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<NAME>Robyn Anspach</NAME>
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<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Die Mercurii,</HI> 26. <HI>Januar.</HI> 1647.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>_ORdered by the Commons A&s;|&s;embled in Parliament, That Sir <HI>William Ma&s;&s;am</HI> doe from this Hou&s;e give Thanks unto Mr. <HI>Mar|&s;hall,</HI> for the great paines he tooke in his Sermon, Preached on this day at <HI>Ma|rgarets We&s;tmin&s;ter,</HI> before the Hou&s;e of Commons (it being a day of Publick Humiliation) and that hee be de&s;ired to Print his Sermon, wherein hee is to have the like priviledge in Printing of it, as others in the like kind u&s;ually have had.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>H. El&s;ynge, Cler. Parl. D. Com.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A SERMON<HI> PREACHED </HI>TO THE HONORABLE<HI> HOVSE OF </HI>Commons A&s;&s;embled in PARLIAMENT: At their late &s;olemne Fa&s;t,<HI> Januar. </HI>26. 1647.</P>
<P>At<HI> Margarets </HI>WESTMINSTER.</P>
<P>By<HI> Steven Mar&s;hall, </HI>B. D.</P>
<P><HI>London </HI>Printed by<HI> Richard Cotes, </HI>for<HI> Steven Bowtell, </HI>at the &s;igne of the Bible in<HI> Popes-head Alley. </HI>1647.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE HONORABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS<HI> A&s;&s;embled in </HI>PARLIAMENT.</HEAD>
<P>_THE Lord hath ca&s;t us into times, in which the <HI>foure Windes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan 7. 2.</NOTE> &s;trive upon the great Sea;</HI> a great part of the World hath little lea&s;ure for any thing, but <HI>&s;torm|ing</HI> of Townes and &s;trong holds, and <HI>taking in</HI> of Kingdomes and Countryes; in our Land of Peace, we al&s;o of late have cryed out of VVar and <HI>Violence;</HI> and although tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Hab. 1. 2.</NOTE> winds have (through Gods goodne&s;&s;e) in a great
<PB REF="3">
mea&s;ure cea&s;ed blu&s;tring, yet the Sea hath not left rowling; Animo&s;ities yet remaine too great, Paroxy&s;mes very &s;harpe, and pur&s;uits of worldly intere&s;ts, extreame eager: here like <HI>Jehu,</HI> wee drive <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kings 9. 20</NOTE> furiou&s;ly, <HI>magno conatu nugas,</HI> we throw feathers with the whole &s;trength of our arme: vaine men! that lean too hard on a weak reed; unwi&s;e builders! who lay too great a weight upon a &s;light foundation; make &s;uch trifles our Ma&s;ter-peeces, that when we come to review our work, wee mu&s;t be inforced to &s;ay, <HI>Materiam&s;uperavit opus,</HI> that wee have overdone it, laboured too hard for that which &s;atisfieth not, and cau&s;ed our eyes to fly upon that which is not, and therefore that wee had been more wi&s;e, if wee had been <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;a 55. 2. Prov 23. 5.</NOTE> le&s;&s;e earne&s;t, and more happy, if wee had not <HI>effu&s;i&s;&s;imis habenis,</HI> let out the &s;trength of our de|&s;ires and endeavours after tho&s;e things, which prove vanity and bitterne&s;&s;e in the latter end. <HI>Odit Deus nimis vehementes impetus, odere cives, gratior e&s;t moderatio.</HI> Becau&s;e <HI>Morall vertue</HI> is <HI>circa res medias,</HI> therefore the Philo|&s;opher rightly placed it in a <HI>Mediocrity:</HI> &s;ure I am, the <HI>Grace of Chri&s;t</HI> per&s;wades to a <HI>modera|tion,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 4. 5. P&s;al. 131. 2.</NOTE> a weanedne&s;&s;e, a remi&s;sne&s;&s;e in &s;uth things as the&s;e, in which wee have not &s;o much need of the <HI>&s;pur</HI> as of the <HI>Bridle.</HI> But if the metled
<PB REF="3">
hor&s;e bee &s;o upon his &s;peed, that hee cannot be held in, it would bee a peece of our be&s;t skill to guide him in a &s;afe way, and to turn the vio|lent &s;tream that cannot bee &s;topt, into a right chan|nell; This was the de&s;ign of my weake endea|vours in this &s;hort <HI>Sermon,</HI> to &s;tay the man that runnes &s;o violently down the hill earth-ward and hell-ward, and (if it might be,) to turn his face and heart, that if he cannot with &s;o much &s;peed, yet with more contention and earne&s;tne&s;&s;e, he may get u pthe hill heaven-ward. In which endeavor <HI>omne valde tuum,</HI> al thy might is too weak, al &s;peed too&s;low, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut 6. 5.</NOTE> greate&s;t earne&s;tne&s;se too faint. Again&s;t &s;in, all that <HI>carefulne&s;&s;e, indignation, fear, vehemente&s;t de|&s;ire,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 7. 11.</NOTE> <HI>and hotte&s;t zeal,</HI> yea and <HI>revenge</HI> that the A|po&s;tle &s;peaks of, are not over much, but onely <HI>malo nodo malus cuneus,</HI> a &s;harper wedge for a knotty peece, which will require our be&s;t &s;trength to drive it in &s;o as to pierce an hard heart. For Gods truth, an earne&s;t contending is not too impetuous. For the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Iude 3.</NOTE> Church of God, &amp; the rearing up of Ieru&s;alems wals, a <HI>Satagentia</HI> is not enough; a <HI>Nehemiahs</HI> inten&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem 4. 21, 22, 23. Luke 13 24. 2 Pet. 1. 5. 10, 10.</NOTE> earne&s;tnes is de&s;ervedly imitable. For Heaven, if by <HI>&s;triving</HI> to <HI>enter in at the &s;trait</HI> gate, &amp; by <HI>giving al diligence,</HI> at last we come to <HI>have an abundant entrance,</HI> our labour will not exceed our reward. In this work of the Lord, <HI>if you abound,</HI> your <HI>labour</HI>
<PB REF="4">
<HI>wil not be in vain in the Lord:</HI> and may my poore paines any whit herein quicken your endeavours, <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor 15. 58.</NOTE> to get to heaven your &s;elves, and by your helpe to have others goe along with you; to enter your &s;elves into that Kingdome, and by your authority with a &s;weet violence to <HI>compell others to come in,</HI> as <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 14 23</NOTE> it is the prayer, &s;o it will be the rejoycing of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your humble Servant
STEVEN MARSHALL.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="4">
<HEAD>A SERMON <HI>PREACHED</HI> To the Honorable the Hou&s;e of Commons at the Monethly Fa&s;t, <HI>Januar.</HI> 27. 1647.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATTH. 11. 12.</BIBL>
<Q>And from the dayes of<HI> John </HI>the Bapti&s;t untill now, the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THat you may the more cleerly under&s;tand the &s;cope of our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour in the&s;e words, be plea&s;ed to ob&s;erve that in the beginning <NOTE PLACE="marg">The context opened.</NOTE> of this Chapter, <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t had &s;ent two of his Di&s;ciples upon a me&s;&s;age to Chri&s;t; not for his own information, but for the confirmation of his Di&s;ciples, who were too much ad|dicted
<PB N="2" REF="5">
to him&s;elf, that they might be &s;atisfied in receiving Chri&s;t to be (as he was) the promi&s;ed Me&s;&s;iah, by &s;eeing and hearing what he did and taught; as &s;oon as the&s;e Di|&s;ciples of <HI>Iohn</HI> were gone, Chri&s;t turnes to the multitude, that were about him, and from the 7. ver&s;e of this Chap|ter, to the 16. ver&s;e, doth make a notable di&s;cour&s;e wholly concerning <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t; and there are two parts of Chri&s;ts &s;peech concerning <HI>Iohn;</HI> Fir&s;t,</P>
<P>A blaming of the levity, and incon&s;tancie of the people, in their re&s;pect towards <HI>Iohn,</HI> for they had magnified him &s;o (not long before) that they were ready to have recei|ved him as their Me&s;&s;iah; but now <HI>Iohn</HI> was grown no body with them; this our Saviour doth bitterly taxe. And the argument whereby he reproves them lies in &s;uch a di|&s;tribution as this is, Either you were very fooli&s;h in magni|fying <HI>Iohn,</HI> when there was no &s;uch worth in him, or you are extreame vaine and light in withdrawing your hearts from him, that was &s;o worthy at fir&s;t to be received: the fir&s;t is not to be granted, therefore the &s;econd mu&s;t needs be true; what went you out into the Wilderne&s;&s;e to &s;ee? <HI>was it a Reed &s;haken with the wind?</HI> did you goe as children doe, to &s;ee rattles and toyes? no, but wee went to &s;ee and heare <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t; and what in him? <HI>a man cloathed in white raiment,</HI> alas, <HI>Iohn</HI> was no Courtier; no, we went to him as to a Prophet; <HI>I, &s;o he was</HI> (&s;aith Chri&s;t) <HI>and more then a Prophet,</HI> the greate&s;t Prophet that ever the world &s;aw, and the greater is your fault in &s;lighting of him.</P>
<P>In this as in a gla&s;&s;e you may &s;ee the levity and incon&s;tan|cy of people who contemne him to day whom they admired ye&s;terday, and that doctrine which this day they e&s;teeme as a trea&s;ure they by and by abominate, becau&s;e indeed <HI>Athenian-</HI>like they imbrace it not becau&s;e true, but
<PB N="3" REF="5">
becau&s;e new: thus it hath been of old, and thus it is to this day, he who to day is lifted up is to morrow trodden down, who is now accounted cloquent is pre&s;ently e&s;teem'd a babe, rude or barbarous, and all from their &s;icklene&s;&s;e, the Word and Mini&s;ters are the &s;ame, but the people are changed, like &s;ick peoples palate, who long for that meat one day which they nau&s;eate the next day, or as children who delight in tho&s;e toyes one day which the next they throw out of the doores.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> The &s;econd part of Chri&s;ts di&s;cour&s;e concerning <HI>Iohn</HI> is,</P>
<P>A high commendation of <HI>Iohn,</HI> and of his Mini&s;tery,  from three notable arguments: Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> That <HI>Iohn</HI> was the Prophet, that was foretold long be|fore by two emminent Prophets, <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> &amp; <HI>Malachi,</HI> both of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 10. 14.</NOTE> them &s;hewing that the Lord would &s;end his me&s;&s;enger be|fore his face, and (&s;aith Chri&s;t) if you'l beleeve it, this is he. <MILESTONE N="2"> The &s;econd is taken from the eminencie of <HI>Iohns</HI> worke, hee did immediatly goe before Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as a Noble <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 11.</NOTE> man that &s;hould lead the Prince by the hand, and &s;hew him to every one, <HI>This is he;</HI> he did not as the other Prophets hold him out in types and &s;hadows, and &s;pake of a Me&s;&s;iah that was to come a long time after, but as another <HI>Chri|&s;topher</HI> did carry Chri&s;t upon his &s;houlders, and held him out in his armes, that every one that came neer <HI>Iohn</HI> might &s;ee him pointed out to the <HI>Lambe of God, that took away the &s;innes of the world;</HI> and the clearer any Mini&s;tery is in the di&s;covery of Chri&s;t, the more excellent it is; but yet that Chri&s;t might &s;et the true bounds to the honour of <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery, he adds that though of all the Prophets that ever were before him, there was none like him, yet the lea&s;t Mini&s;ter after Chri&s;t &s;hould have done his worke, the meane&s;t Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel had a more excellent Mi|ni&s;tery then <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t, becau&s;e the excellencie of a
<PB N="4" REF="6">
Mini&s;tery is in the light that it carries: Now <HI>Iohns</HI> light did farre goe beyond all that went before him; but the lea&s;t Mini&s;ter of the Kingdome of Heaven, after Chri&s;ts work was done on earth, &s;hould be able &s;o cleerly to &s;hew forth the life, death, pa&s;&s;ion, re&s;urrection, a&s;cen&s;ion, inter|ce&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;t, &s;ending of the holy Gho&s;t, and all tho&s;e glorious my&s;teries, that children might bee able to under|&s;tand them; and this goes far beyond the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t: This is the &s;econd Argument whereby Chri&s;t magnifies the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Iohn;</HI> the third is, that that I have cho&s;en for my Text.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> That <HI>from the dayes of Iohn the Bapti&s;t the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence, and the violent take it by force:</HI> the &s;umme whereof is, that from <HI>Iohns</HI> time there was rai&s;ed up in all who truely embrac'd the Go&s;pel, a &s;ervent &s;pirit to pur&s;ue and advance the Kingdome of Heaven with all eagerne&s;&s;e; no Souldiers are more violent in a&s;&s;aulting and taking a&s;trong hold then <HI>Iohns</HI> Di&s;ciples were in pro&s;ecu|ting the Kingdome of Heaven with all their might, when once it was di&s;cover'd to them.</P>
