all the threatnings in Gods booke for adding to his word and detracting from it in matter of his worship and service and for rejecting his Commandements setting up mans in stead thereof and so placing sinfull man in the roome of our most holy blessed and glorious God the creature above the Creator yea in truth Satan above God like as in all their devillish and lying doctrines 11. Ours teaching working by the practise of them full assurance of Gods favour and love in Iesus Christ which onely brings with it joy unspeakable and glorious theirs teaching and bringing but onely hope without any ground of true faith and therefore teaching doubting continually which when the conscience is awaked brings the very flashing of hell fire with it So that ours in the right use of them are heaven upon earth theirs when their consciences shall be awaked or when they but see what they have done in them all a very hell upon earth 12. Our devotions are in the end the sweetest in the remembrance of them and of all the time before that ever we have spent in them since we beleeved in Christ so as every one of our devotions made in faith as our Religion directeth and every moment of time so spent in them hath a certaine reward their 's being done without warrant of the word yea contrary to the word and therefore superstitiously and sinfully not onely wanting all such expectation of reward for who required the best of those things at their hands but also having an expectation of vengeance when the conscience beginneth to be a little awaked So that experience teacheth that then they are faine to renounce all but Iesus Christ and so all confidence in these things and to wish then with Balaam to die the death of the righteous toward which death of the righteous we are alway going forward and which life we striving to live shall be sure to die the death thereof and our last end to be like to our life 13. Our devotions in so many of us as practise them aright are as our Religion viz. that pure Religion and undefiled before God even the Father which Iames speaketh of directing and helping to visit the fatherlesse and the widow in their adversitie and namely those of them who are of the houshold of faith and the members of our Lord Iesus Christ and to keepe our selves unspotted of the world So as we practising rightly out devotions there cannot be a lying tongue found in our mouthes nor a hand or heart defiled with bloud but we shall seeke by all meanes to save both soules and bodies of all sorts even of our wickedest enemies and the most bloudily-minded against us Their Devotions contrarily are in truth as their Religion to devoure widowes houses under a pretence of long prayer and to destroy all the innocent the fatherlesse widow even al who are of the houshold of faith the members of Christ which are indeed the Innocents that save all the rest And by these they make themselves notorious and infamous to all the world to be the most polluted with execrable lying and the murder of innocents of all other religions that ever were in the world before as will further appeare after whereby all their chiefe professours and namely their bloudy Iesuits have made themselves odious even to all Nations 14. Yea and to passe by many other our Devotions are as our Religion to make us faithfull and loyall subjects and not to be so bold as to have an evill thought in our hearts against him whom the Lord sets over us but to be as David whose heart smit him for touching but the lap of Sauls garment and so with that holy servant of God and with the children of the Captivity and with Daniel yea with all the holy Martyrs to be content to endure whatsoever from them and from all in holy and lawfull authoritie under them that in our patient sufferings Kings Princes and Rulers may see the truth and what is pleasing to the Lord and also what they ought to maintaine and doe for their owne salvation and of their Royall Progenie and Dominions their 's in all these things to make all to be contrarily affected viz. to arme and flesh all to rebellion and the murdering of Kings and Princes when they can do it cōveniently After that those their ghostly fathers have made them to drinke deepe enough of this cup and to be truly devout in the manner of their devotions though I hope better things of you to whom I write yet it cannot hurt you to be warned 15. Moreover for the māner forme of our devotions All our devotions which are agreeable to our doctrine are sent forth from understanding hearts and so with a holy zeale inflamed by the spirit of judgement and the spirit of burning mixt with the sweet perfume of Christs merit and so offered up to our heavenly Father as they may be most pleasing comming to him as out of the hand of our Saviour yea offered also in order without any vaine babling or idle repetition Theirs contrarily are for most part and usually without any understanding at all like as all the devotions of their ignorant sort are especially those which are in an unknowne tongue and so without all holy affection For all holy affections must of necessitie be grounded upon knowledge without which the heart cannot be good neither can there be any faith in such nor any thing but sinne for whatsoever is not of faith is sinne And not onely so but also theirs are full of vaine and idle repetitions in that blinde manner a matter directly condemned by our Saviour as hypocriticall and heathenish when men thinke to be heard for their much babling Finally for that theirs are usually sent forth in a proud opinion of their owne merit and worthinesse to be heard or as they come out of the hand of some Saint or Angell to whom therein they give this honour and prerogative which solely belongs to our Lord and Saviour viz. of presenting our praiers and supplications unto his Father alone I might prosecute these comparisons in many other instances as namely that our devotions make us still better the more they are practised by us and more like to Christ Iesus theirs as they are their 's properly as those which I named make them still and ever worse and worse and more like to Satan as he is transformed into an Angell of light as namely in all their Iesuits their chiefe professed holy men being indeed deuils in carnate and so accounted to all States and specially for those chiefe works of their lying and murder which are manifest to all to be their principall studie Ours to repeat it againe that it may leave the deeper impression in every soule tending to save all both soules and bodies theirs to destroy all not onely us whom they terme Heretiques but themselves eternally
8 A prayer that we may be able to lift up our eyes to our heavenly Father looking beyond all earthly meanes in all the troubles and perils of the Church without which we cannot pray as we ought 9 A thankes giving for the deliverie of the Churches from Egypt and Babylon with an earnest prayer for the full accomplishment thereof and that we may never looke backe to them againe to provoke the Lord against us by the same 10 A prayer that in token of our thankfulnesse for our deliverance wee may all seeke to give him his glory in our unfeigned repentance and walking conscionably in all his holy Commandements 11 A prayer that we may all give God the glory of his inward worship according to the first Commandement to helpe to pacify his Majesty toward the Churches 11 A prayer to bee able to discerne the sin of the Churches whereby he is diâ—…onored provoked even by the transgression of the first Commandement 12 A humble confession of the sinnes of the Churches and an acknowledgement of Gods righteous proceeding agaynst them for our unthankfulnesse and transgression of his laweâ—… and for that though we have heard of the miseries of our Brethren we have not beene humbled nor made our supplications for them as vvee ought according to Nehemiah 13 A humble confession of the sinne of our Land so polluted by all the Popish sort rejecting the Lord and setting up the Pope of Rome with his idolatry superstition in place of him and his pure worship to provoke his Majesty against us 14 A prayer for all the simple-hearted seduced by the Iesuites and other Seminary Priests that they may see how they have bin deluded to helpe thereby to plucke them from sathan and bring them to our Lord Iesus Christ. 15 A humble Thankesgiving for our dread Soveraigne with our gracious Prince and Princesse and all the Royall Progeny and for all our deliverances and preservations by them with an earnesâ—… Prayer that our sinnes being forgiven they may bee each in their times and places the happiest heads of the most blessed people that ever haue beene in the world before 16 A humble Thankesgiving that God hath thus farre heard our prayers with an earnest supplication that he may goe on to perfect his worke and that as we have made entrance into this service so we may all proceede vntill we shall see the ful deliverance of all his Churches the new Ierusaâ—…em and the eternall glory of his Sion The other Prayers and that which God willing is to succeede see in the end of all after the Table of the particular Contents Rules to be observed in the use of all the Meditations and Prayers REmember throughout to expect not excellencie of words but the power of God Remember Daâ—… Sling and Iâ—…suahs Trumpets of Rammes horne Thine eye being on thy Booke let the eye of thy soule be at thy Christ making intercession at his Fathers right hand labouring to feele all in thy heart and especially to have a right sense of the necessities of all for whom thou prayest and so praying in Faith thou shalt prevayle Rules to helpe to keepe us from ever declining from the Lord and from all delusions cheefely by Popery 1 LAbour to walke with thy God as Enech making conscience of all thy wayes specially of thy particular calling and every holy dutie in the due time fearing all occasions of evill watching and taking forthwith all occasions of good 2 Pray as he hath directed thee respecting ever his glory and kingdome and the generall state of his Church before thine owne particular 3 Strive to live under the best meanes and vvith the best company which GOD shall vouchsafe thee 4 Remember ever those strong delusions of Poperie sent in Gods iustice for contempt of the Gospell in not receyving the love of his trueth mentioned in the Epistle to the poore seduced people and withall keepe ever in minde those principall supporters and pillars of Popery viz lying and â—…irther the cheefe workes of Sathan which shew that that Religâ—…on is of him likewise 5 Consider well how Popery overthrowes many of the cheefe Principles of the Catechisme For this See a Pill to purge out Poperie 6 Be affraid of conferring with the Serpent viz. inticers to Popery or any evill of reasoning with temptations 7 In all such doubts first conserre with God by holy Meditation and Prayer as Dâ—…niel his compaaions after with thy faithfull Minister or some of the worthiest servants of God so farre as God offers thee any opportunity 8 Strive to reioyce in the Lord alway and in thy happy estate through Christ Pray continually by lifting up thy heart through him In all things give thankes whatsoever come to passe So thou shalt see the event happy and thy selfe ever to prevayâ—…e vvith God and more then a Conqueror ¶ Places of Scripture to be ever in our hearts to quicken us and stirre up in us the power of prayer THe eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous and his eares are open unto their cry Thou wilt prepare their hart thou wilt cause thine eare to heare To iudge of the fatherlesse and oppressed that â—…the man of the earth may no more oppresse Yea before they call I will answer And whiles they speake I will heare But let him aske in Faith nothing wavering The effectuall servent prayer of a righteous man avayleth much Elias was a man subiect to the like passions as we are and hee prayed earnestly that it might not raine and it rained not on the earth by the space of three yeares and six moneths And he prayed again and the heaven gave raine and the earth brought forth her fruite Concerning him when he was rapt up into heauen thus cryed Elisha after him My father my father the Chariots of Israel and the Horsemen thereof And for Elisha the king of Israel comming downe to visit him in his last sicknes wept over his face with the same words O my father my father the Chariots of Israel and the Horsemen thereof Of him that makes and keepes peace with God thus saieth the Spirit Thou shalt make thy Prayer unto him and he shall heare thee and thoâ—… shalt pay thy Vowes c. The innocent shall deliver the Iland and it is delivered by the purenesse of thy hands But as for the wicked thus he speaketh which he would have all men take notice of ponder well having set a double note upon it The Lord is knowne by the iudgement which he executeth the wicked is snared in the workes of his owne hands What hast thou to do to take my Covenant in thy mouth seeing thou hatest to be reformed and hast cast my words behinde thee Errata Amend these slippes following with what is defective in this first draught through want of meete leysure and our God will I hope bring it forth againe with all the
knit to that holy and melting harted King Iosiah whose death they so lamented as for the taking away of theyr shelter and even the verie breath of their nostrils Heare us Oh tender Father and let the bowelles of thy fatherly compassion earn over thy deere children in thus inclining the hearts of all unto them to favour and succour them especially those of them who have alreadie suffered so much adversity bene so long humbled under thy hand for thy deere Son our Lord Iesus Christ his sake our onely Mediator and Aduocate Amen VIII A Prayer that we may all bee able to lift uppe our eyes and hearts unto our heavenly Father alone and to look beyond all earthly meanes in all the troubles and perilles of the Churches OH heavenly Father who over ruledst the counsels of Herod Pontius Pilate and all the people of the Iewes and madst them all to serve for bringing to passe thine owne eternall decree for thine owne everlasting praise and the comfort of thine own chosen flocke Lift vppe the eyes and hearts of all thy Children now in this extreme rage and fury which is against us and especially the eyes hearts of all those of us who have endevoured to be faithfull with thee in these sinfull times and to walke humbly before thee as Enocke Noah Abraham Moses and Daniel Grant that wee may looke up to thee onely who though thou art so gloriously exalted in the highest heavens yet lookest upon all the Sonnes of men and seest all the wronges that are done unto thy Children and hearest every of their sighes and groanes writest them in thy booke puttest their teares in thy bottle and in thy due time wilt make this knowne before all the world howsoever the wicked and ungodly thinke not so but have removed thee farre out of their sight Good Father pardon this sinne unto all thy Children that in the daies of our peace we and all thy Churches have amongst other sinnes made flesh our arme withdrawn our hearts from thee the living God we have so much looked at our earthly fathers of all sortes and to earthly meanes as that we have sayd as they did of Iosiah that under the shelter of those great trees we should be safe from all the violent stormes which could be raised vp by Sathan and from all scorching heate of persecution so that in regard of them we have thoght we should never be removed thou Lord hadst of thy goodness by them made vs to stand so strong Lord make us to see how justly for this sinne thou hast taken away these earthly Fathers from some of the Churches weakned them in others and mayest now most justly even for this verie sinne alone so infeeble the armes of all the rest as that they cannot helpe thy Children yea that thou mayest contrarily so turn their hearts agaynst thy deerest Children for it that insteed of helping them they may rather joyne hands against them until such time as we shall see our sinne even in this behalfe amongst all other our heinous transgressions and turne our eyes agayne onely to thee our heavenly Father and cheefe Protector Oh grant unto us that wee may never rest before that time that by our unfeigned repentance for this and all other our sinnes and by our Prayers and teares crying all about thy feete we have caused thee to relent towards us thy bowels of compassion to earne over us in hearing our sighes and cryes and in seeing so many of us so lef◅e unto the hands of all thine our bloody merciless enemies Lord make vs all able to looke up thus to thee and by faith to behold thee sitting in heaven laughing to scorne all the devises of thine enemies guiding there the great wheele and by it ordering turning and over-ruling all these inferiour less wheeles heere below that though they seeme to be carried violently in a contrary motion yet wee may see all of them serve and by thy infinite wisedome and power made to helpe to accomplish thine eternall decree in whatsoever thou hast appointed concern̄ing the gathering in of all the remainder of thine elect both Iewes and Gentiles the comming downe of the new Ierusalem the present and eternall glory of thy Sion with the vtter ruine downfall of Babel the endlesse condemnation and destruction of that Whore of Babylon and of all thine enemies for evermore Lord make us rightly to understand fully to know that as Herod and Ponti◅s Pilate and all the people of the Iewes did not nor could doe any other thing against our eldest Brother thy deere Sonne our onely Lord and Saviour then that which thine owne counsell had determined for his highest advancement at thy right hand for thine owne eternall praise the sending downe of thy holy Spirit in that wonderfull manner the publishing of thine heavenly Gospell the calling of the Gentiles the inlargement of the Church and spreading it over the whole earth so at this present time neither Sathan nor Antichrist Mahomet nor all the mighty and subtilest enemies of the world can doe any other thing against thy Church or Children then that which long before even from before the foundation of the world was laid thou hast ordained and that for the full accomplishment of whatsoever thou hast foretold concerning both thy Church and Children and also concerning thine enemies and for preparing the way to thy glorious appearing Lord helpe us in this that looking over all things heere below wee may not onely stand still to see what thou wilt doe but that we may rejoyce in faith beholding thee thus ordering and disposing all things to these blessed ends and that thou art making all Angels Principalities Powers yea Sathan and all his instruments with all their rage malice might and subtilty in the very extreamest butchering slaughtering of thy Saints to worke together for the effecting heereof that so wee may rejoyce even heerein with joy unspeakable glorious and in this our blessed estate Lord make us to glorifie thee in this confident assurance that though we should be killed all the day long as many of our Brethren thy deere Children lately have bene for thy name sake and as wee are indeed in the designes of thine and our enemies accounted as sheepe for the slaughter yet that in all wee shall ever bee more then Conquerors thorow that blessed one in whom thou hast loved us Yea deere Father make us to triumph in this that whatsoever wee shall or can suffer in the meane time for thy names sake as other our Brethren do at this day and Sathan threatneth us that yet neither tribulation anguish persecution famine nakednesse bonds imprisonment perill or sword can ever seperate us from thy love in Christ Iesus our Lord if once we have the full evidences in our soules that wee are thy
and withall that as the Popish sort in every place have set up other Gods to anger thee as chiefly their holy Father the Pope whose word and ordinances they reverence above thine rejecting thy word utterly in regard of their Popes decrees and traditions and with him have set up all their Saints and Idols to whom by their invocation of them they give his glory so every one of us who albeit in words wee professe thee our God have yet in our hearts set up other things which wee preferre before thee and on which we spend moe of our thoughts more of our love and care to enjoy them then on thy Majesty even wee likewise have set up so many false Gods in our hearts to provoke thee to the uttermost And finally good Lord make us all able to see by this first commandement of thine how wonderfull few they are so farre as we are able to conceive who by the light of their good workes doe indeed and truth glorifie thee their heavenly Father by shewing forth before men and Angels that they have so set thee up in their 〈◊〉 as their God and those few that doe so indeed are the men principally maligned of all the people of the world even for this cause principally because they shew in their lives that they have thus in their hearts set thee up to bee their God although that they be the onely blessed people having thee their God all other being in a most miserable estate and that they are therefore the onely men in honour and favour with thee and by whom chiefly as by Abraham Noah and Moses thou savesâ—… and preservest all the rest of us Make us Lord to understand and conceive aright hereof and that for this very 〈◊〉 alone whereby we have so generally seâ—… our selves not onely to maligne and dishonour theâ—… but even to fight against thy heavenly Majesty wee may wonder how thou hast spared us of this nation hither to and not left us up as the other Churches untill we shall see and acknowledge what wee hâ—…e done against theâ—… our most gracious and out most blessed God in this behalfe Heare us Oh tender Father â—…nd suffer us never to â—…est untill wee have repented particularly of this our most heynous and crying sinne and that all of us that ever looke to have a strong assurance that we belong to thy eternall â—…lection have thus truly seâ—… theâ—… up in our hearts as our Lord and God That so by our unfeigned repentance thou maiest once againe manifest thy selfe in the deliuerance of all thy Churches and people in a more glorious manner to bee still our God graciously reconciled to vs againe in Iesus Chrst maiest so renew thy Covenant to remaine our God and the God of our posterity through him and for his sake alone for evermore Amen Amen XII A humble confession of the sinnes of the Churches and an acknowledgment of Gods righteous proceeding for our unthank fulnesse and transgression of his Lawes and for that though wee haue heard of all their miseries and knowne our owne dangers yet we haue not beene humbled nor made our supplications as we ought according to the 1. of Nehemiah OH Lord God of heauen and earth who art the great and terrible God proceeding most fearfully in thy dreadfull judgements even against thine owne deare people and children as thou diddest against thy people of Israel for their unthankfuluesse for their despising transgressing thy blessed Lawes and Commandements and yet art withall full of mercy and tender compassion to thy people repenting of their sinnes and truly humbled for their provocations thou who keepest Covenant and mercy for ever for all that truly love thee and who desire unfeignedly to observe all thy Commandements heare us and al thy poore Churches and people in all the earth at this day looking up to thee alone and crying loude unto thee We pray thee Oh tender Father that thine eyes may be open and thine eares may bee attent both to behold the miseries and dangers and to heare the prayers of thy poore servants which wee all joyntly poure out before thee day and night for our brethren thy servants and children which are in such great affliction and doe now uncessantly confesse all our sins and the sinnes of all thy people which we have sinned against thee Both we and our Fathers all of us have grievously provoked thee now this threescore yeares and aboue even since thou first tooke us by the hand to bring us forth of Egypt Babilon and diddst also carry us out as uppon Eagles wings by thy mig hty hand and oâ—…t-stretched arme Oh Lord wee have heard long do dayly heare more and more of the innumerable miseries which thou broughtest uppon our brethren and sisters in the Palatinate it being a principall member even of our owne selves Aud so in Bohemia and the Countries adioyning to it though further remote from vs yet our deare brethren and sisters in Christ Iesus and so likewise in the Churches of France hard at our doores in all the direfull slaughters and butcherly cruelties which thine our merciles enemies haue executed upon them in their bloody rage without any pitty We have also heard and do still daily heare ringing in our eares the miserable state and condition of the residue of them that have escaped the bloody sword some of them induring all kind of violence and calamities of all sorts living in all reproach the wall of their Ierusalem being broken downe the gates there of being burnt with fire all the rest of them living in continuall feare because of the deadly fury and hellish plots against them to destroy them all And yet though wee have long heard do dayly heave of these things and of the rage of thine and our enemies still increased against them all and against our selves have wee not with thy holy servant Nehemiah sit downe wept and mourned for them muchlesse fasted and prayed before thee the God of heaven in their behalfe in any such manner as we ought Oh thou our most holy God and pittyfull Father we humbly confesse and acknowledge that wee have all grievously sinned against thee wee have not kept thy great goodnesse in remembrance which thou shewedst unto us in delivering our fathers and us so wonderfully from Aegypt Babilon by so mighty a hand nor the many great preservations and deliverances which since that time our eares have heard and our eies have seene how thou hast rescued us from their jawes nor yet have we kept in memory how thou tookest us to bee thine owne peculiar people of all the people of the earth made thy Covenant with us to bee our God and that wee should be thy people so that wee would but walke in this thy Covenant But this our Covenant with thy Majesty though all of vs who professe thy Gospell have solemnly
Sathan and Antichrist set up themselves to be obeyed and to destroy out of the earth all that seeke to obey the Lord. FOurthly we are to endeavour to bring our hearts to a lively meditation and weighing hereof How Antichrist all his limbes who persecute Gods Church all other wicked and vngodly men are so farre off from obeying his heavenly wil and commandement that they haue set themselves to satisfie onely their owne wicked lusts and willes and to disanull all the commandements of our blessed God both of his Law and Gospel and all his holy and blessed will revealed in the same and with them to destroy out of the earth all those that desire to obey him according to his heavenly word or that make any true and right conscience of his wayes and wil yea to put out all the true saving knowledge of our Lord Iesus Christ to set up their owne wicked inventions in place thereof and how they are in a dreadfull manner proceeding heerein That as was touched before there is nothing but the mightie hand and power of our Lord Iesus Christ and the holy care and vigilancie of his Vicegerents whose hearts he shall in mercy raise up for himselfe and for his poore Church together with the prayers of his owne Children to prevent the same And withall we are to strive to bring our hearts to a true feeling how hard a matter it is for Gods owne deere people and children being free from these trials to lay these things to heart as they ought to doe and as his people haue beene wont and also how difficult it is for them which are tryed by these greevous afflictions which they undergo to submit themselves to Gods will and to make a right use of them all ◅nd to cry with our Saviour Father if it be thy will let this cup passe from us yet not our will but thy heauenly wil be fulfilled Blessed be thy holy name That so we may the more commiserate their estate and help them crying heerein The fifth particular Meditation of the second generall Concerning the innumerable miseries which our Brethren indure deprived of the outward comforts of this the better life how neere the like may be to us WEe are yet further in the fifth place by continuall and serious pondering of thē to bring our hearts to a more right fellow-feelling of those innumerable miseries mentioned before which our poore bretheren the deare children of the Lord do indure in every place where Sathan and Antichrist have prevailed especially by this late bloody sword wheresoever it hath come how they have been and still are in so many places deprived of all the comforts of this life of food raiment harbour libertie meanes of health and peace lying under famine nakednesse slavery sicknesse perill sword and all the miseries that follow upon them where the mercilesse idolatrous souldier is made drunke with the blood of Gods Saints having none to flie to to succour them but onely to cry unto the Lord. And more also enduring the famine of their soules having none to feed them with the word of life none to minister a word of comfort to refresh their fainting hearts And withall wee are wisely aforehand to lay to heart how nere the like miseries may be unto our selves how we have deserved to drinke of the same cup in a deeper measure for that wee haue not knowne the day of our long visitation which hath been in so much mercie but have abused these and all other our Blessings so as never Nation more And finally that wee are the faster haling and pulling these evils upon us for our want of commiseration for that our bowels have not nor yet doe earne over them for their innumerable miseries which they abide and that we have and doe so generally by our impenitency and induration fat our selves as against the day of slaughter How by those principally whom the Lord hath set over us for our foster fathers and mothers wee have hitherto been preserved from these thus farre forth through the tender mercy of our heavenly father and may hope that hee will so preserve us still i◅ we shall once be awaked to make a true and right use hereof The sixt particular Meditation of the second generall concerning the sinnes of the Churches and namely the generall abuse of the Gospell and the blessings which accompany it and that our sinnes are most heynous for our unthankefulnesse SIxtly wee are moreover to travell with our owne hearts to bring them to a right sense and feeling of our owne sinnes and the sinnes of other Churches and chiefly the most heynous and crying sins thereof which have provoked the Lord to so heavy displeasure thus to begin to proceede against so many of his own deer children abroad and amongst other that carnall Gospelling of barely professing the name of the Gospell but without any power or life thereof so much complained of in all the Churches That our blessed God having committed unto us the hidde treasure of his heavenly Gospell wee have not esteemed of it accordingly that we have onely professed it i◅ word for the most part but have not shewed forth any power of it as we ought That wee have not caused our light to shine so before others that yet sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death as that they seeing our good works might come from the kingdome of Sathan to God and glorisie our Father which is in heaven That thus he hath now alreadie so fearefully proceeded against so many of our brethren in forreigne parts for these and other sinnes according to the threatnings denounced in his Law and is so still going on forward in the heighth of his displeasure and yet wee for the most part remain without any true sense hereof and the best of us without that which we ought to have Then from them abroad we are to come home unto our selves and to our owne sinnes and heerein to consider seriously that our sinnes of this Nation may justly s◅eme more heynous then theirs or of any other people under heaven and therefore cry lowder for vengeance both in that the Lord hath so long called us to repentance not onely by the voyce of his Spirit in his heavenly Gospel and by as many of his worthy Messengers as euer he sent to any Nation before but also so long warned us and striven with us that he might spare us by all the other meanes that ever he used to reclaime any people both by mercies and iudgements and by his fatherly rods corrections more especially by such wonderfull preservations of vs from our just feares and so admirable deliverances when we were in the middest of the fire and when yet wee were without any sense or feare thereof or power to helpe or save our selves Also for that our outragious
