be understood as though I hereby asserted that every individuall person that hath been or is in Parliament is a Saint because I say that by the judgement sitting here spoken of is meant a company of Saints that by the wisdome and goodnesse of the most high were convened together and have a spirit of judgement given to them and that the Parliament are this company of Saints who have had this spirit of Judgement and have acted faithfully c. But this I affirme that those Saints that have been and are in Parliament and have been and are imployed in counsels and otherwise by their Authority are the judgement here spoken of Now that there have been and are among these a choice and precious company of Gods deare Saints there is none that truly knowes what it is to be a Saint will or can deny And these are they that chiefly and principally have carried on these great and glorious designes that have been so acceptable to God and to his Saints though it may be they have been many times if not alwaies lesse in number than those others that have been among them that have not been reall Saints and it is they to whom God hath afforded his presence in their counsels and undertakings and they whom God hath blessed and whom none can curse and the rest have fared the better for their sakes they sitting in Parliament held all together from being broken in peeces even from the beginning of their sitting and admirable is that goodness and wisdome of God that knew what his own determinations concerning them were that so brought it to passe as to cause the late King so contrary to his own intentions and his own ends and purposes to passe an act for the continuation of this Parliament so as though he would yet he had not that power which once he had to dissolve this Parliament as he had done all others at his own pleasure But this Parliament must not this Parliament could not possibly be dissolved by him for God had reserved this Parliament for further worke Now it was not possible for the adverse party by all their struglings to dissolve it for the judgement must sit But the judgement shall sit and they shall take away his Dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end In these words having seen what is meant by the Judgement here is now to be declared what the work was which they had to do and the manner in which it was to be done The worke which they had to do is exprest in these words And they shall take away his Dominion And the manner of doing it in these words To consume and to destroy it unto the end Their work then was to take away the Dominion of that little Horne that spake great words against the most high and made war against the Saints that whereas he had had Dominion and great power and authority whereby he persecuted and grieved and afflicted the Saints and endeavoured to weare them out This Judgement being set this Parliament being assembled they were to take away his Dominion even his authority and power of ruling and governing according to his own will yea all his strength of Armes and Ammunition of Forts and Castles and places of strength his Crown Throne and seat of Honour all and whatsoever appertaines to his Dominion That 's the worke they were to do Now the manner in which they were to doe it was to consume and to destroy it unto the end I say to consume it it was not to be done by them in a short time not at an instant but they were to bee long in doing of it and to doe it by degrees for so the word consume implyeth for when a thing is said to consume that thing is wasted away by degrees and in continuance of time it comes to nothing So this dominion and greatnesse and power and authority and strength which this horn had was to consume away by little and little and in the end wholly to be destroyed And thus exactly it came to passe When the Parliament first began to oppose the late King he had great power and strength and authority whereby hee made war and prevailed for a while but at last by degrees and as it were insensibly they prevail'd against him and began to take away his strength and power and greatnesse from him so that by degrees he lost City after City and Towne after Towne and County after County untill he came to have dominion over none at all but his dominion was wholly taken away and consumed and destroyed unto the end And as here his dominion was said to be consumed and destroyed so in the 11 verse the beast or the horne or King himselfe was said to be slaine and his body destroyed so it came to passe that his blood was also justly required at his hands having caused so much innocent blood to bee shed both of old men young men and babes in France England Scotland and Ireland God suffered not such a man to die in his bed but as he was a man of blood so gave hee him blood to drink For as the Parliament God having given him up into their hands took away his dominion so they also did justice upon his person and executed upon him THE JUDGEMENT WRITTEN For so it was written verse 11 that he should be slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame of justice And thus this part of this prophecie being thus opened and explained It is made evident that the late King of these three Nations that is by some called the None-such Charles for his desperate impiety and hypocrisie was long ago Prophesied of as well as he that was by him stiled his holy Father the Pope to whom hee was as firm