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<DATE>2015-02-04</DATE>
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<NAME>Kate Allen</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist: x *Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x*Review over structure: FRONT,BODY, BACK, DIV or rarely GROUP x*Add DIV TYPEs, make sure that types makes sense as a navigational aide, and work in the context of the whole text, validate x*Survey book for troublesome formats of all kinds, including lists, illustrations, tables, music, math, end-notes, quasi-tabular arrangments, and marginalia. x*Proof title page(s) x*Examine marginalia. Is it all best tagged as NOTE? x*Observe divtop and divbottom material marking beginnings and ends of divisions, check that they are correctly tagged as HEAD, HEADNOTE, CLOSER, OPENER, ARGUMENT, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, DATELINE, BYLINE, TRAILER, etc. x*Check for GAPs x*Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x*Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c., --, # x*Check for illustrations and correct usage of FIGURE. Add FIGDESCs if necessary. x*Check q, startq, endq, Q
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*Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B26714">
<STC T="W">M1563</STC>
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<VID>187744</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="2" MS="y">
<P> THE VISION OF THE WHEELS Seen by the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel;</HI> OPENED and APPLIED: Partly at the Merchants Lecture in <HI>Broad-&s;treet;</HI> and partly at <HI>Stepney,</HI> on <HI>January</HI> 31. 1688/9. being the Day of Solemn Thank&s;giving to God for the great Deliverance of this Kingdom from POPERY and SLAVERY, By His then Highne&s;s the Mo&s;t Illu&s;trious <HI>Prince of Orange.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Whom God rai&s;ed up to be the glorious In&s;trument thereof.</HI></P>
<P>By <HI>MATTHEW MEAD</HI> Pa&s;tor of a Church of Chri&s;t at <HI>Stepney.</HI></P>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;alm 77. 18.</BIBL>
<P><HI>The voice of thy Thunder was</HI> (<GAP DESC="foreign">) <HI>in the Wheel.</HI></P></Q>
<Q><BIBL>P&s;alm 107. 43.</BIBL>
<P><HI>Who&s;o is wi&s;e, and will ob&s;erve the&s;e things, they &s;hall under&s;tand the Loving Kindne&s;s of the Lord.</HI></P></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Tho. Parkhur&s;t</HI> at the <HI>Bible</HI> and <HI>Three Crowns,</HI> at the lower End of <HI>Cheap&s;ide.</HI> 1689.</P>
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD><HI>To the Right Wor&s;hipful Sir</HI> Hum|phrey Edwin <HI>Knight, Sheriff of the City of</HI> London, <HI>Sir</HI> John Hartop, E|ra&s;mus Smith, Lucy Knightly, Samuel Cri&s;p, Daniel Mercer, <HI>E&s;quires, Mr.</HI> I&s;aac Jurin, <HI>Mr.</HI> John Cook, <HI>Mr.</HI> Tho|mas Cook, <HI>Mr.</HI> Daniel Mor&s;e, <HI>Mr.</HI> Tho|mas Hartly, <HI>Mr.</HI> Francis Miller, <HI>and to the re&s;t of the Honourable Merchants and Citizens, who are the Promoters of the Merchants-Lecture in</HI> Broad-&s;treet, London.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIRS,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WHat you could di&s;cern in the&s;e Sermons, to call them forth into &s;o publick an ap|pearance, I know not, unle&s;s it be the &s;uitablene&s;s of them to the Sea&s;on. It was the &s;en&s;e I had of the <HI>Stupendious</HI> Providences of God among us which led me to this Subject, as being &s;o <HI>&s;uitable,</HI> and
<PB REF="4"> my cour&s;e among you, falling out on that very day and hour when the Great <HI>Convention</HI> of the <HI>Me&s;&s;engers of the Nation</HI> were to come together, I thought no|thing could be more <HI>&s;ea&s;onable.</HI> The Subject it &s;elf is excellent and &s;it for a Quill plucked from the <HI>Wing</HI> of one of the <HI>living Creatures</HI> in this Vi&s;ion, and there|fore <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">zek.</HI> 1. 6.</NOTE> the meanne&s;s of the management made me very unwilling it &s;hould come abroad, till I con&s;idered that it would be a le&s;s crime to &s;hew my weakne&s;s, than to be &s;tubborn and in flexible to &s;o many importunities. Be|&s;ides, I thought every one would be willing to know how to <HI>open</HI> the door to a <HI>Golden</HI> Trea&s;ure, though it be but with an <HI>Iron</HI> Key.</P>
<P>He is in too much ha&s;te, who cannot find lei&s;ure to turn a&s;ide to &s;ee &s;o great a &s;ight as this, a <HI>Bu&s;h</HI> not <HI>con&s;umed,</HI> in which the <HI>Flames</HI> have been &s;o long <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Exod.</HI> 3. 3.</NOTE> kindled. The &s;ignal Characters of divine <HI>Wi&s;dom, Power</HI> and <HI>Goodne&s;s</HI> are &s;o vi&s;ibly impre&s;&s;ed upon this late great Providence, that he that runs may read them. When <HI>waters</HI> too <HI>&s;wift</HI> to be <HI>tided,</HI> and too <HI>deep</HI> to be <HI>foorded,</HI> &s;hall <HI>divide</HI> them&s;elves, and <HI>&s;tand on</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Exod.</HI> 14. 21.</NOTE> <HI>heaps,</HI> for whom can we think the great God would be at the expence of &s;uch a <HI>wonder,</HI> but his own <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> though the <HI>mixt multitude</HI> may &s;hare in it? When <HI>walls</HI> that were too <HI>high</HI> to be <HI>&s;caled,</HI> and too <HI>&s;trong</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Jo&s;h</HI> 6. 20.</NOTE>
<PB REF="4"> to be <HI>battered,</HI> &s;hall <HI>unwall</HI> them&s;elves from their foundation, and <HI>fall flat,</HI> and that before the <HI>Trum|pets</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v.</HI> 6.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ound,</HI> or the <HI>people &s;hout,</HI> &s;ure <HI>the Ark of the Lord</HI> mu&s;t be among that people. When <HI>Mountains,</HI> which no hand could <HI>remove,</HI> &s;hall remove them&s;elves, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Zech.</HI> 4. 7.</NOTE> to plain a way to our Mercies, <HI>who knoweth not in all the&s;e, that the hand of the Lord hath wrought</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Job</HI> 12. 9.</NOTE> <HI>this?</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are <HI>preventing</HI> Mercies, as little expected as de&s;erved; <HI>things which we looked not for.</HI> And, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>I&s;a.</HI> 64. 3.</NOTE> as no <HI>judgments</HI> are greater than &s;uch as are <HI>&s;urpri|zing;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>The&s;.</HI> 5. 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> &s;o no <HI>Mercies</HI> &s;weeter than &s;uch as <HI>prevent</HI> us, and come unawares. When our Enemies promi&s;ed them|&s;elves &s;ure &s;ucce&s;s, how &s;udden was the <HI>judgment</HI> which <HI>defeated</HI> their <HI>hope?</HI> and when we looked for nothing but to be <HI>in&s;laved</HI> and <HI>de&s;troyed,</HI> how <HI>&s;urpri|zing</HI> was the <HI>Mercy</HI> that <HI>cured</HI> our fears? No <HI>Wheels</HI> could have brought <HI>&s;uch</HI> a Salvation, had not the <HI>Cha|riot</HI> come from <HI>between the Mountains of Bra&s;s;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Zech.</HI> 6.</NOTE> nor could they have moved &s;o &s;wiftly, had not <HI>the Spi|rit</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>of the living Creature</HI> been in them, and he that <HI>&s;its above upon the Throne</HI> conducted them. <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE></P>
<P>I may not omit to let you know that you will find &s;ome things added here to what you heard; e&s;pecially
<PB REF="5"> in the Applicatory part, for after I had in&s;i&s;ted once upon this Subject among you, there was a day for pub|lick Thank&s;giving appointed for the next Week after, and I knew no fitter <HI>Theme</HI> to in&s;i&s;t upon for that day among my own people; and therefore what I then de|livered, I have here in&s;erted, that I might gratifie their de&s;ires in that, as well as yours in the re&s;t.</P>
<P>The whole was intended from the fir&s;t for a <HI>Thank-Offering</HI> to God, &s;uch as it is, not of the <HI>Herd,</HI> but of <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ev.</HI> 3. 1, 6.</NOTE> the <HI>Flock;</HI> for of him that can't bring a <HI>Bullock</HI> God accepts a <HI>Lamb.</HI> And I was willing to ob&s;erve the Law of that Offering to the utmo&s;t; in which I find that the <HI>Fle&s;h</HI> was to be <HI>eaten the &s;ame day it was Offered,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ev.</HI> 7. 15, 8.</NOTE> or it &s;hould not be <HI>accepted;</HI> the <HI>Go&s;pel</HI> of which is to quicken and ha&s;ten us to Communion with God, in our thankful returns for received Mercies; e&s;pecially when &s;o &s;ignally great as this is. The &s;en&s;e of which was &s;o particularly impre&s;&s;ed upon my mind, that I knew not how to wait for the day (though I believed and expected it) of the publick Solemnizing this Sal|vation. For that I deemed my &s;hare in it to be &s;o much greater than other mens, by how much my Sufferings have been &s;o. A Deliverance, to him who is redeem|ed thereby from <HI>nine years</HI> ince&s;&s;ant vexations, by <HI>Suits,</HI> by <HI>Fines,</HI> by <HI>illegal Hou&s;e-breakings,</HI> by
<PB REF="5"> <HI>Plundering and Spoil,</HI> by <HI>Impri&s;onments,</HI> by <HI>Pro|&s;ecution</HI> for Life, by <HI>Wandering in a &s;trange Land,</HI> mu&s;t be far &s;weeter, than it can be to him who is deli|vered only from his fears, and &s;ad expectations of what is to come. And if, in the wi&s;e Providence of God, the <HI>waters</HI> of a <HI>fuller Cup</HI> have been <HI>wrung out</HI> to <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73. 10</NOTE> one than to another, it is no wonder though he catcheth more ha&s;tily at the <HI>Cup of Con&s;olation</HI> which is given to wa&s;h them down; as he that is forced to take &s;ome <HI>bitter Potion,</HI> readily accepts any thing of a <HI>plea&s;ant reli&s;h</HI> to put the former <HI>ta&s;te</HI> out of his Mouth.</P>
<P>I am glad that by this Occa&s;ion I have &s;o fair an opportunity to make my publick acknowledgment of the Obligations you have laid me under; which have been &s;uch, and &s;o great, (e&s;pecially from &s;ome of you) as leave no way of requital within my reach, but by making the debt to be Gods; and he is mo&s;t free to it, having promi&s;ed to be <HI>Surety</HI> for his Servant, to all &s;uch as <HI>receive a Prophet in the name of a Pro|phet,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mat.</HI> 10. 41</NOTE> as &s;ome of you have done in the wor&s;t times.</P>
<P>Such as this is, it is yours; and if you receive it with the &s;ame Affections from the <HI>Pre&s;s,</HI> as you did appear to do from the <HI>Pulpit,</HI> I have hope that it
<PB REF="6"> may be ble&s;&s;ed of God to good purpo&s;es, by promoting in you the con&s;tant practice of all tho&s;e important Du|ties which &s;o great a Salvation calls for; and O that the &s;ame <HI>Spirit of Life</HI> which is in the <HI>Wheels,</HI> may move effectually in all your Souls, to this end.</P>
<CLOSER>So prays
<SIGNED><HI>Your Mo&s;t Faithful Servant in the Bonds of the Go&s;pel,</HI> M. Mead.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>Feb. 28. 1688/9.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>ERRATA.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PAge</HI> 13. <HI>line</HI> 20. <HI>read</HI> Hamma&s;chith. <HI>p.</HI> 31. <HI>l.</HI> 12. <HI>r.</HI> je&s;hibennah. <HI>p.</HI> 33. <HI>l.</HI> 24. <HI>for</HI> &s;even <HI>r.</HI> eleven. <HI>p.</HI> 50. <HI>l.</HI> ult. <HI>for</HI> had <HI>r.</HI> did.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="6" MS="y">
<HEAD>The Vi&s;ion of the Wheels &s;een by the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> opened and applied.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>&mdash;Ezekiel</HI> 10. 13.</BIBL>
<Q>As for the Wheels, it was cryed unto them in my hearing, O Wheel!</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>THE Doctrine of Divine Providence, though it is never un&s;ea&s;onable, yet it is never &s;o &s;ea&s;onable as when there are &s;uch loud &s;peaking In&s;tances, not only of the truth of the Being of it, but al|&s;o of the Beauty and Glory of it exhibited to common view.</P>
<P>None of all the Prophets have &s;et out the Providence of God in his Wi&s;dom, Power,
<PB N="2" REF="7"> Soveraignty and Super-intendency, more than this Prophet <HI>Ezekiel</HI> nor by more E|legant Emblems. Though it mu&s;t be &s;aid of this Prophecy (as was &s;aid of <HI>Paul</HI>'s Epi&s;tles) that there are <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>&s;ome things in them hard to be under&s;tood,</HI> full of ob&s;curity and difficulty; which made <HI>Jerom</HI> &s;ay, there is <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Proem, in</HI> 1 <HI>lib. Comment. in Ezek. Tom.</HI> 5.</NOTE> in this Book a Sea of Scripture, it is &s;o deep; and a Labyrinth of the My&s;teries of God, it is &s;o difficult; and therefore as the reading of the beginning of <HI>Gene&s;is,</HI> and the Book of <HI>Canticles,</HI> was forbidden to the Jews (as the &s;ame Author &s;ays) <HI>ante aetatem Sacerdotalem,</HI> till they were thirty years of Age; &s;o was the beginning and ending of this Prophecy.</P>
<P>There are in it dark Vi&s;ions, hard to be unfolded; uncertain Chronologies, difficult to be found out; My&s;tical Parables, hard to be opened; and many Aenigmatical Hiero|glyphicks, not ea&s;ily under&s;tood; &s;uch as the pourtrayed Tile, <HI>chap.</HI> 4. the removing the hou&s;hold &s;tuff, <HI>chap.</HI> 12. the u&s;ele&s;s Vine|branch, <HI>chap.</HI> 15. the two Eagles and a Vine, <HI>chap.</HI> 17. the boiling Pot, <HI>chap.</HI> 24. the dry Bones, <HI>chap.</HI> 37. and the like.</P>
<PB N="3" REF="7">
<P> But among all of them, none hath more darkne&s;s and difficulty attends it than this of the <HI>Wheels and Cherubims;</HI> you have them mentioned in the fir&s;t chapter, and again in this. They are two different Vi|&s;ions, as appears from <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 3. compared with <HI>chap.</HI> 8. 3. but much to the &s;ame pur|po&s;e; and therefore I &s;hall have recour&s;e to both, &s;o far as may &s;erve my de&s;ign; which is to open to you &s;omewhat of this Vi&s;ion of the Wheels.</P>
<P><HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Prov.</HI> 25. 11. <HI>A word &s;poken upon its Wheels,</HI> (&s;o the Hebrew <GAP DESC="foreign">) <HI>is</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gnal ophniu.</NOTE> <HI>like Apples of Gold in pictures of Silver;</HI> the meaning is; A word rightly timed, is very grateful and plea&s;ant: &s;o it is explained in <HI>chap.</HI> 15. 23. <HI>A word &s;poken in due &s;ea&s;on, how good is it?</HI></P>
<P>I am now to &s;peak of the Wheels; the Lord make it <HI>a word upon its wheels;</HI> that as it is &s;uitable to the Providence that put me upon it, &s;o it may be &s;weet to the palate of every one that ta&s;ts it.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="8">
<P> In the whole ver&s;e you have four parts.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The Cryer.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The Cry.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. The Object of the Cry.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. The Witne&s;s of all.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. The Cryer. Which though not ex|pre&s;&s;ed, yet is nece&s;&s;arily to be under&s;tood. <HI>It was cryed;</HI> by whom? By him that &s;ate upon the Throne, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 1. that is, the Lord.</P>
<P N="2">2. You have the cry it &s;elf. <HI>O wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. The Object of the Cry. To whom it was made; it was to the Wheels. <HI>As for the wheels, it was cryed to them.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Here is the Witne&s;s in who&s;e pre&s;ence the Cry was uttered, and that was the Pro|phet. <HI>It was cryed in my hearing,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>in my</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Beoznai.</NOTE> <HI>ears. As for the wheels, it was cryed to them in my ears, O wheel.</HI></P>
<P>In &s;peaking of the&s;e Wheels, it will be nece&s;&s;ary to look into the whole Vi&s;ion, &s;o far at lea&s;t as may give light to the thing in hand.</P>
<P>In which Vi&s;ion you may &s;ee an excellent Subordination of cau&s;es one to another, and all to the Supream cau&s;e, in the carrying on
<PB N="5" REF="8"> the Government in the providential King|dom of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="1">1. You have the Supream cau&s;e &s;et out by the appearance of a man upon a Throne above the Firmament, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 26. <HI>Above the Firmament was the likene&s;s of a Throne, and upon the Throne was the likene&s;s of a man above upon it. The likene&s;s of a man,]</HI> Who is this, but the Lord Chri&s;t in the Per&s;on of the Mediator?</P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But Chri&s;t was not as yet come in the Fle&s;h,</HI> Why then is he here repre&s;ented in the likene&s;s of a man?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> 1. It was to pre-figure his Incarna|tion; his Divine Nature being in the ful|ne&s;s of time to a&s;&s;ume our Fle&s;h into the Unity of his Per&s;on.</P>
<P N="2">2. It was to &s;hew that the Government of the World was put into his hand as Me|diator, and that he po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the Throne of the World not as God only, but according to his humane Nature. The Government of the World was put into the hand of Chri&s;t from the time of the Fall; Sin had broken the Axle-tree of the whole Creation, had not <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 1. 3.</NOTE>
<PB N="6" REF="9"> Chri&s;t interpo&s;ed to uphold it; therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>By him all things con&s;i&s;t, Col.</HI> 1. 17. And hence it is that God the Father calls him, <HI>My King, P&s;al.</HI> 2. 6. He hath &s;et him up to rule, and given him an univer&s;al Domi|nion; &s;o that he that is above upon the Throne in the likene&s;s of a man rules all.</P>
<P N="2">2. Tho' Chri&s;t rules ab&s;olutely, yet he doth not rule immediately; he governs the World by the Agency of the Eternal Spirit. As Chri&s;t rules for God; &s;o the Spirit rules for Chri&s;t. He is the great Admini&s;trator of the Government throughout the Media|tory Kingdom. He &s;ets all a going, there|fore you read in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 12. <HI>Whither the Spirit was to go, they went;</HI> and again, <HI>v.</HI> 20. <HI>Whither&s;oever the Spirit was to go, they went; thither was their Spirit to go.</HI></P>
<P>By the Spirit here, no other can be meant but the Holy Gho&s;t, who is Co-e&s;&s;ential, and Co-equal with the Father, and the Son. All the Angels of God are under the com|mand and conduct of the Spirit What great things have Angels done? defending, comforting, guarding the people of God;
<PB N="7" REF="9"> de&s;troying their Enemies; <HI>An Angel of the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kings 19. 35.</NOTE> <HI>Lord &s;mote an hundred and eighty five thou&s;and of the</HI> A&s;&s;yrians <HI>in one night.</HI> If Angels con|tend again&s;t Princes, overturn Kingdoms, it is all done by the conduct of the Spirit, he hath the great hand in all.</P>
<P>And therefore you read in <HI>Zech.</HI> 6. 6. <HI>Of black hor&s;es that go forth into the North Coun|trey,</HI> that is, for the de&s;truction of <HI>Babylon; and the white go forth after them;</HI> that is, for the redeeming the people of God out of <HI>Ba|bylon,</HI> and both one &s;ort and the other are acted therein by the Spirit; he &s;ends them forth, therefore in <HI>v.</HI> 8. they are &s;aid to quiet the Spirit in this work. <HI>Behold, the&s;e that go toward the North Countrey, have quieted my Spirit in the North Countrey.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;o it is with the Wheels, they all move as the Spirit of God moves them. What great things did the Judges in <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of old? Why all was by the Spirit of God. So it is &s;aid of <HI>Othniel, The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went out to War, and the Lord delivered his Enemies into his hand,</HI> Judg. 3. 10. So it is &s;aid, <HI>Judg.</HI> 11. 29.
