5
The Saint's Duty in Evil Times.
and to all, who will come and become his people, to enter into their chambers; and to this is a free market. We muſt invite all to come, ye who are enemies, lay down your arms againſt him, and come; ye who are upholding his enemies, and complying with them in their ſinful courſes and abominations, by paying them ceſs and locality, and by furniſhing them meat and drink, (which is more than a bidding them God ſpeed, which the Holy
Ghoſt, by the mouth of John, forbids, ſecond epiſtle of John 10, verſe.) Quit the putting the Sword in God's enemies hands, and come; ye who have given bonds to the adverſary, break your covenant with hell and death, and come; break your ſworn allegiance, to the devil, and come, and ſwear a new allegiance to Jeſus Chriſt, and ye ſhall never rue it: Ye, who compear before their courts, and pay them fines, whereby, both ye acknowledge them robbers of God, and calls your duty your ſin; quit theſe courſes, and come : Ye who go to the curates, leave theſe perjured blind guides, and come: Ye who go to the indulged, leave theſe trai-tors of God: Ye who go to the backſlidden ſilent miniſters, leave theſe betrayers of the cauſe, and deſerters of the croſs of Chriſt, and come leave all theſe and follow him, he is a true guide, and will be ſo unto you: Ye who any ways ſeek or take the enemies protection, leave that, and come; come to him, and ye ſhall find chambers indeed, both for ſafety and delight. All ye that are ſtrangers to him, come; ye that are in nature, come, and ye that know him, come. We muſt preach that word come, unto you, ſo long as ye are here, until ye be tranſplanted out of this ſpiritual warfare unto celeſtial triumph. O ſirs, come, come, aſk what ye will, and he ſhall give it; O come, come.
Now it were requiſite here to ſhow unto you, who it is that comes unto Chriſt, and who it is that comes not, but it will come as fitly, in the ſecond thing which we have noticed in the words, and ſo we proceed unto it.
The ſecond thing, ye know, was this, the perſons invited, or the determination of the invitatation, my people; theſe are they whom he invites to their chambers; his people, they who ſubſcribe to the terms of his covenant, which is, I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; they who make a covanant with him
by ſacrifice,they who covenant with him only to be accepted thro', the ſacrifice of his Son, and they who ſacrifice themſelves away to him; they who eſpouſe him to be their God, and his quarrel and concernment to be theirs. But before we enter upon what we propoſed, we proceed to the third thing in the words, to make
way for it, and ſo ſhall return.
The third thing was this, their chambers whereinto they are invited to enter; their chambers, that is, the chambers of the Lord's protection and preſence. What are theſe chambers do ye
think?