<P>Now all the&s;e arguments whereby Chri&s;t doth extoll the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Iohn,</HI> are intended not onely as &s;o many te|&s;timonies of honour to <HI>Iohn,</HI> but are al&s;o &s;o many Argu|ments to prove Je&s;us Chri&s;t to be the true Me&s;&s;iah; for whatever proves <HI>Iohn</HI> to be the <HI>Elias,</HI> that &s;hould make his way ready for him, the &s;ame proves Je&s;us Chri&s;t to be the Saviour that &s;hould come unto Gods people; and this of my Text as &s;trong and cleare as any other, becau&s;e it was foretold of him that the people &s;hould be <HI>willing in the day of his power,</HI> &s;hould come in as <HI>plentifully as the dew out of the wombe of the morning, &s;hould flie after</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 110. E&s;ay 60. 8.</NOTE> <HI>him as the Doves to their windowes.</HI> This is the commen|dation of <HI>Iohn;</HI> if you would know the fruit of all this,
<PB N="5" REF="6">
what this high encomium of <HI>Iohn</HI> did work upon the hearers, you may read in the 7. of <HI>Luke,</HI> where Ver&s;. 29. 30. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 27. 30.</NOTE> this &s;ame &s;tory is recorded, and the effect of it is there ad|ded, which our Evangeli&s;t doth omit, <HI>viz.</HI> that when Chri&s;t had &s;aid the&s;e things of <HI>Iohn, the Publicans and the re&s;t of the people, who had before been baptized by Iohn Bapti&s;t, glorified God,</HI> were awaken'd, and brought to &s;orrow for their neglect of <HI>Iohn,</HI> and &s;o encouraged to imbrace Je|&s;us Chri&s;t, whom <HI>Iohn</HI> pointed out; but the Scribes and Phari&s;ees, the learned Doctors, and others, that had de|&s;pi&s;ed the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Iohn,</HI> did no whit regard the ho|nour that Chri&s;t did give to <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery, and &s;o nei|ther accepted <HI>Iohn</HI> the forerunner, nor Chri&s;t the Saviour, <NOTE PLACE="marg">The parts and meaning of the Text.</NOTE> but rejected the coun&s;ell of God again&s;t them&s;elves; This is the &s;um of the whole context, Our generall ob&s;er|vation from this commendation which our Saviour gives to <HI>Iohn, is, that the Lord Ie&s;us is mo&s;t ready to honour</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;ider this violence of the people toward the Kingdome of Heaven, Fir&s;t, as an ho|nour to <HI>Iohn.</HI> Secondly, as a de&s;cription of true Converts.</NOTE> <HI>them who aba&s;e them&s;elves for his &s;ake. Iohn</HI> had excee|dingly aba&s;ed him&s;elf, declaring him&s;elf to be but the voyce of a cryer, unworthy to unloo&s;e the latchet of <HI>Chri&s;ts</HI> &s;hooe, making him&s;elf a foot&s;toole to exalt Chri&s;t, willing to de|crea&s;e that Chri&s;t might increa&s;e, and now Chri&s;t heaps honour upon <HI>Iohn</HI> abundantly, &s;o that wee may &s;ee that &s;uch as honour Chri&s;t &s;hall be honoured of him; and that although honour flie from them who vainely &s;eek it, yet it followes them who flie from it. But I come to my Text, which as you have heard is one branch of that honorable te&s;timony which our Saviour gave to <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t, which I &s;hall de&s;ire you with me to look upon under a twofold con&s;ideration. Fir&s;t,</P>
<P>As they are intended to bee a Crown and an honour to <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t; <HI>From the dayes of Iohn the Bapti&s;t untill now, the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence;</HI> Secondly, and principally,</P>
<P><PB N="6" REF="7">
Wee will con&s;ider the&s;e words, as they doe containe a de&s;cription of men, who are rightly affected with the kingdome of heaven; <HI>The Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence, and the violent take it by force.</HI> <MILESTONE N="1"> Of the fir&s;t of the&s;e, very briefly; the meaning I take to bee this, This  eagerne&s;&s;e and fervency of Spirit in the people is to bee looked upon, partly as a fruit of that cleere light, which <HI>Iohn Bapti&s;ts</HI> Mini&s;tery did hold out; never any di&s;covered <NOTE PLACE="marg">As an honor to <HI>Iohn,</HI> as being,</NOTE> the kingdome of heaven &s;o cleerly as <HI>Iohn</HI> did, and there|fore never was there &s;uch zeal to pre&s;&s;e into the Kingdome of heaven, as was in <HI>Iohns</HI> time. <MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly, and partly as a conformity to <HI>Iohns</HI> Spirit; <HI>Iohn</HI> came in the power and Spirit of <HI>Elias,</HI> a man of mettle and zeal, that did the work of the Lord with all his might, and therefore the people whom his Mini&s;tery wrought upon, were moulded into <HI>Iohns</HI> Spirit, they were made like unto their Teacher, and both the&s;e are by our Lord intended as a Crowne to <MILESTONE N="3"> <HI>Iohn; From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uf|fers violence.</HI> A word or two of each of the&s;e; Take the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Fir&s;t, a fruit of the clear light, his Mini&s;tery held out. Whence learn,</NOTE> zeal and eagerne&s;&s;e of the people after heaven, as a fruit of that clear di&s;covery of the Kingdome of heaven by <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery, and it affords us this excellent le&s;&s;on,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Doctrine.</HI> The clearer light any peo|ple have from Heaven, the more violent they will be af|ter Heaven.</NOTE><HI>That the clearer light any people doe receive from Heaven, the more will their zeal bee enflamed towards heaven;</HI> never any preached heaven &s;o clearly as <HI>Iohn,</HI> never any &s;o violent in the pur&s;uit of it, as tho&s;e that received <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery; it was prophe&s;ied of <HI>Iohn</HI> in the 1 of <HI>Luke</HI> Ver. 15, 16, 17. that he &s;hould be filled with the Holy Gho&s;t, and &s;hould goe before the Lord to prepare his way, and (&s;aith the Text) he &s;hall thereby <HI>turne the hearts of the Fathers to the Children, the hearts of the children to their Fathers, and the di&s;obedient to the wi&s;dome of the wi&s;e:</HI> the meaning is this, <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery &s;hould effect this, that if
<PB N="7" REF="7">
Parents heretofore were ignorant of the wayes of God, and &s;o &s;lighted their children, for their childrens godline&s;&s;e &s;ake, now the Parents &s;hould turn to the wi&s;dome of their children; If children heretofore had &s;lighted their Pa|rents, for their wi&s;dome and godline&s;&s;e, now the children &s;hould turn to the wi&s;dome of their Parents; the di&s;obedi|ent &s;hould turn to the wi&s;dome of the wi&s;e, whether this wi&s;dome were found in the Fathers, or in the children, in whom&s;oever wi&s;dome &s;hould bee found, the di&s;obedient would turn to them when Je&s;us Chri&s;t &s;hould bee clearly di&s;cover'd to them; the Apo&s;tle in the 2 of <HI>Cor.</HI> 3. 13. layes this downe mo&s;t clearly and fully, when hee &s;peaks how gloriou&s;ly Je&s;us Chri&s;t is revealed in the Mini&s;tery of the Go&s;pell, he expre&s;&s;es the fruit of it thus; We all with open face beholding as in a gla&s;&s;e the glory of the Lord, <HI>are changed into the &s;ame Image from glory to glo|ry;</HI> whoever doth clearly &s;ee the glory of Chri&s;t in the Go&s;pell, according to the mea&s;ure of his light, &s;o is the mea&s;ure of the transforming of his heart into the image of the Go&s;pell; And the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e this light doth not onely di&s;cover a &s;upereminent excellency in Chri&s;t and his wayes, but al&s;o heales the will and affections, and &s;atisfies the whole &s;oul with &s;uch a &s;utable goodne&s;&s;e, that it can doe no other but fly to it as the Eagle to the car|ka&s;&s;e.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Application.</HI> Hereby we may learn how to judge of pretended light.</NOTE> This Le&s;&s;on which is of &s;ingular u&s;e for many things, I note it onely to bee a direction to us, how wee may try both our own and the pretended light of others, concern|ing the Kingdome of heaven in our dayes, e&s;pecially in the&s;e late yeares, wee have more di&s;cour&s;e then ever of <HI>New Lights, and new Go&s;pel di&s;coveries,</HI> and all our old Preachers and profe&s;&s;ors are by a great many accounted to be legall men, Morall men, who doe not &s;ee into the
<PB N="8" REF="8">
my&s;teries of heaven, and Je&s;us Chri&s;t, as &s;ome of late, thinke them&s;elves have attained unto, this you know is &s;poke of very much among&s;t many people: Now I doe willingly acknowledge, <HI>that day unto day utters knowledge, and night unto night di&s;covers wi&s;edome,</HI> every new day, and every new year, the nearer wee come to Chri&s;ts la&s;t appearing, will certainly di&s;cover Go&s;pell Truths more clearly then they have been under&s;tood before; yea, and I as willingly and readily acknowledge every one to have received more light then formerly, or more light then his brethren, when I &s;ee any mans heart enflamed with more zeale, transformed into more holine&s;&s;e, and humility, and gratiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, then others doe attaine to; this is cleare in my Text; A cleare light did kindle a great deale of zeale: but when you meet with any that &s;peak of di&s;co|veries, of glimp&s;es of glory, and new light, and in the meane time, with all their light and knowledge doe walke licenciou&s;ly, and reject the ordinances of God, and walke in wayes that are contrary to the cleare di&s;pen&s;ation, and coun&s;ell of the Go&s;pel, I will never feare to &s;ay, that that light what ever it be, proceeds from the Prince of dark|ne&s;&s;e, from which the Lord deliver all his people. Second|ly, as this violence of their &s;pirit was conformity to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Secondly, a conformitie to his &s;pirit. I earn here, that the Teachers oft|times appear in their Di&s;ci|ples.</NOTE> <HI>Iohns</HI> &s;pirit, who walked in the power and &s;pirit of <HI>Elias,</HI> a man of zeale, we may learn, <HI>That the Image of the &s;pirit of Teachers frequently appeares in their Di&s;ciples.</HI> If you &s;earch the Scriptures, you'l finde nothing more u&s;uall then the people moulded into the &s;pirit of their Teachers &amp; Ru|lers: It's worth your ob&s;ervation that all the <HI>Epi&s;tles</HI> writ|ten to the <HI>&s;even Churches,</HI> wherein &s;ome of them are con|demned to be <HI>dead,</HI> and &s;ome to bee <HI>cold,</HI> and &s;ome for <HI>loo&s;ing their fir&s;t love,</HI> and &s;ome commended for their <HI>pu|ritie and &s;incerity, and watchfulne&s;&s;e,</HI> &amp;c. all this is &s;poke
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to the <HI>Angel,</HI> that is, to the Colledge of Mini&s;ters to them that were their leaders; yet therein the holy Gho&s;t intends that Character of the whole Church, although hee names onely the Angel, becau&s;e of old it hath been a Proverbe, <HI>as is the Prie&s;t, &s;o are the people;</HI> like Mini&s;ter, like <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;ea 4. 9.</NOTE> people; like Magi&s;trate, like flock; and although no man can communicate his own &s;pirit unto his Schollers, but onely <HI>our Lord Ie&s;us,</HI> who can powr out his &s;pirit at his plea&s;ure; yet all experience &s;hews us, that the frame of &s;pirit that is in &s;uperiours, whether Magi&s;trates or Mi|ni&s;ters, hath a wonderfull influence upon the molding of tho&s;e that are under them; Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters in this &s;en&s;e may be truely &s;aid to be &s;et for the ri&s;ing and fall of others, their vertues and vices are imitated by them who are under them, if they fall they draw many down with them, as the Dragon drew the third part of the &s;tars, and great Cedars cru&s;h many lower Trees and make them fall with them; if <HI>Peter</HI> tempori&s;e with the Jewes, his example compels others to doe the like; &s;o al&s;o is their zeale for <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 2. 14.</NOTE> God a great provocation to their Schollers and others who are under them; but I intended onely to point at the&s;e two things. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Thirdly, in both the&s;e as a crown of glory to <HI>Iohn.</HI> Learne hence, The greate&s;t glory which God puts upon any man is to make them in|&s;trumentall in building the Kingdome of Heaven. <HI>Doct.</HI></NOTE> The third which I chiefly ayme at in this fir&s;t con|&s;ideration of the words, is, That this excellent &s;pirit that was found in the people, is here &s;et upon the head of <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t as his Crown, this is made <HI>Iohns</HI> glory, that the Epoche of a new world, or a newface of a Church did take the date from the Mini&s;tery of <HI>Iohn; From the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence;</HI> and the Le&s;&s;on that I ob&s;erve from it is,</P>
