;ence of the God of <HI>Ja|cob;</HI> &s;o wonderfully did he work for that People then. Here was a right <HI>Stately, Royal &s;hewing forth</HI> of his <HI>Magnificence</HI> and <HI>Soveraignty.</HI> Other pa&s;&s;ages of a like kind, I might recount. But,</P>
<P>There are, particularly, two concerned in my Text, and them I mu&s;t particularly in&s;i&s;t upon a little: The fir&s;t of them, (Good Bre|thren),
<PB N="12" REF="9"> was, The Lords bringing back that &s;ame People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> from their Captivity in <HI>Babylon:</HI> This was &s;uch a <HI>manife&s;tation</HI> of him, as I have &s;poken of. Now that we may take a little account hereof, pray con&s;ider the Calamity of that People; when they had been, as it were, long &s;ick, and weakned, by divers &s;ad events; they were in the clo&s;e (as I may &s;ay) <HI>utterly &s;lain: Multitudes</HI> fell by the <HI>Sword; mul|titudes</HI> dyed with <HI>Famine; multitudes</HI> with <HI>Pe&s;ti|lence;</HI> and the &s;orrowful <HI>remainder</HI> were carried away <HI>Slaves</HI> into a &s;trange Land; their own in the mean time was devoured, and laid quite wa&s;te; their Cities were burnt with Fire; and (oh the grief of all) <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> it &s;elf, and the <HI>Temple</HI> in it, (both rich Cabinet, and rare Jew|el) were con&s;umed together. Then the appoint|ed Publick Service of God did utterly cea&s;e, and there was left no &s;olemn A&s;&s;embly in all the World to wor&s;hip him. This was doleful, and verily de&s;erving a whole Book of Lamentations. But think farther of their <HI>hopele&s;ne&s;s</HI> in this hea|vy ca&s;e; The Dry Bones in the Vi&s;ion of
<PB N="13" REF="9"> <HI>Ezekiel</HI> 37th. <HI>chap.</HI> were an apt <HI>Emblem</HI> of their <HI>Condition.</HI> There was no likelihood at all of their <HI>Reviving;</HI> There appeared no <HI>way,</HI> no <HI>means</HI> in the Earth for their <HI>deliverance.</HI> Well might <HI>Jeremiah</HI> expre&s;s it as he did, and &s;ay, <HI>Lam. 1. 2. The daughter of Zion weepeth &s;ore in the night, and the Tears are on her Cheeks, and among all her Lo|vers there was none to comfort her.</HI> None at all, this was <HI>dark night</HI> indeed, horrour of darkne&s;s, and to &s;ay true, <HI>a &s;hadow of death.</HI> But not|with&s;tanding all the <HI>provocations</HI> that had been on their parts, and notwith&s;tanding all this <HI>wrath</HI> on Gods part, yet he did determine to be Him&s;elf a <HI>Light</HI> unto them. He had taken order indeed aforehand by our Prophet that they &s;hould be comforted, effectually comforted, <HI>Com|fort ye, comfort ye my People, &s;aith your God, &s;peak ye comfortably to Jeru&s;alem.</HI> I, but how &s;o? <HI>Cry unto her that her warfare is accompli&s;hed, that her iniquity is pardoned,</HI> I&s;a. 40. 1, 2. It was foretold there &s;hould be an end, and i&s;&s;ue out of even this their great, and de&s;perate calamity. Oh but could that be, was there any po&s;&s;ibility of
<PB N="14" REF="10"> it! Yes. The Lord undertook to do it him|&s;elf, to come in royal manner and do it; And as he <HI>undertook</HI> &s;o he <HI>performed.</HI> He came in due time, and at his coming ob&s;tacles were <HI>removed,</HI> bonds <HI>loo&s;ed,</HI> dry bones <HI>gathered fle&s;h,</HI> and <HI>lived, Judah</HI> was <HI>delivered.</HI> He bla&s;ted the Glory of the <HI>Caldeans</HI> that had brought this calamity upon them, and that became as the flower of the field, <HI>ver&s;. the 8th.</HI> And he inclined the &s;pirit of that generous victorious <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> to &s;et them at liberty. And &s;o tho&s;e <HI>Jews</HI> as from their Graves returned to their dear Country. <HI>Je|ru&s;alem</HI> and the <HI>Temple</HI> ro&s;e up out of their A&s;hes, were again builded, God was wor&s;hip|ped again, their dark night became light. At this the <HI>Jews</HI> them&s;elves were ravi&s;ht; They &s;ung, <HI>When the Lord turned the Captivity of Zion then we were like them that dream.</HI> And the Heathen on each &s;ide of them were a&s;toni&s;ht, and convinc'd at it, and acknowledged the God of I&s;rael. Then &s;aid they among the Heathen, <HI>The Lord hath done great things for them,</HI> P&s;al. 126. 1, 2.</P>
