תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

faid as it is in Malachi iii. 2. But who may abide the Day of his coming, and who fhall ftand when be appeareth: For he is like a Refiner's Fire, that will burn upon Sin and the Sinner. For behold the Day cometh, that fall burn as an Oven, and all the yea, and all that do wickedly fhall be as Stubble, and fhall burn them up, faith the Lord of Hofts. Will not this be a dreadful Day, a terrible Coming of the Lord, unto all Chriftlefs and gracelefs Souls: Oh that poor Sinners might ferioufly confider this! Thus I have briefly fhewn the manner of Chrift's Coming, in Refpect of his perfonal Glory. But,

Brood;

Seventhly and Laftly, The Time when he will come? Now, I do not mean, when I enquire into the Time, as if it were poffible for me, or any Man; no, nor Angels neither, to know the Hour, Day, or Year, when the Lord Jefus Chrift will come with Power and great Glory; because that is a Secret which lies hid in the Breaft of God: But I mean that the Time when Chrift will perfonally appear from Heaven, will not be until the finishing of the Image, that was of Gold, Silver, Brafs, and Iron, (which comprehends the four Monarchies) is over, and caufes them to become as the Chaff of the Summer threshing Flour; fo as no Place in this World fhall be found any more for them: The Time of Chrift's Coming will not be until the Deftruction of Antichrift, the Converfion of Jews and Gentiles, and the accomplishing of the Latter Day Prophefies, which have a Refpect unto the firft Branch of his Spiritual Kingdom: Chrift will not come in his perfonal Glory, until the whole Number of all the Elect are brought Home to him

by

by regenerating Grace, and the mystical Body of Chrift made ready: Then! It is not till then, that I expect Chrift will come from Heaven; when all the Saints, both the dead and living, fhall be raifed and changed into a State of Immortality: Becaufe when the Lord our God fhall come, it is faid that all the Saints fhall come with him; and then will he erect or fet up the Thrones of Judgment in his Kingdom. Indeed Chrift may be faid to come, according to the Language of many Scripture Prophefies; when the Spirit of God fhall be poured down upon all Flesh, when your Sons and Daughters, Servants and Handmaids fhall prophefy, &c. For the Coming of Chrift is to be taken under various Confiderations; fometimes it refpects the Lord's Coming in a way of Mercy, to bestow fome particular Favour upon a Perfon, or a People; fometimes it refpećts his Coming in a way of Wrath or Judgment to a Kingdom or a Nation, when he comes to punish them for their Wickednefs: Which Coming we are ftill looking for, when he will come to deftroy his Enemies. Again, fometimes it may be taken for the Day of Death, because then it will be the Coming of the Lord, or the End of the World to that Soul. May not the great Day of the Spirit's pouring down, and fuch great Things which are at that Time to be done in the Destruction of Babylon, and the fetting up of the Kingdom of Chrift, be much more called the Coming of the great Day of the Lord, wherein many Scripture Promifes, relating to the first Branch of that fpiritual Glory, are to be fulfilled; which will be antecedent unto his perfonal Coming: And then it is, and not until then, that the Lord

Jefus

Jefas Chrift will openly and visibly fhew himself to be the only Potentate, King of Kings, andLord of Lords. This will be the Time that he will take upon him his great Power and Reign, when he fhall declare himself to be King over all the Earth, Zech. xiv. 9. And in that Day there shall be but one Lord, and his Name one. The Lord Jehovah, the Lord Jefus Chrift, fhall in that Day be King, not o-ver fome part, but over all the Earth. And why over the Earth, more than Heaven? To fhew that tho' Chrift is King both in Earth and Heaven, yet Earth is the Place only mentioned in this Prophecy, because upon Earth it is, that he will (as the Son of Man) difplay his Regal Power and Kingly Authority. For then Saviours fhall come upon Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Efau, and the Kingdom fhall be the Lords. Here we read of saviours in the Plural, to fhew how God will in that Day multiply Salvation unto his People; or to fignifie fome eminent Inftruments which theLord will raife up and fpirit for that Work, to deliver Zion, which in the Beginning of this Time, or upon the firft Breaking forth of Chrifl's Kingdom, will be in trouble. Again, it may be taken for all the Saints or efpecially for fuch who fhall be more eminent in Chrift's Kingdom, that may be call'd Saviours, in refpect of the Creatnefs of their Salvation, which thro' Chrift their Saviour they are and will more openly appear at this time to be made Partakers of, who then may be faid to come upon Mount Zion, when fhe fhall be advanced in her exalted State, to judge the Mount of Efau. Or it may be apply'd unto that joint Agreement there is, and will in that Day appear to be, between the Father, Son, and Spirit,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