<P>That <HI>the greate&s;t glory that ever the Lord &s;ets upon any whom he u&s;eth is,</HI> that the Kingdom of Heaven is advanced by their Mini&s;tery or &s;ervice. This I think you &s;ee plain in the Text, &amp; this I &s;hall indeavour a little to open and apply
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unto you: it is true, that when the &s;ervants of God are faithfull, they are accepted with God, and &s;hall be glo|rious with him, though there bee no &s;ucce&s;&s;e of their la|bours; the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> &s;aith, <HI>though I&s;rael be not con|verted, and Iudah not gathered,</HI> yet I &s;hall be <HI>glorious with my God;</HI> and <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Wee</HI> (that is, wee faithfull <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;av. 49. 5. 2 Cor. 2. 15.</NOTE> Mini&s;ters) <HI>are a &s;weet &s;avour unto God, in them that peri&s;h, as well as in them that are &s;aved:</HI> the &s;ervants of God lo&s;e not their labour with God, when they are unprofitable to|wards man; but if the Lord doe plea&s;e to u&s;e any as means to advance the Kingdome of Heaven, hee never conferres a greater glory upon any of his creatures: <HI>Daniel</HI> faith in the 12. of <HI>Daniel,</HI> whether they bee Magi&s;trates or Mini|&s;ters, or private men, <HI>They that turne many to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 12. 3.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall &s;hine like the Stars;</HI> you know the Stars are the bright|e&s;t part of the whole Creation; they that are meanes to win people to righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;hall &s;hine like Stars. Ob&s;erve al&s;o what an honorable name the Lord gives to &s;uch in the 58. of the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>I&s;aiah: Thou &s;halt be called the repairer of the breach, the re&s;torer of paths to walk in, the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 58. 12.</NOTE> <HI>rai&s;er up of the foundations for many Generations:</HI> intima|ting that a greater name of glory cannot bee given them. There is an excellent &s;tory in the &s;ixth Chapter of the Pro|phe&s;ie of <HI>Zechariah,</HI> the Lord appointed that <HI>Io&s;hua</HI> the high Prie&s;t, (who was a type of Chri&s;t, and was then building the Temple, and &s;etting up the wor&s;hip of God) &s;hould have <HI>crownes of Gold and Silver &s;et upon his head,</HI> typifying thereby the glory that &s;hall bee &s;et upon the head of the Lord Je&s;us, that is the great builder of his <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 10. 14 opened.</NOTE> Church: but in the &s;ame Chapter the Lord commanded the Prophet to take of them that are of the captivitic, and names <HI>Helem,</HI> and <HI>Tobijah,</HI> and <HI>Hen,</HI> and &s;ome others, who (as &s;ome Interpreters) think were Amba&s;&s;adors &s;ent by
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the re&s;t of the &s;cattered Jewes to bring their oblations; active men that came to helpe forward the work of God: others thinke they came as private men enflamed with zeale to &s;et a good example unto others, and brought their Silver and Gold that they might further the work that was in hand; implying thus much, that the&s;e excellent men to whom God had given a &s;pirit to helpe forward that work, and had brought their Silver and Gold, and other gifts, the Lord would have their gifts turn'd into Crowns, and have their names written upon their Crownes, and the&s;e &s;hould be hung up in the Temple of God, as an everla&s;ting me|moriall of the glory that God put upon the&s;e forward men. Truly thus doth the Lord deale with all his &s;ervants, if he give the talents of authority, of Magi&s;tracy, of Mini|&s;tery, of wi&s;edome, of wealth, or whatever may be u&s;efull, to any, and they obtaine a heart to employ the&s;e to advance the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, the Lord turnes their talents into crownes, and engraves their names upon their crownes, and hangs them up as a memoriall before the Lord: and this I could &s;hew you out of 100. examples in the Scripture, e&s;pecially of tho&s;e two &s;orts of great in&s;truments, <HI>Magi|&s;trates</HI> and <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> that it hath been the greate&s;t glory that ever God put upon any of them, that they have bent them&s;elves to advance the Kingdome of Heaven; What is the great glory of <HI>Mo&s;es?</HI> but that he brought <HI>I&s;rael</HI> out of <HI>bondage,</HI> and brought them into a <HI>covenant with God,</HI> and <HI>gave them &s;tatutes, and oracles, and ordinances;</HI> What is the glory of <HI>Io&s;hua?</HI> but that hee did plant <HI>I&s;rael</HI> in their owne po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and brought them into a covenant, and there &s;et them into a way that they &s;erved God all his dayes: What was the glory of <HI>David?</HI> but that being rai&s;ed (from being a Shepheards boy) to bee a King, hee did doe good unto Gods people, and provided beyond all
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mea&s;ure, what&s;oever might build a Temple for God, and &s;et the orders to the Prie&s;ts, and enabled the &s;ervants of God to &s;erve him with liberty and cheerfulne&s;&s;e: And what was <HI>Solomons,</HI> but the building Gods hou&s;e, &amp;c? And &s;o I might go on with <HI>A&s;a,</HI> and <HI>Ieho&s;aphat,</HI> and <HI>Io&s;iah,</HI> and <HI>Ezrah,</HI> and <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> all the&s;e great Worthies, their glory hath been that the Kingdome of God was advanced by them: the like of Mini&s;ters, <HI>Iehojada</HI> the Prie&s;t, buried among the Kings, becau&s;e hee had done good to <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and honored God and his hou&s;e, hee had helped Religion won|derfully forward; and <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bap i&s;t here in my Text, it was prophe&s;ied of him by the Angel, <HI>He &s;hall be great in the &s;ight of God, Iohn</HI> &s;hall be a very great man; Alas, what was <HI>Iohns</HI> greatne&s;&s;e? hee was a Prie&s;ts &s;onne, lived in a kind of Hermits life, and went in a leather girdle, and eate countrey fare, and went in cour&s;e apparell: wherein was his greatne&s;&s;e? It was this, <HI>many of the hearts of the chil|den of I&s;rael &s;hall hee turne unto the Lord his God;</HI> and &s;o <HI>Samaria</HI> it is <HI>Philips</HI> crowne, and all the countries and ci|ties that <HI>Paul</HI> wonne to Je&s;us Chri&s;t are &s;o many crownes to him: and you &s;hall reade of the Church, the woman in the twelfth of the <HI>Revelations</HI> when &s;he was <HI>cloathed with the Sunne,</HI> that is, Chri&s;t Je&s;us her Lord, his rightcou&s;ne&s;&s;e was her glorious rayment, yet &s;hee had a crowne of 12. Stars upon her head, that is, the 12. Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t, that had laboured to bring her to that light and grace: the&s;e were &s;et upon the Churches head, and &s;hee wore them as a crowne: Many more in&s;tances might bee given, but to cleare it a little further, con&s;ider but the&s;e two grounds for it: Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">R. 1.</NOTE> Who ever are in&s;trumentall in advancing, and building up, and furthering the Kingdome of Heaven, the Lord gives them to partake with him&s;elf, in that which is his
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own greate&s;t glory, and the greate&s;t glory of his Son, the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, when Satan had ruin'd mankind, and him&s;elf become the God upon earth, and drawn all men off from God to wor&s;hip Devils, the great de&s;igne of God was to &s;et up another Kingdome, that &s;hould bee called <HI>the Kingdome of God</HI> the <HI>Kingdome of his Chri&s;t,</HI> the Kingdom of the Lord Je&s;us, the Kingdome of Heaven; and for the erecting of this, Chri&s;t did all his work, came from Heaven, became a man, died, ro&s;e again, &s;ent out his Spirit, it is the great de&s;igne of Heaven, that this King|dome &s;hould bee erected and advanced; Now when any are found to help forward this, they are a&s;&s;ociated with the Lord Je&s;us, in this great Work; and therefore you &s;hall read in the Prophe&s;ie of <HI>Obadiah,</HI> the la&s;t ver&s;e of it, where the Lord &s;peakes of winning both the Jews and other Na|tions home to Chri&s;t, <HI>Saviours &s;hall come upon Mount Zion,</HI> Saviours &s;hall be there; Who are they? the Jew|i&s;h Interpreters &s;ay, that the Saviours there meant are, <HI>Rex Me&s;sias, &amp; ejus &s;ocii;</HI> the&s;e Saviours are, <HI>King Me&s;siah</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">R. D. Kim<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>and his Companions</HI> that &s;hould work with him; and mo&s;t interpreters do agree, that the <HI>Saviours</HI> are the Apo&s;tles, and the Apo&s;tolicall men, and others, that &s;hould bring <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 6. 1. 1 Cor. 1. 6. Philip. 2. 30.</NOTE> the people homeagain to God, and help to convert the Na|tions, the Lord calls them by the name of Saviours, and many are &s;aid to <HI>be fellow-workers with Chri&s;t,</HI> and the A|po&s;tle &s;aith of <HI>Timothy,</HI> See that <HI>Timoty</HI> bee without any mole&s;tation with you, (in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. of the <HI>Cor.</HI> 16) for he works <HI>the Worke of God, as I doe;</HI> and of <HI>Epaphroditus,</HI> it is &s;aid of him, <HI>that for the Work of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> hee was &s;ick unto death; the work then that they are imployed in, to build up the Kingdome of Heaven, is the &s;ame work <HI>that God</HI> and the <HI>Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> work: and can there be a great|er glory communicated unto any creature, then to bee
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tooke into a&s;&s;ociation with God, in a &s;ervice that is for his highe&s;t glory? Secondly, as they are a&s;&s;ociated with God, &s;o</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rea&s;.</HI> 2.</NOTE> They make the people to whom they are in&s;trumentall, beholding to them, for the greate&s;t benefits that people are capable of receiving; <HI>Seneca</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Nihil in rebus humanis praeclarius quam de republica bene mereri,</HI> There is nothing in all the affaires of mankinde more honorable then to de|&s;erve well of the Common-wealth, to be in&s;trumentall of good to others, it is the glory of man in all hu|mane &s;ocieties; and you &s;hall find that <HI>Tubal-Cain,</HI> and others that did invent in&s;truments of Bra&s;&s;e, and Mu&s;ick, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 4.</NOTE> are numbred among tho&s;e that have done good to the world: and <HI>Hezekiah</HI> hath a Crowne of prai&s;e, that hee <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Kings 20.</NOTE> did build a poole, and brought water to the Citie of <HI>Ieru&s;a|lem:</HI> But for a man to be in&s;trumentall to helpe forward the Kingdome of Heaven, to advance it, to draw people out of the &s;nares of Satan unto God, to help them with the pardon of &s;in, and right to everla&s;ting life, the&s;e are mercies with a witne&s;&s;e, no wonder though the <HI>Galatians</HI> could have pull'd out their eyes, and have given them to <HI>Paul,</HI> when he had been a means to help them to the know|ledge of Chri&s;t, and &s;o to Heaven: &s;o that whether you re|gard the glory of being a&s;&s;ociated with God, or the good that they convey unto others, there can be no &s;uch honour, as to be in&s;trumentall in helping forward the Kingdome of Heaven. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Appli.</NOTE></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">To the Parlia|ment to intend this work a|bove all other.</NOTE> This Le&s;&s;on is of excellent u&s;e, e&s;pecially to two &s;orts of men, that are or may be publikely in&s;trumentall in it, I mean <HI>Magi&s;trates</HI> and <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> I am called at the pre&s;ent to &s;peak onely to the fir&s;t, therefore I'le &s;ay nothing of the latter, but for you Honourable and beloved, that are the Patriots of the Kingdome, is it not in your heart, to do all