<PB N="15" REF="10">
<P>Lo, here was, (my Beloved) here was a <HI>Magnificent</HI> and <HI>real Manife&s;tation</HI> of God, a <HI>making bare of his Arm, &s;o as all fle&s;h &s;aw it.</HI> Here was a King-like coming forth of God to &s;hew his People mercy; And well might the Pro|phet &s;ay, <HI>The voice of one crying in the Wil|derne&s;s, Prepare the way.</HI> This is one particular which is directly and primarily intended, in the Text, and in this Prophe&s;ie; And who &s;hould de&s;pair of the Church of God, even at the low|e&s;t ebb. But this was that I &s;ay which the Pro|phet did primarily, and (as I may term it) lite|rally here foretell; but God had yet a greater My&s;tery in it, and guided the words of the Prophet &s;o as to &s;ignifie the &s;ame withal. The truth is, (Brethren) Gods great purpo&s;e was to &s;end his own Son into the world, and there|fore his works, and (generally) all his words from the beginning had a <HI>Tincture</HI> of, and <HI>Reference</HI> to this. Many times when other things were up|permo&s;t, and mo&s;t in view, yet they were but as the <HI>Shell,</HI> this was as the <HI>Kernel</HI> inclo&s;ed in them. The greate&s;t <HI>Reference</HI> lay to our ble&s;&s;ed
<PB N="16" REF="11"> Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Now thus it was in this <HI>Prediction</HI> which I am handling, <HI>De|liverance from the Captivity of Babylon,</HI> lay up|permo&s;t, and was fir&s;t in &s;ight, but under it was &s;ignified, <HI>The coming of the Me&s;&s;iah,</HI> and of the <HI>Kingdom of Heaven by him.</HI> This is the &s;econd, the other great particular, of which I gave you intimation. Our Lord and Saviour the Son of God, ('tis true) came in great meanne&s;s, and the very form of a Servant, &s;o he lived, and &s;o he died. Let no per&s;on ever grudg to be put into a mean e&s;tate. He came in great aba&s;ement, but never was the like <HI>Manife&s;tation</HI> of God from the beginning, nor &s;hall be to the end. That very meanne&s;s there was, made it more mar|velous and magnificent. God was, God was in that <HI>de&s;pi&s;ed</HI> in that <HI>Crucified Je&s;us,</HI> as never in any other. God was in him <HI>Reconciling</HI> the world unto him&s;elf; <HI>Breaking</HI> the Head of the old Serpent, and <HI>de&s;troying</HI> his work, <HI>laying</HI> the Foundations of new Heavens, and a new Earth. God was in him <HI>executing,</HI> and <HI>acting,</HI> tho&s;e great things upon which the hope of all
<PB N="17" REF="11"> former ages had been builded, and the faith of all after-generations was to be fixed; things that neither eye had &s;een, nor ear heard, nor heart of Man could ever have conceived, if God him|&s;elf had not revealed them. Nay, the &s;ame Je|&s;us was <HI>very God, manifested in the fle&s;h;</HI> Oh magnificent, beyond compare, and divinely roy|al coming forth of the mo&s;t High into the World! who is able to &s;et forth, or to con|ceive all the glory of it. Men and Angels &s;hall to eternity admire, and prai&s;e him for it.</P>