his holy Angels Moreover that we can with all thankefulness receive from his hand yeeld unto whatsoever chastisements or trials it shal please his heavenly wisedome to exercise us by and that we can mourne with the holy Prophet David to see his blessed wil and Commandements both Law and Gospel so scorned and trampled under foote That wee have atrayned thereto at the least in our inner man to wit in the full desire and resolution of our soules are thereupon able thus to cry in truth and in the uprightness of our hearts Thy wil be done in earth as it is in heaven The fift particular Meditation of the third generall That we be such as looke into and depend onely upon our heavenly Father for all good things FIftly we must trauel with our owne hearts never resting until wee bee such as feele our selves in some good measure able in faith to looke up unto him as to our pittiful gracious and bountiful Father and to depend whollie upon him with faithful Abraham for accomplishment of all our desires and whatsoever else he hath promised and for giving to us and to the whole Church all things belonging heereunto so farre as shal be best To trust in him onely for all and to give him the glory of al. Also such as have attained in some good sort a fellow-feeling with our Brethren of al their wants and afflictions both bodily and spiritual and so are thereby able to crie for them as for our selves Giue us this day our daily bread Such as are ready to communicate unto them in all things according to their necessities of what kinde soeuer And finally such as strive to walke painfully and faithfully in our places callings that we may not be chargeable to the Church but may better supply the wants of our Brethren and so shew forth our right dependance on his fatherly goodness for our selues and for them al for bread and all other comfortes for bodies and soules appertaining both to this and the better life The sixt particular Meditation of the third generall That we be such as feele our sinnes and infirmities as a heavy burden and travelling under them doe fly ever unto Christ. SIxtly wee are seriously to stirre vp our soules that we never rest vntill we be such at least in the longing desires of our hearts as doe see and feele not onely our owne sins infirmities and corruptions as a heavy burthen making us daily to runne to our Lord and Sauiour to bee eased of them but withall that wee haue some true feeling of the sinnes of all sorts in the Church which have so farre forth already provoked the Lord to execute his fierce wrath upon so many of our Brethren to leave them into their enemies hand and so to threaten all the Churches by the deadly malice and mischievous plots and prevailings of our bloody enemies And also that we can and do begin to cry That the Lord would forgive us our sins our hainous crying sins grant unto us unfeigned repentance for the â—…ame hearts to do whatsoever hee hath commanded belonging thereunto for the pacifying of his wrath both privately publiquely We are withall to bethinke our selves whether wee be such as unfeignedly wish with blessed Paul to have a continuall heavinesse in our hearts for our owne sinnes and for the sinnes of Gods people whereby hee hath beene so provoked to so heavy a wrath so dreadfull proceedings even against his owne Children which are so deere unto him and for that his anger is daily more and more kindled and incensed Such as can freely forgive and doe use to pray for our very enemies that they so many of them as belong to the election of Grace may likewise come to repentance and escape his wrath vengeance due unto their sinnes and bee made with us partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light The seuenth particular Meditation of the third generall That we indeavour to pray continually Lead us not into temptation SEventhly we are to meditate seriously that if wee will be helpers unto our Lord and Saviour in this worke we are never to give rest unto our soules untill we have brought our selves to a true understanding sense and practice of that counsell yea that precept of our Saviour with which so few Christians are indeed rightly acquainted to wit to watch and pray continually that we fall not into temptation That we be such as doe not onely see the danger that wee our selves stand in of Sathans temptations every moment of time and of the many and fearefull evils which by our sinnes hee seekes without ceasing to bring upon us and thence doe labour incessantly by watching and prayer to be preserved and delivered from the same but doe also use to mourne and be in heavinesse day and night for the prevailing of Sathan and Antichrist and of all their limbes and instruments not onely against the poore people and children of the Lord but also against his blessed Gospell at this day by their craft and subtilties and for the innumerable miseries bodily and spirituall which they have and doe daily more and more seeke to bring upon them and therefore we do use daily to cry for them as for our selues Lord lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evill The eighth particular Meditation of the third generall That wee can and doe use to sing the song of the 24. Elders Glorie c. SEventhly wee are never to give the Lord over untill wee bee such as ever acknowledging in our hearts and consciences the Soveraignty of our Lord Iesus Christ have attained hereto to bow the knees of our soules and fall downe upon our faces before him having learned the Song of the foure and twenty Elders Glory Honour Praise Dominion Might and Majesty bee to him that sits upon the throne and unto the Lambe for evermore and doe use to sing the same in our soules and also doe desire that it may bee sounded out by us and by all the Church eternally at least such as can mourne for our continuall wants and failings herein Finally that wee be such as use to stirre vp our hearts in faith to sound Amen both begging and beleeving that through Iesus Christ we shall obtaine whatsoever we have or shall desire as our Lord and Saviour hath taught us so farre as shall bee most for his glory our salvation with the good of all his Church and herein can ioyfully repose our soules And not onely that wee have attained the beginnings or as it were the first fruites in all these graces moreover that we indeavour to increase grow in every one of them continually And thus much also for the second generall meditation to wit what kind of persons we must be if we will bee sure to be
have bene truly humbled for this sinne and haue brought their hearts to such a lively sense and feeling of the miseryes of theyr Brethren as that their bowels can earne over them for the same The sixt Reason to be rightly considered of SIxtly we are seriously to thinke heereof and not to rest before we have brought our hearts to a right consideration of it That none but onely those who can so lay to heart the dishonors done unto his Majesty in the blaspheming of his great and glorious name the trampling under foot his Gospell and people as that they can at least unfeignedly desire and labour to bee more troubled for the same and more humbled in themselves for them then for any private evill that can betide thēselves or frends can possibly be meete for this worke For that if we do not so highly esteeme and prefer his glory and Gospell as that in regard thereof we can even neglect and despise our selves we do exceedingly dishonour and despise him and therefore must looke to bee despised of him and so have all our prayers and all service in this behalfe untill that time utterly rejected The senenth reason to be seriously Meditated of That none can be admitted who will not cest away their sinne though as deere as their right eye THis is above all though touched in part before to bee deeply and duely pondered to bring our hearts to a true beleeving and feeling of it that not any but such as now harken to his loud cry to repent and turne from all their evill wayes even in every particular can bee meete for this though their sinne be as deere unto them as their right eye if they love i◅ more then the Lord Iesus they cannot bee worthy of him Therefore sith God hath threatned all such that they must be cast into hell fire and so perish eternally from his presence how can they ever imagine to bee admitted to this worke seeing they cannot stand before him Or if they be such as have not no◅ yet will receive the love of the truth so as to obey it in what they know that they may be saved or such as when they know God they will not set themselves to glorifie him as God but contrarily will more and more dishonor him by going on obstinately in their sinnes or such as have set up any stumbling block of their owne wicked imagination to worshipe it how can they thinke to bee helpers herein unto the Lord for all others Howsoever they flatter themselves that they shall do well enough though they live in that sinne for a time or at least a little and that they shall have peace that God will bee mercifull unto them notwithstanding all that hee hath denounced to the contrary yet the Lord hath told us plainly that he will not be mercifull to any such but will make his wrath smoake against then untill they bee consumed Hee hath declared to all the world that such shall be either given up to be strongly deluded by Antichrist or by some other like delusion that they shall bee given up in the end to a reprobate sense as hee gave up the very Gentiles for abusing but the light of Nature yea that Gods owne Prophets shall helpe to deceive such to sooth them in their evill way answering them according to their owne evill heart That thus the stumbling block which any one hath set up to worship and wherein he hath preferred the obeying serving of his owne lusts before his obeying serving of the Lord Iesus shall be his ruine and destruction And therefore no such man so long as hee continueth obstinately in his sinne can hope to bee admitted or to have any hand or part in this holy worke The eighth reason hereof That but inclining to any fin God will not heare us ANd more then all this to awake our consciences yet more fully the Lord would have us further to thinke of this deeply that hee which inclineth to any wickednesse in his heart but to any one sinne desiring to have his corrupt lust satisfied in it contrary to the light of his conscience his prayer even for that is a bhominable so that God will not heare him as David professeth of himselfe The ninth reason hereof to bee ever in our hearts That whosoever is not with our Saviour is against him TO shut up all briefly this is never to be out of our hearts That whosoever is not with our Saviour is against him whosoever indeavoureth not to bee so with him so to follow and helpe him as a true Disciple and souldier to be furnished with every of the former qualities to bee armed with every part of the compleate Armour of a Christiain to be in all things such a one as hee hath so prescribed yea who will not bind set himselfe constantly to keepe his watch but sometimes give liberty to his owne euill heart hee cannot have any true hope to bee admitted to this worke but in pressing in to helpe without a warrant as Vzzah did to stay the Arke-tottering is in danger of Gods heavy displeasure and to have his prayer turned into sinne That it shal so come to pass unto him as unto those who would go to fight without y◠Lord. He may looke for a curse in stead of a blessing to have the Lords hand stretched out agaynst him to fall and flye before his enemyes Till this time every such a one may be afraid of comming neere the Mountaine of putting his hand to the Arke of rushing into the battle without Armor may look to speed as he that came to the marriage without his wedding Garment The second particular Meditation of this sixt generall Who may with hope and confidence offer themselues NOW upon all these and the like grounds we are to labour yet further to bring our hearts to a right understanding and a more thorovv apprehension of that second generall Meditation togither with this which followeth to wit That those and they alone who are so qualified and every way so fitted as are before described are the men whom indeed the Lord at this day looks for and which can say with the Prophet Esay Lord heere I am admit me for one of those whose help thou wilt accept For Lord thou knowest that to my poore power and that measure of grace which thou hast vouchsafed me I have in all things unfeignedly desired to be prepared and fitted to helpe thee and thy poore Church Accept of my feeble desires and supply that which is wanting Thy grace is sufficient for me Thy power is seene in the greatest weakness Lord thou that seest all hearts hast tryed my heart and my ◅eynes how unseignedly I have sought thee heerein contending to walke before thee and as in thy presence continually and to bee kept undefiled from
whatsoever might any vvay offend thy most holy eyes Though I be weake and unworthy and have had exceeding many slips wants and faylings yet for the worthyness of thy Christ admit of those though so feeble desires which thou hast vouchsafed me Giue me my press-money the earnest and seale of thy holy Spirit My heart is prepared to doe thee the faithfullest service that ever thou shalt enable me Lord by such poore weake Wretches and at their praiers thou hast bin wont to get thy selfe the victorie that no flesh should rejoyce in thy presence but that all glorie honour and praise may be given to thee alone for evermore Reasons to be seriously weighed that onely such can looke or hope to have acceptance here 1. THat these onely are in a true League Covenant with God and thereupon are such as his heavenly Majestie doth not disdaine to call his Friends as Abraham was called the Friend of God And therefore they though they be but dust and ashes may presume through the merit of the Lord Iesus to intreat even for filthy Sodom yea to importune his heavenly Majesty and expect to obtaine of him that if there bee but ten righteous persons in five wicked cities he wil spare all for ten sake These onely are fit men to helpe by their prayers to rescue their Brethren out of the hands of Sathan and of all their cruell enemyes vvhich have carried them away Captives and who do so insult triumph over all and over the Lord himself as thinking that they have already made a conquest of all These are the men and these alone vvhich can with Moses stay the lords hands that he should not destroy his people These are they to whom God can deny nothing Onely these who having thus put their shooes off their feet are fit with that holy Moses to stand before the Lord to be sent to fetch his people their brethren out of Egypt from the Tile-killes and to pull them out of the middest of the fire These are with Aaron thorow the continuall intercession of our great High-Priest meete to helpe to pacifie the Lords displeasure towards the remnant of his people to stand betweene the living and the dead These being supported by Aaron and Hur can holde up their hands till God have got himselfe a glorious victory against Amalek These and these alone are able with Iosuah to cause the Sunne to stand still so farre as the Lord shall see it best for his owne glory until he shall be avenged of all his enemies and therfore much more may they be confident in matters of less moment For vvhat cannot the prayer of Faith bring to passe These men are able with Eliah to moove the Lord so farre as in his divine wisedome he shall see it best to send fire from Heaven to consume their Sacrifices and to make knowne to all that he hath accepted them And moreover to move the Lord to manifest to all the World and that as clearely as if hee spake from Heaven who is the Lord which is his true religion and which the false who they are that are the true children of Iesus Christ and who they are of the otherside that are the Servants of Sathan and Antichrist who are with him who against him These are they who vvith Mordokey and Hester and the rest of the faithfull amongest the Iewes are able to obtain the reversing of that most bloody decree procured by wicked Haman against Gods people although it be to doe all the decrees of the Medes Persians such as to man seemeth impossible euer to bee reversed and to cause Haman to be hanged upon his owne Gallowes To turne the plot devised agaynst Gods people to their joyfullest day a day to be remembred for ever a day of shame and confusion to all Gods enemies These are they whose praiers come up before the Lord as the prayers of holy Daniel Cornelius and Peter and who may looke for an answer from heaven at the evening Sacrifice above all that they can imagine even by the ministery of Gods blessed Angels so farre as shall be best These are they that in the greatest perils of the Church may hope through their praiers with holy Paul to save themselves and all in the Ship with them in such sort as the heavenly Wisedome shall see it best that at least they may swimme out though for not hearkning unto the Lord in time they may all first suffer shipwracke and be 〈◊〉 into the Sea These are they with whom at their cryes our Lord Iesus will be as he was with those three Worthies of the Captivitie in the middst of the hot fiery Furnace and in the verie Lyons den with holy Daniel to stop the mouthes of those hunger-bitten Lyons that the least hurt shall not come unto them more then shal be for his eternall glory with the greater good of his Church People and by whose trialles our blessed God and tender Father hath made knowne the truth of his Religion and of his causes with the innocencie of his people to Kings Princes and Rulers and to cause it by them to be published as it were to the world like as he did when it was commanded by them to bee spred and divulged in all the Dominions of the mightie Monarchs and so from them to goe to all other Nations with whom any of them had any trafficke or familiaritie And by whom he hath beene wont to effect accomplish his owne glorious workes as he hath foretold above all that any of his owne deerest Servants could ever imagine oâ—… could have beene perswaded of by any humane reason that they could ever haue bin brought to pass And thus much for this generall Meditation viz who they be that exclude themselves and also who they are and who alone that can ever looke to be committed as approved of the Lord for this blessed and glorious worke And how wee must strive to passe thorow all the difficulties before wee can approach with any true confidence and assurance to put our hand hereto and much more so as to bee able to preuaile with our God to bee made as his Israel and what confident boldnesse we may houe herein for that if wee bee such as these our God is stil the same hee is not changed neither is there with him any variablenesse or shadowing by turning The seuenth generall Meditation That the Lord notwithstanding graciously cals all sorts to be his helpers herein and therefore every one who will not strive to bee of this number and come to bee on his side must perish and doth iustly bring upon himselfe swift damnation IN this seuenth place the Lord would have us seriously to lay to heart out of all these Meditations the blessed estate and honour of them who are called and admitted to
cause all our lands to keepe such dreadfull Sabbaths being possessed by thine and our enemies as so many of them doe already and seeing wee would not serve thee in our owne good lands under thine owne servants with cheerfull glad hearts that we should serve thine and our enemyes not onely in our owne but even in forraine Countryeâ—… with heavinesse and terror all our daies And as wee have sinned rebelling against thee in every one of these so likewise against all the rest of thy holy Commandements and even against thy heavenly Gospell and ordinances as that wee have justly forfitted them all and all other our priviledges and promises Wee therefore acknowledge in the behalfe of all thy people that thou art righteous in all that thou hast done unto us and if thou still further execute whatsoever thou hast denounced in thy blessed Law against us And yet notwithstanding we do humbly beseech thee to remember the word that thou commandedst by thy servant Moses saying Ye will transgresse and I will scatter you among the people But if you turne to mee and keepe my Commanddments and doe them though your scattering were to the utâ—…ermost part of the heaven yet will I gather you from thence and will bring you to the place which I have chosen to place my name there Now these deere Father are thy people yea thy servants and children our owne brethren and sisters whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power by thy mighty hand as well as our selves some of them of the chiefe of us all any one of whom is worth many thousands of the 〈◊〉 of us Therefore Oh good Lord we beseech thee let it be enough to awaken us all that thou hast so far stretched out thy hand against these our brethren being thine owne children and inheritance and let thine eare now at length hearken to the praiers of thy servant and to the fervent supplications and loud cryes of all thy servants who desire to feare thy great name and give us favour in thy presence and in the presence of all those whom thou hast set in thine owne place to bee nursing-Fathers and nursing-Mothers to thy poor Church and people Grant that their first care may bee to bring us all to unfeigned repentance for our sinnes that thou mayest bee pacified towards us and then good Lord put into their hearts a holy submission to cast downe their crownes before thy deere sonne our Lord Iesus Christ and to give all their power and authority unto him to helpe by all holy meanes to redeeme and restore his Captives that they may againe serve thee in their owne places each under their owne vine and figâ—…ree under the authority and command of thy deâ—…re servants as ever they did before Oh let this prevaile with us all to make us all to remember our vowes to â—…urne to the obedience of thy blessed Commandements and especially to turne heereby to keepe thy Sabbaths and to reuerence thy Sanctuary yâ— thou mayest as much lift them and us al up in mercy as thou hast formerly cast them downe and that thus wee and all future Ages may learne to feare thy great name and evermore sound out thy praises both in word dnâ—… deed expressing our thankfulnesse in all holy and new obedience that so thy glory may shine in all the world Heare us most mercifull Father in these our humble requests and al others c. XIII A humble confession of the heynous sinne of our lande and namely in all the Popish sort who have so fearfully polluted it in reiecting the Lord and his pure religion casting it forth of theis hearts and setting up the Pope of Rome with his abhominable Idolatry and superstition in place thereof to provoke his heavenly Maiesty against us with prayer for pardon and that they and all other may in due time see this fearfull sin that casting out Sathan and Antichrist they and all of us may againe set up our Lord Iesus Christ to the pacifying of his sacred Maiesty and the saving of us all OH Lord most holy and most glorious who canst not beare with any kind of impuriâ—…y or other wickednesse in thy people which professe thy name whom thou hast chosen to set thy Tabernacle amongst and much lesse that they should reject thee and cast thee forth from râ—…igning in their hearts should set up Sathan and Antichrâ—… to obey them in thy â—…lace open the eyes of all them who are superstitiously minded and even the eyes of us all to see what we have done in suffering that religion to thâ—…ive and so farre to grow up againe thrusting thee out with thy sacred truth as in all who obey the Pope of Rome receiving and reverencing hiâ—… word and ordinances above thy heavenly word Oh grant to all them who have so fallen away from thee rejecting thy glorioâ—…â—…sty and also to all who 〈◊〉 in a mammering and much more all those who have so begun of late to dote after Popery to bethinke themselves seriously what they will answer unto thy sacred Majesty for their so casting thee off and thy Religion after the time that thou hast so loâ—…g so clearly and fully discovered the basenes and vilenesse of Popery and so to cast it out of our land by such a generall consent of our Princes Nobles and Commons and so good Lawes made against it Cause them and all sorts wisely to weigh and consider well with themselves that this our whole state did not so cast it out at once without iust cause nor our whole land so renounce it without a most palpable discovery of the filthynesse thereof How before that time even very Idiots and little children saw how all had beene deluded and rob'd by it through all their Masses Purgatory Pilgrimages Pardons with all kinds of their jugling 〈◊〉 and how all was but to get money to make themselves faâ—… and Lords of all both bodies and soules of men that all might be their slaves and vassals like as it is in all the Popish Countryes at this day Make them all to understand and know how all those whose eyes thou hast not shut up did tken plainly perceive and acknowledge thy vengeance most justly uppon all those places called their religious houses as their Abbeyes 〈◊〉 Nunneries and the like in their ruines desolation for all the abhominations committed in them How notorious this filthynes of them was even more loathsome and abhominable then the sinne of Sodome through their fulnesse of bread and aboundance of idlenesse How they weâ—…re al red with blood with the cruell and unnaturall murderâ—… of Infantâ—… to hide those their odious sinnes Cause them all at length â—…o understand and lay to hart that those houses wherein was the chiefe practise of their religion were nothing else but dens of theeves couzening and robbing the whole land and every day by their new devises fetching
