him through the Citie and smite let your eye spare none c. IN this next place we are to observe how the Lord bids the destroyers to goe after the marking Angell following him as it were hard at the heeles that so soone as ever the servants of God are marked and safe they should stay no longer but presently execute their charge which was Kill kill and spare none for so the words doe plainely import Herein the Lord would have us all to know yet further that so soone as ever he hath gathered forth those that bewaile the sinnes of the times that is his faithfull ones from among the rest or made sure provision for them then he will stay no longer but presently begin the execution of his vengeance on the rest which remaine This truth the Lord hath left unto us as cleare as any of the former that when we see him taking the godly away all may learne to prepare for themselves to escape or else be left more without excuse To shew this in order out of the former destructions as being in my understanding most fit as so set downe to this purpose and also most plainely for the simplest to conceive of 1. Noah is no sooner in the Arke fast lockt in by the Lord himselfe and so out of the danger but presently the sloud-gates of heaven are set open the fountaines of the great depths broken up destruction rusheth upon them that 〈◊〉 they or climbe they whithersoever they will the vengeance of God still followeth them at the heeles untill they be utterly swept away from the face of the earth without any more pitie and compassion 2. Lot is no sooner out of Sodom and gotten safe into Zoar past all the danger but though it was a goodly morning to see to the Sunne rising gloriously upon the earth as it was wont yet the fire and brimstone came powring downe The Holy Ghost saith that The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven and overthrew all He turned all those filthy Cities into ashes making them most loathsome pits and a terrible monument of his most severe vengeance to all such beastly livers to the end of the world All perish togither in an instant as they were partakers togither in the same filthy sinnes Howling and crying then will do no more good no place is now lest to repentance nor to mercy any longer 3. The Christians are no sooner gotten out of Ierusalem to Pella according to the warning but presently Ierusalem is taken as Iosephus reports and then as great cruelties are exercised as ever upon any Citie or people before and as great miseries followed them according as our Saviour had foretold 4. And lastly that same holy Iosiah hath his eyes no sooner closed that he might not see the vengeance and himselfe taken to his rest as the Lord had promised him because his heart so melted at the hearing of the abominations and the judgements denounced for them but straight-way even within three moneths begins this wofull tragedie of Iudah and Ierusalem As the flying away of the Swallow is a signe of winter at hand so the departing and taking away of these mourners forth of any Church must needs be a fearefull threatning of some terrible winter if not a desolation to come upon that people especially when we consider what such are for the preservation of the place where they are And so much first for the evidence of this truth Now that we may againe returne home unto our selves Let us see whether hereby we have not just cause to be awakened ech to betake our sâ—â—ves to watching and prayer to stay the vengeance of God before it be come upon us and it be too late Have not many of our Noahs I meane many of Gods faithfull servants most famous both in Church and Common-wealth for helping to build and prepare the Arke bin taken away from us not many yeeres ago long before their time And amongst others Did not the Lord specially pluck unto himselfe in a short space togither sundry of our most worthily renowmed and victorious champions so approved against that proud Goliah of Rome Hath he not thus caried up these into the Arke not made with hands as accounting us thereby unworthy that they should remaine any longer amongst us upon the earth to helpe to stand betweene the Lords wrath and us What heart was so flintie which dissolved not into teares for sundry of them or which was not astonished at the apprehension of his manifest displeasure therein and in a fearefull consideration of that which he saith That the righteous are taken away from the evils to come This yet is some comfort That we have still some Noaâ—s carefully preparing and finishing the Arke and warning the secure and unthankfull world All our Lots are not yet pluckt from amongst us The Lord of hoasts hath as yet in mercy reserved us a remnant who unfeignedly feare the tokens of his wrath He hath some that stil lift up their voyces like trumpers to tel his people of their sins Some that lift up their hearts with their hands with Moses against Amaleck Some that made continuall intercession with faithful Abraham Some that mourne in secret who wrastle and weepe with Iacob and who will not let the Lord goe untill he shew us mercy and save us from the scourge which we have justly deserved Some I say for what are they compared with the rest or in regard of our time and meanes or that they have beene in sundry parts of the Land otherwise we had bin made long agoe as Sodome and like unto Gomorrha And we may further say by the infinite mercy of God That the Lords annointed is still preserved for our shelter and the breath of our nostrils by whom alone under the highest we hitherto enjoy our safety in the midst of the greatest furies of our implacable and bloud-thirsty enemies If the Lord had ever or yet should never so little take away his hand for all our provocations which evill of all other he ever turne from us like as hitherto he hath done sith the enemies hunt after his life and the lives of us all continually and our sinnes doe cry for it what then could we looke for Or if he should any way suffer the mouthes of all his faithfull messengers to be shut that there might be none to reprove much more if he once take from amongst us those that sigh and cry out for all the abominations and restrayn utterly that spirit of mourning and prayer what may we expect then And is not this the thing which the Atheist and belly-God with all the company of the wicked and ungodly do desire so much and which the I do latrous murthering enemies doe conspire continually And why Because these are they
dwell in for ever and be as the signet upon my right hand yet seeing it now casteth me off and despiseth to heare my voyce any longer or to be reformed I will not spare it neither shall mine eye have pitie on it save onely of my remnant in it but I will leave it to be destroyed and desolate at least for seventie yeeres Whence the Lord would have all his people to learne That no priviledges promises mercies deliverances no nor any profession of religion can doe a people any good at all to secure them from his vengeance if once they begin to cast him off and his Covenant But when they fall to be stubborne against him and his word sent unto them in his mercy he will cast them off and leave them This also is a matter to be well thought of by us Because as they of Iudah were wont to secure themselves in their prerogatives even so doe we ordinarily First therefore to begin with them Were not these and the like the things whereby they were wont to think themselves safe and to make their boast of so that they could not repent Sometimes because they had the Lords Temple of which they so gloried saying The Temple of the Lord The Temple of the Lord. Sometimes they used to flatter themselves depraving Gods word thus The Law shall not depart from the Priest nor counsell from the wise nor the word from the Prophet And commonly all singing this song which their children learned of them We have Abraham to our father and by these and the like did they grow so extremely impenitent that they could not be moved by any warnings And is it not even so with us That whensoever we are admonished of the Lords anger either by his word or judgements on us or by any other signes or threatnings against us to move us to seeke to pacifie his wrath is not this usuall with us to harden our hearts and still to lull our selves asleepe in our securitie thinking that we are in no such danger and all for some speciall priviledges which we imagine that we have Although it be acknowledged by all that there are most grievous sinnes amongst us yea most horrible contempt of God and his word with dreadfull signes of his departing and that we have had many strange and terrible warnings yet the Lord must needs still continue with us and there is no such danger or cause of feare as some imagine and why so Because we have Gods true religion established by law maintayned by authoritie and sincerely professed by many The Lord hath also shewed us such manifest tokens of his favour and love in our sundry and most admirable deliverances He hath taken such vengeance on our enemies He still discovers and overthrowes their plots And which is above all other his blessings for that he hath given us such a worthy Head and Governour such a hopefull Issue so established the Scepter and concluded such a peace with other Nations on every side as hencforth we cannot have any such cause of feare as formerly we have had Are not these and the like the things whereby we are commonly waxen so strong and safe in our owne conceit And are we not hereupon become so secure from any dreadfull judgement as that no warnings from heaven nor earth words corrections threats nor yet any mercies can do the greatest part any more good but that they desperately proceed from evill to worse as though no hurt could come unto us Let us to this end consider a litle of the priviledges of this Citie and people and then if the Lord open our eyes we shall easily see what causes we have of this our confidence and securitie First for Ierusalem The Lord chose it to dwell in for ever and Sion to be an habitation for himselfe yea he after a peculiar manner tyed his residencie to that place whereas now it is no more tyed to any one place than unto another but one Country now being unthankfull he removes his Church and abode to another There Salomon by the appointment of the Lord himselfe built a house for his glorious Majestie as the place wherein he would be specially worshipped of all the places in the world Such promises also were made by him unto that place as never unto any other That the people praying there because the Temple was a speciall figure of Iesus Christ he would heare those their petitions made in that place Or when they could not come thither if they did but turne their faces towards Ierusalem in prayer that he would heare their supplications made in faith and obedience as he heard Daniel in the Captivitie It was so famous for visions and revelations of the Lord by meanes of the Arke of the Testimonie there the Priests with the Vrim and Thummim the Prophets and messengers of the Lord that it was called the valley of visions yea it was so far preferred before all other places as that all must pray for the peace of Ierusalem So that the Prophet David prayes for the prosperitie of all them who love Ierusalem It is called for the excellencie of it The perfection of beautie The ioy of the whole earth and by our Saviour it is named The holy Citie and at that time when it did grow towards the very worst It was then so deere unto him as that he wept over it to thinke of the sinnes of it with the miseries that were to come upon it for the same And to shut up this point when our Saviour will set out unto the Church the glory of the kingdome of heav'n in the first flourishing estate thereof in earth and fully in heav'n he finds no fitter resemblance to expresse it by than by Ierusalem calling it the new Ierusalem and holy Ierusalem because Ierusalem was the type thereof These are some of the priviledges of the Citie For the prerogatiues of the people they are far more surpassing if we will beleeve the commendations which holy Paul gives of them in the 9. chapter to the Romanes vers 4. where he so highly esteemes of them that he could have wished himselfe accursed yea cast away utterly and seperate from Christ for evermore from eternall joy to perpetuall miserie even for his brethren that were his kinsmen according to the flesh if it had beene possible therby to turne away the Lords anger from them and to reconcile them unto his Majestie againe that so he might have beene glorified in saving of them These particular prerogatives are there moreover ascribed unto them 1. They were Israelites that is A people descended of the most noble stock of all the world Israels posteritie who prevailed with God discending lineally from faithfull Abraham the father of all the faithfull the freind of God and with
the sin of all yet it indangered all See the feare of the people of Israel for the suspition of the provocation by the two tribes and the halfe in the erecting of the altar of witnesse which the rest of the Tribes did thinke that they had done for sacrifice contrary to the commandement of the Lord. They al purposed to have gone immediatly to make war against their brethren for the punishment of that sin yet sent messengers to know the truth of the matter before with this message That if they did rebell against the Lord that day the morrow next he would be wrath with all the congregation of Israell The like we may behold in the feare of the people for the villany committed by some of the inhabitants of the City of Gibeah in abusing the Levites Concubine and the vengeance that came not onely upon the City wherein it was committed but also upon all the Tribe of Benjamin because they delivered them not to be punished but would seeme to defend them for as much as they were apart of their Tribe And not upon that Tribe alone which might seeme justly accessary but also upon all those who helped not to take vengeance for that wicked fact as on all the inhabitants of Iabesh Gilead becavse they came not to the war to see Gods judgements executed upon those wicked men To come to the sinnes of particular men Did we not heare before of the vengeance on Israell in the dayes of Ioshuah for the sin of Achan How that worthy Captaine with his valiant soldiers were not able to stand before their enemies untill Achans sinne was found out punished Yea the Lord tels them he will not be with them any more unlesse they destroy the excommunicate from amongst them which thereupon they were glad to doe And far be it from us to thinke the Lord to be unjust in this or any other of his judgements or to have diminished any part of his justice or holinesse unto this day Secondly we cannot forget that anger that was kindled against Israell and the famine that came upon them in the dayes of David for three yeeres together for the sinne of Saul in killing the Gibeonites to gratifie the people contrary to his fidelity Though they were but heathens of the cursed Amorites and had dealt deceitfully with the Israelites in making their covenant Yet the wrath could not be appeased or the Land purged untill vengeance was taken upon his bloudy house for that murther committed so long before And therfore sith his anger may breake forth so long after even for such sins much more for such notorious abominations as are committed daily by them who have given themselves over to all manner of profanenesse and impiety and whereof they can have no such colour or occasion This was the cheife reason of the solemne inquisition which was at the