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<DATE>2007-10-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE
TYRANNY
OF
SATAN,
Di&s;covered by the teares of a
Converted Sinner, in a Sermon
Preached in <HI>Paules</HI> Church, on the 28 of
<HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> 1642.</P>
<P>By <HI>THOMAS GAGE,</HI> formerly a Romi&s;h
Prie&s;t, for the &s;pace of 38 yeares, and now truly
reconciled to the Church of England.</P>
<P>LONDON,
Printed by <HI>Tho. Badgor,</HI> for <HI>Humphrey Mo&s;ley,</HI> at the
Prince's Armes in Pauls Church-yard.
M.DC.XLII.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>To the Right Honorable, ISAAC
PENNINGTON Lord Major of the
City of <HI>London,</HI> together with the Right
Wor&s;hipfull the Sheriffes, and Aldermen of
the &s;ame City.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIRS,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_MAy it plea&s;e you, <HI>Saul</HI> that great Per&s;ecu|tor
of the new beginning Church of
Chri&s;t, that enemy who breathed out
threatnings and &s;laughter again&s;t the di|&s;ciples
of the Lord, after he was ca&s;t down from his
hor&s;e, and his pride was quelled by the might and
power of Chri&s;t, he was by the Lords order com|mitted
to the care of <HI>Ananias, Acts</HI> 9. 11. True it is,
<HI>Ananias</HI> an&s;wered the Lord, that he was jealous and
fearefull of <HI>Saul,</HI> becau&s;e he had heard by many,
how much evill he had done to the Saints at <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI>
13. <HI>v.</HI> But the Lord replyed no more unto him,
but that he &s;hould not feare nor mi&s;tru&s;t him, be|cau&s;e
he had turned his heart, and made him a cho|&s;en
<PB REF="3">
ve&s;&s;ell to beare his name before the <HI>Gentiles,</HI> and
Kings, and children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> &amp; that he would teach
him how great things he &s;hould &s;uffer for his names
&s;ake. Let it plea&s;e your Honour and Wor&s;hips to
behold here my own ca&s;e deciphered; for if <HI>Saul</HI> per|&s;ecuted
the Church of Chri&s;t; I my &s;elfe have per&s;e|cuted
the &s;ame Church, by oppo&s;ing the doctrin of
it, by preaching and teaching contrary to it, by pro|curing
to &s;educe &s;oules from it, by writing again&s;t
it. But now it hath plea&s;ed that mighty and power|full
Lord; again&s;t whom there is no re&s;i&s;tance, to
ca&s;t me down upon the ground, to quell my pride,
to lighten me round about with the beames and
light of his mercies, to make me know how hard a
thing it is to kicke again&s;t the will &amp; calling of God,
and with trembling and feare to make me &s;ay, <HI>Lord
what wilt thou have me to do?</HI> If <HI>Saul</HI> was &s;ent to <HI>Da|ma&s;cus</HI>
to <HI>Ananias,</HI> a chiefe and zealous follower of
Chri&s;t, that by him he might be protected from the
<HI>Jews</HI> and enemies of the Lord, who doubtles hearing
of his change and conver&s;ion would have cruelly
torne and &s;laughtered him if they could have found
him. So I my &s;elfe by a &s;ecret and inward order,
which I have found by God delivered to my Soule,
have judged it meet and fit to &s;earch out in this City
&s;ome zealous <HI>Ananias,</HI> &s;ome religious follower of
Chri&s;ts pure doctrin, that I may be &s;afely &s;heltered &amp;
<PB REF="3">
protected from the violent atte~pts of the Lords ene|mies
the Papi&s;ts, who I know will endeavour to do
me all the mi&s;chief they can. Therfore let it plea&s;e
your Honor and W^p^s. who are well known to be as
<HI>Ananias</HI> in <HI>Dama&s;cus,</HI> zealous and truly religious fol|lowers
of Chri&s;ts own doctrin, and favorers of the
pure Word of the Lord, to ca&s;t your eyes upon me a
new converted <HI>Saul,</HI> to &s;helter and protect me from
tho&s;e that plot my mi&s;chief. O when &s;ure&s;t they are
to hinder my per&s;everance in the truth, by plotting
and &s;tudying my de&s;truction, let them find me hove|ring
under the wings of your protection. O feare
not! nor &s;ay what <HI>Ananias</HI> &s;aid, <HI>I have heard by many
of this man, how much evill he hath done to thy Saints,</HI> but
prai&s;e the work of the Lord in me, who hath opened
now my eyes, who hath brought me now out of <HI>Ba|bylon,</HI>
who hath made me confe&s;&s;e my &s;ins and ini|quities
with a &s;orrowfull and contrite heart. And as
it plea&s;ed the Lord to &s;hew <HI>Saul,</HI> as &s;oon as he was
converted how great things he &s;hould &s;uffer for his
names &s;ake; even &s;o be you confident, as I my &s;elf am
that this my calling &amp; conver&s;ion is purely &amp; meer|ly
from above and from the Lord; from whom I
have receiv'd this te&s;timony, that he hath &s;hewed me
already how great things I mu&s;t &s;uffer for his names
&s;ake; for I mu&s;t for him &s;uffer many injuries and ca|lumniations
from the Papi&s;ts, I mu&s;t &s;uffer the lo&s;&s;e
<PB REF="4">
of all my kinred, I mu&s;t &s;uffer the lo&s;&s;e of that main|tenance,
which I was wont to receive from them, I
mu&s;t &s;uffer want and poverty. But for whom? For
the Lords &s;ake; for the teaching and preaching the
preci&s;e rule of the Word of the Lord, for abjuring all
<HI>Popi&s;h</HI> errors, for renouncing all &s;upertitions, for ab|horring
all idolatries. Let the&s;e my &s;ufferings &s;erve
to your Honor and Wor&s;hips for a true te&s;timony of
my conver&s;ion; let the&s;e my &s;ufferings remove from
you all feares and jealou&s;ies of my per&s;everance, that
thus with your favorable protectio~ I may rejoyce in
my calling, I may freely teach the pure Word of the
Lord, I may oppo&s;e all <HI>Antichristian</HI> doctrin, and by
my example may draw many wandring &s;oules to the
true Faith &amp; Church of Chri&s;t. And I &s;hall alwayes
pray to the Lord to keep your Honor and Wor&s;hips
in grace, and that you may &s;o rule &amp; govern this Ci|ty
by your con&s;cionable and upright actions before
God and men, that you may truly here be called zelo|tes
of the Honour of the Lord, and afterwards you
may have your &s;eats above in the triumphant City
of <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Hon. and Wor. humble and faithfull &s;ervant, in
the things of God, and Chri&s;t.
THOMAS GAGE.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>To the Right Worshipfull Sir
SAMUEL OWFIELD,
A Worthy Member of the Hou&s;e of
COMMONS, now a&s;&s;embled in
PARLIAMENT.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_IF my boldne&s;&s;e may reach &s;o far upon your patience, I
&s;hall briefly touch what <HI>Iohn</HI> in the fift <HI>chap.</HI> of his
Go&s;pell writeth of a poole which was in <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI>
called <HI>Bethe&s;da:</HI> About this poole were wont to lye a
great multitude of impotent folke, blind, lame, and
withered, waiting for the moving of the water, which was done by
an Angel, who went down at a certain time into the poole and trou|bled
the water, and then who&s;oever &s;tepped in, was cured of what|&s;oever
di&s;ea&s;e he had. But one lying there 38 years, who in all this
time could never be cured, becau&s;e being of him&s;elfe impotent (as he
an&s;wered to our Saviour) he had no man, when the water was trou|bled,
to help him or to put him into the poole. I will not &s;tand to mo|rali&s;e
this holy &s;tory unto you at large, least you might justly &s;ay that
I abu&s;e to much your patience, by confounding the &s;tile of an Epistle,
which ought to be brief, with the divi&s;ion, parts and order of a Ser|mon.
Only I beg your patience &s;o far as to peru&s;e this my en&s;uing
<PB REF="5">
Sermon, and in it you &s;hall find an impotent man, not only blind, but
deafe and dumbe, and truelly beaten by Satan, and by him expul&s;ed
out of the Church of Christ, and as I may truly &s;ay) lying in this
mi&s;ery neare 3<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> years. The di&s;cour&s;e of my en&s;uing <HI>Sermon</HI> will in|forme
You that I my &s;elfe have been this impotent man. Many times
my Con&s;cience hath been moved and troubled from above with good
and heavenly in&s;pirations (which God hath been plea&s;ed to &s;end in|to
my &s;oule) by my con&s;idered aberration from the true Church, for
which the waters of my teares and inward &s;obs from my heart have
been al&s;o moved with the troubles of my &s;oule. So that I would many
times full faine have &s;tepped and entred into the true Church of
<HI>England,</HI> where all di&s;ea&s;es of the &s;oule are most &s;urely healed. But
alas! mine own impotency and weakne&s;&s;e joyned with my long blind|ne&s;&s;e,
hindred the execution of my good re&s;olutions; temporall re|&s;pects
and feares kept back my &s;teps. Many times I feared I &s;hould
want a man and a friend (as the cripple at <HI>Bethe&s;da</HI> did) to helpe
me, to encourage me, and to further my good de&s;ires. I feared the
high A&s;&s;embly of <HI>Parliament</HI> would rather mistrust him, that &s;o
many years hath been an enemy to the State of this Kingdome, than
now in the&s;e times approve his penitency and contrition, which
might rather have &s;eemed unto them a fained hypocri&s;ie. All the&s;e
feares kept back for a time the forwardne&s;&s;e of my will and heart.
Untill at la&s;t I re&s;olved to di&s;clo&s;e and di&s;cover unto Your Wor&s;hip,
the&s;e troubles of my heart, the&s;e di&s;ea&s;es of my &s;oule, even the want
of a man to help me. God whom I &s;ought too plea&s;ed, with my
request; I found that a&s;sistance from you, that I &s;o earne&s;tly de&s;ired,
for, I found a man, I found a friend, I found a comforter, I found an
Advocate to plead for my pardon before that high Court now a&s;&s;em|bled.
