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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89586	The song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lambe: opened in a sermon preached to the Honorable House of Commons, at their late solemne day of thanksgiving, Iune 15. 1643. for the discovery of a dangerous, desperate, and bloudy designe, tending to the utter subversion of the Parliament, and of the famous city of London. / By Stephen Marshall, B.D. and Pastor of Finchingfield in Essex. Published by order of that House.	Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655.	1643 (1643)	Wing M789; Thomason E56_5; ESTC R16053	30,483	54

THE SONG OF MOSES THE SERVANT OF GOD AND THE SONG OF THE LAMBE Opened In a Sermon preached to the Honorable House of COMMONS At their late solemne day of Thanksgiving Iune 15. 1643. for the discovery of a dangerous desperate and bloudy Designe tending to the utter subversion of the Parliament and of the famous City of London By STEPHEN MARSHALL B. D. and Pastor of Finchingfield in Essex Published by order of that House REVEL. 17. 4. Come hither and I will shew thee the judgment of the great whore LONDON Printed for SAM: MAN and SAM: GELLIBRAND in Pauls Church-yard 1643. TO THE HONORABLE House of COMMONS now assembled in PARLIAMENT Honorable and Beloved THe holy King and Prophet David required that the prayses of God should be sung upon well tuned Instruments and some Psalmes which himself composed to that purpose he styled Michtam golden Psalms as being full of precious and choise treasure Such could I have wished might the Instrument have been and such the Song of Praise and Thanksgiving to have celebrated the goodnesse of God for this late wonderfull preservation of your Honorable Assembly and the famous and worthy City both whose ruine was plotted and designed by wicked and unreasonable men But you were pleased not onely to designe to this service a weak and untuned Instrument though not Crackt as Malice and Slander hath bruted it abroad but also to injoyn the publishing of this song of Thanksgiving which is full of weak and imperfect Notes And to this latter task I was I confesse farre more unwilling then to the former as being conscious unto my self how few conceptions could be brought by me to any such maturity as might render them meet to become the standing Monument of so great a Mercy and so happy a Day which is worthy to be ingraven on Marble rather then to be written on Paper and with letters of gold rather then with ink But in the pursuance of your Commands I have done it and added some few things which time nor strength would permit me to deliver in publike Being resolved to deny my self and to do nothing that may hinder me from being what I am and shall always desire to remain Yours wholly in the service of Christ and his Church STEPHEN MARSHALL A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE the Honorable House of COMMONS on the 15. of Iune 1643. being the day of their publique THANKS GIVING HOnorable and Beloved were the strength of my body and my furniture of wisdome learning and grace in any degree answerable to the service of this Day I could not but exceedingly rejoyce in being called to this work in this place at this time For having been lately restored from the gates of death what greater mercy could I wish then to praise God in the great Congregation and having been reported over the whole Kingdom to have altered my former judgement concerning this just cause of the Parliaments Defensive Arms yea that the horrour of my guilt in adhering to this Cause had distracted me and made me mad can I look upon it otherwise then as a great and publike taking off this reproach by being called to exercise my poor talent in that Assembly which is the whole Kingdom by Representation and at this time to be a furtherer of your joy and thankfulnesse for Almightie Gods watchfull eye and powerfull hand thus wonderfully manifested against the desperate and bloody Designes of those that would destroy you But I fear lest this which is so many wayes a favour to me should prove your losse through my weaknesse which would not permit me to study much in private and I fear will disable me in the publike delivering that little which God hath brought to my hand yet this doth encourage me I have abundant experience of your Candor and I know that both with God and man where there is first a willing mind especially in a day service of Thanksgiving it is accepted according to what a man hath and not according to that he hath not Yea I have one encouragement more that Gods providence hath directed me to such a Text which is not onely sutable to our meeting and service but so really intended by the Spirit of God for your time and work that the very reading of it though an hour together might exceedingly affect you if once you have the true meaning of it which Text you shall finde written in REVEL. 15. 