the hopes and daunting the hearts of all thine thy Churches Adversaries and in beginning to grant all things according to the cryes of thy poore people and even above our expectations considering the heynousnesse of our sinnes Oh Lord who are we that even at the prayers of a few of us in regard of the multitude that know thee not and therefore do not nor can seeke thy face thou shouldest be so gracious to us Lift up our hearts good Father that we may conceive aright what thou wilt doe at our generall cries when we shal be joyntly humbled before thee and all seeke thee as thou hast appointed Grant specially this grace to every one of us who have already or shall heereafter give our names unto thee to serve thee heevein and helpe thy poore distressed Church and people that uppon this happy experience wee may labour every day to attayne unto more integrity soundness in walking uprightly and constantly before thee in all thy holy commandements Vouchsafe that heereby wee may get more boldnes wherby we may approach neerer unto thee and even to importune thee with holy Abraham Moses Ezra and Nehemiah untill wee have obtained the pacifying of thy Majesty by the taking away all the abhominations crying sinnes out of the Churches the delivering of thy Captives the restoring and re-edifying of thy Ierusalem and that all the hopes of our wicked enemies shall bee at an end and our dreadfull dangers and feares past and that we shall visibly beholde thy glory therein and also injoy thy glorious presence for evermore To this end deere Father enable us by thy blessed Spirit to use all the meanes furthering heereunto and that much more carefull conscionably then ever wee have done for confirming our weake hands for strengthning our wearie knees Make us all ever to keepe a fresh remembrance of thy goodness and mercy how readie thou art to heare the cryes of thy people and of the power of our prayers thorow our Lord and Saviour how farre they have already prevayled with thy Majesty Cause us ever to have a â—…arefull and watchfull eye to thy blessed Word that in all things we may have that for our guide and our direction Worke in each of us a holy resolution to cleave fast unto thee without any departing or staggering walking continually in all thy blessed Lawes and Commandements for ever even unto the end Teach and helpe us to feare alway the offending of thy Sacred Majestie and that with a true childe-like feare because of thy holinesse who canst not abide any iniquity no not in thy deerest Children and because of the extreame rage and subtiltie of Sathan against all thine dogging us continually at the heeles to provoke us to sinne agaynst thee that hee may accuse us and incense thy Majesty against us if it may bee to leave us unto his malice or at the least to hinder thy love and blessing And also because of our owne vile corruption which is ready alwayes to hearken unto him and to betray us into his hand Assist us to watch ever against all occasions of temptations keeping strict watch over all our senses our thoughts motions wordes and actions Make us everie day to waxe better and better still growing on toward that perfection which we doe dayly waite for in the Heavens Cause us ever to keepe in fresh memory that wee are thorow our cursed Natures and the industrie of Sathan like him that is in a boare vppon a strong streame that if wee bestirre not our selves constantly to go forward we certainely goe backeward if wee but forget our selves or withdraw our hands never so little Make us able to observe wisely all our slippes and faylings and euer to be carefull forth with to seeke the recovery of our selves by unfeyned repentance and by dooing our first and best workes Graunt unto us this grace that every one of us may have our owne particular warrantable callings that wee may know them well and what speciall duties thou requirest of us in them and that we may labour to walk faithfully therein that thy blessed Angelles may rejoyce to attend upon us and protect us alwayes and Sathan may neuer take us out of our way to get any advantage against us thereby Lift up our eyes evermore to the recompence of reward that therein wee may cheerefully follow our Lord and Saviour running fast towards the marke untill we shall attaine the Crowne which hee ever holdeth forth unto us in his right hand Helpe us to set thee ever before our faces and at our right hands as thy seruant David that we may never sin against thee but that we may go on couragiously with holy Moses as seeing thee with us ever that art invisible Make us able to rejoyce alwayes in our happie estate thorow Iesus Christ by comparing it with the estate of the greatest Princes and Monarkes who are enemies vnto thee and whether vvee wold change with the mightiest of them Cause us to goe 〈◊〉 cheerefully not onely contented with our condition but also rejoycing heerein that the lines are fallen unto â—…s in so fair a ground and that we haue so goodlie an heritage Make us able in praying continually for what we stand in neede of for our selves and for all the Churches and people of the Lord ever withall 〈◊〉 give thankes for that measure which we have alreadie and for whatsoever deliverances hopes or other 〈◊〉 which we have formerly 〈◊〉 or do â—…ow injoyâ—… And finally enable us in whatsoever we beg to ayme 〈◊〉 aâ—… the advancement 〈◊〉 glory and of the kingdom of thy Sonne with the saying of thy people that thus going on in the zeale of thy glorie and in the â—…owels of commiseration towardes thy poore Ioseph in a tender feeling of his affliction and in the constant use of all holy meanes we may be assured that wee shall be as Caleb everie day stronger and stronger in all grace and in the power of prayer and as the greene Olive in thy house bringing forth more fruite to our olde age and last dayes that our last daies may be our best dayes our last breath may be spent for thy Majesty that so we may see the selâ—…citie of thy chosen and may reigne and triumph with thee in heaven for evermore Perswade all thy people that every one vvho comes not thus to helpe thee thy poore Church by their prayers must perish that none can helpe indeede but they onely who seeke to attayne this integrity and to abide aud grow therein perpetually Hearken unto us O most tender Father in these our humble suites and in whatsoever else thou knowest needfull for us for thy poore distressed Churches or for any member of thy whole vniuersall and Catholike church even for the Lord Iesus Christ his sake thy most beloved
THE FOVRTH PART OF THE TRVE WATCH CONTAINING PRAYERS AND TEARES for the CHVRCHES OR A helpe to hold up the hearts and hands of the poorest servants of God untill our Lord Iesus Christ shall have rescued his Glorie Kingdome and People in all the world and fully prepared the way to his most glorious appearing In praying learne to watch in watching pray in watching and praying is our victorie Zech. 4. 6. Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts Hos. 12. 4. He had power over the Angell and prevailed he wept and made supplication unto him LONDON Printed for Thomas Pavier 1624. TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE AND VERTVOVS Ladies the Ladie ZOVCH wife to the Right Honourable the Lord ZOVCH with her Noble Sisters Ladie DVDLEY and Ladie WINFIEâ—…D all Grace and happinesse IT is too well knowne Right Honourable and Worthie Ladies how both in Court and Countrey the hearts not onely of poore simple women loaden with sinnes buâ—… of our chiefe Ladies and of all other are stollen away so much as the Lord permite from all true allegeance and obedience to our Lord Iesus Christ and his Anoinced to ioyne themselves to the Church of Rome to the endlesse perdition both of their soules and bodies This also is as evident that this is wrought principally by this subtiltie of the old Serpent That they in that Church haue moe holy devotions and doe also spend much more time therein than wee in ours By this enchantment amongst others Satan and his instruments seeke to deuoure not widowes houses alone as those did in the dayes of our Sauiour but in time to swallow us all up quicke unlesse our mightie God stid deliver us from their iawes as hither to he hath done Considering therefore how the Romish Seducers swarme in everie place to the present indangering of all the Churches and people of the Lord even this our nation amongst the rest and having heard moreover by one of speciall note in the Church of God for his learning able to silence the proudest Adversarie that some of our most Honourable and chiefe Ladies have in these the like respects earnestly desired that some amongst us would more seriously labour herein that we might match them even in this kinde not as theirs in blinde vaine superstitions but in true sincere and holy devotions I haue thought it my bounden dutie to tender for the good of all sorts such meditations and prayers as the Lord hath in his mercie beene pleased to vouchsafe unto me in this behalfe This also the rather for that he having long agoe put this verie same care into my heart to seeke hereby as much to save us all as they doe to destroy us all hath now much more enflamed it with an ardent studie hereof upon this religious motion and most honourable desire of those great Personages mentioned to me againe and againe and that in Gods speciall providence as I have taken it to stir me up more earnestly hereunto Let me therefore herein right noble and worthie Ladies humbly beg pardon if I presume upon your truly renowned courtesie and tender and compassionate affection to be more than ordinarie in this my dedication to your Honours upon this important and extraordinarie occasion from this intolerable insulting of the common Adversarie and the pitifull deluding and destroying of multitudes of poore unstable soules and also the endangering of us all to lie open daily more and more unto the butcherly cruelties of Rome when they have thorowly prepared the way by drawing enow unto their part through this and other their cunning stratagems and strong delusions Grant me leaue deare Ladies I beseech you though a thing unusuall in such dedications which are wont usually to bee verie briefe yet to manifest my long studie and earnest desire for the sauing of such of our brethren and sisters as are endangered to be destroyed by this and the like subtilties of Satan to helpe hereby and by our instant prayers for them to pull some of them backe againe from the subtill Serpent unto our Lord Iesus Christ and withall to keepe others from falling away from him even so many of them as belong to the election of grace and to leave the rest of them more without excuse Now is the time that Michael and his Angels strive specially against the Dragon and his Angels about the whole bodie of his Church Now is the time that our Lord Iesus lookes for us all to helpe him and his poore Church to remember our Baptisme vow in a speciall manner to â—…ight manfully under his banner and to stand for him for our selves for our brethren I haue therefore presumed upon the occasion of that their right Christian and tender commiseration to write a generall Epistle to all the plaine and simple-hearted people of our land seduced by those deceiuers or in danger thereof and not onely to them but to all sorts That all may take the better notice of the delusions of Poperie the difference betweene the devotions of the Romish Synagogue and of the true Church of Christ and to make fully known unto them all that they must all either renounce Poperie and professe the Gospell with us or else professe themselues therein to be of Satan and to stand for his religion against our Lord Iesus Christ. That thus all may get out of Babyâ—…on seeke to save themselves and helpe to pull out and save all others And so much the rather for that this verie service hath beene required of me particularly by a truly religious worthie and ancient professour of Christs Gospell in the behalfe of a great and honourable Ladie who hath beene drawen away by this same delusion principally to wit That they have moe holy devotions in their Church than wee in ours and doe spend more time therein Whereupon hee requested mee to write some Epistle to helpe to reclaime her and to bring her backe againe unto us Which service or a greater I could not well denie as God should bee pleased to vouchsafe mee abilitie and opportunitie especially hauing beene long obliged by his ancient loue though the unablest of thousand others And moreouer for that I have likewise stood for many yeeres after a sort bound by promise for the verie like service in effect unto a Gentleman much respected generally of all that are affected to that Romish Religion for his speciall devotion in that superstitious kinde one worthie indeed to be duely respected of all in regard of his good parts of nature learning and also descent if the Lord shall bee pleased to shew him that mercie to reclaime and bring him backe into the bosome of his owne true Church and people againe This have I therefore more heartily wished to accomplish not onely for that I have remained long thus bound by my particular promise unto himselfe as after shall more fully appeare but likewise for that I was specially obliged in dutie both
to his father being a worthie Iudge of our Land and in love to his eldest brother who was a rare hope in his time even in his tender yeeres as the Commons house of Parliament could then have borne witnesse if our God had beene pleased to have prolonged his daies And this the more cheerefully also for that the Lord had formerly shewed mercie on that his hopefull brother vouchsafing me a poore and weake instrument to helpe to pull him from Satan to Christ out of deepe despaire whereunto he had fal◅e by reading some part of their devotions even of Parsons Resolution of the paines of hell and to bring him to much assurance and comfort in Iesus Christ by the right use of a little part of ours viz. of the practise of some directions in the first part of the True Watch. My trust is therefore that your Ladiships and all others will iudge my boldnesse to bee borne withall though I thus presume because I know assuredly that you will not onely ioyne your hands but your hearts to the reclaiming and saving of them both and of all other so deluded and even enchaunted with their sorceries and that they themselves will most praise the Lord for this service if ever hee shall thorowly open their eyes wheras otherwise without unfained turning and speedie preventing it they will undoubtedly fall into a farre more forlorne and irrecoverable despaire when it will bee too late And who knoweth how far this service may prevaile being both thus requested and also promised and now thus undertaken in all dutifull and loving affection and also in uprightnesse and singlenesse of heart towards them and towards all other as before our blessed God who hath ever beene wont not onely to worke by the weakest and unlikeliest meanes that himselfe alone may have all the glorie but also to doe the greatest good to his Church by the extremest rage yea by the deepest and most mischievous plots of the Adversaries against it Who knowes whether his goodnesse may not make it an instrument through your instant prayers with the prayers and teares of many of his people furthered by this occasion to pull not them two alone but with them likewise many thousands yea hundred thousands from hell and to bring them to heaven withall to keepe innumerable soules from ever declining from the Lord. Yea what knoweth any one whether he may not make it a meanes amongst others to helpe to save us all and with us all Christs true Churches from that common calamitie and destruction which Satan and his Agents doe fully assure themselves in time to bring upon them all and upon all the people of the Lord. Our bloudie enemies having so resolved never to rest untill under the name of Heretiques they have utterly rooted us all out from off the face of the earth My trust is therefore Right Honourable that all who unfainedly love Christs Gospell and the soules of these our deluded brethren and sisters and desire the saving of the Church of God will thinke it an acceptable service to set before the eyes of all the world the palpablenesse of this most notorious delusion and to take away that forged imputation and shame from the true Church of Christ and from all the Israel of God viz. That our Adversaries of Rome have moe holy devotions than we and also doe spend more time therein than we in ours Accept then I beseech your Honours this poore service here now in this entrance into this fourth part of this Watch thus undertaken chiefly upō the occasion of that most Christian desire of those great Ladies to whom yet I durst not presume to dedicate it being unknowne unto them albeit I have heard much good concerning them heartily pray that all heavenly graces may be ten times more resplendent in them to their everlasting praise happines Accept it as one speciall use and application of all the three former parts of it to the helping of the poorest and weakest Christians in all the land that everie one herein may have the benefit of all the former that all in praying may learne to watch and everie one in watching may learne to pray each in watching and praying may not onely helpe to save themselves but also their owne native Countrey with all the true Churches of our Lord Iesus Christ and to pull all Gods Elect out of the mouth of the roaring Lion All may see so farre as I am able to coniecture that to bee true which was mentioned That the battle of the great day is come That Satan hath openly and even visibly entred the field with his armies to fight against the Lords most glorious Maiestie and his Armies even against all his poore Church at once for that this spirituall warre is set on by his principall Commanders the Pope and his Cardinals with their chiefe Agents the Iesuites and other Seminarie Priests and managed and foughten by his most deadly weapons lying and murder Wee are therefore ever to keepe in memorie that wee are not now so much to labor to fight against flesh bloud as against principalities and powers the Princes of the darknesse of this world and to that end to be armed with all the complete armour of God both defensive and offensive To this end like as I have long travelled to helpe all our poore Countrey Schooles and all of the inferiour sort that the meanest of them who will suffer themselves to bee directed might not need to feare the insulting of any or of all the proudest Iesuites in regard of laying a sure foundation of all good learning in our Grammar Schooles with all sweet delight both to Master and Schollars neither doth it repent me but I blesse the God of heaven that gave me a heart so to abase my selfe so have I here for all the poore people of the land laboured to prepare and fit them weapons against this great day Which day all my labours will witnesse for me that I have long feared seeing the malice and rage of the Adversarie daily growing more and more with the increase of our iniquities to provoke the Lord to send it upon us like as upon all the other Churches to the end to make us all to seeke him by unfained repentance that euerie one of u◅ may turne from our evill way unto his Covenant That thus seeking him unfainedly he may take our cause into his owne hand fight his owne battles and save us from these our mercilesse enemies The better instructed sort of Christians who are able to pray better of themselves need them not I have therefore endevoured to fit them chiefly for all the younger and weaker sort who would as faine learne to pray to save themselves and the land with all the Churches and long as much to be helpers in this worke as any of those who are best instructed Wherefore deare Ladies as you have so much reioyced in the former parts of this
Watch and to doe all things which may tend not onely to the saving of your selves but also of our native Countrey and to make us a happie people so I assure my selfe that you will not disdaine these poore helps though they bee composed in a plaine easie and homely stile so as to leade the poorest by the hand and to support their weaknesse to helpe to confirme weake hands and wearie knees that all herein may helpe together It is not any painted much lesse Players eloquence that will pacifie our blessed God and defend us or put to flight our proud Adversaries Wee have had a great while too much experience of that in too many both of our Sermons and Prayers no no it must bee the evidence and power of the word of the Lord sent forth by the sighs and groanes of his holy Spirit though all heavenly eloquence rightly used be his most gracious gift and if ever now specially to be wished Thus have I studied to fit weapons as hee hath enabled mee against this time of need meet for all sorts that old and young noble and ignoble yea our most honourable Ladies may have their weapons from his Armourie so as all from the chiefe of them to the verie poore woman that grindes at the mill may in this battle helpe the Lord against the mightie and so keepe that bitter curse from all our land That Iael may strike the naile into the temples of Sisera And that thus in the â—…ud shee that sits at home may have part in the spoile and all of us ioyntly together when we shall see the Lord to have got himselfe the victorie with his owne right arme may sing the song of Deborah and of Miriam yea of all the host of heaven saying Praise and honour and glorie and power be unto him that sits upon the throne and unto the Lambe for evermore Pardon me worthie Ladies I humbly againe beseech you if so much presuming upon your Ladiships patience according to my assurance of your tender commiseration and true Christian humilitie I have so farre passed the bounds of an ordinarie Epistle in this matter of such extraordinarie moment and importance so nearely at this present concerning the safetie and happinesse of your Honours and of all the people of the Lord. If I may by the worthy ensamples of your honourable Ladiships provoke other of your noble ranke and condition as who have most leisure and best opportunitie and so others of his servants and children to a holy emulation seriously to meditate hereof and to put all these in practise onely so farre forth as his heavenly Maiestie cals all hereunto and expects these duties at the hands of everie soule I shall have an abundant reward of all my poore travels Or if I may but helpe to awake such of his servants as to whose view they shall be presented to labour to be for all the rest as the Angels for Lot to pull all from Satan to our Lord Iesus Christ and chiefly those of our owne native Countrey who are so seduced by Antichrist and by those who are sent abroad by him into the world to deceive and to draw all to his part Reade and consider and so farre as your Ladiships shall clearely see our Lord Iesus Christ leading you by the hand so farre follow him doing as he directs you So you shall not onely be sure to save your owne soules but also helpe to save all sorts and more specially all the Honourable and others who either shall looke at or heare of your worthie ensamples yea your native Countrey as was said before and all the true Churches of Christ and shall in like manner be helpers to gather in all the remainder of his Elect both Iewes and Gentiles so to prepare the way to his most glorious comming Thus shall you increase your owne eternall honour and happinesse and shall shine more and more in all heavenly graces and good works and in greater glittering before the Lord his Saints and Angels than by being adorned with all the gold pearles and diamonds which the whole earth can afford In which humble desire I take my leave and commend your Ladiships unto that Celestiall grace which performeth all the holy desires of them that feare him and trust in his mercie and so shall ever remaine Your Ladiships in all service and intire affection Iohn Brinsley TO ALL THE PLAINE AND simple-hearted people of our Land seduced by Poperie that they may forthwith bethinke themselves both from whom they have departed and also upon what grounds and to let them know that they must either returne to our Church againe or professe themselves to be of Satans Religion and so will remaine to fight under his banner against our Lord and Saviour BEloved in our Lord Iesus Christ so many of you as of whom we may hope that you belong to the election of grace for whom my hearts desire and continuall prayer to our God is that you may be saved give me leave to shew my unfained affection towards you in performing that service for you all which hath beene requested at my hands by such as wish much better to you than you doe unto your selves And that but only in these two things First in manifesting in what an estate and condition you presently stand and so your danger eternally and after in helping to procure that all the people of the Lord may cry instantly and joyntly for you that he may shew you mercie in opening your eyes to see how palpably you have suffered your selves to be deluded and in plucking you out of the verie jawes of that old Serpent Howsoever for the present you take it at my hands yet yâ— time will come as I certainly assure my soule that you will either blesse yâ— God of Heaven for the endevour of my ardent affection towards you if it shall be available for you or cry out against your selves with wringing of your hands and tearing of your haire when it will be too late and no more place found for your repentance Vouchsafe me this favour that being amongst the weakest of all my brethren I may leave all matters of higher dispute in maintaining the truth of Christ against the Iesuites and other Seminarie Priests by whom you have beene so inchanted and abused unto my more learned and reverend brethren who have alreadie entred the lists with them and to others exercised in that kinde whose bookes I acknowledge my selfe unworthie to beare and that sith what spare thoughts God hath vouchsafed mee from my necessarie calling I have specially employed in this kinde to helpe his people in holy meditations and other like devotions I may thus farre onely presume without offence First to put you in minde of your Baptisme vow and Covenant made with our blessed God from which you have so farre departed And in the second place to advertise you that you may consider well upon what grounds you have
departed And finally whither you are come Whether by their cunning sleights you be not gotten under the verie banner of Satan to fight even against our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ though you doe not imagine so much but the cleane contrarie In everie one of these therefore I desire to deale lovingly plainly and ingenuously as in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ before whom I stand as he shall be pleased to assist mee with his grace and according also to the weight of the businesse which wee have in hand which concernes the saving of everie soule of you For our Baptisme vow Covenant which wee are all bound to performe all our dayes as wee looke to have the Lord our God or any benefit by our blessed Saviour or ever to appeare with boldnesse before his Tribunall I referre you first unto it as the summe of it is set downe expresly in our publike forme of Baptisme and if you please as it is amongst other of our bookes more particularly and largely explained but even in the first part of this Watch The Rule of Life In which little booke I have laboured so farre as the Lord hath enabled mee to shadow out the same vow and so to trace out the narrow path of life as to direct everie soule from step to step and as it were to guide them by the hand untill wee have finished our whole course and shall have entred within the gates of the Celestiall Ierusalem which though it be but amongst the least and weakest of our helpes for our deâ—…otions yet I would wish everie one of you so drawne away from us to reade that therein you may first see and know our way of life before you so condemne it to try what iniquitie you finde in it before you so utterly depart from it and herewithall from Christs true Church and Spouse your mother which hath bred and borne you and consequently even from Christ himselfe so farre as I am any way able to conceive judging as before his heavenly Majestie And having so read and thorowly weighed and compared it with your way of life according to any of your bookes of the like kinde then to give sentence as before him to whom you must surely give an answer even for this whether is the better and more holy your way or ours whether more agreeable to his heavenly patterne And thus much for the first point and your Baptisme â—…ow which you seeme to have so far abjured in so departing from the bosome of your mother and utterly casting her oft and to leave it to your more serious meditation and more mature deliberation For the second viz. Vpon what grounds you have departed I will content my selfe to have instanced but onely in this one which as is said hath beene of late such a principall cause of your departure and as I my selfe heard one poore soule who had beene seduced specially alleaging it before sundrie witnesses and some of them most learned as a maine cause of her joyning to that religion viz. That they have in their Church and Religion moe holy devotions than wee in ours and spend more time therein That by the palpablenesse of this delusion fully discovered you and everie one of you may judge of all the rest of their delusions which have nothing the like power so to bewitch you and to steale away your hearts And that I may proceed in order to make all the mysteries of this delusion as cleare as the Sunne at the noone-day even to the understanding and full capacitie of the simplest in the land I will divide it into three parts which are the three heads of this fell destroying Hydra so maine a cause of your present departure from our Church and Religion and of your turning to Poperie To wit Because they have in their Religion moe holy and and better devotions and doe also spend more time therein than we in ours The first head then of this poysoning Serpent is this That they have moe helps for devotion in their religion than we in ours The second That their many devotions are more holy and better than ours And the third is That they spend more time in these their holy devotions than we doe in ours For the first of these That they have moe helps for devotions that is moe such as which those of our common sort may have understand and use it is as true as that which he who lately writ the Gag for the new Gospeller hath published in print to the view of the world and which he hath not beene ashamed to set in the verie fore-front of his booke in the Preface to the Reader within twelve lines of the beginning to the verie same end which this delusion tends viz. to help more easily to deceive all the simple to make them more to abhorre all our Bibles and thereby our Religion whereof the sacred Bible is the groundâ—… and so to take away the verie life of their lives and indeed to prepare the way the better for the full effecting of their bloudie designes and desires against us all Which I would therefore desire all who would not willingly be so palpably abused by these murdering Iesuites or who would but know these deluders and their Religion aright and also the danger that wee stand in perpetually by it to take notice of His words are these that hee would advise all of That England hath brought forth within these few yeeres past to the number of twentie severall sorts of Bibles sarrâ—… different one from another These are his owne verie words for the truth hereof let everie one enquire diligently whether England ever brought forth any moe Bibles since that translated by the Bishops printed 1572. save that one appointed by our Soveraigne Lord and King to be most carefully translated and that to satisfie the Papists and to take away all their calumniations against our Translations and the same verie little differing from the former but as may fall out with the best Translations For mine owne selfe I have enquired of the most learned and can heare of none other But to passe over this most intolerable shamelesse untruth together with that which they had devised in like manner for the present hiding their owne wickednes in the Powder-Treason for the dispatching us all as it were at one blow like as it hath beene generally reported and received from thence till this day to wit That the Puritanes had blowne up the Parliament house intimating thereby that they therefore were well worthie to be destroyed out of the earth and so under the name of Putitanes to have taken occasion hereupon to have murdered all who truely professed Christs Gospell in all the Churches And also together with that like faire pretense of a mariage under which they effected that most bloudie detestable and mercilesse massacre at Paris in butchering of a sudden so many of the Flower of
