a child because thoâ⦠dost speak as a man must he see by thy eyes oâ⦠else wilt thou say he doth not see at all Thoâ⦠that dost think thou standest take heed lest thou dost fall Think not of thy self above what thou art Ro. 12. 3. Remember thy sister-Church Rev. 3. 17. Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with heavenly enjoyments gracious discoveries and unspeakable manifestations and art perfect and compleat and come to the fulnesse of Christ and hast need of nothing neither Ordinance or Administration helps nor governments Dost thou think thus of thy selfe why so did that Church of Laodiceans Rev. 3. 17. which was the most barren and unfruitful of all the seven Churches of Asia Reason thus with thy self Was that Church so exceedingly deceived then why not I 7. Consider that in the last age of the Church and in the most glorious times of that age when both Jewes and Gentiles shall have one Shepheard and one sheepfold when knowledge shall cover the earth as the waters the sea when the Law shall be written in our hearts and Babylon fallen and the mountain of the Lords house established upon the top of the mountaines Even in these most glorious dayes of light and knowledge freedome and liberty shall the Saints wait upon God in the use of Ordinances and call one upon another so to do Isa 2. 2. 3. Mic. 4. 1 2. Again if there shall be Ordinances in thâ⦠most glorious times that are to come wheâ⦠there shall be a full pouring out of the Spââ¦rit of God upon the children of men theâ⦠certainly they are to remain now And you look upon the last of Isa Jer 3. Zac. 1â⦠or upon other Scriptures where mentioâ⦠is made of the most glorious times that anâ⦠yet to come ye shall find that there is meââ¦tion also made of Ordinances in thoâ⦠times Let us look into Rev. 11. 15. Tââ seventh Angel sounded and there were greââ voices in Heaven saying The kingdomes of thâ⦠world are become the kingdomes of our Lord anâ⦠of his Christs and he shall reign for ever and eveâ⦠Here are plainly the glorious times spokeâ⦠of that are yet to come Well shall there bâ⦠any Ordinances then Yes for v. 19. Anâ⦠the temple of the Lord was opened in heaven anâ⦠there was seen in his ââ¦emple the Ark of his Testââ¦ment What is this but Ordinances Thâ⦠Ark the visible signe of the presence of Goâ⦠in way of Ordinances and the Temple opened though it was shut before 8. Consider if the ministration of thâ⦠Gospel be still to continue then surelâ⦠the Ordinances of Christ are still to abidâ⦠2 Cor. 3. 11. For if that which is done away wâ⦠glorious much more that which remains is gloriouâ⦠The Apostle here makes this difference be ãâã ââ¦he ministration of the Gospel and ãâã ââ¦he Law that the one is to be done ãâ¦ã d the other to remain Now if the ãâã were not to continue what ãâ¦ã rence would there be as concerning ââ¦his matter between the ministration of Moses and the ministration of the Gospel ââ¦ut the Apo ãâ¦ã here plainly speaks that ââ¦his is the ââerence The ministration of ââ¦he one is to be done away the ministration ââ¦f the other doth still continue Therefore ââ¦he Ordinances of the Gospel doe still reââ¦naine 9. Consider if that the word of the new ââ¦estament as commanding to believe and ââ¦romising to give the Spirit I say if this Word do continue then the Ordinances of Christ are still to continue if the Ordinances of Christ be not still to continue ââ¦hen the Word of the New Testament as ââ¦he commandment of believing and the promise of giving the Spirit doe not continue There is the same reason for the one ââ¦s for the other You say you are bound to believe How prove you that Why Christ hath commanded me say you But ãâã answer you with your own answer You ââ¦ue to wait upon God in the use of Ordinances How prove you that I answââ Christ hath commanded you If Sathan ãâã get us to lay down but one Ordinance ãâã the Gospel he will never leave tugging an pulling till he hath brought us out of loââ with all Ordinances and then he wââ teach us to deny the Scriptures and then ãâã deny God and last of all we shall be denieâ⦠of God and so fitted for destruction The Commonwealth of England doth ãâã bound of two sorts of men and women and both in extremes The first will have no Ordinances at alâ⦠The second doe rest upon Ordinanceâ⦠or idolize them The first will have no Ordinances at alâ⦠call the Ordinances of Christ dead form beggerly and those that wait upon God in them Legalists Heaven-drivers Formalists and Duty-mongers And foâ⦠themselves they are taught of God we have nâ⦠need of the teachings of men we be rich and fâ⦠and want nothing not knowing they be pooâ⦠blind miserable and naked Secondly there be another party that dâ⦠rest upon Ordinances and they be not a fewâ⦠you shall know them by their fruits Dâ⦠not you hear them crying and pleading iâ⦠City and Country Give us Ordinances or eââ ãâã die And this they plead for unto and ââ¦ongst a Congregation of people which ãâã not capable of it but for one Ordinance ââd that is to stand under the droppings of the ââspel and the powerful preachings thereof the ââeanes appointed by Christ to work faith ãâã their soules Rom. 10. 