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Show what it mea11t by Moulttaint,&c. 1ttrnrd,'"lnY repmtingt are ~;ndl.d; he gives a Soul many l! warning firll, ahd he gives a people many warnings, and when he doth . remove, he removes by fleps and inches: firfr;takes away their temporal bletlings; then their Spiritual mercies; firfi one mer- - cy and then another, he creeps as it were away from them; but when he returnetl1 he cometh tk.jppingt<pon tbe .Mountal>tund leaping; the former was a flrange motion, this is his natural motion, this is that wherein he delighteth. Thirdly, The terms lignify the motion of him that rnaketh a light matter of hit jarmtey; or any lett! or hindr~ncu, which he may mm witb; he that cometh skjppi~<g and leaping makes nothing of his way. Thus again Chrifl cometh tkJpping upon the Mo:mtailu; though in his motion to his Spoufe, there may be many things that may {cern to let and to hinder, yet when be fets out in his way of mercy they {hall all be nothing unto him, he will contemn and defpife them all, and let all the world know that they are nothing before him, that they !hall none rf them hinder his Counfel, defirn andpurpofe,but that he will bring forth his work;he1will come leaping upon theMountains.for the further opening of this, all the hindrance! that I can fancy may be reduced to two Heads. r, TheCreatttrrJ Sint. 2. 'Ihe Arm offi,Jh; or the C>wtnret Art or Strength. firfl, Hit peopln Sint; thefe indeed are the only re.al hindrancu, here his own jullicc hinders;the juflice of God,coming in a way of ·mercy to his people; he flops at the Mountain •f Sins,mercy would move,but juflice makes a flop: Whether this proceedeth from the nature of-God or from the will of God, is not much material to our purpofe: Let it be whence it will it. is a great Mountain in Gods way, If. 59· 2. Rt<t J"" iniquitiu have f'parated betwixt yoHr God and you; and your Silu have bid his face from yo>< tb.t be '"ill Hot hear. God cannot reconcile his juflice to his mercy, in coming to a (l11[ul and wic~d prople ; but over thit Mormtam will Chrifl ~orne tk.jpping,he.,i/1/eap over t&e{e HiUr.lf Chrifl lhould never come to his people rill they were without fpot or wriockle, he lhould never fee rheir fJCe till they cJme in Heaven ; although therd11re the Sins of his people feparate him from them, and make h;m for a while to hide his face from their Souls ; yet fuch is his Jove and goodnefs, that even thefe Mountains and Hills !hall not always be in his way: you have an excellent T ext to this purpofe, 1er. 50. v. 17. you !hall fin<l God lamenting his people; · ' Ifrael, ane(leapi~rg 11pon the..Motmtaiui .? Ifr'ut! (faith the Lord).;, a faarttll'ed(heep; th< Lion!"have driven htm ~way, firfl the K~ng of AJ!j•ia, ha~h devoured him, (viz. the ten tr.bet) and lafl this Neb .. chadnezzzr, Ktng of B<>bylo)t; bath· h'Ok.!n hu bomt. 'Ihereforr, th11< J"ith the Lord of hoftt, the God of I[rael, Beh•ld ! I wtU p~tnifh the King of Babylon, and bit La;rd; at I have p_ull(thed tbe King of Af]jria; and I will bring I[rJCl •tai1• to hit habztatton, OHd be jhaU feed on Carmel and Rajhan ; and hiJ Soul fhaU be>fuufied U/'On M1unt Ephrazm and Gilead. Oh! but I[rael is a linful people f_ how can God do this> mark v. 20.lntho[e day1 and in that tzme ( faith the Lord ) the intquity of I[rael jhaU be fo•~ht for and there /haY be none, and the Sint of JHdab, and they fo•Y not b; found. No; that•s flrange,thar there lhould be any people of the eartham.ang{t whom Sin (though fought for) jhaU uotbefound; how comes this ? ma.k the next words; I wiU pardo1z tbem whom I referve. Methinks the Great God of Heaven and Earth is fer ?ol\n there as a great and mercifi1l Prince; who hath fo~e fnb• Jech t~at ha_th commi~ted fome great olfence,as T"afon,&c. The Pnnce In pomt ~f Jufltce and Wifdom cannot fpare them all; he takes away the lives offome:To the rel1 he grants a p~rdon; and • makes their offenc.es as 1f they had not been:Or,it may be as to fome fingle perfoo amongltthem,he for a while claps him up in Prifon or takes away a part of his eH~te, and then proclaims his free par~ don. So d_oth !Jo~;a Chtld ofhts,or a Church of his hath grievoully. abul"ed hts or thelf mer-cy; the Lord in wifdom a:nd juflice and for • oxample fake cannot let them go altogether unpunifhed;he is there- . ~re plea fed as to" a partiCular Soul,to hide his face from ir,irwalks ~n the dark and fee:h no light;it.~aots the Comforrs,thequicken~ ngs,the· ~reogt~emngs ofhts Spmt of Grsce,its bones arc broken, . rts peace IS l_ott,Its Comforts. arc departed for a time; but then the Lt\d hath ptty upon the poor Creature, and though he yet be ftdl O SLI_I; yet the Lord comes skipping upon the Mountain of its Sin; . and rt !hall not. hinder his retl)rns ofMorcy.So it is for hisChurch t?ey have been ~a.nton,they have abufed their Liberties and Mer~ Cle~. TheLord·wnhdraweth his Providence from them gives rhem up mto the hands of their enemies, takes away his candletticks ~om ' them,and leavts ~hem without their Gofpel-meroies; but at le:gth he remembers h1s. mercy, and though yet thty -be f•mnd a !infi1) . peo~le, yet he comes to them skipping over that M0,.11tai11 and leaping over thofe Hills. The Ifroelitet were a finfnl pe~ple when the· Lord brou~ht them out of Egypt, how reac!Jy> were tbcy . Dd 2 - witn . |