THINGS Now-a-doing: OR, THE church's travail Of the Child of Reformation now-a-bearing. IN A SERMON Preached before the Honourable House of Commons, at their solemn Fast, July 31. 1644. By Stanley Gower, sometimes Rector of Brompton-Brian in the County of Hereford, now Preacher of God's Word at martin's Ludgate, London: And one of the Reverend Assembly of Divines. MATTH. 24. 21, 23, 24, 25. V. 21. Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. V. 23. Then if any shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there: believe it not. V. 24. For there shall arise false Christ's, and false Prophets, &c. V. 25. Behold I have told you before. Published by Order of the said House. LONDON, Printed by G. M. for Philemon Stephens at the sign of the Golden-Lyon in Paul's churchyard, 1644. TO THE honourable house OF COMMONS Now assembled in PARLIAMENT. Right Honourable; DAniels prophecy concerns the Jews Dan. 1●. 1. Thy people. in Hypothesi, the whole Church of God in Thesi, for no Scripture is of private interpretation, saith 2 Pet. 1. 20. 1 Cor. 10. 11. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}. S. Peter, and These things happened to them as ensamples, saith S. Paul. To them it speaketh two things; 1. Their Calamities under the four great Monarchies now almost at an end. 2. Their Consolation afterwards, and now approaching. To us it speaketh two things more; 1. Our Hope, living in days of trouble, but withal, of delivery; it is not a Tympany, but Dan. 1●. 1. a Child, that the Churches of the Saints go withal, if they stick long in the place of birth, it Hose. 1●▪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is because they are foolish; but at length a safe deliverance is promised, the manchild of Reformation shall be borne, and Heaven and earth shall cry grace grace unto it. Zech. 4. 7. 2. Our Help, (for hope deferred maketh the Prov. 1●. 12. heart sick,) in this book two ways it is afforded. First, From the History of it, See here how the Church, though it be a little and but a despised flock, yet is it of that esteem with God, that for the church's sake he wheels about all the Monarchies of the world; the Persian shall dash in pieces the Dan. 2. & 7. Babylonian, the greeks the Persian, the Romans the Grecian, and the God of Heaven the Roman Empire and them all, and set up the kingdom of Jesus Christ, that stone cut cut without hands, which shall become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. Secondly, From the prophecy of it, not human, but Divine, that sacred Calendar, and great almanac of prophecy: the four kingdoms of Daniel, are not only, an historical, but a prophetical chronology of times, measured from the beginning of the Jews captivity till all the kingdoms of the world should become the kingdom of Rev. 11. 15. our Lord and his Christ; a course of time, during which, the Church and Nation of the Jews should carry the veil upon their hearts, but afterwards should turn to God, and be raised up from the death of sin; are turn so strange, a delivery so Dan. 12. 2. Rom. 11. 15. great, that it is resembled to a resurrection from the grave. To this great Calendar of times the Apostles in the new Testament relate, when they call the times of the fourth kingdom, the last times, and the latter times of that kingdom, the latter times; (viz.) the latter part of that last kingdom (as saith a learned Interpreter:) go we then to this Mr Mede Apost. of latter times, p. 64, 65, 66. prophetical Calendar, we have the Roman Monarchy almost at an end, and concerning the Jews, (whose coming in succeedeth their going out) two things foretold. The final end of the Turkish Empire (as learned 1. men conceive) the only obstacle to those Kings of M. Brightman, and many others. Rev. 16. 12. the East as the Jews are called, and the last defence of the Beast; whose beginning, was about the year 1300. and the addition of 350. (which is the time, Dan. 12. 7. M. Brightman, in locum. times, half a time) doth bring that Turkish tyranny to an end, in the year 1650. The beginning of their gracious delivery, this 2. shall be after a twofold epoch. 1. The taking away of the daily sacrifice, Dan. 12. 11. which was wickedly done by Antiochus, long before, but de jure by our Lord Jesus Christ his death, destroying Dan. 8. 10. 11, 24. 25. all other sacrifices by the sacrifice of himself, the fullness of all their shadows, and defacto by Titus Joseph Antiq. Vespasian, who took away the place of sacrificing, when he destroyed the Temple. 2. The setting up of the abomination of desolation, (or which maketh desolate) this was wickedly attempted by the Jews in the days of Julian the Apostate; he in contempt of Christ gave licence to the Jews to build their Temple, and renew their Jewish worship, hereupon they took up every Tripart. Hist. stone of the old foundation, but before they laid any new one, they were dispersed by a special hand of God. A fearful earthquake in the night destroyed all their work●, a sudden fire consumed all their tools, and themselves so dispersed that from that time the Jewish superstitions did for ever cease. Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem, who admonished them of this prophecy of Daniel, but after no dissuasion could prevail, he openly professed, that now the time was come which our Lord foretold, that there should not be left one stone upon another. M●t. 24. 2. Now understand we this to be the epoch, Julian's reign fell out in the year 360. to which add 1290. they make up 1650. the very time formerly designed for the finishing of the Jews dispersion. These things being so, I knew not (Right Honourable) a Text speaking more to You, Us, Our times, than what I preached on, and by your Authority have exposed now to more public view. To you it speaks by way of Caution, that no 1. spot, nor blot, nor shrinking back be found amongst you, that are repairers of our breaches, and restorers of paths to dwell in. To us it speaks by way of Crisis, it discovers the 2. temper of the sick body of both Church and State under you our great and (under God) only physician, your physic stirs the humours; makes some better, some worse. To our times it speaks by way of comfort, they 3. are troublesome, but trying times, and after trial, there shall be delivery to those that are purified, made white, and tried, but destruction to those that do and will do wickedly, true wisdom and understanding is hid from them, and revealed to the godly wise. Let then a bloody crew fight on, and fill up their measure, and let a foolish people refuse to assist you as they ought, the Lord himself hath said the word, to you as to Cyrus. He is my shepherd, and Isa. 44. 28. shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and of the Temple, Thy foundation shall be laid: and to them, the Lord will throw down his hail upon them that Rev. 16. stand against Reformation, and rend their hearts with indignation and blasphemy; he will go an end with his work, though they swear and storm, till he have utterly consumed them from the face of the earth. Perfect is the work of God, and (as the Lord Deut. 32. 4. spoke concerning Eli) when he begins, he will also 1 Sam. 3. 12. make an end. Thus craving your pardon, and (which is more) your acceptance, as you have my faith, so shall you have my prayers, that what Caesar once said of Rome, He found it brick, but left it marble, Romam latericiam inveni, marmorea●… relinquo. may much more Honourably be said of you, you found our Church and State atheistical, prelatical, you leave the beams of our house Cedar, Cant. 1. 