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Show .. 30\l No CROSS, No CROWN. VoL. I. 166a. of a'Maitlen unto the Hand "f her MljlrcfJ, fo our E;cs wait upon the Lord ~ our God, until be have .fl1ercy upon us. In another Place, 011r Souf wauetTJ Chap VI for the Lord he tr our Help and our Sbteld. 1 uull Walt upon thy 1\t!me, for pf, 33, '20,' It H Good b;fore r11y Samts. It was 1ry Requcft With rhe truly. Godly of that Pf, 52. 9· Day, and the Way they came to enJOY God, and_worllup him accepr:~.bly. And from his own Experience of the Benefit of V':'amng upon God, and the rr. 27, 14, Samrs Pratl!ce of thoie Ttmes, he recommends It to others· T~au upon rbe Lord, be of good CoUJage, and be fhaUjlrengtben tby Heart · ~Valt, I 1ay, upon the Lord. That 15, Wmt m }anb rmd Pattencc, aod he wtll come _to fave thee. Agam, Refl m rbe Lord, and watt p~tuntly upon IHm · That 1~, Caft thy felf upon him; be contented, and wat.t for h1m to help thee. m thy w . Thou canit not thmk how near he IS to help thofe that Wait upon pr. 37• 34, h' ants Q try and have Fanh ! Yet again, he bids us, Wait upon the Lord, ,1~d keep hn fvay. Behold the Reafon io few Profit 1 They are out of bn TV. and fuch can never wait nghtly upon htm. Great Reafon had lJavtd fo?~hat he fatd, that had with fo much Comfort anJ .Advantage met the Lord in his BleOid Way. . Ira. 26, s. §. XI. The ·Prophet Ifaiab tells us, That tbo~gb the Chajlifemen;s ef the Lord were fore upon the People for tbcrr Batkjlt~u!fJ, ~et tn the flay rJ 11is ]adgmeJJts (in the Way of his Rebuk~s and Dliple~turc) they «'a.ttc~ for him, and the Defire of their Soul (that IS the great Pomt) w_m to hH 1\~,u, and the Remembrance of bim. They were contented to be ch1d and chaihfed, for they had finned ; and the Knowledge of him fo, w~s very defir:~ble to them. But what! Did he not come at lafi, and th~t m Mercy .roo? Yes, he did, and they knew him when h'e cam~, (a Dc~nne the Brur.1fh World Ch, 2~. 9• knows nor) This ir our God, we have wmted for bun, and he. ~ctll fave.m. 0 Blctred E~~·oymenc! 0 pr:cious <:;onlid.enc~. He~<: w~s J TVattMg zn !aub, which preva1 ed. All Worjhrp, not m !'aah! IS .fruttlefs ~o the Worfhlpper, as well as difpleafing to God: And thls Fa~rh IS the Gift of G~d, and the Nature of it is to purifie the Heart, and g1ve fuch as truly belte\'e Vtaory over the World. Well! But they go on: We have W11ited for him, v:e una he ghrd, and njoyce in his Sa/vatio11. The Prophe~ adds; B/rffed are all tbty that wait upan God: And why? For th.ey that TV!Itt upon the Lord, jhall re~ nerv their Strength; they ]hall never fmnr~ never he weary.: ~he Encourage~ mentis great. Ohear him once. more! Forfincc tbf! Begmntng of the World, .il1cn have not beard, nor pl:rcetvcd by the Ear, ne~ther hmh ~he E)'~ fern, tra.3c. 18. Ch.4o. 31. Ch. ~4- 4· Jer.l4o'l2, .la,.m ent, l• Hor.u. 6. Mic•7·7· 0 God! befides Thee, what be bath preparc_d for htm that warteth J.or him. Behold the inward Life and Joy of the R1ghreous, the True Worfh1ppers! Thofe whofe Spirits Lowed to the Appearance of God's Spirit in th em, leaving and forJilking all it appeared ag:linlt, a~d embracing ~harevet it led them to. In Jeremiah's Time, the True Worjhtppers alfo waned upon God: And he alTures us That tbe Lord is Good to them that wait f or him, to the Soul that fecketh' him. Hence it is, that the Pr~pher llofea exhorrs the Church then to turn and WJit upon God. Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep .iUercy ~nd Jud,p_ment, and u:ait on thy God continually. And Micab i~ very zealous and refolute in this good Exercifc; 1 will look umo rTJe Lord, I will wait for the God of my Salvation: .A1y God will hear me. Thus did the Children of the Spirit, that thirfted after an inward Senfe of him. The Wic.hed cannot fay fo; nor they that Pr:1y, unlefs they \Vair. 'Tis charg'd upon lfrael in the Wildernefs,,as the Caufe ~f their DifObediencc and Jn· gratitude to God, that they Waued not for /)ts CoJmj~h . . "'fe may be ~ure lt is out Dut¥, and expetled from us; tor God requnes Jt 10 Zephamnb: Zeph. 3.8. Therefore Willi upon me, faith 1be Lord, tfntilthe Day tbat 1 arifc, &c. 0 that all who profefs the Name of God, would Wttit fo, Jnd not offer to arifi: to wor01ip without him ! And they would feel his Stirrings Jnd Arilings i~ them, ro help, and prepare, and fanaifie them. Chrift cxp~dly charg'd has i\{h 1,4,-8. Diftiples, They jhould 11ot {Jir from Jerufalem, b11t 4lllaft nil thry ht~d rr· aived the Promife of the Father, the Baptifm of the Holy Gbo{l, in order ro their Preparation for the Preaching of the Glorious Gofp~l