Rules for the discerning of the present times. Recommended to the people of God,…

2 What aspects there is upon those times? Or what are the Symptoms, and what are Prognostics of the present Times?

2 What aspects there is upon those times? Or what are the Symptoms, and what are Prognosticks of the present Times?

1 What times are now upon us? And this may come under either a Physical or Moral consideration: and both of them call for our observation.

1. In a Physical Consideration, times are to be accounted either as good or bad, according to the dispensations of Providence in Mercies or Afflictions. There is indeed for the most part a mixture of these, it is seldom that times are so good, as that it can be said of a People, as it was once of them, 1 King. 5.4. There is neither Adversary, nor evil Occurrent. Nor is it ordinary, but that the greatest Affliction are tempered with a mixture of many Mercies, so that a Judgment is here to be made according to the prevalent degree of either▪ and by this Rule, it is now certainly an evil day with this People: it is beyond question a time of Trouble; and I think I have no need to go about to reason them into a belief of this Assertion, whereof ⟨p. 14⟩there are so many sensible Demonstrations: and doubtless Sense is a competent Judge of sensible evils: surely seeing and feeling is believing in such a case: there is no persuading of one who is under the apprehension of acute pains which make him to roar, that all is well with him: I may then pass over this a a thing beyond doubt.