3 4. read also ver. 2. Verse 2. And I saw as it were a sea of glasse mingled with fire and them that had gotten the victory over the Beast and over his Image and over his Mark and over the number of his Name stand on the sea of glasse having the harps of God 3. And they sung the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lambe saying Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints 4. Who shall not fear thee O Lord and glorifie thy Name for thou onely art holy for all Nations shall come and worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest THis Text though it be a part of the Apocalyps the darkest and most mysticall Book in all the Scriptures and therefore thought generally hard to be understood yet time one of the best Interpreters of Prophecies hath produced the events answering the types so full and clear that we have the whole Army of Protestant Interpreters agreeing in the generall scope and meaning of it which in a few words be pleased to take thus A great part of this Book is a setting out the conflicting state of the Church under the great Apostasie with the Antichrist the heaviest and forest enemy which ever the Church had and this Antichristian power and dominion is set forth as other Kingdoms elsewhere are by a systeme of the world wherein are earth water air sunne moon starres a King a Metropoliticall City Provinces People c. an Antichristian Empire an Antichristian World and this great Monarchy of Antichrist hath the time of its rising its triumphant reigning its declining and ruine and the state of the Church of Christ under all these clearly foretold in this Book And to say nothing of his rising and reigne his ruine is described in this fifteenth and sixteenth Chapter under the Type of seven Angels pouring out seven vials full of the wrath of God the seven vialls being so many degrees of the Beasts or Antichrists ruine which story of the vialls the Holy Ghost sets down two wayes first generally in the fifteenth Chapter secondly more particularly in the sixteenth Chapter In the generall description of them in this fifteenth Chapter we have first the circumstance of the place where this Vision was seen whence these Angels came that is heaven I saw another signe in heaven verse 1. that is the true Church whereof Christ is King opposed to the world wherein Antichrist reigns as beyond all doubt may

things are set as if there would be a lengthening out of these unnaturall wars untill the Cities and Countries are utterly spoiled and the Land wasted without inhabitant Now in these calamitous times every mans thoughts run as Nebuchadnezzars with desire to know what should come to passe hereafter and to demand with that Saint How long it shall be to the end of these troubles and all complain that there is no Prophet to tell us how long neither can I blame them as curious who are modestly solicitous to know what will be the event of these things for even the Prophets and holy men of God heretofore searched diligently to know what and what manner of times the Holy Ghost intended when he spake of the sufferings of Christ whether in his Person or in his members Now my Text gives I say a satisfactory answer to this difficult Question and I undertake without fear of being censured to be wise above what is written to tell you what will be the issue and event of all these troubles All Protestant Writers do agree that we are under the pouring out of some one or more of these seven vialls Some think the fourth viall is now powring out upon the Sun of the Antichristian world Others the fifth upon the throne of the Beast there are that think we are come as farre as the sixt viall and the river Euphrates is drying up I will not determine which of them it is it is sufficient which of them soever it be my Text assures me the event shall be this which is the event of every viall Antichrists part shall be weakned and the Church of Christ shall be strengthened Something in every viall may afflict the Church but incurably wounds the Beast As the seven Trumpets were so many degrees of the destruction of the Heathen Empire so the seven vialls are so many degrees of the destruction and ruin of the Antichristian Empire and it is worth your observing that all the time the whole twelve hundred and threescore years of Antichrists reign Christ always had an army of Saints to warre against the Beast a competent number of witnesses who loved not their lives unto the death But all the while of Antichrists rising and triumphant reigning the event of every conflict or scuffle was that the Beast grew higher and the Church fell lower the Papacy prevailed over all that rose up against it so that the Church in the end was hardly to be found visible upon the face of the earth But it is far otherwise in his declining time the time when the vials are pouring out every one of thē plucks part of his fleece one of them strips him of this Kingdom another of that one of them weakens his Temporall another his Spirituall Jurisdiction He is under the vials as Haman before Mordecai having once begun to fall he can never more prevail against them untill in the end the seventh viall being poured out upon the whole power of darknesse the whole Church triumphantly shouts with a loud voice It is done there is an utter end of this enemy So that I dare speak it as confidently as I beleeve the Revelation to