<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2012-06-12</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>*Proofed title page(s).
*Reviewed structure.
*Checked division-marking material at heads and feet of divisions (HEADS, CLOSER, OPENER, ARGUMENT, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, BYLINE, etc.).
*Added TYPEs to DIVs in order to validate.
*Checked for N=""s.
*Checked ^s.
*Checked placement and completeness of PBs.
*Checked for foreign, damage and missing-page GAPs, #, --.
*Checked for LBs, startqs / endqs, q;s, &abque;s, ABBRs and Qs.
*Checked for FIGUREs and decorated initials.
*Checked proofsheets and made corrections found there.
*Corrected <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s etc.
*Converted <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s to GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="[vendor name]".
*Revalidated.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A96538">
<STC T="W">W2308</STC>
<STC T="T">E1734_1</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99873204</BIBNO>
<VID>170317</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>A WORD in SEASON, FOR A <HI>Warning</HI> to <HI>England:</HI> OR A Prophecy of Perillous Times Open'd and Apply'd.</P>
<P>Wherein the Signes of Bad Times, and the Means of making the Times Good, are repre|&s;ented as the great Concernment of all good Chri&s;tians in this pre&s;ent Age.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t exhibited in a SERMON preached in the <HI>Abby</HI> at <HI>Westmin&s;ter, July</HI> 5. 1659. and &s;ince enlarged and Publi&s;hed.</P>
<P>By <HI>THOMAS VVILLES,</HI> M. A. Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, in the City of <HI>London.</HI></P>
<Q>Seal not the Sayings of the Prophecy of this Book: For the Time is at hand, <BIBL><HI>Rev. 22.10.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>How do ye &s;ay, We are Wi&s;e, and the Law of the LORD is with us? &mdash; Lo! They have rejected the Word of the LORD, and what Wi&s;dom is in them? <BIBL><HI>Jer. 8.8, 9.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q><L>Tempora mutantur, &amp; nos mutamur in illis:</L>
<L><GAP DESC="foreign">, sIC transIt gLorIa MVnDI.</L></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>Tho. Ratcliff,</HI> for <HI>Tho. Underhill,</HI> at the <HI>Blew Anchor</HI> in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard. 1659.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<P>TO THE SENATORS &amp; SOULDIERS, CITIZENS &amp; STRANGERS,</P>
<P>To whom This SERMON was (As to its main SUBSTANCE) EXHIBITED FROM THE PULPIT, IT'S NOW (WITH MUCH ENLARGEMENT) PRESENTED FROM THE PRESSE, FOR THEIR SERIOUS PERUSAL.</P>
<P>By A MESSENGER from CHRIST, A MINISTER of the GOSPEL, <HI>THOMAS WILLES.</HI></P>
<Q>Ble&s;&s;ed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it, <BIBL><HI>Luk. 11.28.</HI></BIBL></Q>
<Q>If ye know the&s;e things, happy are ye if ye do them, <BIBL><HI>Joh. 13.17.</HI></BIBL></Q>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="biblical admonition">
<PB REF="3">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>From the <HI>KING</HI> of <HI>SAINTS,</HI> THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, To his Faithful and Well-beloved <HI>Servants,</HI> and <HI>Subjects,</HI> that &s;hall live in the latter Dayes.</HEAD>
<Q><P>_TAke heed that no man <HI>de|ceive</HI> you. For many &s;hall come in my <HI>Name,</HI> &s;aying <HI>I am Chri&s;t:</HI> and &s;hall <HI>de|ceive</HI> many. And ye &s;hall hear of <HI>Warres,</HI> and <HI>Rumours</HI> of <HI>Wars:</HI> See that ye be not troubled: For all the&s;e things mu&s;t <HI>come to pa&s;&s;e,</HI> but the <HI>End</HI> is not yet.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P>For <HI>Nation</HI> &s;hall ri&s;e again&s;t <HI>Nation,</HI> and <HI>Kingdome</HI> again&s;t <HI>Kingdome,</HI> and there &s;hall be <HI>Famines,</HI> and <HI>Pestilences,</HI> and <HI>Earthquakes</HI> in divers Places. All the&s;e are the <HI>Beginning</HI> of <HI>Sorrows.</HI></P>
<P>Then &s;hall they deliver you up to be <HI>afflicted,</HI> and &s;hall <HI>kill</HI> you: and ye &s;hall be <HI>hated</HI> of all Nations for my <HI>Names</HI> &s;ake. And then &s;hall many be <HI>offended,</HI> and &s;hall <HI>betray</HI> one another. And many <HI>fal&s;e Prophets</HI> &s;hall ri&s;e, and &s;hall <HI>deceive</HI> many.</P>
<P>And becau&s;e <HI>Iniquity</HI> &s;hall <HI>abound,</HI> the <HI>Love</HI> of many &s;hall <HI>wax cold.</HI> But he that &s;hall <HI>endure</HI> to the <HI>End,</HI> the &s;ame &s;hall be <HI>&s;aved.</HI></P></Q>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>By the Hand of his Tru&s;ty</HI> Servant <HI>and</HI> Secretary, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot"><HI>Chap.</HI> 24. <HI>v.</HI> 4.-13.</NOTE> MATTHEW <HI>Publicano-Chri&s;tianus.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="4">
<HEAD>To the SACRED MAJESTY OF HEAVEN, THE KING of KINGS AND LORD of LORDS, The Supream Governour of the whole World.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">The Humble <HI>Addre&s;s</HI> and <HI>Repre&s;entation</HI> of the <HI>Gratitude</HI> &amp; <HI>Reque&s;ts</HI> of many Thou|&s;ands of the <HI>Well-affected</HI> People of the <HI>Land,</HI> who de&s;ire to approve them&s;elves <HI>Faithful</HI> to the <HI>Cau&s;e of Chri&s;t,</HI> and to be found walking in the <HI>Good Old way.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Mo&s;t Mighty LORD,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_WHereas it hath plea&s;ed thy glorious Majesty, out of the exceeding riches of thy <HI>Free Grace,</HI> and thy tender
<PB REF="5"> <HI>compa&s;&s;ions</HI> in <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> to call us thy poore unworthy <HI>Ser|vants</HI> out of the World, to the <HI>Profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of thy truth and Go&s;|&s;pel, and the <HI>Participation</HI> of thy &s;aving Grace, when out of thy infinite <HI>Sovereignty</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> thou ha&s;t pa&s;t by Millions of men, and left them to peri&s;h everla&s;ting|ly in their <HI>&s;innes,</HI> we humbly de|&s;ire in a deep &s;en&s;e of our own utter <HI>Unworthine&s;s,</HI> to expre&s;s our free and hearty <HI>Acknowledge|ment</HI> of that infinite Obligation which thou ha&s;t hereby laid upon our &s;oules to perpetual <HI>Gratitude, Love, Honour,</HI> and <HI>Obedience</HI> to thy Glorious <HI>Maje&s;ty</HI> for &s;o in|valuable a <HI>Mercy.</HI> And we cannot but with <HI>&s;orrow</HI> of Heart confe&s;&s;e, that we have by our un|&s;uitable <HI>Walkings,</HI> &s;hew'd our
<PB REF="5"> &s;elves very <HI>Unworthy</HI> of &s;uch rich Di&s;coveries of thy <HI>Love</HI> un|to us. But we humbly implore thy <HI>Mercy</HI> in the forgivene&s;s of our many <HI>Mi&s;carriages,</HI> and be|&s;eech thee to give us Leave, with all <HI>Humility,</HI> to pre&s;ent thy <HI>Ma|je&s;ty</HI> with the&s;e few <HI>Petitions,</HI> to which we earne&s;tly beg a <HI>Graci|ous An&s;wer.</HI></P>
<P>That it will plea&s;e thee to <MILESTONE N="1"> grant, pre&s;erve, and e&s;tabli&s;h a Righteous and Religious <HI>Magi|&s;tracy,</HI> a Faithful and painful <HI>Mini&s;try</HI> in the Land, with that Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>GOVERNMENT</HI> which is mo&s;t agreeable to thy holy <HI>Word</HI> and <HI>Will,</HI> both in <HI>Church</HI> and <HI>State.</HI></P>
<P>That it will plea&s;e thee who <MILESTONE N="2"> ha&s;t the <HI>Hearts</HI> of all men in thy <HI>Hands,</HI> to put it into the Hearts
<PB REF="6"> of our <HI>Coun&s;ellors</HI> and <HI>Gover|nors</HI> to &s;tudy and endeavour the Advancement of thy <HI>Glory,</HI> and thy Churches <HI>Good,</HI> by the &s;up|pre&s;&s;ion of <HI>Errour</HI> and <HI>Profane|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> and the Promotion of <HI>Truth</HI> and <HI>Holine&s;&s;e</HI> in the Land.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> That where thou &s;ee&s;t tho&s;e Per&s;ons in Places of <HI>Power</HI> and <HI>Tru&s;t,</HI> who by their pernicious Principles and Practi&s;es make the Times <HI>Perillous,</HI> thou wilt Graci|ou&s;ly be plea&s;ed by thy <HI>Hand</HI> of <HI>Power</HI> to remove them, and to &s;et in their room <HI>men</HI> truly <HI>fearing Thee, and hating Covetou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> who may cordially &s;eek and endea|vour the <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Welfare</HI> of thine <HI>Engli&s;h Zion.</HI></P>
<P><MILESTONE N="4"> That thou wilt pour down on thy Servants a <HI>Spirit</HI> of <HI>Hu|miliation</HI> for the <HI>&s;ins</HI> of the Land,
<PB REF="6"> that thou wilt graciou&s;ly <HI>pardon</HI> the <HI>Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions</HI> of thy People, and <HI>purge</HI> the Land from its <HI>A|bominations,</HI> that thou maye&s;t <HI>dwell</HI> amongst us.</P>
<P>That thou wilt break the <MILESTONE N="5"> wicked <HI>De&s;ignes,</HI> and di&s;&s;olve the cur&s;ed <HI>Con&s;piracies</HI> of tho&s;e that under <HI>Pretences</HI> of thy Name, Cau&s;e and Glory, violently <HI>pro&s;e|cute</HI> their Pernicious Purpo&s;es for the &s;atisfaction of their <HI>Ambition</HI> and <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and the Intro|duction of <HI>Errours, Here&s;ies,</HI> and all manner of <HI>Licentiou&s;ne&s;s</HI> into the Land, to the <HI>Hazard</HI> of many thou&s;and <HI>&s;ouls,</HI> and the di&s;|honour of thy Glorious <HI>Name.</HI></P>
<P>That it will plea&s;e Thee to heal <MILESTONE N="6"> the <HI>Breaches</HI> of thy own People, and to e&s;tabli&s;h the&s;e three Nations, <HI>England, Scotland</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI>
<PB REF="7"> in <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Love</HI> upon the &s;ure Foundations of <HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and crown them all with thy <HI>Loving-kindne&s;&s;e,</HI> and tender <HI>Mercies.</HI> And to this End that thou wilt awaken the &s;pi|rits of thy Saints from their &s;ecuri|ty in an un&s;ettled and di&s;tracted condition, to a <HI>&s;erious minding</HI> of the great Concernments of thy <HI>Church</HI> and People, their own <HI>Souls,</HI> and this &s;inful Nation.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="7"> That thou wilt be graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed &s;peedily to change the <HI>Pe|rillous Times,</HI> that are or may come upon thy people, according to the <HI>Predictions</HI> of thy holy <HI>Pro|phets,</HI> into tho&s;e <HI>Glorious Times,</HI> which thou ha&s;t rai&s;ed the hearts of many of thy Saints in Expectations of, by thy <HI>Precious Promi&s;es.</HI> However be plea&s;ed to pre&s;erve
<PB REF="7"> thy People in times of <HI>Peril</HI> and <HI>Per&s;ecution,</HI> and to carry them <HI>(as on Eagles Wings)</HI> by thy <HI>Spirit of Grace,</HI> through all <HI>Dif|ficulties and Dangers,</HI> till thou &s;halt receive them up into thy <HI>Kingdome of Glory.</HI></P>
<P><HI>So &s;hall we thy poore unworthy</HI> Subjects <HI>and</HI> Suppliants, <HI>as in Duty bound, ce|lebrate thy Glorious</HI> Name <HI>with ever|la&s;ting</HI> Prai&s;es.</P>
<P><HI>The Names of the Petitioners are written in Heaven.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB REF="8">
<PB N="1" REF="8">
<HEAD>A PROPHECY OF PERILLOUS TIMES Open'd and Apply'd.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL><HI>2 TIM. 3.1.</HI></BIBL>
<Q><P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>This know al&s;o that in the la&s;t dayes peril|lous times &s;hall come.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<DIV2 TYPE="introduction">
<HEAD>The Introduction.</HEAD>
<P>_THe knowledge of the <HI>Times</HI> and <HI>Sea&s;ons</HI> is very u&s;eful for all men. Without this the <HI>Husbandman</HI> can nei|ther duly <HI>till</HI> his <HI>ground,</HI> nor <HI>&s;ow</HI> his <HI>Seed,</HI> nor <HI>reap</HI> his <HI>Harve&s;t.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Time</HI> (which ac|cording to the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ari. Phy&s;. 4. c. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Philo&s;opher,</HI> is,
<PB N="2" REF="9">
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">,</NOTE> <HI>the mea&s;ure of moti|on</HI>) is the nece&s;&s;ary circum&s;tance of Action, and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Sea&s;on,</HI> is<NOTE PLACE="marg">Opportunitas rei gerendae, commoda,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Era&s;m.</NOTE></NOTE> <HI>the Fitne&s;&s;e of the Time</HI> for the work of man, or the Production of Nature. Now its mans &s;ingular <HI>Prudence</HI> to di&s;cern the <HI>Times,</HI> that he may make the better improvement of every <HI>Sea&s;on.</HI> For,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 3.1.</NOTE> <HI>To every thing there is a Sea&s;on, and a Time for every Purpo&s;e under the Heaven.</HI> Thus the <HI>Summer</HI> is the pro|per <HI>Sea&s;on</HI> wherein the <HI>Prudent man</HI> (with the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 6.8.</NOTE> <HI>Ant</HI>) will make Provi&s;ion for the <HI>Time</HI> of <HI>Winter.</HI> Thus the Wi&s;e man will prepare for <HI>Perillous Times,</HI> while he yet en|joyes a <HI>Pro&s;perous Sea&s;on.</HI> Its a piece of <HI>Pru|dence</HI> to<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pro. 22.3.</NOTE> fore&s;ee Perillous <HI>Times;</HI> and to make Provi&s;ion for them, while the <HI>Sea&s;on</HI> la&s;ts, is a Work of <HI>Wi&s;dome.</HI> This <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> God teaches his Saints in his Word, and the Defect of this <HI>Prudence</HI> in the Fore&s;ight of future Dangers, is &s;upplied by the <HI>Pro|phetick Revelation</HI> of his Spirit. By the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.16. with 2 Pet. 1.20, 21.</NOTE> In|&s;piration of this <HI>Spirit of Prophecy</HI> was the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> enabled to give this <HI>Premoni|tion</HI> unto <HI>Timothy; This know al&s;o, that in the last Dayes P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rillous Times &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">all come.</HI></P>
<P>It is true,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Acts 1.7.</NOTE> <HI>it is not for us to know the times and the &s;ea&s;ons which God hath put in his own power,</HI> having &s;ealed them up from us in his &s;ecret Coun&s;el. For<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Deut. 29.29.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ecret things belong unto the LORD our God: But yet tho&s;e things which are revealed belong unto
<PB N="3" REF="9"> us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the Words of his Law, and obey his Will in the world.</HI> And therefore it does con|cern us to know the <HI>Times</HI> and <HI>Sea&s;ons</HI> which he hath <HI>revealed</HI> to us in his holy Word, and <HI>commanded</HI> us to take knowledge of, as in this <HI>Divine Prophecy; This know al&s;o,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>The truth of the <HI>Prophecies</HI> manife&s;ted by the exact corre&s;pondency of future <HI>Events</HI> to former <HI>Predictions,</HI> is one good argu|ment for the confirmation of the <HI>Truth,</HI> and <HI>Dignity</HI> of the <HI>Holy Scriptures.</HI> Who but that God, who&s;e<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 147.5</NOTE> <HI>under&s;tanding is infinite,</HI> can certainly and infallibly fore-&s;ee and fore-tel &s;o long before, the things that &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e &s;o long after? And do not our eyes in the&s;e dayes behold the <HI>Accompli&s;h|ment</HI> of many things contained in the <HI>Scri|pture Prophecies,</HI> which (even tho&s;e of the late&s;t Date, recorded in the <HI>New Te&s;tament</HI>) were fir&s;t given forth and committed to writing above fifteen hundred yeares ago? How far the <HI>Prediction of Perillous Times,</HI> here in the Text, receives an accompli&s;h|ment in the <HI>pre&s;ent age</HI> wherein we live, will ea&s;ily apppear to any &s;oberly wi&s;e Chri|&s;tian, that having fir&s;t &s;eriou&s;ly peru&s;ed the <HI>Context,</HI> &s;hall lift up his eyes, and look a|broad into the World, upon the men of <HI>this Generation.</HI></P>
<P>For the Apo&s;tle having in the Words of the Text briefly exhibited his <HI>Prediction of Perillous Times,</HI> doth in the following
<PB N="4" REF="10"> Ver&s;es, give a lively <HI>De&s;cription of the per|&s;ons</HI> that &s;hould make the <HI>Times</HI> &s;o <HI>Perillous. <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> This know</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>that in the la&s;t Days <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> perillous Times &s;hall come. For men &s;hall be lovers of their own &s;elves, Covetous, Boa&s;t|ers, <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> Proud, Bla&s;phemers, Di&s;obedient to Pa|rents, Unthankful, Unholy, without Natural Affection, Truce-breakers, Fal&s;e-accu&s;ers, <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> Incontinent, Fierce, De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are Good, Traitors, Heady, High-minded, Lovers of Plea&s;ures more then Lovers of <MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="Ver&s;e"> God; Having a Forme of godline&s;s, but de|nying the power thereof.</HI></P>
<P>But to make way for a clearer Di&s;covery of the Intent of the holy Gho&s;t, in this part of the holy Scripture, we &s;hall con|&s;ider it according to the proper nature of a <HI>Prophecie,</HI> which re&s;pects the <HI>Future;</HI> and &s;o as a lively <HI>Mirror,</HI> it repre&s;ents the <HI>I|mage</HI> of the <HI>After-Age,</HI> the <HI>Complexion</HI> of the <HI>Times</HI> to come. And thus in the Text (whereunto we &s;hall a while confine our &s;elves, and thence de&s;cend to the Expli|cation of the Context, from which we mu&s;t fetch <HI>Light</HI> for the <HI>di&s;covery</HI> of the times mentioned in the <HI>Text</HI>) there are the&s;e three things to be taken into con&s;iderati|on, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>What the&s;e times &s;hall be.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>When the&s;e times &s;hall be.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>How</HI> Timothy <HI>was concern'd herein.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>In the <HI>fir&s;t</HI> of the&s;e we &s;hall open the <HI>de&s;cription</HI> which the Apo&s;tle gives of the&s;e
<PB N="5" REF="10"> Times, by the <HI>Adjunct:</HI> in the <HI>&s;econd,</HI> we &s;hall enquire into the import of the <HI>Predicti|on,</HI> as to the <HI>determination</HI> of the Time of its <HI>Accompli&s;hment;</HI> and in the <HI>la&s;t,</HI> we &s;hall con&s;ider the &s;cope and intent of the <HI>Premonition</HI> given to <HI>Timothy</HI> concerning the&s;e <HI>Perillous Times.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="description">
<HEAD>The De&s;cription.</HEAD>
<P>WE are in the fir&s;t place to con&s;ider <HI>what the&s;e times &s;hall be?</HI> They &s;hall be (as the Apo&s;tle here &s;tiles and de|&s;cribes them)
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Vul|gatus Tempora periculo&s;a, Beza Mole&s;ta interpreta|tur: melius Tremellius &egrave; Syro, dura, Ca&s;talio dif|ficilia Verterunt<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Scult. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>Perillous times, hard, difficult, and trouble|&s;ome times,</HI> as Inter|preters a little vary|ing in the <HI>Termes</HI> of Tran&s;lation, agree in the <HI>Intent</HI> of the Word. They &s;hall be <HI>times</HI> of <HI>Difficulty, Di&s;tre&s;&s;e and Danger.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dicitur &amp; ip&s;um Tempus difficile quod expectationi non re&s;pondet, in quo homines difficulter &s;e &s;ua|que tueri po&s;&s;unt; ut in Pe&s;te, Bello, Fame pub|lica. Nam ita <GAP DESC="foreign"> e&s;t homini aut vivere, aut &s;ua tueri<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> And time it &s;elf is then called Difficult, when it an&s;wers not our Expectation, and wherein men finde it difficult to defend them&s;elves, and keep their own; as in time of Plague, Warre, or
<PB N="6" REF="11"> Famine. For in the&s;e Ca&s;es its a difficult thing for a man to pre&s;erve his life or e&s;tate.</HI> So likewi&s;e upon the &s;ame Account, in Ca&s;e of <HI>Schi&s;me</HI> and <HI>Divi&s;ions</HI> in the Church (which is a kinde of <HI>Civil War</HI> in the <HI>City of God</HI>) or the <HI>Per&s;ecution</HI> of the Saints (which is as the <HI>Inva&s;ion</HI> of a <HI>For|reign Enemy</HI>) they may be &s;aid to be hard and difficult, trouble&s;ome and <HI>Perillous Times</HI> to the people of God. Such are the times &s;poken of in this <HI>Prophecy.</HI> They &s;hall be <HI>cloudy</HI> and <HI>&s;tormy</HI> Dayes to the Church and Saints. The Apo&s;tle rai&s;ed upon the <HI>Mount of Vi&s;ion</HI> &s;aw a &s;mall <HI>cloud</HI> ari&s;ing, which he knew would over&s;pread the whole Church.</P>
<P>For this <HI>Prediction</HI> of the <HI>Evil</HI> of the <HI>Times,</HI> is a <HI>Prophetical Repre&s;entation</HI> of the future <HI>State</HI> of the <HI>Church.</HI> And imports &s;o much that their very<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Sea&s;ons</HI> of <HI>Grace</HI> &s;hall become <HI>Days</HI> of <HI>Danger;</HI> their very <HI>Oppor|tunities</HI> of Doing or Receiving Good, &s;hall be fenc't about with<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Difficulties,</HI> and fill'd with <HI>Dangers.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover we are here to ob&s;erve, that that is <HI>figuratively</HI> attributed to the Times, which is <HI>properly</HI> applyable to them that &s;hall live in them. For properly <HI>time</HI> is not capable of any impre&s;&s;ions of <HI>Good</HI> or <HI>Evil;</HI> it can neither be priviledg'd with <HI>&s;afety,</HI> nor oppre&s;t with <HI>Difficulty,</HI> nor expo&s;ed to <HI>Danger.</HI> But tho&s;e are called hard and <HI>perillous times,</HI> wherein tho&s;e that
<PB N="7" REF="11"> live in them, are exerci&s;ed with <HI>difficulties</HI> and expo&s;ed to <HI>Dangers.</HI></P>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tempori tribuuntur e|ju&s;modi Epitheta Metony|mic&egrave;, propter ea quae in tempore contingunt, max|im&egrave; propter hominum Mores ac &s;tudia<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">E&s;tius.</NOTE></NOTE>
<P>And therefore are the Times here called Perillous, becau&s;e of tho&s;e things which &s;hould fall out in tho&s;e Times, e&s;pecially be|cau&s;e of the perillous Practi&s;es of the men of the Times. <HI>So likewi&s;e the Apo&s;tle el&s;ewhere calls the</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.16</NOTE> Days evil, <HI>be|cau&s;e of the</HI> Evil men <HI>that liv'd in tho&s;e days, and the</HI> Evil things <HI>that were done by tho&s;e men, as</HI> Chry&s;o&s;tome <HI>well notes.</HI> What<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE></NOTE> <HI>(&s;ayes he)</HI> is the evil of the Day? The E|vil of the Day mu&s;t needs be &s;omething a|bout the Day. What is the Evill of the Body? Sickne&s;&s;e. What's the Evil of the Soul? Vitiou&s;ne&s;s. How then does he call the dayes evil? how does he call the time evil? He calls them not &s;o for their Nature or E&s;&s;ence, or as they are Crea|tures, but for the things that are done in them. So that men are Authours of the E|vils that fall out in the Times, and for this
<PB N="8" REF="12"> Cau&s;e are they called evil Times.</P>
<P>They are indeed <HI>bad men,</HI> that make the <HI>Times bad, hard Hearts,</HI> that make <HI>hard Times; perillous</HI> Undertakings, <HI>difficult</HI> De|&s;ignes, <HI>trouble&s;ome</HI> and tyrannical Intru|&s;ions, Actings, Impo&s;itions of men of proud, daring, and ambitious Spirits, that make the&s;e <HI>perillous, difficult,</HI> and <HI>trouble&s;ome</HI> Times. So the &s;ame Father determines upon this very Text.</P>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s;t. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE>
<P>Perillous Times &s;hall come. He &s;peaks not this to accu&s;e the Dayes, or finde fault with the Times, but the men that &s;hould then be. For we are wont to call the Times good or bad, from the Things that are done by men in &s;uch Times.</P>
<P>And indeed, tho&s;e are the <HI>wor&s;t Times</HI> that do produce the <HI>wor&s;t men,</HI> and wherein the&s;e men do accompli&s;h their <HI>worst De|&s;ignes,</HI> and execute their mo&s;t mi&s;chievous Intentions. That's the <HI>wor&s;t ground</HI> which is mo&s;t overgrown with <HI>weeds,</HI> e&s;pecially if &s;uch <HI>weeds,</HI> as neither any good <HI>Graine,</HI> nor whole&s;om <HI>Herbs,</HI> nor Fragrant <HI>Flowers</HI> will grow among&s;t them. And &s;uch are the Times whereof the Apo&s;tle here Prophecies, &s;o that we may truly &s;ay of him, as <HI>Ca&s;aubon</HI> of <HI>Ta|ci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us;</HI>
<PB N="9" REF="12">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eju&s;modi tempora de|&s;crip&s;it quibus nulla, un|quam aut Virtutum &s;teri|liora, aut Virtutibus in imicitiora.</NOTE></P>
<P><HI>He hath de&s;crib'd &s;uch times, as never were any more barren of Vertues, or more pregnant with Enmi|ty and oppo&s;ition to all Goodne&s;&s;e.</HI> Tho&s;e Times that are mo&s;t <HI>barren</HI> in <HI>Virtues,</HI> are ever mo&s;t <HI>fruitful</HI> in <HI>Vices. Evils</HI> do mo&s;t <HI>abound,</HI> when <HI>Goodne&s;&s;e</HI> is <HI>bani&s;ht. Sin</HI> then <HI>reignes</HI> upon <HI>Earth,</HI> when<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ultima Caele&s;tum Terras A|&s;tra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a reli|quit. Ovid.</NOTE> <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> flies up to <HI>Heaven. <HI>The</HI> Flowers</HI> are choak|ed, when the <HI>Weeds</HI> grow talle&s;t. Thus was the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.7</NOTE> <HI>good Seed</HI> &s;tifled among&s;t the <HI>thriving Thornes.</HI> When the <HI>Plague</HI> (of &s;in, Errour and Profanene&s;&s;e) reigns, the <HI>Times</HI> mu&s;t needs be <HI>Perillous.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee what the&s;e Times here pre|dicted &s;hall be; even evil and perillous Times.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="prognostication">
<HEAD>The Prediction.</HEAD>
<P>COme we now, in the next Place, to enquire, <HI>When the&s;e Times &s;hall be.</HI> This the Apo&s;tle tells us in the&s;e words;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, in ultimis Die|bus (&s;eu in Diebus no|vi&s;&s;imis) in&s;tabunt.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vet. Be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE></NOTE></P>
<P>They &s;hall come (they &s;hall pre&s;s upon us, and as it were, in&s;tantly overtake us) in the la&s;t Dayes.</P>
<P>Now the <HI>Times of the Go&s;pel</HI> in re&s;pect of
<PB N="10" REF="13"> the four thou&s;and years that went before, even the whole &s;pace of Time from Chri&s;ts fir&s;t to his &s;econd Coming, from his <HI>A&s;|cention into Heaven</HI> to his <HI>Return to Judge|ment,</HI> at the end of the world, is, in the Scripture-Phra&s;e, called <HI>the la&s;t Dayes.</HI> So &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle in his Epi&s;tle to the <HI>He|brews</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chap. 1. ver. 1, 2.</NOTE>; <HI>God who at &s;undry times, and in di|vers manners &s;pake in times pa&s;t unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in the&s;e la&s;t dayes &s;poken to us by his Son.</HI> So the Apo|&s;tle applies to his Times the Prophetick Prophecy of the Old Te&s;tament<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Act. 2.16 17 Joel 2.28.</NOTE>; <HI>This is that which was &s;poken by the Prophet</HI> Joel, <HI>And it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e,</HI> in the la&s;t Dayes, <HI>(&s;aith God) I will poure out my Spirit up|on all Fle&s;h.</HI> Of the &s;ame Import is that which the &s;ame Apo&s;tle &s;peaks in his Epi&s;tle to the believing Jews<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.3</NOTE>, <HI>knowing this, that there &s;hall come</HI> in the la&s;t Dayes <HI>&s;coffers, walking after their own lu&s;ts.</HI> The whole time therefore of the <HI>Evangelical Admi|ni&s;tration</HI> is here to be under&s;tood by <HI>the la&s;t Dayes,</HI> yet &s;o as the <HI>later</HI> the time, the <HI>darker</HI> the dayes, unle&s;&s;e in &s;ome <HI>lucid In|tervals,</HI> and when tho&s;e Illu&s;trious Prophe|cies and Promi&s;es of the Old Te&s;tament, concerning <HI>glorious Go&s;pel-times</HI> &s;hall be fulfill'd. As, that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 30.2 6</NOTE> <HI>The Light of the Moon &s;hall be as the Light of the Sun, and the Light of the Sun &s;hall be &s;evenfold, as the Light of &s;even dayes.</HI> Yea, that<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 24.23</NOTE> <HI>Then the Moon &s;hall be confounded, and the Sunne
<PB N="11" REF="13"> a&s;hamed, when the LORD of Ho&s;ts &s;hall reigne in Mount</HI> Zion, <HI>and in</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>and before his Ancients gloriou&s;ly.</HI> And that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Hab. 2.24</NOTE> <HI>The Earth &s;hall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the</HI> LORD, <HI>as the waters co|ver the Sea.</HI> Such may we expect the times to be, when the Lord &s;hall fulfill his Pro|mi&s;es concerning the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 18.2</NOTE> <HI>Fall of Babylon,</HI> and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>destruction of Antichri&s;t,</HI> the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 11 25, 26.</NOTE> <HI>Call and Conver&s;ion of the Jews, and the bringing in of the Fulne&s;&s;e of the Gentiles.</HI> But other|wi&s;e the <HI>la&s;t Age,</HI> we may expect (accord|ing to this and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.3 1 Joh. 2.18 Jude v. 18. Mat. 24, 9 &mdash;12, 29. Rev. 8. and 9. and 20.</NOTE> other Predictions in the New Te&s;tament) to be the <HI>wor&s;t Age,</HI> the <HI>last Dayes</HI> to be the <HI>wor&s;t Dayes.</HI> Thus we &s;ee how the la&s;t Dayes re&s;pect the whole time of the Go&s;pel-Church, from the A|po&s;tles times to the End of the World. This is the <HI>Evening</HI> of the World, as the time before was the <HI>Morning.</HI> The near|er <HI>Night</HI> the greater darkne&s;&s;e, till the Glory of the Lord, like Lightning, &s;hall break out of the <HI>Clouds.</HI> The nearer the <HI>Bottom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> the more <HI>Dregges.</HI> The <HI>Ab&s;ence</HI> of the Sunne makes <HI>Night</HI> in the World: And the longer the time is it hath left us, the greater is our darkne&s;&s;e, till its <HI>Return</HI> &s;hall make a <HI>new Day.</HI> Such is Chri&s;ts <HI>Ab|&s;ence</HI> from his Church; yet (as we have &s;een) &s;ome <HI>Beames of Glory</HI> &s;hall be &s;catter'd upon <HI>Earth,</HI> before the <HI>King of Glory</HI> &s;hall return from <HI>Heaven.</HI> Thus the <HI>Dawne</HI> pre|cedes the <HI>Day;</HI> but its u&s;ually <HI>darke&s;t</HI>
<PB N="12" REF="14"> immediately before the <HI>Dawne.</HI></P>
<P>Now for our interpretation of <HI>the la&s;t dayes</HI> in this latitude, we have the general concurrence of the be&s;t Expo&s;itors, who all conclude the &s;ame thing with one con|&s;ent. For (to in&s;tance in &s;ome) thus they &s;peak upon this Text.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Sub extremis Diebus comprehendit univer&s;um Chri&s;tianae Eccle&s;iae &s;ta|tum<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Calvin in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Under the la&s;t days (<HI>&s;ayes the judicious</HI> Calvin) <HI>the Apo&s;tle</HI> comprehends the whole state of the Chri|&s;tian Church.</P>
<P>Now <HI>the la&s;t Days<NOTE PLACE="marg">Novi&s;&s;imi autem vel ul|timi Dies numerandi &s;unt ab Adventu Chri&s;ti ad Finem Mundi: Nam Tempus illud <GAP DESC="foreign"> di|citur re&s;pectu Initii &amp; Medii. Initium ab Ada|mo ad Mo&s;en numeratur: Medium Temporis &agrave; Mo|&s;e ad Chri&s;tum: Ultimum igitur e&s;ta Chri&s;to ad e|jus Reditum<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aret in locum.</NOTE>.</NOTE> (&s;ayes</HI> Aretius) are to be reckoned from the coming of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> to the End of the World: For that Time is called <HI>the la&s;t Time,</HI> in re&s;pect of the Beginning and the Middle-time. The Beginning is reckon'd from <HI>Adam</HI> to <HI>Mo|&s;es:</HI> The Middle-time from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to <HI>Chri&s;t:</HI> And &s;o <HI>the la&s;t Time</HI> is from <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> to his &s;econd Coming, or his return to judge|ment.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Dicuntur autem No|vi&s;&s;ima Tempora, Hebrai|co More, non quae circa Mundi finem proxim&egrave; erunt; &s;ed Po&s;teriora quaeque &s;uis Temporibus Novi&s;&s;ima nominantur. Quanquam &amp; tanto pe|jora futura &s;unt Tempora, quanto fini hujus Mundi &amp; extremo Judicio fuerint proximiora<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pelicanus in locum.</NOTE>.</NOTE>But now (<HI>&s;ayes</HI> Pelican) they are called <HI>the la&s;t Times,</HI> after the manner of
<PB N="13" REF="14"> the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> not only which are neare&s;t to the End of the World; but all the times &s;uc|ceeding their owne Age are &s;til'd <HI>the la&s;t times.</HI> Although the times &s;hall be &s;o much the wor&s;e, by how much the nearer they are to the la&s;t Judge|ment, and the End of this World<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.24. Luk. 21.12</NOTE>.</P>
<P>And that <HI>the la&s;t Dayes</HI> mu&s;t, in this Text, be nece&s;&s;arily under&s;tood in this Latitude, may yet more clearly appear, if we con&s;ider that they were <HI>already begun</HI> when the A|po&s;tle wrote this Prophecy, and that they are <HI>&s;till continu'd</HI> to this Age wherein we live. That they were then <HI>already begun</HI> is manife&s;t, in that the Apo&s;tle de&s;cribing the Per&s;ons by &s;everal Properties, who by their ungodly Practi&s;es &s;hould make the <HI>Times</HI> &s;o <HI>perillous,</HI> concludes his De&s;cri|ption with this Cautionary Premonition to <HI>Timothy</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 5.</NOTE>,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>From &s;uch turne a|way:</HI> Or, <HI>turn &s;uch away;</HI> Authoritatively admoni&s;h, reprove, reject them; hold no familiar Conver&s;e or Corre&s;pondency with them. And that the&s;e times are to be intended to the fol|lowing Ages, and are <HI>continu'd</HI> to this pre|&s;ent Age wherein we live, is it not &s;uffici|ently manife&s;t, in that the&s;e very <HI>Times</HI> are an evident <HI>Commentary</HI> upon this <HI>Text,</HI>
<PB N="14" REF="15"> and &s;hew the <HI>Accompli&s;hment</HI> of this <HI>Pro|phecy.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een when the&s;e Times &s;hall be, and how long the&s;e la&s;t dayes &s;hall la&s;t; even from the Apo&s;tles Time to the End of the World.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="premonition">
<HEAD>The Premonition.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> NOw come we in the la&s;t Place to con|&s;ider <HI>of what concernment this Predicti|on of perillous Times was to</HI> Timothy. And the Apo&s;tles words upon his fir&s;t entrance upon this Di&s;cour&s;e do plainly declare, that it <HI>concern'd him to know this;</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. This know al&s;o.</P>
<P>It much concerns <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> e&s;pecially <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel, <HI>to know</HI> what <HI>peril|lous Times</HI> &s;hall come upon the Church of God, and <HI>when</HI> they &s;hall come.</P>
<P><HI>All Chri&s;tians are concern'd herein.</HI> It's pro|fitable for them to know before hand what <HI>perillous times</HI> &s;hall come, that &s;o they may not be unawares <HI>&s;urprized</HI> by them, but duly <HI>prepared</HI> for them. For, Praemoniti Premuniti. <HI>Fore-warn'd Fore|arm'd.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore it hath plea&s;ed the Lord, for the manife&s;tation of that &s;pecial <HI>Care</HI> which he hath of his <HI>Church,</HI> to reveal to his Servants by the Spirit of Prophecy, in
<PB N="15" REF="15"> all Ages, what evils his Saints &s;hould be ex|erci&s;ed withal, and what <HI>perillous Times</HI> they &s;hould pa&s;&s;e thorough to their Re&s;t and Glo|ry. It is he that brings <HI>Judgements</HI> upon his people for their <HI>&s;innes,</HI> and yet reveales his <HI>Purpo&s;e</HI> to his <HI>Prophets,</HI> that they might call his People to <HI>Repentance</HI> for the <HI>Preven|tion</HI> of his Judgements. As it is &s;aid;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Am. 3.6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>Shall a Trumpet be blown in the City, and the People not be afraid? Shall there be Evil in a City, and the</HI> LORD <HI>hath not done it? Surely the LORD God will do nothing, but he</HI> revealeth <HI>his &s;ecret unto his &s;ervants the Prophets.</HI> So we read, when God had a pur|po&s;e to de&s;troy <HI>Sodom and Gomorrah</HI> (tho&s;e lu&s;tful and licentious Cities) with<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 19.24</NOTE> <HI>Fire and Brim&s;tome</HI> from heaven,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 18.17</NOTE> the LORD &s;aid, <HI>&s;hall I hide from</HI> Abraham <HI>the thing which I do?</HI> No, he pre&s;ently reveal'd it to him, and &s;ent his holy <HI>Angels</HI> al&s;o to his &s;ervant<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 19.12,-16. 2 Pet. 2.6-9.</NOTE> <HI>Lot</HI> to forewarne him of the near-approaching danger, and to <HI>deliver</HI> him, by leading him out of that wicked City, de&s;tin'd to a dreadful <HI>De&s;truction,</HI> from it's in|evitable overthrow. So God foretold the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> their<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 25.9 and 34.21 Ezek. 12.11, &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>Captivity in Babylon,</HI> and <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> hath foretold <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.22, 23. Joh. 15.20 Mark 10.30. 2 Tim. 3.12.</NOTE> their <HI>Per&s;e|cution in the World.</HI></P>
<P>Praevi&s;a minus laedunt. <HI>Evils fore-&s;een do le&s;s afflict.</HI></P>
<P>Though <HI>Afflictions</HI> are the appointed Por|tion of the Saints on Earth, yet by the <HI>Fore-knowledge</HI> of the&s;e afflictions, they may be
<PB N="16" REF="16"> the better prepar'd to bear them with <HI>Pa|tience.</HI> And therfore God hath never left his Church without a <HI>Prophetick Repre&s;entati|on</HI> of her future condition. So to the <HI>Hi|story</HI> of his Church in the <HI>Old Te&s;tament,</HI> he hath adjoyned &s;undry <HI>Prophecies,</HI> and to the <HI>Doctrine of Chri&s;t</HI> in the <HI>New Te|&s;tament,</HI> he hath annext a <HI>Revelation.</HI></P>
<P>And if God have been plea&s;ed thus to <HI>reveale</HI> in his Word the evils that &s;hall come upon his Church and Saints, and the <HI>peril|lous Times</HI> through which they &s;hall pa&s;s in the World, they are doubtle&s;&s;e much con|cern'd to <HI>take notice</HI> thereof. How el&s;e &s;hall they <HI>prepare</HI> them&s;elves for the Lords <HI>Vi|&s;itations,</HI> or make a right <HI>Improvement</HI> of his holy <HI>Providences?</HI> How el&s;e &s;hall they pro|vide<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 25.4</NOTE> <HI>Oyle in their Ve&s;&s;els,</HI> that they may have their<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luke 12 35.</NOTE> <HI>Lamps burning,</HI> when a Night of darkne&s;&s;e &s;hall overcome them? How el&s;e &s;hall they make &s;uch due Provi&s;ion for <HI>perillous Times,</HI> that they may hold up their Heads in a <HI>Day of di&s;tre&s;&s;e?</HI> Doubtle&s;&s;e as the Saints may loo&s;e a <HI>Harve&s;t of Mercy,</HI> for want of improving a <HI>Day of Grace;</HI> &s;o may they fall into a <HI>Furnace of Affliction,</HI> for want of fore-&s;eeing a <HI>Day of Wrath.</HI> And therefore <HI>Christ</HI> ju&s;tly taxes the <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> that they could<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mar. 16.3</NOTE> <HI>di&s;cerne the Face of the Skie, but not the Signes of the Times.</HI> Yea, the Lord brings in the <HI>Fowles</HI> of the Heaven to give in evidence again&s;t his own People, for their clearer conviction of their <HI>Folly,</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="16"> and <HI>Stupidity</HI> in not di&s;cerning the <HI>Time</HI> of his Judgements. For &s;ayes the Lord in <HI>Jeremy</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chap. 8. ver. 7.</NOTE>; <HI>Yea, the Stork in the Heaven know|eth her appointed</HI> Times, <HI>and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow ob&s;erve the</HI> Time <HI>of their Coming, but my People know not the Judgement of the</HI> LORD. Hence it comes to pa&s;&s;e, that, as &s;ome of the more <HI>fooli&s;h Birds,</HI> they are oft taken unawares in the <HI>&s;nares of Gods judgements,</HI> as the Wi&s;e man ob&s;erves;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 9.12</NOTE> <HI>For man al&s;o knoweth not his Time; as the Fi&s;hes that are taken in an e|vil Net, and as Birds that are caught in the &s;nare; &s;o are the &s;ons of men &s;nared in an e|vil Time, when it falleth &s;uddenly upon them.</HI> How pathetically did the Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> lament and bewaile the deplorable &s;tate and condition of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> upon this very account, that they <HI>knew</HI> not, they <HI>con|&s;ider'd</HI> not their great danger, but were &s;en&s;|le&s;&s;e and &s;ecure, notwith&s;tanding all Warn|ings and Premonitions, at the very brink of their threatned de&s;truction? For thus is it recorded of him in the Go&s;pel, that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luke 19.41,-44.</NOTE> <HI>When he was come neere, he beheld the City, and wept over it; Saying, If thou had&s;t known, even thou, at lea&s;t in this</HI> thy Day, <HI>the Things which belong unto thy Peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For</HI> the Dayes <HI>&s;hall come upon thee, that thine Ene|mies &s;hall ca&s;t a Trench about thee, and compa&s;s thee round, and keep thee in on every &s;ide, and &s;hall lay thee even with the ground,
<PB N="18" REF="17"> and thy children within thee: and they &s;hall not leave in thee one &s;tone upon another, becau&s;e thou</HI> knewe&s;t not <HI>the</HI> Time <HI>of thy</HI> Vi&s;itation. And the <HI>Event</HI> (we know) fully an&s;wer'd the <HI>Prediction.</HI> Thus for want of a due <HI>Fore-&s;ight</HI> of future Dangers, and a right <HI>Improvement</HI> of the Prophetical Di&s;coveries of <HI>Perillous Times,</HI> a &s;inful and &s;ecure peo|ple may be &s;uddenly &s;wallow'd up into an inevitable <HI>De&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P>Thus it nearly concerns all Gods peo|ple, to take &s;pecial notice of the&s;e Predicti|ons of perillous Times, that they may make a good improvement thereof for their &s;piritual advantage.</P>
<P>But now the <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel are in a &s;pecial manner concern'd herein. They are to &s;earch, know, and con&s;ider what <HI>pe|rillous Times</HI> &s;hall befal the Church accord|ing to the Prophecies of the holy Scriptures. This, that they may give <HI>Warning</HI> to the People, that they may meet the Lord by <HI>Repentance,</HI> and that tho&s;e that feare the Lord may keep them&s;elves <HI>pure</HI> from the <HI>Pollutions</HI> of the World, that &s;o they may be <HI>pre&s;erv'd</HI> by his &s;pecial <HI>Providence,</HI> when he &s;hall come forth for the Execution of his Judgements. Thus the Lord warned the <HI>Old World by Noah,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.5</NOTE> <HI>a Preacher of Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> by &s;undry <HI>Pro|phets,</HI> before the <HI>De&s;truction</HI> of the one, and <HI>Captivity</HI> of the other. Thus did the People of<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jona. 3.4, 5, 10.</NOTE> <HI>Nineveh</HI> prevent the <HI>De&s;truction</HI> threat|ned
<PB N="19" REF="17"> by turning to the Lord by<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 12.41 Luk. 11.32</NOTE> <HI>Repentance</HI> upon the <HI>Preaching of Jonah.</HI></P>
