unto it in delivering restoring and beautifying of it like as hee hath done in all former Ages And therefore wee are never to rest travelling with our owne hearts in this untill we can principally labour with the Lord for them that they of all other and so all in their places may be indued with all excellent graces not onely to manifest themselves in the first ranke according to their high dignities the true Children of our heavenly Father thus shining before all the rest of their Bretheren for the better prouoking and encouraging of all the rest and the greater glory of the Lord but also with those guifts which are proper and peculiar unto their places and callings And that wee likewise may all of us be very carefull to performe unto them the duties belonging to them in regard of those high places and callings like as the honor and obedience of right appertaining to them so with all true thankfulnesse for all the blessings which wee injoy by them And in our thankfulnesse we â—…e never to rest untill wee can from our soules performe unto them these three specially 1. Acknowledgment of their authoritie from God and that they are in his place 2. Hearty affections as to Gods Lieutenants for his cause 3. Above all instant prayers for them day night And in these our prayers that we can cry for them not onely as for every common member as was saide to bee able to walke before all their people as living Lawes in all holy duties of Christianitie but in those of their particular places and callings and bee furnished with all excellent giftes and endowments of Gods Spirit for their happy managing of the same As first and principally that they may bee made able and resolute to promote the Religion of the Lord alone and all true godlinesse and that with all their power defacing the contrary and destroying all ungodnesse in all their Dominions as did those Worthyes David Iehosaphat Hezekiah Iosiab and Nehemiah being thereby so renowned and set out for such blessed examples to all succeeding Ages And in the second place that they may procure each way the good of the people committed to them as tender Foster-fathers repressing the wicked being careful that all holy meanes be used every where for the reclaiming and saving every soule in their Dominions and of bringing them in their armes to the Sion and Sanctuary of the Lord and all hinderances thereof removed And that to these ends they may be all as 〈◊〉 Magistrates men of courage fearing God dealing truely hating covetousnesse no respecters of persons And next unto these that we rest not till we bee able to pray likewise for all excelling in any eminency either outward or inward whereby they may doe any speciall service to our Lord Iesus Christ to his Vicegerents or to his poore Church and people As namely That their hearts bee not lifted up by their guifts favours or places as is ordinary in each estate and so wrath come upon them as it did on that good Hezekiah for this very sinnâ—… but that contrarily they may both ever remember and acknowledge all their preferments to be from his heavenly bounty and so to be more humbled by them as having more to answere bee accountable for giving to his divine Majestie alone all the glory thereof And secondly that they may bee inabled as thy deare Children to employ all those guifts carefully as their talents committed unto them by the Lord to that end and purpose as may make most for his glory the furtherance of his Gospell with the greatest benefit and good to our selve and to all the people of the Lord. The second particular Meditation of the third general That we can and use to seeke his honor above all other things SEcondly we must never give the Lord over untill we have brought our harts in order not to seeke our owne honour or greatness nor our selves any way for our selves alone but onely in all things to seeke the honour of our heavenly Father being zealous of his glory And that wee can pray earnestly that our selves and all other may studie to set foorth his glorie before all the sonnes of men euen the glory of his Wisedome Goodness Mercy Iustice Power and Truth shining bright in all his workes both in every creature and also in all his judgements and mercies and chiefely in his heavenly word admiring and extolling his great name in every one of them That we can mourne with holy Moses for all the dishonours done unto him and for all the provocations whereby he is provoked choosing rather to have our names put out of his booke then that his great name shold be blasphemed by his malicious enemics especially in their triumphes for the destruction or miseries of his people The third particular Meditation of the third generall That we seeke his honour chiefely in the aduancement of the Scepter of Iesus Christ. THirdly we are never to rest untill we can rejoyce in the truth of our hearts that we have seâ—… our selves to seek by all our might the advancement of the Scepter of his heavenly kingdome even of the heavenly Gospell of our Lord Iesus Christ and so the comming of his kingdome thereby with power first the kingdome of Grace and after the kingdome of Glory desiring earnestly to that end the propagating and spreading of his Gospel over all the world the gathering forth of all his elect from al parts with the saving of all his people seeking all other things onely for him and for his honour that he may reigne as Lord and King That wee never give him rest until wee feele him reigning in our hearts by his blessed Word and Spirit making us to mourne withall for all the despight done unto his heavenly Majesty in the contempt of that his glorious Gospel and chiefly for all the prevaylings of Sathan and Antichrist the setting up againe of their abhominable Idolatry in any place and so for al the outragious wickednesse committed agaynst our Lord Iesus Christ his crowne and dignity and also agaynst his poore people The fourth particular Meditation of the third generall That we seeke to honour him eâ—…er in the full accomplishment of all his heavenly will FOurthly that our hearts beare us witness that wee haue attayned to be such as are wholly set not to seeke the execution of our owne lustes or will but that the whole will and good pleasure of our heavenly Father may bee fulfilled by us and all other his Children especially in all things wherein he hath or shal reveale himselfe what his good pleasure is And that we have begun earnestly to indevor our selves to be as chearful in the right execution and accomplishment thereof in all parts as
Children in him being so begotten by that lively word and having upon us all the evident markes of thy Children Grant us therefore Oh gracious Father now in these our daies of peace whilst thou vouchsafest us the meanes of thy heavenly Gospell to give all diligence to make it sure that we are thy Children thy deere Children yea thy Children to whom thy heavenly kingdome appertaineth having and bearing upon us all the lively markes and badges of thy Children Above all grant us this heavenly mindednesse that our chiefe thoughts may bee upon thee our heavenly Father our care may bee above all things how to please thee doing in the meane while only the things which thou requirest casting all our cares for those daies and for whatsoever the enemie can do upon thy Majesty alone and into thy bosome learning every day more and more to waine our affections from this world and the things of this world and to set them wholly above where thy Sonne sitteth at thy right hand Lord perswade our hearts and make us able to perswade one another that by all the power and liberty that thou hast permitted unto Sathan to all his instruments and by all the persecutions and afflictions that are upon all the Churches and also by whatsoever threatnings of thine against thy Children yea whatsoever mischievous designes are intended against thy poore Church or what danger soever it is in thorow that extreame fury of Sathan and Antichrist and all their instruments thou art yet still preparing all thy Children to meete thee in a sound humiliation with strong cries and teares for all our offending thee and for grieving thy holy Spirit by all our former security and neglect of thee and of the riches of thy favours vouchsafed unto us Grant us all this grace therefore as thine obedient and loving Children in all things to submit our selves under thy Fatherly hand to turne joyntly to thy Covenant and renew the same in all faithfulnesse to take away all the divisions that have bene amongst us which thorow our long peace and wantonnes Sathan hath wrought to the destroying of us all if it were possible Vouchsafe good Father that we may doe this so effectually that thou maist be as much pleased in reuniting us againe and in our Brotherly love and agreement as ever thou hast beene displeased in our divisions and dissentions and Sathan and his instruments in seeing our holy unity and agreement may bee as much dismaied and put out of heart for ever prevailing against us as by the contrary and by all their prosperous successe as they imagine they have bene animated and incouraged to our ruine and destruction That so wee may all sing with one heart and voice Behold how good and happy a thing it is Brethren to dwell together in unity Lord manifest thy glory even the glory of thy wisedome power mercy and truth heerein in making us joyntly to looke and cry to thee for all these things and whatsoever thou in thy infinite wisedome knowest necessary for us in this behalfe or for any member of thy whole Church for Iesus Christ his sake our only Lord and Saviour IX A Thanksgiving to God according to the first petition of the Lords prayer for causing his glorie to breake forth so wonderfully now in this last Age of the world in delivering his Churches thus farre out of Egypt and Babilon with a confession of our unworthinesse and an earnest prayer that wee may never dishonour him by locking thither againe nor provoke him by our sinnes to give us up to that heavie iudgement and likewise for the diliverie of all the rest of his Israel in his due time and that he may never leave us untill hee have brought us all into his heavenly Canaan OH Lord most holy and most glorious open our blinde eies touch our hard and stony hearts and the hearts of all thy true Churches and people in all the world whom thou hast called forth to bee thy people that wee may bee able to see and consider aright the exceeding honour and dignity which thou hast laid upon us and to shew forth our thankfulness to thy heavenly Majesty accordingly Make us able to consider show thou hast vouchsafed to take us so nere unto thy selfe as to make vs thine owne peculiar people of all the people of the earth to set and confirme the Covenant with us of life and glory and how to this end thou hast brought us out of that spirituall Aegypt and Babilon from that bondage and tyranny of Sathan and Antichrist Make us to consider and rightly to understand how by great deliverances and iudgements thou hast carried us thorow the sea and thorow the wildernesse and shewed thy selfe unto us in thy glorious ordinances leading us by thy statutes and commandements and by the workes of thy providence protection direction chastisement blessings as thou diddest thy people Israel by the pillar of the fire and the pillar of the cloud Give us hearts ever to remember how thou hast sought for us from heaven so as all the earth hath sâ—…ene and heard of thy glory and hast carried us as upon Eagles wings and now brought us to the very frontiers of thy heavenly Canaan and made us to see tast of the riches happinesse and glory of it in thy sacred Gospell Oh our blessed God most gracious and most dreadfull make us and all thy people to bee afraid of ever having any thought of turning backe so much as in our hearts or of ever having a looke towards Aegypt or Sodome againe towards any part of that Popery or Popish superstition and Idolatry that abhominable drudgery under Sathan and Antichrist from which thou hast so graciously delivered us Oh never suffer us to admit of any imagination or so much as one motion of comparing the Leekes Onions Garlicke of Aegypt with the hid Manna of thy sacred Law and heavenly Gospell Albeit we heare and see their â—…age and fury and the power of all their armies banding themselves against us either to swallow us up at once or els to persue us into the heart of the sea yet keepe us that wee never rebell against thee thinking to turne backe from thee to goe into Aegypt againe distrusting thy truth thy presence and power Cause us Oh gracious Father wisely to consider of and ever to have this as before our eies that of all dishonors done unto thy heavenly Majesty thou canst least indure this chiefly after so long triall and experience which thou hast given us of thy power goodnesse and mercy towards us That this sinne alone may justly make thee sweare in thy wrath that wee shall never enter into thy rest Make all them that have dishonoured thee in this high kinde sinning thus against thy glorious Majesty to know for certaine that without