<PB N="8" REF="10"> <HI>The Spirit of the Lord came upon</HI> Jephthah, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Judges 11. 29.</NOTE> <HI>and he fought again&s;t the Children of</HI> Ammon; <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 32.</NOTE> <HI>and the Lord delivered them into his hands.</HI> So it is &s;aid of <HI>Sam&s;on, The Spirit of the Lord moved him,</HI> Judg. 13. 25. This is thus di&s;tinctly recorded in Scripture, that we may know to whom to a&s;cribe the Succe&s;&s;es of great Attempts; not to the Courage and Conduct of Men, but to the Agency of the Spirit of God. Princes, Armies, Navies, are all nothing without the Spirit of God Act them.</P>
<P>If God di&s;pirits, <HI>The men of might can't find</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 76. 5.</NOTE> <HI>their hands. The &s;ound of a &s;haken leaf &s;hall cha&s;e them,</HI> Levit. 26. 36. And if God Spi|rits men, <HI>One &s;hall cha&s;e a thou&s;and, and two put ten thou&s;and to flight,</HI> Deut. 32. 30. So that it is <HI>not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord,</HI> Zech. 4. 6.</P>
<P><HI>The Wheels go which way &s;oever the Spirit goes.</HI> If you &s;ee the Wheel go over King|doms, and break down Thrones and Scep|ters, marvel not at the matter, for the Spi|rit of God is in the Wheels; and that is the &s;econd thing.</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="9" REF="10"> 3. Here is another Subordination of cau&s;es; and that is the living Creatures. In <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 5. you read of four living Creatures, every one of which had four Faces, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 6. He doth not &s;ay, who, or what the&s;e liv|ing Creatures are in that Vi&s;ion; but in this tenth <HI>Chapter</HI> he doth. He tells you they are the Angels, <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 20. <HI>The living Crea|tures that I &s;aw, under the God of</HI> I&s;rael,<HI>&mdash;I knew that they were the Cherubims; every one had four faces apiece,</HI> ver&s;e 21. The former Vi&s;ion was at <HI>Chebar,</HI> this was in the Tem|ple. God di&s;covers him&s;elf more in the Temple than at <HI>Chebar;</HI> Vi&s;ions in <HI>Babylon</HI> are not &s;o clear as Vi&s;ions in <HI>Sion. In his Temple every one &s;peaks of his Glory,</HI> P&s;al. 29. 9.</P>
<P>And if you look into <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 10. there is a de&s;cription of their Faces. <HI>As for the like|ne&s;s of their faces, they four had the face of a Man, and the face of a Lion, and the face of an Ox, and the face of an Eagle.</HI> The very &s;ame Faces with the four Bea&s;ts mentioned, <HI>Rev.</HI> 4. 7. And why are the&s;e four Faces a&s;cribed to each Angel? but that by look|ing
<PB N="10" REF="11"> in their Faces we might &s;ee how they were fitted for their Services. The&s;e four Faces &s;hew forth four excellent, and &s;uitable indowments.</P>
<P>Wi&s;dom and Prudence, Typed out by the <HI>face of a Man.</HI></P>
<P>Courage and Boldne&s;s, by the <HI>face of a Lion.</HI></P>
<P>Diligence and Indu&s;try, by the <HI>face of an Ox.</HI></P>
<P>Expedition and Di&s;patch, <HI>by the face of an Eagle.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e were the likene&s;s of the four Faces of each Cherubim, all which is to in&s;truct us in the prudent care, and wi&s;e fore-ca&s;t by which the Providence of God doth di&s;po&s;e of all the&s;e lower events that come to pa&s;s in the World.</P>
<P>The Angels are the great Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t in the Government of the World cal|led four here <HI>(chap.</HI> 1. 5.) <HI>four living Crea|tures;</HI> not becau&s;e Chri&s;t u&s;es that number, and no more, but the number relates to the Object, <HI>viz.</HI> the World, which is con&s;tant|ly divided into four parts, <HI>Ea&s;t, We&s;t, North,</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="11"> and <HI>South;</HI> and the&s;e are called the <HI>four quarters of the Earth,</HI> Rev. 20. 8. And the <HI>four quarters of Heaven,</HI> Jer. 49. 36.</P>
<P>As there are four parts of the World; &s;o the Angels are &s;aid to be four, to &s;hew that they have a care of the whole Earth. So <HI>Rev.</HI> 7. 1. <HI>I &s;aw four Angels &s;tanding on the four corners of the Earth, holding the four winds of the Earth.</HI></P>
<P>But otherwi&s;e God doth not u&s;e only four Angels in the conducting the Affairs of the World, but many, yea multitudes. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 6. 17. <HI>The Mountain was full of Hor&s;es, and Chariots of Fire.</HI> This was nothing el&s;e but a Guard of Angels. So ye read of <HI>a multi|tude of the heavenly Ho&s;t, Luke</HI> 2. 13. Nay all the Angels in Heaven do Mini&s;ter in the Government of the World under Chri&s;t. <HI>Heb.</HI> 2. 14. <HI>Are they not all mini&s;tring Spirits, &s;ent forth to mini&s;ter?</HI></P>
<P>Chri&s;t hath his Angels in all quarters; as the Devil and his Angels compa&s;s the whole World for evil, &s;o Chri&s;t hath his Angels who compa&s;s it for good.</P>
<P>They are in every Corner and Company;
<PB N="12" REF="12"> e&s;pecially in every Church and A&s;&s;embly. The inward part of the Temple was to be adorned with Cherubims, to note the &s;pe|cial attendance of the Angels in the A&s;&s;em|blies of the Saints. It is one great argument for a holy behaviour, and a decency of dre&s;&s;ing in our Meetings for Wor&s;hip. You are in the pre&s;ence of the holy Angels. So the Apo&s;tle u&s;es it, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 10. <HI>For this cau&s;e ought the woman to have power on her head, becau&s;e of the Angels. Power on her head</HI> that is, a covering (as in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 5.) which the woman is to wear as a &s;ign &s;he is under the power of her Husband.</P>
<P>The Angels of God influence all the great Affairs of the World, and it is with a pecu|liar re&s;pect to the Church of God. If Satan and fallen Angels have a power to influence the Affairs of the World for evil, then &s;ure|ly good Angels have as much power as they to influence them for good, otherwi&s;e De|vils &s;hould gain by their fall, more than ever they had by their &s;tanding. The Scripture tells us what great Services the Angels are imployed in between Chri&s;t and his People.
<PB N="13" REF="12" MS="y"> For this is the meaning of <HI>Jacob</HI>'s Ladder, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 28. 12.</NOTE> and the Angels a&s;cending and de&s;cending upon it; and &s;o it is expounded by our Lord him&s;elf, <HI>John</HI> 1. 51. <HI>Hereafter ye &s;hall &s;ee Heaven opened, and the Angels of God a&s;|cending and de&s;cending upon the Son of Man.</HI> Angels inform us of the will and mind of God, (and are Intelligences in this &s;en&s;e.) Who revealed to <HI>Abraham</HI> and <HI>Lot</HI> the de&s;ign <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 18. 20. Gen. 19. 13. 2 King. 1. 3.</NOTE> of God upon <HI>Sodom?</HI> who taught <HI>Elijah</HI> what to &s;ay to the King of <HI>Samaria</HI> his Me&s;|&s;engers? who was it that gave <HI>Daniel</HI> skill <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 9. 22.</NOTE> and under&s;tanding in the Vi&s;ion of the Times? The Angels are &s;ent to te&s;tifie the things of Chri&s;t to the Churches, <HI>Rev.</HI> 22. 16. Again, they are the Mini&s;ters of Gods judgments upon the wicked. Who &s;mote the <HI>Sodo|mites</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 19. 11.</NOTE> with blindne&s;s at <HI>Lot</HI>'s door? who &s;lew all the Fir&s;t-born in <HI>Egypt?</HI> It was an Angel of God, who is therefore called <HI>Hamma&s;che|hith</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>(Exod.</HI> 12. 23.) the De&s;troyer. The <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> with re&s;pect to this Judgment of God, &s;ays, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 78. 49. <HI>He &s;ent evil Angels among them;</HI> not Angels evil by Nature, but Me&s;&s;engers of evil: And &s;o the Hebrew
<PB N="14" REF="13"> <HI>Malachei ragnim</HI> may be read; and &s;o &s;ome <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> of your Margents have it, <HI>Angels of evil</HI></P>
<P>Who did that mighty Execution upon the <HI>A&s;&s;yrian</HI> Ho&s;t? an hundred and eighty five <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 37. 35.</NOTE> thou&s;and in one night. (That is more than over running a Nation in a Month.) <HI>The Angel of the Lord went forth and &s;mote them.</HI> And therefore when <HI>David</HI> would have judg|ment done effectually upon his Enemies, he prays for Angels to do it, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 35. 5, 6. <HI>Let the Angel of the Lord cha&s;e them, and let the Angel of the Lord per&s;ecute them.</HI> Again, they intermeddle with the Governments of the World, and the Affairs of Kingdoms, <HI>Dan.</HI> 10. 20. <HI>Knowe&s;t thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the Prince of</HI> Per&s;ia; <HI>and when I am gone forth, lo, the Prince of</HI> Graecia <HI>&s;hall come.</HI> Who is this that &s;peaks to <HI>Daniel?</HI> it is the Angel <HI>Ga|briel?</HI> the meaning of the place is this, <HI>Cam|by&s;es</HI> the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> King did by his cruel Edicts vex the Jews, and laboured to oppre&s;s them wor&s;e than his Predece&s;&s;ors had done. Now this Angel oppo&s;ed him, and kept the E|dicts from Execution; and this he calls fight|ing
<PB N="15" REF="13"> again&s;t him. <HI>And when I am gone, lo, the Prince of</HI> Graecia <HI>&s;hall come.</HI> That is, I will go into <HI>Greece,</HI> I will &s;tir up <HI>Alexander,</HI> and he &s;hall over-run the Kingdom; and he did &s;o; with an Army of thirty thou&s;and men he Invades their Land, and Conquers all the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> Army that was ten times as <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Darius</HI> his Army was 600000.</NOTE> many, and ten to that, and drove the King out of his Kingdom, and this was done by the Mini&s;try of the Angel <HI>Gabriel.</HI></P>
<P>Great is the power and influence of An|gels in the Governments of the World; there|fore the Wheels are &s;aid to follow the moti|ons of the Cherubims, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10. 16. And no wonder the power of Angels is &s;o great, and their influence &s;o full of virtue and &s;uc|ce&s;s, when the Spirit of Chri&s;t acts them in all, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 20. <HI>Whither&s;oever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither was their Spirit to go.</HI> The Angels, in all their Mini&s;trations in the Affairs of the World, are acted by the Spi|rit; that is the third.</P>
<P N="4">4. Here is a further Subordination; and that is, of the Affairs of the World to the An|gels. Chri&s;t, who rules all, &s;ends his Spirit,
<PB N="16" REF="14"> the Spirit acts the Angels, the Angels rule the World, and therefore you have in the next place a Vi&s;ion of Wheels. By the&s;e Wheels the World is re&s;embled, and all the Affairs of it. All Kingdoms and Nations, all Countries and Cities, all Places and People, all Actions and Affairs are intended and re|pre&s;ented by the&s;e VVheels; now the&s;e VVheels are wholly under the conduct and guidance of the living Creatures; they acted the VVheels, therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 19. <HI>When the living Creatures went, the wheels went by them; and when the living Creatures were lift up from the Earth, the wheels were lifted up.</HI> And <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 2. <HI>When tho&s;e went, the&s;e went; and when tho&s;e &s;tood, the&s;e &s;tood.</HI> Now they which are called here the living Creatures, are in <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 16. called the Cherubims. <HI>When the Cherubims went, the wheels went by them; when they &s;tood, the&s;e &s;tood; and when they were lifted up, the&s;e lifted up them&s;elves al&s;o;</HI> and the rea&s;on of all is in the next words, <HI>for the Spirit of the living (reature is in them, i. e.</HI> in the VVheels, as it is twice men|tioned, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 20, 21. So that here you have
<PB N="17" REF="14"> a &s;hort view of the whole Subordination of cau&s;es one to another, and of all to the Supream cau&s;e, in ordering all the Affairs of this lower VVorld. God the Father puts the Government of all into the hand of Chri&s;t. Chri&s;t &s;ub&s;titutes the Spirit to be his <HI>Prorex,</HI> and &s;ends him into the VVorld to manage all things. The Spirit acts the Angels, and they all Mini&s;ter to him. The Angels act the VVheels, and they all are governed by them.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t crave leave (the nature of the thing requiring it) to open this part of the Vi&s;ion a little more di&s;tinctly concerning the VVheels; and that but in two things.</P>
<P N="1">1. As to the nature of them.</P>
<P N="2">2. As to what is a&s;cribed to them. And by that time the&s;e are opened, we &s;hall have cau&s;e to take up the words of the Text, and cry as it is cryed there, <HI>O wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. As for the nature of the&s;e VVheels, they are Vi&s;ional, and pre&s;ented by way of Emblem. The Prophet tells you, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 1. <HI>The Heavens were opened, and I &s;aw Vi&s;ions of God.</HI> The&s;e VVheels were a part of tho&s;e Vi&s;ions, and there|fore not material VVheels, but yet as really re|pre&s;ented to the Eye of the Prophet in Simili|tude,
<PB N="18" REF="15"> and as &s;trongly impre&s;&s;ed upon his mind in the image of them, as if they had been material. Now the&s;e Wheels being Vi&s;ional Wheels, there|fore that which we are to look at is, what is repre|&s;ented, and to be under&s;tood by them. And the repre&s;entation is ea&s;ily known by con&s;idering the nature of the thing in Vi&s;ion. <HI>viz. Wheels.</HI></P>
<P>I will not trouble you with the variety of the conjectures of others about them. By the Wheels we are to under&s;tand this vi&s;ible VVorld, becau&s;e of the turnings and changes of all things in it. It is u&s;ual with the Spirit of God to re&s;emble the World to things that are in their nature mo&s;t mutable. Sometimes it is re&s;embled to the <HI>Moon,</HI> which is never found long in the &s;ame figure; &s;ometimes increa&s;ing, &s;ometimes full, then decrea&s;ing, and then increa&s;ing again; &s;uch is this World, and there|fore fitly re&s;embled to the Moon; as in <HI>Rev.</HI> 12. 1. <HI>I &s;aw a woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon un|der her feet.</HI> By the Woman here is meant the True Church of Chri&s;t, fitly &s;tiled a Woman, which is the weaker Sex; to &s;hew the weak and low con|dition of the Church in her pre&s;ent State. A Wo|man, becau&s;e &s;he is the Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t. A Wo|man, in oppo&s;ition to the Apo&s;tate Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> called <HI>the great Whore,</HI> and <HI>Mother of Harlots.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17. 1, 5.</NOTE></P>
<PB N="19" REF="15">
<P> This Woman is de&s;cribed by two Characters.</P>
<P N="1">1. She is &s;aid to be <HI>clothed with the Sun,</HI> that is, Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who is called the <HI>Sun of righteou&s;ne&s;s.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mal. 4. 2.</NOTE> Believers (of whom the Church con&s;i&s;ts) are &s;aid to <HI>have put on Chri&s;t.</HI> She is found in Chri&s;t, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3. 27.</NOTE> is covered with the Robe of his righteou&s;ne&s;s, and &s;o is clothed with the Sun.</P>
<P N="2">2. She is &s;aid to <HI>have the Moon under her feet,</HI> be|cau&s;e where the power of Grace takes effectual hold of the Heart, it works up the affections to Heavenly and Eternal Objects, and by this means all the things of this World (the <GAP DESC="foreign">) <NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3. 2.</NOTE> are di&s;-e&s;teemed and &s;et light by, and this is <HI>having the Moon under her feet.</HI></P>
<P>Sometimes the World is re&s;embled to the Sea; <HI>Dan.</HI> 7. 2. <HI>I &s;aw in my Vi&s;ion by night, and behold the four winds of Heaven &s;trove upon the great Sea.</HI> The Sea here is to be taken Allegorically, for the inha|bited World; for as the Sea is made up of a col|lection of Waters, &s;o is the World of a multitude of People and Nations; and &s;o the Holy Gho&s;t interprets it. In <HI>Rev.</HI> 13. 1. <HI>John</HI> &s;ays he <HI>&s;aw a Bea&s;t ri&s;e up out of the Sea.</HI> Now &s;ays the Holy Gho&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. 15. <HI>The Waters which thou &s;awe&s;t,&mdash;are Peoples, and Multitudes, and Nations, and Tongues;</HI> and thus this <HI>Jamma rabba,</HI> this great Sea <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>
<PB N="20" REF="16"> here is to be under&s;tood. The World is this Sea, &s;o called from the un&s;tablene&s;s of it, ever unquiet and full of commotions; in a perpetual Flux, it is always ebbing and flowing; there is an unquiet principle in its &s;elf, never at a &s;tay, therefore com|pared to the Sea. Here in the Text it is re&s;em|bled by Wheels, and very fitly; for,</P>
<P N="1">1. The Wheel is a thing fitted for motion, it is <HI>in&s;trumentum volubile.</HI> From its figure it is apt to turn and move any way; that Spoke that is now lowermo&s;t, is anon highe&s;t, and that which is got to the top, &s;oon comes to the bottom again; ju&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Greenhil</HI> on <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 16. <HI>Carter</HI> on <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10. 13.</NOTE> &s;uch is the condition of this World, it runs conti|nually upon Wheels; here is no &s;uch matter as a fixed, permanent &s;tate of things. Ask the Spheres above, and they'l tell you the &s;ame, and the Pla|nets, and they will in&s;truct you; they wheel about day by day. If the Sun comes forth in the Morn|ing <HI>like a Giant to run his race,</HI> yet he goes to Bed a|gain at night. If the Moon be new at pre&s;ent, in a few days &s;he grows old, and ever changing. But what need we go to the Heavens to learn this, when there is nothing below but &s;hews it? The Earth, if it doth not run round it &s;elf, (which &s;ome affirm) yet every thing upon the Stage of it doth. What are the Kingdoms and Empires of the World,
<PB N="21" REF="16"> but &s;o many Wheels turning up and down? Tho&s;e four great Monarchies, the <HI>Babylonian,</HI> the <HI>Per&s;ian,</HI> the <HI>Grecian,</HI> and the <HI>Roman,</HI> where are they? What is become of them? how did they wheel from one to another, and at la&s;t wheeled out of being. So it is with Cities, what is become of <HI>Sodom,</HI> and the Cities of the Plain? Nay, what is become of <HI>Je|ru&s;alem?</HI> She that was once the beauty of the whole Earth, and yet now laid wa&s;te, and not one Stone left upon another. How many of you have &s;een this City in its beauty, and in its a&s;hes all in le&s;s than one Week, I pray God you may never &s;ee &s;uch another &s;ight; but I will tell you this, who|ever are run away, the burners of your City are behind &s;till, &s;o long as your Lu&s;ts remain unre|pented of, and unmortified. Nay the Church, which hath a firmer Foundation than Heaven and Earth, yet &s;he is a Wheel too: <HI>Volvitur, revolvitur,</HI> wheeled to and again; hurryed here and there, never long in any condition; &s;ometimes pro&s;pe|rous, &s;ometimes per&s;ecuted; <HI>God hath &s;et the one a|gain&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 7. 14.</NOTE> <HI>the other.</HI> Now &s;he enjoys re&s;t and peace; anon, <HI>O thou afflicted, and to&s;t with tempe&s;t!</HI> One <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 54. 11.</NOTE> while &s;he is in <HI>Egypt,</HI> another while in the <HI>Wil|derne&s;s;</HI> &s;ometimes in <HI>Canaan,</HI> and &s;ometimes in <HI>Babylon.</HI> Thus it was with the old Church; and
<PB N="22" REF="17"> the Lot of the Church under the Go&s;pel is the &s;ame. Under the Ten bloudy Per&s;ecutions &s;he had no re&s;t; under <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> &s;he injoyed <HI>Halcyon</HI> days, but they were but few. <HI>At the opening of the &s;eventh Seal there was &s;ilence in Heaven, (i. e.</HI> peace in the Church) but it was but <HI>about the &s;pace of half an hour;</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 1.</NOTE> then the <HI>Arrian</HI> Here&s;ie brake out, and all her peace was buryed in that Grave. Then ari&s;es the <HI>Bea&s;t with &s;even Heads, and ten Horns, and power was given</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 1. v. 5.</NOTE> <HI>him to continue forty two months,</HI> all which time it was <HI>given him to make war with the Saints, I, and to over|come them too.</HI> So that all that time the Church is <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> in the Wilderne&s;s, and the Witne&s;&s;es Prophe&s;ie in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 6. Rev. 11. 3.</NOTE> Sackcloth; nor is there an end of their Sufferings but after this they are killed; and lye dead three <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7. v. 9. v. 11.</NOTE> days and an half, and then the Spirit of Life enters, and they ri&s;e again. This Ark mu&s;t be to&s;t up|on the waters, without any hope of finding a &s;afe harbour till Chri&s;t comes, and the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Chri&s;t. It is the &s;ame with particular <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> Per&s;ons and Families; how doth the Wheel turn there? <HI>Solomon</HI> tells you, <HI>one Generation pa&s;&s;es away, and another comes,</HI> but he tells you of none that &s;tays. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 1. 4.</NOTE> And &s;peaking of time, he tells you, <HI>There is a time to be born, and a time to die;</HI> he tells you of no time <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 3. 2.</NOTE>
<PB N="23" REF="17"> to live, as if that were not worth the naming. Mans <HI>exit</HI> is &s;o near to his entrance, that what comes be|tween is incon&s;iderable. <HI>He fleeth as a &s;hadow, and</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 14. 2.</NOTE> <HI>continues not.</HI> His Birth is a change, his Death is a change, and &s;o is his whole Life; there are changes in his Health, well to day, &s;ick to morrow. Changes in his Heighth and Honour; now on the top of the Wheel, anon at the bottom. You have an in|&s;tance of this in <HI>Haman;</HI> how high is he advanced? to be the &s;econd Man at Court, as if he were Lord Chancellor, and anon carried from the Court to the Gibbet. How high was <HI>Adonibezek</HI> when he had Seventy Kings eating &s;craps like Dogs under his Table? but the Wheel turns, and he is in the like condition; for &s;ays he, <HI>As I have done, &s;o</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 1. 7. 7.</NOTE> <HI>God hath requited me.</HI> It is &s;o with E&s;tates; what an in&s;tance have we in <HI>Job?</HI> rich beyond reckoning to day, and to morrow poor to a Proverb. Fa|mous is the Story of <HI>Beli&s;arius,</HI> that great General, who after great Victories, and extraordinary Ser|vices for his Country, had at la&s;t his Eyes put out, all his E&s;tate taken away, and he forced to beg his Bread at the Gates of <HI>Rome,</HI> with, <HI>Da obulum Beli&s;a|rio, quem extulit virtus, caecavit invidia;</HI> Give one half-penny to <HI>Beli&s;arius,</HI> whom his own Virtue once advanced, and others Envy hath now blinded. O
<PB N="24" REF="18"> how mutable and un&s;table is this World! why then &s;hould the &s;trong man glory in his &s;trength, which the next Di&s;ea&s;e may <HI>dry up like a pot&s;herd? P&s;al.</HI> 22. 15. And why &s;hould the rich man glory in his riches, which <HI>take them&s;elves wings, and flee a|way as an Eagle towards Heaven?</HI> And why &s;hould the great ones of the Earth glory in their Honour? when as <HI>man in honour abides not, he is like the Bea&s;ts that peri&s;h,</HI> P&s;al. 49. 12.</P>
<P N="2">2. VVheels make a great noi&s;e, their motion is ob&s;treperous; &s;o the Prophet de&s;cribes them, <HI>Nah.</HI> 3. 2. <HI>The noi&s;e of the ratling of the wheels, and of the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Joel 2. 5. 2 King. 7. 6.</NOTE> <HI>jumping Chariots.</HI> So it is in the motions and com|motions of the World, they are not without great noi&s;e. Great Wars make a great noi&s;e; therefore you read of the noi&s;e of the Trumpet, and the noi&s;e of War, <HI>Exod.</HI> 32. 17. <HI>Every Battel of the Warriour is with confu&s;ed noi&s;e, I&s;a.</HI> 9. 5. Great &s;orrows and great rejoicings make a great noi&s;e. In <HI>Ezra</HI> 3. 13. you read of <HI>the noi&s;e of joy, and the noi&s;e of weeping.</HI> Great changes in Government make a great noi&s;e. <HI>Jer.</HI> 49. 21. <HI>The Earth is moved at the noi&s;e of their fall.</HI> When God is about to pull down his Ene|mies, and redeem his People, it is with great noi&s;e. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37. 7. <HI>As I prophe&s;ied there was a noi&s;e, and be|hold a &s;haking, and the bones came together, bone to his</HI>