publicke fasts in Israell for the finding out both of notorious offenders and offences to have vengeance taken of them openly Hence was the pretence of Iezabell for the saving of Naboth under a shew of execution of this justice against a blasphemer to pacifie the Lords anger This also seemes to have bin one principall cause why the word was read and preached at those their solemne fasts that thereby the sins might be discovered and reformed as God bids Ieremie to indite and Baruch to write from his mouth and to declare to the people their sinnes with the plagues judgements due unto them that they might returne from their evill wayes and so pacifie his wrath by crying unto him and reforming all the abominations Thus we see this point also cleere That the sinnes of a people even of a few of them not punished do anger the Lord and provoke him against the whole land making the land uncleane neither can he be fully pacified any way but by the punishing and taking away of those sinnes Whereby it is most evident to the consciences of all men what just cause the godly have to sigh and to tremble for all the abominations that are committed amongst them and especially which being notoriously knowne do still remaine unpunished Now to apply this unto our selues And first for the generall humiliation of us all afterward for the comfort of those few that are such true mourners indeed First this may strike the hearts of all sorts who imagining that they are the servants of the Lord yet hearing and seeing the fearfull apostacy coldnesse and security of our age even in many of the better sort together with Atheisme Poperie and all outragious and profane licentiousnesse daily increasing in the rest are yet never troubled therwith And much more may it astonish all such who are so far off from the condition of these mourners as that they can solace themselues as freely when they heare of all excesse in iniquity and whatsoever can bee devised by Iewd men to anger the Lord and to grieve his Spirit as ever they were wont at other times Most of all may it affright and awaken those who use all devices to drive each thought of Gods anger or any judgement with every occasion of humiliation and mourning utterly out of their hearts But of all other is their estate most fearfull who can make the beastly sinnes of others their chiefest sport Oh you that are such consider in your hearts Is this the spirit of Lot Moses Samuel Ieremie Ezra of these mourners heere marked Of our Saviour or Pavl Is this the Spirit of the Lord How deceive you your soules in a vaine imagination what will ye doe in the day of the Lords wrath if he let it come upon us as we justly deserue Or what have ye done to turne it from us Know know for certaine that this sinne of yours will one day undoubtedly bring you weeping enough you cannot tell whether even in this life as it did to them in the Captivity nay even whether this same uery day when you shall do nothing but weep day and night in remembrance of this one sinne that your hearts were so hard in the dayes of your prosperity that you could not mourne at all Besides all the other miseries that you are liable unto for all your sinnes chiefly if God should give you up for them when you shall be utterly destitute of comfort of the Lords mercy protection and-favour untill you shall have soundly bewailed all this your sencelesse security But on the contrary as this is given by the Lord for the comfort of all that mourne for the iniquities because they are surely marked before the vengeance come to be safe then so it may serue for the sweete consolation and cheering up even of all those of every estate and degree from the highest to the lowest who find their hearts thus affected in hearing of and beholding the abominations committed dayly to anger the
for that worke as having by it deserved worthily of all good learning Therefore seeing in all his labours his good affection towards the Church of God our dread Soveraigne with all his royall Progenie and dominions doth cleerely appeare seeking only the wealth of all and to unite all hearts as unto the Lord of heaven so to our Soveraigne Lord and King and to his royall seed for our happinesse for ever with what thankfull acceptation are all his labours to be received And this above all the former wherein he now only strives to helpe to awaken us out of our deepest securitie in the midst of our extremest perill and necessitie and when the times call us to watch and pray yea to fast and pray if ever heretofore First I say to rise up and watch that we may pray To pray for the distressed state of all the poore Churches and our brethren abroad who mourne and wring their hands by reason of their slaveries butcheries manifold feares and miseries both of their soules and bodies above all for them of Bohemia and the Palatinate the very chiefe of them a principall part of our selves and withall for our brethren of France now in great tribulation for the profession of Christs Gospell taking their case to heart as feeling members little knowing how soone it may be our owne and ever fearing that terrible curse from the Angell of the Lord Curse ye Meroz said the Angell curse the inhabitants thereof because they came not out to helpe the Lord against the mightie Secondly to watch and pray yea to mourne and crie for the fearfull viols of the Lords wrath in all likelihood so neerely readie to be powred downe upon our own heads unlesse we speedily meet the Lord in unfained repentance If in the yeere 88. all sorts so generally feared it when yet at our generall humiliation in fasting and praier by publike commandement and our promising amendment God heard our cries deferred the execution of his wrath upon us and contrarily fought for us from heaven arming the windes and waters for his Church amongst us how much more may we justly feare it now If then I say all joyntly confessed that if God had so dealt with us as he threatned we had most righteously deserved it for all our hainous abominations and for that no other meanes could prevaile with us and if in our severall acknowledgements praiers and thanksgivings upon sundrie occasions since we have againe and againe confessed as much how much more truly may we now at this present Seeing the Lord hath granted us since not one yeere more alone to see if wee would meet him truly with intreatie of peace and unfained submission but ten yea thrice ten yeere and more and also used all meanes to reclaime us both by abundant fatherly corrections and in his long patience and commiseration given us our third most dreadfull admonition at the powder treason never to be forgotten when he even plucked us out of the furnace and now that our sinnes are in stead of repenting ten times more increased through all those meanes in the judgement of all who rightly consider of them how can we expect any longer mercy What can we looke for now in that we see men so generally chiefly most of our Gallants to make but a mocke of sinne yea of all Gods admonitions at home and abroad hating all true pietie and scorning it under most odious names Or how can we thinke truly that our land is purged of any of our abominations but stands presently guiltie of them all having now filled up our measure seeing we commit most of those fearfull abominations so often confessed with an higher hand then ever heretofore Or how can we imagine that our land is out of danger seeing many amongst us begin to doat againe upon the bloudie Romish Idolatrie and that now our enemies are so increased in Malice Pride and Multitude and so many of the infernall Locusts feared to be in the midst amongst us My desire therefore is that as this labour hath beene undertaken for the saving of us all from such a vengeance as upon these grounds we have just cause to feare and for our perpetuall happinesse and must needs for that cause concerne us all that every one would take notice of it and consider seriously of every point as God gives him opportunitie especially they who have leisure and spend many houres yea many dayes and yeeres either wickedly or at least vainly which will bring them nothing but sorrow in the end to helpe hereby to turne away the wrath or at least to save their owne soules The worke is large I grant but too large thou canst not thinke it seeing the Author of it desireth to make all plaine to the capacitie of the simplest and truly to awake every soule and for that I know not of any point in it which doth not directly tend hereunto or can well be made shorter without hurt to the whole chiefly the generall good considered that every sinner that repents not turning from his evill way must die And therefore doubtlesse no man shall haue just cause to repent him of his labour spent in hearing or reading of it but if God give him an heart by the right applying of it to helpe to appease the wrath or at least to turne and to seeke to cause others to turne he shall have cause to blesse the God of heaven for it which that every one may doe and that we may all instantly set our selves to seeke his face and favour I humbly intreat his heavenly Majestie to grant and rest Thine in Christ Iesus Edward Elton B. in D. and Pastor of S. Mary Magdalens Barmondsey neere London AN ADVERTISEMENT TO THE CHRISTIAN READER FOr those who would read this book with comfort and reape the blessing desired by it in obtaining mercie and favour from the Lord for themselves and the whole land my humble request is that they would first correct these faults noted after then read and weigh these Contents in the beginning both generall and particular whereby they may see the summe and drift of all and have as it were a plaine view of the whole in their heads afterwards to read the praier in the end which is according to the same that they may better conceive and make a right use thereof and then to read the whole in order if their leisure and opportunitie serve or at least such parts of it as they shall thinke most necessarie and especially the last chapter which most neerely concerneth every soule That considering all as before Christs judgement seat like as I have endevoured to doe and so striving joyntly in faith and love for our selves and all other the poore afflicted Churches of Christ the Lord may fulfill all our holy desires turne away all evills from us and them and make us to continue a flourishing Church and a happie Nation to the comming of the Lord Iesus in the clouds
enemies humbled by our unfained repentance p. 114 What we should doe seeing the Lords armies approaching p. 115 CHAP. X. The mourners marked then comes the vengeance p. 117 Our comfort in the remainder of the mourners and the preservation of the Lords Anointed p. 119 120 The account we are to make of the mourners p. 121 It is for the godly that the Gospell with our blessings continue p. 122 CHAP. XI The charge to the destroyers to destroy without pittie and why p. 124 125 Causes in generall provoking the Lord to so fierce a wrath the hainousnesse of the abominations and that no meanes would serve p. 125 The abominations committed by all sorts p. 125 126 The Prophets to be read to behold the sins which brought the vengeance p. 127 In the abominations of Iudah we may see our owne sinnes and estate portraied p. 127 Little hope of any such search to be made by us in these daies of securitie The authors endevour thereupon to help herein for the good of all p. 128 129 God hath ordainâ—d the faithfull discoverie of the iniquitie as a last and principall meanes to turne away a judgement p. 130 147 CHAP. XI Section 2. Cautions in reading these abominations p. 132 133 How their sinnes were increased p. 132 The principall sinnes specially mentioned after Hezekiahs reformation for which this judgement is chiefly denounced p. 134 The same punishment or a beavier must needs belong to us if we be guiltie of the same or the like sinnes p. 136 CHAP. XI Section 3. The vengeance must begin at the Sanctuarie because from thence chiefly all the wickednesse proceeded p. 137 168 169 CHAP. XI Abomination 1. The horrible wickednesse of the Priests and Prophets generally angring the Lord and hastening the Captivitie p. 138 139 What holinesse the Lord required of the Priests and Prophets p. 138 Abomination 2. The blindnesse of the Priests and Prophets hastening the Captivitie p. 141 The Priests and Prophets ought to be Seers and watchmen p. 141 Blinde and senslesse men not giving warning of Gods judgements termed dumbe dogs p. 143 The blindnesse and sleeping of the shepherds calls for the beasts of the forest upon their flockes p. 145 Abomination 3. Flatterie of the Priests and Prophets hardning the people to destruction p. 146 148 c. The faithfulnesse required in Gods watchmen messengers p. 146 Dawbers must looke for a storme to cause their worke to fall on them and all who trust in it p. 151 Abomination 4. Preaching mens devices in stead of Gods word hastening the Captivitie p. 152 153 c. Gods ministers ought to preach his word sincerely and faithfully p. 152 153. and p. 156 All inventions of 〈◊〉 but vaine and foolish in regard of Gods word and to seeke out such things is to seeke out causes of desolation p. 154 Preaching mens devices the high way to cause men to forget Gods word p. 155 The power of Gods word sincerely handled p. 157 Good Arts and learning grations helps though set in place of Gods word they bring a plague p. 158 They that preach their owne devices steale his word from his people and bring no good to them p. 159 State of such teachers when their consciences shall be awaked p. 160 Abomination 5. Want of compassion in the Priests and Prophets hastening the Captivitie p. 160 Gods faithfull ministers full of compassion towards their people 161 Pastors without due regard of their flockes are butchers and wolues to their flockes p. 162 Pastors without commiseration of their flockes the greatest enemies to Gods faithfull messengers and servants p. 163 When the watchman is the snare of a fowler he is then hatred in the house of his God p. 166 Gods terrible and most just denuntiation against all carelesse Pastors and Idoll shepherds for his flocke especially for his faithfull servants p. 167 Application to our selves p. 169 Abomination 6. The sinne of the people in approving the wicked Priests hastening the Captivitie p. 170 172 The meanes which the Lord had provided that his people should not be deceived by false Prophets p. 171 The Lord cannot but be avenged for approving of false prophets p. 172 The severitie of the Lords most righteous judgement fitting a sinfull people with Preachers to their hearts p. 173 174 How God will answer hypocrites comming to inquire of him p. 17â— Deceivers and deceived punished alike p. 176 Antichrists delusions follow the contempt of the Gospell p. 176 Why God sends false teachers and seducers p. 177 How God punished in the Gentiles the abusing of the very light of nature p. 178 How the people comming to the Prophets with a desire to know the truth yet may be notably deceived p. 179 How the Prophets themselves may be justly deceived and so deceive p. 179 181 How fearefull it is after a man hath received his resolute answer from God to goe upon carnall respects to enquire the second time p. 181 The punishment of the false Prophet and of him who asketh of him alike p. 183 Abomination 7. The sinnes of the people against Gods faithfull Prophets sent to them in mercie to bring them to repentance p. 184 The duties and affections of Gods people towards his faithfull messengers p. 184 The people grieving the Prophets by an extreme dulnesse and untowardnesse to learne Gods word hastening the Captivitie p. 186 The word of the Lord is in vaine to a rebellious people p. 188 They that cast away Gods word have no wisdome p. 188 How God punisheth the not profiting by his word with more blockishnesse p. 189 The just judgement of God to cause 〈…〉 servants to learne by his enemies p. 189 Application to our selves p. 190 Abomination 8. Refusing to heare Gods faithfull servants more 〈…〉 hastening the Captivitie p. 191 The Lords complaint for this sinne and how it must be 〈…〉 in a booke for the last day p. 192 The just vengeance for this sinne p. 194 195 For the contempt of Gods servants he makes their tongues cleave to the roofe of their mouthes p. 194 Abomination 9. Mocking and abusing Gods true Prophets and all the godly hastening the Captivitie p. 196 The custome of false Prophets to harden men in the contempt of Gods threatnings p. 197 God will make unbeleevers know the truth of his word by feeling it p. 197 The word in the mouthes of Gods messengers shall be as a fire to consume all wicked gainesaiers p. 198 Abomination 10. Discouraging Gods true Prophets by threatnings hastening the Captivitie p. 198 Vengeance for this sinne p. 199 Abomination 11. Slandering and falsly accusing Gods messengers hastening the Captivitie p. 200 Incensing the Magistrates against Gods faithfull messengers hasteâ—ing the Captivitie p. 200 Ordinarie with Gods true Prophets to be railed upon p. 201 Abomination 12. Secret conspiracies against Gods true Prophets and servants to take away their lives or credit hastening the Captivitie p. 202 The Lord in due time revealeth the most secret plots against his