vowes and Covenants which we have so oft renewed and that neyther judgements nor mercyes could prevaile with us and especially for making flesh our arme withdrawing our hearts and confidence from thy heavenly Majesty wee had long agoe deserved that both they and wee with all our blessings should have bene wholly left into the hands of thine our enemies which have and doe so eagerly thirst after our blood and that nothing at all hath kept us to this day but onely thy endlesse compassions and the yearning of thy bowels at the cryes and sighes of thy poore Saints and children in all the Churches looking up to thee alone and lifting up their hands unto thee Awaken us therefore graciously now at length Oh thou that hast kept thy Israel and neither slumbrest nor sleepest and cause us yet in time to understand the things that concerne our peace and whereby thou mayest bee wholly pacified towards us in this Nation with all thy Churches and people Oh grant unto us most tender Father to know and throughly to conceive aright that â—…hat which wee have so oft and so many a time promised unto thee and so bound our selves unto in all our perils and which thou hast so long expected thou now expectest at our hands above all former times now that thou hast added this above all former mercies thus farre to deliver us from our feares and to vouchsafe unto us such hopes for all future times every day to renew the same in that heavenly union and harmony of thy Annoynted and his whole most honourable Parliament for thy Church causes and against thine enemies Oh give us all such hearts that wee may yet now at length performe whatsoever thou requirest of us to make our repentance unfeigned sound and our full reconciliation thereby in being humbled before thee both publiquely and privately and in taking away all our abhominations and crying sinnes and in doing whatsoever may tend to the giving of thee thy due glory with the greatest advancement of thy heavenly Gospell and doing whatsoever thou requirest of us for the ratifying and confirming all thy mercies towards us and our making a firme union with thy Majesty amongst us all in Iesus Christ according to the right tenour of thy sacred truth That thus as thy hand hath formerly bene stretched out against us and against thy Churches and that the enemies have so sarre prevailed in their designes so now at last their joy may he as the joy of an hypocrite and that they may see their confidence as a spiders web Oh grant such hearts unto us all that thou seeing ouâ—… true repentance maiest give to us and to thy people the upper hand that we-may be above and not beneath that we may not onely stand valiantly as one man of one hart and soule for thee for thy heavenly Gospel with thine Annoynted his royall progeny and Dominions and each for our selves and ours our children posterity and for the true liberty of us all but also that all of us may be as bold as Lyons and being strengthned by thee and the power of thy might five of us thy servants may chase a hundreth according to thy promise made to the true turning of thy people to thee and a hundreth of us may put tenne thousand to flight That thus thine Annoynted and all his Royall Progeny and posterity may become the happyest heades of the blessedest progeny and dominions that ever were formerly in all the earth and all theirs and our sinnes and the sinnes of all the Churches may be freely forgiven never to be remembred against us or against any of thy true Churches any more according to thy heavenly promise and that for thy endless glory and praise the everlasting triumph of us all that wee may for ever sing praises unto thy great name through Iesus Christ that King of Kings our only Lord and Saviour Amen XVI A humble thanksgiving that the Lord hath already begunne so graciously to heare our praiers with supplycation that as we have made entrance into this service to helpe our Lord Iesus and his poore Churches by our prayers and teares so wee may bee every day more fitted and inabled hereunto untill wee shall see not onely the deliverance of his Churches and Captives but also the new Ierusalem and the glory of his Sion and inioy the full happinesse of them for ever in the heavens OH Lord God most holy and most gracious most faithfull and true who remembrest alwaies all thy gracious promises which thou hast ever made to thy Churches and people in thy blessed word and wilt in thy due time performe every one of them even to all of us who are thine when thou hast first truely humbled and prepared our hearts to pray and importune thy sacred Majesty seeking thee in order We magnifie thy great name that thou hast so visibly begunne to declare thy selfe to bee mindfull of thy promises in so graciously inclining thy care unto our cryes We praise thee and bless thee that as thou diddest proclaime thy name before thy servant Moses to bee The Lord The Lord strong mercifull gracious slow to anger and abundant in goodnesse and truth so thou hast done it before us all especially us of this sinfull Nation that thou herein hast made it manifest to the convincing of every conscience amongst us in sparing us at the praiers of some few of thy people unto this day We glorifie thee Oh good Lord that as thou hast caused it to bee registred in thy booke for all the Ages of thy Church how according to thy gracious promises thou ever diddest heare thine auncient people of Israel in their miseries and when they cryed to thee in their troubles thou then deliveredst them from their distresse so thou hast heard us of this sinfull Nation delivering us not onely at our publike humiliation from the mercilesse intended invasion but also pluckt us from Nebuchadnezars furnace at the private sighes groanes of thy secret ones and that so as that thou hast made these deliverances to bee recorded for all succeeding times Yea we praise and magnifie thee that thou still renewest these thy wonderfull and fatherly mercies to us a people so vnworthy of any mercie that thou hast hitherto continued and evidently declared the riches of thy compassion in saving us from all our feares first so graciouslie preserving and bringing back our most Royall and hopeful Prince disposing of all his dangers and our feares as thou diddest to Ioseph to the greatest comforts and hopes of thy Church and that thou hast since so lately manifested such riches of thy love and kindnesse in such a heavenly union among thy worthyest servants our Soveraign Lord and King with all his faythfull Peeres and true-hearted Nobility and Commons for the advancement of thy glory and Gospell and the saying of thy people with the frustrating
together with his Defence thereof in his Encounter against Parsons In which he doth manifest this to be their plaine and direct doctrine setting downe their places out of sundry of their chiefe Authors 3. The Lord hath moreover caused it to be published not to our Nation alone but as it were to the whole world in that booke which is called Revelatio Consâ—…iorum quâ—… 〈◊〉 Synodâ—… Tridentinae â—…ant inita in hunc usquâ—… diem continuata viz. I he revealing of Popish conspiracies betweene the Pope the Emperour and other Popish Princes and States of the Christian world from the beginning of the Councell of Trent untill this day for the utter rooting out of the Gospell of Christ and destroying the professors thereof either by fraud under pretence of peace or other leagues or by open hostilitie and cruelty whensoever their time and opportunitie serves which booke hath sundry of the Popes Buls annexed to it to the same purpose And likewise the Lord hath caused it to be thus divulged by sundry other bookes and meanes But this I have already set downe in the third part of this Watch and namely in the Idolatry of Iudah hastning the Captivitie which matter if ever heretofore concernes our whole Nation and even all the Churches seriously to lay to heart Now this one very fact of theirâ—… alone might have beene fully sufficient to have caused all of them to have acknowledged the truth of that Assumption and thereupon to have utterly renounced Popery and embraced the Gospell againe if God had beene so pleased to have opened their eyes oâ—… touched their hearts to have considered of it as in his presence and much more those mentioned bookes and many such like discoveries But sith that notwithstanding all manner of convictions by such notorious practises formerly such manifestations by writings and even from their owne bookes most of them in stead of renouncing Popery and joyning to us againe are much more obstinate and the number of them is increased and that they doe daily grow in their induration against all the Lords most gracious warnings of them and that all the Iesuits and Iesuited doo set themselves as Pharaoh and Egypt to pursue all his Israel at this once into the very heart of the sea and also seeing that all their simpler sort are so farre inchanted by their Iannes and Iaâ—…bres those their Iesuits and other Seminarie Priests through their illusions and hopes at length to prevaile at least by these their practises of equivocations and murders I have thought it my dutie yet once againe to manifest here still further the evidence of this Assumption viz. That Popery practiseth and teacheth lying and murder to support and advance it selfe and therefore is undoubtedly of the Devill Who can tell if yet at length our blessed God wil not be pleased to awake that Honourable Ladie and that devoted Gentleman with others of them which I beg of his sacred Majestie even upon my knees to consider better of their estate and courses and get themselves out of the power and paw of Satan At least my certaine hope in the Lord is that it may bee a meanes to helpe to keepe many others from ever so comming under Satans banner And here I cannot but againe wonder at the goodnesse of our God and of his speciall providence answering for me and performing also my poore desire herein likewise above all that I could ever expect at this verie instant of time now that this my hearts desire towards them and our prayers to God for them are to come into the presse and into the publique view of all and but even as it were immediately before Which thing I cannot noâ—… dare otherwise expound but because hee would have all sorts to take notice of his love and care for us and for all that are his people to warne and save us all and also of his infinite mercie even to them if any warning may yet serve to prevaile with them or else of his most just vengeance if they will suffer themselves still to be so wilfully blinded and carried against him his truth and servants in such a furious rage to their owne certaine perdition and will not yet turne and betake themselves unto the colours of our Lord Iesus Christ. First hee hath manifested it anew in discovering againe even as it were to all the world the wickednesse of that Religion in this behalfe in causing our whole nation not onely to take more full and certaine notice of their dealing and to bee enforced to seeke by all meanes to prevent the mischiefe and danger by it but also all the Churches even all the earth to see how by delayes and faire pretences which have indeed beene nothing but meere untruths and guls to speake plainly of them they have devoured so great a part and are readie presently to swallow up all under pretences of mariages of more strong leagues and more firme peace according to their ancient devices and practices agreeably to their holy Councels at Trent in the booke mentioned before so as even all the world rings and cries out of it 2. In the new French practice of the Iesuites confirmed both in print and also by letters to sundrie Merchants from men of credit whereby they sought to make our Religion odious to Kings Princes and States for treasonable plots and so to set them all to band themselves to root it and us utterly out of the earth and specially to make France once againe to flow with Christian bloud for that such as they are have not yet drunke bloud enough though all their Iesuited sort are made drunke alreadie with the bloud of the Saints and Martyrs of Iesus 3. By causing at this time their Art of equivocating and lying to come to light and to bee published to the view of all sorts amongst us How these Iesuites have beaten their braines and even gone beyond Satan himselfe in devising maintaining and practising this devillish Art which wee may well call their new Blacke Art for which I referre all to Mr. Masons booke of The new Art of lying covered by Iesuites under the vaile of Equivocation That all may see and bee for ever fully satisfied that these are their doctrines the verie chiefest of them in the refining and perfecting whereof they bestow most paines 4. By that late and notable Discoverie out of their owne bookes by Mr. Gee who was one of them wherein he hath set downe such impious tricks and devices of their Priests and Iesuites that as hee there saith all may justly hoot at them for most abominable impostors and liars The reading but of some of which will manifestly cleere whatsoever I have spoken in this behalfe and this Assumption This likewise comming forth in Gods speciall providence at this verie instant for the more full conviction of all or leaving all more without excuse and to stop everie mouth that shall plead for them Yet to