<P>I may &s;ay of <HI>Preachers</HI> what the <HI>Noble Verulam</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bacons E&s;&s;ayes.</NOTE> &s;pake of <HI>Princes; Shepherds of People had need know the Kalendar of Tem|pe&s;ts in State, which are commonly greatest, when things grow to Equality; as natural Tempe&s;ts are greate&s;t about the Equinoctials.</HI> This that they may <HI>hou&s;e</HI> the Lords <HI>Flock</HI> (as the <HI>Servants of Pharaoh</HI> did their <HI>Cattel</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exo. 9.20</NOTE>) till the <HI>&s;torme</HI> be over-pa&s;t.</P>
<P>The <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel are the <HI>Watchmen</HI> of the City of God. They that &s;tand upon the <HI>Watch-Towers</HI> of the <HI>Holy City,</HI> &s;hould blow the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 58.1.</NOTE> <HI>Trumpet</HI> of Gods <HI>holy Word,</HI> and di&s;cover the danger which they &s;ee threatned, and the <HI>De&s;ignes</HI> which they &s;ee managed again&s;t the Church and People of God. Its their Duty to <HI>warne</HI> the People of their &s;ins, le&s;t they peri&s;h in them, in the day of Gods Judgements. How &s;trict is the <HI>Charge,</HI> which the Lord hath given to every Mini&s;ter of his Word, in the Per&s;on of the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel;</HI> and how &s;ore is the <HI>Penalty,</HI> how dreadful is the danger of failing through unfaithfulne&s;&s;e in the di&s;charge thereof! It &s;urely concerns us, e&s;pecially in the&s;e <HI>perillous Times,</HI> very &s;e|riou&s;ly to con&s;ider it, <HI>us</HI> (I &s;ay) whom the Lord hath called forth to di&s;pen&s;e his <HI>&s;acred Oracles,</HI> and hath committed to our charge the &s;ouls of his People.</P>
<P><HI>Sonne of man</HI> (&s;aith the LORD to
<PB N="20" REF="18"> <HI>Ezekiel</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 33.1,-9.</NOTE>) <HI>Speak to the Children of thy Peo|ple, and and &s;ay unto them; When I bring the &s;word upon a Land, if the People of the Land take a man of their Coa&s; s, and &s;et him for their Watchman: If when h &s;eeth the Sword come upon the Land, he blow the Trumpet, and warne the People; Then who&s;o|ever heareth the &s;ound of the Trumpet, and taketh not Warning; if the Sword come and take him away, his Blood &s;hall be upon his own Head. He heard the &s;ound of the Trumpet, and took not warning, his Blood &s;hall be up|on him: but he that taketh warning &s;hall de|liver his Soul. But if the Watchman &s;ee the &s;word come, and blow not the Trumpet, and the People be not warned: if the &s;word come and take any per&s;on from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity: but his blood will I require at the Watchmans hand.</HI></P>
<P><HI>So thou, O &s;onne of man, I have &s;et thee a Watchman unto the Hou&s;e of I&s;rael: and therefore thou &s;halt heare the Word at my Mouth, and warn them from me. When I &s;ay unto the wicked, O Wicked man, thou &s;halt &s;urely die; if thou doe&s;t not &s;peak to warne the wicked from his way, that wicked man &s;hall die in his iniquity, but his Blood will I require at thine Hand. Neverthele&s;s if thou warne the wicked of his way to turne from it: if he do not turne from his Way, he &s;hall die in his iniquity, but thou ha&s;t deliver|ed thy &s;oul.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 3.20, 21.</NOTE><HI>Again, when a righteous man doth turn
<PB N="21" REF="18"> from his righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and commit iniquity, and I lay a &s;tumbling-block before him, he &s;hall die: becau&s;e thou ha&s;t not given him warn|ing, he &s;hall die in his &s;in, and his Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e which he hath done &s;hall not be remem|bred; but his Blood will I require at thine hand. Neverthele&s;s, if thou warn the Righ|teous man, that the righteous &s;in not, and he doth not &s;in; he &s;hall &s;urely live, becau&s;e he is warned; al&s;o thou ha&s;t deliver'd thy &s;oul.</HI></P>
<P>Thus will the Lord call the Mini&s;ters of his Word to account for the lo&s;&s;e of tho&s;e Souls, which through their un&s;ea&s;onable <HI>&s;i|lence</HI> have peri&s;ht in their <HI>&s;ins.</HI> O how much guilt then &s;hall we draw down upon our own heads, if we do not <HI>warn</HI> our People of tho&s;e &s;ins whereof they are in danger in <HI>perillous Times,</HI> and do what lies in us to keep off guilt from their &s;ouls! O how much doth it concern us to be <HI>Faithful</HI> to God in the di&s;charge of this Duty! <HI>Its a fearful thing to be charged with the Blood of &s;ouls at the Judgement Day.</HI></P>
<P>Be this then my warrant for what I &s;hall &s;peak, in the following Di&s;cour&s;e upon this Subject.</P>
<P>For this Text, Beloved Chri&s;tians, gives me warrant to tell you that it much con|cerns you all <HI>to know, that in the la&s;t Dayes perillous Times &s;hall come.</HI></P>
<P>And if the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> could &s;ay in that Age,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 John 2.18.</NOTE> <HI>Little Children, It is the la&s;t Time,
<PB N="22" REF="19"> and as ye have heard that Antichri&s;t &s;hall come, even now are there many Antichri&s;ts, whereby we know that it is the la&s;t Time:</HI> much more may we of this Age, <HI>upon whom</HI> (as the Apo&s;tle &s;pake of his Time<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10.11</NOTE>) <HI>the Ends of the World are come,</HI> &s;ay, the&s;e are <HI>the last Dayes,</HI> this is <HI>the la&s;t Time.</HI> For if we con&s;ider the evils enumerated in the Context, and ca&s;t our eyes upon this Gene|ration, &s;hall we not &s;ay that this Prophe|cy in the Text <HI>looks full</HI> upon the pre&s;ent Age? May we not (with <HI>Hyperius</HI>) apply this Prophetick De&s;cription of the Churches calamity to our pre&s;ent times?</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">In&s;truit ampli&s;&s;imam Malorum Congeriem, &amp; quoddam Vitiorum Ma|re. Quae omnia fi de ullis Temporibus &agrave; Chri&s;to nato dici potuerunt, cer|t&egrave; de no&s;tro &s;eculo mul|to apti&s;&s;im&egrave; veri&s;&s;im&eacute;&abque; dici po&s;&s;e velimus nolimus fateri debemus. Im&ograve; ve|reor n&egrave; omnia feculi no|&s;tri Mala, ab Apo&s;tolo hic non &s;int &s;atis enu|merata. Adeo ferrea haec aetas no&s;tra omnes aeta|tes maliti&acirc; videtur &s;upe|rare<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Andreas Hyperius in 2 Tim. 3 1, 2, &amp;c.</NOTE>.</NOTE> The Apo&s;tle <HI>(&s;ayes he)</HI> pre&s;ents us with a mighty Ma&s;s of Evils, and &s;ets be|fore us, as it were, a Sea of Vices. All which, if they might be &s;aid of any Times &s;ince the Birth of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> we mu&s;t needs confe&s;&s;e, whether we will or no, may with much more truth and fitne&s;&s;e be &s;poken of this our Age. Nay I fear that all the E|vils of our Age are not here fully enumera|ted by the Apo&s;tle; &s;o far doth this <HI>Iron Age</HI> wherein we live, &s;eem to exceed in Wicked|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="23" REF="19"> all other Ages. <HI>And therefore it mu&s;t needs very nearly concern us to take notice of, and to prepare our &s;elves for</HI> the perillous Times, <HI>which are prophecy'd of in the</HI> New Te&s;tament, <HI>and particularly in this pre&s;ent Text of Scripture;</HI> This know al&s;o, that in the la&s;t Dayes perillous Times &s;hall come.</P>
<P>It will be well worth our Time and Pains therefore to make a &s;erious enquiry into the&s;e two things, <HI>viz.</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>What the Perillous Times are pointed at in this Prediction.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>How Pious Per&s;ons ought to demeane them&s;elves in the&s;e perillous Times.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<P>In the former of the&s;e we &s;hall fitly exhibit what may be further requi&s;ite for the <HI>Explication,</HI> and in the latter pre&s;ent you with the <HI>Application</HI> of this Text, as to that which is the main Scope, and principal Import of it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="question">
<HEAD><HI>The Fir&s;t Enquiry.</HI> What the Perillous Times are, pointed at in this Prediction.</HEAD>
<P>FOr the further clearing up of this Pro|phecy, that it may become more u&s;eful to the People of God, it is nece&s;&s;ary that
<PB N="24" REF="20"> we &s;hould make a &s;erious enquiry into the&s;e <HI>Perillous Times</HI> here &s;poken of. And for the clearing of this we &s;hall branch this Ge|neral Enquiry into three Parts, by a more Particular Enquiry into three things; <HI>&s;c.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>How the&s;e Times may be known.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Why the&s;e Times are &s;o Perillous.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>What is the peril of the&s;e Times.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>The fir&s;t Que&s;tion.</P>
<P><HI>Quest.</HI> 1. How may the&s;e Times be known?</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> It is indeed very <HI>nece&s;&s;ary</HI> and <HI>u&s;e|ful</HI> for us to know when the&s;e <HI>perillous Times</HI> are come upon us, that we may be both more <HI>watchful</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Danger,</HI> and <HI>careful</HI> of the <HI>Duty,</HI> at &s;uch Times in a &s;pecial manner incumbent on us. No dangers are &s;o great as theirs, that neither &s;ee nor perceive their Dangers. Great is the dan|ger of the <HI>Seaman,</HI> when his &s;hip hath &s;prung an <HI>unperceived Leak.</HI> Great is the Danger of that <HI>Souldier</HI> who walks &s;ecurely in that path, on either &s;ide whereof his Enemies <HI>lie in Ambu&s;h.</HI> Great is the Danger of that man who is <HI>fa&s;t-a&s;leep,</HI> while the Hou&s;e is <HI>all on Fire</HI> over his Head. Great is the danger of tho&s;e who live in <HI>Perillous Times</HI> without &s;u&s;pition of <HI>Danger.</HI> Woe be to them who &s;hall be <HI>&s;urpriz'd</HI> by the Judgements of God, ari&s;ing, as it were, out of <HI>Ambu&s;h</HI> again&s;t them. Its very nece&s;&s;ary therefore for all Chri&s;tians to con&s;ider whether the Dayes wherein they live are the <HI>Perillous
<PB N="25" REF="20"> Times,</HI> whereof they are fore-warn'd in the Prophecies of the holy Scriptures, or not.</P>
<P>Now we may know when the&s;e perillous Times are come, by con&s;idering the <HI>Chara|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ters of men,</HI> and the <HI>State of things,</HI> as re|pre&s;ented by the holy Gho&s;t in the Word of God, where &s;uch <HI>perillous Times</HI> are ei|ther de&s;cribed or predicted. For the <HI>Times</HI> are denom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nated from the <HI>men</HI> that live in them, and the <HI>State of things,</HI> as manag'd by &s;uch men. <HI>Pernicious men make peril|l us Times.</HI> When the Times abound with men of pernicious <HI>Properties, Principles,</HI> and <HI>Practi&s;es,</HI> and the&s;e have <HI>Power</HI> to order the <HI>State of things,</HI> according to their own <HI>plea|&s;ure,</HI> the <HI>Times</HI> mu&s;t needs be <HI>perillous.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the Apo&s;tle here foretelling <HI>peril|lous Times,</HI> gives us the <HI>Characters</HI> of tho&s;e Per&s;ons, who by their <HI>pernicious Practi&s;es</HI> &s;hould make the <HI>times</HI> thus <HI>perillous.</HI> And therefore for as much as this cannot but con|tribute very much to the clearing up of the matter in que&s;tion, before we proceed a|ny further, we &s;hall make a particular &s;urvey of the &s;everal <HI>Characters</HI> of the&s;e dangerous <HI>Per&s;ons</HI> de&s;crib'd in the Context.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="characters">
<HEAD>The <HI>CHARACTERS</HI> of the Per&s;ons that make the Times Perillous.</HEAD>
<P>THe&s;e <HI>Pernicious</HI> Per&s;ons that &s;hould make the Times &s;o <HI>perillous,</HI> are
<PB N="26" REF="21"> de&s;crib'd by the&s;e twenty <HI>Marks, Proper|ties</HI> or <HI>Characters</HI> following; <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Character.</HEAD>
<P>They are &s;uch as are,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1. <GAP DESC="foreign">. E&s;t au|tem <GAP DESC="foreign"> inordinatus Amor &s;ui.</NOTE> 1. <HI>Lovers of their own &s;elves.</HI> Now <HI>&s;elf-love</HI> is a &s;inful <HI>Exce&s;&s;e</HI> in a mans <HI>Love</HI> of him&s;elf. A man both by the <HI>Law</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> and <HI>Nature</HI> is not onely allow'd, but bound to <HI>love him&s;elf.</HI> Neither is that Pro|verbial &s;aying ju&s;tly lyable to Exception;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Every man is a friend to him&s;elfe;</HI> In&s;o|much as, in the <HI>Di|vine Law,</HI> a mans <HI>Love</HI> of him&s;elfe is made the Rule of his <HI>Love</HI> to another;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Thou &s;halt love thy Neighbour as thy &s;elf</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 22.39</NOTE>.</P>
<P>But this <HI>Self-love</HI> which is &s;inful, is &s;uch an <HI>Exce&s;&s;ive Love</HI> to ones &s;elf, as &s;wallows up (with <HI>Pharaohs leane kine</HI>) both <HI>Love</HI> to ones <HI>Neighbour,</HI> and that <HI>Divine Love,</HI> which is the &s;umme of <HI>the fir&s;t and great Commandment</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 22.37</NOTE> the <HI>Love</HI> of <HI>God.</HI> And therefore,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> talis e&s;t qui &s;e ita amat, ut reliquos prae &s;e contemnat, in om|nibus &s;ui laudem quaerit. &mdash;Sic hypocritae in Re|ligione &s;eip&s;os quaerunt, h. e. Dignitatem, Lau|dem, Pompam &amp; &s;imilia, quae nocens e&s;t, <GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aretius in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>A &s;elf-lover is &s;uch a one as &s;o loves him&s;elf, as that he
<PB N="27" REF="21"> de&s;pi&s;es others in com|pari&s;on of him&s;elfe, and &s;eeks his owne Prai&s;e in all things. Thus do hypocrites under the cloke of Re|ligion &s;eek them&s;elves, their own Honour, Prai&s;e, Pompe, and the like; and this is a &s;inful &s;elf-love.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> igitur &s;unt i&s;ti qui &s;ibi vehementer placent, &s;ui&s;que Commo|dis impen&s;&egrave; &s;tudent:<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jodoc. Vilich. in loc.</NOTE> <HI>Ad|do (ex Bullingero</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In locum</NOTE>) ali|orum rebus vel neglectis, vel afflictis etiam.</NOTE> <HI>Lovers of them|&s;elves therefore are &s;uch as extreamly plea&s;e them&s;elves, and mainly &s;tudy and pur&s;ue their own In|tere&s;ts, yea, not only with the neglect, but to the Prejudice of others.</HI> This is that &s;inful <HI>&s;elf-love</HI> which (as a <HI>drop of Poy&s;on</HI> extingui&s;hes both <HI>Life</HI> and <HI>Heat</HI>) bani&s;hes both <HI>Piety</HI> and <HI>Charity</HI> from the Heart. Such men are their own <HI>Idols</HI> and their own <HI>Idolizers.</HI> They &s;et <HI>Self</HI> above <HI>God:</HI> they &s;et <HI>Self</HI> in the <HI>Throne,</HI> and <HI>God</HI> at the <HI>Foot&s;toole.</HI> This <HI>Self-love</HI> is the <HI>Root</HI> of all <HI>Vitiou&s;ne&s;&s;e;</HI> It's here &s;et in the <HI>Van</HI> of a <HI>Troop</HI> of Vices. <HI>Self-denial</HI> is the <HI>Founda|tion</HI> of all Chri&s;tian Vertues; But <HI>Self-love</HI> is the <HI>Groundwork</HI> of a <HI>Babel</HI> of &s;inne and Vice, Vanity and Confu&s;ion. <HI>Self-love</HI> occa&s;ions the <HI>&s;ouls lo&s;&s;e,</HI> and &s;o becomes the ground of <HI>Self-destruction.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="character">
<PB N="28" REF="22">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Qui nummos admirantur. Ta|les &s;unt qui Religionem in Que&s;tum conver|tant<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>2.</HI> Covetous. <HI>Sil|ver-Lovers, as the Word impo ts.</HI> Such as are over-in-love with Money. Such are they that take up Religion for Advan|tage<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.5.</NOTE>, &s;uppo&s;ing that Gain is godline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The&s;e men are no better then <HI>Idolaters,</HI> and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.24</NOTE> <HI>Mammon</HI> is their <HI>God.</HI> Sure we are,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Col. 3.5.</NOTE> <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e is Idolatry.</HI> And <HI>Idolatry</HI> can|not be con&s;i&s;tent with true <HI>Piety. Silver-Lovers,</HI> what ever their pretences be, can|not well be <HI>Saints.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The third Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">3. <GAP DESC="foreign"> Veritati opponitur: e&s;t ejus Exce&s;&s;us, <GAP DESC="foreign"> quaedam <GAP DESC="foreign">. Hi praeterea fingunt hone&s;tas Cau&s;as ubi nullae &s;unt. Tales in Religione pernicio&s;i &s;unt. Ad hos pertinent qui ob Flagitia pul&s;i, Nomine Evangelii exulare &s;e fin|gunt, &amp; de Per&s;ecutio|nibus &s;uis ac con&s;tantia gloriantur &s;ine Ratio|ne<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>3.</HI> Boa&s;ters. <HI>Now</HI> Boa&s;ting <HI>(according to the Import of the Word here u&s;ed) is a Vice whereby men &s;peak of them &s;elves, and to their own Prai&s;e</HI> more then the Truth. It's a feigned &s;hew (<HI>as are the</HI> Colours <HI>of the</HI> Rainbowe) without &s;ub&s;tance, a flouri&s;h|ing O&s;tentation of
<PB N="29" REF="22"> &s;ome Excellency which is not in them. The&s;e in Matters of Religion are very Pernici|ous. Such are they who coine good Cau&s;es for the credit of bad Actions. Such are they al&s;o, who when bani&s;ht for their Wickedne&s;s, pretend they &s;uffer for the Go&s;pel, and &s;o without any Cau&s;e at all, glory of their Per&s;e|cutions, and Con&s;tancy in their &s;ufferings. <HI>They are</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Elati. Ver.</NOTE> lifted up <HI>with a high Conceit of their own Excellencies, wherein they</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Glorio&s;i, Bez. Syr.</NOTE> glory. <HI>Such are they,</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Qui plura &s;ibi arrogant, qu&agrave;m revera po&s;&s;ident<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Keck. E|thic.</NOTE>: Vel,</P>
<P>Plura promittunt qu&agrave;m prae&s;tare po&s;&s;unt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ulpianus</NOTE>.</P></NOTE> Who arrogate more to them&s;elves then they do indeed po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e; and promi&s;e more to o|thers then they can performe.</P>
<P>The word here u&s;ed<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> is the proper <HI>E|pithete</HI> of a <HI>Peacock.</HI> Such have a <HI>glorious traine,</HI> but <HI>foule feet.</HI> Their <HI>Lives</HI> proclaim their <HI>Pollutions,</HI> while their <HI>Lips</HI> boa&s;t of their <HI>Perfections. Boa&s;ting</HI> is ever a &s;igne of <HI>Emptyne&s;&s;e. Empty ve&s;&s;els give the greate&s;t &s;ound.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The fourth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">4. <GAP DESC="foreign"> comes e&s;t <GAP DESC="foreign">. I&s;ti enim &s;e in omnibus quaerunt, ar|rogantes &s;unt &amp; animo elati<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 4. Proud. This <HI>Pride</HI> is the Daugh|ter of <HI>Self-love,</HI> the Si&s;ter of Covetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and Mother of Boa&s;ting. 'Tis
<PB N="30" REF="23"> near akin to the former Vices, and the <HI>Ve|nome</HI> of them runnes in the Veines of this. <HI>For &s;uch men &s;eek them&s;elves in all things, arrogate to them&s;elves more then they ought, and are lifted up with high conceits of them|&s;elves. Pride</HI> is the <HI>Companion</HI> of every Vice, and the <HI>Ring-leader</HI> in every Faction. Proud Per&s;ons gild them&s;elves with an <HI>out|ward glory,</HI> while they are utterly empty of <HI>real worth.</HI> They &s;pread a great <HI>Saile</HI> upon an empty <HI>Bark.</HI> They are painted <HI>Bubbles,</HI> &s;hining <HI>Meteors,</HI> gilded <HI>Nothings,</HI> lying <HI>Vanities.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The fifth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">5. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Maledici<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bez. Syr.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 5. <HI>Bla&s;phemers. E|vil-speakers</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Died.</NOTE>, <HI>Slan|derers and Defamers.</HI> This is a Vice of the <HI>Tongue,</HI> as the former were Vices of the <HI>Heart.</HI> The Tongue is a <HI>Conduit-pipe</HI> by which the evil of the Heart flows out; and <HI>this is that which defiles a man</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 15.18</NOTE>. Herewith they <HI>bla&s;pheme</HI> God, and <HI>defame</HI> men (the word here u&s;ed imports both) <HI>reviling</HI> both Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Obtrectantes fidelibus Doctoribus, &amp; Deum ip|&s;um traducunt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pareus in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>They are &s;uch who not onely defame their faithful Mini&s;ters, but pre&s;ume to tra|duce the Name of God him&s;elf.</HI> Whither will not de&s;perate <HI>Athei&s;me</HI> and unbridled <HI>Im|piety</HI> carry men? Thus is the Word u&s;ed in the Scripture; as when its &s;aid,
<PB N="31" REF="23">
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 16.11</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude 8.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.8</NOTE>.</P></NOTE> <HI>They bla&s;phemed God.</HI></P>
<P><HI>They &s;pake evil of Dignities.</HI></P>
<P><HI>As we are &s;landerou&s;|ly reported.</HI></P>
<P>The Hebrew word<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> u&s;ed to <HI>bla&s;pheme,</HI> or <HI>cur&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Num. 23.13</NOTE>, &s;ignifies al&s;o to <HI>&s;trike</HI> or <HI>pierce thorough</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hab. 3.14</NOTE>. <HI>Bla&s;phemies</HI> are impoy&s;on'd <HI>Arrows</HI> which wicked men &s;hoot at God Almighty's Face; <HI>&s;landers</HI> are venemous <HI>Darts</HI> wherewith they transfix the Names of his children.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The &s;ixth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">6. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Qui hominibus &s;uis (i. e. iis qui pre&s;unt &s;ibi) non obtemperant<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Syr. In|terp. Trem.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>6.</HI> Di&s;obedient to Parents. Who are not &s;ubject to them that <HI>(according to Gods order)</HI> are &s;et over them.</P>
<P>By <HI>Parents</HI> (according to the <HI>Hebrew I|diome</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exod. 20.12</NOTE>) we are to under&s;tand all <HI>Superiours, Rulers, Governours,</HI> whether Dome&s;tical, Civil or Eccle&s;ia&s;tical. There are <HI>Natural, Spiritual, Political Parents:</HI> The fir&s;t are properly cal|led <HI>Father</HI> and <HI>Mother,</HI> the two la&s;t are <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> and <HI>Magi&s;trates,</HI> the word then in the latitude of its &s;ignification, denotes &s;uch per&s;ons as being <HI>children</HI> are refractory to|wards their <HI>Parents,</HI> &s;uch <HI>People</HI> as are re|gardle&s;&s;e of their <HI>Pa&s;tor,</HI> &s;uch <HI>Subjects</HI> as are rebellious again&s;t their <HI>Prince.</HI> It imports that &s;in which &s;tands in the Violation of the <HI>fifth Commandment.</HI> Such are the per&s;ons
<PB N="32" REF="24"> here de&s;crib'd as ca&s;t off the <HI>Golden Yoke</HI> of <HI>Government,</HI> and break the <HI>&s;ilken bands</HI> of whole&s;ome <HI>Laws,</HI> whether founded in a <HI>Natural, Moral</HI> or <HI>Civil</HI> Intere&s;t.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="7" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The &s;eventh Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">7. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Ingrati<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>, Negantes Beneficium<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Syr. In|terp. Trem.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>7.</HI> &V;nthankfull. Such as never ac|knowledg any benefits.</P>
<P>The&s;e are &s;uch as make no acknow|ledgement of their greate&s;t Obligations to God or Man. Who are the living <HI>Sepul|chres</HI> of Gods <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings</HI> and Mans <HI>Benefits.</HI> Such as di&s;dainfully trample upon tho&s;e <HI>&s;taires</HI> by which they ri&s;e and a&s;cend to their <HI>Greatne&s;s.</HI> Of &s;uch <HI>David</HI> complains<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 41.9</NOTE>, <HI>Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I tru&s;ted, which did eat of my Bread, hath lift up his heele again&s;t me.</HI> Such are like that <HI>Fowle</HI> which bites off the Head of the <HI>Dam</HI> that feeds it. Thus the frozen <HI>Serpent</HI> hi&s;|&s;es and &s;tings him that cheri&s;hes and fo&s;ters it in his <HI>Bo&s;ome. Ingratitude</HI> is a devouring <HI>Mon&s;ter,</HI> which though continually fed, is nothing the fatter. Such is the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.7, 8.</NOTE> <HI>Ground which drinks in the Raine, but brings forth nothing but Briars and Thorns.</HI> This is <HI>near to Cur&s;ing, and its End is to be burnt.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ingratum &s;i dixeris omnia dixeris.</NOTE> Ingratitude is a comprehen&s;ive &s;in, a complicated evil, a brief Abridgement and Compendium of all Vices.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="8" TYPE="character">
<PB N="33" REF="24">
<HEAD>The Eighth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">8. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Scele&s;ti<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vetus Interpr.</NOTE>, Impuri, i. e. quibus nul|lum jus e&s;t nec fas<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza in loc.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> dicitur <GAP DESC="foreign">, quod tum de moribus, tum de dogmatibus Do|ctrinae pote&s;t intelligi<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 8. <HI>Unholy. Wicked men, Impure Per&s;ons, &s;uch who&s;e Lu&s;ts are their Laws, otherwi&s;e making no reckoning of Right or Wrong. The word here u&s;ed notes that which varies from the Divine Standard, that holy Law which is the Rule and Mea&s;ure of that which is Right and Good, whether it be in opinion or Practice.</HI> And indeed when the minde is <HI>corrupted</HI> by <HI>Erroneous Opinions,</HI> we cannot expect a <HI>Con|formity</HI> in the Life to the <HI>Rules of Holine&s;s.</HI> It denotes &s;uch as having quench't every <HI>&s;park of Goodn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e,</HI> and bani&s;h't every <HI>motion of God|line&s;&s;e,</HI> have given them&s;elves over to all <HI>Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e and La&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude v. 4 8.</NOTE>, to commit all manner of wickedne&s;s and <HI>un|cleanne&s;s with Greedine&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 4.19.</NOTE>. Such who though they put a <HI>tincture</HI> of <HI>Holine&s;&s;e</HI> up|on their <HI>Actions,</HI> have no <HI>Truth of Grace</HI> in their <HI>Hearts.</HI> Who draw not the <HI>Lines</HI> of their <HI>Lives</HI> by the <HI>golden Rule</HI> of Gods <HI>Law,</HI> nor <HI>centre</HI> their <HI>thoughts</HI> in his <HI>Glory.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="9" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The ninth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">9. <GAP DESC="foreign"> e&s;t Affectus &s;eu Amor Naturalis, qualis e&s;t Pa|rentum erga Liberos. Hinc <GAP DESC="foreign"> Nomen Patris apud Hebraeos fit ab <GAP DESC="foreign"> Voluit. q. Benevolus di|ctus, a propen&s;&acirc; erga li|beros Voluntate<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Buxt. et alii.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 9. <HI>Without natural Affection. The Word
<PB N="34" REF="25"> denotes the want of &s;uch a Natural affe|ction or love, as is in the hearts of Natural Parents towards their Children.</HI> Hence we e&s;teem and call &s;uch Parents as love not their children, Unna|tural Parents. Such are like to the <HI>O&s;trich,</HI> of which it is &s;aid<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Job 39.16</NOTE>, <HI>She is hardned again&s;t her young ones, as though they were not hers.</HI> But can this <HI>Hardne&s;&s;e</HI> be found in the <HI>Hearts</HI> of the Sonnes and Daughters of <HI>A|dam? Can a woman forget her &s;ucking child, that &s;he &s;hould not have Compa&s;&s;ion on the &s;on of her womb? Yea, they may forget</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49.15</NOTE>. This want of <HI>Natural Affection</HI> is the puni&s;hment of <HI>&V;nnatural Lu&s;ts</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.26, 27, 31.</NOTE>. The <HI>Bruit-bea&s;ts,</HI> by natural In&s;tinct, are very tender over their young. Sinne not onely degrades Man to a <HI>Bea&s;t</HI> (as drunkenne&s;&s;e) but makes him wor&s;e then a <HI>Bruit,</HI> for Unnaturalne&s;&s;e. Such &s;inners de&s;pi&s;e <HI>Grace,</HI> &s;trangle <HI>Nature,</HI> and de&s;troy their own <HI>&s;ouls.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="10" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The tenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">10. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Ne&s;cii Foederis<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>, &s;ine Pace<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE>, Foedifragi<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ca&s;talio.</NOTE>, Irreconcili|abiles<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Scultetus.</NOTE>: Ab &agr; privitiv&acirc;, &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign">, libo, &s;acri|fico.</NOTE> <HI>10.</HI> Truce-break|ers. <HI>Covenant-break|ers,</HI> &s;uch as are alto|gether regardle&s;&s;e of Oaths and Covenants, or who being once
<PB N="35" REF="25"> provok't and become Enemies, are Implacable, Irreconcilable. For the Word is taken from the u&s;e of Sacrifices. <HI>Now</HI> Sacrifices <HI>were u&s;ed by the Heathens to</HI> pacifie <HI>(as they thought) an</HI> angry Deity. <HI>Hence it &s;ig|nifies (as &s;ome render it)</HI> Implacable. <HI>So a cruel and continual War, which admits of no Truce, they call</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Sic. De|mo&s;th. &amp; Ae&s;chin.</NOTE>.</NOTE> An irreconcilable VVarre.</P>
<P>And <HI>Sacrifices</HI> al&s;o were u&s;ed in making of <HI>Truces,</HI> and for the confirmation of <HI>Co|venants.</HI> Hence it &s;ignifies <HI>Truce-breakers</HI> and <HI>Covenant-breakers.</HI> The Per&s;ons there|fore here de&s;crib'd are &s;uch as are <HI>furious</HI> and <HI>implacable</HI> when provok't, <HI>fal&s;e</HI> and <HI>perfidious</HI> when engag'd, though by the mo&s;t &s;acred <HI>Oaths</HI> and <HI>Covenants.</HI> Such in whom there is no <HI>truth</HI> or <HI>tru&s;t;</HI> who of feigned <HI>Friends,</HI> pretended <HI>Lovers,</HI> will &s;oon be|come real <HI>Foes,</HI> profe&s;&s;ed <HI>Enemies.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="11" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The eleventh Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">11. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Calum|niatores<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>. Graecis Phi|lo&s;ophis dicitur <GAP DESC="foreign">: quod cum Satan propri&egrave; po&s;&s;it &amp; faciat, <GAP DESC="foreign"> Grae|cis rect&egrave; dictus e&s;t<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 11. <HI>Fal&s;e-Accu|&s;ers, Slanderers, Ca|lumniators,</HI> Make|bates, <HI>Devils,</HI> as the Greek word im|ports. <HI>And with the Greekes it &s;ignifies &s;uch a one as by rai|&s;ing &s;landerous re|ports
<PB N="36" REF="26"> and fal&s;e accu&s;ations, cannot onely &s;et men at a distance from, and at variance with one another; but al&s;o (which is the Property of the Devil, and from hence among&s;t them he hath his Name) can by this means make ve|ry friends to become deadly Enemies.</HI> The&s;e are the neare&s;t <HI>kin&s;men</HI> to the Prince of darkne&s;&s;e, who is &s;til'd,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 12.20</NOTE> <HI>the Accu&s;er of the Brethr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n. Calumny</HI> is one of the <HI>Ma|&s;ter-Engines</HI> of the Devils Kingdome.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, a traj<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ciendo no|men habet.</NOTE> <HI>Slander hath its Name in Greek from thru&s;ting thorough: Slanders</HI> are tho&s;e<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 120.3</NOTE> <HI>&s;harp Arrows of the Mighty,</HI> which are di&s;charg'd again&s;t the <HI>white of Innocency,</HI> tho&s;e deadly <HI>Darts,</HI> with which, dipt in the <HI>Poy&s;on</HI> of malice and revenge, Wicked men transfix the Names, and &s;ometimes the hearts of the Saints. Of &s;uch doth holy <HI>David</HI> complain<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 35.11, 12.</NOTE>; <HI>Fal&s;e-witne&s;&s;es did ri&s;e up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the &s;poiling of my &s;oul.</HI> By<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 26.59, 60, 61.</NOTE> &s;uch was our Saviours <HI>Name crucified</HI> before his <HI>Body.</HI> This is a kinde of<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Matth. 5.11</NOTE> <HI>Per&s;ecution of the tongue,</HI> under which the Saints have &s;uffer'd in all A|ges. Such are they who fir&s;t take away a mans good <HI>Name</HI> by a <HI>fal&s;e Accu&s;ation,</HI> and then his life by an <HI>unju&s;t &s;entence.</HI> Ju&s;t thus they dealt with Chri&s;t, and then no wonder though Satans Agents practi&s;e the &s;ame. <HI>De|vili&s;h Policy</HI> upon the be&s;t of Chri&s;tians.
<PB N="37" REF="26"> The&s;e are indeed (as the Word imports) <HI>Devils</HI> incarnate, who cannot ta&s;te &s;o much <HI>&s;weetne&s;s</HI> in any thing as in <HI>Innocent Blood.</HI> The Greeks u&s;e the Word<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> to denote Per&s;ons that are <HI>extreamly Imp<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ous,</HI> and e|ven degenerated into the very <HI>di&s;po&s;ition</HI> of the <HI>Devil. Calumnie</HI> bani&s;hes all <HI>Piety</HI> from the brea&s;t wherein it lodges; its daily fea&s;ted with <HI>lies</HI> and <HI>fal&s;hood.</HI> It's a <HI>W<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed</HI> &s;o poy&s;onous, that no whole&s;ome <HI>Herb</HI> will grow upon the &s;ame Ground. In a word, <HI>Slandering is a Satanical &s;in.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="12" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The twelfth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">12. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Incon|tinentes<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE> Intemperan|tes<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>. Qui &s;e audit, &amp; &s;i|bi modum &s;tatuere pote&s;t, &amp; Affectibus impera|re, is dicitur <GAP DESC="foreign">. Hinc Socrates hanc Vir|tutem <GAP DESC="foreign">, e&s;&s;e judicavit. Sunt igitur <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;o|luti in omnem Volupta|tem, proni in omnem Intemperantiam<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 12. <HI>Incontinent.</HI> Such who&s;e &s;en&s;itive Appetite is, without Bit or Bridle, of <HI>Con|tinence</HI> or <HI>Tempe|rance,</HI> impetuou&s;ly carry'd after <HI>&s;en&s;ual delights. He that can command him|&s;elf, and check his inordinate De&s;ires or Inclinations is called Continent. Hence</HI> Socrates <HI>judged this Virtue to be the foundation of all Moral hone&s;ty and goodne&s;&s;e. They therefore are called Incon|tinent, who di&s;&s;olve them&s;elves into &s;en&s;ual Delights, pur&s;uing bruti&s;h plea&s;ures with loo&s;e reines, and &s;eeking in all things
<PB N="38" REF="27"> the &s;atisfaction of their intemperate De res.</HI> They &s;tifle their <HI>Natural Affections,</HI> and yet cannot bridle their <HI>Sen&s;ual Appetite.</HI> Their <HI>intemperance</HI> begets <HI>incontinency,</HI> and the&s;e two, as <HI>the two daughters of the Hor&s;e-Leach, &s;till crying, Give, Give</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 30.15</NOTE>, &s;uck out the <HI>Life-blood</HI> of their &s;ouls. The <HI>lu&s;ts</HI> of the&s;e men, like <HI>fire,</HI> who&s;e rage is but encrea&s;t by <HI>fewel;</HI> the more <HI>Provi&s;ion</HI> they make for them, the more <HI>&s;atisfaction</HI> they &s;tudy to give them, the more do they become <HI>Exce&s;&s;ive</HI> and <HI>In|&s;atiable, Incontinent Per&s;ons</HI> are &s;uch as in the <HI>Pur&s;uit</HI> of carnal <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> cannot contain them&s;elves within the <HI>Bounds</HI> of <HI>Mode|ration.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="13" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The thirteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">13. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Immi|tes<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>, Feri<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vet. &amp; Syr.</NOTE>, Alieni ab omni Humanitate, quales &s;unt ferae<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aretius.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>13.</HI> Fierce, Cruel, &V;nmercifull men. Such as having ba|ni&s;h't all humanity, are degenerated into Bruits through inhu|mane rage and cruelty. Bloody Bea&s;ts <HI>they are, full of</HI> Fiercene&s;&s;e, <HI>Unmercifulne&s;&s;e and</HI> Revenge. <HI>Wicked men are, in Scripture, compared to</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 57.4</NOTE> Lions,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 22.12</NOTE> Bulls, <HI>and</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 28.15</NOTE> Bears, <HI>to</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.16</NOTE> Wolves <HI>and</HI> Dogges<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.2.</NOTE>, <HI>which cruelly devoure the</HI> Sheep <HI>of Chri&s;ts Fold, the</HI> Lambs <HI>of his Flock, and &s;ometimes teare and devoure one another. The&s;e are</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 68.30</NOTE> the People that delight in War. <HI>The&s;e are they
<PB N="39" REF="27"> that (with</HI> Saul<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Act. 9.1.</NOTE>) breath out threatnings and &s;laughter again&s;t the Di&s;ciples of the Lord. The tender Mercies of the wicked are cruel<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 12.10</NOTE>. As a roaring Lion, and a ranging Beare; &s;o is a wicked Ruler over the poor People<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 28.15</NOTE>.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="14" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The fourteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">14. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Mi|nime amantes Bonorum<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>; Sine Benignitate<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vetus Interpr.</NOTE>; Non a mantes Bonos, per Meio|&s;in, O&s;ores Bonorum<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Cornel. &agrave; Lap.</NOTE>; Odio habentes Bona<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Syr. in|terp. Trem.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> e&s;t Hone&s;ta|tis &s;tudio&s;us, boni &amp; pro|bi Ingenii homo. <GAP DESC="foreign">, qui non tam bonos &amp; hone&s;tos, quam ip&s;am hone&s;tatem exo&s;am habet &amp; aver&s;atur<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aret in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 14. <HI>De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are Good. Such as can by no meanes love good men.</HI> The&s;e are not the Objects of their fa|vour or <HI>Bounty.</HI> Yea, <HI>&s;uch as not only do not love them, but hate them.</HI> Yea, &s;uch as are not onely no <HI>Lovers of Good men,</HI> but al&s;o<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diodat.</NOTE> <HI>De&s;pi&s;ers of Goodne&s;&s;e,</HI> as the Word may import. Such as are &s;o farre from being truly good and hone&s;t them|&s;elves, that <HI>they de&s;pi&s;e in their hearts all tho&s;e that are &s;o, and nouri&s;h a &s;ecret hatred of all Goodne&s;&s;e and Hone&s;ty.</HI> But this <HI>ha|tred of Goodne&s;&s;e</HI> principally &s;hews it &s;elf in their <HI>Contempt</HI> of, or <HI>Oppo&s;ition</HI> to, <HI>Good Men.</HI> The <HI>men of the World</HI> do naturally <HI>hate</HI> the <HI>children of God. Chri&s;tians</HI> mu&s;t not expect to be <HI>beloved</HI> by &s;uch as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 15.18</NOTE> <HI>hated
<PB N="40" REF="28"> Chri&s;t.</HI> The <HI>godly</HI> are the great <HI>Eye-&s;ores</HI> of the <HI>wicked.</HI> The <HI>Image of God</HI> en|&s;tampt upon Saints renders them not <HI>ami|able</HI> but abominable to &s;inners. The <HI>E|thiopians</HI> account the <HI>blacke&s;t</HI> complexion to be the <HI>beautifulle&s;t.</HI> The<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.15</NOTE> <HI>Seed of the Woman</HI> is ever hateful to the <HI>Seed of the Serpent.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="15" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The fifteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">15. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Prodi|tores, qui tum fidei, tum fratrum nihil pen&s;i ha|bent, modo ip&s;i &s;int in tuto<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aret. in loc.</NOTE>. Amicitiae De&s;er|tores.</NOTE> 15. <HI>Traitors. Who make no reckoning of Truth and Hon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ty, nor do at all regard their Brethrens wel|fare, &s;o they can but &s;ecure them&s;elves and their own Intere&s;ts. Fal&s;e friends</HI> who <HI>betray</HI> tho&s;e that put mo&s;t <HI>confidence</HI> in them. A wicked man is a <HI>Reed of Egypt,</HI> that pierces his hand that leanes upon it. They pretend <HI>Friend&s;hip,</HI> when they meditate <HI>Revenge,</HI> and proclaim <HI>Peace,</HI> when they prepare for <HI>Warre.</HI> They are &s;uch as will betray their <HI>Prince</HI> for <HI>Mo|ney,</HI> their <HI>Countrey</HI> for <HI>Reward,</HI> and the <HI>Cau&s;e of Chri&s;t</HI> for &s;ome private <HI>Gain,</HI> &s;ome &s;ecular <HI>Advantage.</HI> Thus <HI>Judas</HI> betray'd his Lord and Ma&s;ter<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mar. 27.3, 4.</NOTE> <HI>for thirty pieces of &s;ilver,</HI> whereby he ju&s;tly merited that ignomi|nious Name,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Luk. 6.16.</NOTE> <HI>the Traitor,</HI> which &s;hall per|petuate the <HI>&s;hame</HI> and infamy of &s;o foule
<PB N="41" REF="28"> a &s;in throughout all ages. Two &s;orts of men there are which are hated and abhor'd of all men, as well of the <HI>Bad</HI> as of the <HI>Good;</HI> a <HI>King</HI> that is a <HI>Tyrant,</HI> and a <HI>Subject</HI> that is a <HI>Traitor.</HI> Such bring nothing but <HI>mi&s;|chiefs</HI> to <HI>Common-wealths on Earth,</HI> and can expect nothing but <HI>Exclu&s;ion</HI> from the <HI>Kingdom of Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Such a <HI>Traitor</HI> (to illu&s;trate this by one in|&s;tance) was that fal&s;e and bloody <HI>Tryphon,</HI> of whom we read in the <HI>Maccabean Story:</HI> Who taking upon him the <HI>Protection</HI> of <HI>Antiochus,</HI> pretended to act for his <HI>e&s;ta|bli&s;hment</HI> in his <HI>Kingdome,</HI> u&s;urpt by <HI>Deme|trius,</HI> and &s;haken with <HI>Civil Commotions.</HI> And in this undertaking he became <HI>&s;trange|ly &s;ucce&s;sfull,</HI> carrying on the matter under <HI>plau&s;ible pretences</HI> of <HI>Loyalty</HI> to his <HI>Soveraign,</HI> whom, having puni&s;h't the <HI>In&s;olencies</HI> of his <HI>Subjects,</HI> he pretended (doubtle&s;&s;e to the <HI>joy</HI> of many <HI>deceived,</HI> but <HI>well-meaning</HI> Hearts) he would make a <HI>glorious Prince.</HI> But behold an <HI>execrable De&s;igne</HI> conceived, and &s;oone after a <HI>cur&s;ed Paricide</HI> committed in the <HI>Execution</HI> of it. Behold the <HI>Face</HI> of pretended <HI>Loyalty</HI> covered with a <HI>Scarlet|blu&s;h,</HI> and her fal&s;e <HI>Beauty</HI> &s;tain'd with the guilt of <HI>innocent blood!</HI> For (&s;ays the &s;tory)</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> &dagger;.</NOTE><HI>Tryphon</HI> &s;ought to advance him&s;elfe to the Kingdome of <HI>A|&s;ia,</HI> and by &s;tretching his hand out again&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.