17. For untill this ââ¦ord doth come to them in power they ãâã not fitted for Fellowships and Commuââ¦ons they must see their union with God ââfore they can have true communion with ââs people The Ordinances or at least ââ¦any of them be Childrens bread and must âât be given to Swine Those Ordinances ââat be ordained for Conversion and Reââneration are to be held forth to all to the ââd as many as be ordained to eternal life may ââlieve All other Ordinances belong to ââ¦hildren and they have right to them as ââible members of that body whereof Christ ââthe head He who was the Son of God came the Son of man that we who be the these things were well considered meââinks it should abate the practice both of ââinister and People in City and Country ââho for many of them yet being in the ââd man and having spent their dayes in the ââvice of Sathan yet forsooth they would known by the name of Christians or least Apostle-imitators though they cannââ bu know they want the power yet thââ will cry up the form of godlinesse Now wheâ⦠the Ministers of our times or at least soâ⦠of them have gathered a parcel of thâ⦠Rabble-rout together I do not stile thâ⦠so because they be the poorest no no sâ⦠they be such a people as David speaks ãâã they flourish as the green bay-tree their eyes stââ out with fatnesse they go cloathed in the choice array and be the most honorable men in thâ⦠Parish and they want
the hardships that ââ¦acob a man chosen of God went through ââ¦e is threatened by his brother banished ââom his Father abused by his Uncle ââ¦efrauded of his Wife in the day he is ââ¦corched with heat in the night troubled ââ¦ith frost as you may see at large Gen. 31. ââ¦ers 40. Then see the divisions between his twâ⦠Wives two Sisters baulling for one Husbanâ⦠after this they both went from their Fatheâ⦠and now see a fresh pursuit behinde hiâ⦠Laban follows Jacob with a Hue and Cry before him Esau is marching up to him wiââ four hundred men so to go forward were intollerable to go backward unââ¦vailable Well after the Almighty had dââ¦livered him and he marched into his owâ⦠Country his Wife Rachel dieth his daughter Dinah is ravished his Son Reuben lie with his Concubines then his most beloved Son Joseph they report is dead theâ⦠soon after this arose a Famine and another of his Sons in prison and nothing can redeem him but his onely Benjamine here is the losse of son after son Gen. 42. 36 And Jacob said unto them Me have ye bereaveâ⦠of my children Joseph is not and Simeon ãâã not and you will take Benjamin away ãâã these things be against me But there was ãâã time then drawing neer that Jacob should bâ⦠delivered from his troubles and enjoy the company of all his Sons again The way to true happinesse is through many difficulties you must suffer a while before you shall be established strengthened and setled God is unstripping thee of thy riches and righteousnesse as he did Job that he may give thee twice as much and ten times better in its room the Vision is yet for an appointed time Hab. 2. 3. and at the end it will come wait for it nay it will surely come it will not tarry It may be thou and I have heard That the mountain of the Lords house shal be established upon the top of the mountains well it shall come to passe but the Vision is for an appointed time Hath the Lord promised that knowledge shall cover the Earth as the waters the Sea and that we shall all know him from the least to the greatest Wel God is faithful it shall come to passe but the Vision is for an appointed time Doest thou not read in Dan. 2. that there was a stone cut out without hands and became a great mountain and filled the whole Earth well the Vision is for an appointed time wait for it for it will surely come it will not tarry Hath the Lord indeed promised to take away thy filthy garments as once he did from Joshua Josh 3. 3 4. the Vision is for an appointed time it will speak and not tarry Hath he promised indeed that sorrow and sighing shall fly away and that all tears shall be wiped from thine eyes and thou shall have no more pain and sorrow why hââs faithful that hath promised onely the Vision is for an appointed time it will speedily speak it will not tarry Do the Scriptures speak of the calling of the Jews and of the bringing in of the fulnesse of the Gentiles and of the restauration of all things the Vision is for an appointed time it will speak and not tarry Hath the Lord indeed promised that the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shal be seven-fold the Vision is for an appointed time it will speak it will not tarry Hath he said by his servant Isaiah c. 25. 