passe over all these and this also that all sorts doe know that their Iesuites and Confessours are the chiefe contrivers and abettours of all their chiefe stratagems and that nothing is done without them And albeit wee are nothing to regard words when their deeds according to their Doctrines and Constitutions are apparent to all the world And that although they may delude little children by affirming that these are not their doctrines if any dare still deny it against the witnesse of his owne heart yet men having their braines in their heads can never bee so besotted unlesse they will wilfully joyne hands with them or suffer their eyes utterly to be put out For that which they say That they are not their Doctrines unlesse wee can shew them out of the Councell of Trent or some of their chiefe Councels can any man imagine that the Councels would openly professe them to proclaime to all the world that they and their Religion is of Satan or can wee thinke or imagine that so many of their Iesuites should publish them unto the world unlesse they were the advice of their Popes and indeed their Doctrine But to passe all these things over and to leave them to their further consideration to worke better upon their consciences what can they yet or any other say to their Doctrines which the Holy Ghost cals Lies through hypocrisie devised to devoure us all Such as this here discovered That they have moe holy devotions than we c. And even for all their Doctrines joyntly to leave it to the consciences of all whether all of those wherein they differ from us and for which they so contend bee not Doctrines meerely devised to please the corrupt nature of man to hold up that Hierarchie of the Pope and tyrannie of that Sea of Rome viz. of their Pope Cardinals Abbots and the rest And also for their bellies and that they may keepe all the world in slaverie and to hide their wickednesse And more specially what their Doctrines are concerning Purgatorie Masses Indulgences Pardons even for the time to come Miracles done by this Saint and that and by this Relique and that and concerning their holy Reliques themselves and so all their doctrines of Equivocation mentall Reservation and the like whether they be not all to speake as the thing is notorious lies to keepe the poore people in ignorance in their blinde devotions and slavery to them yea to muzzle them in their murdering zeale against the true Church Which if it be so then the Assumption is most manifest to all the world even to children and almost to sucking babes That Popery teacheth lying and murder or that which tends thereunto viz. to the destroying of all either soules or bodies or both Now for the truth of all these things I appeale first to the Lord Iesus the Iudge of all to iudge betweene us and that I have written according to the perswasion of my heart grounded upon the word of the Lord and upon their writings and dealings 2. I appeale to the sacred Scriptures by which we and they and all our doctrines must be judged 3. To the universall consent of all the true Church of Christ. 4. To every one who professeth the Gospell according to the doctrine of our Church and our good lawes 5. To their owne hearts and consciences I meane of all the learneder and cunninger sort of them and to the consciences of all when they shall be so awaked as to thinke that they are to appeare before Iesus Christ to give an account For particular proofes of these and other disputes I leave them to the Treatises mentioned before and also to the more learned and them who have better leysure It may be sufficient for me to have made them manifest to all who professe Christs Gospell and who judge indifferently and to leave them and their consciences thus convinced unto the Lords Iudgement feaâ—… And now these things being so I appeale againe to their consciences and the consciences of all the world concerning the evidence and necessitie of these Consectaries 1. Whether the Assumption being true that Religion of theirs be not of the Devill by our Saviours owne reason and therefore that all of them must either renounce and even abjure it or else professe themselves to be of Satans Religion to maintaine it and to fight for him against our Lord Iesus Christ and that they will still doe it 2. Whether all sorts are not bound to seeke to save themselves from that lying and murdering Religion and to use all warrantable and holy means both to reclaime all from it to the end to save them both soules and bodies and also to deliver all the Churches and people of the Lord from the danger of being suddenly surprized and murdered thereby and so far as God inables them any way to take away all the dishonour and provocations of his sacred Majestie which may come thereby as by all other such hainous sinnes This I humbly submit to the judgement of all seeing whosoever is not with our Saviour is against him and that whosoever saves not destroyes That the Magistrates and all in authoritie are the keepers of both the Tables each according to his place and for that the bloud of all must be required at the Pastors and Watchmens haâ—…ds according to the charge committed to every one of them if they be not faithfull in their severall places designed to them by the Lord. Wherefore I intreat them and all others seriously to thinke hereof as in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ before whom I have written in duty to his heavenly maiesty for maintaining his glory and holding up the scepter of our Lord Iesus and in love and duty to all sorts chiefly to all in high place for the saving of all or to leave the obstinate utterly without excuse And thus much also for the proofe of the Assumption and the shutting up of this inclosed Epistle Unto which if this Gentleman or any one for that Honourable Ladie will offer to reply let me but crave this of him whosoever he be which equitie and wisdome will require 1. First to doe it in love and with good advice as in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ without all shifts or devices against the light of his conscience even as I have endevoured and onely for the finding out and maintaining the truth whereunto God willing I shall ever yeeld if any one in any thing shall rightly shew mee my error and I shall moreover acknowledge my oversight 2. And secondly let me request of him that hee will bethinke himselfe wisely for what he pleades and also for whom whether he doe it not even for Satan and for the upholding of his kingdome by his chiefe workes of lying and murder and also to consider against whom he doth it whether it be not against our Lord Iesus Christ and against all his Saints and
departed And finally whither you are come Whether by their cunning sleights you be not gotten under the verie banner of Satan to fight even against our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ though you doe not imagine so much but the cleane contrarie In everie one of these therefore I desire to deale lovingly plainly and ingenuously as in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ before whom I stand as he shall be pleased to assist mee with his grace and according also to the weight of the businesse which wee have in hand which concernes the saving of everie soule of you For our Baptisme vow Covenant which wee are all bound to performe all our dayes as wee looke to have the Lord our God or any benefit by our blessed Saviour or ever to appeare with boldnesse before his Tribunall I referre you first unto it as the summe of it is set downe expresly in our publike forme of Baptisme and if you please as it is amongst other of our bookes more particularly and largely explained but even in the first part of this Watch The Rule of Life In which little booke I have laboured so farre as the Lord hath enabled mee to shadow out the same vow and so to trace out the narrow path of life as to direct everie soule from step to step and as it were to guide them by the hand untill wee have finished our whole course and shall have entred within the gates of the Celestiall Ierusalem which though it be but amongst the least and weakest of our helpes for our deâ—…otions yet I would wish everie one of you so drawne away from us to reade that therein you may first see and know our way of life before you so condemne it to try what iniquitie you finde in it before you so utterly depart from it and herewithall from Christs true Church and Spouse your mother which hath bred and borne you and consequently even from Christ himselfe so farre as I am any way able to conceive judging as before his heavenly Majestie And having so read and thorowly weighed and compared it with your way of life according to any of your bookes of the like kinde then to give sentence as before him to whom you must surely give an answer even for this whether is the better and more holy your way or ours whether more agreeable to his heavenly patterne And thus much for the first point and your Baptisme â—…ow which you seeme to have so far abjured in so departing from the bosome of your mother and utterly casting her oft and to leave it to your more serious meditation and more mature deliberation For the second viz. Vpon what grounds you have departed I will content my selfe to have instanced but onely in this one which as is said hath beene of late such a principall cause of your departure and as I my selfe heard one poore soule who had beene seduced specially alleaging it before sundrie witnesses and some of them most learned as a maine cause of her joyning to that religion viz. That they have in their Church and Religion moe holy devotions than wee in ours and spend more time therein That by the palpablenesse of this delusion fully discovered you and everie one of you may judge of all the rest of their delusions which have nothing the like power so to bewitch you and to steale away your hearts And that I may proceed in order to make all the mysteries of this delusion as cleare as the Sunne at the noone-day even to the understanding and full capacitie of the simplest in the land I will divide it into three parts which are the three heads of this fell destroying Hydra so maine a cause of your present departure from our Church and Religion and of your turning to Poperie To wit Because they have in their Religion moe holy and and better devotions and doe also spend more time therein than we in ours The first head then of this poysoning Serpent is this That they have moe helps