be divine Scripture and the meaning of it thus farre made known to the Churches that what viall soever is now powring out the issue will be That Antichrist shall lose and Christ shall gain And there is but one objection against it which I confesse to be a great one and that which troubles many viz. Whether the two witnesses be yet slain their story ye shall read in the eleventh of the Revelation These two witnesses are the small yet competent number of pure worshippers who follow the Lamb and conflict against the Beast all the time of his reign now it is there said that during this whole space of time they prophecy in sackcloth and ashes in a low and mournfull condition and the Beast makes warre against them and prevails against them but quando finituri sunt testimonium a little before the end of their mournfull prophesie which is a little before the Beasts finall destruction the Beast shall not onely keep them low in sackcloth and ashes and prevail by degrees against them as heretofore but shall kill them and their dead bodies shall lie unburied in the streets of that great City that is in all the Territories of spirituall Babylon and the Beast and his followers shall be more jolly and glorious then ever they have been Now many learned Divines suspect this killing of the Witnesses is not yet past and if it be not the Church must go lower then ever it hath been and how then is the Antichristian State weakned by every viall To all this I answer that although I am not able to say This bitter Cup is yet past Father if it be possible let this Cup passe away yet I can say this is true I have delivered that every viall shall weaken the Beast and strengthen the Church and whether they be killed or not killed when ever their killing comes it lasts but three propheticall dayes and a half that is but three years and a half and then presently come in the glorious times which Christ hath promised and the Church long lookt for so that what that Father said of the Arian persecution Nubecula est cito transibit it is but a short though terrible storm and will quickly have an end and that end will be comfortable to the witnesses who shall after three dayes and a half arise from their death and ascend up to heaven in a cloud their enemies beholding it and the great City immediately destroyed with a terrible earthquake And is not this comfortable You see I go not about to determine what the event of these troubles will be to England as England is a Civill or Politicall State or Common-wealth Christ breaks and moulds Common-wealths at his pleasure He hath not spoke much in his word how long they shall last or what he intends to do with them onely this that all Kings and Kingdoms that make warre against the Church shall be broken a pieces and that in the end all the Kingdoms of the World shall be the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Saints and they shall reign over them But it is the cause of the Church the blessed event of these things to the Church of Christ which I speak of the welfare and good successe of Religion in which Cause you are properly engaged and interessed and which I hope is dearer to you then ten thousand Englands Therefore Beloved Be ye stedfast and unmoveable alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord fear not your enemies because they are blasphemous and wicked because they are set on fire with the rage cruelty and treachery of Hell fear them the lesse for that Let my enemy be as the wicked and he that riseth up against me be as the ungodly Their wickednesse is your advantage it is their weaknesse and makes you strong Let not the huge stature of the Anakims and Zamzummims terrifie you Our state for the present is low it may be we shall be lower but lower we cannot be then Iob was upon the dunghill from whence God raised him up not lower then Ionah in the Whales belly from whence the Lord delivered him not lower then the Israelites at the Red-sea thorow which the Lord made a way for them Go on with your work and fear nothing this King of Saints hath depths answerable to all our depths depths of mercy answerable to our depths of misery depths of power answerable to our depths of weaknesse He can give a comfortable Outgate out of all our straits and my Text sayes he will do it and with my Text I conclude Great and wonderfull are the works of our God And he delights to work wonders both in ruining his adversaries to uphold comfort and deliver his people engaged in his Cause and to bring others in subjection to him who yet are strangers from him The Nations shall come and worship before thee because thy judgments are made manifest FINIS Some few instances clearing the main Doctrin and some in largement of the first Use 2 Cor 8. 12. The Text 1. 2. 3. Exod. 15. Josh. 7. The main Doctrine of the Text Explained Revel. 16. 5 6. Isaiah 59. 18. Judg. 1. 7. 〈◊〉 Doctr. 〈…〉 instances Deut. 32. 36. Isa. 59. 16 c. Albertus Crancius Cajetanus Cardinalis Judg. 7. 13 14. Jer. 31. 22. Jer. 38. 11. Neh 3. 5. Revel. 16. 8. Psal. 77 9. Isai. 64. 1. Cant. 2 8. Nahum 1. 3. Sleidan Veramundus de suroribus Gallicis Knox Hist. of Scot Thuanus Psal. 136. 23. Nehem. 