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Show •• v[e. . th< King of Affiria, ami the Glory of aU bitlook.J. God may give his enemies liberty to beat his people, but he will at length repent . him of the evil, and be weary of that his llrauge work. Thus much may fcrve to have fpoken for your confirmation, that the Spoufes Wmter !hail over , the Rain which God makes fametimes to beat upon her will be over and gone. It is equally true concerning the Winter of particular believing Souls; whether 1\>e by it under £land outward alllictions or inward dillrelfes, by reafon of temptations or defertions; a~d the reafons are in part the very fame. Gods Love and tendcrnefs to for and toward his people; his Love will not fulfer him to be ~!way s lin iring any particular member more than the whole b'ody, and he ha t ~ an equal care of every individual Soul, as of the wholecolleehve body of his people; and it is true that the Lord as well tak~th c~r~ for particular. Souls, as for the body ofhis Church,thar thetr S ~mts !hall not fall before him, nor they have teo great tc~ptatto n s upon them, to put forth their hands, and commit iniquur. I thai! not therefore enlarge further in the Doctrinal part, but Ill a few words !hew you how far this Notion m1y be ufeful to us. This in the fir£! place wonderfi•lly commends the Love of Chri{f to htt Sporife. I !hewed you when I hand led rhe fecond Propofition, ~hac the Spoufe of Chrill.even in her Winter, in her Rainydays, ts .cbrijls Love and /m fa~r one. I have !hewed you in this Propofitton, Tbat ber Wt11trr will pa[t, her rain rt~iU be over a11d gont. What can more fpeak the Love of God co his fainting Spoufe than to tell her, 1. That when !he is black through Perfecution and Affiiction )'et even then !he is comely, and then to tell her that her w in te; ·fhJIJ pJf.>, her Rain !hall be over and gone; wh; t mife rable cteatures fh?u ld the bell. uf Gods people be, ifthdr Rainy-rimes were proporrtoncd to thctr hours offinning; wheo would their Winters pafs, when wou.ld their Raio be over and gone, if God reward c~l th em acc.ordtng to their iniquities, and deale with them accord tog to thtrr fins ; but his ways are not as our ways his thoughts are nor as ou~ thoughts. And in this God dilli ng~ithet~ the ,. ffitcbons of hts people, from his revenge upon his enemtes: I-f• th he ( f<ith the ~rop~ec .) finittenyou at hebatb fwittelt others? Tt ~ true, fin?ers tn thts hfe have oft-times a longer day t.han the chtldren of light, a /horter Wimer, and 11Jir Rain l but their their Winter will come, the llorms of divine vengeance wiU overtake them; it is pofiible in chis life they may fee a Cloud( Jike Ah•hs ) not bigger than a mans hand; but let them ger' up and make hat!e out of th eir Tents of wickednef>,before they die they will c!le fee it cover the whole Heavens ; and when the iT Winter comes, when the Rain fa ll s upon them, it wil l never pafs away, never be over and ~one. 0 Eternity! dreadful Ete rnity, how fhould it tlrike through the loins of every Sinner' bur this is befidcs my pu rpofe. Secon dly, What a Bridlefhould this be to the Trium ph, which Sinnm hav• in the blood •nd mijfry •f the people of Gud!Bow Ordinary is this in the Tents of wicked men, the child of God rcjoiceth not in their calamity ; but th ere is another Spirit in them. They pierced Davids heart at with a Sword whm he fled, and they cryed; Where is thy God become ?· Pfal. 42 . 2. The Children o fEdom cryed in the \ day of Hierufalemt Captivity, Race it, race it, even to the ground, \ 1 , Pfal: 13 7. 7· but faith the Church, Mica h. 7. 8, .?. 1 o. R•j>ice not "' againft me, 0 mine enemy, wben I faU I /haU ari{e ; rt~ben I lie in dark..ne[i,the Lordfhall be a light unt11 m< ; I will bear tbe indigllation ofthe Lord, becaufe I haveftnned~gain{t him, until 'he plead >NJ c•ufo, . 1 and execute_i.,dg»untfor me ; he rt~ill bring me forth to tbe light, aJtd lfhaU beholdhitRighteou[J<,[t. Then he th.t is mine memy fh•Ufee it, and fh•me {hall cover her which {did unto me where is tbe Lord tby God l Now fhaU.fhe be trodden down at the mire of th• flreett. The Triumph of bold and impudent Sinners in the oporellions and perfecutiom of the Church, is truly the lau;,h!er nf fonft which the Scripture tells us is but as the crackJiftg of Thorns rmder tbe pot. Thirdly, What an incouragement hereis to the militant Church to fight the good fight 1 T he good {i~ht that I mean again£! Sin. To ch~feratheraff/rlliontwitb thep<opleofGod ( as M?jftdid ) th an to en;oy the pleafimt of ]iii for a f••fon. He that ,.iU ljv• Godly in Chrrf! Je[ut ( ~ith. th< Apoftle to Timothy ) fh •U fi•Jferperf ecution : He hath not lace aown and coun ted well that bach reckon'd his Chrillian ~ife, to con Gil only ofbalmn-day~. There's no year without a Wmter, though fame pafs with milder Winters than other. 'fis true there is a long Summer coming, which no Winter 01all fuccecd, but this mull be in our better Country, and is but matter of expectation to us, while we are on this fide of Heav en. But the Winter w_c !hall meet with before that time 01all pafs away ; a tranfient_evtl Owuld not fright us. If weeping comes it !hall be but for a mght, )oy !hall falu te us in the morning. (If, faith the P p Ma rt yr) |