Page:Last publick sermon, being a faithful and free one, preached by Mr. Hugh Mackaile ... upon the Sabbath immediately preceeding that 8th of September 1662, the day affixed for the removing of the ministers of Edinburgh from their kirks.pdf/23

( 23 ) deſpiſed Reproof, and have not obeyed the Voice of my Tea- chers, nor inclined mineEar to them that inſtructed me? When a Man, through Heat of Perſecution, is engaged to turn aſide from God, be runs out of a Sparkle into a Flame; God becomes thy Enemy, and at length thou wilt become an Enemy to thyſelf. 4thly, There is the Hopes of eternal Reſt; Heb. iv. 9. There remaineth therefore a Reſt to the People of God. The ſure Hopes of this Reſt will not only render all Tribula- tion tolerable, but even deſirable ; they are but light and momentary, but work for us a far more exceeding and eter- nal Weight of Glory. The Good and Evil of the World evaniſh both out of the Sight of that Soul that hath its Eye fixed upon the Recompence of Reward. The Sound of that Salutation, This Night ſhalt thou be with me in Pa- radiſe, made the Croſs of the penitent Thief preferable to all the Crowns of the World. And as the Hopes of this Reſt is a Helmet of Salvation, keeping the Head from be- ing wounded, the Enjoyment of it puts a Believer beyond the Reach of all Tribulation. Heaven is fitly reſembled by the Court of Ahaſuerus ; none' may come in there clothed with Sackcloth. The Church is here beneath the Sun, and ſo obnoxious to ſcorching; there ſhe is above the Sun, the Sun lights not on her, nor any Heat: And this is the Motive from which the Lord himſelf preſſeth Stedfaſtneſs, Rev. ii. 10. Be thou faithful unto Death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life: Sixthly, This may keep the People of Cod from turning aſide in the hotteſt Tribulation, that the Door is ſtill open for their Approach to God. This Liberty you ſee reſerved to the Church, even at a Noon-tide of it; ſhe may ſay, Tell me, &c. Enemies cannot obſtruct theſe Lines of Communication that are betwixt God and his people. Yea, I may ſay, there is one Fold of the Door more opened in a Time of Adversity, than in a Time of Proſperity ; there is