4. 3. Prov. 26. 25. Judg. 14. 14. Revel. 16. 2. Ver. 5. Ver. 9. Ver. 10. Levit. 24. 10. Luke 6. 38. Vol 3. 954. c Vol. 2. 185. 187. Revel. 17. 5. Chap. 11 8 9. Chap. 16. 2. 3. 10. 21. Chap. 16. 12. Chap. 19. 20. Revel. 16. 7. Chap. 19. 1 2. Deut. 32. 34. Revel. 1. 1. Revel. 19. 9. Reason 1. Revel. 13. 2. Sands West relig. fect 13. Exod. 18. 11. Dan. Revel. 18. 24. Dan. 3. 16. Rev. 13. 16 17. 2 Thess. 2. 9. 10. Revel. 13. 14. Revel. 18. 4. Matth. 24. 24. Revel. 11. 2 3. Application 1. For admiration Mat. 24 2. Psal. 107. 43. Psal. 104. ult Motives 1. 2. 3. John 1. 50. Jer. 33. 3. 4. 5. 2. Vse of Exhortation Revel. 14. 6. Col. 1. 16 17. Motives 1. 〈…〉 10 11. Psal. ●●6 71. Psal 106. Esay 57. 16. Ezek. 2 Kings 2. Revel. 15 ● Isay 1 Sam. 2. 30. Ezck. 17. 15. 1. 2. 3. 3. Vse of Encouragement Dan. 2. 29. Dan. 8. 13. Psal. 74. 9. 1 Pet. 1. 10 11. Ester 6. 13. Dan. 2. 24. Dan. 7. 22. Revel. 11. 15.

the present putting a new song of praise into your mouthes A prop for your faith to stay upon for time to come the Lord hath delivered and will deliver A further advantage to break the power of the malicious and ungodlymen and a warning to you to beware of neuters and secret false friends who though they take sweet counsell together with you and speak you fair beleeve them not for there are seven abominations in their hearts And by all this ye are I suppose fully satisfied that these works of our Lord God Almighty are as marvellous for their manner as before you have heard they were for their time kinde and instruments working light out of darknesse causing even the experience of the Church in these later ages clearly to interpret Sampsons riddle Out of the eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetnesse and making all the bloudy and cruell entendments of the Antichristian enemie in the effect no more hurtfull and dangerous to the Church then his was to Phereus Iason when he run at him with his sword and in stead of killing him opened an incurable imposthume and saved his life Secondly as they are great and wonderfull so as evident is it that they are just and true the justice of them is celebrated chap. 16. 5. Thou art righteous O Lord because thou hast judged thus and chap. 18. 6. we finde the Angel calling upon the Church Reward her as she hath rewarded you double unto her double according unto her work in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double how much she hath glorified her self and lived deliciously so much torment and sorrow give her O in what exact ballances hath Christ proportioned and weighed out gall and wormwood reproach and shame bloud and ruin to these enemies making them to drink of the same cup which they had before reached to his servants They had grievously afflicted the bodies of the Saints of Christ and now behold upon them noysome and grievous sores They had drunk the bloud of the Saints and Prophets and now behold rivers and fountains of bloud given them to drink They had their Edicts to kill heretikes and Lollards as they called them and now in England and among the Netherlands it 's made capitall for the Iesuits and other Incendiaries and Factors for the Whore to be found amongst them They had burnt the worshippers of Christ and now behold themselves scorched with fire and great heat They had before deprived the Saints of the light of the Scriptures and now behold the Beasts Kingdom overspread with darknesse so that they gnaw their tongues for pain Thus you see the King of Saints rendring according to that rule of justice Eye for eye breach for breach tooth for tooth full measure shaken together and running over Ecclesiasticall historie is full of instances which speak home to our purpose in this particular of Emperours Kings Nobles Popes Bishops Priests men women of all ranks and degrees upon whom these righteous judgements of God have been made manifest you have a whole Catalogue of them digested to your hands in Mr. Foxes book of Acts and Monuments I shall let passe this particular onely with this one observation That whereas this great enemy this Abaddon this Apollyon is made up of all the hatefull qualities of all those Kingdoms which heretofore have oppressed the Church of God and is therefore called Aegypt Sodom Babylon so the wrath of these vialls poured out upon him is the mixture and quintessence of those plagues and judgements whereby all those Kingdoms formerly were destroyed for here you have noysome and grievous sores waters turned into bloud palpable darknesse thunder and lightning and great hailestones the plagues of Aegypt here you have the drying up of the river Euphrates the means of the destruction of Babylon fire and brimstone the judgement of Sodom Even so Lord God Almighty true and righteous are all thy judgements And they are as clearly celebrated for their truth Even so Lord God Almighty True are all thy judgements was the voyce of the Angel out of the Altar at the pouring out the viall upon the Rivers and Fountains of waters turning them into bloud and after they were all poured out Iohn heard the voyce of much people in heaven saying Hallelujah salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God