7. And he will destroy the face of the covering cast over all people and rend the vaile that is spread over all nations He is faithfull so that one tittle shall not passe till all be fulfilled onely it shall be done in its appointed time How shall hope and patience be exercised if he should not make us wait and how shall we say as in Isai 24. 9. This is our God we have waited for him and he will save us this is the Lord we have waited for him we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation say not with Moses Neither hast thou delivered us at all Exod. 5. last vers but say with Paul 2 Cor. 1. 10. Who hath delivered us who doth deliver us in whom we trust he will yet still deliver us ââ¦e thankfull then for what is already done and believe and wait for what is ââ¦ow a doing I see the Saints saying with Abraham Gen. 15. 2. Lord what wilt thou give ââ¦e c. But methinks you should rather be saying with David Psal 116. 12. What shall I give thee for all thy benesits to me Again we read in the book of the Revelation of seven Seals and seven Vials and seven Trumpets If we compare these Seales Vials and Trumpets together I suppose we shall finde them hold forth one and the same thing And then if we consider what Seale is now opening what Trumpet is now sounding what Vial is now pouring forth thou wilt see what state the Church of Christ s now under and what the Almighty ââ¦s now doing for her deliverance Is not ââ¦he seventh Seal now opening is not the ââ¦eventh Vial now pouring forth Is not ââ¦he seventh Trumpet now sounding and ââ¦ome of the Saints begining to lift up their voices Rev. 11. 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying The kingdomes of this world are become the kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and ââ¦e shall reign for evermore Rejoice O Sion ââ¦hy day is dawning Howle O Babylon thy plagues are comming he is gathering his wheat into the barn but he will burn the chaffe with an unquenchable fire It iâ⦠true the Saints may be shaken once more as in Heb. 12. 26 27. that those things that may be shaken may be taken away and those and only those that cannot be shaken may remain But Babylon shall be shaken down to the earth and ground to powder and cast into the bottomlesse pit there to continue for ever Oh then lift up your hearts w th your hands unto our God in the heavens Oh lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees Take the two wings the one of Faith the other of Love and flie into the aire of Comfort where thy treasure is saying Come Lord Jesus come quickly take possession of that which is thine own I had many things more in my heart and mind to present unto thy consideration whosoever thou art that readest these words I will here but name them unto thee but in another Treatise shortly present them before thee which being done I shall apply those words of Solomon Eccles 12. 12 13. 1. Beware of extremes Men be very apt in this age either to cry up all Clergy-men or cry down all Clergy-men whereas we should endeavour the plucking up and rooting out all false pretended Ministers for they be the worst of men the Scripture calls them Dogs and Wolves and Cheaters and Deceivers
And then fo ãâ¦ã our Judges and Priests did not the oââ judge for reward and the other teach fo ãâ¦ã hire Mic. 3. 11. And then for the lesse ãâ¦ã Lawyers and Journy-men Priests hoâ⦠fast would the one ride and the other run ãâ¦ã the one to cheat you in temporals the other in spirituals Then the Constables Church-wardens and Overseers if yoââ come not to Church to hear their refinââ Masse then they give in your names to thââ Chancellor and Proctor and by vertue of a Spiritual warrant from their reverend Lord and Master the Apparitor must be imployed to summon you to appeare before them and if they have no witnesses against you then you must take an oath to accuse your self and then the very meanest Officer as the Clark Sexton and Tithingman if there be ever a Puritan or Round-head in the whole Parish they will mischief him as much as in them lies But the measure of their iniquity being full and their day of calamity dawning these men are in part ââ¦lready laid aside and shortly will be fully rejected both of God and man And the Kingdom and the Dominion and the greatnesse of the Kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the Saints of the most High whose Kingdome is an everlastââ¦ng Kingdome and then the Nations shall ââ¦ecome the Nations of Christ and the goââ¦ernment shall be in the hands of the Saints and the Nations and Kingdomes that will not serve thee to wit Christ in the Saints shall perish Isa 60. 12. 