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ham, the promise was effectual according to the eternal counsel of God, and his purpose of election.

And thus it frequently falls out among the people of God. Having, it may be, made some undue applications of promises unto themselves, it may be, misinterpreted or misunderstood them; or it may be supposed that they were in a greater forwardness towards their accomplishment, than indeed they were: upon their own personal trouble, or calamities of the whole church, they have been ready at least to expostulate with God about the truth and stability of his promises. See Psal. cxvi. 11. 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. Jer. xii. 1. Hab. i. 2, 3, 4. 12. The greatness of their troubles, and the urgency of their temptations, cast them on such expressions. The psalmist gives one corrective to all such failings, Psal. lxxvii. 10. "I said this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." All my troublesome apprehensions of God's dispensations, and of the accomplishment of his promises, are fruits and effects of my own weakness. To relieve me against them for the future, I will consider the eternity and power and sovereignty of God, which will secure me from such weak apprehensions. And to help us in the discharge of our duty herein, we may take the help of the ensuing observations and rules.

Obs. II. 1. The promises of God, are such as belong only to the grace of the covenant, or such as respect also the outward administration of it in this world.-Those of the first sort are always, at all times, actually fulfilled and made good unto all believers, by virtue of their union unto Christ, whether they have the sense and comfort of that accomplishment in their own souls at all times or not. But of this sort of promises, we do not now treat peculiarly. Besides these, there are promises which respect the outward administration of the covenant, under the providence of God in this world. Such are all those which concern the peace and prosperity of the church, its deliverance out of trouble, the increase of light and truth in the world, the joy and comfort of believers therein, with others innumerable of the like importance; and it is those of this kind concerning which we speak.

Obs. III. 2. Some, yea many promises of God, may have a full accomplishment, when very few, or it may be, none at all, know or take notice that so they are accomplished.--And this falls out on sundry reasons. For, 1. Such things may, in the providence of God, fall out in, and with the accomplishment of them, as may keep men from discerning and acknowledging of it. Great wisdom and understanding were ever required to apprehend aright the accomplishment, of such promises, as is mixed with God's dispensations in the affairs of this world, Rev. xiii. 18. nor was this wisdom ever attained in any age by the

generality of professors. Thus when God came to fulfil his promise in the deliverance of this people from Egypt, he suffered at the same time their bondage and misery to be so increased, that they could not believe it, Exod. v. 21-23.; see ch. iv. 31. compared with ch. vi. 9. Believers, according to their duty, pray for the accomplishment of the promise of God, it may be, in their great distress. God answers their desires; but how? By "terrible things in righteousness," Psal. lxv. 5. It is in righteousness that he answers them; that is, the righteousness of fidelity and veracity in the accomplishment of his promises. But withal he sees it necessary in his holiness and wisdom, to mix it with such terrible things in the works of his providence, as make their hearts to tremble, so that at the present they take little notice of the love, grace, and mercy of the promise. There are many wonderful promises and predictions in the Revelations, that are unquestionably fulfilled. Such are those which concern the destruction of the Pagan-Roman empire, under the opening of the six seals, ch. vi. Yet the accomplishment thereof, was accompanied with such terrible things in the ruin of nations and families, that very few, if any one individual person, took notice of it, at the time when it was accomplishing. 2. It so falls out from the prejudicate opinions that men may, and oftentimes do conceive, concerning the sense and meaning of the promises, or the nature of the things promised. They apprehend them to be one thing, and in the event they prove another, which makes them either utterly reject them, or not to see their accomplishment. So was it in the exhibition or coming of the Lord Christ in the flesh, according to the promise. The Jews looked for it, and longed after it continually, Mal. iii. 1, 2. But they had framed a notion of the promise, and the thing promised, unto themselves, which was no way an swered thereby. They expected he should come in worldly honour, power and glory, to satisfy them with peace, dominion, wealth and prosperity. But he comes quite in another manner, and for other ends. Hence they received him not, nor would at all believe the promise to be fulfilled, when it had its exact and complete accomplishment. It may be so with others. They may misunderstand the promises, and look for such things by them, as are not indeed intended in them. So many men miscarry, when they overlook the true spiritual import and intention of prophetical promises, to take up with the carnal things which in the letter they are shadowed out by. 3. Unbelief itself hides the accomplishment of promises from the eyes of men. So our Lord Christ, speaking of his coming to avenge his elect, adds unto it, "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Luke xviii. 8. Men

will not apprehend, nor understand his work, through unbelief.

And this one consideration should teach us great moderation in our judgments concerning the application of promises, prophecies and predictions unto their seasons. I am persuaded, that many have contended, thereby troubling themselves and others, about the season and times wherein some prophecies are to be fulfilled, which have long since received their principal accomplishment, in such a way as those who now contend about them think not of. Such are many of those which are by some applied unto a future estate of the kingdom of Christ in this world, which were fulfilled in his coming and erection of his church. And whereas many of that nature do yet doubtless remain upon record, which shall be accomplished in their proper season, yet, when that is come, it may possibly very little answer the notions which some have conceived of their sense and importance. Experience also hath sufficiently taught us, that those computations and conjectures, at the times of fulfilling some promises, which seem to have been most sedate and sober, have hitherto constantly disappointed men in their expectations. That God is faithful in all his promises and predictions; that they shall every one of them be accomplished in their proper season; that the things contained in them, and intended by them, are all of them fruits of his love and care towards his church; that they all tend unto the advancement of that glory which he hath designed unto himself by Jesus Christ, are things that ought to be certain and fixed with us. Beyond these, we ought to be careful, 1st, That we affix no sense unto any promise which we conceive as yet unaccomplished, that is, 1. In any thing unsuited to the analogy of faith; like those who dreamed of old, of such a promised kingdom of Christ, as wherein all the Mosaic worship and rites should be restored. 2. That debaseth spiritual promises unto carnal lusts and interests; like them who in the foregoing age, under a pretence of filling up Christ's promised kingdom, gave countenance thereby unto their own violence, rapine, and filthiness. 2d, That we be not. peremptory, troubling our own faith and others, about the future accomplishment of such promises as probably are fulfilled already, and that in a sense suited to the analogy of faith, and tenor of the new covenant. 3d, That in such as wherein we have a wellgrounded assurance that they are yet to be fulfilled, we wait quietly and patiently for the salvation of God; not making our understanding of them the rule of any actions, for which we have not a plain warrant in the prescription of our duty in other places of Scripture.