<PB N="42" REF="29"> <HI>Antiochus</HI> the King, to bring it back with the Royal Diadem to his own head<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Macc. 12.39.</NOTE>. <HI>And his</HI> bloody enterpri&s;e <HI>failed not of a</HI> &s;peedy execution. <HI>For its &s;aid of him a while after,</HI></P>
<P>Now <HI>Tryphon</HI> ha|ving taken the young King <HI>Antiochus</HI> in the &s;nares of Deceit, pre&s;ently put him to Death, and u&s;urpt his Kingdome, and &s;o by &s;etting the Crown up|on &s;o cur&s;ed a Head, he became the cau&s;e of no &s;mall calamity upon the whole Land<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Mac. 13.31, 32.</NOTE>. <HI>Thus a</HI> Traitor <HI>is a</HI> Publick Plague, <HI>and</HI> the proper Parent of pe|rillous Times.</P>
<P>But &s;eldome hath the <HI>Righteous God</HI> &s;uf|fer'd &s;uch <HI>Trea&s;ons</HI> and <HI>Parricides</HI> to e&s;cape <HI>Puni&s;hment.</HI> We read of a wicked <HI>Trea&s;on,</HI> and a cur&s;ed <HI>Parricide</HI> which the <HI>Servants</HI> of <HI>Joa&s;h,</HI> the <HI>King</HI> of <HI>Judah,</HI> committed upon him, <HI>pretending</HI> for the <HI>ju&s;tification</HI> of &s;o horrid a <HI>murther,</HI> his <HI>guilt of Inno|cent blood</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 24, 25.</NOTE>, that &s;o a cruel piece of <HI>private Revenge</HI> might put on &s;ome appearance of an <HI>Act of Ju&s;tice.</HI> But God <HI>chasti&s;'d</HI> that <HI>bloody Crime</HI> by the hand of <HI>Amaziah,</HI> his &s;onne, who reigned in his &s;tead. For (&s;ayes the Scripture<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 25.3.</NOTE>) <HI>It came to pa&s;&s;e when the King|dome was establi&s;hed to him, that he &s;lew his &s;ervants that had killed the King his Father.</HI> We have another memorable <HI>Example</HI> in
<PB N="43" REF="29"> the <HI>Holy Scripture,</HI> of the <HI>Execution</HI> of <HI>Judgement</HI> upon <HI>Traitors,</HI> wherein we have <HI>many hands</HI> lifted up for the bringing down the <HI>&s;troke</HI> of <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> with the greater &s;trength. 'Twas upon <HI>Amon, King</HI> of <HI>Judah,</HI> that this <HI>Trea&s;on</HI> and <HI>Murder</HI> was committed by his own <HI>Subjects.</HI> For (it's &s;aid<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 33.24.</NOTE>) <HI>His &s;ervants con&s;pired again&s;t him, and &s;lew him in his own Hou&s;e.</HI> Ba&s;e <HI>Rebels!</HI> Mu&s;t the <HI>Royal Palace</HI> be the &s;tage of your <HI>Princes Ruine</HI> by your wicked <HI>Parricide?</HI> Bloody <HI>Butchers!</HI> Mu&s;t the <HI>Royal Palace</HI> become the <HI>Slaugh|ter-hou&s;e</HI> of your <HI>Sovereigne?</HI> But what fol|low'd? Had this <HI>King</HI> no <HI>Loyal Subjects</HI> in the Land that would dare to <HI>ri&s;e up</HI> for the <HI>Revenge</HI> of his <HI>Murther</HI> upon the&s;e wicked <HI>Traitors,</HI> that the <HI>Throne</HI> of his <HI>Son</HI> might be e&s;tabli&s;hed with the more &s;ecurity? Yes, he had. For (it's &s;aid<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">ver. 25.</NOTE>) <HI>the People of the Land &s;lew all them that had con&s;pired a|gain&s;t</HI> King Amon, <HI>and the People of the Land made</HI> Jo&s;iah <HI>his &s;onne King in his &s;tead.</HI> And hereupon, there is none &s;o ig|norant of the <HI>&s;acred &s;tory,</HI> but he knows how <HI>happy</HI> the <HI>Land</HI> was under the <HI>Government</HI> of the <HI>Good King Jo&s;iah.</HI> So for the <HI>Traitor Judas,</HI> we all know he came to a <HI>mi&s;era|ble End</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 27.5 with Acts 1.18.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee <HI>Traitors</HI> are <HI>pernicious Per|&s;ons,</HI> who make the <HI>Times perillous;</HI> but they &s;hall not carry their <HI>Trea&s;ons</HI> out with <HI>Impunity,</HI> nor for ever e&s;cape Gods <HI>righteous Judgements.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="16" TYPE="character">
<PB N="44" REF="30">
<HEAD>The &s;ixteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">16. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Pro|tervi<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE>, Praecipites<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bez. Syr.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> dicitur teme|rarius, incon&s;ideratus, &s;um|pta Metaphora ab Avium pullis, qui implumes dum volare conantur, humi de|cidunt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aretius.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>16.</HI> Heady. Such as are incon&s;iderate in their undertakings; froward, ra&s;h, and o|ver-forward in their Attempts and Act|ings. Who (like birds that will adventure to flie before they are fledg'd) run head-long upon de&s;perate de&s;ignes, <HI>whereby they often</HI> hazard <HI>both their own and others</HI> Ruine. <HI>The&s;e are &s;till</HI> running forward, <HI>when they hardly know whither they go, nor what will follow. They are &s;uch</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui non vident <GAP DESC="foreign">,</NOTE> Who look not both forward and back|ward, both before and behinde, <HI>as a Wi&s;e and Prudent man will do, before he undertakes any weighty</HI> VVork, <HI>or attempts any great</HI> De&s;igne. <HI>For,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 2.14</NOTE> The wi&s;e mans Eyes are in his Head, but the Fool walketh in Darkne&s;&s;e. <HI>'Tis good coun&s;el, that of the</HI> Poet<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pythag. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Con&s;ult before thou enterprize. He that failes in this Point of VVi&s;dome, &s;hall &s;oon &s;ee a proof of his own Folly. <HI>Wi&s;e</HI> Coun|&s;el <HI>is the</HI> &s;oul <HI>and</HI> &s;trength <HI>of great under|takings. For (&s;ays that Oracle of Wi&s;dome)</HI>
<PB N="45" REF="30"> Without Coun&s;el, purpo&s;es are di&s;appointed<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 19.22</NOTE>; <HI>but</HI> every purpo&s;e is e&s;tabli&s;hed by coun&s;el<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 20.18</NOTE>. <HI>And therefore, &s;ayes he,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 24.5, 6.</NOTE> A wi&s;e man is &s;trong, yea, a man of knowledge encrea&s;eth &s;trength. For by wi&s;e Coun&s;el thou &s;halt make thy War: and in multitude of Coun&s;ellors there is &s;afety. <HI>But now on the other &s;ide,</HI> incon|&s;ideratene&s;&s;e <HI>leads to</HI> Confu&s;ion, <HI>and</HI> Ra&s;hne&s;s <HI>is the fore-runner of</HI> Ruine.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="17" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The &s;eventeenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">17. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Tu|midi<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE>, Inflati<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> animi e&s;t Tumor &amp; Arrogantia prae &s;e alios contemnentis, dum homi|nes amore &amp; &s;tudio &s;ui occupati &s;unt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aretius in locum.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> non modo inflatum, &s;ed in Genere dementatum &amp; fanaticum &s;ignifi|cat<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Victorin. Strigel. in N.T.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 17. <HI>High-minded.</HI> Such as are <HI>puft</HI> up with <HI>pride,</HI> and even <HI>&s;well'd,</HI> like <HI>Toades</HI> with <HI>Poy&s;on. This High-mindedne&s;&s;e is that Pride of Spirit, and Arrogancy of an a&s;piring Minde, whereby men do con|temn all others in Compari&s;on of them&s;elves, and centre all their Affections and Endeavours in them&s;elves, being wholly taken up and bu|&s;ied about their own private and per&s;onal Con|cernments. The</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Word imports &s;uch a lift|ing up of the Minde as unhinges Rea&s;on, and opens a wide door to folly and madne&s;&s;e to enter in.</HI> So 'tis u&s;ed by <HI>Phy&s;icians</HI> to &s;ignifie <HI>Madne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Phrenetick Di&s;tempers. High-mindedne&s;s</HI> is a kind of &s;piritual <HI>Phren&s;y</HI>
<PB N="46" REF="31"> and <HI>Madne&s;&s;e</HI> of the Minde. Ambition, Pride, and Self-love are the Ingredients of this <HI>&s;trong Drink</HI> which &s;trangely <HI>intoxicates</HI> the minde of man, and if it be but mixt with &s;ome drams of <HI>Popular Applau&s;e</HI> and worldly Glory, it ordinarily produces this <HI>Spiritual,</HI> (or if you will, <HI>Moral) Mad|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> That famous Mutini&s;t, <HI>Ma&s;ianello</HI> of <HI>Naples,</HI> was not able to bear the <HI>new wine</HI> of his di&s;proportion'd worldly <HI>Greatne&s;&s;e.</HI> What <HI>Phren&s;y,</HI> what <HI>Fury</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;t the minds of <HI>Haman,</HI> of <HI>Herod,</HI> when they had drunk deep of the Worlds <HI>Golden Cup</HI> of Glory! The one would &s;acrifice many thou&s;and Lives to his <HI>Revenge</HI> for want of the bowing of one mans <HI>knee</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">E&s;ther, chap. 3.</NOTE>; the other (to outvy him in the de&s;perate <HI>Madne&s;&s;e</HI> of an audacious enterprize) would plant his Engines higher, and attempt <HI>to kill God him&s;elf,</HI> to mur|der <HI>God incarnate</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Matth. chap. 2.</NOTE>. Man's <HI>head</HI> cannot beare too great heights, but its pre&s;ently fill'd with <HI>giddine&s;s,</HI> and prone to <HI>Precipi|tation.</HI> A &s;mall <HI>&s;hip</HI> is &s;oon overturn'd by the windes when it carries too great a <HI>Saile.</HI> 'Tis then an excellent admonition, that of the Apo&s;tle<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.20</NOTE>;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Be not High-minded, but Fear.</HI></P>
<P>High-minded men are u&s;ually very <HI>Pu&s;illani|mous,</HI> and low-&s;pirited in the mo&s;t <HI>Noble un|dertakings.</HI> They are but empty <HI>Bladders</HI> that are thus &s;well'd with the <HI>Wind</HI> of vanity.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="18" TYPE="character">
<PB N="47" REF="31">
<HEAD>The eighteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">18. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Elegans e&s;t <GAP DESC="foreign">. Volupta|tum amantes potius quam amantes Dei<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 18. <HI>Lovers of Plea|&s;ures more then Lo|vers of God.</HI> They with the bu&s;ie <HI>Wa&s;p</HI> (that little <HI>Epicure</HI>) are more taken with the <HI>&s;weetne&s;&s;e of honey,</HI> then with the <HI>Royal Eagle</HI> (that Embleme of <HI>Noblene&s;&s;e</HI>) with the <HI>Brightne&s;&s;e</HI> of the <HI>Sun.</HI> God is the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Summum Bonum.</NOTE> <HI>Chiefe&s;t Good,</HI> the mo&s;t <HI>Amiable</HI> Object to an <HI>Intellectual Eye,</HI> and yet more <HI>Amiable</HI> to a <HI>Spiritual Eye,</HI> as he di&s;clo&s;es his <HI>Beauties</HI> in the <HI>Face</HI> of <HI>Chri&s;t. Sen&s;ual Plea&s;ure</HI> is a &s;oon vani&s;hing <HI>&s;mile,</HI> a <HI>tickling</HI> of the <HI>Sen&s;es,</HI> cau&s;ing<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 7.6</NOTE> <HI>the Laughter of Fools.</HI> What Fools are tho&s;e that prefer a vani&s;hing <HI>&s;hadow</HI> before a ne|ver fading <HI>Beauty!</HI> And be&s;ides, the&s;e tran|&s;itory <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> thus inordinately pur&s;u'd, end in eternal <HI>Paines.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Momentaneum quod de|lectat, Aeternum quod cruciat.</NOTE> <HI>The Delight of an Epicure</HI> (like the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job 20.5</NOTE> <HI>joy of an hypocrite) is but for a moment, but his torment is everla&s;ting.</HI> And yet do the&s;e fooli&s;h <HI>Epicureans love their plea&s;ures more then God,</HI> as appears in this, that they for&s;ake God to follow their plea&s;ures, and while they are taken up with the entertain|ment of their plea&s;ures, <HI>they &s;ay to God de|part from us, we care not for the knowledge
<PB N="48" REF="32"> of thy Wayes</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Job 21.10, 11.</NOTE>. Such are they of whom the Prophet &s;peaks<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Amos 6.4, 5, 6.</NOTE>, <HI>That lie upon Beds of I|vory, and &s;tretch them&s;elves upon their couches, and eat the Lambs out of the Flock, and the calves out of the mid&s;t of the Stall. That chant to the &s;ound of the Vial, and in|vent to them&s;elves In&s;truments of Mu&s;ick, like</HI> David, <HI>That drink Wine in Bowles, and anoint them&s;elves with the chief oyntments: but they are not grieved for the Affliction of Jo&s;eph.</HI> They bani&s;h <HI>&s;orrow</HI> from their hearts, and &s;ink in <HI>downy Delights.</HI> They regard not the <HI>State of the Church,</HI> nor care for the <HI>Commands</HI> of <HI>God.</HI> They live in a <HI>Paradi&s;e</HI> of <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> and &s;o pa&s;s into a <HI>Purgatory</HI> of <HI>Paines;</HI> a place where their Flowers are all faded, and where that <HI>Fire</HI> is kindled which &s;hall burne for ever. Thus the Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI> reproves the <HI>Rich men</HI> of his Dayes, who were great <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ors</HI> of the Poore<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jam 5.1, 4, 5</NOTE>. <HI>Ye have lived in Plea&s;ure</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>on the earth, and been wanton: ye have nouri&s;ht your hearts, as in a Day of &s;laughter.</HI> The words in the Orignal are more Elegant and Emphatical.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Ye have been luxu|rious and la&s;civi|ous.</HI></P>
<P>But what's the end of the&s;e irreligious and wanton <HI>Epicures?</HI> They are but <HI>fatted</HI> with the &s;wine to the <HI>&s;laughter.</HI> A <HI>Vo|luptuous</HI> man cannot be a <HI>Virtuous</HI> man. <HI>Vertue</HI> can finde no <HI>Place,</HI> much le&s;&s;e
<PB N="49" REF="32"> hope for <HI>Preferment</HI> in the <HI>Kingdom of Plea|&s;ure.</HI> In the <HI>Deluge of Plea&s;ure,</HI> the <HI>Dove of Piety</HI> can finde no place where to &s;et the <HI>&s;ole of her Foot.</HI> But <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> will take place where <HI>Piety</HI> can finde none.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="19" TYPE="character">
<HEAD>The nineteenth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">19. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Habentes &s;peciem quidem Pietatis, Virtu|tem autem ejus abnegan|tes<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE>. Vel habentes For|mam Pietatis, &s;ed qui Vim ejus abnegarint<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>. Vel, quibus e&s;t &s;pecies Reverentiae Dei, &amp; a Virtute Dei longe di&s;ce|dunt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Syr. In|terp. Trem.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> au|tem &s;ignificat inane Pi|etatis &s;imulacrum<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bez. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE> 19. <HI>Having a form of godline&s;&s;e, but de|nying the power there|of.</HI> The&s;e are <HI>Hy|pocritical Profe&s;&s;ours of Religion,</HI> who make a faire <HI>&s;hew outwardly,</HI> but there's no <HI>&s;ub&s;tance,</HI> there's nothing but <HI>Empty|ne&s;&s;e</HI> within. They &s;et up an <HI>Image of godline&s;s</HI> which was never <HI>enlivened with Grace.</HI> They make a <HI>&s;hew of Devotion,</HI> without any <HI>Truth of Affection.</HI> They have an <HI>outward Forme,</HI> but they want that <HI>inward F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rvour,</HI> which &s;hould give <HI>Life</HI> and <HI>Heate</HI> to all their ex|erci&s;es of Religion and godline&s;&s;e. The<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> Word here u&s;ed, &s;ignifies not an <HI>E&s;&s;ential</HI> but an <HI>Accidental</HI> form, the <HI>Vi&s;or</HI> or <HI>Mask,</HI> not the <HI>Beauty</HI> or <HI>Lineaments</HI> of true godline&s;&s;e. They weare <HI>Chri&s;ts Livery,</HI> but never learn that <HI>Le&s;&s;on,</HI> which he taught his <HI>Di&s;ci|ples</HI>
<PB N="50" REF="33">
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.38 Luk. 9.23.</NOTE>; <HI>To deny them&s;elves, to take up their Cro&s;&s;e and follow Christ.</HI> They are like tho&s;e that weare anothers <HI>Picture,</HI> when they care not for his <HI>Per&s;on.</HI> They con|tent them&s;elves with the <HI>&s;hell of Religion</HI> without the <HI>Kernel,</HI> the <HI>&s;hadow</HI> without the <HI>Substance,</HI> the <HI>forme</HI> without the <HI>Power. They deny the power of godline&s;&s;e,</HI> that is, they are utterly <HI>void</HI> of it, altogether <HI>&s;tran|gers</HI> to it. They neither feel nor exerci&s;e the <HI>Vigour</HI> and <HI>Life</HI> of true Godline&s;&s;e, &s;o|lid Chri&s;tianity. They do not experiment the <HI>Efficacy</HI> of it upon their <HI>Hearts,</HI> nor expre&s;&s;e the <HI>Beauty</HI> of it in their <HI>Lives.</HI> They are <HI>acquainted,</HI> it may be, with the <HI>Letter,</HI> but <HI>&s;trangers</HI> to the <HI>Spirit</HI> of the Go&s;pel. They are as &s;o many <HI>Bull-ru&s;hes</HI> growing in the waters of the Sanctuary, <HI>&s;mooth</HI> without, but <HI>&s;pungy</HI> and non-&s;ub&s;tan|tial within. Their Religion is but a <HI>Body</HI> without a <HI>Soul,</HI> a <HI>Cage</HI> without a <HI>Bird,</HI> a painted <HI>Cabinet</HI> without the <HI>Jewel,</HI> a very <HI>Picture</HI> without <HI>Life,</HI> &s;trength or motion. They are in a word no better then <HI>painted Pageants of pretended Piety.</HI></P>
<P>To compleat the number of the&s;e Cha|racters we &s;hall draw one more from the thirteenth Ver&s;e of this Chapter, where the&s;e <HI>Per&s;ons</HI> before &s;o largely de&s;crib'd by their &s;everal <HI>Properties</HI> are further cal|led,</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="20" TYPE="character">
<PB N="51" REF="33">
<HEAD>The twentieth Character.</HEAD>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>20. <GAP DESC="foreign">. Mali homines &amp; &s;eductores<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vetus.</NOTE>; Vel, Im|probi homines &amp; Impo|&s;tores<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"> dictus &s;ignificat aliquid amplius quam <GAP DESC="foreign">, nempe eum qui &s;it in om|ni &s;celere exercitatus, &amp; ad injuriam cuivis infe|rendam totus compara|tus<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Bez. in Mat. 5.37.</NOTE>. <GAP DESC="foreign"> e&s;t homo de indu|&s;tria malus, malignus, &amp; ad male agendum exerci|tatus<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cornel. a Lap.</NOTE>. Diabolus per quandam Antonoma&s;iam vocatur <GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Dru&s;. Ob&s;. Sac. l. 13. c. 16.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"> Prae&s;tigiatorem, &s;eu Pre&s;tigiis, Incantatio|ne &amp; Impo&s;turis fallen|tem, apud Veteres<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Platonem &s;c. Herodot. &amp; Alios.</NOTE> Grae|cos, &s;ignificat.</P></NOTE> 20. <HI>Evil men and Seducers. Sinne</HI> and <HI>Seduction</HI> go hand in hand together. The&s;e two fitly <HI>concur</HI> to make up one <HI>Cha|racter</HI> of a wicked man. The greater <HI>&s;inner</HI> a man is, the &s;ooner will he be|come a <HI>Seducer.</HI> The greater the <HI>&s;inner,</HI> the nearer to <HI>Satan,</HI> the nearer to <HI>Satan</HI> the &s;ooner a <HI>Sedu|cer.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Now they are cal|led evil men from their &s;etting them|&s;elves to work wick|edne&s;&s;e;</HI> &s;o the word imports. Hence they are el&s;ewhere called<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.8. Mat. 7.23.</NOTE> <HI>Workers of iniquity. They are &s;uch as are de&s;perately &amp; determinately wicked, thorough|ly exerci&s;ed in wicked works.</HI> They are &s;uch as <HI>trouble</HI> and <HI>vex</HI> the truly godly by their wickedne&s;&s;e. They are &s;uch as be|ing <HI>made up of mi&s;chief,</HI> do make a <HI>Trade,</HI> yea, a <HI>Sport</HI> of &s;in. <HI>It is</HI> (&s;aith the Wi&s;e man<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 10.23</NOTE>) <HI>a &s;port to a Foole to do mi&s;chief.</HI>
<PB N="52" REF="34"> Hence is the <HI>Devil</HI> (who&s;e onely <HI>Delight</HI> is in &s;in and Mi&s;chief) &s;ometimes in Scri|pture called by this very Name<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.19. 1 Joh. 2.13. and 5.18.</NOTE>, <HI>The wick|ed One.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Seducers</HI> are here &s;o called from their <HI>&s;ubtile Impostures, flattering Illu&s;ions, and</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.14</NOTE> <HI>cun|ning craftine&s;&s;e to deceive,</HI> according to the Import of the word here u&s;ed. They have &s;omething of the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 3.1. Rev. 12.9.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ubtilty of the old Serpent,</HI> who&s;e <HI>&s;eed</HI> and <HI>&s;pawn</HI> they are. The word &s;ignifies al&s;o <HI>a Delu&s;ion by means of Witch|craft or Incantation. Seducers</HI> are a kinde of <HI>Sorcerers,</HI> and <HI>Seduction</HI> is a kinde of <HI>&s;pi|ritual Witchcraft</HI> and Inchantment. <HI>O foo|li&s;h Galatians</HI> (&s;ayes the Apo&s;tle<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gal. 3, 1.</NOTE>) <HI>who hath bewitched you that you &s;hould not obey the Truth, before who&s;e Eyes</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t <HI>hath been evidently &s;et forth, crucifi'd among you!</HI> The&s;e are they that draw men off from the <HI>Waies of Truth,</HI> into the <HI>By-paths of Errour,</HI> that lead to De&s;truction.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 6.</NOTE> <HI>The&s;e are they which creep into hou&s;es, and leade captive &s;illy women laden with &s;innes, led a|way with diver&s;e Lu&s;ts.</HI> The&s;e are they which u&s;ing a kinde of <HI>&s;piritual &s;orcery do</HI> (with <HI>Simon Magus</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Act. 8.9, 10, 11.</NOTE>) <HI>bewitch the Peo|ple,</HI> who being taken with their <HI>Delu&s;ions</HI> are ready to cry out, <HI>The&s;e men are the great Power of God.</HI> Thus they carry, as it were, in one hand a <HI>flaming light,</HI> and in the other an <HI>impoy&s;on'd Cup;</HI> and &s;o the multitudes that follow them for the one, hey cau&s;e to drink of the other; which
<PB N="53" REF="34"> cau&s;ing a <HI>&s;piritual drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI> carries them headlong to <HI>Eternal De&s;truction.</HI> For,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.10, 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>Be|cau&s;e they received not the Love of the Truth, that they might be &s;aved, even for this cau&s;e doth God &s;end them &s;trong Delu&s;ion (the E|nergie of Error</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>) <HI>that they &s;hould believe a lie, that they all might be damned, who be|lieved not the Truth, but had plea&s;ure in un|righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e are the <HI>Foxes</HI> to which Satan hath ty'd his <HI>Fire-brands,</HI> which if not &s;peedily apprehended and &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, will &s;oon <HI>&s;et all in a flame,</HI> and cau&s;e a fearful <HI>combu&s;ti|on</HI> both in <HI>Church</HI> and <HI>State.</HI> When the&s;e <HI>fiery Comets</HI> do appear, they u&s;ually por|tend <HI>great changes</HI> in the <HI>Common-wealth,</HI> and great <HI>Calamities</HI> to the <HI>Church</HI> of God. The&s;e therefore we may well look upon as the <HI>Me&s;&s;engers</HI> of evil <HI>Tidings,</HI> and the <HI>Marks</HI> of <HI>perillous Times.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een the per&s;ons decipher'd by their &s;everal <HI>Characters</HI> which make the <HI>Times perillous.</HI> Now by a &s;erious &s;urvey, and a deliberate con&s;ideration hereof, every &s;oberly wi&s;e Chri&s;tian may ea&s;ily di&s;cerne when the&s;e <HI>Dayes</HI> are come which the Scri|pture hath foretold &s;hall be <HI>perillous Times,</HI> e&s;pecially if <HI>the State of things</HI> al&s;o be but duly con&s;idered when &s;uch per&s;ons as the&s;e do abound.</P>
<P>From the <HI>Characters</HI> therefore of <HI>men,</HI> and the Con&s;ideration of <HI>the &s;tate of things,</HI> we may drawe the <HI>Scripture-Symptomes</HI>
<PB N="54" REF="35"> of <HI>Perillous Times;</HI> and &s;uch are the&s;e that follow.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="symptoms">
<HEAD>The <HI>SYMPTOMES</HI> of Perillous Times.</HEAD>
<DIV3 N="1" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Symptome. <HI>Prevalency of Impiety.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="I"> THey are <HI>Perillous Times,</HI> Dayes of great Danger, <HI>When tho&s;e impieties do exceedingly abound, which are high Provo|cations of Gods Anger.</HI></P>
<P>This is a <HI>Conclu&s;ion</HI> which may be clearly drawn from all the forementioned <HI>Characters.</HI> When tho&s;e <HI>&s;ins</HI> are daily mul|tiply'd again&s;t God, whereby God is pro|voked to execute his <HI>Judgements</HI> upon men. When <HI>Sin</HI> and <HI>Wickedne&s;&s;e</HI> abounds among&s;t a people profe&s;&s;ing true <HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>God|line&s;&s;e.</HI> Thus our Saviour &s;peaking of the <HI>la&s;t Dayes,</HI> wherein the&s;e <HI>Perillous Times</HI> &s;hould be, tells us that then <HI>Iniquity &s;hould abound</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.12</NOTE>. They were <HI>evil Dayes, perillous Times</HI> with the <HI>People of I&s;rael,</HI> when their prevailing <HI>Impieties</HI> brought down prevai|ling <HI>Judgements.</HI> When the <HI>Land is pollu|ted</HI> with <HI>&s;in,</HI> it's time it &s;hould be <HI>purged</HI> with <HI>Judgement.</HI> When <HI>the iniquity of the
<PB N="55" REF="35"> Amorites was full</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 15.16</NOTE>, God cut them off, and planted the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> in their land. When the <HI>&s;ins of Sodom</HI> were come to their <HI>height</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 18.20</NOTE>, <HI>Fire and Brim&s;tone</HI> was rained down upon them from <HI>heaven</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 19.24</NOTE>. When the <HI>Jews</HI> had fill'd <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> with their ma|nifold <HI>&s;ins,</HI> and multiply'd <HI>Abominations,</HI> God cau&s;ed them to be <HI>carry'd</HI> away <HI>Cap|tives</HI> to <HI>Babylon</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Jer. Chap. 5. to 16</NOTE>. When men <HI>draw iniqui|ty with Cords of Vanity, and &s;in as it were with a Cart-rope</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.18</NOTE>, they do but <HI>pluck</HI> down <HI>Judgements</HI> upon their own Heads. <HI>Crying-&s;ins</HI> are wont to bring down <HI>cutting Judge|ments.</HI> VVhen the Field is overgrowne with <HI>Thornes,</HI> its time to &s;et it on <HI>Fire.</HI> Mens <HI>&s;ins</HI> are but <HI>Fewel</HI> to the <HI>Fire</HI> of Gods <HI>Judgements.</HI> The <HI>Seed</HI> of <HI>&s;in</HI> brings forth the <HI>Fruit</HI> of <HI>Death;</HI> 'Tis &s;o in a <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> 'tis &s;o in a <HI>Nation.</HI> This <HI>Ob&s;ervation</HI> is very often verifi'd by &s;ad <HI>Experience. Even as I have &s;een</HI> (&s;aies <HI>Eliphaz</HI> in <HI>Job</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chap. 4. v. 8, 9.</NOTE>) <HI>They that plow iniquity, and &s;owe wickedne&s;&s;e reap the &s;ame.</HI> The <HI>thornes</HI> of <HI>tribulation</HI> grow up from the <HI>&s;eeds</HI> of <HI>&s;in.</HI> Though &s;in at the fir&s;t bear a <HI>&s;weet Flower,</HI> it at length grows up to a <HI>&s;harp Thorne.</HI> VVhen a whole land is <HI>&s;ow'n</HI> with <HI>wickedne&s;&s;e,</HI> what can we ex|pect the <HI>Harve&s;t-Time</HI> to be, but <HI>a Day of De&s;truction?</HI> VVhen the <HI>Harve&s;t</HI> of &s;inne is ripe, God &s;ends forth an <HI>Angel with a &s;harp Sickle to reap the Earth</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 14.14, 15.</NOTE>. When the Lord of the whole earth hath <HI>fenc't a Land about for a Vine-yard to him&s;elf, and gather'd
<PB N="56" REF="36"> out the &s;tones thereof, and planted it with the choice&s;t Vine, and built a Tower in the mid&s;t of it, and al&s;o made a Wine-pre&s;&s;e therein; and yet</HI> (notwith&s;tanding all this co&s;t and care) when God expects it &s;hould <HI>bring forth Grapes, it &s;hall bring forth wilde Grapes</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;a. 5.2.</NOTE>, <HI>what</HI> do you think, <HI>will he do to this Vine-yard?</HI> Let God him&s;elf tell you, who is as <HI>True</HI> in his <HI>Threatnings,</HI> as <HI>Ju&s;t</HI> in his <HI>Iudgements. Go to now</HI> (&s;aith the LORD<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.5, 6</NOTE>) <HI>I will tell you what I will do to my Vine-yard; I will take away the hedge thereof, and it &s;hall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it &s;hall be troden down: And I will lay it wa&s;t; It &s;hall not be pruned, nor digged, but there &s;hall come up Briars and Thornes: I will al&s;o command the clouds that they raine no raine upon it.</HI> Thus will God &s;u&s;pend his mercies from an unthankful <HI>People,</HI> and inflict his <HI>Iudge|ments</HI> upon a &s;inful <HI>Nation.</HI> Yea further, God will at length &s;end his <HI>Angel</HI> with a <HI>&s;harp &s;ickle,</HI> to gather the <HI>Clusters of the&s;e wilde Grapes.</HI> So &s;hall they be <HI>ca&s;t into the great Wine-pre&s;se of the wrath of God.</HI> So is his dealing with &s;inners Prophetically re|pre&s;ented to us in the Holy Scriptures<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 14, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">8, 19.</NOTE>, when they have filled the earth with the <HI>cur&s;ed Fruits</HI> of &s;inne. And upon the ex|ecution of this <HI>&s;entence</HI> what follows? <HI>And</HI> (&s;ayes the Scripture<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 14.20</NOTE>) <HI>the Wine-pre&s;&s;e was troden without the City, and Blood came out of the Wine-pre&s;&s;e, even unto the Hor&s;e-bridles,
<PB N="57" REF="36"> by the &s;pace of a thou&s;and and &s;ix hundred Furlongs.</HI> Thus when a land is polluted with <HI>over-flowings of &s;in,</HI> it may &s;oon be pu|ni&s;hed with a <HI>Deluge of Blood. The Times are ever perillous during the Reigne of &s;inne.</HI></P>
<P>But for the further opening of this fir&s;t Propo&s;ition, I &s;hall do the&s;e two things;
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Shew <HI>what tho&s;e &s;pecial &s;ins are, which are Signs of Perillous Times.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Con&s;ider <HI>the ca&s;es wherein &s;uch &s;innes have, in a &s;pecial manner, this Sympto|matical &s;ignificancy.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></P>
<DIV4 N="1" TYPE="enquiry">
<HEAD><HI>The fir&s;t Enquiry.</HI> What &s;pecial &s;ins make perillous Times.</HEAD>
<P>FOr the Di&s;covery of this, <HI>What &s;ins they are that &s;peak the</HI> Times <HI>to be</HI> Peril|lous, I &s;hall not pre&s;ume to make a <HI>Par|ticular enumeration</HI> of all tho&s;e &s;innes which are <HI>Symptomes of evil Times,</HI> or &s;ignes of approaching <HI>Judgements;</HI> (This would be a <HI>task</HI> perhaps too <HI>difficult,</HI> and occa&s;ion a <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e</HI> too <HI>tedious</HI>) But onely in&s;tance in &s;ome of tho&s;e <HI>&s;pecial &s;innes,</HI> which I find in the holy Scriptures, have been the pro|curing <HI>cau&s;es</HI> of tho&s;e <HI>Calamities,</HI> which have
<PB N="58" REF="37"> made the <HI>Times Perillous</HI> to Gods people. Several other &s;ins, which have plentifully poured out the &s;ame <HI>malignant influence,</HI> upon the Places and people under their <HI>Re|gency and dominion,</HI> we &s;hall have occa&s;ion to &s;peak of in the following <HI>Symptomes.</HI> For the pre&s;ent then take we notice of the&s;e &s;ub&s;equent <HI>&s;ins</HI> as &s;ad <HI>Symptomes and Pre&s;a|ges of Perillous Times; viz.</HI></P>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="sin">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Sin. <HI>Athei&s;me and Irreligion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe <HI>Times</HI> are evil and <HI>perillous, When Athei&s;me and Irreligion abounds.</HI> When there is <HI>no</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.1.</NOTE> <HI>knowledge nor</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.18</NOTE> <HI>feare of God</HI> to be found in multitudes of People, e&s;pecially where the <HI>Preaching of the Word,</HI> and the <HI>Means of Grace</HI> are plentifully af|forded, its a <HI>&s;ad &s;ign</HI> of &s;ome <HI>&s;ore judgement.</HI> If God will <HI>poure out his Fury upon the Hea|thens that know him not, and the Families of tho&s;e Heathen Kingdoms that call not upon his Name</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 10.25 with P&s;al. 79.6.</NOTE>; how much more upon tho&s;e that are called <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> and yet are gro&s;ly ignorant of God, and live in the con&s;tant <HI>neglect</HI> of this great Duty of <HI>Prayer?</HI> For the more are the <HI>Means</HI> that are vouch&s;aft to any People, and the greater the <HI>Obligations</HI> are that are laid upon them to any <HI>Duty,</HI> the more heinous is their <HI>&s;inne,</HI> the higher is their
<PB N="59" REF="37"> <HI>Provocation</HI> if they neglect it, and the great|er &s;hall the <HI>Judgements</HI> be, the heavier the <HI>puni&s;hments</HI> wherewith the Lord will at length plague &s;uch a &s;inning People. And therefore does the <HI>Lord Je&s;us</HI> pronounce &s;uch a terrible woe again&s;t <HI>Corazin</HI> and <HI>Beth|&s;aida,</HI> and threaten them with &s;uch a dread|ful <HI>Destruction,</HI> becau&s;e they were not a|mended notwith&s;tanding the <HI>Mighty works</HI> he had wrought among&s;t them<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.20, 21.</NOTE>. <HI>But</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 22, 23, 24</NOTE>) <HI>I &s;ay unto you, it &s;hall be more tolera|ble for</HI> Tyre <HI>and</HI> Sidon <HI>at the Day of Judge|ment, then for you. And thou</HI> Capernaum, <HI>which art exalted unto heaven, &s;halt be brought down to Hell: For if the Mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in</HI> Sodom, <HI>it would have remained un|til this Day. But I &s;ay unto you, that it &s;hall be more tolerable for the Land of</HI> Sodom, <HI>in the Day of Judgement, then for thee.</HI> The greate&s;t outward <HI>Priviledges</HI> will not ex|empt a &s;inning People from the &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgements</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10 1-11.</NOTE>. Nay, the greater the <HI>Privi|ledges</HI> are we do enjoy, the &s;orer &s;hall our <HI>Puni&s;hments</HI> be, if we improve them not, if we abu&s;e them.</P>
<P>Now how may we tremble with a ju&s;t <HI>Fear</HI> of &s;ome fearful <HI>Judgement,</HI> when we con&s;ider how much <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e</HI> there is in a <HI>Land of Light,</HI> how <HI>Ignorance, Athei&s;me</HI> and <HI>Ungodline&s;&s;e</HI> abounds among&s;t a People, which may plentifully enjoy <HI>the Meanes of Grace!</HI> How many thou&s;ands are there
<PB N="60" REF="38"> that <HI>know not Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> nor care to know him! Yea, how many thou&s;and <HI>Fa|milies</HI> are there in a Land ble&s;t for above a thou&s;and years with the <HI>Go&s;pel, that call not upon God!</HI> How many Millions of People may be &s;een every <HI>Lords Day</HI> in the <HI>&s;treets of Cities,</HI> in the <HI>Fields and Villages,</HI> that make it their con&s;tant Practice to <HI>profane the Sabbath,</HI> by <HI>Vanity and idlene&s;&s;e,</HI> be|&s;ides tho&s;e <HI>Children of Darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> which are already in the <HI>Suburbs of Hell,</HI> who are then at their <HI>Pots</HI> and <HI>Pipes,</HI> in their <HI>Dens of Iniquity!</HI> Now<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.9.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall not the Lord vi&s;it for the&s;e things, and be avenged on &s;uch a People as this?</HI> When &s;uch a black <HI>cloud of Darkne&s;se</HI> hath over&s;pread the Land, that men &s;ee not the <HI>Light</HI> of the Sunne at <HI>Noon-day;</HI> how may we ju&s;tly fear that the <HI>Thunder of Gods judgements</HI> will &s;udden|ly break out again&s;t us!</P>
<P>We read that when the King of <HI>A&s;yria</HI> brought in &s;trangers into <HI>Samaria,</HI> that <HI>feared not the</HI> LORD, nor <HI>knew the manner of his wor&s;hip,</HI> the LORD &s;ent <HI>Lions a|mong them that de&s;troy'd them</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Kin. 17 24, 25, 26.</NOTE>. <HI>Athei&s;m</HI> and <HI>Irreligion</HI> in a <HI>Holy Nation</HI> (a Nation call'd and con&s;ecrated to Gods Wor&s;hip and Service) is more provoking, and &s;ooner plucks down <HI>Judgement</HI> then in a <HI>Heathen Land. Wilde Bea&s;ts</HI> may be &s;ecure and live long in a <HI>Large Forre&s;t,</HI> but they are &s;oon taken and &s;lain when once found in a <HI>Tilled Field.</HI></P>
<PB N="61" REF="38">
<P>This was part of the Charge which the Lord drew up again&s;t his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> before he ca&s;t them to be melted from their dro&s;&s;e in the <HI>Furnace of Babylon</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 9.3.</NOTE>; <HI>They proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, &s;aith the</HI> LORD. And therefore &s;aith he to his Prophet,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 9.6, 7</NOTE> <HI>Thine habitation is in the mid&s;t of deceit, through Deceit they re|fu&s;e to know me, &s;aith the</HI> LORD. <HI>There|fore thus &s;aith the</HI> LORD <HI>of Ho&s;ts, Behold, I will melt them and try them; For how &s;hall I do for the Daughter of my People? Igno|rance</HI> is a <HI>damning &s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> a <HI>&s;oul-de&s;troying E|vil. It is a People of no under&s;tanding</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 27.11</NOTE>) <HI>therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, aad he that formed them will &s;hew them no favour.</HI> And againe,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 1 7, 8, 9.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord Je&s;us &s;hall be revealed from Hea|ven, with his Mighty Angels in flaming fire to take vengeance</HI> as well <HI>on them that know not God,</HI> as on them <HI>that obey not the Go&s;pel of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> And the&s;e al&s;o, as well as the other, <HI>&s;hall be puni&s;ht with everla&s;ting de&s;truction from the pre&s;ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his Power.</HI> But now when <HI>ignorance</HI> is joyn'd with <HI>ob|stinacy,</HI> as in tho&s;e that <HI>refu&s;e to know God,</HI> or to learn the My&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, its a <HI>&s;inne</HI> more inexcu&s;able, and the <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> of it more intolerable. Certainly, if the <HI>knowledge</HI> and <HI>wor&s;hip</HI> of God do open a gate for the bringing in of all manner of <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings</HI> into a land, <HI>Ignorance</HI> and <HI>Irre|ligion</HI>
<PB N="62" REF="39"> mu&s;t needs open a wide doore to <HI>De|&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P>Before the fir&s;t de&s;truction of <HI>Rome</HI> by <HI>Brennus</HI> and his <HI>Gaules,</HI> its ob&s;erved by the <HI>Heathen Writers</HI> them&s;elves, that the Peo|ple were grown altogether <HI>Carele&s;&s;e and negligent in the matters of Religion.</HI> The an|cient <HI>Britans</HI> (it's the Ob&s;ervation of <HI>Bede</HI>) a little before their <HI>De&s;truction</HI> by the <HI>Sax|ons,</HI> were arriv'd at &s;uch a <HI>pitch of profane|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> as <NOTE PLACE="marg">Odium in Religionis Profe&s;&s;ores, tanquam in Adver&s;arios, &s;erre.</NOTE> To hate the Pro|fe&s;&s;ors of Religion, as if they had been their profe&s;t Enemies.</P>
<P>When men are become not onely <HI>Stran|gers,</HI> but <HI>Enemies</HI> to Religion, its Time for God to depart from &s;uch a People, and in|&s;tead of the Go&s;pel, the <HI>En&s;igne of Peace,</HI> to &s;end &s;ome grievous <HI>Plague,</HI> as a <HI>Be&s;ome of de&s;truction,</HI> to &s;weep the Land of its In|habitants.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="sin">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Sin. <HI>Murmuring again&s;t God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THo&s;e are evil and <HI>Perillous Times, where|in People murmure again&s;t God, his Providences, Judgements, Mini&s;ters, Mer|cies.</HI> This was the &s;inne of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for
<PB N="63" REF="39"> which God <HI>&s;lew them in the Wilderne&s;s</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Exo. 1-12. with P&s;al. 78.17, -31 and 1 Cor. 10.10.</NOTE>. For (&s;ayes the Scripture<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106 25, 26, 27.</NOTE>) <HI>They</HI> murmured <HI>in their Tents, and hearkened not unto the Voice of the LORD. Therefore he lifted up his hand again&s;t them, to overthrow them in the Wilderne&s;&s;e: To overthrow their &s;eed al&s;o a|mong the Nations, and to &s;catter them in the Land. Yea,</HI> (&s;aies the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 78.17-21.</NOTE>) <HI>they spake again&s;t God; They &s;aid, can God furni&s;h a Table in the Wilderne&s;&s;e? Behold he &s;mote the Rock that the Waters gu&s;hed out, and the &s;treames overflow'd; can he give bread al&s;o? Can he provide fle&s;h for his People? Therefore the LORD heard this and was wroth; &s;o a Fire was kindled again&s;t</HI> Jacob, <HI>and An|ger al&s;o came up again&s;t</HI> I&s;rael: <HI>Becau&s;e they believed not in God, and tru&s;ted not in his &s;alvation.</HI> To <HI>murmure</HI> again&s;t <HI>pre&s;ent Pro|vidences,</HI> notwith&s;tanding <HI>former Experi|ences,</HI> is a very provoking &s;inne. <HI>Mur|muring</HI> again&s;t the God of our <HI>Mercies,</HI> be|cau&s;e he does not an&s;wer our de&s;ires in the <HI>&s;atisfaction of our lu&s;ts,</HI> is grand <HI>Ingratitude,</HI> and &s;peaks a high Degree of Wickedne&s;&s;e. Ju&s;tly may the Lord throw down his heavi|e&s;t Judgements upon the heads of &s;uch a provoking People. Yea, though men do not directly <HI>&s;peak again&s;t God,</HI> yet when they &s;peak <HI>again&s;t his Me&s;&s;engers, murmure again&s;t Mini&s;ters, again&s;t their Mainte|nance,</HI> they do in effect <HI>murmure again&s;t God him&s;elfe.</HI> He that repines at the <HI>Re|ception</HI> of <HI>Emba&s;&s;adors,</HI> and the <HI>charge</HI> of
<PB N="64" REF="40"> their <HI>entertainment,</HI> is guilty of a <HI>Crime of State</HI> which will ca&s;t &s;uch a reflection upon the King that &s;ent them, as will receive but an ill <HI>Re&s;entment.</HI> And therefore in this Ca&s;e we may &s;ay with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> of the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Exod. 16.7, 8.</NOTE> <HI>What are we, that ye murmure again&s;t us?</HI> Surely, <HI>the LORD heareth your Murmurings which you murmure again&s;t him. For what are we? your murmurings are not again&s;t us but again&s;t the</HI> LORD? And <HI>do you thus requite the LORD</HI> for his great Mercy in giving you the Go&s;pel, <HI>O fooli&s;h people and unwi&s;e</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Deut. 32 6.</NOTE>? May not he ju&s;tly <HI>puni&s;h</HI> you for &s;o great a <HI>Provocation,</HI> by depriving you of &s;o rich a <HI>Mercy,</HI> by taking away his <HI>Go&s;pel?</HI></P>
<P>So when men <HI>murmure</HI> at their great <HI>Plenty</HI> (the &s;in of thou&s;ands in the Land) do they not provoke the Lord to <HI>plague</HI> the Land with <HI>Famine?</HI> when men <HI>murmure</HI> again&s;t God in Times of <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>liber|ty,</HI> how ju&s;t is it with God to &s;courge them with bloody <HI>Wars,</HI> and cha&s;ti&s;e them with a cruel <HI>Bondage?</HI> When men are impatient under their lo&s;&s;es and <HI>afflictions,</HI> and mur|mure at tho&s;e <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> wherewith they are corrected for their <HI>&s;ins,</HI> but yet nei|ther take notice of the <HI>&s;ins</HI> which have cau|&s;ed tho&s;e <HI>&s;ufferings,</HI> nor the <HI>Hand</HI> of God which cha&s;ti&s;es them with &s;uch <HI>Afflictions</HI> (as the Dogge which flies at the <HI>stone,</HI> but regards not the <HI>Hand</HI> that threw it) how do they provoke God to load them with
<PB N="65" REF="40"> heavier <HI>Fetters,</HI> and cha&s;ti&s;e them with &s;marter <HI>Rods,</HI> more cutting calamities! when <HI>murmuring</HI> grows up from a bitter <HI>root</HI> of <HI>Athei&s;me,</HI> and brings forth the cur&s;ed <HI>Fruit</HI> of <HI>Rebellion;</HI> it's time for God to take the <HI>Axe</HI> of his <HI>Judgements,</HI> and cut down &s;uch a provoking People. Surely <HI>mur|muring</HI> again&s;t God, is the fore-runner of many <HI>mi&s;eries</HI> among&s;t men, and &s;o a &s;ad <HI>pre&s;age of Perillous Times.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="sin">
<HEAD>The third Sin. <HI>Inju&s;tice, Cruelty, Oppre&s;&s;ion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>RIghteou&s;ne&s;&s;e exalteth a Nation, but &s;in is a reproach to any People<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 14.34</NOTE>. <HI>And e&s;pecially</HI> Inju&s;tice, Cruelty, Oppre&s;&s;ion; <HI>&s;ins which make the Times evill and</HI> Perillous. <HI>This</HI> complicated Iniquity <HI>is in the Law of God</HI> Interpretative murder: <HI>And therefore the LORD &s;tops his</HI> Ears <HI>to the</HI> Prayers <HI>of his People, and ca&s;ts all their</HI> Sacrifices <HI>as</HI> dung <HI>in their Faces, &s;aying,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.11 &mdash;15.</NOTE> To what purpo&s;e is the multitude of your Sacrifices and &s;olem|nities? They are a trouble to me, I am weary to bear them. And when you &s;pread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when you make many Prayers, I will not hear. <HI>Why &s;o?</HI> Your hands are full of Blood. <HI>But how did they contract this guilt? Surely by
<PB N="66" REF="41"> their</HI> Inju&s;tice, Cruelty, Oppre&s;&s;ion, <HI>as ap|pears by tho&s;e</HI> Precepts <HI>which the Lord gives them in oppo&s;ition to their pre&s;ent</HI> Practi&s;e;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.17</NOTE> Learne to do well, &s;eek Judge|ment, relieve the Oppre&s;&s;ed, judge the Fa|therle&s;&s;e, plead for the Widow. <HI>Now hence it appears that Per&s;ons guilty of the&s;e &s;ins, are in Gods Account</HI> Murderers, <HI>men that are guilty of</HI> Innocent Blood, <HI>which cries a|loud to heaven for</HI> vengeance <HI>to be exe|cuted upon &s;uch bloody wretches, cove|tous, cruel, and oppre&s;&s;ing</HI> Tyrants. <HI>And this is yet more clear from the following</HI> Complaint <HI>and</HI> Commination. <HI>For thus the Pro|phet proceeds</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.21,-24.</NOTE>, How is the faithful City become a Harlot? It was full of judgement, Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e lodged in it; but now mur|derers. Thy Silver is become Dro&s;&s;e, thy Wine mixt with Water. Thy Princes are Rebellious, and Companions of Thieves: Eve|ry one loveth gifts, and followeth after re|wards: they judge not the Fatherle&s;&s;e, nei|ther doth the Cau&s;e of the widow come unto them. Therefore &s;aith the Lord, the <HI>LORD</HI> of Ho&s;ts, the Mighty one of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> Ah, I will ea&s;e me of mine Adver&s;aries, and avenge me of mine Enemies. <HI>For this Sinne the Lord threatned to lay wa&s;t his</HI> Vineyard<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.5, 6</NOTE>, <HI>even to lay the Land of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>and</HI> Judah <HI>open to</HI> De&s;truction. For the Vine-yard of the LORD of Hosts is the Hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and the men of <HI>Judah</HI> his plea&s;ant Plant: and he looked for Judgement and behold Oppre&s;&s;ion; for
<PB N="67" REF="41"> Righteou&s;ne&s;s, but behold a cry<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.7.</NOTE>. <HI>This made their</HI> &s;olemne Fa&s;ts <HI>abominable to God.</HI> Behold (<HI>&s;ayes the Lord</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 58.4</NOTE>) ye fast for &s;trife and debate, and to &s;mite with the fi&s;t of wickedne&s;&s;e; ye &s;hall not fa&s;t as ye do this Day, to make your voice to be heard on high.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e are the</HI> &s;ins <HI>which ob&s;truct the Lords &s;aving</HI> Mercies, <HI>and draw down his &s;ore&s;t</HI> Judgements <HI>upon a &s;inful Nation. A large and lively</HI> Repre&s;entation <HI>hereof (which calls for our &s;ad and &s;erious thoughts, in a timely</HI> Reflection <HI>upon our &s;ins and &s;ufferings in the&s;e</HI> di&s;tracted Times, <HI>that we may wi&s;e|ly bethink our &s;elves before it be too late, of the mo&s;t effectual means for the</HI> Preven|tion <HI>of the Lords &s;orer</HI> Judgements <HI>upon our Land) we have &s;et before us in the Prophe|cy of</HI> I&s;aiah<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chap. 51. v. 1-19.</NOTE>, <HI>in the&s;e words;</HI></P>
<P>Behold, the LORDS hand is not &s;hortned, that it cannot &s;ave, neither his Eare heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have &s;e|parated between you and your God, and your &s;ins have hid his Face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with <HI>Blood,</HI> and your fingers with <HI>Iniquity;</HI> your Lips have &s;poken <HI>Lies,</HI> your Tongue hath ut|tered <HI>Perver&s;ene&s;s.</HI> None calleth for <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> nor any pleadeth for <HI>Truth:</HI> They tru&s;t in Vanity, and &s;peak <HI>Lies;</HI> they conceive <HI>Mi&s;|chief,</HI> and bring forth <HI>Iniquity.</HI> They hatch Cockatrice Egges, and weave the Spiders Web: he that eateth of their Egges dieth,
