ing arts and sciences; yea, the choiceft experiments and inventions we have in the world to be of fo late a rife and date, fuch as the ufe of printing, and the mariners compafs by the loadstone, the use of guns, the improvement of minerals in medicine; yea, the very motion and convey of the blood in man's body, which are but of late difcovery. 4. May not so short a history which to this day we have of the world, witness its late original, and that it is of no eternal duration, fince the ancienteft records of time, or of things paft, do not exceed fome thousands of years; and could this be poffibly conceived, that infinite ages preceding, if such had been, fhould give no account nor leave a remembrance to posterity, when thefe late ages hold fo much forth; yea, how could it be, that it is but of late one part of the world is known and difcovered to another part thereof? 5. It is very manifeft from the known records, we have of by-paft times, what hath been the rife and increafe of nations, yea, how a great part of men have from a rude and favage eftate been brought into fociety, and under laws and government, which fhews this world must be of a short duration, which none could conceive by admitting fuch a fuppofal of its eternal being. 6. It is fure man is born and dies, and in that ordinary way of generation mankind is ftill propagate; and is not here the world's beginning very obvious? for you cannot judge that men should beget other eternally, without going back at last to some first man who could not beget himself. 7. If eternity be preferable to time, can you judge the excellentest things of the earth, fuch as man, and next unto him the beafts, are perishing, and only these things which are inanimate, and the mafs of the earth whereon they tread, is of a perpetual duration. 8. It is manifeft what an increase a few men (not to speak of other living creatures) may in an ordinary way have, to people a vaft country even in fome ages; now, is it not thus clear the world can be of no eternal duration? for, if you fhould this way turn back on an infinite number of ages, and fuppofe that every age fhould but add and multiply to the race of man, two or three, it would come

at laft to this, the earth could not bear them: fince we must thus fuppofe fome infinite increase from an infinite continuance of the world, which no wars or confuming strokes could in fuch a measure diminish. 9. Can you conceive that should be eternal which is wholly made up of corruptible and perishing things, fince the things of the world have all their fet times and seasons wherein they appear, and are quickly gone. In a word, must not thefe deny a diffolution of this world, or an after judgment and life to come, yea, the whole truth of religion, if this great truth be not received and believed.

But having premitted fome few evidences that may witnefs the original of the world, yea, that this marvellous frame, with the whole continued courfe of nature, is the product of a divine power and wifdom, I fhall here in the fecond place point at fome few things which may fhew how great a pledge this is, and what à quieting ground it should be to the faith of the godly, that the Scripture is certainly true, and must have an accomplishment, fince from the very being and beginning of the world we may clearly reason to these, which by undeniable confequence follows:

1. That the world now is, is a fure and confirming witnefs to its laft clofe, and of the accomplishment of that promife of its diffolution in the end of time; we know it is not long fince there was no earth, no fun, moon or ftars, now, upon no lefs fecurity than that word, by which it was formed, we must believe it fhall ere long ceafe to be what now it is; and thus when we look upon the world, and fee fuch 2 thing before us, ought we not to read that promife of its after défolution clearly written thereon before our eyes?

2. It is a very clear confequence, that this God can bring his word unto performance, and his power therein cannot fail or fall fhòrt; yea, that his counfel and purpose hath no dépendance on means or inftruments, who did once bring this world out of nothing, and faid, Let there be heaven and an earth when there was none: O when we open the Bible and read the 'great promifes thereof, fhould we not have that

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impreffion on our fouls, thefe are the true and faithful fayings of God and his word, with whom the doing thereof is as eafy as to fay it; who without the concurrence of inftruments, or any co-workers could bring this great creation forth; we truely fo far mistake the meaning of the heavens, and these great celeftial bodies, with the marvellous order. that is there, when we cannot read the truth and faithfulnefs of God in all his promises writ thereupon, for they are held forth to men as a confirming pledge of the fame, and this were indeed an excellent study and improvement of aftrology.

3. Since it is fure and undeniable, that this earth doth hang in the empty place, though men fee not whereon it leans and refts: O what aftrange thing is it! could the air bear up so vaft and ponderous a body, but herein is a marvellous divine power convincingly witneffed, which hath so established it that it cannot be moved; now, is not this his very word that bears up fuch a weight, and thence with as clear ground we may reafon, for adventuring of the church with its weight, and every Chriftian's burden, whatever it may be, on the promife of this God, on whofe word the great bulk of the earth doth this day lean: I must fay no mathematical demonftration does follow, by a clearer evidence, than this confequence from fuch premifes is undeniable.