a son as any King ever was though he played the greatest hypocrite in professing the contrary as ever any King did I say it is evident that the late King was long ago prophesied of as well as the Pope and that as the Pope was fore-prophesied of as being the beast that should be desperately wicked and maliciously cruell against the Saints So is this King fore prophesied of as being of the ten hornes of the beast and more stout then his fellows as exceeding them for wretched wicked dealing with the Saints and cruelty to them Whereby the proceedings of the Parliament with and against him is cleared from having the lest stain or spot of injustice or unrighteousnesse in it which some would fasten upon them For it is here evident that as the afflicted condition of the Church for twelve hundred yeeres and more under the Pope was long ago prophesied of so this Parliament which were to be the instruments of the Churches deliverance in their measure were also long ago prophesied of In which prophesie it was so long ago declared that to them judgment should be given and that they should do justice upon that wicked King take
Scotland were all three fallen and the late King was he that came in the roome of these three and entirely possessed the Kingdomes of all three So that this part of this Prophesie is exactly fulfilled in that King and not in any other of the Kings nor in any other person can these things be said to be so exactly fulfilled as in him So that if the Spirit of God here had no further described this little horne it would have been evident that this Prophesie had been fulfilled in this King these three Kingdomes being thus subjected to one King or Prince that formerly were governed by three before whom three were plucked up c. But it is made more apparent that this Prophesie was fulfilled in him by that further description which the Spirit of God in this Scripture gives of the dispositions actions and end or death of this King which we have as it followes Vers 25. And hee shall speak great words against the most High and shall wear out the Saints of the most High c. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ John 15. tels his Disciples that whosoever despised them despised him and whosoever despised him despised him that sent him Whereby its clear that that person that speaks great words against the Saints of the most High doth therein speak great words against the most High That this King did speak great words against the Saints of the most High threatning the ruine and destruction of all Puritans and Round heads as hee termed the saints of God is so well known as there needs nothing to be further spoken to make it appear nor need I mention the the persons which long before the wars which meerely for their being servants of God were persecuted imprisoned fined banished and otherwise threatned and as he spake great words against the most High in his saints so hee spake great words against the Lawes and Ordinances of God prohibiting of them requiring godly and faithfull Ministers to refrain from the worshipping of God from publike praying and preaching of the Word of God upon the first day of the Week Whereas many a poor soul might have been converted to and confirmed in the waies of God in those ordinances but hee constraind as it were the people of the Kingdom to a prophane loose life to dishonour God by inviting and requiring of them to practice prophane and wicked sports upon that day which was appointed for a holy worshipping of God Whereas many poore soules needed rather to haue been encouraged and call'd upon to have more frequently attended upon the Ordinances of God for they perished for want of knowledge And as he thus spake great words against the ordinances of the most High so he nourished and supported many wicked and abominable Priests when many holy and faithfull Ministers of Christ were rejected who did most profanely abuse the Scriptures and despise the very spirit of God and that publikely of which sort there were many among those Centuries of scandalous Ministers that were in the beginning of this Parliament sequestred for their delinquencies Thus in that this King spake great words against the saints and ordinances and spirit of God and had pleasure in such as so did he therein did as here is said of him speake great words against the most high And shall wear out the Saints of the most High Was it not long before the sitting of this Parliament given out by this King that hee would not leave untill hee had left no more Puritans in England then there were Protestants in Rome and is it not generally known what meanes and waies were used to wear them out and to make them weary of living in the Kingdom insomuch as many godly and faithfull people being weary of the impositions upon their consciences of those things which were evill and the prohibitions of them from that which was good as their meetings to call upon the name of the Lord and to confer one with another of the things of God and the repetitions of Sermons did being thus wearied leave their native Kingdom though in all outward respects to their great disadvantage and those that remained how did they groan under their burthens and complain to heaven day and night against the insufferable and wearying proceedings of that unworthy King Thus did hee wear out the Saints of the most high And shall think to change times and lawes