For by Your meanes I have been quietly brought into the
Church; by Your meanes al&s;o, I hope, I &s;hall be henceforth prote|cted
again&s;t all &s;landerers, who will whet their tongues against me
and &s;eeke to trouble me, and grudge at my good, as the Jews ex|cepted
against the Cripple and impotent man, who was cured by our
Saviour. I &s;hall always be ready to render due thankes to God, and
<PB REF="5">
next to You, for Your ble&s;&s;ed help towards my Conver&s;ion, and fir&s;t
fruits of my Vocation, which in this humble. Work of mine, I have
endeavoured to make knowne to the World, remitting my further
expre&s;sions to better occa&s;ions. And in the meane time praying to
God, that he will be plea&s;ed with his powerfull hand to &s;upply to You,
and Yours what my heart can wi&s;h, but never will be able to perform
according to the full mea&s;ure of &s;o glorious a Worke, which truely
next to God the beginner and Author of all goodne&s;&s;e, by Your
meanes hath been accompli&s;hed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Wor&s;hips humble
and ever obliged
&s;ervant in Chri&s;t
THOMAS GAGE.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="6">
<PB REF="6">
<HEAD>The Tyranny of Satan, di&s;cove|red
by the teares of a converted Sinner,
In a Sermon Preached in <HI>Pauls Church,</HI> on the
<DATE>28 of <HI>Augu&s;t,</HI> 1642.</DATE></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>LUKE 22. 31, 32.</BIBL>
<Q>And the Lord &s;aid, Simon, Simon, Behold Satan hath de&s;i|red
to have you, that he may &s;ift you as wheat. But I
have prayed for thee that thy Faith faile not. And
when thou art Converted, &s;trengthen thy Brethren.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_DEarely Beloved; The&s;e words I have cho&s;en to declare
unto you this day, as mo&s;t fit to lay open before your
eyes my own mo&s;t wretched e&s;tate (wherein I have
continued almo&s;t 40 years) the tyranny of Satan over
my mi&s;erable and afflicted &s;oule, as al&s;o by the &s;ight
of &s;o hideous a &s;inner, as I have been, and by the
knowledge of the &s;lavery wherein a &s;inner groanes under the power
of the Devill, to terrifie you all that here are pre&s;ent from yeelding
to his crafty and &s;ubtile a&s;&s;aults.</P>
<P>And &s;econdly, to cheri&s;h and comfort all tho&s;e that find them&s;elvs
&s;educed by this mortall enemy of all man kind, with the mercies of a
mo&s;t loving and mercifull Father above, who not de&s;iring the eter|nall
death and de&s;truction of a &s;inner, but rather that he may turne
from his wickedne&s;&s;e and live; when poore&s;t we are and mo&s;t in
want, then doth he &s;hew and di&s;cover unto us the riches of his mer|cy
for his great love wherewith he loveth us, as <HI>Paul</HI> witne&s;&s;eth in
<PB N="2" REF="7">
the 2 to the <HI>Ephe&s;. 3, 4. ver.</HI> When mo&s;t dejected and comfortle&s;&s;e we
are, then doth he comfort us, and &s;hew him&s;elfe a God of Comfort;
as al&s;o <HI>Paul</HI> doth teach us in the 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 4. Who finally when he &s;eeth
us mo&s;t in darkne&s;&s;e and in the night of &s;inne, than doth he di&s;&s;olve
tho&s;e mi&s;ts of blindne&s;&s;e and ignorance from the eyes of our under|&s;tanding,
an<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hineth into our inward hearts, with the rayes and
light of his Grace and mercy.</P>
<P>Ble&s;&s;ed and prai&s;ed be thy name, O Heavenly Father, that ha&s;t
vouch&s;afed this day to lighten me in the horrid darkne&s;&s;e of my &s;ins,
that ha&s;t vi&s;ited me in my Aegyptian &s;lavery, and ha&s;t brought me
out of that thraldome of Popery, into a land of Milke and Hony,
abounding with the &s;weetnes of thy Grace and Mercies. Continue,
O Lord, the&s;e thy favours towards me &s;o, that I may by my Con|ver&s;ion
be an example to all &s;inners to for&s;ake their wickedne&s;&s;e, by
laying open unto them this day two principall and e&s;&s;entiall points,
to wit, the danger and horridne&s;&s;e of &s;in, and thy un&s;peakable mer|cies,
that thus I may perform what thou commanded&s;t <HI>Peter;</HI> and
that my &s;elfe being converted, I may &s;trengthen my Brethren, cal|ling
them from &s;in, and &s;trongly &s;ettling them in the true, ancient,
and Apo&s;tolique Faith.</P>
<P>Dearely Beloved, The fir&s;t point which is to be ob&s;erved in the
words of my Text, is the tyranny, which the Devill practizeth over
a Chri&s;tian &s;oule, contained in tho&s;e words of Chri&s;t our Saviour
&s;poken to <HI>Peter,</HI>
<Q>Behold Satan hath de&s;ired to have you, that he may &s;ift you as wheat.</Q></P>
<P>The de&s;ire of Satan is not any way to do us good, but all the mi&s;|chiefe
he can. As &s;oon as he hath got us into his claws, he produceth
(as far as lyeth in his power), Sentence of damnation again&s;t us, he
prepareth us, and putteth us in readine&s;&s;e for the fire of hell.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t preparation which hee maketh for our &s;oules to burne
everla&s;taingly, is the &s;ame which &s;hall happen unto every damned,
and cur&s;ed &s;oule at the day of the la&s;t and dreadfull Iudgment, when
the Angels &s;hall &s;eparate the wicked from the good, as Chri&s;t our
Saviour foretold us by S. <HI>Matthew,</HI> in the 13 chap. in the Parable of
the &s;eed, in the 41 <HI>ver.</HI> &s;aying, <HI>The Son of man &s;hall &s;end forth, his An|gels,
and they &s;hall gather out of his Kingdome all things that offend and
them which do iniquity.</HI> As a &s;o in the &s;ame Chap. of <HI>Mat<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">h.</HI> we reade
in the Parable of the net ca&s;t into the Sea, and gathering of every
<PB N="3" REF="7">
kind, which when it was full, they drew to &s;hore, and &s;ate downe
and gathered the good into ve&s;&s;els, but ca&s;t the bad away. <HI>So</HI> (&s;aith
our Saviour <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 49) <HI>&s;hall it be at the end of the world; The Angels
&s;hall come forth, and &s;ever the wicked from the ju&s;t, and &s;hall ca&s;t them in|to
the furnace of fire.</HI> Behold how the neare&s;t preparation for the fire
of hell is the &s;eparation of the wicked from the ju&s;t.</P>
<P>And after this followeth immediatly that dreadfull &s;entence of
damnation, which ye &s;hall find in <HI>Matth. 25. 41. Depart from me ye
cur&s;ed into everla&s;ting fire, prepared for the Devill and his Angels.</HI> If
this be a horrid thing to con&s;ider, and which ought to make our
haire &s;tand upright, and our fle&s;h to tremble; let not us laugh, but
feare and tremble to fall into Satans hands, hearing out of the words
of my Text, that his only de&s;ire is to &s;ever us from the elect and
godly, to prepare us for the finall &s;entence of Iudgment, to make us
ready for the cur&s;e of God and everla&s;ting fire of hell. For what can
more plainly be under&s;tood by the&s;e words of our Saviour to <HI>Peter?</HI>
<Q>Satan hath de&s;ired to have you, that he may &s;ift you as wheat.</Q></P>
<P>What doth the Husbandman, when he &s;ifteth his wheat, but with
the help of the wind &s;eparate the chaffe from the good grane? Even
&s;o the Devill &s;triveth and endeavoureth to &s;ift us as wheat; which is
as much as to &s;ay, to &s;eparate us from the Elect and cho&s;en people of
the Lord, from the good Laws of God, from the good and whole|&s;ome
Doctrine of the Church. This was the only endeavour of Sa|tan
the night of the Pa&s;&s;ion of our Lord, to &s;ever and &s;eparate not
only <HI>Peter,</HI> but the re&s;t of the di&s;ciples from the company of their
ma&s;ter like chaffe from the true grane: who &s;aid of him&s;elfe, that he
was the grane that was to be buried in the earth, that afterwards he
might &s;pring up again with great increa&s;e for all his Church. O if
every Chri&s;tian &s;oule would take this point to con&s;ideration, how
the Devill de&s;ireth and endeavoureth to &s;ever us like chaffe, fit for
nothing but for the fire, and for that dreadfull &s;entence of damnati|on,
<HI>Depart from me ye cur&s;ed into everla&s;ting fire;</HI> Doubtles we would
feare to commit the &s;ins which daily we commit, doubtles we would
tremble to yeeld to the power of &s;uch a tyrant; doubtle&s;&s;e we would
take no re&s;t in &s;in as we do, if we did but con&s;ider that by it we are
become dry chaffe &s;eparated from the heavenly grane our Saviour
Chri&s;t, &s;evered from all tho&s;e fruitfull granes and members of the
Church, who &s;tanding on the right hand &s;hall through their fruit|full
<PB N="4" REF="8">
Faith at la&s;t be laid up in that &s;torehou&s;e of everla&s;ting bli&s;&s;e and
felicity; when the &s;inner like chaffe already &s;evered from the grane
by the Devils endeavours, expecteth nothing but death to burn for
ever.</P>
<P><HI>In the 12 Chap. of</HI> Judges <HI>and</HI> 6 ver. <HI>I have ob&s;erved a pretty Hi|&s;tory
for this purpo&s;e, where the Scripture &s;peaking of a battaile
fought betwixt the</HI> Gileadites <HI>and the</HI> Ephraimites <HI>&s;aith, that the
men of</HI> Gilead <HI>&s;mote</HI> Ephraim, <HI>and put the</HI> Ephraimites <HI>to flight to|wards
the river of</HI> Jordan, And the Gileadites tooke the pa&s;&s;ages of
Jordan before the Ephraimites; And it was &s;o that when tho&s;e Ephrai|mites
which were e&s;caped, &s;aid, Let me go over, that the man of Gilead
&s;aid unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he &s;aid Nay. Then &s;aid
they unto him, &s;ay now Shibbobeth; and he &s;aid Sibboleth; for he could
not frame to pronounce it right; Then they tooke him and &s;lew him at the
pa&s;&s;age of Jordan, and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites fourty
and two thou&s;and.</P>
<P>Dearely Beloved, two things I would wi&s;h you to note in this
Hi&s;tory of Holy Scripture.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t, that at the pa&s;&s;ages over <HI>Jordan</HI> the&s;e <HI>Ephraimites</HI> were
examined who they were.</P>
<P>Secondly, that becau&s;e they could not &s;ay <HI>Shibboleth,</HI> but in&s;teed
of it they &s;aid <HI>Sibboleth,</HI> therefore they were &s;laine.</P>
<P><HI>Shibboleth,</HI> according to the true tran&s;lation &s;igni&s;ieth <HI>An eare of
Corne.</HI> And <HI>Sibboleth</HI> &s;ignifieth the chaffe or the &s;traw that remai|neth
when the corne is &s;eparated from it. So that we find that the
&s;word killed all &s;uch as could not &s;ay <HI>Shibboleth</HI> or <HI>Eare of Corne,</HI> but
in&s;tead of it pronounced <HI>Sibboleth, Straw or chaffe</HI> &s;eparated from the
corne.</P>
<P>O Chri&s;tian and devout Soule, take out of this a le&s;&s;on of mora|lity,
and judge thy &s;elfe a rebellious <HI>Ep<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">raimite,</HI> always warring a|gain&s;t
thy God and Maker. When thou &s;inne&s;t, what doe&s;t thou
but rebell again&s;t thy Creator? who at la&s;t will be too hard for
thee. But when? When he &s;hall meet thee at the pa&s;&s;age over <HI>Jor|dan,</HI>
that is, when as water thou &s;halt &s;lide away. <HI>Omnes morimur &amp;
qua&s;i aqua dilabimur,</HI> we do all dye, and like water &s;lide and fall a|way.
O what a day will that be, when thy Soule is to pa&s;&s;e away
from thy body? When thy Soule is to pa&s;&s;e over from this world
to the other yet never &s;een? O then &s;hall meet thee the true <HI>Gileadite,</HI>
again&s;t whom thou ha&s;t rebelliou&s;ly fought with the Sword of Iu|&s;tice
<PB N="5" REF="8">
in his hand; then &s;hall begin thy tryall for thy life or death of
thy Soule, then &s;halt thou be commanded to &s;ay <HI>Shibboleth,</HI> to &s;ay if
truely thou bee&s;t an ear full of weighty and fruitfull grane of fruit|full
Faith: But if thou can&s;t not &s;ay but <HI>Sibboleth,</HI> that thou art fruit|le&s;&s;e,
that thou art a light &s;traw, a little chaffe &s;eparated from the
true grane Chri&s;t Ie&s;us; then expect the wrath of God, expect the
the bloud of his &s;word of Iu&s;tice, expect if he find thee among the
wicked &s;eparated from the good, that this thy being &s;ifted, this di|vi&s;ion
and &s;eparation of thee from the ju&s;t and righteous &s;hall be a
fore-running me&s;&s;enger of that finall &s;entence of damnation, <HI>Depart
from me you cur&s;ed into everlasting fire.</HI> God forbid that in this Con|gregation
there be any &s;uch chaffe, any &s;uch dry &s;traw &s;eparated from
the fruitfull granes of the Church, and fit only for the &s;lames of Hel.