17. Plin. l. 43. c. 5 & 16. c. 41. and our galleries fir; famous for durableness, acceptable for sweetness; by laying in the walls of the Church such solid and eternal truths of God as may hold out instead of Socinianism, Arminianism, and many more; and by setting up such Worship, and Discipline, and government, as may keep off wind and weather, that God's people may walk hand in hand together, as in galleries of fir. Your Honours, both at the throne of grace, and in the work of Christ▪ STANLEY GOWER▪ Things Now-a-doing. DAN. 12. 10. Many shall be purified and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. YOu heard in the morning (Right Honourable Coherence showing. and the rest dearly beloved in the Lord Jesus) God by Jeremy counselling to amend your ways and your doings; hear Mr R●th●a●d, on Ier. 7. 3. now God promising by Daniel that many shall be amended, and this promise illustrated by the contrary, but the wicked shall do wickedly: be as attentive I beseech you to God promising, as unto God persuading. These words stand in the nature of a Parenthesis, the verses before and after, cohere well enough without them; the former, as Daniels question, v. 8. what shall be the end of these things? the latter, as the Angels answer thereunto. v. 11. From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred, and ninety days. My text comes in between, as a prophetical prognostic of that time Daniel would so fain know, ver. 8. and the Angel somewhat obscurely calculates, ver. 11. Some copies insert the word [Interim,] and read, Complures interim; mean time many, &c. which show the verse to be dependent: and indeed we must consider a little, the time, and scope, ere we can bring home the prophecy, and I shall give you both very briefly. The Time foretold, is, the call of the Jews, [thy people] 1. says ver. 1. for Daniel was a Jew, not second son to The Time. David by Abigail, of whom you read long before, but 1 Chron 3. 1. ●●● 1. 6. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, etc. Joseph ●ntiq▪ l. 10. c. 11. 2 Sam. 12. 24, 25. a Prophet of the Princely tribe of Judah, and (if we may credit* Josephus) of the blood royal also. He is elsewhere spoken of as a very excellent man, but we must here look upon him as withal, penman of the Holy Ghost, and that of a very choice piece, the Jewish story. Solomon beloved of God, (called therefore Iedidia●) son of David King of Israel, writes the Churches Epithalamia, and lovesongs: S. John, the blessed Evangelist, beloved Disciple, and amongst the 12. Apostles, parallel to Joseph amongst the 12. Patriarchs; as Evangelist writes his gospel, as Apostle, his Epistles, and as Prophet, his Revelation to the Churches. And this our Daniel, eminent with men, whose Ez●k. 8. 3. Ez●k. 14. 14, 16, 18, 20, D●n. 10. 11. wisdom grew into a proverb:— Thou art wiser than Daniel:) powerful for men, and greatly beloved of God, writes the history of the Jewish Church (Than the only people of God, and as yet beloved for their father's sa●e) in the Rom. 11. 28. six first Chapters, and their prophecy in the six latter M Brigh●man on Dan. Willet. on Dan and others. Chapters, as some have made the distribution of this book: or (as others,) their troubles under the four great Monarchies, to this twelfth Chapter; and their deliverance under the fifth perpetual Monarchy which the stone cut out without hands shall set up (as Christ is called in this book) in this twelfth Chapter. King Solomon admires, the rise of the Gentile Church in Cant. 3. 6. his song▪ and admires after that, the rise of another Church, which he calls a Shulamite, alluding to Shalom, Cant. 6. 10. etc. the ancient name of Jerusalem, the mother City of the Jews, looking forth as the morning, because that Church shall rise out of the Eastern Countries; Rev. 16. 12. that her nut should be cracked, the shell which was over her kernel, the veil which was over her heart should be taken away, and that she should be as a flourishing Vine and budding pomegranate, bringing forth wholesome fruit to refresh God and man, is matter of admiration, and no less indeed than a resurrection from the dead, to which it is resembled in this Chapter, and elsewhere. S. Paul would not have Rom. 11. 15. Rom. 11. 25. us ignorant of this mystery: That we might not be so, we have a twofold assurance of it in this book; One, by dream of Nabuchadnezzar, as we see at large in the second Chapter: The other by vision of Daniel himself, in the seventh Chapter: of both which I may say as Joseph of Pharaoh's two dreams, It is doubled Gen. 41. 32. twi●e, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass▪ How soon, let him that hath understanding count from the verse following, where there are two 〈…〉 s, 1. From the taking away of the daily sacrifices; that was when Jerusalem was destroyed, the place of sacrificing; 2. From the setting up of the abomination of desolation; which is supposed by good authors, to be in the days of Julian the Apostate, ●360. years after Christ, or thereabouts▪ Cyrill of Jerusalem observing how they had taken up Socrat Scholast Ecclesiast. Hist. l. 3. c. 17. every stone of the old foundation, and were dispersed ere they laid a new one as they had thought, said, the words of our Saviour, (There shall not be left a stone upon a stone,) was then fulfilled: and if so, than the time comes out in the year 1650. as appears to any that shall add 1290. to 360. Then shall the Turkish power be broken also, as appears from another account, ver. 7. and then shall Hallelujahs ring for the marriage of the bride, the lamb's wife; and before these things come to pass, Rome shall be destroyed, whose last scene is now acting, and her ruin at hand, and the things that shall come upon her make haste. This is the Time, and it is a desirable Time. The scope now of Daniel in this Chapter, is to 2. comfort the hearts of God's people, against the troubles, The Scope. and trials of that time, by giving them two prognostics of this great deliverance. (viz.) The Troubles, ver. 1. of that Time. The Trials, ver. 10. of that Time. The Troubles of that time shall be such, as never was since there was a Nation even to that same time, &c. The Trials of that time shall be such, as makes godly men better, wicked men worse: For so saith my text▪ Many shall be purified, made white, tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly, &c. And now (Right Honourable) if a word fitly spoken, Prov. 2●. 11. be as apples of gold, with pictures of silver, than 3. these words beg your acceptance, as being, not only The accommodation. profitable (for so they are at all times, being the words of the Holy Ghost) but also seasonable, for so they are at this time, they are our very Crisis. 1. The Times alike; purifying, whitening, trying times. 2. The Persons alike; some wicked, some wise. 3. The Properties alike; they act accordingly, none of the wicked understand, but the wise do understand; So that I may say of my text, as our Saviour Christ did of his, taken out of another Prophet, This day is Luk. 4. 21. this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. We read, that the same day that the Lord thundered and rained, the people 1 Sam. 12. 