and they shall be given into his hand untill c. Therein also he is more exactly characterized and described for it is well known that hee did think and intend to change times and lawes he thought to have made sad times for all circumspect and holy Christians whom he called Puritans and times of joy and rejoycing for all popish and prophane persons And hee thought to have changed those Lawes which had been by preceeding Princes made for the priviledges of the people in civil and spirituall respects and to have imposed lawes destructive to the peoples freedom and liberty and to have ruled all by his own will and made the people slaves thereunto And they shall bee given into his hand untill c. As hee thought to change Lawes and times so he did they were given into his hand for a while he had times and lawes in his hand to change them at his pleasure and he thought to have done so alwaies And to this end consulted with wicked Bishops Popish Lords and profane Judges and to this end also he raised Armies first against the Scots and afterward against all well-affected people in Ireland and also in England Thus this Horn that came up in the room of three did in all things answer this description of him which is given in these 24 and 25 verses and hee comes in no tittle short of it There is but one thing more spoken of him in this Chapter whereby he is any further described then as in these three verses and that is in the 21 verse which I will here take in before I proceed to what followes It is in these words And I beheld and the same horne made war with the Saints and prevailed against them untill c. And herein also did this Horne or King most exactly act according to this which the Spirit of God by Daniel so long since predeclared of him For he did make War against the Saints and that in such a manner as no King Prince or Potentate ever yet did For no History can declare nor in any age or time can it be said that ever armies were raised more properly to fight against and to make war with the Saints as being Saints then these late Armies raised by him and by authority from him have been Many combustions have been in the World and many wars in this and severall other Kingdoms but was ever the quarrell so exactly against Saints and saintship in any War as in this For it was against Saints in a more especiall manner that this horn made War
with the former part of this Chapter being observed the meaning of them will the more clearely appeare which is briefly thus The Prophet Daniel in the first yeare of Belshazzar had a Dream and Visions wherin the all-disposer of all things was pleased to reveale unto him not for his sake only but for ours also many things which were to come to passe in a very long time after some of which things are not yet but shall be fulfilled in their season The sum of the Vision is this The Prophet saw foure great beasts rise one after another being divers one from another and the first was like a Lion the second like a Beare the third like a Leopard and the fourth beast was such a Monster as he compares it to no beast being unlike any beast that could be named and it s said to be exceeding dreadful and terrible having ten hornes and among these hornes there came up another little horne before whom three were pluckt up and in this horne were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things And at last the Prophet in his Vision saw a finall end of all these beasts and all their Power and Dominion taken from them and saw the Lord Jesus Christ there stiled The Son of man set up to be the only Monarch of all the World The Prophet having seen this Vision and it being dark and mysterious to him he was troubled and desired to know the truth of it whereupon the interpretation of the Vision was given to him as it is at the 16 verse and so on And it was declared to him that the foure great beasts were foure Kings that should arise out of the earth and when the Prophet desired more particularly to know what the meaning of the fourth beast was which was so different from the rest and so exceeding dreadfull and what was the meaning of the ten Hornes which were in his Head and of the other Horne which came up before whom three fell It was revealed to him that the fourth beast should be the fourth Kingdome upon earth which should be different from all Kingdomes and should devour the whole Earth and should tread it down and break it in peeces and that the ten Hornes should be ten Kings which should arise out of it and that the other Horne which came up before whom three fell was another King which should arise after the ten Kings which should be divers from the first and should subdue three Kings c. Now that this Prophesie hath been accomplished exactly clearly and fully in the former part of it viz. in the rising of the foure Universall Monarchs which have acted their parts in the world since the time that the Prophet Daniel saw this Vision The first being the Babylonian which was then in being The second the Persian which succeeded the Babylonian The third the Grecian which succeeded the Persian And The fourth which was the worst the most dreadfull and terrible and the last of the foure was the Roman which succeeded the Grecian I say that in these foure Monarchs this Prophesie hath been in that part of it fulfilled is very cleare and acknowledged by all that acknowledge any thing And moreover in that