I hope, the Devill hath not &s;o far prevailed with any. But of my
&s;elfe with &s;hame (I may &s;ay) that I have been that rebellious <HI>E|phraimite,</HI>
that have almo&s;t 40 years warred ob&s;tinatly again&s;t my
Lord and Maker. I am that wicked <HI>Ephraimite,</HI> not able to pro|nounce
&s;ince my fir&s;t u&s;e of rea&s;on this word <HI>Shiboleth,</HI> not able to
&s;ay I had ever any fruitfull Faith, or have ever been a f<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">uitful grane,
but have always pronounced <HI>Sibboleth,</HI> have alwayes beene like bran
&s;ifted from the white flower, like chaffe &s;eparated from
the grane, fit onely for the fire of Hell. For what fruit|full
Faith could be in me, that in&s;tead of wor&s;hipping only my God
and Lord, have bowed my knee &s;o often to wor&s;hip for God a peece
of bread, according to that damnable doctrine of the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> (which
now I abjure and renounce) who teach that in their Communion is
no &s;ub&s;tance of bread or wine, but the true Reall and Phy&s;icall body
and bloud of Chri&s;t? A thing &s;o again&s;t Scripture, which teacheth
that Chri&s;t &s;ince his glorious A&s;cen&s;ion can be no more upon the
earth, much le&s;&s;e in &s;everall places and &s;everall peeces of bread, but
that he mu&s;t be in Heaven, untill that la&s;t Iudgment day, as ye &s;hall
find in the 3 Chap. of the <HI>Acts</HI> in the 20, 21. <HI>ver&s;.</HI> &s;aying, <HI>And hee
&s;hal &s;ena Je&s;us Chri&s;t, which before was preached unto you, whom the hea|vens
must receive untill the time of restitution of all things, which God
hath &s;poken by the mouth of all his holy Prophets, &s;ince the World began.</HI></P>
<P>What fruitfull Faith could be in me, who &s;o often have kneeled
to Images, wor&s;hipped them, burnt Franckincen&s;e before them, and
praid unto them, &s;o contrary to the Commandements of God?</P>
<P><HI>Thou &s;halt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likene&s;&s;e of
<PB N="6" REF="9">
any thing that is in Heaven above. Thou &s;halt not bow downe unto
them?</HI> So contrary, I &s;ay, to holy Scripture, which teacheth that no
Saints are to be called upon, no Saints are to be Mediators between
us and God, but only Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, as ye &s;hall find in the 1 Epi&s;tle of
<HI>Paul</HI> to <HI>Tim.</HI> in the 2 Chap. and 5 ver&s;e, <HI>For there is one God, and one
Mediator between God and man, the Man Chri&s;t Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P>What fruitfull Faith hath been in mee, who have beleeved and
taught a Purgatory, a place of &s;atisfaction for &s;ins, derogating by
this mo&s;t damnable doctrin from the infinity of Chri&s;ts &s;atisfaction,
who had not aboundantly nor infinitly &s;atisfied for us, if we our
&s;elves ought in fire and torments to adde &s;atisfaction to the &s;atisfa|ction
made by his mo&s;t pretious bloud. O good God, how do I now
perceive my &s;elf to have been &s;eque&s;tred from thy ju&s;t and righteous
beleevers! to have beene &s;eque&s;tred from thy true Apo&s;tolike and
Primitive Church, to have be<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">n &s;ifted like branne from the flower,
like chaffe from the corne. O mo&s;t mercifull Father, if in the&s;e 40
yeares, I had met with thee at the pa&s;&s;age of <HI>Jordan,</HI> at the pa&s;&s;age of
my Soule from my body, not being able to &s;ay <HI>Shibboleth,</HI> what
could I have expected but to feele the &s;mart of thy &s;word, to receive
the wound of everla&s;ting death, to heare that dreadful cur&s;e of thine,
<HI>Depart from me you cur&s;ed into everla&s;ting fire?</HI></P>
<P>But think not, Dearely Beloved, that Satans cruelty is &s;atisfied
with thus &s;eparating a &s;inner like chaffe from the corne, by making
him ready for Hell fire; O yet his cruelty goeth forward, yet he &s;if|teth
further a Soule. Though properly to &s;ift in our Engli&s;h tongue,
be to &s;ift the flower from the branne; Yet this word <HI>&s;ifting,</HI> in Greek
is more Emphaticall, for the true word, <GAP DESC="foreign">, in Greek, accord|ing
to M.<HI>Cameron's</HI> explication, &s;ignifieth <HI>Cribrare,</HI> which as he
&s;aith, containeth two things, to wit, <HI>illa concu&s;&s;io &amp; agitatio,</HI> that
thra&s;hing and beating of the wheat; and al&s;o <HI>illa divi&s;io &amp; &s;eparatio,</HI>
that divi&s;ion and &s;eparation of the chaffe f<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">om the corne. So by Sa|tan's
&s;ifting a Soule as wheat, we mu&s;t know, that he is not conten|ted
to &s;eparate a Soule from the Church, and the fruitfull granes and
members of it, yet his cruelty goeth forward, for he knoweth Gods
mercies are great, and touch the &s;oule of a &s;inner daily to bring him
to repentance; therefore he de&s;ireth our per&s;everance in &s;in, our ob|&s;tinacy
and hardne&s;&s;e, that we may no way return unto our Lord. He
u&s;eth yet more tyranny over us by &s;ifting us; he beateth us yet with
blows, even as the corn is beaten with the flaile; with one blow hee
<PB N="7" REF="9">
beateth out our eyes, that we may not &s;ee the hideous e&s;tate we are in.
With another blow he &s;triketh at our tongues, and breaketh the
mouths of our hearts, that we may not call upon God for helpe and
&s;uccour; with another blow he &s;huts up our eares, that we may not
heare nor give eare to the truth when it is preached. Even as a Cap|taine
when he be&s;iegeth a Ca&s;tle, taketh up al the high ways, wherby
any maintenance or provi&s;ion may come to the&s;e within the Ca&s;tle;
So doth this cruell enemy of ma<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">kind, when he hath &s;eparated a &s;oule
from the good and righteous, he &s;huts up all the high wayes, which
are the mouth of the heart, the hearing of it, the eyes of the under&s;tan|ding,
that &s;o no maintenance, nor &s;pirituall food may enter into it.
This was figured in <HI>Mark</HI> 9. 17. 18. where it is &s;aid that one of the
multitude brought unto our Saviour, his &s;on which had a dumb &s;pirit:
And he &s;aid, <HI>Wher&s;oever he taketh him, he teareth him, and he fometh, &amp;
gna&s;heth with his teeth and pineth away.</HI> By this dumb Devill &s;piritual|ly
is to be under&s;tood the effect which the Devill worketh in a &s;oule,
which he hath once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, making it dumb and &s;peechle&s;&s;e, that it
may not cry out to the Lord, nor acknowledge its &s;ins with one <HI>pec|cavi.</HI>
And many of the Fathers upon the explication of this dumbe
Spirit, &s;ay that it was al&s;o deaf and blind, to &s;ignifie the two other
effects, which the Devill worketh in a &s;oule, which he hath once got
into his power. This &s;ame de&s;truction of a Soule according to the
Fathers expo&s;ition was &s;ignified by that deaf and dumbe man, whom
our Saviour cured, as ye may read <HI>Mark 7. 33, 34, 35. And he took him
a&s;ide from the multitude; and put his fingers into his eares, and he &s;pit, and
touched his tongue; And looking up to Heaven, he &s;ighed, and &s;aith unto
him, ephphatha, that is, be opened. And &s;trait way his eares were opened, &amp;
the &s;tring of his tongue was loo&s;ed, and he &s;peake plaine.</HI> In the 7 of <HI>Dan</HI> 5
<HI>ver.</HI> you &s;hall find a like figure of this cruell tyrant, where <HI>Daniel</HI> de|claring
a dreame and vi&s;ion which he had, faith, <HI>And behold another
bea&s;t, a &s;econd like to a Beare, and it rai&s;ed up it &s;elfe on one &s;ide, and it had
three ribs in the mouth between the teeth of it, And they &s;aid thus unto it,
ari&s;e, devore much fle&s;h.</HI> Although S. <HI>Hierom</HI> by this ugly bea&s;t doth un|der&s;tand
the Kingdom of the <HI>Per&s;ians,</HI> and by tho&s;e 3 ribs and 3 &s;et
of teeth between rib and rib, expoundeth the 3 Empires of the <HI>Ba|bylonians,
Per&s;ians</HI> and <HI>Medes;</HI> Yet <HI>Richardus de Sancto Victore,</HI> and
many Fathers in a &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e, declare this ugly <HI>Beare</HI> to be a true
portraicture of the malicious &s;pite of the Devill, who with 3 &s;et and
orders of teeth devoureth and de&s;troyeth the three noble powers,
<PB N="8" REF="10">
wherewith the Soule doth &s;piritually &s;peake, &s;ee, and heare.</P>
<P>And truly in my mind, no Bea&s;t is a more proper Embleme of the
Devill, than the <HI>Beare,</HI> if we con&s;ider well what <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> in his 7
Book <HI>De Hi&s;tor. Animal.</HI> and 17 Chap. writeth of this bea&s;t, which is
that he eateth of all things&punc; of the fruits of trees, of herbes, of Bees
and Honey, of little <HI>Amits,</HI> and their egs, yea of your &s;hell fi&s;hes, and
al&s;o of fle&s;h. A &s;trange quality, proper only to this Bea&s;t! For if
the <HI>Lyon</HI> eat fle&s;h, he eateth not hay, gra&s;&s;e nor hearbs; and the <HI>Oxe</HI>
that eateth hay and gra&s;&s;e eateth not fle&s;h, Only the <HI>Beare</HI> eateth of
all &s;orts, and with this quality re&s;embleth the Devill more than any
other Bea&s;t. For the Devill devoureth and eateth of all; If a man
be given to the fle&s;h, there is the Devill &s;porting al&s;o him&s;elfe with
tho&s;e fle&s;hy thoughts: If like an Eremite one feed of hearbes only;
there al&s;o wil Satan be endeavouring in the wildernes to overthrow
tho&s;e that hide them&s;elves there, flying from the vanities of the
world, as he hath tempted and overthrown many &s;uch. If one &s;ay,
he is &s;o ab&s;tinent that he will not eat any fle&s;h, but feed only upon
fi&s;h, as &s;ome Monkes and Fryars do among&s;t your Papi&s;ts; O how
freely doth the Devill feed al&s;o with them, and for all their boa&s;ting
of their Ab&s;tinence, blindeth them and maketh them commit mo&s;t
horrid and enormous &s;ins of the fle&s;h and Idolatry, as mine owne
&s;ight and knowledge can te&s;tifie. If one like a little <HI>Amit</HI> in the
earth, humble him&s;elf &s;o deeply as to confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge him|&s;elfe
du&s;t and clay, and to conceipt mo&s;t lowly of him&s;elfe; there al|&s;o
will Satan feed, untill he make him proud of his own low and
humble conceipt. If like a Bee feeding upon the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of Hony
any one be in the Church feeding upon &s;weetne&s;&s;e of Prayer and
Contemplation, delighting with the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of &s;inging Pray&s;e
and P&s;almes unto the Lord; there al&s;o will this <HI>Beare</HI> the Devill
&s;trive to feed, untill he tempts with &s;ome fooli&s;h and idle thoughts.
