The Scripture directory for church-officers and people, or, A practical commentary upon the whole…

To enlarge this Doctrine, consider these things,

First, In that the Scripture calls the time of manifestation, a Day, wherein is light, and the Sun beams; it doth excellently imply, That all the while there are corruptions in Doctrine and Worship, that time is a time of darkness. Let men never so much rejoice in them, and count them happy times, yet the Scripture calls them dark times. So that to take away the truths of God, the pure worship of God, is indeed, Solem è mundo tollere, to take the Sun out of the firmament. All the while the Church of the Jews was without the Law and the Prophet, without true teaching of the Word of God; they were in a worse condition than the Egyptians, in their Egyptian darkness, for that hindered them only in their bodily motions, and outward accommodations; but this tends to the destruction and damnation of soul and body. The true Ministers of Gods word are compared to light, and to salt, Matth. 5 13. Nihil Sole & sale utilius, both are necessary and useful. They are called the Stars, and it must needs be a dark night, when no stars shine. Since the Apostles times, the Church of God hath many times come under such dark times, that it hath been like the old Chaos, when darkness covered the deep. Take we heed then of calling darkness light, there is a woe to those that do so, Isa. 5.20. as some do the times of Reformation, the times of Deformation. If these corrupt Doctrines, which come from the prince of darkness, thou callest light, as coming from the Father of lights; Thou entitlest God to the Devils work, and that is no mean •in. This should teach the godly what to think under the overflowing of errors, to account them dark and sad times.

First, In that the Scripture cals the time of manifestation, a Day, wherein is light, and the Sunne beams; it doth excellently imply, That all the while there are corruptions in Doctrine and Worship, that time is a time of darknesse. Let men never so much rejoyce in them, and count them happy times, yet the Scripture cals them dark times. So that to take away the truths of God, the pure worship of God, is indeed, Solem è mundo tollere, to take the Sunne out of the firmament. All the while the Church of the Jews was without the Law and the Prophet, without true teaching of the Word of God; they were in a worse condition than the Egyptians, in their Egyptian darknesse, for that hindred them onely in their bodily motions, and outward accommodations; but this tends to the destruction and damnation of soul and body. The true Ministers of Gods word are compared to light, and to salt,