<PB N="25" REF="18"> <HI>bone.</HI> So in <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. 1, 2. when the fir&s;t Seal was opened, and Chri&s;t rides upon his red Hor&s;e, Con|quering, and to Conquer, it is &s;aid, There was <HI>a noi&s;e as of thunder;</HI> and when the Lord Chri&s;t &s;hall Judge the great VVhore, and avenge the Blood of his Saints, and bring in the new Heavens and the new Earth, it will make a great noi&s;e; a great noi&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3. 10.</NOTE> of mourning among her Abettors. <HI>The Kings of the Earth who committed Fornication with her, and the Merchants of the Earth</HI> (the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Traders with <HI>Rome</HI> for Pardons, Indulgences, Di&s;pen&s;ati|ons, <HI>&amp;c.) they &s;hall bewail her, and lament for her, &s;aying, Alas, alas, that great City</HI> Babylon, <HI>Rev.</HI> 18. 9, 10, 11. And the noi&s;e of joy &s;hall be as great on the other &s;ide; therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>Rev.</HI> 19. 1. <HI>I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven, &s;aying, Allelujah, Salvation and Glory, and Honour, and Power to the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his Judg|ments,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>for he hath Judged the great Whore.</HI> And <HI>v.</HI> 6. <HI>I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thun|derings, &s;aying, Allelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent Reigns. Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the Marriage of the Lamb is come.</HI> Here is the noi&s;e of the VVheels.</P>
<P N="3">3. The VVheel is an In&s;trument of great varie|ty
<PB N="26" REF="19"> of &s;ervices; it is many ways u&s;eful. The Cha|riot <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Greenhil</HI> on <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 15. <HI>p.</HI> 133.</NOTE> is drawn upon wheels; great burdens are car|ried upon the wheel; the Earth is plowed by the u&s;e of the wheel; the Corn of old was thre&s;hed and ground by the help of the wheels. Ju&s;tice is <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28. 28.</NOTE> executed by the &s;ervice of the wheel. So &s;ays the wi&s;e man, <HI>Prov.</HI> 20. 26. <HI>A wi&s;e King &s;catters the wicked, and brings the wheel over them:</HI> it notes the puni&s;hing of evil doers.</P>
<P>Now from the&s;e things it will not be difficult for you to apprehend what is meant by the wheels in this Vi&s;ion; <HI>viz.</HI> all created Beings in this lower world; and all in&s;truments which God makes u&s;e of in the government of it; all the Elements, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air; they are &s;o many wheels. but we are to under&s;tand them chiefly of Rational Agents; Kings and Princes, Magi&s;trates and Mini|&s;ters, Armies and Navies, Rich and Poor, Learned and Unlearned: Whoever God makes u&s;e of to &s;erve the de&s;igns of his wi&s;e and holy Providence, is a wheel intended in the Text. Thus much for the nature of the wheels, which is the fir&s;t thing to be opened.</P>
<P N="2">2. As to what is a&s;cribed to them; this will need opening as much as the former. Now con|cerning the&s;e Wheels there are &s;everal things a|&s;cribed
<PB N="27" REF="19"> to them that are of very great moment. As,</P>
<P N="1">1. It is &s;aid the VVheels are full of Eyes, <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 12. <HI>The wheels were full of Eyes round about.</HI> This implieth,</P>
<P N="1">1. The Omni&s;cience of Chri&s;t, and his exact notice of all matters in the VVorld; though ma|ny things may be hid from us, yet there is nothing hid from him. <HI>Men may dig deep to hide their coun&s;els from the Lord, and &s;ay, Who &s;eeth us?</HI> but <HI>there is no</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 29. 19.</NOTE> <HI>darkne&s;s, nor &s;hadow of death where the workers of iniqui|ty may hide them&s;elves; for his Eyes are upon the ways of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 34. 21, 22.</NOTE> <HI>man, and he &s;ees all his goings.</HI> If we could &s;uppo&s;e any thing done by man, that is unknown to God, why then, in that particular thing the knowledge of man would be &s;uperior to God; he would know &s;omething more than God knows, which is impo&s;&s;ible; for <HI>the Eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good, Prov.</HI> 15. 3. There is <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 16. 9.</NOTE> not the clo&s;e&s;t corner, nor the darke&s;t deep; not the mo&s;t covered contrivances, nor the mo&s;t hidden project, nor the mo&s;t &s;ecret wickedne&s;s, but it is open to the Eye of God, for <HI>all things are naked and open to the Eyes of him, with whom we have to do.</HI> There <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 4. 13.</NOTE> are <HI>areana imperii,</HI> &s;ecrets of Government, &s;ecrets of State, &s;ecrets of the Heart, &s;ecret contrivances, &s;ecret aims and intentions; but none of them are
<PB N="28" REF="20"> &s;ecrets to God. As nothing can be hard to an Omnipotent Arm, &s;o nothing can be hid from an Omni&s;cient Eye. God cannot but know all the E&s;&s;ences, Qualities, Inclinations and Activities of the Creature, &s;ince all tho&s;e &s;everal Principles and Qualities were wrought in them by him. <HI>Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Acts 15. 18.</NOTE> Thus the VVheels are full of Eyes.</P>
<P N="2">2. This &s;ets out the care of Chri&s;t; the things of the VVorld are not carryed on <HI>caeco impetu,</HI> by a blind force; all Events are wi&s;ely di&s;po&s;ed of by the governing care of Providence, which hath a &s;pecial influence in the managing of all. Things may &s;eem to us to run upon VVheels, (as men &s;peak) to go at random, or to fall out by chance, but there is no &s;uch thing as chance to that God that fore-&s;ees, and orders all Events. If things were done by chance, there could be no predicti|ons of future Events, which the Scriptures infalli|bly fore-tell, and many of which we have &s;een fulfilled accordingly. All things are carried on by Coun&s;el. <HI>He worketh all things according to the coun&s;el</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 11.</NOTE> <HI>of his own will.</HI> Tho&s;e motions and commotions in the VVorld that to us &s;eem mo&s;t irregular and confu&s;ed, are all ordered by God. VVhen the rich are made poor, and the honourable brought
<PB N="29" REF="20"> into contempt; when Servants ride on Hor&s;e|back, and Princes go on foot; when one is pul|led down, and another &s;et up: All things are di|rected by an infinite wi&s;dom, <HI>the wheels are full of Eyes round about.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. The&s;e VVheels are &s;aid <HI>to go upon their four &s;ides, v.</HI> 11. of this 10. <HI>chap.</HI> I told you before that the four Wheels an&s;wer to the four parts of the World, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 1. 17.</NOTE> and when it is &s;aid they went on the four &s;ides, the meaning is, that look what quarter of the VVorld was appointed to them, thither they went, and there they moved. And then it &s;hews their motion was con&s;tant and &s;etled, an&s;wering to the immutable purpo&s;e of him with whom there is no &s;hadow of change. God is not as man, who is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 1. 17.</NOTE> fickle and incon&s;tant, and doth not know his own mind, turning from one &s;ide to another; now for this, anon for that; to day for pulling down, what ye&s;terday he &s;et up; &s;uch mutable things we are, actions change, affections change, and principles change too, but it is not &s;o with God, there is no altering the cour&s;e of Providence; no art, no power, no policy, can turn him out of the way, his Providence is &s;etled in its motion. The VVheels go upon their four &s;ides. And therefore to confirm this, it is &s;aid,</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="30" REF="21"> 3. There is no going back; &s;o in <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 11. <HI>They turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it, they turned not as they went.</HI> The Expre&s;&s;ion is doubled (like <HI>Pharaoh</HI>'s Dream) for the greater confirmation of the truth, that we may be &s;ure there are no retrograde motions in the cour&s;e of Providence. How can there, &s;eeing <HI>the wheels are full of Eyes round about?</HI> He to whom all future Events are in pre&s;ent view, can &s;ee no cau&s;e to repent. VVe &s;ay <HI>(in decretis &s;apientum nulla li|tura)</HI> there are no ra&s;ures in a wi&s;e mans purpo&s;es, becau&s;e they are the re&s;ults of wi&s;dom and fore|thought. There can be no blots in the Copy of Providence, becau&s;e it is written by the &s;traight line of his unerring Coun&s;el. Men may &s;ay this and that, and then eat their words; write, and blot out again; do, and repent of doing before it is done; undertake a march, and end it in a &s;hame|ful retreat; thus with man back again is the better way. His purpo&s;es are not e&s;tabli&s;hed, but the purpo&s;es of God are; therefore you read of the <HI>four Chariots</HI> (the &s;ame to which the&s;e VVheels belong) <HI>coming out from between the Mountains of Bra&s;s, Zech.</HI> 6. 1. To &s;hew that all the Occurrences of Providence, are the Re&s;ult of his immutable De|crees. And therefore when the VVheels go, there
<PB N="31" REF="21"> can be no returning, <HI>God is not as man, that he &s;hould repent.</HI> If <HI>Pharaoh</HI> will vex the people of God, and will be &s;o fool-hardy as to follow them into the Sea, let him never look to return again, till the Sea gives up her dead. The VVheels returned not when they went to fulfil the will of God. There is no yea and nay with God; as his <HI>Promi&s;es</HI> are all <HI>yea and Amen in Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;o are his Providences. If God go forth again&s;t a Per&s;on, or again&s;t a Nati|on, or People, none can &s;tand in his way to turn him back; <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 43. 13. <HI>I will work, and who &s;hall let it?</HI> the Hebrew is, <HI>Umi je&s;hibenah, Who &s;hall turn it back?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> If God will pull down, who can &s;upport? If God will take away, (be it Honours, or Crowns, or Kingdoms, or Life it &s;elf) who can hinder him? If he will take away the Candle&s;ticks, and Un|church a people, who can turn him back? Can power? No; let the In&s;truments God u&s;es be ne|ver &s;o weak, yet no &s;trength can re&s;i&s;t them. <HI>Wound|ed men &s;hall ri&s;e up, and take the City. He choo&s;es the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 37. 10.</NOTE> <HI>weak things of the world, to confound the things that are</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 1. 27.</NOTE> <HI>mighty.</HI> Can policy turn him back? No; <HI>Take coun&s;el together, and it &s;hall come to nought, I&s;a.</HI> 8. 10. The <HI>Syrian</HI> and <HI>Ephraim,</HI> may con&s;pire again&s;t <HI>Ju|dah,</HI> and re&s;olve to &s;et up the Son of <HI>Tabeal</HI> over <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 7. 6, 7.</NOTE> them, but it &s;hall not &s;tand. As no Coun&s;el a|gain&s;t
<PB N="32" REF="22"> us &s;hall &s;tand, if God be for us; &s;o no Coun|&s;el for us can pro&s;per if God be again&s;t us. Can Prayer turn him back? No; though this is of mighty power with God; it hath done, and can do great things; yet when God hath purpo&s;ed, and is in the execution of his purpo&s;es, when he is re&s;olved to take away, be it Prince or People, be it the peace of a Nation, or a Church, Prayer it &s;elf can't hinder him. That is an awakening word in <HI>Jer.</HI> 14. 1. <HI>Though</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>and</HI> Samuel <HI>&s;tood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people; ca&s;t them out of my &s;ight. Such as are for death to death, and &s;uch</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 14. 1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>as are for the Sword to the Sword, and &s;uch as are for Captivity to Captivity.</HI> Therefore as <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>Con|&s;ider the work of God; for who can make that &s;traight, which</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccl. 7. 13.</NOTE> <HI>he hath made crooked?</HI> Who can correct Gods works? Who can alter his mea&s;ures? Who can &s;ave, if he will de&s;troy? Therefore how vain is it for men to di&s;quiet and fret them&s;elves with the turns of times, and the changes that are in the World; it is not only &s;inful, but fruitle&s;s; for the wi&s;e God ma|nages all things. If they be good, he effects them; if they be bad, he permits them; but whether they are good or bad, he orders and over-rules them, &s;o that the Wheels go right on; <HI>They turned not as they went.</HI></P>
<P N="4"><PB N="33" REF="22"> 4. The VVheels are &s;aid to be <HI>lifted up from the Earth,</HI> and to be <HI>high and dreadful, chap.</HI> 1. 18, 19. This is to teach us, that Gods VVi&s;dom is infinite and un&s;earchable, and his Providences full of My|&s;tery. Sometimes they move in an ordinary way, then the VVheels move <HI>upon the Earth.</HI> Sometimes God goes out of the u&s;ual Road, and acts in ex|traordinary ways, and in unaccountable methods that Rea&s;on can't reach, nor the &s;hort Line of hu|mane VVi&s;dom fathom; then the VVheels are &s;aid to be <HI>high, and lifted up from the Earth.</HI> Who can trace God in his motions, who&s;e ways are far a|bove out of our &s;ight? <HI>Clouds and darkne&s;s are round</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 97. 2.</NOTE> <HI>about him.</HI> As Chri&s;t is &s;aid to come in the Clouds at his appearance at la&s;t, &s;o he doth in his Provi|dences at pre&s;ent. <HI>The Clouds are the du&s;t of his feet, Nah.</HI> 1. 3. and this du&s;t many times flies in our Eyes, and then we di&s;cern him lea&s;t, when yet he is neare&s;t. How little could <HI>Jo&s;eph</HI> &s;ee what God was doing when he was in the Pit at <HI>Dothan,</HI> le&s;s in the Dungeon in <HI>Egypt,</HI> when he is laid in Chains for a reward of his Cha&s;tity? He little thought this was a likely way, and yet it was, to fulfil his Dream, in bringing <HI>the Sun and Moon, and &s;even Stars to make obei&s;ance to him.</HI> Little did <HI>Jonah</HI> think, when he ran away from God, that the Bell<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span">
<PB N="34" REF="23"> the Whale &s;hould put him in his right way again. O how high are the Wheels above the Earth! nay &s;ometimes <HI>they are &s;o high that they are dreadful, v.</HI> 18. They were &s;o to <HI>Jeremy,</HI> chap. 12. 1. <HI>Wherefore doth the way of the wicked pro&s;per? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherou&s;ly?</HI> They were &s;o to <HI>Job,</HI> chap. 19. 7. <HI>Behold I cry out of wrong, but am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He hath kindled his wrath again&s;t me, and he counts me as one of his Enemies, v.</HI> 11. They were &s;o to <HI>Heman,</HI> P&s;al. 88. 14, 15. <HI>Lord, why do&s;t thou ca&s;t off my Soul? why do&s;t thou hide thy face from me? I am afflicted, and ready to die from my youth up; while I &s;uffer thy terrors I am di&s;tracted.</HI> The Wheels were &s;o high that they were dreadful, they could not take the height of them with all their skill and rea&s;onings. When God &s;hall <HI>give</HI> E&s;au <HI>Mount</HI> Seir <HI>to po&s;&s;e&s;s it,</HI> but &s;end <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 24. 4.</NOTE> Jacob <HI>and his Children down into</HI> Egypt. When you &s;ee the Crown upon the Head of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and at the &s;ame time the <HI>My<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">tle-trees in the bottom.</HI> When <NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 1. 8.</NOTE> the Church is in trouble, and <HI>all the Earth &s;its &s;till,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 11.</NOTE> <HI>and is at re&s;t.</HI> When you &s;ee Chri&s;tian Kingdoms broken with Wars and Tumults, and Heathen Na|tions in peace and quiet. When you &s;ee the Lord making the Mountains to tremble, cutting off the Spirit of Princes, pulling up Kingdoms by the
<PB N="35" REF="23"> Roots, &s;ure then the height of the Wheels mu&s;t needs make them dreadful. O how dark are the Di&s;pen&s;ations of God, or how dark are we in the My&s;tery of them! If <HI>Solomon</HI> knew not the <HI>way of an Eagle in the Air, nor of a Serpent upon a Rock, nor of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 30. 19.</NOTE> <HI>a Ship in the Sea, nor of a Man with a Maid,</HI> how can we know the motions of the Wheels, when they are &s;o high, and lifted up from the Earth? His Providences are ever righteous, but &s;ometimes ve|ry my&s;terious. His ways are always right, but often above our rea&s;on. Very Ju&s;t, but very Se|cret. For <HI>we know but in part.</HI> In <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 6. 1. we <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 13. 9.</NOTE> read of <HI>the Lord &s;itting upon a Throne,</HI> and it is &s;aid, <HI>he was high and lifted up, and his Train filled the Temple.</HI> Here is nothing in &s;ight but his Train or Skirts, the lowe&s;t part of the Covering, nothing of the upper Ornaments; and what doth this import, but that our views of God are after a poor, low and im|perfect manner, in compari&s;on of what he is?</P>
<P N="5">5. There is a Wheel in the mid&s;t of a Wheel, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 16. and <HI>v.</HI> 10. of this <HI>chap. Their appear|ance, and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.</HI> This implies a tran&s;ver&s;e motion, like the Circles in a Globe, that cut and cro&s;s each o|ther. It is to &s;hew us how cro&s;s and contrary the motions of Providence are to our apprehen&s;ions
<PB N="36" REF="24"> and de&s;igns. He brings about his purpo&s;es by con|trary means. We &s;et the Wheel a going to bring about &s;uch a de&s;ign, and the VVheel in the mid&s;t of the Wheel that brings about another.</P>
<P><HI>Haman</HI> lays a Plot again&s;t the <HI>Jews,</HI> to cut off all the people of God in one day; and the King him&s;elf was in the Plot too; Letters were written, the thing agreed on, the day fixed, the Letters Sealed with the Kings Seal, Po&s;ts ha&s;ten'd into all the Provinces; and what were the In&s;tructions given? (&s;ee <HI>E&s;ther</HI> 3. 13.) <HI>To kill and de&s;troy all the</HI> Jews, <HI>both young and old, little Children and Women, in one day, even the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and to take the &s;poil of them for a prey.</HI> But do but read, <HI>chap.</HI> 9. 1. <HI>Now in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the &s;ame, when the Kings commandment drew near to be put in Execution.</HI> The Wheel &s;eems to run very &s;moothly; but mark the next words, <HI>it was turned to the contrary;</HI> and in the <HI>day that the Enemy thought to have power over the</HI> Jews, <HI>that the</HI> Jews <HI>had power over them that hated them.</HI> Here's a Wheel in the mid&s;t of a Wheel. So it was with <HI>Haman</HI> him&s;elf; he prepares a Gallows Fifty Cu|bits <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;th. 5. 14.</NOTE> high for <HI>Mordecai,</HI> and the &s;ame hour that <HI>Ha|man</HI> comes to Court to have a Warrant Signed for <NOTE PLACE="marg">chap. 6. 4.</NOTE> his Execution, <HI>Mordecai</HI> is advanced into the Kings
<PB N="37" REF="24"> Favour in the place of <HI>Haman,</HI> and <HI>Haman</HI> is &s;ent to the Gallows in&s;tead of <HI>Mordecai.</HI> How indu|&s;trious <NOTE PLACE="marg">chap. 7. 10.</NOTE> is <HI>Saul</HI> to &s;ettle the Succe&s;&s;ion to the Crown upon his own Son, and that very means doth God make u&s;e of to &s;ettle it upon <HI>David,</HI> 1 Chron. 12. 23. <HI>The&s;e were the number of the bands that were ready armed for the War, and they came to</HI> David <HI>to</HI> He|bron, <HI>to turn the Kingdom of</HI> Saul <HI>to him, according to the word of the Lord.</HI> So it was with <HI>Adonijah,</HI> 1 King. 2. 13. <HI>Thou knowe&s;t that the Kingdom was mine, and that all</HI> I&s;rael <HI>&s;et their faces on me, that I &s;hould reign; howbeit the Kingdom is turned about, and is become my Brothers,</HI> (it was the Wheel within the Wheel that turned it, &s;o &s;ay the next words,) <HI>for it was from the Lord.</HI> Who can under&s;tand the intricacies of Providence? <HI>He doth great things pa&s;t finding out,</HI> Job 9. 10. <HI>Man cannot find out the work of God from the beginning to the end,</HI> Eccle&s;. 3. 11. Gods matters are many times very ob&s;cure. There are <HI>trea&s;ures of wi&s;dom,</HI> Col. 2. 3. and they are called &s;o, not only for their preciou&s;ne&s;s, but for their private|ne&s;s too; <HI>&s;ecrets of wi&s;dom,</HI> which <HI>are double to that which is,</HI> Job 11. 6. You &s;ee the hand without, but you &s;ee not the Spring that is within. The living Creatures <HI>had hands under their wings,</HI> Ezek. 1. 8. they work effectually, <HI>they have hand;</HI> but
<PB N="38" REF="25"> very &s;ecretly, <HI>their hands are under their wings.</HI> What a &s;trange wheeling about was that, when Ten Tribes at once de&s;erted <HI>Rehoboam</HI> their Lawful Prince, and fell to <HI>Jeroboam?</HI> was not this Rebel|lion, and Trea&s;on? it would appear &s;o while the Eye is upon the Wheel without; but pray mind the Wheel that is within the Wheel. 1 <HI>King.</HI> 11. 31. <HI>I will rend the Kingdom out of</HI> Solomon's <HI>hand, and I will give Ten Tribes to thee.</HI> The work|ing of this inward Wheel is &s;een many ways. VVhen God &s;hall make &s;uch impre&s;&s;ions upon the Spirits of Men, as &s;hall have their Effect in their utter ruin; is not this from the Wheel within? One of the <HI>Midianites</HI> Souldiers dream'd a Dream, that a Barley-cake tumbled, and &s;mote one of their Tents and beat it down, <HI>Judg.</HI> 7. 13. His Fel|low <NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 7. 13.</NOTE> interprets this Dream to be the Sword of <HI>Gi|deon</HI> prevailing over <HI>Midian, v.</HI> 14. And what a &s;trange impre&s;&s;ion doth this make? in the terror of which <HI>the whole Ho&s;t ran and cry'd, and fled; and</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 21.</NOTE> <HI>every man's Sword was again&s;t his Fellow.</HI> Again, <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 22.</NOTE> when the Spirits of the &s;ame Per&s;ons &s;hall be turn|ed contrary ways in one and the &s;ame de&s;ign, that they &s;hall be like the Tide, now running in, and anon running out again as fa&s;t; is not this from the Wheel within? At one time the men of <HI>She|chem</HI>
<PB N="39" REF="25"> make <HI>Abimelech</HI> King. Well, and don't they <NOTE PLACE="marg">Judg. 9. 6.</NOTE> &s;tick to him now? e&s;pecially being <HI>their bone and</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>their fle&s;h.</HI> No, for he had not reigned above <HI>three</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 23.</NOTE> <HI>years,</HI> but the &s;ame hands that Crowned him, &s;ought to Depo&s;e him. It &s;hould &s;eem he was a cruel <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 23.</NOTE> man, and had a hand in his Brethrens Blood, to <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 5.</NOTE> make his own way to the Throne; and therefore the righteous God would not &s;uffer him to injoy it long; that the wickedne&s;s of his Brothers Blood <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 56.</NOTE> might be rendered to him. Here is a Wheel with|in, guiding the Wheel without; God carries on his de&s;igns by intricate motions.</P>
<P N="6">6. The Wheels are &s;ometimes at a &s;top, they &s;tand &s;till. So you read, <HI>v.</HI> 18. of this 10. <HI>chap. When the Cherubims &s;tood, the Wheels &s;tood.</HI> This &s;ometimes is really &s;o. God &s;u&s;pends the ordina|ry operation of the Creatures. The Lions mouths are &s;hut &s;o long as <HI>Daniel</HI> is in the Den. The Fire <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 6. 22.</NOTE> hath no power upon the three Martyrs. God can <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 3. 25.</NOTE> &s;top the motions of all &s;econd cau&s;es as he plea&s;es. The Sun &s;tands &s;till upon <HI>Gibeon,</HI> and the Moon in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 10, 12, 13.</NOTE> the Valley of <HI>Ajalon,</HI> if God will have it &s;o. The Sea divides, and the Waters &s;tand as a Wall to Fence out a pa&s;&s;age for <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> God can put a &s;tand to the greate&s;t Wheels. When <HI>Rehoboam</HI> had lo&s;t the Ten Tribes, he rai&s;es a great Army of an hundred