Obs. IV. Some promises of God, as to their full accomplishment, may be confined unto some certain time and season, alVOL. IV.

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though they may have, and indeed have, their use and benefit in all seasons; and until this is come, there can be no failure charged, though they be not fulfilled.-Thus was it with the great pronise of the coming of Christ before mentioned. It was given out from the foundation of the world, Gen. iii. 15. and in the counsel of God confined to a certain period of time; determined afterwards in the prophecies of Jacob, Daniel, Haggai, and otherways. This all the saints of God were in expectation of, from the first giving of the promise itself. Some think that Eve, upon the birth of Cain, concerning whom she used these words, "I have obtained a man from the Lord," which they contend should be rendered, the man the Lord,' did suppose, and hope, that the promise of the exhibiting the blessing Seed was accomplished. And if they looked for him on the nativity of the first man that was born in the world, it is very probable that their hearts were frequently made sick, when their hopes were deferred for four thousand years; see Gen. v. 29. xlix. 18. compared with Luke ii. 30. Exod. iv. 13. And many a time, no doubt, they were ready to call the truth of the promise, and therein the faithfulness of God, into question. Great desires they had, and great expectations, which were frustrated. Hence our Saviour tells his disciples, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which they saw, and saw them not, Matt. xiii. 17. They desired, hoped, prayed, that the promise might be fulfilled in their days, which yet it was not. Hence our apostle tells us, that they all died in faith, not having received the promise, Heb. xi. 13. that is, not the accomplishment of it. Yet this their disappointment did not in the least shake the stability of the promise; for although it was not yet actually fulfilled, yet they had benefit from it, yea, life and salvation by it. And this God hath provided in reference unto those promises, whose actual accomplishment is confined unto a certain season, which a present generation shall not be made partakers of. There is that grace and consolation in them for, and unto, them that do believe, that they have the full benefit of the merciful and spiritual part of them, when they are utterly useless to them, who have only a carnal expectation of their outward accomplishment. Thus that other promise made unto Abraham for the deliverance of his posterity out of thraldom, was limited to the space of four hundred years, Gen. xv. 13, 14. Very probable it is that the Israelites, during their bondage in Egypt, were utterly unacquainted with the computation of this time, although they knew that there was a promise of deliverance. For, as it is most likely they had lost the tradition of the revelation itself, or at least knew not how to state and compute the times; so did God order things, that they should depend on his absolute soverciguty, and neither

make haste, nor despond. And yet doubtless, through the delay they apprehended in the accomplishment of the promise, some of them fell into one of these extremes, and some of them into the other. The first way the children of Ephraim seem to have offended, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land slew, when they came down to take away their cattle, 1 Chron. vii. 21. Probably these sons of Ephraim would have been entering upon Canaan, and spoiling of the Amorites, before the appointed and full time came, and they perished in their undertaking. Others again, no doubt, in their great distresses and anguish of soul, were exercised with many fears, lest the promise had utterly failed. But there was no alteration in God or his word all this while. This made the holy men afterwards have a great respect unto the set time of the fulfilling of promises, when by any means it was infallibly discovered, and then to fix themselves to such duties as might be meet for their season. So the psalmist prays that God would "arise and have mercy upon Zion, because the time to favour her, yea the set time, (the time fore-designed and appointed), was come," Psal. cii. 13. And when Daniel understood, by the books of Jeremiah the prophet, that the time of the fulfilling of the promise for returning the captivity of Judah was at hand, he set himself to prayer, that it might be done accordingly, Dan. ix. 2. 17. 27. But what shall men do in reference unto such promises, when they know not by any means the set time of their accomplishment?

Answ. Believe, and pray; and then take the encouragement given, Isa. lx. 22. "I the Lord will hasten it in its time." It hath its appointed time, which cannot be changed. But if you will consider the oppositions that lie against it, the unlikelihood and improbability of its accomplishment, the want of all outward means for it, upon faith and prayer it shall be hastened. Thus, in the days of the gospel, there are signal promises remaining concerning the calling of the Jews, the destruction of antichrist, the peace and glory of the churches of Christ. We know how men have miscarried in these things: some have precipitately antedated them, some unwarrantably stated the times of them. The disappointments of these men, and their own unbelief and carnal wisdom, have brought the generality of men to look no more after them; and either to think that the promises of them have failed, or that indeed such promises were never made, wherein unbelief bath found very learned advocates. But it is certain that there are periods of time affixed unto these things. The vision of them is yet for an appointed time; but at the end, it shall speak, and not lie. Though it tarry, and be delayed beyond the computation of some, and the expectation of all, yet wait for it, because it will surely come:

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