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Show The spoufes advantages from her year and then die other plants you have that are mofi lalHng ~urab'leplants that have deep roots in the Earth. In Gods Soil which is his Church there are. alfo annual plantJ, a c~mpany of Profelfors that {hoot up apace, make a brave and glonous f?ew; but rheir goodnefs is like a morning-dew that when the Sun IS up vanifheth: they have a temporary greennefs,that's all: But there are others that have a deeper and more durable ':-oot. Now the winter diUingui!heth thefr in a time of perfecuuon, you !hall fee all thefe die and fall away,and thofemore durable. and better ~ootcd plants only live and hold. You a~e they ( ~a1th ou.r Savwur, fpeaking to his Difciples,) that have tndured wllh me tn my temp· · tations The men of Capernaum were annual plants, they followed "chri!\ for the Loaves but when Chrifl came to his Crofs you hear no more of the~; 'only th~ true Difciples of C!uif\ endure with Chrifl at that ttme. To thts the Apo!\lc fpeaks 10 I Cor. II· 19. 1beremu/JbeHm/iet, that they who ar~ approved maybe made manifoJ! amongfl you. Indeed the great dtfcovery of Hypocrites {hall be at the lafl day, but yet even in this life God will and often dotb difcover them, making .tbem to walk .na~ed , tha.t all men may fee their Otamt; . and this he dotb by bnngtng a Winter and Rainy-weather upon hts Church. 2 • Secondly, By the Frofls.of the 1Vinter and the hard =•ther the weeds are choak!d and hindered, that eitbtr they come not "P at aU, or if they come .. p, the Corn ge~uhe flart of them. The Lords Soil (the hearts of his people) ts alfo fub}e6t to weeds; now thl: Winter kilts them •. In a time ofliberty and profperity the people of God are ready to grow loofe and wanton, to divide and fcatter to run into feveral parties and factions. The be!\ of people are ready to grow loofe & wanton, but now the Win~er ki~ls thef~ weeds,at leaf\ many of them; the winter of Per{ec~<!ton wtll ~o tt as to the Church. Thofe'that ilighted Ordinances wtll then pnze them,thofe, that undervalued, thofe that came in the name of the Lord, an~ brought the truths of the Lord, becaufe they were not of the~r perfuafion's in all things, will then fay, ~leffid i1 he that cometh 1!1 1he name of the Lord. I muf\ again mmd you of that excellen.t T ext Efay 27. 9. fpeaking of the AfJIWtBnl of 'f4cob: By tb'! ( faith the Prophet) fb•U the iniqHity of 'Jacob be P"rg'd; and tbl< jh.1U be aU the fruit, t•t•k! away hit Sin, when he mak!th aU theftoned of the Altar M chalk,;ftones that are beaten to pouder, the. t_roves an lhe i1nages f!JII~ "!' ft~11d up. 3• By. 3· By the R~in and Sn•w o[the Winter, the Earth is mammd and made more fertile. Husbandmen rejrryce in the Winter-fi10w !he~ think it manur~s and fats the Earth_, if i! doth not tha t, ye~ H hmdm the c~ld wmds and fto(/s from ktlling tl. Affld1ions have the fame good mfluence upon the Spoufe of Chrifi: they make the Church,. and they make the particular Soul more ready to bring forth frUit; Pfalm I 19. 67. Before I WM ~Jfli£/ed I went ajlray, bHt now I haPek.fpt thJ word. Heb. 12. II. No cbaftening for the prefont feemttb to be ;oyout but grtevous, mverthelefi afterward it bring· eth forth tbe peaceabl• fruit of righteot~Jnefi, 11nto t!Hm which are exercifed there~y: Mark. the term afterward, the g•od of the roin, and the fnow m Winter IS not prefently feen, but It i·• feen afterw~ rds. AffiiClions are pro.litable, ver. r o. for our profit that we mtghtbeparta%ersofhubolmefi; but the profit of them is not prefe.ntly feen, ~ut it is feen afterwards by the fruit of holinef!, that IS by them Improved. So alfo fome particular afflillions ( as .the Snow ~eeps the Corn from the harm that Frofis would do it,) do alfo dehver the Soul from fome temptatiotlt which elfe would have a far greater power upon it. ' 4· Latlly, The fl'inter doth give liberty to the plant to grow more at the Ro~t: were it ~ot · for the Winter the plant would wholly _fpend nfelf lrt fendtng forth buds and leavu, and bloffomt and.frutt,&c. but now the cold of the winter re!\reins it and by that means it enlargeth itfelf and fafineth better at the Root. It is fo with Chri!\ians, whiles it is all Summer-time with the Church ~time of pr?fperlt~ and liberty with the Soul. The Soul fpend~ 1tlflf much tndeed In outward publick excrcifes but it exercifeth no patieme, and but little faith ; but now wh;n it is a time of Winter the Spoufe thrlveth more inwardly in the fecret exercifes of Grace ; and thus God makes her ref\raint of outward liberties to turn. to her exceedi~g great advantage, to make her grow in the ~ad teal graces of fattb and patiewce, &c. This is a large Fie1!1 of d1fcourfe, and I mull f\raiten my felf: thefe may be fome of the reafo~s why it pleafeth the wife God that his Spoufe !hould have a Wmter as well as a Summer rainy as well as fair weather, · Let me apply it. ' In the fir!\ place then let me fpeak to you in the words of the V[e; ~pof\le Peter, 1 Pet. 4• 12. Beloved, thin!{ it not flrange concern- . tn6the fiery '!ry".l,--·M though [ome firange thiwg had h•ppmed .. n-to ym. Thmk It not firange If you alfo meet with Rain in your Mm 2 jo11rney |