<PB N="68" REF="42"> and that which it cru&s;hed breaketh out into a Viper. Their Webs &s;hall not become gar|ments, neither &s;hall they cover them&s;elves with their works: their Works are works of <HI>Ini|quitie,</HI> and the <HI>Act of Violence</HI> is in their Hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make ha&s;t to &s;hed <HI>innocent blood.</HI> Their thoughts are thoughts of <HI>Iniquity; Wa&s;ting</HI> and <HI>De&s;truction</HI> are in their paths. The way of Peace they know not, and there is no judg|ment in their goings: they have made them <HI>crooked Paths;</HI> who&s;oever goeth therein &s;hall not know Peace. Therefore is <HI>Judge|ment</HI> far from us, neither doth <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> over|take us. We wait for Light, but behold ob|&s;curity; for Brightne&s;&s;e, but we walk in Darkne&s;&s;e. We grope for the Wall like the Blinde; and we grope as if we had no Eyes: We &s;tumble at Noon-day, as in the Night; we are in de&s;olate Places, as dead men. We roar all like Bears, and mourn &s;ore like Doves: We look for <HI>Judgement,</HI> but there is none; for &s;alvation, but it is far off from us. For our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions are multiply'd before Thee, and our &s;innes te&s;tifie again&s;t us: for our Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions are with us, and as for our ini|quities, we know them. In tran&s;gre&s;&s;ing and lying again&s;t the LORD, and departing away from our God; &s;peaking <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion and Revolt,</HI> conceiving and uttering from the heart <HI>Words of fal&s;ehood.</HI> And <HI>Judgement</HI> is turned away backward, and <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> &s;tandeth afar off: for <HI>Truth</HI> is fallen in the &s;treet, and
<PB N="69" REF="42"> <HI>Equity</HI> cannot enter. Yea, <HI>Truth</HI> faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh him|&s;elf a Prey, and the <HI>LORD</HI> &s;aw it, and it di&s;plea&s;ed him that there was no <HI>Judgement.</HI> And he &s;aw that there was no man, and won|dred that there was no<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or, Inter|po&s;er, Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;o rendred Job 36.32</NOTE> Interce&s;&s;or. There|fore his Arme brought &s;alvation unto him, and his <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> it &s;u&s;tained Him. For he put on <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> as a Brea&s;t|plate, and an Helmet of Salvation upon his Head; and he put on the Garments of <HI>Ven|geance</HI> for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a Cloke. According to their Deeds, ac|cordingly he will repay, Fury to his adver|&s;aries, Recompence to his Enemies; to the I&s;lands he will repay Recompence. So &s;hall they fear the Name of the LORD from the We&s;t, and his glory from the Ri&s;ing of the Sun: when the Enemy &s;hall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord &s;hall lift up a Standard against him.</P>
<P><HI>Thus we &s;ee how mi&s;erable the State of that Nation is, which is full of</HI> Unrighteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, Oppre&s;&s;ion and Cruelty, <HI>and how dreadful the condition of that People, who are guilty of the&s;e &s;innes, &s;hall be, when the LORD of Ho&s;ts, arm'd with</HI> &V;enge|ance <HI>&s;hall come forth in</HI> Wrath <HI>and Fury, for the</HI> Execution <HI>of his</HI> Judgements.</P>
<P><HI>The&s;e are u&s;ually the &s;innes of the</HI> great men of the world. <HI>The</HI> P&s;almi&s;t <HI>thus de|&s;cribes them</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.6-10.</NOTE>; Pride compa&s;&s;eth them about as a chaine; Violence covereth them as a
<PB N="70" REF="43"> Garment. Their Eyes &s;tand out with Fat|ne&s;&s;e; they have more then heart could wi&s;h. They are corrupt and &s;peak wickedly con|cerning <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion;</HI> they &s;peak loftily. They &s;et their Mouth again&s;t the Heavens, and their tongue walketh through the Earth. Therefore his People return hither; and wa|ters of a full Cup are wrung out to them. <HI>But when their</HI> In&s;olencies <HI>are grown</HI> intolera|ble, <HI>God takes down their</HI> Pride <HI>with de&s;er|ved</HI> Puni&s;hments. <HI>When they are come to the</HI> Zenith <HI>of their glory, the lea&s;t touch of the Almighty's hand &s;ends them down into the lowe&s;t</HI> Centre <HI>of wretchedne&s;&s;e and infelicity. That may be the very moment of their De&s;truction, wherein they think to put a</HI> Period <HI>to the Churches Peace by their bloody</HI> Tyranny <HI>and</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ion. For the <HI>oppre&s;&s;ion of</HI> the Poore, for the &s;ighing of the Needy, <HI>NOW</HI> will I ari&s;e (&s;aith the <HI>LORD</HI>) I will &s;et him at &s;afety from him that puffeth at him<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 12.5</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Oppre&s;&s;ors <HI>are wont to</HI> prey <HI>upon the</HI> Poor, <HI>as the &s;tronger</HI> Beasts <HI>upon the weaker, the greater</HI> Fowles <HI>and</HI> Fi&s;hes <HI>upon the le&s;|&s;er. They are the</HI> Leeches <HI>of the Common|wealth, which &s;uck the</HI> Blood <HI>out of its Veines; the</HI> Suckers <HI>which &s;pring from the roots of the Trees, and draw away the</HI> Sap <HI>from the otherwi&s;e fruitful Branches. The</HI> Op|pre&s;&s;or <HI>is a mo&s;t</HI> cruel Chymi&s;t; <HI>for he di|&s;tills</HI> Silver <HI>out of the</HI> &s;weat <HI>of poor mens Brows, and</HI> Gold <HI>out of the</HI> tears <HI>of Widows
<PB N="71" REF="43"> and Orphans. The very</HI> Laws <HI>are made u&s;e of by &s;uch as</HI> Keys <HI>to open their</HI> Coffers, <HI>as</HI> Buc|kets <HI>to draw all the water out of their</HI> Wells.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Aperi Bur&s;am &amp; ego a|periam Buccam.</NOTE> Let me finger my Fee <HI>(&s;ayes the gree|dy Lawyer)</HI> and I will canva&s;e thy Cau&s;e. <HI>Thus</HI> Ju&s;tice <HI>runs upon</HI> Silver-wheels, <HI>while</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ion <HI>rules with an</HI> Iron Rod. <HI>The</HI> Poor <HI>are da&s;ht in pieces by the</HI> Proud, <HI>like</HI> Potters Ve&s;&s;els. <HI>Then is it time for the</HI> Judge <HI>of the World to come forth and execute</HI> Judgement. <HI>Then &s;hall they feel the</HI> &s;trength <HI>of his</HI> &s;trokes, <HI>as well as others have felt the</HI> Power <HI>of their</HI> Pride.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 30.12, 13, 14</NOTE> Wherefore thus &s;aith the Holy One of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> Becau&s;e ye de&s;pi&s;e this Word, and tru&s;t in Oppre&s;&s;ion and perver&s;ene&s;&s;e, and &s;tay thereon: Therefore this iniquity &s;hall be to you as a breach ready to fall, &s;welling out in a high Wall, who&s;e breaking cometh &s;udden|ly at an In&s;tant. And he &s;hall break it as the breaking of the Potters Ve&s;&s;el, that is broken in pieces, he &s;hall not &s;pare; &s;o that there &s;hall not be found in the bur&s;ting of it, a &s;herd to take Fire from the Hearth, or to take water with|all out of the Pit.</P>
<P>Oppre&s;&s;ion, <HI>when it is become a reigning</HI> &s;in, <HI>precedes &s;ome &s;ore</HI> Vi&s;itation <HI>of that City, pre&s;ages the utter</HI> De&s;olation <HI>of that Land, wherein it</HI> reignes. <HI>We &s;hall not doubt of the Truth of this, if we do believe the Word of God.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 6.6, 7, 8.</NOTE> For thus hath the <HI>LORD</HI> of Ho&s;ts &s;aid, Hew ye down Trees,
<PB N="72" REF="44"> and ca&s;t a Mount again&s;t <HI>Jeru&s;alem:</HI> This is the City to be vi&s;ited; &s;he is wholly <HI>Op|pre&s;&s;ion</HI> in the mid&s;t of her. As a Fountain ca&s;teth out her waters, &s;o &s;he ca&s;teth out her Wickedne&s;&s;e: Violence and &s;poile is heard in her, before me continually is Griefe and Wounds. Be thou instructed, O <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> le&s;t my &s;oul depart from thee: lest I make thee de&s;olate, a Land not Inhabited.</P>
<P><HI>The</HI> Riches <HI>gained by</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ion <HI>&s;hall not pro&s;per in the hand of</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ors, <HI>nor</HI> pre|fit them in the Day of wrath: Fora&s;much therefore (<HI>&s;aith the LORD</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Amos 5.11, 12.</NOTE>) as your tread|ing is upon the Poore, and ye take from him Burdens of wheat, ye have built Hou&s;es of hewen &s;tone, but ye &s;hall not dwell in them: ye have planted plea&s;ant Vine-yards, but ye &s;hall not drink Wine of them. For I know your manifold Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and your migh|ty &s;ins: they afflict the ju&s;t, they take a Bribe, and they turn a&s;ide the poore in the Gate from their right. <HI>And what follows?</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 16, 17.</NOTE> Therefore the LORD the God of Hosts, the Lord &s;aith thus, wailing &s;hall be in all &s;treets, and they &s;hall &s;ay in all the High|wayes, Alas! Alas! For I will pa&s;s through thee, &s;aith the LORD. <HI>Well then may the Apo&s;tle call the</HI> Rich men <HI>of the World, who have been the</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ors of the Poor, <HI>to weeping and mourning, and bitter Lamentation.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jam. 5.1-6.</NOTE> Go to now ye rich men, weep and howle for your mi&s;eries that &s;hall come upon you. Your Riches are corrupted,
<PB N="73" REF="44"> and your Garments moth-eaten. Your Gold and Silver is Canker'd, and the Ru&s;t of them &s;hall be a witne&s;&s;e again&s;t you, and &s;hall eat your Fle&s;h as it were Fire; ye have heaped Trea&s;ure together for the la&s;t Dayes. Behold the hire of the Labourers, which have reap|ed down your Fields, which is of you kept back by Fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the eares of<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE> the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in plea&s;ure on the Earth,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> the LORD of Ho&s;ts.</NOTE> and been wanton: ye have nouri&s;hed your hearts, as in a day of &s;laugh|ter. Ye have condemned and killed the ju&s;t, and he doth not re&s;i&s;t you. <HI>Bloody Tyrants! Thus do</HI> Wolves <HI>devoure the harmle&s;&s;e</HI> Sheep. <HI>But the</HI> Mighty God <HI>will at length roll down heavy</HI> Judgements <HI>upon the heads of &s;uch</HI> wicked worldlings.</P>
<P>Deceit <HI>and</HI> Violence <HI>are the two maine</HI> Pillars <HI>in the</HI> Hou&s;e of <HI>OPPRESSION, wherein bloody</HI> Tyrants <HI>and In&s;olent</HI> U|&s;urpers <HI>dwell. They lay</HI> &s;nares <HI>for the Lives of men, that they may take them by</HI> Deceit, <HI>and then drag them with</HI> Violence <HI>to a</HI> bloody Death, <HI>or unju&s;tly deprive them of the</HI> Comforts of Life. <HI>Such is the State of things when</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ion <HI>reignes in a Land. Thus doth the Prophet de&s;cribe the&s;e</HI> bloody and deceitful men, <HI>who &s;eek to</HI> oppre&s;&s;e <HI>the</HI> Righteous <HI>and lie in</HI> waite <HI>for</HI> Innocent Blood, <HI>and &s;hews how high a</HI> Pro|vocation <HI>this is of the great God to execute his</HI> Judgements <HI>upon &s;uch a &s;inful Nation.</HI>
<PB N="74" REF="45"> For among my People <HI>&s;aith the LORD by the Prophet</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.26</NOTE>) are found Wicked men: they lay wait as he that &s;etteth &s;nares, they &s;et a Trap, they catch men.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 9.8, 9</NOTE> Their Tongue is as an Arrow &s;hot out, it &s;peaketh deceit: one &s;peaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth wait for him. Shall I not vi&s;it them for the&s;e things, &s;aith the <HI>LORD?</HI> Shall not my &s;oul be a|venged on &s;uch a Nation as this?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jerem. 5 27-29.</NOTE> As a Cage is full of Birds, &s;o are their Hou&s;es full of Deceit: therefore are they become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they &s;hine, yea, they overpa&s;s the Deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cau&s;e, the Cau&s;e of the Fatherle&s;s, yet they pro&s;per: and the right of the Needy do they not judge. Shall I not vi&s;it for the&s;e things, faith the <HI>LORD?</HI> Shall not my &s;oul be avenged on &s;uch a Nation as this? <HI>&s;ome</HI> pa&s;&s;ages <HI>of an|other</HI> Prophecy, <HI>we &s;hall &s;elect to the &s;ame Purpo&s;e.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 22 3-22.</NOTE> Thus &s;aith the Lord <HI>GOD,</HI> The City &s;heddeth Blood in the mid&s;t of it, that her Time may come. Thou art become guilty in thy Blood that thou ha&s;t &s;hed; thou ha&s;t cau|&s;ed thy Dayes to draw near, and art come e|ven to thy years; therefore have <HI>I</HI> made thee a reproach unto the Heathen, and a mock|ing to all Countreys. Tho&s;e that be neare, and tho&s;e that be far from thee, &s;hall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed. Behold the Princes of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> every one were in thee to their Power to &s;hed Blood. In thee
<PB N="75" REF="45"> have they &s;et light by Father and Mother; in the mid&s;t of thee have they dealt by Op|pre&s;&s;ion with the Stranger; in thee have they vexed the Fatherle&s;&s;e and the Widow: Thou ha&s;t de&s;pi&s;ed my holy things, and ha&s;t profaned my Sabbaths. In thee are men that carry tales to &s;hed blood. In thee have they taken gifts to &s;hed Blood: Thou ha&s;t taken &V;&s;ury and Increa&s;e, and thou ha&s;t greedily gained of thy Neighbours by Extortion, and ha&s;t forgot|ten me, &s;aith the Lord <HI>GOD.</HI> Behold there|fore I have &s;mitten my hand at thy di&s;hone&s;t Gaine which thou ha&s;t made, and at thy Blood which hath been in the mid&s;t of thee. Can thine Heart endure, or can thine Hands be &s;trong in the Days that I &s;hall deal with thee? I the <HI>LORD</HI> have &s;poken it, and will do it. Now therefore thus &s;aith the Lord <HI>GOD,</HI> Becau&s;e ye are all Become Dro&s;&s;e, behold there|fore I will gather you, as they gather Silver and Bra&s;s, and Iron, and Lead, and Tin into the mid&s;t of the Furnace, to blow the Fire upon it to melt it; &s;o will I gather you in my An|ger and in my Fury; Yea, I will ga|ther you, and blow upon you in the Fire of my Wrath, and ye &s;hall be melted, as Silver is melted in the midst of the Furnace; and ye &s;hall know that I the <HI>LORD</HI> have poured out my Fury upon you. <HI>This is the portion of the wicked from the Lord. Thus doe Pre&s;umptuous men exalt them&s;elves,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 55.23</NOTE> But thou; O God, &s;halt bring them downe into the Pit of De&s;truction: Bloody
<PB N="76" REF="46"> and Deceitfull men &s;hall not live out half their Dayes.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="4" TYPE="sin">
<HEAD>The fourth Sin. <HI>Swearing and Cur&s;ing.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>WHen the fearful &s;ins of &s;wearing and Cur&s;ing are growne common, the Times are Perillous.</HI> When the&s;e <HI>Black &s;ins,</HI> the&s;e <HI>Ill-boading Fowles</HI> (that are wont to feed upon the <HI>Brinks</HI> of the <HI>bottomle&s;s Pit</HI>) do abound, its a <HI>Signe</HI> the <HI>Winter</HI> of Gods <HI>Judgements</HI> is at hand. When men <HI>Thunder</HI> out <HI>Oathes</HI> and <HI>Cur&s;es</HI> on Earth (as alas! how often are our ears pierc't with the&s;e <HI>Helli&s;h &s;ounds</HI> in the open &s;treets) it's time for God to <HI>Thunder</HI> down his <HI>Judge|ments</HI> from heaven. Doubtle&s;&s;e men may <HI>cur&s;e</HI> away all the Lords <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings,</HI> and by their abominable Oaths, <HI>&s;weare</HI> down <HI>Ven|geance</HI> from heaven upon their own Heads, yea, &s;oon &s;wear their own &s;ouls into Hell. Yea, <HI>cruel Cur&s;es</HI> and <HI>bloody Oaths,</HI> may &s;oon fill the Land with <HI>Cruelty</HI> and <HI>Blood.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 23.10 Ho&s;. 4.2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>Becau&s;e of Swearing</HI> may God ju&s;tly cau&s;e <HI>the Land to mourne.</HI> This &s;in, we finde in the holy Scripture <HI>strictly forbidden</HI> and <HI>&s;everely puni&s;hed. I &s;ay unto you</HI> (&s;ayes our Saviour<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat, 5.34-37.</NOTE>) <HI>&s;wear not at all, neither
<PB N="77" REF="46"> by Heaven; for it is Gods Throne: nor by the Earth; for it is his Foot-&s;toole: neither by</HI> Jeru&s;alem; <HI>for it is the City of the great King. Neither &s;halt thou &s;wear by thy Head, becau&s;e thou can&s;t not make one haire white or black. But let your Communication be, Yea, yea, Nay, nay; For what&s;oever is more then the&s;e cometh of evil.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>James</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chap. 5. ver. 12.</NOTE> further backs this <HI>Injunction,</HI> and earne&s;tly pre&s;&s;es this <HI>Prohibition. But above all things</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>my Brethren, Sweare not, neither by Heaven, neither by the Earth, nei|ther by any other Oath; but let your Yea, be yea, and your Nay, nay, le&s;t ye fall into Con|demnation.</HI> How &s;trange it is that men &s;hould delight to pollute their own &s;oules, and pull down <HI>judgement</HI> on the Land, by the <HI>Cu&s;tomary Commi&s;&s;ion</HI> of a &s;in &s;o &s;trictly prohibited, under the <HI>Pain of Damnation!</HI> This is a &s;in which hath in it no <HI>Profit,</HI> no plea&s;ure, no not <HI>&s;en&s;ual &s;weetne&s;&s;e</HI> enough to bait a temptation. How does this argue a <HI>Devili&s;h Di&s;po&s;ition</HI> in men, that they will do a thing &s;o much <HI>abhord</HI> of God, &s;o &s;trictly forbid|den in the Word, &s;o certainly <HI>De&s;tructive</HI> to their &s;ouls. when they cannot ta&s;t &s;o much as a &s;eeming <HI>&s;weetne&s;&s;e,</HI> nor &s;ee &s;o much as an appearing <HI>Goodne&s;&s;e</HI> in it, to be any ground of their Allurement thereunto, or occa&s;ion of their frequent Commi&s;&s;ion thereof! when &s;uch a fin abounds, mu&s;t not God needs be provokt to <HI>plague</HI> and <HI>puni&s;h</HI> &s;uch a <HI>de&s;perately wicked</HI> People?</P>
<PB N="78" REF="47">
<P>So for the &s;in of <HI>cur&s;ing,</HI> a &s;in of the &s;ame <HI>Helli&s;h nature,</HI> a fruit of the &s;ame <HI>root of bitterne&s;&s;e,</HI> how hath the Lord manife&s;ted his <HI>Di&s;plea&s;ure</HI> again&s;t it, by the <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> which he ordained to be inflicted on &s;uch as were guilty of it in his holy Word! We reade<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lev. 24.10-16.</NOTE> of the <HI>Son of an I&s;raeliti&s;h wo|man, who&s;e Father was an</HI> Egyptian, <HI>that went out among the Children of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>in the Camp. And this Son of the</HI> I&s;raeliti&s;h <HI>wo|man bla&s;phemed the Name of the</HI> LORD, <HI>and cur&s;ed: And they brought him unto</HI> Mo|&s;es: <HI>And they put him in Ward that the mind of the</HI> LORD <HI>might be &s;hew'd them, And the</HI> LORD <HI>&s;pake unto</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>&s;aying, Bring forth him that hath Cur&s;ed, without the Camp, &amp; let all that heard him, lay their hands upon his Head, and let all the Congregation &s;tone him.</HI> And hereupon the LORD made it a <HI>Statute in I&s;rael,</HI> that who&s;oever &s;hould be found guilty of this <HI>&s;in,</HI> whether <HI>I&s;rae|lite</HI> or <HI>Stranger,</HI> he &s;hould &s;urely be put to <HI>Death.</HI> And therefore however among&s;t men this &s;in may go unpuni&s;hed, yet &s;eeing the <HI>Name</HI> of God is hereby <HI>profan'd,</HI> the <HI>LORD will not hold them guiltle&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Exo. 20.7</NOTE>, that are guilty of it, nor &s;uffer them to e&s;cape his <HI>Righteous judgement.</HI></P>
<P>That <HI>Imprecation</HI> of the P&s;almi&s;t is Pro|phetical, and hath the force of a <HI>Commi|nation,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 59.12, 13.</NOTE> <HI>For the &s;in of their Mouth, and the words of their Lips, let them even be taken in their Pride: and for Cur&s;ing and Lying
<PB N="79" REF="47"> which they &s;peak. Con&s;ume them in wrath, con&s;ume them, that they may not be; and let them know that God ruleth in</HI> Jacob, <HI>unto the Ends of the Earth.</HI></P>
<P>Doubtle&s;&s;e the <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> of God hangs over the Heads of tho&s;e that are given to <HI>Cur&s;ing.</HI> Dreadful is that <HI>Jmprecation</HI> of David, of the &s;ame Nature with the former.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 109 17, 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>As he loved Cur&s;ing &s;o let it come unto him: as he delight|ed not in Ble&s;&s;ing, &s;o let it be far from him. As he cloathed him&s;elf with Cur&s;ing like as with his Garment; &s;o let it come into his Bowels like Water, and like Oyle into his Bones. Let it be unto him as the Garment which covereth him, and for a Girdle where with he is gird|ed continually.</HI> Woe be to him who&s;e <HI>Body, Belly, Bones,</HI> are thus cloath'd, fill'd, con|&s;um'd with <HI>Cur&s;ing.</HI> This is doubtle&s;&s;e wor&s;e then the mo&s;t <HI>deadly Di&s;ea&s;e,</HI> and will prove more intolerable then the <HI>torturing Wracks</HI> of the terrible&s;t Tyrants in the World. <HI>Cur&s;ing</HI> will &s;urely fill the awaken'd <HI>Con&s;cience</HI> of the guilty &s;inner, with <HI>tor|menting Agonies</HI> which &s;hall la&s;t to E|ternity.</P>
<P><HI>Oaths</HI> and <HI>Cur&s;es</HI> are as <HI>Arrows</HI> &s;hot up a|gain&s;t heaven which at length fall down upon the Heads of them that &s;hot them. Yea, they are <HI>&s;parks of Hell-fire,</HI> or rather <HI>Fire|brands of Hell,</HI> which are thrown into the Aire; and may (if timely <HI>Repentance</HI> with &s;peedy <HI>Reformation,</HI> and infinite <HI>mercy</HI> prevent not) kindle a deadly <HI>burning</HI> in that
<PB N="80" REF="48"> City or Nation wherein they abound un|puni&s;hed.</P>
<P>And yet is not this the &s;inne, not onely of the ba&s;e&s;t &s;ort, but of many of the <HI>great Gallants</HI> of the Times? <HI>Oathes</HI> are the <HI>Sau&s;e</HI> of their <HI>Mirth,</HI> and <HI>Cur&s;es</HI> are the <HI>Stings</HI> of their <HI>Anger. Oathes</HI> are <HI>in Fa|&s;hion</HI> among&s;t them, and to rap them out roundly is a <HI>piece</HI> of their <HI>Gallantry. Cur|&s;es</HI> &s;till wart upon their <HI>commands,</HI> and who&s;oever or what&s;oever doth but a little cro&s;&s;e them, they wi&s;h <HI>all the Plagues of hell to light upon them.</HI> Surely the Devil him&s;elf cannot &s;peak more <HI>de&s;perate lan|guage,</HI> and utter more <HI>damnable &s;peeches</HI> then the&s;e horribly <HI>Profane Gallants.</HI> If any where there be a <HI>Hell upon Earth,</HI> 'tis where the&s;e <HI>Children of Hell,</HI> the&s;e <HI>fir&s;t|born &s;onnes of the Devil,</HI> that have <HI>Damna|tion</HI> written in their <HI>Foreheads,</HI> are met to|gether, and &s;it (the <HI>Devil</HI> being doubtle&s;&s;e in the <HI>Head of the Company) Bowzing, Swearing, Storming, Cur&s;ing, Bla&s;pheming,</HI> as if they would tear <HI>Heaven</HI> to let down flaming <HI>Vengeance,</HI> and rend the earth to the Bottom of <HI>Hell,</HI> that they might go down <HI>quick</HI> into that fiery <HI>Pri&s;on,</HI> fall down headlong into the <HI>burning-Lake.</HI> A won|der it is of the <HI>Divine Patience,</HI> that when they are rending the <HI>Sacred Name</HI> of God with <HI>Oathes, Bla&s;phemies, Cur&s;ings,</HI> God doth not give them up into the hands of the <HI>Devil,</HI> to tear them in&s;tantly in pieces
<PB N="81" REF="48"> (as we read he hath dealt with &s;ome) and carry them <HI>Body</HI> and <HI>Soul</HI> into <HI>Hell.</HI> But God in <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> lets them live for the Aggra|vation of their &s;ins, and the encrea&s;e of their <HI>Torments</HI> in Hell-fire to Eternity. For how can they hope for any &s;alvation by <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> or benefit by his <HI>Blood</HI> who de&s;pe|rately wrap up his <HI>wounds and blood</HI> in their <HI>Oathes</HI> and <HI>Cur&s;es,</HI> and &s;o (as it were) throw them in <HI>God Almighty's Face?</HI> whence is it he doth not with &s;ome dread|ful <HI>Thunderbolt</HI> in&s;tantly &s;mite them into <HI>Hell?</HI> How &s;hould they expect that God &s;hould &s;ave them in the Day of their Death, who di&s;perately bid <HI>God damne them</HI> every day? How can they e&s;cape Hell and Dam|nation, who are &s;till bidding <HI>the Devil take them</HI> upon every &s;light occa&s;ion? O de|&s;perately Profane Wretches! O Devili&s;h wicked Creatures! Is it po&s;&s;ible there are &s;uch to be found under the Sunne? Is it po&s;&s;ible there &s;hould be &s;uch <HI>Mon&s;ters</HI> found within the <HI>Pale of the Church;</HI> &s;uch <HI>Incarnate Devils</HI> in a Land enlightned with the Go&s;pel of Chri&s;t, and honoured with the glorious Profe&s;&s;ion of <HI>Chri&s;tianity?</HI> O that the tingling <HI>Ears,</HI> and trembling <HI>Hearts</HI> of many of Gods children, who have occa&s;ionally heard this <HI>Language of Hell</HI> (though never privy to the thou|&s;andth Part of the&s;e <HI>Helli&s;h Impieties</HI>) were not too &s;ad an evidence of the&s;e A|bominations abounding in the Land. Now
<PB N="82" REF="49"> <HI>&s;hall not the Lord vi&s;it for the&s;e things? Shall not his &s;oul be avenged on &s;uch a Na|tion as this?</HI> Is it not a wonder <HI>Heaven</HI> is not all in <HI>flames</HI> over our heads, and the <HI>Earth</HI> all &s;taind with <HI>blood</HI> under our Feet for this &s;in long before now? Surely this de&s;erves &s;adly to be laid to heart, as a fear|ful <HI>Pre&s;age</HI> of &s;ome very dreadful <HI>Judge|ment.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall clo&s;e this fourth In&s;tance with the Excellent coun&s;el of the Son of <HI>Sirach. Accustome not thy &s;elfe</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 23.9-13.</NOTE>) <HI>to Swearing; neither u&s;e thy &s;elf to the Na|ming of the Holy One. For as a &s;ervant that is continually beaten &s;hall not be without a blew mark; &s;o he that &s;weareth, and nameth God continually, &s;hall not be faultle&s;s.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>A man that u&s;eth much &s;wearing &s;hall be fill'd with iniquity, and the Plague &s;hall never de|part from his Hou&s;e. If he &s;hall offend, his &s;inne &s;hall be upon him; and if he acknowledge not his &s;inne</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>he maketh the offence double. And if he &s;wear in vaine, he &s;hall not be in|nocent, but his Hou&s;e &s;hall be full of Cala|mities. There is a Word that is cloathed a|bout with Death. God grant that it be not found in the Heritage of</HI> Jacob; <HI>for all &s;uch things &s;hall be farre from the godly, and they &s;hall not</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>wallow in their &s;innes. U&s;e not thy mouth to</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>intemperate &s;wearing; for there|in is the word of &s;in.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="5" TYPE="sin">
<PB N="83" REF="49">
<HEAD>The fifth Sin. <HI>Adultery, Fornication, Uncleanne&s;s.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>VVHen the Land is defiled with A|dultery, Fornication, and &V;n|cleanne&s;s, the Times are Perillous and Evil.</HI> God is a God of infinite <HI>Purity</HI> and <HI>Holi|ne&s;s.</HI> When a Land therefo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e is <HI>polluted</HI> with the&s;e <HI>Impurities</HI> and <HI>Abominations,</HI> what can be expected but that the Lord &s;hould abhor it? When the Lord hath <HI>e pou&s;ed</HI> a Nation to him&s;elf, and it hath<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 1.2</NOTE> <HI>commit|ted great Whore<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">omes,</HI> what can be expected but that the Lord &s;hould give it a <HI>Bill of Di|vorce?</HI> When the Lord's <HI>Mercies</HI> are turn|ed into the <HI>Fewel</HI> of <HI>Uncleanne&s;&s;e,</HI> what may we expect but <HI>Wrath</HI> and <HI>Judgement?</HI> Dread|ful are the <HI>Judgements</HI> which the Lord hath executed for the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of the&s;e &s;innes. Yea, &s;o dreadful, that never hath the world &s;eene more terrible Demon&s;trations of the <HI>Wrath</HI> and <HI>Vengeance</HI> of an angry God, an incen&s;'d Maje&s;ty. 'Twas for the Puni&s;h|ment of this Sin that God <HI>drown'd the whole world, and burnt up the Cities of</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Gomorrah <HI>with Fire and Brimstone.</HI> For the Old World <HI>burn'd</HI> in <HI>Lu&s;t</HI> and <HI>Wanton|ne&s;s</HI> before it was <HI>drown'd</HI> with <HI>Water;</HI> and <HI>Sodom</HI> was <HI>drown'd</HI> in <HI>Luxury</HI> and <HI>Filthi|ne&s;&s;e,</HI>
<PB N="84" REF="50"> before it was <HI>burnt</HI> with <HI>Fire.</HI> In the former, <HI>the Sonnes of God</HI> doted on the <HI>Beauty</HI> of the <HI>Daughters of men</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.2</NOTE>; and in the latter, <HI>the Sons of men</HI> &s;ought to commit <HI>Folly</HI> with the <HI>Angels of God</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 19, 4 5</NOTE>. De&s;perate Pollution! that would attempt the Viola|tion of <HI>Angelical Purity.</HI> But their <HI>unna|tural Lu&s;ts</HI> received a <HI>&s;upernatural puni&s;h|ment,</HI> God &s;ending down upon them <HI>Hell out of Heaven.</HI> But now the&s;e &s;ins among&s;t us are wor&s;e by a thou&s;and Degrees then they were among&s;t them. For a Chri&s;tian by profe&s;&s;ion, who&s;e <HI>Body</HI> hath been con|&s;ecrated by <HI>Bapti&s;me</HI> for <HI>a Temple of the ho|ly Ghost,</HI> to abu&s;e him&s;elf by filthy Lu&s;ts, is to do an <HI>Act</HI> beyond all the <HI>Abominati|ons</HI> of the Heathens, even to turn the <HI>San|ctuary</HI> into a <HI>Stews.</HI> The Apo&s;tle therefore u&s;es this Argument to take off the too <HI>la&s;|civious</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hinc <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;cortari, Chil. Era&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Corinthians</HI> from this &s;inne. <HI>Flee Fornication</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6.18, 19.</NOTE>.) <HI>Every &s;in that a man doth, is without the Body: But he that committeth Fornication &s;inneth again&s;t his own Body. What? know ye not that your Body is the Temple of the holy Gho&s;t which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?</HI> Now where the Lords <HI>Temples</HI> are thus profan'd, may not he ju&s;tly <HI>abhor</HI> them, and utterly <HI>for&s;ake</HI> that Land? Yea, if for this &s;in e&s;pecially, the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.5, 6</NOTE> <HI>brought in the Floo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> upon the World of the Ungodly: And turning the Cities of</HI> Sodom <HI>and</HI> Gomorrah <HI>into A&s;hes</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>, <HI>condemn'd them with an over|throw,
<PB N="85" REF="50"> making them an Example to the&s;e that afterwards &s;hould live ungodly, who are</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude v. 7</NOTE> <HI>&s;uffering the Vengeance of Eternal Fire;</HI> of how much <HI>&s;orer Puni&s;hment,</HI> think you, &s;hall they be thought worthy, who under the <HI>Light</HI> of the Go&s;pel, <HI>Profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of Chri&s;tia|nity and <HI>Meanes</HI> of Grace, commit the&s;e horrid <HI>Abominations?</HI> Surely it's a wonder the <HI>flaming Vengeance</HI> of God is not before now broken forth again&s;t the <HI>provoking Peo|ple</HI> of this Land. But we know,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Heb. 13.4</NOTE> <HI>Whore|mongers and Adulterers God will judge.</HI></P>
<P>For this &s;in does God complaine of his ungrateful People, the <HI>Jews. When I had fed them to the full</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.7, 8, 9.</NOTE>) <HI>they then committed Adultery, and A&s;&s;embled them&s;elves by Troops in the Harlots Hou&s;es. They were as fed Hor&s;es in the morning, every One neighed after his Neighbours Wife. Shall I not vi&s;it for the&s;e things? &s;aith the LORD: and &s;hall not my &s;oul be avenged on &s;uch a Nation as this?</HI> So the Prophet complaines as of one of the great Evils of his Time,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 23 10</NOTE> <HI>the Land is full of Adulterers.</HI> And when the Lord found the Land <HI>full</HI> of &s;uch <HI>filth,</HI> he came and &s;wept it with the <HI>Be&s;ome of De&s;olation,</HI> in the <HI>Babyloni&s;h Captivity.</HI> The <HI>committing of Adultery</HI> is one of tho&s;e &s;ins, for which the LORD hath &s;aid<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.2, 3.</NOTE>, <HI>The Land &s;hall mourne.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="6" TYPE="sin">
<PB N="86" REF="51">
<HEAD>The &s;ixth Sin. <HI>Gluttony and Drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>WHen Gluttony and Drunkenne&s;&s;e are tho&s;e Idols to which men &s;acrifice the Marrow and Fatne&s;&s;e of the Land, together with their Time and Strength, the Dayes are evil, the Times are Perillous.</HI> When the&s;e two appear together (as <HI>Ca&s;tor</HI> and <HI>Pollux</HI> promi&s;e <HI>&s;afety</HI> in the <HI>Sea</HI>) they pre&s;age a <HI>&s;torme</HI> in the <HI>State.</HI> The&s;e two <HI>Mon&s;ters</HI> are enough to <HI>devoure</HI> a whole Land, and they provoke God to de&s;troy the Place where they prevaile. Men were <HI>eat|ing and drinking</HI> (as if that had been the end of their Creation) when God brought the <HI>Flood,</HI> and drown'd the world<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.38</NOTE>, where|by they were involv'd in a &s;udden <HI>De&s;tructi|on.</HI> And we know there is a <HI>Day a coming</HI> (which &s;hall &s;teal upon men <HI>as a Thief in the Night</HI>) wherein the <HI>World</HI> &s;hall be de&s;troy'd with <HI>Fire</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.10</NOTE>: <HI>And</HI> (&s;ayes our Saviour<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 21.34, 35.</NOTE>) <HI>Take heed to your &s;elves, le&s;t at any Time your Hearts be overcharg'd with &s;urfeiting and drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI> (or<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, &agrave; <GAP DESC="foreign">, Vi|num. Gourman|di&s;e, &amp; Yurongne|rie, Gallic. Genev.</NOTE> Gluttony and Fulne&s;s of Wine) <HI>and cares of this Life, and &s;o that day come upon you unawares. For as a &s;nare &s;hall it come on all them that dwell on the Face of the whole Earth.</HI> However
<PB N="87" REF="51"> though the Day of the <HI>General Judgement</HI> (which yet cannot be far off) &s;hould not &s;urprize the <HI>pre&s;ent Generation,</HI> they may be &s;uddenly overtaken with the black and gloomy day of &s;ome <HI>Particular Judgement.</HI> When the <HI>good Creatures</HI> of God are abu&s;ed to <HI>Exce&s;&s;e,</HI> God may ju&s;tly plague that Land with <HI>War</HI> and <HI>Want.</HI> So of the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> its &s;aid,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exo. 32.6 1 Cor. 10.7</NOTE> <HI>The People &s;ate down to eat, and to drink, and ro&s;e up to play.</HI> They minded neither the God that gave them their ble&s;|&s;ings, to be <HI>thankful;</HI> nor the end for which he gave them, <HI>that they might &s;erve the</HI> LORD <HI>their God with joyfulne&s;&s;e, and gladne&s;&s;e of heart for the abundance of all things</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Deut. 28.47</NOTE>. But what followed? The Scri|pture tells you,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exod. 32 28</NOTE> <HI>There fell of the People that Day</HI> (by the edge of the Sword, in the hands of their Brethren, by the Order and Appointment of God) <HI>about three thou&s;and men.</HI> Thus may God take occa&s;ion, when the people are guilty of this &s;in, of<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jude 12.</NOTE> <HI>feed|ing them&s;elves without Fear,</HI> to reckon with them for all the re&s;t of their &s;ins and abo|minations. Thus did the Lord afterwards cau&s;e his People <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to be carried into <HI>Captivity</HI> for the Puni&s;hment of their &s;elf-indulgence in this &s;in of <HI>Luxury.</HI> For thus &s;aith the Lord in <HI>Amos</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. v. 4-8.</NOTE>, <HI>They lie upon Beds of Ivory, and stretch them&s;elves upon their Couches.</HI> [Or, (as the Margin hath it) <HI>abound in &s;uperfluities.] They eat the Lambs out of the Flock, and the Calves out of
<PB N="88" REF="52"> the mid&s;t of the Stall.</HI> [They were &s;o <HI>fine fed</HI> that they could <HI>dige&s;t</HI> nothing but <HI>Delicacies.] They chant to the &s;ound of the Viol, and inv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nt to them&s;elves In&s;truments of Mu&s;ick, like</HI> Da|vid.] Their <HI>Meat</HI> would not down without <HI>Mu&s;ick:</HI> like true <HI>Epicures,</HI> they mu&s;t at once <HI>fea&s;t</HI> all their <HI>Sen&s;es.] They Drink Wine in Bowles,</HI> [They drank by <HI>Mea&s;ure</HI> without <HI>Mea&s;ure.</HI> Thus they tran&s;gre&s;t in the <HI>quantity,</HI> as well as in the <HI>quality</HI> of their Provi&s;ions.] <HI>And anoint them&s;elves with the chief Oyntments: [Fea&s;ting</HI> is u&s;ually attended with <HI>Effeminacy.] But they are not grieved for the affliction of</HI> Jo&s;eph. [<HI>Glut|tony</HI> and <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI> harden the heart to an <HI>In&s;en&s;iblene&s;&s;e of Sions &s;ufferings.</HI> In <HI>Riots</HI> and <HI>Revels</HI> men are never affected with the <HI>Churches Concernments.] Therefore now &s;hall they go Captive</HI> (<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE> in the very Head and Front of the Captives,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> or) <HI>with the fir&s;t that go Captive, and the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">anquet of them that &s;tretched them&s;elve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> (&s;training</HI> their E&s;tates to <HI>&s;atisfie</HI> their Lu&s;ts, in main|taining their Luxury; Or, that <HI>&s;tretched them&s;elves upon their Couches</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">ver. 4.</NOTE>) <HI>&s;hall be removed.</HI> [This latter part of the <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> hath various <HI>Ver&s;ions.</HI> For thus do &s;ome render the Original Hebrew.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign"></P>
<P>Tunc ce&s;&s;abit amove|biturque De&s;ignatio Re|dundantium<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jun. &amp; Trem. vide Annot. in Locum.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Et recedet Luxus luxu|riantium<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Buxt,</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Et recedet vel amove|bitur Conv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">vatio luxurio|&s;orum<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">R. Salom.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Et auferetur Factio la&s;|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ivientium<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vulg. Lat.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">LXXII. Interp.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tin.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign">:<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Paraph. Chald.</NOTE> <GAP DESC="foreign"></P>
<P>Et recedet Conv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">vium Funeris exten&s;orum<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ar. Mont.</NOTE></P>
<P>Et appro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">nqua<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> Luc|tus &s;e extendentium Le|ctis<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Sant. Pagnin.</NOTE>.</P></NOTE> <HI>And all the Pre|paration of Exceed|ings &s;hall cea&s;e;</HI> Or, <HI>All the co&s;tly deli|cacies prepared for
<PB N="89" REF="52"> the riotous Fea&s;ters, by tho&s;e that are by appointment to give Order for the fur|ni&s;hing out of the Fea&s;t, &s;hall cea&s;e and be removed.</HI> The <HI>Luxuriancy</HI> of their Fea&s;ting &s;hall be <HI>lopt off,</HI> and their exqui|&s;ite <HI>Dainties</HI> &s;hall be taken away from their Table by the hand of Ju&s;tice. The Vul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ar Tran&s;lation (u&s;ually a&s;crib'd to <HI>Hier<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">me</HI>) renders it, <HI>The Faction of the wan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ons &s;hall be taken away.</HI> The <HI>Seventy,</HI> though in termes more remote, are thought in &s;en&s;e to con|cur with this Vulgar Ver&s;ion. For they render it, <HI>The neighing of the hor&s;es &s;hall be taken away out of</HI> Ephraim. So likewi&s;e is it rendred in the <HI>Arabick</HI> Tran&s;lation: Now the &s;en&s;e which is generally given of it, is this; <HI>The la&s;ciou&s;ne&s;&s;e of</HI> Ephraim, <HI>whereby they are become like fed Hor&s;es in the morning</HI> (as the Prophet &s;peaks<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.8.</NOTE>) <HI>every one neighing after his neighbours Wife, &s;hall be made to cea&s;e by their &s;ufferings.</HI> And this &s;en&s;e is not un&s;uitable to the <HI>&s;cope</HI> of this <HI>Scripture,</HI> which is to repre&s;ent the <HI>Sin</HI> and <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of <HI>Exce&s;&s;e</HI> in <HI>Fea&s;t|ing,</HI>
<PB N="90" REF="53"> whereby men become guilty of <HI>Riot</HI> and <HI>Drunkenne&s;s,</HI> which are proper <HI>Parents</HI> of <HI>L &s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>beget</HI> many <HI>Acts of Uncleanne&s;&s;e.</HI> For <HI>Luxury</HI> is the <HI>Fewel</HI> of <HI>Lu&s;t,</HI> and <HI>Wine</HI> (which the Poets call<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ari&s;toph.</NOTE> <HI>The milk of Venus</HI>) is the <HI>Food</HI> of <HI>Wantonne&s;&s;e.</HI> Whence its &s;aid by the Father;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><PB N="90" REF="53">Vent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r ae&s;tuans mero facile <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mat in Libi|dinem<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hieron.</NOTE> Et,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Idem in Ep<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t. ad Titum.</NOTE> In vino Luxuria e&s;t, ubicunq<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;aturitas; &amp; u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i E<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rie|tas, ibi Libido domi|natur.</NOTE> <HI>When the body is inflam'd with Wine, Wantonne&s;&s;e is the Froth of Drunken|n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e.</HI> And againe, <HI>there is Luxury in Wine where <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ver th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re is Saturity, and Lu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> gets Dominion by Drunkenn &s;&s;e.</HI> To this of the <HI>Sep <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">agint</HI> another <HI>G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k</HI> Tran&s;la|tion addes, <HI>And the habitation of Ev<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rs &s;hall b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> removed.</HI> Thus <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI> leads to <HI>VV<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> and <HI>VVantonn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;e</HI> ends in <HI>VVoful <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;&s;e,</HI> when their <HI>Luxury</HI> is puni&s;h't by their being carry'd into <HI>Captivity.</HI> The <HI>Ch<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lde Paraphra&s;e</HI> &s;peaks to this Purpo&s;e, <HI>Then &s;hall the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ir Hearts depart, and the costly and curious Furniture of their Hou&s;es &s;hall be taken away from them.</HI> The Impo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t of this Ver&s;ion an&s;wers the <HI>&s;cope</HI> of the Text and <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> of the words, which is this, <HI>Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ir Fe&s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">al joy and gladne&s;&s;e, toge|ther with all their rich Furniture for Fea&s;ting, &s;hall be utterly lo&s;t, when they &s;hall be carry|ed awa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Captives.</HI> And becau&s;e &s;uch &s;um|ptuous <HI>Fea&s;ting,</HI> &s;uch &s;plendid <HI>Magnifi|cence</HI> was principa ly found among&s;t <HI>great
<PB N="91" REF="53"> men,</HI> as being proper to <HI>Princes,</HI> the <HI>Syri|ack</HI> Tran&s;lates it, <HI>The Exultation, or Exu|berancy of Joy, &s;hall be taken away from th ir Princes.</HI> It imports their <HI>Bondage</HI> under the <HI>Babylonian Captivity</HI> &s;hould be &s;o bit|ter, that their <HI>joyful Fea&s;ts</HI> &s;hould be turn'd into <HI>afflicting Fa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s,</HI> and their <HI>wanton Mirth</HI> nto <HI>woful Mourning.</HI> And hence &s;ome <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ave rendred the Words,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Genev. Tran&s;. Sic Pagn. ut &s;upra, &amp; a|lii.</NOTE> <HI>The &s;orrow of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hem that have &s;tretched out them&s;elves is at hand.</HI> But now the <HI>literal Tran&s;lation</HI> an|&s;wering mo&s;t exactly to the <HI>Hebrew Origi|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">al,</HI> is this; <HI>And the Funeral-Fea&s;t of ho&s;e that are &s;tretched out</HI> (as &s;uppo&s;e lying down upon their Beds, the Po&s;ture of Fea&s;t|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng among the Jews) <HI>is removed.</HI> For it was a cu&s;tom among the Jews to make a <HI>Fea&s;t</HI> at <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he <HI>Funerals</HI> of the Dead, to <HI>comfort the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">riends</HI> of the decea&s;ed. And therefore the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> repre&s;ents the great <HI>di&s;tre&s;s</HI> and <HI>C lamity</HI> of the <HI>Jews,</HI> by the cea&s;ing of the&s;e <HI>Funeral-Fea&s;ts. Neither</HI> (&s;ays he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 16.7 See the Margin.</NOTE>) <HI>&s;hall men break b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ead for them in mourning, to comfort them for the Dead, neither &s;hall men give them the Cup of Con&s;olation to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rink for their Father, or for their Mother.</HI> Now the Word u&s;ed by the Prophet <HI>Amos,</HI> when he &s;aith their banquet &s;hall be remo|ved, properly &s;ignifies &s;uch a <HI>Funeral-Fea&s;t.</HI> And therfore (though hence it may be tran&s;|ferr'd to &s;ignifie any Fea&s;t or Banquet) if the <HI>Fea&s;ting</HI> here &s;poken of was upon &s;uch an <HI>Occa&s;ion,</HI> it was no &s;mall <HI>Aggravation</HI>
<PB N="92" REF="54"> of their &s;in of <HI>Luxury.</HI> For was Fea&s;ting upon <HI>Delicacies,</HI> and exce&s;&s;ive <HI>Drinking,</HI> repre&s;ented by their <HI>drinking Wine in Bowles,</HI> &s;ea&s;onable or &s;uitable for &s;uch an Occa&s;i|on? Nay, was it not more exce&s;&s;ively &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ful at &s;uch a time as this, when they were call'd to attend &s;uch a <HI>&s;orrowful Solemnity?</HI> But whether this were their &s;in or not, &s;ure I am it is a <HI>Sinne</HI> too common in the <HI>grea City of this Land,</HI> and no &s;mall <HI>Stain</HI> to its <HI>Glory.</HI> For upon &s;uch <HI>occa&s;ions</HI> as the&s;e of our <HI>Funeral Solemnities</HI> it is too ordinary a thing for <HI>Women of the lower rank</HI> (I am <HI>a&s;ham'd</HI> to &s;peak it, and yet <HI>afraid</HI> to be &s;ilent, let &s;o horrible a <HI>Sinne</HI> &s;hould pa&s;&s;e <HI>unreproved</HI>) not onely <HI>to drink wine in Bowles,</HI> but <HI>o drink off Bowles of wine,</HI> to a manife&s;t <HI>Exce<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s,</HI> a bea&s;tly <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI> Neither can it be deny'd, when &s;ometimes their <HI>&s;hameful &s;pew|ing</HI> in the open <HI>Congregation</HI> te&s;tifies a+gain&s;t them. How horrible a thing is this that <HI>women profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;tianity,</HI> and who would take it in foule &s;corne that an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;hould &s;ay of them they were <HI>&s;trangers <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Religion and godline&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;hould be guilty of &s;uch an abominable <HI>Exce&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;uch a filth<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, &s;candalous, damnable <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI> Is it not a <HI>&s;hame</HI> (if tho&s;e may be Judges that have not utterly renounc't all <HI>Sobriety</HI>) that &s;ome <HI>one Woman,</HI> &s;hould at one Time, drink <HI>&s;everal quarts</HI> of Wine, one after another, upon &s;uch an <HI>Occa&s;ion?</HI> This me thinks &s;hould &s;eeme <HI>incredible</HI> to &s;trangers, which
<PB N="93" REF="54"> manife&s;t and too frequent evidence a|mong&s;t us, makes altogether <HI>unden<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">able.</HI> O horrid vitiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and wor&s;e then bruti&s;h|ne&s;&s;e of &s;uch <HI>intemperate wom<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n,</HI> the <HI>&s;hame</HI> of their Sex, the <HI>&s;cum</HI> of our City (however &s;ome of them may &s;eem to be <HI>of good fa&s;hion</HI>) and in the eyes of all <HI>&s;ober Per&s;ons,</HI> more loath&s;ome then the <HI>Dung</HI> in the <HI>&s;treets!</HI> May not the Lord ju&s;tly<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 13.9.</NOTE> <HI>mar the Pride, and &s;taine the Glory</HI> of a City <HI>polluted</HI> with &s;uch foule <HI>Abominations!</HI> May not the Lord &s;ay concerning &s;uch a People, as here of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> for his <HI>Epicuri&s;me</HI> and Exce&s;&s;e; <HI>The Lord GOD hath &s;worn by him&s;elf, &s;aith he</HI> LORD, <HI>the God of Ho&s;ts, I abhor the excellency of</HI> Jacob, <HI>and hate his Palaces: therefore will I deliver up the City with all that is therein.</HI></P>
<P>Strange it is that any &s;hould &s;eek to them&s;elves a <HI>Name</HI> and affect <HI>Glory</HI> by &s;o &s;hameful a &s;in, &s;o ignominious an <HI>Abu&s;e</HI> of Gods <HI>Creatures,</HI> as they are guilty of, who &s;acrifice them to their <HI>Luxury,</HI> and in a fearful exce&s;&s;e of <HI>Prodigality, con&s;ume them upon their Lu&s;ts.</HI> Yet many &s;uch a|bominable <HI>Epicures</HI> there have been, and doubtle&s;&s;e &s;till are in the World. Thus we reade of that Luxurious and La&s;civious Queen of <HI>Egypt, Cleopatra,</HI> that to give the more Noble <HI>Reception,</HI> and Honourable <HI>Entertainment</HI> to <HI>Mark Anthony,</HI> &s;he order'd at a Banquet, <HI>One Di&s;h</HI> to be prepared at the Expence of <HI>two Hundred and fifty Pieces of Gold,</HI> to be &s;erved up to the Table in