o( Chrift ro the Vforld. And tho' that were an extraordinary EflU6on . for an extraordinary Wo1k, VoL. I. No CROSS, No CROWN. Work yet the Degree does not change the Kind. On the contrafy jf fo J688. much 'waiting and Preparation by the Spirit Wlt requifite to fit them to ~ preach to Man; fome, at leaft, may be needful to fit us to fpeak to God. Chap. Vl. §. XII. I will clofe this great Scriprure·Doilrine of Waiting, with that Paffage in John, about t~e Pool of ~ctbefda. Therf Hat Jerutalem, by tbe j ohnS· 2, Sbup-Market, .a Pool, whuh U caUed m the He~rew Tongue, Berhefda, btlVing 3, 4• jive Porches; m thife laj a great Multuude oj tmpotent Folia, of Blind, H«lt and Withered, Waiting Jor the J11oving of the Wmer. For an 1J.ngel uen; · down at a certain Sea {on into the Pool, tmd troubled tbe Waur: Whofoev tr · tbenfirft, after the Troubling of the Water, Pep'd in, tVtU made whole of 'llJbatfoever Difeafe he had- A moft cxaa keprefemation of whar is intended by all that has been faid upon the Subjeft of Waiting. For as there was then an Outward and Legal, fo there is now a Gofpel and Spiritnal Jetufalem, the Ch11rch of God, confifiing of the Fairbjltl. The Pool in that old Jerufalem, in fome for& reprcfenred that Fountain, which is now ier open in this New Jerufalcm. That Pool was for thofe rh:n were under Jn~ :firmities of Body; this Fountain for all that are impotent in SoN!. There was an Angel .then th.ar moved the Water, tO render it beneficial; it is God's Angel now, the great .Angel of his Prefenct, that bleffetb this Foun. tain with Succefs. They that then went in before, and did not w:nch the Angel, and take Advantage of his Motion, found no Benefit of their jlepa ping in: Thofe that now wait not the Moving of God's Angel, but by rhe Devotion of their own Forming and Timing, rufh before God, as the Horfe into the Barrel, and hope for Succefs, are fure to .ltlifcarry in their Expeila· tion. Therefore, as then, They waited with all Patience and Intention up~ on the .A.ngd.r Motion, tl1at wanted and dcfired to be cured; fo do the true Worjhippers of God now~ that need aRd prf!y for his Prcf~nce, which is the Life of·their Souls, as the Sun is to the Plants of the Field. They have often tried the tlnpro}ittlblenef.r of their own Work, and are now come ~o the Sabbath indeed. They dare not put up a Device of their own, or olfer an unlantlified Requelt, much lefs obtrude bodily Warfhip, where the Soul is really unfenfible or unprepared by, the Lord. In the Light of Jefus they ever wait to be. Prcp~red, Reti~ed, and Rec.lufe from all. Though~s that caufe the leaft D1firaEbon and D1fcompofure 10 the Mind, ull they fee the JJ.ngel move, and till their beloved pleafe to wake: Nor dare they call him before his Time. And th~y fear to make a Devotion in his Abfence; for they know it is not only Unprofitable, but ReprovJble? Who bm re- lfa. •· ~~ guired this at your Hands? He that believes, ntakn not haft. They that wor• Ch. 2 8-. 1 S'• fotwith their own, can only do as the /frat/ires, turri their Ear-Rings into a t.~ltedn-Image, .~nd,je cudrs'd fodrrdheir Pains. 1 Nor fared they better, th11t Ch, ~o. ut ga.roere Stidu o1 ola, an kin ,Ie a Fire, ana compii}Jcd tbem{rlves t~bo11t wah the Sparks that tbey h11.1. lundled; for God told them, They jhould lie tlown in Sorrow. lt fhould not only be of no Advantage, and do them no .Good, but incur a Judgment from him: Sorrow and Anguifh of Soul fhould be their Portion. Alas! Flejh and Blood WOJJ/d fain Pray, tho' if tannot Wait; and he a Saint, tho' if can't abide to Do or Suffer the Will of God. With the Tong11e it hle/Jes God, and tJJith the Tongue it curfe.s Men, maJe.ih hH Similitude. It calls Jefus Lord, but not by tbe Holy Ghofl; and often names the Name of Jeftn, yea, bows the Knee to ic too, but departs not from Iniquity: This is Jbominablc to God . . §. XIII. In !hart, there are fout Things fo neceffary to u:orjhipping of Gocl aright, and which puts' irs Performance beyond Man's Power, rhar there items licrle more needed than the naming of them. The Firft is, The S11nc· ti}i~tztion of the Worjhipper. Secondly, The Conftcrlltion nf the Offerint, Whlch has been fpoken [0 before fomewhat largely. Thirdly, Wbttt to rray for; which no Man knows, that pr::~ys not by the Aid of God's Spirit; and therefore. without that Spirit no Man can truly prtry. This the Apoftle puts beyond Difpute; We know not (f:~ys he) wbat Qle' jhop/d pray for, tU Rom. 8. 1C:! we ought, but the Spirit h6lpeth our Infirmities. Men unacquainted with the Work and Power of the Holy Spirit, ore ignorant of the !\lind of G~~j |
