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Show Whill 11je to maf,J ofchrijll com'ing, &c. .1\a-d raifcd a great Moun~ai11 againH Gods delivering of Houkjab, when he brought that numerous Aim)t before Hierufalem; b':t God in one night, and by the miniiHy ~ut of one Angel, made H all a Plain. • What remaineth then (in the Jafi place.) but to call upon the peopl: of God at all times to keep the eye of :heir Faith above the top of the Mountaini ~ 1 1 4hove thttr orr>lljint, 2. Akove aD creatHr~· d!fficultm and imptdimenu, not that I would open the do?r.to h· centious,and {rcure me1cy to prefumptuous finners; no, tht> IS -not the bufinefs I would do, I would only comfort penitent finners, and fbew all, that thejini ofGodt peoplt will not always keep them tmder the Rod of God, though they may caufo .• temporary pu. nifbment and hiding of God.s face; yet even fin itfelffball not always hin'der the Lords return to his people. A Chrillian when he hath a fure promife, is not to difpute how !hall this thing be? he hath nothing to Eye but the powrr and faithfulmfi of God: Abraham nrit!Jlr con(.dered biJ oJI>n dead body, nor yn Sarahi dead womb, he only confidered the power of God ; when he was to offrr lfoac, ne never puzzled himfdf with thinking: How lhall I then have a promifedJeed : no, he f•risfiech hirnfelf .wi.th this ,that God a a; ,able t• raife him from the dead, and :what was the ilfue of this faith? He rmivrd /;im (faith the Apollle, Heb 1 t. J Thus rhe three Children, Dan, 3· 17. Our God ,.hom we {rrve i1 ablt to deliver ur. This f•ith gives glory to God, it at once gives .fiirn the glory ofbis Omnipotmcy, ofhisfaith[Hinrji, of .his !';Ood. nefs .: but Oh, how hard is it for us to ·fee wilhout the Spectacles of Senfe 1 Confider therefore, 1: That Chriff n>bm be comu to hi< Spo11[< i1 H{uaUy feen upoH tbe Mozmtaini. AbrabJm gave the Original to that Proverb, Gm.22. '4· In the mount oft he Lord it jhaU bt {rrn ; it hath been made good ever fince. I fbewed you before, that when Chrill came to his Spoufe in Egypt,he came Ik,jpping upon the MoHntaini : when he came to his Spoufe in Babylon, he-came leaping ttpon tbe HiUJ. ThiS becometh the honour of the Lord our Saviour; every one can walk in a ph in way, in a beaten Road. God mul\ do new things , his honour will by it be advanced,- his work more evid ently feen . 2. Secondly, Confider that it is the proper work of Faith ·IO tvidence things not feen. Senfe fb ewerh prefent things, Reafon concludes probabk things; Faith believes improbable, and rfeerningly,) ' ( ChriflJ wniltg to hiJ Spoufe to be beheld, -lngly) impoilible thlngs,!n defpi~ht of all Seofe and Reafon,meerly becaufe God hath faid rhein. ris natural to the Eye of Faith to look over all matters of Senfe or Reafon In its way. Call not your felves B: lievers withhout the exercife of Faith, which mull lhew that you are Believers. Cant. 2.8. Behold he cumeth leaping Hpo11 the rnountaint, and s~ipping upon the biOI. T Here remaineth yet oae Propofirion from this Text to be fpoken to: It is this : Beliwing Souii (or, the Spoufr nf Chri[! ) in the time· of his. Prop •. withdrawing from them, may, and ought to behold him again retlm<• i11g to them. The Spoufe here doth not only her fe!f cry out, It is the voice ol my Beloved ·, and he cometh ; but fbe fpeaks to o- · tbers to behold it: Behold 1· He cometh, &c. To open the Propofition in the full compafs of it, I fball fbew you thefe three thin'gs. •. I. That Chri[!Neturn to hi< Spou[r after an ab{rnce may be beheld by a Believer. 2. That it i1 of advamage to a Believing SoHI, to hebold Chriff' coming, tho11gh a; yet not fully come. 3• That it i4 the duty of a Believing Soul thui to bebold him · coming; 1. That Chriffr relttrnl• hi< Spouje after an abfence may be b<held by a Believing Soul. I have already told you of a fourfold coming of Chrill : r. He came in hii Incarnation.- Of. this the Text fpeaketh, but this was none ofthofei inGlled upon : for thus we f.y, not now he cometh ; no, he iscome and gon~ again. This Bernard calls a ' coming ad hominu. It was true of this, Abr.ham Jaw my day Jltd ' rejoyced, John 8. Bllt, 2. He cometh to his people in the inj/uencu of his grace, to c•m· fort, quicken, llrengthen rhem. E e 3· H¢. |