OCR Text |
Show what if thefe birds be not all of one featbtr 1 what II they ling not all the fame notes? if they agree all in the fame end, if they all ji11g"to tbe glory of the fame God. If they be all birds that ling, I mean true members of the Church ofChrifl; if they. all reJoyceln the Lord, and fing forth the praifes of the mofl High God,according to the grace given to every one of them; I know no re~fon why from their more general liberty to ling any fhouid peev1fhly conclude the Summer is not come, or that the Rarny-weatherts not P•fi, I mean here by the ftnging of the birdt,. a more P.ublzcb,_ finging. In Cages you know they will Jing. '" w:-mte~ and In the touletl weather· Gods birds will alfo fing In thetr wmters. Paul and Stl>s fang i~ their Cages. They were evil times, Mal.3. 16. When they that feared the Lord met often togeth<r, andfp•b,_e one to a· nother, and the Lsrd bur~ned and heard it, and a boo~ of remem· brance was writtm before bin~ for tbofe that feared the Lord, and thought upon his name; and they were evil times in which the A. pbllle to the Hebrews, Heb. to. 2 5· charged th~ Hebrews not to forfak$ the afJenihli11g of tbemjelves together. ~o t1mes can be fo bad, btl! thefe birds will i'} them fit ( though In ~ Cage, though but by the fire-fide)and ling out thepraifes ofthm Rede~mer.But it is Summer-time when they may ling in the Santluary, 111 the affemblies of Gods people,going with them into the hou{eofGodwitb the voice of joy and prai[e, with ~multitude that ~ept boilday ; when they have liberty to fpeak in tht light, and to preach tn the houfe· tpps, Mat. 1 o. 2 7 . when what they l.ave Jfok$n in da~b,_ueji {haU be heard in the light, what they have fpok$11 tn the Ears tiJ Clo[ets {haU be proclaimed in tbehou[e-tops, Luke 12. 3• . Having opened thefe two palfages, they amou.nt ~o thts, That it is the Churches-Summer and brave weather wtth 1t, when the Gofpel is fretly and powerf~tlly preach'd, and when Chri{fi~nJ have libttty r not in cages and corners,) but in tbe open arr, zn the f~U affimblies of Gods people to pay thofe homages of prayer and praife which tbey owe rmto the great God. . . The proof of thl,s will be prefently evtdent to htm that conlidereth but two things : r. That fuch difpenfarions of providence make the heft oF the Spoufes year what is mofl [weet .and moft advantageous to her. Sum· mer-time (a~ you know ) is both the time of pleafitre and the time of profit; It is in Summer that the fields do laugh, and the VaUevs ftnu that the one is clothed with cor», the other With J ~· ,~ , gr.Ji: that the Hu1bandma!f and Vine-dre(ler gathers in 'the pro/it of his labours. And what is the pleafant and profitable time to the Clmrch, but _when the Gofpel is fretly preacht, and the Servants of the mof\ h1gh God have liberty in their publick Alf,mblies to meet, to hear hisWord,to pray,and ling Praifes? 2. That is the time when the people of God have a freedom for feUowjhip with their belovea. The want of this I told you w•s here the chief thing conlidered in the M:taphors of Winter and of R~iny.,.,e~th~r, viz. the impedim_ents which fi1ch feafons give to Fr1ends vtlitmgsof, and commumon each with other;thcy may in· deed then vifit one another: but it mufl be under fome good prot. ecHo? of a Coach, or the like, or with fome great difconvenience, and dtf-eafe to them from the cold, or from the moillure of thofc feafons. 'fhe Spoufe in the fharpefi hours of perfecution5 will have her ~ommunion with Chrifl, and that not only her· ClofetCommunton, but fo far as fhe may, a more focial communion a!- . fo. But yet 'tis Winter, the cannot do this, but either under fome great prote~Hon, or without fome great detriment and inter- . ruptl<!>n •. Biit wh~n fhe can do it with freedom without any lnterruptton or detnment unto herfelf r thea if ever her Wimer is pall, her Rain is over and gone. ' ' ~hus I have fp?ken to thofe t.wo patl'ages which I conceive may be mterprcted wuh a more fpec1al reference to the Church which yet may l>e interpreted of the particular Soul : the hath ; Turtle too, that comes and lings upon her boughs. The Chaldee Paraphrafl by the THrtle underfiands the holy Spirit ; and we know h~ chofe thefor,.,oJ. a Do.ve to appear and defcend in upon our Sav~ our. We know hkewtfe that as the Tttrtle is dvis mi;_ratoria, a ~trd thll leaves cold Countreys in the Winter or at !call lies hid In f~me plac~ where fhe is nei_the~ heard _nor fee~ : So the Spirit of <;hr.tfl hath tts. hou(s when tt etther wtthdraweth from, or Iieth ~Jd In ~he gr.ac1ous heart,.when his voice is heard again firengthco! ng,qutc~entng, comforttng the Soul, then the voiceofrhe Turtle IS heard m our Land. The particular Soul hath her birds too. Members oft~e body,powers and facultiu of the So11l, by and with which the glonfieth God. Thefe Birdr in Winter /i~tg not. The Pfalmifi is fo troubled that be cannot [peak,: Pfal. 77. 4.He rememb'fd Gld and"""' ~ror<blrd ; He cannottbillk, of G.d without tem~tr nor jpea~to Cod ~,..Pr~yer, nor breath af1er God in a Duty n~rrkligbt norreJ" Y«"' tht Lord. Then is the Souls Summc'r when the' tongue Qq again |