blessings for our selves both all things needfull for this and the better life with forgiuenenesse of sins deliverance from Satan and from all the evils that he intends against us That we shall see our Lord Iesus manifesting his kingdome power and glory for us and making us partakers of the same for evermore For the ends and fruits those must of necessitie be the best which as they doe most directly aime at all these things mentioned so doe likewise serve as Gods instruments to helpe us to worke these things most powerfully and effectually Finally for the forme and manner of sending them forth unto the Lord or performing them any other way those must needs be best and holiest which are done with most understanding and so with the holiest and most fervent affections rising thereon and which are also uttered or performed in best order and with fewest vaine repetitions And contrarily those must needs be the worst which are contrary to these in regard of their matter generall or particular and which conduce to contrary ends and have most contrary effects and operations and are done in a manner farthest differing from these Now having set downe these generall rules and directions which may serve for our discerning of the true and sincere holinesse and goodnesse of all devotions and which are the best we are in the next place to consider briefly and in a generall manner what is the most speciall and principall matter of our devotions and then what is the chiefest matter of theirs and after in the third place to compare them more particularly together and so leave the discerning and iudgement of them to every conscience as in the presence of the Lord. For our devotions they are such generally as agree to the former rules Both that we may so keepe his watch and walke with him here as wee may be sure to finde him God all-sufficient to live and reigne with him eternally And also that we may so pray as we may be certaine to be heard and to prevaile with his heavenly Maiesty for our selves and for all his Churches and people in all that he shall see best for his owne glory and the saving of all his chosen flocke and in whatsoever he hath promised to grant even every thing in the due time and especially whereby we may be sure to finde him a sanctuary whatsoever come to passe But for those devotions of theirs whereof they glory so much and wherewith they seeke to inchant not you alone but if it were possible all the people of the Lord and even to pull all from Christ to Antichrist what are they for the most part but either meditations of their Legend stories as of that materiall Crosse whereon and those nailes wherewith our Saviour was nailed or concerning the Virgin Mary her milke and merit or their Ladies Psalter all full of blasphemies and such like sluffe as that is which is in that booke so lately published by the Spanish Monke or tales of Saint Francis of this Saint and that of their Shrines and the miracles done by them or in the numbring and oft repeating upon their Beades their Pater nosters Creeds Ave Maries Rosaries and the like many of them in an unknowne tongue and in a most superstitious and blasphemous manner or praiers to the Saints devotions to the Crosse and to all their holy reliques with innumerable other fearefull superstitions All of them being to the great dishonour of the Lord and the dreadfull provoking of his heavie wrath in filling up the measure of their sinnes in stead of any comfort that any poore soules shall ever finde in them Or which is farre worse what are their deeper and more profound meditations and devotions I meane of their holy Iesuites and Iesuited Catholikes but what meritorious works they may doe for promoting the Catholike cause how to hold up and to advance the throne of their holy Father that he may be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords opposing and exalting himselfe above all that is called God Yea to advance their owne pompe and tyranny in all the world that they may at their pleasure reigne over both soules and bodies of all as they doe in all countries where they prevaile and domineere And thus are their chiefe meditations how to take away whatsoever may be any hinderance hereunto by murdering Kings and Princes seeking to subvert whole states so to bring all againe to adore that Romish Antichrist to cast Christ Iesus out of his Throne and that that man of sin may seat himselfe every where as God to destroy utterly all that will not worship him and take his marke yea all the people of the Lord who truly worship Christ Iesus and to root the remembrance of them from off the earth So that whereas the scope and effect of all our meditations and devotions is onely to save the soules and bodies of all men theirs are in very deed for the most part to destroy all either soules or bodies or both intended chiefly by their Iesuites and Seminarie Priests to worke that zeale in men as may make them ready to ruinate their owne native countrey to have their hands imbrued in the bloud of their mother that bred them rather than to be hindered in their wretched designes And not onely to take away the Lords anointed with all his royall seed and all not joyning to them but even those of the same profession with them and of the neerest of their kin so that they can doe it warily enough if they be like to be any impediment to the accomplishment of their desires as the powder furnace gave sufficient evidence Yea the very best of their devotions more than where they agree with the word of the Lord and so with ours are such as concerning which the Lord himselfe doth in his word and will one day demand of them before the whole world Who hath required these things at your hands For for those meditations of Lewes de Granado and others so far as they agree with the word of the Lord and with ours they are not properly Popish but Christian devotions so in deed ours reserved amongst them as the Scriptures and other parts of Gods truth for the cause of the true Church the little remainder of Gods people hid amongst them even in the midst of Rome Now to take any of these devotions of theirs as they are their 's properly and the very meanest of ours but even these whereunto this is the entrance prepared of purpose to helpe the poorest and weakest Christians in our Church and euen all those who have not yet entred into this way of pietie but are only desirous to offer their best service to our Lord Iesus and his poore Church if they may be fitted and admitted hereunto and to compare them to those of theirs in all or any of the former respects I doubt not to refer
rest of it much more polished for his owne gloryâ—… and for the good of all his people whereunto I trust during life I shall not be wanting as his goodnesse shall vouchsafe to assist me PAg. 7. l 7 put out those 7 lines twice repeated p 8 l 10. for our read this p. 10 l 16. p. 91 l. 5. unto p 99 l 3. but moreover l 7 third general p 103. may 109 l. 1. seeke all p 157 marg for Deut reade Genes p 161. l 2. for to do â—… as p 164 l. 1. admitted l 4. these pag 189. l 5. as at Marg l. 17 Deut 30 29. p 220. marg lin 1. That p 291 l. 15. not onely p 300. l. 20. for 〈◊〉 read may est p 306. l. 10. run on p. 3â—…6 l. 18. for best most pag. 348. l â—…9 and. p. 384. l. 2. have A PREPARATIVE to instant Prayer according to the necessity of the Times by thinking day and night of these things following untill wee have gotten them or the summe of them into our hearts and can have them ever as it were before our eyes to cry instantly to our holy God like as he hath directed vs. The first general Meditation How our Saviour lookes for some to helpe him in the delivery saving of his Church FIrst we are seriously to meditate and to bring our hearts to a due consideration how our blessed Saviour like aâ—… in the redeeming and saving of his chosen slocke from hell so in all the greatest extreamities of his poore distressed Church mentioned in his Sacred word hath beene wont to looke long for some that wold offer themselves to helpe it and when he hath found none to uphold or succour it in his tender pitty and compassion his owne arme hath saved it his righteousnesse it selfe hath sustained it in what sort hee hath seene it best And although he hath suffered it oft-times to be greevously afflicted yea somtimes almost utterly consumed yet how evermore when he would deliver and save it from the violence and rage of the wicked enemies or other imminent calamitles by some great and glorious deliverance his usuall manner hath bene to seeke and finde out some one at least that should stand up in the gap before him in more special manner for it that he might not destroy it by whom he might shew himselfe wonderfull for his people and chosen Flocke Thus he found out Ioseph Moses Samuel Dauid Iehosaphat Ezekiah Daniel Hester Mordecay Ezra Nehemiah and others Yea how he hath moreouer euer sought found out some few whom hee hath vouchsafed to be his helpers at least by their prayers and teares for saving the rest such as of whom he hath saide The innocent shall deliuer the yland These he lookes and cals for at this day And of this little number every true beleeving soule must needs desire to bee one if hee love the Lord Iesus Christ and his Church yea if he but love his native country or his owne soule or if he but onely feare that dreadfull curse denounced against Meroz Curse ye Meroz said the Angell of the Lord curse the inhabitants thereof because they came not to helpe the Lord against the mighty And much more must hee needs contend for this if hee rightly consider what a high honour and happinesse it is to be one of that little number chosen and singled out hereunto to bee if it were but as any one of Gedeons three hundreth Howbeit every one having some few good desires is not fit to serve under and to helpe our Lord Iesus in thâ—… great work He himselfe hath taught and directed us plainely both whom we must bee and how we must be qualified and fitted every way if we will bee his Souldiers and so fight in this spirituall battaile as that wee may hope to prevaile That every one of us must learne and have in our hearts these instructions and directions following which our Lord and Saviour hath in his infinite Wisedome set before our faces in that absolute forme patterne of prayer which for this end and for every occasion of supplication to bee made to him and to his Father in his name he hath giuen as a perpetual direction vnto his Church unto which patterne as of all other the most effectuall sufficient and certaine to this purpose I haue heerein still wholly tyed my selfe He then that desires to bee any one of those whom hee lookes for to helpe him heerein and that will so pray as that he may be sure to bee accepted and prevayle must know as first Gods usual manner of proceeding in the deliuerie of his Church so secondly the necessity of servent prayer at this time above all former times in what need the poor Church and euery particular member of it stands thereof and must labour to have a true and lively feeling in his heart of the miseries and dangers which the Churches are in Thirdly what a one himselfe must be how qualified in all things that his person may be accepted if ever he looke to be heard Fourthly how our prayers must bee framed that they likewise may be sure to be pleasing and avayleable with the Lord. Fiftly what power and assurance our prayers so sent forth have to prevayle with God and to overcome Sixtly that all other but these are unmeete and unable to help and after a sort excluded from this service and much more all that are of contrary dispositions Seventhly how every one that lookes to bee saved by Iesus Christ and to stand at his right hand must endeavour by all possible meanes to be fitted for this seruice to be a helper to Christes poore Church heerein The second generall Meditation concerning the present necessity of this worke and the liuely feeling thereof How euery one that lookes to be saued by Iesus Christ to stand at his right hand must endeavour by all possible meanes to bee fitted for this service to bee a helper to our Saviours poorâ—… Church heerein THat wee may know the present necessity of this duty and bee able to cry more instantly the Lord cals vs seriously in the second place to meditate day and night according to every part and petition of that heavenly prayer of our Saviours concerning the distressed estate of his poor Churches at this day and of all other poore soules belonging to his eternall election living under the captivity bondage of Sathan and the tyranny of his cursed and crucll Instruments And withall he would haue us wisely to consider how he even our Lord Iesus Christ himselfe calles for our duty by this very prayer amongst many other meanes teaching us heere to cry unto him for the rescuing and delivery of all hiâ—… Children Our Father which art in heaven And to this end how we are to labour to bring our owne hearts and the hearts of all
other the people of the Lord to a lively sense and tender feeling hereof so farre as God enables us and offers uâ—… opportunity The first particular Meditation of this second generall point concerning the calamities dangers of our bretheren in all places and those threatened towards our selves and the chiefe meanes of deliverie and preservation from them FIrst wee are to lay to heart how many of our Bretheren the deare children of our heavenly Father for whom our Lord and Saviour hath taught us thus to cry as for our selves Our Father are now in grievous calamities of all sortes that many others of them are in extreame perill to bee forthwith utterly destroyed and devoured by the rage and power of Sathan and of his bloudy instruments That we also our selves with all the rest of the Churches and sincere Christians in all the world are in extreame danger every moment of time as any of the designes of the Iesuits or other mercilesse enemyes take place if our heauenly Father doe not still protect and preserve us And therefore as very many of our brethren abroad are in continuall feeling of their miseries and of our heavenly Fathers most heavy displeasure against them for all their undutifulnesse crying at his feet for his Fatherly pitty love compassion to deliver and saue them so we ought likewise to doe for them even so many of us as are alreadie assured or ever will assure our owne soules that wee are his naturall children and hereby doe desire to declare our naturall and childlike loue and feare in seeking to appease his displeasure that hee may spare his people And much more are wee to seeke to prevent or mitigate the same heavy displeasure kindled against our selves and hereby to stay the â—…age of Sathan Antichrist all of us being hated and devoted alike to destruction by the malice of the Serpent and his cruell instruments all of us having provoked our heavenly Father alike yea we more then any other to leave us into their hands to be so tried by them untill we be truely humbled in feeling our disobediences and be sensible of our provocations of him by our want of commiseration towards them and of not taking warning by their example That thus wee may lift up our cryes to heaven that hee in the tender bowels of his compassion may both succour and rescue them and also save us from the liâ—…e miseryes which seeme ready to rush upon us for all our sinnes and provocations Wee are withall to labour to bring our hearts to a right consideration that our heavenly Father hath in the riches of his mercy ordained Rulers Governours and all in lawfull and holy authoritie especially Kings and Queenes to bee in his place as nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers to his poore children to deliver and pull them out of the iawes of the dragon to carry them in their armes and in their bosomes from the fury and violence of the Serpent and to preserve and protect them that they may profess his name in peace and safetie and that therefore Sathan must needs maligne them above all other even for this especially And likewise that hee hath ordained the prayers of his people and children to obtayne this at his hand so to incline the hearts of all Kings and Princes and all in authority to pitty them The second particular Meditation of the second generall How he hath beene wont principally to get himselfe glory in saving his Church by Princes and Governors SEcondly wee are to labour to bring our hearts to a true understanding and feeling hereof that as the Lord hath been wont to glorifie his great name in former ages thus in his pittifull compassion saving his Church and Children by Kings and Princes and other deliverers raised up for them and like as hee hath magnified his power and Fatherly care so oft before our eyes in such miraculous and gracious preservations of us of this nation and other our brethren abroad unto this day especially when wee were in the midst of the fire so hee can and will magnifie it againe in a most wonderfull manner if we that are his children can but give him glory in being unfainedly humbled for our owne sinnes and the sinnes of his people and can meete him in faith by intreaty of peace crying instantly unto him Glorifie Lord thy great name doing onely as he commandeth And seeing all the bloody enemyes of Christ and his Church seeke to trample his glory under foote he will therefore the rather get himselfe glory upon them as upon Pharaoh before all the world when we shall be rightly prepared for the same The third particular Meditation of this second generall That as Sathan and Antichrist haue set themselves to fight against Christ his kingdome so our Saviour hath ordained Kings and Princes to hold up his Scepter and to defend and protect his Subiects and Gospell THirdly wee are to bring our hearts to a due consideration and deepe pondering hereof how as the Gyants before the floud so Sathan his Souldiers haue set themselves to fight against heaven and the hoast thereof yea even against Iesus Christ our Lord King and how they have cast downe his Scepter Throne and Dignitie and trample his crowne under their feet in all the places where they have prevailed and where they beare rule over Gods poore heritage And that as they haue begunne and fearefully prevailed in manie places so they haue resolued to proceed throughout the earth to set up Sathan and Antichrist in the very Throne of our Lord Iesus Christ to defile again his Temple to make his house againe a den of Theeves That Antichrist may fit againe as God in the Temple of God yea in those very places where he hath beene formerly long cast forth so that the zeale of his house euen in this behalfe should eate us up And also wee are to bring our soules to a true sense hereof that as they thus seeke to tyrannize over his people and children to leade in triumphes as captives both our Lord Iesus himselfe and his armies and to keepe under all that belong to the Lord Iesus as slaves for ever so our Saviour hath on the other side ordained and appointed Kings and Princes under him to hold up his Scepter even his heavenly Gospell and that he hath likewise decreed and ordained that even those of them which before had given their power unto the beast to fight against his Soveraigne Majesty and against his people should againe withdraw all their power from the beast when they shall see his wickednesse fully discovered and give it wholly unto his heavenly Majesty to accomplish all his will in making the Whore desolate and for the aduancement of his euerlasting Gospell when they shall truly behold the power and glorie thereof The fourth particular Meditation of the second generall How
sinnes and abominations are so generally overspred and committed with so high a hand yea that wee are so much worse and worse for being smitten that we seeme desperately incurable falling away more and more though we see so many tokens of the Lords wrath the bloody enemies executioners of his vengeance on every side of us and as we may justly fear so many of these incendyaries the Iesuites and Iesuited Papists in the midst among us Whereupon all sorts even meere naturall men have and do dayly more and more feare some terrible scourge from the Lord and wonder at our peace especially considering the lamentable estate of so many other poore Churches and the restlesse plots of the enemy and most dangerous stratagems against them and us all thorow the Lordes mercy discouered dayly and that yet we have not beene warned by their ensample nor yet so much as in any meete measure as wee ought take their miseries and perills to heart Yea which is more then all these our gracious God would not have us to rest untill we have a due feeling and a right consideration heereof that we principally above all other have bene the men devoted to destruction by the bloody designs of those most barbarous and merciless enemies of the Church and have 〈◊〉 and are most enâ—…yed and hated by them for that from and by us heeretofore God hath given them the greatest foyles like as I trust he will still do for euermore And which is a higher degree of our danger that wee are not onely guilty of their sinne of carnall Gospelling carelesse profession in shewing forth so litle power in the practise of true piety in our generall and particular callings and duties which is the very life and true power of godlinesse but contrarily by our ungodlinesse our prophanesse and abominations in every kinde we haue in so many even utterly denied all the true power thereof which consisteth in the right performance of all holy duties as being ashamed to bee noted for more sincere profession yea we have so scorned and trampled it under foot as that wee have caused Gods enemies to blaspheme And which is yet also more to anger his heavenly Majesty for that we so generally not onely our Papists and Atheists and all our notorious prophane persons which swarme almost every where but even all sorts of Laodicean luke-warme professors are so farre turned even agaynst Christ Iesus himselfe we may speake it with greefe trembling and that as against our greatest enemy although he hath hitherto so miraculously yea so sensibly and as it were visibly defended and protected us and for that we do yet further dayly rise against him still more and more That all this appeareth most manifestly heerein in that howsoever these can some of them a little indure the outward and common profession of his heauenly Gospell in word yet the power of it to wit to submit themselves to live according to it wherein chiefly his kingdom consists they cannot indure but rather seeme to hate it most deadly And also how this heynous and crying sin sheweth it selfe as in the sight of the Sunne in all the odious names wherewith true godlinesse is branded which are so frequent every where cast upon those that seek thus unfeignedly to turne away the vengeance by endeavouring to walke in all things in all the commandements of our blessed God Wee are therefore euer to be considering and never to rest till we have brought our hearts unto a right feeling of those and all other our most intollerable and lowd crying sinnes and how they are every houre haling and pulling downe the vengeance of God upon us as the like have done upon the other Churches and do stil more and more as they are thus dayly more and more encreased And moreover that there is nothing that keepeth backe his vengeance but onely his infinite mercies and â—…ndlesse patience and compassion which we haue so much abused as that wee may all iustly wonder that it is not turned into burning furie to consume us at once and togither with that his endlesse compassion the lowd cries of his poore children ever sounding in his eares even the cries and sighs of thâ—…se which are and have beene so hated contemned greeved and injuried by all possible meanes which the Lord hath permitted to bee exercised and practised against them chiefely by all the Popish sort in every place namely against his Prophets and Messengers sent unto us in as much mercie as ever his Prophets were sent to Iudah For which yet when they were so mocked misused the Lord could spare no longer there could be no further remedy but brought upon them the King of Caldea and all other the miseries of their long and wofull Captivity And yet further 〈◊〉 Lord cals on us to beeâ—…ever pondering how nothing can prevent this wrath to give us any true security of our further escaping either generall on particular but onely our sound and true repentance not in any formall fashion but unfeignedly humbling our selves and rightly endeavouring to take away all our crying sinnes and to stoope unto the Lord our heavenly father doing in all things as hee requireth that his wrath may be fully appeased towards us That untill this time wee live but under a continuall expectation of the direfull execution of all his terrible plagues denounced in his holy word against us either some such sodaine blow of his vengeance to fall upon us as was intended at the powder Furnace or some cruell or bloody inuasion as in 88. or some such maâ—…acring as was in the yeare 72. at Paris and lately at Nigripelles in France and Heidelbergâ—… in the Palatinate or such cruell and mercilesse proceedings as in Bohemia and sundry other parts of the Church from all which evils and the like we are ever to cry that the Lord may evermore in his endles compassion preserve and keepe us And yet to proceed one degree higher The Lord calles lowd upon us to be think our selves wisely of that judgement which is heavyer then al the former if for our contempt of his Gospell and all other our sinnes hee should suffer us as he hath done others to have our Candlestick removed the blessed Gospell of his Sonne the very life of our lives to be taken from us and the most abominable masse even the abomination of desolation to bee set up in the place of it with all the â—…abble of their cursed Idolatry and all filthy abominations of that Strumpet of Babylon and withal to have the bloody knives of outragious and mercilesse Idolaters at our throats every moment of time which Iesuites and others of them so affected are so manifestly yea so shamelesly and impudently plotting and practising day and night against all the Churches and whereof they have theÌ„selves
so gloried and triumphed long agoe as if it had beene already fully effected and dispatched That some of these must of necessity come to pass if wee judge according to the word of the Lord or but to common reason wee haue just cause to fear for want of performance of our promises of repentance For that here unto we have so oft and so solemnly bound our selves every one at least by those in our places I meane by our Magistrates and Ministers as namely we did in those sundry and solemne Fasts by commandement in the yere eighty eight when therupon our God shewed himselfe from heaven to fight for us as accepting our vowes and promises of true repentance and amendment and upon that condition â—…aring us to prove and tâ—…ie us what we would do and still from time to time yea from yeare to yeare and even from day to day expecting the true and unfeigned accomplishment thereof And more also by renewing our promises and vowes in all the Fasts which were after in the dayes of our gracious Deborah while we lived in feare of the time when she shold be taken from our head and of the many evils to follow thereuppon even that whereof our enemies were wont so to bragge that there would come a day and concerning which wee were still crying to our tender Father to save us from the danger and dread thereof Yea and yet more since that time when our God brought in our dread Soveraigne and set him so over us as if there had beene no change but all had beene done for the perpetuall establishing of us our posterity at what time he cast such a feare upon all the enemies that not a dogge wagged his tongue against any of the Israel of God What promises of thankfulnesse everie one of us did make who in any sort layd these things to heart by promising repentance and amendment of all our wayes and for ever to honor and obey our Lord Iesus Christ. And most of all when of al other times hee did most apparantly shew himselfe from heaven as reaching down his hand and plucking us all out of the very jawes of the devil and out of the middest of the Furnace where of all our holy and franke acknowledgments in our many Thankesgivings and Prayers extant in Print and commanded to be used practised generally and most solemnly once every yeare and all our good Lawes made thereupon shall ever beare witnesse against us before the Lord besides every one of our Covenants at our Baptisme wherewith we all stand obliged and multitudes of other promises whereby wee have also renewed our bonds unto this day So that wee are wisely to ponder how now at length all these must either worke to bring us to a sound and unfeigned performance of whatsoever wee have so promised and to a true submission to our Lord Iesus Christ or else arme him to come against us in his terrible vengeance for all our falsiâ—…ying of our vowes promises unto him and thus dallying with him and most heynously abusing his sacred Maiestie We are therefore never to rest untill wee have brought our hearts to a lively sence and true meditation of these things and how wee have indeed dissembled with his greatnesse and holinesse as our forefathers did which the Lord so complaines of so oft repeating it Then they cryed unto the Lord in their troubles and he delivered them from their distresse but they kept not his great goodnesse in remembrance but presently forgot his wonderous works and with them all their vowes and promises and did worse then their forefathers yea then ever they had done before And yet more then all the former this ought more deeply to pierce into our hearts that as wee have alwaies thus dealt with his heavenly Majestie so wee are now instead of repenting farre worse in every kinde and much further off from any hope of repenting or turning unfeignedly or so much as of humbling our selves in any such publick manner any more that the most godly and religious beginne to make doubt nay extreamely to feare and to be as it were out of all hope of any sound humiliation whereby to turne away the vengeance threatâ—…ned and each almost onely seeking to save his owne soule Together with all these and above all of them we are seriously and wisely to lay this to heart how the people of Iudah went farre further in performing their vowes both in the daies of that worthy Hezekiah and that holy Iosiah and in taking away all the abhominations whereby the Lord was provoked and also in restoring and performing all things which hee required in his Law and which they had promised for pacifying of his wrath even to a generall renewing the Covenant amongst all the people outwardly at least consenting thereto yet when the hearts of the people consented not so as did the hearts of their Kings and namely as did the heart of Iosiah which melted into teares for the abhominations and plagues nor yet continued but started backe from the Lord ever anon and fell to their ancient sinne againe the Lord after all their warnings brought upon them that terrible Captivitie for 70. yeares without any further sparing or remedy This he did unto them notwithstanding their good Kings and some worthy Rulers yea all their holy Prophets namely Ieremy so importuning him day and night Ezekiel falling upon his face and even expostulating with his Majestie for Ierusalem his owne Citty and for his people being as a brand pluckt out of the burning and notwithstanding their mourners mourning and crying for all the abhominations and lifting up hearts and hands day and night unto the Lord yea notwithstanding all his former indulgences and mercies all their priviledges and prerogatives and his covenant onely with them and all his gracious promises made to them above all the people of the earth Finally wee are ever to bee beating heereon what just cause wee have to thinke that he having remooved the Candlesticke from other Churches so sinning wee cannot escape but the longer his wayting and forbearing is the severer his vengeance must needs bee when it comes And above all these we are to labour to bring our hearts to a due consideration and wise fore-sight hereof that howsoever it goe for the generall that the Lord shall save us which wee still and ever pray for or doe still deferre his wrath at the cryes of his owne deare children who stand in the breach and though he may spare us in the bowels of his compassion thus earning over us as sometimes hee did over Ephraim in like caseâ—… O my people how should I leave thee up to so many miseries as thine enemies are devising and practising against thee how shall I leave my great name to be blasphemed amongst my proud enemies or though he doe still save us like as