17 18. For brasse I will bring gold and for iron I will bring silver and for wood brasse and for stones iron I will also make thine officers peace and thine exactors righteousnesse violence shall no more be heard in thy land wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise Jer. 30. 21. And their Nobles shall be of themselves and their Governors shall proceed cut of the midst of them and so the Lord will punish all those that oppresse you Even now is the Lord begining to restore Magistracie and Ministery to itâ⦠primitive institution This work is begun in England Ireland and Scotland will followâ⦠and if I mistake not France Holland and Spain will come after and so all other parts untill that be fulfilled Dan. 2. 35. Dan. 7. 27. Rev. 11. 15. In Dan. 2. we read of a little stone cut out of the mountaines without hands and it became so big as to fill the whole earth And that in Dan. 7. 27. The greatnesse of the Kingdome under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints Rev. 11. 15. And the kingdomes of this world shall become the kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and so all his enemies shall be made his foot stool The houre of temptation is begun and will not end till it hath gone over all the earth O England England thou was first in misery thou shalt also be first in thy delivery Oh that thou didst now know what thou shalt shortly enjoy Thou hast been rough-hewed already thou wantest nothing but plaining and so thou wilt be made fit for the spiritual building thou hast been rough-hewed by the open prophane but now thou shalt be plained by the most zealous Pharisees those that will fast twice a week and give tythe of all they possesse and pray in the corners of the streets and say Lo here is Christ In a word the greatest formall professors will be thy greatest persecuters herein is the devils last and most subtle design he will now come with fair words and specious pretences and if you look upon his habit he is in sheeps cloathing and if he hath feet like a beast he will have hornes like a lamb and although under another garb he will execute the power of the first beast in persecuting thee as Rev. 13. 12. But God will bring these proud opposers down unto the dust See Isa 24. 19 20 21 22 23. Then the Lord God shall reign in mount Sion and in Jerusalem gloriously Therefore with Peter let us expect a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse 2 Pet. 3. 13. Behold I create ââ¦ew heavens and a new earth Isa 65. 17. And you shall sing for joy of heart and that whiles your enemies doe weep for sorrow of heart and howl for vexation of spirit Isa 65. 1â⦠ãâã 14. For the Lord is now turning to his people a pure language and they shall shoââ¦tly serve him with one consent Zeph. 3. 9. The eyes of the blinde begin to be opened and the ears of the deaf to be unstopped the lame man begins to leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb to sing for in the wildernesse do waters break out anâ⦠streams in the desart The brightnesse of Christ doth begin to appear which doth not onely discover but also destroy Antichrist 2 Thess 2. 8. Yea unto all you that fear his name is the Son of righteousnesse arising with healing in his wings Mal. 4. 2. The light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold Isa 30. 26. And so he will destroy iâ⦠this mountain the face of the covering cast over people and the vail that is spread over all nations and the rebuke of his people he will take away Isa 25. 7. And so we shall all know him from the least to the greatest Jer. 31. 34. And the Lord shall be one and his name one and as for ãâã we shall all have one heart and one way Jer. 32. 39. Isa 11. 6 7 8 9. And this he will do for light is sown for the righteous and gladnesse ââ¦or the upright in heart Therefore rejoyce in the Lord ye righteous and give thanks at the rememââance of hiâ⦠holinesse Gird up the loyns of youâ⦠ââ¦inde be sober and hope to the end for the grace ââat is to be brought unto you at the revelation of ââ¦esus Christ 1 Pet. 1. 13. Now above half of the sons and daughââ¦ers of men are of a contrary judgement ââ¦aying of these and the like Scriptures ââ¦hat they be either fulfilled already or else ââ¦ay they there is some other meaning in ââ¦hese Scriptures which might be easily anââ¦wered Then for those men that do see ââ¦learly that these things are yet to be fulââlled they do vary and differ in their judgements 1. The first saith It is true glorious ââ¦imes are at hand Sathan shall be chained ââp and Christ shall reign personally on the earth for a thousand years Rev. 20. 2 3 4 5 6 7. 2. A second party of men stands up opposing the first saying It is true Christ shall reign upon the earth in the midst of his people but when not till after the judgement is past and this old earth burnt up and then he will create a new heaven and a new earth when the first heaven and the first earth