<PB N="94" REF="55"> the <HI>&s;econd Cour&s;e.</HI> And further to expre&s;s (as &s;he thought) the <HI>Love</HI> and <HI>Honour</HI> &s;he bore to <HI>Mark Anthony,</HI> her <HI>Wanton Para|mour,</HI> having di&s;&s;olv'd a <HI>Pearle</HI> of <HI>fifty thou|&s;and pounds</HI> price, &s;he drank it off to his <HI>Health</HI> at <HI>one draught.</HI> Oh infamous <HI>Ex|ce&s;&s;e!</HI> O Licentious <HI>Lady</HI> of <HI>Luxury,</HI> worthy of no greater <HI>Honour</HI> in all after A|ges then this, to be &s;til'd the <HI>Grand Patro|ne&s;&s;e of Prodigality.</HI> But what think you was the <HI>end</HI> of this great <HI>Epicure?</HI> When <HI>Mark Anthony</HI> to requite this <HI>Honour</HI> was re&s;olv'd to make her <HI>Empere&s;&s;e of the World,</HI> and to that end attempted the ra|vi&s;hment of the <HI>Romane Scepter,</HI> he was vanqui&s;h't by <HI>Octavious Augu&s;tus</HI> at <HI>Actium,</HI> whence he fled to <HI>Alexandria,</HI> and there in <HI>De&s;pair</HI> of <HI>Life,</HI> &amp; <HI>Di&s;dain</HI> of <HI>Death</HI> from the <HI>Hand</HI> of an <HI>Enemy,</HI> he fell upon his <HI>own &s;word</HI> and dy'd. Hereupon <HI>Cleopatra,</HI> that &s;he might not become the Matter of the <HI>Roman Tri|umph,</HI> inclo&s;ed her &s;elfe in a <HI>Tomb,</HI> and there &s;etting two <HI>Serpents</HI> to her Brea&s;t, &s;he ended a Luxurious <HI>Life</HI> with a mi&s;era|ble <HI>Death.</HI> Thus at length the <HI>Plea&s;ure</HI> of <HI>Luxury</HI> expires in <HI>Paine,</HI> and the <HI>Glory</HI> of <HI>Prodigality</HI> is buried in <HI>&s;hame,</HI> and co|vered with everla&s;ting Ignominy and Con|tempt.</P>
<P>But I needed not to have travell'd into <HI>Egypt</HI> for an <HI>Example</HI> of <HI>Luxury,</HI> while I might have produc't one in <HI>England,</HI> hardly to be parallel'd in the whole <HI>Empire
<PB N="95" REF="55"> of Epicurus.</HI> But when I con&s;ider the <HI>qua|lity</HI> of the <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> and the <HI>Place</HI> that he held, I am afraid le&s;t by the Relation of it, I &s;hould give an Occa&s;ion to the <HI>Churches Enemies</HI> to ca&s;t <HI>Reproach</HI> upon the mo&s;t <HI>Honourable calling</HI> in the World, which is that of the <HI>Mini&s;try</HI> of the <HI>Go&s;pel.</HI> But when I con&s;ider that &s;urely the mo&s;t enra|ged <HI>Malice</HI> of men cannot but be &s;atisfi'd by the <HI>&s;everity</HI> of the <HI>Judgements</HI> of God, in puni&s;hing the <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Vanity</HI> of men of that <HI>Order</HI> and <HI>Degree</HI> wherein he was placed, I conceive the <HI>Report</HI> of it may bring in &s;ome <HI>Profit,</HI> without any <HI>Prejudice</HI> or Danger. For this man, of whom I &s;peak, was in his Time an <HI>Arch-Bi&s;hop</HI> in the <HI>Church of England.</HI> And its &s;ufficiently known to the World that God hath of late years been pouring out the full <HI>Vialls</HI> of his ju&s;t <HI>Wrath</HI> upon this glittering Sun of <HI>Englands Glory.</HI> This man then, <HI>George Ne|vil</HI> by Name, brother to the <HI>Earle</HI> of <HI>War|wick,</HI> in the dayes of <HI>King Edward</HI> the fourth, made a Prodigious <HI>Fea&s;t</HI> for the <HI>Nobility,</HI> prime <HI>Clergy,</HI> and chief <HI>Gentry,</HI> at his <HI>In&s;tallment</HI> into the <HI>Arch-Bi&s;hoprick</HI> of <HI>York.</HI> He rifled the <HI>Aire, Earth,</HI> and <HI>Sea</HI> for all &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ts of <HI>Provi&s;ions</HI> and co&s;tly <HI>varieties</HI> for this pompous and magnificent <HI>Entertainment.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See his Bill of fare in Godwin his Cata|logue of the Bi&s;hop of York, p. 65. And Fullers Church-Hi&s;tory. l. 4 p. 193.</NOTE> Above twenty thou&s;and <HI>Fowles,</HI> Peacocks, Pigeons, Capons, Cranes, &amp;c. Above &s;ix thou&s;and <HI>Cattel</HI> and <HI>Land-creatures,</HI> Oxen, Sheep, Dear, &amp;c. Above
<PB N="96" REF="56" MS="y"> &s;ix hundred <HI>Fi&s;hes,</HI> Porpai&s;es, Pikes, Seales, and Breames lo&s;t their <HI>Lives</HI> to maintaine the <HI>Luxury</HI> of this one <HI>Fea&s;t;</HI> be&s;ides which five thou&s;and Di&s;hes of <HI>Gelly,</HI> with other Palate-plea&s;ing <HI>Delicacies</HI> were pre|pared. And to dige&s;t the&s;e <HI>Dainties</HI> he provides three hundred and thirty Tuns of <HI>Ale,</HI> and above foure hundred Tuns of <HI>Wine,</HI> be&s;ides a Pipe of &s;piced <HI>Wine</HI> to plea&s;e the more curious <HI>Palates,</HI> and for a &s;tronger <HI>Provocation</HI> to Exce&s;&s;e. Thus he exceeded the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 King. 4.22, 23.</NOTE> <HI>Magnificence</HI> of <HI>Solomon</HI> by the <HI>Exce&s;&s;e</HI> of his <HI>Prodigality.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>O prodiga Rerum</P>
<P>Luxuries, nunquam contenta paratu,</P>
<P>Et quae&s;itorum Terra Pelagoque ciborum</P>
<P>Ambitio&s;a Fames, &amp; lautae Gloria Men&s;ae<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lucan. l. 4. Phar&s;al.</NOTE>!</P></NOTE> O Prodigal <HI>Luxu|ry,</HI> and Luxuriant <HI>Prodigality! O Am|bitious Appetite,</HI> that cannot be content except it &s;tretch its <HI>Dominion</HI> over all the <HI>Delicacies</HI> of <HI>Earth</HI> and <HI>Sea!</HI> O the <HI>Pride</HI> of <HI>Epicuri&s;m!</HI> The <HI>Glory</HI> of <HI>Gluttony.</HI> But (alas!) what is it, but a &s;hining, but &s;oon-vani&s;hing <HI>Meteor,</HI> exhaled from the <HI>Fumes</HI> of a pom|pous <HI>Fea&s;t, brighten'd</HI> a little with the <HI>Beams</HI> of the <HI>Royal Favour,</HI> which in the <HI>Revo|lution</HI> of a few years, we may &s;ee with A|&s;toni&s;hment in the <HI>Eclip&s;e;</HI> Even &s;o it fell out here. For not long after, the <HI>King,</HI> out of &s;ome <HI>Jealou&s;ies</HI> of <HI>State,</HI> cau&s;ed this <HI>Bacchanalian Bi&s;hop</HI> to be apprehended, &s;ei|zed upon his whole <HI>E&s;tate,</HI> to the value of
<PB N="97" REF="56"> twenty thou&s;and pounds, and &s;ent him over <HI>Pri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oner</HI> to <HI>Callis</HI> in <HI>France,</HI> where &s;uf|fering a &s;trict <HI>Impri&s;onment,</HI> he lay langui&s;h|ing in <HI>Mi&s;ery</HI> and <HI>Want</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Victus jacuit in &s;umma inopia. Godw.</NOTE> Thus were the <HI>Plumes</HI> of his <HI>Pride</HI> pluckt off by the <HI>Power</HI> of his <HI>Prince,</HI> and his exce&s;&s;ive <HI>Prodigality</HI> was puni&s;ht by extreame <HI>Poverty,</HI> by the <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> of God.</P>
<P><HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> &s;till follows at the Heeles of <HI>&s;in,</HI> and yet &s;inners will be &s;till following their &s;inful <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> until they are over|taken by their ju&s;tly de&s;erved <HI>Puni&s;hments.</HI> How de&s;perately wicked a wretch was that rich <HI>Citizens</HI> &s;onne, pre&s;ented to us in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Part. 2. p. 110, 111</NOTE> <HI>the Theatre of Gods Judgements,</HI> who to plea&s;e all his <HI>five &s;en&s;es</HI> at once, allow'd to the de|light of every &s;everal <HI>&s;en&s;e</HI> an Hundred <HI>Pounds.</HI> For which purpo&s;e he provided a <HI>Roome</HI> richly hung, and beautifi'd with the mo&s;t curious <HI>Pictures</HI> to plea&s;e his <HI>Eye;</HI> There he had the rare&s;t <HI>Mu&s;ick</HI> to delight his <HI>Eare,</HI> the riche&s;t <HI>Perfumes</HI> to ravi&s;h his <HI>Smell,</HI> and the choice&s;t <HI>Dainties</HI> to con|tent his <HI>Ta&s;t;</HI> and to gratifie his <HI>Feeling Sen&s;e</HI> he wanted not a beautiful <HI>Harlot</HI> for his wanton Embraces. All this &s;en&s;ual <HI>Plea&s;ure</HI> he drunk as it were at <HI>one draught,</HI> while he thus fea&s;ted all his five &s;en&s;es in one day. Neither was he herewith &s;atisfi'd: but <HI>three years</HI> did he &s;pend in the pur&s;uit of his &s;en&s;ual <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> and loo&s;e <HI>Delight,</HI> wherein he <HI>wa&s;ted</HI> his E&s;tate, having in this &s;hort time <HI>&s;pent</HI> no le&s;&s;e then <HI>thirty thou&s;and</HI>
<PB N="98" REF="57"> pounds. And yet after all this he &s;wore that <HI>if he had three times more then ever he had, he would &s;pend is all to live one we<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k like a God</HI> (as he accounted it) <HI>though he was &s;ure to be damn'd to Hell the next day after.</HI> De&s;perate <HI>Profanene&s;&s;e!</HI> But to what Extremity of <HI>Torments</HI> will men at length be carry'd by &s;uch an unbridled <HI>Ex|ce&s;&s;e! Dives</HI> fared deliciou&s;ly every day while he was here on <HI>Earth,</HI> but he could not get one <HI>Drop of water</HI> to coole his fla|ming tongue in <HI>Hell</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 16.19-26.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Now this <HI>&s;in</HI> is one of the <HI>Cords</HI> by which a Nation <HI>plucks</HI> down <HI>Judgement</HI> upon it &s;elf. The fierce&s;t and cruelle&s;t <HI>Plagues</HI> are often let loo&s;e for the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of the &s;inne of <HI>Luxury.</HI> It was the <HI>Gate</HI> of <HI>Intemperance</HI> by which <HI>Death</HI> at fir&s;t <HI>entred</HI> into the World, with his <HI>whole Army,</HI> con|&s;i&s;ting of many <HI>Millions</HI> of <HI>Mi&s;eries,</HI> which are continually <HI>warring</HI> again&s;t mi&s;erable man-kinde. Through <HI>Intemperance Adam</HI> lo&s;t his <HI>Paradi&s;e,</HI> and ca&s;t his <HI>Po&s;terity</HI> in an undone condition. <HI>Fulne&s;&s;e of Bread</HI> was one of the <HI>Sins of Sodom,</HI> for which God de&s;troy'd that wicked <HI>City</HI> with a dreadful <HI>de&s;truction</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 16 49</NOTE>. And to this Day <HI>Ful|ne&s;&s;e of Bread</HI> is the ordinary forerunner of <HI>Cleanne&s;&s;e of Teeth.</HI> A <HI>Glutton</HI> is an ex|treamly pernicious Per&s;on: He <HI>ruines</HI> him&s;elf, and his Po&s;terity, and be&s;ides con|tributes much to the <HI>ruine</HI> and De&s;truction f the <HI>whole Nation.</HI> For, the <HI>Glutton</HI>
<PB N="99" REF="57"> entombes his <HI>Ance&s;tors</HI> in his Bowels, and devoures his <HI>Po&s;terity</HI> (as <HI>Saturn</HI> was &s;aid to do his <HI>Sons</HI>) and by his <HI>provoking</HI> of God, becomes a <HI>Plague</HI> to the pre&s;ent Ge|neration. <HI>Slanderers</HI> make a <HI>&s;word</HI> of their <HI>Tongue,</HI> and <HI>Gluttons</HI> dig their <HI>Grave</HI> with their <HI>Teeth</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Adag. Gallic.</NOTE>; yea, hereby al&s;o they dig a <HI>Pit</HI> for the <HI>De&s;truction</HI> of the whole Land.</P>
<P>And is not this (among many others) the <HI>Sin</HI> of the&s;e our <HI>Dayes?</HI> &s;urely &s;ome there are that (with the <HI>Sea-A&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ari&s;t. Hi&s;t. Ani|mal. l. 9. c. 17.</NOTE>) have their <HI>Hearts</HI> in their <HI>Bellies,</HI> yea &s;ome that (with <HI>the gormandizing Cretians</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Tit. 1.12 <GAP DESC="foreign">, per Aphaere&s;in pro <GAP DESC="foreign">, Poet. pro <GAP DESC="foreign">, Gulo&s;i, helluones, Ventri ad In&s;aniam u&s;que in|dulgentes. Pa&s;. Pha|vorin. Dru&s;. Prae|terit. in loc.</NOTE>) make their <HI>Belly their God,</HI> to which they &s;acri|fice the be&s;t part of their precious <HI>Time</HI> and <HI>Trea&s;ure.</HI> The&s;e are they of whom the Apo&s;tle <HI>tells us weeping</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.18 19</NOTE>, <HI>that they are the Enemies of the Cro&s;&s;e of Christ, whole End is De&s;truction, who&s;e God is their Belly, and who&s;e glory is in their &s;hame, who minde earthly things.</HI> How ma|ny are there that will needs live a|bove their <HI>Ranck,</HI> and &s;pend above what their e&s;tates will bear, till they have at once undone them&s;elves and many others! If they have but occa&s;ion of <HI>Fea&s;ting</HI> their Friends, every thing mu&s;t be &s;et off with &s;uch a <HI>Princely Magnificence,</HI> as if they were Lords of &s;uch an <HI>Ocean</HI> of wealth as knew neither <HI>Bounds</HI> nor <HI>Bottome.</HI> Thus <HI>Nabal,</HI> upon who&s;e <HI>Name</HI> that <HI>Folly</HI> was engraven, which was rooted in his <HI>Nature</HI>
<PB N="100" REF="58"> upon the Occa&s;ion of <HI>&s;hearing</HI> his <HI>&s;heep</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 25 36</NOTE>, <HI>held a Fea&s;t in his hou&s;e like the Fea&s;t of a King,</HI> wherein he him&s;elf was <HI>as drunk as a beggar.</HI> Thus <HI>Luxury</HI> halted not in his Hou&s;e, but went upon both its legges, <HI>Glut|tony</HI> and <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e.</HI> But whoever they are that take this cour&s;e, will at length find that <HI>Riot</HI> is the <HI>Road</HI> to <HI>Ruine,</HI> and that <HI>Poverty</HI> is the next <HI>neighbour</HI> to <HI>Prodigali|ty.</HI> Its therefore the <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> of &s;uch to hearken betimes to the <HI>Coun&s;el</HI> of the <HI>Wi&s;e man;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 23.19, 20, 21.</NOTE> <HI>Hear thou my Sonne, and be Wi&s;e, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among&s;t Wine-bibbers, among&s;t Riotous Eaters of Fle&s;h. For the Drunkard and the Glutton &s;hall come to Poverty: and Drow&s;ine&s;&s;e</HI> (the ordinary companion of <HI>Drunkenne&s;s) &s;hall cloath a man with ragges.</HI></P>
<P>Dreadful are the <HI>Woes</HI> which the Lord in his <HI>Word</HI> hath pronounc't again&s;t <HI>Drunkards. Woe unto them</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord by the Pro|phet<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.11, 12.</NOTE>) <HI>that ri&s;e up early in the morning that they may follow &s;trong Drink, and con|tinue until Night, till Wine inflame them. And the Harp and the Viol, the Tabret and the Pipe, and Wine are in their Fea&s;ts: But they regard not the Work of the LORD, neither con&s;ider the operation of his Hands.</HI> And no wonder; For,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.11</NOTE> <HI>Whoredom and Wine, and new Wine take away the heart. Drunken|ne&s;&s;e</HI> makes men &s;o &s;otti&s;h and &s;en&s;ele&s;&s;e that they take no notice of Gods <HI>Di&s;pen&s;a|tions,</HI> till they are overtaken with his
<PB N="101" REF="58"> <HI>Judgem nts.</HI> Thus its &s;aid of <HI>Nabal</HI> after his <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 25 37, 38.</NOTE> <HI>that his Heart died with|in him, and he became as a &s;tone: And it came to pa&s;&s;e about ten dayes after, that the</HI> LORD <HI>&s;mote</HI> Nabal, <HI>that he died.</HI> Again, &s;ayes the LORD,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.22.</NOTE> <HI>Woe unto them that are Mighty to drink Wine, and men of &s;trength to mingle &s;trong Drink.</HI> He then is the great|e&s;t <HI>Drunkard</HI> in Gods &s;ight who is able to drink mo&s;t without <HI>Di&s;temper.</HI> For what's <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e,</HI> but <HI>Exce&s;&s;e in Drinking,</HI> though no <HI>Di&s;temper</HI> of <HI>Body</HI> or <HI>Braine</HI> &s;hould follow thereupon? But he is the greate&s;t <HI>Drunkard</HI> of all, who not onely drinks to <HI>Exce&s;&s;e</HI> him&s;elf, but labours al&s;o to draw on others to <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e,</HI> enforcing more upon them then they would otherwi&s;e receive. Such a de|vili&s;h <HI>Drunkard</HI> de&s;erves no le&s;&s;e then double <HI>Damnation.</HI> A dreadful <HI>Woe</HI> hangs ever his <HI>Head,</HI> and a <HI>Cup</HI> of <HI>Wrath</HI> &s;hall be put into his <HI>Hand,</HI> and the Lord &s;hall cau&s;e him to drink up the <HI>Dregges</HI> of it. <HI>Woe unto him</HI> (&s;aith the LORD<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hab. 2.15, 16.</NOTE>) <HI>that gi|veth his Neighbour drink: that putte&s;t thy Bottle to him, and makest him drunken al&s;o, that thou maye&s;t look on their Nakedne&s;&s;e. Thou art filled with &s;hame for glory: drink thou al&s;o, and let thy Fore-skin be uncover|ed, the Cup of the</HI> LORDS <HI>right hand &s;hall be turned unto thee, and &s;hameful &s;pew|ing &s;hall be on thy glory.</HI> Neither does this &s;in of <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI> draw down a <HI>Woe</HI>
<PB N="102" REF="59"> upon the <HI>drunkards</HI> head onely, but al&s;o brings in a <HI>Deluge</HI> of <HI>Judgements</HI> upon the <HI>whole Land,</HI> which is defiled by it. And therefore &s;ayes the Lord,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 28.1-4.</NOTE> <HI>Woe to the Crown of Pride, to the drunkards of</HI> Ephraim: <HI>who&s;e glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat Valleys of them that are overcome with VVine. Be|hold the Lord hath a mighty and &s;trong one, which as a tempe&s;t of Haile, and a de&s;troy|ing &s;torme, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing &s;hall cast down to the earth with the Hand: The Crown of Pride, the drun|kards of</HI> Ephraim <HI>&s;hall be troden under feet. And the glorious beauty which is on the head of the Fat Valley; &s;hall be a fading Flower, and as the ha&s;ty fruit before the Summer; which when he that looketh upon it, &s;eeth it, while it i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> yet in his hand he eateth it up.</HI></P>
<P>Thus may a Land, which is as a <HI>flou|ri&s;hing Field,</HI> for the &s;innes of tho&s;e that live in it, be turn'd into a <HI>barren De&s;ert,</HI> a Wilderne&s;&s;e of Thornes.</P>
<P>Thus <HI>Gluttony</HI> and <HI>Drunkenne&s;s,</HI> when they abound in a Land, are the Cau&s;es, Pre&s;ages, and <HI>Symptoms of Perillous Times.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="7" TYPE="sin">
<PB N="103" REF="59">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;eventh Sin.</HI> Fanta&s;ticalne&s;&s;e, Vanity and Pride of Apparel.</HEAD>
<P><HI>VVHen Fanta&s;ticalne&s;&s;e, Vanity and Pride of Apparel is a Predomi|nant &s;in, it &s;peaks Perillous Times.</HI> It plea&s;ed God to be&s;tow a &s;ingular <HI>Honour</HI> up|on man, at his <HI>fir&s;t Creation,</HI> in imprint|ing upon him the <HI>Beauty</HI> of his own <HI>Image.</HI> For,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 1.27</NOTE> <HI>God Created man in his own Image, in the Image of God created he him.</HI> The <HI>Soul</HI> of man was indeed the Principal <HI>Sub|ject</HI> of this glorious <HI>Impre&s;&s;ion:</HI> but yet the <HI>Body</HI> of man was, by the Wi&s;dome of God,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 139 15</NOTE> <HI>curiou&s;ly compo&s;'d</HI> to &s;uch a <HI>comeline&s;&s;e</HI> of <HI>&s;hap<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> as that it might be a fit Cabinet for &s;o ine&s;timable a <HI>Jewel,</HI> embelli&s;ht with &s;o Di|vine a <HI>Portraicture.</HI> Then was <HI>naked Inno|cency</HI> mans mo&s;t <HI>glorious cloathing.</HI> But &s;ince the <HI>defacement</HI> of this <HI>Image</HI> of God, and the <HI>defilement</HI> of the <HI>Nature</HI> of man, mi&s;erable man hath been forc't to begge <HI>Relief</HI> of the other <HI>Creatures,</HI> for the cover|ing of the <HI>&s;hame</HI> of his <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e.</HI> But alas vain man! How fooli&s;hly does he abu&s;e this <HI>&s;econd Benefit!</HI> How does he bewray the <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e</HI> of his <HI>Minde</HI> by the <HI>Appa|rel</HI> of his <HI>Body!</HI> How vainly does he turne
<PB N="104" REF="60"> the <HI>covering</HI> of his <HI>&s;hame</HI> into the <HI>di&s;playing</HI> of his <HI>Pride!</HI> How &s;hall we now know the <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ape</HI> of a man, or where &s;hall we behold the <HI>Comline&s;&s;e</HI> of his fir&s;t <HI>Compo&s;ure,</HI> when he is now daily <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ransforming</HI> him&s;elf (<HI>Pro|teus</HI> like) into a &s;trange <HI>Variety</HI> of Fanta|&s;tick <HI>F<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ious?</HI> And how &s;trangely is he <HI>be|witcht</HI> with this Vanity, that whereas he &s;hould in Rea&s;on &s;hape his <HI>Apparel</HI> to his <HI>Body,</HI> h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;eemes to go about to &s;hape his <HI>Body</HI> to his <HI>Appar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l!</HI> How ridiculous world it be to &s;ee a man &s;tick his Body with <HI>Peacock<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Plume</HI> and <HI>O&s;trich Feathers,</HI> and then <HI>Pride</HI> him&s;elfe in the plea&s;ing variety of their <HI>curious colours!</HI> And is it not every whit as ab&s;urd and beggarly for a <HI>Per&s;on of quality</HI> to carry a <HI>Pedlers Shop</HI> about the &s;treets of the <HI>City,</HI> leading (as it were) his <HI>Pride in Triumph,</HI> and ma|king an <HI>open &s;how</HI> of the <HI>&s;poiles of the &s;ilk|worme?</HI> And as if the <HI>costline&s;&s;e</HI> of the <HI>matter</HI> did contend with the <HI>Curio&s;ity</HI> of the <HI>Fa&s;hion,</HI> how do the <HI>Gallants of the Times</HI> lay out their <HI>Riches</HI> and <HI>Revenues</HI> for the maintenance of their <HI>Pride of Apparel!</HI> How do they trample with di&s;daine upon the <HI>Poore</HI> of the Countrey, treading them under feet, as they would a <HI>Worme</HI> into the mire, while they walk like <HI>Mon&s;ters of Pride,</HI> with whole <HI>Orchards, Fields, Woods</HI> upon their Backs, bearing at once in the <HI>co&s;tline&s;&s;e</HI> of their <HI>Garb,</HI> the <HI>revenues</HI> of a whole <HI>Lord&s;hip!</HI> Such was the luxuri|ant
<PB N="105" REF="60"> <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Gallantry</HI> of a <HI>Roman Em|perour</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Helioga|balus.</NOTE>, who jug'd it a piece of &s;tate to weare <HI>&s;umptuous Apparel,</HI> and an unwor|thy ba&s;ene&s;&s;e to appear <HI>twice</HI> in the <HI>&s;ame</HI> &s;uit, though never &s;o rich and &s;plendid. His <HI>&s;hooes</HI> were embelli&s;h't with <HI>Pearles</HI> and <HI>Diamonds;</HI> his <HI>Seats</HI> &s;trew'd with <HI>Musk</HI> and <HI>Amber;</HI> his <HI>Bed</HI> covered with <HI>Gold</HI> and <HI>Silver,</HI> and inchac't with the co&s;tlie&s;t <HI>Gemmes,</HI> and his <HI>Way</HI> &s;trew'd with the <HI>Powder of Pearles.</HI></P>
<P>But the <HI>Female Sex</HI> hath ever beene more generally guilty of a &s;trange <HI>Exce&s;&s;e</HI> in <HI>Apparel</HI> and <HI>Ornaments.</HI> How &s;trange is the <HI>Vanitie</HI> of the Mindes of <HI>VVomen,</HI> e&s;pecially of tho&s;e accounted of the <HI>better Rank,</HI> in the affectation of Variety of <HI>Fa&s;hions</HI> in their <HI>Cloaths</HI> and <HI>Deckings!</HI> Proud women have a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mundus maliebris. <GAP DESC="foreign">, Plat. 2. de Rep.</NOTE> <HI>VVorld</HI> of Orna|ments, and,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dum moliuntur, dum comuntur Annus e&s;t<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Terent.</NOTE>.</NOTE> A <HI>Yeare</HI> is &s;pent in their <HI>tricking and trimming</HI> them&s;elves with them; yea, &s;carcely will an <HI>Age</HI> &s;uf|fice them to runne all the Stages of their &s;till-changing <HI>Fa&s;hions.</HI> The Prophet <HI>I|&s;aiah,</HI> being him&s;elfe conver&s;ant in the <HI>Court,</HI> had diligently ob&s;erv'd the Gallan|try of the <HI>Proud Dames</HI> of tho&s;e dayes, whom he does as faithfully reprove, open|ing a full <HI>Pack</HI> of their <HI>Toyes</HI> and <HI>Vanities</HI> (the <HI>En&s;ignes</HI> of their <HI>Pride</HI>) which they, it &s;eemes, much plea&s;ed them&s;elves in, as
<PB N="106" REF="61"> very decent and well-becoming <HI>Ornaments.</HI> But he declares unto them their <HI>&s;in,</HI> and in the <HI>Name of the Lord,</HI> pronounces the <HI>Doome</HI> of &s;uch proud, &s;elf-Idolizing <HI>Vani|ties,</HI> as the <HI>Daughters of Zion</HI> were then become through a &s;trange affectation of multiplicity of <HI>Ornaments,</HI> and &s;ingularity in <HI>Carriage</HI> and Behaviour. For thus does he deliver his <HI>Me&s;&s;age</HI> to them from the Lord.</P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 3.16-26.</NOTE><HI>Moreover the LORD &s;aith, becau&s;e the Daughters of</HI> Zion <HI>are</HI> haughty, <HI>and walk with</HI> &s;tretched forth. Necks, <HI>and wanton eyes, walking and</HI> mincing [or, tripping it neatly<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Plaudendo, Ar. Mont. tripudiando, Pagn.</NOTE>] <HI>as they go, and making a</HI> tinkling <HI>with their Feet, [as if they walked in</HI> Fetters, <HI>or had</HI> Bells <HI>or</HI> Rattles <HI>ty'd to their Feet</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Tinniebant, A. M. pedibus &s;uis compeditas a|gunt, Jun. Trem. Calceamenta habebant cum crepitaculis, Pagn.</NOTE>] <HI>Therefore the Lord will &s;mite with a</HI> Scab <HI>the Crown of the Head of the Daughters of</HI> Zion, <HI>and the</HI> LORD <HI>will di&s;cover their</HI> &s;ecret Parts. <HI>In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling</HI> Or|naments <HI>about their Feet, and their</HI> Cauls [<HI>or</HI> Ornaments <HI>of</HI> Net-work, <HI>or</HI> Needle-work <HI>wrought with</HI> Eyes<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Reticula Ar. Mont. Vittas in&s;tar retis Pagn. Opera Oculata Jun. Trem.</NOTE>] <HI>and their</HI> round Tires <HI>like the</HI> Moon. <HI>The</HI> Chaines [<HI>or,</HI> &s;weet Balls, <HI>or</HI> Boxes <HI>of perfuming</HI> Ointments, <HI>their Gol|den</HI> Boxes <HI>of rich</HI> Gummes <HI>and precious</HI>
<PB N="107" REF="61"> Bal&s;ome<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Myrothecidia, Jun. Va&s;cula aurea in quibus pone|batur <GAP DESC="foreign"> Stacte aut Bal&s;amum juxta Kimch. &amp; R. Levi. Buxt. Lexic.</NOTE>] <HI>and the</HI> Brace|lets <HI>and the</HI> Mufflers [<HI>or thin</HI> Veiles, <HI>or</HI> Head-Ornaments <HI>glittering with waving</HI> gold, <HI>or &s;tarry</HI> Spangles<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Velamina, Ar. Mont. Bracteolae, quae Collaribus, Vittis ac Peplis muleribus addi &s;olent; &s;ic dictae (&agrave; <GAP DESC="foreign"> tremere) quod &s;emper tremulae appareant. Buxt.</NOTE>.] <HI>The</HI> Bonnets, <HI>and the</HI> Ornaments <HI>of the</HI> Legges, <HI>and the</HI> Head|bands [<HI>or</HI> Haire-laces, <HI>or</HI> Neck-laces<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vittae, A. M. Redimicula, Jun. Ornamenta Colli fuerunt. Buxt.</NOTE>] <HI>and the</HI> Tablets [<HI>or the</HI> Boxes <HI>of Aromatical Confections for the perfuming of the</HI> Breath<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">i. e. Domus A|nimae, &s;eu Halitus: q. d. <HI>Breath-Boxes.</HI> Pagninus Pectoralia, Ju|nius Bucculas vertit, exponitque &s;uperba illa Aulicarum In&s;tru|menta quibus os &s;uum conte|gunt velut pa&s;tomidibus; e&s;t enim os meatus animae &s;ive an|helitus, cujus obex propterea Hebraeis Domus Animae ap|pellatur.</NOTE>] <HI>and the</HI> Ear|rings [<HI>or</HI> Amulets<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Amuleta, Jun. <HI>Golden or Silver</HI> Plates <HI>engraven with certain</HI> Characters <HI>again&s;t</HI> Enchantment. Aben Ezra.</NOTE>] <HI>The</HI> Rings <HI>and</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jewels which hung down from the Fore-head to the No&s;e.</NOTE> No&s;e-jewels [<HI>or</HI> Jewels <HI>for the</HI> Face] <HI>The changable</HI> Suits <HI>of</HI> Ap|parel, <HI>and the</HI> Mantles, <HI>and the</HI> Wimples, [Aprons <HI>or embroyder'd</HI> Ve&s;tures<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ventralia, Jun. Buxt. Linteamina, Pagn. Pepla, Ar. Mont. Sic &amp; Kimchi.</NOTE>] <HI>and the</HI> Cri&s;ping-Pins [<HI>or,</HI> Cu&s;hnets, Pur&s;es, Pin-pillows, Needle-Ca&s;es<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Loculi, Aciaria. Pagn. &amp; Ar. Mont. Crumenas vertunt, Junius vero Aciaria, &s;ive (ut Graeci vocant) <GAP DESC="foreign">, quibus Acus &amp; aciculae infigi aut includi &s;olent.</NOTE>] <HI>The</HI> Gla&s;&s;es, <HI>and the fine</HI> Linnen, <HI>and the</HI> Hoods, <HI>and the</HI> Vailes. <HI>And it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e that in|stead of</HI> &s;weet &s;mell <HI>there
<PB N="108" REF="62"> &s;hall be</HI> Stink; <HI>and in&s;tead of a</HI> Girdle, <HI>a</HI> Rent; <HI>and in&s;tead of</HI> well-&s;et Haire, Bald|ne&s;&s;e; <HI>and in&s;tead of a</HI> Stomacher, <HI>a</HI> Gird|ing <HI>of</HI> Sackcloth; <HI>and</HI> Burning <HI>in&s;tead of</HI> Beauty. <HI>Thy men &s;hall fall by the</HI> Sword, <HI>and thy Mighty in the</HI> War. <HI>And her Gates &s;hall</HI> lament, <HI>and</HI> mourn, <HI>and being</HI> de&s;olate, <HI>&s;hall &s;it upon the Ground.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee <HI>Vanity, Fanta&s;ticalne&s;s and Pride of Apparrel,</HI> brings down the <HI>Judge|ments</HI> of God upon a Land. For this may God cloath the <HI>Land</HI> with <HI>Confu&s;ion,</HI> and fill the <HI>City</HI> with <HI>Fears,</HI> and &s;tain the <HI>Beauty</HI> of the&s;e proud <HI>Gallants</HI> with <HI>Blood.</HI> For this may God &s;courge the <HI>City</HI> with the <HI>Plague,</HI> and cha&s;ti&s;e the <HI>Country</HI> with <HI>Wars,</HI> and lay the <HI>whole Land de&s;olate.</HI></P>
<P>How <HI>dolefull</HI> is the <HI>Repre&s;entation</HI> of Gods <HI>dreadfull Judgements</HI> upon the <HI>Land</HI> of <HI>Ju|dah,</HI> whereby he threatned to puni&s;h the <HI>Pride</HI> of <HI>Jeru&s;alem!</HI> How may it make the &s;toute&s;t heart to <HI>tremble</HI> to &s;ee the LORD of Ho&s;ts leading up an <HI>Army</HI> of enraged and implacable <HI>Enemies</HI> again&s;t his own <HI>People!</HI> To &s;ee <HI>De&s;truction</HI> in the Van, and <HI>De&s;ola|tion</HI> in the Rear of a terrible and (becau&s;e arm'd with Divine <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI>) invincible <HI>Ar|my</HI> of Aliens! Behold how the Prophet was affected with the <HI>Vi&s;ionary Repre&s;entati|on</HI> of it. <HI>My Bowels!</HI> (&s;ays he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 4.19 &mdash;ult.</NOTE>) <HI>My Bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noi&s;e in me; I cannot hold my peace, becau&s;e thou hast heard, O my &s;oul, the</HI> &s;ound
<PB N="109" REF="62"> <HI>of the</HI> Trumphet, <HI>the</HI> Alarm <HI>of</HI> War. De|&s;truction <HI>upon</HI> De&s;truction <HI>is cry'd, for the whole Land is</HI> &s;poiled: <HI>&s;uddenly are my Tents &s;poiled, and my Curtains in a Moment. How long &s;hall I &s;ee the</HI> Standard, <HI>and hear the &s;ound of the</HI> Trumphet? <HI>For my people is fooli&s;h, they have not known me, they are &s;otti&s;h Children, and they have none under|&s;tanding: they are</HI> wi&s;e <HI>to do</HI> Evil, <HI>but to do</HI> good <HI>they have no</HI> knowledge. <HI>I beheld the Earth, and lo! it was without form, and void; and the Heavens, and they had no Light. I beheld the</HI> Mountains, <HI>and loe! they trembled, and all the</HI> Hills <HI>moved lightly. I beheld, and loe! there was no</HI> man, <HI>and all the</HI> Birds <HI>of the Heavens were fled. I beheld, and loe! the</HI> fruitfull place <HI>was a</HI> Wilderne&s;s, <HI>and all the</HI> Cities <HI>thereof were broken down at the pre&s;ence of the</HI> LORD, <HI>and by his fierce</HI> Anger. <HI>For thus hath the</HI> LORD <HI>&s;aid, The whole</HI> Land <HI>&s;hall be</HI> de&s;olate; <HI>yet will I not make a full End. For this &s;hall the</HI> Earth mourn, <HI>and the</HI> Heaven <HI>above be black: becau&s;e I have &s;poken it. I have purpo&s;ed it, I will not repent, neither will turn back from it. The whole</HI> City <HI>&s;hall flee, for the Noi&s;e of the</HI> Hor&s;e-men <HI>and</HI> Bow-men, <HI>they &s;hall go into</HI> Thickets, <HI>and climb up upon the</HI> Rocks: <HI>Every</HI> City <HI>&s;hall be</HI> for&s;aken, <HI>and not a man</HI> dwell <HI>therein. And when thou art</HI> &s;poiled, <HI>what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe&s;t thy &s;elf with</HI> Crim|&s;on, <HI>thou decke&s;t thee with</HI> Ornaments of Gold, <HI>though thou rente&s;t thy face with</HI> Paint|ing,
<PB N="110" REF="63"> <HI>in vain &s;halt thou make thy &s;elf</HI> fair, <HI>thy</HI> Lovers <HI>will de&s;pi&s;e thee, they will &s;eek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a wo|man in</HI> Travell, <HI>and the Angui&s;h as of h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r that bringeth forth her</HI> fir&s;t Child, <HI>the Voice of the Daughter of</HI> Zion; <HI>that bewail<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th her &s;elf, that &s;preadeth her hands, &s;aying, woe is me now, for my &s;oul is wearied becau&s;e of Mur|derers.</HI></P>
<P>O ye proud <HI>Gallants,</HI> ye fanta&s;tick <HI>Ladies,</HI> how long will ye provoke the Lord by your <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Wantonne&s;s,</HI> to &s;tain your <HI>Glory,</HI> to &s;trip you of your <HI>Ornaments,</HI> and to plague the <HI>whole Land</HI> for your &s;akes with his &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgements?</HI> Hath not the <HI>Lord</HI> threatned to puni&s;h your <HI>Pride,</HI> and to break tho&s;e <HI>Pillars</HI> of Power that &s;u&s;tain your <HI>Glory?</HI> Hath not the Lord &s;aid,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 13.9.</NOTE> <HI>After this man|ner (even as</HI> Jeremiah's <HI>linnen</HI> Girdle <HI>was</HI> rotted <HI>in the earth</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ver. 7.</NOTE>) <HI>Will I</HI> marre <HI>the</HI> Pride <HI>of</HI> Judah, <HI>and the great</HI> Pride <HI>of</HI> Jeru&s;a|lem? You &s;et off your Beauty by the&s;e fan|ta&s;tick <HI>Ornamens</HI> to the eyes of men, but know you not that your <HI>Pride</HI> in the mean time makes you odious in the <HI>&s;ight</HI> of God? Know you not that <HI>Pride</HI> is ever attended with <HI>&s;hame,</HI> and &s;hall at length be over-taken with <HI>Destruction?</HI> For, <HI>When</HI> Pride <HI>com|eth, then cometh</HI> Shame<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pro. 11.2</NOTE>, and <HI>De&s;truction</HI> &s;tayes not long behind; For, <HI>Pride goeth before De&s;truction</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 16.18</NOTE>. Have you not read of the <HI>Judgement</HI> threatned again&s;t <HI>I&s;rael, Ephraim</HI> and <HI>Judah</HI> for their <HI>Pride? The</HI>
<PB N="111" REF="63"> Pride <HI>of</HI> I&s;rael (<HI>&s;aith the Lord</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 5, 5.</NOTE>) <HI>doth te&s;|tifie to his fac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, therefore &s;hall</HI> I&s;rael <HI>and</HI> E|phraim <HI>fall in their iniquity:</HI> Judah <HI>al&s;o &s;hall fall with them.</HI> O remember when you are decking your &s;elves with your ex|cellent <HI>Ornaments,</HI> you are but as it were &s;ticking a <HI>Corp&s;e</HI> with curious <HI>Flowers,</HI> which when God gives the Word mu&s;t be rumbled into the <HI>Grave,</HI> and turned into <HI>Du&s;t.</HI> And as for the <HI>&s;ouls</HI> of &s;uch <HI>Proud</HI> Per&s;ons, they mu&s;t be for ever &s;hut up in the flaming <HI>Pri|&s;on</HI> of <HI>Hell.</HI> For if God turned <HI>proud An|gels</HI> out of <HI>Heaven,</HI> certainly he will never &s;uffer <HI>proud women</HI> to enter in. <HI>David</HI> would not &s;uffer a <HI>Proud per&s;on</HI> to dwell in his <HI>Hou&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 101.5</NOTE>, and &s;urely God will not &s;uffer a <HI>Proud Peacock</HI> to alight in <HI>Heaven.</HI> O con|&s;ider when you are <HI>priding</HI> your &s;elves in your Beauty and Ornaments, you are <HI>pluck|ing</HI> of Judgements down upon the Land. Your Pride makes you the <HI>Spots</HI> of the <HI>Church,</HI> the <HI>plagues</HI> of the <HI>City,</HI> and the <HI>pro|curers</HI> of a thou&s;and Mi&s;eries to the whole <HI>Nation.</HI></P>
<P>What is it, Ladies, that is the ground of your Pride? Is it the conceit of your <HI>Beau|ty?</HI> And Alas! What's <HI>Beauty,</HI> but a little &s;hining <HI>Du&s;t,</HI> and that which is the be&s;t that many of you can boa&s;t of to the world, no better then painted <HI>Clay?</HI> And yet <HI>there is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes, and their eye-lids are lifted up</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 30.13</NOTE> Or is it the rich <HI>Apparrel</HI> wherewith you &s;et off your
<PB N="112" REF="64"> <HI>Beauty</HI> that foments your <HI>Pride?</HI> O vaine Minds! Can you be proud of <HI>Du&s;t</HI> and <HI>Clay,</HI> and the <HI>Excrements</HI> of Bea&s;ts, or o|ther more contemptible Creatures? And yet you would be accounted <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> and &s;ome of you (perhaps) would be thought to be forward <HI>Profe&s;&s;ors.</HI> But is this think you to live according to the <HI>Rule of the Go&s;pel?</HI> Can you by the&s;e proud <HI>Deckings</HI> of your Bodies <HI>adorn the Doctrine of God your Saviour</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.10</NOTE>? If your <HI>Bodies</HI> are in|deed the <HI>Temples of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> you cannot &s;urely think it acceptable to God that you &s;hould <HI>adorn</HI> them with &s;uch foo|li&s;h and fanta&s;tick <HI>Ornaments.</HI> But per|haps you think <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> hath taken no <HI>care,</HI> given no <HI>order</HI> in the Go&s;pel concerning &s;uch matters. But know God in the Go&s;pel hath given <HI>command</HI> to <HI>women</HI> profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;tianity, not &s;o much to minde the&s;e <HI>outward Ornaments,</HI> as to take care of beau|tifying and adorning their &s;ouls with <HI>inward excellencies. Who&s;e</HI> adorning (&s;ayes the Scripture<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3.3, 4, 5.</NOTE>) <HI>let it not be that</HI> outward a|dorning <HI>of plaiting the</HI> Hair, <HI>and of wearing of</HI> Gold, <HI>or of putting on of</HI> [<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Vox <GAP DESC="foreign"> vero ve&s;tes &s;u|periores &amp; majoris pretii de|notat. Chemnit. Ca&s;aub.</NOTE> co&s;tly] Ap|parel: <HI>but let it be the</HI> hidden man <HI>of the</HI> heart, <HI>in that which is not corruptible, even the</HI> Ornament of a meek and quiet &s;pirit, <HI>which is in the &s;ight of God of great Price. For after this manner in the old Time, the</HI> Holy women <HI>al&s;o, who tru&s;ted in God,</HI> adorn|ed <HI>them&s;elves.</HI> And &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 5.5</NOTE>,
<PB N="113" REF="64">
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>In&s;tead of knots of Gold and Silver, put on the rare</HI> Or|nament <HI>of</HI> Humility; <HI>For God re&s;i&s;teth the</HI> Proud, <HI>but giveth grace to the</HI> humble: the&s;e &s;hall finde <HI>Favour,</HI> when he comes again&s;t the other in <HI>Fury.</HI> But its much to be feared that you that &s;o much minde the&s;e <HI>Vanities,</HI> do very little regard the <HI>Go&s;pel.</HI> However as for you that would di&s;|daine not to be called and accounted <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> and think your &s;elves the one|ly true <HI>Prote&s;tants,</HI> methinks you &s;hould blu&s;h to &s;ee the <HI>Folly</HI> and <HI>Vanity</HI> of your <HI>Pride,</HI> both of <HI>Beauty</HI> and <HI>Apparel,</HI> &s;o lively repre&s;ented to you by the <HI>elegant Pen</HI> of that <HI>Popi&s;h Je&s;uite,</HI> with who&s;e <HI>Writings</HI> it is but too certain, you are, ma|ny of you, far more familiarly acquainted, then with the <HI>Holy Scriptures.</HI> You will therefore I hope take <HI>Acquaintance</HI> of this <HI>Pa&s;&s;age</HI> which &s;peaks fully to this <HI>Purpo&s;e.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To boa&s;t the</HI> Beauty <HI>of</HI> Body, <HI>is to have a great defect in the</HI> Judgement, <HI>which is the</HI> Beauty <HI>of the</HI> Soul. <HI>It's verily a de&s;perate</HI> Vanity, <HI>when a</HI> Lady, <HI>under the Colour that &s;ome &s;cribling</HI> Rimer <HI>hath given her the</HI> Locks <HI>of</HI> Aurora, <HI>the</HI> Eyes <HI>of</HI> Venus, <HI>the</HI> Port <HI>of</HI> Juno, <HI>the</HI> Feet <HI>of</HI> Thetis, <HI>makes her &s;elf the Queen of</HI> Antioch, <HI>and glorifies her &s;elf many times with a</HI> Beauty <HI>meerly imagi|nary
<PB N="114" REF="65"> Queen</HI> Stratonica, <HI>the Wife of</HI> Sel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u|cus, <HI>had not one</HI> Haire <HI>upon her</HI> Head, <HI>yet notwith&s;tanding gave &s;ix hundred Crowns to a</HI> Poet, <HI>who had celebrated her in his</HI> Ver&s;e, <HI>and &s;ung that her</HI> Haire <HI>had the tincture of the</HI> Marigold. <HI>I know not how this &s;oothing</HI> Flatterer <HI>meant it, but this</HI> Queen <HI>became very</HI> Proud, <HI>which made her &s;o much the more</HI> Ridiculous. <HI>Although this</HI> Beauty <HI>were true, it is but</HI> white <HI>and</HI> vermillion <HI>skin di&s;tended over a</HI> Carka&s;&s;e, <HI>which covereth many</HI> Or|dures: <HI>it is a</HI> Dunghill <HI>blanch't with</HI> &s;now, <HI>an</HI> Idol <HI>of</HI> Fooles, <HI>a</HI> Flower <HI>of the</HI> Field, <HI>which hath (as it were) for</HI> Horizon <HI>the in&s;tant of its</HI> Birth. <HI>We may well give it the</HI> Epitaph <HI>of the</HI> Ro&s;e;</P>
<L><NOTE PLACE="marg"><L>Mirabar celerem fugitiv&acirc; aetare ruinam</L>
<L>Et dum na&s;cuntur, con|&s;enui&s;&s;e Ro&s;as.</L></NOTE>Here lies the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> in one day come</L>
<L>From the fir&s;t <HI>Blo&s;|&s;ome</HI> to a <HI>Tomb.</HI></L>
<P>A <HI>much more notorious</HI> Folly <HI>it al&s;o is, to boast and brave it in</HI> Apparel, <HI>which are</HI> Plai&s;ters <HI>of the</HI> Scars <HI>of &s;inne, to wit,</HI> Naked|ne&s;&s;e; <HI>borrowed</HI> Feathers <HI>from all kinde of Birds, unpuni&s;hed</HI> Thefts, <HI>Witne&s;&s;es of our</HI> Poverty, <HI>which cau&s;eth us to beg the A&s;|&s;i&s;tance of all creatures to cover our</HI> &s;hame. <HI>What an indignity is it to be de&s;irous to brave it above our</HI> State, Quality <HI>or</HI> Port, <HI>and to arrive at this Height often times to bear the</HI> Fat and Marrow <HI>of the</HI> Poor <HI>in the</HI> Plaits <HI>of</HI> Garments? <HI>Nay the&s;e many</HI> Rapines <HI>are not &s;ufficient to entertain this enraged</HI>
<PB N="115" REF="65"> Prodigality. Debts <HI>mu&s;t grow which can|not be di&s;charged.</HI> Silk <HI>mu&s;t be dragg'd at your</HI> Heeles, <HI>and a</HI> Serjeant <HI>ready</HI> behinde <HI>you; to</HI> &s;hew Gold, <HI>and</HI> hide Mi&s;ery <HI>and</HI> Sinne; <HI>to adorne a</HI> Body, <HI>as if it were a</HI> Temple of Egypt, <HI>with all po&s;&s;ible &s;plendor, and to Lodge within it the</HI> Soul <HI>of a</HI> Rat. <HI>What</HI> Infamy <HI>is it to behold in a Banquet a</HI> Ro|man Lady, <HI>called</HI> Lollia Paulina,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plin. l. 1. c. 35.</NOTE> <HI>carry a|bout her in</HI> Chaines, Carcanets, <HI>and preci|ous</HI> Stones, <HI>a</HI> Million <HI>of</HI> Gold, <HI>and her Fa|ther who had di&s;poyl'd all the</HI> Roman Pro|vinces <HI>to cloath this onely</HI> daughter, <HI>drink afterwards</HI> Poy&s;on, <HI>overwhelm'd in the</HI> De|&s;paire <HI>of his own affaires? Is not the</HI> Cham|let coat <HI>of the greatest of all our Kings</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lewis of France.</NOTE>, <HI>of power to confound all Courtiers of both Sexes, who having nothing worthy of Prai&s;e in them, would dignifie them&s;elves with</HI> Apparel, <HI>&s;hewing they have like a</HI> Peacock <HI>a little</HI> Head, <HI>little</HI> Brain, <HI>Beautiful</HI> Feathers, <HI>and a long</HI> Tail?</P>
<P>Its doubtle&s;&s;e a great <HI>&s;hame,</HI> and gives occa&s;ion to our Adver&s;aries to ca&s;t <HI>Re|proach</HI> upon <HI>Religion,</HI> when &s;o much <HI>Pride, Vanity and Fantasticalne&s;&s;e</HI> &s;hall be &s;een in a <HI>Land</HI> profe&s;&s;ing true <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> in a <HI>City</HI> honour'd above all the Cities under the Cope of Heaven, with the pure and power|ful <HI>preaching of the Go&s;pel.</HI> When the <HI>Maid</HI> &s;hall vye with her <HI>Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e,</HI> and the <HI>Chil|dren</HI> &s;hall be dre&s;t like <HI>Puppets,</HI> and the <HI>Church</HI> &s;hall become a <HI>Shop of Vanities,</HI>
<PB N="116" REF="66"> is it not time for God to remove his <HI>Golden Candle&s;tick,</HI> may he not ju&s;tly for the <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> of our <HI>Pride,</HI> deprive us of his <HI>Go&s;pel?</HI></P>
<P>Is it not a <HI>&s;hame,</HI> and &s;hould it not be a <HI>grief</HI> of heart to all tho&s;e that truely fear God, to behold &s;uch <HI>Idols of Vanitie</HI> &s;et up in the <HI>Congregations of Chri&s;tians?</HI> Rich <HI>Apparel,</HI> and conceit of her own <HI>Beauty,</HI> is the <HI>Proud</HI> womans <HI>Devotion.</HI> Hence &s;he comes into the <HI>Church,</HI> as upon a <HI>Stage,</HI> not to <HI>&s;eek</HI> God, but to <HI>&s;hew</HI> her &s;elf. There &s;he feeds her <HI>Eyes,</HI> but not her <HI>Eares;</HI> and while &s;he <HI>&s;acrifices</HI> to her <HI>pride,</HI> draws others to <HI>&s;acrifice</HI> to their <HI>Lu&s;ts,</HI> who<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.28</NOTE> <HI>commit Adultery with her,</HI> in the open Congregation. Thus &s;he is her own <HI>Idol,</HI> and the wanton's <HI>Stews,</HI> &s;et up in <HI>Gods Temple.</HI> She <HI>brings</HI> her &s;elf thither as a <HI>Fea&s;t</HI> for <HI>wanton Eyes,</HI> not con&s;ider|ing that &s;he &s;hall be &s;hortly <HI>brought</HI> thither as a <HI>Fea&s;t</HI> for <HI>Wormes.</HI></P>
<P>Is it not a fearful <HI>&s;in</HI> and <HI>&s;hame,</HI> that in a <HI>Chri&s;tian Common-wealth, Chri&s;t</HI> &s;hould go <HI>naked</HI> in his poore Members, when ma|ny &s;hall yearly &s;acrifice hundreds and thou|&s;ands to their Pride in <HI>Apparel?</HI> &s;hall <HI>Gal|lants</HI> flaunt it in the &s;treets in their <HI>&s;ilk<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> and <HI>Sattin,</HI> in <HI>Silver</HI> and <HI>Gold,</HI> while <HI>poore Families</HI> of Chri&s;tians are ready to peri&s;h for want of <HI>nece&s;&s;ary relief?</HI> May not the <HI>Lord Je&s;us</HI> ju&s;tly draw back his <HI>golden Scepter,</HI> and un&s;heath his <HI>glittering &s;word,</HI>
<PB N="117" REF="66"> and cut off the <HI>Proud</HI> that will not pity his <HI>Poor,</HI> nor abate one <HI>Inch</HI> of their foo|li&s;h vanities, to rai&s;e <HI>Relief</HI> for &s;uch di|&s;tre&s;&s;ed Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>Is it not time for the <HI>Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate</HI> By the force of &s;ome good <HI>Law,</HI> to give a check to this <HI>luxuriant Vanity,</HI> le&s;t it &s;hould at length &s;trengthen it &s;elf to an <HI>unbridled Exce&s;s,</HI> not only to prevent the <HI>Ruine</HI> of ma|ny <HI>Families,</HI> but al&s;o the <HI>Judgement</HI> of God upon the whole <HI>Land?</HI> If this redre&s;&s;e be too long neglected, may not the <HI>Di&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a e</HI> become incurable. Behold a &s;ad and &s;trange <HI>Example</HI> hereof.</P>
<P>At the end of the &s;econd <HI>Carthaginian Warre,</HI> and upon the victory obtain'd a|gain&s;t <HI>Philip,</HI> King of <HI>Macedon, Luxury</HI> began to lift up its head in <HI>Rome,</HI> and to outbrave oppo&s;ition by its daring <HI>In&s;olence.</HI> For (as <HI>Valerius</HI> reports) the <HI>Women</HI> a&s;|&s;embled them&s;elves in an audacious <HI>Ryot,</HI> be&s;et the hou&s;e of the <HI>Bruti,</HI> becau&s;e they under&s;tood they were re&s;olv'd to &s;tand up for the <HI>Oppian Law;</HI> which the women de|&s;ired to be abrogated. For by this Law they were not &s;ufferd to wear any <HI>cloaths</HI> of Divers <HI>Colours,</HI> not to exceed half an Ounce in any <HI>Adornments of Gold,</HI> nor to u&s;e any <HI>Coach</HI> or <HI>Chariot</HI> within a Mile of the City, unle&s;&s;e to carry them to the <HI>Sa|crifices</HI> upon the Solemn Dayes of <HI>Divine Service.</HI> And &s;o farre did they prevaile by this in&s;olent <HI>carriage,</HI> that the <HI>Law,</HI> which
<PB N="118" REF="67"> without Interruption had continued in Force full twenty years, was hereupon pre|&s;ently <HI>aboli&s;h't.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Non enim providerunt Seculi illius Viri, ad quem Cultum tenderer in&s;oliti Coetus pertinax Studi|um, aut quo &s;e u&s;que ef|fu&s;ura e&s;&s;et <HI>L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gum victrix Audacia:</HI> quod &s;i animi muliebris Apparatus in|tueri potui&s;&s;ent, quibus a|liquid quotidie Novitatis &s;umptuo&s;ius adjectum e&s;t, in ip&s;o intro<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tu <HI>ru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nti Luxuriae</HI> ob&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ti&s;&s;ent<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Val. Max. l. 9. c.</NOTE>.</NOTE>For <HI>(&s;ayes he, ad|ding the rea&s;on of this Conce&s;&s;ion)</HI> the men of that Age could not fore&s;ee to what <HI>Vanitie</HI> of <HI>Fa&s;hions</HI> that liberty granted to the ob&s;ti|nate D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ires of &s;o un|w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nted a concour&s;e, would by them be a|bu&s;'d, or to what more de&s;perate De&s;ignes &s;uch an un|bridled <HI>In&s;olence,</HI> overma&s;tring the &s;trength of Laws, might carry them: But could they but have &s;een the <HI>vanity and Fanta&s;ticalne&s;s</HI> of Womens Mindes, who&s;e <HI>Fancies</HI> are continu|ally at work for the <HI>Invention</HI> of new <HI>Fa|&s;hions,</HI> every day exceeding another in <HI>co&s;t|line&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>curio&s;ity,</HI> they would certainly have oppo&s;'d &s;uch a <HI>luxuriant Vanity</HI> at its fir&s;t entrance, and never have &s;uffer'd it with &s;uch an impetuous Violence to have ru&s;ht into the City.</P>
<P>But now is it not a farre greater <HI>&s;in</HI> and <HI>&s;hame,</HI> for tho&s;e that are called by the Go&s;|pel, to the <HI>Profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of true <HI>Religion</HI> and godline&s;&s;e, who ought thence forth<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.17</NOTE> <HI>not to walk as the other Gentiles walk, in the</HI> Va|nity <HI>of their Minde,</HI> to exceed Heathens
