d the comings in thereof, and all the forms
thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and
all the laws thereof, and write it in their sight." Surely, this
blessed prophecy hath an eye upon our times, for this is one of those
days, as I told you before, wherein God will make good these gracious
words unto His people; and God hath called together His Ezekiels, His
ministers, to "shew the house," _i.e._, the form and pattern of the
evangelical house or church, unto the house of England and Scotland.
"Shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed." That
is, shew them the outside thereof, shew them "that there is such a
house," which they never yet beheld with their eyes, that they may be
humbled and ashamed of their former idolatries. And thus do our Ezekiels
tell us, there is a way of gospel government, of such beauty and
excellency, as our eyes never yet beheld, nor the eyes of our
forefathers; to the end, that we may be ashamed of all our former
idolatries and superstitions, our monstrous mixtures of popery and
will-worship in the ordinances of Christ; and that we have not sooner
inquired after the mind of Christ, how He will be worshipped in His
house; but now, unless we be ashamed, _i.e._, deeply and thoroughly
humbled, for all that we have done unworthy of Christ and His worship,
and the covenant of our God, we shall never see the inside, that is, the
laws and the ordinances, and the forms of this house, which are both
various and curious; for so the variety and repetition of the words
imply. The prophets are not to reveal these unto us, unless we be
ashamed; God will either withdraw them from us, or, which is worse,
withdraw Himself from them; so that our eyes shall never behold the Lord
in the beauty of holiness; we shall not be admitted to see the beauty
and glory of such a reformation, as our souls long for. And as God will
see us in this posture, before He reveal to us the model and platform of
reformation; so also, till we be in such a posture of deep humiliation,
for our former abominations, we shall never be stedfast and faithful in
the covenant of God. Till our hearts be throughly broken for
covenant-breach, we will not pass much for breaking covenant, upon every
fresh temptation. Yea, till that time we be humbled, not for a day only,
and so forth: but unless we labour to maintain an habitual frame of
godly sorrow upon our hearts for our covenant-violations, shall we