the time of this sacrifice when hee would visit all who delighted in these vanities p. 257 Application to examine our odious fashions of divers sorts as charging with healths whorish plaies and the like p. 257 258 Private reading Scriptures left off by such p. 259 Filthie and scurrilous Pamphlets received in place p. 260 Babylonish policie by corrupting our manners first to overthrow our Religion p. 260 Having prevailed with the greater they make sure account of the rest p. 260 The device of old Balaam as the surest stratageme worthy our best consideration p. 261 There is no sorcerie against Israel abiding in obedience p. 262 Application of the Historie of Balaams stratageme to our selves p. 264 A mystery whereby to bring Italy into England and so to obtaine their purposes p. 264 A just lamentation for that no warning will serve but we must do at after them and be weary of the Lord. p. 264 265 Abomination 20. Oppression of the poore hastening the Captivitie p. 265 Our covenant with the Lord for justice and mercy to the poore p. 265 A patterne for great men in Iob. p. 265 Their transgression that instead thereof they were most cruell extortioners and oppressors p. 266 267 The Lord compares extortioners to Apothecaries Millers 268 They joined house to house till there was no place for the poore p. 269 Vengeance proportionall p. 269 Abomination 21. Oppression by ingrossing and inhancing the prizes of things to swallow up the poore hastening the Captivitie p. 270 What God requires of rich men in time of dearth p. 270 The rich were become as cormorants to the poore p. 270 The Lord will never forget this sinne it makes the land to tremble p. 271 Application to unsatiable corne-mungers p. 272 Gods warning forgotten in the levellers insurrection p. 273 Abomination 22. Oppression to raise their houses hastening the Captivitie p. 274 To build by oppression is to consult shame to their houses p. 275 Abomination 23. Oppression to support their pride hastening the Captivitie p. 275 The attire of gracious women what it ought to be p. 276 Their women helpt to flea the poore to support their pride p. 276 They minded nothing but pride when God threatned them most p. 276 The plagues which all such bring on themselves and theirs p. 277 A glasse for proud women to view themselves in p. 278 What this would worke rightly practised p. 278 Our pride though exceeding theirs so as cannot be expressed yet must one day be set in open view before the faces of all who doe not repent p. 279 Vengeance proportionall for this sinne p. 279 This sinne and the sighes of the poore for it cry continually for vengeance to be taken on such a monster p. 280 Abomination 24. Pride in sumptuous buildings causing oppression hastening the Captivitie p. 280 A glasse for them who build their houses by oppression p. 281 The unmercifulnesse of ambitious builders p. 282 The way for great men to prosper p. 282 The case of all oppressours how they live and what they provide for their children p. 283 Application p. 284 Abomination 25. Oppression to maintaine riot and excesse hastening the Captivitie p. 284 What the Lord requires for all his mercies chiefly of rich men p. 284 How they requited the Lord and used his benefits never thinking of the worke of the Lord. p. 285 286 A glasse for all given over to their pleasures p. 286 Men given over to pleasures forget the affliction of Ioseph p. 287 The seers given up to wine and good fellowship can see nothing amisse till the vengeance of God come p. 287 The fruits of excesse and idlenesse p. 288 They became to be impudent in uncleannesse to shew their filthinesse openly like the Sodomites p. 288 Men giving themselves over to carnall pleasures have no knowledge p. 288 Such prepare captivitie temporall or eternall or both p. 288 Hunger and thirst remaine for all belly-gods p. 289 Neither Gentrie nor greatnesse will save from Gods vengeance hell gapes for such p. 289 The proudest must be brought downe to the depth of hell and goe captives with the first p. 289 God abhorres the excellencie and haughtinesse of all such and the palaceâ— where their sinnes are most practised p. 290 Desperation the portion of all proud belly-gods when Gods vengeance comes p. 290 God must needs visit for such things and his soule be avengedon such a nation p. 290 Application to every conscience p. 291 Abomination 26. Vnsatiable covetousnesse causing oppression hastening the Captivitie p. 291 The studie and covetousnesse of the Lords people p. 291 All before the Captivitie generally given to covetousnesse p. 292 The fruit of covetousnesse in the Prophets to speake only to please p. 292 The manner of healing with faire words as the Prophets did before the Captivitie p. 292 293 Covetous men can see nothing but for their owne advantage p. 293 Vengeance proportionall p. 293 The wretched estate of all covetous Prophets p. 294 The difference of the preaching of the true Prophets and the covetous worldlings p. 295 The power of the true Prophets shewed forth chiefly in the time of abounding of all iniquitie and approching of judgement p. 295 A perpetuall night came upon the false Prophets at the Captivitie p. 296 Covetousnesse dumbnesse blindnesse sleeping goe together in the false Prophets p. 296 Iust vengeance on all for their unsatiable greediness p. 296 Application to all sorts of spoylers of the poore p. 297 Application to those who oppresse to make themselves great p. 297 Application to the haughtie on whose garments is found the bloud of the poore p. 297 Application to sumptuous builders oppressing p. 298 Application to them that oppresse to pamper themselves saucing all their dainties with the bloud of the poore p. 299 Application to the mightie ingrossers whose houses are filled with the spoiles of the poore p. 299 Application to all who have set up the world in their hearts to worship p. 300 How to be beautifull and glorious indeed p. 301 How to set our nests on high and to build them for eternitie p. 301 How to give our selves to all delights and to be prodigall therin p. 302 How to hoord up and ingrosse p. 302 How to covet a holy covetousnesse p. 303 Abomination 27. The generall Apostasie of Iudah hastening the Captivitie that they were ever starting away and departing from the Lord. p. 304 305 Their zeale in the beginning of the daies of Ezekiah Iosiah against Idolatry for reforming religion how soon it was gone 305 306 Abomination 28. Falling from their forwardnesse in Religion to all profanenesse hastening the Captivitie p. 307 The sum of Gods Covenant with them to magnifie and obey his word p. 307 They cast away the word of the Lord in regard of making any conscience of it p. 308 The plague which is upon them that cast away Gods word to set up their own imaginations they shal see they have had no wisdome
fetcht directly from it p. 385 386 A Syllogisme demonstrating plainly that Poperie especially the Iesuited Papists Religion is in a speciall manner of the devill teaching lying and murder for the supporting of it p. 386 Proofe of the Proposition p. 386 Proofe of the Assumption That Poperie teacheth lying and murdering for the supporting and advancing of it p. 386 Helpes and preservatives which God hath provided for those who would be kept from Poperie the scourge that followes the contempt of the Gospell As p. 387 1. Notable confutations of Poperie to keepe us p. 388 2. Notable discoveries of the bloudy cruelties and vilenesse of Poperie and contrarily The perpetuall witnesses of the truth which we professe p. 388. 3. Speciall helpes for sanctification whereby to be kept from declining from God and so from this scourge p. 389 4. Helpes for praier because we cannot be kept except we pray nor stand in these evill daies without the speciall sustaining hand of our God p. 390 5. Helpes for fasting to humble us and to make our praiers more powerfull and effectuall that we may be kept p. 390 Abomination 33. Atheisme of Iudah angring the Lord to the uttermost and bringing the Captivitie p. 390 The day of vengeance wished by desperate scoffing Atheists p. 391 What a day that will be when it commeth p. 392 Atheists scoffing at the threatnings of the Prophets p. 392 This sinne cannot be purged till they die p. 392 All were at a covenant with death and hell p. 392 Atheists of all others most timorous when the vengeance comes p. 393 Abomination 34. Divisions of Iudah angring the Lord and bringing the Captivitie p. 394 Their divisions flowing from all their abominations and chiefly from the Apostasie so generally p. 394 All were given to covetousnesse and spreading nets p. 395 No man could trust other p. 395 The greater spoiling the poorer p. 395 All against the true Prophets and against all that feared the Lord and why p. 395 Their owne familiars waiting to have matter against them p. 396 Not one left with Gods faithfull servants to be seene to stand for them p. 396 The Church had none to looke to but to the Lord. p. 397 The number of the godly exceeding small at that time amongst them as the grapes after the vintage p. 397 How the Church comforts her selfe against the insulting of the enemie p. 397 A question answered viz. In so many divisions to whom to joine p 398 399. Application to our owne soules concerning our divisions and the rest of the heads herein p. 399 CHAP. XII The meanes whereby the Lord had striven with them to bring them to repentance that he might spare them and how in stead of repenting their sinne was increased by them all p. 400 Meanes by calling them by his word and how he had thereby striâ—â—n with them in all sorts p. 401 402 How he had called them by the continuall voice of his mercies p. 402 How he had called them by the voice of his rods both bodily and spirituall p. 403 The Lord weary with smiting inforced to give them up to their owne hearts lust and to this induration p. 404 The highest step of their induration that they were given over to scoffe at the Lords warnings whereby he called them to repentance p. 405 This sinne could not be purged p. 405 Some causes of their induration and why they profited not by all the meanes which the Lord used p. 406 Why the Lord would spare them no longer after he had used all these meanes to reclaime them p. 407 Application to our selves p. 408 CHAP. XIII The severitie of the Lords vengeance when no other meanes could serve p. 410 The Lamentations of Ieremie written to set out this miserie p. 411 Their carnall confidence in Iosiah seemeth one cause to have provoked the Lord to take him away after whose death began their miseries immediatly p. 412 The wofull miseries which at that time they endured As p. 412 1. Famine in the most lamentable kindes p. 412 2. Destruction by the sword p. 413 3. The desolations of the Temple p. 414 4. The finall desolation that came upon them p. 414 5. The shame cast upon the Lord and his people p. 414 6. The people that escaped caried captives p. 415 The miseries of their Captivitie p. 415 7. In their Captivitie the Church acknowledgeth all this justly come upon her for rebelling against the word of the Lord. p. 415 Despising Gods word and misusing his messengers caused that 〈◊〉 could be no more remedie p. 416 Application why the Lord should not execute as heavie a judgement upon us as on Iudah p. 416 How neere we have beene unto it and how oft p. 416 The mourning of the Lord for his people before this execution p. 417 The Lords expostulation after a sort mourning over us for our foolish impenitency and unkindnesse p. 417 The changing of our danger into such a joyfull day p. 419 Our unthankefulnesse in forgetting our wonderfull deliverances and mercies p. 420 The Lords expostulation further urged bemoaning our unkindnesse and wilfulnesse p. 421 Whether the Lord may not justly thus speake unto us especially having so many ready to receive our most bloudy enemies into our bosomes p. 421 422 424 Our answer to the Lords expostulation taken away p. 424 Application to all notorious sinners who are the men that hale on the vengeance of the Lord. p. 425 Warning to all obstinate sinners howsoever the Lord deale with us at the cries of his servants p. 427 Their miserable state at death most at Christs appearing p. 427 How each may come to the certaine knowledge of the truth hereof viz. by inquiring of his owne heart awaked p. 428 CHAP. XIIII How Gods faithfull servants are wont to be affected seeing his anger kindled against his people p. 430 How they are wont in such cases to use all meanes to pacifie his Majestie p. 431 The meanes which they have beene wont to use to this end p. 431 1. Gods faithfull servants have beene wont to intreat the Lord in secret to pacifie him thereby towards his people p. 433 2. They have beene wont to forewarne Gods people of their sinnes and his vengeance comming on them for the same p. 434 3. Gods servants have beene wont to direct his people to the meanes whereby he may be pacified p. 436 The principall meanes publike humiliations p. 436. Examples hereof p. 436 c. The example of Iehosophat is to be beholden of all religious rulers who would see the like experience of the Lords presence and mercie towards them and therefore set downe at large p. 438 The way to ouerthrow and daunt the enemies of the Church p. 439 Our owne practise and experience p. 441 Reason hereof All having provoked the Lord all must seeke to pacifie him by humbling themselves p. 442 The office of forewarning and calling to fasting belongs to Gods Ministers p. 443 446 The supreme Magistrates to appoint publike
specially at death most at the dreadfull judgement p. 532 533 Reasons of their horrour p. 533 State of them then who have neglected their callings and that which hath beene commanded them p. 534 How fearefull the condition of all those men is who have not gained with their talents nor increased them and more of those who have used them against the Lord and for Sathan p. 534 Their case of all other most fearefull to whom most hath beene committed p. 535 How their horrour shall be increased p. 535 No impenitent sinner can possibly looke to stand before the Lord. p. 535 Application to all who have neglected to doe as the Lord hath commanded them p. 536 Application to the chiefe to put them in remembrance as their answer must be the greatest for their place and charge p. 536 The Magistrates Commission and what the Lord will call for at his hards p. 537 The Iudges commission p. 538 The Ministers commission p. 538 The account of each Governour of a family for every soule within his gates p. 539 The account of every one to whom he hath committed any talent p. 539 How the Lord will reply to all sorts beginning to excuse themselves untill their mouthes be stopped p. 540 How he will reply to all for imploying their talents by trying their advantage p. 542 Objection of the weake Christian viz. who can be able to appeare before the Lord p. 543 Every one who hath unfainedly striven hereunto shall be able to stand before the Lord and reasons of it p. 544 Object 2. The cry of all sorts of sinners whose consciences shall be awaked when they shall bethinke themselves of this appearing p. 545 The Lords answer to all such p. 545 What the Lord commands the poore sinner in the first place p. 546 The endevour of Sathan to drive all such poore sinners to endlesse despaire p. 547 How to comfort the poore humbled sinner against Sathans assaults and temptations p. 547 The second terrour of Sathan that the time of mercie is past p. 549 The time is never too late whilst the Lord calls us to repent if we can obey p. 549 Generall comfort never repentant sinner but found mercie p. 550 The Lord still stretcheth out his hands to all to come to him p. 550 The terrible voice of the Lord to all despisers of mercy now offered p. 551 The Lord will one day bring all that belong unto him to say Lord I will doe as thou commandest at least he will bring them by strong hand p. 552 God purposeth their destruction whom he suffereth to goe on perpetually in their impenitencie p. 553 Application to us all in generall what securitie we have to escape the vengeance so long threatned from Babylon untill we doe as God commands p. 553 The Lords reply to us if we answer that we have repented and therefore shall have peace p. 554 555 God threatneth us as sensibly from Rome as he did them from Babylon p. 556 Conclusion of all how to trie the certaintie hereof and when we may have securitie and boldnesse p. 557 Comfort to all the meeke who can say that they have truly endevored to doe as the Lord hath commanded them These only have the promises p. 557 The Lord hath given most comfortable answers against each feare of his servants in such cases p. 558 Against the feare of being left into the enemies hand p. 558 The second feare for the wrongs and provocations of the enemies answered p. 559 Our third feare for that we are but poore wormes and nothing in regard of our enemies which are the mightie men of the earth p. 560 The fourth feare of Gods people for the miseries we may come into in the meane time amongst our enemies answered p. 561 A fift answer of the Lord against the feare of want of necessary comforts p. 562 A sixt comfort against feare of fainting in the long continuance of the troubles of the Church p. 563 The seventh the Lords answer to the faithfull soule mourning for feare of the dangers of the Church p. 565 What every faithfull servant of God should doe for the Church and this nation that would never see 〈◊〉 feele their miseries p. 565 All to hearken what the Lord calleth and crieth for at our hands moaning our estate p. 566 What he will doe for us and against our enemies if we will yet hearken unto him p. 567 A holy praier according to the Contents of the booke p. 569 TO ALL ESTATES AND DEGREES WHO truly tender their owne Soules the Church of God and their natiue COVNTREY IT is now many yeares Christian Reader since by reading those holy Prophets which liued next before the Captiuitie of Iudah who denounced the same to be ready to come vpon Gods people for their sinnes and by considering and comparing the same with the times wherein we liue I haue euer feared the life plague or a heauier to be hanging ouer this our sinfull Nation Neither haue I feared without iust cause for how neere indeed such a iudgement hath bin vnto vs and how the same threatnings haue bin ready to be verified vpon vs the world is witnesse euen all they who haue but onely heard the report of our dangers and of our wonderfull and euen miraculous deliuerances And euer the later perils and preseruations haue bin the more wonderfull as that one of the Powder furnace was aboue all that euer former age heard of In the due meditation and regard whereof I haue taken it to be my dutie and of all the faithfull Ministers of Christ to follow the example of Noah and of all those faithfull Prophets in giuing warning aforehand keeping within the limits and compasse of our calling to helpe to open the eyes of all to foresee and to cause all to tremble for the anger of the Lord also to contend with all our power to turne euery soule from his euill way that so his wrath may be appeased and we deliuered from the dreadfull execution of his heauiest vengeance Herevpon in my former feare amongst other causes I was chiefly emboldned and that not long before the time of that bloudie Powder-treason as the Lord had so directed it to endeuour to set downe truly and after to publish to all the first part of this watch viz The rule of life contayning the couenant which we haue all entred into with our God To the end to helpe to keepe all his people from the generall declining from that his blessed couenant to profanesse and iniquitie and from the outragious wickednes of the rest that we also might all learne to watch to be preserued in the euill day And since then likewise the second part of the same watch viz The rule of prayer to awaken vs the better and to stirre vp all the Lords faithfull seruants the more speedily and instantly to betake our selues wholly to watching and prayer not onely to be
vengeance Thorow out haue I striuen to shew my loue and earnest desire not onely to the whole but also to saue euery soule from these plague Yet haue I not indeuoured any more herein than the Angell for Lot in labouring to pull vs out of the destruction remayning for the impenitent nor any more than Esay Ieremie Ezechiel with other the Prophets and faithfull men of Iudah did before the Captiuitie in seeking to turne away that calamitie and all other their miseries from them nor going past the bounds of the word of the Lord deliuered by those Prophets Nor yet any more at all than I take to be the dutie of euery faithfull Minister and Man of God so far as the Lord shall offer him opportunitie to seeke to preserue all from Gods wrath and to plucke euery soule out of the fire of his vengeance And this by shewing all sorts their sinnes to bring them to repentance thereby by haling drawing to get euery Lot out of Sodom before the destruction come If any one shall be offended for the discouerie of his sinne amongst the generall without the knowledge and sight whereof he cannot be saued and that onely because he would still liue in it or would not be awaked his displeasure therein is no more to be regarded than if one in an heauy sleep in the midst of an house all on fire about him now ready to fall vpon his head to burne him to ashes whom God shall enable to pull forth any such when he shall awake them and cause them to see their danger wherein they were and their gracious deliuerance then will they magnifie his great name that those did so aduenture themselues for them and esteeme such aboue all other of the earth And as for the displeasure of men better is it ten thousand times to haue all the world offended with vs for our labouring in loue and dutie in our place to saue and pull men from vnder Gods wrath and forth of the very pit of hell so much as he shall vouchsafe vs mercy than to haue the Lord angry with vs for being vnfaithfull in that which hath beene committed vnto vs and for neglecting to saue his people from destruction Oh what extreme foolishnes is it to feare man whose breath is in his nostrils and whose heart is in the Lords hand to turne as the boates in the waters to incline as pleaseth him who cānot moue a finger at vs but by his permission nor do any more than he wil turne to 〈◊〉 good and not to feare him who if he be angry with vs neuer so little all our dayes are gone Who would haue killed Moses for omitting the circumcising of his childe who brought the tempest on the sea and would not suffer it to cease vntill that Ionah was throwne into it because he prouided for his owne peace with neglect or at least through feare of performance of that dutie inioyned him which was to goe to Niniue to preach vnto them That within fortie dayes Niniue should be destroyed Who finally threatneth Ieremie to destroy him before the people if he feare their faces and will certainely whip his dearest seruants vnto his worke if they begin to loyter We therefore who are Gods messengers had neede to looke vnto it to indeuour so far as we may keeping within our limits to pull all sorts of sinners with violence out of the fire and to striue to set their sinnes before their faces in their natiue colours And the rather that so all of vs seeing the heynousnesse of our owne sinnes and of the sinnes of our Land may come to some more due consideration of the infinitenesse we did not vnderstand them I take and hold it to be necessarie still to try further all holy meanes we know not which the Lord will blesse Surely for the greatest part the most plaine is the most profitable But if it shall be obiected that the applications to the particular kindes of sinnes and sinners are ouer plaine and come too neere the quicke I answer againe Blessed man is he who can finde them to come neere to his owne corruption and sinne Is not this the onely way to driue vs to behold the true brasen serpent when we feele our selues stung at our hearts Can euer any wretched sinner cry out Men and Brethren what shall I doe that I may be saued vntill he haue his soule thus pierced Or can any fornicator adulterer blasphemer or any other notorious sinner finde the soueraigne cōfort which is in Christs bloud but only such a one Yet this I say vnto euery soule that if any thing doe seeme to pierce which is not the word of the Lord or is any way misapplied that it is not any more to be feared than darts of stubble But so far as it is his blessed word following necessarily out of the same it will one day certainely wound vs and better here whilest we may haue our wounds cured againe by applying that soueraigne remedie of the bloud of the Son of God than to be smitten thorow with it when all hope of cure is past and so to haue our hearts galling vs and vexing vs eternally I therefore here doe also humbly beg of all the worthy and faithfull seruants of the Lord as I haue in my former labours to helpe me to bring euery peece of this worke to the tryall for the full assurance of euery soule who is desirous to see his euill way and would escape the day of the Lords wrath or who would seeke to helpe to pacifie his wrath kindled against vs. If there be in it any one sentence which is not either the word of the Lord or not arising out of it and agreable thereto that it may be reformed or if it bewray the least partiall affection in leaning to any side but to the Lord and to his manifest truth agreed vpon by vs all who soundly professe Christs Gospell or the least false testimonie Our most holy and blessed God infinite in wisdome power needes not our lye to bring any of his to repentance nor for setting forth of his glory No no his owne word is inough and shall be found aboundantly sufficient to saue all his elect to destroy all his enemies to deliuer his Church to get himselfe the victorie I dare not wittingly affirme one vntruth no not against the bloudie enemie nor against Sathan himselfe no nor yet wrong any creature vnder heauen farre be it from me to giue the Accuser that aduantage How then may I doe it for the cause of the Lord who abhorreth the very least iniquitie and with whom no euill can dwell Moreouer sith all this wholly tendeth to helpe towards the making and establishing our peace with our God by seeking to recall vs all vnto his obedience that we may euery one renew our vow and couenant with him
In the third verse is shewed how and where the Lord appeared to give his commissions both to the destroyers and to the saving Angell 1. The glory of the Lord appeares removes from the Cherubins where he had promised to dwell for ever and stands upon the threshold of the dore of the Temple as now departing from them Afterwards is set downe vers 4 5 6. how the Lord gave two strait commissions or charges The first is to the saving Angell for his faithfull ones The second to the destroyers concerning all the rest In the first commission to the saving Angell is plainely expressed 1. what his charge or commission was namely to goe thorow the midst of the Citie even thorow the midst of Ierusalem and to set a marke upon the foreheads of sundry to be knowne from the rest in the destruction 2. who they are that must be marked That is the godly abhorring all abominations of the wicked who are also described by two properties First that they mourne and sigh in themselues Secondly that they cry out for all the abominations of the time wherein they liued 3. Why they are marked that when the destroyers came they might not touch any of them In the second commission to the destroyers is conteyned 1. The summe of their commission To follow hard after the saving Angell and to smite all whom they found unmarked without any respect of old or young maydes or children 2. To take carefull heede that they touched not any upon whom the marke was 3. Where they should begin to destroy And that was at the Sanctuarie at the wicked Priests and Levites which ministred there as being the causes of the sinnes of the rest 4. How they should proceed in the slaughter from the Sanctuarie to defile the whole Temple to fill the Courts with the slaine of them who liuing so wickedly had yet a vaine confidence in the Temple of the Lord thinking that the Temple could shelter them from his vengeance 5. The speedie execution of their commission that as they were commanded so they began at the Ancients which were before the House destroying them first and then the rest untill they had made a finall dispatch thorow the whole Citie And this is continued unto vers 8. Vers. 8. In the third place is set downe how the Prophet was affected with this terrible vision of this slaughter of Gods people though himselfe should escape amongst them who were marked That he fell upon his face crying unto the Lord and making humble intercession for them That the Lord would spare them being but a poore remainder of the people of Israel left after so many destructions Vers. 9 10. To which there followeth in the fourth place the answer and full resolution of the Lord thereby to stay the servent prayer and importunacie of the Prophet and also to manifest his owne iustice in that his most righteous proceeding That he would not be intreated for them any longer partly bicause their land was full of blood by their cruell oppressions of all sorts and partly for that the Citie where justice should have bin had for releeving the oppressed was now become full of corrupt judgement and of all perversenesse falling away more and more without hope of returning But principally