In all like a <HI>Beare</HI> feeding of all &s;orts, and therefore may well be
compared to that <HI>Beare</HI> which <HI>Daniell</HI> &s;aw, ri&s;ing up to devoure
much fle&s;h. And as that <HI>Beare</HI> had three &s;et or &s;orts of teeth to de|voure
the three Empires of the <HI>Babylonians, Per&s;ians</HI> and <HI>Medes;</HI> e|ven
&s;o hath the Devill three &s;everall &s;orts of warlike engins to de|&s;troy
and overthrow tho&s;e three Forts and Ca&s;tles of our Soule, to
wit, the Sight, Speach and Hearing, that &s;o no reliefe may come from
God to that wretched &s;inner, whom he hath once po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t he maketh us dumb, that we may not open our mouths to
<PB N="9" REF="10">
confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge before God the grievou&s;ne&s;&s;e of our &s;ins,
nor crie out for help with our hearts to our only Mediatour Ie&s;us
Chri&s;t. Have not ye ob&s;erved a <HI>Wolfe,</HI> when he hath &s;eized upon a
little <HI>Lambe</HI> and &s;eque&s;tred it from the flock and Shepheard; how
the fir&s;t thing he doth, is to &s;trangle it in the throat, that it may not
bale nor cry out and be re&s;cued by the Shepheard? Even &s;o doth the
Devill, when he hath got a Soule from the flock of Chri&s;t: the fir&s;t
thing he doth is to &s;trangle it, that it may not &s;peake, nor cry out to
him that &s;aid by S. <HI>John, Ego &s;um Pa&s;tor bonus,</HI> I am the good Pa|&s;tor
and Shepheard: For he knoweth there is no better way, no
&s;urer remedy for us, than to acknowledge and confe&s;&s;e to God our
grievous &s;ins; as <HI>David</HI> &s;aith in the 32 <HI>P&s;alme</HI> and 6 ver&s;e, <HI>I &s;aid, I
will confe&s;&s;e my &s;ins unto the Lord; And &s;o thou forgave&s;t the wicked|ne&s;&s;e
of my &s;in.</HI> He knoweth that God will have a &s;inner accu&s;e him|&s;elfe,
confe&s;&s;e his &s;ins before him, and that this was one of the fir&s;t
le&s;&s;ons that ever God taught in this world, as ye may ob&s;erve in the
third chapter of <HI>Gene&s;is</HI> and 9 ver&s;e, where we read that when <HI>Adam</HI>
had &s;inned, God came down into Paradi&s;e, and called upon him,
&s;aying, <HI>Where art thou?</HI> Not that God was ignorant where <HI>Adam</HI>
was, nor that <HI>Adam</HI> could hide him&s;elfe from the &s;ight of God: But
God called him and asked him, where he was, becau&s;e he would
have <HI>Adam</HI> accu&s;e him&s;elf, confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge his nakedne&s;&s;e,
and the &s;in he had fallen into; for to teach all wretched and mi&s;e|rable
&s;inners to confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge their &s;ins and mi&s;eries be|fore
their Lord.</P>
<P>O this Satan knoweth to be the chiefe remedy, the bea&s;t ea&s;e for
an afflicted &s;oule! therefore hee &s;triketh his fir&s;t blow at the mouth
of the heart, that there may &s;ound no act of repentance, nor the &s;in|ner
may have a tongue to confe&s;&s;e and acknowledge him&s;elfe to have
wickedly offended his Lord and Maker.</P>
<P>O the Devill knoweth that nothing endangereth more a Soule in
&s;in than dumbne&s;&s;e and &s;ilence! as <HI>David</HI> al&s;o te&s;tifieth in the &s;ame
32 <HI>P&s;alme</HI> and 3 ver&s;e, &s;aying, <HI>For while I held my tongue, my bones
con&s;umed away.</HI></P>
<P>O how doth a &s;inner pine and con&s;ume away for want of crying
out to the Lord, for want of acknowledging his own wretched e|&s;tate!</P>
<P>O Dearely Beloved, make u&s;e of this Doctrine, and when&s;oever
ye find your &s;elves to have been carried away by Satan, forget not
<PB N="10" REF="11">
your tongues, be not dumbe, acknowledge pre&s;ently your iniquities
before the Lord, touch with your tongues the leper and &s;ores of your
&s;oules, let not them fe&s;ter for want of a tongue to heale them. Re|member
when ye are in &s;in, ye are as the P&s;almi&s;t &s;aith, like Bea&s;ts
without rea&s;on.</P>
<P>O &s;hew at lea&s;t to have that &s;mall &s;en&s;e and rea&s;on, which many
Bea&s;ts and a Dog hath, who when he is bitten and full of &s;oares, with
his tongue only pre&s;erveth his &s;oares from fe&s;tering. Even &s;o do
thou poore and wretched &s;inner, when thy &s;oule is bitten with the
fir&s;t &s;et of teeth of this cruell <HI>Beare,</HI> lift up thy heart unto thy Lord,
acknowledge and confe&s;&s;e thy &s;ins before him, with thy tongue pre|&s;erve
thy &s;oule from inward fe&s;tering. Remember that God will
have thee confe&s;&s;e thy iniquity and aske pardon of him. Be not
therefore dumbe, O &s;inner I (if any there be be&s;ides my &s;elfe in this
Congregation) &s;ay with <HI>David, I will confe&s;&s;e my &s;innes unto the Lord;</HI>
Cry out with the prodigall &s;on in the 15 Chapter of <HI>Luke</HI> and 18.
Ver&s;e, <HI>Father I have &s;inned again&s;t Heaven, and before thee.</HI> Remem|ber
thou ha&s;t a Heavenly Shepheard above, Ie&s;us Chri&s;t: Bale and
cry out unto him like the little Lambe, that is &s;et upon by the rave|nous
Wolfe. Be &s;ure thou bee&s;t not mute nor dumbe: be &s;ure the
Devill take not from thee the u&s;e of thy tongue.</P>
<P>O a man that is fallen into a deep water, hath hopes of life if the
water reach but to his knees, or to his brea&s;t, or to his &s;houlders;
but if once it reach to enter into his mouth to choke him, eminent is
the danger he is in. Even &s;o if a &s;inner be plunged and drowned &s;o
deepely into the depth of &s;in, that it hath reached to his mouth, that
it once hinder his tongue from confe&s;&s;ing his wickedne&s;&s;e, and from
crying out to God; great danger is he in. Feare this danger, O
Beloved; feare that the mouth of your hearts be not &s;topped by Sa|tan,
that by this high way which leadeth to the inward Ca&s;tle of
your Soule, all Ammunition, all helpe and &s;uccour from above bee
not &s;topped and robbed for want of acknowledging your &s;ins, and
crying out unto your Lord for pre&s;ent aide and relief. And &s;o much
for this.</P>
<P>The &s;econd blow which the Devill &s;triketh at a &s;inner, is to
beat out his eyes and to blind him, that he may not &s;ee the danger
he is in, nor his own wretched and mi&s;erable e&s;tate, as <HI>David</HI>
affirmeth in the 38 <HI>P&s;al.</HI> and 10. <HI>ver&s;e,</HI> &s;aying, <HI>My heart panteth,
my &s;trength hath failed me, and the &s;ight of mine eyes is gone from mee.</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="11">
And again in the 40 <HI>P&s;alme</HI> and 15 <HI>ver&s;e</HI> he &s;aith, <HI>Innumerable trou|bles
are come about me; my &s;innes have taken &s;uch hold upon me, that I
am not able to look up.</HI> O the Devid knoweth very well, that if a
&s;inner did but &s;ee the mi&s;erable and wretched e&s;tate his &s;oule is in,
he would make ha&s;t to returne unto his Lord; therefore he blind|eth
him that he may run head-long down to Hell. He dealeth with
a &s;inner as cruelly as <HI>Nabuchadnezzar</HI> King of <HI>Babell</HI> dealt with
<HI>Zedekiah,</HI> as ye may read in the 2 of <HI>Kings, 25 Chapter</HI> and 7 <HI>ver&s;e,
And they &s;lew the &s;ons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of
Zedekiah, and bound him in chaines and carried him to Babell.</HI> Even
&s;o doth the Devill with a &s;inner, he beateth out his eyes, bindeth
him in chaines, and &s;o carrieth him to <HI>Babell,</HI> to a Chaos of con|fu&s;ion.</P>
<P>This a &s;inner will not beleeve, but runs forward with more and
more delight in his iniquities; he thinkes, becau&s;e he enjoyeth his
corporall &s;ight, that his &s;oule is not blinded. Tell me then, if a man
&s;hould be in &s;o de&s;perate a ca&s;e, as running a long a &s;treet, and all
crying out unto him and &s;aying, O man art thou mad, doe&s;t thou
not &s;ee &s;uch an one thine enemy &s;tanding before thee with his &s;word
drawn to kill thee? If neverthele&s;&s;e and for all the&s;e cries, this
man &s;hould run towards the &s;word; would not we &s;ay that he is
mad, or rather blind and not able to &s;ee the &s;word before him?</P>
<P>O Dearely Beloved&punc; this is no &s;porting matter; when we
offend the Lord, we are &s;urely blind; If we were not, how would
we dare to runne upon the &s;word which the Iu&s;tice of God hath
drawn again&s;t us? If we will not believe this, let us but turne to
the 7 <HI>P&s;alme of David,</HI> and read there the 12, 13, and 14 <HI>ver&s;es,</HI>
where we &s;hall find the&s;e words, <HI>God is a righteous Judge, &s;trong and
patient, and God is provoked every day; If a man will not turne, he will
whet his &s;word, he hath bent his bow, and made it ready; he hath prepa|red
for him the in&s;truments of death.</HI> Behold a &s;word a whetting for
us to run us thorow, a bow bent to &s;hoot at us, other in&s;truments
prepared only for our death and de&s;truction. And yet we will not
&s;ee them, we run upon them: Why? Becau&s;e wee are blind, the
Devill hath deprived us of our &s;pirituall &s;ight: We are like that
wicked and di&s;obedient Prophet <HI>Balaam,</HI> of whom we read in the
22 <HI>Chapter of Numbers</HI> and 23 <HI>Ver&s;e,</HI> that he was &s;o blind that he
could not &s;ee the Angell of the Lord &s;tanding in his way with a
Sword drawn in his hand; the words are the&s;e, <HI>And when the
<PB N="12" REF="12">
A&s;&s;e &s;aw the Angel of the Lord &s;tand in the way, and his &s;word drawne
in his hand, the A&s;&s;e turned out of the way, and went into the field, but
Balaam &s;mote the A&s;&s;e to turne her into the way.</HI> Lo here, how a
&s;imple and &s;illy A&s;&s;e by Gods permi&s;&s;ion, e&s;pyeth the &s;word of the
Lord drawn again&s;t a &s;inner and wicked Prie&s;t, to teach us, how
tho&s;e that are &s;imple and humble in their own conceipts, &s;ee the
dangers that a &s;inner runs into by &s;in: But the proud and &s;tubborne
Delinquent again&s;t Gods Laws, will not &s;ee the&s;e dangers. Becau&s;e
alas he is blind, the Devill hath pulled out the eyes of his Soule, the
windows whereby the light and beames of Gods mercy were wont
to &s;hine into his heart, are <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ow rammed up with lime and &s;tone&punc;
that no light may come in for a &s;inner to &s;ee tho&s;e horrid A&s;pids, Ba|&s;ilisks
and Adders, which lye lurking and taking their repo&s;e in the
clo&s;e and &s;ecret chamber of his Con&s;cience.</P>
<P>O Pity! O Compa&s;&s;ion! If any be to be had, when a &s;inner is
come to this mi&s;ery. O Dearely Beloved, make good u&s;e of this
Doctrine, and fly from &s;in all your lives; &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">are to be thus blinded:
Pray to the Lord, that though through mans frailty ye do commit
a &s;in: O yet your &s;ight may be left ye: One eye at lea&s;t may re|maine
to lift up to God, to look up to him.</P>
<P>Remember how that poore and lame cripple, of whom we read
in the 3 <HI>Chapter</HI> of the <HI>Acts,</HI> and 4 <HI>Ver&s;e,</HI> received bodily health and
&s;trength, having no limbe to help him&s;elfe, but was daily carried
and laid at the gate of the Temple; <HI>And Peter fastning his eyes upon
him with John, &s;aid, looke on us.</HI> Nothing was demanded of him but
only the u&s;e of his eyes; for looking only up upon <HI>Peter</HI> hee was
cured.</P>
<P>O Deare Soule, Moralize this healing of this Cripple and the
manner of it, and take out of it a le&s;&s;on how to obtaine more ea&s;ily
the health of thy di&s;ea&s;ed &s;oule. If with no limbe thou bee&s;t able to
helpe thy &s;elfe: Looke up at lea&s;t to God, lift up the eyes of thy heart
to thy Lord, pray dayly to him that thy &s;ight may not faile in thy
inward man; Pray that the Devill may not blind thee how&s;oever,
but that thou maye&s;t &s;ee the enormity and hideou&s;ne&s;&s;e of thy &s;in, the
in&s;truments of death which God hath prepared again&s;t thee, the
Sword of his Iu&s;tice drawn, the Bow of his wrath and anger bent;
that thus having eyes left thee to &s;ee tho&s;e dangers, thou maye&s;t like
this Cripple, as he looked up to <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>John,</HI> and received bodily
health: &s;o thou al&s;o by ca&s;ting an eye up to the Lord, by opening the
<PB N="13" REF="12">
the window of thy heart maye&s;t let in the light of Gods mercy to
&s;hine within thee, and maye&s;t receive the &s;pirituall health of thy
leprous and di&s;ea&s;ed &s;oule. And &s;o much for this.</P>
<P>The la&s;t and deadlie&s;t blow, which the Devill with his heavy
&s;tayle &s;triketh at a Soule, is in the Eares, wherewith hee fells him
quite down and layes him &s;lat to the ground, taking his hearing
quite from him, and making him deafe, that hee may not heare the
word of the Lord, nor hearken to any comfortable tydings of his
Salvation.</P>
<P>Of the wretched &s;inners deafenes again&s;t the Word of God, <HI>Paul</HI>
&s;poke in the &s;econd Epi&s;tle to <HI>Timothy</HI> in the 4 <HI>Chapter</HI> and 4 <HI>ver&s;e,</HI>
&s;aying, <HI>And they &s;hall turne away their eares from the truth and &s;hall
be turned unto fables.</HI> Of this &s;ort of &s;inners, an Ancient Father, <HI>Cle|nent
Alexandranus</HI> in his exhortation to the Greckes and Gentiles
&s;peaketh thus, <HI>Coelum feci&s;tis Scenam, &amp; Deus factus e&s;t vobis Actus:</HI>
Ye have made a &s;port and play of Heaven, and God him&s;elf is become
at Act or Comedy unto ye.</P>
<P>But you will &s;ay, Dearely Beloved, what meaneth this ancient
Author by the&s;e words? An example will declare his mind better.
