OCR Text |
Show Perfee*tors lf»'afte and Jlir np the that goes about to rouze up a Lion, attempts a perillo~s thing with an infinite hazard to himfelf. Thofe who at any ume have gone about to rouze up Chriff couched in his ~burch have done. it ro their own ruine; Though God hath permuted them to do tt, and ( in wrath to his peopl< ) fiirred them up, and fet them on work. yet he hath not fulfered them to go uripunifhed, Efoy I 0.4, 5· AJ]jria was the Rod of Gods anger,and the llalf of his lndig· nation, fen! by God againll lfrael as an hypocritical Nation; yet God punifhed the /follt heart of tbe King of AJ!jria. What became of the Scribes and Pharilees, and the whole Body of the JtrlJI who were the firfi difiurbers oft he Gofpel·Church? Our Saviour, M•tth, 2 3. 37, 3 8. foretold them what ,would _come, and it did come within 6o years after his Afcenlion: 1bur hoH[rt were madt , drfolate, they are this day, the hilling and reproach of all Nations upon the earth. what is become of the Roman Emperor.r1, who next to them were the great difiurbers of Chrifig rell with his Spoufe? Thofe le>t JmfecutionJlafled 330 years after Chrifr. I think there wde not above 44 of thore Emperours, and 43 of them are reported to have come to miferable untimely ends: Nero cut his own throat, Donulian was llabbed by his own Servants: Traj•n died miferably through difeafes; fo did Hadrian,and Anto· niKJ Verur. Commodus was-firll poifoncd, then llain; Sevmu di· ed of miferable pains _; Maximinu11lain by his Souldiers ; lo was GaU11t; · Val<rian made a Horfe. block to Saporu the Perfian ; A<~· relian had his throat cut by his Servants: Dio<le{l•n fell mad,and then killed himfolf. Maximinian hangs hirnfelf ; Maximin<~J was followed with mollloathfome difeafes, at !all the apples of hi> Eyes fell out : Galerius flew himfelf. Liciniut was llain by Souldicrs. In Conftantint's time Chrill again returned to his ret!, and the Chu,rch had pea<e; but immediately arofe another Cott· ft•11tine that dillurb'd him and perfecuted the Chrifiians, he was llain by one of his Servants. I could give you infinite particular inllances. I could tell you of our own Arc!f·bifhop Ar~Mdd,and Bifhop Gardmer. How fhort was the time ofQ2een Mary? The time would fail me, from an indufrion of particular inllances of Gods dreadful Judgments in ail Ages following fuch as dillurbed the refi of hii Church. That of Mr. H111chin[on (a few years fince) in Ne,..Engla~td is a terrible inllance. In fhort, there have been very few in the world in any time , that ever thus provoked the Lord to jealoufie, but it proved to be to their own confufion, , the PerflCNtorJ ~trra~ andflir 11p tht Spt111{er Love. the Lord hath let them fee that he is llronger than them. Is it notthen of very great concernment to people of all forts and all degrees of people to take heed, where they fee a people of God ~alking together in the Ordinances of his Gofpel,that Chrifl is as H were all.eep, and at relhmongfi them, to take heed ofllirring of h.im up, either by Perfecution,or by Herelie, dividing and fcatte· rmg the flock of Chrifi·. 2. Secondly, li told y.ou alfo it is of great Concernment to peo~le to _rake heed of fiirring up, or awakirg the Lord Chrifi's rrft tn thetr orPn·Churc/;u, or S•t<lt. 'I'he Reafon of this alfo is the fad confrqntnct of it, viz, his deportiNg from them and the mi- ·f'eritJ thai wiU f•Uo"'. fuch 11 departure of God. Let the Cbu,.b of Chrl/t, Let''" p.,ttc>tlar SoHitak! bud ofthit. God is notJo tied to any people, nor to any particular Soul but he can depart from them ; yea, and he hath threat ned to depart : and he hath faid, Wo ""!o them ':"hm J JliaU depart from them., Gods prt[rnce is either h1s elfeoual Prefence ; rhus he filleth Heave>~ and Earth : of this the Pfalmifl fpeaks, Pfulm 13 9. that God cannot depart from . a people ; Or 1, Hi1 gracioHt prrfence. Thus he is prefent, r. ],. the Church, he hath (aid he will dwell in the midfi ol it. 2. In the part~cul~r Sor<l. This prefence of Chrill is by his litjlumctt, his contmuwg hts Ord,~ancu, his Mr.fJwgers, his Candlefliek.. amonglft !h<m; and the gra~10us mflumces•fhi<providm"; being a coverIng UJ:lOn mo~nt Z1on, and upon h~r affimbliu, and all her Glory •. Now as to th1s prefe~ce the L~rd ts faid to. depart from a people, when he ~emov~rh h1s can~lelllck,calls olfh1s melfe.ngers,de.privest~ em ofh1s Ordmances, wlthdraweth the protelhon of his pro-. ndcnce from a Church, or from a pevpie. This is a judgment which God often in Scripture doth threaten to a finful Church· ~n;l people. ~nd ~o for his prefence with the particular Soul, 1t.1s m the ~rac10us mfluences, and manifefiarions of the Spirit of· h1s G_race,.glven them for their comfort,or for their profit, or the merc1ful lllfluences of his Providence watching over them bldling and profpering them, &c. And God is faid as to botJ~, thefe. to depart from a particular perfon, when be gives them up, to blmdnefs of mmd, hardoefs ol heart, vain alfedions, errors. when he leaveth them fad, and without fenfible Comforts weak and ~nable to refill. their temptations, or their corruptions', whe~ he wtthdraweth h1s Providence from their outward· mao, &c. And I need fay no more incked to Chew the great miferies that follow |