for that they were generally become Atheists shamelesly saying in their liues The Lord saw them not it was no matter how they liued and making but a scoffe at all the Lords messengers and warnings therefore his eye should not spare them neither would he have any more pitie of them Vers. 11. In the last verse is set downe the returne of the answer and commission of the marking Angell That he had done according to his commission marked and made safe all the godly that mourned for all the abominations and so had fully prepared and made the way to the present execution of this finall destruction CHAP. II. Certaine directions to be observed in reading hereof to teach us to make our right use of this vision and forewarning to our selves AS this vision was first given by the Spirit of God unto Ierusalem to warne them of the neerenesse and greatnesse of this destruction which came vnto them for our ensample so is it written to admonish us upon whom the ends of the world are come And is therefore our vision to awaken us and to fore-warne us at this day setting before our faces what causes we have to watch and pray continually to prevent the like judgements and by all meanes to seeke to pacifie the Lords wrath before it be thus powred out upon us and also to helpe to stirre us up hereunto For the better understanding whereof and the more fruitfull applying of it to our selves to move us to unfeigned repentance and speedie seeking the Lord we must carefully observe these rules and directions following 1. That we read it and attend to it not as to a bare historie or an ordinarie discourse but as to a divine message and gratious fore-warning sent from the Lord of heaven and earth in the riches of his mercy to every one of us both high and low rich and poore to admonish us to meet him presently with intreatie of peace 2. Not to looke at the messenger by whom the Lord now sends it but wholly at him who sends it and to hearken to his lively voyce speaking unto us herein and to the evidence and demonstration of his Spirit applying it unto us 3. To consider seriously that we have herein to deale onely with the holy and mightie God before whom all the wicked of the world shall one day be speechlesse howsoever they are now most bold and wittie in excusing all their sins and in speaking against every one who shall admonish them And to this end to set our selves as in his presence at whose appearing all the proudest of the earth who dare now out-face his Majestie shall in the guilâ—inesse of their consciences creepe into the holes of the rocks and wish the hills mountaynes to fall upon them to hide them from his face And withall to remember that we must certainely appeare before him and then be sure to answer for all our contempts and not profiting by his fore-warnings 4. Herein also ech of us are yet further to testifie our religion and reverence to the Lord in receiving this so far forth as it is his expresse word or agreable thereunto and belonging to us as that worthy patterne of true godlinesse that holy Iosiah though a King did receive the discoverie of the abominations of Iudah and the threatnings of the Lord whose heart melted so that he powred out teares at the same And also so to humble our selves turning to the Lords Covenant and doing our endevour to cause others to turne as he did at the Lords message sent unto him though by so
among them that he may shew his love to his and the care that he hath for them in the greatest confusions to the end that they may gather themselves unto him before and prepare to be accounted worthy to be hid by him or else delivered or certainely some way finde comfort in the evill day That hereby their love and care may better appeare unto the world in their seeking by all meanes to save and pull others from the vengeance to come More specially that their faith and obedience may be seene to all how they beleeve and feare the Lord and the tokens of his wrath And that they may set themselves to become suters unto the Lord for the rest as Abraham Moses Ieremie and others that so he may either spare all at their supplications and that thereby the world may take notice in what high favour such are with his Majestie even all they who make conscience to walke in his Covenant and endevour to be righteous in their generations when he spares so sinfull a people at their prayers or at least that their prayers may returne into their owne bosomes Secondly the Lord doth use to manifest his judgements aforehand even unto the wicked as we heard and for their causes also howsoever they for the most part use all devises to flatter and harden themselves yea to lull themselves asleepe in their securitie and to blinde their owne eyes left they should see the judgements of God comming upon them and so still perswade themselves that there shall be no such matter And this he doth also to declare the riches of his mercy towards the most wretched sinners and how unwilling he is to take vengeance so long as there is any other remedie or if they will turne unto him in any time This is most apparent in the Lords infinite compassion in sparing Ninivie that proud Citie after Ionah had proclaimed Yet fortie dayes and Ninivie shall be destroyed And also in reproving Ionah for his impatience saying Thou hast had pitie on the gourd for which thou labouredst not neither madedst it to grow which came up in a night and withered in a night and should not I spare Ninivie that great Citie wherein are six score thousand persons which cannot discerne betweene their right hand and their left and also much catâ—le And hereupon it was that God spared it at that time though after when having forgotten that great deliverance they fell into their old sins he tooke vengeance for all as may appeare by the Prophet Nahum executing most severely whatsoever he had formerly threatned He dealeth thus moreover with the very wickedest that every mouth may be stopped and all the world compelled to acknowledge his judgements to be most righteous thus to justifie him therein when no admonition at all will serve So we see how he hath set downe this point most clearely and also the reasons of it and that he hath not bin wont to give any such warnings in vaine or without most dreadfull execution of his wrath where his warnings have not bin regarded Now then to apply this point to our selves we are first wisely to inquire whether the Lord hath not likewise forewarned us that most plainly of some terrible judgments towards this our Nation That if we finde it so we may then all know for certaine that it is full time to look to our selves to betake us all forthwith to such a course as whereby we may either altogither appease his anger or at least in some sort mitigate and asswage it To come to our very consciences Must we not all be inforced to acknowledge and say with the Prophet Amos The lion hath roared who shall not then be afraid The Lord God hath spoken who can but prophecie Hath not the lyon roared upon us sundry times as being ready to crush our bones in sunder or to devoure us at once but principally within our fresh memorie when the proud enemie came against us in their Navie invincible And more also when that long threatned day came whereof the insolent enemie had so much triumphed and for feare whereof the whole Land had trembled for so many yeeres togither But most of all in that more than Babylonish and unnaturall furnace that hellish crueltie from which we were so marveilously delivered in a moment before we felt or so much as feared any such thing at all To omit the insurrection by the rude multitude about the throwing downe of the inclosures the danger whereof all who are wise-hearted did manifestly see if any bloodie enemie had set it on foote to have bin a Leader unto them which issue all neere unto them did very greatly feare had not the Lord so graciously prevented that perill in an instant quencht that fire when the flame was now ready to have brust forth so high that getting above our heads it would have bin hard to overcome it without much blood to have quenched it And to passe over in silence all other the treasonable devises against that our worthy Deborah both before her comming to the Crowne and after that almost never yeere was without some new plot though continuing constant with our God they were never able to touch one haire of her head and since also against our Iosiah the breath of our nostrills of whom we have gloried as Iudah of Iosiah that under his shadow we should be preserved 〈◊〉 amongst our cruellest enemies as we have bin untill this day thorough the endlesse mercy of our God had they not almost taken him in their nets to have made him and all his a perpetuall prey if the watchfull eye of our gracious God had not wonderfully preserved and delivered them But to leave all these Hath not the Lord moreover thundred out vengeance by his heavenly word in the mouthes of all his faithfull servants thorough the whole Land for the abounding of iniquitie and that for many yeeres togither Hath he not besides spoken unto us from heaven as he did to Ierusalem seeming to have inclosed us all in that dreadfull tent spred directly over all our heads and compassing us in round on every side which was so terrible to behold with pillers of horrible darknesse pillers of fire and pillers of blood about some twelvemoneth before the powder-furnace At the beholding of w th most fearfull sight all whose hearts were not utterly sensles could not but tremble for feare of the Lords dreadfull anger for mine owne selfe I remember it well and hope I shall never forget it Did he not also for a long time togither heretofore send most strange lights and flashings in the heavens and even at that very instant of that threatned powder-destruction in a terrible manner Which howsoever they are taken now that they were but ordinarie matters thorough the long continuance of them and
we shall finde it thus That these and all other signes mentioned are in great measure come upon us let us answer unfaynedly whether the Lord doth not sensibly threaten and proclaime to depart and leave us altogither unlesse we repent having thus far already withdrawne himselfe from us And to conclude this point whether it be not full time to seeke to pacifie and stay him amongst us if we be not weary of his abode with us and of our happinesse thereby But of this more in the next Chapter where we shall have cause to inquire of the outward tokens of the Lords glorious presence and what a removall he hath made thereof as likewise we see that he hath of this inward Thus much therefore shall suffice to have spoken of this second cause which we have all to watch pray yea even to weepe and cry after him to returne unto us againe in shewing amongst us the power of his Spirit as ever in former time and to abide with us for ever that he never leave us to our bloodie enemies CHAP. V. How the Lord is most unwilling to depart from his Church so long as there is any other remedie which he manifesteth in his oft threatning to take his leave before he goe indeed And of the outward tokens both of his glorious presence in his Church and of his departure from it And what cause we have thereupon to watch and pray continually ANd the Glory of the God of Israel was removed c. A third point specially to be observed is this That the Glory of God removed not once onely but five severall times in this vision before it departed and that it removed not all at once but so oft going away by degrees and that most sensibly By which he would cause the Prophet most clearely to behold his holinesse and justice that he must needs depart from them for their iniquities wherewith they grieved him and that he was now taking his farewell and yet withall also to see his mercy and tender compassion and how he was as we may so speake most unwilling to depart and leave his people to so many miseries even Ierusalem his owne Citie to such a desolation if any remedie would have bin found This he makes knowne unto them to see if it would worke to stir them up to seeke to retaine his presence amongst them For the evident manifestation hereof First the Glory removes from the Cherub and stands upon the threshold as ready to depart Secondly it removes higher and stands over the dore of the house Thirdly it removing from above the dore and standing againe upon the Cherubims the Cherubims mounted upward from the earth towards heaven as ready to take their flight and leave the Temple altogither Fourthly after this the Glory removes to the midst of the Citie thereby seeming to warne the Citie of the Lords departure Lastly from thence it removes out of the Citie unto the Mount of Olives as utterly taking leave of them and giving them a last farewell untill their Captivitie was accomplished and his anger appeased These were the removes Here we are all againe to inquire yet more carefully whether he hath not made as many and as sensible removes of his glory amongst us of this our Nation and thereby given us as many plaine evidences of his departure not now in a vision but so as all men must needs see and confesse it and also whether withall he hath not as clearely and tenderly manifested as I may so say his unwillingnesse to depart from us if any thing can serve to reforme us This is a point of most serious consideration and such a one as it were an exceeding mercy of the Lord and a token of his gratious purpose toward us if he would but vouchsafe us hearts generally to consider of aright as in his presence and as we must all know it one day To the end we may conceive it the better we are first to consider wherein the glory of the Lord appeareth outwardly in his Church so as it may be beholden of all round about it even of the very enemies As for the former evidence it being more inward is to be perceived chiefly of the inward man the soule and conscience when God so speaks unto them This outward Glory consists in three things principally as was said whereby not only the Lord himselfe is magnified amongst his owne people yea to be seene acknowledged of others but also by which he makes his people to be glorious in the eies of others and to be honoured and feared of their enemies The first is when he bestoweth upon his people such aboundance of heavenly and sanctified knowledge of his worde with an hungring after the same as that the earth seemeth to be filled with the knowledg of the Lord like the waters that cover the Sea as the Prophet Esay speaketh This he promiseth to doe in his Church when he will shew his glory in it in the dayes of the Gospell At what time the Church being exalted as upon the topps of the mountaines there shal be such a hungring and thirsting after the word of the Lord that men shal incite and provoke one another saying Come let us goe up to the house of the Lord for he will teach us his waies and we will walke in his pathes Where he thus puts his lawes into the mindes of his people at least in a vehement desire of it That they all seeme to know him from the least to the greatest of them this is a visible token of Gods covenant with such a people and the pardon of their sinnes that he is their God and this is his glory upon them A second visible token is this when this knowledge is accompanied with obedience and holinesse of life when he thus writes his law in their hearts creating in them new hearts and new spirits Thus the Lord promiseth to be sanctified in his owne people before the eyes of their enemies when he shall clense them from all their filthy sinnes as with pure water when he puts his spirit so upon them as to cause them to walke in his statutes to keepe his judgments and to do them when he puts his feare so generally into their hearts as to cause them not to depart from him Then he makes this covenant for himselfe that he wil not depart from them And chiefly when togither heerewith he gives peace unity amongst them that they have one heart and one way That the Lambe may lodge with the Wolfe without danger the poore harmelesse Christian with them who have beene by nature as bloudy as Wolues when the little child may lead the Lion even a child bringing the word of the Lord may perswade and lead them who were otherwise as proude and fierce as Lyons And when the sucking childe may play upon the hole of the Aspe when the poore seruants of