for True and righteous are his judgements for he hath judged the great whore which to understand you must know that these vialls were put up long ago by Christ and laid up in store with him and sealed up among his treasures and written in a book and not onely so but the Counterpart of this book was sent and signified by his Angel unto his servant Iohn and the epoche or time of their beginning and the whole series of their accomplishment for time and place matter manner and measure exactly represented to him whereof many things are already come to our knowledge being fulfilled just ad amussim apocalypseôs according to the standard of the Revelation and although some things concerning the interpretation of these plagues and curses remain yet dark unto us being not fully accomplished yet when all these vialls shall once be poured out the whole Church shall be able to say of them as Ioshuah did in another case of the blessings You know that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you all are come to passe and not one thing hath failed So not one drop of all these vialls hath fallen to the ground in vain not a plague failed but all have accomplished the things for which they were sent write them down These are the true sayings of God If you would know some reason why Christ delights to proceed after this manner in the destruction of this enemy I answer First because this enemy is the master-piece of all the Devils workmanship the Dragons darling to whom he hath delivered over his power and his State his throne and dignity whatever Beelzebub prince of the Devils and the whole Conclave of hell could invent all hath been infused into this grand Adversary there was never yet State framed in the world by the wit and art of man more wisely contrived and plotted more powerfull and forcible to subdue the whole world unto it self by claiming a Ius divinum laying a foundation for firm obedience in mens consciences and having in it sufficient to nourish all mens affections and to fit every mans humour that each fancie may be satisfied and each appetite finde what to feed on yea what ever may prevail with any man is there to be found wealth for the covetous honour for the ambitious learning for the studious great employment for metald spirits multitudes of ceremonies for the superstitious gorgeousnesse of shows for the vulgar and simple miracles for

forged against you condemning every tongue that hath risen up against you in judgement I need not name the particulars I am perswaded your selves beleeve that no former Parliament can parallell Gods dealing towards you and all this while let me speak freely how little have you done for his honour and glory I know your distractions have unavoidably hindered much of what might and I hope else would have been done But say in this day of your thanksgiving if you be not infinitely behinde hand with this Lord God Almighty with this King of Saints if you have not ordinarily forgot his mercies as fast as he hath wrought them Hath he not often filled your hearts with joy and your purses with money and you like unthrifty children have played away all at a cast Have you not checked his providences not improved his deliverances and the advantages which God hath put into your hands or if your hearts at any time have been raised a little have they not presently been at a dead low ebb again have you not gone about to kill his goodnesse with your unkindnesses by provoking him at the sea even at the red sea even when and where he hath delivered you Especially have not many of you dishonoured his Name and grieved his Spirit by your sinfull lives by breaking out into things extreamly scandalous doing the devills work while you professe your selves to be the Lords servants Let me tell you the Lord will not alwayes strive in one way in the way of mercy and deliverance when he hath many a time delivered a people and they goe on to provoke him with their counsells he knowes how to say I w 〈◊〉 ll deliver them no more he knowes how to bring them low for their iniquity and to give them up into the hands of their enemy he that for a long time hath seemed unweariable in watching over an unthankfull people will prove weary of repenting and in stead of saying I have seene their wayes and will heale them will in the end sweare I will overturn them overturn them overturn them as a man wipeth a platter turning it upside down Secondly consider your own place and standing the calling office and work wherewith God and his people have trusted you at this time doe with a wide and loud voyce call upon you to feare the Lord and glorifie his Name More then the salvation of your own soules depends upon you the glory of Christ the establishment of this Church and Kingdome yea the welfare of all Christendome in great measure are all imbarked in that vessell the steering whereof is in great part committed unto you You are in part one of the Angels who are to poure out the viall of the wrath of God who should therefore come out of the temple cloathed in pure and white linnen having your breasts girded with golden girdles adorned like the Priests of God holy and pure Be you