thee aââ not to faile thee nor forsake thee For I dâ⦠know no precept but hath its promisâ⦠though not alwayes in the same chapter ãâã verse 4. For our more careful practising ãâã ââg and observing all the commands of our God consider these three things 1. As he hath promised to enable thee 2. So he hath promised to reward thee ââ¦or doing thy duty so that to every preââpt there is two promises the one to enââle thee the other to reward thee and ââ¦oth to encourage thee 3. And in case of slothfulnesse and negââ¦gence in leaving undone what we ought ââ¦nd might have done 1. The Lord complains on us 2. He exhorts us Be not slothfull in busines âât servent in spirit serving the Lord. 3. He threatens us saying Because I have ââlled and you have refused you shall call and I ââ¦ill not answer 4. He tels us that we have forsaken our own ââ¦ercy He put a price into our hands but ââ¦e as fools had no heart to it and so our ââstruction is of our selves O Israel thou ââ¦ast destroyed thy self Oh then that all the Lords inheritance ââ¦aints by calling Sons of Sion would take ââe Lords advice in these and the like comââ¦ands yea in all the will of God! Phil. 2. ââ¦2 Wherefore my beloved as you have alwayes ââ¦eyed not only in my presence but now much more ãâã my absence work out your own salvation witle ââar trembling Q. How shall I do that thou wilt say A. Peter being filled with the Holy Ghost shewes thee and me how we maâ⦠do it 2 Pet. 1. 5 6 c. And besides this givââ all diligence adde to your faith vertue and ãâã vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance and to temperance patience and to patience godlinesse and to godlinesse brotherly kindnesse and tâ⦠brotherly kindnesse charity For if these things bâ⦠in you and abound they make you that you shaââ neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledââ of our Lord Iesus Christ but he that lacketh theââ things is blind and cannot see afar off Whereforâ⦠give all diligence to make your calling and electââ sure for so an entrance shall be ministred unto yoâ⦠abundantly into the everlasting kingdome of ãâã Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ Wherefore I will imploy my power saith Peter vers 12. I will not be negligen ãâã put you alwayes in remembrance of these thing yea I think it meet aslong as I am in this tabernââ¦ââ¦le to stir you up by putting you in remembrancâ⦠Now if Peter had no spiritual strength hoâ⦠could he stir them up to spiritual things and if the people to whom he spake had nâ⦠power how could they be doing the thing commanded Now thou O most excellent peece of aâ⦠Gods workmanship Man and Woman whosoever thou art that readest these lines ââdeavour to know thy own strength that ââ¦ou mayest imploy and improve it for him ââ¦at gave it Study thy self examine what ãâã I able to doe by vertue of that power ââ¦hich I have received from God Surely I ââ¦ave left many things undone for this very ââason I was unable to do it It is true I saw ââ¦n the one hand that I could of my self do ââ¦othing but I did not see on the other and that I could do all things through ââ¦hrist enabling me It is a blessed thing to improve the power ââceived in making use of the present opââ¦ortunity and it is a dangerous case to ââ¦eglect it 1. Because it may be thou mayest not ââ¦ave another opportunity Prov. 1. 24. 26. ââ¦at 23. 37 38. 2. Because if he give another opportuââ¦ity thou art not sure to live to see it 3. Because if he doth give another opââ¦ortunity and thou live to see it yet thou ââ¦aving sleighted the Spirit at first thou art most like to do so still Heb. 3. 13. Act. 7. 51. ãâã Tim. 3. 8. 4. Because if the Lord doth give thee anââ¦ther opportunity and thou live to see it ââ¦nd imbrace it yet thou hast hindred thy self exceedingly and hast lost thy sight oâ⦠Christ for many dayes Joh. 20. 24 25 A man that knowes not his own strength is like unto a man that hath a great summâ⦠of mony that lieth in a corner and he dotâ⦠not improve it and so gets nothing by it for he knows not of it he hath a Talenâ⦠but it is hid in a napkin and buried in thâ⦠earth 1. I do but ask thee O man whosoeveâ⦠thou art that readest these lines dost thoââ not think in thine own conscience thaâ⦠there is many a man and woman belonginâ⦠to the Election of grace that do die in dââ¦spair as it were and without assurance iâ⦠point of manifestation that might have rââ¦signed up their souls to God in full assurance if they had obeyed God in giving ãâã diligence to make their calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1. 10. 2. Again let me ask thee whether thoâ⦠dost not think in thy conscience that moââ men and women with Martha are trouble about many things whereas they might witâ⦠Mary choose the better part Luk. 10. 41 42. 3. Again I do but ask thee whether thoâ⦠dost not deprive thy self of thy comfortablâ⦠well-being here in this life by thy not looking more narrowly to thy conversation 2 Cor. 1. 