blood-thirstie religion in the cheife professors thereof against his own heavenly Majestie his true religion glory against his Annoynted all his liege people professing his name to destroy all at once though with the inevitable hazarding of themselves both soules and bodies their owne native Countrie their children and houses And also after that he had caused us to beare such evidence against that Romish iniquitie in those so good lawes then enacted against it and as it were to give sentence upon it having delivered it into our hands May he not justly say unto us all even unto our whole Nation for this very sin as he said to the King of Israel for letting Benadad goe when he spake thus unto him Because thou hast let goe out of thine hand a man whom I appointed to dye thy life shall goe for his life and thy people for his people So may he not speake and threaten us much more especially all of us both Magistrates Ministers and people into whose hands he hath committed the holy meanes to restraine and withdraw men from that murthering religion so many wayes convicted and condemned and to bring them to Christ and principally the spirituall meanes of the word of the Lord Yea above all other may he not speake so to those to whom he hath committed the charge of providing a holy learned and faithfull Ministerie which may tenderly seeke the winning and saving of every soule and also of causing all sorts to submit themselves thereunto as unto the Lords ordinance to that end for these meanes are first and principally to be used in tender compassion when as he hath so manifested the power thereof by so much gracious experience in sundry worthy Congregations where under such painfull and conscionable Ministers the people have bin brought from Poperie and profanenesse to embrace and obey the Gospell so as hardly one Papist or notoriously profane or disordered person have bin to be found there but all cheerefully submitting themselves to the Gospell of Christ. May he not most righteously speake thus unto us therefore Because through they negligence and carelesnesse thou hast suffered to grow up and spread in the midst of thee that execrable bloudie and Antichristian religion whereby my glory is so desperately oppugned whereby I my selfe am so openly sought to be driven out and with so high a hand the soules and bodies of all my people so endangered every houre yea that which I put into thy power and commanded thee to seeke by all holy meanes utterly to destroy out of thy land that against which thou hast so voluntarily made so good lawes for the sure ratifying of the speedie execution of my Commandement thy religion therefore shall goe for it and all thy glory shall be trampled under foote by them untill thou know whom thou hast dishonoured and provoked hereby And to conclude this point Hath not the Lord as good cause to complaine of us and to plead against us for the small account which we make of him for grieving his Spirit and driving him from amongst us by this and all other our fearefull sinnes as ever he had to complaine of the unkindnesse of Iudah and even to take up the same complaint against us which he did against them when he spake thus unto them by the Prophet Micha before their Captivitie Oh my people what have I done unto thee or wherewith have I grieved thee come testifie against me Surely I brought thee out of the Land of Aegypt and redeemed thee out of the house of servants I sent before thee also Moses Aaron and Miriam O my people remember now what Balak King of Moab had devised and what Balaam the sonne of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal that yee may know the righteousnes of the Lord. This is the Lords plea and complaint against Israel for their unkindnesse calling the hills and mountaines to witnesse the equitie of it before that he would depart from them and bring upon them that strange and terrible judgement which he so long before threatned by his Prophets But we will defer this complaint against us untill we shall have seene of our iniquities to provoke and anger the Lord thereby to be above the abominations of Iudah considering that we live in this glorious light of the Gospell with our extraordinarie mercies and meanes of all sorts Because that then if God shall give us hearts in reading to consider of these things aright we shall justifie the like complaint of the Lord against our selves and shall admire his patient stay and his abiding still amongst us Thus much therefore shall suffice in like manner for this third cause wherein yet let ech of us aske of our owne soules whether in such a decay both of the love of the truth and also of holinesse peace and unitie in the Church yea in such danger of our protection to be utterly taken away to passe over that it is so far departed That he that absteineth from evill makes himself a prey and in steed thereof in such an increase of Poperie of licentiousnesse and of all profanenesse such an enmitie against all true pietie with the insolencie of the enemie the Lord doe not call loude upon us all to watch and to pray for the severall removes of the glory amongst us and the evident tokens of the Lords threatned departure which he sheweth in the same CHAP. VI. No priviledges can doe a people any good if they increase in their iniquitie but the moe their mercies have bin the greater is their sinne and the heavier shall their iudgement be when it commeth of what sort soever And what causes we have hence to watch and to pray Vers. 4. And the Lord said unto him Goe through the midst of the Citie even through the midst of Ierusalem and set a marke upon the foreheads of them that sigh and cry for all the abominations which are done in the midst thereof IN the doubling of the speech Goe thorough the midst of the Citie even through the midst of Ierusalem where the Lord adds Ierusalem to make the speech more significant not content to say Goe thorow the Citie but even thorow Ierusalem He would have all to take notice That though Ierusalem was the deerest unto him of all the Cities of the world yet having broken the Covenant on her part and also cast him off and defiled his Sanctuarie he will spare her no longer he will have no more pitie of any save onely of his faithfull ones in her But contrarily he will forsake her cast her off leave her to be destroyed untill the remnant left of her learne to seeke him and to be reconciled to him againe For the Lords speech is thus much in effect Goe through the midst of the city even through Ierusalem which though it be unto me the deerest of all the places in the world the Citie which I had chosen to
Lamentations This their good King had also sundry sonnes and sonnes sonnes as may appeare in the historie alledged before As for Gods tender love and care shewed for us in our continuall preservations and in all our former deliverances the abuse of them cannot but increase the wrath against us considering our grievous unthankfulnesse Besides that they had also then as just cause to boast hereof as we have now or much more both in that continuall preservation of their Land through a feare cast on their enemies that none durst invade them so long as they obeyed the Lord in any good sort of which we spake and by their great deliverances as that in the dayes of Ezechiah and others mentioned Whereas this may be yet further imagined for our vaine securing our selves that we live in the dayes of the Gospell wherein the judgements of God are more spirituall and therefore having received so many strange deliverances it is more like that he intends to punish us more spiritually which is indeed the heaviest judgement of all other We answer That true it is That we may as yet certainely expect an increase of the spirituall judgement of blindnesse of minde and hardnesse of heart to fill up the measure of our iniquities and to make the condemnation of all the reprobate and our plagues the more just thereby yet these things following thought of and well weighed with the former may cause us to dread some temporall plague and that heavier than all which have gone before As first the outward and temporall judgements which God hath been wont to bring for the contempt of the Gospell like as in the last finall destruction and scattering of this Nation of the Iewes over the face of the earth after the preaching of Christ and his Apostles and sundry other where the Gospell hath come as the judgements accomplished in removing those seven golden Candlesticks of Asia and in many other famous Churches with the afflictions upon them which must needs be very grievous in all reason before the Gospell could be utterly taken away And secondly if we call to minde how many forewarnings we have had of such a sharpe scourge and withall how often it hath bin so neere to our backs Thirdly that we have had as I take it all the fore-runners of the greatest temporall calamitie which is the very sword it selfe That we have felt both dearths and pestilences and also heard the cryes of the poore for mercilesse oppressors ravening and devouring almost in every part of our Land Besides the taking from us so many of the Royall issue and principally Him upon whom all the eyes of our Land were bent for continuance of our shelter yea of our life and all our blessings to cause all the godly to droope in fearing continually some greater judgement and giving all the enemies such cause to lift up their heads afresh as now expecting their day againe Fourthly the implacable malice of our bloudie enemies against us either to destroy us utterly or to bring our Nation by strong hand under that Babylonish yoke againe which cruell rage of theirs doth threaten such a plague every houre but that the Lord in mercie stayeth it This fiftly may terrifie us all so oft as we thinke of it for that as I take it under submission to better judgements we cannot be any more assured that our Land is as yet purged more of the abominable Idolatrie committed in former times and of the bloud of Gods servants the faithfull Martyrs of Iesus Christ in the dayes of Queene Marie with innumerable moe abominations committed both before and since and increased also to this day to anger the Lord than Ierusalem was in the dayes of Iosiah If God remembred against Iudah all the Idolatrie bloodshed and other like abominations of former dayes and in the day of his visitation visited them for all what can we looke for or how can we secure our selves And yet above all these That if the Lord doe love us and purpose to continue his religion and presence with us as we have great cause of hope that he doth then he will deale with us as kinde and wise fathers are wont to doe with their disobedient children he will double and treble his fatherly strokes upon us untill he amends us and makes us stoope to him He hath already corrected us very sharply with all his other rods over and over and continually one or other upon our backs and most thicke of late time whence we must needs expect a more sharpe scourge to awaken and amend us than any of the former or than all of them togither And what can that be we take not upon us to divine But let every one bethinke himselfe and looke into the booke of God and he will easily see by the course of Gods former proceedings what cause we have to feare especially if the same abominations be found amongst us or rather greater than these for which the Lord threatned and brought this wofull judgement for if he spared not the naturall branches then neither will he spare us now being but wilde Olives and having so far greater light than they and other meanes to reclaime us And therefore this is our lesson in this our day and left to admonish us now as it was given first for them For other prerogatives If any can be found wherein we doe excell them they will but rather serve to increase and hasten our judgement As the Gospell for example offring more grace and power of obedience must needs more kindle the Lords wrath Because so many of us making profession of it doe yet denie the power thereof so far as that we make the very enemies to blaspheme and doe moreover proceede not onely to hate but also to scorne all who labour to bring forth the fruit of it by a holy conversation For as it is with the most gracious and munificent Princes that they will shew most severitie to such of their Subjects whom no patience nor benefits can winne but that they rather waxe more rebellious by the mercy and bountie of their Prince so we must know certainely that it is with the Lord that his mercies so abused must needs provoke him to the heaviest indignation which if it be but the removing of our candlesticke how dreadfull it is yea whether it be not far worse than any bodily plague let all the wise-hearted judge Thus much likewise for this point That no favour or priviledges can give any securitie to a sinfull people professing Gods religion if they begin to cast off his yoke and to waxe worse and worse to make his name to be blasphemed but the moe their priviledges are the greater is their sin and the more grievous their punishments shall be And secondly what causes we have hereupon to give our selves more instantly to watching and