<PB N="40" REF="26"> and eighty thou&s;and picked men, to fetch back the <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 King. 12. 21.</NOTE> Kingdom to him again from <HI>Jeroboam;</HI> for you mu&s;t know that the people being grievou&s;ly op|pre&s;&s;ed and in&s;laved, and their Rights and Privi|ledges taken from them, they &s;end for <HI>Jeroboam</HI> out of a Forreign Country to come and help them to recover their Rights from their new Kings U&s;ur|pation; and he having &s;tuck faithfully to them, Ten Tribes of Twelve chu&s;e him for their King, and this great Army is rai&s;ed to fetch back the Kingdom again. Now &s;ee what a &s;tand God puts to that Army, <HI>v.</HI> 24. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, ye</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 24.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall not fight again&s;t your Brethren, return every man to his habitation.</HI> Thus God puts a &s;top to that Wheel; and have our Eyes &s;een nothing of this? How have the Prie&s;ts and Je&s;uits been of late con|triving to root out the Religion and Wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t in this Nation, one while by &s;ecret Plots, another while by an in&s;naring Liberty, and what a merciful &s;top hath God put to them? And as the Wheels do &s;ometimes really &s;tand, &s;o &s;ome|times though they do not &s;tand, yet to us they &s;eem as if they did, and this is from a Sentence of death that God u&s;ually puts upon a Mercy, before it is accompli&s;hed. <HI>Abraham</HI> begs a Son, God promi&s;es he &s;hall have his de&s;ire; but <HI>Abraham</HI>
<PB N="41" REF="26"> waits and hopes, and yet no Son, till his Body was now dead, and <HI>Sarah</HI> pa&s;t Child-bearing; for <HI>it cea&s;ed to be with her after the manner of women.</HI> How <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 18. 11</NOTE> do the Wheels &s;eem to be at a &s;tand? <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>E|gypt</HI> cries for deliverance, God promi&s;es the thing, and &s;ends <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to effect it; but in&s;tead of being delivered, their Bondage is increa&s;ed, and their <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 8.</NOTE> Task doubled. The Wheels &s;eem to &s;tand. So when in <HI>Babylon,</HI> the Church cries for a redempti|on, God promi&s;es to redeem them, but fir&s;t they mu&s;t be as dead and dry Bones, and pa&s;t hope. <HI>Behold they &s;ay, Our bones are dryed, our hope is lo&s;t, we are cut off for our parts, Ezek.</HI> 37. 11. O what a &s;tand is here! <HI>Can the&s;e dry bones live?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 37. 3.</NOTE></P>
<P N="7">7. The Wheels are &s;aid to have all one likene&s;s, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 16. and <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 10. <HI>They four had one like|ne&s;s.</HI> Likene&s;s in colour and appearance. <HI>Their appearance was like the colour of a Beryl, chap.</HI> 1. 16. Likene&s;s in &s;cituation, none higher than other: Likene&s;s in dimen&s;ion, none greater or le&s;&s;er than other. There was no manner of difference, <HI>the four had one likene&s;s.</HI> This teacheth us that there are the &s;ame di&s;pen&s;ations of Providence in all times, and all places, alike Changes and Vici&s;&s;i|tudes every where. <HI>All things come alike to all,</HI> Eccle&s;. 9. 2. <HI>The thing that hath been, is that which</HI>
<PB N="42" REF="27"> <HI>&s;hall be, and that which is done, is that which &s;hall be done, and there is no new thing under the Sun,</HI> Eccle&s;. 1. 9. All times have their turns, and all places their changes, as well one as another. Are <HI>men of low degree vanity,</HI> and <HI>men of high degree a lie?</HI> &s;o they <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 62. 9.</NOTE> were always. Are there wicked Rulers, wicked Magi&s;trates and Judges? it was the &s;ame in Ages pa&s;t. <HI>I &s;aw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the Holy,</HI> Eccle&s;. 8. 10. <HI>i. e.</HI> the Seat of Judgment, called the place of the Holy, becau&s;e God is in a &s;pecial manner pre&s;ent there. <HI>He judges among the Gods, P&s;al.</HI> 82. 1. Do ye &s;ee the violent perverting of Ju&s;tice and Judgment? it was &s;o of old, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 5. 8. and it is &s;o in all places. That which befalls one Nation befalls another; in all parts of the World the Wheels are the &s;ame, <HI>they four had one likene&s;s;</HI> alike in de&s;ign, all move to accompli&s;h the purpo&s;es of God; alike in end, all move to promote the glory of God.</P>
<P N="8">8. The VVheels are upon the Earth, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 15. <HI>As I beheld the living Creatures, behold one wheel upon the Earth by the living Creatures.</HI> He mentions but one VVheel, becau&s;e he that &s;aw one &s;aw all, by rea&s;on of their likene&s;s, for they were all as one. But how could the VVheel be &s;een on the Earth, when the Prophet &s;aw the Vi&s;ion in Heaven?</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="43" REF="27"> 1. As the VVheels were not Material Wheels, but Vi&s;ional; &s;o this Earth was not the Material Earth, but Earth in a Vi&s;ion; and &s;o it was not the Earth beneath, but an Earth above. <HI>The wheel was upon the Earth,</HI> but that Earth was in Heaven. So that this Earth was in repre&s;entation only, as it is in Land-skips, where you have things in repre|&s;entation, but not in reality. There are Rivers, and Earth, and Trees in view, but not in verity.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Wheels are &s;aid to be &s;een on the Earth, and not in Heaven, to intimate to us the difference between this State and that. This is a State of changes, but that State is unchangeable; the Wheels are on Earth, there are none in Heaven. As there are no changes in God, <HI>I am the Lord, I change not, Mal.</HI> 3. 6. So there are no changes in the glory that re&s;ults from his pre&s;ence. All things in that State are durable and permanent. The things of the other world admit of no change, neither in Hell, nor in Heaven. This is the place of changes; which is one difference our Lord Chri&s;t puts be|tween trea&s;ures on Earth, and trea&s;ures in Heaven; tho&s;e are &s;ubject to <HI>the moth, the ru&s;t, and the thief,</HI> but the&s;e are not, <HI>Mat.</HI> 6. 19, 20. And therefore he coun&s;elleth us <HI>not to lay up trea&s;ure on Earth, but lay it up in Heaven,</HI> becau&s;e there are no changes in
<PB N="44" REF="28"> Heaven; on Earth there are, for the Wheel is &s;een upon the Earth. In Heaven where all graces are perfect, there all our comforts are con&s;tant. But here, where all our duties are mixed with infirmi|ties, no wonder if all our comforts have their al|lays. Our be&s;t Wine ta&s;ts of the Lees, and yet our Cup is often empty of that too. Our Lord Chri&s;t once turned water into wine, but he often turns wine into water in the experience of every Chri&s;tian. In Heaven our Mercies are both &s;weet and con&s;tant, but here though they are &s;weet, they are not con&s;tant. In Heaven the Sun of righte|ou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall &s;hine and never be clouded; when it once ri&s;es it never &s;ets again, and therefore <HI>there is no night there;</HI> but here the Sun ari&s;es, and makes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 21. 25.</NOTE> day in our Soul; and anon &s;ets in a Cloud, and leaves us in darkne&s;s. In <HI>Abraham</HI>'s Vi&s;ion, there was a <HI>&s;moaking Furnace,</HI> as well as <HI>a burning Lamp, Gen.</HI> 15. 17. In the <HI>&s;moaking Furnace</HI> there is a prediction of &s;ore Sufferings, in the <HI>burning Lamp</HI> there is a pro&s;pect of certain Redemption. The darkne&s;s of the Smoak pre-figures the captived State of the Church; the Light of the Lamp &s;hews that God would be a Light to them in that darkne&s;s, and deliver them out of it. The <HI>Furnace</HI> is no trou|ble unle&s;s it <HI>&s;moak;</HI> the <HI>Lamp</HI> is no comfort unle&s;s
<PB N="45" REF="28"> it be <HI>lighted;</HI> &s;o that a <HI>&s;moaking Furnace</HI> notes great affliction, and a <HI>burning Lamp,</HI> a great Redemption. It is the wi&s;dom of God to proportion our out|ward condition to our inward di&s;po&s;ition, which is mixed and checquer'd. There are two Armies in the <HI>Shulamite.</HI> The Believer is not all Spirit, there <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 6. 13.</NOTE> is &s;ome Fle&s;h remaining, &s;ome &s;in to exerci&s;e and humble him, &s;ome grace to &s;upport and comfort him. In Heaven, where there is no &s;in, there is no trouble; in Hell, where there is no grace, there is no comfort; but here on Earth, where the State of the Saints is a mixture of grace and &s;in, here their condition is a mixture of comfort and &s;or|row. <HI>The wheels are &s;een upon the Earth.</HI></P>
<P N="9">9. The Wheels are acted by the living Crea|tures, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 19. <HI>When the living Creatures went, the Wheels went by them, and when the living Creatures were lift up from the Earth, the Wheels were lift up.</HI> Ver&s;e 21. <HI>When they went the&s;e went, and when they &s;tood the&s;e &s;tood, and when they were lifted up from the Earth, the Wheels were lifted up over again&s;t them.</HI> And you have it again, <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 16, 17. <HI>When the Cherubims went, the Wheels went by them; and when the Cherubims lifted up their wings, to mount up from the Earth, the Wheels turned not from be&s;ide them. When they &s;tood, the&s;e &s;tood; and when they were lifted up, the&s;e lifted up them&s;elves</HI>
<PB N="46" REF="29"> <HI>al&s;o.</HI> The <HI>living Creatures</HI> in the fir&s;t Chapter, are the <HI>Cherubims</HI> in this, and they are the Angels that are intended by both. And that which is the de|&s;ign of the Holy Gho&s;t in the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions, again and again repeated, is to confirm this truth, that all inferior cau&s;es are acted and governed by cau&s;es &s;uperior. No Creature moves below, without a guide above. <HI>When the Cherubims went, the Wheels went.</HI> The Angels have a great hand in the Go|vernment of the World; they &s;tand next to the Spirit of God in the Admini&s;tration of all things here below. There is nothing falls out in the World but the Angels have a hand in it. The Wheels do in all things follow the motions of the Angels. And therefore if we will have any more di&s;tinct account of the motions of the Wheels, we mu&s;t then ob&s;erve the motions of the Angels. And concerning them, here are three things to be re|marked.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Their going.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Their being lifted up.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Their returning.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. Their going. It is &s;aid they went; and this going of theirs hath two circum&s;tances not to be pa&s;&s;ed by.</P>
<LIST>
<PB N="47" REF="29">
<ITEM>1. They went &s;traight forward.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. They ran.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. They went &s;traight forward. Here is <HI>go|ing,</HI> and <HI>going forward,</HI> and <HI>going &s;traight forward.</HI></P>
<P><HI>They went,]</HI> there was no ce&s;&s;ation. <HI>They went forward,]</HI> there was no interruption. <HI>They went &s;traight forward,]</HI> without diver&s;ion. Had they looked back, that had denoted unwillingne&s;s. Had they turned a&s;ide, that had &s;poke out frowardne&s;s. Had they given over before they had compleated their cour&s;e, that had argued wearine&s;s; therefore <HI>they went &s;traight forward.</HI> And this carriage of the Angels is in&s;tructive in three duties.</P>
<P N="1">1. To be clo&s;e and diligent in the Lords work. It is the rule God gives us, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 9. 10. <HI>What&s;o|ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.</HI> If we would &s;erve the Lord, we mu&s;t <HI>not</HI> be <HI>&s;lothful in bu&s;ine&s;s, but fervent in Spirit.</HI> As <HI>Elias</HI> was, <HI>He pray|ed</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 12. 11.</NOTE> <HI>earne&s;tly;</HI> he prayed in Prayer, &s;o the Greek, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jam. 5. 17.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign">. It implies a fervent and ear|ne&s;t wre&s;tling of Spirit, which &s;hould be in Prayer, and &s;o explains that <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the former ver&s;e. And it may carry in it two things, either the Symphony of the Heart and Lip, or the ear|ne&s;tne&s;s of Faith and Hope.</P>
<P N="1">1. It may note the agreement between the
<PB N="48" REF="30"> Tongue and the Heart; the Heart prayed, and the Tongue-prayed; and that is right praying in Prayer. Or,</P>
<P N="2">2. It may note the earne&s;tne&s;s of Faith; and &s;o we render it, <HI>He prayed earne&s;tly.</HI> Nothing pa&s;&s;es for duty with God, if it be not done with inten&s;e|ne&s;s of mind. If we draw nigh to God with our Lips, and not with our Hearts, we &s;et our &s;elves &s;o much the farther from him, by our drawing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. 8.</NOTE> nigh to him. Duty mu&s;t be done with earne&s;t|ne&s;s. You have motives to this both from with|out and within; both from below and from above.</P>
<P N="1">1. From without. How indu&s;trious are wick|ed men in the &s;ervice of &s;in, making <HI>provi&s;ion for the Fle&s;h to fulfil the Lu&s;ts thereof.</HI> And &s;hall they take more pains to damn their Souls, than we do to &s;ave ours? and make more ha&s;te to the place of ven|geance, than we to a Crown of righteou&s;ne&s;s? It is bad to take pattern by the Sinners wickedne&s;s, but it is good to follow the example of his dili|gence. So <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> did the early indu&s;try of the Smith in his Forge, to rouze him up to the Study of Phy|lo&s;ophy.</P>
<P N="2">2. You have motives from within. How active is in-dwelling Sin in the Heart? what vigorous Efforts doth it make to &s;et up its Dominion within,
<PB N="49" REF="30"> to gratifie every Lu&s;t, to &s;poil every Duty, to root out the habits of Grace, to quench all the motions of the Spirit. One while it works by fraud and &s;ubtilty, ano|ther while by force and power. Now it is deceiving, a|nother while warring, but it is always lu&s;ting. <HI>The fle&s;h</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>lu&s;teth again&s;t the &s;pirit;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">: It is not &s;aid, it hath lu&s;ted, or it will lu&s;t, but it doth lu&s;t. It is &s;poken in the pre&s;ent Ten&s;e, to denote the continuedne&s;s of its acting. Nothing acts &s;o continually again&s;t us as cor|rupt Nature. Satan is not always tempting, the world is not always in&s;naring, but the Fle&s;h is always re&s;i&s;ting the Spirit. And &s;hall the lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h do more to betray us, than the graces of the Spirit &s;hall to pre&s;erve us? Shall the Fle&s;h lu&s;t again&s;t the Spirit, to interrupt the reign of Grace? and &s;hall not the Spirit lu&s;t again&s;t the Fle&s;h, to de&s;troy the power of Sin?</P>
<P N="3">3. You have motives from beneath. How re&s;tle&s;s are the Infernal Spirits again&s;t your Souls? and &s;hould not this awaken us out of our &s;inful &s;lumbers, and quicken us to Duty? the Apo&s;tle propo&s;es it for that end, 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 5. 8. <HI>Be &s;ober, be vigilant, becau&s;e your adver|&s;ary the Devil goes about as a roaring Lion, &s;eeking whom he may devour.</HI> Shall we &s;leep, when our Enemy never &s;leeps? Is the Soul worth the Devils indu&s;try to de|&s;troy it? and is it not worth our diligence to &s;ecure it? O <HI>give diligence to make your calling and election &s;ure.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 1. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE></P>
<P N="4">4. You have motives from above. The good An|gels
<PB N="50" REF="31" MS="y"> of God, O how active are they in all their Mini|&s;trations; therefore called <HI>flames of fire, P&s;al.</HI> 104. 4. becau&s;e of their agility and fervency in fulfilling the commands of God. And <HI>Seraphims,</HI> becau&s;e of their burning Zeal in the doing his will; and in this 1&s;t of <HI>Ezek. v.</HI> 14. it is &s;aid, <HI>The appearance of the living Creatures was like burning coals of fire,</HI> full of Zeal for God. Now we ought to make them our pattern. For <HI>when the Che|rubims went, the wheels went by them; and when the Cheru|bims lifted up their wings to mount up from the Earth, the wheels turned not from be&s;ide them.</HI> Every Chri&s;tian &s;hould be acted with Zeal for God, e&s;pecially Magi&s;trates <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">l. 4. 18.</NOTE> and men in Authority. The Sword of Ju&s;tice will not do right Execution, if Zeal be not the edge of it. It was <HI>Saul</HI>'s Sin that he &s;pared <HI>Agag,</HI> and <HI>Samuel</HI>'s Glory that he hewed him in pieces in his Zeal for God. It is mentioned as <HI>A&s;a</HI> his Honour that he removed his Mo|ther from being Queen, becau&s;e &s;he was an Idolater, and not only abdicated her from the Government, but he brake her Idol in pieces, and burnt it, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 15. 16.</P>
<P N="2">2. Another Duty this carriage of the Angels teaches us, is to mind our way, and have <HI>oculum ad metam,</HI> our Eye to the mark. <HI>They turned not when they went.</HI> They looked not this way or that, but &s;traight forward, to accompli&s;h that which was their appointed work. As the Apo&s;tle lead, <HI>Phil.</HI> 3. 14. <HI>I pre&s;s toward the mark.</HI>
<PB N="51" REF="31"> Of all things be &s;ure to mind this, to have an Eye to &s;pecial Duty, this is going &s;traight forward.</P>
<P N="3">3. This carriage of the Angels in&s;tructs us to per|&s;evere in the ways of God, without being weary. <HI>The Cherubims went &s;traight forward, and turned not when they</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">chap. 1.</NOTE> <HI>went;</HI> and &s;hall not the Wheels do &s;o too? Shall we <HI>begin in the Spirit and end in the Fle&s;h?</HI> It is an <HI>Egyptian</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 3. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> temper, though found in an <HI>I&s;raelite,</HI> that is for mak|ing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> 4.</NOTE> a Captain, and returning back. <HI>No man having put his hand to the Plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 9. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>of God. Ye did run Well, who hindred you? Gal.</HI> 5. 7. To flag and faint in Gods work is very unangelical, and ought not to be, for <HI>the wheels turned not from be&s;ide the Cherubims;</HI> and their motion was &s;traight forward.</P>
<P N="2">2. There is another circum&s;tance in their motion, and that is the &s;peed of it; they ran, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. 14. <HI>The living Creatures ran&mdash;as the appearance of a fla&s;h of light|ning,</HI> which notes their great &s;peed and &s;wiftne&s;s in doing the will of God; and therefore they are de&s;cribed with Wings, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 6. <HI>Every one had four wings.</HI> Which are a&s;cribed to them to expre&s;s the agility of their na|tures, and the &s;wiftne&s;s of their motion in the Execu|tion of their Office. In <HI>Dan.</HI> 9. 21. it is &s;aid, <HI>Gabriel came flying to him &s;wiftly.</HI> No Creature &s;wifter than an Angel. <HI>Job</HI> makes mention of three things that are ve|ry &s;wift; a Po&s;t riding, a Ship &s;ailing, and an Eagle <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 9. 26.</NOTE> ha&s;ting to the prey, each &s;wifter than other. But
<PB N="52" REF="32"> yet there are &s;wifter motions than the&s;e; a Bullet &s;hot from a Gun, is much &s;wifter; it flies at the rate of an hundred and eighty miles in an hour; but yet the mo|tion of the Sun is much &s;wifter than that, which moves above a Million of Miles every hour, as &s;ome tell us. The Stars move far &s;wifter than the Sun; but the motion of an Angel is &s;wifter than all. O how &s;peedy are the Angels to execute the will of God! <HI>The living Creatures ran.</HI> And this &s;hews us what our Duty is, <HI>viz.</HI> To labour that the will of God <HI>may be done on Earth</HI> by us, <HI>as it is</HI> done <HI>in Heaven</HI> by Angels. The wheels mu&s;t not turn from be&s;ide the <HI>Cherubims.</HI> O how expedite and &s;peedy in the &s;ervice of God ought we to be! So was <HI>David, P&s;al.</HI> 119. 60. <HI>I made ha&s;te, and delayed not to keep thy Commandments.</HI> Ha&s;ty purpo&s;es are u&s;ually clog|ed with &s;low performances, but it is not &s;o with <HI>Da|vid,</HI> he is as &s;peedy in his di&s;patches, as he is ha&s;ty in his purpo&s;es. Many &s;tand rea&s;oning with God, in&s;tead of running, debate the ca&s;e, when they &s;hould obey the call. Not like <HI>Zacheus,</HI> who no &s;ooner hears the call of Chri&s;t, <HI>Make ha&s;te, and come down;</HI> but <HI>he made ha&s;te, and</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ke 19. 5,</NOTE> <HI>came down, and received him joyfully.</HI> So the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul, Immediately I conferred not with Fle&s;h and Blood.</HI> A ready <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1. 16.</NOTE> obedience is a good proof of the power and virtue of Grace in the Heart, and renders the Duty highly ac|ceptable to God. <HI>Pharaoh</HI> let <HI>I&s;rael</HI> go at length, but it was with much ado; he was forced to it in his own
<PB N="53" REF="32"> defence, and therefore no thanks to him though he did it. It argues a powerful influence of the quickening Spirit, when the Soul is in the ways of God <HI>like the Cha|riots</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 6. 12</NOTE> <HI>of</HI> Amminadab, when its motions are &s;wift and &s;peedy then the wheels keep pace with the Angels, for <HI>the living Creatures ran.</HI> And that is the fir&s;t thing notable in the Angels motion, <HI>viz.</HI> their <HI>going.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. They are lifted up. <HI>The living Creatures were lifted up from the Earth, Ezek.</HI> 1. 19. and <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 17. The Expre&s;&s;ion may be taken either in an active, or a pa&s;|&s;ive Sen&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. Take it actively, the living Creatures lift up them&s;elves from the Earth, and the wheels lifted up them&s;elves al&s;o, and then it imports their looking up to Heaven for direction and a&s;&s;i&s;tance. So do the An|gels, and &s;o do the wheels, to teach us that there is no moving right in the work of God, without direction and a&s;&s;i&s;tance from God; therefore &s;ays <HI>David, To thee, O Lord, do I lift up my Soul, P&s;al.</HI> 25. 1. <HI>i. e.</HI> He looked to God for coun&s;el and &s;upport. In all Affairs when our hands are lifted up to work, our Hearts mu&s;t be lifted <NOTE PLACE="marg">Lam. 3. 41.</NOTE> up to God, e&s;pecially for three things; <HI>viz.</HI> direction, a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and &s;ucce&s;s. Wi&s;dom to guide the under|taking, help to perfect the performance, and &s;ucce&s;s to crown the &s;ervice.</P>
<P N="2">2. If the Expre&s;&s;ion be taken in a pa&s;&s;ive &s;en&s;e; then this lifting up imports a divine power influen|cing
<PB N="54" REF="33"> the Creatures in a more than ordinary manner, to fit them for &s;ome Eminent Service. In Scripture phra&s;e <HI>lifting up</HI> in work, notes a great power in working, a new &s;trength for &s;ome &s;ignal Service. It is &s;aid of <HI>Je|ho&s;haphat,</HI> That <HI>his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord,</HI> 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 17. 6. <HI>i. e.</HI> He was carried above all di&s;|couragements and difficulties; and made &s;trong, and valiant for God, and his work. Sometimes the Angels are lifted up, by a greater mea&s;ure of power from God than ordinary, and then other in&s;truments are lift|ed up &s;uitably, the wheels are lifted up too; for the &s;ame <HI>Spirit</HI> that <HI>acts</HI> the <HI>living Creatures, acts the wheels al&s;o.</HI> This teaches us that God doth &s;ometimes Spirit &s;econd Cau&s;es in an unwonted manner, and elevates them a|bove them&s;elves, that they are carried out to act be|yond their own &s;trength and skill. So it was with <HI>Da|vid</HI>'s Worthies; of one of whom it is &s;aid, <HI>He lifted up his Spear again&s;t eight hundred, whom he &s;lew at one time,</HI> 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 23. 8. And &s;o it was with <HI>David</HI> him&s;elf; How came he to make &s;uch an ea&s;y Conque&s;t fir&s;t over the Lion, and the Bear, and then over that mighty <HI>Goli|ath</HI> of the <HI>Phili&s;tines?</HI> Why it was not done by his own <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 17. 35; 36, 51.</NOTE> &s;trength; no, for it &s;eems he was but young for years, and a light-timber'd man for make, and therefore <HI>Saul</HI> calls him a &s;tripling, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 17. 56. And what is the &s;tripling to the <HI>Phili&s;tine?</HI> but it was done by him as <HI>lifted up</HI> of God. This <HI>David</HI> owns in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 17. 45.