in the Salvation and Delivery of the Saints; who fhall (when the Kingdom fhall be the Lord's) come upon Mount Zion, to judge or punifh the Mount of Efau, by which the Wicked are to be underftood, Obadiah, v. 21. fhewing, as I have often expreffed, that in this glorious Kingdom it will be both a Time of judging and a Time of reigning.

Well then! It is in that Day, in that great and glorious Day of Chrift's Reign, that there shall be one Lord, and bis Name one. One Lord may fome fay; why there is but one Lord now, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph. iv. 6. It is true; but yet we are not free, whilft in this imperfect State, from Idolatry; we are still incident to adulterate in our Affections and to run after other Lovers; there are too many Idols ftill cleaving to us: And this the primitive Saints were not altogether free from. Wherefore faith the Apoftle John in his First Epiftle,, Little Children keep your felves from Idols. All thefe Idols fhall be utterly abolished in that Day, when the Lord alone fall be exalted, Ifa. ii. 17. And then it is, when this Kingdom fhall be put into the Hands of Chrift and the Saints, or when this Kingdom fhall openly and vifibly appear to be the Lord's; that the Children of God all of them fhall have a more clear, full, and perfect Sight: That there is but one God, one Lord, and his Name one. We fhall in that Day know, believe, profess, love, and enjoy but one God in the Mediator: We fhall then, beyond what we have yet done, fee, feel, and experience but one God; and that is in the human Nature of Chrift. We believe but in oneGod now; but then we fhall have a more peculiar, diftinct, and glorious Difco

very of this one Mediator, God over all, bleffed for ever: One Lord to the Jews and Gentiles, yea they fhall be but as one People, one Nation, one Kingdom one Sheepfold, Job.x. One Wife, Bride, and Sponfe Chrift: And the fhall have but one Head, one Hufband, one Saviour, one Redeemer, one Lord, and one King: And fo but one Name, which is the Name of the City, Jehovah Shammah, The Lord's there, or, The Lord our Righteoufnefs. The fame Name that our Hull and is called by, is put upon the Spoufe. And this is the Name wherewith the fhall be called, The Lord our Righteousness, Feremiah xxxiii. 16. In one Place it is He (that is, JeJus Chrift) in the other She (that is the Church or Spoufe) fhall be called The Lord our Righteoufnefs, Jer. xxiii. 6. Both thefe Flaces fpeak of the Latter Day Glory: In his Days, in the Days of Chrifl's Reign, Fudab fhall be faved, and Ifrael fhall dwell. Jafely, perfectly free from all Harms and Dangers for ever.

Thus we fee then how his Name fhall be one, and her Name, that is the Spoufe, fhall be one alfo; the fame Name, yea both but one Name: As the Woman when efpoufed unto the Man, lofeth her own, and is called by the Name of her Husband; fo it is, and will more abundantly appear with theSpouse in that great Day of the Marriage-Glory; when there fhall be an open and vifible Solemnization of the Marriage, in the open Face of Heaven and Earth, betwixt Chrift and all the Saints, in this glorious Kingdom; which fheweth what a near and conjugal relation there is, and how every Believer ftands in union unto Jefus Chrift.

Sur this must be that new Name we read of in

[blocks in formation]
« הקודםהמשך »