since the breaking of the great power of the Roman Monarchy there hath risen ten Kings out of it which have been the Hornes which the beast hath made use of to push the Saints those Kings being subject to the Roman Beast which was first Emperiall and afterward Papal that Roman Beast whether Emperiall or Papall having alwaies had when least the number of ten Kings subjected to it Spain France England Scotland Ireland and Denmark being a part of that number In this also is that part of this Prophesie fulfilled which saies that the fourth Monarch should have ten Hornes or ten Kings and this is very plaine and undeniable and confest by all that have explained this Prophesie And thus having observed the Coherence I shall by divine assistance proceed to explaine the remaining part of this Prophesie which is contained in these foure verses And another shall arise after them and he shall be divers from the first and he shall subdue three Kings Having observed how the former part of of this Prophesie hath been already clearly fulfilled and that the ten Hornes were ten Kings belonging to the Roman Monarch and this part of this verse telling us that another King should arise after the other ten Kings which should be divers from the rest and should subdue three Kings And comparing this with the eighth verse to which this verse hath reference where Daniel saies that he considered the ten Hornes and behold there came up among them another little Horne before whom there were three of the first hornes pluckt up by the roots 〈◊〉 before whom three fell as in the â—… verse The result of all will be this that this King mentioned in this verse is the late King that reigned over England Scotland and Ireland and that appeares thus The King mentioned in this verse is said to be among the ten horns or Kings or to be of them and have three hornes or Kings pluckt up by the roots before him ver 8. or to have three of the ten Kings fall before hee comes up and this one to succeed three verse 20. Now this directly was the condition of the late King he came up in the roome of three of the hornes and reigned over three of the Kingdoms * That Kingdom may be said to bee and is indeed subjected to the Roman Beast the Pope when the King or those in authority in the Kingdom gives liberty to Prelates or to any of the Clergy-men as they are called to exercise any unwarrantable power over the consciences of Saints and to binde Saints to worship God in that way and method which they presscribe and no other way but so which God abhors Esa 29. 13. Matth. 15. 9. Exercising Lordship over the consciences of Saints and this is that for which Rome is called Babylon because it proved in this respect a house of bondage to ehe Saints And thus England Scotland and Ireland were subjected to the Roman Beast the Pope untill the late Kings power was taken from him and even so was England as well as the other Kingdomes subjected to the Beast even in Queen Elizabeths daies for though shee was in many respects 〈◊〉 vertuous Queen yet herein shee failed in suffering Bishops to Lord it over the consciences of Saints and therein was England one of the hornes even then as it hath bin ever since untill of late yeers subjected to the Roman Beast and before him three Hornes were pluckt up by the roots For Elizabeth of England and * This was he that caused the combustions in Ireland in Queen Elizabeths time and was wholly overcome at that time Hugh Baron of Dungannon and Earle of Tir-Oen whose predecessors claimed the Kingdome of Ireland and James of
evident in the Revelation of that period of time of one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres there mentioned and in as much as it is said thut the horne must continue untill then The meaning must needs be untill that time is expired otherwise there can bee no sense in it For if the horn should continue but untill one thousand two hundred and twenty or one thousand two hundred and thirty or any other term of time that comes short of this one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres then it could not be said to continue and to have power given into his hand to change lawes and make War c. Untill a time times and the dividing of time or one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres for one thousand two hundred and twenty or thirty is not one thousand two hundred and sixty But since it is said that the horn should have power to change lawes and make War c. untill one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres or a time times and the dividing of time it must necessarily follow that when that power was taken from the horn that then the one thousand two hundred and sixty yeers or time times and dividing of times was come to an end But more particularly to answer the objection Whereas it was objected that the Beast and some of his hornes do still remain undestroyed and therefore it is questioned how the one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres can be to bee said to come to a period I answer that it may very well bee that the one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres are expired though the Beast and some of his hornes do yet remain For the Holy Ghost saies not that the continuance of the Beast should bee but fourty two moneths or one thousand two hundred and sixty yeeres but saies this that the Beast should no longer make War against the Saints so as to overcome them and should no longer tread the holy City under foot for so the Text runs Rev. 11. 