<PB N="55" REF="33"> <HI>Thou come&s;t to me with Sword and Spear, and Shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Ho&s;ts.</HI> It was <HI>Sa|muel</HI>'s anointing him, that Oiled the wheels for this &s;er|vice, and lifted him up to do great things, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 16. 13. Samuel <HI>took the Horn of Oyl, and anointed him, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon</HI> David <HI>from that day for|ward.</HI> Thus the <HI>wheels are lifted up.</HI></P>
<P>There is a notable promi&s;e, referring to this, in Zech. 12. 8. <HI>He that is feeble among them &s;hall be as</HI> Da|vid, <HI>and the Hou&s;e of</HI> David <HI>as the Angel of the Lord.</HI> The meaning of it is, that when the Lords time to &s;ave and deliver his Church comes, he will &s;o rai&s;e and Spirit <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7, 8.</NOTE> men for the work, that they who before were feeble in &s;trength, and feeble in courage, &s;hould become like <HI>David;</HI> as &s;tout of Heart, as expert in War, as ready to take the Lion by the Beard as he, and to look the <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 17. 35.</NOTE> greate&s;t <HI>Goliath</HI> in the Face. And when the feeble &s;hall thus be as <HI>David,</HI> what &s;hall the Hou&s;e of <HI>David</HI> be? Why <HI>the Hou&s;e of</HI> David <HI>&s;hall be as the Angel of the Lord.</HI> That is, Per&s;ons of the Royal Line, who are to be Leaders and Commanders in this work of redeeming the Church, their Courage in Undertaking, and Pru|dence in Conduct, &s;hall be rather like that of Angels, than of ordinary Men. Here is <HI>the Spirit of the living Ceeature in the wheels,</HI> and this <HI>lifts them</HI> up. And where|ever it is thus, the work is followed with a &s;ure &s;ucce&s;s, for the Lord doth nothing in vain. Let the Spirit of
<PB N="56" REF="34"> the Lord but lift up &s;ome <HI>Zerubbabel</HI> to &s;et on foot Temple-work, and nothing &s;hall hinder; what though there be (as there was) a <HI>Samaritan</HI> Faction at home, and that back'd with a Forreign Confederacy with the <HI>Per&s;ian</HI> Court? (ju&s;t as if Je&s;uitical de&s;igns among us, had been &s;trengthened with powerful Leagues a|broad, and all to hinder Temple-work, and root out Religion;) If God doth but lift up a wheel, that over|runneth all, and cru&s;hes down the very Mountains, though never &s;o great, to the meanne&s;s of the Valleys. <HI>Who art thou, O great Mountain?</HI> Here's a challenge to all <NOTE PLACE="marg">Zech. 4. 7.</NOTE> the powers of the Earth, to <HI>Sanballat</HI> and his Confede|rates then, to all Oppo&s;ers now. Prie&s;ts and Je&s;uits, Popes and Princes, Armies and Navies, <HI>Babylon</HI> and Sa|tan, what-ever &s;tands in the way of <HI>Zerubbabel,</HI> (the Lords Servant, ingaged in his work) <HI>&s;hall become a plain.</HI> If they are all put together, the <HI>wheels,</HI> when <HI>lift|ed up,</HI> will cru&s;h them. What mighty Victories did he that &s;ate upon the white Hor&s;e obtain, without any o|ther weapon than his Bow in his hand? <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. 2. What great things did the Apo&s;tles do in the infancy of the Go&s;pel? <HI>Lord even the Devils are &s;ubject to us through thy name, Luke</HI> 10. 17. Who would have thought that by <HI>Hus</HI> a Goo&s;e, and <HI>Luther</HI> a Swan, &s;uch &s;trange things &s;hould be done in <HI>Bohemia</HI> and <HI>Germany?</HI> The <HI>wheels were lifted up.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. There is the return of the living Creatures. So
<PB REF="34"> it is &s;aid, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 14. <HI>The living creatures ran and return|ed;</HI> but this &s;eems to contradict the 9th and 12th ver&s;es, for there it is &s;aid, <HI>They turned not when they went.</HI> But this receives an ea&s;ie &s;olution. They turned not from going and doing the work appointed them; but when that work was done, then they returned. They turned not from executing their Commi&s;&s;ion, but then they returned to receive new In&s;tructions. They went not back from the work, till they had fini&s;hed what was begun; and then they returned, both to give an account of their work, and to watch and wait for a new charge. And hence they are called <HI>Watchers,</HI> Dan. 4. 13. <HI>Behold a Watcher, and an holy one,</HI> and <HI>v.</HI> 17. <HI>This matter is by the decree of the Watchers.</HI> They watch for Gods Orders to execute them for the Churches good; and this teaches us two things.</P>
<P N="1">1. That God will have an account of all the work he hath given us to do. As the Angels return, &s;o do the wheels. <HI>Every one of us mu&s;t give an account of him&s;elf to God, Rom.</HI> 14. 12. There are none of us but have &s;ome|what or other to account to God for. Some have more, &s;ome le&s;s; &s;ome have five Talents, &s;ome two, &s;ome <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> but one; but there is &s;ome tru&s;t committed to all; and no man mu&s;t think to <HI>run,</HI> and never to <HI>return.</HI> The <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke</NOTE> motion of every wheel mu&s;t be accounted for to God, though they are the greate&s;t wheels on the Earth: Kings and Princes as well as others. Some &s;ay they are
<PB REF="35"> not accountable to any on Earth, I am &s;ure they are to the God of Heaven. <HI>I &s;aw the dead, &s;mall and great, &s;tand before God, and the Books were opened,&mdash;and the dead were judged out of tho&s;e things which were written in the Books, ac|cording to their works,</HI> Rev. 20. 12. <HI>they ran, and returned.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. We are taught hereby never to be weary of the work God &s;ets us to do: one duty &s;hould fit us for another: <HI>Let us not be weary of well doing,</HI> Gal. 6. 9.</P>
<P>Thus by the Wheels being acted by the Cheru|bims, we learn what a perfect harmony there is a|mong all &s;econd Cau&s;es in their dependance upon, and &s;ubjection to the wi&s;e and holy God.</P>
<P N="10">10. Here is another thing a&s;cribed to the&s;e Wheels, and that is, the influencing virtue of the &s;ame &s;pirit which acted the living creatures, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 20. <HI>The &s;pirit of the living creature was in the Wheels.</HI></P>
<P>The Que&s;tion is, What Spirit is this?</P>
<P>I &s;hall not trouble you with any other &s;en&s;e than that which I take to be the &s;en&s;e of the Holy Gho&s;t; and that is, that by the Spirit here, is meant the Di|vine Spirit, the Eternal Spirit of God: the &s;ame Spirit that acts the living creatures, acts the Wheels al&s;o; which in <HI>chap.</HI> 10. 17. is called <HI>the Spirit of Life;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> and this is that Spirit which guided all their motions; therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 1. 12. <HI>Whither the Spirit was to go, they went.</HI> There is not an Angel in Heaven, nor a Wheel upon Earth, but are all acted and governed by the &s;ame Spirit.</P>
<PB REF="35">
<P> As the Spirit was concerned in the framing of the Wheels; &s;o he is in the motions of them: as he was in the creating of all things; &s;o he is in all their ope|rations: therefore when the <HI>black Hor&s;es</HI> go forth into the <HI>North Country,</HI> and <HI>the white</HI> go after them, they are &s;aid to <HI>have quieted the Spirit,</HI> Zech. 6. 6, 8. that is, in having executed his plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>By the North Country, <HI>Babylon</HI> is intended, which lay Northward from <HI>Judea;</HI> the <HI>black Hor&s;es</HI> are Mi|ni&s;ters of Gods vengeance, &s;ent to execute his wrath upon <HI>Babylon;</HI> the <HI>white Hor&s;es</HI> are the Mini&s;ters of his pity and compa&s;&s;ion to his oppre&s;&s;ed people, in bring|ing them out of <HI>Babylon;</HI> and till this is accompli&s;hed, the Spirit is not at re&s;t. In <HI>Rev.</HI> 5. 6. it is &s;aid, <HI>There &s;tood a Lamb, as it had been &s;lain, having &s;even horns, and &s;even eyes, which are the &s;even Spirits of God, &s;ent forth into all the Earth.</HI> It is the Spirit of Chri&s;t which is thus de&s;cribed by <HI>&s;even,</HI> (a number of perfection) to &s;et out the variety and perfection of his operations. The <HI>&s;e|ven Spirits</HI> are &s;aid to be <HI>&s;ent forth into all the Earth;</HI> that is, to manage the affairs of the world with a peculiar re&s;pect to the Church. His being &s;ent forth, notes a great tru&s;t repo&s;ed in him, and a great work commit|ted to him by Chri&s;t, with re&s;pect to his People in the world; and it is in pur&s;uance of this tru&s;t that he acts all the Wheels, and manages matters for the de&s;tru|ction of the Enemies of the Church, and their redemp|tion:
<PB REF="36"> therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>When the Enemy &s;hall come in like a floud, the Spirit of the Lord &s;hall lift up a Standard again&s;t him,</HI> I&s;a. 59. 19. How &s;hould the con&s;ideration of this truth &s;tay and quiet our minds under all Turns and Changes! We are apt to fret and murmure at the motions of the Wheels, when they cro&s;s our hopes and intere&s;ts; but if the Spirit of God be in the Wheels, and acts them according to his own plea&s;ure, then all our impatience is groundle&s;s and &s;inful.</P>
<P>La&s;tly; The&s;e Wheels are under the direction of a voice: as there are eyes round about them to guide them in their way, &s;o there is a voice above them to command their motions. <HI>As for the Wheels, it was cryed to them, O Wheel!</HI> This cry is the voice of him that &s;its upon the Throne, <HI>v.</HI> 1. And tho' it be particularly directed to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> yet in a more general &s;en&s;e it is intended to the whole World, to all Kingdoms, Cities, Churches, to all People. And that appears from the word the Holy Gho&s;t u&s;es here for the <HI>Wheel,</HI> different from the word u&s;ed in other parts of the Vi&s;ion. For in the fir&s;t Chapter you have mention of the Wheels ten times, and there it is <HI>Ophannim;</HI> and you have the fame word u&s;ed twelve times in this Chapter; but here in the Text it is <HI>Haggalgal, this world;</HI> and &s;o God <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">rbis.</HI></NOTE> would have the Prophet to under&s;tand it; and there|fore it is &s;aid, <HI>It was cryed to the wheels in my hearing, O World!</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, Would you know
<PB N="61" REF="36"> what the&s;e Wheels are? why they are <HI>this World.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> But why is the cry made to one Wheel, when here is mention of more? <HI>It was cryed to the Wheels, O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;.</HI> It is to &s;hew us that all inferiour cau&s;es, and in&s;truments, are but as one in the hand of the Lord. The Wheels are &s;aid to be four (as I hinted before) in an&s;wer to the four quarters of the world; four quar|ters, but one World: &s;o four Wheels, and yet all but one Wheel. <HI>As for the Wheels, it was cryed in my hearing, O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But if by Wheels, all this world is meant, and all the In&s;truments in it which God makes u&s;e of to &s;erve his ends, then how can the&s;e be &s;aid to hear when God crys to them?</P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> Nothing is more frequent in Scripture than to a&s;cribe &s;en&s;e to things without &s;en&s;e, <HI>Deut.</HI> 32. 1. <HI>Give ear, O ye Heavens, and I will &s;peak; and hear, O Earth, the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 34. 1. Ho&s;. 2. 21, 22. Jer. 47. 6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>words of my mouth.</HI> I&s;a. 1. 2. <HI>Hear, O Heavens, give ear, Earth, for the Lord hath &s;poken.</HI> Mich. 6. 1, 2. <HI>Hear ye, Mountains, and Foundations of the Earth. Thus &s;aith the Lord</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 10. 8.</NOTE> <HI>to the Mountains and to the Hills, to the Rivers, and to the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luk. 23. 30.</NOTE> <HI>Valleys,</HI> Ezek. 6. 2. Now this &s;peaking of God to the inanimate creatures, and calling them to hear, is very emphatical.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is to &s;et out the great importance and weight of the thing &s;poken; and the general concernment it is of to be heard and attended to.</P>
<P N="2">2. This way of attributing &s;en&s;e to dumb creatures,
<PB N="62" REF="37"> is very u&s;ual in Scripture, thereby to convince men of their &s;tupidity and in&s;en&s;iblene&s;s; and that Stocks and Stones, Hills &amp; Mountains would as &s;oon hear as they.</P>
<P N="3">3. This &s;peaking and crying to dumb creatures and inanimate beings, is to &s;hew how ab&s;olutely they are acted by God. When God manages and acts the&s;e creatures &s;o as to make them &s;erve his purpo&s;es, then he crys to them, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> do this, do that; move this way, turn that way; and when they do in a way of in&s;trumentality fulfil the will of God, then they are &s;aid to <HI>move right on,</HI> and an&s;wer the cry. This cry is the acting them to execute the Law of their Creation: as Infinite Power gave them their being, &s;o Infinite Wi&s;dom ordained their u&s;es and ends; and that is the po&s;ture they &s;tand in to this day, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. 91. <HI>They continue this day according to thine Ordinances, for all are thy Servants.</HI> God's Laws are fixed for the government of all creatures; and the cry to the Wheels is only the power of Providence acting them to the execution of the Laws of their Creation. Providence is a Servant to God's Eternal Coun&s;el and Purpo&s;e; he works no|thing but what he fir&s;t decreed, and he brings all his decrees to pa&s;s by his works. But tho' all creatures are included in the&s;e Wheels, yet rational agents are principally intended, and therefore chiefly to be un|der&s;tood by them; and if &s;o, then to you is this word cryed; and perhaps it is therefore made in the &s;ingular
<PB N="63" REF="37"> number, that every one may look on it as his duty to hearken to the voice of God in the cry. As in giving out the Decalogue, it is &s;o directed that every one may think him&s;elf concerned. Every command runs in the &s;econd Per&s;on, and in the &s;ingular number; <HI>Thou</HI> &s;halt not do this, and <HI>Thou</HI> &s;halt not do that. It is <HI>Thou,</HI> and <HI>Thou,</HI> that every one that hears it, may apply it to him|&s;elf. So is this cry in the Text, <HI>O wheel!</HI> It is &s;ingularly expre&s;&s;ed, that it may be particularly ob&s;erved by eve|ry one according to the nature of the cry. The expre&s;|&s;ion is broken and imperfect, as &s;uch pathetick &s;trains are wont to be, and therefore it concerns us to in|quire the more diligently into it, that we may under|&s;tand what is intended by it. <HI>O Wheel!</HI> This O! is an Interjection which is of much u&s;e among the Affecti|ons; and &s;erves to give vent to the Pa&s;&s;ions of the Mind. It is a way of expre&s;&s;ing what cannot otherwi&s;e be expre&s;&s;ed. Thus it is &s;ometimes the voice of wi&s;h|ing, <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 23. 15. P&s;al. 14. 7. Gen. 17. 18. Deut. 5. 29.</NOTE> <HI>Job</HI> 6. 8. <HI>O that I might have my reque&s;t!</HI> P&s;al. 119. 5. <HI>O that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes!</HI> Some|times it is the voice of joy, <HI>Deut.</HI> 33. 29. <HI>Happy art thou, O</HI> I&s;rael! <HI>who is like unto thee, O people &s;aved by the Lord?</HI> Sometimes it is the voice of grief, <HI>Jer.</HI> 9. 1. <HI>O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears!</HI> 2 Sam. 18. 33. <HI>O my Son</HI> Ab&s;olom, <HI>my Son&mdash;would God I had dyed for thee, O</HI> Ab&s;olom, <HI>my Son, my Son!</HI> Sometimes it is the voice of Love, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. 97. <HI>O how I love thy</HI>
<PB N="64" REF="38"> <HI>Law!</HI> Great de&s;ires, great joys, great grief, and great love are frequently thus expre&s;&s;ed; and &s;o this O! is a &s;ervant to the Affections. But here we are to con|&s;ider who it is that &s;peaks; it is the voice of him that &s;its upon the Throne, the Lord Chri&s;t, and we are to attend to it accordingly.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is an O of <HI>di&s;cipline,</HI> by which we are in&s;truct|ed to admire and adore the wonders of Providence. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Vox docen|tis.</NOTE> The voice is from the Throne, but it is to direct us at the Foot-&s;tool; therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>It was cryed in my hear|ing, O wheel!</HI> That when Chri&s;t &s;ays &s;o, we &s;hould &s;ay &s;o. It is like that in <HI>Rev.</HI> 22. 17. <HI>When the Spirit &s;ays, Come, then let him that hears, &s;ay, Come.</HI> So when Chri&s;t &s;ays, <HI>O wheel!</HI> then all that hear mu&s;t &s;ay, <HI>O wheel!</HI> That is, get and maintain admiring Thoughts of God; a|dore him in his Providences, and cry out with the A|po&s;tle, <HI>Rom.</HI> 11. 33. <HI>O the depth of the riches both of the wi&s;dom and knowledge of God! how un&s;earchable are his judg|ments, and his ways pa&s;t finding out.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. It is an O of rebuke; and it is to every particu|lar <HI>Wheel,</HI> of what degree &s;oever. Are Magi&s;trates <NOTE PLACE="marg">Vox repre|bendentis.</NOTE> <HI>Wheels?</HI> this <HI>O Wheel,</HI> is cryed to them. Why do ye &s;tand &s;till? Why are ye not in motion? Why have you act|ed no more for God? ye are <HI>heirs of re&s;traint, Judg.</HI> 18. 7. Why have ye not &s;uppre&s;&s;ed wickedne&s;s, and brought the Wheel over the Swearer, the Sabbath-breaker, the Drunkard, and the Unclean? <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Ye are the <HI>Shields</HI>
<PB N="65" REF="38"> <HI>of the Earth, P&s;al.</HI> 47. 9. Why have ye not <HI>defended the poor and fatherle&s;s, and rid them out of the hand of the wicked?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82. 3,</NOTE> Why have ye <HI>eat up my people as bread?</HI> and &s;uffered the <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 14.</NOTE> wicked to devour the man that is more righteous than <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hab. 1. 1</NOTE> he? Why have ye delivered up my people to be <HI>killed</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 44. 2</NOTE> <HI>all the day long</HI> for my &s;ake, and have not redeemed them from ravage and &s;poil, from the malice and violence of the cruel? By whom do ye rule? are ye not under Chri&s;t? is not he King over all the Earth? are ye not <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 10. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> to be governed by him? to govern for him? and to give an account to him? O that the Rulers of the world would con&s;ider by who&s;e power they are what they are! Had <HI>Pharaoh</HI> con&s;idered this, he had never belched out &s;uch bla&s;pemous language in that haughty Huff, <HI>Who is the Lord, that I &s;hould obey his voice, and let</HI> I&s;rael <HI>go? Exod.</HI> 5. 3. Had the Princes of the Earth con&s;idered this, they would not have <HI>touched his anoint|ed</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 105. 15.</NOTE> <HI>ones,</HI> nor harmed his <HI>Prophets,</HI> as they have done. They had never made their Subjects their Slaves, nor &s;acrificed &s;o many lives to feed the flame of their lu&s;ts, They had never been guilty of Rebellion again&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> 25.</NOTE> Heaven, a &s;in which Princes are as often guilty of a|gain&s;t God, as their Subjects are again&s;t them. Did ever Chri&s;t (by whom Kings reign) &s;et up any Go|vernment <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 8. 15</NOTE> that &s;hould pull down his? Did they ever derive a right from him to invade his rights? or to make Laws to extingui&s;h his? Why &s;hould not Kings
<PB N="66" REF="39"> and Magi&s;trates be wi&s;e, and <HI>ki&s;s the Son,</HI> when as they <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">al. 2. 10, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">, 12.</NOTE> are more bound to be &s;ubject to Chri&s;t, than their Subjects are to them? For as much as their Authority over men is limited, but God's Authority over them is ab&s;olute? Had the&s;e things been duly attended to, the flames of Cities had not been &s;o bright, nor the &s;treams of blood &s;o deep, nor the cries of the innocent &s;o loud.</P>
<P><HI>O Wheel!</HI> thou ha&s;t been irregular and di&s;orderly; &s;urely <HI>the &s;pirit of the living creature</HI> is not in &s;uch <HI>Wheels.</HI></P>
<P>Are Mini&s;ters <HI>Wheels?</HI> the cry from the Throne is to You. <HI>O Wheel!</HI> why do you not <HI>take heed to your</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ol. 4. 17.</NOTE> <HI>Mini&s;try to fulfil it?</HI> Why do ye not move with more Zeal for God, like the <HI>living creatures, that ran as the ap|pearance</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ech. 1. 14.</NOTE> <HI>of a fla&s;h of lightning?</HI> Why do ye not <HI>cry aloud</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">a. 58. 1.</NOTE> again&s;t the &s;ins of the times? Why do you not &s;et your &s;elves to promote a right Reformation, beginning fir&s;t with your own hearts and lives, and then with your hou&s;es, and then with the Church of God? ought <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ant. 1. 6.</NOTE> not the <HI>Keepers of the Vineyard to keep</HI> their own <HI>Vine|yard?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">om. 2. 21.</NOTE> <HI>Thou that teache&s;t another, teache&s;t thou not thy &s;elf?</HI> That watch-man goes about to bad purpo&s;e, that &s;e|cures his neighbours door while his own is left open. O that that of the Apo&s;tle were written upon all our &s;tudy doors; <HI>Le&s;t that by any means when I have preached to others, I my &s;elf &s;hould be a ca&s;t-away,</HI> 1 Cor. 9. 27. If <HI>the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;a. 22. 1.</NOTE> <HI>burden of the Valley of Vi&s;ion</HI> be &s;o great, what will the burden of the <HI>Men of Vi&s;ion</HI> be? It is an Amazing word,
<PB N="67" REF="39"> <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 42. 19. <HI>Who is blind as he that is perfect, blind as the Lords Servant?</HI> Wo to that Land, that Church, <HI>who&s;e Seers &s;ee not;</HI> and we cannot &s;ee aright, unle&s;s, with the <HI>Cherubims</HI> in the mo&s;t holy place, our <HI>faces are in|ward.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 13.</NOTE> No man can deal skilfully with anothers heart, who knows nothing of his own. Why do ye take up with Doctrines of Moral Virtue, in oppo&s;ition to Faith in Chri&s;t, and the New Birth, as if the&s;e were but <HI>re|ligious whim&s;ies?</HI> Moral Virtue is of great u&s;e in its place, but it cannot make a man a new creature; it whites the Sepulchre, and gives it an outward beauty, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> but it doth not remove the death and filth that is with|in; Faith in Chri&s;t only can do that. <HI>He that hath the Son, hath life,</HI> 1 Joh. 5. 12. <HI>Fabritius</HI> may find a cooler Hell than <HI>Catiline,</HI> but <HI>he that believes not &s;hall be damned,</HI> Mark 16. 16. Would God have been at &s;uch co&s;t to e&s;tabli&s;h a Law of Faith in the Blood of his Son, if Morality could have conducted us to Heaven? <HI>If Righ|tene&s;s come by the Law, Chri&s;t is dead in vain,</HI> Gal. 2. 21. Why do ye not &s;hew men their condition by nature, their lo&s;t e&s;tate, and the indi&s;pen&s;able nece&s;&s;ity of a Remedy? that &s;o ye may <HI>prepare a people for the Lord,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 1. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> and thereby <HI>commend your &s;elves to every mans Con&s;cience in</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 4. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>the &s;ight of God?</HI> Why do ye not &s;eparate the precious <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 15. 19<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> from the vile? Where is your Te&s;timony for the pure wor&s;hip of Chri&s;t, again&s;t the &s;inful devi&s;ings of proud <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15. 9</NOTE> man? Surely the&s;e wheels are heavy, and move dully,
<PB N="68" REF="40"> or are at a &s;top; they want oyling, that is, the Spirit of Chri&s;t, to direct and quicken their motion.</P>