hee so oft saved and delivered his people for Moses alone thus importuning him albeit hee have over-just cause to say to us as hee said to Iudah before her Captivitie though Noah Iob and Daniel were amongst us yet they should neyther save sonne nor daughter but even their owne soules yet I say howsoeuer he shall deale in mercy for the generall wee must notwithstanding know undoubtedly that every particular soule that turnes not to God by unfeigned repentance and that prepares not himselfe to come thus to help by his prayers for pardoning the sinnes of the Land and pacisying of the Lords wrath must certainly perish And to conclude this point wee are to meditate likewise seriously how GOD hath principally ordayned and ever used when he would save his people and call and bring them to true repentance to do it in like manner by Kings and Princes or other Rulers stirred up extraordinarily and by the voyce of his true Prophets calling them and his people by them thereunto as by Moses Ioshua Iehosaphat Hezekiah Nehemiah the king of Nineuy and others even when he wold but save them from the present temporall destruction And therefore as we are to pray instantly for all the Rulers in the severall Churches so above all for our dread Soveraigne to whom hee hath given such excellent understanding of his heavenly will and whom he hath bound unto himselfe by so many bonds of such great deliverances the like mercies and favours above all the Kings and Princes of the earth that they may all yet whilst there is time now the Lord calles so lowd vpon them set themselves to enquire wisely into the true causes of the evils already upon the Churches and of those which are further threatned That they may truly consider that all this is from the Lord in his everlasting commiseration and fatherly pitty tendering us as his deere children thus calling us all to a generall and unfeigned repentance that he may spare us and that himself may take our cause in hand against his own and our bloody enemies That they may with holy Iosiah first inquire rightly into all the crying sins in every state and degree within their Dominions and into all the provocations of the wrath of God and see how the sinnes of our time seem to be above the sinnes of Iudah before the Captivity our glorious light and all other meanes which he hath used to reclaime us being rightly weighed And secondly that they may consider wisely of the danger which both themselves and all theyrs yea all their Dominions stand in for the same according to all the Lords most terrible warnings and denounciations And thirdly that they may thinke seriously as in the presence of the Lord and inquire from his mouth of the meanes yet left to pacific and prevent the same And finally that they may set themselves forthwith to put all the same in execution with holy Iosiah and do in all things belonging thereunto as the Lord himselfe directeth and commandeth for that this alone can bring comfort and boldnesse to them and theyrs in assurance of the Lords mercifull love and favour and that they and theirs shall abide still and ever before the presence of the Lord. Thus are we to labour to prevaile espcially for our Soveraigne Lord and his that our God may yet by him magnify the riches of his mercy above all former times bringing thus to us all his Churches a third greater deliverance and cause of rejoycing by his hand through our unfeigned repentance and the like repentance in all the Churches then ever heretofore And thus wee are earnestly according to our bounden dutie to stirre up our hearts by our due meditations to cry for him and to doe what we can both by our prayers and all other holy meanes that all other may ioyne with us herein and that we may never rest wrestling with him weeping untill he have heard us even in this behalfe for the pardoning and taking away our sinnes in what sort soever shall seeme best to his heavenly Maiestie to answere us And thus much for this Meditation The seuenth particular Meditation of the second generall how Sathan exerciseth all his power and tyranny against all the Churches spiritually SEuenthly wee are withall to betake our selves to a serious Meditation and to bring our hearts likewise to a right feeling hereof That as the Lord hath in his iust and heavy displeasure left his poore afflicted Churches and children to be thus pursued by Sathan and driven into the wildernesse so Sathan having gotten them thither he there principally exerciseth his power tyranny against them even spiritually against their seules and consciences so farre as God permits him as well as against their bodies How hee thereby bestirres himselfe to bring them into all spirituall miseries to cause them either to fall away from the Lord Iesus Christ and the soundnesse and sincerity of his heavenly Gospell which they have received professed or to vse dissembling even to deny the Lord Iesus or other vnlawfull meanes for their reliefe and succour thus to wound their weake cōsciences ◅o get more advantage against them both to accuse them before the Lord and so to provoke his Maiesty to leave them up into his hands and even to drive many of them to utter and endless despaire of the Lords helpe succour which is the height of miseries and the very entrance into the lake Or at least which is his usuall manner with every one of us and wherein he can and doth oft prevaile with manie of the deerest Saints and Children of the Lord he settes on them day and night to cause them to doubt of the Lords favor and love of the truth of their Religion the goodnesse of their cause the soundnesse of their Faith and repentance or whether they have any Faith or no seeing hee so leaves them to so many miseries which if hee loved them he would not doe Then hee makes them possess the verie sinnes of their youth setting all of them before their faces which ever they fell into in their whole lives so much as he is able and aggravating every least slip or fayling as if it were the most heynous sin that ever was committed Then through melancholy passions and distempers into which hee can driue thee best by long affliction and by still urging his temptations terrors hee can and useth to cause them to accuse themselves falsely and for those things wherein they are most innocent or for the best things that ever they have done and so can increase their miseryes both bodily and spirituall The right meditation of these and other like miseries which he drives them into m◅st needs cause us to commiserate their poore and wofull estate and the due consideration of the present danger to our selves of the like
in all things to walke hvmbly with him shall likewise bee stirred up by his blessed Spirite thus joyntly to cry unto him for that hee having taught and commanded us thus to pray and having given us so many assurances that being such praying thus he wil heare us and finally hee enclining and setting our hearts as with one accord thus to importune him heerein we can make no doubt of gracious audience and a happy answere from his heavenly Majesty even when we can joyntly crie in Faith Amen Euen so come Lord Iesus come quickely Amen Amen The Sixt generall Meditation How all but those that are thus qualified are excluded from helping the Lord and doe rather pull downe his wrath upon his Church SIxtly we are to bring our hearts yet further to a serious Meditation hereof likewise That all other who are not so qualified at least in the earnest desire and constant resolution of their hearts and much more all who are contrarily affected in any of these things thus necessarily required in our preparation and so all that beleeue not the word of the Lord in such manner as to be fully perswaded of the truth of his promises and threatnings are excluded by the Lord himselfe from being any meete helpers in this worke The First Meditation hereof to be seriously pondered 1 THat all such as live securely in theyr owne wayes without any due regard of the Lord and of his poore Church are excluded hence even all such as who albeit the Lord shewe such manifest token◅ of his heavy displeasure agaynst his owne people and children for their sinnes and although they see his Glory Gospell People to bee so generally trampled under foot our lord Iesus Christ to be ready utterly to be thrust frō his throne and his members in such miserable distress or imminent perill yet they care for none of these things but only mind their owne courses and seeke to satisfy their owne wils and desires as all our worldlings and all the prophane sort in generall do Yea all such are shutte out as unmeete who are not now in a tender commiseration of the wofull estate of all the Lords people de◅irous to obey our Lord Iesus Christ comming to helpe him and them all in what thing soever he shall make knowne unto them that he stands in need of their helpe and so calls for it at their hands and who endeavour not unfeignedly to doe whatsoever he requireth tending thereunto And that this must needs be so for these reasons following which are therefore every one of them to be seriously meditated of and pondered until we know our selves to have passed the danger of them The first reason to be seriously meditated of 1 FOr that al such who regard him not in his poore and needy members must be separated from these whom our Saviour calles The blessed of his Father and must stand at his left hand among the Goats and must then hear the wofull doome at that last dreadfull day Go ye cursed into everlasting f◅re prepared for the Divell and his Angels when I was an hungrie you gave mee no meat when I was thirsty you gave me no drinke when I was s◅ke and in prison you visited me not when I was naked you cloathed me not when I was a stranger and harbourlesse you tooke me not in c. And therefore if it shall be so with these at that day then certainely they must needs bee rejected by him as utterly unmeet for this service who now that he calles for these duties at theyr hands and that so lowd as all the world doth ring thereof yet are deafe in all in regard of any commiseration For what King General or Commander will ever willinglie have any admitted into pay to fight under them but onely such as they know to be loyally and faithfully affected towards them and which doe lay to heart their honours causes and quarrels as if they were their owne much lesse then can we thinke that the Lord of heaven earth who needes none of our helpe but can get himselfe the victorie over his enimies by the breath of his nostrils when it pleaseth him will admit of any other to be with him and to helpe him in this great work wherein he will so highly honour them but onely so many as shall bee loyally and heartily affected towardes his Majesty his causes and children The second reason to be seriouslie thought of SEcondly we are seriouslie to lay to heart and to bethinke our selves in time if we would be helpers herein That all such who live in any one gross sinne impenitently and much more in any one of those notorious abhominations which broght that dreadfull Captivity upon Iudah which the Lord hath caused to be set so lively before the face of all by y◠holy Prophets themselves together with the vengeance denounced for them are also utterly excluded especially if they live therein scandalously to the slander of the Gospell or the offence of others to harden them in their courses for that all such are both blinde and deafe and make others so Such cannot see the wrath and vengeance of GOD certainly rushing upon thēselves for their owne sinnes wherein they lye much less can they see that which is rushing upon all the Churches for theyr security and abuse of the gospell and least of all can they discerne of any wrath conceived agaynst our selves for that they consider onely that we yet live in peace but perceyve not at all the multitude and heynousness of our most odious and lowd-crying sins agaynst which the Prophets so thunder out the vengeance of the Lord and for which all who are wise-hearted indeed and whose eyes GOD hath rightly opened doe feare and tremble They can neyther see any tokens of the Lords displeasure nor yet discerne the enemies raging so furiously agaynst all the Churches abroad as by their most deepe and bloody practises threats and intendments they daylie manifest to all the world no not those enemies which bee in our very bosomes such as all those are who beare evill will against Sion They perceiue not the multitude of Locusts with such stinges in their tails sent out of the bottomelesse pit to all the Kings of the earth to draw them all if it were possible certainly every one of them so farre as ever the Lord shall permit them to take up arms against our Lord Iesus Christ and his poore Church They are deafe and cannot heare the cry of their poore brethren though sounding daily in their eares so as to take any true pitty of them how then should they heare the cry of the Lord calling to themselves and all other to repent so to prevent and pacifie his wrath Concerning these so continuing the holy Ghost oft declareth the heavy wrath of God that is upon them That he hath blinded their eies and made their eares
habitation for Sathan and as a den of Dragons And that thou wouldest seeke now to have thy soule conscience wholly clensed and purged in the blood of the Lambe and to wash the feete of thy deere Saviour with Mary Magdalen by the teares of thy unfeigned sorrow for all thy former unkindness and for thy ungraciousness in keeping out thy Lord and Saviour so long giving unto Sathan the whole possession of thy heart and so the very chiefe roomes thereof not vouchsafing unto Christ Iesus so much as entertainment within thy threshold Then will he come in to thee how unworthy soever thou art and Sup with thee and thou with him This shall be the joy fullest day that ever shone upon thee for hee being in thy heart will by his blessed Spirit not onely teach thee thus to pray but will certainly make thy prayers to piâ—…rce the very heavens and finde happy audience at the throne of Grace chiefly in all these causes which so highly concerne his Majesty his poore Church and people He will then bring unto thee that joy with him that goes beyond all the joy of all worldly men and farre beyond that which all things here belowe can ever bring unto thee That which eye never saw nor eare heard nor entered into mans heart to consider of Yea that which shall never be taken away from thee but be a continuall feast for evermore And contrarily if yet thou wilt not harken unto him but still harden thy heart against him the time shall come that every call of his which ever thou heardest before and hast contemned shall sound so shrill in thy eares when it will be too late as thou shalt have it affrighting thee perpetually That thou never shalt have rest day nor night for the dreadfull noyse of these many cals because thou wouldest not harken in time but didst put off the day of thy repentance and so of harkening to his sweet voyce of mercy thus calling thee stilto bee partakers of his mercy and even of this high favour and now at day in these dangers of the Church in a speciall manner above all other Wherefore let the counsel of the holy Ghost be now acceptable unto thee breake off thy sinnes by repentance be not as the deafe Adder any longer But whilst it is now called to day heare his voyâ—… Contemne it not now little knowest thou whether ever thou shalt heare it any more thus in mercy but onely in wrath and vengeance for despising his long suffering and all the riches of his compassion The second Meditation To thinke what it is for a man to forsake his owne happinesse in refusing Christs gracious call and to joyne with Sathan against him to his endlesse perdition SEcondly the Lord cals loud to every soule to bethinke him seriously in time what it is for a man not onely to refuse and contemne the gracious call and service of our Lord Iesus Christ yea all his favours all his sweet promises and mercies concerning both this and a better life all the glory and happinesse of the Celestiall Canaan the heavenly Ierusalem where is fulnes of joy in the presence of the Lambe and at the right hand of our heavenly Father pleasures for evermore but of the contrary to choose to joyne himselfe with Sathan and with all the damned to serve under him against our Lord and Saviour Likewise to thinke aforehand what such a men will doe when hee must appeare before his glorious Majesty when all the greatest proudest of the earth that have so set themselves against him shall cry to the Hils Mountaines to fall upon them and cover them from the presence of the Lambe so terrible shall his very presence be unto them then though a Lambe to all beleevers who have heere followed him in true obedience to all who yet shall harken to his voyce yea so dreadfull shall it bee when whatsoever torment and misery is denounced against them in the booke of God to bee inflicted upon them hereafter shall be most certainly and fully executed in that lake burning with fire and brimstone For the unfallible truth and undoubted certainty hereof the Lord cals every soule alwaies to behold with the eies of their minds not only those fearfull spectacles mentioned in his word of that wofull horror of conscience which hath so surprized and overwhelmed so many of the wicked whom God hath left for ensamples to all posterity even for their malicious wickednesse though but against some one of his Servants as namely in Caine Saule Achitophel Iudas and others when they did but onely consider the wrath of the Lord and his vengeance due unto them and which would overtake them or felt it beginning to seize upon them for this sinne but moreover hee cals them to thinke aright of the continuall examples that hee daily seteth before their faces in the miseries of so many of his deerest Children How they are tormented when their consciences are awakened with a right apprehension and feare of the wrath of the Lord for their sinnes wherein they have served Sathan though not taking part against his Majesty and Children no nor so much as in forsaking him or them or any his causes but onely for some particular slâ—…ps failings and infirmities as either for some spirituall pride or timerousnesse in fearing men more then God and thereupon omitting some necessary confession or other good duty or for doing some small thing against their conscience or for some unbeleefe in not being able to rest upon the Lord his love and care in the failing of outward meanes as it was with Moses at the waters of strifâ—… or for spirituall security for decaying in their first love neglecting the conscionable use of meanes of grace and saluation or the like How even these I say when their consciences are throughly awaked doe indure as it were the very slashings of hell fire and this so dreadfully as their miseries astonish all that behold them and that they themselves doe account all outward tortures nothing in regard thereof so that many a time with holy Iob they wish an end were made of them being oft ready through Sathans malice to lay violent hands upon themselves Also for that they indure this so long as that Gods hand pursues some of them throughout their whole life that they are usually uncapable of any comfort though the same be sent by a messenger of God even one of a thousand except it bee a little before their death wherein the Lord commonly vouchsafeth unto them much heavenly assurance and consolation And if it be so with these here while yet the day of salvation remaines and the accepted time and also whilst they have the most excellent meanes to comfort them yea though they bee such as have felt formerly the assurance of Gods love favour in Christ and many
lively evidences thereof which is the chiefest of all though they be such as are deere and pretious unto the Lord and who have his holy Spirit for their earnest albeit onely for a time they want the sense feeling of it as it hath beene in many a soule in our memory and is at this day whereupon they have bene are so usually prayed for in many of our best Congregations from whence they looke for some helpe comfort by the praiers of Gods people if I say it bee so with them what can wee thinke shall become of the ungodly and impenitent sinners especially of those enemies of Christ and his Servants when their consciences shall bee throughly awaked and much more after this life when their case in regard of any comfort shall be contrary to the estate of these poore Servants of the Lord. If the righteous shall scarsly bee saved as Peter speaketh and as wee see how hardly it goes with these last mentioned where shall the wicked and ungodly appeare If the paine of one tooth alone be oft so extreame that it permits no sleepe nor rest day nor night when wee have all kind of other comforts to mitigate and ease it what can wee thinke the torments of all the parts both of soule and body must needs be in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone for ever where the very hope of all other comforts shall be utterly taken away which notwithstanding we are certainly assured must come upon all impenitent and ungodly sinners because the word of the Lord doth tell us so most plainly and so oft warnes us of it The Lord cals from heaven continually upon all who doe not repent them of their sinnes come to helpe him to thinke seriously hereof as which alone shall bee sufficiently able to convince and condemme all that ever have heard the holy Scriptures or but these fearfull examples alone The third Meditation How God herein sets before us all life and death blessing and cursing FInally we are to bethinke our selves in our deepest and best Meditations how the Lord here sets before every soule life and death blessing and cursing Life if we will but now set our selves seriously with all our hearts to seeke to pass all these difficulties never giving rest to our soules untill by our Meditations and prayers and the right use of all other holy meanes which in his word he hath prescribed us wee have attained so to beleeve and so to obey yea in all things so to doe as hee requireth at our hands that wee may be fit to helpe him and his poore Church Then we shall have boldnesse whatsoever come to passe we shall not need to feare though all our enemies were so many Divels wee shall not be dismaid for the adventuring and loosing of all Houses Goods Friends Parents Children no nor Life it selfe but contrarily in the middest of death wee shall be bold and couragious as Lyons for our Lord and Saviour knowing that nothing can separate us from Gods favour and in the losse of all we shall gaine all bee in all even in the middest of death more then Conquerors thorow him who hath so loved us and hath given himselfe for us and shall with him triumph over all our enemies eternally Death and cursing he likewise sets before us threatneth them unto us undoubtedly without unfeigned repentance whereof wee can have little hope if he now calling upon us thus earnestly to helpe him by the offer of so many mercies and such blessednesse on the one side we will not shew our true obedience and uttermost indeavour therunto and if hee denouncing so many miseries on the other side wee still refuse to harken living securely and doe not regard this gratious offer of mercy That when our feare shal come upon us like a whirlewind wee shall fly at the shaking of a sword even at the very report of our enemyes prevailing much more of their approching so neere unto us Our hearts shal be then as Nabals as dead as a stone and so wee shall live in a perpetuall expectation of the just wrath and vengeance of God to seize upon us everlastingly so that we can never expect any comfort after Yea withall we are wisely and deepely to meditate hereof how he bids us to chuse life that wee and ours may live by loving him obeying his voice cleaving fast unto him because he is our life and the length of our dayes And also how hee bidding us will also thereby give us strength to doe it so farre as we shall be accepted If we but beleeue his blessed Commandement and his Covenant of grace shall set our selves in the name and by the power of our Lord Iesu Christ to do what we can in and by the use of all the means which he hath ordained for obtayning this strength and grace so to helpe him and if we wil be as earnest as vigilant and industrious for attaining of this honour as we would be for the attaining of any earthly honour or riches For we cannot thinke that ever any man who sought this after this manner was rejected to wit if hee sought it as for treasure that is early earnestly and constantly And therefore all who wil not thus set themselves to obey help the Lord have their mouths for ever most justly stopped being left altogether without excuse And thus much also for this last generall Meditation and how we may in all things be in some good measure rightly and fitly prepared to helpe in instant and powerfull prayer for the poore Churches of Christ according to all whereunto the Lord now calles us thereby to have good hope to prevayle with him To wit when wee shall finde our hearts so affected towards his heauenly Majesty as to preferre him his glory causes before our selves so truly shewing that we love him with all our heart soule strength and might and our neighbour as our selfe as hee commandeth being so affected likewise towardes them and doing so to them as we would have them do to us if wee were in their estate and case All which we must everie one strive unto or perish if wee but onely as wee saw before stand on the other side in the day of our Brethrens affliction and much more if we will not bee moved by any one meanes nor all the meanes together whereby the Lord calls us thus to come to helpe him now I say that hee even our Lord and Saviour proclaimes to all our consciences before all the world that hee stands in such need of our helpe and so expects it hourely at our hands And this may suffice to prepare us all to this happy worke of true humiliation and of instant prayer for the Churches onely let mee put you in minde that our Lord Iesus Christ to the end that hee
deserued this honor and hath this office to make us and our prayers to be accepted and therfore that we may in faith cry unto thee evermo◅e thorow him Amen Amen Good Lord helpe us and all thy people that by all these markes and the like wee may thoroughly try and examine our selves whether we be thy children or no and that wee may never give ouer crying unto thee untill we finde every one of these lively and sensibly in us Cause us rightly to understand and to bee fully perswaded heereof that in what measure we finde the former change wrought in us and every one of these marks in the same we may know our selves like wise to bee in thy favour and accepted of thee and that contrarily vvithout every one of these at least begun in us in some measure a sound resolution with an earnest desire and longing of our soules to increase and grow heerein vvee cannot assure our selves to bee any better then Hypocrites and that wee shall never finde sound comfort that thou wilt acknowledge us for thine untill we finde these evident markes upon us Grant unto us therefore Oh tender Father all the peculiar marks of thy Children and all other that hereby we and all thine may know our selves infallibly to bee thine owne deere Children for thy beloved Sonne our blessed Lord and Saviour Amen VI. A prayer for knowledge and right use of the meanes whereby wee may bee made Gods Children and grow up in the assurance thereof and so b◅ established in grace continually OH most gracious God and mercifull Father the onely fountaine of wisedome and grace forsomuch as every one who hath any sparke of grace or true wisedome desires to bee in the blessed estate of thy Children to have thy love and favour to grow up in the assurance thereof as the chiefest happinesse in this world perswade us and all thy people aright what are the ordinary meanes whereby thou begettest thy Children to a lively hope That thou dost it ordinarily and usually even by the same meanes whereby thou diddest first gather thy Church in the daies of our Saviour and after that so wonderfully and speedily spread it over the face of the earth even by the sincere preaching of thy heavenly word and namely of thy sacred Gospell That howsoever the world accounts that foolishnesse yet thou hast ordained it to be the immortall seede whereby thine are begotten anew and thus made thy Children by grace and to be thy mighty power unto salvation to make all thine to beleeve and in beleeving to make them partakers of thy favour and love and so to give them eternall life And that this saving kinde of preaching stands as the preaching of Paul did not in the intising speech of mans wisedome but in the plaine evidence of thy Spirit of power That so our faith may bee apparant to bee wrought not by the wisedome of men but onely by thy divine and mighty power alone Perswade all thy people moreover that as thou doest beget all thine a-newe by this thy heauenly voyce the sincere preaching of thy Gospell and in calling them makest them thy Children so thou feedest and nourishest them and all thy Graces in them by the same principally and next therunto by the right use of thy holie Sacraments the reuerent reading of the same blessed word and other holy bookes grounded thereupon with sacred Meditations conference with the godly practise of all holy duties carnest supplications and prayers for a right and sanctified use for thy blessing upon everie one of these meanes and the like to make them all effectuall heereunto Good Father perswade ◅ll who thus desire to bee thy Children and in thy favour and to have all others likewise partakers with them of the same mercy to seeke by all holy meanes the establishing and advancement of thy sacred Ministery that them selves and all others may depend upon the conscionable faithfull and sincere Ministers Pastors and Teachers whom thou hast ordayned in this respect to succeed in the place of holy Paul and the other Apostles for the gathering together of the Saints for the worke of the Ministry and for the edification of the body of Christ and bee wholly affraid of all Anaba ptisticall fancies or separations or of any way vvithdrawing themselves from under the meanes ordayned by thee for their salvation to lye open to Sathan and his delusions Oh gracious Father who so tenderest thy Children and chosen flocke as thou hast set Kings Princes in thy place for the care and comfort of them above all other of the earth perswade and move effectually the heartes of all those whom thou hast appointed to be thus as Fathers to thy children as namely all Governours and principally the cheefe whom thou hast specially ordayned to bee the prime foster-Fathers unto those thy deere Children in al the parts of the world That they by all the meanes power that thou shalt ever vouchsafe to put into their hands may looke to see thy people committed to their charge to be furnished with such conscionable sincere faithfull Pastors and teachers as by whom they may be first begotten and after nourished and fed so as they may grow up to the measure of the age of the fulness in Christ and be provided likewise for all other gracious meanes helps belonging hereunto Thus in like manner wee humbly intreate thee most mercifull God and tender father that by the mighty operation of thy heavenly Spirit thou wilt thorowly perswade and move all those whome thou hast in a peculiar manner separated unto this worke of winning of soules unto thee or who have or shall any way enter heereupon that they may wisely consider that principall part of their Vocation and Function namely to endeavour to make al their Congregations to bee thine owne Children carrying lively thy image and bearing upon them the markes of thy Children Cause them to seeke tenderly to nourish and comfort them as in thy place and presence and ever to preserve keepe them from Sathan and all his cursed agents and instruments as from all seducing Iesuites and Seminaryes who compasse sea and land to make all sorts the children of the divell worse then themselves and so from all other deceyvers and all the delusions of this evill world Grant that thus they may study to be able each according to their places at all times whensoever thou shalt call them to an account and chiefly at the great day to present them with all confident boldness and joy before thy heavenly Majesty saying vvith the Prophet Lord heere am I and the children thou hast given me by my Ministry or any way cōmitted to my charge Hearken unto us Oh gracious Father in these our humble supplications all other things which thou knowest to be