for devotion in their religion than we in ours The second That their many devotions are more holy and better than ours And the third is That they spend more time in these their holy devotions than we doe in ours For the first of these That they have moe helps for devotions that is moe such as which those of our common sort may have understand and use it is as true as that which he who lately writ the Gag for the new Gospeller hath published in print to the view of the world and which he hath not beene ashamed to set in the verie fore-front of his booke in the Preface to the Reader within twelve lines of the beginning to the verie same end which this delusion tends viz. to help more easily to deceive all the simple to make them more to abhorre all our Bibles and thereby our Religion whereof the sacred Bible is the groundâ—… and so to take away the verie life of their lives and indeed to prepare the way the better for the full effecting of their bloudie designes and desires against us all Which I would therefore desire all who would not willingly be so palpably abused by these murdering Iesuites or who would but know these deluders and their Religion aright and also the danger that wee stand in perpetually by it to take notice of His words are these that hee would advise all of That England hath brought forth within these few yeeres past to the number of twentie severall sorts of Bibles sarrâ—… different one from another These are his owne verie words for the truth hereof let everie one enquire diligently whether England ever brought forth any moe Bibles since that translated by the Bishops printed 1572. save that one appointed by our Soveraigne Lord and King to be most carefully translated and that to satisfie the Papists and to take away all their calumniations against our Translations and the same verie little differing from the former but as may fall out with the best Translations For mine owne selfe I have enquired of the most learned and can heare of none other But to passe over this most intolerable shamelesse untruth together with that which they had devised in like manner for the present hiding their owne wickednes in the Powder-Treason for the dispatching us all as it were at one blow like as it hath beene generally reported and received from thence till this day to wit That the Puritanes had blowne up the Parliament house intimating thereby that they therefore were well worthie to be destroyed out of the earth and so under the name of Putitanes to have taken occasion hereupon to have murdered all who truely professed Christs Gospell in all the Churches And also together with that like faire pretense of a mariage under which they effected that most bloudie detestable and mercilesse massacre at Paris in butchering of a sudden so many of the Flower of
all the threatnings in Gods booke for adding to his word and detracting from it in matter of his worship and service and for rejecting his Commandements setting up mans in stead thereof and so placing sinfull man in the roome of our most holy blessed and glorious God the creature above the Creator yea in truth Satan above God like as in all their devillish and lying doctrines 11. Ours teaching working by the practise of them full assurance of Gods favour and love in Iesus Christ which onely brings with it joy unspeakable and glorious theirs teaching and bringing but onely hope without any ground of true faith and therefore teaching doubting continually which when the conscience is awaked brings the very flashing of hell fire with it So that ours in the right use of them are heaven upon earth theirs when their consciences shall be awaked or when they but see what they have done in them all a very hell upon earth 12. Our devotions are in the end the sweetest in the remembrance of them and of all the time before that ever we have spent in them since we beleeved in Christ so as every one of our devotions made in faith as our Religion directeth and every moment of time so spent in them hath a certaine reward their 's being done without warrant of the word yea contrary to the word and therefore superstitiously and sinfully not onely wanting all such expectation of reward for who required the best of those things at their hands but also having an expectation of vengeance when the conscience beginneth to be a little awaked So that experience teacheth that then they are faine to renounce all but Iesus Christ and so all confidence in these things and to wish then with Balaam to die the death of the righteous toward which death of the righteous we are alway going forward and which life we striving to live shall be sure to die the death thereof and our last end to be like to our life 13. Our devotions in so many of us as practise them aright are as our Religion viz. that pure Religion and undefiled before God even the Father which Iames speaketh of directing and helping to visit the fatherlesse and the widow in their adversitie and namely those of them who are of the houshold of faith and the members of our Lord Iesus Christ and to keepe our selves unspotted of the world So as we practising rightly out devotions there cannot be a lying tongue found in our mouthes nor a hand or heart defiled with bloud but we shall seeke by all meanes to save both soules and bodies of all sorts even of our wickedest enemies and the most bloudily-minded against us Their Devotions contrarily are in truth as their Religion to devoure widowes houses under a pretence of long prayer and to destroy all the innocent the fatherlesse widow even al who are of the houshold of faith the members of Christ which are indeed the Innocents that save all the rest And by these they make themselves notorious and infamous to all the world to be the most polluted with execrable lying and the murder of innocents of all other religions that ever were in the world before as will further appeare after whereby all their chiefe professours and namely their bloudy Iesuits have made themselves odious even to all Nations 14. Yea and to passe by many other our Devotions are as our Religion to make us faithfull and loyall subjects and not to be so bold as to have an evill thought in our hearts against him whom the Lord sets over us but to be as David whose heart smit him for touching but the lap of Sauls garment and so with that holy servant of God and with the children of the Captivity and with Daniel yea with all the holy Martyrs to be content to endure whatsoever from them and from all in holy and lawfull authoritie under them that in our patient sufferings Kings Princes and Rulers may see the truth and what is pleasing to the Lord and also what they ought to maintaine and doe for their owne salvation and of their Royall Progenie and Dominions their 's in all these things to make all to be contrarily affected viz. to arme and flesh all to rebellion and the murdering of Kings and Princes when they can do it cōveniently After that those their ghostly fathers have made them to drinke deepe enough of this cup and to be truly devout in the manner of their devotions though I hope better things of you to whom I write yet it cannot hurt you to be warned 15. Moreover for the māner forme of our devotions All our devotions which are agreeable to our doctrine are sent forth from understanding hearts and so with a holy zeale inflamed by the spirit of judgement and the spirit of burning mixt with the sweet perfume of Christs merit and so offered up to our heavenly Father as they may be most pleasing comming to him as out of the hand of our Saviour yea offered also in order without any vaine babling or idle repetition Theirs contrarily are for most part and usually without any understanding at all like as all the devotions of their ignorant sort are especially those which are in an unknowne tongue and so without all holy affection For all holy affections must of necessitie be grounded upon knowledge without which the heart cannot be good neither can there be any faith in such nor any thing but sinne for whatsoever is not of faith is sinne And not onely so but also theirs are full of vaine and idle repetitions in that blinde manner a matter directly condemned by our Saviour as hypocriticall and heathenish when men thinke to be heard for their much babling Finally for that theirs are usually sent forth in a proud opinion of their owne merit and worthinesse to be heard or as they come out of the hand of some Saint or Angell to whom therein they give this honour and prerogative which solely belongs to our Lord and Saviour viz. of presenting our praiers and supplications unto his Father alone I might prosecute these comparisons in many other instances as namely that our devotions make us still better the more they are practised by us and more like to Christ Iesus theirs as they are their 's properly as those which I named make them still and ever worse and worse and more like to Satan as he is transformed into an Angell of light as namely in all their Iesuits their chiefe professed holy men being indeed deuils in carnate and so accounted to all States and specially for those chiefe works of their lying and murder which are manifest to all to be their principall studie Ours to repeat it againe that it may leave the deeper impression in every soule tending to save all both soules and bodies theirs to destroy all not onely us whom they terme Heretiques but themselves eternally
in all things to walke hvmbly with him shall likewise bee stirred up by his blessed Spirite thus joyntly to cry unto him for that hee having taught and commanded us thus to pray and having given us so many assurances that being such praying thus he wil heare us and finally hee enclining and setting our hearts as with one accord thus to importune him heerein we can make no doubt of gracious audience and a happy answere from his heavenly Majesty even when we can joyntly crie in Faith Amen Euen so come Lord Iesus come quickely Amen Amen The Sixt generall Meditation How all but those that are thus qualified are excluded from helping the Lord and doe rather pull downe his wrath upon his Church SIxtly we are to bring our hearts yet further to a serious Meditation hereof likewise That all other who are not so qualified at least in the earnest desire and constant resolution of their hearts and much more all who are contrarily affected in any of these things thus necessarily required in our preparation and so all that beleeue not the word of the Lord in such manner as to be fully perswaded of the truth of his promises and threatnings are excluded by the Lord himselfe from being any meete helpers in this worke The First Meditation hereof to be seriously pondered 1 THat all such as live securely in theyr owne wayes without any due regard of the Lord and of his poore Church are excluded hence even all such as who albeit the Lord shewe such manifest token◅ of his heavy displeasure agaynst his owne people and children for their sinnes and although they see his Glory Gospell People to bee so generally trampled under foot our lord Iesus Christ to be ready utterly to be thrust frō his throne and his members in such miserable distress or imminent perill yet they care for none of these things but only mind their owne courses and seeke to satisfy their owne wils and desires as all our worldlings and all the prophane sort in generall do Yea all such are shutte out as unmeete who are not now in a tender commiseration of the wofull estate of all the Lords people de◅irous to obey our Lord Iesus Christ comming to helpe him and them all in what thing soever he shall make knowne unto them that he stands in need of their helpe and so calls for it at their hands and who endeavour not unfeignedly to doe whatsoever he requireth tending thereunto And that this must needs be so for these reasons following which are therefore every one of them to be seriously meditated of and pondered until we know our selves to have passed the danger of them The first reason to be seriously meditated of 1 FOr that al such who regard him not in his poore and needy members must be separated from these whom our Saviour calles The blessed of his Father and must stand at his left hand among the Goats and must then hear the wofull doome at that last dreadfull day Go ye cursed into