<P>Are Parents and Ma&s;ters <HI>Wheels?</HI> then I hear a cry to you; why do ye not mind the duty of your places? why move ye not more exemplarily in your Families? why is reading the Scriptures, and praying, and &s;ing|ing <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">hn 5. 39. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">er. 10. 25. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ol. 3. 16.</NOTE> the prai&s;es of God, no more in u&s;e under your roofs? why are not your Children and Servants more <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">rov. 22. 6. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">en. 18. 19.</NOTE> frequently catechi&s;ed, and better in&s;tructed in the Principles of Religion? why do ye not check and re|&s;train their &s;hameful Pride, and &s;inful Exce&s;&s;es? <HI>O Wheel!</HI> no wonder if things go not right, when the Ma&s;ter-wheel &s;tands &s;till. Every Profe&s;&s;or is a <HI>Wheel,</HI> and the cry is to them; <HI>O Wheel!</HI> why do you not run above ground? why &s;ink ye &s;o deep into the Earth? why do ye conform to this world, again&s;t the expre&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">om. 12. 2.</NOTE> Command of Chri&s;t? If he is not to be obeyed, why do ye own him? if he is, why do ye di&s;honour him? <HI>Why call ye me Lord, Lord, yet do not the things which I &s;ay?</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 6. 46.</NOTE> <HI>Profe&s;s to know me,</HI> and yet <HI>in works deny me, being abomi|nable, and di&s;obedient, and to every good work reprobate?</HI> If <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 1. 16.</NOTE> my Commands are not <HI>holy, ju&s;t and good,</HI> why do ye <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 7. 12.</NOTE> not openly di&s;claim them? if they are, why do ye not make more con&s;cience to keep them? why are ye &s;o hardened in your Pride, and Lu&s;ts, and &s;inful Exce&s;&s;es, as to hate him that reproves in the Gate? why do ye not relieve and do good to the poor and
<PB N="69" REF="40"> indigent Servants of Chri&s;t, with that which you la|vi&s;h upon the&s;e filthy Lu&s;ts? Why is there &s;o much of the <HI>form of godline&s;s,</HI> and &s;uch a woful <HI>denying the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>power thereof?</HI> Alas! the wheels go not right on; they turn as they go; they are unprofitable, and good for nothing; like <HI>Salt that hath lo&s;t its &s;avour.</HI> Woe to care|le&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> Profe&s;&s;ors and carnal Go&s;pellers, for God will not be put off with leaves when he comes looking for <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mark 11. 13. Rev. 2. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> fruit. He will <HI>make all the Churches to know, that he &s;earch|eth the heart;</HI> and therefore, <HI>As for the&s;e wheels, it is cryed in my hearing, O Wheel!</HI> The Lord looks upon thee with abhorrency: <HI>The Children of the Kingdom &s;hall be ca&s;t into utter darkne&s;s,</HI> Mat. 8. 12. Of late years the Athei&s;m and Ungodline&s;s of &s;inners, and the Malice and Rage of Per&s;ecutors have been undoing us; but now our danger and hazard is greater from the pro|voking &s;ins of Profe&s;&s;ors; <HI>Are there not with you, even with you, &s;ins again&s;t the Lord your God?</HI> 2 Chron. 28. 10. And no &s;ins &s;o provoking to God, as the &s;ins of a pro|fe&s;&s;ing People. <HI>He abhorred them, becau&s;e of the provoking of his Sons and Daughters,</HI> Deut. 32. 19. No &s;ins bring greater Judgments than the&s;e, nor &s;ooner. The fire that mu&s;t be &s;cattered over the City, mu&s;t come from between the Cherubims, in the hou&s;e of the Lord, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 10. 2. by which we are taught that the &s;ins which do &s;o highly provoke God, are the &s;ins of his own People, corrupt Wor&s;hip, Lords day Profane|ne&s;s,
<PB N="70" REF="41"> Humane Inventions, Loo&s;ene&s;s, Pride, Luxury, Uncleanne&s;s, and Worldline&s;s; the&s;e &s;ound under a profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, will kindle the fire of God's wrath, and who &s;hall quench it?</P>
<P>Finally; Every man is a <HI>Wheel</HI> that is to be in con|&s;tant motion for God, according to the place where|in God hath &s;et him; and therefore the cry from the Throne is to all of all &s;orts, rich and poor, young and old, high and low, male and female; to all, without exception of any. <HI>O Wheel!</HI> why move ye not? why &s;eek ye not after God? know ye not whence ye are fallen? that ye are by nature in a &s;tate of Apo&s;tacy from God, and therefore in a mi&s;erable, forlorn, and de&s;titute condition, <HI>having no hope, and without God in the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ph. 2. 12.</NOTE> <HI>world?</HI> who can expre&s;s the &s;adne&s;s and mi&s;ery of &s;uch an e&s;tate? how wretched, how poor, how blind, how naked, how undone mu&s;t &s;uch a one be?</P>
<P N="1">1. The guilt of all the &s;ins that ever thou did&s;t, are bound upon thy Soul; and what burden &s;o heavy? <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>a Stone is heavy, and Sand is weighty;</HI> but how <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ov. 27. 3.</NOTE> much heavier is the burden of &s;in than both? Ask the damned in Hell; go to the rich man, and he will tell thee; ask a convinced &s;inner, and he will tell thee: Go to the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, and that will tell thee what the guilt of &s;in is. VVho can think of that word with|out trembling, <HI>Ye &s;hall die in your &s;ins?</HI> Better it were <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">hn 8. 24.</NOTE> to die in a ditch, a jakes, a dungeon, than to die
<PB N="71" REF="41"> in &s;in; for it will &s;ink thee into Hell for ever.</P>
<P N="2">2. Satan hath the full dominion of thy Soul; thou art led <HI>captive by him at his will.</HI> He rules in the heart; <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 2. 26.</NOTE> for where &s;in reigns, Satan reigns; he that obeys his lu&s;ts, obeys the Devil; for as Chri&s;t reigns by grace, &s;o he reigns by lu&s;t; therefore called <HI>his lu&s;ts,</HI> Joh. 8. v. 44. Every man who &s;erves &s;in, doth really obey, and &s;erve the Devil, tho' he thinks not &s;o. VVhen tho&s;e <HI>Sabaean</HI> Robbers plundered from <HI>Job</HI> his Oxen and A&s;&s;es, and <HI>Judas</HI> &s;old his Ma&s;ter for thirty pieces of Sil|ver, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 1. 12. 15, 17. Joh. 13. 27.</NOTE> doubtle&s;s the de&s;ign was to feed their own lu&s;t, and yet therein they &s;erved Satan, and it was he that actuated them in their wickedne&s;s. O what a condi|tion hath &s;in brought thee into! to be &s;ubject to the Devil, to be under his guidance and government; to <NOTE PLACE="marg">John 8. 4. 2 Cor. 4. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> have him for a Ma&s;ter, a Father, a God! VVhat a pro|vocation mu&s;t this be to that God who gave thee thy being at fir&s;t, and who can in an in&s;tant di&s;mi&s;s thee out of being, cru&s;h thee to nothing, &s;end thee to Hell in a moment? O what a cur&s;ed wretch art thou be|come by &s;in! what a Sepulchre of corruption! what a receptacle of rottenne&s;s is thy Soul! what &s;ervants to uncleanne&s;s are all thy inward powers! and what in|&s;truments of unrighteou&s;ne&s;s are all the outward <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> Members! O <HI>VVheel!</HI> whither wilt thou run? thou art in the high way to Hell, the broad road to Eternal <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 7. 1</NOTE> de&s;truction; why do&s;t thou not &s;top and con&s;ider?
<PB N="72" REF="42"> doth not the Word of that God, who cannot lye, tell thee, that <HI>the end of the&s;e things is death?</HI> Rom. 6. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. and can&s;t thou endure to peri&s;h for ever? art thou hardened for Hell, and become flame-proof? can&s;t thou abide the indignation of that God, <HI>who&s;e wrath makes the Earth tremble?</HI> Jer. 10. 10. If not, why do ye not bethink your &s;elves, and repent of your wicked|ne&s;s, &s;aying, <HI>What have I done?</HI> why do ye not reflect <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 6. 8.</NOTE> &s;eriou&s;ly upon your lo&s;t and undone condition, and cry to God for converting Grace? Do ye not believe the truth of that word which our Lord hath &s;o &s;olemn|ly atte&s;ted, <HI>Verily, verily, except a man be born again, he cannot &s;ee the Kingdom of God? John</HI> 3. 3. How dare ye then abide in an unconverted &s;tate one day lon|ger?</P>
<P N="3">3. It is an O of <HI>threatning.</HI> And this follows the for|mer <NOTE PLACE="marg">Vox minan|tis.</NOTE> where no Repentance intervene's to prevent it. Coun&s;el goes fir&s;t, but if that be &s;lighted, reproof comes; and if that makes no impre&s;&s;ion, threatning takes place, then it is <HI>O wheel!</HI> O Church! O City! O Kingdom! Judgment is near at hand, wrath is coming upon thee. And this &s;eems to be the Sen&s;e of it here. <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> had highly provoked the Lord, not only in <HI>&s;etting at nought his coun&s;els,</HI> but al&s;o in <HI>de|&s;pi&s;ing</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 1. 25.</NOTE> <HI>his reproofs,</HI> in&s;omuch that God is <HI>wearied with</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 30.</NOTE> <HI>her iniquities,</HI> and therefore re&s;olves to ca&s;t her off, <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 43. 24.</NOTE> and depart from her; and accordingly you read,
<PB REF="42"> <HI>v.</HI> 4. of this 10th <HI>chapter,</HI> That <HI>the glory of the Lord went up from the Cherub, and &s;tood over the thre&s;hold of the Hou&s;e;</HI> and in this departing po&s;ture cries out, <HI>O Wheel! q. d.</HI> I am now going, and mi&s;ery is coming; I am at the thre&s;hold ready to depart, and Judg|ment is at the door ready to enter.</P>
<P>It is a word of threatning, like that of God to the Prophet, 1 <HI>Kings</HI> 21. 17. <HI>The word of the Lord came to Elijah,</HI> and what word it was, the 19th ver&s;e &s;hews you. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord, Ha&s;t thou killed, and al&s;o taken po&s;&s;e&s;sion? in the place where Dogs licked the Blood of</HI> Na|both, <HI>&s;hall Dogs lick thy Blood, even thine.</HI> It is a word of threatning put into the Prophets mouth again&s;t <HI>A|hab</HI> that Bloody King.</P>
<P N="4">4. It is an O of <HI>Lamentation,</HI> a Language full of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Vox lug<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> &s;orrow and compa&s;&s;ion, and &s;o &s;hews the pity of Chri&s;t to a &s;elf undoing world and people. <HI>O Wheel!</HI> What hath Sin brought upon thee? O People, O Na|tion, how deplorable is your ca&s;e become! how mi|&s;erable are you made by your own Lu&s;ts and Wicked|ne&s;s! how have you de&s;pi&s;ed the offers of Grace, and the reproofs of the Word to your own undoing. It is like that of Chri&s;t to <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> when he wept over it, <HI>Luke</HI> 19. 41, 42. <HI>If thou had&s;t known, even thou, at lea&s;t in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace.</HI> The words carry in them an Optative form, <GAP DESC="foreign"> for <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>utinam, O that thou had&s;t known!</HI> It is a com|pa&s;&s;ionate
<PB REF="43"> &s;tile, whereby the Lord Chri&s;t pityeth them that have no pity for them&s;elves. <HI>He wept over it.</HI> Surely their ca&s;e mu&s;t be very lamentable that could fetch tears from tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Eyes; as the com|pa&s;&s;ionate Judge bewails the doleful &s;tate of a Male|factor, even while he is in ju&s;tice bound to Sentence and Condemn him.</P>
<P N="5">5. It is an O of <HI>Calling,</HI> and carries a command in <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">imperan|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> it, which is to be under&s;tood, though not expre&s;&s;ed. <HI>O Wheel! repent and turn your &s;elves from your Idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations, Ezek.</HI> 14. 6. It is like that of the Lord in <HI>Jer.</HI> 6. 8. <HI>Be thou in&s;tructed, O</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>le&s;t my Soul depart from thee; le&s;t I make thee de&s;olate, a land not inhabited.</HI> This is the &s;en&s;e of the cry of him that &s;its upon the Throne, and governs the Wheels.</P>
<P>I &s;hall proceed no farther in the opening of this Vi&s;ion, for that I have already prevented my &s;elf in what I did de&s;ign; which was to have applied it more largely than now I am able; and therefore I &s;hall ap|ply it by pre&s;&s;ing &s;uch Duties only as the pre&s;ent Sea|&s;on calls for.</P>
<P>And the fir&s;t is, Admiration and Wonder. O how <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">y 1&s;t. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> full of Riddle and My&s;tery are the Providences of God! how few of the de&s;igns of his di&s;pen&s;ations are fathomable by the longe&s;t Line of humane Under|&s;tanding; therefore <HI>Job</HI> cries out, <HI>Lo the&s;e are parts of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>
<PB REF="43"> <HI>his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him?</HI> Job. 26. v. 14. And that of <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ph</HI> is to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 77. 19. <HI>Thy way is in the Sea, thy path in the great waters; thy foot&s;teps are not known.</HI> It is as ea&s;ie to trace a Ship in the waters, as God in his works; and therefore <HI>Solomon</HI> &s;ays, <HI>A man cannot find out the work that is done under the Sun.&mdash;Yea further, though a wi&s;e man think to know it, yet &s;hall he not be able to find it,</HI> Eccle&s;. 8. 17. When God <HI>changes the times and the &s;ea&s;ons;</HI> when <HI>he removes Kings, and &s;ets up Kings,</HI> Dan. 2. 21. takes the Crown from one, and &s;ets it upon another, who can give a rea&s;on of his doings? If <HI>the Clouds are his Chariot,</HI> his ways mu&s;t needs be in the dark: And if <HI>he walks upon the wings of the wind,</HI> they mu&s;t needs be &s;e|cret. <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 40.</NOTE> Who can &s;ee through a Cloud? or trace out the motion of the wind, when he knows no more <HI>whence it comes,</HI> than he doth <HI>whither it goes?</HI> Joh. c. 3. <HI>v.</HI> 8. And therefore where we cannot trace him, let us adore him. When our Line is too &s;hort to reach the bottom of his de&s;igns, then it becomes us to cry out, <HI>O the depth!</HI> When his ways are <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 33.</NOTE> &s;uch as cannot be under&s;tood, then the wi&s;dom of them ought to be admired.</P>
<P>Are the <HI>Wheels full of Eyes?</HI> do they <HI>go upon their four &s;ides?</HI> and <HI>turn not</HI> as they go? are they
<PB REF="44"> <HI>high and dreadful?</HI> is there a <HI>VVheel in the middle of a VVheel?</HI> do they <HI>go &s;traight forward?</HI> and move as the <HI>Cherubims</HI> move? is the <HI>Spirit of Life in them?</HI> and are they under the guidance of <HI>a Voice from the Throne of Glory?</HI> what rea&s;on then have we to cry out, <HI>O VVheel!</HI></P>
<P>How loud hath the Lord at this time cryed, <HI>O VVheel!</HI> in our hearing, and ought we not to <HI>eccho</HI> it back again, and cry, <HI>O Wheel</HI> in his hearing? when he &s;ays, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> by way of <HI>Guidance</HI> and <HI>Or|der,</HI> this lays it as a duty upon us to &s;ay, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> by way of <HI>wonder;</HI> e&s;pecially when the motion of the Wheels hath been &s;o &s;tupendious, and amazing in our view, when they are <HI>lifted up</HI> &s;o high <HI>above the Earth.</HI></P>
<P>What admirable motions of the Wheels have we &s;een of late! By what amazing Providences hath God appeared among us, and for us! How &s;trange|ly hath his Omnipotent Arm <HI>wheeled</HI> things about! You have read of <HI>a Nation born at once,</HI> I&s;a. 66. 8. Here is a Nation redeemed at once; &s;o that <HI>accord|ing to this time it &s;hall be &s;aid of</HI> England, <HI>What hath</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">mb. 23.</NOTE> <HI>God wrought? i. e.</HI> it &s;hall be matter of wonder to After-ages; <HI>It &s;hall be written for the generation to come, and the people which &s;hall be created, &s;hall prai&s;e the Lord,</HI> P&s;al. 102. 18. And therefore, though the <HI>bruiti&s;h man</HI>
<PB N="77" REF="44"> <HI>knoweth not, nor doth a fool under&s;tand this,</HI> P&s;al. 92. 6. yet let us &s;ay with the P&s;almi&s;t in the foregoing ver&s;e, <HI>O Lord, how great are thy works!</HI> And this duty will appear highly rea&s;onable,</P>
<P N="1">1. If we do but con&s;ider the thing that is done, or the Deliverance it &s;elf; the Throne emptyed of Popery; the Nation delivered from Slavery; the People of God in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Liberty; and ought we not to cry, <HI>O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Con&s;ider the &s;ea&s;onablene&s;s of it; when we were at our Wits end; nay, almo&s;t at our Faiths end; when we feared a &s;udden Inva&s;ion upon us, as the Effect of a Treacherous League made again&s;t us; and the E&s;tabli&s;hing an <HI>Italian</HI> Religion by a new <HI>French</HI> fa&s;hion of <HI>Dragooning.</HI> When Prie&s;ts and Je&s;uits directed the whole Coun&s;els of the Nation; and like that Plague of <HI>Frogs,</HI> not only <HI>came up, and</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 8. 6. v. 3.</NOTE> <HI>covered the Land,</HI> but <HI>crept into</HI> Pharaoh<HI>'s Bed-chamber;</HI> when they wrote Letters abroad filled with boa&s;ts of their Succe&s;&s;es at home, and &s;o confidently con|cluded the Day their own, that nothing could pre|vent it; then did God ari&s;e and &s;catter them, by bringing the Wheel over them; therefore we have cau&s;e to cry, <HI>O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Con&s;ider how this work was done; not by greatne&s;s of number, le&s;t it &s;hould have been &s;aid,
<PB N="78" REF="45"> Mans Arm had done it, and we &s;hould have <HI>glorye<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> in fle&s;h. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spi|rit,</HI> Zech. 4. 6. Not by any &s;trength oppo&s;ing, &s;o much as by them&s;elves dividing. The <HI>Iron</HI> would not mingle with the <HI>Clay,</HI> the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> with the <HI>Pa|pi&s;t,</HI> and &s;o they divided; and their divi&s;ion was our pre&s;ervation; and &s;hall we not cry, <HI>O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;ider what the mercy co&s;t; the cheapne&s;s of the Deliverance, was not the lea&s;t circum&s;tance of the mercy: Such a Redemption of the Nation, of the Church, of Religion, of the Laws of the Land; what was it worth if a price had been to be put? why the undertaking &s;peaks mens Judgments of the value. It is worth the Lives of Men, the Blood of the Gentry, the Blood of Nobles, yea the Blood of Princes: Nay, if the thing were not worth more, why did they offer &s;o much, which was their All? This was the price that was freely bid; but the mer|ciful God would not take it; not that he refu&s;ed the tender, but his conde&s;cending goodne&s;s put it upon lower terms than they bid for it; and why!</P>
<P N="1">1. To put glory upon preventing mercy, which is &s;ometimes &s;o big with it &s;elf, that it cannot tarry till things are got ready. <HI>Before they call, I will an&s;wer,</HI> I&s;a. 65. 24.</P>
<P N="2">2. Where there is a will to the Work, God doth
<PB N="79" REF="45"> often accept the will for the work, and crowns the will as if it were the work; for he &s;ees all actions as they lie in their Principles. <HI>David</HI>'s heart was to build God an Hou&s;e, and this God takes as kindly, and rewards it as amply, as if it had been done, and God builds his, becau&s;e he had a heart to build the Lords. It is &s;o in this ca&s;e; when men freely offer <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 7. 11.</NOTE> their Lives and E&s;tates, (as <HI>David</HI> did his Trea&s;ure) for the purcha&s;e of a mercy, God accepts the offer, but gives the mercy, and abates the price.</P>
<P N="3">3. Tho' the Deliverance was worth more, yet they, from who&s;e Tyranny we were to be Redeem|ed, were not worth &s;o much: And God will &s;ome|times rather abate of the price of a mercy, than put an honour upon an Enemy; as if God &s;hould &s;ay, I accept the tender of your Blood in my Cau&s;e, but the Enemy is not worth it, and therefore I will not take it in kind.</P>
<P N="4">4. God &s;ometimes, in &s;uch a ca&s;e as this, ob&s;erves the cu&s;tom of buying and &s;elling: when men buy cheap, they &s;ell cheap. What did it co&s;t the buyer to get po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and power over us? it co&s;t very little: Sin had provoked God, and he <HI>gave his people into the hand of their Enemies; and they that hated them, ruled over them,</HI> P&s;al. 106. 41, 42. He <HI>gave</HI> them, he did not <HI>&s;ell</HI> them; or if they were &s;old, <HI>it was for nought;</HI> there
<PB N="80" REF="46"> was no price paid. As Chri&s;t and Grace are always &s;old <HI>without money, and without price,</HI> I&s;a. 55. 1. &s;o &s;ome|times are Chri&s;tians too. God, to magnifie his love to &s;inners, always &s;ells Chri&s;t without a price; and to manife&s;t his wrath to his people, he &s;ometimes &s;ells them without a price: <HI>Their Rock &s;old them,</HI> Deut. 32. 30. And what did the buyer give? little or no|thing. As in the merciful di&s;pen&s;ations of God, the greater the love, the freer the mercy; &s;o it is in his wrathful Providences, the greater the anger, the cheaper the purcha&s;e. <HI>He &s;ells them for nought.</HI> It is not thirty years &s;ince this was your own ca&s;e: God was wroth with you, and he &s;et very light by you; <HI>&s;old you for nought.</HI> The buyer took po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and it co&s;t him nothing; not a battel, not a blow, not a drop of blood. And doth not God regard this, think you? you &s;ee he doth; for what co&s;t your Delive|rance? not a battel, not one bloody field; no, not &s;o much as a looking one another in the face: cheap &s;old in much wrath, and as cheap bought when the time of Redemption came; and thus is that word made good, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 52. 3. <HI>Ye have been &s;old for nought, and ye &s;hall be redeemed without price. O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider the &s;ubjects of the mercy; a people not fit to be delivered, and yet in danger of being undone and ruined; utterly unworthy of Redemption,
<PB N="81" REF="46"> and yet upon the very brink of de&s;truction.</P>
<P N="1">1. As to our fitne&s;s for &s;uch a mercy, never was a people more unfit, nor more unworthy; but it is the way of Divine Goodne&s;s to act by Prerogative, and that is the rea&s;on of mercy, when no other rea|&s;on can be given. <HI>I do not this for your &s;akes, but for my holy Names &s;ake,</HI> Ezek. 36. 22. When God hath a purpo&s;e to &s;hew mercy, he never wants a rea&s;on in him&s;elf, tho' there can be none found in us why he &s;hould. The Deliverances he works for his People, are upon the account of the Covenant; and New-Covenant mercy is preventing mercy; it is <HI>as a Dew from the Lord, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mic. 5. 7.</NOTE> <HI>the &s;ons of men.</HI></P>
<P>The greate&s;t Deliverances that we read of in Scrip|ture, have been wrought for the Church when under the greate&s;t unfitne&s;s. Never was a People more unmeet to be delivered, than <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Egypt</HI> was, when God &s;pirited, and &s;ent <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> upon that Errand; no way bettered by the Bondage; the Furnace had not purged away their dro&s;s. There need no other at|te&s;tation of this, than what God &s;ays in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16. 4, 5, 6. where you have the forlorn e&s;tate of this People in <HI>Egyptian</HI> Bondage, de&s;cribed by the loath&s;om and mi|&s;erable condition of a new-born Infant, expo&s;ed and ca&s;t out in its blood and filthine&s;s; and then it is that
<PB N="82" REF="47"> God comes in to their &s;uccour. <HI>When I &s;aw thee polluted in thy own blood, I &s;aid unto thee, Live.</HI></P>
<P>Here are three things remarkable to our purpo&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. Her great unfitne&s;s for Deliverance by rea&s;on of her &s;ins which were very great, and therefore &s;et out here by her being <HI>polluted in her own blood.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. God takes a particular notice of this her un|fitne&s;s and unworthine&s;s: <HI>I &s;aw thee polluted in thy own blood.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. Here is a Deliverance wrought amid&s;t all her unworthine&s;s di&s;covered: <HI>I &s;aid unto thee, Live; yea, I &s;aid unto thee, when thou wa&s;t in thy blood, Live. O Wheel!</HI> what adorable mercy is this! a time of <HI>blood</HI> to be a time of <HI>love;</HI> a time of <HI>guilt</HI> to be a time of <HI>grace;</HI> a time of <HI>filthine&s;s</HI> to be a time of <HI>deliverance;</HI> here is mercy, but no worthine&s;s of mercy; redemption, but no fitne&s;s to be redeemed; and this makes it wonderful! How unfit were the Jews to be deli|vered, when God brought them out of <HI>Babylon?</HI> A People in &s;ufferings, who neither repent of the &s;ins that brought them in; nor have Faith in God to bring them out, are very unmeet for Deliverance. There mu&s;t be Repentance and Faith to fit for this mercy.</P>
<P N="1">1. Fitne&s;s for Deliverance &s;uppo&s;es Repentance for the &s;ins that procured the Judgment; but there was no Repentance: Sin had digged the graves, and
<PB N="83" REF="47"> buried them in <HI>Babylon,</HI> but there was no Repen|tance to help to roll away the Stone, &amp; bail them out. God repented of the Judgment, before they repented of the &s;in, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36. <HI>v.</HI> 21. and 31. compared.</P>