4. We fee the Lord keeps covenant with the day and the night, yea, that fummer and winter do not fail before him according to his promife, and are not thefe a visible witness for God, that his truth and covenant with his church fhall not fail, for it is fure the continued courfe of nature hath fuch an audible voice, if we could but liften thereto.

5. Does not the Lord clearly witnefs by fuch a ftrange contrariety that is amongst the elements, and thefe different qualities whereof he ferves himself in this great frame and compofure of the world, that this promife fhall not fail; but it is eafy for him to verify the fame, in making all things work together, were they never fo crofs and difagreeing among themfelves, for an accomplishment of his defign.

6. When we see the rage and violence of the great ocean bounded by a bank of fand, for which there could be no truereason given, how fuch an impetuous and furious motion could be reftrained, and the fand be a bridle to the fea, if it were not to make out the faithfulness of God, who by a perpetual de-. cree hath thus bounded it: O! is there not thence a vifible confirmation of this truth? that he can also restrain the rage of men, and turn it unto his praife, and for attaining this end serve himself of most improbable means; it was a notable faying of a grave minister of Chrift, when he was upon the fea in a storm, O! Shall I fear, fays he, the face of a tyrant, that ferve him who can refrain and tame the rage of this fwelling fea.

7. If we confider the earth and its original, and look aright on that so oft repeated discovery we have of the feed time and harvest, and of the earth bringing forth fuch innumerable kinds of vegetables in the spring after a dead winter, as out of their graves, may we not thence have a very clear confirming feal of that great truth of the refurrection, and of the raifing of the duft of men's bodies that are buried under the earth; and I fhall but fay, does not God thus give a con tinued wonder, and fet the fame before our eyes in the continued course of nature, to affure us of his truth and promife, that it fhall not fail, though there were no appearance how in an ordinary way it could be accomplished.

(4) II. Ground whence we may be thus confirmed in our faith, is this, that not only the most part of the Scripture is already proved and verified in the event, but alfo thefe truths, which of the whole Scripture are moft ftrange and marvellous, yea, fhould have much staggered our faith, if they were yet still in a promife, are this day certainly accomplished: I shall but only inftance the coming of the Meffiahs, which the prophets of old foretold, that Ged fhould be manifeft in the flesh, and a virgin bring forth a Son, whofe name fhould be •Emmanuel, that was to die, and be cut off out of the land of the living, not for himfelf, but for the tranfgreffion of his people; is not this now furely accomplished? which we may

fay is the greatest wonder, the most astonishing thing that ever was, or shall be, and fhould fully filence our thoughts anent any other Scripture truth that is yet to be made out, for we know that the great bufinefs of redemption is put to a clofe, the ranfom and price thereof fully told down, now is the doctrine of the gofpel fealed and attefted by blood, even the blood of the Teftator: it is now fure the promised Meffiahs hath come, and this is he, who in the days of Pilate fuffered at Jerufalem, in whom all things which were written by the prophets were truely accomplished. And is not this a great pledge, to affure us of the real out-making of every other promise? It is fure he did die, his bleffed fide was pierced with a fpear, and upon the cross he cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghoft. O! here lieth the greatest caufe of wonder, not what doth yet remain of the Scripture, but that which is already fulfilled, not that Christ should come again to judge the world, but that once he did come to the world, and became man; for God to be found in the form of a fervant, and die, that is beyond expreffion wonderful; for the other muft neceffarily as a confequent follow, that he who hath redeemed the church, and did pay her ranfom, fhould fee the travail of his foul, and be satisfied, that having made fuch a purchase, he should also have poffeffion, and finish the building, the foundation whereof was his own blood. I confefs, what we do yet expect according to the promife, are great and aftonishing truths, the full overthrow of Antichrift and his kingdom, that the dead bones of the Jewish church fhould again live, but efpecially Christ's return to judgment, who fhall be revealed from heaven with flaming fire, the found of the trumpet, and voice of the archangel, yet, how great foever they are, and may feem hard for us to believe, O how small comparatively are they, with that which is already done and accomplished, the incarnation of the Son of God, a mystery hid from ages, wherein the angels with wonder do look, which we may fay is unfpeakably more great than to create this world, and turn it again to nothing: it may be truely ftrange, whilft we read thefe prophe