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the good that is po&s;&s;ible to poor <HI>England?</HI> I dare &s;ay you are deeply affected with the di&s;tre&s;&s;es of it, and would not count your lives deare, &s;o you might but promote the good of it; &s;hall I tell you what <HI>that thing is,</HI> which above all things in the world, will be advantagious to <HI>England,</HI> and glorious to your &s;elves, lay the cau&s;e of the Kingdome of Heaven to your hearts, more then ever you have done, endeavour to be in&s;trumentall to make Religion thrive and pro&s;per, that the Kingdome of Heaven may &s;uffer violence under your &s;ervice; &s;o &s;hall your names bee ingraven with the name of God, and numbred among the Saviours of this Land: Let me &s;peak freely to you, you have conten|ded long and vehemently for re&s;cuing the Kingdome of <HI>England</HI> from the bondage and pre&s;&s;ures that it lay under, and that <HI>England</HI> might be a free people, herein you have wrought in the fire, and becau&s;e the cure hath been hard &amp; co&s;tly woe and alas (I mu&s;t &s;peak it) the Patients are weary of it, and could rather wi&s;h to bee under their old Soares, then under &s;uch Phy&s;itians, and are ready to &s;ay with the murmuring <HI>I&s;raelites, Let us make us a Captain and return againe unto Egypt,</HI> would be againe at <HI>their fle&s;h pots</HI> and <HI>onyons</HI> though under bondage: your &s;elves doe know how much ingratitude is &s;hewed, and all becau&s;e there is not that event and &s;ucce&s;&s;e that hath been hoped for, but would the Lord make you in&s;trumentall to advance the <HI>Kingdome of Heaven really,</HI> there &s;hould never bee found one among tho&s;e that &s;hould partake the benefit of it, that would be <HI>weary of you,</HI> but would for ever <HI>ble&s;&s;e the Lord for you.</HI> If the generations to come, and future Chroni|cles may but be able to &s;ay, <HI>From the dayes of &s;uch a Parlia|ment, the hearts of the people of England were turned to God,</HI> from the dayes of &s;uch a Parliament the <HI>Mini&s;tery was reformed, &s;etled, encouraged,</HI> with countenance, with
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maintenance; <HI>&V;niver&s;ities</HI> were reformed, <HI>here&s;ies, bla&s;|phemies,</HI> every thing contrary to Chri&s;ts truth, was di&s;|countenanced, &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, beaten down, and the glory of the Lord Chri&s;t was laid to heart; might but this bee &s;aid of you, after all your toyle and blood, and after all your being ca&s;t down; and laden with reproach and &s;corne, your names &s;hould revive, your glory &s;hould be eternall, this and the everla&s;ting world would number you among the <HI>repairers of the breaches of Gods people,</HI> and you &s;hall bee called <HI>Saviours of the Kingdome of England,</HI> if the Lord doe but direct you to doe this worke; but in the meane time, &s;hould the Lord leave you that it &s;hould bee otherwi&s;e, that the affaires of Chri&s;t &s;hould prove <HI>retroomnia,</HI> that the Kingdome being over&s;pread with <HI>bla&s;phe|mies and here&s;ies,</HI> and the poy&s;oning of the &s;oules of peo|ple, &amp;c. &s;hould bee concurrent with your worke, and you not endevour to admini&s;ter the be&s;t helping hand you can to it, it would bee &s;aid of you, as Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall writers do of one age &s;ince Chri&s;t that was over&s;pread with here&s;ies, and de&s;titute of worthy men to oppo&s;e them, it was called <HI>Infoelix &s;eculum,</HI> an unhappy age: &s;o would you be accoun|ted <HI>Infoelix Parliamentum,</HI> an unhappy Parliament: if this &s;hould happen under you, and you not indevour to the utmo&s;t to redre&s;&s;e it. I pray the Lord, and it is my prayer when ever I can pray, that God would give that glory to you, and &s;et that crowne upon your heads, that with <HI>Io&s;hua</HI> and <HI>Zerubbabel,</HI> and and the re&s;t of tho&s;e whom God hath counted fit to bee numbred among his Worthies, you might make this the great de&s;igne, that from the dayes of this Parliament, <HI>the Kingdome Heaven might bee &s;et up, and flouri&s;h in England:</HI> and &s;o I have done with the words in the fir&s;t con&s;ideration of them, as they are a crowne &s;et upon the head of <HI>Iohn</HI> the Bapti&s;t: <HI>From the</HI>
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<HI>dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence.</HI></P>
<P>I now proceed to the words as they containe a de&s;crip|tion of a people really converted and brought home to Chri&s;t, The Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence, and the violent take it by force; take but the Rhetorick off from the&s;e words, they &s;ignifie no more then that which is &s;aid in the 1 of <HI>Luke</HI> 16. <HI>Many of the children of I&s;rael he &s;hall turne to the Lord their God:</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Con&s;ider the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ext as a de|&s;ciption of true Converts.</NOTE> many &s;hall bee converted by him, but the holy Gho&s;t expre&s;&s;es it in the&s;e Metaphori|call termes, becau&s;e they doe fully &s;et out the true <HI>Genius</HI> of every &s;oule who is aright in&s;tructed of the Kingdome of Heaven. In the words there are two things:</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> Fir&s;t, what the frame of &s;pirit is, which po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed the people under <HI>Iohns</HI> Mini&s;tery, in the&s;e words, <HI>the King|dome of Heaven &s;uffers violence.</HI> Secondly,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> The &s;ucce&s;&s;e of this frame of &s;pirit, <HI>the violent take it by force.</HI> For the fir&s;t, the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence, wherein there are two things to bee interpre|ted. <MILESTONE N="1"> First, </P>
<P>What is meant by the <HI>Kingdome of Heaven.</HI> <MILESTONE N="2"> Secondly,</P>
<P>What by the Kingdome of Heavens <HI>&s;uffering violence.</HI> </P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> By the Kingdome of Heaven, in one word, both here <NOTE PLACE="marg">What is meant by Kingdome of Heaven.</NOTE> and at lea&s;t in 100. other places of the New Te&s;tament, is meant the admini&s;tration of the Covenant of grace, after Je&s;us Chri&s;t was exhibited in the fle&s;h; the la&s;t &amp; be&s;t admi|ni&s;tration of the covenant of Grace; <HI>The Kingdome of Hea|ven is come to you; The Kingdome of Heaven is like a Mer|chant man; The Kingdome of Heaven &s;hall be taken from you, &amp;c.</HI> all the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions are nothing but the admini&s;tration of the <HI>Covenant of Grace</HI> under <HI>Me&s;siah;</HI> and this is called the Kingdome of Heaven, not onely in oppo&s;ition to the kingdomes of the world, other politique Commonwealths, but principally (I thinke) in oppo&s;ition to the &s;pirituall
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kingdome of the Devill, which is the kingdome of dark|ne&s;&s;e, and leads people to de&s;truction, and this admini|&s;tration is called the Kingdome of Heaven, partly, becau&s;e the Prince and Soveraigne Lord of it, is the Lord from Heaven, and hath his throne in Heaven, and partly be|cau&s;e all the &s;ubjects of it, are made <HI>Heavenly in their con|ver&s;ations;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3. 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> partly, becau&s;e all the good things communi|cated to them doe come from Heaven; and principally, be|cau&s;e <HI>the Kingdome of glory,</HI> that is to be injoyed in Hea|ven, and the admini&s;tration of <HI>the Covenant of Grace</HI> here upon earth, are all but one and the &s;ame thing, onely that is the upper Region, this the inferior, there is the Metro|politicall Citie, and the&s;e are (as it were) the Suburbs, and the Countrey Villages, but all is one Kingdome; there is nothing there, but what is enjoy'd here, only with the&s;e two differences, that here the Kingdome of Heaven is <HI>mix'd</HI> and <HI>imperfect; mix'd</HI> with corruption, <HI>mix'd</HI> with afflicti|on, and the graces of it not perfectly communicated; and there it is <HI>&s;imple,</HI> and <HI>pure,</HI> and <HI>entire,</HI> without any defect or mixture; and here it is admini&s;tred in <HI>ordinances,</HI> and re|ceived by <HI>faith,</HI> there it is admini&s;tred <HI>immediatly,</HI> and <HI>enjoy|ed by &s;ight;</HI> but otherwi&s;e I know no difference, Heaven there, and Heaven here to the Saints is all but one King|dome; therefore it is called the Kingdome of Heaven.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. What is meant by the King|dome of hea|ven &s;uffering violence.</NOTE> Secondly, and what is meant <HI>by the Kingdome of heaven &s;uffering violence;</HI> I confe&s;&s;e &s;ome Interpreters &s;ay that Heaven &s;uffers violence, that is, &s;uffers per&s;ecution; adver|&s;aries doe ru&s;h upon it: but &s;o it cannot be &s;aid, that the violent <HI>take it,</HI> for the&s;e violent men doe not take but lo&s;e the Kingdome of Heaven, who per&s;ecute it: but my Text &s;peakes of &s;uch violent men as <HI>take</HI> and <HI>enjoy it.</HI> The <HI>Armi|nans</HI> &s;ay, that by the &s;uffering violence is meant, the <HI>per|&s;ecuting</HI> of it to the <HI>taking of it away,</HI> not the <HI>taking of it</HI>
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<HI>to them&s;elves,</HI> but the taking of it away from others, and will not let people lay hold upon it: nor enter into it, but our Lord him&s;elf interprets the meaning in the 16. of <HI>Luke</HI> 16. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 16. 16.</NOTE> where that of this &s;tory is related: There <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;aith, and <HI>from the dayes of Iohn the Kingdome of God is preached, and every one pre&s;&s;eth into it:</HI> So that the &s;uffering of vio|lence here, is, that the Kingdome of Heaven is a&s;&s;aulted by violence of tho&s;e that will have it, what ever it co&s;t them: all who are rightly informed and in&s;tructed in the Kingdome of Heaven, doe with contention and earne&s;tne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, break through all difficulties, u&s;e all diligence, that they may enjoy the Kingdome of Heaven as their portion, what ever it co&s;t them. In a word, what <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith of his own practice, <HI>Philip.</HI> 3. is a cleere interpretation of this Text, <HI>I do</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 3. 8, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>count all dro&s;&s;e and dung, that I might gaine Chri&s;t,</HI> I make <HI>&s;hipwrack of all,</HI> I looke <HI>at nothing that I have already got,</HI> but <HI>I &s;till looke for that which is before me,</HI> I <HI>pre&s;&s;e forward, if by any meanes I may attaine to the re&s;urrection of the dead.</HI> Now you have the meaning, &s;ince <HI>Iohn</HI> hath cleerly di&s;cover'd the Kingdome of Heaven, the &s;pirits of men are &s;o fired, that there is no taking of them off, but with all the violence po&s;&s;ible they all labour and endeavour to advance it, and to get into it; and from this there are two excellent le&s;&s;ons to be handled, I'le onely name one of them, and handle the other. The fir&s;t is,</P>