18. greatly feared the Lord. This day God thunders many ways, and in my text he also lightens, God grant the effect may be answerable; So much for the Time. Scope. I come now to the text: Many shall be purified, &c. Text showing. It is prophetical; and in such, we consider The Credit of the Prophet. The parts. viz. Prophesy itself. The Credit of the Prophet, is not only this, that he 1. was an excellent man (as we have showed) but that he The Prophet was also the Holy Ghosts penman. Wicked Porphyry, enemy to Christian Religion, makes him little better than an impostor, and affirms this book was an History, writ by some prophetick-wise, that lived in or after the days of Antiochus Epiphanes; but the Septrogint have translated this book into Greek, 100 years before that Antiochus▪ and Josephus tells, how Joseph Antiq. lib. 11. cap. ●. Jaddus an high-Priest, showed. Alexander the Great, that prophecy in this book, which foretold of a King of Graecia that should destroy the Persian Monarchy, in confidence whereof Alexander proceeded to that war; and this was at least 60. years before Antiochus, as Chronologers compute: Some Robbins Vide Theodor. presat in Dan▪ Item Polan. in prolegom. dream, that the book was writ by the wisemen of the great Synagogue, who were in the time of Ezra: but how came it then that Daniel is so oft named in the book, and that the Title of the book in Hebrew, is, The book of Daniel? But both the one, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and the other are confuted by our Saviour Christ, which determines it both to Daniel, and that he was Matth. 24. 15. a Prophet, and bids us (by the way) when we read, consider, the words of Daniel the Prophet, in the verse next following my text. And therefore this book is not to be placed amongst those Scriptures which they call Holy writings, but amongst those they call Prophets. The prophecy itself of these words, is (you see) 2. of great siding, and each side acting accordingly, The prophecy. something before the time of the Jews conversion; In which consider two different Subjects, Wicked. Wise. Predicates. Different in Effects, Many shall be purified, made white, tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly. Degree, None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. Now if the least filing of gold is precious, then of Truth; yet shall I but name some severals, and insist only (according to my time and your patience) upon one Proposition. I might observe then, 3. 1. Godly men are wise, and wicked men are souls. The Points. Raised but not prosecuted. This appears from the opposition of subjects. Wicked. Wise. It should be either Wicked. Godly. or Foolish. Wise. By rendering therefore as opposite to wicked, wise; it shows that wicked are not wise; and by terming those that are not wicked, wise; it imports, that the wise are not the wicked, but the godly▪ indeed the word used for wise, is applied to godly Teachers, ver, 2. but when it is opposed (as here) to wicked, it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} signifieth, not teachers only, but others too. Receive it therefore for a divine maxim (I pray you) That piety is the best policy, and godly men are in the Holy Ghosts judgement the wisest men. 2. There are many godly wise. If many shall be purified, made white, and tried, than (God be thanked, and the Lord increase the number of them) there are many such: and not only many, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} but many great men too; the word in the original signifies both many, and great; many in number, and great in condition; as when it is said; Many are the troubles of the righteous: that is to say, many in number, great in nature: It is indeed rare to have great men good, a little goodness stands for a great sum amongst great men: but yet it is no singular thing, there are many such: be not ashamed therefore, you that are great, to be, and to be thought to be, godly. 3. Best may mend, and shall be mended. They shall be purified, made white, and tried, that their dross may be purged: The Lord hath his ●laile to thresh out their chaff, his water and soap to make them white, and his fire to melt and try them; and therefore they are proud, not perfect, that think they have Phil. 3. 1●▪ sound an Hercules pillar to write a ne plus ultra upon. 4. Wicked men do, and shall do wickedly. 5. The reason why they do so, is, because none of the wicked shall understand. 6. The godly wise shall understand when none of the wicked shall. Now none of these severals I can insist upon, what of them my time and your patience will permit me to speak of, I shall grasp in this one Proposition, that contains the sum of the verse. That the same times, and troubles in them, which make Doctrine. The main Doctrine ha●dled. Showing. godly wise men better, make wicked men worse. And I will not speak so much of Times, which comes in more properly in the verse following; as of troubles in those times, these are hinted in the words, purified, made white, and tried. My method for the doctrinal part, shall be to show, 1. What tribulations they are by which God doth purify, make white, and try his people. 2. How they are by these purified, made white, and tried. 3. What is the reason that they have such different effects upon the godly, and the wicked. For the first: They are not all of one sort, nor size. 1. Here there are three sorts, lighter sprinklings, in allusion What ●●●ulations. to Jewish purifyings; heavier rubbings, in allusion to Jewish cleansings; and sharpest trials, in allusion to Jewish trials. The Apostle elsewhere reduceth them to two: Inward fightings, outward fears: but it 2 Cor. 7. 5. matters not so much what they are, as whereto they serve, for they are but a means to an end, their bettering; Tantum sumendum quantum ad finem prodest. and therefore as we say of means, so much as will serve; so doth the Lord proportion the tribulation to the good of his people, so much and no more, as will serve to purify, m●ke white, ●●● try them. For the second; I will show you, how the Lord by these, doth 2. 1. Purify. How they pu●●fie, make white and try. 2. Make White. 3. Try them. The Jews had their purification, so have Christians. There is Christ's Blood, Heb. 9 14. Word, Ioh. 15. 3. Spirit, Mat. 3. But I am no● speaking of these, which do directly, and properly tend thereto; but of afflictions, which by accident serve to that end: as you may see, Isa. 4. 4. By these now God's people are purified 2. ways. First, From sin committed, both original sin, and 1. They purify ●ro● sin committed. Pro. 22. ●5. actual; For original▪ Solomon tells us, Folly is bound up in the heart, and the rod of correction drives it away: And for actual, Isaiah showeth, that by correction, the iniquity of Jacob shall be purged, and this is all the fruit, Isa.▪ 27. 9 to take away his sin: Secondly, From sin to be committed. I mean 2. From sin to be committed. to prevent your sinning for time to come: Tribulations are not only medicines, but also antidotes: God in this doth as wise statesmen, when they see a man busying himself much with matters of state at home, prying into things concern him not, they send such into the wars abroad: so doth God, send tribulations to exercise his people, and keep them pure, lest they fall soul: thus did he with S. Paul, he had his thorn, lest he should be exalted, &c. and thus they are 2 Cor. 12. ●. purified both in heart and lift, to cu●e sin past, and prevent sin to come. Again, by these they are made white; so Dan. 11. 2. They make white. 