Wherein they commended the Tribes and Countreyes who came forth and willingly offered themfelves unto the fervice of the Lord? wherein they prayed againft the enemies of the Church: And then mark the iffue (at the laft verfe) And the Land bat rest forty yeares. And fuch an iffue, nor only forty yeares, but many times forty years reft, may you bave as an iffae of the praises of this

day..

But yet obferve, ftil fome monument of praife was erected; fometimes a ftone, fometimes an Alter, alwaies one monu ment or other of praife. And have we no Alter?no ftone now? no name of God to celebrate now? no prefent of thankfulnesse to bring to our God this day? is there no act of mercy to be shown? none of Chrifts friends to be releived? ball we make no progreffe? fhall we ftand ftill? doc nothing? as men in a maze? fhall we make no improvement of this deliverance and victory? why should we not all fir down under our relations, and fay, How fhall I makeim. provement of this mercy? what fhall I do now for God and Chrift that I did not before? Is there nothing in your hand? what? no prefent to be given to Chrift? have we nothing at al? ben let us bring the fence of our own Nothing; for the more humble ye are after victories,the more thankful for victories. And if ye bave no prefent in your hand this day to bring unto God for this victory, yet bring the victory it felf, and give it to God. Ye give to Cefar the things that are Cefars: why? because his image is upon them; and hath not this victory much of the image of God upon it? When David was delivered from his enemies, we reade in the 116. Pfalme, that he checks himself for his former unbeliefe, I said in my baft, c. and gathers up himself into God again; Return unto thy reft O my foule. When delivered from bis enemies, as we reade in the 118. Pfalme, he found a retreate from man, O my foule, traft not in Princes, not in man, nor in the fons of men, truft not in Princes. The word in the Hebrew is, Ingenious men, for Princes fhould be ingenious; and if any men are to be trufted

го

to,they are ingenuous men; but being delivered from men,he retreats from men, and faies, O my foul, trust not in men, nor in the fons of men, not in Princes,not in ingenuous

men.

Yea, and in that Pfalm, he cals upon others alfo for to praife the Lord; and fo let us do in his words: O give thanks unto the Lord, for be is good, for his mercy endures for ever: He filleth the rage of the Sea, and the tumults of the people, for bis mercy endures for ever. Who hath owned your caufe a gain, and your forces again, for his mercy endures for ever; who hath remembred you in your low condition, for his mercy endures for ever; and hath vified us with his love at midnight, for his mercy endures for ever: O give thanks unto the God of Gods, for his mercy endures for ever. Praise the Lord.

If Chrift come at midnight, then me thinks his perfonal Applic.2 coming is not far off. I cannot fay it is midnight in that refpect, but furely it is very late; it is very dark, and it hath been dark a great while.

We reade of two forts of figns, which go before the coming of Jefus Chrift: Some that are more remote and tranfient, fome that are more immediate and juft at his coming. Those that are more immediate and juft at his coming, ye reade of in the 24. of Matth. verf. 29, 30. Immediately after the tribu lation of thofe daies fhall the Sun be darkened, and the Moon fball not give her light, and the Stars hall fall from Heaven, and the powers of the Heaven fhall be shaken, and then shall the fign of the Son of man in Heaven ; appear and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they fhall fee the Son of man coming in the clouds of Heaven with glory. Thefe are yet to come. But those that are more remote, all feem to be paft already. Before the coming of Chrift (faies the Apoftle) the man of fin fhall be revealed; that is past. Before the coming of Chrift, there shall falfe Prophets arife, and fay, I am Chrift, and another, I am Chrift; that is paft. Before the perfonal coming of Christ, there fhall be wars and rumors of Wars; this is past. D 2

power and great

And

I.

And before that day, there fhall be great divifions, even in the matter of Religion; one laying, Loe here is Chrift, and another, Lo there is Chrift; this is already. And immediately before, and at his coming, men fhall be fmiting their fellow fervants, eating and drinking with the drunken; this is already. The wife and the foolish Virgins fhall be all afleep; and was there ever a time, when both wife and foolish were more afleep than now? when men fet themselves to fleep, they draw their curtains, put out their lights, and will have no more light come in. So now; When men are afleep, their fenfes are bound up that were open before, they fee not, hear not, tafte not, fmell not; their fenfes are lock'd up. Sleep is, Legatio fenfuum. And was there ever time when mens fences were more bound up, that were formerly exercised, than now? are there not fome that would pray,and hear, and reade,that wil not now?who have now thrown off all Duties, Ordinances, and means? Ob! what fleeping is here? was there ever fuch fleeping among Profeffors as now there is? if ever wife and foolish Virgins were asleep, they feem to be in our daies; and thall we fleep alfo? will ye not rather watch and pray? watch pray, pray and watch; and what I fay to one, I fay to all, Watch and pray, leaft ye enter into Tempta

and

tion.