Have not you marked in the&s;e Playes here about the City? How
&s;ometimes one commeth out upon the Stage, with a Crowne and
Kingly Diadem upon his head, and with a Scepter in his hand, gran|ting
Princely favours, and highly rewarding tho&s;e that have been
dutiful and loyall Subjects unto him? Another you &s;hall &s;ee come
out upon the &s;ame Stage with a &s;word drawn, all bloudy, with
&s;treams of bloud trickling down from his head to his feet, as if he had
been wounded in &s;ome &s;ierce and de&s;perate combate. Then you &s;hal
&s;ee &s;ometimes over the Stage the Heavens open, great glory of An|gels
appearing, and one de&s;cending in a cloud. Somtimes you &s;hall
&s;ee from under the Stage a&s;cend a &s;moak of Fire and Brim&s;tone, and
a Devill leap up in &s;uch a &s;hape as may &s;uffice to terrifie you. At all
this you laugh, you hold it but a fable. The King you &s;ee come out,
you re&s;pect not, becau&s;e you know he is none. The other that is
wounded and all bloudy, you pity not, becau&s;e you know that bloud
is not true but painted bloud. The glory you &s;ee and the Angels in
it, do no way entice you to it, becau&s;e you know it is but fained:
The Fire and Brim&s;tone, and ugly &s;ight of Devils that come upon
the Stage do nothing terrifie you. Why? Becau&s;e you know all is
&s;alfe, that there is no Hell, nor any true Devill, but only a repre&s;en|tation
<PB N="10" REF="13">
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<PB N="11" REF="13">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="12" REF="14">
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<PB N="13" REF="14">
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<PB N="14" REF="15">
of it: So that you &s;port and laugh at all.</P>
<P>Now then let us apply the&s;e words and this &s;imilitude of <HI>Clement
Alexandrinus</HI> to tho&s;e deafe &s;inners, who, as <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, Turn away
their eares from the truth, and are turned unto Fables. The&s;e when
they come to heare the word of the Lord, will not heare it with
their hearts, but make a play &s;port of it. When they heare the Prea|cher
&s;et forth the might and power of that King of Kings, and Cre|ator
of all things, who will glorifie his elect &s;ervants with everla|&s;ting
bli&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e; Like Athei&s;ts they laugh at it, and iudge
of this eternall King as of a King in a play.</P>
<P>When they heare the Preacher teach, how Ie&s;us Chri&s;t was whip|ped,
reviled, &s;troken, &s;mitten and crowned with thornes, nayled
with nailes, pierced with a &s;peare for their &s;ins; their hearts will
not heare it, they make &s;port of it, they are not moved to love &s;o lo|ving
a Saviour and Mediator who with the price of his own bloud,
made an aboundant and copious &s;atisfaction for our &s;ins.</P>
<P>When they heare the Preacher teach the glory of Heaven, the
Quires of Angels there, that everla&s;ting re&s;t without any &s;ob or
teares, without any cold, hunger, or thir&s;t, they will not heare it to
beleeve, they judge of it, as of the glory in a play upon a Stage, and
like Epicureans eate, drink and riot &s;aying,
<Q>&mdash;Post mortem nulla voluptas.</Q></P>
<P>They think that their &s;oules after death like Bea&s;ts &s;hall be di&s;&s;olved
into the aire to nothing. When they heare a Preacher bring out up|on
the Stage in the Pulpit, and &s;et before a great a&s;&s;embly the deepe
pits of Hell, the Legions of fierce and cruell Divels there, the always
burning fire and Brim&s;tone, the everla&s;ting broiling there, the hor|rid
gna&s;hing of teeth, the paines and torments due to their &s;ins, if
they turne not to God; Alas they will not heare it with their heart,
they thinke it is but a Hell of a Play, they are turned unto Fables,
they make a &s;port of all, they make an Act or Play of God, they think
all fained, they heare it with their corporall eares, but with the
cares of their &s;oule, they will not hearken unto it; they make them|&s;elves
the Actors of the fooles part in this &s;port and play, which they
make of God and Heaven. Why? Becau&s;e the Devill hath made
them deafe. This is his chiefe way, he knoweth, though it be damb
or blind, yet by hearing the Word of the Lord with a well di&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;ed
<PB N="15" REF="15">
heart it may receive &s;ome &s;eed of a fruitfull Faith, as S. <HI>Paul</HI> taught
the <HI>Romanes</HI> in the 10 <HI>Chap.</HI> and 17 <HI>Ver&s;.</HI> &s;aying, <HI>So then Faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.</HI> This is the Devils feare,
and therefore he &s;hutteth up their eares, that no maintenance that
way, no &s;uccour, no reliefe may come unto the &s;oule. With this he
maketh them groan under his yoke, with this he maketh them &s;laves
unto him. In <HI>Deut.</HI> 15. 12. you &s;hall find that God gave a Command
of relea&s;e, &s;aying, <HI>And if thy Brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew
woman be &s;old unto thee, and &s;erve thee &s;ix years, then in the &s;eventh yeare
thou &s;halt let him go free from thee.</HI> And lower 16, 17. <HI>v.</HI> God comman|ded
thus; <HI>And it &s;hall be, if he &s;ay unto thee, I will not go away from
thee, becau&s;e he loveth thee and thine hou&s;e, becau&s;e he is well with thee.
Then &s;halt thou take an Aule, and thrust it thorough his eare unto the
doore, and he &s;hall be thy &s;ervant for ever.</HI></P>
<P>In a morall and &s;pirituall &s;en&s;e, Learn here, Deare Brethren, how
as God commanded a relea&s;e for debts and for &s;ervants, &s;o doubtle&s;&s;e
he expecteth that thy Soule &s;hall not be always under any other ma|&s;ter
but him&s;elf. If therfore the Devill have been thy Ma&s;ter for &s;ome
time, thinke for a relea&s;e, think of relea&s;ing thy &s;elf from him; do not
&s;ay, deare &s;oule, unto the Devill, I will not go away from thee, be|cau&s;e
<HI>I</HI> love thee, becau&s;e I am well with thee; which if thou doe&s;t,
then will Satan make u&s;e of this Law of God for him&s;elfe and for
his own en<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">s; then will he marke thee in the eares for a perpetuall
&s;lave, with an Aule he will boare thine eares thorow, and fa&s;ten them
to a wall, to that wall which thy iniquities have put between thee
and God; he will keep thee for his &s;lave, if ever he marke thee in thy
eares, he will take thy hearing from thee, that thou maye&s;t not heare
any goodne&s;&s;e, nor make good u&s;e of any. O what mi&s;ery is a &s;inner
in, when he commeth to lo&s;e his hearing! Abhorre from &s;in, dearely
beloved, lea&s;t ye fall thus into &s;lavery under the tyranny of Satan; if
ye have not found your &s;elves &s;o far gone, nor &s;o far en&s;nared by the
Devill, as he doth en&s;nare others, renounce him at his fir&s;t a&s;&s;aults,
lea&s;t he encroach upon the mouth of your heart and &s;oule, upon the
eyes and eares of it, making yee dumb, deaf and blind. O take ex|ample
by me, who have had experience of the&s;e 3 blows, who have
been flailed, beaten and thra&s;hed by this cruell enemy; with one
blow I have been left &s;peechle&s;&s;e and dumb almo&s;t 40 years; I have
not had a tongue till this day, to confe&s;&s;e before God my iniquities,
my idolatries, my &s;uper&s;titions, my di&s;loyalties to my King, the
<PB N="16" REF="16">
Lords Annoynted. O I have been blind, &amp; wilfully blind, and would
not &s;ee my errors, the errors of the <HI>Whore of Babylon.</HI> True it is, many
years ago by reading Authors and the grounds of our true Prote|&s;tant
Religion; I did &s;ee the light of it, the truth of it, the &s;incere, pure
and candid doctrine of it: but yet with the eyes of my Soule I would
not &s;ee it. I was like a foule and ugly Monky, who when he chan|ceth
to &s;ee his foule &s;hape, his deformed feet in a pure and Cri&s;tall
Looking-gla&s;&s;e, rageth, and flingeth at the gla&s;&s;e and teareth it in
pieces, becau&s;e it repre&s;entes unto him his own deformity. Even &s;o
have I done, dearely Beloved, the&s;e many yeares. When I read the
pure and Chri&s;tall doctrine of our Church, which teacheth even
what Chri&s;t taught <HI>Peter</HI> and his Di&s;ciples to acknowledge a Supre|macy
next to God to <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> by taking mony out of a fi&s;hes belly, and
&s;ending it for trib te to <HI>Cae&s;ar,</HI> a le&s;&s;on for all Subjects (yea for the
<HI>Popes</HI> them&s;elves who can be no better than Chri&s;t and <HI>Peter</HI>) to ac|knowledge
their duty and Allegiance next to God unto their Kings,
and Princes. But when I &s;aw by this cleare doctrine my ugly &s;hape
of a di&s;loyall, di&s;obedient and trecherous mon&s;ter, nouri&s;hed with
the venemous and poy&s;oned milk of the <HI>Whore of Babylon,</HI> which
teacheth her <HI>Popes</HI> to be above all Temporall Princes, and no wayes
bound to pay them tribute; O how would I fly and fling like a Mon|ky
at the Chri&s;tall gla&s;&s;e of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> doctrin, that thus repre&s;en|ted
unto me mine own mon&s;trous &s;hape. O when I u&s;ed to read &amp;
&s;tudy the grounds of the Popi&s;h Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation, and found them
groundle&s;&s;e, &s;aying, that one body may be in 2 places, nay in a 1000.