35. And some of them of understanding shall fall to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end. It is not enough to be pure, which renders a man holy to God, but to be bright and white before men: Inward purity makes no great show before men unless whiteness and unspottedness do accompany it; now there are two ways that God will have his people white, as well as pure at this time. First, From their own— other men's sins. You ●. From their own other men's sins. (Right Honourable) have confessed justly, that the guilt of Idolatry and blood lay upon our forefathers; I may say of these, as of the iniquity of P●or, we are not Josh ●2 17. ● King. 23. 26. cleansed from it to this day. Manasseh's sins lay heavy upon the Land in good Josiah's days; God will have our Land made white from these. Secondly, From their own-suspected sins. Two 2. From their own suspected sins. sins the enemies of our peace suspect in you and falsely charge upon you, (give me leave to speak plainly) Disloyalty to our sovereign, from which your Declarations, and proceedings may acquit you; K. Declar●t. Aug▪ 12. 1642. and sacrilege against our God, from which the world expects how you will acquit yourselves; certainly when God hath purified you, he will make you white, as he did David against S●ul, even by his 1 Sam. ●4. 17. Gen. 4●. 38. own confession; and Joseph against his Mistress: nay as he hath done you already in many things, and what remains you have in promise, for the cause is before the Lord, who will give a perfect lot: he hath said, Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Ps●l. 37. 6. him, and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement as the noon day. Thus the Lord will by tribulation, both purify them in heart and life, and whiten them from the spot of other men's sins, and their own suspected sins. Thirdly, By these, both times and troubles, they 3. They try their are tried: The Jews had not only their sprinklings and washings, but also their water of jealousy, and other means by which they were tried; so hath God his troubles, not only to rid his people of sin, and to render them spotless before men, but also to try them; God's trials are of two sorts, some for humiliation, than he leaves them to know all that is in their heart, as he did Hezekiah: others for confirmation, 2 Chro. ●2. 31. Gen. 22. 1. than he assists them, as he did Abraham. By these tribulations God trieth his people's Sincerity. Graces. First, He trieth their sincerity, if they will stick to a 1. Sincerity. good cause without defection, and go on in a good course without deflection. Certainly, these times and troubles make the same discovery of men as former did; then there were some confessors, some Martyrs, others Traditors, that in time of tribulation went Euseb Eccles. Hist. 1 Cor. 11. 19 away. Errors must be, that they that are approved may be known: and doctrines and practices of liberty must be, that well rooted and grounded Christians may be distinguished from children, tossed to and fro, Ephes. 4. 14. and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Tribulations are like great winds, which fasten trees well rooted, but throw down the rest; There have been and daily are many both in Church and State thus tried▪ some Darius-like, labour Dan. 6. 14. earnestly to the going down of the Sun, and then they go back. It was great trial a while ago, what men would set themselves against the Prelates and their proceedings, how men would fortify their spirits against their summons, Courts, Censures, imprisonments and sore oppressions: God hath delivered us thence, and after these, brings more public and universal trials, how men will stand in and for the public, who be the Calebs and Joshuah's that will go on Numb 14. to the accomplishment of reformation, against the Anakim's, and who will lust after the flesh pots of Egypt; who will wait upon God, and go when he bids, and stay when he stays; and who will go their own way, as they then did; we are just thereabouts now▪ and if any fall off, we are told before hand, it is the issue of their insincerity. They went out from us, but ●. Joh. 2. 19 they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. Secondly, He trieth their graces: He that hath any 2. Graces. grace may now know what he hath; I will instance in three; First, He trieth their Love, how fast they are gl●wed 1. Love. to God and his cause, that no affliction can part them, whether they are as willing to be turned into a prison for his sake, as into their own habitation; Love is of this nature: Many waters cannot quench Love, neither Cant. 8. 7. can the floods drown it. Secondly, He trieth their Faith: Our Saviour 2. Faith. Christ is still upon this with his Disciples; O ye of little Faith! Had men Stephens eyes to see a Josus in the Act. 7. ●5. Heavens, when stones were ●●ying about their ears▪ or a Moses eyes, to see the recompense of reward; did they by faith see God's attributes put forth for their help, they would not stagger what side to take to, nor what to do, but would readily answer as those Heroes: O King we are not careful to answer thee in this Dan. 3. 16, 17, 18. matter: If it be so; our God whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand O King, but if not, be it known to thee O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship thy graven images which thou hast set up: All the graces which grow among thorns and thistles, attending upon faith, meekness, patience, &c. will now be tried and discovered. Thirdly, He trieth their Love to one another, what 3. Sympathy. sympathy they have to those that suffer with them, or for them: You have Ministers, the Country wants them; hither come the godly and faithful of the land, that have suffered the loss of all: God tries now, what hast you will make (Right Honourable) to settle the business of Ordination, and relieve those Churches that for the present are as sheep without a shepherd: and how you will employ those that are faithful in the land about you, as David did. Thus you have Ps●. 101. 6. seen how they are by these purified, made white, and tried. Now remains the third and last thing proposed, (viz.) what is the reason, and whence it is, that these 3. times and troubles have such different effects and operations What is the Re●son of so d●fferent operation. upon the godly wise, and upon the wicked, and those three that are in my text shall serve. I will add no more. First, This comes to pass from the diversity of subjects Reason 1. From diversity of subjects. on whom they light, (viz.) godly, and wicked. Afflictions as physic make better or worse; they are resembled to a fan, the godly are the Lord's wheat, purified by it, but the wicked are as the chaff, blown Jer 15. 7. and 51. ●. away, nor is there any thing to be seen amongst them, but Apostasies, abusing God's truth, and what not? Jesus Christ compares tribulation to the Sun; the Mat. 13. 6. same Sun which warms and perfecteth good-seed, scorcheth that which hath not depth of earth, depth of root, and enough of moisture, as that which was sown upon high way, stony, and thorny ground had not. It is in the Prophet compared to water and fire; Isa. 43. 2. now as things are which are cast into water and fire, so is the operation: cast gold into the water, it keeps its yellow shine, cast it into the fire, it becomes brighter; cast earth into water, it turns it into mud, cast it into the fire, it crumbleth to dust; cast hay into the fire, it gives a blaze, and turns to smoke and ashes; cast it into water, it rots it presently; The Apostle tells us; the day shall declare every man's work of what 1 Cor. 3. 13. sort it is. Tribulation is such a day; it presseth every Rom▪ 5. 3, 4. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}. godly man, and out comes their grace; it presseth the wicked, and out comes their wickedness; as dunghills, the more they are raked, the more they stink; whereas the godly, are as the spices, which bruised cast forth a sweeter savour: the Eagle tries her young ones by the Sun, God tries and differences godly from the wicked by afflictions; wicked men are as the wood of the vine, good for nothing but the fire; godly Ezek. 15. per totum. are such as are still on the mending hand. Secondly, This comes to pass from the different Reason 2. adjunct or privilege, godly wise men, have every From different adjunct or privilege. thing (and so afflictions) sanctified to them, wicked men have every thing accursed to them. The prophecy here, you see, is by way of promise to the one, they shall be purified, &c. by way of judgement to the other, the wicked shall do wickedly. The charter of the Christian is large, All things, even death itself, is 1 Cor. 3. 21, 2●. yours, and you are Christ's: godly men have as cursed hearts as any wicked men; but being in Christ they are sanctified, and have grace to be improved and bettered; therefore all runs passive; purified, made white, tried: and the Prophet Malachy tells you how; He Mal. 3. ●. (that is to say, the Angel of the Covenant, Christ) shall sit a refiner and purifier, &c. to compose the fire (for though sin merit trouble, man or devil be instruments of the trouble, yet God is the chief agent) and to order it for the good of the mettle he casts into the fire, to increase the flame one while, when Lev. 26▪ 14, to 40. they are not purified▪ and to quench it another while, when they are: but afflictions are not so to wicked men; Christ is a swift witness against them; they are given Mal. 3. 5. up, and being so, must needs do wickedly. Thirdly, This comes to pass from the different Reason 3. From different cause. Pr●v. 1. ●. cause; None of the wicked understand, but the wise understand. There is a threefold wisdom and understanding of heavenly things, and they are distinguished {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} by three words: The wisdom of the art, the best of all Philosophy, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom: The wisdom of the teacher, the Lord, none teacheth like him: And the wisdom of the scholar, who is made wise to salvation. Now wicked men have none of these, at least they have not them all, but the godly wise have: wicked men either have no light, they consule not with God's word, and then how should they understand▪ They have rejected the wisdom of the Lord, and what Jer. 8. 9 wisdom is in them? or they have no understanding, no eyes opened, no grace infused, and so they judge amiss of things that differ; or their eyes are not well disposed, they have misguided judgements, something or other makes them mistake. Ask them concerning the wars in Germany, Scotland, England; they call evil good, and good evil. Thus you see the Reasons. Now remains only the practical part, having done The doctrinal part finished. with the doctrinal; the point you see is proved, there rests the Application. And though this might be manifold, I will not trouble you with any more than three; It serveth therefore for Instruction. It serveth therefore for Exhortation. The use threefold. It serveth therefore for Consolation. This may in the first place give satisfaction to three use 1. Instruction in three points. 1. Why ●odly are afflicted, wicked spared. great scruples which trouble many. First, It shows the reason why godly persons are afflicted, and wicked prosper. Though it pleases God sometimes to bless his people with peace, and to give them rest against their enemies round about them▪ yet for the most part in the ordinary way of his dispensations, many are the troubles of the righteous▪ and for the wicked, they are active and strong, and no ●ands in their Psal. 73 4. death: When Jacob is ●o●sed to and fro, Esau is at rest in mount S●ir, increased in riches and power: when S●●l is on the throne, David is hunted as a partridge: when Mordecai is at the gate, Haman is in favour in the Court; and when the courtiers are at the banquent of wine, the city 〈◊〉 is perplexed upon this cross dispensation ariseth a dangerous temptation, which drives many back, some sometimes to deny a Providence; not only are God's Children liable to these temptations in consideration of the trouble of the Righteous, and prosperity of the wicked, but when God is in a way of mercy, if there be any stay in the That the one may be purified, and the other do wickedly. course of Justice, any delay of deliverance, they are ready to be troubled. Is God just? Is God merciful? why stand things at a stay? Now 〈◊〉 text resolves this scruple; 'tis that the godly may be purified, made white, tried; and it is again, that wicked men may do Psal. 73. 17. Jer. 12. 3. Hab. 1. 13. 14. wickedly, and may fill up the measure of their sin: thus do even those that stumble at this, at last resolve themselves 〈◊〉 and certainly when God hath accomplished his work, it shall be otherwise. Secondly, it shows the reason why it is so troublesome 2. Why this time more troublesome than former? a time now more than at other times. We were quiet, why are we now so distempered? It is because this is a time of Reformation: as the Lord told Rebecah, It is a Time of Reformation. when she went to inquire of him concerning the struggling in her womb▪ Why am I this? He saith, Gen. 25. 22, 23. Two ●●●i●ns are in thy ●●●be●● and two manner of people Such times have been always troublesome. shall be separated from thy bowels, &c. God is now about to purge his ●●oore, and never was there a time of Reformation which differ●●ced good and bad, but it was a time of troubles▪ when the Jews came out of Egypt into cannon the five books of Moses tell you their troubles: when out of captivity, ere they got up their City and Temple, 〈◊〉 and N●●●●●●h tell you what trouble: and when they shall come out of Judaism, ver. 1. of this Chapt. tells you it shall be a time of trouble such as never was since it was a nation to that time: When the Gentile Church came out of the Heathen persecutions, Revel. 12. tells you what troubles; and when they shall come out of the Antichristian persecution, the same book tells you of their several sorts of troubles: whilst we made brick for Prelates, and suffered the Egyptian taskmasters to lay on us all their burdens, we did not resist unto blood, as now we do since we have cast them off: and whilst Satan keeps possession all things are at peace, but when the stronger Luk. 11. 21, 22. than he comes to bind him, he rends and tears. What working against Christ's coming in the flesh, from Abel to the birth of Christ? what attempts against the Prophets, Apostles, and Ministers of Christ that offered Mat. 2●. 34, 35. and preached the Redemption wrought by Christ? and what resisting of the Holy Ghost coming ● Cor. 10▪ 5, 6. to apply the grace so offered? therefore stand not amazed at our troubles now, Christ is about a great work of Reformation, and therefore there will be opposition, Jerusalem is to be built, both walls, and streets, Dan. 9 25. in troublous times. Thirdly, it shows the reason why the Lord stands 3. Why the Lord forbears so long to deliver? so far off in trouble: this was always a great affliction to the godly in times of trouble, not so much that they were troubled, as that the Lord stood far Psal. 10. 1. and 22. 