<PB N="119" REF="67"> in this fooli&s;h <HI>vanity</HI> and affectation of <HI>no|velty</HI> and change of Fa&s;hions in Apparel and Ornaments? And yet how difficult a thing is it, <HI>Ladies,</HI> more <HI>Honourable</HI> if you were but more <HI>humble,</HI> to reclaime you, by the &s;harpe&s;t <HI>Reproofs,</HI> the mo&s;t &s;erious <HI>Admonitions,</HI> from the&s;e <HI>co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ly vanities?</HI> Will you hear a Pagan <HI>Philo&s;opher</HI> teaching a <HI>Le&s;&s;on of mode&s;ty</HI> to women, with great|er <HI>&s;ucce&s;&s;e</HI> (I &s;peak it to your &s;hame) then the <HI>Preachers</HI> of the Go&s;pel dothe &s;ame <HI>Doctrine</HI> among&s;t Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Inter haec <HI>(de Pythagora refert Ju&s;tinus)</HI> velut Ge|netricem Virtutum Fru|galitatem omnibus inge|rebat, con&s;ecutu&s;que a&s;&s;i|duitate di&s;putationum e|rat, ut Matronae auratas Ve&s;tes, coeteraque Dig|nitatis &s;uae ornamenta, velut in&s;trumenta Luxu|riae deponerent, preferens vera Ornamenta Matro|narum Pudicitiam, non Ve&s;tes e&s;&s;e<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tin. Hi&s;t. lib. 20</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Pythagoras,</HI> in|&s;tructing the <HI>Croto|nians</HI> to the exerci&s;e of Vertue <HI>(in the Dayes of</HI> Diony&s;ius <HI>the Sicilian</HI> Tyrant) did principally pre&s;&s;e upon them all, <HI>Fruga|lity;</HI> holding forth that the true <HI>O<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">na|ments</HI> of Honourable Women, were not tho&s;e of <HI>cloathing,</HI> but that of <HI>cha&s;tity;</HI> and &s;o far prevail'd he by his daily di&s;cour&s;es, that the honour|able women laid a&s;ide their Gold-embroy|der'd Garments, and other <HI>Ornaments</HI> of their <HI>Dignity,</HI> as the <HI>In&s;truments</HI> of <HI>Lu|xury.</HI></P>
<P>But (alas!) it is to be feared the <HI>Sword</HI> mu&s;t be drawn for the letting out of <HI>Eng|lands
<PB N="120" REF="68"> proud Blood,</HI> before ever the Land will be <HI>h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">aled</HI> of this di&s;temper. For ne|ver were <HI>Times</HI> harder, never was <HI>Tra|ding</HI> (the <HI>Key</HI> of <HI>Englands Trea&s;ure</HI>) deader, and yet never did people of all &s;orts more brave it in <HI>Gallantry</HI> and <HI>Co&s;tline&s;&s;e</HI> of ap|parel and Ornaments. Its not ea&s;ily ima|ginable how many <HI>thou&s;ands,</HI> yea, <HI>Millions of money</HI> are yearly wa&s;ted by the <HI>proud Da<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es,</HI> the fanta&s;tick Fa&s;hioni&s;ts of this Nation. And yet is the &s;hameful and who|ri&s;h <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e</HI> of many <HI>proud</HI> and <HI>wanton</HI> women as provoking a &s;in, as is their co&s;tly <HI>cloathing</HI> and infinity of <HI>Fa&s;hions.</HI> Yea, as if the letting open the <HI>Doors</HI> and <HI>Windows</HI> of the &s;hops were not enough to proclaim their <HI>Immode<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ies,</HI> and call in <HI>Cu&s;tomers</HI> to drink of their <HI>&s;tollen waters,</HI> how do they &s;hamefully hang forth their <HI>&s;ignes,</HI> as it were, on painted Po&s;ts, their <HI>Love-&s;pots</HI> (or rather <HI>Lust-&s;pots</HI>) on their painted whori&s;h Faces! How are many arriv'd at &s;uch an intolerable height of <HI>impudency,</HI> that they are not a&s;ham'd to proclaime their <HI>Immode&s;ties</HI> by &s;etting as many <HI>Spots</HI> in their <HI>Faces,</HI> as they have received <HI>Blots</HI> to their <HI>Honour,</HI> till their Faces are almo&s;t cover'd with the&s;e <HI>Badges</HI> of their <HI>Infamy!</HI> O degenerate <HI>Gen|try!</HI> O ignoble <HI>Nobility!</HI> How fooli&s;h are you become in the&s;e <HI>fanta&s;tical Fa&s;hi|ons!</HI> How weak, how wicked are you to pride your &s;elves in &s;uch <HI>ridiculous Vanities,</HI> and to account the&s;e <HI>&s;ignes</HI> of your <HI>ba&s;ene&s;s,</HI>
<PB N="121" REF="68"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o be <HI>Badges</HI> of your <HI>Honour!</HI> Are you &s;o &s;tupid and &s;en&s;le&s;&s;e as not to ob&s;erve that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">od hath been tumbling down the <HI>great|ne&s;&s;e</HI> of the world, &s;taining the <HI>Pride</HI> of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">an, and rolling his <HI>glory</HI> in the Du&s;t? And will you by your <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Vanity</HI> pluck down greater <HI>Judgements</HI> on the Land, and plunge your &s;elves into ever|la&s;ting <HI>mi&s;eries?</HI> Surely the&s;e <HI>Badges</HI> of your <HI>Pride,</HI> are but the <HI>Pre&s;ages</HI> of your <HI>Puni&s;hment. Tertullian</HI> calls <HI>painted</HI> women<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ancillas Diaboli.</NOTE> the <HI>Dev<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ls Chamber-maids</HI> or <HI>Waiting-women.</HI> But then &s;urely tho&s;e who pro&s;ti|tute their <HI>painted Beauties</HI> to the&s;e <HI>wanton Blacks</HI> are the chiefe&s;t <HI>Ladies</HI> in the King|dome of <HI>Lucifer.</HI> And his <HI>Pride,</HI> you know, co&s;t him a <HI>flaming fall;</HI> 'twas the fore-runner of his <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> What then &s;hall become of tho&s;e of his <HI>Hou&s;hold?</HI> Surely the&s;e painted, plai&s;ter'd, &s;potted <HI>Va|nities,</HI> will end their dayes in <HI>Vexation.</HI> How ju&s;tly may God puni&s;h their <HI>&s;hame|l &s;&s;e Pride</HI> (as he hath do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e many) with <HI>&s;hameful Poverty</HI> on earth, and their wanton <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> with woful <HI>Paines</HI> in Hell! Sure|ly the&s;e <HI>Luxuriancies</HI> in lu&s;tful <HI>Vanities</HI> pro|voke God to plague the Land with dreadful <HI>Judgements,</HI> and &s;o &s;peak the&s;e dayes where|in they abound to be <HI>perillous Times.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een what <HI>&s;ins</HI> do, in a &s;pecial Manner provoke the Lord to <HI>wrath,</HI> and &s;ollicit vengeance again&s;t &s;uch a &s;inning People. Surely where the&s;e <HI>&s;even Abomi|nations</HI>
<PB N="122" REF="69"> are found, e&s;pecially where they are <HI>predominant,</HI> they pre&s;age &s;ore <HI>Plagues,</HI> fore-run heavy <HI>Judgements</HI> on &s;uch a place or People. For, <HI>&s;hall not the Lord vi&s;it for the&s;e things, and &s;hall not his &s;oul be aveng'd on &s;uch a People as this,</HI> that pro|voke him to <HI>Anger</HI> with &s;o many fearfull <HI>Abominations?</HI> Surely God may ju&s;tly poure out all the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 16.1.</NOTE> <HI>&s;even Vials</HI> of his flaming wrath upon &s;uch a <HI>&s;inful Nation.</HI> The&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ins therefore mu&s;t needs be <HI>&s;ad Symptomes of Perillous Times.</HI></P>
<P>Come we now to con&s;ider in what Ca&s;es the&s;e &s;innes are thus Symptoma|ticall.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="2" TYPE="enquiry">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Enquiry.</HI> In what Ca&s;es the foremention'd Sins are Symptomes of Perillous Times.</HEAD>
<P><HI>ADAM</HI> in <HI>Innocency</HI> liv'd in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>EDEN,</HI> a <HI>Place</HI> prepar'd by God him&s;elfe, to be the Mother of <HI>Plenty,</HI> the Nur&s;e of <HI>Plea&s;ure,</HI> and Queen Regent of <HI>Divine Delight.</HI> Happy man, had he not by the Lo&s;&s;e of his <HI>Innocence</HI> (the <HI>Palladium</HI> of <HI>Paradi&s;e</HI>) lo&s;t his <HI>Happine&s;&s;e!</HI> Yea, the World was an <HI>Univer&s;al Paradi&s;e</HI> (where|of
<PB N="123" REF="69"> <HI>Eden</HI> was the <HI>Eye,</HI> the <HI>Beauty</HI> of its <HI>Beautie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">)</HI> till <HI>&s;in</HI> committed a <HI>Rape</HI> upon its <HI>Virgin Purity,</HI> and ca&s;t a <HI>defilement</HI> upon its <HI>Primitive Glory.</HI> Then did its flowring <HI>Beauties</HI> fade in its <HI>Face,</HI> and &s;tinging <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;eries</HI> &s;prang up apace in its <HI>Bo&s;ome.</HI> Thus did the world, once a <HI>Garden of Delights,</HI> become a <HI>Wilderne&s;&s;e of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hornes;</HI> before a <HI>Palace Royal</HI> of pure unmixed <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> now a <HI>bloody Stage of &s;ufferings</HI> and <HI>&s;or|rows.</HI> Thus is <HI>&s;inne</HI> the procuring cau&s;e of all <HI>Mi&s;eries,</HI> and &s;o the too certain <HI>Prog|nostick</HI> of <HI>Perill<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us Times.</HI> Was it not for <HI>&s; nne,</HI> how &s;hould <HI>England</HI> be as <HI>Eden,</HI> the <HI>Garden of God,</HI> crown'd with the <HI>&s;miles</HI> of Heaven, and cloath'd with the <HI>Virgin-Mantle</HI> of <HI>Peace,</HI> and endow'd with the choice&s;t <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings</HI> on Earth, and &s;o admir'd by all its <HI>Si&s;ter I&s;lands,</HI> its Neighbour Na|tions for <HI>Beauty, Riches,</HI> and <HI>Renown.</HI> But <HI>&s;in</HI> it is which &s;preads a black <HI>cloud</HI> upon it's <HI>Glories,</HI> which threatens the <HI>Thunder</HI> of &s;ome dreadful <HI>Judgements.</HI> The <HI>&s;innes</HI> of <HI>England</HI> are many, and what can we ex|pect, but that the <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> of <HI>England</HI> &s;hould be great?</P>
<P>The <HI>&s;ins</HI> of men are wont to draw downe the <HI>Judgements</HI> of God, and &s;o they are the <HI>Symptomes of Perillous Times</HI> to the People of God, e&s;pecially in &s;uch <HI>Ca&s;es</HI> as the&s;e that follow.</P>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="case">
<PB N="124" REF="70">
<HEAD><HI>The fir&s;t Ca&s;e.</HI> The Commonne&s;s of Sinne.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> <HI>WHen gro&s;&s;e Sinnes are commonly committed,</HI> the Times mu&s;t needs be Perillous. When <HI>Lying, Swearing, Sabbath-breaking, Stealing, Cheating, De|ceiving, Cruelty, Oppre&s;&s;ion, Drunkenne&s;&s;e, Adultery,</HI> and all manner of <HI>Uncleanne&s;&s;e</HI> does abound, the Dayes are evil and full of Danger. The&s;e <HI>&s;ins</HI> are as &s;o many <HI>Cords</HI> to pluck down <HI>Judgements</HI> upon the Heads of &s;uch a People. Thus did &s;inne abound in the <HI>Old World</HI> before God de|&s;troy'd all <HI>Fle&s;h</HI> with the <HI>Flood.</HI> For its &s;aid<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.11, 12, 13.</NOTE>, <HI>The Earth was</HI> corrupt <HI>before Go<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and the Earth was</HI> filled <HI>with Violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was</HI> corrupt; <HI>for all fle&s;h had corrupted his way upon the Earth. And God &s;aid unto</HI> Noah, <HI>The end of all fle&s;h is come be|fore me, for the Earth is</HI> filled <HI>with Violence through them; and behold I will</HI> de&s;troy <HI>them with the Earth.</HI></P>
<P>The Scriptures <HI>do abound with comminati|ons</HI> of Judgement again&s;t that People, that Land, wherein &s;uch <HI>Abominations do abound.</HI> Take notice of &s;ome of them, and Oh that you would &s;adly lay them to heart!</P>
<PB N="125" REF="70">
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 7.8, &mdash;16.</NOTE><HI>Behold</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord to the men of <HI>Judah,</HI> and the inhabitants of <HI>Jeru&s;alem) ye tru&s;t in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye &s;teale, murder, and commit Adul|tery, and &s;wear fal&s;ely, and burn incen&s;e unto</HI> Baal, <HI>and walk after other Gods whom ye know not [i. e.</HI> maintaine diver&s;ities of Religion among&s;t you] <HI>and come and &s;tand before me in this Hou&s;e, which is called by my Name, and &s;ay, we are deliver'd to do all the&s;e abominations? [q. d.</HI> This is the <HI>Liberty,</HI> for which we adventur'd our <HI>Lives,</HI> in the High-Places of the Field.] <HI>Is this Hou&s;e which is called by my Name become a</HI> Den of Robbers <HI>in your Eyes? [q. d.</HI> Is this the fruit of your Victories, and the <HI>glorious Deliverances</HI> whereof you &s;peak, to ca&s;t <HI>contempt</HI> upon my Hou&s;e, Wor&s;hip, and Ordinances?] <HI>Behold even I have &s;een it, &s;aith the LORD: But go ye now unto my Place which was in</HI> Shiloh, <HI>where I &s;et my Name at the fir&s;t, and &s;ee what I did to it for the Wickedne&s;&s;e of my People</HI> I&s;rael. <HI>And now becau&s;e ye have done all the&s;e works, &s;aith the LORD, and I &s;pake unto you, ri&s;ing up early, and &s;peak|ing, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye an&s;wered not: Therefore will I do unto this Hou&s;e which is called by my Name, wherein ye tru&s;t, and unto the place which I gave to you, and to your Fathers, as I have done to</HI> Shiloh. <HI>And I will ca&s;t you out of my &s;ight, as I have ca&s;t out all your Bre|thren,
<PB N="126" REF="71"> even the whole &s;eed of</HI> Ephraim. <HI>Therefore</HI> [&s;ayes the LORD to the Pro|phet] <HI>Pray not thou for this People, nei|ther lift up Cry nor Prayer for them, neither make Interce&s;&s;ion to me, for I will not hear thee.</HI></P>
<P>Thus <HI>multiply'd &s;innes</HI> do at length bring down upon a &s;inful, &s;tubborn and rebelli|ous People, <HI>manifold mi&s;eries,</HI> and remedi|le&s;&s;e extremities.</P>
<P>Thus does the Lord <HI>proclaime Warre</HI> a|gain&s;t his People <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> by the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> for their manifold Provocations.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>Hear the Word of the Lord ye children of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>for the LORD hath a</HI> controver&s;ie <HI>with the Inhabitants of the Land, becau&s;e there is no</HI> Truth, <HI>nor</HI> Mercy, <HI>nor</HI> Knowledg <HI>of God in the Land. By</HI> Swearing, <HI>and</HI> Lying, <HI>and</HI> Killing, <HI>and</HI> Stealing, <HI>and com|mitting</HI> Adultery, <HI>they break out, and Blood toucheth Blood. Therefore &s;hall the Land</HI> mourne, <HI>and every one that dwelleth there|in &s;hall langui&s;h, with the Bea&s;ts of the Field, and with the Fowles of Heaven, yea the Fi&s;hes of the Sea al&s;o &s;hall be taken away.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the <HI>Commonne&s;&s;e</HI> of &s;inne is the Ground of Gods entring a <HI>Controver&s;ie</HI> a|gain&s;t a Land. Thus the Land of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was become a <HI>&s;ink of &s;inne,</HI> before God emp|ty'd out upon it his <HI>Vials of Wrath.</HI> And &s;o does our Engli&s;h Prophet<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">De Excid. Britan.</NOTE> <HI>Gildas</HI> &s;hew us how <HI>England</HI> was over&s;pread with &s;ins,
<PB N="127" REF="71"> <HI>Adultery, Drunkenne&s;&s;e, Oppre&s;&s;ion, &amp;c.</HI> before it was overwhelm'd with Judge|ments.</P>
<P>When men flie far from God in the <HI>com|mi&s;&s;ion</HI> of all &s;orts of <HI>&s;innes,</HI> then does God <HI>come near</HI> to them in the <HI>Execution</HI> of his &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgements.</HI> Such was the carriage of the <HI>Rebellious Jews</HI> towards God, and thus did the <HI>Righteous God</HI> deale with his People the <HI>Jews. I will come near to you</HI> (&s;ayes the LORD to them<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.5.</NOTE>) <HI>to</HI> Judge|ment, <HI>and I will be a &s;wift witne&s;&s;e again&s;t the</HI> Sorcerers, <HI>and again&s;t the</HI> Adulterers, <HI>and again&s;t</HI> fal&s;e Swearers, <HI>and again&s;t tho&s;e that</HI> oppre&s;&s;e <HI>the Hireling in his Wages, the Widow and the Fatherle&s;&s;e, and that turn a&s;ide the &s;tranger from his Right, and fear not me, &s;aith the LORD of Ho&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>Its &s;in thus abounding, which changes the <HI>Countenance</HI> and <HI>Con&s;titution</HI> of the Times, whence of <HI>&s;ound</HI> and <HI>good,</HI> they become <HI>di&s;temper'd</HI> and <HI>evil.</HI> Hence is it that the <HI>&s;miling Face</HI> of Time is alter'd and beholds us with a <HI>langui&s;hing Look.</HI> Hence it is that the mo&s;t <HI>fruitful Sea&s;ons</HI> are pu|ni&s;ht with a <HI>barren womb.</HI> Hence it is that the mo&s;t <HI>joyful Dayes,</HI> which almo&s;t con|tinually appear'd in <HI>Fe&s;tival Garments,</HI> come forth drooping in a <HI>mourning Dre&s;s,</HI> hanging down the Head both for <HI>&s;hame and &s;orrow.</HI> Much to this purpo&s;e does the Father &s;peak, as it were with a <HI>&s;igh</HI> to his Children, his Auditors, in his Sermon upon the the Fa|mine and Drought<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</P>
<PB N="128" REF="72">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>Behold</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>how our abounding &s;innes, our multiply'd Abominations, have chang'd the Temper of the Times &s;trip|ing them naked (as it were) of their proper natures, and have drawn &s;trange lineaments upon the Face of the Sea&s;ons, altering the very Native tem|perament and fixt con&s;titution thereof.</HI> 'Tis indeed nothing but <HI>&s;in</HI> that furrowes the beautiful Face of Time with the frownes and wrinkles of <HI>affliction and &s;orrow.</HI> 'Tis &s;inne which often alters the Sea&s;ons, chan|ging <HI>Summer</HI> into <HI>Winter,</HI> Calms into &s;torms, the <HI>Summer</HI> of Peace, Plenty, Pro&s;perity, into the <HI>Winter</HI> of Affliction, Scarcity and Warre. When &s;inne thus ca&s;ts its <HI>Spawne</HI> into the Waters of Time, it produces a numerous <HI>off-&s;pring</HI> of &s;ufferings and &s;or|rows, Mi&s;eries and Calamities to the Chil|dren of men.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="case">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Ca&s;e.</HI> The Generality of Offendours.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="2"> WHen all &s;orts of men tran&s;gre&s;&s;e, <HI>both</HI> Great <HI>and</HI> Small, Rich <HI>and</HI>
<PB N="129" REF="72"> Poore, Princes <HI>and</HI> People, Noble <HI>and</HI> Ob|&s;cure, <HI>the Times mu&s;t needs be perillous. Thus before God brought the</HI> Flood <HI>upon the World,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.12</NOTE> all Fle&s;h had corrupted <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">his way upon the Earth. <HI>Thus not onely were the</HI> Common People <HI>of</HI> I&s;rael<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.3, 4</NOTE> Ignorant, <HI>and</HI> Profane, <HI>but their</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">ver. 23.</NOTE> Princes were re|bellious and companions of Thieves, <HI>and then the LORD comes forth to</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 24.</NOTE> execute Judge|ment on his Adver&s;aries, and to avenge him&s;elf on his enemies.</P>
<P><HI>The Prophet</HI> Jeremy <HI>knowing that un|le&s;&s;e the</HI> righteous <HI>&s;tand in the</HI> Gap, <HI>the</HI> Judgements <HI>of God would &s;oon break out upon a</HI> Rebellious <HI>People, having in the Name of the Lord, call'd upon others to run to and fro to &s;eek &s;uch out, he him&s;elf runs from one &s;ort of men to another to find them, but when he finds none, he denounces the</HI> Judgements <HI>of God again&s;t a people &s;o</HI> Generally corrupt <HI>and wicked. Behold here|in the ju&s;tice and goodne&s;&s;e of God, with the complaint and carriage of the Prophet. For &s;ayes the Lord</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.1-6.</NOTE>,</P>
<P>Run ye to and fro through the &s;treets of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and &s;ee now and know, and &s;eek in the broad places thereof, if ye can finde a man, if there be any that executeth Judge|ment, that &s;eeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. And though they &s;ay, the LORD liveth, &s;urely they &s;wear fal&s;ely. O LORD are not thine eyes upon the Truth? Thou ha&s;t &s;tricken them, but they have not
<PB N="130" REF="73"> grieved; thou ha&s;t con&s;umed them, but they have refu&s;ed to receive Correction: they have made their Faces harder then a Rock; hey have refu&s;ed to returne. Therefore I &s;aid, Sur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ly the&s;e are <HI>poore,</HI> they are fooli&s;h: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the Judgement of their God. I will get me unto the <HI>Great men,</HI> and will &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> un|to them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the Judgement of their God: but <HI>the&s;e</HI> have altogether broken the Yoke, and bur&s;t the Bonds. Wherefore a Lion out of the Forre&s;t &s;hall &s;lay them, and a Wolfe of the Evenings &s;hall &s;poile them, a Leopard &s;hall watch over their Cities: Every one that goeth out thence &s;hall be torn in pieces: becau&s;e their <HI>Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions</HI> are many, and their <HI>Back&s;lidings</HI> are increa&s;ed.</P>
<P><HI>So likewi&s;e does the Lord by the Pro|phet</HI> Ezekiel <HI>complaine of the</HI> Corruption <HI>of the</HI> Prie&s;ts, Princes, Prophets, <HI>and</HI> People <HI>of</HI> Judah <HI>and</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>for which he &s;e|verely puni&s;ht them in the fiercene&s;&s;e of his Wrath and fiery Indignation.</HI> Sonne of man (<HI>&s;aith the LORD</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 22.24-31.</NOTE>) &s;ay unto her, Thou art the Land that is not clean&s;ed, nor rained upon in the Day of indignati|on. There is a con&s;piracy of her <HI>Prophets</HI> in the mid&s;t thereof, like a roaring Lion ravening the prey: they have devoured &s;ouls: They have taken the trea&s;ure and precious things: they have made her many Widows in the midst thereof. Her <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI>
<PB N="131" REF="73"> have violated my Law, and have profaned my <HI>holy Things:</HI> they have put no difference between the <HI>Holy</HI> and <HI>Profane,</HI> neither have they &s;hew'd difference between the uncleane and the cleane, and have hid their eyes from my <HI>Sabbaths,</HI> and I am <HI>profaned</HI> among them. Her <HI>Princes</HI> in the mid&s;t thereof are like <HI>Wolves</HI> ravening the prey, to <HI>&s;hed Blood,</HI> and to <HI>de&s;troy &s;oules,</HI> to get <HI>di&s;ho|ne&s;t Gain.</HI> And her <HI>Prophets</HI> have <HI>daubed</HI> them with <HI>untemper'd Mortar,</HI> &s;eeing <HI>Va|nity, and</HI> Divining <HI>Lies</HI> unto them, &s;aying, Thus &s;aith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not &s;poken. The <HI>People</HI> of the Land have u&s;ed <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion,</HI> and exerci&s;ed <HI>Rob|bery,</HI> and have vexed the <HI>Poore</HI> and <HI>Needy:</HI> yea, they have oppre&s;&s;ed the <HI>Stranger</HI> wrong|fully. And I &s;ought for a man among them that &s;hould make up the <HI>Hedge,</HI> and &s;tand in the <HI>Gap</HI> before me for the Land that I &s;hould not <HI>de&s;troy</HI> it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine <HI>Indigna|tion</HI> upon them, I have <HI>con&s;umed</HI> them with the <HI>Fire</HI> of my <HI>Wrath;</HI> their own way have I recompenced upon their heads, &s;aith the Lord GOD. <HI>Thus we &s;ee the</HI> Generall Corruption <HI>of the Inhabitants, may &s;oone bring upon the whole Land, an utter and inevitable</HI> De&s;truction. <HI>It's as ea&s;ie with God to cut down</HI> Cedars, <HI>as to &s;tock up</HI> Shrubs; <HI>yea, if the</HI> Fire <HI>of his wrath be once kindled, 'twill ea&s;ily, &s;uddenly, irre|&s;i&s;tibly con&s;ume the whole</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 21.14</NOTE> Forre&s;t <HI>of
<PB N="132" REF="74"> People, both &s;mall and great. If &s;ome</HI> Branches <HI>of the</HI> great Tree <HI>of a Kingdom or Nation be</HI> barren, <HI>or bear</HI> evil Fruit, <HI>God may in mercy</HI> prune <HI>it, with &s;ome</HI> &s;maller Judgements, <HI>to make it the more</HI> fruitful; <HI>but if both the</HI> Body <HI>and</HI> Boughs <HI>be corrupt and rotten, God may ju&s;tly de&s;troy it, both</HI> Root <HI>and</HI> Branch.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="case">
<HEAD><HI>The third Ca&s;e.</HI> Ob&s;tinacy and Impudency in Sinning.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> VVHen Sinners are ob&s;tinate and &s;hamele&s;&s;e in &s;inning, <HI>the Dayes are evil, the Times are perillous. Such was the &s;tate of the People of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>be|fore their utter De&s;truction.</HI> Moreover (<HI>&s;aith the</HI> Lord <HI>to the Prophet</HI> Jeremy<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 8, 4, 5, 6.</NOTE>) thou &s;halt &s;ay unto them, Thus &s;aith the LORD, &s;hall they fall, and not ari&s;e, &s;hall he turn away and not return? [q. d. <HI>If men do fall, will they lie &s;till, and not ri&s;e a|gain? If a man be gone out of the Way, when he perceives it, will he proceed, and not rather turn back again?]</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign"> Quare rebellis [refracta|rius<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ar. Mont.</NOTE>] e&s;t populus i&s;te Jeru&s;alaim Rebellione for|ti<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pagnin.</NOTE> [Aver&s;ione pertina|ci<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ar. Mont.</NOTE>, pervicaci&s;&s;ima<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jun. Trem.</NOTE>?]</P>
<P><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Septuag.</NOTE>;</P></NOTE>Why then is this Peo|ple of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> &s;lid|den back, by a per|petual Back-&s;liding?
<PB N="133" REF="74">
[<HI>Or, why is this Peo|ple of</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>this</HI> my People, <HI>become</HI> refractory <HI>and</HI> Re|bellious, <HI>and have turned away from me with &s;uch a &s;tub|born and</HI> ob&s;tinate, impudent and pertinacious <HI>Aver&s;ion, &s;o &s;tout and &s;tiff-necked a</HI> Rebellion?] They hold fast deceit, they refu&s;e to re|turn. I hearkened and heard, but they &s;pake not aright: no man repented him of his wic|kedne&s;&s;e, &s;aying, what have I done? Eve|ry one turned to his cour&s;e, as the Hor&s;e ru&s;heth into the Battel.</P>
<P><HI>And further, &s;aith the LORD</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 12-16</NOTE>, Were they a&s;hamed when they had committed <HI>A|bomination?</HI> Nay, they were not at all <HI>a&s;hamed,</HI> neither could they <HI>blu&s;h. And what follows?</HI> Therefore &s;hall they fall a|mong them that fall, in the Time of their Vi&s;itation they &s;hall be ca&s;t down, &s;aith the LORD. I will &s;urely con&s;ume them, &s;aith the LORD; there &s;hall be no Grapes on the Vine, nor Figs on the Fig-tree, and the Leaf &s;hall fade, and the Things that I have gi|ven them &s;hall pa&s;&s;e away from them. Why do we &s;it &s;till? A&s;&s;emble your &s;elves and let us enter into the defenced Cities, and let us be &s;ilent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to &s;ilence, and given us <HI>wa|ter of Gall</HI> to drink, becau&s;e we have &s;inned
<PB N="134" REF="75"> again&s;t the LORD. We looked for <HI>Peace,</HI> but no <HI>Good</HI> came; and for a time of health <HI>[or, healing</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE>] and behold <HI>trou|ble.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Medelae.</NOTE> The &s;norting of his Hor&s;es [&s;c. <HI>of the</HI> Chaldean Army] was heard from <HI>Dan:</HI> the whole Land trembled at the &s;ound of the neigh|ing of his &s;trong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the <HI>Land,</HI> and all that is in the <HI>City,</HI> and tho&s;e that dwell there|in.</P>
<P>Thus when men will not forbear <HI>&s;inning,</HI> God will not &s;pare them in <HI>puni&s;hing;</HI> when they will not be <HI>reclaim'd</HI> from their Wickedne&s;&s;e, they &s;hall be <HI>con&s;um'd</HI> by his ju&s;t Judgements. When the <HI>Preaching of the Word,</HI> by the Prophets and Mini&s;ters of the Lord, will not prevaile with men to for&s;ake their &s;ins, and &s;eriou&s;ly to engage in the &s;ervice of God, then <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> is at hand, and the <HI>&s;word of the Lord</HI> is rea|dy drawn to cut off &s;uch an ob&s;tinate and rebellious people.</P>
<P>Thus its &s;aid<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 King. 57 13-20.</NOTE>, <HI>The LORD te&s;tified a|gain&s;t</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>and again&s;t</HI> Judah, <HI>by all the</HI> Prophets, <HI>and by all the</HI> Seers, <HI>&s;aying,</HI> Turne ye from your evil wayes, and keep my Commandments, and my Statutes, according to all the Law which I command|ed your Fathers, and which I &s;ent to you by my &s;ervants the Prophets. <HI>Notwith|&s;tanding they would not heare, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their Fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their
<PB N="135" REF="75"> God. And they</HI> rejected <HI>his Statutes, and his Covenant that he made with their Fathers, and his Te&s;timonies which he te&s;tified again&s;t them, and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the Heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they &s;hould not do like them. And they left all the Commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten Images, even two Calves, and made a Grove, and wor&s;hipped all the Ho&s;t of Heaven, and &s;erved</HI> Baal. <HI>And they cau&s;ed their Sons and their Daugh|ters to pa&s;s thorough the Fire, and u&s;ed</HI> Di|vination <HI>and</HI> Enchantments, <HI>and &s;old them|&s;elves to do evil in the &s;ight of the LORD, to provoke him to Anger. Therefore the</HI> LORD <HI>was very</HI> angry <HI>with</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>and</HI> removed <HI>th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m out of his &s;ight, there was none left but the Tribe of</HI> Judah <HI>onely. Al&s;o</HI> Judah <HI>kept not the Commmandments of the</HI> LORD <HI>their God, but walked in the Sta|tutes of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>which they made. And the LORD</HI> rejected <HI>all the &s;eed of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>and</HI> afflicted <HI>them, and delivered them into the hand of &s;poilers, until he had ca&s;t them out of his &s;ight.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the <HI>multipli'd Abominations</HI> of a pertinaciou&s;ly wicked People, provokes the Lord to an <HI>utter extirpation</HI> of them out of the Land. Ju&s;tly may the Lord give their Land to <HI>Strangers,</HI> who are con|tinually provoking the eyes of his glory by their <HI>&s;ins.</HI></P>
<PB N="136" REF="76">
<P><HI>Custome in &s;inning</HI> takes away the <HI>Con|&s;cience of &s;inne:</HI> and &s;o do men <HI>confirme</HI> them&s;elves in their evil wayes, and (with <HI>Pharaoh) harden their hearts</HI> to their own De&s;truction. For, &s;ayes the LORD by the Prophet<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 13.23, 24.</NOTE>, <HI>Can the</HI> Ethiopian <HI>change his skinne, or the</HI> Leopard <HI>his &s;pots? then may ye al&s;o do good, that are</HI> accu&s;tomed <HI>to do evil. Therefore will I &s;catter them as the &s;tubble that pa&s;&s;eth away by the winde of the Wilderne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>How <HI>&s;everely</HI> will the Lord deal with <HI>&s;tub|borne</HI> &s;inners, that <HI>wilfully</HI> walk in their own <HI>wicked</HI> wayes! Take heed therefore <HI>le&s;t there &s;hould be among you</HI> (&s;aith the LORD to his people <HI>I&s;rael</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Deut. 29 18, 19, 20.</NOTE>) <HI>a root that beareth Gall and wormwood, and it come to pa&s;&s;e when he heareth the words of this</HI> Cur&s;e, <HI>that he</HI> ble&s;&s;e <HI>him&s;elf in his heart, &s;aying,</HI> I &s;hall have peace, though I walk in the im|agination [or, <HI>&s;tubbornne&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So the Marg. Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"> Secundum cogitatio|nem, Pagn. In Ob&s;ti|natione, Ar. Mont.</NOTE>] of mine Heart, to adde Drunkenne&s;&s;e to Thir&s;t: <HI>The LORD will not &s;pare him, but then th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> Anger <HI>of the LORD, and his</HI> Jealou&s;ie <HI>&s;hall &s;moke again&s;t that man, and all the</HI> Cur&s;es <HI>that are written in this Book &s;hall lie upon him, and the LORD &s;hall blot out his Name from under Heaven.</HI> If then multitudes of People &s;hall be thus <HI>ob&s;tinate</HI> in their e|vil wayes, is it not enough to bring down the mo&s;t dreadful judgements of God upon the whole Nation?</P>
<P>So the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> having repro|ved
<PB N="137" REF="76"> the People of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> for their <HI>multi|pli'd Abominations,</HI> does thus repre&s;ent their <HI>Refractorine&s;&s;e,</HI> and prophecy their <HI>Ruine; yet</HI> (&s;aith he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.4, 5</NOTE>) <HI>let no man &s;trive or reprove another: [q. d.</HI> let not men contend with them any longer with the <HI>Words of Reproof,</HI> for God him&s;elf is now coming to plead his Cau&s;e again&s;t them with the <HI>Sword of Ju&s;tice:] For this Peo|ple are as they that &s;trive with the Prie&s;t.</HI> [Oppo&s;ition of Mini&s;ters, as it proceeds from ob&s;tinacy in &s;inne, &s;o does it prog|no&s;ticate De&s;truction from God. For] <HI>Therefore &s;halt thou fall in the Day, and the</HI> [fal&s;e] <HI>Prophet al&s;o &s;hall fall with thee in the Night, and I will</HI> [cut off<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE> or] <HI>de&s;troy thy Mother,</HI> [the whole Kingdom,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&s;uccid<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m.</NOTE> or the body of the Nation.]</P>
<P>And when <HI>Impudency</HI> is joyn'd with <HI>ob&s;tinacy,</HI> it aggravates the &s;in, and more &s;trongly &s;ollicits the Ju&s;tice of God to the &s;peedy execution of Judgement upon &s;uch &s;inners. For this does the <HI>Lord</HI> complain of the People of <HI>Judah,</HI> and threatens a confounding Judgement.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 3.3.</NOTE> <HI>Thou had&s;t a</HI> Whores Fore-head, <HI>thou refu&s;ed&s;t to be</HI> a|&s;hamed.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 22.21, 22.</NOTE> <HI>I &s;pake unto thee in thy</HI> Pro|&s;perity, <HI>but thou &s;aid'&s;t,</HI> I will not hear: <HI>this hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeye&s;t not my Voice. The Winde &s;hall eat up all thy Pa&s;tours, and thy Lovers &s;hall go into</HI> Captivity; <HI>Surely then &s;halt thou be</HI> a&s;hamed <HI>and</HI> confounded <HI>for
<PB N="138" REF="77"> all thy Wickedne&s;s.</HI> But this &s;in is yet ca|pable of a higher aggravation; when men are &s;o farre from being <HI>a&s;ham'd</HI> of their <HI>&s;in,</HI> that they <HI>glory</HI> in their <HI>&s;hame,</HI> and boa&s;t them&s;elves in their Impieties, as the <HI>Thief</HI> in his <HI>cunning craftine&s;&s;e to deceive;</HI> and the <HI>Drunkard</HI> in his<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.22.</NOTE> <HI>strength to poure in &s;trong Drink,</HI> and bear it without di&s;temper; and the <HI>impious Politician</HI> in the &s;ucce&s;s|fulne&s;&s;e of his <HI>wicked De&s;ignes.</HI> But we know that the <HI>Judgement of God is ju&s;t a|gain&s;t tho&s;e that do &s;uch things;</HI> and that <HI>their</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.19</NOTE> <HI>end is De&s;truction, who&s;e glory is in their &s;hame.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="4" TYPE="case">
<HEAD><HI>The fourth Ca&s;e.</HI> Remi&s;&s;ene&s;s of Magi&s;trates and Officers in Puni&s;hing Offendors.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="4"> <HI>VVHen there is little or no Care taken for the Puni&s;hment of &s;uch pre|vailing Impieties, by tho&s;e that are intru&s;t|ed with Authority and Power for this Pur|po&s;e,</HI> they mu&s;t needs be evil and perillous Times. When the <HI>Magi&s;trate,</HI> who is by his Office,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.4.</NOTE> <HI>the Mini&s;ter of God, a Re|venger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil,</HI> &s;hall <HI>bear the Sword in vaine,</HI> and not
<PB N="139" REF="77"> draw it out for the execution of Judgement, in the Puni&s;hment of &s;in and vice. When the &s;ins of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> were multipli'd, how oft doth God complain of the Defect of <HI>Ju|&s;tice</HI> in the Execution of <HI>Judgement!</HI> how oft is this mention'd in that one Charge which is drawn up by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> again&s;t them<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chap. 59.</NOTE>! <HI>None</HI> (&s;aith he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 4.</NOTE>) <HI>calleth for Ju&s;tice</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 8.</NOTE>; and <HI>there is no judgement in their goings.</HI> And again<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 9.</NOTE>, <HI>Judgement is farr from us, neither doth ju&s;tice overtake us</HI> [to vindicate us from the violence of our Oppre&s;&s;ors, and deliver us from the in|juries of the wicked: as it follows]<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 11.</NOTE> <HI>We look for Judgement, but there is none, for &s;alvation, but it is far from us.</HI> And again,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 14.</NOTE> <HI>Judgement is turned away backward, and Ju&s;tice &s;tandeth afar off:</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 15.</NOTE> <HI>And the LORD &s;aw it, and it di&s;plea&s;ed him that there was no judgement.</HI> So God him&s;elf takes his <HI>Sword of Ju&s;tice,</HI> and comes forth for the <HI>Execution of Judgement,</HI> upon the&s;e un|ju&s;t Judges, and this perver&s;e and wicked People<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 17, 18.</NOTE>. So al&s;o the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> de|clares, that it was becau&s;e <HI>there was not a|ny man that did execute Judgement</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.1, 2, &amp;c.</NOTE>, that the wrath of God was kindled again&s;t the wicked Jewes, to their utter de&s;truction. Whereas, on the other &s;ide, when the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> had <HI>provoked God to Anger with their Inventions, and the Plague brake in upon them, in&s;omuch as there died, in one Day, three and twenty thou&s;and</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Num. 25 9. with 1 Cor. 10.8</NOTE>, Phineas
<PB N="140" REF="78"> <HI>stood up, and executed judgement</HI> (in &s;laying <HI>Zimri,</HI> and <HI>Cozbi,</HI> in the very act of un|cleanne&s;&s;e) <HI>and &s;o the Plague was &s;tay'd. And that was counted to him for Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e, unto all Generations, for evermore</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106 29, 30, 31. with Num. 25.6-15.</NOTE>. And therefore does the Lord, by the Pro|phet call the Judges &amp; Magi&s;trates of <HI>Judah,</HI> to the <HI>Execution</HI> of <HI>Judgement</HI> upon <HI>evil Doers</HI> in the Land, for the <HI>Prevention</HI> of their utter Ruine and De&s;truction, which was now ready to come upon them for their abounding &s;ins, and unpuni&s;h't Pro|vocations. <HI>And</HI> (&s;ayes the LORD to the Prophet<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 21.11, 12.</NOTE>) <HI>touching the Hou&s;e of the King of</HI> Judah, <HI>&s;ay, Heare ye the Word of the LORD. O Hou&s;e of</HI> David, <HI>Thus &s;aith the LORD,</HI> Execute Judgement <HI>in the morning,</HI> [which was the Time of the Convention of their <HI>judiciall A&s;&s;emblies;</HI> when al&s;o the People were wont to repaire for <HI>Ju|&s;tice</HI> to the Places of <HI>Judicature</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Exod. 18.13</NOTE>: Do it al&s;o (as the phra&s;e may import<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See P&s;al. 101.8.</NOTE>) Sea&s;on|ably, Speedily, Con&s;tantly:] <HI>and deliver him that is &s;poiled, out of the hand of the Oppre&s;&s;or, le&s;t my</HI> Fury <HI>go out like</HI> Fire, <HI>and burne that none can quench it, becau&s;e of the</HI> Evil <HI>of your</HI> Doings. For,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 21.14</NOTE> <HI>I will puni&s;h you according to the</HI> Fruit <HI>of your</HI> Doings, <HI>&s;aith the</HI> LORD.</P>
<P>Certainly when all manner of <HI>&s;inne</HI> and <HI>wickedne&s;&s;e</HI> abounds, and yet <HI>Law, Ju&s;tice,</HI> and <HI>Judgement</HI> is not executed in a Land, its a &s;ad Symptome of &s;ome &s;ore approach|ing
<PB N="141" REF="78"> <HI>Judgement,</HI> if not of the utter <HI>De&s;tru|ction</HI> of that Nation. So the Prophet <HI>Hab|bakkuk</HI> complaines,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hab. 1.4</NOTE> <HI>the</HI> Law <HI>is &s;lacked, and</HI> Judgement <HI>doth never go forth;</HI> where|upon follows a terrible commination of a dreadful <HI>Judgement,</HI> whereof the cruel <HI>Chal|deans</HI> &s;hould be the bloody <HI>Executioners,</HI> to whom the Kings and Princes of <HI>Ju|dah</HI> &s;hould become mi&s;erable <HI>Cap|tives</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 5-10</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Now when <HI>Iniquity</HI> thus abounds, and <HI>Judgement</HI> is not executed, in the puni&s;h|ment of tho&s;e Per&s;ons that are found guilty of &s;uch Enormities, this makes the&s;e &s;innes to become <HI>National &s;innes,</HI> which provoke the Lord to &s;courge the whole Land with <HI>National judgements,</HI> as the Plague, Famine, or War. Surely, <HI>When &s;in reignes without Re&s;traint, Judgement mu&s;t be expected without Relief.</HI></P>
<P>But the Ca&s;e is yet wor&s;e, and the Provocation higher, when Magi&s;trates and <HI>Rulers</HI> that ought <HI>not to be a terrour to good works, but to the Evil</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.3</NOTE>, do tolerate the Evil, and become a Terror to the Good. That Nation is &s;ure <HI>ripe</HI> for de&s;truction, when &s;uch <HI>bitter and cur&s;ed fruits</HI> grow upon the <HI>top-mo&s;t Branches</HI> of the talle&s;t Trees in the Land. So likewi&s;e when tho&s;e that &s;hould <HI>puni&s;h</HI> &s;inne in others, are them&s;elves guilty of tho&s;e &s;ins which do de&s;erve the &s;harpe&s;t Puni&s;hment. When tho&s;e that are intru&s;ted with power for the
<PB N="142" REF="79"> execution of Ju&s;tice upon <HI>Swearers, Drun|kards, Adulterers, Sabbath-breakers,</HI> and &s;uch like are them&s;elves guilty of the&s;e fearful &s;ins, and God-provoking Abomina|tions. This &s;peaks the &s;tate of &s;uch a Peo|ple to be <HI>de&s;perate,</HI> the di&s;ea&s;e of &s;uch a Nation to be <HI>deadly.</HI> When there is <HI>Poi|&s;on</HI> in the <HI>Plai&s;ter,</HI> and the <HI>Phy&s;ician</HI> him|&s;elf hath the <HI>Plague</HI> upon him, what hope of cure can there be for the <HI>Patient.</HI> If tho&s;e that &s;hould be the <HI>Healers</HI> of the Nation, do <HI>wound</HI> it by their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, what can be expected but a &s;udden and in|evitable De&s;truction? Certainly <HI>corrupt Ma|gi&s;trates,</HI> and Mini&s;ters of Ju&s;tice, are the Lands <HI>&s;harpe&s;t Scourges,</HI> and the chief pro|curers of its &s;ore&s;t Judgements.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="5" TYPE="case">
<HEAD>The fifth Ca&s;e. <HI>Incorrigiblene&s;&s;e and</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">i. e. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="5"> <HI>VVHen men are not amended by Cor|rections, but grow wor&s;e and wor&s;e under all the Di&s;pen&s;ations of Divine Providence,</HI> it's a &s;ure and &s;ad Symptome of perillous Times, a clear and undeniable evidence that the la&s;t dayes are come up|on us, and the Evil of them hath overtaken
<PB N="143" REF="79"> us. For the Apo&s;tle fore-warning us that <HI>in the la&s;t Dayes perillous Times &s;hall come,</HI> tells us, that in tho&s;e Dayes,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.13</NOTE> <HI>Evil men and Seducers &s;hall wax wor&s;e and wor&s;e, de|ceiving, and being deceived.</HI> It's a &s;ad &s;igne that judgement is at hand, and De|&s;truction is at the Doore, when men grow <HI>wor&s;e and wor&s;e</HI> under all the meanes of making them <HI>bett<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r.</HI> When they are not <HI>reclaim'd</HI> by Judgements, <HI>reduc'd</HI> by bene|fits, <HI>reform'd</HI> by all the meanes of grace and Salvation. Surely <HI>Incorrigiblene&s;&s;e</HI> un|der judgements, and cu&s;tomary <HI>continuance</HI> in Sin, and a continual progre&s;&s;e in impie|ty from one degree to another, notwith|&s;tanding all the meanes and mercies vouch|&s;aft for their amendment, is a Fore-runner of their <HI>inevitable ruine.</HI> If the <HI>Tree</HI> be <HI>prun'd, and digg'd about, and dung'd, and water'd,</HI> and yet notwith&s;tanding all this co&s;t and paines, after long waiting, does not onely bring forth no <HI>good</HI> Fruit, but much <HI>evil,</HI> and every yeare <HI>wor&s;e and wor&s;e,</HI> it &s;hall certainly be <HI>cut down that it no longer cumber the ground</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luk. 13.6-9.</NOTE>. If when the Lord might ju&s;tly expect <HI>good Grapes</HI> from his <HI>Vineyard,</HI> it bring forth nothing but <HI>wilde Grapes,</HI> and the&s;e every Vintage <HI>wor&s;e and wor&s;e,</HI> its ju&s;t with him <HI>to pluck up the Fence thereof, and lay it wast</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 5.1-6.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>God is wont by his <HI>Word,</HI> his <HI>Rod,</HI> and his <HI>Sword</HI> to proceed again&s;t &s;inners. By his <HI>Word,</HI> he <HI>calls</HI> them to repentance; but if
<PB N="144" REF="80"> they will not be reclaim'd by that, with his <HI>Rod</HI> he <HI>chasti&s;es</HI> them for &s;in, he exerci|&s;es them with &s;everal <HI>Afflictions;</HI> if they will not hereby be amended, he is ready with the <HI>Sword</HI> of his Ju&s;tice to cut them off, in the execution of his <HI>Judgements.</HI> So by the neglect and non-improvement of the two former, a &s;inning People come to experiment the &s;everity of the la&s;t and &s;ore&s;t of the&s;e di&s;pen&s;ations. Thus does the Lord complain of <HI>Judah,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Zeph. 3.2</NOTE> <HI>She obeyed not the</HI> Voice, <HI>&s;he received not</HI> Correction; and &s;o hereby &s;he provoked the wrath of God to her own Ruine and De|&s;truction.</P>
<P>When men do commonly ca&s;t <HI>contempt</HI> upon the Word and Ordinances of God, and are generally <HI>unprofitable</HI> under the meanes of grace, its ju&s;t with God to give them up to <HI>Blindne&s;&s;e of Minde,</HI> and <HI>hard|ne&s;&s;e of Heart,</HI> and then according to the ordinary Methods of his Ju&s;tice, to &s;econd the&s;e <HI>Spiritual Judgements</HI> with a <HI>Tempo|ral De&s;truction,</HI> and &s;o for the <HI>&V;npro|fitablene&s;&s;e</HI> of the People, to lay the Land <HI>de&s;olate.</HI></P>
<P>Of this Import is that dreadful commi&s;&s;i|on, which the Lord gave unto the Pro|phet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> concerning the People of <HI>I&s;rael. Go</HI> (&s;ayes He to him<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 6.9-12.</NOTE>) <HI>and tell this People, hear ye indeed, but under|stand not; and &s;ee ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this People fat,
<PB N="145" REF="80"> and make their eares heavy, and &s;hut their Eyes: le&s;t they &s;ee with their eyes, and hear with their Eares, and under&s;tand with their Heart, and convert and be healed. Then &s;aid I, Lord, how long? And he an&s;wered Untill the</HI> Cities <HI>be wa&s;ted without</HI> Inhabi|tant, <HI>and the</HI> Hou&s;es <HI>without</HI> man, <HI>and the</HI> Land <HI>be utterly</HI> de&s;olate, <HI>and the</HI> LORD <HI>have removed men far away, and there be a great for&s;aking in the mid&s;t of the Land.</HI></P>
<P>Of the very &s;ame import is the Crimi|natory <HI>Complaint,</HI> and Prophetick <HI>Comminati|on</HI> of the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> again&s;t the men of <HI>Judah,</HI> and the Inhabitants of <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI> in the Name of the Lord. <HI>This thing commanded I them</HI> (&s;aith the LORD<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 7.23-29.</NOTE> concerning their Fathers, whom he had brought out of the Land of <HI>Egypt) &s;ay|ing,</HI> Obey my voice and I will be your God, and ye &s;hall be my People: and walk ye in all the wayes that I have com|manded you, that it may be well unto you. <HI>But they hearkened not, nor inclined their Eare, but walked in the Coun&s;els, and in the Imagination</HI> [or, &s;tubbornne&s;&s;e] <HI>of their evil Heart, and went backward, and not forward.</HI> [Thus they became wor&s;e by the meanes u&s;ed to make them better.] <HI>Since the Day that your Fathers came forth out of the Land of</HI> Egypt <HI>unto this Day, I have even &s;ent unto you all my &s;er|vants the Prophets, daily ri&s;ing up early,
<PB N="146" REF="81"> and &s;ending them. Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their eare, but</HI> har|dened <HI>their Neck; they did</HI> wor&s;e <HI>then their Fathers. Therefore thou &s;halt &s;peake all the&s;e words unto them, but they will not hearken to thee: Thou &s;halt al&s;o call unto them, but they will not an&s;wer thee: But thou &s;halt &s;ay unto them,</HI> this is a Nation that obeyeth not the Voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth Correction: <HI>Truth is peri&s;hed and is cut off from their Mouth. Cut off thine Hair, O</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>and ca&s;t it away, and take up a</HI> Lamentation <HI>on high Places; for the LORD hath</HI> rejected <HI>and</HI> for&s;a|ken <HI>the Generation of his Wrath.</HI> And what follows?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">ver. 34.</NOTE> <HI>Then will I cau&s;e to cea&s;e from the Cities of</HI> Judah, <HI>and from the &s;treets of</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>the Voice of Mirth, and the Voice of Gladne&s;&s;e, the Voice of the Bride-groome, and the Voice of the Bride: for the</HI> Land <HI>&s;hall be</HI> de&s;olate.</P>
<P>But yet before the Lord proceeds to the utter <HI>De&s;truction</HI> of a People, he is wont to try them by le&s;&s;er Judgements, lighter <HI>Afflictions,</HI> whether they will return to Him by Repentance or no. The&s;e le&s;&s;er Judgements are his <HI>Warning peeces,</HI> which he &s;hoots off, to &s;ee whether they will make their Peace with him before he levels again&s;t them his <HI>Battering Ordnance,</HI> and di&s;char|ges upon them his <HI>Murdering Cannons,</HI> his dreadfull de&s;troying Judgements. <HI>Lighter
<PB N="147" REF="81"> Afflictions</HI> therefore are to be improved for the Prevention of <HI>heavier Judgements.</HI> For,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Nocumenta Documenta.</NOTE><HI>Corrections</HI> for &s;in are <HI>In&s;tructions</HI> to Righteou&s;ne&s;s.</P>