cleane yee that beare the vessels of the Lord Honourable and beloved how a bominable a thing were it to see the Angels of God live like the instruments of Satan how uncomfortable a thing would it be to the people of God who have chosen you to this worke and beare you in their hearts and present you every day at the throne of grace who are willing to sinke and swimme with you to live and dye with you that they should hear that such and such a Parliament man will be drunke that such an one dare blaspheme and swear and abuse Religion that Reformers of Religion should hate religion that such as are called to save the Kingdome should betray the Kingdome that in the grief of their spirits they should be compelled to say O Lord can these men save us tell it not in Gath publish it not in the streets of Askelon How dishonourable would it be not only to you but to the King of Saints who useth you that they who hate the worke you are about should hate it the more in regard of your wicked lives who are intrusted with it That they should have occasion to say of you as Amurath the great Turke said of the Christians who brake their league and Covenant with him and therefore sped accordingly O Iesus are these thy Christians if thou beest a God as they professe thee to be revenge this impiety upon them So when Papists and Atheists and such as hate religion and reformation when they shall see the deformity of your lives shall say O Iesus are these thy Reformers are these the Angels that must pour out the vials of thy wrath Oh beloved do not with Elies sonnes occasion men to abhorre the work of the Lord far be it from you But let the office you are called unto the place you are set in the worke and the dignity of the work ingage you to glorifie the name of Christ that both his work may prosper in your hands and your selves be established before the Lord for ever But if you will not hearken to me let me sadly speak it to you you are as a City set upon an hill you and your wayes are looked upon by all men and if you hinder the worke by your lives which your office calls you to further it were better you had never been born into the world Them that honour Christ he will honour and them that despise him shall be lightly esteemed yea he knowes how to make use of you and your gifts to promote his cause and to destroy you for the iniquity of your lives as many of those who forwarded the building of the arke yet perished in the waters Thirdly consider how loud this dayes deliverance cries in your eares to ingage your selves to feare him and glorifie his name who hath wrought this great salvation for you It were a wastefull expence of time to insist upō the particulars of this late bloudy design in this Assembly though in others usefull All the light we have about it comes from you The many great and high hands which were ingaged in it the subtilty of the contrivance the neernesse of the execution the woefull consequences and the bloudy fruits which must needs have issued from it The good hand of God in crushing this cockatrices egge before it brake out to be a fiery flying serpent are fit things to be published and to be spread abroad in other Congregations But to you I shall only be a remembrancer of thus much That you knew not your neer approaching danger and that had this treacherous and bloudy contrivance took effect many of you had been at your long home ere this time and the rest of this Honourable Assembly hitherto the great preservers of our liberty had beene made as a Parliament of Paris the greatest instruments of the Kingdomes slavery and vassallage for time to come But the Lord was awake when we slept and hath took the enemies in the pit which they digged and hath filled your hearts

with joy and given you another day to praise him Can you upon this day of thanksgiving doe lesse then enquire What shall we render unto the Lord I will tell you what he calls for and expects from you and I beseech you by these mercies of God that you render it unto him That you present your bodies and your soules a living sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service that you feare him and glorifie his name for he only is holy Fourthly and principally consider the late sacred Covenant and vow which you have all entred into you have not only entred into it your own selves but intend to draw the whole Kingdome with you into the Oath of God let me minde you what you have done you saw we were designed to destruction and that Gods meer mercy hath hitherto prevented it You see there are still destructive and trayterous designes in hand in severall parts of the Kingdome you acknowledge your own sins with others have deserved all these judgements which either lye upon us or are threatned against us and as a means to prevent our utter ruine you think it necessary to enter into this Covenant with almighty God and you have done it wherein you acknowledge the desert of your own sins and you confess your hearty sorrow for them and your reall intentions to amend your own lives and what you will further doe to save and preserve Religion and all this you have done in Humility and reverence to the Divine