Take buttwo or three wakening Obfervations from this Parable.

First, If ye look into this Parable, ye may observe a moft defperate fleep is to come upon all Profeffors, immediately before the Coming, the great Coming of Chrift. I call that defperate fleep, which is univerfal; this Parable fals upon the Churches; Then fall the Kingdom of Heaven, (not the Kingdom of the world) be like to ten Virgins; and thofe ten fhall be all afleep, good and bad. And faies our Saviour in another place, Neverthelesse, when the fan of man comes, fball be find Faith on earth ?. Again, I call that a defperate fleep, which fhall be in the face of light. Its an hard thing to fleep, whilft a candle is held unto ones

eyes;

eyes; and in the time before Chrift comes, much light and truth fhall break out, as Antichriftian errour goes off, and yet, even then, good and bad fhall fall asleep.

I call that defperate, (again) which fhall be in the midst of trouble. It's an hard thing for a man to fleep when he is pinch'd and ftricken; in the times before Chrift and when he comes, men fhall be fmiting their fellow fervants; and yet, even the fmitten fhall be afleep. Oh! what defperate fleeping times fhall the latter times be; have we not all caufe then for to watch and pray?

Again fecondly, If ye look into this Scripture or Parable, ye find that thofe who fall asleep immediately before the coming of Chrift, fhall never wake again till Chrift come. And they all flept (faies the text of the ten Virgins) and waked not till the Bridegroom came.

Now if a man be very fleepy, and you come to him, and fay, Sir,take heed of fleeping, for if you do fall asleep,you will never wake again,will he not take heed of fleeping? thus it fhall be with the fleepers of this latter time; at other times men fhall fleep and wake, and wake and fleep; but if men fall afleep, into a fpiritual flep immediately before the coming of Jefus Chrift, they fhall fleep till he comes, and fhall be wak'd no more but by his coming: Oh! Lord, who would not watch and pray, leaft he enter into Tempta

tion !

Thirdly, If ye obferve this Parable, ye fhall find, that there are two forts of fleepers, and accordingly two events of their fleeping.

Some flept as the wife Virgins) but did keep their Oyl, their Oyl not fpent; thefe when the Bridegroom came, entred with him into his joy.

Others there are that fleep, and have fpent their Oyl; had Oyl, but spent it: and thefe when the Bridegroom cometh, are fhut out; and though they call, Lord open; He anfwers, I know ye not. So now in the latter daies, there fhall be two forts of profeffors, one that fhall fleep and lumber, but they shall keep but they shall keep their graces, their

Oyl

3.

Oyl, their principles; and thefe,though they be found afleep when Chrift comes,Chrift will pardon,and their fleeping,because they have fill their Oyl.

Others there shall be, who shall not only fall afleep, but they shall lose their principles: True, I thought indeed, that a man was bound for to keep the Sabbath to live ftri&. ly,and to make a confcience of every word and thought; but now I fee there is more liberty; thus they fhall lose their principles, their Oyl, their Judgments: these poor fouls fhall never wake again; and when Chrift comes, though they cry to him for mercy, they will not obtain it: No, ye have loft your principles, your Oyl, your Jadgments; ye are foolish Virgins, ye fhall never enter into my joy, he will then fay; Who would not then watch and pray? what I say to you, I fpeak unto my own foul, and to every perfon here prefent, Oh let us all watch; for the fon of man comes,and he comes at midnight; and if it be not midnight now,yes it is late already.

And fecing all these things are fo, give me leave Honorable and Beloved, to leave an exhortion with you,which is no other, than that which the Pfalmift presents unto ye in the 24. Pfalm. Lift up your beads O ye gates, and be lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory fball come in. Gater ye know) are the place where the Magiftrate fare: The Temple door was called the everlafting door; in opposition to the door of the Tabernacle which was to continue but a little time: The Pfalmift fpeaks here of Chrifts Kingdom and Lordship on Earth, verse 1. The Earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. Then he will have a Church and precious people: Who shall afcend unto the bill of the Lord? who shall ftand on his holy place? verfe the 3. Which he answers in the general: He that bath clean bands and a pure beart: And more particularly at the 6. verf. This is the generation of them that feek bim, that seek thy face, even Jacob.

The Children of Ifrael had two names; fometimes they were called Ifrael, when they were in a more flourishing and

ftrong