12. Many things more might be here recited ãâã the confirmation of this truth That ââre is a power natural and a power spiritual ââd the neglect of the improvement of each is sinââll But at present I shall be silent to make ââ¦y further progresse therein only I shall ââdeavour to answer some objections that ââply may arise against it and then I shall ââ¦e you a few reasons why I have written ââ¦is and shew you the necessity that we have ãâã knowing this power by the danger of âât knowing it First I shall endeavour to answer a few ââ¦bjections that haply may arise in the ââ¦oughts of some against it and so much ââ¦e rather because I know that we live in ãâã age wherein some men make it the great ãâã peace of their Religion to lie at catch ââd to esteem very highly of themselves and ââeir own judgments and undervalue oââ¦ers as the proud Pharisee Luk. 18. 11 12. ââd quite contrary to the command of ââ¦od Phil. 2. Let each esteem others better then ââemselves But to proceed Ob. 1. If there be a natural power in all ââd a spiritual power in some by vertue ââ¦hereof they can act and do act then I ââ¦umbly conceive that you must either by ââ¦olding this dostrââ¦y Free-grace or else hold ââ¦ree-will A. I answer In all that I have said ãâã done concerning the natural or spirituââ power I have endeavoured to fail bââ¦tweââ these two rocks that I might not deny tââ one nor hold the other for if my ãâã should sail against either of these two rocââ all hopes of coming safe to land would ãâã taken from mine eyes First I have not destroyed Free-graââ neither undervalued it in
of Jesus Christ in the doctrine of Free-grace more fully then in former dayes he hath given you liberty to worship him in his owne way and established your liberty by a Law both spiritual and temporal He hath manifested his care of you in answering all your prayers and granting all your requests that you heretofore have or now doe put up to him in faith so that it is but aske and have seek and finde and yet all this is but the beginnings of mercies to you these be but the dawnings of the day and the first fruits of what is ripening Your eies have not yet seen your ears have not heard your hearts have not yet understood what glorious things are comming you may now say to all the proud opposers yet remaining as once was said to Haman Hest 6. 12. If Mordecai be of the seed of the Iews before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not prevaile against him but surely fall before him If those that hereto fore you called Puritans and now Separatists be of the seed of Abraham the father of the faithfull before whom ye have begun to fall you shall not prevaile against them but surely fall before them Assemble your selves together against these people you will be broken in pieces take councel together it will not stand continue your Plots one after another as fast as you can it will be discovered take councel of Achitophel and it will be turned into foolishnisse lift up your voices with Herod like a god the Worms will destroy you and that immediately Speak with the tongue of men and angels you want love and you are but as sounding brasse and tinkling Cimbals Rejoice O Sion thy day is dawning Howle O Babylon thy day is ending and thy plagues are comming The most glorious dayes that ever we read of in Scripture doe begin to dawn although very few doe see it and the most doleful times that ever appeared is almost come against the enemies of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus for all that they have hitherto undergone is but the beginnings of sorrows the first wo is past the second is ââ¦omming see Revel 18. 2. Babylon is fallen ãâã fallen v. 8. Her plagues are come in one day ââeath and mourning and famine and she shall be ââ¦tterly burnt with fire for strong is the Lord who ââdgeth her Silence thy thoughts and listen ãâã little and thou shalt heare that voice ââ¦poken of Rev. 9. 10. 15 16 19. Oh what weeping and wailing is there mongst the Great ones the Kings and ââ¦rinces and Merchants and mighty ones ââ¦f the earth Why what is the matter ââ¦hy Babylon is on fire I cannot come neer ââ¦er I am fain to stand afar off Alas alas ââat great City that is cloathed in fine linnen and ââ¦urple and scarlet and decked with gold and preââ¦ious stones and pearls in an houre is so great ââeasures come to nought Well what follows ââ¦hereupon v. 20. Rejoice O ye servants of the ââ¦ord for I am now avenging you on your enemies Their day of mirth and carnal pleasure is ââding and their plagues beginning but ââ¦our day of perfecution is almost over Ye ââ¦hall rejoice but they shall mourn ye shall ãâ¦ã ng for ioy of heart but they shall weep for ââ¦orrow of heart and howl for vexation of ââ¦pirit Your enemies have already received ââ¦heir good things with the rich man and ââre now to receive the bad Luk. 16. 