<P N="2">2. Fitne&s;s for Deliverance &s;uppo&s;es Faith in the Deliverer; and therefore it is that the Lord Chri&s;t did que&s;tion his Patients about their Faith, before he exerted his miraculous Power in working a Cure. <HI>Be|lieve ye</HI> (&s;ays he to the two blind men begging for &s;ight) <HI>that I am able to do this?</HI> And when he undertakes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 9. 27 28.</NOTE> the work, he puts the &s;ucce&s;s of it upon their Faith; <HI>according to your Faith be it to you:</HI> And where he finds <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 29.</NOTE> no Faith, he &s;u&s;pends his Power. Therefore it is &s;aid in <HI>Matth.</HI> 13. 58. (&s;peaking of his own Country) <HI>He did not many mighty works there, becau&s;e of their unbelief.</HI> Therefore this can never be a qualification for mercy, for it weakens God's working hand, and &s;o he be|comes as <HI>a mighty man that cannot &s;ave.</HI> And this was <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 14. 9</NOTE> the great &s;in of this People; tho' God had promi&s;ed to vi&s;it them after &s;eventy years, and bring them out of <HI>Babylon,</HI> yet they had no Faith in the Promi&s;e, but conclude their ca&s;e de&s;perate. <HI>Behold they &s;ay, our bones are dried, our hope is lo&s;t, we are cut off for our parts,</HI> Ezek. 37. 11. Here is a Deliverance without Repentance, and without Faith, and therefore a Deliverance with|out a fitne&s;s; and this makes it wonderful.</P>
<PB N="84" REF="48">
<P> Thus it will be when the Lord comes to deliver his Church and People from their burdens and op|pre&s;&s;ions. The Scriptures &s;peak of a time of great &s;ufferings to befal <HI>the followers of the Lamb</HI> in the&s;e la&s;t days, by the <HI>Bea&s;t,</HI> and &s;uch as &s;hall <HI>give their power to the Bea&s;t,</HI> during the forty two months of his conti|nuance; but there &s;hall be a &s;ure Deliverance; the Lamb &s;hall overcome, the Bea&s;t &s;hall be de&s;troyed, and the Church &s;hall have a glorious Re&s;t. But this Deliverance will be before the Church is fit to re|ceive it: This is intimated in that of our Lord, <HI>Luke</HI> 18. 8. <HI>When the Son of man cometh, &s;hall he find Faith on the Earth?</HI> the Que&s;tion carrys in it a &s;trong Nega|tion; that he &s;hall not. It is not &s;poken of Chri&s;t's coming to the Final Judgment, but of his coming to deliver his People from their oppre&s;&s;ors; nor is the Faith here &s;poken of meant of a Faith of <HI>Eternal Sal|vation,</HI> but of a Faith of <HI>pre&s;ent Redemption.</HI> The &s;uffer|ings and oppre&s;&s;ions of God's People &s;hall be &s;uch, and &s;o great; and all means of Deliverance &s;o out of view, that when Chri&s;t &s;hall come to work it, there will be very few found in the Faith of it. So it was with <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in <HI>Egypt,</HI> when the Lord &s;ends <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to tell them, He would free them from their burdens, and <HI>redeem them with a &s;tretched out Arm, and with great</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 6. 6. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 9.</NOTE> <HI>Judgments; yet they hearkened not to</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>for angui&s;h of</HI>
<PB N="85" REF="48"> <HI>&s;pirit, and for cruel bondage.</HI> And was not this our ca&s;e? heavy burdens, great oppre&s;&s;ions; but little Faith; and therefore little fitne&s;s for a Redemption. When would Deliverance have come, if God had tar|ried for our fitne&s;s? But it is the way of God, when he delivers in mercy, to give a fitne&s;s to receive it. Deliverance &s;hall bring a fitne&s;s along with it; &s;o is the Promi&s;e, <HI>(Obad. v.</HI> 17.) <HI>Upon Mount Zion &s;hall be deliverance, and there &s;hall be holine&s;s.</HI> And it was &s;o when God delivered his People out of <HI>Egypt;</HI> the Deliverance brought forgivene&s;s, and life, and many Covenant mercies with it, and &s;o fitted them to re|ceive it. <HI>I entred into a Covenant with thee, then wa&s;hed I thee with water; yea I wa&s;hed away thy bloods from thee,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Ezek. 16. 8, 9. and <HI>v.</HI> 6. <HI>I &s;aid unto thee in thy bloods, Live;</HI> i: is plural in the Hebrew, and why? to &s;hew a twofold &s;tate of blood &s;he was in; one by rea&s;on of <HI>&s;in,</HI> another by rea&s;on of <HI>bondage</HI> and <HI>&s;uffering;</HI> and this &s;aying, <HI>Live,</HI> is a remedy again&s;t both. When thou wa&s;t in bloody bondage, when there was a bloody Proclamation gone forth that all thy male Children &s;hould be de&s;troyed, then <HI>I looked upon thee, and &s;aid, Live:</HI> I brought thee out of that death; and when thou wa&s;t in a bloody polluted condition, not only by nature, but by thy actual Idolatries in <HI>Egypt; I &s;aid, Live.</HI> I be&s;towed the grace of my Covenant upon thee, and brought thee out of that death. It was
<PB N="86" REF="49"> thus in the <HI>Babyloni&s;h</HI> Captivity: The Holy Gho&s;t compares that bondage to death, and their long con|tinuance in it, to a rotting in the grave. Now when the Lord comes to deliver them, he fits them for the Deliverance, by giving them not only <HI>a civil, life,</HI> but <HI>a &s;piritual life</HI> too: Both which you have in <HI>Ezek.</HI> 37. plainly diver&s;ified one from another. In <HI>v.</HI> 7, 8. it is &s;aid, <HI>The bones came together, bone to his bone,</HI> but <HI>there was no breath in them.</HI> Here is the <HI>civil life</HI> intimated in the coming together of bone to bone: But where is the &s;piritual life, the breath in them? that you have, <HI>v.</HI> 14. <HI>I will put my Spirit in you, and ye &s;hall live.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;o it &s;hall be in that la&s;t and great Redemp|tion of the Jews (which is near at hand) they &s;hall not only be gathered out of all the Countreys where now they are &s;cattered, and brought into their own Land; <NOTE PLACE="marg">zek. 36. 4.</NOTE> but to fit them to receive and improve this mercy: A Conver&s;ion &s;hall attend this Re&s;tauration; there|fore ye read of their <HI>turning to the Lord,</HI> as well as re|turning <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cor. 3. 16.</NOTE> to their own Land: And ye have them both wrapt up together in one Promi&s;e, in <HI>Rom.</HI> 11. 26. <HI>There &s;hall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and &s;hall turn away ungodline&s;s from</HI> Jacob. There is Deliverance and Holine&s;s. And thus it &s;hall be when the Lord &s;hall break the Power of <HI>My&s;tery, Babylon,</HI> at la&s;t, and work <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ev. 17. 5.</NOTE> out a compleat Redemption for his Church and
<PB N="87" REF="49"> People. As it &s;hall be a great Deliverance; &s;o it &s;hall be attended with great Holine&s;s: Therefore it is &s;aid, <HI>Rev.</HI> 20. 6. <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed and holy is he that hath part in the fir&s;t Re&s;urrection.</HI> And at the ri&s;ing of the &s;lain Witne&s;&s;es (which is this fir&s;t Re&s;urrection) it is not &s;aid only, that <HI>they &s;tood upon their feet, by the &s;pirit of life</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.</NOTE> <HI>entring into them;</HI> which implies their being <HI>in &s;tatu quo prits,</HI> rai&s;ed and re&s;tored to their former work and &s;tation; but it is &s;aid further, <HI>They a&s;cended up to Hea|ven:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 12.</NOTE> They arrived at a higher degree of Holine&s;s, and at a more pure and reformed Church &s;tate.</P>
<P>You &s;ee then that it is the way of God, when ever he works any great Deliverance for his Church and People, to work in them al&s;o a fitne&s;s for it; and this is a &s;ufficient rea&s;on for his delivering and redeeming us in the mid&s;t of all our unfitne&s;s and unworthine&s;s; and highly magnifies his goodne&s;s and mercy; and therefore if ever any had cau&s;e, we have, to cry out, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> for &s;uch a Salvation as this. It is a Salvation full of wonders; not a plain work of <HI>common Providence,</HI> wherein ordinary Cau&s;es do produce their wonted Ef|fects; as when <HI>the Race is to the &s;wift, and the Battel to the &s;trong;</HI> but it is an extraordinary di&s;pen&s;ation, a <HI>remark|able Ma&s;ter-piece</HI> of Divine Wi&s;dom, made up altoge|ther of My&s;teries and Wonders. Let me (that I may heighten your admiration, and affect you with thank|ful wonders) in&s;tance in a few of many.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="88" REF="50"> 1. For God to &s;ave and deliver a people then, and not till then, when they are in the greate&s;t extremity, at the lowe&s;t ebb, and &s;eem for&s;aken of their own hope; this makes a Deliverance wonderful. It is no new thing for God to let things run to an extremity before he works, that his Power may be known in working, <HI>Mich.</HI> 4. 10. <HI>Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travel; for now &s;halt thou go forth out of the City, and thou &s;halt dwell in the field, and thou &s;halt go even to</HI> Babylon; <HI>there &s;halt thou be delivered; there &s;hall the Lord redeem thee from the hand of thine Enemies.</HI> There never was any eminent Delive|rance of the Church of God, but it was u&s;hered in by &s;ome &s;ore di&s;tre&s;s: The bigge&s;t Children cau&s;e the greate&s;t pangs. Before <HI>I&s;rael</HI> can be &s;etled in the <HI>Pro|mi&s;ed Land,</HI> they mu&s;t pa&s;s through the Brick-kills in <HI>Egypt,</HI> and a Red Sea, and a howling Wilderne&s;s, and a &s;welling <HI>Jordan. I&s;aac</HI> mu&s;t be bound, and the knife at his throat, before the hand is &s;taid, and the <HI>Ram</HI> in <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">en. 22. 9, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">, 13.</NOTE> the thicket made a Sacrifice in his &s;tead: And hence it pa&s;&s;ed into a Proverb; <HI>In the Mount of the Lord it &s;hall be &s;een.</HI> The three Children are not delivered till <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">an. 3. 26.</NOTE> they are in the Fiery Furnace. Chri&s;t's time to rai&s;e <HI>Lazarus,</HI> is not when he is &s;ick, and dying, tho' then he is &s;ent for; let him be dead and buried, and then <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ohn 11. 3.</NOTE> Chri&s;t comes. He loves to let death pa&s;s upon our mercies, that he may be known to be <HI>a God that rai|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span"></HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> 11.</NOTE></P>
<PB N="97" REF="50">
<P> And &s;o he hath been in the mid&s;t of us. For how de&s;perate was our Ca&s;e, not only with re&s;pect to Rights and Properties, but with re&s;pect to Religion and the Wor&s;hip of God; all things being fitted to let in Popery upon us like a Flood? A <HI>Popi&s;h King</HI> &s;o bigotted, as to re&s;olve the hazarding three King|doms to e&s;tabli&s;h it; <HI>Corrupt and Wicked Judges</HI> placed in every Court to make way for it; <HI>Popi&s;h Ju&s;tices</HI> in every Country to countenance it; <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Je|&s;uits</HI> &s;ent out to di&s;&s;eminate their poi&s;onous Prin|ciples throughout the Nation; and <HI>Ma&s;s-Hou&s;es</HI> erected not only in great Towns and Cities, but in the <HI>Metropolis</HI> of the Kingdom, and &s;uch put into them, as &s;hould decry the true Religion, for He|re&s;ie, and Burle&s;que and Bla&s;pheme the Bible; and at the &s;ame time others mu&s;t be Tongue-tyed, and not allowed to &s;peak in the Cau&s;e, upon Peril of being look'd on as Oppo&s;ers and Di&s;turbers of the Government. I need not mention the little &s;ort of Tools, &s;ent abroad to hew and &s;quare the Cor|porations into a fitne&s;s to promote their purpo&s;es, by promi&s;ing to &s;end up &s;uch Members only for their Repre&s;entatives as &s;hould take away the <HI>Te&s;t;</HI> that is, &s;hould come with Spades and Mattocks to dig down the only bank that was now left to keep Popery out, that &s;o it might break in upon us like a Torrent. Thus &s;ubtilly was the Scene laid, and all things fitted to &s;erve their De&s;igns, which were
<PB N="98" REF="51"> now ready to be &s;et on foot, with this Re&s;olution, That what could not be effected by Policy and Fraud, &s;hould be done by Force and Power; and therefore a &s;tanding Army is kept up, and made more formidable every day; not only by augment|ing the Troops, but mingling them with Popi&s;ts, and heading them with Popi&s;h Officers, that might be every way fitted for the Expedition. So that things were come to a great extremity with the Prote&s;tant intere&s;t; though it was not like <HI>Lazarus,</HI> dead and buried; yet it was like <HI>I&s;aac,</HI> laid upon the Altar, and bound with the Knife at the Throat. But <HI>God remembred us in our low E&s;tate, for his Mercy indureth for ever;</HI> and therefore we have cau&s;e to <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;al. 136. 3.</NOTE> cry, <HI>O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. When God &s;o delivers a People, as that their Spiritual Mercies are &s;ecured as well as their Tem|poral, then it is a wonderful Deliverance. A De|liverance is not complete, if it be not Spiritual as well as Political. When God works a Deliverance indeed, then he Works both: So he did for <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of Old; their Deliverance out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> was not only <HI>Political,</HI> as of a People in <HI>Bondage;</HI> but <HI>Ec|cle&s;iastical</HI> too, as of a Church under <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion;</HI> for you find that the conte&s;t between God and the King, was only about Spiritual Concerns, about his Wor&s;hip. God would have his People &s;erve him in his own way, and according to his own pre|&s;cription;
<PB N="99" REF="51" MS="y"> this <HI>Pharaoh</HI> is again&s;t; they &s;hall Wor|&s;hip God, but he will appoint them how and when. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 7 16.</NOTE> God would have <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to &s;eparate from the <HI>Egyptians,</HI> and Wor&s;hip apart by them&s;elves; <HI>Let my People go,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 8.</NOTE> <HI>that they may &s;erve me in the Wilderne&s;s.</HI> This is God's Law. <HI>No,</HI> &s;ays <HI>Pharaoh, go ye and &s;acrifice to your God in the Land.</HI> Here is the Kings Law &s;et up a|gain&s;t Gods, and he thinks he hath as good a right to command as God; &s;o that the controver&s;ie is about Wor&s;hip, who &s;hall give Law to Con&s;cience, and govern in matters of Religion, GOD or the King; and whenever this comes to be the ca&s;e, then God interpo&s;es his Power; for he is in nothing &s;o Jealous as about his Wor&s;hip, and therefore who|ever oppo&s;es him&s;elf again&s;t God in this matter, is &s;ure to fall in the Controver&s;ie: So did <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> he fell in the quarrel about Religion, he would not allow God's People liberty to Wor&s;hip in God's way; and when this comes to be conte&s;ted, God is concerned to vindicate his Right, and &s;o he did upon <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> to the lo&s;s of his Crown and Life, and &s;o it was a compleat Deliverance; <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and all his Ho&s;tde&s;troyed, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and all <HI>I&s;rael</HI> redeemed, and that not only as a People, but as a Church of God; their Civil Liberty re&s;tored, and their Religion and Spi|ritual Liberty &s;ecured; and &s;uch a Deliverance hath God wrought for us at this Day; it is <HI>after the man|ner</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 10.</NOTE> <HI>of</HI> Egypt; Popi&s;h De&s;igns de&s;eated, the Nation
<PB N="100" REF="52" MS="y"> redeemed, and the Prote&s;tant Religion pre&s;erved. <HI>O Wheel!</HI> A wonderful Deliverance.</P>
<P N="3">3. When <HI>God</HI> rai&s;es the Spirits of Men for &s;ome particular Service, above them&s;elves in other ca&s;es, this is wonderful. How did <HI>God</HI> rai&s;e the Spirit of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> for that Service of delivering <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> above his own Skill and Courage? <HI>Who am I, that I &s;hould go unto</HI> Pharoah, <HI>and that I &s;hould bring the Children of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>out of</HI> Egypt? Exod. 3. 11. and again, Chap. 4. 10. <HI>O my Lord, I am not eloquent. Mo&s;es</HI> was very &s;en|&s;ible of, and greatly di&s;couraged at his own unfit|ne&s;s; but how wonderfully <HI>God</HI> rai&s;ed and &s;pirited him for that Service, the whole &s;tory &s;hews. If <HI>God</HI> calls forth any in&s;trument, he can fit it for his purpo&s;e, and give &s;pecial A&s;&s;i&s;tance for &s;pecial Ser|vice: So it was with <HI>Cyrus,</HI> if <HI>God</HI> &s;ingle him out to be his Servant in redeeming his People out of <HI>Ba|bylon,</HI> he will fill him with a mighty Spirit of Cou|rage and Valour for the Work, that nothing &s;hall &s;tand again&s;t him. <HI>Thus &s;aith the LORD to</HI> Cyrus, <HI>who&s;e Right-hand I have holden, to &s;ubdue Nations before him; and I will loo&s;e the Loins of Kings to open before him the two leaved Gates, and the Gates &s;hall not be &s;hut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places &s;trait; I will break in pieces the Gates of Bra&s;s, and cut in &s;under the bars of Iron: For</HI> Jacob <HI>my Servant's Sake, and</HI> I&s;rael <HI>mine Elect, I have called thee by Name,</HI> I&s;a. 4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&punc; 1, 2, 4. And when the time came, that the Hou&s;e of the
<PB N="101" REF="52"> Lord was to be rebuilt, and his Wor&s;hip to be re|&s;tored; you read of God's rai&s;ing up their Spirits, Ezra 1. 5. <HI>Who&s;e Spirit GOD had rai&s;ed to go up.</HI> And if you look into <HI>Haggai</HI> 1. 14. you &s;hall find a three|fold &s;tirring up of Spirits, which carried on that Work, <HI>The LORD &s;tirred up the Spirit of</HI> Zerubbabel <HI>Governour of</HI> Judah, <HI>and the Spirit of</HI> Jo&s;hua <HI>the High Prie&s;t, and the Spirit of all the remnant of the People, and they came and did Work in the Hou&s;e of the Lord of Ho&s;ts, their God.</HI> What a mighty &s;tirring up of Spirits is here, the Spirit of the <HI>Magi&s;trate,</HI> the Spirit of the <HI>Mini&s;ter,</HI> and the Spirit of all the <HI>People.</HI> And how did the Lord &s;tir up their Hearts, by the Mini&s;try of the Prophet, <HI>Hag.</HI> 1. 1. The powerful Preaching of the Word, is a mighty Engine in carrying on the Work of God. If <HI>Babylon</HI>'s Walls fall, they mu&s;t be <HI>Preached down;</HI> 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 2. 8. <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 5. <HI>Rev.</HI> 14. 6, 8.) and if ever the <HI>Temple</HI> of the Lord be built, the Walls mu&s;t be <HI>Preached up.</HI> When the Prophets do con&s;cientiou&s;ly apply them&s;elves to Preaching, then the Rulers and the People fall re|&s;olutely to Building, <HI>Ezra</HI> 5. 1, 2.</P>
<P>But was it any particular Word that <HI>God</HI> u&s;ed, to &s;tir them up by? Yes, the Lord had bid the Pro|phet tell them he was with them; and that did it. Hag. 1. 13. <HI>Then &s;pake</HI> Haggai <HI>in the Lord's Me&s;&s;age, to the People, &s;aying, I am with you, &s;aith the Lord;</HI> and that Word (&s;et home by the Spirit) &s;tirred them up&punc;
<PB N="102" REF="53"> and when the Spirit of a People are thus &s;tirred up by <HI>God,</HI> the Work is &s;ure to &s;uceeed in their Hands, and neither <HI>Tatnai,</HI> nor <HI>Shethar-Bo&s;nai,</HI> nor the re&s;t of the Con&s;pirators can cau&s;e it to cea&s;e. This &s;tir|ring <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezra 5. 3.</NOTE> up inclines the Mind, fixes the Re&s;olution, and in&s;pires &s;uch a Courage and Zeal as none can re&s;i&s;t. How parallel is our ca&s;e with theirs? A <HI>Babyloni&s;h</HI> Bondage, and a better Man than <HI>Cyrus</HI> bringing Deliverance, in order (we hope) to the rai&s;ing the Temple our of its ruines. It is a great Salvation our Eyes have &s;een. Now let me ask, hath Fle&s;h or Spirit had the greate&s;t hand in it? Hath Man or <HI>God</HI> been mo&s;t vi&s;ible in this Work? The que&s;tion is ea&s;ily an&s;wered. The Lord hath &s;tirred up the Spirit of Prince and Prophets, and all the People, that all &s;orts might put to their helping Hand, in a cau&s;e wherein the Glory of God, and the common good are &s;o much concerned; and therefore let us &s;ay, <HI>O Wheel!</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. When <HI>God</HI> &s;o orders things in his Wi&s;e Provi|dence, that the Earth &s;hall help the Woman, this is wonderful. You read in Rev. 12. 15, 16. <HI>That the Serpent cast out of his Mouth, Waters as a Flood, after the Woman, that he might cau&s;e her to be carried away of the Flood; and the Earth helped the Woman, and opened her Mouth, and &s;wallowed up the Flood;</HI> this hath been the way of God, in all Ages of the Church. When <HI>Pharaoh</HI> is de&s;igning to de&s;troy <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> his Daughter
<PB N="103" REF="53"> nur&s;eth up a <HI>Saviour</HI> to deliver them. When the <HI>A&s;syrian</HI> is inraged again&s;t them, <HI>Moab</HI> mu&s;t be a covert to them. <HI>Let mine out-ca&s;ts dwell with thee,</HI> Moab; <HI>be thou a covert to them, from the Face of the Spoiler.</HI> I&s;a. 16. 4. Thus <HI>God</HI> makes the Earth help the Wo|man, and he doth it various ways. Sometimes he &s;tirs up Nation again&s;t Nation, that his Church may be &s;ecured in the quarrel: <HI>Cyrus</HI> &s;hall come again&s;t <HI>Babylon,</HI> and &s;o <HI>the Earth &s;hall help the Woman.</HI> Sometimes he &s;uffers the <HI>Nimrods</HI> of the Earth, to overturn the Laws of a Nation, and invade the Properties and Ci|vil Rights of Men, which grows to a National quar|rel; and then in conte&s;ting Civil Rights, Religion hath a &s;harein the &s;ucce&s;s. It is the great Wi&s;dom &amp; Goodne&s;s of <HI>God,</HI> that our <HI>National Rights</HI> and <HI>Religious Concerns,</HI> &s;hould be &s;o interwoven one with the other, as that they cannot ea&s;ily (if at all) be &s;eparated; otherwi&s;e probably we might have done like wanton Children, lick off the <HI>Honey,</HI> and then throw away the <HI>Bread;</HI> but being thus happily twi&s;ted together, the conte&s;t|ing of one, proves the vindication of both; and <HI>&s;o the Earth helps the Woman&punc;</HI> The Multitude are often in Scripture, called <HI>Floods of Water,</HI> and <HI>the Lord, who &s;its</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 29. 10.</NOTE> <HI>King upon the Flood,</HI> doth often divide the&s;e Waters, to make way for his ran&s;om'd ones, to pa&s;s through.</P>
<P N="5">5. When the Concerns of the People of <HI>God,</HI> lie at the bottom of all the Shakings and Commotions that are in the Nations, and all Civil Affairs are made
<PB N="104" REF="54"> to &s;ub&s;erve the Churches intere&s;ts; this is wonderful. Though the&s;e things are not vi&s;ible to every Eye, yet <HI>who&s;o is Wi&s;e and will ob&s;erve the&s;e things, they &s;hall under|&s;tand</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 107. 43.</NOTE> <HI>the loving kindne&s;s of the Lord.</HI> If <HI>God</HI> hath made Chri&s;t to be <HI>Head over all things, to the Church,</HI> then he <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 22.</NOTE> will manage and conduct all the Affairs of the World, &s;o as that they &s;hall &s;erve that intere&s;t. If he &s;hakes the Nations, it is to accompli&s;h the promi&s;e to his People, of bringing in him, who is <HI>the de&s;ire of Nations.</HI> If he overturns <HI>Babylon&punc;</HI> it is for the &s;ake of <HI>Sion.</HI> I&s;a, 43. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hag 2. 7.</NOTE> 14. <HI>Thus &s;aith the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy one of I&s;rael; for your &s;ake I have &s;ent to Babylon, and brought down all their Nobles, and the Chaldeans who&s;e cry is in the Ships.</HI> And &s;o it &s;hall be with My&s;tical <HI>Babylon.</HI> It is &s;aid Rev. 17. 16. <HI>The Kings of the Earth &s;hall hate the Whore, and make her de&s;olate and naked, and &s;hall eat her Fle&s;h, and burn her with Fire;</HI> and if you would know the rea&s;on of this &s;everity, the 6 <HI>v.</HI> gives it, <HI>Becau&s;e &s;he is drunk with the Blood of the Saints, and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Je&s;us; &s;o that it is the Day of the Lords Vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controver&s;ie of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 34. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Sion</HI> I&s;a. 34. 8. And this is the rea&s;on why our Lord incourages his Di&s;ciples, that when they hear of <HI>di&s;tre&s;s of Nations upon the Earth, and Mens Hearts failing them</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 21. 25, 26, 27, 28.</NOTE> <HI>for fear,</HI> that then they &s;hould <HI>lift up their Heads;</HI> it is becau&s;e <HI>their Redemption draws nigh.</HI></P>
<P>All the overturnings in the World are &s;ub&s;ervient to the Churches intere&s;t; you read in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 15. 28.