everlasting f◅re prepared for the Divell and his Angels when I was an hungrie you gave mee no meat when I was thirsty you gave me no drinke when I was s◅ke and in prison you visited me not when I was naked you cloathed me not when I was a stranger and harbourlesse you tooke me not in c. And therefore if it shall be so with these at that day then certainely they must needs bee rejected by him as utterly unmeet for this service who now that he calles for these duties at theyr hands and that so lowd as all the world doth ring thereof yet are deafe in all in regard of any commiseration For what King General or Commander will ever willinglie have any admitted into pay to fight under them but onely such as they know to be loyally and faithfully affected towards them and which doe lay to heart their honours causes and quarrels as if they were their owne much lesse then can we thinke that the Lord of heaven earth who needes none of our helpe but can get himselfe the victorie over his enimies by the breath of his nostrils when it pleaseth him will admit of any other to be with him and to helpe him in this great work wherein he will so highly honour them but onely so many as shall bee loyally and heartily affected towardes his Majesty his causes and children The second reason to be seriouslie thought of SEcondly we are seriouslie to lay to heart and to bethinke our selves in time if we would be helpers herein That all such who live in any one gross sinne impenitently and much more in any one of those notorious abhominations which broght that dreadfull Captivity upon Iudah which the Lord hath caused to be set so lively before the face of all by y◠holy Prophets themselves together with the vengeance denounced for them are also utterly excluded especially if they live therein scandalously to the slander of the Gospell or the offence of others to harden them in their courses for that all such are both blinde and deafe and make others so Such cannot see the wrath and vengeance of GOD certainly rushing upon thēselves for their owne sinnes wherein they lye much less can they see that which is rushing upon all the Churches for theyr security and abuse of the gospell and least of all can they discerne of any wrath conceived agaynst our selves for that they consider onely that we yet live in peace but perceyve not at all the multitude and heynousness of our most odious and lowd-crying sins agaynst which the Prophets so thunder out the vengeance of the Lord and for which all who are wise-hearted indeed and whose eyes GOD hath rightly opened doe feare and tremble They can neyther see any tokens of the Lords displeasure nor yet discerne the enemies raging so furiously agaynst all the Churches abroad as by their most deepe and bloody practises threats and intendments they daylie manifest to all the world no not those enemies which bee in our very bosomes such as all those are who beare evill will against Sion They perceiue not the multitude of Locusts with such stinges in their tails sent out of the bottomelesse pit to all the Kings of the earth to draw them all if it were possible certainly every one of them so farre as ever the Lord shall permit them to take up arms against our Lord Iesus Christ and his poore Church They are deafe and cannot heare the cry of their poore brethren though sounding daily in their eares so as to take any true pitty of them how then should they heare the cry of the Lord calling to themselves and all other to repent so to prevent and pacifie his wrath Concerning these so continuing the holy Ghost oft declareth the heavy wrath of God that is upon them That he hath blinded their eies and made their eares
whatsoever might any vvay offend thy most holy eyes Though I be weake and unworthy and have had exceeding many slips wants and faylings yet for the worthyness of thy Christ admit of those though so feeble desires which thou hast vouchsafed me Giue me my press-money the earnest and seale of thy holy Spirit My heart is prepared to doe thee the faithfullest service that ever thou shalt enable me Lord by such poore weake Wretches and at their praiers thou hast bin wont to get thy selfe the victorie that no flesh should rejoyce in thy presence but that all glorie honour and praise may be given to thee alone for evermore Reasons to be seriously weighed that onely such can looke or hope to have acceptance here 1. THat these onely are in a true League Covenant with God and thereupon are such as his heavenly Majestie doth not disdaine to call his Friends as Abraham was called the Friend of God And therefore they though they be but dust and ashes may presume through the merit of the Lord Iesus to intreat even for filthy Sodom yea to importune his heavenly Majesty and expect to obtaine of him that if there bee but ten righteous persons in five wicked cities he wil spare all for ten sake These onely are fit men to helpe by their prayers to rescue their Brethren out of the hands of Sathan and of all their cruell enemyes vvhich have carried them away Captives and who do so insult triumph over all and over the Lord himself as thinking that they have already made a conquest of all These are the men and these alone vvhich can with Moses stay the lords hands that he should not destroy his people These are they to whom God can deny nothing Onely these who having thus put their shooes off their feet are fit with that holy Moses to stand before the Lord to be sent to fetch his people their brethren out of Egypt from the Tile-killes and to pull them out of the middest of the fire These are with Aaron thorow the continuall intercession of our great High-Priest meete to helpe to pacifie the Lords displeasure towards the remnant of his people to stand betweene the living and the dead These being supported by Aaron and Hur can holde up their hands till God have got himselfe a glorious victory against Amalek These and these alone are able with Iosuah to cause the Sunne to stand still so farre as the Lord shall see it best for his owne glory until he shall be avenged of all his enemies and therfore much more may they be confident in matters of less moment For vvhat cannot the prayer of Faith bring to passe These men are able with Eliah to moove the Lord so farre as in his divine wisedome he shall see it best to send fire from Heaven to consume their Sacrifices and to make knowne to all that he hath accepted them And moreover to move the Lord to manifest to all the World and that as clearely as if hee spake from Heaven who is the Lord which is his true religion and which the false who they are that are the true children of Iesus Christ and who they are of the otherside that are the Servants of Sathan and Antichrist who are with him who against him These are they who vvith Mordokey and Hester and the rest of the faithfull amongest the Iewes are able to obtain the reversing of that most bloody decree procured by wicked Haman against Gods people although it be to doe all the decrees of the Medes Persians such as to man seemeth impossible euer to bee reversed and to cause Haman to be hanged upon his owne Gallowes To turne the plot devised agaynst Gods people to their joyfullest day a day to be remembred for ever a day of shame and confusion to all Gods enemies These are they whose praiers come up before the Lord as the prayers of holy Daniel Cornelius and Peter and who may looke for an answer from heaven at the evening Sacrifice above all that they can imagine even by the ministery of Gods blessed Angels so farre as shall be best These are they that in the greatest perils of the Church may hope through their praiers with holy Paul to save themselves and all in the Ship with them in such sort as the heavenly Wisedome shall see it best that at least they may swimme out though for not hearkning unto the Lord in time they may all first suffer shipwracke and be 〈◊〉 into the Sea These are they with whom at their cryes our Lord Iesus will be as he was with those three Worthies of the Captivitie in the middst of the hot fiery Furnace and in the verie Lyons den with holy Daniel to stop the mouthes of those hunger-bitten Lyons that the least hurt shall not come unto them more then shal be for his eternall glory with the greater good of his Church People and by whose trialles our blessed God and tender Father hath made knowne the truth of his Religion and of his causes with the innocencie of his people to Kings Princes and Rulers and to cause it by them to be published as it were to the world like as he did when it was commanded by them to bee spred and divulged in all the Dominions of the mightie Monarchs and so from them to goe to all other Nations with whom any of them had any trafficke or familiaritie And by whom he hath beene wont to effect accomplish his owne glorious workes as he hath foretold above all that any of his owne deerest Servants could ever imagine oâ—… could have beene perswaded of by any humane reason that they could ever haue bin brought to pass And thus much for this generall Meditation viz who they be that exclude themselves and also who they are and who alone that can ever looke to be committed as approved of the Lord for this blessed and glorious worke And how wee must strive to passe thorow all the difficulties before wee can approach with any true confidence and assurance to put our hand hereto and much more so as to bee able to preuaile with our God to bee made as his Israel and what confident boldnesse we may houe herein for that if wee bee such as these our God is stil the same hee is not changed neither is there with him any variablenesse or shadowing by turning The seuenth generall Meditation That the Lord notwithstanding graciously cals all sorts to be his helpers herein and therefore every one who will not strive to bee of this number and come to bee on his side must perish and doth iustly bring upon himselfe swift damnation IN this seuenth place the Lord would have us seriously to lay to heart out of all these Meditations the blessed estate and honour of them who are called and admitted to
habitation for Sathan and as a den of Dragons And that thou wouldest seeke now to have thy soule conscience wholly clensed and purged in the blood of the Lambe and to wash the feete of thy deere Saviour with Mary Magdalen by the teares of thy unfeigned sorrow for all thy former unkindness and for thy ungraciousness in keeping out thy Lord and Saviour so long giving unto Sathan the whole possession of thy heart and so the very chiefe roomes thereof not vouchsafing unto Christ Iesus so much as entertainment within thy threshold Then will he come in to thee how unworthy soever thou art and Sup with thee and thou with him This shall be the joy fullest day that ever shone upon thee for hee being in thy heart will by his blessed Spirit not onely teach thee thus to pray but will certainly make thy prayers to piâ—…rce the very heavens and finde happy audience at the throne of Grace chiefly in all these causes which so highly concerne his Majesty his poore Church and people He will then bring unto thee that joy with him that goes beyond all the joy of all worldly men and farre beyond that which all things here belowe can ever bring unto thee That which eye never saw nor eare heard nor entered into mans heart to consider of Yea that which shall never be taken away from thee but be a continuall feast for evermore And contrarily if yet thou wilt not harken unto him but still harden thy heart against him the time shall come that every call of his which ever thou heardest before and hast contemned shall sound so shrill in thy eares when it will be too late as thou shalt have it affrighting thee perpetually That thou never shalt have rest day nor night for the dreadfull noyse of these many cals because thou wouldest not harken in time but didst put off the day of thy repentance and so of harkening to his sweet voyce of mercy thus calling thee stilto bee partakers of his mercy and even of this high favour and now at day in these dangers of the Church in a speciall manner above all other Wherefore let the counsel of the holy Ghost be now acceptable unto thee breake off thy sinnes by repentance be not as the deafe Adder any longer But whilst it is now called to day heare his voyâ—… Contemne it not now little knowest