<P>That <HI>the admini&s;tration of the Covenant of grace in the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Doct.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t, is no other thing then the very Kingdome of Heaven:</HI> nothing le&s;&s;e then the very Kingdome of Hea|ven: let the men of the world &s;light it, e&s;teeme it a bondage, a drudgery, yet it's no le&s;&s;e then a Kingdome, yea a King|dome of <HI>Heaven,</HI> which doth tran&s;cend all the Kingdomes of this world as far as Heaven is above the earth: that is
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one; I dare &s;ay nothing of that, le&s;t I bee prevented: the other is,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Doct.</HI> 2.</NOTE> <HI>That all who are rightly affected to the Kingdome of Hea|ven, offer violence to it.</HI> Violence it is a motion above the meane, beyond mediocrity, it is a motion with greate&s;t intention and indeavour, this is the le&s;&s;on I would Preach to you, that <HI>whoever are rightly affected to the Kingdome of Heaven doe u&s;e their utmo&s;t endeavour, and offer violence to it:</HI> let mee fir&s;t make it cleer to you that it is &s;o: and then I'le ha&s;ten to the Application; That it is &s;o, if you plea&s;e but to weigh the&s;e three or foure things, it will bee beyond all que&s;tion.</P>
<P>That every where in the Booke of God, where the en|deavours of men are de&s;cribed who look after Heaven; <NOTE PLACE="marg">1.</NOTE> the&s;e endeavours (I &s;ay) are expre&s;&s;ed, by all the indefatiga|ble paines that are laid out about any thing in the world, the mo&s;t laborious trade of a Husbandman, of a Traveller, of a Warfaring man, of a Merchant are u&s;ually brought to expre&s;&s;e the labours of men that look after heaven, yea &s;uch exerci&s;es which are too violent for any to make a trade or ordinary practi&s;e of, are u&s;ed to &s;et out the violence of their labour who &s;trive for the Kingdome of heaven as run|ning a race, &s;triving for ma&s;teries or victories in the Olym|pick games, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 9. 24. &amp;c. <HI>Know yee not that they who</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 9. 24.</NOTE> <HI>run in a race ran all, but one receiveth the Garland: &s;o run that yee may obtain, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> The affections with which they are carried to it, are ordi|narily &s;o expre&s;&s;ed, that all the love they beare to any thing el&s;e is hatred, if compar'd with the love they beare to this: <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> &s;aith in the 14. of <HI>Luke; If any man will bee</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 14 17.</NOTE> <HI>my di&s;ciple, and hate not father, and mother, and wife, and children, and life, and all that he hath, and him&s;elfe al&s;o, hee cannot be my Di&s;ciple.</HI> Now certainly the Lord doth not
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meane po&s;itively, the Go&s;pel doth not teach any man to hate his father or his mother, or his wife or children, it is again&s;t nature, and again&s;t the Go&s;pel; but the Lord meanes comparatively, that take all the love that they bear to their own lives, or to what ever is deare to them, as <HI>Ia|cobs</HI> love to <HI>Leah</HI> was hatred, when compar'd with his af|fection to <HI>Rachel,</HI> &s;o all their love to the&s;e things is hatred if compared with the love that they beare to the Kingdome of Heaven; and this <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI> expre&s;&s;es very elegantly when he &s;aith, in his pur&s;uit of bani&s;hment or martyrdome for Chri&s;t, <HI>if his father &s;hould meet him and &s;tand in his way, he would throw his father upon the ground; if his mo|ther lay in his way, he would tread upon his mothers belly:</HI> meaning whatever it was, that &s;hould be an ob&s;tacle to him, they &s;hould be all &s;corn'd and hated by him, if their intere&s;t in him &s;hould offer to &s;tand in competition with the affecti|on hee bore to the Kingdome of Heaven. <MILESTONE N="3"></P>
<P>It is ordinary with <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> to expre&s;&s;e it thus, that whoe|ver <NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 14 33. Matth. 13. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">4. 45.</NOTE> mindes the Kingdome of Heaven, and embraces it aright, will <HI>for&s;ake all for it,</HI> they <HI>&s;ell all for it;</HI> in the 13. of <HI>Matthew,</HI> the man that found the Trea&s;ure, <HI>&s;old all with joy,</HI> the man that found the pearle of great price, <HI>&s;old all,</HI> and the Di&s;ciples were able to &s;peak it, <HI>Ma&s;ter we have for|&s;aken</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Matth.</HI> 19. 29.</NOTE> <HI>all to follow thee:</HI> How is that? how doe they &s;ell all? the meaning is, they for&s;ake all, Fir&s;t, <MILESTONE N="1"></P>
<P>In their judgments, and e&s;timation of all other things, they <NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil 38.</NOTE> are nothing in their thoughts, when compared with this: I account all lo&s;&s;e and dung for Chri&s;t. Secondly, fell and for&s;ake all.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> In their affections, that they care not for them, they doe not love them, nor delight in them, when compar'd with this. Thirdly, &s;ell all,</P>
<P>In their re&s;olution and purpo&s;e of their &s;pirit; they being prepar'd to part with all, either by degrees; or all at a clap,
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according as their intere&s;t in the Kingdome of Heaven doth call for any of them: And as the Scripture is plain, that it mu&s;t be &s;o, &s;o if you look but into the examples of all that have imbrac'd it, you &s;hall &s;ee <HI>de facto</HI> that it hath been &s;o; look upon the examples, read tho&s;e Holy men of God, of old, that &s;aw not the Kingdome of Heaven &s;o cleer|ly, as now it is di&s;cover'd: <HI>Abraham</HI> a&s;&s;oon as ever this City and Kingdome was di&s;cover'd to him, left <HI>Me&s;opota|mia,</HI> left his Father, his kindred, the Land of his Nativity, his e&s;tate, went hee knew not whither, onely to follow a word that directed him to this Kingdome: <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> who&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 24.</NOTE> practice is epitomized in the 11. of the <HI>Heb.</HI> 24. that he did count the honour of being <HI>Pharaohs</HI> daughters Son, hee counted the plea&s;ures of the Court of <HI>Egypt,</HI> hee e&s;teemed the wealth of <HI>Egypt,</HI> the trea&s;ures of it, he counted them all as nothing in compari&s;on of this; there is the Worlds Tri|nity, honour, plea&s;ure, wealth, troden under foot, by a man, that had but &s;et his heart to the Kingdom of Heaven. The time would fail me to relate unto you what all the Wor|thies have done: But look a little into Chri&s;ts time, that w^c^h my Text doth more immediately intimate, what <HI>violence</HI> they u&s;ed, how the people trod one upon another, to attend upon the Ordinances: how they would tarry &s;ometimes 3. dayes together, without eating a bit of bread or drinking any thing but a cup of water, only that they might get &s;ome acquaintance with Chri&s;t, and the way to life; how his <HI>Di|&s;ciples for &s;ook their Callings and Nets to follow Chri&s;t,</HI> and doe what hee would have them doe; how <HI>Paul</HI> made &s;hip|wracke of what&s;oever was dear unto him, and pre&s;&s;ed for|ward, onely that this might bee made good to their &s;oules, that Heaven was theirs; how the Virgin company who follow Chri&s;ts loved not their lives to the death: huge <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 11.</NOTE> <HI>clouds of witne&s;&s;es</HI> there are who&s;e examples prove clearly
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that who ever are rightly affected to the <HI>Kingdome of Hea|ven,</HI> will doe what ever they can in this worke, with all their hearts, and all their might, and all their &s;trength. Further|more this violence and eagerne&s;&s;e of affection towards the Kingdome of Heaven, in all into who&s;e hearts the knowledg of the Kingdom of Heaven doth come,</P>
<P>Expre&s;&s;es it &s;elf in two things: Fir&s;t, <MILESTONE N="4"></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> In <HI>labouring by all meanes po&s;sible to make it &s;ure to their own &s;oules, to work out their &s;alvation with &s;eare and with trembling,</HI> to make their intere&s;t in the Kingdome of God, the <HI>unum nece&s;&s;arium,</HI> the one thing that is nece&s;&s;ary, to part with all other things, that this may be their ab&s;olute portion; that is one, and the other,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Wherein they are equally &s;et, with eagerne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, in endeavouring within their power and calling, is, that all <HI>Mountains may be made plain, al ob&s;tacles removed, al further|ances added, which may advance the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> that other <HI>Fle&s;h</HI> as well as their &s;elves, may <HI>&s;ee the Salva|tion of God.</HI> Read your Bibles, I affirme it confidently, you &s;hall finde that all that have been eager for them&s;elves, &s;o far as it hath lien in their lot and way, have expre&s;&s;'d at lea&s;t the &s;ame eagerne&s;&s;e to advance it, and &s;et it up for others; <HI>Abraham</HI> that all his children might know the Lord: <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> though hee minded his own intere&s;t in Heaven far beyond all the world, (as I &s;hew'd you) yet preferd the &s;alvation of I&s;rael before it: <HI>Lord rather ra&s;e me out of the Book thou ha&s;t written then for &s;ake thy people;</HI> hee was more for I&s;rael then for him&s;elf. And &s;o all tho&s;e other Worthies, <HI>David</HI> never did that for him&s;elf, nor for all his children, in providing for them, as hee did for advancing Religion, <HI>the zeal of Gods hou&s;e eat him up:</HI> and &s;o did <HI>A&s;a, Ieho&s;ophat, Hezekiah, Io&s;iah, Ezra, Nehemiah,</HI> and many others of the old; and tho&s;e of the New Te&s;tament, with what violence did the
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<HI>Di&s;ciples of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> all of them goe up and downe, that they might gaine others to the <HI>Lord Chri&s;t</HI> to winne them to him? how did they goe about preaching, and do|ing good every where: being contented to be <HI>thought vile,</HI> to be in their wits, or out of their wits, to bee made a <HI>ga|zing &s;tock to men and Angels,</HI> to be made the <HI>refu&s;e and off&s;cowring of the world,</HI> to bee anything, &s;o they might promote and advance the Kingdome of Heaven? I know you are able to prove the&s;e things your&s;elves, and therefore I doe not in&s;i&s;t upon them, the ground of all this, is,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rea&s;on.</HI> From the ne|ce&s;&s;ity and ex|cellency and benefit of the Kingdome of Heaven.</NOTE> Becau&s;e <HI>the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> to all who are rightly informed in it, doth appeare not onely to bee a matter of <HI>ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity,</HI> but &s;o <HI>ab&s;olute good,</HI> &s;uch &s;uperlative excel|lency in &s;uch ravi&s;hing &s;weetne&s;&s;e, &s;uch in expre&s;&s;ible con&s;o|lation that the &s;oule that hath but once di&s;cover'd it, cannot forbeare, but fly upon it, as the Eagle flyes to the prey; and if with <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> they find this <HI>Hony combe,</HI> they mu&s;t eate them&s;elves, and give to their Father, or their Mother, or their children, and all that are about them. If you would know what they are, truely a little time will not &s;o much as name them; but they are &s;uch as the&s;e, to bee delivered out of the power of darkne&s;&s;e, and dominion of the Devill, to be reconciled to God, to have the pardon of their &s;innes, and the imputation of Chri&s;ts righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to bee made Gods adopted &s;onnes and daughters, to have peace with God, and peace with our con&s;cience, and peace with the creatures, and joy in the holy Gho&s;t, to have all things in this world turn'd to their good, and in the end to be deli|vered from death and hell, and to reigne with God and our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t in heaven for evermore; &s;uch things as the&s;e, the Kingdome of Heaven doth bring with it; now would you wonder that any man &s;hould be <HI>&s;ick of love,</HI> (as the Church &s;aid &s;hee was) that doth but &s;ee this face?