2. And the holy City shall they tread under foot fourty and two moneths and Rev. 13. 5. Where speaking of the Beast the Holy Ghost saies thus of him And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given to him to make war fourty and two moneths even to make war with the Saints and to overcome them ver 7. So that the fourty and two moneths are then expired when the holy City can be no no longer said to be trodden under foot and when the Beast doth no longer overcome in his making War with the Saints but they overcome him as hee hath overcome them And now if it do appear that it is already so come to passe that God hath lifted up the heads of his people and that they are no longer * And this no man can or durst deny but the man that wilfully shuts his eyes against the truth of it trodden under-foot nor overcome by the Beast nor his adherents but that they overcome the Beast in all those that defend his quarrell THEN CERTAINLY these fourty and two moneths are already expired although the Beast and some of the hornes are not yet fully overcome But now it doth appeare and is evident to the eyes of all the Christians all the world over who have had their eyes upon the late wonderfull and strange passages of providence in England that God hath lifted up the heads of his Saints and his Church those whom the beast and his adherents the Popish and prophane party in England Scotland and Ireland most opposed and hated even such as were most faithfull and most circumspect in their way and who most desired to worship God in his Ordinances in their purity such as they tearmed Roundheads Puritans Independents Presbyterians Anabaptists Sectaries Precisians and what not These the Pope made war against and thought to have alwaies trodden under foot But God hath owned them and heard their prayers and delivered them from the persecution of the Beast and given to them power to overcome and bring down the Beast so that for this sixe yeares time they have never been overcome in any battle but ever since they have wonderfully overcome the beast and his adherents both in England Scotland and Ireland to the admiration of all that heare of it And this they have done whither their outward strength were little or much and ever since have they enjoyed freedome and liberty to worship God according to the rules of the Gospell without opposition or molestation whereby it is I say evident that that limited time even that forty two moneths of the Saints suffering persecution and being trodden under foot is expired although the beast and some of the other Hornes do yet remaine so that henceforth the Saints shall be overcommers untill great Babylon be ruined So much for answer to that Objection and for the Exposition of the 24 and 25 verses Only here remember that the only Argument which we have in this place to prove that the 1260 yeares of the Saints suffering persecution under the beast which is also exprest by a time times and dividing of time is now expired is this Because the little Horne is destroyed which the Spirit of God in this Prophesie said should continue untill then And that now we see it made good that the Saints bow down their backs to the beast no longer but are enlarged and delivered and begin to reward her as she hath done unto them I proceed Verse 26. But the Judgement shall sit and they shall take away his Dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end There being in the preceding verses a declaration of the horrible things which this Horne should do against the Saints as to change Times and Laws and to weare out the Saints and to make war against them In this verse we have a comforting and refreshing word for those wearied and persecuted ones that were so greatly afflicted and that is brought in with this word BUT a word usuall in all cases as when any thing is bad or sad it s usually declared to be so and so BUT we use to say this or that mitigates it or this or that is a comfort against it So here God having appointed a time for his people to suffer in tels them that so and so it shall be that this little Horne shall make war against them c. But for their comfort against that affliction he tels them that the judgement shall sit and shall take away his Dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end That which is first to be done in the exposition of this verse is to explaine what is meant by the sitting of the judgement which both with plainenesse and brevity I shall endeavour to do To this end I shall compare all the passages in this Chapter which have relation to it together with this verse lest being not compared with each other they be mistaken The
