This is an wholefome fickneffe, it is the difeafe of the whole creation, and of all the Flect;

Rom. 8.22 For We know that the whole creation groaneth and traveleth in pain together untill now. voi yma of dig on as

Verf. 23.

And not only they, but our felves alfo, which have the first fruits of the Spirit even we our felves groan within our felves Waiting for the adoption, to wit the redemption of our body

This verf. 19. is called the earnest expectation of the creature, waiting for the manifestation of the fons of God: This is not weakneffe of the flesh in the Elect, but fervour and strength 1. of the Spirit.

So David longed as he profeffeth,

Pfal 84.2. My foul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh cryeth out for the living God.

Rev. 6, 10.

And this defire goeth with us to heaven; for even there the fons muft wait, and they are full of this holy defire; which proves that their happineffe is not confummate till the refur rection.

For the foules under the Altar cry with a loud voice, saying, How long O Lord, holy and inne, deft thou not judge and averge our bland on them that dwell on the earth bond cont

This defire is Cos orationis, the wherstone of prayer; for the more our hearts are established in the affurance of the truth of Gods promiles, the more is the fire of this defire kindled and enflamed in us, and then it breaketh forth into prayer, and the prayers that are fired at the Altar of zeal, afend the next way to the throne of graces:

Chrift himself kindled this heat in us when he taught us to pray to our father,fiat voluntas tua, thy Will be done for we may tarry the leafure of the fiat in faith, and yet defire it with fervency; for in nothing do we more declare our concurrence with the will of God, then in our earnestneffe in prayer to him: to fulfill his Will.

1

For Application of this point, let us look back to the Vifion; it is double. For God revealeth,

1. The purpose of his ferce wrath against the enemies of his Church, whom he threatnethro consume.

2. His promife of mercy tohis Church, that he will restore it

to

to the joy of his countenance, and give it reft from all her enemies, 1977J952.fhoto,

This promife of God holdeth to the worlds end; even the whole Vifion is for appoinced times. Cydia noa :77 Therefore the diftreffes of the Church must ever be comforted with those comforts; for thefe the Apostle doth call The com forts wherewith we are comforted of God. All other comforts spend. themselves into breath, and vanish and leave the heart oppreffed as it was ; the Vision of Gods revealed comfort establisheth the heart, for this telleth us where we may have reft for our souls;. namely in the decree and promife of God.

And needfull is this comfort now; for though our Church by the good favour of God do enjoy the liberty of the Word in peace, under the gracious government of our King, whom God hath annoynted defender of the Faith

The Proteftant and reformed Churches in other parts of the world do at this present smart for it; long have they lived under the rod of the Spanish inquifition: long fubject to the fugillations of the Jefnits their mortall enemies.

But now the word of maffacre is drawn against them; before there were fome attempts made upon the perfons of some few of the Religion, or fome encroachment made upon their goods.

They thought it gain to lose all for Chrift, fo that they might win him, and be found in him; but now the poor diftreffed Church heareth the voyce of the daughter of Babel crying out against her, Nudate, Nudate. First discerning them, and then, but who can tell what then? the true Church lying at the mercy of Rome shall find her mercies cruel.

"We cannot but take nocice of it, that the Church of Rome is both a strong and a bloody enemy; fhe is not yet itupannated, nor paft teeming; the aboundeth in continuall fuccrefcence of new feed.

1

-Cardinal Bellarm.under the name of Tortus doth wonder why our King fhould fear the cruell dominion of the Pope, under whom all his Tributaries do fo well, divo

And the humble Supplicants to his Majefty for the liberty of conscience as they call it, and for Toleration of the Romish Re

2.Reg.9.22

ligion have urged the peaceable state of our neighbours in France, where the Papift and Proteftant do both exercise their Religion sim Peace. those yes

We now fee they feele and smart for it, that there can be no peace with fezebel of Rome, fo long as her whoredomes and her witchcrafts are fo many. She lieth lurking in the fecret places,to murther the innocent; her patience is limited with no other bounds, but Donec adfint vires, till they have strength. Nunc proximus ardet Ucalegon, They have declared themselves here what they would have done; Our comfort is in this Vision, and we must carry and wait the Lords leafure.

Haman the Jefuit hath got a decree against the Reformed Church in France to root it out, and the fword is now drawn a gainst them: the Proteftants in Bohemia have felt the edge of the Romish fword, the that cals her felfe mother of the Chriftians, oftendit ubera, verbera producit; she pretendeth love.Savus amor docuit natorum fanguine matrem commaculare manu. And the Church makes pitiful moan, saying,

Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually 1o Hab.1.17 flay the nations?