25. But ââ¦ou have been with Lazarus in misery and received your bad things and now you arâ⦠to receive your good you shall be comââ¦forted but they shall be tormented Luk. 16 24 25. Give eare a little silence your owââ thoughts listen Methinks I heare Chriââ saying to his people as in Luk. 24. 17. whaâ⦠manner of communication is this that yoââ have one to another as you walk and aââ sad what sad you had never so greaâ⦠cause to rejoice v. 25. O fooles and slow oâ⦠heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken If ever these words were seasonable to them it is also seasonable to us and it is written for our learning O fools and slow of hearâ⦠to believe all that the Prophets have said to believe all that Christ hath said and thaâ⦠all his Apostles have said No marvel yoâ⦠have communication together as you walâ⦠and are sad You do not believe the Prophets you do not believe Christ you dâ⦠not believe the Apostles for if you did you could not be sad forall these do testifie abundantly that there is none undeâ⦠the heavens have so great cause to triumpââ and rejoice as you for as all things worâ⦠for the glory of God so they turn to youâ⦠good All things work together for good to them that fear God Let not us then be fools slow of heart believe all that the Prophets have said Why what have the Prophets said ââ¦he Prophets speak of the state of the ââ¦hurch in their dayes and also they proââesied of the state of the Church in the yes of Christs incarnation and lastly they ââophesied of the state of the Church of ââ¦hrist in the latter dayes before his coming ãâã judgment Now all is written for our ââ¦arning but that which doth most neerly ââncern us is to know what state we are ââder and what God is now doing and ââ¦hat we are now to expect First then the Lord is even now beginââg for the time is at hand to bring in the ââws and that will be of great advantage ãâã all the elect Gentiles as you may see ââ¦om 11. 12 13. and Isa 60. 3. 5. 66. ââ¦1 12. So that will be brought to passe ââa 2. 1 2 3. The mountain of the Lords house all be established on the top of the mountains ââ¦nd exalted above the hills and all Nations shall ââ¦ow unto it So the Law shall go forth of ãâ¦ã ion and the Almighty will have a gloriââ¦us kingdom in the spirits of his people ââ¦nd this is the Name of Christ upon earth ââ¦nd the New heaven we read of In a word ââ¦e will in and by his Saints rule the world See Dan. 7. 27. The kingdom and the dominioâ⦠and the greatnesse of the kingdome under tââ whole heaven shall be given to the Saints the most High whose kingdome is an everlastinâ⦠kingdome and all dominions shall serve and ob ãâ¦ã them Oh what a blessed day will this b ãâ¦ã when the Power both supreme and suâ⦠ordinate shall be in the hands of the Sainâ⦠of the most High The government haââ for a long time been in the hands of tââ basest of men as in Dan. 4. 17. and setteââ up over it the basest of men Look back little and consider what kind of Magisteriââ power we had begin at the Head was noâ⦠vice advanced purity derided on whoâ⦠Justice that hath no respect of persons hath been executed Next unto him wââ any man fit for a Lord unlesse he was railing persecuting Bishop
are past away Rev. 21. 1. 2 Pet. 3. 13. 3. Then there be a third sort of sober Christians that do look for and expect these glorious times and yet they do deny that Christ shall reign personally he shall reign it is true say they but how Christ will come in the spirit and have a glorious Kingdome in the spirits of his people and they shall by the power of Christ in them reign over the world and this is the new heaven and the new earth And for my part I do affirm that this is the glorious state that is now comming Isa 66. 22. 2 Pet. 3. 13. Rev. 21. 1. And these are the times of restitution so frequently spoken unto in the Scripture Rom. 8. 19 20 21 22 23. Act. 3. 20 21 22 23. Oh what a glorious time will this be when Magistracie shall be restored to its primitive institution to countenance those that do well and punish evill doers Rom. 13. 3. Dan. 7. 27. Isa 2. 3. Isa 1. 26. O what a joyful time shall this be when Ministery shall be restored to its primitive Institution Jer. 3. 18. Jer. 24. 4. O what a blessed time will this be when our God shall undeceive the people that have been deceived by the Priests the Dragon shall be cast out of heaven and his Chaplains out of the Church God will take away the nature of wicked men that ââ¦lthough they remain wolves lions and ââ¦ruits still yet they shall not hurt nor deââroy in all this holy mountain For the ââarth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea Hab. 2. 