needfull for us or thy whole Church or any part thereof for Iesus Christ our Lord and onely Saviour VII A Prayer that all may understand how deere Gods Children are unto him that they may be so to us likewise OH Lord most merciful most wise and tender Father make all sorts to understand and know in time especially all those who so furiously rage agaynst thy Church and people at this day how deere and precious every one of thy Children is unto thy heavenly Majestie that they are unto thee as the apple of thine owne eye and that therefore their blood is precious in thy sight That they perishing for lacke of care to save and succor them much more being destroyed by them to whom thou hast committed them as to their nursing Fathers in thy place their blood will cry for vengeance like as the blood of Abel did and wil cause the murderers one day without unfeigned repentance to crie out when it is too late My sin is greater then I can beare Yea cause all to know that thou canst no more beare with wrongs done unto these thy Children and especially to those of them whom thou hast manifested by their child like obedience and by the glorious image of our Lord Iesus thy deere Sonne printed visibly upon them to bee so deere and precious unto thee then thou couldst beare with the wrongs done unto thy servants Abraham Moses David or any other of thine That if for Abrahams cause thou wast so severe agaynst Abimelech and his house though hee was but a Heathen King that which he did agaynst Abraham hee did ignorantly and with an upright heart as he sayth yea and thorow Abrahams weakness in saying of his wife she was his sister thou wilt then be much more severe agaynst all those who being convinced in their consciences of the innocency of thy poore children as all must needes be in a very great measure in this most glorious shining light of thy heavenly Gospell and yeâ—… doe so vexe and mollest them yea and seeke to destroy them out of the earth onely for thy names sake for cleaving fast unto thee and to thy sacred truth Lord perswade the hearts of all sorts that these while they are in any place are in some sort as Noah was to the old world and as Lot to Sodome for keeping off the vengeance from all the rest Yea good Lord make all sorts understand and know and especially set this ever before our eies and the eies of all thy people every where that thou madest poore Ioseph who was scorned and hated of his Brethren for his religion and pietie for seeking to reforme their evill behaviour to bee yet the preserver of his Brethren yea of all his Fathers house and of the whole Church and causedst his Brethren in their greatest extremity and in the very anguish of their soules to acknowledge how they had sinned against the Lad chiefly in their lack of commiseration and moreover to come and to stoope unto Ioseph and humbly to seeke unto him that he would not remember the wrongs and evils that they had done to him Cause us all to consider well how thou madest him to save them all even him whom for his dislike of their evill manners for his care for their good and for thy speciall favour manifested towards him they accounted the dreamer plotted against cast into the pit sold to the Ismalites thinking thereby they should never have bene troubled with him noâ—… have heard of him any more Grant good Lord seeing thy Children are so deere unto thee that for their causes and the wrongs done unto them thon callest for a dearth upon the lands where they are thou plaguest even Kings for their sakes that thou wilt not spare their owne Brethren or Sisters if they wrong them no not Miriam her selfe though she be beloved of thee a Prophetess and Sister of Moses but wilt make her feele her sinne and her shame if she dare but speake against thy servant Moses especially for doing as thou hast commanded him that they may be likewise as deere and precious unto all thy people Grant Oh tender Father that all sorts thus esteeming of them for thy cause as thine owne deere Children and so highly beloved of thee may all joyntly acknowldge their wrongs against them their haynous sinne against thy Majesty for them in all the rebukes scornes and taunts cast upon thee and thy sacred religion thorow the evils done unto them Vouchsafe that heereby all these may with faithfull Abraham Moses and Samuell pray for all thy people and so helpe to make the attonement for them by the blood of the Lord Iesus that all their sins may bee pardoned thy anger appeased thy people turned to thee againe thy hand may bee turned against thine obstinate and implacable enemies and the enemy may once againe bee given for the ransome of thy Children and people as thou diddest sometimes give Aegypt for thine Israel Lord perswade this principally to all thy Deputies and Vicegerents wheresoever in the earth that even for this cause alone for that these are so beleved of thee they likewise may in all tender affection set themselves as in thy place to rescue succour and protect them from the rage of all thine and their cruell enemies and that they may seeke withall the uniting of the hearts of all thy Children in that firme bond of brotherly love which is in Christ Iesus that those of them who most excell in vertue as they are most deâ—…re unto thy heavenly Majesty may bee so likewise unto them that they may respect and tender them their welfare and prosperity above all others That they may seeke to keepe all thine in this bond of holy love and wisely to prevent whatsoever may dissolve this brotherly knot or but breed any hatred envy grudgings heart-burnnings or unbrotherly censurings amongst them or whatsoever may hurt or annoy them any way That heereby all such thy Vicegerents may get this testimony and seale to their Consciences that they themselves are as thy first borne and amongest the deerest of thy Children and of all other of the earth most precious unto thee and that thou wilt shew thy selfe a Father and Protector unto them theirs for evermore when as thou wilt declare thy selfe full of vengeance against all of them who have any way wittinglie wronged or intended evill agaynst them Oh unite all the hearts of thine owne children unto them and theyrs in all loyall affection as to their foster-fathers and mothers whome thou hast in so much mercie to this end raised up for them and committed them unto as the hearts of all thine owne servants were united into thy faithfull seruant David whom for this cause they accounted better then ten thousand of themselves as the Candle of Israel and as they were
Children in him being so begotten by that lively word and having upon us all the evident markes of thy Children Grant us therefore Oh gracious Father now in these our daies of peace whilst thou vouchsafest us the meanes of thy heavenly Gospell to give all diligence to make it sure that we are thy Children thy deere Children yea thy Children to whom thy heavenly kingdome appertaineth having and bearing upon us all the lively markes and badges of thy Children Above all grant us this heavenly mindednesse that our chiefe thoughts may bee upon thee our heavenly Father our care may bee above all things how to please thee doing in the meane while only the things which thou requirest casting all our cares for those daies and for whatsoever the enemie can do upon thy Majesty alone and into thy bosome learning every day more and more to waine our affections from this world and the things of this world and to set them wholly above where thy Sonne sitteth at thy right hand Lord perswade our hearts and make us able to perswade one another that by all the power and liberty that thou hast permitted unto Sathan to all his instruments and by all the persecutions and afflictions that are upon all the Churches and also by whatsoever threatnings of thine against thy Children yea whatsoever mischievous designes are intended against thy poore Church or what danger soever it is in thorow that extreame fury of Sathan and Antichrist and all their instruments thou art yet still preparing all thy Children to meete thee in a sound humiliation with strong cries and teares for all our offending thee and for grieving thy holy Spirit by all our former security and neglect of thee and of the riches of thy favours vouchsafed unto us Grant us all this grace therefore as thine obedient and loving Children in all things to submit our selves under thy Fatherly hand to turne joyntly to thy Covenant and renew the same in all faithfulnesse to take away all the divisions that have bene amongst us which thorow our long peace and wantonnes Sathan hath wrought to the destroying of us all if it were possible Vouchsafe good Father that we may doe this so effectually that thou maist be as much pleased in reuniting us againe and in our Brotherly love and agreement as ever thou hast beene displeased in our divisions and dissentions and Sathan and his instruments in seeing our holy unity and agreement may bee as much dismaied and put out of heart for ever prevailing against us as by the contrary and by all their prosperous successe as they imagine they have bene animated and incouraged to our ruine and destruction That so wee may all sing with one heart and voice Behold how good and happy a thing it is Brethren to dwell together in unity Lord manifest thy glory even the glory of thy wisedome power mercy and truth heerein in making us joyntly to looke and cry to thee for all these things and whatsoever thou in thy infinite wisedome knowest necessary for us in this behalfe or for any member of thy whole Church for Iesus Christ his sake our only Lord and Saviour IX A Thanksgiving to God according to the first petition of the Lords prayer for causing his glorie to breake forth so wonderfully now in this last Age of the world in delivering his Churches thus farre out of Egypt and Babilon with a confession of our unworthinesse and an earnest prayer that wee may never dishonour him by locking thither againe nor provoke him by our sinnes to give us up to that heavie iudgement and likewise for the diliverie of all the rest of his Israel in his due time and that he may never leave us untill hee have brought us all into his heavenly Canaan OH Lord most holy and most glorious open our blinde eies touch our hard and stony hearts and the hearts of all thy true Churches and people in all the world whom thou hast called forth to bee thy people that wee may bee able to see and consider aright the exceeding honour and dignity which thou hast laid upon us and to shew forth our thankfulness to thy heavenly Majesty accordingly Make us able to consider show thou hast vouchsafed to take us so nere unto thy selfe as to make vs thine owne peculiar people of all the people of the earth to set and confirme the Covenant with us of life and glory and how to this end thou hast brought us out of that spirituall Aegypt and Babilon from that bondage and tyranny of Sathan and Antichrist Make us to consider and rightly to understand how by great deliverances and iudgements thou hast carried us thorow the sea and thorow the wildernesse and shewed thy selfe unto us in thy glorious ordinances leading us by thy statutes and commandements and by the workes of thy providence protection direction chastisement blessings as thou diddest thy people Israel by the pillar of the fire and the pillar of the cloud Give us hearts ever to remember how thou hast sought for us from heaven so as all the earth hath sâ—…ene and heard of thy glory and hast carried us as upon Eagles wings and now brought us to the very frontiers of thy heavenly Canaan and made us to see tast of the riches happinesse and glory of it in thy sacred Gospell Oh our blessed God most gracious and most dreadfull make us and all thy people to bee afraid of ever having any thought of turning backe so much as in our hearts or of ever having a looke towards Aegypt or Sodome againe towards any part of that Popery or Popish superstition and Idolatry that abhominable drudgery under Sathan and Antichrist from which thou hast so graciously delivered us Oh never suffer us to admit of any imagination or so much as one motion of comparing the Leekes Onions Garlicke of Aegypt with the hid Manna of thy sacred Law and heavenly Gospell Albeit we heare and see their â—…age and fury and the power of all their armies banding themselves against us either to swallow us up at once or els to persue us into the heart of the sea yet keepe us that wee never rebell against thee thinking to turne backe from thee to goe into Aegypt againe distrusting thy truth thy presence and power Cause us Oh gracious Father wisely to consider of and ever to have this as before our eies that of all dishonors done unto thy heavenly Majesty thou canst least indure this chiefly after so long triall and experience which thou hast given us of thy power goodnesse and mercy towards us That this sinne alone may justly make thee sweare in thy wrath that wee shall never enter into thy rest Make all them that have dishonoured thee in this high kinde sinning thus against thy glorious Majesty to know for certaine that without
thou hast caused the glorie of thy wisedome power and goodness to shine in all thy works even in every creature of the world to convince all the earth that every soule that will not give thee thy glory may bee left utterly without excuse and all the disobedient may have theyr mouthes stopped and be forever confounded before thy Tribunall Above all make all thy people to understand and know that thou hast caused this thy glorie to be more visibly uppon the Churches which thou hast so mightily rescued and delivered from the power of Sathan and Antichrist and whom thou hast taken into so neere a Covenant as to bee thy onely people to whom thou hast committed thy heavenly word and ordinances then it is upon all other people and places of the world besides and that this thou hast done chiefly to this end that wee might set forth thy glory in this by keeping all thy Statutes and observing all thy Lawes Lord cause all to know moreover that to this end thou hast not delivered us set us out of that bondage to serve thee in holiness but hast set before us also life death blessing and cursing and hast bidden us to choose life that we and ours may live and hast assured us heereof and that onely by loving thee the Lord our God by obeying thy voice by cleaving fast unto thee because thou thorow thy Christ art unto us our life and the length of our dayes and whatsoever thou bidst us thou wilt enable us to doe we onely beleeving in thy beloved Sonne and using the holy meanes which thou hast appointed Make us all to this purpose ever to remember how thou hast charged us all that the booke of thy Law thy sacred word should never depart out of our mouthes but that we should meditate in it day and night that wee may all observe and doe according to all that is written in that booke for that then thou wilâ—… make all our wayes in this our journey prosperous no enemy shall bee able to withstand us much lesse to surprize us of a sudden but thou wilt bee with us and thou wilt then give us good success Yea good Lord let this ever be before our faces how to incorageâ—…s better hâ—… 〈◊〉 to thou hast assured us that if wee will thus thinke and meditate of thy Lawes and Commandements day and night to observe do them and honour thee thereby thou wilt honour us herein that wee shall bee a blessed people and like the trees plainted by the rivers of water that we shall bring forth our fruite in due season and that so as our leafe shall not fade but looke whatsoever we do shal prosper How then we shall be wiser then our enemies yea wee shall have more understanding then our teachers and then all the auncient when wee can set our selves thus to honour thee by keeping all thy Commandements like as thou diddest veryfie thy gracious promises in this â—…alfe to thy faithfull servant David to Daniell to those worthyes of the Captivitie whom thou diddest so highly honour for that they so honoured thee as that they would rather chuse to bee cast upon all miseries yea the cruellest death then voluntarily to defile themselves by transgressing but the very least of all thy holy Commandements Make us all therefore that are thiâ—…e rightly to understand that whilest wee thus honour thee in being thus with thee in faith and all holy obedience to these thy blessed Commandements thou wilt likewise honour us in being with us in mercy and truth thy good hand shal bee so sensibly upon us that we shall live by faith in assurance and experience that thou wilt accomplish unto â—…s every one of thy 〈◊〉 promises and that thus persevering in faith and obedience we shal be saved eternally Make us to know for certayne that so long so long onely as we watch and strive heereunto seeking cheerfully to receyue the Law of thy mouth and to lay uppe thy words in our soules we shall be able to lift up our heartes with our hands in undoubted assurance that wee shall be heard in whatsoever shall be best for us and for thy Church Cause us to know and beleeue for certayne that so many of us and so many onely as thus seeke to make keep peace with thy Majesty in turning and submitting ourselves thus wholly to thy Covenant as holy Noah Moses and Abraham did are those whom thou accountest the innocent and to whom thou hast promised that they shall deliver the Iland Lord at length perswade us all that are thine and make every one of us to seeke to perswade all others that unto this intire endeavour of obedience to all thy Commandements both of thy Law and Gospell are all thy promises made and that contrarily against all contempt and despising of the heavenly Commandements yea against every wilful disobedience thogh it be but to one Commandement thy cursings and thâ—…e tâ—…ings are denounced which thou dost dreadfully execute accordingly because men will not thus give thee thy glory Good Lord awaken all the Churches and open the eyes of all thine own people rightly to conceyue understand these things and how Sathan that old Serpent that arch bloody enemy of thy Church knowing all this wel enough hath sought in all the prosperity of thy Churches to cause thine owne people to dishonour thee by making onely a bare outward profession of honouring thee by receyuing and setting up thy heavenly Religion Commandements to obey them in word but trampling them all under foot generally according to the evill customes and manners of the Countries and places where they live that thou mightest leave thy people into his hand into the hands of all his cruell instruments as thou hast most righteously done in so many parts of thy Church already and threatnest all the rest of thy people for the same Oh deere Father how many of thy faithfull servants who have lived in those parts of thy Church which are now left into the enemyes handes do heerein iustifie thy proceedings acknowledging thy righteousness in all that thou hast brought upon them even for this very cause of carnall Gospelling and loose profession Oh tender Father make us all able likewise to iustifie thee in this behalfe and never to rest crying unto thee for them untill thou shalt open their eyes to see and acknowledge thy righteousnes and that they shall unseinedly repent of their most heynous dishonour done to thy sacred Majesty herein in causing thy name heereby to bee blasphemed amongst thine enemyes Yea cause us good Lord by their fearfull ensample even us specially of this sinfull Nation to meet thee speedily by our unfeigned repentance for this dreadfull sinne whereof we are generally no less guilty then any
burdens upon thee at all times and also by our rejoycing alwayes in thee as in our good God that thou takest care for us and by being heereby full of Christian chearfulnes and courage against all the oppositions and feares that ever wee shall or can meeâ—…e with in this our journey towards Canâ—…an as thy worthiest servants have bene wont to be Oh magnifie thy power and goodnesse in shedding out thy love so aboundantly upon all thy Churches and every member thereof and so manifesting it before the world that in the true sense and feeling of it in our hearts and our lively faith in thee wee may all joyntly manifest the fervent love wee returne unto thy Majesty by our unfeigned love of every one of thy blessed CommandemeÌ„ts and our fervent desire to thy statutes to walke in them all without reproofe yea by our ardent affection towards all thy ordinances and servants onely for thy cause Good Lord cause the fervent zeale that wee have towards thy name to appeare before the world in the vehement griefe and indignation that we have for all yâ— dishonors done unto thy heavenly Majesty by trampling under feete thy blessed Commandements thy religion and servants and the injuryes and contumelyes done against any of them and so likewise by our study and holy indeavour by all meanes to promote thy true religion and causes and by our vehement hatred of whatsoever is offensive to thy holinesse that we may set up nothing in our heartes but thy Majesty and those things which thou lovest accounting all other as drosse and dung in regard of thy holinesse yea even life it selfe if it hinder us from injoying or obeying thee Cause thy glory to rest herein upon all the Churches and upon all thy poore afflicted servants that upon the assurance of thy love and that thou art our gracious God we may honour thee in shewing forth all holy patience with all cheerfullnesse even in the middest of all our tryals that howsoever thou maiest seeme to be displeased with us and to frowne upon us yea to favour our enemies in all their proceedings and to give us up into their hands to let them to be lords over us and make us a prey to their teeth yet our eye may bee still at thee at thy love wisedome and faythfulness knowing that whatsoeuer thou doest to us thou doest it but to humble us for our security and for all other our greevous sinnes and to prove us that thou art certainely disposing all to our greatest comfort in the end and thus to prepare our way unto thy heavenly Ierusalem That thus we all may ever possess our soules in patience and waite for the happy issue both of all our owne trialles and of all the trialles of thy Church and people and bee alwayes able to say with holy Iob though thou shouldst kill us or leave us utterly and wholly unto the pleasures and lustes of our enemyes yet we will still trust in thee approoving our wayes in thy sight that heereby we may make it manifest to the faces of all our enemyes that we are certainly assured that nothing can separate us from thy love and that thou canst not forsake faile or forget us whatsoever 〈◊〉 the present thou doe unto us Yeâ—… oh most blessed God cause thy glory yet to shine more clearly uppon all the Churches and upon everyone of us that are thy true servants and children indeed in this behalfe that though the wicked feare thee not but seek to drive all the true feare of thy Majestie even out of our hearts likewise as out of their owne and do therefore hate and persecute us so farre as thou permits them onely because we feare thee and put our truâ—…t in thy mercy yet we may feare thee so much more with a true holy childe-like feare that we may ever and especially now in these evill dayes labour to live alwaies as in thy presence and as in the verie eye of thy all-seeing Majestie Grant good Lord that we may bee able thus to walke with thee constantly until we shall be translated hence and with holy Noah to endevour to be still more righteous in our generation and to be daily building our Arkes to save our selves and Families and all other that we can get into the same from the floud of thy vengeance that is rushing upon al the world of the wicked And albeit the world scorn and deride us dayly for it and though we be the onely talk and hatred of the wicked and as men appointed and designed to death onely for this our feare of thee in the bloody hopes of thine and our proud enemyes yet cause us heerein to honour thee that we may not feare the faces of them while we walke in thy blessed Commandements and do onely as thou requirest of us but that by the might and power of thy heavenly Spirit we may bee more full of all Christian corage as the three worthy Children of the Captivitie as good Daniel and holy Nehemiah And yet more also enable us heerein likewise to honour thee before the world and to shew openly before men and Angels that we have set thee uppe in our hearts to be our God even by walking humbly with thee that thogh the world regard thee not but thou art farre above out of their sight and though they doe band themselves agaynst thee against thy heavenly word and servants yea thogh they scorne al thy judgments and threatnings as the Gyants before the flood and as proud Pharao and Herod did yet we may all walke ever in all humility and lowlinesse of Spirit before thee Make us ever to have before our faces thy glorious excellencie and our own vilenesse thy holinesse and our sinnefulnesse and that not only by the fall of our first Parents and by the whol course of our sinful lives and also the power subtilty and malice of Sathan against us to destroy us each moment without thy speciall preservation mercie but even for the very corruption of our sinfull natures which still dwell in us that bodie of death which would carrie us to destruction yea even to hell it selfe every minute if thou in the riches of thy mercy shouldest not restraine it and shouldest not cover all our sinnes yea keep and uphold us Oh give us hearts that herein wee may all magnifie thy great name in giving unto thee as is thy due all the glory of our standing perseverance in grace and of every good thing that ever we enjoy acknowledging from our soules that they are all the free gifts of thy rich mercy and that we are not worthy any of them nay that we are much lesse then the least of them as thy deerest servants have beene wont to do And good Lord heerein make us specially able to give thee thy glory in being thorowly humbled and in mourning continually for all the heynous sinnes