1. off from their cry, and from the voice of their rearing. We fast and pray, and yet we are not delivered; why is it thus? why? it is, because the godly need yet more purifying, and the wicked must yet do more wickedly, for that they neither do nor can understand. View each of these distinctly. First, it is, because none of the wicked will understand; 1. Because none of the wicked will yet be brought to understand. they might else take notice of God's avenging hand; every stroke proclaims him a sin-revenging God, and of God's protecting hand, the bush burneth, and is not consumed. Religion, laws, and Liberty, have as Candles under water, strangely been preserved. Their project was by oppression to keep them down, the oppressors now are oppressed; they would keep off Parliaments, or break them if they could not serve themselves of them; there is now a standing Parliament to plague them, they would bring in first Rebels to help them, and employ bloody Papists, now three kingdoms are in one Covenant, and their ships 2 Chron. 20. 36, 37. are broken at Ezi●●-G●ber; the Lord hath everywhere said to them; Associate yourselves, and ye shall be broken Isai. 8. 9▪ 10. in pieces: and give ear, O ye of far Countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces, Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought: speak the word, and it shall not stand. ver. 1●, 13. And he hath said to us, fear not their fear, nor be afraid; sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread▪ and he shall be for a sanctuary, &c. but the wicked will not understand any That appears in 3. things. thing at all: three ways is this expressed here, if we mark it strictly. First, they will do wickedly; that is to say, they will 1. They will do wickedly. Isai. 2●. 10. go on in ●inne securely; so elsewhere. Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness, will he deal unjustly, &c. Solomon Prov. 22. 3. Luk. 17▪ 26. Isai. 47. 8. saith, The prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple passeth on, and is punished; so did the old world, so did old and new Babylon; so shall it be also in Rev. 18▪ 7. the days of the Son of man. Wicked men are as ignorant and blind as those Philistines▪ If he go up the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, than he hath done u● 1 Sam. 6. 9 this evil, but if not, than we shall know it was but some chance that happened to us. They neither see the hand of God that smites them, nor their own desert that Isai. 26. 11. provokes the Lord thus to smite them. Strangers devour his strength, but he seeth it not, yea, grey hairs are Hos. 7. 9 here and there upon him, but he knoweth it not, as saith the Prophet. Secondly, they will be more wicked for the trouble, 2. They will do yet more wickedly. this is not ordinary with all wicked men (some like Ahab will be humbled for the time) but with the wicked of our times, we are here foretold it will be so; and Saint John in the Revelation speaking of Antichristian enemies, all along their going down, tells us Rev. 16. 9, 10, 11, 21. the same, that they will break forth to further wickedness, even to blasphemy against the Name of God, and look at Reformation as rebellion. It was a brand upon Ahaz, that when he was in distress on 2 Chro. 28. 22. every hand, yet in his distress he did trespass yet more against the Lord. And a concomitant of their destruction in Esay, They shall fret themselves, and curse their Isai. 8. 21. King, and their God. And it is foretold concerning these last times, that, Wicked men and seducers shall wa●● ● Tim. ●. 13. worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived: and we see all this made good upon the men of this generation; the more God plagues them, the more they sin. Thirdly, They will not understand; i. to repent, and give ●. They will not repent. Rev. 16. 9, 11. glory to God, to give him the glory of his sovereignty, in whose hands all troubles are, to inflict, order and remove them; the glory of his truth and justice, to acknowledge the justice and truth of God by reason of their doings which have procured all these plagues to themselves, as the godly do. Thou art just in all that is Nehem. 9▪ 33. brought upon us, for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly, they contrarily keep wickedness sweet within Job 20. 12, 1●. Lam. ●. 22. their mouth; and the glory of his mercy, that they are not consumed. Surely the sins before reformation, in reformation, since reformation, and now most of all that men hate to be further reformed, might make Isa. 26. 11. Rev. 16. 9, etc▪ men tremble: but this is one of their plagues, that they cannot see, they cannot repent. This is now one reason why the Lord stands so far off; wicked men will do wickedly, and not understand, and therefore more plagues must come, that they that will not see, may be made to see. There is another reason, and that is, because godly 2. Because the godly are not yet sufficiently purified, &c. wise men are not so purified, made white and tried, as they shall be; and indeed there is more cause to fear this than the other; God can soon take order with the wicked, were but his people as they should be; I will therefore abruptly break off here the use of Instruction, and fall into the second use of Exhortation. This serves in the second place therefore for Exhortation, use 2. Exhortation, Preface thereto. that you would be purified, made white, tried; let not our deliverance, and the deliverance of God's Church, stay, and be deferred for want of this. And here (Right Honourable) suffer the words of exhortation Heb. 13. 22▪ patiently. I shall borrow the benefit of the * M. Rat●●and Jer. 7. 3. his preface before his application. morning's preface to speak unto you plainly. We rejoice in the authority we have from you, besides the encouragement to seek the Lord by fasting and prayer, but you had need call the land to one fast more, to Ezras, to Ezra 8. 21. seek of God a right way, to know why we are not delivered. God we are sure is a God that hears prayer, especially Psal. 65. 2. extraordinary prayer; but are we purified, made white, tried? Joshuah fasted, but the Lord told him that was not the thing, Israel had sinned, that must be Josh. 7. 11, 1●. Exhortation itself to three duties. done away ere God would help them. It is not for me to charge any fault upon you the great assembly of the Gods; but give me leave to set the great God before you as your pattern, and thereby charge yourselves; in his Name: only let me exhort you to these three things. First, Be purified. Me thinks the Lord calls upon ● Be purified. you that are the repairers of our breaches, and restorers of paths to dwell in, as sometimes to Jerusalem, Jer. 13. 27. Will you not be made clean? when shall it once be? I am not able to charge impurity upon you, but God can, and your own consciences may help you to find it out: This only let me say unto you, that an ordinary More than ordinary purity expected from Parliament-men. purity will not serve your turns (though it is wont to be said, a little holiness goes for a great deal amongst our Nobles and Gentry) You are great men and wise; the Worthies of the Land, think I pray you what a disgrace a But puts upon you, such a But I mean as was on Naaman, Now Naaman captain of a King. 5. ●. the host of the King of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: He was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. As you stand for yourselves and for us, so give us leave to beseech you to a double purity, one for your own sakes, another for ours; and because in this second consideration you move in a high sphere, I beseech you pattern your purity by his whom you represent: no less holiness must you aim at, than to be holy as he is holy; methinks if every second cause works so much more strongly as it is united to its first cause, than you that represent one kingdom at the least, and are (as I said) the great assembly of Gods, should be so much more pure and holy as you are nearer to God than others both in name and office: You are engaged in an Honourable cause, and you have as Honourable a call thereunto, now as in both you would prosper, purify your hearts, your hands, your houses, remember the Lord will be sanctified Lev. 10. 