Majesty calling the God of Heaven the searcher of all hearts to witnesse your integrity as you will answer it at that Day when the secrets of all hearts shal be disclosed Think now how deeply you are engaged and brought under the curse of God if you perform not this solemn Covenant Think how horrid a thing it will prove for any of you to stand as perjured men before God in marters of such Consequence Shall he break his Oath said God of a King and be delivered Shall he escape that doth these things O Beloved It is a fearfull thing in such cases especially to fall into the hands of the living God to whom you have appealed and whose vengeance if you wilfully fail you have invocated upon your own heads Lay therefore your hands upon your heart and think what your purposes and Resolutions are in these few things which I shall mention to you First for what is past what reall sorrow have ye in your hearts for those sins which you call God to witnesse you are thus sorry for How grievous is the remembrance of them how intolerable do you feel the burthen of them or do you take Gods Name in vain calling him to witnesse of the sorrow for those things which he knows you take pleasure in Think what answer you will make to this Secondly What are your Resolutions for time to come You know what blasphemies what prophanenesses what uncleannesses you have hitherto lived in what irreligion and libertinisme your selves and families have hitherto been guilty of else you would never have acknowledged your sins to have deserved these judgements Now I demand what you resolve to do for time to come Do you purpose to go on in your old ways He that was unjust to be unjust still he that was filthy to be filthy still and had no other purpose but to lead the Kingdom a dance to go before them in the formality of a service without changing your Leopards spots or your Blackmoors skins or in truth be you resolved being changed by the renewing of your minde to become new creatures to serve Christ in newnesse of spirit that Christ alone may reign as Lord and King hereafter both in your hearts and lives and families as Ioshuah did when he bid the Israelites choose whom they would serve for himself he was resolved though he went all alone He and his family would serve the Lord Thirdly as you are Parliament men what are your purposes concerning your faithfulnesse to Christ and the Cause of Christ and his Church committed to your hands If you should altogether fail deliverance will come another way the Gates of Hell shall never prevail against the Church of Christ But are ye really resolved to save the Church and Kingdom though your selves should perish in the attempt or do you intend under pretence of being factors for Christ to drive a trade for Satan and Antichrist to betray Religion and Liberty or to trade in both the Indies to have a stock going on both sides that you may save your own stake which side soever win or lose to save your own skin whatever become of the Kingdom Like a certain Despot of Servia of whom I have read in the Turkish History who lived among the Christians and kept correspondence with the Turk who was a publike worshipper of Christ but a secret circumcised Turk that that Turkish mark might save him if need were Have any of you such cunning devices to procure externall safety with the certain ruin of your souls Honoured and Beloved I hope better things of you all though I thus speak I hope you purpose according to your Covenant and what God requires and expects at your hands to stick close to Christ and his Cause to sink and swim with the Church and Cause of Christ with singlenesse of heart and unwearied resolutions to carry on the work of God to value your selves onely as his Instruments and let him do by you and with you what is good in his own eyes And for your Encouragement let me speak a little of the third Use which the Church here makes of these great and marvellous these just and true wayes and judgements of this King of Saints which is a Propheticall Prognostication and foretelling of what shall further happen upon the pouring out of every viall and that is more and more people and nations shall come in and submit to Jesus Christ the Nations shall come and worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest And this inables me for your comfort to help you to an answer of the most difficult question and most perplexing thought that I am perswaded is in the heart of most men living at this day viz. God hath cast our Lot in very perplexed times all the banks are broken down all Gods judgments seem to invade us at once and Gods administration to the Kingdom is such that the wisest man cannot guesse by Gods dealing to day what he intends to do with us to morrow Sometimes the Lord enables a handfull of ours to chase thousands of the enemies Sometimes multitudes of ours flee as at the shaking of a leaf when none pursues them Sometimes we have rare Instruments unexpectedly raised up by and by very usefull men are taken off and hopefull men prove treacherous Sometimes the Lord seems to intimate as in a Cock-pit that one fight shall end the businesse one way or other otherwhiles all