<P>But now when men are <HI>Incorrigible</HI> un|der Gods <HI>Corrections,</HI> the&s;e are but the Fore-runners of their utter <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> For this doth the Lord complain of his People, the <HI>Jews;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 2.30.</NOTE> <HI>In vain have I &s;mitten your Chil|dren; they received no</HI> Correction. And &s;aith the Prophet,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 5.3.</NOTE> <HI>Thou ha&s;t</HI> &s;tricken <HI>them, but they have not</HI> grieved, <HI>thou ha&s;t</HI> con|&s;umed <HI>them, but they have refu&s;ed to re|ceive</HI> Correction: <HI>They have made their faces</HI> harder <HI>then a Rock, they have</HI> refu&s;ed <HI>to return.</HI> And, Oh! how terrible are the Puni&s;hments of this <HI>Stubbornne&s;s</HI> in &s;in, how dreadfull the Judgements ordained for this <HI>Inc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rrigiblene&s;s</HI> under Correction! <HI>The peo|ple</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 9.13-17.</NOTE>) <HI>turneth not unto him that</HI> &s;miteth <HI>them, neither do they &s;eek the</HI> LORD <HI>of Ho&s;ts: Therefore the</HI> LORD <HI>will cut off from</HI> I&s;rael <HI>head and tail, branch and ru&s;h in one day. The An|cient and Honourable, he is the</HI> Head: <HI>and the Prophet that teacheth lyes, he is the</HI> Tail. <HI>For the</HI> Leaders <HI>of this People cau&s;e them to</HI> err, <HI>and they that are</HI> led <HI>of them are</HI> de&s;troy|ed. <HI>Therefore the</HI> LORD <HI>will have no joy in their young men, neither &s;hall have Mercy on their Fatherle&s;s and Widows: for every
<PB N="148" REF="82"> one is an</HI> Hypocrite, <HI>and an</HI> evil Doer, <HI>and every mouth &s;peaketh folly; for all this his Anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out &s;till.</HI></P>
<P>For this <HI>Stubbornne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Incorrigiblene&s;s,</HI> notwith&s;tanding <HI>In&s;truction</HI> by his Word, and <HI>Correction</HI> by his Rod, doth the LORD threaten one Judgement after another, a|gain&s;t his People <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> by the Hand of <HI>Mo&s;es. If ye walk in my Statutes</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lev. 26.3, 4.</NOTE>) <HI>and keep my Commandments, and do them: then will I give you</HI> Rain <HI>in due</HI> Sea&s;on, <HI>and the</HI> Land <HI>&s;hall yield her</HI> en|crea&s;e, <HI>and the</HI> Trees <HI>of the Field &s;hall yield their</HI> Fruit.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 6.</NOTE> <HI>And I will give you</HI> Peace <HI>in the</HI> Land, <HI>and ye &s;hall lie down, and none &s;hall make you afraid,</HI> &amp;c.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>And I will &s;et my</HI> Tabernacle <HI>amongst you, and my &s;oul &s;hall not abhor you. And I will walk among you,</HI> and will be your God, and ye &s;hall be my People.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 14-29</NOTE> But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all the&s;e Com|mandments: and if ye &s;hall de&s;pi&s;e my Statutes, and if your &s;oul abhor my Judge|ments, &s;o that ye will not do all my Com|mandments, but that ye break my Cove|nant: <HI>I al&s;o will do this unto you, I will even appoint over you</HI> Terrour, Con&s;umption, <HI>and the burning</HI> Ague; <HI>that &s;hall con&s;um<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the</HI> Eyes, <HI>aad cau&s;e &s;orrow of</HI> Heart; <HI>and ye &s;hall &s;ow your</HI> &s;eed <HI>in vain, for your enemies &s;hall eat</HI> it. <HI>And I will &s;et my</HI> Face <HI>again&s;t you, and ye &s;hall be &s;lain before your</HI> Enemies:
<PB N="149" REF="82"> <HI>they that hate you &s;hall reign over you, and ye &s;hall flee when none pur&s;ueth you.</HI> And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will puni&s;h you &s;even times more for your &s;ins. <HI>And I will break the</HI> Pride <HI>of your</HI> Power; <HI>and I will make your</HI> Heaven <HI>as</HI> Iron, <HI>and your</HI> Earth <HI>as</HI> Bra&s;s: <HI>and your</HI> &s;trength <HI>&s;hall be &s;pent in vain: for your</HI> Land <HI>&s;hall not yield her</HI> Encrea&s;e, <HI>neither &s;hall the</HI> Trees <HI>of the Land yield their</HI> Fruits. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken un|to me; I will bring &s;even times more Plagues upon you, according to your &s;ins. <HI>I will al&s;o &s;end wild</HI> Bea&s;ts <HI>among you, which &s;hall rob you of your</HI> Children, <HI>and de&s;troy your</HI> Cattel, <HI>and make you few in number, and your</HI> High-wayes <HI>&s;hall be</HI> de&s;olate. And if ye will not be reformed by the&s;e Things, but will walk contrary unto me; then will I al&s;o walk contrary unto you, and will puni&s;h you yet &s;even times for your &s;ins. <HI>And I will bring a</HI> Sword <HI>upon you, that &s;hall avenge the</HI> Quarrel of my Covenant; <HI>and when ye are gathered together within your</HI> Cities, I <HI>will &s;end the</HI> Pe&s;tilence <HI>among you; and ye &s;hall be delivered into the Hand of the</HI> Enemy. <HI>And when I have broken the</HI> &s;taff of your Bread, <HI>ten women &s;hall bake your Bread in one Oven, and they &s;hall deliver you your Bread</HI> again by <HI>weight: and ye &s;hall eat, and not be &s;atisfied.</HI> And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me: then I will walk contrary to you al&s;o
<PB N="150" REF="83"> in fury; and I, even I will cha&s;ti&s;e you &s;e|ven times for your &s;ins. <HI>And ye &s;hall eat the</HI> Fle&s;h <HI>of your</HI> Sons, <HI>and the</HI> Fle&s;h <HI>of your</HI> Daughters <HI>&s;hall ye eat.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 31, 32.</NOTE> <HI>And I will make your</HI> Cities wa&s;te, <HI>and bring your</HI> Sanctuaries <HI>unto</HI> De&s;olation, <HI>and I will not &s;mell the</HI> &s;avour <HI>of your &s;weet</HI> Odours. <HI>And I will bring the</HI> Land into <HI>De&s;olation; and your E|nemies which dwell therein &s;hall be a&s;toni&s;ht at it,</HI> &amp;c. Thus <HI>Incorrigiblene&s;s</HI> under mani|fold <HI>Corrections,</HI> will at length kindle <HI>implaca|ble wrath,</HI> and &s;o procure <HI>inevitable Ruine.</HI> When le&s;&s;er Judgements have wrought no <HI>Reformation,</HI> there's ju&s;t cau&s;e to fear, God is preparing greater Judgements, to lay that <HI>Land de&s;olate.</HI> When the Field that is often <HI>plow'd</HI> and <HI>&s;ow'd,</HI> brings forth no|thing but <HI>Briars</HI> and <HI>Thorns,</HI> we may expect &s;hortly to &s;ee the Ma&s;ter of that <HI>Fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ld</HI> &s;et it on <HI>Fire.</HI> Tho&s;e <HI>proud Turrets</HI> that are neither <HI>&s;haken</HI> with the <HI>Wind,</HI> nor <HI>&s;often'd</HI> with the <HI>Rain,</HI> may &s;oon be <HI>&s;catter'd</HI> with the <HI>Thunder.</HI> Though they have long <HI>threatned Heaven,</HI> one moment may <HI>throw</HI> them down to the <HI>Earth.</HI> When men are not <HI>melted, &s;often'd, &s;eparated</HI> from their <HI>Dro&s;s,</HI> by the <HI>Fire</HI> of <HI>Afflictions,</HI> what may we ex|pect but that the Lord &s;hould turn the whole Land into a <HI>Furnace of Judgement,</HI> and heat it <HI>&s;even,</HI> and yet <HI>&s;even times</HI> hotter, till he hath utterly <HI>con&s;umed</HI> them from <HI>off</HI> the Earth? Surely, <HI>Incorrigible Impiety &s;hall at length be puni&s;ht with inexorable Fu|ry.</HI>
<PB N="151" REF="83"> The longer men have gone on in <HI>&s;in,</HI> notwith&s;tanding <HI>In&s;tructions</HI> and <HI>Corrections,</HI> the &s;ooner &s;hall they be overtaken with <HI>Judgement:</HI> and the <HI>higher</HI> their <HI>Provocati|ons,</HI> the <HI>heavier</HI> their <HI>Puni&s;hment.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een what <HI>&s;pecial &s;ins</HI> make the <HI>Times perillous,</HI> and in what <HI>ca&s;es</HI> the&s;e &s;ins have, in a &s;peciall manner, this evil In|fluence upon the times.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Symptome. <HI>Formality in Religion.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THE Times are ju&s;tly to be accounted perillous, <HI>When the Generality of Pro|fe&s;&s;ors take up in &s;ome outward Forms of Wor|&s;hip, without pre&s;&s;ing after the Life and Power of Godline&s;s.</HI> The Apo&s;tle in this Prediction of <HI>Perillous Times,</HI> &s;eems to wind up, in the clo&s;e of his De&s;cription of the <HI>Per&s;ons</HI> that &s;hould make the <HI>Times perillous,</HI> all the <HI>Characters</HI> of them into this one; they are men,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.3.</NOTE> <HI>Having a Form of Godli|ne&s;s, but denying the power thereof.</HI></P>
<P>And certainly there cannot be a &s;urer <HI>Symptom</HI> of evil Times, then <HI>Formality</HI> and <HI>Overline&s;s</HI> in the matters of <HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> of God, among&s;t all &s;orts of <HI>Pro|fe&s;&s;ors.</HI>
<PB N="152" REF="84"> The Times mu&s;t needs be evil and perillous, when <HI>Religion</HI> is made but a mat|ter of <HI>Faction;</HI> and mens <HI>Zeal</HI> for Religi|on is e&s;timated by their vehement <HI>Ardour</HI> and <HI>Forwardne&s;s</HI> to promote this or that <HI>way</HI> of <HI>Government</HI> or <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> in oppo&s;ition to all the re&s;t, which yet may be found in a man that hath never experimented the <HI>Power of Religion,</HI> or <HI>Work of Sanctification</HI> upon his own &s;oul. Thus &s;ome are Zealous for the <HI>Epi&s;copal,</HI> others for the <HI>Presbyterial,</HI> and others for the <HI>Congregational,</HI> and not a few for the <HI>Anabapti&s;tical</HI> way; and here|in lies the <HI>Main</HI> of their <HI>Religion.</HI> Where|as the <HI>Life</HI> of <HI>Religion,</HI> the <HI>&s;oul</HI> of true <HI>Godline&s;s</HI> lies in the <HI>Spiritual Wor&s;hip</HI> of God<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4.24</NOTE>: <HI>It's good indeed to be zealou&s;ly af|fected alwayes in a good matter</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.18,</NOTE>; but its nei|ther good nor &s;afe to re&s;t in a &s;uperficial <HI>Form,</HI> a meer empty out-&s;ide of Religion; though never &s;o &s;plendid and glorious. But alas! what do the&s;e men do, that &s;o ear|ne&s;tly contend for that <HI>way of Wor&s;hip</HI> which is mo&s;t agreeable to their own Fancies, and cen&s;ure all others as no Chri&s;tians, no Saints, that are not moulded after the &s;ame <HI>Model;</HI> what do they but promote the <HI>Di&s;tractions,</HI> encrea&s;e the <HI>Divi&s;ions,</HI> and widen the <HI>Diffe|rences</HI> of the Church of God, which every good Chri&s;tian &s;hould &s;tudiou&s;ly endeavour to compo&s;e and heal? Surely the <HI>&s;etting</HI> up of, and the <HI>Adhering</HI> to, this and the other <HI>Party,</HI> is not the way to promote the
<PB N="153" REF="84"> Intere&s;ts of the <HI>Kingdom of Chri&s;t.</HI> He is that<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> &dagger;</NOTE> <HI>MELCHIZEDECK,</HI></P>
<P><HI>King of SALEM;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rex <GAP DESC="foreign"> Ju&s;titiae.</NOTE> He is King of Righteou&s;ne&s;s, and King of Peace</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 7.1, 2</NOTE>. And his <HI>Kingdom &s;tands not in meat and drink, but Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Peace, and</HI> (which re&s;ults from them both) <HI>Joy in the Holy Gho&s;t</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> Rex Pacis.</NOTE> When &s;uch <HI>Religious Factions</HI> prevail, they &s;adly portend the <HI>Ruine of the Church:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.17</NOTE> And <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">hen are not &s;uch perillous times?</P>
<P>In the <HI>Primitive Ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es,</HI> which were <HI>Times of P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r&s;ecution,</HI> how <HI>zealous</HI> were Chri&s;tians in the things of God, and how fervently did they <HI>love one another!</HI> Tho&s;e Times were &s;urely le&s;s perillous then the&s;e, wherein the <HI>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI> of <HI>Per&s;ecution</HI> is not more abated, then <HI>Zeal</HI> for God, and <HI>Love</HI> to one another among&s;t Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>But when P ofe&s;&s;ors are generally <HI>Formall</HI> in the performance of the Duties of Re|ligion, very Perfunctory and <HI>Superficial</HI> in the &s;ervice of God, its a &s;ad <HI>Symptom</HI> of perillous Times. When a man having <HI>tipt</HI> his <HI>Tongue</HI> with the Silver of the Sanctua|ry, and &s;o is able to <HI>&s;peak well</HI> of the things of God, to <HI>di&s;cour&s;e well</HI> of the Matters of Religion, &s;hall for this only Rea&s;on be e|&s;teemed <HI>very Religious.</HI> Whereas (as the Apo&s;tle &s;peaks<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4.20</NOTE>) <HI>The Kingdom of God is not in Word, but in Power.</HI> When there is indeed much <HI>Preaching,</HI> much <HI>Hearing,</HI> fre|quent <HI>Receiving of Sacraments,</HI> but (alas!) little <HI>Life</HI> in Preaching, le&s;s in Hearing, lit|tle
<PB N="154" REF="85"> or no <HI>Affectionatene&s;s</HI> in Receiving, and lea&s;t of all of <HI>Conformity</HI> to the&s;e Go&s;pel-Ordinances in the <HI>Life</HI> and Conver&s;ation. Time was, when Mini&s;ters preached with <HI>Plainne&s;s, Life</HI> and <HI>Power,</HI> &s;o that their earne&s;t<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.1.</NOTE> de&s;ire of <HI>&s;aving &s;ouls</HI> was apparent in their Preaching; and Chri&s;tians that feared God,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Acts 17.11.</NOTE> <HI>Received the Word with all readine&s;s of Mind,</HI> entertained the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.10.</NOTE> <HI>Truth in the Love of it,</HI> and had their Hearts much <HI>&s;tirred and moved</HI> by every Sermon. They not only <HI>heard</HI> the Preacher with their <HI>Ears,</HI> but <HI>felt</HI> him in their <HI>Hearts</HI> and Con&s;cien|ces, and were very much <HI>affected</HI> with all the Di&s;coveries of the Will of God to them. They took pains to <HI>work</HI> the Word upon their own Hearts; They met together to <HI>whet</HI> it upon one another; to <HI>exhort,</HI> en|courage, and <HI>comfort</HI> one another in the wayes of God. Oh! <HI>The Word of the Lord was precious in tho&s;e days</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 3.1.</NOTE>. <HI>How beauti|full</HI> (in tho&s;e dayes) <HI>were the Feet of them that preached the Go&s;pel of Peace, and brought glad Tidings of good Things</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 10.15.</NOTE>! <HI>The Mini|&s;ters of the Go&s;pel</HI> (now &s;o generally &s;light|ed and de&s;pi&s;ed) were then <HI>received</HI> by all good Chri&s;tians as <HI>Angels of God, yea, even as Chri&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;us</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.14.</NOTE>. And then did <HI>Religion flouri&s;h</HI> in the Church, and Chri&s;tians ma|nife&s;ted their <HI>experimental acquaintance</HI> with the <HI>Power of Godline&s;&s;e.</HI> But when <HI>Preach|ing</HI> is become, for the mo&s;t part, <HI>Notional,</HI> and accommodated rather to the plea&s;ing
<PB N="155" REF="85"> of the <HI>Fancy,</HI> then informing the <HI>judge|ment,</HI> convincing the <HI>con&s;cience,</HI> and af|fecting the <HI>Heart;</HI> when <HI>Sermons</HI> are &s;tuft with <HI>affected phra&s;es,</HI> and exqui&s;itely embroyder'd with <HI>Artificial Ornaments,</HI> and &s;o deliver'd by the Preacher, without one <HI>&s;park</HI> of <HI>Life</HI> or <HI>Zeale,</HI> with &s;uch a &s;ingular care to ob&s;erve the <HI>Empha&s;is</HI> and <HI>Elegancy</HI> of his &s;tudy'd <HI>Expre&s;&s;ions,</HI> &s;uch a wary fear of rumpling his fine, &s;mooth <HI>forms of &s;peech,</HI> as if he was come thither to play the part of an <HI>idle Orator,</HI> rather then to do the du|ty of a <HI>Go&s;pel-Preacher,</HI> who is to treate with men in the <HI>Name</HI> of <HI>Christ</HI> about the great affaires of their precious <HI>&s;oules,</HI> for their eternal <HI>Salvation;</HI> this is a <HI>&s;ad change</HI> &s;eriou&s;ly to be laid to heart, and &s;adly to be lamented. When People <HI>for&s;ake</HI> and <HI>regard</HI> not &s;ound, &s;olid Preachers of the Go&s;pel; but <HI>follow</HI> and <HI>flock</HI> after tho&s;e that &s;uit with their <HI>Humours,</HI> and with &s;uch like quaint and curious notions, plea&s;e and delight their <HI>Fancies,</HI> it argues a great <HI>Decay in Religion,</HI> and &s;peaks men to be great <HI>&s;trangers to the Power of Godline&s;&s;e.</HI> Nay, when tho&s;e that are indeed <HI>good Chri&s;tians,</HI> and &s;ound in the Maine, &s;hall become very <HI>Formal,</HI> Overly, <HI>Superficial</HI> in the di&s;charge of <HI>Religious Duties,</HI> in their attendance upon <HI>Go&s;pel-Ordinances;</HI> When they &s;hall take no <HI>paines</HI> to <HI>prepare</HI> them&s;elves for <HI>Sabbaths</HI> and <HI>Sacraments;</HI> when they &s;hall be little or nothing at all
<PB N="156" REF="86"> <HI>affected</HI> with the <HI>Preaching</HI> of the Go&s;pel; when they &s;eldome or never &s;tirre up them&s;elves to the <HI>Exerci&s;e</HI> of the <HI>Graces</HI> of the Spirit in the duties of Religion; when they take no Paines to <HI>work</HI> upon their Hearts by <HI>Meditation</HI> and <HI>Prayer,</HI> the truths which are delivered unto them, nor &s;tudy to expre&s;&s;e in their <HI>lives</HI> a <HI>re&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">on&s;iblene&s;&s;e</HI> to the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel; when they thus re&s;t in the <HI>Forme,</HI> and pre&s;&s;e not after the <HI>Power</HI> of Godline&s;&s;e, its a <HI>Symptome</HI> of an <HI>Evill Age,</HI> a Pre&s;age of Peri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lous Times.</P>
<P>We finde God nothing regarded the <HI>outward Performances</HI> of the People of <HI>I&s;|rael,</HI> when they were utterly deficient in tho&s;e Duties wherein con&s;i&s;ted the <HI>Life of Religion.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.11-15.</NOTE> <HI>To what Purpo&s;e is the</HI> multi|tude of your Sacrifices <HI>unto me, &s;aith the LORD? I am full of the</HI> Burnt-offerings <HI>of</HI> Rams, <HI>and the</HI> Fat <HI>of</HI> fed Bea&s;ts, <HI>and I delight not in the</HI> Blood <HI>of</HI> Bullocks, <HI>or of</HI> Lambs, <HI>or of</HI> He-goats. <HI>And, when ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand to tread my Courts? Bring no more</HI> vain oblations, <HI>Incen&s;e is an abomination unto me, the</HI> New Moons <HI>and</HI> Sabbaths, <HI>the</HI> Calling of A&s;&s;emblies <HI>I cannot away with, it is iniquity even the</HI> &s;olemn meeting. <HI>Your</HI> New Moons, <HI>and your</HI> appointed Fea&s;ts <HI>my &s;oul hateth: they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them. And when ye &s;pread forth your
<PB N="157" REF="86"> hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea,</HI> when ye make many prayers, <HI>I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.</HI> Why did the Lord thus di&s;regard all their <HI>Cere|monial Services,</HI> and <HI>&s;acred Solemnities,</HI> which in the time of the <HI>Old Te&s;tament</HI> he had commanded them? Surely for no other rea&s;on, but becau&s;e they <HI>re&s;ted</HI> in them, and neglected the <HI>great and weighty Things of the Law, Judgement, Mercy and Faith: the&s;e ought they to have done, and not to leave the other undone</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 23 23</NOTE>. So the Lord el&s;ewhere reproves them for their <HI>formal Devotion,</HI> and <HI>hypocritical Fasting,</HI> becau&s;e they were extreamly defective in that which was the principal <HI>Part</HI> of their expected <HI>Obedience,</HI> and the choice&s;t <HI>Fruit</HI> of all &s;uch Religious <HI>Performances;</HI> namely, <HI>Reformation, Ju&s;tice,</HI> and <HI>Charity.</HI> For &s;ayes the Lord to the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 58.1, 2</NOTE>, <HI>Cry aloud, &s;pare not, lift up thy voice like a Trumpet, and &s;hew my People their</HI> Tran&s;|gre&s;&s;ion, <HI>and the Hou&s;e of</HI> Jacob <HI>their</HI> &s;ins. <HI>Yet they &s;eek me daily, and</HI> delight <HI>to know my wayes, as a Nation that did Righteou&s;|ne&s;s, and for&s;ook not the Ordinance of their God: they</HI> ask <HI>of me the Ordinances of Ju|&s;tice: they take</HI> Delight <HI>in approaching to God.</HI> Who would not judge the&s;e to be a very <HI>Holy People,</HI> that &s;hould but take no|tice of this their <HI>Diligence</HI> in Duties, <HI>De|&s;ires</HI> of direction, and <HI>Delight</HI> in drawing nigh unto God. But (alas!) how &s;oon
<PB N="158" REF="87"> may we hear them <HI>murmuring</HI> again&s;t God for not having <HI>re&s;pect</HI> to their &s;ervices, nor <HI>regard</HI> to their Solemnities, as if they had received <HI>wrong</HI> from God, by his not grant|ing, what they conceived their <HI>Right,</HI> to them; &s;o highly were the&s;e <HI>proud hypocrites</HI> conceited of their <HI>poore Performances!</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 3-7.</NOTE> <HI>Wherefore have we</HI> fa&s;ted, <HI>&s;ay they, and thou &s;ee&s;t not? Wherefore have we</HI> afflicted <HI>our &s;oul, and thou take&s;t no knowledge?</HI> But the Lord <HI>replies</HI> to their demand, and <HI>re|proves</HI> them for their Deceit and <HI>Hypocri|&s;ie,</HI> and &s;o <HI>in&s;tructs</HI> them in their Duty. <HI>Behold</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord) <HI>in the Day of your</HI> Fa&s;t <HI>you finde</HI> Plea&s;ure, <HI>and exact all your</HI> Labours. <HI>Behold ye fa&s;t for</HI> &s;trife <HI>and</HI> de|bate, <HI>and to &s;mite with the Fi&s;t of</HI> Wicked|ne&s;&s;e, <HI>ye &s;hall not fa&s;t as ye do this day, to make your Voice to be heard on high. Is it &s;uch a</HI> Fa&s;t <HI>that I have cho&s;en, a Day for a man to afflict his &s;oul? Is it to bow down his head as a Bul-ru&s;h, and to &s;pread</HI> &s;ack|cloth <HI>and</HI> A&s;hes <HI>under him? Wilt thou call this a</HI> Fa&s;t, <HI>and an</HI> acceptable Day <HI>to the LORD? Is not this the</HI> Fa&s;t <HI>that I have cho&s;en? to loo&s;e the bands of</HI> Wickedne&s;&s;e, <HI>to undoe the heavy</HI> Burden? <HI>and to let the</HI> oppre&s;&s;ed <HI>go free, and that ye break every Yoke? Is it not to deale thy</HI> Bread <HI>to the</HI> Hungry, <HI>and that thou bring the</HI> Poore <HI>that are ca&s;t out to thy</HI> Hou&s;e? <HI>When thou &s;ee&s;t the</HI> naked <HI>that thou</HI> cover <HI>him, and that thou hide not thy &s;elf from thine own fle&s;h?</HI> Thus
<PB N="159" REF="87"> without <HI>charity</HI> (the Ma&s;ter-wheele of <HI>good Works</HI>) the mo&s;t &s;pecious <HI>Acts of Religion</HI> are unacceptable to God.</P>
<P><HI>Formality</HI> in religion is a kind of &s;piri|tual <HI>Fal&s;hood</HI> and Di&s;&s;imulation. 'Tis but a <HI>Mocking of God,</HI> a pre&s;enting him <HI>Leaves</HI> for <HI>Fruits,</HI> or <HI>Lies</HI> for <HI>Devotion.</HI> To offer up unto God <HI>formal Performances,</HI> is to become guilty of <HI>real Provocations.</HI> When the heart is wanting in Duties of Divine Wor&s;hip, men do but offer <HI>dead &s;acrifices</HI> to the <HI>living God,</HI> and &s;o provoke the pure Eyes of his Glory. When the <HI>Glory</HI> of the Lord leaves the inward <HI>Sanctuary,</HI> its a &s;igne of his departure from <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and a &s;ad Pre&s;age of its utter <HI>De&s;truction</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Ezek chap. 1. &amp; 11.</NOTE>. When the <HI>Spirit</HI> of God is, in a great mea|&s;ure gone from the <HI>Hearts</HI> of men, in the duties of his Wor&s;hip, its a &s;ad <HI>Symptome</HI> of perillous Times with the Church of God.</P>
<P>Before the per&s;ecution of the Chri&s;tians in <HI>Africa</HI> by the bruti&s;h <HI>Vandals,</HI> the Church of God in tho&s;e Countreys was much <HI>degenerated</HI> from its ancient <HI>Purity,</HI> and declin'd, as to the <HI>Power of Godli|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> as <HI>Salvian,</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Ma&s;&s;ilia</HI> com|plaines<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vict. Epi&s;t. Utic.</NOTE>. So a little before the <HI>Ma&s;&s;a|chre</HI> at <HI>Paris,</HI> it was ob&s;erv'd, there was &s;uch a general <HI>&s;tupidity</HI> &s;eiz'd upon the Prote&s;tants, that few of them &s;eriou&s;ly <HI>minded</HI> the things of God, or were <HI>zealou&s;|ly affected</HI> with the matters of Religion,
<PB N="160" REF="88"> but were wholely taken up with their world|ly Bu&s;ine&s;&s;es and &s;ecular Concernments. If <HI>Religion</HI> among&s;t men be once degenerated into <HI>Farm</HI> (as a <HI>fruitful</HI> into a <HI>barren</HI> Vine) what can be expected but that the <HI>Righte|ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ne&s;&s;e</HI> of God &s;hould be arm'd with <HI>Power,</HI> for the puni&s;hment of &s;uch an un|profitable People? We know, The<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 21.19</NOTE> <HI>bar|ren Fig-tree,</HI> being <HI>cur&s;t</HI> by Chri&s;t, pre&s;ent|ly <HI>withered away.</HI> When a Nation flou|ri&s;hes in the <HI>Leaves</HI> of <HI>Formality,</HI> without the <HI>Fruits</HI> of &s;olid <HI>Piety,</HI> who knows how &s;oon it may be ca&s;t into a <HI>withering</HI> condi|tion? Surely, <HI>Formal Services will at length procure real Sufferings.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="3" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD><HI>The third Symptome.</HI> Impiety vail'd with Hypocri&s;ie.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="III"> THe Times are perillous, <HI>When under glorious pretences of Religion, and Gods glory, men &s;tudiou&s;ly pro&s;ecute &s;ecular de|&s;ignes.</HI> When men <HI>&s;eek them&s;elves</HI> under plau&s;ible Pretences of doing <HI>Service to God:</HI> When men that pretend <HI>Piety,</HI> and a <HI>Pub|lick Spirit,</HI> are
<PB N="161" REF="88">
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.2</NOTE><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 4.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Such as do in deed preferre their <HI>private Interests</HI> be|fore the <HI>Publick Good;</HI> with whom <HI>Silver</HI> is of more value then <HI>Sanctity;</HI> and who pur&s;ue their own <HI>Honour</HI> and Advance|ment, wherein they would &s;eem to pro|mote Gods <HI>Glory.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Hi &s;unt qui boni vi|deri, non e&s;&s;e: Mali non videri, &s;ed e&s;&s;e vo|lunt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Bernh. Serm. 66. in Cant.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e are they who (as Bernard <HI>&s;peaks</HI>) would be thought good, but care not to be &s;o; who care in|deed bad, but would not be thought &s;o. <HI>They are &s;uch as (in their</HI> De&s;ignes) <HI>row to|wards</HI> Hell, <HI>while (in their</HI> Pretences) <HI>their Faces are towards</HI> Heaven. <HI>They &s;peak of</HI> beautifying Sion, <HI>when (at the &s;ame time) they are</HI> Building Babel.</P>
<P>But now the Times mu&s;t needs be peril|lous, when men thus pretend <HI>Godline&s;&s;e</HI> and Gods <HI>glory,</HI> for the more ea&s;ie ac|compli&s;hment of their own works of <HI>Wic|kedne&s;&s;e,</HI> to his <HI>Di&s;honour.</HI> When men <HI>Pro&s;titute</HI> Religion to their own ba&s;e <HI>Lu&s;ts,</HI> and &s;o vitiate her <HI>Virgin-Honour.</HI> When they ca&s;t a vaile of <HI>Hypocri&s;ie</HI> over the vile&s;t Acts of <HI>Impiety.</HI> Hypocri&s;ie, is <HI>&s;in</HI> gilded with pretences of <HI>Sanctity.</HI> This outward <HI>Gilding</HI> makes them not &s;o glorious in the Eyes of men, as their <HI>inward Guilt</HI> m kes them odious in the &s;ight of God. Thus the
<PB N="162" REF="89"> <HI>Cloud,</HI> which arm'd with the <HI>Bowe,</HI> challen|ges all the world to a Combate for the <HI>Beauty of Colours,</HI> is not more <HI>bright</HI> to the Earth, then its <HI>black</HI> to Heaven.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Simulata Aequitas non e&s;t Aequitas, &s;ed duplex Iniquitas, quia Iniquitas e&s;t &s;imulatio<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. in P&s;al. 23.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Equity pretended or di&s;&s;embled (<HI>&s;ayes</HI> Augustine) <HI>is not</HI> Equity but double Iniquity, becau&s;e di&s;&s;imulation is Iniquitie.</P>
<P>And the more glorious the <HI>Pretence</HI> is which covers a ba&s;e De&s;igne, the more vile and wicked is the <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> that thus au|daciou&s;ly &s;teals the <HI>Robes of vertue,</HI> to cloath his otherwi&s;e <HI>naked viliany. Cali|gula</HI> (the Romane Emperour) was never more <HI>Profane,</HI> then when, in his <HI>Pride,</HI> he would put on the <HI>Ve&s;tments of the Gods. Nero</HI> within, and <HI>Cato</HI> without, is an ab|hor'd <HI>Mon&s;ter</HI> in the Church of God. When the <HI>Devil</HI> appears in the habit of <HI>Samuel,</HI> 'tis but to prophecy the prevalency of the <HI>Phili&s;tines,</HI> and the Overthrow of <HI>I&s;|rael.</HI></P>
<P>When <HI>Pernicious Projects</HI> are vail'd with <HI>glorious Pretences,</HI> the Times are perillous. When <HI>Piety</HI> is made &s;ub&s;ervient to <HI>Policy,</HI> and <HI>Gain</HI> is accounted <HI>Godline&s;&s;e.</HI> This is not <HI>Religion,</HI> but <HI>Robbery.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Latro e&s;t, &amp; Domum Dei convertit in &s;pelun|cam Latronum, qui Lu|cra de Religione &s;ecta|tur, cultu&s;que ejus, non tam Cultus Dei, quam ne|gotiationis occa&s;io e&s;t<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Hier. &s;up. M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t. l. 4.</NOTE>.</NOTE>He is a Robber (<HI>&s;ays</HI> Jerome) and turns the Hou&s;e of God into a Den of Thieves, who
<PB N="163" REF="89"> takes up Religion meerly for the getting of <HI>Gain,</HI> and who&s;e wor&s;hip of God &s;erves onely for a fitter Occa&s;i|on to advance his <HI>Trading</HI> in the World. <HI>And we know it was not long after the Temple was made a</HI> Den of Thieves, <HI>that it became a</HI> heap of Ruines.</P>
<P>The Times are perillous, when the <HI>Royal &s;tamp</HI> is put upon <HI>counterfeit coine,</HI> and <HI>&s;elf-intere&s;t</HI> is called the <HI>Cau&s;e of God.</HI> And the <HI>Danger</HI> is greater according to the <HI>De|gree</HI> of the Per&s;on. <HI>Self-&s;eeking,</HI> e&s;pecial|ly under plau&s;ible pretences of the <HI>Good of the People,</HI> is extreamly pernicious in &s;uch Per&s;ons as have the <HI>chiefe&s;t Power</HI> in their hands, which ought not to be u&s;ed as an Engine for the advancement of mens <HI>pri|vate Intere&s;ts,</HI> but to be ever put to the be&s;t improvement for the <HI>Publick Good.</HI> And therefore the pious and learned Fa|ther makes this the great difference be|twixt a <HI>Tyrant,</HI> who rules after his own Lu&s;ts, and a <HI>King</HI> that governes his People by good and whole&s;om Laws.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>In this</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>does a</HI> Tyrant <HI>differ from a</HI> King, <HI>that the one has &s;till an Eye to his</HI> own In|tere&s;ts, <HI>the other lays out him&s;elf for the</HI> Good <HI>of his</HI> Subjects. But yet among&s;t a
<PB N="164" REF="90"> People profe&s;&s;ing godline&s;&s;e, &s;uch Tyrants (which makes their wickedne&s;&s;e &s;o much the wor&s;e) are wont to pretend the inte|re&s;ts of Religion, and the <HI>Honour of God,</HI> for the <HI>colouring</HI> of their irregular enter|prizes, and the <HI>covering</HI> of their wicked in|tentions, till they have accompli&s;h't their cur&s;ed De&s;ignes, and &s;o attain'd their own ends. So the bloody <HI>Nero,</HI> in the begin|ning of his Reigne, made great <HI>Pretences of Piety,</HI> but when he was e&s;tabli&s;ht in his Empire, he delighted in nothing but <HI>wicked|ne&s;&s;e and cruelty.</HI> And how <HI>perillous</HI> tho&s;e <HI>Times</HI> were to the Chri&s;tian Church, the <HI>Teares</HI> and <HI>Blood</HI> of many thou&s;and per&s;ecu|ted Chri&s;tians gave &s;ufficient Te&s;timony, who&s;e<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 6.9, 10</NOTE> <HI>Souls are under the Altar</HI> of God, &s;till <HI>crying with a loud Voice, and &s;aying, How long O Lord, Holy and True, do&s;t thou not judge and avenge our</HI> Blood, <HI>on them that dwell on the Earth?</HI> But now was it not for &s;uch <HI>faire Pretences,</HI> the&s;e bloody Tyrants could never &s;o &s;moothly carry on &s;uch <HI>foule Enormities,</HI> to a full accom|pli&s;hment. It's the <HI>Glory of God</HI> there|fore which they pretend to the world, to be the End of their <HI>audacious Actings;</HI> but their own <HI>Names</HI> are firmly wrought into that <HI>Shield</HI> of Gods <HI>Glory,</HI> which they hold out to the world, for the <HI>Protection</HI> of the ba&s;e&s;t <HI>De&s;ignes,</HI> as its &s;aid the <HI>Name</HI> of <HI>Phidias</HI> was, by his curious <HI>Art,</HI> wrought into the <HI>Shield</HI> of <HI>Minerva.</HI> Wo be to
<PB N="165" REF="90"> the People that are &s;ubjected to the <HI>Pow|er</HI> of &s;uch pernicious per&s;ons; for the&s;e a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e they which do, with a witne&s;&s;e, make the Times perillous.</P>
<P>The Times then are perillous, when <HI>glorious Titles</HI> are &s;tampt upon <HI>ba&s;e De&s;igns,</HI> and <HI>glorious ends</HI> are pretended for the crediting of &s;uch <HI>Enormous Actions,</HI> as Religion cannot but blu&s;h that they &s;hould be called her children. Thus <HI>Cel&s;us,</HI> the Philo&s;opher, having written a <HI>Defence of Pagani&s;me,</HI> gilds over his rotten wood with this golden Title or In&s;cription, Verbum Veritatis<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Orig. contra Cel&s;. l. 2.</NOTE>. <HI>The Word of Truth.</HI></P>
<P>Thus <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI> pretended a &s;olemne Act of Religion, in <HI>paying his Vow</HI> unto God, when having plotted a <HI>cur&s;ed Trea&s;on,</HI> he went on purpo&s;e to rai&s;e a <HI>bloody Rebellion,</HI> again&s;t his Prince and Father<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 15 7-10.</NOTE>. Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|hu</HI> pretended the <HI>Reformation of Religion,</HI> when he &s;ought nothing but the <HI>e&s;tabli&s;h|ment of the Kingdome</HI> to him&s;elf<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 King. 9 and 10.</NOTE>; and therefore the <HI>executions</HI> done by him (though according to Gods Order and Ap|pointment<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 King. 9.6, 7</NOTE>) are charged upon him as &s;o many bloody <HI>Murthers,</HI> &s;oliciting the Divine Vengeance. <HI>For</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 1.4</NOTE>) <HI>yet a little while, and I will avenge the Blood of</HI> Jezreel (<HI>i. e.</HI> the blood&s;hed in <HI>Jezreel</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 King. 9 15, 24, 25, 26, 30. ult.</NOTE>, the Royal City of the Land of <HI>I&s;&s;achar</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 19.17, 18.</NOTE>) <HI>upon the Hou&s;e of</HI> Jehu, <HI>and will cau&s;e to cea&s;e the Kingdome of the Hou&s;e of</HI> I&s;rael.
<PB N="166" REF="91"> Thus, one wicked <HI>Tyrant</HI> may be the Ru|ine of the whole Kingdome. Yet does this bloody Wretch, this Self-&s;eeking <HI>Jehu,</HI> while he was yet reeking in Blood, and hot in pur&s;uing his <HI>&s;elfi&s;h De&s;ignes,</HI> boa&s;t of his <HI>zeal</HI> for the Cau&s;e of God. <HI>Come</HI> (&s;ayes he to <HI>Jehonadab</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 King. 10.15, 16.</NOTE>) <HI>Come with me, and &s;ee my zeal for the LORD.</HI> Thus do many wear a <HI>Cloak of Zeal</HI> upon a <HI>Habit of Vice.</HI> Thus <HI>Saul,</HI> out of his <HI>Zeale</HI> for the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> became a bloody Butcher of the <HI>Gibeonites,</HI> and &s;o brought a plague upon the whole Land of <HI>I&s;rael</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 21 1, 2</NOTE>. Thus that wicked <HI>Ahab</HI> proclaimes a <HI>Fa&s;t</HI> for the putting to death of <HI>Naboth,</HI> that he might take to him&s;elf his <HI>Vineyard,</HI> and &s;o by one Act, involves him&s;elf in the guilt of <HI>Murder, Perjury,</HI> and unju&s;t <HI>U&s;urpation</HI> of the Right and Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Innocent and Righteous<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 King. 21 12-16</NOTE>. So the Hi&s;torian tells us of the Devili&s;h Policy of <HI>Hanno,</HI> a rich Prince of the <HI>Carthaginians,</HI> who having laid a de&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ne for the De&s;truction of the whole <HI>Se<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ate</HI> (herein wor&s;e then <HI>Helioga|balus,</HI> who&s;e Pride was &s;atisfi'd in the <HI>Ex|pul&s;ion of the Senators</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Fulg. l. 9. c. 5.</NOTE>) made u&s;e of a <HI>&s;a|cred S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lemnity</HI> in the Celebration of his Daughters Marriage,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ut Religione Votorum nefanda committeret, &amp; nefanda Commenta fa|cilius tegerentur<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tin. Hi&s;t. l. 21.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>For the Execution and Concealment of his Damnable De|&s;igne and Helli&s;h Trea&s;on.</HI> Thus did
<PB N="167" REF="91"> the Mon&s;ter of men, <HI>Herod,</HI> pretend he would<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 2.8</NOTE> <HI>wor&s;hip Christ,</HI> whil&s;t he was plotting to <HI>murder</HI> him, in the pro&s;ecution of which <HI>bloody De&s;igne,</HI> he cruelly<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 2.16</NOTE> put to death (as it is thought) about fourteen thou&s;and <HI>Innocents,</HI> the early <HI>Buds of Martyrdome,</HI> the fir&s;t blown <HI>Violets</HI> and <HI>Ro&s;es</HI> of the <HI>Royal Garden,</HI> of the Chri|&s;tian Church.</P>
<P>Now the times mu&s;t needs be &s;ad and perillous, when men under <HI>high Profe&s;&s;ions</HI> of Religion, &s;hall attempt <HI>Parricide</HI> and <HI>Murdering of Innocents,</HI> yea, and of &s;uch as are eminent and <HI>illu&s;trious Per&s;ons,</HI> meerly for their own <HI>e&s;tabli&s;hment</HI> and <HI>&s;ecurity.</HI> When men &s;hall pretend <HI>Gods honour, and the Pre&s;ervation of Religion, with the ju&s;t Rights and Liberties of the good People of the Land, both as men and Chri&s;tians,</HI> for the ju&s;tifying of tho&s;e <HI>Bloody Acts</HI> (in pur|&s;uance of &s;ome <HI>&s;ecular De&s;ignes,</HI> and for the procuring of their own <HI>private Inte|rests</HI>) whereby God is <HI>di&s;honoured,</HI> Religi|on <HI>reproached,</HI> and the Land <HI>polluted</HI> with Blood. How &s;trangely does <HI>Ambition</HI> blind the eyes of men, that they &s;hould think them&s;elves <HI>&s;ecure</HI> within tho&s;e walls that are <HI>cemented</HI> with <HI>innocent Blood!</HI> That they &s;hould think to get them&s;elves a <HI>Name,</HI> and to rai&s;e up <HI>Monuments</HI> of glory, for the perpetuating their <HI>Memory,</HI> by Acts &s;o full of <HI>Infamy,</HI> that whatever flattering Titles the Time-&s;ervers of the pre&s;ent Generation
<PB N="168" REF="92"> may give them) &s;hall never be mentioned by the after Ages, without <HI>abhorrency</HI> and Dete&s;tation! Who can but wonder at the intemperate <HI>De&s;ires of Renown</HI> that po&s;&s;e&s;t the heart of<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Val. Max. l. 8. c. 14.</NOTE> <HI>Pau&s;anias,</HI> and to &s;ee him &s;hut his eyes while he &s;wallow'd the Ironical ad|vice of <HI>Hermocrates,</HI> in the pur&s;uit of glory, that he might get him a <HI>Name</HI> in the world? For he demanding of <HI>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rmocrates,</HI> by what means he might &s;oone&s;t become <HI>Fa|mous,</HI> received this Reply;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Si illu&s;trem vitum ali|quem occidi&s;&s;et, futurum ut Gloria ejus ad ip&s;um redundaret.</NOTE><HI>By being the death of &s;ome illu&s;trious Per&s;on: For &s;o it would come to pa&s;&s;e that his glory would redound to him&s;elf.</HI> Hereupon he &s;oon en|gages in a <HI>bloody Enterprize,</HI> to which he pricks him&s;elf forward by the &s;purs of <HI>Di&s;|content</HI> and <HI>Revenge.</HI> For with a <HI>Traite|rous hand</HI> he murders his lawful Prince and Sovereign, <HI>Philip</HI> King of <HI>Macedon,</HI> who was a man (abating &s;ome Vices ordinarily incident to &s;uch great Per&s;ons) <HI>Eminent</HI> for many excellent <HI>Qualities,</HI> and worthy <HI>Actions,</HI> which had imbelli&s;ht his Name in the world, and not unde&s;ervedly given him the Title of a <HI>Good Prince.</HI> Neither did <HI>Pau&s;anias</HI> herein altogether faile of the <HI>End</HI> of his Enterprize. For by this means it came to pa&s;s, that he, in &s;ome &s;ort, obtain'd what he de&s;ir'd, <HI>a never dying Memory.</HI> For the ju&s;t Renown of <HI>Philips</HI> virtues tran&s;mitted
<PB N="169" REF="92"> the memory of this <HI>infamous Parricide</HI> to the after-Ages. Thus <HI>Ambition, like a &s;eeled Dove, flies up to receive a greater Fall.</HI></P>
<P>Ambition &s;timulates men to de&s;perate and dangerous De&s;ignes; whence (&s;ayes the Lord <HI>Verulam</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bacon's E&s;&s;ayes, c. 36</NOTE>) <HI>to take a Souldier with|out Ambition, is to pull off his Spurs:</HI> But then <HI>Policy,</HI> Lieutenant to <HI>Ambition,</HI> advi&s;es to conduct the&s;e daring Actions, under the di&s;play'd <HI>En&s;ignes of Religion.</HI> It's a Max|ime of <HI>Machiavel,</HI> that <HI>Religion it &s;elf is not to be cared for, but onely the Appearance; becau&s;e the credit of it is a help, but the u&s;e a cumber.</HI> Hence (&s;ayes the Poet)
<NOTE PLACE="marg">&mdash;Exeat Aula Qui volet e&s;&s;e Pius; Virtus &amp; &s;umma Pote&s;tas Non coeunt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lucan. l. 4</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>He mu&s;t relinqui&s;h the Court</HI> (much more the <HI>Camp) who would exerci&s;e Piety: For &s;olid Pi|ety is not con&s;i&s;tent with Supreame Power</HI> (much le&s;&s;e with <HI>carnal Policy.</HI>) But this we mu&s;t under&s;tand of the <HI>Courts</HI> of <HI>Pa|gan,</HI> not of <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> Princes, who have many of them cheri&s;ht and brooded the <HI>faire&s;t Vertues,</HI> under the Wings of their happy Government. But yet among&s;t Chri|&s;tians, it's but too fitly applyable to the <HI>Courts of Tyrants,</HI> who by the <HI>&s;trength of Policy,</HI> have po&s;&s;e&s;t them&s;elves of the <HI>Supream Power.</HI> For, as another Poet &s;peaks,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Sophoc. in Ajace.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Its no ea&s;ie matter for a Tyrant to be truly Religious.</HI> A
<PB N="170" REF="93"> <HI>pious Tyrant</HI> is a Paradox in Chri&s;tian Po|liticks. True <HI>Piety</HI> is doubtle&s;&s;e a very rare thing in the Court of a Prince that ri&s;es by <HI>Policy,</HI> and rules with <HI>Tyranny.</HI> Yet &s;ome there are that &s;ay a <HI>precious &s;tone</HI> may be found in the head of a <HI>poy&s;on|ous Toad.</HI> But &s;ure we are, a glorious <HI>&s;hew of Religion</HI> may be farr ea&s;ilier found, then the lea&s;t <HI>dram of &s;incerity</HI> in &s;uch great Politicians and arbitrary Princes.</P>
<P>Sad are the times when <HI>Ambition</HI> and <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> become the <HI>En&s;igne-bearers</HI> of Chri&s;tianity; and <HI>Gaine</HI> and <HI>Glory</HI> are the Prizes &s;ought for under <HI>Chri&s;ts Colours.</HI> For,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui ad O&s;tentionem Sanctitatis praetendit, ut aliis quandoque praee&s;&s;e de&s;ideret, ille non e&s;t Di&s;cipulus Chri&s;ti, &s;ed Pravitatis Sectator exi|&s;tit: qui non pro Deo &s;ed Seculi hon<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">re &s;tu|det portare Crucis labo|rem<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;idor.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>He that pretends Sanctity, but affects Principality, is not CHRIST'S Di&s;ci|ple, but SIN'S Se|ctary, who if he do for a time beare the Burden of the Cro&s;s, 'tis not for the Ho|nour of God, but be|cau&s;e (perhaps) he hath beheld the Beauty of a Crown, and by this meanes a&s;pires to greatne&s;&s;e and glory in the World.</HI> Thus <HI>Ambition</HI> will needs weare a <HI>Cloak of Re|ligion.</HI> And <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> which as an offi|cious Servant, &s;till attends Ambition, comes not far behinde in this Art of the <HI>Di&s;&s;imulation of Piety.</HI> The <HI>Love of Gold</HI> will make men adventure upon that which
<PB N="171" REF="93"> is <HI>Trea&s;on</HI> again&s;t the King of Heaven, <HI>to Counterfeit Grace. Godline&s;&s;e</HI> &s;hall be fair|ly written upon mens Carriages and Di&s;|cour&s;es without, when there's nothing at all to be found within, but a <HI>De&s;igne for Gaine.</HI> But now &s;uch per&s;ons as the&s;e by their wicked <HI>Policies</HI> and <HI>Practi&s;es</HI> do make the Times perillous. For are they not <HI>evil Dayes,</HI> perillous Times, when <HI>Ab|horrency of IDOLATRY</HI> is pretended for the <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion of SACRILEDGE</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 2.22</NOTE>, and the Churches <HI>Portion</HI> and <HI>Dowry</HI> is taken a|way for the better Pre&s;ervation of her <HI>Beau|ty,</HI> and Prevention of her <HI>Defilement? Sacriledge</HI> is a Sin, that under what pre|tences &s;oever it hath been committed, hath proved <HI>fatal</HI> to them that have committed it. Hereof they cannot be ignorant that are not altogether &s;trangers to Hi|&s;tory.</P>
<P>We have a memorable <HI>Example</HI> hereof in the Story of the <HI>Maccabees,</HI> wherein we read of the <HI>Sacriledge</HI> of <HI>Antiochus,</HI> and the <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> that befell him, with that &s;ad <HI>Confe&s;&s;ion</HI> which he uttered under the pangs of an accu&s;ing <HI>Con&s;cience,</HI> that the&s;e <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> were the ju&s;t puni&s;hment of his <HI>Sacriledge.</HI> For it is &s;aid, that<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Mac. 1.20-24.</NOTE> <HI>After</HI> An|tiochus <HI>had &s;mitten</HI> Egypt, <HI>he returned a|gain in the hundred fourty and third yeare, and went up again&s;t</HI> I&s;rael <HI>and</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>with a</HI> great multitude, <HI>and entred</HI> proudly <HI>into the</HI> Sanctuary, <HI>and took away the</HI> Golden
<PB N="172" REF="94"> Altar, <HI>and the</HI> Candle&s;tick of Light, <HI>and all the</HI> Ve&s;&s;els <HI>thereof. And the</HI> Table of the Shew-bread, <HI>and the</HI> pouring Ve&s;&s;els, <HI>and the</HI> Vials, <HI>and the</HI> Cen&s;ers of Gold, <HI>and the</HI> Vail, <HI>and the</HI> Crowns, <HI>and the</HI> Golden Ornaments <HI>that were before the</HI> Temple, <HI>all which he pulled off. He took al&s;o the</HI> &s;ilver <HI>and the</HI> gold, <HI>and the</HI> precious Ve&s;&s;els: <HI>al&s;o he took the</HI> hidden Trea&s;ures <HI>which he found: and when he had taken all away, he went into his own Land, having made a great</HI> Ma&s;&s;acre, <HI>and &s;poken very</HI> proudly. But after &s;even yeares re&s;pite, we find <HI>Ju|&s;tice</HI> calling him to account, and &s;everely &s;courging him with tho&s;e <HI>Scorpions</HI> which by this &s;in he had fed in his own con&s;ci|ence, and this (which is very remarkable) at the <HI>&s;ame Time</HI> that he &s;ought to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him&s;elf of a rich Booty, by a &s;econd <HI>Sa|criledge.</HI> For, &s;ayes the &s;tory<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Mac. 6.1-16.</NOTE>, <HI>About that Time King</HI> Antiochus, <HI>travelling through the high Countreys, heard &s;ay, that</HI> Elemais, <HI>in the Countrey of</HI> Per&s;ia, <HI>was a City greatly renown'd for</HI> Riches, Silver <HI>and</HI> Gold: <HI>and that there was in it a very</HI> Rich Temple, <HI>wherein were</HI> Coverings of Gold, <HI>and</HI> Brea&s;t|plates, <HI>and</HI> Shields, <HI>which</HI> Alexander, <HI>&s;onne of</HI> Philip, <HI>the</HI> Macedonian King, <HI>who reign|ed fir&s;t among the</HI> Grecians <HI>had left there. Wherefore he came and &s;ought to take the</HI> City <HI>and &s;poile it, but he was not able, be|cau&s;e they of the City having had warning thereof, ro&s;e up again&s;t him in</HI> Battel. <HI>So he
<PB N="173" REF="94"> fled and departed thence with</HI> great heavi|ne&s;&s;e, <HI>and returned to</HI> Babylon. <HI>Moreover there came one who brought in Tidings into</HI> Per&s;ia, <HI>that the Armies which went again&s;t the Land of</HI> Judea <HI>were put to flight: and that</HI> Ly&s;ias, <HI>who went forth first with a great</HI> Power, <HI>was driven away of the</HI> Jews, <HI>and that they were made &s;trong by the</HI> Ar|mour <HI>and</HI> Power, <HI>and &s;tore of</HI> Spoiles, <HI>which they had gotten of the</HI> Armies <HI>whom they had de&s;troy'd. Al&s;o that they had pull'd down the</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See ch. 1.54.</NOTE> Abomination <HI>which he had &s;et up upon the</HI> Altar <HI>in</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>and that they had compa&s;&s;ed about the</HI> Sanctuary <HI>with</HI> High Walls, <HI>as before, and his City</HI> Beth|&s;ura. <HI>Now when the</HI> King <HI>heard the&s;e words, he was</HI> a&s;toni&s;hed <HI>and &s;ore moved; whereupon he laid him down upon his Bed, and fell</HI> &s;ick for Grief, <HI>becau&s;e it had not befallen him as he looked for. And there he continued many dayes: for his</HI> Grief <HI>was e|ver</HI> more and more, <HI>and he made account that he &s;hould</HI> die. <HI>Wherefore he called for all his friends, and &s;aid unto them; the</HI> Sleep <HI>is gone from mine</HI> Eyes, <HI>and my</HI> Heart <HI>faileth for very</HI> Care. <HI>And I thought with my &s;elf, into what</HI> Tribulation <HI>am I come, and how great a</HI> Flood of Mi&s;ery <HI>is it where|in now I am? For I was bountiful and belo|ved in my</HI> Power. <HI>But NOW I remember the</HI> Evils <HI>that I did at</HI> JERUSALEM, <HI>and that I took all the</HI> Ve&s;&s;els of Gold <HI>and</HI> Sil|ver <HI>that were therein, and &s;ent to de&s;troy the
<PB N="174" REF="95"> Inhabitants of</HI> Judea <HI>without a Cau&s;e. I perceive therefore that for</HI> THIS Cau&s;e <HI>the&s;e</HI> troubles <HI>are come upon me, and behold</HI> I peri&s;h <HI>through</HI> great Grief <HI>in a &s;trange Land. Then called he for</HI> Philip, <HI>one of his</HI> Friends, <HI>whom he made Ruler over all his</HI> Realme: <HI>and gave him the</HI> Crown <HI>and his</HI> Robe, <HI>and his</HI> Signet, <HI>to the end he &s;hould bring up his &s;on</HI> Antiochus, <HI>and nouri&s;h him up for the</HI> Kingdome. <HI>So</HI> King <HI>Antiochus</HI> died <HI>there, in the hundred fourty and nine yeare.</HI> Thus <HI>Con&s;cience,</HI> though &s;tifled for a time, will not alwayes lie a&s;leep. Thus the proude&s;t pre&s;umptuous &s;inner carries his <HI>Accu&s;er, Judge, Witne&s;&s;es</HI> and <HI>Executi|oner</HI> in his own bo&s;ome. Thus <HI>Sacriledge,</HI> though for a time <HI>carried</HI> out with &s;ucce&s;&s;e, &s;hall at length <HI>recoile</HI> upon the head of him that committed it, to the A&s;toni&s;h|ment of all beholders.</P>