3. in all those that draw near him. Secondly, Be made white as well as pure. I cannot 2. Be made white. (Again) but the world doth, bespo● your innocency: now do you as the Lord: he clears his righteous dealing before the Sun; do not you let any spot lie upon your proceedings. I will instance only in three of your graces. Be made white in your Truth, by executing your ordinances, In 1. Truth. that you may not only say but do. Be made white again in your justice, upon delinquents, 2. Justice. that what you seek, when it is put into your hands we may see you execute; The very Heathens called justice the daughter of Jupiter married to him, and sitting close by his side, &c. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, Hesiod. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} and the Lord says, what a do is here with fasting, execute true judgement, &c. else you fast not to him; Zech. z. look into the prisons if this fasting day be not a feasting day, and if they mock not God with something else than religious fasting on their Friday. Be made white once more in your zeal, and sincerity 3. Zeal, quit the land of sacrilege. to reform the house of God by denying yourselves and giving up thereto that which may make it glorious. It was a good observation of an Honourable Member of your society, upon the tears of Germany, Sir R. H. that their deliverance was not like to be yet, because in the catalogue of all their sins then made in a Sermon, the chief sin was not named, Sabbath-breaking, whereof that Country was notorlously guilty. Truly, I am sorry that in so excellent an Ordin 〈…〉 Provide for the ministry. for Repentance, sacrilege is not mentioned, whereof this Land hath been too much guilty, unless by you it be purged from it, which we all expect. You well heard in the morning, there is great necessity of speeding the business of Ordination, now before you; but let me add thereto, that the ministry you shall ordain, will be rendered very contemptible and vile before all the people, unless you take care they be not disabled for want of Maintenance, ●. Maintenance. 2. Authority, not civil, but sacred, not prelatical but ministerial. nor discouraged for want of Authority; the former they are in danger to be by Impropriations, the latter, by Patrons. I plead not for authority civil, but sacred, not prelatical, but pious and ministerial; that they may not be afraid to tell the people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. Lastly, Be tried; and be faithful when you are 3. Be tried. tried; some you have had, more you may have; shrink not, stand to it and you shall have the crown of life. The time prevents me, therefore I will conclude with a word of the thirduse, which is of Consolation. use 3. Consolation, upon three grounds. Be you thus faithful, and three things may sustain your spirits against all discouragements. First, You shall be sure to prevail; for look upon 1. Sure to prevail. ver. 1. It is not a tympany, but a Delivery these times foretell, and what an Honour will it be to you, to be midwives to the birth of such a child of reformation, as Heaven and earth shall cry grace, grace Zach. 4. 7. unto it? sore troubles you have had, and may have; but a woman in travel hath sorrow because her hour is Joh. 16. 21. come, but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembreth no more the anguish for joy that a man is borne into the world. To encourage you hereto, consider For the enemies blaspheme. the wickedness of the enemy (if you be purified) doth assure you, they shall not prevail; they make lies their refuge, and under falsehood hide themselves, you Isa. 28. 14, to 20. And none ever hardened himself against God and prospered. Job 9 4. know what God saith he will do with such a people: They blaspheme God which hath power over the plagues, and repent not to give him glory; therefore they lie under the vials of his wrath; you may write upon it, they shall never prosper. Secondly, You may live to see this delivery, as he 2. You may live to see the day; for not long to it. saith, who shall live when God doth this? that shall you I am confident, if the calculation be true, which hath been given of the time in the verse next following my text; it's not twice so long as you have sitten already in Parliament, ere Rome be destroyed; and therefore could I be heard over all our Militia, I should wish them not fear employment if these wars be ended, which many are too loath to finish soon enough, lest as Demetrius said in another case, their craft should fail: For this ended, a more noble war, and more unanimous would be occasioned, to help the Lord against the mighty in other Countries. God seems to have confirmed this Parliament for some such purpose, as if he would have you immortal till the work be done. Lastly, (and so I conclude) if any of you die before 3. If you die, your names shall be honoured, and your posterity blessed. you see this great salvation of the Lord, your posterity shall inherit the blessing; and for you, it is Honour enough that you expire in so great a cause; Heathens thought no greater Honour than to die for their country; for you to lay down your lives in being the Angels of God, as blessed Luther, famous Queen Elizabeth, renowned King of Sweden was in pouring out the vials of God's wrath on the throne and seat of the beast; you have Honour enough; they shall not need to come to Westminster to read your Epitaphs, all the Churches of the world shall read at distance the Epitaphs so truly and worthily M. Obad. Sedgwick, before Parliament, May 15. 1642. on Ier. 4. 3. preached to you by a renowned watchman, whose praise is in the gospel. These are Scotland's umpire, Ireland's guard and revenge, England's preservation, the church's safety, and religion's glory. FINIS. An Appendix, Giving light from History sacred and ecclesiastical, to some passages of the Sermon, humbly presented to his much honoured Patron Sir ROBERT HARLEY Knight of the Noble order of the Bath, and one of the Members of the Honourable House of COMMONS. SIR, AS the Honourable House of Commons by your mouth commanded me both to preach, and print this Sermon, so I trust you will patronize this short Appendix which I am encouraged by good friends to affix hereto. The four great Monarchies are now almost come to an end; out of the third comes up a little horn, conceived to be Antiochus Dan 8. 9 Hugh Broughton. Epiphanes, (as the circumstances of the eight Chapt. show) for it is of the Goat, which is called a Leopard, Chap. 7. 6. out of the fourth comes up another little horn, conceived to be the Turk (as the circumstances of the seventh Chapt. Dan. 7. 8. show) for he riseth among the ten horns of the fourth beast, which is the Roman; Otthoman first assumed the title of Hen. Isaackson. pag. 343. Sultan; and about the year 1300. laid the foundation of the Turkish kingdom, from thence reckon a time, times, and an half prophetically, days for years. The time 100 times M. Brightman in Dan. 1●. 7. 