<P>But (Beloved) in this my Text for its part was very punctually fulfilled, and more expre&s;|ly than it had been at the deliverance from <HI>Baby|lon.</HI> Before this coming of God in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>John</HI> the <HI>Baptist</HI> really was, <HI>the voice of one cry|ing in the Wilderne&s;s, Prepare the way of the Lord make his paths &s;traight.</HI> This the &s;ame <HI>John</HI> affirmed of him&s;elf, <HI>Joh.</HI> 1. 23. And this the other Evan|geli&s;ts with one con&s;ent affirm likewi&s;e of him, <HI>Mat. 3. 3. Mar. 1. 3. Luk</HI> 3. 4. The coming of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, therefore, was a thing eminently <HI>intended</HI> in this Prophe&s;ie. And then,
<PB N="18" REF="12"> if ever the glory of the Lord was revealed, and all fle&s;h did, or well might &s;ee his Salva|tion.</P>
<P>Now thus you may &s;ee the Text compe|tently opened, and the ob&s;ervation which I have rai&s;ed, al&s;o cleared, and verified, <HI>God in the cour&s;e of his Providence over the pre&s;ent world, doth &s;ometimes make magnifick and royal Manife|&s;tations of him&s;elf;</HI> he hath &s;o done indeed.</P>
<P>Now my dear Country-men and Friends, a pa&s;&s;age, I will not &s;ay <HI>equal,</HI> but in a <HI>degree</HI> of this nature, a pa&s;&s;age of this nature in our own Land, the <HI>pre&s;ent day</HI> of the <HI>Year</HI> doth bring to our <HI>Remembrance.</HI></P>
<P>To exaggerate and to exalt the Acts and Succe&s;&s;es of Kings and Rulers, above their <HI>just mea&s;ure</HI> is an immode&s;t and ignoble flattery; On the other hand to depretiate and to deba&s;e them below their <HI>real value</HI> is gro&s;s injury and malig|nity. The re&s;pects of Decency and Equity, of Con&s;cience, and Religion, engage us to weigh the truth in all things, and judg according there|unto; this I have aimed to do. And hereupon,
<PB N="19" REF="12"> I mu&s;t needs &s;ay, <HI>That the re&s;toring of Royal Government in our Land,</HI> and <HI>the re&s;toring of it in the Royal Per&s;on of our Soveraign,</HI> this was a <HI>Magnifick and royal effect of the hand of God,</HI> by whom Kings raign. Ye that are of Age may remember what our condition was. If &s;ome things did plea&s;e <HI>a part</HI> of the&s;e Nations, yet the <HI>whole body</HI> reeled to and fro as having no firm ground to &s;tand upon; We were as if the&s;e brave I&s;lands had been taken off from their an|cient bottom, and floated, and been driven here and there on the Seas that do &s;urround them. The mo&s;t partial (I per&s;wade my &s;elf) cannot, will not, gain&s;ay it. The <HI>Setling</HI> of Authority and Rule upon a <HI>&s;teady Ba&s;is,</HI> is the <HI>real strength</HI> and <HI>confirmation</HI> of States and King|doms, 'tis of bottom con&s;equence unto all their welfare. And when for want of this Mens Hearts did well nigh fail at home, and Ene|mies did deride, and contemn, and de&s;ign upon us from abroad, it plea&s;ed God him&s;elf to in|terpo&s;e, and <HI>to prepare a way in the De&s;art,</HI> a way where none was. It plea&s;ed God to come
<PB N="20" REF="13"> him&s;elf, and to re-erect the Throne, and to place our dear Country upon its proper Ba&s;is, to fix our Government; as if hereto had been <HI>the voice of him that crieth.</HI> The way was in an unu&s;ual, in an unthought of manner prepared prepared &s;uddenly, Hearts <HI>inclined,</HI> Ob&s;tacles <HI>remo|ved,</HI> and the thing <HI>effected.</HI> I know (Beloved) ye are ready to join with me in a ju&s;t Acclamation to it, and to &s;ay, It was the Lords doing, and is memorable in our account. 'Tis plain, God would not have it done by Plots or In&s;urrecti|ons, or force of Arms, he would not have the Kings way &s;moothed with the Peoples blood. No, the God of Peace determined to bring, and brought home the King in Peace: He is that <HI>God that ruleth in all the Kingdoms of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> World, and doth even what&s;oever plea&s;eth him.</HI> Let us humbly and earne&s;tly be&s;eech him to <HI>Pre&s;erve</HI> the KING, to <HI>&s;tabli&s;h</HI> the Throne, to be <HI>gra|cious</HI> to our dear Country; to <HI>&s;econd</HI> his former wonderful works, with <HI>renewed effects</HI> of his Divine Pre&s;ence in all our need. Let us be&s;eech him, that he plea&s;e to make both <HI>Head</HI> and
