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Show bke •4· 4~· 2 Tim. 3· 1:2. How the Spoufe of Chrift is 11111 Lil!J .tmongft Thornt ? colour of a flower, he wams the radical vtrtue; thence it is, that he feems a Lilly no longer than he grows 3mongfi LiUir~. The · root oftb• m•tter is Hot in him, he borrows all his Religion from ill· tmft. And i1 only Spiritually good in appearance,i.n.order to fome feniible good which he hath in his eye. Religion. is in·"edit ' <is the way to preferment, &c. thctefore he takes hold of th; slljrt of a J;w. If he comes once to be amongfi Thorns, he appears a L1f!y no longer; but the beauty of holinefs which is in the Saints life, is not adventitious, but flowing from. an ir;ward root and fpiritual Vertue created by the £pirit of God in his Soul. H; Hevtr is more gioriour than when be it among(i Thmtt : n.ot only becau[e the contrariety of their Jives makes his to lhinc more than otherwifo it would; but becaufe ~c. is frte from th•fr tmoptatioOJ, wh1ch would debauch hi< 8o11l. Tts true, Thorns are Temptati· q,ns,but let me tell you a btd of dow11 is a more dangerous temptation, than a Crown of thorns:. lfr•eJ. was more prejudiced by the Moab!tifh woman than by the Curfes of Bplaam, or the hollile op· pofitton ofB•Iai{,. But this is enough to have fpoken to the firA particular. 2. Si;!:o~dly, Ar_a LiUy am?ng(t 'II1or~, i: e,jn an ajJii{live State, and coHdl11on : Th1s mdeed IS that whtch is commonly judged to be the fenCe of the wo_rds. Thus Bernard, it lignifies ;,q,.iet,._ dmem lflftat1onum et mbul.,ioHHm aculeor, the unquiet ~tate of Gods Peop.le by r_eafon of t.emptations and the fiings of a/Hitl:ions. Thts fenfe IS _obviOus, th~ Lilly amongf11horns,is fubje[l to be mtl Hpon ~v<ry 'IPIHd. Such _1s the State ol every true Believer, and of the Church of God tn thts world; the lfraelites in the wilderncfs of Sin, (a place of Thorns,) was ht>! a type of what Gods If-. racilhall be to .the end of the world, The Evangelil\ faid of our Saviour, _that 11 behoved him to Juffe.. The Apofile fai1h, '{bat he that .,,y /we godly in ChriJ~ Jr[lll mHft {sffcr per[rmtion; and that by much. 7ribu1Jti~ [ Pricking of Thorns J ''" m•JI en•er I~ to the Kingdom of God. Tbe vi lion of the fou.r Hor111 in Z .. bmd~, cb. '· fpake this v. 19. Zachariah inquiring the interpretation. was auf wered, Thefi art the bows, which bJV< fcatte· red, l[rael, ]'lldJb and 'ferujalem. Look upon tile fiate of the Chu:ch, from. the very firfi rife of it, and y<>u will lind it true. h bc_gan firl1 tn Addms Family, Abel was the LiUy, Cai11 was Ih~ }Tlcit..!nl) bTlar, and the ~rievilt!( Thorn; he mmthcrcth Abd. Go from thence to Ncdb, Gen. 6. 5, 8. Noah was a Lilly amongfi 1boTllr, '!horns he was alone. The wickcdncfs of man was great upon the ear'th; Thorns were on every fide, Noab was a Lilly amongl! them: [o was Lot the Aponle faith, hi< rigbteoM Sottl war vexed with the Sodomite~ converfation. Abrabam and his families were LiUier, but Lillies amongfi Thorns, the CJnaanito were round about him. So it was with Jacob and Jcfeph, fo were the Chtl· dren oflfrad in Egypt, when they came. out of Egy~t and fet their feet in Canaa11; they were ftt\1 as L1Uus amongjl Thorns; God fo ordered it,J<~~JI. :>.. 3• Wlmrfure I ~lfo [lid I will not drive them out from before you, but they !hall be as Thorn I in J•'ur jJder, what were they all the time they were in CanJ.<lt, other than Lillies amonr; fi Thorns. The Ph,/i{lines pricking them on one tide, and the Afbrians a11d Egyptians on the other. I'! ~d the true and fin· cere profdfurs amongfi them mllch more; wrtnefs E_Jqah and o" ther Servants of God, when they were removed tnto Baby/011; and abode there 70 years, what were they all that time but Lillie'• among!\ Thorns? And (which I d~fire you would fiill obferve) as the whole vifible Church, was fo 111 refpeC.l: ofHeathens; fo the more.firid: ·Profdlion were in reference to their Brethren, when God fent Ez,l;jel, Ezek. 2. 6:he commands him not to be afnid of their words, though Briar I antl1hor~~s were with him, and he dwelt 11mangft Smpions. Come to the Church of G~_d in the n.ew Tefiament : Chrifl himfelf you know was a Ltlly amongft Thorns he was crowned (you know ) with Thorns at bi< d"th; . he lived amongft Thornr while he lived, one while they talk of ftoning him, another while of tbrowi11g bim dowH from. a1t b1U he&dlong. It became not the difc)ples to be above their Mafier, the ACl:s of the Apollles, and the wnolc fiery oft he primitive Chllrch for 300 years after Chrifi, reprefents the Church to you as a Lilly among Thorns. After that time, her Ostc among!\ Heathen~ on the one fide and Hereticks and Apoflates on the other, was the fame, every whit as fJd, if not more than before, for many hundreds of years after, the Thorns were fo grown up~ that it was hard to fee any Lilly at all. About 160 years Iince 11 began to put up an head again more vifibly; but look where you will upon her lince that time, you will flill fee fhe hath been a Lilly among!\ Thorns. In what vthcr condition hath been that part of the Ch~rch which was in Germa•y France, Spain, the low CoJtntriet I till within few years? J In' what other fiate we!e we in Engl>nd.. till King Edward the 6th. and ag1m over-run m ~"" MJmi ume (m1ny |