200. half time 50. in all 350. years, which added to 1300. expires▪ Anno 1650. Then shall the King of the North (the Dan. 11 40, 44 M. Mede Apost. latter times, pag. 111. Turk) come against the King of the South (the Saracen) like a whirlwind; Then tidings out of the East, shall trouble him: and then, from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by Titus Vespasian, who burned both City and Temple, and the setting up of the abomination of desolation by Julian, shall be 1290. days, which added to 360. the time of Julian's Onuphr. 360▪ Isaa●son. 367. reign, makes also 1650. though 3. or 4. years' difference there is amongst Chronologers. For confirmation whereof consider two things, 1. Christ's prophecy. 2. It's accomplishment. Our Saviour Christ, a little before his death, prophesied 1. There shall not be left here, stone, upon stone, which shall not Matth. 24. 2. be thrown down. His Disciples ask him when this shall be? He bids them that read, consider when they shall see the abomination ver. 15. of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the Holy place. Here is the prophecy and the time when it shall be fulfilled. To find the accomplishment now, ecclesiastical story must 2. speak. There I find Titus Vespasian as before, burning Joseph. Antiq. both City and Temple, where alone it was lawful to sacrifice; but yet for all that there were stones upon stones left; I find also Julian the Apostate endeavouring to restore Jud●is●e, Tripart. Hist. by authorising, encouraging and assisting the Jews to re-edify their Temple, and they taking up every stone of the old foundation over night, and intending to lay a new foundation the next day, but when they had fulfilled the prophecy of Christ, they were dispersed that very night, and never able to lay a new stone there, as they had intended. I'll give you out of Greek and Latin, the testimony of four very famous Historians, (viz,) Ruffinus, Socrates, Theodoret and Sozomen; the two former mention the prophecy of Christ, and Cyril of Jerusalem, his observation upon it; the two latter imply the prophecy, but say nothing of Cyril, all of them, though several writers, in several places and times, agree in testimony. First, Ruffinus tells, that Julian convened the Jews, and Ruffin Hist. Eccles●●. c 37, ●8, 39 asked them, why they do not sacrifice? they tell him, they may not except it be in Jerusalem, as their law commands them; He asks, why then they do not build their Temple? They tell him they are not able. He gives them authority, encouragement and assistance. They thereupon fall about it as if some Prophet had spoken to them. They prepare lime and sand, and all things else, and then they take up the old foundation; which done, the next day, nothing was wanting, why they might not lay a new one, the old being removed. But when Cyril the Bishop of Jerusalem had dilige●ly considered what they had done, and what they were about to do, he was confident either out of those things which he had read concerning the times in the prophecy of Daniel, or which our Lord had foretold in the Gospels, that by no means it could be that the Jews should there lay a stone upon a stone, but that the saying of our Saviour should now be fulfilled. Neither was his prediction vain, For behold in that night which only stayed them from beginning their new work, an earthquake turned all down to the ground, and confirmed the very truth of our saviour's words, and so being frighted, both Jews and Gentiles went away, and gave over their foolish beginnings. Then Socrates to the same purpose; Julian calls for the Socrat. Hist. Eccles. l. 3. c 17. Secund▪ Graec. c. 20. Jews, and demandeth of them the cause why they did not sacrifice? After they had answered, it was not lawful for them so to do, but in Jerusalem, he commanded that in all haste their Temple should be built; accordingly all necessaries were provided, as timber, stone, brick, clay, lime, with other things requisite in building. At that time Cyril Bishop of Jerusalem remembered the prophecy of Daniel which Christ had foretold in the holy Gospels, that the time was now come, when there should not be a stone of the Temple left upon another, but that the prophecy of our Saviour should now take place and be fulfilled. When the Bishop had thus said, accordingly it came to pass, for a great earthquake the night following, shook the old foundation of the Temple, and so instead of raising it up, it was utterly overthrown. In the third place, Theodoret; The Emperor having called Theod. Hist. Eccles l. ●. c. 20. the Jews together, asks them why they sacrifice not as they are commanded? They answer, their worship is confined to one place; This wicked enemy of God▪ commands their Temple to be re-edified, hoping foolishly, that he should thereby make our Lord's prophesy a lie, but he contrary to his thought, hereby declared it much more to be a truth. All the Jews came together from all parts of the world, and contributed both pains and purse unto the building; and 'tis said they had made them spades, baskets and other tools of silver, for that work; themselves cast down with their own hands the relics of the old Temple, thinking to build it new from the lowest foundation, &c. But a mighty earthquake and other fearful prodigies destroyed all their preparations, so that they fled, &c. In the last place, So●omen, though the Emperor hate● So●om Hist. Eccles. l. 3. c▪ 17 S●cund. G●●c. c. ●●. the Christians, yet he carried himself courteously towards the Jews, because they were great enemies to the Christians. Having called them together, and exhorted them to observe the Law of Moses, and they having answered him that their Temple being destroyed, might not worship in any other place; he supplied them out of the public, with money to re-edify their Temple, that he might reduce them to their old sacrificing; They fall to the work with cheerfulness, and begun to prepare the place they were to work in, and the Gentiles helped them, thinking to prove Christ's words false, That their Temple should never be repaired, but instead thereof, every stone thereof destroyed. They took away the relics of the old building, and the next day intended to lay a new foundation, but were frustrated by an earthquake, &c. By all these, you see every word of God is true, and every man a liar: in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word Rom. 3. 4. shall stand: here are four in one book, all bearing witness to this Truth, that as Christ had said, it came to pass, there was not left stone upon stone in the Temple; From that time therefore is the full epoch of the abomination utterly made desolate These things I have annexed for others, not for you, who have diligently sought out the accounts: Accept only my first fruits; you have laid out much upon the Promises, and you shall receive much, the things which shall be accomplished make haste. The unworthiest of all that serve you in the gospel of Christ STAN. GOWER. FINIS. Die Mercurii, 31ᵒ Iulii, 1644. ORdered by the Commons assembled in Parliament, That Sir Robert Harley, and Master Hallowes, do from this House give thanks to Master Gower, for the great pains he took in the Sermon he preached this day, at the entreaty of this House, at St Margaret's Westminster, it being the day of public Humiliation, and to desire him to print his Sermon. And it is ordered that none shall presume to print his Sermon, but whom he shall authorise under his hand-writing. H. Elsing Cler. Parl. D. Com. I do authorise Philemon Stephens to print my Sermon, and no other, but with his consent. Stanley Gower.