And upon that &s;alfe ground proving that Chri&s;ts body may be real|ly
pre&s;ent in the Sacrament in a thou&s;and places at one time, &amp; at the
&s;ame time al&s;o in Heaven: How clearely did I &s;ee the contrary in
the Chri&s;tall gla&s;&s;e of our Churches doctrine? For if Chri&s;ts body
being a naturall and phy&s;icall body can be at one time in &s;everall pla|ces;
then at one time al&s;o it may be &s;ubject to &s;everall and contrary
accidents, it may bee hot and cold at once, for it may bee
in a hot and cold place at one time, it may bee al&s;o &s;tabbed
in one place (as the <HI>Papists</HI> confe&s;&s;e it hath been by <HI>Jews</HI>) and in an|other
place at the &s;ame time it may not be &s;tabbed; &s;o then 2 contra|dictories
<HI>&s;imul &amp; &s;emel</HI> are true, and truly verified of the &s;ame body,
It is &s;tabbed and it is not &s;tabbed. Al&s;o in one place it may bee
be gnawn and devoured by vermin, mice or worms: and in another
place at the &s;ame time it may not be gnawn: As my &s;elf can witnes,
<PB N="17" REF="16">
who &s;aying Ma&s;&s;e one day in the <HI>We&s;t Indias,</HI> in a town called <HI>Porta|bel,</HI>
6 years ago, after I had con&s;ecrated the Bread or Wafer ho&s;t up|on
the Altar, making a &s;hort mentall prayer with mine eyes &s;hut,
which they call <HI>the Memento for the Dead,</HI> &s;uddainly came upon the
Altar a Mou&s;e, and &s;tole away the Sacrament. I opening mine eyes,
and mi&s;&s;ing it before me, began to be troubled, and looking about on
one &s;ide, I &s;aw the vermin running away with the Bread. I &s;tirred
up the people of the Church, who running to me cau&s;ed candles to be
lighted, and with another Prie&s;t &s;earched all the holes that were in
the wall behind the Altar, and at la&s;t found the Sacrament gnawn,
and halfe eaten up. The halfe part of it the Prie&s;t tooke out and car|rying
it to the Altar in Proce&s;&s;ion, lifted it up to be adored, with
knocking of brea&s;ts by the common people. Behold here according
to the damnable doctrin of the <HI>Papi&s;ts,</HI> Chri&s;t's body is gnawn by a
creature, and it is not gnawn; for they &s;ay that the body of Chri&s;t is
truly and really <HI>tetus in toto &amp; totus in qualibet parte,</HI> all in all, and all
and whole in every little part. Then if this be true, Chri&s;t was whole
and entire in that part which was devoured, and he was al&s;o whole
and entire in the part which was left; &s;o he was eaten and gnawne,
and he was not eaten and gnawne. Here are two contradictories
truly verified at one time again&s;t the light of rea&s;on and phylo&s;ophy:
Be&s;ides the ab&s;urdity which followeth, that Chri&s;t &s;hould leave his
body to be &s;o devoured by vermin and dumb bea&s;ts All the&s;e ab&s;ur|dities
and mon&s;truous &s;hapes of <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> doctrin, I well perceived and
viewe<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the pure chri&s;tall gla&s;&s;e of our <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> doctrin: And yet
like a bea&s;t I would fling at this cleere gla&s;&s;e, that thus repre&s;ented
my <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> errorus unto me; I would &s;pitefully oppo&s;e the true &s;en&s;e
and figurative meaning of our Saviour, when he &s;aid, <HI>This is my body.</HI></P>
<P>Yea comming into <HI>England</HI> with a purpo&s;e to conforme my &s;elfe
to the truth, &amp; having met here with a learned Treati&s;e of one Ma&s;ter
<HI>Stephen Va&s;&s;all</HI> again&s;t this damnable doctrin of Tran&s;ub&s;tantiation,
which he directed to one Mi&s;tris <HI>Bury</HI> a Gentlewoman, &s;educed and
blinded by a <HI>Popi&s;h Prie&s;t;</HI> I took upon me for &s;ome worldly and tem|porall
re&s;pects to &s;ome friends, to an&s;wer his learned grounds and
rea&s;ons again&s;t mine own con&s;cience: And though in his cleare do|ctrine
I well perceived the ugly and mon&s;truous &s;hape of mine own
idolatrous and defiled &s;oule; Yet did I fling and fly at the gla&s;&s;e like
a Monky. Why? Becau&s;e I was blinded by Satan, the window of
my &s;oule was rammed up by the Devil, that no light might enter in|to
<PB N="18" REF="17">
it. I have been that fal&s;e and di&s;obedient Prie&s;t <HI>Balaam,</HI> &s;o blind
that I would not &s;ee the dangers of my &s;oule neere 40 yeares: But
though the &s;word of Gods Iu&s;tice hath-beene drawne again&s;t me,
though his bow hath been bent to kill me, and many in&s;truments of
death prepared again&s;t me, yet would <HI>I</HI> wilfully run on my ways to
cur&s;e the good and elect People of the Lord, to oppo&s;e the true, an|cient
and Apo&s;tolike Church of <HI>England.</HI> True it is I have heard
much good doctrin preached, repre<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">enting unto me the&s;e dangers
which my &s;oule was in; I have heard that if wilfully, I &s;hould have
died in that wretched e&s;tate, my &s;oule would have been plunged in|to
the deepe&s;t and bottomle&s;&s;e pits of Hell; I have heard much pre|<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ching
of the me cies of God, of the glory of Heaven, of the paines
of Hell: Yet all this I have heard as a Play and &s;port of pa&s;time, not
hearing it with my &s;oule inwardly, but only with my outward
eares. I have heard that for God we mu&s;t leave all in the world,
both kindred, father, mother, preferments and wealth: yet I would
not heare this to any purpo&s;e: I was loath to for&s;ake all my kin<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ed,
who are Papi&s;ts: I was loath to for&s;ake that meanes which I have
had from them, and now mu&s;t lo&s;e it: I was loath to &s;ee my &s;elfe in
want and poverty. O I knew, my kinred and be&s;t friends would
cry out, &s;hame upon me, and would threaten to kill me: All the&s;e
worldly and temporall re&s;pects &s;hut up my eares and made me dea&s;e
again&s;t the truth, which teacheth that it is better to live here in
want and poverty, than to broyle for ever in Hell; that it is better
to for&s;ake here and abandon all fle&s;h and blood, Brothers, Si&s;ters, and
Kinred, than to go with them to everla&s;ting paines and torment.</P>
<P>Chri&s;t him&s;elfe teacheth us that we mu&s;t not feare them that can
hurt out bodies, but can do no harme at all unto our &s;oules, and that
we mu&s;t feare only him that can ca&s;t our &s;oules into the fire of Hell.
This it is, O Lord! which now maketh me feare; thy might, thy
power and wrath I feare: My &s;oule it is that hencef<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">rth I will ten|der;
for this Iewell I for &s;ake this day all the world, for my Soule's
&s;ake I take my leave this day of all my kinred and deare&s;t friends. A|wake,
awake my &s;oule, and like <HI>Abraham</HI> leave now thy fle&s;h and
bloud, that thou may&s;t become rich and great in the &s;ight of thy
Lord. Away all feares, away all humane and temporall re&s;pects,
away to much love of worldly pel&s;e.</P>
<P>O Lord I for thy &s;ake I hate and leave this day that meanes, which
hither to from Papi&s;ts I have received.</P>
<P><PB N="19" REF="17">
O Lord! I know they threaten my de&s;truction, but into thy hands
do I this day commend my &s;pirit. O let that be &s;afe I though here
my body be mangled and torne into thou&s;and pieces, do thou pro|tect
me, and I will feare no enemies; do thou continue thy mercies
to me, and I with <HI>David</HI> will &s;ing and teach them for ever.</P>
<P>Now, dearely Beloved, I have di&s;clo&s;ed unto you the mi&s;eries of a
wretched &s;inner; the cruelty and un&s;atiable tyranny of Satan over
tho&s;e that he &s;ifts away from the fruitfull granes of Chri&s;t's Church;
I have di&s;covered unto you the heavy blows he giveth them, and
have made my &s;elf a Pre&s;ident of &s;o mi&s;erable and wretched an e&s;tate.
Now give eare, I be&s;eech you, to the &s;econd poi<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">t of my Text, where
Chri&s;t having told <HI>Peter,</HI> how Satan de&s;ired to have him, that he
might &s;ift him as wheat, Chri&s;t comforted him pre&s;ently, &s;aying,
<Q>But I have prayed for thee that thy faith faile not:</Q></P>
<P>For to teach us, that though we be never &s;o tyrannized by Satan, ne|ver
&s;o abu&s;ed and beaten, never &s;o dumb, &s;o blind and &s;o dea&s;e; Yet
the mercies of God are able to relieve us: And God him&s;elfe would
not be mercifull and omnipotent, if any mi&s;eries of ours, (how great
&s;oever) &s;hould prevaile or exceed the power of his mercies: Nay
when by &s;in we are mo&s;t wretched and mo&s;t forlorn, then doth God
&s;hew mo&s;t the power of his &s;weet and comfortable mercies, and for|getteth
not 40 only, but a 1000 yeares ill &s;pent in &s;in and iniquity, as
<HI>David</HI> teacheth us, <HI>P&s;alm.</HI> 90. 3, 4. &s;aying, <HI>Thou turne&s;t man to de&s;tru|ction,
Again thou &s;aye&s;t, Come again ye child en of men, for a thou&s;and
yeares in thy &s;ight are but as yesterday.</HI> Behold, though a man be tur|ned
to de&s;truction, though a &s;oule be quite lo&s;t, utterly defaced and
&s;poyled: Yet <HI>Come again ye children of men,</HI> Let but the&s;e de&s;troyed
and forlorne &s;oul<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">s turne again unto the Lord, and a thou&s;and years
ill &s;pent in &s;innes and iniquities &s;hall bee pardoned &s;o ea&s;ily,
that they &s;hall &s;eeme but as one day ill &s;pent; for God is
mercifull and will make the lea&s;t that may bee made of
our &s;innes, if from our hearts wee turn unto him. Nay when
mo&s;t we offend him, then chiefly doth he &s;trive with his mercies to
allure us unto him. By the greatne&s;&s;e of his mercies he &s;triveth to
&s;hew him&s;elfe our God and Saviour, as I have ob&s;erved in that an|&s;wer
which he &s;ent unto <HI>John</HI> in the 11 of <HI>Mat.</HI> where <HI>John</HI> &s;ent two
of his Di&s;ciples to know of him, if he were the <HI>Me&s;&s;ias</HI> and Saviour
of the world whom they expected; To which me&s;&s;age our Saviour
made no other an&s;wer, but that of the 5 ver&s;e, &s;aying, <HI>The blind re|ceive