<PB N="105" REF="54"> that <HI>Saul</HI> is laid a&s;ide, and <HI>David</HI> (a Man far more worthy) is advanced to the Throne, <HI>The Lord hath rent the Kingdom from thee this day, and hath given it to a Neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.</HI> Now that which God intended by this great change, was, the &s;etling of Religion, and the good of his People, as you may &s;ee in 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 13. 2, 3. <HI>And David &s;aid to all the Con|gregation of I&s;rael, Let us bring again the Ark of our God to us, for we inquired not at it in the Days of Saul.</HI> Thus the Concerns of the Church lie at the bottom of all the Turns and Alterations that are in the Nations; the <HI>providential Kingdom</HI> is made to &s;erve the <HI>Spiritual:</HI> And &s;hall we not &s;ay, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> I might add,</P>
<P>When God turns evil Purpo&s;es to good Events, and makes Men accompli&s;h his Ends, while they are pro|&s;ecuting their own De&s;igns: This is wonderful. When Men are made to &s;erve the Will of God's Pro|vidence, even then when they thwart the Will of his Precept: This is Wonderful. When God makes im|pre&s;&s;ions upon the Minds of Men to their ruine, and the very means they fix upon for their &s;afety, proves their de&s;truction: This is wonderful. When Provi|dence out-wits the Churches Enemies, in their mo&s;t politick and &s;ubtil Contrivances: This is wonderful. When God &s;aves his People in the greate&s;t unlikeline&s;s of Salvation, as <HI>I&s;rael</HI> at the Red-Sea; and de&s;troys his Enemies in the greate&s;t improbability of de&s;truction, all things having a contrary A&s;pect, &s;ufficient means
<PB N="106" REF="55"> at hand, multiplyed Forces, &s;trong Combinations, twi&s;ted intere&s;ts, like <HI>thorns folded together:</HI> This is won|derful. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Neh. 1. 10.</NOTE> And by all the&s;e in&s;tances (and many more might be given) it appears that the Salvation which God hath now wrought for us, is full of wonders; there|fore let us admire the Works of the Lord, and cry, <HI>O Wheel!</HI> how High, how My&s;terious, how Wonder|ful are the Motions of it. And let us &s;ay of the Church of God in this Nation, as <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;aid of that in the Wilderne&s;s, <HI>Happy art thou, O I&s;rael! who is like unto thee, O People &s;aved by the Lord, the Shield of thy help, and who is the Sword of thy Excellency! And thine Enemies &s;hall be</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 33. 29.</NOTE> <HI>found Lyers unto thee, and thou &s;halt tread upon their High Places.</HI> I have in&s;i&s;ted the longer upon this Duty, becau&s;e it is &s;o &s;ea&s;onable, it being the great Duty which this Day calls us together for. I will be breifer in what follows.</P>
<P><HI>Duty</HI> 2. Doth he that &s;its in the Throne govern the <HI>Wheels?</HI> is it he that crys to them and commands them? then let us not fear the Churches Enemies, how ma|ny or how great &s;oever they may be, we have &s;een how ea&s;ily and how &s;uddenly he that &s;its upon the Throne, can bring the Wheel over them; and there|fore <HI>who art thou that art afraid of a Man that &s;hall die, and forgette&s;t the Lord thy Maker?</HI> I&s;a. 51. 12, 13. To fear Man, is to forget God. <HI>If God be for us, who can be against us?</HI> Rom. 8. 31. One God is more than all Oppo&s;ers.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="107" REF="55"> 1. He is more in number, 2 Chron. 32. 7, 8. <HI>Be not afraid of the A&s;&s;yrian, nor of all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with them.</HI> How doth that appear? See the next words, <HI>with him is an Arm of Fle&s;h, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battels.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. He is more in power, <HI>For who hath an Arm like</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 40. 9.</NOTE> <HI>God? If he will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do &s;toop under him,</HI> Job 9. 13. And therefore till God wants Wi&s;dom to di&s;cover their De&s;igns, skill to de|feat their Coun&s;els, and an Arm to break their Power we have no cau&s;e to fear. <HI>All Nations before him are as nothing; yea, they are counted to him le&s;s than nothing, and Vanity,</HI> I&s;a. 40. 17.</P>
<P><HI>Duty</HI> 3. If he who &s;its above upon the Throne, doth Command and Govern the <HI>Wheels,</HI> then our Duty is to commend them to his care. Therefore in all our Addre&s;&s;es to God, let us make Con&s;cience of praying for the <HI>Wheels.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. For the <HI>Great Wheels</HI> of the Nation. Pray for our Royal Soveraign, the King, whom God hath made to be the Father of our Country. Pray, that God who hath wonderfully moved <HI>this Wheel,</HI> and made him to be &s;uch a Glorious In&s;trument in his hand, who hath rai&s;ed him up, as he did <HI>the righteous Man from the Ea&s;t;</HI> and hath <HI>given the Nations before him, making him to rule over Kings, and giving them as du&s;t to</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 41. 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>his Sword, and as driven &s;tubble to his Bow; while he pur|&s;ued</HI>
<PB N="108" REF="56"> <HI>them and pa&s;&s;ed &s;afely, even by the way that he had not gone with his feet;</HI> would &s;till graciou&s;ly vouch&s;afe to guide and govern <HI>this Wheel,</HI> that it may <HI>go right on,</HI> and <HI>not turn</HI> as it goes, till the Kingdoms be &s;etled in the full po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their Religion, Rights and Li|berties, that &s;o under him we <HI>may lead a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godline&s;s and Hone&s;ty.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 2. 2.</NOTE></P>
<P N="2">2 Pray for the two Hou&s;es, the great Council of the Nation, tho&s;e <HI>upper,</HI> and <HI>lower Wheels;</HI> that they may be <HI>full of Eyes round about,</HI> to know <HI>the things which belong to our Peace. The highe&s;t Wheels</HI> will go wrong, if God <HI>hides under&s;tanding from them;</HI> and <HI>the Coun&s;el of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 17. 4.</NOTE> <HI>the wi&s;e Coun&s;ellors will become bruti&s;h;</HI> and &s;o it will be with the <HI>lower Wheels</HI> too; <HI>even they that are the &s;tay of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 19. 11. 13.</NOTE> <HI>the Tribes.</HI> Therefore pray that God would make them <HI>Men of under&s;tanding in their times,</HI> to know what the <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Chron. 12. 32.</NOTE> Nation ought to do: Wi&s;e to know our Di&s;ea&s;e, for we are a di&s;tempered People; and skilful to find out, and apply right remedies, that it may no more be &s;aid to our reproach and &s;orrow, <HI>thou ha&s;t no healing Medi|cines.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jer. 30. 13.</NOTE> Pray that the&s;e <HI>Wheels</HI> may be well <HI>&s;hod</HI> and <HI>nailed</HI> with <HI>Courage</HI> and <HI>Re&s;olution,</HI> that &s;o the <HI>Chariot</HI> of this Nation may be carryed upon the&s;e <HI>Wheels</HI> through thick and thin, through all its difficulties and dangers to a &s;afe re&s;t, as <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was of old; whom, though for a time <HI>God cau&s;ed Men to ride over their heads,</HI> and though <HI>they went through Fire and Water, yet he brought out</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 66. 12.</NOTE> <HI>into a Wealthy Place.</HI> Pray that the&s;e <HI>Wheels</HI> may be
<PB N="109" REF="56"> <HI>one Wheel</HI> in the hand of God. That there may be no Di&s;cord, no Divi&s;ions, no cro&s;s and contrary motions to ob&s;truct our &s;ettlement; this is what our Popi&s;h Adver&s;aries hope and wait for.</P>
<Q>Hoc Ithacus velit, &amp; magno mercentur Atridae. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Virg.</NOTE></Q>
<P>Pray that God would &s;o unite them in their Coun|&s;els, as that it may appear <HI>the Spirit of the living Crea|ture</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 1. 20.</NOTE> <HI>is in the Wheels.</HI> When the &s;ame Spirit which was in <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> was put upon <HI>the Elders of the People,</HI> then they voted as he did, and judged as he did, and &s;o did <HI>bear the burden of the People with him,</HI> and &s;trength|ned <NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb 11. 16, 17.</NOTE> the hands one of another. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of Union.</P>
<P N="3">3. Pray for the <HI>le&s;&s;er VVheels, viz.</HI> inferiour Ma|gi&s;trates, that they may all in their places move and act for God, &s;uppre&s;s wickedne&s;s, incourage virtue, countenance Religion, and &s;o move right on, and <HI>not bear the Sword in vain.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13 4.</NOTE></P>
<P N="4">4. Pray for the <HI>Spiritual VVheels,</HI> the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, that they may be zealous for the truth, bold for God in a time when Sin is daring, true to his wor&s;hip again&s;t all Humane devi&s;ings, witne&s;&s;es for Chri&s;t, though they <HI>Prophe&s;ie in Sackcloth;</HI> yea, though <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 3. 7.</NOTE> <HI>the Beast &s;hould make VVar with them and kill them;</HI> yet that they may bear their Te&s;timony for Chri&s;t to the Death. Pray that they may be like the <HI>living Crea|tures,</HI> which had <HI>each one four faces; the face of a Man</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 1. 6. 10.</NOTE> for prudence; <HI>the face of a Lion,</HI> for courage; <HI>the face</HI>
<PB N="108" REF="57">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="109" REF="57">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="110" REF="58"> <HI>of an Ox,</HI> for Diligence; and <HI>the face of an eagle,</HI> for Swift|ne&s;s; and for high Flight too, that they may be <HI>lifted up from the earth,</HI> not <HI>&s;eeking their own,</HI> Lut <HI>the things which are</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ilip. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Je&s;us Christ's.</HI></P>
<P>And &s;eeing that every Per&s;on, every individual is a <HI>Wheel</HI> in the Vi&s;ion; therefore we ought to pray for all the <HI>Wheels;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Tim 2. 1</NOTE> that they may not &s;tand &s;till, but move right on, following the Guidance of him that <HI>&s;its above upon the Throne.</HI> And in Order to this, pray for their <HI>clean&s;ing</HI> and <HI>oiling: Wheels</HI> can't go without the&s;e. They need clean&s;ing, a great deal of Dirt &s;ticks to the <HI>Wheels;</HI> Uncleanne&s;s, Pride, Covetou&s;ne&s;s, many hurtful Lu&s;ts: They can never move aright until they are <HI>clean&s;ed from all</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cor. 7. 1.</NOTE> <HI>Filthine&s;s of Fle&s;h and Spirit.</HI> Therefore pray that they may be made clean. And when they are made clean, they will want oil|ing: And therefore beg for a rich anointing of the Spirit of God.</P>
<P>This would make every <HI>Wheel</HI> move chearfully in the Way of God; for it is <HI>the oil of gladne&s;s. David</HI> was no &s;ooner anointed with this Oil, but Obedience was a Plea|&s;ure, and Duty a Delight. <HI>I delight to do thy will, O my God,</HI> P&s;al. 40. 8. <HI>Thy law is my delight,</HI> P&s;al. 119. 77.</P>
<P>This would make the <HI>Wheels</HI> move wi&s;ely, like the <HI>Wheels</HI> that are <HI>full of eyes.</HI> The Spirit of God is a Spirit of Wi&s;|dom, <HI>and Wi&s;dom is profitable to direct.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s;. 10. 10.</NOTE></P>
<P>This would make them move right on, and not turn as they go. <HI>The righteous &s;hall hold on his way,</HI> Job 17. 9.</P>
<P><HI>La&s;tly,</HI> it would make them move &s;wiftly, and be in the ways of God, <HI>like the Chariots of Aminadab.</HI> Their Motion <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cant. 6. 12.</NOTE> would be like that of the living Creatures, who <HI>ran as they went.</HI> Nothing accelerates the Motion of the Soul, nor &s;peeds it in a Cour&s;e of Obedience and Holine&s;s like this anointing. And God hath promi&s;ed it to all that &s;eek him, and wait on him for it, in that <HI>40th.</HI> Chapter of <HI>I&s;aiah, v.</HI> 31. <HI>The Youths &s;hall faint and be weary&mdash;But they that wait upon the Lord &s;hall renew their Strength, they &s;hall mount up with</HI>
<PB N="111" REF="58"> <HI>Wings as Eagles, they &s;hall run, and not be weary, they &s;hall walk, and not faint.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Duty</HI> 4. Doth he that &s;its above upon the Throne govern the <HI>Wheels?</HI> Then let not us do any thing to hinder him in his Work. The Lord hath a glorious Work upon the <HI>Wheel</HI> at this Day: O let us take heed of doing any thing that may retard or ob&s;truct it. Many a fair Child hath been &s;tifled in the Birth. And many a work of God hath been marred upon the <HI>Wheel,</HI> by the unworthy Carriage of his People to him, while he hath been working for them.</P>
<P>Our Ca&s;e is like that of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in their Pa&s;&s;age; not in <HI>E|gypt,</HI> nor in <HI>Canaan.</HI> Brought <HI>out,</HI> but not brought <HI>in;</HI> won|derfully <HI>redeemed,</HI> but not yet <HI>&s;etled;</HI> not in <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,</HI> but going to <HI>po&s;&s;e&s;s.</HI> And it is &s;ad to con&s;ider how their Sin and Unworthine&s;s retarded this Work, and &s;et it <HI>forty years</HI> back. Nay, they did by <HI>murmuring,</HI> by <HI>unbelief,</HI> by <HI>lu&s;ting,</HI> by an <HI>Egyptian</HI> Spirit in a <HI>redeemed</HI> E&s;tate, &s;o tempt and provoke God, that of the many Thou&s;ands that came out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> there were very few that went into the good Land: <HI>I &s;ware</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3. 11.</NOTE> <HI>in my Wrath, they &s;hall not enter into my Rest.</HI> Their provo|king Sins &s;poiled the Work, marred it upon the <HI>Wheel.</HI> The Lord awaken us, to con&s;ider it: For what &s;ays the Apo&s;tle? <HI>The&s;e things were our Examples, to the intent we &s;hould not</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 6. v. 7.</NOTE> <HI>lu&s;t after evil things, as they lusted;</HI> nor <HI>go after our Idols,</HI> as &s;ome of them did; nor <HI>tempt Chri&s;t, as &s;ome of them tem|pted.</HI> If we are found in the &s;ame kind of Sins, we mu&s;t look to &s;hare in the &s;ame kind of Judgments. We may be de|&s;troyed, after we have been redeemed: God may bring us out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and yet cut us off in the <HI>Wilderne&s;s.</HI> The di&s;contented Spirit of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> is upon us at this Day; murmu|ring at <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> though God hath made him a Saviour to us; lu&s;ting after <HI>the Garlick and Onions</HI> of <HI>Egypt,</HI> in contempt of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 11. 5, 6. Numb. 14. 4.</NOTE> the <HI>Manna from Heaven;</HI> hankering after a <HI>Captain</HI> that may bring us back to our late <HI>Bondage</HI> and <HI>Slavery,</HI> rather than follow the Conduct of God, into a true <HI>Re&s;t</HI> and <HI>Peace.</HI> Oh!
<PB N="112" REF="59"> take heed of this Spirit, le&s;t it hinder the Work, and we peri&s;h in the way.</P>
<P><HI>Duty</HI> 5. If he that &s;its above upon the Throne, guides the <HI>Wheels,</HI> then commit all into his Hands; &s;ub&s;cribe to his Wi&s;|dom and be re&s;igned to his Will; for he doth all things well and wi&s;ely: <HI>He is wonderful in Coun&s;el, and excellent in working.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;a. 28. 29.</NOTE> Many pretend to bow to his <HI>commanding</HI> Will, who yet can|not &s;ub&s;cribe to his <HI>effecting</HI> Will. Suppo&s;e things do not go in the World as you would have them, yet they go as God or|ders them: The Wheels go right on, God doth not need to &s;et his Sun by your Dial: and therefore the Duty is, to exer|ci&s;e an univer&s;al Tru&s;t, in all Times, in all Conditions, in all Affairs. Tru&s;t him with the Government of the World, for he is <HI>Head over all things to the Church.</HI> Tru&s;t him with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 1. 22.</NOTE> the Care of the Church, for it is the only Intere&s;t he hath in the World. Tru&s;t him with the fulfilling of his Promi&s;es, for <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 52. 5.</NOTE> <HI>they are all Yea, and Amen, in Chri&s;t,</HI> 2 Cor. 1. 20. Tru&s;t him with the Accompli&s;hment of all the Prophecies, for <HI>the&s;e</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 22. 6.</NOTE> <HI>are the true Sayings of God,</HI> Rev. 19. 9. <HI>Heaven and Earth &s;hall pa&s;s, but not one jot or tittle of the Word &s;hall pa&s;s, till all be fulfilled,</HI> Matth. 5. 18. Tru&s;t him with all your Con|cernments. The Work and De&s;ign God is in hand with in our Day, is &s;uch as calls for the highe&s;t Tru&s;t, and mo&s;t rai&s;ed Actings of Faith. And would you know what that Work is?</P>
<P>It is the &s;haking Heaven and Earth, for the removing <HI>made things.</HI></P>
<P>The final Ruin of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and all her Helpers.</P>
<P>The compleat Redemption of his People.</P>
<P>The bringing in <HI>the new Heavens, and the new Earth,</HI> that <HI>the Kingdoms of this World</HI> may <HI>become the Kingdoms of our</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15</NOTE> <HI>Lord, and of his Christ;</HI> that &s;o he may <HI>reign for ever and ever.</HI></P>
<CLOSER>Amen.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
