fuch fpiritual things to us, in plain and eafy terms, but likewife to bring them as near as poffible to our fenfes, by reprefenting them to us under the Names and Characters of fuch fenfible Objects as bear the greatest Reseniblance to them; that we who are led fo much by our fenfes, may by them alfo be directed how to apprehend those spiritual Objects which he hath told us of, on purpose that we may believe them upon his word.

THUS he often ufeth the words, Hand, Eye, and the like, to fignify his own divine Perfections to us. And thus it was that our Saviour preached the Gospel to the People, by Parables, and Similitudes of things commonly feen and done among themselves. The Prophets alfo frequent-ly took the fame courfe, as might be thewn by many Inftances; but one of the most remarkable is that in Mal. iv. 2. where the Prophet in the Name of God fpeaking of Chrift's coming into the World, expresseth it by the rifing of the Sun, faying, To you that fear my name fhall the Sun of Righte oufness arife, with healing in his wings.

FOR that Jefus Chrift is that Sun of Righteousness here fpoken of, is fo plain from the Context, and whole Design of the Prophet, that I need not infift upon the proving it; but shall only observe, that

this being the laft of all the Prophets in the Old Teftament, he fhuts up his own, and all the other Prophefies, with a clear Prediction of Chrift, and his Fore-runner John the Baptift, whom he calls Elijah or Elias, and concludes his Prophecy with these words concerning him, Behold I will fend you Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he fhall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, left I come and fmite the Earth (or rather the Land) with a Curfe, Mal. iv. 5, 6. For that by Elijah is here meant John the Baptift, we are affured by Chrift himfelf, Matth. xi. 14. And it is very obfervable, that as this Prophet ends the old Teftament with a Predi&tion of Elias, fo St. Luke begins the New with a relation how John the Baptift was born, and fo came into the World a little before Chrift, as the Morning Star that appeared before the rifing of the Sun of Righteoufnefs.

BUT of the Day which fhall come at the rifing of that glorious Sun, the Prophet faith, that it fall burn as an Oven, and all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly, fhall be stubble, and the day that cometh fball burn them up, faith the Lord of hofts, that it shall leave them neither root

nor

nor branch, ver. 1. It will be a terrible Day to those that shall obftinately refuse to walk in the light of it; they fhall be all confumed, as we read the unbelieving Jews were at the Deftruction of Hierufalem, that happened foon after that Sun was up. But then turning himself, as it were, to his own People, Almighty God here by his Prophet chears and comforts them, faying to them, But unto you that fear my Name fball the Sun of Righteousness arife, with healing in bis wings, &c. He fhall arife to all, but to the other with such a scorching Heat as fhall burn them up, to these with healing in his Wings, or Rays, so as not to hurt but heal them of all their Maladies.

Now that which I chiefly defign by God's Affiftance, to fhew from these words, is, what Thoughts they fuggeft to us concerning our bleffed Saviour, by calling him the Sun of Righteousness. But to make the way as plain as I can, we must first confider, to whom he is here faid to arife with healing in bis wings, even to those that fear the Name of God; i.e. to thofe who firmly believing in God, and being fully perfuaded of his infinite Power, Juftice and Mercy, and alfo of the Truth of all his Threats and Promises, ftand continually in awe of him, not daring to do any thing

willingly that may offend him, nor leave any thing undone that he would have them do. Such, and fuch only, can be truly faid to fear God. And therefore the Fear of God in the Scriptures, especially of the Old Testament, is all whole Duty of Man. Duty that a Man owes, his Neighbour, but if he

along put for the There being no either to God or really fears God,

he will endeavour all he can to do it. But this neceffarily fuppofeth his Belief in God, and his holy Word, or rather proceeds originally from it. For he that cometh unto God, fo as to fear and obey him, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently feek him, Heb. xi. 6. So that as no Man can believe in God, but he muft needs fear him; fo no Man can fear God, unless he firft believes in him. From whence it neceffarily follows, that by those who are here faid to fear the Name of God, we can understand no other but only fuch as are poffeffed with a firm Belief in him, and with a full Perfuafion of the Truth and Certainty of those divine Revelations that he hath made of himself, and of his Will to Mankind, and therefore live accordingly.

Of these, and these only, it is here said, that to them ball the Sun of Righteousness arife with healing in his wings. Not to

any

:

any other; no other being able to fee his light, nor capable of thofe healing Influences that proceed from him. For though he be a Sun, he is not not fuch a Sun as we fee with our bodily Eyes in the Firmament, but the Sun of Righteousness, fhining in the highest Heavens, beyond the reach of our fenfes, vifible only to the Eye of the Faith, the Evidence of things not feen. Infomuch that although he be rifen, and darts down his Beams to this lower World continually, yet they who have not Faith, can neither fee him, nor enjoy any more Benefit by him, than as if he was not rifen, or did not fhine at all. As if a Man be born ftark blind, though the Sun fhines never fo clear about him, he fees no more than he did before, but lives in the dark at Noonday as much as at Midnight; neither can ye ever make him understand what Light or Colours are; for having not that fenfe, by which alone fuch things can be perceived, he can never understand what you mean by fuch things, fo as to form any true Notion of them in his mind. So it is in our prefent Cafe; though the Sun of Righteousness be rifen, and shines moft gloriously in the World, yet being the Object only of our Faith, without that a Man can difcern nothing of him. He may perhaps talk of him as a blind Man may