N00830:40
The blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God our Saviour, Jesus…
The blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Opened & applied, in several sermons. / By Increase Mather, president of Harvard College in Cambridge, and preacher of the Gospel, at Boston, in N.E. ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]The blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Opened & applied, in several sermons. / By Increase Mather, praesident of Harvard Colledge in Cambridge, and preacher of the Gospel, at Boston, in N.E. ; [Nine lines of Scripture texts]
Boston: printed by Timothy Green for Nicholas Boone, 1701
Title page typeset from the transcription.
The Blessed HOPE, And Glorious Appearing of JESUS CHRIST. › Sermon 1
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.
4. Believers Hope that at the Appearing of the Great God our Saviour Jesus Christ, they shall see Him with exceeding Joy. True it is, Unbelievers in that day shall see Christ: they that have slighted Him, despised Him, and would not believe the Gospel, they shall see Him in that day. Yea, all the men in the World, or that ever were, or shall be; they shall see Him in that day. The Jews that Crucified Him, Pilate that Condemned Him, shall see Him in that day; but little to their comfort. Rev. 2.7. Every Eye shall see Him, and all they that pierced Him, and all the Kings of the earth shall wail. They shall see Him to their Woe and Wailing, when then they shall think with themselves, This is He ⟨p. 18⟩that we h•ve despised, now we see that He is the Great God, who will Judge us for all our slighting and despising of Him. Thus they will see Him to their Amazement and Everlasting Terror. But believers shall behold Him to their unspeakable Joy and Comfort. Therefore the Apostle having described the manner of Christ's coming to judge the world, adds 1 Thes. 4.18. Comfort one another with these words. This was that which comforted Job under all his afflictions, that at the last day he should see Christ. Job 19.27 In my flesh shall I see God, with these Eyes shall I see Him. That is one Reason why Believers shall have their bodily sight restored to them at the last day, that so with their bodily Eyes they may behold the Glorious Body of Jesus Christ. That is a blessed thing: to have seen Christ though in his state of Humiliation, was a blessed and desirable thing: therefore did Christ say Mat. 13.16, 17 Many Prophets and Righteous men have desired to see the things that you see and have not seen them. But blessed are your Eyes for they see, and your Ears for they hear. The holy Prophets desired nothing more then that (if it had been the Will of God) their Eyes might have seen the Son of God appearing in Flesh. But what a blessed thing will it then be, to see Him in His state of Exaltation? Joseph knew it […] be a joy to his Father to hear of his Glory,