administration wherein God commits all things to be done by the Son And then when the time of Christs kingdom on earth is expired God shall be all in all after this last general Resurrection when death it self shall be destroyed And the Apostle gives a further description of that general Resurrection at vers 51 52 c. Behold I shew you a mystery we shall not all die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed for this corruption must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory In these verses the Apostle cleerly speaks of the last general judgement for he says that the Saints shall not all Die but shall all in a moment be changed and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and this he says shall be at the last trump and that demonstrates it to be the last day that the Apostle is speaking of because he says it shall be at the last trump for there is a trump which must sound before this of which the Apostle speaks 1 Thes 4. 16. where he speaks of the raising of the dead in Christ who must rise first even of the first Resurrection when the Saints must rise to reign with Christ Now the Apostle calling this the last trump it is cleer he speaks here of the last Resurrection and again its cleer by this also because he says that at this time Death shall be swallowed up in victory And that then shall be brought to pass that saying O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory That is then the victory shall be gotten over death death shall be no more an overcomer it shall destroy no more but be destroyed it self And this is the last enemy that shall be destroyed As Rev. 20. 14. and 1 Cor. 15. 26. Thus is it cleer that in these verses Paul speaks of the last general Resurrection I have the rather mentioned and opened these Scriptures that speak of the last general Resurrection that there might not be a confounding of the first Resurrection with the last and that the one might not be taken for the other as is very common And thus have I briefly shewn as far as from the Scripture appears to me what is to be done upon earth after the finishing of the thousand yeers of the reign of Jesus Christ and his Saints on earth And now having laid down this general description or discovery of the new Jerusalem both in the internal and external glory of it and of what things are to precede it and to succeed it I shall conclude all with that saying of the Psalmist Psal 111. 2 3. The works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His work is honourable and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever And now might I come to a large Application of all which is applicable several ways but desiring to be brief therein I have included all in these following Verses Vnto the Court of Parliament who are Supreme in England Ireland and elsewhere These Poems humbly are addrest Which placed are before the rest WHo knew Grave Senators when first of all In Parliament to sit you had a Call What great designes you were appointed to What world-amazing acts you had to do None but Jebovah doubtless then could tell Who knew his own holy Decree full well And therefore did betimes to you appear And fill you with his holy Spirit and fear And then his Purposes to bring to pass The Bill for non-dissolving of you was Confirmed so as not to be repeal'd To bring about his holy Will reveal'd So long ago to Daniel when he writ That to ' stroy the Horn the Judgement should sit And now you see you were the Instruments To bring about JEHOVAH'S high Intents Which were his People to defend and save From all their foes and therefore pow'r he gave You then and strength his enemies to withstand That did oppress the Saints with a high hand But they are overcome and shall no more O'ercome the Saints as they did heretofore For now the Judgement hath the Horn destroy'd And all that Crew that were by him employ'd And now the time 's expir'd wherein the Beast Should overcome the Saints his wo's increast Now Jesus Christ doth on Mount Sion stand And there his Saints do wait on his Command So that henceforth overcome all they shall That up against them rise and make them fall And now ye that in Parliament have bin The happie Instruments of this great King What cause have you in him for to rejoyce That guided were to make so good a choice To cleave unto this Cause and to forsake The other Party not for to partake With them in sins or punishments but to Wait on the Lord his blessed Will to do But now know this If any of you did Aim at yout selves and walk in paths crooked And in that place of Judicature sitting Pretending one did mean another thing And if your labour care and onely aim Have been to serve your selves and get a name The fruit's but temporary that y 'ave had And soon will moulder perish quail and fade And when you come to die what good will 't do When that your Consciences shall accuse you That you unfaithful and deceitful do Prove to the Trust that is repos'd in you For though accounts to man you never make Yet unto God you shall who them will take And then though all your heaps of gold you would Give up to clear your selves yet never should You be releas'd when Death doth once you call Before the great JEHOVAH'S Tribunal Your wisdom it would be betimes therefore For peace to seek and for to clear your score For now 's the time if ever it be done Before your life 's expir'd and glass is run You know the way Zacheus took That 's written in the blessed Book But now I 've done with you within this Court Whose ways have not been of a good report If that among you any such there be For I can none accuse all may be free For any thing that I can prove or lay Unto the charge of any there this day And yet there may be many Though I do not know any NOw of the Wise this will be accepted For why such counsel never breaks the head And as for you who in that Senate fit Whose consciences before the Lord acquit You fully do from ill reports abroad And clear you from deceitfulness and fraud Who walked have in the sincerity Of your own hearts and have in equity And