14. Wherefore most noble overcoming Saints ââ¦ook for great alterations and mighty ââ¦hanges see what dissolutions God is making in the earth and look for the Lord ââ¦o be revââ¦aled from heaven who will be mighty in his dispensation and glorious ââ¦n revelation and strong and powerful in operation and he will bring to passe his determination which will be to the confounding of all things that are in opposition against him Oh then taste and see that the Lord is gracious it 's life to know him it is heaven to behold him it is melody to hear him it is endlesse happinesse to enjoy him And as you like the end that the Almighty aims at so approve of the way which he acts in and wait with patience for the accomplishment thereof There be glorious Deliverances for the Saints as hath been said but the Saints are too sudden in expecting these deliverances WHen our first Parents were fallen there was a promise made to them of a recovery by the second Adam in these words The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head And as soon as Eve had conceived and brought forth a son Gen. 4. 1. saith she I have got a man from the Lord for so some of our Translations render it And seeing this was not he when she brought forth her second sonne she calls him Abel which signifies vanity Seeing she was deceived in the first she calls the second vanity Now our mother was just as we are too sudden in our expectation of deliverances So if we look into that of Moses Exo. 5. ult Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all saith precious Moses Why Moses thou art a little too quick Have not these people prayed and hath not the Lord heard the cry and sent thee to bring them out of Egypt and am not I now upon delivering them and yet are they not delivered at all ââ¦oses thou art a little too sudden in exââ¦ecting deliverances So it was with the Apostles Act. 1. 6. ââ¦ord said they wilt thou at this time restore ââ¦e kingdome to Israel The Apostles were too ââ¦dden this was not to be done till many ââ¦undred years afterwards Methinks I see ââ¦he people of England yea many of the Lords ââ¦wn Lambs some of them in Egypt under ââ¦haraohs hard task-masters murmuring and ââ¦omplaining at other Saints as they did at Moses and Aaron And I see some others ââ¦rought to the Red-sea but in great fears before and behind as they were and some ââ¦re got over the sea and seen all their eneââ¦ies drowned as they were pursuing them ââ¦nd so begin to sing and many be marched ââ¦nto the midst of the wildernesse where they see great miracles waters flow out of ââ¦he Rocks and raining Manna from heaven and yet notwithstanding the people begin to murmure and desire to go back again to Egypt Oh here is the state of the English Nation they say it is better to go back again to Egypt to King Pharaoh or if he be dead to his young Sonne that he may reign over us where we may enjoy our old Discipline and eat our wonted food the onions and the garlicks and the leeks But some are of a more choise spiriâ⦠and have sent unto Canaan to spie out thâ⦠land Well there were twelve men seââ ten of them bring up a false report of thâ⦠land onely two of them were of anotheâ⦠spirit and speak the truth the greateââ part say it is a barren land the lesser paââ say it is a fruitful land The people werâ⦠divided and some fall to murmuring anâ⦠so are destroyed in the wildernesse Well a few are gotten to Canaan the enemy flieâ⦠before them they possesse their habitations and having all things at the full they soon forget their God Is not this all along our state at this day Some are travelling from Egypt to Canaan and some are journeying from Canaan to Babylon and some are walking from Babylon to Sion Q. Methinks I hear many saying If there be such glorious times at hand and that God doth intend good to us why is it thus and thus with us A. It is true there be many external and internal burdens lying upon us that we would be glad to have removed But consider a little first the fountain from whence these come Gods love secondly the end of them for thy good this will cause the ââule to rejoyce in tribulation for to you is given not onely to believe but to suffer ââr his sake must Job the justest man that ãâã alive be fought against with the terrours ââ¦f the Lord Job 6. 4. Must David a man after ââds own heart have no rest in his bones ââ¦ecause of his sins and be so wasted with ââe grief of his heart that his moisture is âârned to the drought of Summer Psal 32. âârs 3 4. Must Hezeââ¦iah who walked before the ââ¦ord in truth and with a perfect heart ââ¦ave the anger of the Almighty break his ââ¦ones like a Lion Isai 38. 13. Nay must the Sonne of God himself lie ââ¦leeding upon the crosse and cry out in ââ¦he bitternesse of his soule My God my God ââ¦hy hast thou for saken me and shall we think ââ¦o be altogether free from chastisement was ââ¦ot Abel murthered by his brother Noah ââ¦ocked by his son Job scoffed by his wife ââ¦lie slain by his sons See