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<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
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their &s;ight, and the lame walke, the lepers are clean&s;ed, and the deaf
heare, the dead are rai&s;ed up, and the poore have the Go&s;pel preached unto
them.</HI> The only way to know that Chri&s;t is a Saviour, is by &s;eeing
his works of mercy, either Spirituall or Corporall; for by the blind
which he corporally and &s;piritually cureth, by the leprous &s;oules and
bodies which he clean&s;eth, by the deaf to whom he re&s;toreth corpo|rall
and &s;pirituall hearing, by the dead in &s;oule and body whom he
rai&s;eth up; he is &s;ufficiently known to be a true <HI>Me&s;&s;ias,</HI> a true Sa|viour,
a mo&s;t loving and mercifull Father. And much more by u&s;ing
the&s;e mercies, when lea&s;t we de&s;erve them, when furthe&s;t we are
from him, when mo&s;t grievou&s;ly we offend him; for then it is that
he &s;triveth with the power of his mercy, to prevaile again&s;t the
power of Satan. In the 12 <HI>Chap.</HI> of <HI>Matth.</HI> 14. &amp; 15 <HI>ver&s;es,</HI> this may
ca&s;ily be ob&s;erved, where it is &s;aid, <HI>Then the Phari&s;ees went out, and
held a Councell again&s;t him, how they might de&s;troy him.</HI> Behold here
wretched &s;inners, the in&s;truments of the Devill, united and confe|derate
again&s;t our Saviour. What doth he unto them? Doth he de|&s;troy
them? D<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">th he poure down fiery darts upon them? No. What
then doth he? Read forward the 15. <HI>ver&s;e,</HI> and ye &s;hall &s;ee what he
doth, <HI>And when Je&s;us knew it he withdrew him&s;elfe from thence, and
great multitudes, followed him, and he healed them all.</HI> When mo&s;t they
&s;trive again&s;t him to offend him, then hoth he cure and heale their
infirmities; for to reach us that he is &s;o mercifull a Father, that he
holdeth it a di&s;paragement to his great goodne&s;&s;e, that our wicked|ne&s;&s;e
&s;hould be greater than his mercies, that when mo&s;t we offend
him, than doth he mo&s;t mercifully cure and heale the lepers and di|&s;ea&s;es
of our afflicted &s;oules. So in the 32 of <HI>Exodus,</HI> you &s;hall find
the mercies of God &s;triving with the wickedne&s;&s;e of men; for whi|le&s;t
the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> withdraw them&s;elves from God at the foot of the
mountain, wor&s;hiping a golden Calf<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1+ letters"> God on the top of the moun|taine
is ordering a Law for them to bring them to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e
and to the port of true Salvation. In the 9 <HI>Chap.</HI> of the <HI>Acts</HI> there al|&s;o
ye &s;hall find a &s;trong encounter between the malice of a wicked
finner and the kindne<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1+ letters">e and mercy of God; for while&s;t <HI>Saul</HI> brea|thing
out threatnings and &s;laughter again&s;t the Di&s;ciples of the Lord
goeth to the high Prie&s;t and de&s;ireth of him letters to <HI>Dama&s;cus</HI> to
the Synagogues, that if he &s;ound any followers of Chri&s;t, men or
women, he might bring them bound unto <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI> Then at that
very time &s;trives God with his mercies for the upper hand, as you
<PB N="21" REF="19">
may read in the 3 ver&s;e, <HI>And &s;uddainely there &s;hined round about him a
light from heaven.</HI> And Gods mercies prevailing again&s;t <HI>Sauls</HI> &s;tub|bornes
from a wicked &s;inner, from a wicked Per&s;ecutor he was made
an Apo&s;tle, and a cho&s;en ve&s;&s;ell to beare the name of the Lord before
the Gentiles, the Kings, and the Children of I&s;rael. O how doth the
Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> in the 2 <HI>Chap.</HI> of his Prophecies in the 13 and 14 <HI>ver.</HI>
teach the truth of this doctrin! &s;aying, <HI>And I will vi&s;ite upon her the
dayes of Baal<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">m, wherein &s;he burnt incen&s;e to them, and &s;he decked her &s;elf
with her carrings and her jewels, and &s;he went after her lovers, and for|gate
me, &s;aith the Lord.</HI> Behold here a Harlot, a &s;oule mo&s;t abomma|ble,
given to idolatry, burning incen&s;e before her Idols, following
her plea&s;ures, the vanities of the world, decking and trimming up her
&s;elfe to entice and allure her gallants, following her gallants and lo|vers,
and quite forgetting her Lord and God. But what will God
do now with this lewd harlot, with this abominable &s;oule? Will
he d<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;troy her? Will he &s;hew the &s;trength and power of his
ju&s;tice again&s;t her? O no! Heare what followeth in the 14 ver&s;e, <HI>Ther|fore,
Behold, I will allure <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="2 letters">r, and bring her into the wilderne&s;&s;e and &s;peak
comfortably unto her.</HI> She &s;hall not thinke that her wickedne&s;&s;e can
be greater than my mercies: When &s;he mo&s;t flies from me, then will
I mo&s;t allure her. Behold here, dearely Beloved, the good nature of
our good God, who like unto a &s;u<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">er and wooer, when his mi&s;tris
mo&s;t di&s;daineth him, wooeth her more, allureth her with faire and
courteous promi&s;es. Even &s;o doth God with a Soule, when we fol|low
mo&s;t the vices of our heart, the vanities of the world, &s;eeking to
plea&s;e our &s;en&s;es and bellies, more than the Lord, di&s;daining and con|temning
our God and Maker; then doth he wooe our Soules, then
doth he allure them, then doth he bring them into the wilderne&s;&s;e
from all occa&s;ions of pride, of &s;elfe-love, of vanities and p&s;times:
There when he hath got them from the worldly plea&s;ures, doth he
&s;peak comfortably unto them. O Soule! &s;aith he, why do&s;t thou
follow any lovers but me? there is none loveth thee better than my
&s;elfe: I have be&s;towed more upon thee than any adulterous lover of
thine. The beauty of thy face which thou &s;o much e&s;teeme&s;t, is my
guift. The dainties of fowle and fi&s;h, which &s;o voluptuou&s;ly thou
be&s;towe&s;t upon thy belly, I fir&s;t be&s;towed them upon thee. The
riches of pearles, rubies, rings and diamonds, wherewith thou &s;hew|e&s;t
thy &s;elfe &s;o faire an object to thy lovers eye, are all my gifts. The
flowers of all &s;orts and be&s;t per&s;umes, wherewith thou delighte&s;t &s;o
much thy &s;en&s;es, I gave them to thee. Why then deare Soule, do&s;t
<PB N="22" REF="20">
thou turne from me? Why do&s;t thou &s;hun me for other lovers?
They carry thee to perdition, but I to bli&s;&s;e and happine&s;&s;e; They
&s;eek thy paines and torment, I thy re&s;t and glory: They fall away
like a flower which to day is, and to morrow will not be, but I &s;hall
remaine for ever.</P>
<P>Thus, O dearly Beloved, doth God &s;peake comfortably to a Soulel
thus doth he allure her, thus doth he woo and entice her, thus doth
he, when furthe&s;t &s;he flys from him, di&s;cover the riches of his
mercies to her. An ancient Doctor called <HI>John Raulinus Cluniacex|&s;is</HI>
&s;aith, what by experience we daily know, <HI>Quanto magis &s;rigus vi|get,
tanto magis videtur Coelum &s;tellatum, The greater the fro&s;t and
cold is, the m<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">re bright do the &s;tar's appeare and &s;hew them&s;elves in the
darkene&s;&s;e of the night. Lauretus,</HI> who borrowed his doctrine out of
<HI>Thomas Aquinas</HI> and <HI>Au&s;tin,</HI> &s;aith al&s;o of the &s;tars in a morall expli|cation,
<HI>Stellae productae in Coelo de&s;ignare po&s;&s;unt dona Spiritus Sanctir,
That they may be a &s;ymbole or figure of the favours and guifts of the Holy
Gho&s;t.</HI> What then meaneth it that the&s;e &s;tars which are &s;ymbols of
Gods favours, &s;hine brighte&s;t, when the fro&s;t and cold is greate&s;t? O
it &s;ignifieth, that when a heart is mo&s;t cold and frozen, mo&s;t voyd of
the heat of the love of God then doth the Lord &s;trive to &s;hine bright|e&s;t
into that heart, than doth he mo&s;t di&s;cover the glittering &s;pangles
of his mercy, than doth he manife&s;t the glorious &s;tars of his Hea|venly
comforts; for to teach us that none &s;hall de&s;paire, though
never &s;o deeply plunged into &s;in, though never &s;o cruelly tyrannized
by the Devill: for God with his mercies can and often hath chang|ed
a wicked &s;inner to a holy life, and of a per&s;ecut<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">r and e<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">emy hath
made a holy Apo&s;tle. I cannot here pa&s;&s;e over with &s;ilence a witty
ob&s;ervation of <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> upon tho&s;e words, which the Angell of
the Lord &s;poke to <HI>Jo&s;eph, Mat.</HI> 2. 13. &s;aying, <HI>Ari&s;e and take the young
childe and his mother, and fly into Aegypt, and be thou there, untill I
bring thee word; for Herod will &s;ecke the young Childs to de&s;troy him.</HI>
Vpon the&s;e words, <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> groundeth great admirations, won|dring
that God would &s;end his only begotten Son into Aegypt, a
Countrey that above all Countreys mi&s;u&s;ed and kept under hard &s;la|very
Gods own cho&s;en people, not &s;uffering them to go out, till God
hardned <HI>Pharaoh's</HI> heart, and <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> after many wonders &s;hewed
with the hand of the Lord, tooke them out of bondage. Now then
if this Countrey was fir&s;t &s;o rebellious again&s;t God him&s;elf and his
Commands, how commeth it to pa&s;&s;e, &s;aith <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> that God
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will tru&s;t his Deare and only Son Je&s;us Chri&s;t with &s;o perfidious and
di&s;obedient a Nation? Could not there be Order given, that Chri&s;t
might bee kept from the &s;ury of <HI>Herod</HI> in any other Countrey and
not in <HI>Aegypt,</HI> &s;o &s;tubborne an enemy to God and his Elect People?
<HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> an&s;wereth, <HI>O commutatio dextrae excel&s;i, ut popului qui
a tefuerat per&s;ecutor populi primogeniti, po&s;tea &s;ieret cu&s;tos unigeniti</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> O
wonderfull change and alteration of the right hand of the Lord,
&s;aith <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> that that people which before had been a per&s;ecu|tor
and enemy of the fir&s;t cho&s;en People of God, now &s;hould be tru|&s;ted
with Gods only Son, and &s;hould be made keeper of him to de|&s;end
him and protect him from the wicked plots of <HI>Herod!</HI> What is
this? But to magnifie and &s;et out the great mercies of God, who &s;o
&s;trangely worketh alterations in Nations and in particular &s;oules,
making tho&s;e his deare&s;t friends, which were his greate&s;t enemies
and per&s;ecutors. This is the power of the mercy of God, which can
prevaile again&s;t all the &s;trength of Satan, who can deliver a &s;oule po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ed
by the Devill and bring it to a &s;tate more happy than ever mi|&s;erable
it was in Satans power. This the Prophet <HI>Micah</HI> propheci|ed
in the 4 <HI>Chap.</HI> of his Prophecies, and 10 <HI>ver.</HI> &s;aying, <HI>Be in pain and
labour to bring forth, O daughter of Sion! like a woman in travell; for
vow &s;halt thou go forth out of the City, and thou &s;halt dwell in the field, &amp;
th<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">u &s;halt go even to Babylon; there &s;halt thou bee delivered, there the
Lord &s;hall redeeme thee from the hand of thine enemies.</HI> What greater
confu&s;ion was there ever than in <HI>Babylon?</HI> What greater blindne&s;&s;e
than there? What greater or crueller &s;lavery than there? Yet &s;aith
<HI>Micah, there &s;halt thou bee delivered, there the Lord &s;hall redeeme <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 word">
from thine enemies;</HI> for to teach us, that there is no &s;inner &s;o deeply
drowned into the depth of &s;in, &s;o bitterly beaten by Satan, &s;o hardly
captivated and bound with the bonds and fetters of his iniquities,
but yet the mercy of the Lord is able to take him out. Therefore, O
dearely beloved! make u&s;e of this doctrin &amp; never de&s;paire of Gods
&s;avours, though (as Chri&s;t &s;aid in my text to <HI>Peter</HI>) Satan &s;ift you as
wheat, &s;eparating you from the white flower of the elect and cho&s;en
p<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ople; though he &s;eparate you like chaffe from the corne, from the
&s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1+ letters">full granes and members of the Church, by beating you as
Corne is beaten with the flaile, by &s;triking out your eyes,
that you may not &s;ee, by making you dumb, that you may not &s;peake
nor cry unto the Lord; by making you deaf, that you may not heare
any goodne&s;&s;e: yet de&s;paire not of his mercies, for out of <HI>Babylon,</HI> the
<PB N="24" REF="21">
place of greate&s;t confu&s;ion, there &s;halt thou be delivered, &s;aith the
Lord. Let my Conver&s;ion be a Pre&s;ident to you of this truth, and
&s;trengthen you, that you may not de&s;paire of Gods mercies. For if I
who have &s;ucked my fir&s;t milk of the <HI>Whore of Babylon,</HI> of the mo&s;t
erroneous <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> doctrin, who have wor&s;hiped creatures and Saints
in&s;tead of my Creator, who have been di&s;loyall and treacherous to
my King and Countrey, who have beleeved a damnable doctrine of
<HI>Purgatory,</HI> derogating thereby from the infinite merits of the &s;atis|faction
of Chri&s;ts Pa&s;&s;ion, who have &s;uper&s;titiou&s;ly offered up a &s;acri|fice
of the Ma&s;&s;e for the quick &amp; dead, as if the Sacrifice which Chri&s;t
him&s;elfe offered of his own body upon the Cro&s;&s;e were not a &s;uffici|ent
Sacrifice for a whole world, yea and many more worlds: if I who
erroneou&s;ly have beleeved that by my own works I might merit <HI>de
condigno,</HI> the glory of heaven, as if any human or naturall works may
work a thing &s;upernaturall and merit a glory, which required the
meanes and &s;atisfaction of Chri&s;t, not as man only, but as God and
man. If I who have been almo&s;t 40 years thus blinded, who have &s;o
many years per&s;ecuted the cho&s;en, elect and Prote&s;tant people of the
Lord, who have &s;o many years been frozen and void of all heat of the
love of God, who have &s;o many years been in <HI>Babylon,</HI> in confu&s;ion,
and &s;lavery; there have been delivered, there have found the mercies
of God, like &s;tars in a winter night &s;hining mo&s;t confortably into
my cold and frozen &s;oule! O let none de&s;paire of the mercies of God,
nor willingly fall into &s;in by my example, lea&s;t their comming out of
<HI>Babylon</HI> be as hard to them as my conver&s;ion hath been to me; But
how great &s;oever your mi&s;eries be, tru&s;t in the Lord, that as he pray|ed
for <HI>Peter,</HI> that his Faith might not faile, as he hath pleaded for me
before his <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1+ letters">ernall Father: So he may al&s;o be an Advocate and only
Mediator between God and you, when deepe&s;t you are in &s;in, and
according to mans judgement, harde&s;t to be brought out of it.</P>
<P>The la&s;t Point which is plainly to be ob&s;erved in my text, is a pre|cept
and co~mand of our Saviour to <HI>Peter,</HI> contained in tho&s;e words;
<Q>And when thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy Brethren.</Q></P>
<P>This <HI>Peter</HI> did, and this all they are bound to do, who are truly con|verted
from &s;in and from a wicked e&s;tate to the true knowledge of
Gods Laws. True it is <HI>Peter</HI> did fall, and did mo&s;t cowardly thrice
deny his Ma&s;ter: But after our Saviour looked upon him, and with
one look turned his heart, then <HI>Peter</HI> went out and wept bitterly.
<PB N="25" REF="21">
And he did not only weep and repent within him&s;elfe, but mo&s;t zea|lou&s;ly
endeavoured to &s;trengthen his Brethren, as you may ob&s;erve
<HI>Acts</HI> 2. when having received the Holy Spirit him&s;elfe, he preach|ed
couragiou&s;ly unto the <HI>Jews</HI> to convert them and &s;trengthen them
in the true Faith, as you may read from the 14<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">. to the 38 <HI>ver&s;e,</HI> and
forward, where publickly he &s;aid unto them, <HI>Repent and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Je&s;us Christ, for the remi&s;&s;ion of &s;ins, and
you &s;hall receive the gift of the Holy Gho&s;t.</HI> O he was a true converted
man, and thought he mu&s;t not be contented to be him&s;elfe conver|ted
only, but that he was bound to convert and &s;trengthen others. So
did <HI>Saul,</HI> who had been &s;o great a Per&s;ecutor, when he was truely
converted, pre&s;ently he &s;trived to do good to others, as you may
read <HI>Acts 9. 19, 20. ver&s;es, And when he had received meat, he was
&s;trengthned. Then was Saul certaine dayes with the Di&s;ciples, that were
at Dama&s;cus; And &s;trait way he preached Chri&s;t in the Synagogue, that
he is the Son of God.</HI> And further in the 22 <HI>ver. But Saul increa&s;ed the
more in &s;trength, and confounded the Jews that dwelt at Dama&s;cus, pro|uing
that this is very Chri&s;t.</HI> Behold how this converted Apo&s;tle is
not &s;atisfied with his own conver&s;ion, but pre&s;ently burneth with
an inward zeale of communicating unto others that good which he
had received from God by his Conver&s;ion. Your Divines &s;ay, that
<HI>Bonum est diffu&s;ivum &s;ui,</HI> that which is truly good in it &s;elfe, is with
a natu<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">all inclination to impart it &s;elfe, yea prodigally to pou<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">e it
&s;elf out to others. This doctrin al&s;o <HI>David</HI> teacheth us in his 51 <HI>P&s;al.</HI>
where he repenteth him&s;elf for the Adultery which he had commit|ted,
and having begged of God, that he would create in him a clean
heart and renew a right &s;pirit within him, <HI>Then</HI> &s;aith he in the 13
<HI>ver&s;e, will I teach tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors thy ways, and &s;inners &s;hall be converted
unto thee.</HI> Lo how <HI>David</HI> doth not only repent him&s;elfe, and mani|fe&s;t
his conver&s;ion by words of &s;orrow and bitter compunction, but
promi&s;eth God, that he will &s;trengthen others, by teaching them
the ways of God, that al&s;o they may come to be converted.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t Chapter of the <HI>Canticles</HI> ver. 4. You &s;hall find a few
words ea&s;y in this &s;en&s;e, but hard to be under&s;tood in any other,
where the Spou&s;e &s;peaking to her Beloved, &s;aith, <HI>Draw me, we will
run after thee; The King hath brought me into his Chamber, we will be
glad and rejoyce in thee; we will remember thy love.</HI> Me thinkes, the
Spou&s;e &s;hould have &s;aid, <HI>draw me,</HI> I will run after thee, <HI>The King hath
brought me into his chamber.</HI> I will be glad, I will remember thy love.
<PB N="26" REF="22">
If one be drawn, why do many in the plurall number run? If one be
brought into the Kings chamber, Why be many glad and rejoyce?</P>
<P>O dearely Beloved, it is to teach us how we ought to be have our
&s;elves, when we are truly converted. The Spou&s;o &s;ignifieth a &s;oule
wedded by Faith to God the true and heavenly Bridgroome; The
Chamber whereinto this foule is brought, is the true Church. Ther|fore
if one Soule be drawn by God, many mu&s;t run after this one, if
one Soule be brought into the true, Ancient and Apo&s;tolike Church,
many mu&s;t be glad and rejoyce. Why? B<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="missing" EXTENT="1 letter">cau&s;e we mu&s;t not be con|tented
to be drawn alone from our iniquities, we mu&s;t not be con|tented
to be brought alone into the Church; we mu&s;t al&s;o draw o|thers,
we mu&s;t make others al&s;o rejoyce by &s;trengthning them, by
teaching them, by converting them by our words, works and good
example. This is the command and precept of our Saviour to <HI>Peter,</HI>
in the words of my text,
<Q>And when thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy Brethren.</Q></P>
<P>This co~mand of Chri&s;t, I that am this day converted &amp; brought into
the Heavenly Bridgrooms chamber, into his true Church, mu&s;t al&s;o
obey. O I mu&s;t not be contented to be drawn alone, I mu&s;t be the
cau&s;e that many may run after me. This, dearely Beloved, I have be|gun
to performe already, having brought one from the &s;nares of <HI>Po|pery,</HI>
&amp; &s;trengthned one &s;oule in the true <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> &amp; Apo&s;tolik Re|ligio~
of this Kingdom. This by the Grace of God, both by preaching,
writing and printing, I will endeavour all my life to performe by
di&s;covering and laying open to the world tho&s;e Rocks and quicke
&s;ands of <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> doctrin, whereupon &s;o many &s;oules do run and are
dayly ca&s;t away by the ignorance of fooli&s;h and unskilfull Pilots O
dearely beloved! never were you in greater danger than at the&s;e
times; for in <HI>Ireland</HI> you &s;ee how the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> threaten us with their
erroneous doctrines; here at home they &s;ecretly plot to bring in
their &s;uper&s;titions; therefore let me warne you this day to hoy&s;e up
your &s;ailes and top ma&s;ts, and with the gale of that heavenly Spirit,
of that Divine bla&s;t &s;ave your &s;oules from being &s;plinted upon the&s;e
Rocks of <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> &s;uper&s;tition from being &s;wallowed up with the
quick &s;ands of Antichri&s;tian doctrin. O beloved abhor all your lives
the chief and principall point of all <HI>Popery,</HI> which is that fal&s;e autho|rity
that Supremacy which the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> give to the <HI>Pope</HI> above all the
Church, O never admit this erroneous doctrin, nor ever thinke that
Chri&s;t left <HI>Peter</HI> or any other to be Supream head, and only head over
<PB N="27" REF="22">
the Church, but this authority was given equally to all the Apo&s;tles
as ye may gather out of <HI>Matth.</HI> 28. &amp; 3 la&s;t <HI>ver.</HI> where our Saviour e|qually
and with equall authority &s;ent all his Apo&s;tles to preach and
teach, &s;aying, <HI>Go ye therefore and teach all Nations.</HI> And further he
&s;aith, <HI>And loe I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.</HI> Be|hold
how Chri&s;t &s;endeth not only <HI>Peter,</HI> but all his Apo&s;tles to preach
and teach: And &s;aith he will bee not only with <HI>Peter,</HI> but with all
his Apo&s;tles in&s;piring &s;piritually and in&s;tructing them all, and not
<HI>Peter</HI> alone, to rule and governe &amp; feed with &s;pirituall food his flock.
If this be &s;o, dearly Beloved, never beleeve that the authority which
the <HI>Pope</HI> challengeth to him&s;elf over all the Church is due unto him,
who u&s;urpeth his authority &amp; &s;eeketh by it to encroach upon Kings
and Princes Crowns, as I &s;hall in &s;ome other occa&s;ion more largely
declare. Fly therefore deare &s;oules from this chief and mo&s;t dange|rous
Rock of all <HI>Popery;</HI> and having once di&s;covered the dangers
of this fal&s;e doctrin, abhor then all other erroneous doctrins of <HI>Rome,</HI>
which come from him that u&s;urpeth Chri&s;ts own power, and chal|lengeth
it to him&s;elfe alone. O let my conver&s;ion be your &s;trength
and comfort! O beleeve an experienced and skilfull Pilot, who hath
travailed almo&s;t over all the world, and hath by experience of almo&s;t
40 yeares di&s;covered all tho&s;e rocks and quick &s;ands of <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> errors
of Antichri&s;tian doctrines and &s;uper&s;titions, which threaten the
lo&s;&s;e and utter overthrow of your &s;oules. O that this day I may per|forme
what Ie&s;us &s;aid to <HI>Peter,</HI>
<Q>And when thou art converted, &s;trengthen thy Brethren.</Q></P>
<P>O let my example, dearely Beloued, &s;trengthen you all in the true
<HI>Protestant Religion,</HI> that &s;o I may &s;ay with the &s;pou&s;e, <HI>draw me and we
will run,</HI> that I being drawn this day unto the true Faith, yee may all
run more ha&s;tily and &s;peedily to the &s;ame; that I being brought this
day into the Kings chamber, that is, into the true Church, ye may all
be glad and rejoyce, finding in your &s;oules a new &amp; greater &s;trength
to continue and dye in this ancient and Apo&s;tolike Church, that &s;o
we may all meet and rejoyce together after this life in another cham|ber
of our Heavenly Bridegroome, in the triumphant Church of
Heaven. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