L

But we know that God is good to Ifrael, to fuch as be truc of heart: God hath a fword too, and he is whetting of it; he hath a quiver, and it is full of arrows; he is bending of his bowe, and preparing his inftruments of death, and he hath a right hand, and that fhall find out all his enemies.

How shall we wear out the weary houres of time, till God come and have mercy upon Sion? we have many ways to deceive the time.

1. The idle think the time long; whilft we have therefore time fet us do good, we have work enough to work out our falvation with feare and trembling, to make our Calling and Election fure, to feek the Lord whilft he may be found, to wash us and make us clean, to pat away the evil of our works, to cease to do evil, to learn to do well: to get and keep faith and a good confcience, to walk with our God.. i.

They that well confider what they have to do, borrow time from their natural reft,from their meats, from their recreations, to bestow it on the service of God.

There

There be that overcharge themselves with the bufineffes of the world, with the care of gathering riches, with ambitious thoughts of rifing higher,with wanton defires of the flesh, with fenfual furfeits in gluttony and drunkenneffe, and the day is not long enough for these children of this world,to whom I fay with -the Thepheard,

Quin tu aliquid faltem potius quorum indiget ufus.

Are these the things you look upon?non relinquetur lapis fuper lapidem, There fhal not be left aftone upon a stone walk circumSpect ly, not as fools but as wife, redeeming the time because the days are evill.

2

Remember your Creation to good works that you should walk in them, and whilst you have the light walk in the light, Ambulate in luce, Ambulate digni luce.o doch gudin

2. To fweeten the delay of the vifion, and to shorten the time of our expectation, let us heare our Saviour faying Search the Scriptures. There

1. We fhall find the promises of Gody made to his Church in all ages thereof, beginning in Paradife at femen muli-, eris the feed of the woman, and fo continuing to the fall of the great ftrumpet, the ruine of Babylon in the Revelation; wherein we shall find God to be yesterday, and to day, and the fame for ever.

2. We fhall read the examples of Gods mercy to his Church, and judgement of the enemies thereof all the Bible through.

Virg. A

lexis.

It is a work for the Sabbath as appeareth in the proper Pfalm Pfal 92. for the day,Ta praise God for this,to fing unto the name of the most •bigh...

The Church profeffeth it:

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Thou Lord haft made me glad through thy Work; I will triumph Verf. 4. in the works of thy hands to milion swBW y The works of God are thefe,

When the wicked spring as graffe, and when all the workers of wickedneffe do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.

For lo thine enemies O Lord, for lo thine enemies fhall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

But horne fhall be exalted like the borne of an Unicorn; I shall my be annointed with fresh ojl.

A a

ist

7.

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II.

Mine eye shall fee may defire upon mine enemies, mise cares shad beare my defire of the wicked that rife up against me. Aton gåt 12. The righteous shall flourish like a palme-tree, he shall grow like a Cedar in Lebanon..

13. Thuse that be planted in the bonse of the Lord, shall flour if in the Courts of our God.

19 They shall bring forth more fruit in their age, they shall be fat and flourishing The ufe of all, joy

7. To fhew that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteoufaeffe in himpits for die in and a

These be meditations of a Sabbath of rest, and the word of God giveth full examples of this truth, and daily experience in our own times offereth it. .

3. The Scripture doth put into our mouths Palms and Hymns, and/piritual Songs, teaching us to fing and tomake meloto God in our hearts.

Excellent to this purpose are the Pfalms of the Bible, and if we fing merrily to the God of our falvation, this will paffe away the time of our waiting for the promise of God cheerfully; we fhall not think it long.

For this did David defire to live. Oblet me live,and I wil praise thy name.

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4. The Scripture is full of heavenly confolations to establish the heart; that it fhall not finke under the burthen of this expe Atation, for in the Scriptures,the Spirit of God fpeaketh,

Let him that hathears to hear, hear what the Spirit speaks to the Churches: this Spirit Chrift hath left in his Church to be the comforter of his Church, to abide with it forever: we have the earneft of this Spirit to bind the bargain of eternal falvation. We have the firft fruits of this Spirit..

We have the teftimony of this Spirit witneffing with our Spirits, that we are the Sons of God, and if Sons, then Heyrs, and Co-heyr's with Chrift.

3. To spend the time of our waiting here for the promile of God, we have the holy exercife of Prayer; this doth bring us to a familiar conference with God, and as in hearing and reading of holy Scripture, we say, Audiàm quid loquatur Deus;

So in Prayer God faith, He shall call upon me and I will heare him, I will be with him.