Fathers right band,and I make an offer to you of the merchandize thereof, yea, and I earnettly countèl you to come and buy, yet ye will not come to buy irom me, but if another come & fet up among you, though you know him not, but that he may be a cheat and Impfior, lo forthwith him ye entertain, & fall off-hand a treating and trading with him, and therefore your day of accufation and condemnati on cometh upon you when ye shall rue your bargaining with any other in contempt & neglect of me 4. Cauf. Why Chrift removes his Shop or Golpel from one place or people to another; when he fees that he can advance his trade to better purpose, or manage it to greater advantage another where;then be will july leave an ungrate & unprofitable peo ple, and fet up where there is ground of expectati on of doing better or being more welcome. Hence Matth, 21, 40, 41. we have the Parable of a certain Hosfholder who let out his vineyard to husbandmen & when he fent in the due feason to get the fruits, they refused to answer him or medle with him, but abufed bis Servants, yea and his own Son they treated contemptuoufly and cruelly, even to the death; what therefore will be done to thefe husbandmen? the answer is, he will miferably deftroy thefe wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other huf bandmen, which fhall render the Fruits in their Sealoa more dutifully and thankfully. SECTION SECTION XII. Some Meditations on this Propofition, 1. Med. OUR Lord Jefus takes it very ill out to be flighted, as may be learned from his carriage in departing angrily from such as defpile him; he is indeed most ready to do us good, but when we are so base as to render him evil for good, that provokes him juftly to remove his good things from us: there are two pieces of flight that Christ will refent with a zealous indignation, either when bis wares stick in his hand, and none comes to buy,as faid is, or when his wares are cafi back on his hand, by those who feemed to buy, and yet afterwards rue, and too many fuch Chapmen Chrift meets with, Heb, 6.4. 5.6, 2 Pet. 2, 20, 21, 22, 2. Med. Chrift is nottyed to any place or people for the fale of the riches of his Grace, he can fettle Correspondents or Factors in any one part, or over all parts of the univerfe as he in hisSoveraignty pleases, he may change his Staple-port from one Country,or from one City to another. John 4.21, Neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerufalem &c.the meaning is,noi in any one limited place, but every where is,the Father worthipped, or is commerce keeped up with him, f. 65. 1.. 3. Med. Let us mightily dread giving occafion or provocation to Chrift to pack up and be gone. for it's one of the greate Curies that a People can meet rich, Hol, 9, 12, Wo alfo be unto them when I depart from from them; and how can it be other wife? for when Chrift is gone, grace and peace is gone,the blefling of ordinances is gone, the acceptance and return of prayers is gone, yes all good is gone; then I lay, let us fear fin as bell, and particularly the great fin of rejecting the offered riches of the Son of God; for it is our iniquities that will turn away His Fa vour, and oor lins that will make Him withhold good things from us, Jer. 5. s. 4. Med. Chrift ufually gives previous Warnings before He fully forfake and leave a people, and when upon provocation he is forced to it, it is very leafurly and gradually, as being loath & unwilling foto do; bence fays our Saviour, ere He left unto the Jews their houfe landing defolate, O Jerufalem, Jerufalem, how often bawe Ifent my Prophets unto you 30 warn & reclaim you, yet ye would not hear, how often would I my Self have gathered thy Children together, and ye would not! compare fer, 35. 14. ver, to 18. ver, with Matth, 23. 37, 38. and did not Chrift fairly warn the Afian Churches, before He removed their Candlestick out of his place, Rep.2.3. chapters, And did not the LORD hover over the Children of Ifrael, ere He departed from them, E ck 10.though He had great caufe to have left them utterly at once, yet fee how He goes away in a gras dual manner, ftep by step, this was the third or fourth ftep He had taken, He was before removed to the fide of the Temple, and then from within the Temple to the brefold, aad now be fteps to the aft gate, expecting that upon every flep they fhould have been affected, and ufed means to have keeped D the LORD from departing from them. 5. Med, O the deplorable ftate of thefe Churche from whom the Gofpel-candlestick is removed their calamitous circumstances I fay, fhould be ma ter of mournfull meditation to us, and occafion o our fympathy with them; alas is not the fometime glorious Church of the Jews now fadly defaced and that ancient people of God fcattered with Curfe through the Nations are not the Afia Churches alfo fearfully deftroyed, and no more to be beard of them, then that fometimes they wer famous, but now buried in obfcurity and oblivion is there not a prodigious Ecclipfe upon the Church of France at this day, all which should make as ador the tremenduous judgements of God, & excite ou devotions that we may earnefily wreftle with Hin to turn their Captivity, that fo the abdicated Jew may be brought to the knowledge & acknowledge ment of the Lords Chrift, and the forlorn Chriftian Churches restored to their primitive Patity, Luftre and Integrity; let us affiduously pray, return, Lord, how long and let it repent Thee concerning th Servants, O let Thy Work appear to thy Servants, and Thy Glory unto their Children, Pfal. 90, 13. 16, What good Chriftian would not bleed in fympathy with fo many wounded Chriftian Churches. 6. Med. Surely the World knows not a more un worthy & ungrate people than we are in this and of Britain, He hath not dealt fo with every Nation as with us, neither hath Chrift vifited any people with that Power, Parity or Plenty of Gofpel-ordi ances as we enjoy; nevertheles lo! we have bafes Ty flighted Chrift, we have vilified His Wares, and hamefully refufed to bargain with him.O that blush ing and confufion may fill all faces, & all hearts may be moved to repentance, & that with our tongues and bands we might be employed to hold Him raft, ¬ let Him depart our Coas, lla. 64 7. Song.3.4. 1. Med. The best way to keep Chritt till trading. among us, is frankly to buy of His wares, and daily to give him change, we have daily need of fomething, and he is daily counselling us to come & buy, fo that we can never want errands to his Wareboule, if we Want not heart to his wares. 2 Chron, 15.2.The Lord is with you while ye be with Him, if ye feek Him, He will be found of you, but if ye forfake Him, He will for fake you. CHA P. II. Of Several forts of Chrißs Wares which He exposes to Sale among the Children of Men, and counfels them 20 come and buy. Re we come particularly to name them, we premit fome few Preliminaric Confiderations, that may minifter light & help for the more clear underftanding of the feveral purposes under this head. SECTION I Some fe preliminarie Confiderations anent Cbrifs Wares. 1, Confid, Xped not that our Lord Jefus the great Wholesale merchant of Heavens wares,' D 2 |