<PB N="21" REF="13"> <HI>Body,</HI> both <HI>Soveraign,</HI> and <HI>Subjects</HI> faithfully mindful of, grateful for, an&s;werable to his great Obligations upon them; they are great indeed, and what &s;hould <HI>England</HI> render, All, both its Princes, and People for his Benefits towards them. But (my Beloved) for our &s;elves, ye know Religion, as to the <HI>main</HI> of it, is, re&s;pect for, and nearne&s;t to God mo&s;t high. He &s;heweth him&s;elf in his ordinary works, and his tokens are new every mor|ning. But &s;ometimes he reveals his Glory, convinceth very Heathens them&s;elves. He plainly manife&s;ted his Glory in Chri&s;t Je&s;us with un&s;peakable Grace; Oh <HI>know</HI> we him, and encrea&s;e in that <HI>knowledg</HI> of him; <HI>Believe</HI> him, and <HI>encrea&s;e</HI> in that <HI>believing</HI> him; <HI>Fear</HI> him, and <HI>encrea&s;e</HI> in that <HI>fear</HI> of him; Be near him in heart and life, and encrea&s;e in that divine nearne&s;s to him; Let our Religiou&s;|ne&s;s be in <HI>reality,</HI> for that God, the great object of it really is, is <HI>really</HI> glorious, <HI>really</HI> governeth now, and will judg with &s;upream Authority hereafter. Be <HI>indeed</HI> a godly Peo|ple,
<PB N="22" REF="14"> &s;ince he <HI>indeed</HI> is God, and filleth every Age and Country with &s;uch Tokens of his Glory. Withal, tru&s;t we in him, He hath often done great things, things unlookt for, unthought of; He hath appeared to <HI>help</HI> the <HI>needy</HI> when there was no other help at all <HI>appearing.</HI> In the Churches, or in your own lowe&s;t Condition be not di&s;mayed, nor let your hearts fail within you.</P>
<P>To clo&s;e all for this time. Let me be in my poor mea&s;ure <HI>the voice of one that crieth,</HI> and (much re&s;pected and beloved in Chri&s;t) <HI>Prepare ye the way of the Lord;</HI> For your parts, (not to &s;peak of other things) God cometh to you in the Go&s;pel, mighty to &s;ave; Oh let his way be ready that your Souls may live and rejoyce in his Salvation; Je&s;us Chri&s;t cometh in the Sacrament, ye that are particularly concerned, <HI>Prepare his way,</HI> examine, humble ye, reform ye, covet fre&s;h evidences, and en&s;uring of your Union with him, that ye may draw nigh, and make his faithful pledges unto you, and feed your
<PB N="23" REF="14"> Soul unto eternal life. All of us, one with another in the name of God, and his Chri&s;t prepare we for his <HI>la&s;t,</HI> and <HI>greate&s;t,</HI> his mo&s;t <HI>Magnifick</HI> and <HI>Royal Manife&s;tation of him&s;elf.</HI> Prepare we for that dreadful day when Chri&s;t &s;hall appear in the Clouds, and all Nations be gathered before him, and every Soul re|ceive according to what hath been done in the Body, make ready in &s;implicity, and with earne&s;t endeavour now, &s;trive to be, and to do in all things, that ye may be then found in peace, without &s;pot, and blamele&s;s, and be taken into his own, eternal, ble&s;&s;ed King|dom, which can never be troubled, never be &s;haken.</P>
<P>Now, the Lord him&s;elf <HI>teach</HI> you all, and <HI>direct</HI> your Hearts, and <HI>Prepare your way,</HI> and be in the mid&s;t of you to all gracious &s;aving Purpo&s;es for his Names &s;ake. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
