A34679:436
An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent…
An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent servant of the Lord, Mr. John Cotton ... ; taken from his mouth in short-writing, and some part of it corrected by himself soon after the preaching thereof ; and all of it since viewed over by a friend to him ... wherein some mistakes were amended, but nothing of the sense altered.
London: printed for Tim. Smart, 1656
Title page typeset from the transcription.
AN EXPOSITION Upon the thirteenth Chapter of the REVELATION. › Part
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
It may teach us the marvellous freedom of the love of God;1 and therefore to admire the wonderful love of God, the cause of all this our preservation from such prevailing evils as swallow up the whole world; how doth it appear? why, I pray you consider, when the Lord wrote down thy name, or mine, or any mans name, who stood by at his elbow (if I may so speak) to put him in mind of my name or thine? he thought of us, if our names be there, and he set us down, and he delivered us to Christ Jesus by name; what ever thy name is, he took notice of thy name; such a man in such a place, he will live in this or that Country, he is one, take notice of him, lay down a price for him; in fullness of time send a spirit into this heart; if he live in a Popish Country, save him from Popery; If in a worldly Country, save him from the world: where ever he lives, save him from himself, and bring him to my heavenly Kingdom; but what was there in us that could commend us to God? or what could there in us but what he appointed, but what he should put into us; he could not fore-see any thing, but that he must work it, therefore it must certainly be his undeserved love that must take notice of them, and give them so to come to Christ, and all that the Father hath given him shall come unto him. The Lord will draw them, and then they shall come; in the mean time he keeps them from his Fathers eternal donation, in John 17. 17. Those whom thou hast given me, I have kept. He ⟨p. 147⟩hath not lost any, but one that was not given him to keep, he prays to God to keep them through his own name, he keeps them by his own spirit, and this was agreed on from the foundation of the world, when this book was written; and it was not written yesterday, but before the foundation of the world, Rev. 17. 8. His thoughts were about thee and me; and whoever is written therein, a matter of much praise and glory to God, that he should have such marvellous precious thoughts to us. Psalm. 139. 17. How precious are thy thoughts to me O God. And so in Psal. 40. 5. we read of the precious thoughts of God towards us; that he should have such thoughts, when time yet was not, neither we nor our fathers; and all he did fore-see in thee and me, would but provoke his wrath; what was good he must work, and that was from his counsel: