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Show what a B.mneris. The Sporif'es duty in t!Je 'Banquetting-horif'e; opon it an imprellion of p~trity a11d bolinefi. If thou can!\' but · lind this, that the holy Spirit in Regeneration hath made an imprtffio" :tpon thy heart, and left its Image upon thy Soul, that tholt art by it made pure, and holy, fplritual,and. heavenly-minded, thou . art in one fenfe fealed : and thou oughtdl to take comfort in this, though thou hall not a demon!\ration a pria.i, and art not able co. rcjoyce without .feme doubting, and to triumph in the Lord, upon. the full a!furance of divine Love. But this is enough to have fpcken to this lid\ Propoticion of my. Text. Cane •. 2. -1'· And hi< BaHner over me WM·Love.: I Have obferved to you thelall day. the variety of Reading of my, Text, the SeptHagint, the vHigar. Latin, the Syriack, and Ara• bick, Verfions, reading it in a quite .dilferent fenfe from the H,brew: TJ.f«'T'• ordinate, difponite, dijpnfui~ in me charitatem, or• dain, or order, or he hath ordered Love upon, or.co, or towards me. • But I told ·you the lall day, that !'took my felf.iittle concerned; to attempt their- reconciling to the Hebrew• text, becaufe I faw no foundation for their varying; for whether the word bt. read with fitch points as our ordinary Hebrew Bibles offer to it, or with others, the fenfe mull be dther, .Hi< Banner over m• wM love, or He lifted up a Banner over me, viz. Love, which is in fenfe the fame. . The propo!ition of the Text there is plain before yon. . Prop. ]<[114 Cbrift's Ba;tner over a believint, foul • if Ll>vr. TwQ things I have to do: t. To !hew you what is there meant by Chrifi's Banntr; 2. To (lmr> you bow ad in wb~t · {enfe, Chriftt B'anHrr ovtr hi< CbHrch, or over believingfo"ls ill p:micHlar if love, and to prove it to you: After this I !hall make<~pplication of it. As to the firll, By underlhndinjljothe Notion of a BanHer in the general, we !hall cafily nndedland what Chrit\s Ba11r.er is. The Hebrew Lexicographe!S 1gree, tba·t the Hebrew word '7li, figniifies the fame with the Larine word VexiUum, which in Englifh is a Banmr, or Enfig;n, or military Colours. Crilick.f in the tLoanngouee ." " chrifls 'Banner over· a believing soul, i1 Love, how; tongue l.1y, that VexiUHm is qu.1{1 velillum P""""' velum , ~ liltle Curtain, or Sail. Scaliger derives it a Vebendo; becaufe it is c':mied. in •n _Army; (i~ce lighting was in the World, the ligh[ of Nature ceach10g t':'en, Ill order to the better management of Armies, to call them mto Rrgrments and Companies· , taught them alfo co make B•nnert and Enjigns, fomethiog or other, as for other uf.-fo to dillingui!h this Company from that. Hi(\orians tell us, that tho Romans at lirll hod bottles of Hay for their Enfigns: After this the Ronunr had colours of P~<rpl•, as the Per(tans ofF lame-co-lour,&,, and fo fevrrel Natior.s according to their feve.al fancies. You read of the Standards oft he Children oflfrad by which they were hy Gods order to ab1de, Numb. 2. 2.3. But that which we are chi~fly to confider l> the ufc of Bannerr , and that was four. fold. Firll, for Di(fintlion: The Colours difiinguin1 Enemies· from Frielldr, and one Comp'lty from another: the Souldiers of the feveral Tribes of Ifracl were dii\inguifhed by their B'nners,or Enfigns. 8; Secondly, for Diretlio~ :. T~e lifting .up and difplaying of the Standard, as alfo th~ movmg of1t, dueCtech the Souldier, t. wbi- Efay ,3, 22, tberto refort, as to ·hts proper place: 2. when to move; when Lls Coioursmove,he~oveth. 3· !hey are ufeful for Sir,nification,and they· properly lig~tfie t~ree dungs; 1. The Vnion ofCompanirs: By the Standard IS lignified, that ali that tefort to it are united in fuch a Co_mpany , ~uch a_n ~rmy, Regiment , or Band, &c. z .. T~ey figntfie Prote_tlwt,bemg 10 the nature of a Covering, &c. . Tlmdly, They ligntfie Vttlory; In token ofViCl:ory,when Soul· d1ers h~ve 1\ot a Town,they ha~g out their Colours upon the wal ~s, [o alfo tn !h1ps won from Enem1es; Pfalm ~o. 5· We will rrjoyct>in thy [alv•W", •~tti zn tbe 11ame of o11r God we rr>iU. Jet up onr ban-ner! . Fourthly, There is yet a fourth ufe of them and chat ·is for Terror · to the Ene~1in: hence the Church in chat Bo~k is compared to an Army temble "'.''h Banum,Cant.6.4,toy is a terrible thing to fee an Army mnch1ng together with ali thm Colours difplayed.Thus I ha~e fhort!Y !hewed you che Civil and Military ufe of Banners. <':hnll here tn my Text is fee out, as one that hath his B;mner; and th: Text tells you, that his Love is his Iiauner, by which [everal th10gs are properly undcrllood according to the notion of a Ban. n<r already opened, of each of whiCh a word or two in order· ~he particulars are feven. • I• 1b~ |