thou whether ever thou shalt heare it any more thus in mercy but onely in wrath and vengeance for despising his long suffering and all the riches of his compassion The second Meditation To thinke what it is for a man to forsake his owne happinesse in refusing Christs gracious call and to joyne with Sathan against him to his endlesse perdition SEcondly the Lord cals loud to every soule to bethinke him seriously in time what it is for a man not onely to refuse and contemne the gracious call and service of our Lord Iesus Christ yea all his favours all his sweet promises and mercies concerning both this and a better life all the glory and happinesse of the Celestiall Canaan the heavenly Ierusalem where is fulnes of joy in the presence of the Lambe and at the right hand of our heavenly Father pleasures for evermore but of the contrary to choose to joyne himselfe with Sathan and with all the damned to serve under him against our Lord and Saviour Likewise to thinke aforehand what such a men will doe when hee must appeare before his glorious Majesty when all the greatest proudest of the earth that have so set themselves against him shall cry to the Hils Mountaines to fall upon them and cover them from the presence of the Lambe so terrible shall his very presence be unto them then though a Lambe to all beleevers who have heere followed him in true obedience to all who yet shall harken to his voyce yea so dreadfull shall it bee when whatsoever torment and misery is denounced against them in the booke of God to bee inflicted upon them hereafter shall be most certainly and fully executed in that lake burning with fire and brimstone For the unfallible truth and undoubted certainty hereof the Lord cals every soule alwaies to behold with the eies of their minds not only those fearfull spectacles mentioned in his word of that wofull horror of conscience which hath so surprized and overwhelmed so many of the wicked whom God hath left for ensamples to all posterity even for their malicious wickednesse though but against some one of his Servants as namely in Caine Saule Achitophel Iudas and others when they did but onely consider the wrath of the Lord and his vengeance due unto them and which would overtake them or felt it beginning to seize upon them for this sinne but moreover hee cals them to thinke aright of the continuall examples that hee daily seteth before their faces in the miseries of so many of his deerest Children How they are tormented when their consciences are awakened with a right apprehension and feare of the wrath of the Lord for their sinnes wherein they have served Sathan though not taking part against his Majesty and Children no nor so much as in forsaking him or them or any his causes but onely for some particular slâ—…ps failings and infirmities as either for some spirituall pride or timerousnesse in fearing men more then God and thereupon omitting some necessary confession or other good duty or for doing some small thing against their conscience or for some unbeleefe in not being able to rest upon the Lord his love and care in the failing of outward meanes as it was with Moses at the waters of strifâ—… or for spirituall security for decaying in their first love neglecting the conscionable use of meanes of grace and saluation or the like How even these I say when their consciences are throughly awaked doe indure as it were the very slashings of hell fire and this so dreadfully as their miseries astonish all that behold them and that they themselves doe account all outward tortures nothing in regard thereof so that many a time with holy Iob they wish an end were made of them being oft ready through Sathans malice to lay violent hands upon themselves Also for that they indure this so long as that Gods hand pursues some of them throughout their whole life that they are usually uncapable of any comfort though the same be sent by a messenger of God even one of a thousand except it bee a little before their death wherein the Lord commonly vouchsafeth unto them much heavenly assurance and consolation And if it be so with these here while yet the day of salvation remaines and the accepted time and also whilst they have the most excellent meanes to comfort them yea though they bee such as have felt formerly the assurance of Gods love favour in Christ and many
needfull for us or thy whole Church or any part thereof for Iesus Christ our Lord and onely Saviour VII A Prayer that all may understand how deere Gods Children are unto him that they may be so to us likewise OH Lord most merciful most wise and tender Father make all sorts to understand and know in time especially all those who so furiously rage agaynst thy Church and people at this day how deere and precious every one of thy Children is unto thy heavenly Majestie that they are unto thee as the apple of thine owne eye and that therefore their blood is precious in thy sight That they perishing for lacke of care to save and succor them much more being destroyed by them to whom thou hast committed them as to their nursing Fathers in thy place their blood will cry for vengeance like as the blood of Abel did and wil cause the murderers one day without unfeigned repentance to crie out when it is too late My sin is greater then I can beare Yea cause all to know that thou canst no more beare with wrongs done unto these thy Children and especially to those of them whom thou hast manifested by their child like obedience and by the glorious image of our Lord Iesus thy deere Sonne printed visibly upon them to bee so deere and precious unto thee then thou couldst beare with the wrongs done unto thy servants Abraham Moses David or any other of thine That if for Abrahams cause thou wast so severe agaynst Abimelech and his house though hee was but a Heathen King that which he did agaynst Abraham hee did ignorantly and with an upright heart as he sayth yea and thorow Abrahams weakness in saying of his wife she was his sister thou wilt then be much more severe agaynst all those who being convinced in their consciences of the innocency of thy poore children as all must needes be in a very great measure in this most glorious shining light of thy heavenly Gospell and yeâ—… doe so vexe and mollest them yea and seeke to destroy them out of the earth onely for thy names sake for cleaving fast unto thee and to thy sacred truth Lord perswade the hearts of all sorts that these while they are in any place are in some sort as Noah was to the old world and as Lot to Sodome for keeping off the vengeance from all the rest Yea good Lord make all sorts understand and know and especially set this ever before our eies and the eies of all thy people every where that thou madest poore Ioseph who was scorned and hated of his Brethren for his religion and pietie for seeking to reforme their evill behaviour to bee yet the preserver of his Brethren yea of all his Fathers house and of the whole Church and causedst his Brethren in their greatest extremity and in the very anguish of their soules to acknowledge how they had sinned against the Lad chiefly in their lack of commiseration and moreover to come and to stoope unto Ioseph and humbly to seeke unto him that he would not remember the wrongs and evils that they had done to him Cause us all to consider well how thou madest him to save them all even him whom for his dislike of their evill manners for his care for their good and for thy speciall favour manifested towards him they accounted the dreamer plotted against cast into the pit sold to the Ismalites thinking thereby they should never have bene troubled with him noâ—… have heard of him any more Grant good Lord seeing thy Children are so deere unto thee that for their causes and the wrongs done unto them thon callest for a dearth upon the lands where they are thou plaguest even Kings for their sakes that thou wilt not spare their owne Brethren or Sisters if they wrong them no not Miriam her selfe though she be beloved of thee a Prophetess and Sister of Moses but wilt make her feele her sinne and her shame if she dare but speake against thy servant Moses especially for doing as thou hast commanded him that they may be likewise as deere and precious unto all thy people Grant Oh tender Father that all sorts thus esteeming of them for thy cause as thine owne deere Children and so highly beloved of thee may all joyntly acknowldge their wrongs against them their haynous sinne against thy Majesty for them in all the rebukes scornes and taunts cast upon thee and thy sacred religion thorow the evils done unto them Vouchsafe that heereby all these may with faithfull Abraham Moses and Samuell pray for all thy people and so helpe to make the attonement for them by the blood of the Lord Iesus that all their sins may bee pardoned thy anger appeased thy people turned to thee againe thy hand may bee turned against thine obstinate and implacable enemies and the enemy may once againe bee given for the ransome of thy Children and people as thou diddest sometimes give Aegypt for thine Israel Lord perswade this principally to all thy Deputies and Vicegerents wheresoever in the earth that even for this cause alone for that these are so beleved of thee they likewise may in all tender affection set themselves as in thy place to rescue succour and protect them from the rage of all thine and their cruell enemies and that they may seeke withall the uniting of the hearts of all thy Children in that firme bond of brotherly love which is in Christ Iesus that those of them who most excell in vertue as they are most deâ—…re unto thy heavenly Majesty may bee so likewise unto them that they may respect and tender them their welfare and prosperity above all others That they may seeke to keepe all thine in this bond of holy love and wisely to prevent whatsoever may dissolve this brotherly knot or but breed any hatred envy grudgings heart-burnnings or unbrotherly censurings amongst them or whatsoever may hurt or annoy them any way That heereby all such thy Vicegerents may get this testimony and seale to their Consciences that they themselves are as thy first borne and amongest the deerest of thy Children and of all other of the earth most precious unto thee and that thou wilt shew thy selfe a Father and Protector unto them theirs for evermore when as thou wilt declare thy selfe full of vengeance against all of them who have any way wittinglie wronged or intended evill agaynst them Oh unite all the hearts of thine owne children unto them and theyrs in all loyall affection as to their foster-fathers and mothers whome thou hast in so much mercie to this end raised up for them and committed them unto as the hearts of all thine owne servants were united into thy faithfull seruant David whom for this cause they accounted better then ten thousand of themselves as the Candle of Israel and as they were