prayer for the innumerable mercies and priviledges bestowed upon our Land on the one side and the increase of our sinnes with the tokens of Gods vengeance and our deep securitie on the other side Lest our plagues doe prove greater than the plagues of all other people as much as we seeme to have bin lifted up above most if not all others in blessings in this last and most sinfull age of the world if all our blessings temporall and spirituall be compared togither and considered aright Oh Lord at length open our eyes and then we shall so cleerly see our estate that it will not be any more needfull to cry unto us to awake to watch and to pray CHAP. VII The marking of the godly that is How Gods owne people are marked in the midst of the greatest confusions before the destructions come and what causâ—s every one hath to watch and to pray that he may be so marked Vers. 4. And set it marke on the foreheads of all that mourne IN this Commission to the marking Angell to set a marke on the foreheads of all that mourne The Lord giving such a charge to his holy Angell thus carefully to preserve his chosen from this destruction to goe thorow the Citie and set a marke upon every one of them to overpasse none and also the destroying Angels to follow after the marking Angell so as they hurt none till all the faithfull be marked he would have all to know thus much That he never casts off the care of his people no not then when all things seeme most confused in the earth And secondly when they are so mingled amongst the wicked as that they can hardly be knowne amongst themselves much lesse to the eyes of the world that yet he still tendreth them and watcheth over them continually Thirdly that he will at length make his fatherly care and watchfull providence known unto them and that by some gracious and wonderfull deliverance even in this world if it be so best for them and for his glory And lastly that they evermore must be surely marked before the destruction come The Lord hath bin very carefull to set downe this point also most clearely in every of those great destructions which are recorded in Scriptures for examples and warnings to all posteritie That hereby his owne faithfull servants may receiue comfort against the greatest afflictions that can come upon the world As first in that terrible overflowing in the generall destruction of the old world The waters came not untill Noah had first prepared and finished the Arke and also God himselfe had shut up both him and his in the same so locking and sealing up the dores with his owne hand as that all the waters rage they never so horribly and hoyse him up above the highest mountaines yet cannot hurt him And why dealeth the Lord thus carefully with Noah Thee saith he have I seene righteous before me in this generation that is I have seene they heart sincere and thy purpose and indevour ever to please me not following the course of the times but crying out of the iniquitie thereof beleeving my threatnings and preparing the Arke according to my commandement to save thy selfe and familie from the vengeance to come Secondly in that dreadfull overthrow of Sodome and Gomorrha before the fire and brimstone came upon those filthy Cities Lot must not onely be marked but also gotten forth safe from the destruction The Angels have such a charge of him as that they get him by the hand pull and hale him for haste being far more carefull for him than he is for himselfe and they never leave him till they have safe conducted him out and then bid him hie for his life get him into Zoar. They tell him plainely that the Lords care was so great for him that they can doe nothing in this destruction their hands were tyed untill he be there safe out of all the danger The reason of it also is carefully set downe by the Lord himselfe why he accounted him worthy to escape for that he was a just and righteous man grieved with the uncleane conversation of the wicked his righteous soule was vexed from day to day with all their abominable deeds Thirdly before this destruction the Lord foretold to Ieremie particularly That he would give him his life for a prey in all places wheresoever he came because of his faithfulnesse in sticking to his word and commandement and for his warning the people And so indeed it came to passe that the Lord did not onely preserve him with sundry others fearing his name but gave him also speciall favour in the eyes of the enemies who led them captives So as Nebuchadnezzar himselfe gives charge to Nebuzaradan his chiefe steward to look well to Ieremie to doe him no harme but to doe for him as himselfe would whether to goe home with them into Babylon and there to receive kindnesse or to tarry still in the land of Iudah with the people which should be left there behinde And this mercy did the Lord shew not onely unto Ieremie but unto others also that had bin kinde unto his Prophet As to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian who had spoken for Ieremie to the King of Iudah to get him out of the dungeon to whom also the Lord gave his life for a prey because he put his trust in the Lord. And Gedaliah whose father Ahikam had formerly delivered Ieremie out of danger and from the rage that was against him he is made Governour of them that remained in the Land howsoever he was trecherously slaine not long after So to Baruch in like manner who was Ieremies Scribe and had stucke so close to him in all his troubles God promiseth to give him also his life for a prey in all places wheresoever he came We have likewise the ensamples of Daniel and of his three companions called the three children unto whom besides their preservation from the common destruction in the first Captivitie of Babylon the Lord granted that extraordinarie favour both to be brought up by the King of Babylon himselfe and by his speciall appointment in all excellent learning and so far to surpasse all others as to be most meet for their singular knowledge and understanding to stand with high favour in the presence of that mightie Monarch though otherwise a cruell oppressor of the Church of God who had caried them away captive He gave unto them moreover divine testimonies of his fatherly care and protection in the presence of all his enemies in those miraculous deliverances out of the fierie furnace and from the Lions den because they did cleave so fast unto the Lord that they would not suffer themselves to be polluted with the least part or shew of the Idolatrie of the Heathen The like favour for preservation he granted to Ezechiel and sundry
of their torment and their fearefull expectation of further vengeance Their calamities which they endure are nothing else but preparatives and fore-runners of the damnation of hell Hereby they also become more senselesse and impenitent they waxe more hardned and enraged to murmure and blaspheme against the Lord. And ordinarily they are alwaies chased in their owne consciences as Cain having a sound of feare in their eares the worme beginning to gnaw and their sinne to sting them to the very hearts and consequently to become runnegates to the grave and to eternall confusion Or let the best be supposed that ever can befall any of them they are but in a lethargie or sleepie sicknesse without sense untill the vengeance of God light wholly upon them to send them to the place of their destruction where they shall never finde any rest after But for their wretched estate we shall see it further in another place And thus we may behold the estate of all both good and bad in such generall calamities Now who is there that beleeves the word of the Lord whom the due consideration of this one point alone must not needs drive to watching and prayer and to cause him to seeke to be prepared aforehand in these dayes of our peace that he may be thus undoubtedly marked and under this protection yea that he may be thus hid in the evill day and finde all the comforts belonging to the godly and that he may be sure to escape those certaine and dreadfull miseries of the wicked what judgements soever it shall please him to exercise us withall for A wise man as Salomon saith foreseeth the plague and hideth himselfe but a foole goeth on still and is punished This therefore may serve as a first cause to enforce us all to betake our selves more instantly to watching and prayer then ever we have done if we would be so marked as to finde the Lord to be a Sanctuarie and a hiding place unto us in the evill day how soone soever he shall bring it upon us for all our sinnes and provocations and in the meane time to get boldnesse thereby and peace of conscience against all assaults whatsoever And more also unlesse we will strip our selves wilfully of his most gratious providence and protection and desperately expose our selves and all ours to all kinde of miserie and unhappinesse both in this life present and that which is to come If any shall demand further what this marke was we must remember That this Vision was given according to the capacitie of man to shew this unto the Prophet that he might make it knowne to all sorts what care the Lord hath for his faithfull ones in the greatest confusions and when they seeme to be utterly neglected and forgotten and to this end he hath caused it to be written for us This moreover seemeth evidently to be an allusion to the custome of men who use to set a marke on such things as they have a speciall care to preserve heedfully Or rather an alluding to the marking of the houses of his owne people in Egypt with the bloud of the Lambe that the destroying Angell might not touch any of them when he destroyed the Egyptians Or else at least to the marking of Rahabs house in the Citie of Iericho before the destruction came for the saving her selfe and hers But if it be demanded whether they had not indeed some speciall marke of difference to be discerned from the rest we may answer truly That there is no question but they were marked indeed both inwardly and outwardly Inwardly by the bloud of Christ sprinkling them and by the Spirit sanctifying them making them to cry Abba oh Father Outwardly by a bold and constant outward profession of the truth of God in word and deed and more specially by mourning and crying out for all the abominations which were practised daily to anger the Lord as followeth after But this is not that marking here spoken of much lesse is it any marking with any outward marke or signe as some doe vainely and very fondly conceit but only to make them sure that they might be preserved from the destroyer The words signifying nothing else but marke them with a marke or signe them with a signe That is marke them surely and carefully doubling the word according to the manner of the Hebrew phrase And thus much also shortly for answering those doubts Now to our next cause which every soule hath to watch and to pray CHAP. VIII The propertie of the godly living amongst the wicked in a sinfull age is To sigh and cry for the abominations and tokens of Gods anger So what cause all Gods servants have to watch and pray for the fewnesse of such and to labour to be of that litle number TO proceed to a sixt cause which yet more neerely concerns ech of us cals on us all to watchfulnes and prayer We are all who desire to finde true assurance and comfort to consider who and what ones these servants of God are which are thus marked They are described in these words which sigh and cry for all the abominations They were those who were so far off from framing themselves to the wickednesse of that evill time as that they contrarily abhorred with a vehement indignation all those sinnes whereby Gods anger was so kindled and their destruction hastned so fast Insomuch as that thereby they did not onely mourne in themselves in secret but being inforced with a zeale of Gods glory and indignation against all the abominations cryed out against them according to their places and callings and sighed in secret for mercy and redresse Here we must observe The Lord setting before our eyes the condition of the true children of God living in evill times and amongst a people voyde of the sense of sinne and of the feare of Gods judgements That their manner is not to approve of the wicked wayes of the ungodly much lesse to sooth and flatter them in their evill courses nor to give over themselves to any jollitie or carnall delights as others doe but they use to have continually much heavinesse in themselves sighing for the grievous sinnes which are committed An example hereof the Lord hath set forth to all posteritie in holy Lot who living amongst the filthy Sodomites was thus grieved with their ungodly conversation for so saith the holy Apostle Peter That he being righteous and dwelling among them in hearing and seeing vexed his righteous soule from day to day with their unrighteous deeds He was so disquieted with their beastly manners provoking the Lords most holy eyes that his whole life for the time that he dwelt amongst them was but wearinesse and a continuall mourning This holy man the Lord would have set forth as an example to all succeeding ages to shew the condition of all his true and faithfull servants living amongst wicked and ungodly men To
attempted those things of themselves alone No no The Lord will have us all to know hereby that these were his own soldiers it was he that mustered them he lift up his ensigne unto them he bad them so to threaten us to goe and smite He onely brought the insolent Babylonian towards our Ierusalem he shewed us the edge of his axe he shak'd the sword at us to cause us to seeke him And so at our humiliation and prayers which we then powred out so vehemently with fasting mourning and confession of our sinnes through the whole Land his owne holy hand plucked them backe againe He armed both windes and waters to take vengeance of that most insolent and cruell attempt whereof so many records shall beare witnesse to the end of the world And although the Lord wrought this our deliverance with their overthrow so wonderfully by his owne mightie arme and so evidently with his owne right hand that we might justly have hoped that they durst never have once so much as thought of attempting to rise up against us after yet doe we not see how they have since exceeded the insolencie of all former ages How they have not onely contrived and practised sundry most bloudie treasons since against the Lords Annoynted thereby to make way for the butchering of us all but even so lately devised so new so strange so desperate a stratagem against our dread Soveraigne with our noble Queene our gratious young Prince and all that Royall Progenie yea with the Right Honorable Councell and Nobilitie the whole state and bodie of our Nation to consume all at once by that most hideous and infernall furnace For what could they intend but to have made us all as flesh for the cauldron and that very day to have bin the dismall day both of our flourishing Realmes and also of the Church and Gospell of Christ so far as they were able Of which most execrable fact never shall future age keep silence to the branding of that bloudie Religion with the perpetuall infamie of lying and murther the two principall workes of the Devill and brands of his servants as our Saviour directly witnesseth so as none can pretend ignorance thereof except they will wilfully blinde their owne eyes And to draw towards the conclusion of this point what meanes that increase of outrage for Popery and all profanenesse what is that so deadly malice in all those who are so bent to that Romish Idolatrie and impiety I meane their hatred against both the Gospell and all the true professors of it How is it that they are not afraid to shew this openly by all devices which they can invent to discharge the religion of the Lord and to divide us utterly amongst our selues to fall by one another and that after so many and so late and strange discoveries of their barbarous cruelties and Machivillian plots above all of all other religions that the world hath heard of with such notable testimony given from heaven of Gods wonderfull protection in all the admirable deliverances of the professors thereof among us What are all these with our ungratefull abusing of them by our impenitency I beseech you and herein I appeale to the consciences of all men what are they but infallible denunciations of the hasting of the Lords most terrible vengeance unlesse we repent speedily Or what can they with all the former prognesticate if we may make a particular construction of them but threatâ—â—ngs of the bringing in indeed of that dreadful scourg which he in mercy still keepe from us which formerly he hath but shaken towards us and frighted us withall â—ogive us either wholy into the hand of that bloudy whore of Babylon and so to bring our necks againe under that cruell yoake the common vexation of all the people of the Lord or at least that they should come to 〈◊〉 and tyrannize among us and setting up their cursed Idolatrie againe to pollute the Lords holy religion and in the end to thrust forth his sacred truth and our selves to live ever in horror and shame having alwaies the sword at our throats as in France and other countries where they have so prevailed they have had too fearfull experience Were