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wee u&s;e to &s;ay that for the <HI>&s;ummum bonum,</HI> for the chief good, exce&s;&s;e of affection, can have no exce&s;&s;e, the high|e&s;t affection that any living man can expre&s;&s;e, cannot bee &s;uppo&s;ed to have an exce&s;&s;e in it, when it is for that is the &s;uperlative good of all others; I have but one Que&s;tion or two briefly to cleare, and then my way is plaine to the Ap|plication. It may be demanded, Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> 1.</NOTE> What u&s;e is there of a violent &s;pirit in the pur&s;uit of the Kingdome of Heaven? <HI>Can wee by &s;earching finde out the Almighty?</HI> is this <HI>Race to the &s;wift?</HI> or this <HI>Battle to the &s;trong?</HI> doth any mans eagerne&s;&s;e and violence of &s;pirit purcha&s;e this at Gods hand? is it in our power, by our la|bour to carry it? is not all in this work of <HI>Gods free Grace,</HI> who &s;hewes mercy to whom hee will &s;hew mercy? and to what purpo&s;e then is that violence of the &s;pirit?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;on.</NOTE> To that I an&s;wer, it is certainly true, that no wi&s;edome of man can &s;earch the Kingdome of heaven out; the Vul|tures eye never &s;aw it, it is a path that the Lion never wal|ked in, and the wayes of it are hid from all fle&s;h; it is as high as heaven; wee can doe nothing, the &s;earch of it is deeper then the Center of the earth, wee cannot know it, <HI>Man knoweth not the price of it, neither is it found in the land of the living; the depth &s;aith, It is not in me, and the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Iob 11. 7, 8: Iob 28. perto|rum.</NOTE> <HI>Sea &s;aith, It is not in me, it cannot be gotten for gold, nei|ther &s;hall &s;ilver be weighed for the price of it,</HI> it is hid from the eyes of all living; God onely under&s;tandeth the wayes thereof, and giveth it to whom hee plea&s;eth, and if any man &s;hould thinke that his eagerne&s;&s;e, or violence of &s;pirit could purcha&s;e it, he and his labours mu&s;t peri&s;h together: this is certaine; but though this bee true, yet the Lord who is the free giver of it, hath order'd that it &s;hall bee &s;ought after this manner partly as a &s;igne and token, that wee e&s;teeme it in its due place, and partly as the meanes
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that he plea&s;eth to ble&s;&s;e, and his promi&s;e is, that they who <HI>&s;eeke it as &s;ilver and &s;earch for it as for hid trea&s;ure, &s;hall find</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 245.</NOTE> <HI>under&s;tanding</HI> and the <HI>fear of the Lord;</HI> and be&s;ides all this, there is that rea&s;on in nature for it, that whatever the heart doth once place the greate&s;t felicitie in, it can doe no other, but it mu&s;t follow it with all its might. But it may be once again demanded.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Qu.</HI> 2.</NOTE> Doth not the Scripture &s;ay, it is <HI>ea&s;ie?</HI> and if it bee &s;o, <HI>quor&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">m haec?</HI> to what purpo&s;e &s;hould <HI>violence</HI> be ufed, to take a Fort, that will be taken without violence? Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>my yoke is ea&s;ie and my burthen light,</HI> a &s;light labour may &s;erve for an ea&s;ie yoak, a weak &s;houlder is enough for a light burthen: To which I an&s;wer.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rea&s;.</NOTE> Never did yet any man read in Gods book, that the obtai|ning of the Kingdome of Heaven was an ea&s;ie matter; Chri&s;t-&s;aith, it is hard to be &s;aved, <HI>that &s;traight is the way,</HI> and <HI>narrow is the gate,</HI> and wee mu&s;t labour at it, and <HI>many will cry, Lord, Lord, that &s;hall not finde it;</HI> many &s;hall <HI>&s;eek</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">, 29. 30.</NOTE> but not enter, becau&s;e they <HI>&s;trive not</HI> to enter; but neveri&s;aith it is ea&s;ie. Indeed when once the &s;oule hath learned to conforme to Chri&s;t, when they have learned of him to bee humble and meek, then <HI>Chri&s;ts yoak is ea&s;ie,</HI> and &s;o it is in other things, if a man have <HI>given his heart to</HI> doe the De|vills drudgery, it is an ea&s;ie thing for him to &s;weare, and whore, and drinke, and drab, and dice, and commit villa|nies, this abominable drudgery is ea&s;ie to a mans &s;pirit, that delights in it; and to travell from countrey to countrey, to fight, and be wounded, and all the&s;e things are ea&s;ie to &s;pirits that &s;uit them; it was ea&s;ie for <HI>Iacob</HI> 14. yeers toge|ther to watch and toyle, when it was for his <HI>beloved Ra|chel.</HI> In all things <HI>finis dat medi is amabilitatem &amp; facilita|tem,</HI> the plea&s;ing end propounded and aimed at makes the meanes &s;weet and ea&s;ie, though difficult and hard in them|&s;elves: So when the love of heaven is got into the heart of
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man, then it is ea&s;ie with him, it is plea&s;ing to his nature, &s;uitable to his &s;pirit, to &s;pend, and be &s;pent, to be any thing, to doe any thing, that he might get it: but otherwi&s;e the things them&s;elves are hard to be got: I have nothing be|hind, but the Application of it, and that &s;hall bee in the&s;e two U&s;es. Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 1. For humiliati|on.</NOTE> This Le&s;&s;on doth afford us very much matter of <HI>humi|liation and mourning</HI> upon this day of <HI>our &s;oule affliction;</HI> and &s;econdly, it is a Le&s;&s;on that affords us excellent <HI>directi|on</HI> for di&s;charge of our nece&s;&s;ary dutie for time to come.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for <HI>mourning:</HI> Doe all that are rightly affected with the Kingdome of Heaven, offer violence to it, in this way that I have di&s;cover'd to you? how &s;ad then is the condition of mo&s;t in <HI>England</HI> this day? wee all profe&s;&s;e our &s;elves to bee the children of the Kingdome, wee are by a certaine generall profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;tianitie, numbred among them that call our &s;elves the &s;ervants and follow|ers of this Kingdome, but are wee true borne, or are wee Ba&s;tards? This le&s;&s;on will determine it. Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">1. How many u&s;e violence a|gain&s;t the Kingdome of Heaven.</NOTE> How many are there to bee found in England, who in &s;tead of offering <HI>violence to get the Kingdome of heaven,</HI> doe offer <HI>violence again&s;t the Kingdome of heaven,</HI> and doe all they can to ru&s;h upon the kingdom of heaven, to de&s;troy it, and beat it down; who do not only with the <HI>Gadarens in|treat Chri&s;t to be gone from them,</HI> but with tho&s;e di&s;obedient &s;ubjects, &s;end him word <HI>he &s;hall not paign over them,</HI> &amp; with them of <HI>Nazareth, &s;eek to tumble him downe the brow of the hill,</HI> upon which their Citie was built: willing to u&s;e all labours, and travell, yea all violence, that the Go&s;pel and Ordinances, wherein this Kingdome is admini&s;tred, might bee di&s;graced, cru&s;hed, bani&s;hed, beaten downe? Of the&s;e men I can &s;ay no more, but this, <HI>their damnation &s;leepeth not,</HI> they may in <HI>words profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;t,</HI> but certainly in their
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<HI>workes they ab&s;olutely deny him,</HI> and ruine will be their end; Secondly,. </P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. How many are flight &amp; luke|warm in &s;eek|ing it for their own &s;oul.</NOTE> How &s;adly doth this &s;peak again&s;t the generality of peo|ple? yea I fear again&s;t the greate&s;t part of our &s;elves, who are here before the Lord this day, &amp; God in mercy open al our eyes to &s;ee it, and powre &s;o much grace into our hearts, that wee may aright apprehend and be &s;en&s;ible what our e&s;tate is; you heare that all who are rightly affected to Heaven, doe offer violence to it in all the wayes I have open'd; Bre|thren, doe you &s;o? &s;ay every one for your owne &s;oules, doth your con&s;cience witne&s;&s;e, that you offer violence to the Kingdome of Heaven? Compare a little what violence you u&s;e for other things, and what you u&s;e to obtaine a part in the Kingdom of Heaven: Can you not watch, and work, and toyle, and &s;pend and be &s;pent for &s;ome earthly thing or other? For your wealth, or your plea&s;ure, or your ho|nour? Doe you not drive like <HI>Iehu, furiou&s;ly,</HI> as if you would break your Chariot wheeles into peeces? doe you not thus for the world? And doe you thus al&s;o for <HI>your immorta&s;t &s;oules?</HI> Are you not like <HI>David in his old age, when no cloths could make him warm?</HI> are you not like the <HI>Egyptians</HI> when their <HI>Chariet wheeles were taken off,</HI> when they <HI>drove</HI> &s;lowly and <HI>heavily?</HI> are you not like Snailes in the pur&s;uit of the things of <HI>Gods Kingdom?</HI> my heart could bleed in the &s;erious thoughts of the&s;e things, O wretched creatures that wee are, that we &s;hould thus deceive our &s;elves! There is a notable &s;tory of a poore wretched woman, who&s;e hou&s;e was on a fire, and &s;hee &s;eeing her hou&s;e would bee burn'd down, be&s;tir'd her&s;elfe, to the utmo&s;t, to &s;ave what &s;hee could, gets out her linnen, gets out her pewter, and what ever el&s;e &s;hee was able, and all this while this poore creature had a Babe lying in a Cradle, which &s;hee never thought of, (indeed &s;ome others did &s;ee it, and carry it out,) but
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when all was con&s;umed, it came into the womans mind, O Lord (&s;aith &s;hee) I have forgot my child, I have &s;aved my bra&s;&s;e, and my pewter, and my child is burnt, and fell mad immediately, at the apprehen&s;ion of her de&s;perate neglect of her Babe; O beloved, we are (the Lord knowes) no le&s;&s;e mad, here is a poore Tabernacle of ours, it is of a light fire, here is a <HI>World on a fire,</HI> and a <HI>Kingdom on a fire,</HI> and we have &s;omewhat that wee would all &s;ave, and one man &s;aith, I mu&s;t have this Money, and the other, I mu&s;t &s;ave &s;o much Land; and another, I mu&s;t &s;ave &s;uch an Office; and &s;aith a|nother, I mu&s;t get &s;uch a preferment, and in the mean time there is a poore <HI>immortall Soule,</HI> like a Babe in a Cra|dle, and a Kingdome of Heaven, that is onely a &s;uitable portion to it, this we wholly neglect, we doe nothing for it; it may be, come to Church, and hear Sermons, and joyne in Prayer, and attend upon Duties, but with &s;uch dull &s;pirits, that if a man would aske his &s;oul the que&s;tion, his Con&s;cience would &s;ay, this is not to <HI>&s;trive as for ma|&s;terie,</HI> this is not to <HI>run in a race,</HI> this is not to <HI>&s;trive</HI> as if a man would <HI>obtain:</HI> Mi&s;erable that we are, the Kingdomes of the Earth &s;uffer violence, our Farmes &s;uffer violence, our Trade &s;uffers violence, but Heaven &s;uffers no violence; the Lord forgive us, and help us to lay the&s;e things to our hearts, and to be humbled for them this day: and Thirdly, yet one thing more, </P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">3. How little zeal is found for the advancing of the Kingdome of Heaven for the good of o|thers.</NOTE> What great cau&s;e have wee to be humbled, when wee look upon that other branch of it, the <HI>little vigor &aacute;nd fer|vency of Spirit,</HI> that men have to advance the King|dome of Heaven, in reference to the good of others? in other things, every good Common-wealths-man is dili|gent, &s;ome would advance <HI>Trade</HI> to the utmo&s;t, and others would advance <HI>Liberty</HI> to the utmo&s;t; indeed all other things men &s;eek to improve them to the utmo&s;t, but O