entred into for our selves our children and posterity and every one bound our selves by thy holy Sacraments chiefly by our Baptisme vow yet wee have all heynously transgressed wee have cast it behinde oâ—…r backes trampling under foote thy blessed Commandements thy statutes judgments Hereby good Lord have wee most justly brought all this thy fierce wrath upon so many parts of thy Church and also provoked thee to threaten most righteously the like or more heauy to come upon us all untill wee all see our unthankfulnesse and our breach of Covenant and that we do all joyntly humble our selves under thy most mighty and most fatherly hand to give thee thy glory by renewing and confirming this our Covenant in our true and our unfeigned repentance Wee therefore doe most freely acknowledge that wee have all most grievously and fearfully transgressed even in all the Churches against that first and great Commandement yea indeed against every one of thy most sacred Commandements in a high degree in one kinde or other and that in a speciall manner and as it were with a high hand For concerning thy inward worship and giving thee thy due glory by setting thee up as chiefe in our harts to adore and worship thee as our glorious God We humbly confesse for our selves and brethren even against us all that all of us who in the middest of this shining light of thy heavenly word doe still content our selves to liue in ignorance and blindnesse or in any heynous sinne and especially in Athiesme or prophannesse have set up Sathan the God of this world in our hearts to be our God and that hee it is that ruling there so blindes the eyes of all such least the light of thy heavenly truth should shine unto them and they should be conuerted and saved thereby Multitudes of vs O Lord thou knowest have set up the world as our God very many of us the riches other the pleasures and others of us the honour and pompe of it to adore many other that Antichrist the Pope of Rome as al who are Popishly affected in all the Churches who all preferre his decrees and ordinances before thy heavenly word for that all these and likewise all others who adore or honor any creature with that honour which is due to thy heavenly Majesty alone or above thee have and do preferre all these before thee and set them up in thy place But very few there are amongst us Oh most holy Father who have so set thee up as wee ought to doe our most glorious Lord and God that is so as to set our whole heart upon thee and to put our whole affiance and confidence in thee to love thee with all our heart soule strength and might to bee zealous for thee for thy sincere worship and truth but we are rather good Lord very generally as the Laodicean luke-warme worthy to bee spewed out of thy mouth Yea Lord wee have in verie many of us increased our sin in this in hating and scorning all such as have beene more zealous for thee and for thy truth then our selves are in that so many of us have sought utterly to destroy all power of true godlinesse in whomsoever it hath appeared yea that so very many of us have opposed our selves as it were fighting even against thine owne sacred Majestie like the Gyants before the Flood And for thy outward worship the sinne of multitudes of us Oh Lord hath beene and is no lesse to prouoke thy holines as in all those in each of the Churches who insted of worshipping thee onely according to thy blessed word in Spirit and truth have and do worship and do adore thee by Images Crucifixes the like Idolatrous or superstitious devises or by any will-worship whatsoever devised by man without the warrant of thy sacred word although those worships have beene most goodly in shew and pretended to most faire and holy ends And much more in and by all those who have or doe worship Sathan thy sworne enemy in thy place using divellish Arts to effect their desires and to bring to passe strange things by his helpe This wee confesse likewise what multitudes there are in the Churches who have and doe worship thee hypocritically meerely in outward ceremonies and bare shewes of religion and also of those who halt between thy pure and sincere religion and the religion of Antichrist And so likewise of such as worship mereely as the Pharifes being forward in small matters in tithing Mint and Cummin omitting in the meane time the most weighty and namely all true faith and unseigned repentance and true turning unto thy Covenant But for those Oh gracious Father who by their conscionable walking doe manifest to the world that they sincerely worship thee in spirit and truth when we consider of them aright how few they are wee may wonder at thy goodnesse in sparing us for their sakes seeing they have beene not onely so few but also so hated scorned abused for thy sake alone Moreover for taking thy glorious name in vaine Oh holy Father we acknowledge againe to our owne shame that we have made our selves extreamly guilty and worthy of all thy plagues for that besides all the fearfull oathes and blasphemies daily belched out against thy greatnes thou hast so sensibly spoken unto us by thy blessed word and by all thy glorious workes chiefly by threatnings and judgements upon our selves more mildly and upon our brethren in a more fearfull manner and yet wee have not hearkned unto thee And moreover for that besides all these thou hast spoken unto us by the voyce of thy mercies in all thy great deliverances and miraculous preservations of us in this Nation specially and through the incredible continuance of all thy blessings still by them all calling us all to know thee and to meete thee by an unfeigned humiliation before thy vengeance be poured out upon us for all our sinnes And for that yet we have not heard to tremble before this glorious name The Lord our GOD and unfeignedly to turne unto thee by our unfeigned repentance but have hardned our hearts to increase and hasten thy wrath by all our blasphemies and sinnes whereby wee have caused thy great name to bee blasphemed amongst the enemies unto this very day And finally for our Sabbaths Lord wee have and doâ—… confesse againe to the covering of our faces that we have so polluted them in all the Churches as that all of us doâ—… and must needs acknowledge that even for this sinne alone had wee no other wee have most righteously deserved that thou shouldst so begin to kindle such a fire of thy vengeance in the gates of all our chiefe Cityes as should not be quenched like as thou hast so fearfully done in forraine parts so often threatned us our selves heere at home Yea holy Father we have made our selves worthy that thou shouldest thus proceed in thy fierce wrath to
prayers mention'd before in the generall Contents are the sumâ—…e of this first Part. The Second Part to succeede in the next place containeth Prayers likewise for all the Churches and people of God scattered thorough the whole world that wee may all seeke to pacifie the Lord by giving him his glorie in returning and submitting our selves wholly unto his Covenant and that we may obtaine by our instant prayers that wâ—…e may ioyntly honour him so walking and beleeving as his heavenly wisedome hath appoynted For this is a thing notoriously observed and acknowledged by all who rightly under stand the state of forraigne parts that as it â—… amongst us for the most part so it hath beene very generally amongst them in all the Churches that they have had onely a bare forme of godlinesse a naked outward profession of the Gospell in word but almost without any power or life thereof more then for a fashion And that this hath not onely thus fleshed our Adversaries to the destruction of the whole Church as dooing a thing meritorious unto God heerein for that they conceyve us to bee but a company of Heretiques in professiâ—…n very Atheistes in our lives but also provoked our blessed God so farre aireâ—…die to leave so many of the Churches into their hands and thus to threaten all the rest even us our selves seeing his kingdome is not in word but in power And therefore so many of us as have made such a carnall profession have not onely shewed foorth a manifest contempt of his heavenly Maiesty and his holy Covenant but put a Scepter of Reede into the hand of our Lord Iesus Christ smitten him uppon the face and trampled his Crowne under our feete and indeede made his and our enemies to blaspheme and thus farre to prevayle and insult over us Whereupon hee hath iustly begunne and threatned us all to take his kingdome from us to give it to another people which would bring foorth the fruite of it and to leave us all to bee trampled under foote by these our Enemyes untill we know by wanting the blessinges which wee have formerly inioyed and the difference betweene his service and the slaverie of his Enemyes As these prayers therefore according to our Saviours direction may serve to prepare the way for all other our prayers and our right accesse unto his glorious Maiestie to come with confident assurance and do proceed un to the first petition of the Lords Prayer and the end of the first Commaundement that we may all give him his due glory performing unto him his inward worshippe which is the fountaine of all true obedience so those that are to follow in the second part the Lord assisting are to go according to the tenour of the same heavenly rule of our Saviour thorow the whole Covenant made with our God both for all his Law and Gospell beginning at the second Commandement so thorow the Law and thorow all the Articles of faith with the doctrine of the Sacraments and other things belonging thereunto That thus all even the poorest servants of God may have matter enough of prayer to be exercised in continually and all to this very end for appeasing the Lordes wrath and reconciling him to all his Churches and Children againe First every one for himselfe and his owne particular to be assured of his own reconciliation to the Lord by the blood of his Son when he can so pray and obey in truth And secondly that every one having attained to this assurance and favour with the Lord may bee exercised dayly as those worthy servants of God Nehemiah Ezra and Daniel in confessing their owne sinnes and the sinnes of all the Churches and people of the Lord and in so crying unto him and importuning him untill wee shall see the ful deliverance and restoring of the Churches in Bohemia Palatinate the rest yea the enlargement of them by the gathering in of the Iew and the remainder of his Israel from the uttermost partes of the earth with the utter razing of Babel and untill we obtaine whatsoever else the Lord hath eyther promised to his people or denounced against his enemies And finally untill we shall everie one see the heavenly Ierusalem and the eternall glory of his Sion The third last part is God willing to containe principally Prayers for this our sinfull Nation that we may first all see and lively apprehend the danger wherein wee stand every moment of drinking at the Lords hand after those other Churches which have tasted so deepely of the cup of his displeasure seeing our sinnes are no lesse but farre greater then theyrs and that specially sith their ensample hath no more prevayled with us Secondly that we may all in time wisely understand the meanes which in his wisedome and mercie hee hath yet left unto us to prevent the execution ready to come forth against us And thirdly that we may euery one use all the meanes thereto each according to our place and calling by turning unfeignedly to the Covenant of our God not onely to prevent and for ever to turne away all the calamities deuised against us by our deadly bloody enemyes but also so to reconcile the Lord unto us that insteede of those miseries which our Enemies so long for to rush upon us hee may make us the happiest and blessedst Nation that ever was in this last Age of the world so to remaine to his eternall glory the comfort example of all the other Churches for evermore To these are also to bee added some speciall Prayers for our particular purposes and ocsions FINIS D. Wh. Rom. 9 2. 2 Sam. 5. 1. Apoc. 12. 7. Ephes. 6. 12. Vers. 11. Iudg. 5. 23. Iudg. 4. 21. 5. 26. Iudg. 5. 1. Exod. 15. 21. Apoc. 5. 13. Ier. 2. 5. The delusion what and the parts of it The first part of the delusion That in Poperie they have moe devotions than wee in our Religion Like that in the Gag for the new Gospeller * This twentie is but one this two and fiftie yeeres By this shamelesse lie judge all the rest Ioh. 8. 44. What is to be understood by Devotions * For their devotions wherewith they cozen the world and extremely oppresse the poore superstitious soules which will have them see them in their Catalogue of their English bookes dispersed within these two yeeres last past with their prices as they are in Mr GEES late discoverie viz. Foot out of the Snare p. 9â—… The second part of the delusion That the Popish devotions are holier than ours The holinesse of devotions wherein Which devotions are best in regard of the matter and forme in generall Ephes. 2. 20. 2 Pet. 1. 19. 1 Ioh. 5. 47. Mat. 16. 18. Mat. 24. 35. In regard of the more particular matter Phil. 3. 8 9. Rom. 3. â—…7 4. 2. A most evident triall according to our Saviours direction Triall by the ends fruits of devotions Triall by the manner 1 Cor. 14. 9 11