in new spoyles How all this which is charged upon them in this behalfe was most apparant in this one thing that heereby they had got into their hands most of the pleasantest fartest things of the Land to uphold their kingdome and to support their wickednesse and so all other their delusions evident by most notorious discoveries remayning uppon perpetuall record to all posterity Lord at length make them and all sorts wisely to understand before it bee too late that if the continuall practise of Sodommy Whoredome Murder Lying Robbing swallowing up whole Nations and all under a clâ—…ake of devouon and piâ—…y could demonstrate a religion most abhominable and accursed then surely Popery must needs bee it That this was then a chiefe part of that Babylon which is called the mother of whoredomes and abhominations of the earth and that in the fâ—…ll hereof was a part of that vengeance verified That Babilon is falne it is falne and is become an habitation of devils a hold of all foule Spirits when as the most of them were afterwards hanted with devils in one roome or other of them Good Lord cause them moreover to bethinke themselves how evidently of the contrary as if it were from heaven and how mightily thou hast maintained proclaimed thy sacred truth and convinced them all and all the whole land concerning the evidence of thy religion professed amongst us by the blood of so many learned and most faithfull Martyes yea by so many of thy Prophets and worthy Preachers in every part of our land so many learned writers unanswerable Make them and all of us to lay to heart at length what they can answer into thee who â—…ast discovered froÌ„ time to time such so many most barbarous and unnaturall 〈◊〉 eyther done or intended by their Iesuites and Seminary Preists and other of that religion and especially to be the fruits of their religion and the practise of their owne grounds and principles Such continuall plotting attempting and practising of murdering of Princes â—…sion of States butchering even their owne friends and kinsmen desolating their owne native Countryes mercilesse massacring old and young noble and ignoble men women and children Lord cause them and all sorts ever to keepe in memory that which was so much triumphed of by them before the victory that outragious insolent and most savage invasion of this our Nation and at the time of a treaty about a marriage and amity chiefly managed by her owne children and native subjects deluded by the principall Fathers and spreaders of that religion Oh let that hellish Powder treason ever be before our faces that wickednesse unto which no name can ever bee found out meete and sufficient to expresse it or able to set forth the nature of it That which was so compact of all the principall workes of the devill both lying murdering and all kinds of cruelty that thou Oh Lord madest them themselves to be trumpeters and publique proclamers by it of the abhominable iniquity of that accursed religion whereby it was contrived and managed and that they themselves should shew to all nations that it is come out of the bottomlesse pit and the very principall religion of Sathan in all the world under such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of holinesse Lord give all thy servants grace wisely to consider of these things and to thinke how fearfull it is not onely for them who adjoyne themselves or turne to a religion of such abhominations but even for us all who have bene so warned thereof so many waies and that from thine owne Majesty in such aboundant compassion and by so many infallible evidences that wee through our negligence in our severall places have suffered it so to grow up againe â—…s thus to indanger us by it and our whole Nation yea even all the Church and people of the Lord besides the dishonouring and provoking thy heavenly Majesty to the uttermost Oh gracious God make them and uâ—… all wisely to consider the wonderfull Testimonyes which thou hast contraâ—…ly granted to thy Gospell in the miraculous continuance of it preservation of our Princes and us with all our peace notwithstanding so innumerable stratagems to have taken them away for so many yeares together how these have beene as infallable arguments of thy favour and love towards us for thy Gospell sake and for thy faithfull servants amongst us as the like were tokens of thy favour towards Iudah or Ierusalem Oh make us to call to mind how many a time thy people amongst us have even wondered at our incredible deliverances and preservations with the defeating of their new hopes and long expected daies and also the new and almost continuall discoveries of their wicked intendments which even they themselves at this day so many as iâ—… whom 〈◊〉 the light of nature 〈◊〉 doâ—… acknowledge and wonder at the miraculous oâ—…turning of all theâ—… counsels to worâ—… for us and against themselves 〈◊〉 this â—…ery day so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy 〈◊〉 and watchfull eye over us hatred of their wickedâ—… Wherefore Oh blessed Father we humbly in-treat thee to great unto us al true repentance for this amongst all other our fearfull and crying sinnes daily 〈◊〉 up more and more the 〈◊〉 of thine Anoynâ—… our 〈◊〉 Soveraigne with all other in high place and chiefe authority under him and all thy faithfull Ministers and whomsoever it specially concernes to labour that our sinfull Land may be fully purged of it and the evils prevented which thou threatnest against us by the increase and spreading of it Grant that thus wee all joyntly and generally setting thee up in our hearts to worship and adore and to receive thy sacred religion alone may utterly extirpate and abolish all conceite of giving thy honour and soveraignty to that man of sinne or setting up his Idolatry or superstition in place thereof That so wee may remayne thine owne obedient people that thou mayest likewise continue our most gracious God and loving Father and so our most watchfull protector for ever and mayest never repent of the good that thou hast done or further intended towards us but mayest thus make us a most blessed and happy nation and people amongst whom thou alone mayest solely relgne untill thy blessed Sonne shall come in the clouds that then all we who are thine may reigne with thee in the highest heavens for â—…vermore 〈◊〉 us oh most gracious God hâ—…erein and in all other things needfull for us or for any member of the whole Church for our Lord Iesus Christ Amen Amen XIIII An earnest prayer that the Lord would open the eyes of our brethren and sisters seduced by the Iesuites and other Seminary Priests that they may plainly see how palpably they are and have bene deluded by them in what a fearfull estate they all stand under Sathan and Antichrist and may speedily get them from under their Tyranny and betake themselves to the banner of
our Lord Iesus Christ to escape the â—…orment which they must otherwise indure with them for evermore OH Lord God most holy and most righteous thou hast said thou wilt bee sanctisied in all that draw neeâ—…e unto thee and therefore as thou arâ—… infinite in mercy towards all those who unfeignedly feare thy holy name and â—…mble at thy word and wâ—…t â—…eale thy secrets unto them and make them of thy priviâ—… counsell so thou art most dreadfull terrible unto all other who regard thee not in any such holy manner as to 〈◊〉 thee and to receive the loâ—… of thy most sacred truth Awaken we beseech tâ—…ee all those who are drunke with the wine of Popery and superstition that â—…t length they may behold in what â—… fearfull and desparate state they stand under the power of Sathan and Antichrist ready to bee â—…st into hell every moment of time Make them able to consider aright of the just 〈◊〉 which thou hast threatned to follow the contempt of thy Gospell chiefly in the dayes of Antichrist and whether for that very 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have not deserved it to come upon them That therefore thou wilt send upon them strong delusions that they shall beleeve lyes and be damned because they would not receive the love of thy sacred truth so as to obey it that they might be saved Make them to bethinke themselves wisely seriously and as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 presence what iniquity they have found in thee 〈◊〉 in our way of life or â—…n 〈◊〉 â—…ow they â—…de in Baptisme that they have so 〈◊〉 renounced and abjured it and deparâ—…d from the boâ—… of their mother to caâ—…t her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and with her â—…hine owne â—…jesty â—…o fearfully â—…o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—… 〈◊〉 of their 〈◊〉 blindnesse and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 through 〈◊〉 strong 〈◊〉 whereâ—…â—…o many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bene and are dayly so carried away to that Idolatrous religion Goâ—… Lord make them able to discerne how grosse palpablâ—… those lyes are wherby the â—…cers doe bewitch them as â—…amely that so lately divulged of the Twenty severall sorts of Bibles which within thâ—…se sâ—…w yeares past England hath brought forth Cause them by this one to discerne of all the rest of their delusions when they dare proclaiâ—… such notorious lyes before alâ—… the world as every poore simple body may understand see anâ—…â—…ust needs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 them all tâ—…t 〈◊〉 â—…nto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conceive in due time that this is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all other their most deepâ—… and 〈◊〉 â—…entions whereby they seekâ—…â—…o raise a slandâ—…r upon thine owne Meâ—… 〈◊〉 truth and people to make their poore seduced Prosâ—…lites to abhorâ—… them and so to roote out both the remembrance of thy great nâ—…me of thy Religion and people from the face of the 〈◊〉 Make them to weigh well how they have do deceive and most shamefully abuse them all in perswading of them that they have moe devotion in their Church then we in ours and that therefore they are to joyne themselves to tâ—…em when as they have hardly the tenth part of the bookes of devotion and others tendiâ—…g thereunto viz to â—…orther Religion and godâ—… which the ignorant â—…ort can come by which wâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ours and much less of 〈◊〉 Sâ—…mons tending to the â—…ame Cause them to have a true sense of that delusion that they tell them that their devotions are more holy then ours when as ours are grounded directly upon thy most blessed and eternall word theire upon doctrinâ—… and traditions of men 〈◊〉 the doctrines of 〈…〉 of sinne 〈…〉 thy glory thâ—…t 〈…〉 may 〈…〉 thee their â—…o 〈…〉 thee of thine honour 〈◊〉 giving it to 〈…〉 tend onely to 〈…〉 Lord Iesus Christ 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 many other thing 〈…〉 place of him 〈…〉 which 〈…〉 wholy to 〈…〉 pride of mâ—…n theirs â—…o 〈◊〉 him up like Lucifer Make them to concelve aright how ours helpe us to understand and keepe our Baptisme vow Covenant with our God theirs to keepe them in ignorance of it all their dayes Ours teach us to sight â—…anfully under the banner of our Lord Iesus and for him oâ—…ely their 's to sight desparately against him and all his armies ours teaching and helping us to walke in the narrow path prescribed by â—…hee our blessed Lord and Saviour theirs to kill all who will not runne with them into by-paths and the broad way leading to hell How ours instruct and guide us to live onely the life of faith directed by thy heavenly word their 's the life of unbeleefe having nothing for the ground but the meere word of sinfull man how ours teach and direct us to live the life of faith by a particulâ—…â—…plying of Christ 〈◊〉 his 〈◊〉 so truly ingrafting â—…d in coâ—…porating us into Christ 〈◊〉 by his holy Spirit and thereby making us good trees 〈◊〉 wee may bring forth good fruite 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to beleeve in generall and as the Church beleeves without any such particular application which â—…aith of theirs can neuer bring forth the â—…ound fruites of â—…anctification and true righteonsnesse especially when they scorne and persecute this true and saying faith as fantasticall and vaine Good Father 〈◊〉 these poore soules to understand and know how ours directe us to live the life of true godlinesse guided by thy word and Spirit which alone 〈◊〉 all the promises for this and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 life theirs teaching chiefly to live the life of superstition by bodily exerciâ—… themselves in such works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 never required in any such manner Oâ—… perswade them all how ourâ—… bring to yâ— true practisers of them full assurance of thy 〈◊〉 and love and thereby â—…oy unspeakable glorious theirs bringing nothing but onely a â—…aggering hope so still doubting whether they be in thy favour or not which very doubting when the conscience shall bee thoroughly awaked will bring the very flashings of hell fire upon them How ours are heaven upon earth their 's hell upon earth ours the sweetest in the end when as each of them done in faith hath a reward promised thereunto their 's the bitterest in the end when instead of reward thou wilt demand concerning the best of them done without warrant of the word who hath required these things 〈◊〉 your hands Good Lord 〈…〉 hearts according 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 that our devotionâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our Religion to 〈…〉 â—…oly and unâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the widdow and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 theirs to make them polluted with lying and all filthy 〈◊〉 as in their 〈◊〉 and other chiefe perswaâ—… to that Idolatry yea with the blood of Innocents to destroy the widdow and the fatherlesse out of the earth even all truly professing Christe name â—…o that their religion iâ—… the most polluted with lying and murder of â—…nnocents of all other Religions that ever 〈◊〉 in the world whereby their 〈…〉 Lord bring to their understandings and cause them to thinke of it and ponder it wel that all our devotions as our
thankfulnesse of heart humbly acknowledge before thy sacred Majesty how wee especially in this sinfull Nation with us many other and namely all thy chosen flocke among us are bound unto thy sacred Majesty for the admirable setting up and the wonderfull preservation of thine Annoynted servant our dread Soveraigne of all his Royall progeny with every of thy deliverances and mercyes which thou hast heeretofore vouchsafed by them or as yet dost through them most graciously offer unto us all upon our unfeigned repentance and true turning to thee Lord make us ever to bee wisely pondering of thy divine and Fatherly providence even in every one of these which hath bene so sensible that our very enemies have taken notice of it and so give thee glory acknowledging thy hand in them Diddst thou not Oh good Lord at the very naming of thy Royall Servant to be our Lord and King deliver us all from the hand of our Brother Esau even from all those who had long vowed our death and thirsted after our blood Diddest thou not thereby cast such a terror upon all thine and all thy Churches enemies as that the feare of him and of thy people fell upon them all that not so much as adogge wag'd his tongue against any of thy servants though our sinnes had long before cryed for such a vengeance as they had threatned And afterward when wee had so provoked thee againe by our impenitency and by al our unthankfullnesse manifested in the breach of our renewed vowes and Covenants as that wee were indangered to bee consumed at once by that fiery furnace made like Nebuchadnezzars large and wide or much more terrible by thine and our most mercilesse enemies stirr'd up against us in thy wrath yet diddst not thou againe deliver us and pluck us forth even as the three children of the Captivity and cast in sundry of our enemies for us Diddest thou not also principally worke this as by the hand of thine Annoynted not suffering him to rest untill all our deliverance was wrought And hast thou not both before and since that time given unto him many great deliverances and in all his preservations still preserved us all especially us of this Nation together with all our blessings of so much peace and prosperity as wee still injoy in the middest of the calamities of the other Churches And above all hast thou not thus continued thy heavenly Gospell the life of our lives which hath bene so removed from other Countries together with their outward blessings so as thou hast made him to this day the very breath of our nosethrils and that through him wee injoy all these our mercies as under our vine and figtree and by him givest us new and most blessed hope that wee shall injoy them perpetually Lord these are mercies and favours never to bee forgotten of us Good Lord set them ever before our eyes And for our gracious Prince besides all his and our former deliverances hopes in and by him hast thou not made him to bee to us as Ioseph and disposed of all his journey and of his dangers in it to the greatest discovery of the devices of our adversaries and overturning the hopes of all our wicked enemies Never suffer us to forgett how thou revivedst the hatts of us all making us to breake out into joyfull Triumphes praises when thou hadst caused us to see his face againe delivering him from so many perils as our sins had brought him and â—…s into and those dangers of all sorts both by sea and land yea both bodily and spirituall Lord make us able to give thee thy due glory heerein that thou sitting at the sterne hast disposed of all that journey and all those adventures to the admired improvement of all thy rich guifts and graces in thy Royall servant caused him to see the vilenesse of that most odious superstition and Idolatry which thy soule so much abhorreth and which hee otherwise had never so well understood That thou hast taught us all to know by most happy experience what the power of the prayers of thy people is when they are sent up with an united force that they are able to open the Iron doores and to breake in sunder the gates of brasse to make way for thy children and chosen clocke to passe through the middest of all thine and their mortall enemies Lord make us to lay it wisely to heart how thou hast made him so much more hereby the future expectation and rejoycing of Israel under thine Annoynted servant And likewise for that perelesse Princesse Lord make us all able wisely to consider what another crowne of glory thou hast set upon her head even in her lowest abasement which thou hast brought her unto for the sins of thy people that she should thus excell in al true renowne and fame of all Christian and truely Heroike vertues above all the Princes of the earth that thou hast made her a Mirrour to all of her sex at this day in all the world Oh suffer us never to forget that wonderfull preservation of her when thou deliveredst herâ—… at the Powder Treason from those cruell Nimrods the bloody hunters the reedifiers of Babell who had in their account made a prey of her in a speciall manner by her to have accomplished all their hellish ends and most mercilesse designes against our whole Nation and against all thy poore Churches and people Let it never slip out of our minde that howsoever thou hast suffered her againe to be chased and pursued as a Doe before the hunters yet thou preservedst her in a miraculous manner with that illustrious Prince and all their Royall seed and hast made them most fruitfull in the midst of all their trials and temptations to the terrour and astonishment of all thine and thy Churches enemies and the greater securing and comfort of thy people to cause all thine to lift up their heades in an expectation of a more glorious Age time yet to come in all the world then ever heretofore And above all let this ever be before our faces how thou hast thus wonderfully kept them all alive against all the plots and layings in waite of Sathan and all his instruments by all their stratagems devises and bloody pursuites and hast preserved those thrice happy pawnes pledges of our peace and safety though out of their owne Countryes and people and in forraigne parts And finally how thou hast begunne this wished and happy union amongst thy Churches and servants the cutting off the long wished hopes of the enemies of thy Church under their pretended leagues of peace and amity whereby they had so much undermined us and expected our surprizall of a sodaine whilest we remained yet most secure Not unto us Oh Father not unto us but to thy great name wee give all the glory humbly consessing that by all our impenitency and breach of
vowes and Covenants which we have so oft renewed and that neyther judgements nor mercyes could prevaile with us and especially for making flesh our arme withdrawing our hearts and confidence from thy heavenly Majesty wee had long agoe deserved that both they and wee with all our blessings should have bene wholly left into the hands of thine our enemies which have and doe so eagerly thirst after our blood and that nothing at all hath kept us to this day but onely thy endlesse compassions and the yearning of thy bowels at the cryes and sighes of thy poore Saints and children in all the Churches looking up to thee alone and lifting up their hands unto thee Awaken us therefore graciously now at length Oh thou that hast kept thy Israel and neither slumbrest nor sleepest and cause us yet in time to understand the things that concerne our peace and whereby thou mayest bee wholly pacified towards us in this Nation with all thy Churches and people Oh grant unto us most tender Father to know and throughly to conceive aright that â—…hat which wee have so oft and so many a time promised unto thee and so bound our selves unto in all our perils and which thou hast so long expected thou now expectest at our hands above all former times now that thou hast added this above all former mercies thus farre to deliver us from our feares and to vouchsafe unto us such hopes for all future times every day to renew the same in that heavenly union and harmony of thy Annoynted and his whole most honourable Parliament for thy Church causes and against thine enemies Oh give us all such hearts that wee may yet now at length performe whatsoever thou requirest of us to make our repentance unfeigned sound and our full reconciliation thereby in being humbled before thee both publiquely and privately and in taking away all our abhominations and crying sinnes and in doing whatsoever may tend to the giving of thee thy due glory with the greatest advancement of thy heavenly Gospell and doing whatsoever thou requirest of us for the ratifying and confirming all thy mercies towards us and our making a firme union with thy Majesty amongst us all in Iesus Christ according to the right tenour of thy sacred truth That thus as thy hand hath formerly bene stretched out against us and against thy Churches and that the enemies have so sarre prevailed in their designes so now at last their joy may he as the joy of an hypocrite and that they may see their confidence as a spiders web Oh grant such hearts unto us all that thou seeing ouâ—… true repentance maiest give to us and to thy people the upper hand that we-may be above and not beneath that we may not onely stand valiantly as one man of one hart and soule for thee for thy heavenly Gospel with thine Annoynted his royall progeny and Dominions and each for our selves and ours our children posterity and for the true liberty of us all but also that all of us may be as bold as Lyons and being strengthned by thee and the power of thy might five of us thy servants may chase a hundreth according to thy promise made to the true turning of thy people to thee and a hundreth of us may put tenne thousand to flight That thus thine Annoynted and all his Royall Progeny and posterity may become the happyest heades of the blessedest progeny and dominions that ever were formerly in all the earth and all theirs and our sinnes and the sinnes of all the Churches may be freely forgiven never to be remembred against us or against any of thy true Churches any more according to thy heavenly promise and that for thy endless glory and praise the everlasting triumph of us all that wee may for ever sing praises unto thy great name through Iesus Christ that King of Kings our only Lord and Saviour Amen XVI A humble thanksgiving that the Lord hath already begunne so graciously to heare our praiers with supplycation that as we have made entrance into this service to helpe our Lord Iesus and his poore Churches by our prayers and teares so wee may bee every day more fitted and inabled hereunto untill wee shall see not onely the deliverance of his Churches and Captives but also the new Ierusalem and the glory of his Sion and inioy the full happinesse of them for ever in the heavens OH Lord God most holy and most gracious most faithfull and true who remembrest alwaies all thy gracious promises which thou hast ever made to thy Churches and people in thy blessed word and wilt in thy due time performe every one of them even to all of us who are thine when thou hast first truely humbled and prepared our hearts to pray and importune thy sacred Majesty seeking thee in order We magnifie thy great name that thou hast so visibly begunne to declare thy selfe to bee mindfull of thy promises in so graciously inclining thy care unto our cryes We praise thee and bless thee that as thou diddest proclaime thy name before thy servant Moses to bee The Lord The Lord strong mercifull gracious slow to anger and abundant in goodnesse and truth so thou hast done it before us all especially us of this sinfull Nation that thou herein hast made it manifest to the convincing of every conscience amongst us in sparing us at the praiers of some few of thy people unto this day We glorifie thee Oh good Lord that as thou hast caused it to bee registred in thy booke for all the Ages of thy Church how according to thy gracious promises thou ever diddest heare thine auncient people of Israel in their miseries and when they cryed to thee in their troubles thou then deliveredst them from their distresse so thou hast heard us of this sinfull Nation delivering us not onely at our publike humiliation from the mercilesse intended invasion but also pluckt us from Nebuchadnezars furnace at the private sighes groanes of thy secret ones and that so as that thou hast made these deliverances to bee recorded for all succeeding times Yea we praise and magnifie thee that thou still renewest these thy wonderfull and fatherly mercies to us a people so vnworthy of any mercie that thou hast hitherto continued and evidently declared the riches of thy compassion in saving us from all our feares first so graciouslie preserving and bringing back our most Royall and hopeful Prince disposing of all his dangers and our feares as thou diddest to Ioseph to the greatest comforts and hopes of thy Church and that thou hast since so lately manifested such riches of thy love and kindnesse in such a heavenly union among thy worthyest servants our Soveraign Lord and King with all his faythfull Peeres and true-hearted Nobility and Commons for the advancement of thy glory and Gospell and the saying of thy people with the frustrating
prayers mention'd before in the generall Contents are the sumâ—…e of this first Part. The Second Part to succeede in the next place containeth Prayers likewise for all the Churches and people of God scattered thorough the whole world that wee may all seeke to pacifie the Lord by giving him his glorie in returning and submitting our selves wholly unto his Covenant and that we may obtaine by our instant prayers that wâ—…e may ioyntly honour him so walking and beleeving as his heavenly wisedome hath appoynted For this is a thing notoriously observed and acknowledged by all who rightly under stand the state of forraigne parts that as it â—… amongst us for the most part so it hath beene very generally amongst them in all the Churches that they have had onely a bare forme of godlinesse a naked outward profession of the Gospell in word but almost without any power or life thereof more then for a fashion And that this hath not onely thus fleshed our Adversaries to the destruction of the whole Church as dooing a thing meritorious unto God heerein for that they conceyve us to bee but a company of Heretiques in professiâ—…n very Atheistes in our lives but also provoked our blessed God so farre aireâ—…die to leave so many of the Churches into their hands and thus to threaten all the rest even us our selves seeing his kingdome is not in word but in power And therefore so many of us as have made such a carnall profession have not onely shewed foorth a manifest contempt of his heavenly Maiesty and his holy Covenant but put a Scepter of Reede into the hand of our Lord Iesus Christ smitten him uppon the face and trampled his Crowne under our feete and indeede made his and our enemies to blaspheme and thus farre to prevayle and insult over us Whereupon hee hath iustly begunne and threatned us all to take his kingdome from us to give it to another people which would bring foorth the fruite of it and to leave us all to bee trampled under foote by these our Enemyes untill we know by wanting the blessinges which wee have formerly inioyed and the difference betweene his service and the slaverie of his Enemyes As these prayers therefore according to our Saviours direction may serve to prepare the way for all other our prayers and our right accesse unto his glorious Maiestie to come with confident assurance and do proceed un to the first petition of the Lords Prayer and the end of the first Commaundement that we may all give him his due glory performing unto him his inward worshippe which is the fountaine of all true obedience so those that are to follow in the second part the Lord assisting are to go according to the tenour of the same heavenly rule of our Saviour thorow the whole Covenant made with our God both for all his Law and Gospell beginning at the second Commandement so thorow the Law and thorow all the Articles of faith with the doctrine of the Sacraments and other things belonging thereunto That thus all even the poorest servants of God may have matter enough of prayer to be exercised in continually and all to this very end for appeasing the Lordes wrath and reconciling him to all his Churches and Children againe First every one for himselfe and his owne particular to be assured of his own reconciliation to the Lord by the blood of his Son when he can so pray and obey in truth And secondly that every one having attained to this assurance and favour with the Lord may bee exercised dayly as those worthy servants of God Nehemiah Ezra and Daniel in confessing their owne sinnes and the sinnes of all the Churches and people of the Lord and in so crying unto him and importuning him untill wee shall see the ful deliverance and restoring of the Churches in Bohemia Palatinate the rest yea the enlargement of them by the gathering in of the Iew and the remainder of his Israel from the uttermost partes of the earth with the utter razing of Babel and untill we obtaine whatsoever else the Lord hath eyther promised to his people or denounced against his enemies And finally untill we shall everie one see the heavenly Ierusalem and the eternall glory of his Sion The third last part is God willing to containe principally Prayers for this our sinfull Nation that we may first all see and lively apprehend the danger wherein wee stand every moment of drinking at the Lords hand after those other Churches which have tasted so deepely of the cup of his displeasure seeing our sinnes are no lesse but farre greater then theyrs and that specially sith their ensample hath no more prevayled with us Secondly that we may all in time wisely understand the meanes which in his wisedome and mercie hee hath yet left unto us to prevent the execution ready to come forth against us And thirdly that we may euery one use all the meanes thereto each according to our place and calling by turning unfeignedly to the Covenant of our God not onely to prevent and for ever to turne away all the calamities deuised against us by our deadly bloody enemyes but also so to reconcile the Lord unto us that insteede of those miseries which our Enemies so long for to rush upon us hee may make us the happiest and blessedst Nation that ever was in this last Age of the world so to remaine to his eternall glory the comfort example of all the other Churches for evermore To these are also to bee added some speciall Prayers for our particular purposes and ocsions FINIS D. Wh. Rom. 9 2. 2 Sam. 5. 1. Apoc. 12. 7. Ephes. 6. 12. Vers. 11. Iudg. 5. 23. Iudg. 4. 21. 5. 26. Iudg. 5. 1. Exod. 15. 21. Apoc. 5. 13. Ier. 2. 5. The delusion what and the parts of it The first part of the delusion That in Poperie they have moe devotions than wee in our Religion Like that in the Gag for the new Gospeller * This twentie is but one this two and fiftie yeeres By this shamelesse lie judge all the rest Ioh. 8. 44. What is to be understood by Devotions * For their devotions wherewith they cozen the world and extremely oppresse the poore superstitious soules which will have them see them in their Catalogue of their English bookes dispersed within these two yeeres last past with their prices as they are in Mr GEES late discoverie viz. Foot out of the Snare p. 9â—… The second part of the delusion That the Popish devotions are holier than ours The holinesse of devotions wherein Which devotions are best in regard of the matter and forme in generall Ephes. 2. 20. 2 Pet. 1. 19. 1 Ioh. 5. 47. Mat. 16. 18. Mat. 24. 35. In regard of the more particular matter Phil. 3. 8 9. Rom. 3. â—…7 4. 2. A most evident triall according to our Saviours direction Triall by the ends fruits of devotions Triall by the manner 1 Cor. 14. 9 11