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the little care is found among men to advance the <HI>King|dome of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, to the utmo&s;t:</HI> Many oppo|&s;ing it as a dangerous thing, they &s;ay of it as <HI>Haman,</HI> of the Jewes, <HI>It is not for the Kings profit to &s;uffer it;</HI> and others as <HI>Herod,</HI> &s;eek to &s;trangle it in the Cradle; others who will not appeare enemies to it, yet O how little will they now doe for it? Is it nothing to them that pa&s;&s;e by the way to &s;ee <HI>godline&s;s</HI> trod under foot, to &s;ee <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> trod down, to &s;ee <HI>Here&s;ies and Bla&s;phemies</HI> &s;pread, to &s;ee all goe backward in the things of Heaven? it takes not the hearts of a great many; God grant that many of your &s;elves, who are <HI>our Reformers,</HI> have not great cau&s;e to put your mouths in the du&s;t for the&s;e things this day, when you are before the Lord our God; you know how zealous you have been in your own work, if you have had the like af|fections in advancing the <HI>Kingdome of Chri&s;t,</HI> lift up your heads and take the comfort of it this day: but if you like that cold Wor&s;hipper of <HI>Baal, Gideons</HI> Father, who had an Altar for <HI>Baal,</HI> yet when one had it broken down, and hee per&s;waded to puni&s;h him that had done that deed, an|&s;wered, Let <HI>Baal</HI> plead for him&s;elfe, let him revenge his own quarrell: &s;o if you deal for the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, let it &s;hift for it &s;elf.</P>
<P>If any of you have &s;uch a cold heart for Religion, and let it goe at &s;ix and &s;evens, bee permitted to lie in the du&s;t, and be deeply humbled; if not, I mu&s;t tel you from the Lord, that lie will not onely not delight to u&s;e you, but hee will &s;pew you out of his mouth, for hee had as willingly have a dead A&s;&s;e offer'd in a Sacrifice to him, as a dull Spirit to &s;et upon his work: for the&s;e things let our &s;oules be hum|bled this day; and that is the fir&s;t u&s;e; the &s;econd is a u&s;e of exhortation in two branches: <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>&V;&s;e</HI> 2. Exhortation in two branches.</NOTE></P>
<P>Is the Kingdome of Heaven a bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of that nature,
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that all who are rightly informed about it, will &s;eek it vio|lently, eagerly, with all their &s;trength? <NOTE PLACE="marg">1. Each to con|tend violently to get it.</NOTE> O that the Lord would leave that impre&s;&s;ion upon every one of our &s;oules this day, I de&s;ire that for the time to come we might make it our <HI>onely worke for our &s;elves, to worke out our &s;alvation with feare and trembling;</HI> Would I knew what to &s;ay, to inflame your hearts about it, would the Lord did plea&s;e to open your eyes, and &s;hew you how little the World is worth, and how little good is to be found in it, and how far below your &s;oules, and how much your immorall &s;oules are worth, and how excellent a thing the Kingdome of Heaven is, that you might be contented with <HI>Paul</HI> for time to come, to make it your work to <HI>pur&s;ue after it, to account all lo&s;&s;e to win Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> doe any thing, or be any thing, &s;o it bee in the pur&s;uit of the Kingdome of Heaven; Much I might &s;ay, to &s;tir you up, but I am afraid I &s;hould be burthen&s;ome to you, and would not be &s;traightned in the la&s;t branch of all; and therefore I come to</P>
<P>An exhortation to this honorable A&s;&s;embly, by whom I am called to be helpefull to this day, that in that part of their <HI>work</HI> which concernes <HI>the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> they would <HI>doe it with all their might,</HI> labouring to advance it, as all tho&s;e Worthies have done whom God hath thought fit to regi&s;ter in his Book, as men accepted with him: Beloved, if you plea&s;e to open your eyes, and look abroad into the Kingdome, into every corner of it, you'l &s;ee lamentable objects every where, afflicted crea|tures of all kindes, crying to you, that you would reach out a helping and healing hand to them, but in nothing &s;o much is the Kingdome de&s;olate this day, as in the things that doe properly belong to the Kingdome of Heaven, the <HI>Faith</HI> of Gods people, I mean the <HI>doctrinall</HI> part, is woe|fully overthrowne, in many places by <HI>bla&s;phemous and he|reticall</HI>
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<HI>doctrines</HI> which are got in, and &s;own through the <HI>cun|ning craftine&s;&s;e of them that have lien in wait to beguil un&s;ta|ble &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">les</HI> the <HI>Wor&s;hip of God</HI> is woefully neglected and troden under foot; <HI>Fa&s;t Dayes, and Sabbath Dayes,</HI> in mo&s;t places not one whit regarded, <HI>the Mini&s;tery</HI> not more contemned, nor &s;o much under reproach in the hotte&s;t per&s;ecutions that they have lien under heretofore, the Glory of the Lord marvellou&s;ly abu&s;ed <HI>in point of Religion: England</HI> is this day an amazement to the Nations round about it, to the in&s;ulting and rejoycing of all the enemies of it, and the mourning and &s;adding of heart unto all that love it. Could you but (as in a gla&s;&s;e) behold the un&s;etled ca&s;e of the Kingdome of Heaven in this Land, you would quickly grant there is a great deal of work to be done, by tho&s;e that have any vigorous &s;pirits, any bowels in them to rowle to|wards the helping forward of this great work. Now that you may admini&s;ter a healing hand, I &s;hall endeavor to &s;ay &s;omewhat that may quicken you up, and I be&s;eech you give me leave to lay before you, the&s;e following con&s;iderations: <NOTE PLACE="marg">Motives to provoke to this work.</NOTE> eight things I would have you all &s;eriou&s;ly to think upon, to provoke you to be vigorous, and violent in advancing the Kingdome of Chri&s;t: Fir&s;t,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> Certainly there is not onely &s;uch a thing as <HI>zeal for God,</HI> but it is a grace of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity in all the &s;ervices of God, and &s;o lovely, that it is the lu&s;tre, and the varni&s;h, the glo&s;le, and beauty of all performances unto God, that which &s;ets them off with glory in the eyes of God &amp; man. Gods work requires it; every cau&s;e which concernes the Kingdome of Heaven, mu&s;t either be done with zeal, or meddle not at al with it, a <HI>lukewarme &s;pirit in the &s;ervice of God,</HI> is wor&s;e to God, then a &s;pirit that will doe nothing, <HI>hee will &s;pue it out of his Mouth,</HI> as abominable meate; Now then, becau&s;e Religion is a work for God, the proper
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cau&s;e of God, the cau&s;e wherein his glory is mo&s;t intere&s;&s;ed, a&s;&s;ociated with God, you mu&s;t needs doe it with zeale, with all vigor, and be&s;t intention of your &s;pirit; Secondly,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> Con&s;ider further, you all have <HI>lifted up your hands to the mo&s;t high God,</HI> and that in the day of your di&s;tre&s;le, you have bound your &s;elves by an <HI>Oath of God,</HI> and you have brought the Kingdome into an <HI>Oath of God</HI> with you, you have &s;worne that you will willingly, cheerfully, con&s;tantly, to the utmo&s;t of your power, within your callings, beat down what is contrary to Religion, that you will &s;tudy the advancement of Reformation, according to the Word of God, and the pattern of the be&s;t reformed Churches: this in the day of your di&s;tre&s;&s;e, you have &s;worn: you have &s;ince told the Kingdome you forget it not, you have order'd the Mini&s;ters oftentimes to read it upon the Fa&s;t dayes, that it might be in the eyes of all&punc; Now I be&s;eech you know, that the <HI>keeping Covenant with God</HI> is a matter of a high con|cernment; and the <HI>breaking of your Covenant with man,</HI> u&s;es not to goe unrevenged, but the breaking Covenant with God, is a thing will never e&s;cape the wrath of God. Thirdly,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> Con&s;ider that this work of advancing the Kingdome of Heaven, is a work that belongs to <HI>you;</HI> I told you before, you have &s;worn to doe it, within the compa&s;&s;e of your cal|ling, now it is a work within the compa&s;&s;e of your calling, it belongs to you; the Lord hath not tru&s;ted you onely with <HI>Civill liberties,</HI> and to beat down <HI>oppre&s;&s;ion and inju|&s;tice,</HI> and <HI>outward wickedne&s;&s;e</HI> again&s;t the &s;econd Table, (in which the Lord make you more zealous) but be&s;ides this, the things of Gods Kingdome are committed to you. You &s;hall read, if you look into Gods Book, all the Worrhies whom God hath taken notice of, their Crown &amp; glory hath been, that they did beat downe <HI>Idolatry, oppo&s;ed and &s;up|pre&s;sed</HI>
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what ever was contrary to Religion, <HI>built up Gods hou&s;e, &s;et up his Ordinances, encouraged his Mini&s;ters,</HI> and for the doing of the&s;e things, they were approved, commended, rewarded, and &s;uch as neglected them were by God blamed, branded, puni&s;hed: &s;o many examples are extant in the Scripture of the Old Te&s;tament, that I need not name them, and the &s;ame is prophe&s;ied to be done by <HI>Magi&s;trates</HI> under the New Te&s;tament, <HI>Kings &s;hall be Nur&s;ing Fathers</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;a. 19. 29.</NOTE> <HI>to it,</HI> and <HI>Queenes &s;hall be Nur&s;ing Mothers to the Church;</HI> they &s;hall give it bread &amp; milk, and provide for it, and nou|ri&s;h <NOTE PLACE="marg">zach. 13. 3.</NOTE> it: and for puni&s;hing the oppre&s;&s;ors of it, there is <HI>a Go|&s;pell Prophe&s;ie,</HI> in the 13. of <HI>Zechariah, When any &s;hall pro|phe&s;ie fal&s;ly, his Father and Mother that begat him, &s;hall thru&s;t him through, and &s;ay, Thou &s;halt not live, for thou &s;peake&s;t lies in the name of God;</HI> Now then &s;ince this belongs to your place, and work, I be&s;eech you for the Lords &s;ake, <HI>be zealous in it:</HI> and Fourthly, con&s;ider,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4"> As it is for Chri&s;t, and for <HI>his Kingdome,</HI> &s;o <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t hath very well de&s;erved at your hands,</HI> to have you vigo|rous in his cau&s;e, hee hath earned it; hee is before hand with every &s;oule of you; look upon the zeal hee &s;hewed, when hee came to doe your work for you, how did he <HI>bow the heavens and come downe upon the earth?</HI> and from the throne of glory came, and lay fir&s;t in the <HI>wombe of a Vir|gin,</HI> and then in <HI>&s;wadling bands in a Manger,</HI> and afterwards lived <HI>a poore life,</HI> and then <HI>pray'd,</HI> and <HI>preached,</HI> and <HI>wrought Miracles,</HI> with indefatigable paines, with burning zeal, yea, <HI>gave his life a ran&s;ome,</HI> he gave his &s;oule to the death, that hee might be a ran&s;ome for you, and thereby <NOTE PLACE="marg">Titus 2. 14.</NOTE><HI>purcha&s;e you to be a people to him&s;elf, zealous of good warkes,</HI> hath he not de&s;erved it? I, and he hath de&s;erved it at your hands in this great work hee hath &s;et you about, in this great concu&s;&s;ion and earth quake of the Kingdome, wherein you have been