14 15. Matt. 6. 7. Our devotions what in generall Their devotions of what sort a See their bookes of their chiefe devotions as they are called by Master Gâ—…E who was best acquainted with them b See their Letanies to our Lady in that booke and namely that sung at the intended â—…panish invasion Their more profound meditations and devotions 2 Thess. 2. 4. 2 Thess. 2. 4. Apoc. 13. 11. c. 14 15 16 17. Scope of all their dâ—…votions Esa. 1. 13. Comparing of them together Particular comparing of them for more evidence 1 Tim. 4 8. Col. 2. 23. Deut. 4. 2. 22. 32. Prov. 30. 6. Apoc. 22. 18. 1 Tim. 4. 1. Iam. 1. 17. Iob 22. Esa. 4. 4. Apoc. 8. 3. Matth. 6. Prov. 19. 2. Rom. 4. end Matth. 6. 7. Rom. 8. 34. 1 Tim. 2. 5. Apoc. â—… 3. Conclusion of this second point 2 Thess. 2. 11 12. The third part of the delusion that they spend more time in their devotions than we in ours Rhâ—…m on Rom. 3. vers 22. sect 7. Mat. 12. 33. Esa. 1. 15. 1 Ioh. 3. 15. Esa. 1. 12. Psal. 50. 16. Iam. 16. 7. Iust complaint against the greatest part of those who prosesse the Gospell Conclusion The further manifestation of that assumption which fully demonstrated all must renounce Popery or be professedly of Sathans Religion Seâ—… Watch Part 3. pag. 340. The Syllogisme grounded upon our Saviours owne words How the Lord manifested the truth of this Assumption that this is their doctrine * Now L. â—… of Licâ—…field Part 3. c. 11. p. 340 341. The Lord himselfe also daily more and more manifesting the truth of it to leave all the obstinate more without excuse Seâ—… the book intituled An admirable discoverie of an horrible attempt standerously â—…hered upon them of Rochell See Foot out of the Snare pag. 25. All their Doctrines lies in hypocrisic 2 Tim. 4. 2. Appeale for the truth of the Assumption Appeale for the evidence of sundrie Consectaries Luk. 11. 23. Ezek. 33. 7 8. * I could wish them all other of the simpler sort to read such little treatises as shew how Popery is against the main grouÌ„ds of Religion and first principles of the Catechisme as namely a little booke called a pill to purge out Popery with the shifts of the Iesuits by Master MVLLâ—…N and the like Request to all opponents Acts 9 5. See Peters enlargement concerning the power of faithfull praier 2 Thess. 1. 7 8 9 10. Psal. 34. 15. Psal. 10 17. 18. Esay 65 24. Iames 1 6. Iames 5 16. 17. 1â—… 2 Kings 2 12. 2 King 13 14. Iob 22 21 22. 3â—… Psal. 9 16. Psal. 50 16 17 To meditate Esay â—…9 26 c. 63. 3 4 5 How our Saviour hath bene wont to look for some to helpe his Church in all her extremities His usual maner then to find out some to stand in the breach and by whom he migat shew himself gloriously for it As Ioseph Some to bee helpers by their prayers and teares Iob 22. â—…0 These henow lookes for Euery one must needes desire to bee of this little number Iude 5 23. Iudg. 7 7. Yet everyone is not fitted for this service Our Saviour hath taught whom they â—…ust be To mediâ—…ate in the second place of the necessitie of seruent prayer at this time aboue all former 3. What a one hee must be 4. How his prayers must be framed 5. The power of such prayers 6. All other unmeet 7. How yet every one must endevour to be an helper To see the necessitie of this dutie by considering 1. The estate of the Churches 2. How the Lord cals for our helpes in teaching us to cry Our Father Our Father which art c. 1. To lay to heart the calamities aud perils of all the churches and people of God at this instant 2. Pet. 1. 4. 2 To seeke to prevent or mitigate the displeasure of our heavenly father To consider how God hath ordained Kings Queenes for nurses to his church Esay 49 23. And the praiers of his people so to incline their hearts 2 Tim. 2. 1. 2. 3. 4. Hallowed be thy name As the Lord hath been wont to glorifie his name by Kings and Princes saving his Church so we may now expect If we can give Christ glory in our repentance And the ra ther for that the enemie seeketh to trample his glory under feete Thy kingdome come How the enemies set themselves against Christ. How they have prevailed Resolued to proceed That Antichrist may fit again as God in his Temple That as they thus seeke to lead Christ his armies captives That he hath ordained Kings to hold up his Scepter Apo. 17. 16 17 And to make the whore desolate 4. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen How Sathan Antichrist seeke onely to be obeyed To destroy out of the earth all who obey the lord Nothing but the power of our Lord Iesus Christ of his Vicegerents to hinder it How difficult for us to lay these things to heart And for them who are vnder the triall to submit themselues That we may more commiserate them Giue us this day our daily bread To bring our hearts to a feeling of their miseries Both bodily To thinke how neere the like may be to us How we have deserved to drinke more deeply then any other How we hale on these How the Lord hath hitherto preserved us by Kings and Princes Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us To bring our hearts to a sense of the sinns so provoking the Lord. Chiefly carnal gospeling That the Lord hath is stil so fearfully proceeding for these sins according to the denunciation in his blessed Law Leuit. 26. Deut. 28. Our sinne in not submitting our selvs and seeking to pacific the Lords wrath who hath so 〈◊〉 and so many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with 〈◊〉 that hee might spare us By his Messengers By mercies iudgements Wonderfull preservation deliverances That our sins are so overspred committed with so high a hand Wee worse notwithstanding so many tokens of Gods displeasure No warning serving us To take their miseries oâ—… our owne perils to heart To labor for a feeling That wee are the men prin cipally devoted to destruction Most enâ—…yed by the enemies of the Church Our sinne of carnall Gospelling greater then of other Churches not onely shewing forth But so much denying all power of godlinesse Ashamed to be noted for more carefull profession Causing gods enemies to blaspheme Our sinne increased to the uttermost by our turning against Christ Iesus as against our greatest enemy Though hee haue so uiâ—…ibly protected us This 〈◊〉 apparent that we so many of us seeme deadly to hate all power of godlinesse Manifest in all the odious names wherewith it is branded Not to rest till we have brought our hearts to a seeling of our sins and hovv they are encreased That nothâ—…g keepes bâ—…ck his vengeance but his inâ—…init
impenitently for that they are both blinde and deafe They see not Gods wrath rushing on themselves much lesse can they see it rushing on others They perceyve not our sinnes Nor any tokens of Gods displeasure Nor the furie of the Churches Enemies Nor the multitude of Locusts sent out of the bottomless pit Nor heare the cryes of Gods poore children much lesse his call to repentance Gods wrath upon all such in blinding their eies hardening their hearts Esay 6. 9. 10. Rom. 11. 8. Rom. 11. 9. Esay 56. Esay 22. Especially upon all blind watchmen calling for all the beasts to destroy Psal. 14. 6. All the threatnings in the booke of God against such sins sinners are against them Not any one promise untill they repent Psal. 50 14. 15 4. Reason Every notorious sinner helpes to pull downe the vengeance on all Esay 5. 5. All excluded who have no compassion of their Bretheren in their miseryes If they doe not adventure themselve for their brethreÌ„ â—… Reason 6. None can be right helpers but onely those vvho can more lay to heart the causes of God and his people then their owne None mâ—…ete but they who indeavour to turne from every evill way Mat. 5. 29. And to receive the love of every part of Gods truth 2. Thess. 2. 10. Rom. 1. 21. Ezek. 14. 3. Though they flatter themselves God will not be mercifull to them Deut. 29. 19. Deut. 19. 20. But will give them up to be deluded 2. Thess. 2. 11. And in the end to a reprobate sense Rom. 1. 28. Ezek. 14. 14. That Gods owne Prophets shall helpe to deceive such Iohn 9. 31. Prov. 28. 9. Psal. 66. 18. None but they who in all things indeauour to be with our Saviour are true disciples Mat. 12. 30 Our danger in approaching neere to our God with out a warraÌ„t 2 Sam. 6 7. Numb 24 40 41 c. Deut. 1 41 45. Exod. 19 24. Math 22 11 12 13. Onely they who are so qualified as the Lord requires are the men whoÌ„ he cals Esay 6 8. â—… Cor. 1â—… 9. These only in a true league with God Deut. 16 17 18 19. These fit to helpe to rescue their Brethren from Sathan To stay the Lords hands Exod. 32. 20. â—…4 To whom he can deny nothing These fit to fetch Gods people out of Egypt Thesemeet to pacific the Lord and to stand betweene the living and dead To hold up their hands against Amalek To make all creatures to be for his people untill he haue got himselfe the victory Heb. 11. 1. King 18 38 39. To move the Lord to manifest the truth of his religion 1. King 18 36 37 38 39. Dan 3 6. To reuerse Hamans dedecree Hest. 8 5 6. Hest. 7 8. Hest. 8 18. The prayers of these ever come up before the Lord and they may surely expect an answere in his due time Acts. 10 10 11 12 c 30. Dan. 9 20 23 24. These may hope with Paul to save themselues and all in the ship Acts. 27 24. With these will Christ Iesus be in the fiery Furnace and the Lyons den Dan. 3 24 25. Dan. 6. 22 23. And in their greatest tryals make their innocency his religion knowen Dan. 3 29 30 31 c. Dan. 4 33 34 Dan 6 22 23. Conclusion of this generall Meditation Who meete How we must strives heereto And what confident boldness we may then have Iam. 1 7. The blessed estate and honour of all admitted to this worke and contrarily God excludes none but who exclude themselvess But cals all That all are iustly damned who come not to helpe Some reasons shewing that he cals all to helpe if ever they will see his face with ioy He cals all to be with him He cals all to regard him in his members Mat. 25. To repent turne from all their evill wayes that they may live Rom. 10. 20. 21. Ezek 18. 21 22 30 31 32 c. 33 11. The Lords protestation He calls all to his Covenant Lev. 26. Deut. 28. He calls all to pray as he hath directed God calls all to lay hold of all the promises of mercy Without limitation of time Ezek. 18. 21. 22. Psal. 95 7. Or exception of sinne Ezek. â—…8 Esay 55. 3. Or person Numb 21. 8. 9. Iohn 3. 14. 15. 18. And calls all to behold all the examples in his booke of receiving poore sinners Luk. 15. 10. The favour such are in upon their repentance Luke 7. 47. Never any such a one reiected Rom. 5. 20. Three things to be thought of ever untill we be of this number That the Lord hath ever stood still stands knocking at the heart of every impenitent sinner Chiefly of all in his Church By his word And Sacraments As Baptisme And the Lords supper And by the good motions of his Spirit And now at this time louder then ever By all the tokens of his displeasure Rage of the enemie Our favours This helpe More particularly â—…e stands at the heart of every one reading this or the like admonition That they would repent of their impenitencie To have their soules clensed Chiefly of ungraciousnesse in keeping out the Lord Iesus Christ will come to such a one Rev. 3. 20. 2. Cor. 3. 9. And contrarily to them who harden their hearts against Christ Iesus The sound of his calls shall ever be in their eares affrighting them Exhortation to all to heare now Dan. 4. 24. Psal. 95. 7. To thinke what it is to refuse Christs call to ioyne with Sathan and the damned Such to bethinke themselves what they will doe when Christ comes Apoc. 14 4. When all threatned against them shall be fully executed For the evidence hereof To behold the fearfull spectacles Of men tormented with horror of conscience in the Scriptures In daily examples How they are tormented in conscience for particular slips or failings How these 〈◊〉 indure the flashings of hell fire Iob. 7. 15. If it be so with these heere Though they be most deer unto the Lord. What shall become of all impenitent sinners And chiefly of all Christs enemies 1. Peter 4. 18. 19. If the righteous be scarsly saved how they If paine of a tooth be so great what shall their totall torment be These sufficient to convince all Deut. 30. 19. 20. How God sets before us life and death blessing cursing Life if we will harken to his call That we shall not need to feare Nor be dismaied for loosing all Mat. 19. 27. Mat. 10. 37. 38. Luke 14. 26. But contrarily have boldnesse Prov. 28. 1. Rom. 8 35. 36. Rom. 8. 35. 36. Be more then Conquerours Ron. â—… 37. Death and cursing in not yeelding to him Deut. 30. 19. 20. Our estate when feare shall come on â—…s of a sodaine Prou 1 27. Prou 28 1. Iob 15 20 21 22. Deut 28 63 c. 1 Sam 25 37 38. God bids us choose life Deu 30 25. 20 We cannot thinke that any one was ever reiected who