mercy And the crie of his servant Which are haue bene so hated 2 Chron. 36. Nothing can give us any true security but our unfeigned repentance Till this nothing but expectation of some dreadfull scourge The remooving of our Candlesticke heavier then all other outward iudgements how we deserve it And to have their Idolatry set up Knives at oâ—… throats Some of these to be feared for want of performance of ouâ—… Coâ—…so oft renewed by vs As in 〈◊〉 Fasts since The peaceable bringing in of our gracious Soveraigne At our deliverance from the hellish Furnace So many wayes witnessed How these must either worke the performance of our promises or arme the Lord against us Not to rest till we have brought our hearts to consider our dissimulation with the Lord. Psal. â—…07 6. 12. 19. â—…3 That we are now so farre further off from repentance That all begin to be almost out of hope oâ—… it How Iudah went further then we Even to a generall renewing the covenant outwardly Yet starting backe The Lord brought that Captivitie Notwithstanding all other meanes of their security To be thinking of the removing the Candlestick from other Churches Though God spare the wâ—…ole at the 〈◊〉 of â—…is deerest Yet everie particular soule not turning and helping must perish Kings Princes ordained and used to bring Gods people to repentance As by Moses c. As by Moses c. To pray therfore as for all of them so chiefly for our dâ—…ead Soveraigne That all may inquire wisely into the causes of all â—…heir evils That all is from the lord to bring us to repentance that hee may spare us And he may take our caus in hand By seeing how our sin is increased And our dangers And by inquiring the meanes to pâ—…isie the wrath And setting themselves to the speedy execution thereof To labour to prevaile for all herein cheefly for our dread Soveraigne bringing thus the greatest deliverance by his hand Lâ—…ad us not into temptation bâ—…t deliver us from evill To Meditate how Sathan having gotten the Church into the wildernes there exerciseth his tyrany on it Sathan seekes to cause all Gods people to fall away or to dissemble for fearâ—… by their miseries To provoke the Lord more against them Or to doubt of Gods favor soundnesse of their religion or faith Or whether they haue any Faith Thence to melancholy distempers To accuse themselves falesly The effect of the right Meditation of these How iustly God may leave Sathan to stand up against us as against Israel Euen against all the Churches but us pâ—…ially How Sathan roares uppon the Churches See Statesmysteries of the Iesuites The earth hitherto caused to helpe the Church Iust feare left our course should bee comming thorow Sathans wonderfull prevailing The right Meditation heereof will make us to cry loude Leade us not c. The fourih branch All the miserâ—…es of the Church chief ly from the Dragon Pastors and Watchmen ordained to preserve Gods Children to bee stirred up heer â—…unto at their cries They that cannot cry to be delivered from the tempter to helpe to deliver their brethreÌ„ must endure all miserie with him For thine is the Kingdome c. To meditate That the Kingdome is our Christs Apoc. 11. 15. Sathan Antichristâ—… sight onely against him Apoc. 16. 23. 24. How they have sent forth their croaÌ„king frogs To stir up all to battle against Christ Iesus To thrust him out of his throne And to destroy all his people We may iust ly thinke this the battle of the great day That though the Lord thus permit them to prevaile to harden them to pursue his people into the Sea Yet there he will get himselfe the victory When his people shall cry unto him Though there be mighty Kings against him and for Antichrist Yet the Lambe sâ—…all over come them That they shall give their power to the Lambe to make the Whore desolate To provoke our selves to more instant crying for the full accomplishment of this To consider how the whore is discovered to all 〈◊〉 mysteries of the Iesuits Layed forth to be visibly beholden of all to be of Sathan by his cheefe workes viz. lying and murther Received her deaths wound by her owne hands in the Powder treason And will fall being spent by her owne violent and bloody rage 4. branch That our Saviour hath clearly foreshewed her destruction of all who receive her marke Revel 19. Made the hoast of heaven to reioyce thereat Made proclamation to all to come to be inriched by her spoiles 5. branch That he will destroy every one that is not on his side Amen To reioyce that Christ is that everlasting Amen Who will performe every word which he hath spoken And is comming quickly After our seeing the order which the Lord takes in saving his Church and necessitie of prayer to be carefull we be such as the Lord calleth to helpe him Our certaine direction by the Lords prayer Our Father That having Christs call in our eares We make sure we be the true children of our heavenly Father by the true marks thereof 2. Pet. 1. 4. The first branch of this meditation more particularly to make this sure That we may not deceive our selves herein we are to thinke What ones we are by nature 1. Cor. 15. 47. Eph. 2. 2. Iohn 8. 44. Eph. 2. 3. 2. What ones we must be by grace 3. That we never rest in using the meanes untill we be such In regard of our miserable estate we stand in till then And more for the horror which will come oâ—… us when our consciences shall be awaked And our blessed estate of the contrary when can we finde our selves Gods Children Meanes cheeâ—…y the word and prayer For obtaining the principall graces Repentance Faith In ouâ—… repentance to 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Change 4. If such yet to labour to increase in our assurance in walking before him in more hprightnes Two lessons to be ever in memory to this end 1. That there is but one narrow way of life Iâ—…numerable leading to destruction 2. That one directed onely by Gods word The generall whereof is comprized in the Catechisme For Faith Conuersation Helpes in ouâ—… iourney the Sacraments For more strength so to walke earnest prayer 5. To pray thus for our Brethren as well as our selves that they may have the same assurance and so manifest themselves for their heavenly Father and for the good of all their Brothren as we doe To remember al ioyntly 6. To pray more specially for all in authority As in Gods owne place For the succour comfort of all the rest of their Brethen Bearing his owne name and ordained for this end Esay 49. That they may chiefly be indued with all excellent graces As in the first ranke Better to provoke all the rest And chiefly those peculiar to their places That we may performe all duties to them of honour Obedience Thankfulnes Therein those three Acknowledgment Hearty
impenitently for that they are both blinde and deafe They see not Gods wrath rushing on themselves much lesse can they see it rushing on others They perceyve not our sinnes Nor any tokens of Gods displeasure Nor the furie of the Churches Enemies Nor the multitude of Locusts sent out of the bottomless pit Nor heare the cryes of Gods poore children much lesse his call to repentance Gods wrath upon all such in blinding their eies hardening their hearts Esay 6. 9. 10. Rom. 11. 8. Rom. 11. 9. Esay 56. Esay 22. Especially upon all blind watchmen calling for all the beasts to destroy Psal. 14. 6. All the threatnings in the booke of God against such sins sinners are against them Not any one promise untill they repent Psal. 50 14. 15 4. Reason Every notorious sinner helpes to pull downe the vengeance on all Esay 5. 5. All excluded who have no compassion of their Bretheren in their miseryes If they doe not adventure themselve for their brethreÌ„ â—… Reason 6. None can be right helpers but onely those vvho can more lay to heart the causes of God and his people then their owne None mâ—…ete but they who indeavour to turne from every evill way Mat. 5. 29. And to receive the love of every part of Gods truth 2. Thess. 2. 10. Rom. 1. 21. Ezek. 14. 3. Though they flatter themselves God will not be mercifull to them Deut. 29. 19. Deut. 19. 20. But will give them up to be deluded 2. Thess. 2. 11. And in the end to a reprobate sense Rom. 1. 28. Ezek. 14. 14. That Gods owne Prophets shall helpe to deceive such Iohn 9. 31. Prov. 28. 9. Psal. 66. 18. None but they who in all things indeauour to be with our Saviour are true disciples Mat. 12. 30 Our danger in approaching neere to our God with out a warraÌ„t 2 Sam. 6 7. Numb 24 40 41 c. Deut. 1 41 45. Exod. 19 24. Math 22 11 12 13. Onely they who are so qualified as the Lord requires are the men whoÌ„ he cals Esay 6 8. â—… Cor. 1â—… 9. These only in a true league with God Deut. 16 17 18 19. These fit to helpe to rescue their Brethren from Sathan To stay the Lords hands Exod. 32. 20. â—…4 To whom he can deny nothing These fit to fetch Gods people out of Egypt Thesemeet to pacific the Lord and to stand betweene the living and dead To hold up their hands against Amalek To make all creatures to be for his people untill he haue got himselfe the victory Heb. 11. 1. King 18 38 39. To move the Lord to manifest the truth of his religion 1. King 18 36 37 38 39. Dan 3 6. To reuerse Hamans dedecree Hest. 8 5 6. Hest. 7 8. Hest. 8 18. The prayers of these ever come up before the Lord and they may surely expect an answere in his due time Acts. 10 10 11 12 c 30. Dan. 9 20 23 24. These may hope with Paul to save themselues and all in the ship Acts. 27 24. With these will Christ Iesus be in the fiery Furnace and the Lyons den Dan. 3 24 25. Dan. 6. 22 23. And in their greatest tryals make their innocency his religion knowen Dan. 3 29 30 31 c. Dan. 4 33 34 Dan 6 22 23. Conclusion of this generall Meditation Who meete How we must strives heereto And what confident boldness we may then have Iam. 1 7. The blessed estate and honour of all admitted to this worke and contrarily God excludes none but who exclude themselvess But cals all That all are iustly damned who come not to helpe Some reasons shewing that he cals all to helpe if ever they will see his face with ioy He cals all to be with him He cals all to regard him in his members Mat. 25. To repent turne from all their evill wayes that they may live Rom. 10. 20. 21. Ezek 18. 21 22 30 31 32 c. 33 11. The Lords protestation He calls all to his Covenant Lev. 26. Deut. 28. He calls all to pray as he hath directed God calls all to lay hold of all the promises of mercy Without limitation of time Ezek. 18. 21. 22. Psal. 95 7. Or exception of sinne Ezek. â—…8 Esay 55. 3. Or person Numb 21. 8. 9. Iohn 3. 14. 15. 18. And calls all to behold all the examples in his booke of receiving poore sinners Luk. 15. 10. The favour such are in upon their repentance Luke 7. 47. Never any such a one reiected Rom. 5. 20. Three things to be thought of ever untill we be of this number That the Lord hath ever stood still stands knocking at the heart of every impenitent sinner Chiefly of all in his Church By his word And Sacraments As Baptisme And the Lords supper And by the good motions of his Spirit And now at this time louder then ever By all the tokens of his displeasure Rage of the enemie Our favours This helpe More particularly â—…e stands at the heart of every one reading this or the like admonition That they would repent of their impenitencie To have their soules clensed Chiefly of ungraciousnesse in keeping out the Lord Iesus Christ will come to such a one Rev. 3. 20. 2. Cor. 3. 9. And contrarily to them who harden their hearts against Christ Iesus The sound of his calls shall ever be in their eares affrighting them Exhortation to all to heare now Dan. 4. 24. Psal. 95. 7. To thinke what it is to refuse Christs call to ioyne with Sathan and the damned Such to bethinke themselves what they will doe when Christ comes Apoc. 14 4. When all threatned against them shall be fully executed For the evidence hereof To behold the fearfull spectacles Of men tormented with horror of conscience in the Scriptures In daily examples How they are tormented in conscience for particular slips or failings How these 〈◊〉 indure the flashings of hell fire Iob. 7. 15. If it be so with these heere Though they be most deer unto the Lord. What shall become of all impenitent sinners And chiefly of all Christs enemies 1. Peter 4. 18. 19. If the righteous be scarsly saved how they If paine of a tooth be so great what shall their totall torment be These sufficient to convince all Deut. 30. 19. 20. How God sets before us life and death blessing cursing Life if we will harken to his call That we shall not need to feare Nor be dismaied for loosing all Mat. 19. 27. Mat. 10. 37. 38. Luke 14. 26. But contrarily have boldnesse Prov. 28. 1. Rom. 8 35. 36. Rom. 8. 35. 36. Be more then Conquerours Ron. â—… 37. Death and cursing in not yeelding to him Deut. 30. 19. 20. Our estate when feare shall come on â—…s of a sodaine Prou 1 27. Prou 28 1. Iob 15 20 21 22. Deut 28 63 c. 1 Sam 25 37 38. God bids us choose life Deu 30 25. 20 We cannot thinke that any one was ever reiected who
Psal. 1. 2. 3. Prosper in all Be wiser then our enemies Psal. 119. 98. 99. 100. Like as David Daniell and others Dan. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. God will be with us as we are with him 2. Chro. 15. 2. Ezra 8. 22. Heb. 10. 38. We shall be able to live by faith Iob 22. 21. 22 23 c. To lift up hearts and hands in assurance to be heard Lâ—…m 3 39 40 41 42. Onely such as wholly endeavour to walke with God are the innocent that shall deliver the Iland Iob 22 30. To be perswaded that all Gods promises are made to an endeavour of an intire obedience And contrarily How Sathan knowing this Hath labored to make all to content themselves onely with a bare outward profession destroying all the power of godliness to the Lords dishonour That he might leaue all into his hand The acknowledgement of Gods righteousnes heerein by many of his faithfull servants To pray that we may be able likewise to iustify the Lord and never to rest until he give thee all unfeigned repentance for it That we may be warned by their ensample To do it forthwith To be warned heereof by the very Heathen 1 Sam. 6 5 â—… To smite the hearts of all Gods Lieutenants with a true sense heereof To perswade us that our Adversaries are raised up to humble us to walk with our God How then he will get himselfe glorie on them To know as we are made for his glory so he will be glorifyed in each of us In mercy Or vengeance That his glory may shine in our deliverance And getting himselfe honour upon Babylon A praier that we may give God the glory of his inward worship according to the 1. Commandement and so helpe to pacifie his Maiestie towardes the Churches To pray that we may set up God in our hearts giving him there his inward worship In knowing and acknowledging him Iohn 6 45. Heb. 2 â—…4 In faith beleeving him to be our God Iohn 20. 28. To be perswaded that this peculiar faith was the faith of Abraham all the faithfull Rom. â—…3 Heb. 11. 2. Heb. 〈◊〉 6. Rom. 14. 23. Vpon this our faith to hold fast the Anchor of our hope To honour the Lord by manifesting our faith by our confidence To manifest our faith by our love to the Lord his Commandements and ordinances By our zeale for his glory That we may honour him shewing forth all holy patience That we may possess our soules in patience wayting for the happy yssue Iob 13 15. That we may give him glory in our childlike fear Walking constantly withouâ—… God in holy feare Albeit the world scorne and hate us for it To shewforth our honour towards the Lord by our Humility To this end to have ever before our eyes Gods excellency our own vileness and danger by Nature and Sathans malice That we may give to the Lord all the glory of our standing and perseverance in grace of each good thing That we may withall give him his glory mourning continually for all the dishonours done unto his name all provocations against the Churches To pray to be able to see hereby who they are that truly honour the Lord have set him up for their God To discerne of the greatnesse of the sinne of all the Churches whereby he is dishonored provoked By palpable ignorance blindness in them By Atheisme Vnbeleefe Carnall confidence Lukewarmnesse Loving other things more then Gods Maiesty Disobedience 1 〈◊〉 15 22 23 Tâ—…ousnes Presumption Deut. 29 19 20 21. Pride against God To see that as the Popish sort have set up their false Gods outwardly So we in our hearts To see even by this first Commandement how few doe truly honour the Lord. All wicked men maligning all who have so set him up so to glorifie his great name To be able to conceive aright hereo That we may wonder how even for this sinne God hath spared us so long That we may never â—…est untill we have so set up the Lord in our hearts An importuning of the Lord by his iustice and mercy To heare his people crying ioyntly to him To behold the miseries and dangers of all his poore people A humble confession how hearing the miseries of our brethren and their perils yet we have not bene humbled for them Neh. 1. 4. A further confession how we have all sinned in our extreame unthankfulnes breach of our Covenant with the Lord. How concerning Gods inward worship multitudes amongest us have set up Sathan to adore As all living in blindnesse or any heynous sinne All who have set up the world in any kinde Very few who have set up the Lord as we ought For his outward worship in the second Commandement how we have â—…inned Confession how we have increased our guiltines by taking Gods name in vaine And principally for prophaning his Sabbath which might iustly make all our countryes to rest and keepe Sabbaths to him in that dolefull manner that some do already Acknowledgment of Gods righteousnesse in all that he hath done to the Churches threatneth Neh. 1. 8. A humble prayer for them and for us all 〈◊〉 that God may 〈◊〉 pen out eyes to seâ—… what we have done in so â—…arre returning to Poâ—…ery againe especially of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈…〉 To dote so upon it againe after such notorious discoveries of the vilenes of it How all sorts had seene before how they had bene deluded by iâ—… How Gods vengeance was most iustâ—…y coâ—… upon those their 〈◊〉 us houses How â—…ous 〈◊〉 were for filthynesse Blood Being nothing else but dens of theeves That all may know what their religion waâ—… 〈◊〉 bâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ere was then one part of that Babylon the mother of whoredomes and abhominations Apoc. â—…7 5. And 〈◊〉 the ruine â—…f it a part of the fall of Babylon verified How God hath as from heaâ—…en proclaimed the 〈◊〉 of his approbation of his religion professed amon gest us To thinke what they can answere for not being warned by so many such notorious discoveries of their bloody rage and practises 〈◊〉 of their â—…ligion To keepe ever in 〈◊〉 memory that insolent invasion of our nation The hellish powder Treason discovering the cursednesse of that religion To consider the â—…nies granted to the Gospell in the miraculous continuance of it and preservation of our Princes To beg true repeâ—…tance for this and all our loud crying sinnes That our land may be purged of it and the evils threaâ—…ed prevented To pray for all 〈◊〉 with tâ—…e wine of popery and 〈◊〉 other â—…gered by iâ—… To consider of the righteousnesse of God 〈◊〉 upon thâ—… 2 Thes. 2. 10. 11. 12. To bethinke themselves what it is so so renounce theiâ—…â—…other and their Baptisme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epistle prefixed to our sed â—…eed broâ—… To 〈◊〉 of their intoil â—…able lyâ—… devised to deceive the simple How they abuse all the simple in perswading them that they have moâ—…
holy devotions then wâ—… â—…â—…ding them that their devotions are more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 better thâ—… ouâ—… 1 Tim. 4. â—… 〈…〉 〈…〉 See the Spanish Monke Hâ—…â—…omming to â—…ve â—…eir eyes 〈◊〉 they are in forced to cast away al these with 〈◊〉 â—…ion and he of our Religion in their death Then Christ onely Luke â—…3 â—… Rhem. upon Rom. 3. 22. Sect. 7. 〈…〉 That they must of necessity renounce it or professe them selveâ—… to be of Sathan their father Iohn 8. 44. To thinke what they will do when Christ shall come to take vengeance of all his enemies Apoc. 6. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…7 Apoc. 20. 10. To weigh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 way and theâ—… in the 〈◊〉 of the 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 3. 2â—… Dan. 9. 2. 2. 17. 19. For all to be alwaies growing in grace for feare of being given up tâ—… their delusions That we may have more power in prayer to helpe to pull every Lot out of Sodom To consider who they are that are carried away to them To use all meanes for our selves all others that we may be kept So for all seduced by any sinne That they may be able to see in what estate they stand How they are deluded That we may not rest untill we have awaked them or used all holy meanes for them That the Lord will pluck them forth if he haye ordayned to save them That all that seek not to save them are gâ—…y That all may herein shew our loves For our full assurance An acknowledgement of Gods mercies in our dread Soveraigne his royall progeny with all our blessings hoâ—…es continued by them As namely our deliverances at his entrance At the Powder Treason from Nebuchadnezzars furnace And all others Preservation of our gracious Prince us all with him and the reioycing of all 〈◊〉 soules through him The disposing of all that iourny to so preat ioy to all Gods Church and people The experience therein of the power of prayer For our peerelesse Princesse the crowne of glory renewed upon her head For her delivery from the Nimrods of the earth Her preservation in the second pursuite together with that illustrious Prince all theirâ—… Their fruitfulnesse in thir greatest trvals to the astonishment of all their enemies Our wished and happy â—…ion begun Confession of our deserts that both they and we should have bene left into the hand of the enemy Prayers to be awaked to understand the thing which concerne our peace To performe truely whatsoever we have formerly promised That as the Lords hand hath bene stretched out against us so how it may be as apparantly for us Filling us with heavenly courage Ier. 31. 34. A giving glory to God for remembring his promises So declaring himselfe to us Proclaiming his mercy before us Exod. 34. 6. Causing his gracious favours towards us in our deliverances to be registred for all posterity For still renewing his mercies Preserving and bringing backe our Prince Confirming such a heavenly union for the advancement of his glorie Gospell and people Sith he hath bin so gracious at the prayers of a few What hopes we may have when we shal more generally ioyntly cry unto him To pray for more integrity sound nesse of hart to be more able to persevere and prevaile with God To use all meanes hereof more conscionably To look ever at the word To have a holy resolution To feare alway For the Iords eye For feare of Sathan For our selves To watch against all occasions and over all parts To grow better dayly To look well unto our particular callingâ—… that sathan take us not out of our wayes To have an eye to the recompence of reward Setting God at our right hand To goe on reioycing in the happines of our estate Psalme 16 6. In praying to â—…ive thankes for that which 〈◊〉 we have In 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods gloâ—…y Constant in the meanes As Caleb Ios. 14 10 1â—…0 Last dayes best To perswade all of the necessitie of this comming to helpe Integrity in Gods 〈◊〉
unto it in delivering restoring and beautifying of it like as hee hath done in all former Ages And therefore wee are never to rest travelling with our owne hearts in this untill we can principally labour with the Lord for them that they of all other and so all in their places may be indued with all excellent graces not onely to manifest themselves in the first ranke according to their high dignities the true Children of our heavenly Father thus shining before all the rest of their Bretheren for the better prouoking and encouraging of all the rest and the greater glory of the Lord but also with those guifts which are proper and peculiar unto their places and callings And that wee likewise may all of us be very carefull to performe unto them the duties belonging to them in regard of those high places and callings like as the honor and obedience of right appertaining to them so with all true thankfulnesse for all the blessings which wee injoy by them And in our thankfulnesse we â—…e never to rest untill wee can from our soules performe unto them these three specially 1. Acknowledgment of their authoritie from God and that they are in his place 2. Hearty affections as to Gods Lieutenants for his cause 3. Above all instant prayers for them day night And in these our prayers that we can cry for them not onely as for every common member as was saide to bee able to walke before all their people as living Lawes in all holy duties of Christianitie but in those of their particular places and callings and bee furnished with all excellent giftes and endowments of Gods Spirit for their happy managing of the same As first and principally that they may bee made able and resolute to promote the Religion of the Lord alone and all true godlinesse and that with all their power defacing the contrary and destroying all ungodnesse in all their Dominions as did those Worthyes David Iehosaphat Hezekiah Iosiab and Nehemiah being thereby so renowned and set out for such blessed examples to all succeeding Ages And in the second place that they may procure each way the good of the people committed to them as tender Foster-fathers repressing the wicked being careful that all holy meanes be used every where for the reclaiming and saving every soule in their Dominions and of bringing them in their armes to the Sion and Sanctuary of the Lord and all hinderances thereof removed And that to these ends they may be all as 〈◊〉 Magistrates men of courage fearing God dealing truely hating covetousnesse no respecters of persons And next unto these that we rest not till we bee able to pray likewise for all excelling in any eminency either outward or inward whereby they may doe any speciall service to our Lord Iesus Christ to his Vicegerents or to his poore Church and people As namely That their hearts bee not lifted up by their guifts favours or places as is ordinary in each estate and so wrath come upon them as it did on that good Hezekiah for this very sinnâ—… but that contrarily they may both ever remember and acknowledge all their preferments to be from his heavenly bounty and so to be more humbled by them as having more to answere bee accountable for giving to his divine Majestie alone all the glory thereof And secondly that they may bee inabled as thy deare Children to employ all those guifts carefully as their talents committed unto them by the Lord to that end and purpose as may make most for his glory the furtherance of his Gospell with the greatest benefit and good to our selve and to all the people of the Lord. The second particular Meditation of the third general That we can and use to seeke his honor above all other things SEcondly we must never give the Lord over untill we have brought our harts in order not to seeke our owne honour or greatness nor our selves any way for our selves alone but onely in all things to seeke the honour of our heavenly Father being zealous of his glory And that wee can pray earnestly that our selves and all other may studie to set foorth his glorie before all the sonnes of men euen the glory of his Wisedome Goodness Mercy Iustice Power and Truth shining bright in all his workes both in every creature and also in all his judgements and mercies and chiefely in his heavenly word admiring and extolling his great name in every one of them That we can mourne with holy Moses for all the dishonours done unto him and for all the provocations whereby he is provoked choosing rather to have our names put out of his booke then that his great name shold be blasphemed by his malicious enemics especially in their triumphes for the destruction or miseries of his people The third particular Meditation of the third generall That we seeke his honour chiefely in the aduancement of the Scepter of Iesus Christ. THirdly we are never to rest untill we can rejoyce in the truth of our hearts that we have seâ—… our selves to seek by all our might the advancement of the Scepter of his heavenly kingdome even of the heavenly Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ and so the comming of his kingdome thereby with power first the kingdome of Grace and after the kingdome of Glory desiring earnestly to that end the propagating and spreading of his Gospel over all the world the gathering forth of all his elect from al parts with the saving of all his people seeking all other things onely for him and for his honour that he may reigne as Lord and King That wee never give him rest until wee feele him reigning in our hearts by his blessed Word and Spirit making us to mourne withall for all the despight done unto his heavenly Majesty in the contempt of that his glorious Gospel and chiefly for all the prevaylings of Sathan and Antichrist the setting up againe of their abhominable Idolatry in any place and so for al the outragious wickednesse committed agaynst our Lord Iesus Christ his crowne and dignity and also agaynst his poore people The fourth particular Meditation of the third generall That we seeke to honour him eâ—…er in the full accomplishment of all his heavenly will FOurthly that our hearts beare us witness that wee haue attayned to be such as are wholly set not to seeke the execution of our owne lustes or will but that the whole will and good pleasure of our heavenly Father may bee fulfilled by us and all other his Children especially in all things wherein he hath or shal reveale himselfe what his good pleasure is And that we have begun earnestly to indevor our selves to be as chearful in the right execution and accomplishment thereof in all parts as