not this most righteous for our abusing that his heavenly treasure committed to us beside all other our sinnes which yet I instantly pray day and night that he may prevent by our most speedy and unfeigned repentance And may not this be a just cause why he hath suffered these so to increase because howsoever we can be content with an outward forme name of his holy religion which by the good lawes of our land we doe truly professe yet few of us can indure the power and practise of it in our selves or others We cannot denie but that the true practise of religion is the very life and soule of all religion and yet how many doe seeke to destroy it in whomsoever it appeares if all scornes and contempt of it can possibly doe it for is it not an usuall thing with many in most places to like much better of the profane man that hath cast all religion and conscience behind his backe then of those in whom the seedes or the least beginning of grace doth appeare Or which is yet worse are not many of us in too many places growne to this to like much better of the Papist and ungodly pre â—rring them to be our companiâ—â—s and accounting them far honester men then such 〈…〉 feare the Lord making conscience to 〈◊〉 before him in that good way wherein we al except the Popish sort agree in word and generall profession Let common experience testifie how few they are who can brooke that man who is a diligent frequenter of the word of the Lord a strict observer of the Sabboth carefull to teach and instruct his family that cannot like of oathes and blasphemies filthy speeches and excesse of drinking or other vanities And what may this seeme to be but to joyne hands with the enemies of God and by these and the like to proclaime a kind of defiance against him that such will not have him to rule over them yea even to challenge him or at least to provoke him to bring in the enemies to avenge his quarrell If therefore the Lord of hoasts doe call for them to rise up against us in new conspiracies or open violence and with them all the crew of wicked and ungodly men in whom we have so delighted to take part with those to our destruction as they it is to be feared will be as outragious as the other against all soundly fearing God is it not just Yea if he should let them to make it Bellum prodigorum the day of all the spend-thrifts of al the vile persons of the land to have their fingers in every mans coffers and their hands washen in the blould of
Pet 3. 20. Hebr 11. 7. 2. The captivitie of the ten Tribes 2 King 17. 3 6. 2 King 17. 14 15 16. 3. Before this Captivitie Zeph 3. 1 2 3 5. 2 Chron 36. 15 16 17. 4. Before the last and utter subversion of the Iewish nation Matth 3. 10. Matth. 21. 33 44 24. 23 24. Luc 19. 41. 20. 9. Iosephus de bello Iudaico Euseb. lib. 3. c. 3. Before the final destruction the signes are plainly foretold This the Lord hath done to the wickedst places where any of his servants have bin Gen 18. 7. Gen 19. 14. Yea to the Infidels themselves in coÌ„miseration as to Ninive Ion 4. 10. And even to Babylon that his own people may get out from her Râ—v 18. 2 3 4. He will not doe any thing but he will first reveale it to his servants Amos 3. 7. Reasons hereof 1. For his owne peoples sake To shew his care for them That they may prepare to meet him Seeke to save others 2. For the cause of the wicked Though they willingly blind their own eyes To declare the riches of his mercy if they will turne Ier 17. 7 8. As 〈◊〉 Ninivie Ion 4. 9 10 11 12. Nâ—h 3. That all may be inforced to acknowledge him righteous Conclusion Application to our selves To try whether the Lord have not warned us of some such a judgement Amos 3. 8. The Lion hath roared upoÌ„ us 1. By the proud Armado 2. The long threatned day 3. The Babylonish furnace 4. The insurrection about throwing downe inclosures 5. Treasonable practises against our late Queene And since against our Iosiah 6. Vengeance thundred out by the mouthes of all Gods servants 7. Threatned by the Lord from heaven from yâ— fiery tent By strange lights flashings in the heavens How terrible they were to us at the first our owne hearts can beare witnesse Our Chronicles have recorded them Ann. Eliz 17. Novemb 14. Theprodigious star Eliz 15. Novemb 18. Actâ— 2. 19 20. Eliz 17. Nov 6. The dreadfull threatnings of the Seas Acknowledged by all to be an evidence of yâ— Lords anger The insolent over-flowing of the lesse rivers The sword of the destroying Angel drawne out so long togither Ezek 14. 19 21. Ezek 5. 17. The sword of the bloody enemie devouring about us And at length set to our very hearts The deadly winter threatning all creatuâ—es The grievous dearth of all things following upon it so long Though the Lord stâ—yed some of these for a season yet what is that to us so long as our sinnes remaine Israel smitten with the flesh betweene their teeth The prints of Gods displeasure left on euery peece of bread with us after plenty sent Ierusalem had divers yeeres prosperity before her last desolation See the Centuriâ—s God hath not left us without witnesse since then for many yeeres togither every yeere some new warning The grievous snow The long scorching drought The dearth scarsity of fodder with the difficulty to preserue the Cattle alive The famishmeÌ„t since for bread if God had not supplyed from other countries The uâ—â—er undoing of so many poore The Prophets threatning vengeance every where God striving with us by his spirit as with the old world by the Ministerie of Noah All convinced wondring that he should forbeare us considering our sins And as plainely pâ—esaging some terrible judgement Many of Lots minde The Lord himselfe in stead of Ionah manifesting the neerenesse of dâ—struction unto us Staid till this day at the instance of his sonne to see if we wil turne at length We growing far worse for all meanes vengeance must needes be hard at hand And our hearts considering it cannot but tremble in an expectation of vengeance Conclusion All these former considerations proclaime that our visitation draweth neere The glory remoouing from the Cherub to the threshold of the Temple shewes God redy to depart unlesse they repent The withdrawing the lively tokens of Gods preseÌ„ce a signe of his departure and of vengeance at hand God well pleased with his people wont to witnesse his presence by some apparant signe As in the Iorney towards Canaan Exod. 33. 3. Moses urgeth the Lord so to goe before theÌ„ For that it was the cheife tokeÌ„ of his favour Secondly in the daies of Iesuah because of Achans sinne Ios. 7. 6. Vers. 12. 3 When hee will cast of Saul he will shew him no signe of his presence nâ—r answere him any way 1 Sam 16. 14. 2 Sam. 28. 6. The signes of the Lords presence in the dayes of the Gospell where by to judge of our estate Foure principally The first inward viz the spirit of God The other three outward Abundance of sanctyfied knowledge Holinesse with peace and unity 3. Protection The spirit and the word going togither are the tenour of the Lords covenaÌ„t Isay. 59. 11. As the answers from the Arke then So the spirit speaking to mens soules now For exaÌ„ple when it is Powerfull in converting and drawing men after it Hâ—b 4 12. As at Penâ—ecost luk 24. 31. When mens harâ—es burne at the hearing of it Acts 9. 4 5. Others smitten downe at the voice of Christ. Ioh. 7. 46. 1 Cor. 14. 24. 25. 1 lâ—h 2. 27. Hâ—br 11. 35. Gal. 1. 8. When the blinde see deaf heare dead raised up by it luk 4. 18. Matth 16. 17. Ioh 1. 12 13. Acts 16. 14. 2. 37. This a principall part of the visible presence in the Primitive Church Acts 2. 16 17. Matth 28. 20. And of the promise to be with his to the end of the world The contrary a token of Gods departure and of judgements approching Esâ— 6. 9 10 11. When the word shall be without power When â—en â—ecome rather worse by it Onely hearing not doing Ezec 33 31 32. Thus before this Captivitie Isai 6. 9 10 11. Ever more sensible the neerer the vengeance Matth 13. 14. Marc 4. 12. Luc 8. 10. Ioh 12. 40. Acts 28. 26. Rom 11. 8. Ioh 12. 39. Whence this sentence so oft beaten on by our Saviour the Prophet The most dredfull signe of the Lords departure when he shall begin to plucke away â—hem that stand â—n the breach 〈◊〉 3. 25 26 27. Exod 32. 10. Psal 106. 23. Ezec 22. 30 31. Ier 36. 5. 37. 38. Ezec 3. 25. 2 Cor 10. 4. 1 Cor 2. 1 4. Or when the Prophets shall smite with the weake arme of flesh To consider whether the Gospell hath yâ— same powerfull operation as formerly Except in some few places and removing Whether the Lord speake so sensibly to mens soules as heretofore Whether it be not with all the licentious as with Saul that God speaks to them no more That men be not generally more voyde of feeling feare Nor any more moved as formerly Hearing heare not and seeing see not Whether God doe not hereby threaten his departure and it be not full time to seeke him The Lord makes sundry removes before he depart all which were tokens and
forerunners of his departure The first remove Chap. 9. 3. Whether he hath not made as many sensible removes amongst us outwardly The outward glory consists in three things First in abundance of heavenly and sanctified knowledge Esa. 2. 2 3. Ier. 31. 33 34. 2 In holinesse of lâ—fe accompanying it Ezech 36. 23. 24. 25. 26. Chiefly when he gives peace and unitie one heart and one way Ier. 32. 39. 40. Isai. 11. 6. Holy unity the marke whereby all may know Christ Disciâ—ples Ioh 13. 53. Holinesse and unity make Gods people glorious in the eyes of their enemies Deut. 4. 5. 6. 7. c. The Lords people bidden to glory in these Iâ—r 9. 23. 24. Rom. 14. 17. The kingdome of heaven in holinesse peace and joy Christ visibly raigneth in such congregations 3. The Third principall outward signe is his glorious protection of his people As 1. of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Gen. 20. 16. 26. 9 10 11 12. 27. 42. 28. 29 31. 24. 32. 2. Church in Egypt 3. Going before them and protecting them in all the way towards Canaan Exod. 33 3 4. vers 15. This the most cleare testimonie of Gods presence 4. In miraculous keeping their land This continued so long as they were carefull to know obey him Exod. 23. 21 22. Psalm 107. 5. In their wonderfull deliverances overthrowes of their enemies As in the sea The wildernes Setting them in Canaan In the dayes of the Iudges Ios 10. 13. Of Samuel of Iehosaphat 2 Chron 20. 21 23. 2 Chr 32. 20 21. Ezekiah in the overthrow of Senacherib By 〈◊〉 Gods name was great in Israel Psal 76. 1 2 3 4. 12. A principall part of the glory foretold to be on yâ— Churches in yâ— dayes of the Gospell Esai 4. 4 5 6. These the glory of the Primitive Church So at this day Application First to Iudah How God had withdrawn the outward glory to foreshew his departure 1. All holy knowledge decayed Isai 6. 10. Isai 1. 2. 2 Holines gone 2 Chro 36. 15 16. So peace and unitie departed Isâ—i 9. 21. Isai 8. 18. 3 Protection oft almost gone Lost utterly in Iosiah Glory departed till Gods anger accomplished Application to our selves Whether God threaten not us by as sensible removals 1. Removing so generally our delight in his word Growing to be ashamed of talking of it Flocking to all vanities 2. Our sound knowledge of the word in many places Amongst the people Amongst most of our Gentry having most meanes most bound thereto Prov 17. 16. All formerly to silence the proudest Papist Now suffering the Popish sort to insult over us Chiefly thorow living in pleasure Popish sort growne cunning in their mysterie Though more ignorant than our children in the first principles of Christ. Many of us good companions for them Objection for abundance of knowledge answered Rom 14 17. 2. Holinesse submission to Christs Gospel much removed Falling daily to most horrible impieties and profanenesse Hence so many separating Popish sort blaspheming Though it be not our wickednesse they hate But the Gospell Sundry make revoults to the Apoc. 18. 3. Our devotion waxen cold Practise of Christianity more reproach full then to live in any sin The very name of a Christian become reproâ—chfull to many A matter fit for Italy Rhemish Testament Acts. 11. Sect. 4. Lewdest commonly in credit How welcome the Lords messengers are to the greatest part 2 Chron 26. 16. 2 Sam 10. 6. Notwithstanding his kindnesse to us Our unity much departed Our reverencing the most paynfull and holy much gone Fruites of our dissentions To cause the Lord and his religion to be reproached The enemie to insult and be hartned to our destruction Countenance to the true lovers of the Gospell gone Popish sort shame us herein Submission to the word much removed 3 Protection the third part of our glory oft threatned to be removed As never nation had Gods glory more apparant in protection Psal 76. 1. So never any from whom it was more nerely gone Accounted to be caried away in their navy invincible The generall feare for it wheÌ„ God should take away Qu Elizabeth Otâ—er nations wondered We like them that dreame Our hearts filled with joy All our glory ready to mouÌ„t up at once in the powder surnâ—ce Rebels exalâ—ing themselues against the Lord as if it had been accomplished No pollicie could have preuented The Lord only prevented By themselues working on the heart of his annointed Not ceasing untill our deliverance was effected againe To binde our hearts to his Majestie and his annointed for ever All did thus acknowledge it None can deny but that it was an evident warning of a finall departure unlesse we repent Our glory as neerely removed as theirs in the dayes of Iosiah Onely this is added to allour mercies that our Iosiah is still preserved from the bloudie enemie What we have done since in token of thankfulnes and humiliation in care to retaine him What zeale indignation we have shewed against yâ— murthering religion Our humiliation and thankfulnesse in sinning impudently To grieve and thrust him out In steed of detestation growing in admiration of Poperie That he may justly reject us and his â—ervants praying for us as he did Iosuah Ios 7. 12. He may â—orsake and leave us into their hands For suffering Poperie so â—o revive grow up amongst us againe after he had given us so just occasion to seeke to root it out utterly 1 Kings 20. 32. Whether hee may not say to us for this as to the King of Israâ—l for Benadad Choifly for neglecting yâ— holy means whereby they might have bin converted saved 〈…〉 How God may righteously speake unto all for neglect hereof Whether the Lord may not as justly plead against us as against Iudah Mich 6. 3. This complaint set downe after Conclusion In the doubling of the speech adding Ierusalem All to take notice that God will not spare Ierusalem if it rebell against him Summe of the Lords speech No priviledges can secure a sinnefull people from Gods wrath Things wherein they secured themselves The Temple Ier. 7. 4. The Law should not depart from the Priest Ier 18. 18. They AbrahaÌ„s children Matth 3. 9. Our custome alike Priviledges wherein we secure our selves Gods true religion Gods favour manifested in our great deliverances Overthrowes of our enemies Prince hopefull issue Ierusalems priviledges 2 King 23. 27. Chosen to be the place of Gods residencie 1. King 8. His Temple there Prayers heard there chiefly 1. King 8. 14. 2 King 8. 48 49. Valley of visions Dan 6. 10. Isaâ— 22. 1. All must pray for it Psal 122. 6. Perfection of beautie â—am 2. 15. Ioy of the earth Matth 4. 5. The holy Citie Luc 19. 41. Heb 12. 22. Revel 21. 10. The prerogatives of the people Rom 9. 4. Israelites Having the right of Adoption Called of God his sonnes his first borne his pretious ones Ier. 31. 20. Ier. 2 3. Thirdly