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&s;o farre imployed; What mi&s;chiefs hath he <HI>di&s;cover'd,</HI> which have been contrived again&s;t you? What <HI>&s;ea&s;onable Mercies</HI> hath he &s;ent you? What <HI>unexpected victories</HI> hath he given you? How hath the Lord made <HI>Mountains plain</HI> before you, and brought you into the condition wherein you are, and made you enjoy that, which many times (I dare &s;ay) you were pa&s;t all hope of &s;eeing? the Lord then de&s;erves his cau&s;e &s;hould be thought upon by you. Fifthly, con&s;ider,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="5"> That the <HI>&s;etting up of the Kingdome of Heaven,</HI> the ad|vancing of it, is a <HI>matter of the greate&s;t concernment unto the whole Kingdome,</HI> of any thing that ever you can be employ|ed in; when you have thought all that lies within your compa&s;&s;e, there is nothing of that concernment to the Kingdome, as the Kingdome of Heaven is; for why? you know the greate&s;t part of our well being here upon earth, lies in the things of Gods Kingdome, and the whole &s;um of our everla&s;ting well being in Heaven to eternity, is whol|ly to be taken from the Kingdome of Heaven, not from any outward things that you can helpe us with; and as the things concerne us for our well being, &s;o the&s;e are the things will bring other things with them; &s;et up the <HI>King|dome of Heaven</HI> throughly in the <HI>Kingdom of England,</HI> and you &s;hall &s;ay of it, as <HI>Nabals &s;ervants</HI> &s;aid of <HI>Davids men,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam 24. 16.</NOTE> when they lay with them, <HI>all the while the men were with us, they were a wall about us,</HI> that we lo&s;t nothing, none could hurt us, nay it wil be a wal of fire to <HI>England; Salvation will God provide for wals and Bulwarks to you;</HI> I fear not to &s;peak <NOTE PLACE="marg">Zach 2. 5. E&s;a. 26. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> it to wi&s;e men, that the four Seas of <HI>England,</HI> and if to them were added wals of bra&s;&s;e of 20. cubits high &amp; thick about <HI>England,</HI> and all your Souldiers as the &s;ons of <HI>Anak,</HI> they could not give that &s;ecurity to the Land which the King|dome of Je&s;us Chri&s;t would be to it: Let the <HI>Go&s;pell</HI> flou|ri&s;h, let <HI>Religion</HI> pro&s;per, let that goe on, and <HI>&s;alva omnia,</HI> that will &s;ecure all other things to you; the very <HI>Heathens</HI>
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&s;aw this by the light of nature, you cannot read of one <HI>Lawgiver</HI> among&s;t them, but ever counted the matters of the wor&s;hip of their Gods, and of Religion to be of greate&s;t advantage to their &s;tates, and therefore counted Religion&s;o &s;acred a thing, that they made their <HI>Kings &amp; Princes</HI> alwaies their <HI>chief Prie&s;ts,</HI> that the care of the Gods might not be neglected: it is true, the&s;e poore blind wretches <HI>knew not God, and wor&s;hipped Devils,</HI> and therefore mi&s;carried, but yet thus much we may learn from them, that even in their judgments, nothing &s;o &s;ecures a Nation as Religion; Now when wee have the cleer light of the Go&s;pel, and &s;o many examples before us, and &s;o many promi&s;es from Heaven, can we expect the like &s;uccor and help from any thing el&s;e, as from the advancement of that: Sixthly,</P>
<P>Know ye for certain, you never &s;hall bee able to breake through your difficulties, and to &s;ettle this poor Land in Peace, unle&s;&s;e <HI>your whole heart be &s;incerely &s;et to advance the Kingdome of Heaven;</HI> you &s;hall not pro&s;per in other work; I know it grieves your hearts, and it grieves tho&s;e that love <HI>England,</HI> to &s;ee how you labour in the fire, and what pains you take, and &s;till the end of one trouble, is the beginning of another, <HI>our clouds return after the rain,</HI> and when wee think we are going to moore our &s;hip, wee are in&s;tantly rea|dy to da&s;h again&s;t new rocks, up and down we are, and <HI>En|gland</HI> appeares to our eyes, as a dying fading plant; cer|tainly the <HI>Lords anger is not yet turn'd away</HI> from <HI>England,</HI> there is &s;omewhat provokes him, God grant that we may &s;earch whether it be not &s;omewhat like that in the 1. of <HI>Haggai,</HI> that <HI>the hou&s;e of God</HI> was not regarded, as it &s;hould be: I doe acknowledge here before you, my heart is over|whelmed with grief oftentimes, when I look upon our un|&s;etled condition, but could I once &s;ee, and might it appear, that the Lord had let it &s;o really into the hearts of our Par|liament,
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that they could with all their might, buckle to the work of God &s;incerely and faithfully, to enquire what God would have them doe in the cau&s;e of Religion, and doe it to the utmo&s;t, I think all my feares would vani&s;h; I &s;hould &s;ay we went forward, when wee &s;eemed to goe backward; wee pro&s;pered, when we &s;eemed to be overthrown; I could &s;ay to my own melancholy &s;pirit, as <HI>Luther</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Melanc|thon, Ego mi&s;errimas i&s;tas curas quibus te con&s;umi &s;cribis vehementer odi, &amp;c.</HI> I doe extreemly hate (&s;aith he) <HI>tho&s;e cares that thou &s;aye&s;t doe con&s;ume and tear thee; it is not the greatne&s;&s;e of our danger, but the greatne&s;&s;e of thy infide|lity, that is the cau&s;e of it, it is the cau&s;e of God that we are ingaged in,</HI> So mee thinks, I could re&s;olve that the e|nemies of <HI>England</HI> &amp; of the Church of God, would quick|ly bee where they &s;hould bee, that is, made the Lords foot|&s;toole, and we &s;hould triumph over them, &amp; break through all, if the Lord would but incline the hearts of tho&s;e hee hath called to it, to goe through-&s;titch with the things of the Kingdome of Heaven; and therefore I mo&s;t humbly be&s;eech you fall to it, and in it doe as <HI>Baruch</HI> did, of whom you may read in the 3. of <HI>Nehem.</HI> 20. that he did build the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Nehem. 3. 20.</NOTE> wal <HI>earne&s;tly,</HI> and <HI>Tremelius</HI> reades it, <HI>accendit &s;e he &s;ets him|&s;elf a fire to it,</HI> he &s;tirred up him&s;elf, he did not &s;tay till others &s;tirr'd him up, but hee provok'd him&s;el&s;elf to it; doe it with all your might, and doe it throughly too, do not make <NOTE PLACE="marg">Icr. 6. 14.</NOTE> a patch'd bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of it; the Lord made that once a cur&s;e to the Mini&s;ters of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that they <HI>healed the wounds of the people &s;lightly;</HI> therefore that I may &s;peak plain Engli&s;h, &s;earch Gods Word, and find, not what may be agreeable to humane policy, but &s;earch what God would have you own, and &s;et up, what he would have you oppo&s;e, and what hee would have you beat down, what hee would have you indulge, how far hee would have you indulge it, by what
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rules it &s;hould be done, get a clear light in the&s;e things, for the Scripture is able to make every <HI>man of God perfect</HI> in all his workes, get this, and fall to it throughly, and God Almighty will be with you; the Lord will yet blow over the clouds you are afraid of, and will pro&s;per your work in your hand, but truly, if you doe neglect it, and &s;hall not bee faithfull to the Lord in it, beleeve it, though our mi&s;ery and ruine may be protracted and beaten off, and kept off for a time, it wil return upon us, and come in like the huge break|ing in of waters, and like a great breach in a high wall, who&s;e mine comes &s;uddenly; therefore becau&s;e you cannot do the re&s;t of your work without it, let this be the main. Seventh|ly, I'le but name the two other, and lay this to heart like|wi&s;e,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7"> That a great part of tho&s;e mi&s;eries that the Kingdom of Heaven lies under at this day in <HI>England,</HI> have broke out &s;ince the cure of it was committed to your hands: I doe not &s;ay through your fault, the root of the&s;e humors was in the &s;ick bodie before; and in &s;uch confu&s;ed times, (as hath ap|pear'd in <HI>Germany</HI> and other places) abundance of di&s;orders doe come in, e&s;pecially in times of War; but becau&s;e God hath ble&s;&s;ed you, and inabled you to afford a healing hand in many things, to take off the bridle of bondage, which lay upon our necks, and to pull down huge Mountains, and that Gods people injoy a great deal of liberty in many things, more then they did heretofore, be provoked to help in this al&s;o: A mercifull good Phy&s;itian, who hath begun a cure, if any new di&s;ea&s;e break out, while the Patient is under his cure, he would be very loth any thing &s;hould fall out to be the Patients ruine, while under his hand, and therefore let this al&s;o provoke you earne&s;tly to carry this work on: and La&s;tly,</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="8"> Know that if the <HI>Husbandman</HI> will <HI>&s;leep,</HI> the <HI>envious man</HI> 
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<HI>&s;leeps not; Gebal and Ammon, and the children of Lot, and A&s;hur, and Tyre,</HI> and all that are enemies to the Kingdom of Chri&s;t, be&s;tir them&s;elves again&s;t it: <HI>Cataline</HI> watches, <HI>ut perdat rempubliam,</HI> omits no endeavour to de&s;troy Religi|on, <HI>Sanballat</HI> and <HI>Tobiah,</HI> doe all that ever they can to hinder the building of the wall; &s;hall not <HI>Nehemiah,</HI> &s;hall not <HI>Ezra,</HI> &s;hall not the re&s;t of Gods people, put to their hand too? <HI>Vt jugulent homines &s;urgunt de nocte latrones,</HI> If theeves watch by night to kill men, &s;hall not hone&s;t men watch to pre&s;erve their own lives? When there is &s;uch a marvellous endeavor to <HI>corrrupt our Faith,</HI> to <HI>take away Government,</HI> to <HI>take a|way Wor&s;hip,</HI> to <HI>take out the power of godline&s;&s;e,</HI> to <HI>di&s;cou|rage all that fear God,</HI> to doe any thing again&s;t them, &s;hall not they that are the &s;ervants of the Lord doe the utmo&s;t that they can to encourage them? For the Lords &s;ake, con&s;ider of the&s;e things, and God Almighty give you a right under&s;tanding in them; this is the fir&s;t thing, what they did, they offered violence to the Kingdome of Hea|ven, <HI>the Kingdome of Heaven &s;uffers violence.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;econd part you have in the next words, the &s;ucce&s;&s;e of their violence, <HI>they take it by force, Rapiunt;</HI> It is a Meta|phor taken from a Ca&s;tle taken by &s;torm, by the violence of tho&s;e that will it take or loo&s;e their blood, &s;o the violent doe take the Kingdome of Heaven; and the&s;e words are both <HI>Re&s;trictive,</HI> and they are <HI>Promi&s;sive;</HI> they are re&s;tri|ctive, they are the violent men and <HI>no other,</HI> that get it; if of any work in the world it be true, that the <HI>&s;luggard is cloath|ed with rags,</HI> it's true here; hee that onely cries, <HI>Lord, Lord,</HI> &s;hall never come into the Kingdome of Heaven; this is a peculiar mercy in &s;tore for the&s;e violent &s;pirits, that the violent, and no other &s;hall get into Heaven: and then as it is re&s;trictive, &s;o it is <HI>promi&s;sive,</HI> though carele&s;&s;e en|deavours and &s;light labours may prove abortive, vigorous
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pro&s;ecution of it &s;hall not mi&s;carry; they that <HI>&s;eek &s;hall find, to them that knock it &s;hall be open'd, to them that aske it &s;hall be granted,</HI> they that <HI>&s;eek wi&s;dome, as men &s;eek Silver and Gold,</HI> the Lord will give it them; he hath laid it up in &s;tore, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 2. 34.</NOTE> let them that have violent hearts, offer violence to it, and the Lord hath promi&s;ed they &s;hall not mi&s;&s;e of it: but this (the time being gone) I dare not handle.</P>
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