<P>Surely when mens <HI>Hearts</HI> and <HI>Hands</HI> are engag'd in this &s;in, what ever thei<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Pretences</HI> be, they take the ready cour&s;e to pluck the Judgements of God down upon their <HI>Heads,</HI> which may involve the whole Nation in many woful calamities, and &s;o bring upon the Church of God very <HI>&s;ad and perillous Times.</HI></P>
<P>And are there not too many in the&s;e Dayes, that under the <HI>Pretences of Piety</HI> (which makes the Provocation higher) are guilty of this <HI>&s;in of Sacriledge?</HI> We read when the City <HI>Carthage</HI> was taken by the
<PB N="175" REF="95"> <HI>Romanes,</HI> the <HI>rude Souldiers,</HI> ru&s;hing into the <HI>&s;acred Temples,</HI> &s;tript the Image of <HI>A|pollo</HI> of a <HI>golden Robe:</HI> but (&s;ayes the Hi|&s;tory) the <HI>Sacrilegious hands</HI> of them that took it, were found among&s;t the <HI>Fragments</HI> of that <HI>&s;acred Vesture</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Val. Max. l. 1. c. 1.</NOTE>. If the like Judge|ment &s;hould befall tho&s;e that have &s;tript the Church (Chri&s;ts <HI>Monument</HI> on Earth) of her <HI>Golden Robe,</HI> or at lea&s;t attempted &s;uch a <HI>Sacriledge,</HI> how might we &s;ay in the words of the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 76.5</NOTE> a little varied, <HI>Ma|ny of the men of Might have lo&s;t their Hands!</HI> But perhaps what I call the Churches <HI>Golden Robe,</HI> &s;ome may &s;tile a <HI>Babyloni&s;h Garment;</HI> and what I e&s;teem &s;acred, as her <HI>Dowry,</HI> they may call <HI>accur&s;ed Gold.</HI> But let them re|member, all <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;marted, and the Trou|bler of <HI>I&s;rael, Achan,</HI> with his Family and Cattle, dyed in a <HI>&s;howre of &s;tones,</HI> and were wrapt up in a <HI>Sheet of flames,</HI> for plundring the <HI>Golden Wedge,</HI> and <HI>Babyloni&s;h Gar|ment</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. c. 7.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>The <HI>Phocian Generals</HI> who paid their <HI>Souldiers</HI> with the <HI>Gold</HI> of the <HI>Temple</HI> of <HI>Apollo,</HI> came all to untimely deaths<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Diod. Sic.</NOTE>. <HI>Gold,</HI> the <HI>&s;ick</HI> mans <HI>Cordial,</HI> is the <HI>&s;acrilegious</HI> mans <HI>Poy&s;on. Its a &s;nare</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Solomon</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 20.25</NOTE>) <HI>to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make Enquiry.</HI></P>
<P>So likewi&s;e the <HI>Souldiers,</HI> which under the Conduct of <HI>Quintus Caepio,</HI> a Roman Con|&s;ul, having taken the City <HI>Tholou&s;e</HI> in <HI>France</HI> by &s;torm, rifled the rich <HI>Temples</HI> there,
<PB N="176" REF="96"> carrying away all the <HI>Gold</HI> and <HI>Silver</HI> out of them, were all overtaken by tho&s;e <HI>Judge|ments,</HI> which are in pur&s;uit of &s;uch daring <HI>Sa|crilegi&s;ts,</HI> and came to a mi&s;erable end<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Corn. Tacit.</NOTE>. Thus they that enrich them&s;elves with <HI>Sa|crilegious hands,</HI> do but therein pluck down the Judgements of God upon their own <HI>heads.</HI> And when <HI>Towers</HI> fall, the <HI>Under-Buildings</HI> mu&s;t needs be batter'd. The com|mi&s;&s;ion of this &s;in therefore, e&s;pecially un|der <HI>Pretences of Religion,</HI> mu&s;t needs &s;peak the Times perillous.</P>
<P>When <HI>Calvin</HI> under&s;tood how the <HI>Senate</HI> of <HI>Geneva</HI> was about to imploy part of the <HI>Revenues</HI> formerly pertaining to the <HI>Mo|na&s;teries,</HI> to <HI>Civil U&s;es,</HI> he told them in his <HI>Sermon,</HI> that he could not endure &s;uch <HI>Sacri|lege,</HI> which he knew God, in the end, would puni&s;h mo&s;t &s;everely. What is given to God, though out of a <HI>blind Devotion,</HI> may not again be taken from God, but ought to be imploy'd for God in the Maintenance of his <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> and the Exerci&s;es of true Reli|gion. There's &s;urely a <HI>Moral Equity</HI> in that <HI>Levitical Law; Notwith&s;tanding</HI> (&s;aith the LORD to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lev. 27.28</NOTE>) <HI>no</HI> devoted thing <HI>that a man &s;hall</HI> devote <HI>unto the LORD, of all that he hath, both of man and bea&s;t, and of the Field, and of his</HI> Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, <HI>&s;hall be</HI> &s;old, <HI>or redeemed:</HI> Every devoted Thing <HI>is mo&s;t holy unto the Lord.</HI> And therefore the <HI>Theft of Achan</HI> (in &s;tealing the <HI>Golden Wedge</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 7.1 21</NOTE>, was the <HI>Sin</HI> of <HI>Sacriledge;</HI> becau&s;e
<PB N="177" REF="96"> the <HI>Gold of</HI> Jericho was <HI>con&s;ecrated to the LORD</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 6.19</NOTE> For if a man that hath a true <HI>Propriety</HI> in his own Goods &s;hall <HI>alienate</HI> them to anothers u&s;e, who can deprive him of them without Intrenchment upon his <HI>ju&s;t Right,</HI> to whom they are given? And then is not he guilty of<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.8.</NOTE> <HI>Robbing of God,</HI> which &s;hall take away that, and turn it to a <HI>&s;ecular U&s;e,</HI> for his own advanrage, which was <HI>con&s;ecrated</HI> to <HI>Gods holy &s;ervice?</HI> Yea though a man that dedicates any thing to God, &s;hould not do it with a <HI>Right intenti|on,</HI> yet is it the Lords <HI>Right,</HI> after it is con|&s;ecrated to a <HI>Religious &V;&s;e.</HI> And there|fore Chri&s;t calls the Temple built by <HI>Herod</HI> for vain glory, his <HI>Fathers HOUSE,</HI> and whips out them that profan'd it<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 John 2.15, 16.</NOTE>. Much more will God &s;courge with his <HI>judgements</HI> tho&s;e that under the pretence of Religion. commit <HI>Sacriledge.</HI> 'Twas one of the <HI>Laws</HI> of the <HI>twelve Tables</HI> in <HI>Rome,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Sacrum, Sacrove com|mendatum qui clep&s;erit rap&s;eritve, Parricida e|&s;to<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Cic. pro Ro&s;c.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Let him that &s;teal|eth or violently ta|keth away holy things, or things dedicated to a holy U&s;e, be re|puted and puni&s;hed as a Parricide.</HI> And &s;hould <HI>Sacriledge</HI> be e&s;teemed a <HI>le&s;&s;e Crime</HI> among&s;t <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> then it was among&s;t <HI>Heathens?</HI> &s;hall we think it a <HI>le&s;&s;e &s;inne</HI> to rob the <HI>true God,</HI> the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 1.1 P&s;. 124.8.</NOTE> <HI>Creator of Heaven and Earth,</HI> who&s;e<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.10</NOTE> <HI>Workman&s;hip we are;</HI> for his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119.73</NOTE> <HI>hands have made and fa&s;hion'd us;</HI>
<PB N="178" REF="97"> then they did to rob their <HI>fal&s;e gods,</HI> which were &s;o <HI>created</HI> by men; to defraud their <HI>I|dols,</HI> which were the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 115.4</NOTE> <HI>work of mens hands,</HI> being but<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 20.32</NOTE> <HI>Wood and Stone,</HI> or at the be&s;t but<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 135.15</NOTE> <HI>Silver and Gold?</HI> Surely, if they to ex|pre&s;&s;e the <HI>heinou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> of this &s;in, reckon'd it among&s;t the vile&s;t <HI>murders of Bodies,</HI> we &s;hall want a &s;in with which to match it, which is, in effect, a <HI>murder of &s;ouls.</HI> It's &s;ad to think how many thou&s;and <HI>&s;ouls</HI> were <HI>murder'd</HI> at one &s;troke, when the <HI>Revenues</HI> of the Church were <HI>alienated,</HI> in many places in <HI>England, an act</HI> then which the <HI>Infernal Powers</HI> could hardly have <HI>decreed</HI> any thing more <HI>Diabolical</HI> and <HI>De&s;tructive</HI> to the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, however pre|tended for the purging of the Land from <HI>Super&s;tition</HI> and &s;piritual <HI>Tyranny.</HI> For have not many thou&s;and &s;ouls by this means e|ternally peri&s;ht in their &s;innes, who, for want of a <HI>competent maintenance</HI> for a &s;ound and able <HI>Ministry,</HI> have never enjoy'd the <HI>Means of Grace</HI> and Salvation; but have &s;at down in <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e and the &s;hadow of Death,</HI> under an ignorant, unprofitable, and &s;candalous, <HI>&s;oul-murthering Mini&s;try,</HI> maintain'd by &s;ome broken <HI>rever&s;ions</HI> of tho&s;e rich <HI>Revenues</HI> which were cut off from the Church, by that cur&s;ed <HI>Sacriledge?</HI> Doubtle&s;&s;e the <HI>Blood</HI> of thou&s;ands of &s;oules will give <HI>Te&s;timony</HI> to the truth hereof at the <HI>Day of Judgement,</HI> to the eternal con|fu&s;ion of &s;uch <HI>damned Sacrilegi&s;ts,</HI> who if
<PB N="179" REF="97"> they e&s;cap't <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> in this pre&s;ent Life, &s;hall be overtaken with the <HI>Wrath and Ven|geance</HI> of God in the world to come. Of this great evil does <HI>Calvin</HI> complain (upon account of the Alienation of <HI>Abby-Lands,</HI> and other depredations made upon the <HI>Churches revenues</HI> here in <HI>England</HI>) in his Epi&s;tle to <HI>Cranmer,</HI> Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Can|terbury,</HI> as a mighty <HI>obstruction</HI> to the pro&s;perous &s;ucce&s;&s;e of the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> and <HI>Hin|drance</HI> of the flouri&s;hing of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Religion.</HI> For, &s;ayes he,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Id quo minus fiat, oc|cultis quidem artibus ob|&s;i&s;tit Satan. Unum tamen apertum ob&s;taculum e&s;&s;e intelligo, quod praedae expo&s;iti &s;unt Eccle&s;iae Reditus. Malum &s;ane in|tolerabile.</NOTE>That this might not be, <HI>Satan</HI> by his <HI>&s;ecret &s;lights</HI> pre|vailes to the rai&s;ing of a &s;trong re&s;i&s;tance. But one thing I un|der&s;tand is an <HI>open Ob&s;tacle,</HI> and that is, that a <HI>Sacrilegious Rape</HI> is committed upon the <HI>Churches Revenues.</HI> This is indeed a mi&s;chief intolerable.</P>
<P>And therefore it was both wi&s;e and holy <HI>Coun&s;el,</HI> and worthy of a <HI>Chri&s;tian Prince,</HI> which <HI>Chri&s;topher</HI> of <HI>Wittenberg,</HI> gave to <HI>Andrew,</HI> an eminent Divine in his Domi|nion, when he was &s;ent for by <HI>Lodwick,</HI> Count of <HI>Oeting</HI> for his advice in &s;ome &s;pe|cial concernments in the Church; that if Count <HI>Lodwick</HI> &s;hould &s;et upon a <HI>RE|FORMATION,</HI> that under the <HI>Pretence of Religion,</HI> he might <HI>rob God,</HI> and by
<PB N="180" REF="98"> &s;eizing upon the <HI>Revenues of the Church,</HI> under the pretence of &s;uppre&s;&s;ing <HI>SUPER|STITION</HI> (becau&s;e they were anciently given for the maintenance of <HI>Mona&s;teries</HI>) turn them to his own <HI>private u&s;e</HI> and ad|vantage, he &s;hould pre&s;ently leave him, as a <HI>SACRILEGIOUS Per&s;on,</HI> and come back to his own Countrey.</P>
<P>How &s;trange is it that &s;uch <HI>Sacrilegious</HI> Per&s;ons &s;hould go on &s;ecure in their &s;ins, without fearing the judgement of God, which is at their heeles in pur&s;uit of them! What a &s;ad end befel <HI>Cardinal Wool&s;ey,</HI> that fir&s;t began to enrich him&s;elf by Lands given to <HI>Mona&s;teries!</HI> And what a <HI>revenging hand</HI> pur&s;u'd his five chief <HI>Agents,</HI> that were mo&s;t &s;erviceable to him in that Sacrilegious Enterprize! One of them kill'd his fellow in a Duel, and was <HI>hang'd</HI> for it: a third drowned him&s;elf in a Wel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">: a fourth fell from a great e&s;tate to extreame <HI>Beggery:</HI> Dr. <HI>Allen,</HI> the la&s;t and chiefe&s;t of them, being made <HI>Arch-Bi&s;hop</HI> of <HI>Dublin,</HI> was cruelly <HI>&s;laine</HI> by his Adver&s;aries. Where|upon &s;ayes the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Scult<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t.</NOTE> Relator of this &s;ad Story,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Utinam his &amp; &s;imili|bus Exemplis edocti di&s;|cant homines res &s;emel Deo con&s;ecratas timid&egrave; attrectare.</NOTE>O that the&s;e and &s;uch like Examples might teach men to be afraid to med|dle with &s;uch things as have at any time been con&s;ecrated unto God.</P>
<PB N="181" REF="98">
<P>But judgement does not alwayes fall up|on the <HI>Per&s;on,</HI> but is &s;ometimes re&s;erv'd for the <HI>Po&s;terity</HI> of tho&s;e who have &s;tain'd their hands with the guilt of Sacriledge. <HI>Diony&s;ius</HI> of <HI>Syracu&s;e</HI> was wont to make a <HI>Mock</HI> of Sacriledge, a &s;inne he thought he might <HI>boldly je&s;t</HI> with, as having made it his <HI>Familiar.</HI> Among&s;t the re&s;t he took a <HI>golden Vestment</HI> from the &s;tatue of <HI>Jupi|ter Olympius,</HI> and in&s;tead thereof put a <HI>Cloak of cloth</HI> upon it, &s;aying, <HI>Gold was too heavy for Summer, and too cold for Win|ter, but this would &s;uit well with either Sea&s;on.</HI> (Some have pretended the <HI>Chur|ches good,</HI> in taking away her <HI>G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ments of Gold,</HI> as if while her <HI>cloathing</HI> is of <HI>wrought Gold,</HI> &s;he can never be <HI>all glorious within</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 45.13</NOTE>.) Now might not all men expect &s;ome <HI>re|markable judgement</HI> &s;hould be inflicted up|on this <HI>Sacrilegious Tyrant?</HI> Yet herein were mens expectations fru&s;trated. For (&s;ayes <HI>Valerius</HI>) he underwent not the pu|ni&s;hment he de&s;erved. But take notice (for its worthy our ob&s;ervation) of the <HI>Divine Conclu&s;ion</HI> which the <HI>Heathen Hi&s;torian</HI> makes hereupon.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui tamet&s;i debita &s;up|plicia non exolvit, Dede|core tamen Filii mortuus Poenas rependit, quas vi|vus effugerat. Lento e|nim gradu ad Vindictam &s;ui Divina procedit Ira, tarditatemque &s;upplicii gravitate compen&s;at<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Val. Max. l. 1. c. 1.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Though <HI>(&s;ayes he)</HI> he &s;uffer'd not the puni&s;hment due to his in&s;olency, during his Life, yet was the DISGRACE of his SON a puni&s;hment
<PB N="182" REF="99"> of his pride, and &s;tain to his glory after his Death. Thus Divine Ju&s;tice proceeds with a &s;low pace to a &s;elf-vindication by a ju&s;t Revenge, but yet this delay is dreadful, &s;eeing the &s;lower in &s;triking, the &s;orer the &s;troke.</P>
<P>Now that <HI>Di&s;grace of his Sonne,</HI> which he mentions as the <HI>Puni&s;hment of the Fa|ther,</HI> was his <HI>Deve&s;tment</HI> of his &s;plendor and dignity, in his violent <HI>Expul&s;ion</HI> from his Throne and Government, upon which he liv'd an <HI>ob&s;cure</HI> and <HI>ignoble</HI> life at <HI>Corinth,</HI> being had in much <HI>&s;corne</HI> and <HI>contempt</HI> by the People. And &s;o great was his di&s;grace herein that it became a Proverb,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Diony&s;ius Corinthi.</NOTE><HI>Diony&s;ius at Co|rinth</HI> (for &s;o was the <HI>Sonne</HI> call'd after the Name of his <HI>Father</HI>) u&s;ed to &s;ignifie &s;uch a one as was fallen from great <HI>Honours,</HI> and much <HI>Applau&s;e</HI> of the People, into a mo&s;t di&s;graceful and contemptible condition. Thus for the &s;inne of Sacriledge doth God<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job 12.21</NOTE> <HI>poure con|tempt upon Princes, and weaken the &s;trength of the Mighty.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore (&s;ayes the &s;ame Authour, continuing his Ob&s;ervations hereupon) <HI>Thy|ma&s;itheus,</HI> Prince of the <HI>Leparitans,</HI> took the wi&s;e&s;t cour&s;e to decline the &s;troke of an offended and angry Deity. For when &s;ome of his Citizens playing the Pirates, h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d taken a <HI>Goblet of gold,</HI> of great weight, and were hot to have it divided
<PB N="183" REF="99"> among&s;t them, he gave a cooling to their covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e. For,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ut comperit a Roma|nis <HI>Pythio Apollini</HI> Deci|marum Nomine dicatum, manibus venundantium e|reptum, Deo <HI>Delphos</HI> per|ferendum curavit.</NOTE><HI>When he under&s;tood that it was dedica|ted by the Romanes to</HI> Apollo Pythius, <HI>under the Name of TITHES, he cau|&s;ed it to be taken out of the hands of them that would have &s;old it, and to be carried back again to the</HI> Delphian <HI>Deity.</HI> Surely tho&s;e are but bad times in the Chri&s;tian World, when none will be found to do as much for <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> as this Heathen Prince for <HI>Apollo.</HI></P>
<P>But behold here another grand <HI>Impo&s;ture</HI> which the&s;e profane <HI>Politicians</HI> put upon the World, when they pretend much zeal for the puni&s;hment of this &s;inne of <HI>Sacri|ledge</HI> in others, that they them&s;elves may the more &s;ecurely, and with the le&s;&s;e dan|ger of &s;u&s;pition, commit it, when an op|portunity of <HI>Self-enrichment</HI> thereby &s;hall be offer'd. So when men are mightily active for the Pre&s;ervation of the <HI>Churches Re|venues,</HI> becau&s;e thence, by a cur&s;ed <HI>Sim<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|niacal Chymi&s;try,</HI> or other fraudulent Arts, they can Sacrilegiou&s;ly extract their own <HI>advantage. Philip,</HI> King of <HI>Macedon,</HI> ne|ver won &s;o much glory in the World by a|ny Act, as by that, when he drew his Sword for the <HI>revenge</HI> of the &s;inne of <HI>Sa|criledge</HI> upon the <HI>Phocians.</HI> Hereupon he
<PB N="184" REF="100"> was adorn'd with <HI>glorious Titles.</HI> All men thought them&s;elves bound to pay him &s;ome <HI>Tribute of prai&s;e</HI> for &s;o noble an enterprize. Hence they &s;til'd him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Illum Vindicem Sacri|legii, illum Ultorem Re|ligionum: quod Orbis vi|ribus expiari debuit, &s;o|lum qui piacula exigeret extiti&s;&s;e dignum. Itaque Diis proximus habetur, per quem Deorum Maje|&s;tas vindicata &s;it<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ju&s;tin. l. 8</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>The renowned re|venger of Sacriledge, and defender of Re|ligion; a work wor|thy of the united virtue and valour of the whole world. He was accounted the gods chiefe&s;t Favou|rite for this vindica|cation of the Maje&s;ty and honour of their in|jur'd Deities.</HI> But how was the glory of this &s;o much honour'd and admir'd action &s;tain'd, when it appear'd that this his <HI>RE|VENGE of SACRILEDGE,</HI> was but a Preface of Gold to an Oration of Iron, a <HI>plau&s;ible pretence</HI> for the better carrying on his <HI>Ambitious De&s;ignes.</HI> For having an opportunity not long after, he rais'd to him&s;elf a mighty <HI>Gaine</HI> by the very &s;ame &s;in, whereof his pretended puni&s;hment was his greate&s;t <HI>glory.</HI></P>
<P>Thus the times mu&s;t needs be perillous, when <HI>plau&s;ible pretences</HI> are made u&s;e of, for the promoting of <HI>pernicious De&s;ignes.</HI> When <HI>REFORMATION</HI> is pretended for the <HI>RUINE</HI> of the Church. When men villanou&s;ly <HI>rob God</HI> for their own <HI>En|richment.</HI>
<PB N="185" REF="100"> This is a <HI>Crime</HI> which may bring the <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> of God down upon a whole Kingdome. For, &s;ayes the LORD by the Prophet <HI>Malachi</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chap. 3. v. 8, 9</NOTE>, <HI>Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me: But ye &s;ay, wherein have we robbed Thee? In Tythes and Offer|ings. Ye are cur&s;ed with a CURSE: for ye have robbed me, even this whole Nation.</HI> Fearful is the <HI>Provocation</HI> of tho&s;e men, and dreadful &s;hall their <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> at length be, who thus Sacri e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iou&s;ly rai&s;e their E|&s;tates, and heap up riches to them&s;elves, to the <HI>Di&s;honour</HI> of God, and Demoli&s;h|ment of the Church, and yet impudenly pre|tend the Churches <HI>Good</HI> therein, and Gods <HI>glory.</HI> The times cannot but be evil and perillous, when Gods <HI>glory</HI> is made a Foot|&s;tool for the <HI>Pride, Avar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ce,</HI> and <HI>Ambition</HI> of men. When they make u&s;e of the <HI>Bi|ble</HI> for the rai&s;ing them up higher to reach their &s;ecular De&s;ignes; a thing which the pious Prince, <HI>Edward</HI> the &s;ixth refu&s;ed, with di&s;daine of the motion, laying it to his <HI>Heart,</HI> when one offer'd it him to lay under his <HI>Feet,</HI> to reach &s;omething that was over his head, and above his Reach<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Sir John Haywood in Vita.</NOTE>. But the times are &s;urely perillous, when men have <HI>Iron Hands</HI> and <HI>Brows of Bra&s;&s;e;</HI> when they cruelly cru&s;h Religion, and yet impudently boa&s;t of their own <HI>ZEALE</HI> and <HI>Godline&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>Thus <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> largely relates the barba|rous and &s;avage cruelty of a wicked and
<PB N="186" REF="101"> bloody <HI>Sect</HI> among the <HI>Jewes,</HI> that yet would needs &s;tile them&s;elves the <HI>ZEA|LOTS.</HI> The Jews had woful experience of the <HI>burning rage</HI> of the&s;e mens <HI>bloody Zeale.</HI> For among&s;t other their barbarous Villanies, and bloody Outrages<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;eph. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>, which when they had attain'd to a <HI>Predominancy</HI> in that mi&s;erably di&s;tracted Nation, they conti|nually committed upon that poor oppre&s;&s;ed People, <HI>they &s;lew twelve thou&s;and of the</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Sonnes of the Nobles,</HI> in the Prime and Glory of their Youth, at once to cut them off from any po&s;&s;ibility of a <HI>pre&s;ent Re&s;i&s;t|ance,</HI> and the hopes of a <HI>future Revenge,</HI> by the hands of their po&s;terity. The&s;e were the
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Id. ibid. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Zealots: For &s;o</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>they cal|led them&s;elves, as being &s;ingularly</HI> zea|lous <HI>for good Under|takings, whereas there was indeed no Villa|ny in the world &s;o great, but their</HI> zeale <HI>would dige&s;t it, yea, no evil of &s;o high a Nature, but they would &s;trive to equal or exceed it, being &s;uperlatively wicked.</HI> Now this pe&s;tilent <HI>Sect</HI> &s;o far prevail'd and &s;o &s;trengthn'd their <HI>Faction</HI> in the <HI>chief City</HI> of the Land, <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> that they became the cau&s;es of its utter <HI>Ruine,</HI> with many thou|&s;and <HI>mi&s;eries</HI> which hereupon befel the Jew|i&s;h Nation. For, &s;ayes <HI>Jo&s;ephus.</HI></P>
<PB N="187" REF="101">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>The Dominion of the</HI> Zealots <HI>over the People gave the fir&s;t &s;troke to the De&s;tru|ction of the City.</HI> But the <HI>bloody cruelties</HI> of proud Pretenders, and the <HI>bleeding Mi&s;eries</HI> of poor afflict|ed ones, will at length awake <HI>Divine Ven|geance.</HI> So far did the&s;e <HI>bloody Zealots</HI> pro|ceed in their <HI>cruel Practi&s;es,</HI> that at length they prouoked the <HI>God of Patience</HI> to &s;courge them with mo&s;t <HI>cruel Puni&s;hments.</HI> Their <HI>Practi&s;es</HI> and <HI>puni&s;hments</HI> are thus recorded by the &s;ame Hi&s;torian. Having &s;poken of the cruelty of &s;undry factious Spirits, &s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>, <HI>With all the&s;e did the</HI> Idumeans <HI>con|tend, as it were, for Priority in the expre&s;&s;es of an unbridel'd Fury. For the&s;e being mo&s;t de&s;perately wicked, murther'd the chief Prie&s;ts,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>That &s;o no part of Piety towards God might be pre|&s;erv'd,</HI> but that true Religion, both root and branch might be de&s;troy'd in the Land. By them was the City de&s;poyl'd of its ju&s;t <HI>Priviledges</HI> and <HI>Im|munities,</HI> in&s;tead whereof they introduc't all manner of <HI>In&s;olencies</HI> and <HI>Enormities,</HI> &s;o far forth as there was not &s;o much as the <HI>Face</HI> or Foot&s;teps of any <HI>good Government</HI> left. Now, &s;ayes he,
<PB N="188" REF="102"><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Herein was that Generation called the</HI> Zealots, <HI>mo&s;t vigo|rou&s;ly active, who ju&s;tifi'd their</HI> Name <HI>by their</HI> Works, <HI>veri|fi'd their</HI> Appellati|on <HI>by their</HI> Actions. <HI>For there was never any wickedne&s;&s;e at|tempted in the memo|ry of man, but their</HI> Zeal <HI>carry'd them to the commi&s;&s;ion of it, although they would needs call them&s;elves by this Name</HI> (as before was noted) <HI>for their</HI> Zeale, <HI>which they pretended, to that which is</HI> Good. <HI>And &s;uch was their &s;avage di&s;po&s;ition, they either &s;ubtilely deceived them, whom they injuriou&s;ly oppre&s;t, by their deluding pre|tences, or openly triumpht in their Overthrow, as accounting the</HI> chiefe&s;t virtue <HI>to con&s;i&s;t in the</HI> highe&s;t <HI>Degree of</HI> Vitiou&s;ne&s;&s;e. But Divine Ju&s;tice &s;uffer'd not the&s;e cruel <HI>Cannibals</HI> to e&s;cape a de&s;erved puni&s;h|ment. No, they dy'd as <HI>Wretched a death,</HI> as they before had liv'd a <HI>wicked Life;</HI> and their <HI>de&s;perate Cour&s;es</HI> brought them to a <HI>dreadful Conclu&s;ion.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>For they came all of them to an end
<PB N="189" REF="102"> &s;o agreeable to their enterprizes, that the triumphs of the Di|vine Ju&s;tice became illu&s;trious in their de|&s;erved puni&s;hment. For as great torments as humane nature can po&s;&s;ibly undergo, did altogether light upon them, which</HI> burden of mi&s;eries <HI>they were forc't to bear to the very la&s;t</HI> &s;tage <HI>of their</HI> Lives, <HI>and &s;o with the cruel pangs of manifold tormenting Agonies, they were &s;courg'd into the</HI> hou&s;e of Death. <HI>But if any man &s;hould &s;ay, that the&s;e</HI> &s;ufferings <HI>were le&s;&s;e then their</HI> de&s;ervings, <HI>let him withall remember, that &s;uch was the</HI> degree <HI>of their wickedne&s;s, that no puni&s;hments could be found that might equalize their</HI> De&s;erts. Thus we &s;ee that &s;ome men under <HI>pretences of Zeal,</HI> have pre&s;um'd to act mo&s;t <HI>hor|rible Villanies;</HI> but that the Ju&s;tice of God hath at length overtaken them, and &s;evere|ly cha&s;tiz'd them, for all their In&s;olencies and impieties, with the <HI>&s;ore&s;t puni&s;hments.</HI> However thus much light does clearly &s;hine from this Ob&s;ervation, that <HI>while &s;uch a cruel Faction of pernitious men prevailes, the Times mu&s;t needs be perillous.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="4" TYPE="symptom">
<PB N="190" REF="103">
<HEAD><HI>The fourth Symptome.</HI> Iniquity cloathed with Authority.</HEAD>
<P>THey are dayes of Danger, evil and perillous Times, <HI>When violence u&s;urps <MILESTONE N="IV"> the Throne of Ju&s;tice, and iniquity is enacted by a Law.</HI> Such were the times of which the P&s;almi&s;t complaines, and expo&s;tulates with God<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 94.20, 21.</NOTE>; <HI>Shall the throne of Iniquity have fellow&s;hip with Thee, which frameth mi&s;chief by a Law? They gather them&s;elves together against the &s;oul of the Righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.</HI> Now here<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> *</NOTE>, the Throne of Iniquity,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>Junius</HI> renders
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Solium aerumnarum, i. e. Tyrannicum, aerumnas a|liis afferens immerito<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jun. in loc.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>The Throne of mi|&s;ery,</HI> and interprets it, <HI>the Throne of Ty|rants, who oppre&s;&s;e others with cau&s;ele&s;s calamities,</HI> freely be|&s;towing upon them <HI>mi&s;eries</HI> without their <HI>merits.</HI> Yea, being ever <HI>Liberal</HI> in &s;uch <HI>Large&s;&s;es,</HI> they give men <HI>Death</HI> (the <HI>Righ|teous</HI> mans be&s;t <HI>Reward,</HI> when <HI>Rebels</HI> come to <HI>Reigne</HI>) without <HI>De&s;ert:</HI> for &s;o &s;ayes the P&s;almi&s;t in the next words, <HI>They ga|ther them&s;elves together</HI> (as to hold a cruel <HI>Court</HI> of <HI>high Inju&s;tice) again&s;t the &s;oul</HI> (that is, the Life) <HI>of the righteous,
<PB N="191" REF="103"> and condemne the innocent blood</HI> (that is, they pa&s;&s;e an unju&s;t &s;entence of condem|nation upon the righteous, in the execution whereof they &s;hed innocent blood.) And this <HI>mi&s;chief</HI> which they thus frame a|gain&s;t the righteous, they do, as <HI>Junius</HI> tran&s;lates it,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Praeter &s;tatutum, id e&s;t, contra jura &amp; leges.</NOTE><HI>Be&s;ides the Statute, that is</HI> (as he inter|prets it) <HI>again&s;t the ju&s;t Rights and Laws.</HI> The <HI>Will</HI> of a Ty|rant is his Supreame <HI>Rule,</HI> and (even in matters of Life and Death) his <HI>Lu&s;ts</HI> are his <HI>Laws.</HI> Neither is there a di&s;crepancy in our Tran&s;lation, which &s;ayes, <HI>he fra|meth mi&s;chief by a Law;</HI> for we may well unite them both into a &s;ound &s;en&s;e; The&s;e Tyrants making Lawes again&s;t the Lawes, that &s;o the highe&s;t Acts of Inju&s;tice and Ini|quity, may be coloured with a pretence of Equity and Ju&s;tice, do <HI>frame mi&s;chief by a Law contrary to the Law.</HI> And much to this purpo&s;e doth the Judicious <HI>Calvin</HI> in|terpret this Place.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Solii autem con&s;ulto meminit, quia non accu&s;at vulgarios ficarios, vel fures, quorum infamia pa&s;&s;im nota &s;it, &s;ed con|tra Tyrannos invehitur, qui fallaci juris praetextu opprimebant Eccle&s;iam.</P>
<P>Per&s;tringit igitur Pro|pheta improbos Judices, qui per omne Oppre&s;&s;io|num genus gra&s;&s;ando, &s;i|mulabant tamen &s;e tenere rectum Officii cur&s;um. Sic enim perfidi Judices, ut po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ionem hone&s;ti &amp; &s;pecio&s;i Tituli retine|ant, varios colores accer|&s;unt ad tegenda &s;uae Ty|rannidis flagitia<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Calvin in loc.</NOTE>.</P></NOTE><HI>Mention</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>is here on purpo&s;e made of the</HI> Throne, <HI>becau&s;e the P&s;almi&s;t does not here draw up his accu&s;ation again&s;t common</HI> cut-throats, <HI>or pilfering</HI> Thieves, <HI>there being no need to
<PB N="192" REF="104"> blazon their</HI> Infamy, <HI>but he is inveighing again&s;t</HI> Tyrants, <HI>who under a fallacious</HI> pretence <HI>of RIGHT, do oppre&s;s the</HI> Church. <HI>The Prophet there|fore herein &s;harply reproves</HI> wicked Jud|ges, <HI>who though they violently pro&s;ecuted men with all manner of</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ions, <HI>would yet make</HI> &s;how <HI>of hold|ing a right cour&s;e in</HI> the execution of their Office. <HI>For &s;o</HI> perfidious Judges <HI>are wont to make u&s;e of many</HI> faire colours, <HI>to give a beautiful embelli&s;hment to the</HI> deformed face <HI>of their horribly wicked</HI> Tyranny, <HI>that they may the better maintain the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of a faire and &s;pecious</HI> Title. Thus that Power and Dominion which is gain'd by <HI>wicked Policy,</HI> is maintain'd and pre&s;erv'd by <HI>oppre&s;&s;ive Cruelty,</HI> and this is oft cover'd under <HI>Pretences of Law and Equity.</HI> The&s;e are evil and perillous Times. And there|fore does <HI>Calvin</HI> ju&s;tly complain of the&s;e &s;ad Di&s;orders, in his Explication of the next words (before rehear&s;t) which re|pre&s;ent the unju&s;t proce&s;&s;e of the&s;e wicked <HI>Judges,</HI> in con&s;piring again&s;t the <HI>Righ|teous,</HI> and condemning the <HI>Innocent</HI> to Death.</P>
<P><NOTE>Tri&s;te quidem, ac e|tiam <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">urpe Exemplum fuit, in legitimo conventu ita regnare improbos, &amp; Collegium Judicum ni|hil aliud e&s;&s;et quam la|tronum Turba. Nam hoc bis indignum e&s;t, ubi op|pre&s;&s;i fuerint innoxii ho|mines, &s;imul cum inju|ria probrum &s;u&s;tinere. Deinde quid minus con|&s;entaneum, quam ut tota foren&s;is ratio nihil aliud fit quam &s;cele&s;ta Con&s;pi|ratio ad in&s;ontes damnan|dos<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Calvin in P&s;al. 94.21</NOTE>?</NOTE><HI>It was indeed</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>a &s;ad and foule
<PB N="193" REF="104"> Example, that wick|ed men &s;hould &s;o reigne in a Lawfull A&s;&s;embly, that</HI> a Convention of Jud|ges <HI>&s;hould be nothing el&s;e but</HI> a Company of Robbers. <HI>For this is a</HI> double In|dignity, <HI>in the</HI> Op|pre&s;&s;ion <HI>of Innocent per&s;ons, that be&s;ides the</HI> Injury <HI>they there|in &s;u&s;tain, they &s;hould be loaded with the Reproach and</HI> Infamy <HI>of a fal&s;e Charge. And then againe, what can be le&s;&s;e con&s;onant to</HI> a Court of Ju&s;tice, <HI>then that it &s;hould be nothing el&s;e but a</HI> wicked con&s;piracy <HI>for the condemning of the Innocent.</HI> Now if the Times may be e&s;ti|mated from the &s;tate and condition of the Church and Saints, who are ever the <HI>better</HI> (though not the <HI>greater</HI>) part of the World, the&s;e mu&s;t needs be accounted e|vil and perillous Times. And doubtle&s;&s;e they were &s;o accounted by the P&s;almi&s;t, who thus poures out his Prayer and Complaint in the beginning of the <HI>P&s;alme</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 94 1-5.</NOTE>; <HI>O LORD God to whom vengeance belongeth: O God to whom Vengeance belongeth, &s;hew thy &s;elf. Lift up thy &s;elf thou JUDGE of the Earth: render a reward to the PROUD. LORD, how long &s;hall the wicked, how long &s;hall
<PB N="194" REF="105"> the wicked triumph? How long &s;hall they utter and &s;peak hard things? and all the workers of Iniquity boa&s;t them&s;elves? They break in pieces thy People, O LORD: and afflict thine Heritage.</HI></P>
<P>Now when this is the <HI>&s;tate of things</HI> in a Chri&s;tian Common-wealth, we need no longer doubt whether the <HI>Prophecy of Pe|rillous Times</HI> be fulfill'd or no. When <HI>Violence</HI> is in the <HI>Throne,</HI> and <HI>Iniquity</HI> bears the <HI>Sword,</HI> the&s;e mu&s;t needs be Times of great <HI>Danger</HI> and <HI>Di&s;tre&s;&s;e</HI> to the Righteous, who have no way left to relieve them&s;elves under the greate&s;t Oppre&s;&s;ions. <HI>When any of the foure Pillars of Government</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord <HI>Verulam</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">E&s;&s;ayes, chap. 15.</NOTE>) <HI>are mainly &s;haken, or weaken'd (which are Religion, Justice, Coun&s;el and Trea&s;ure) men had need to pray for faire weather.</HI> And &s;ayes the P&s;almi&s;t<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 11.3</NOTE>, <HI>If the foundations</HI> [Law and Ju&s;tice] <HI>be de&s;troy'd, what can the Righteous do?</HI> For what can be expected in this ca&s;e but a cur&s;ed <HI>Toleration</HI> of all impieties? So the P&s;almi&s;t el&s;ewhere complaines, after a Repre&s;entation of the <HI>In&s;olencies</HI> of ungod|ly Rulers,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 12.8.</NOTE> <HI>The Wicked walk on every &s;ide while the vile&s;t men are exalted.</HI> That is to &s;ay (&s;ayes a late Judicious Expo&s;itor<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diodati.</NOTE>) <HI>all manner of Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Impunity reigneth, when publick Offices are enjoy'd by unworthy and infamous Per&s;ons.</HI> 'Twas <HI>Cato's</HI> complaint, and that not without cau&s;e, having &s;een much Inju&s;tice in the
<PB N="195" REF="105"> <HI>Romane Senators,</HI> that <HI>poor thieves oft-times &s;it in the &s;tocks, and are laid in cold Irons, when great Thieves walk in Gold Chaines, are cloath'd in Purple, and &s;it in the &s;eat of Judicature</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aul. Gel.</NOTE>. Thus the Pirate told <HI>A|lexander,</HI> he did but that with a <HI>&s;mall com|pany,</HI> which him&s;elf did with his <HI>great Ar|my. Vice</HI> arm'd with <HI>violence,</HI> and crown'd with <HI>&s;ucce&s;&s;e,</HI> is pre&s;ently baptiz'd into the Name of <HI>virtue</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Foel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">x vitium vir|tus vocatur</NOTE>: and if <HI>Authority</HI> be out of the way to an&s;wer for it, <HI>Power</HI> will &s;tand up and &s;upply its place.</P>
<P>Now this Exaltation of the <HI>vile&s;t of men</HI> to the <HI>highe&s;t Places</HI> of Power and Tru&s;t, this Inve&s;titure of <HI>ba&s;e</HI> and unworthy Per&s;ons with <HI>Honourable</HI> Offices of State, is an evil whereof the wi&s;e <HI>Solomon</HI> complaines in his Political Ob&s;ervations. <HI>There is</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 10.5, 6, 7.</NOTE>) <HI>an evil which I have &s;een under the Sun, as an error which proceedeth from the Ruler,</HI> (or, a fruit and effect of Tyranny:) <HI>Folly is &s;et in great Dignity</HI> (or in great heights<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> in excel&s;is.</NOTE>) <HI>and the rich &s;it in low place. I have &s;een &s;ervants upon Hor&s;es, and Princes walking as &s;ervants upon the earth.</HI> Thus the wor&s;t and unworthie&s;t of men are &s;ometimes ex|alted to Places of the greate&s;t Tru&s;t and Power. They that proudly contemn God and trample under feet the Ordinances of his wor&s;hip, do &s;ometimes by Power and Policy invade the <HI>Throne,</HI> and make the necks of free-born Princes to become their <HI>Foot-&s;tool.</HI> This hath made &s;ome, that be|fore
<PB N="196" REF="106"> have had &s;ome <HI>Touch of Religion,</HI> turn flat <HI>Athei&s;ts.</HI> Such de&s;perate wretches were tho&s;e that pre&s;um'd to make an au|dacious Reply to the LORD'S ju&s;t Charge by the Prophet <HI>Malachi</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.13 14, 15.</NOTE>; <HI>Your words have been &s;tout against me, &s;aith the LORD: yet ye &s;ay, what have we &s;poken &s;o much a|gainst thee? ye have &s;aid, It is vaine to &s;erve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of Ho&s;ts? And now we call the proud happy: yea, they that work wickedne&s;&s;e are &s;et up; yea, they that tempt God are even deliver'd.</HI> 'Twas &s;aid of <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ei gratius fuit Nomen Pietatis, quam Pote&s;tatis.</NOTE><HI>He prefer'd Piety before Power:</HI> But the&s;e are herein <HI>An|tipodes</HI> to <HI>Augu&s;tus,</HI> who prefer Power be|fore Piety. Nothing is more intolerable then a <HI>poor</HI> man that is extreame <HI>Proud,</HI> a mean man that is very <HI>Ambitious:</HI> a <HI>Ser|vant</HI> that will dominere over his <HI>Lord;</HI> a <HI>Subject</HI> that will dare to &s;natch the Scepter out of the hand of his <HI>Soveraigne.</HI> Such are the men that make <HI>perillous Times.</HI> We may &s;ee in their Faces &s;everal <HI>Lineaments</HI> of that <HI>Pourtraicture</HI> which the Apo&s;tle gives us of the per&s;ons that &s;hould make the <HI>Times perillous.</HI> He tells us they are &s;uch as are <HI>Proud, Fierce, Traitors, Heady, High-minded</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3 2, 3, 4.</NOTE>. When we &s;ee then the&s;e <HI>Properties</HI> legibly engraven upon mens
<PB N="197" REF="106"> <HI>Practices,</HI> we may conclude, the Prophecy is fulfill'd, the <HI>perillous Times</HI> &s;poken of are come.</P>
<P>When men of <HI>low E&s;tates</HI> are &s;et in <HI>high Places,</HI> and men of ambitious &s;pirits are &s;till contending for Priority, it's very prejudicial to the <HI>Common-wealth,</HI> and of ill con&s;equence to the <HI>Church of God. Pla|to</HI> therefore, who in his Political Di&s;|cour&s;es undertakes to give us the Model and Plat-forme of a well-govern'd <HI>Common|wealth,</HI> judges none to be fit for the <HI>Go|vernment</HI> thereof, but &s;uch as are men of <HI>good E&s;tates,</HI> as well as of <HI>great virtues.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Plato de Rep. l. 7.</NOTE>.</NOTE>For if men that are poore, and want E&s;tates of their own (b ggarly, and hun|ger-&s;tarv'd fellows) &s;hall come once to be &s;et over the <HI>Com|mon-wealth,</HI> they'l make account they may and mu&s;t rai&s;e their <HI>private E&s;tates</HI> out of the <HI>Publick Revenues:</HI> This City, this Community is not well con&s;tituted, <HI>cannot be happy.</HI> For hence will ari&s;e <HI>Contentions</HI> for the <HI>Principality,</HI> which being a kinde of <HI>Dome|&s;tick and Inte&s;tine War,</HI> will both de&s;troy the <HI>Competitors,</HI> and the re&s;t of the <HI>City.</HI></P>
<PB N="198" REF="107">
<P>'Twas ob&s;erv'd of <HI>Varus</HI> Governour of <HI>Syria,</HI> that <HI>he came poore into the Countrey, and found it rich; but departed thence rich, and left the Countrey poore.</HI> To prevent this <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> of the <HI>Poore,</HI> by <HI>proud Offi|cers</HI> of State, 'tis a good <HI>Law,</HI> that of the <HI>Venetians,</HI> whereby they puni&s;h with <HI>Death,</HI> who&s;oever &s;hall employ a penny of the <HI>Publick Stock</HI> to his own <HI>private Profit.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;tronge&s;t <HI>Engines</HI> of State are made of the &s;ame mettal that the greate&s;t <HI>Idols</HI> of the Heathen, <HI>Silver and Gold</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 115.4</NOTE>. For want of the&s;e many proud, ambitious &s;pirits, a|&s;piring to <HI>Soveraignty,</HI> are &s;till kept in a &s;tate of <HI>&s;ervitude.</HI> Thus their <HI>poverty</HI> turns to the profit of the Common-wealth. For hereby they are fetter'd and re&s;train'd from many <HI>In&s;olencies,</HI> which they would otherwi&s;e commit, whereby they would encrea&s;e their own <HI>guilt,</HI> and others <HI>grief,</HI> who&s;e &s;ufferings would become the matter of their Triumphs. Certainly <HI>Riches</HI> and <HI>Power</HI> are the two <HI>Pillars of Tyranny,</HI> which being once removed, the glory of &s;uch men would &s;oon fall to the ground: And therefore does <HI>Philo</HI> account it as great an advantage that the wicked want them, as that the righteous have them. For as to the one they are the nece&s;&s;ary &s;upporters of <HI>Magnificence</HI> and <HI>Authority;</HI> &s;o to the other they are notable In&s;tru|ments of <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> and <HI>Cruelty.</HI> Tis not
<PB N="199" REF="107"> then without ju&s;t rea&s;on that he thus con|cludes,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Philo Jud. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Poverty and weak|ne&s;&s;e is profitable to bad men, as riches and strength is very advantagious to good men.</HI> But as <HI>Aaron</HI> could not want <HI>Gold</HI> to make a <HI>molten Calfe,</HI> while the <HI>I&s;rae|lites</HI> wore it in Jewels and <HI>Ear-rings</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exod. 22.2, 3</NOTE>: &s;o neither will a <HI>Tyrant</HI> want <HI>Trea&s;ure</HI> &s;uffici|ent to &s;erve his turne, while tho&s;e are worth any thing that are &s;ubjected to his Tyranny. Though he that wants both <HI>Riches</HI> and <HI>Power,</HI> is thereby cut off from an advantage of <HI>ri&s;ing</HI> to <HI>greatne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>glory</HI> in the world, though his brea&s;t be full of <HI>Ambition,</HI> and his heart of <HI>Revenge;</HI> yet when proud Politicians, ambitious &s;pi|rits have once gotten <HI>Power</HI> in their hands, they will &s;oon rai&s;e up <HI>riches</HI> to them&s;elves, out of the <HI>Ruines</HI> of others, by an unju&s;t &s;eizure upon the <HI>Rights</HI> and <HI>Revenues</HI> of the truly virtuous, who endeavour to cro&s;s and ob&s;truct their <HI>impious proceedings.</HI> And to wor&s;e Tyrants then the&s;e can a mi&s;era|ble People hardly be en&s;lav'd, or upon wor&s;e termes exchange their <HI>golden Liberty</HI> for an <HI>Iron Bondage.</HI></P>
<P>Ambition is a poy&s;onous <HI>Root,</HI> from which a thou&s;and <HI>Branches</HI> of publick Ca|lamities do &s;pread them&s;elves in a Com|mon-wealth. Surely <HI>Nebuchadnezzars</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Dan. 4.11</NOTE> <HI>great
<PB N="200" REF="108"> Tree,</HI> who&s;e <HI>&s;hadow</HI> rob'd a great part of the Earth of the Light of the <HI>Sunne,</HI> did at the fir&s;t &s;pring from a &s;mall <HI>&s;eed</HI> of Am|bition. When men of <HI>low Degree</HI> do a&s;pire to the <HI>highe&s;t Honours,</HI> and in pur&s;uit there|of make u&s;e of the <HI>Sword</HI> to gain the <HI>Scep|ter,</HI> the Times do pre&s;ently become pe|rillous. <HI>Plato,</HI> in his Di&s;cour&s;e of the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lib. 8.</NOTE> <HI>Common-wealth,</HI> &s;peaks of the &s;everal &s;orts of <HI>Government.</HI> There is, &s;ayes he,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>A Government which is called</HI> O|ligarchie, <HI>which is a Government manag'd by a few men, but repleni&s;ht with many Mi&s;eries,</HI> wherein evils do, as it were, crow'd for Elbow-room; Democracie, <HI>or a popular Government, and that</HI> generous Government <HI>by a Prince,</HI> which when it degenerates into an irregular and arbitrary Domination, is by later Writers called <HI>Tyranny.</HI> After the mention of the&s;e, he &s;peaks of</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>A Government &s;pringing from Am|bition, for which he confe&s;&s;es him&s;elfe to be at &s;ome lo&s;&s;e to finde a fit Name, and therefore calls it a</HI> State of Honour, <HI>as a|ri&s;ing from an intemperate De&s;ire of Digni|ty, an inordinate affectation of Principality.</HI>
<PB N="201" REF="108"> Now from this <HI>Ambition of Rulers,</HI> and af|fectation of Priority in Government, whereby every one is &s;till climbing up, and thru&s;ting out him that is before or above him, come frequent <HI>Changes of Govern|ment,</HI> and many <HI>&s;ucce&s;&s;ions of Governours</HI> in a &s;hort time: then which nothing is more prejudicial to the Peoples Peace and Well-fare. This is a great <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of their &s;innes, and no &s;mall <HI>Symptome</HI> of perillous Times. 'Tis <HI>Solomons</HI> Ob&s;erva|tion in his Divine Politicks,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 28.2</NOTE> <HI>For the Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion of a Land many are the Prin|ces thereof.</HI> And &s;till he that <HI>&s;ucceeds</HI> in Government, forcing out the former, is wont to <HI>exceed</HI> him in obliquities and ri|gour in governing. <HI>Seldome</HI> (we &s;ay) <HI>comes the better.</HI> And therefore did that old woman of <HI>Sicily</HI> pray &s;o heartily for the life of the cruel Tyrant <HI>Diony&s;ius;</HI> for having lived long, and had experience of the Tyranny of his Predece&s;&s;ors, every one wor&s;e then the former, and he then living the <HI>wor&s;t</HI> of them all (as &s;he fear'd not to tell him to his Face, when he demanded the rea&s;on of this her Devoti|on) if he &s;hould be taken from them by Death, &s;he much fear'd what &s;hould be|come of them all, when a <HI>wor&s;e</HI> then he &s;hould ri&s;e up in his roome.</P>
<P>Now he that is carry'd by his <HI>Ambition</HI> to cloath him&s;elf with <HI>Authority</HI> &s;hall not faile to inherit the <HI>Hatred</HI> of the People, and
<PB N="202" REF="109"> to entaile the inheritance upon his Po&s;te|rity. Sayes the &s;on of <HI>Sirach,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. c. 20. v. 8.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>He that u&s;urps Authority &s;hall in|cur Hatred.</HI> And never can the Subjects be happy under the Government of a Prince that is hated. Tis the <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing</HI> of God upon the Govern|ment which makes it a meanes of <HI>Good</HI> to the People, and them which &s;it under &s;uch a Government to be <HI>Ble&s;&s;ed.</HI> But now he mu&s;t wait for Gods <HI>bringing</HI> him to the government, that expects Gods <HI>ble&s;&s;ing</HI> upon his Government. But <HI>Ambition</HI> is ever upon the &s;pu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> in the pur&s;uit of Glory, and will not wait for the <HI>Divine Manuduction.</HI> Now, &s;ays <HI>Augu&s;tine,</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quoties hominibus prae|e&s;&s;e de&s;idero, toties Deo praeire contendo<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aug. in P&s;al.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>So oft do I &s;trive to runne before God, as I de&s;ire to rule over men.</HI> Now no|thing is more pernicious to the State then this &s;ame</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Regnandi dira Cupi|do<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Virg. Georg.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Cur&s;ed de&s;ire of Rule.</HI> Ambition is wont to &s;eize the <HI>Scepter</HI> by <HI>&s;torme;</HI> and &s;uch violent Pro|ceedings are u&s;ually attended with a mul|tiplicity of Mi&s;eries. The <HI>Seas</HI> are by &s;ome ob&s;erv'd to <HI>&s;well</HI> before a Tempe&s;t. The &s;welling of the <HI>proud waves</HI> of the People, does progno&s;ticate a <HI>&s;torme</HI> in the State, a <HI>Tempe&s;t</HI> of troubles in the Church.
<PB N="203" REF="109"> And this ambition, and eager de&s;ire of Government proceeds from the <HI>corruption</HI> of men, however it pretends to <HI>Perfection.</HI> For, as <HI>Plato</HI> well ob&s;erves,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Plato <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Did a City or Com|mon-wealth wholely con&s;ist of good men, there would be as much &s;triving not to rule, as now a dayes there is Contention for Principality and Domination.</HI> And this <HI>mo|de&s;ty</HI> would be no le&s;&s;e conducible to the &s;ettlement of <HI>Peace,</HI> then <HI>Ambition</HI> is for the rai&s;ing of <HI>Commotions</HI> in a City or Common-wealth. The &s;ame Philo&s;opher confirmes this, by that which he &s;ets down as a certain conclu&s;ion, in another Book of his Political Di&s;cour&s;es;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Plato <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>That City where|in tho&s;e that are cal|led to govern, were not at all ambitious of Government, mu&s;t needs be be&s;t govern'd, and free&s;t from &s;edi|tion, and the contrary is to be concluded con|cerning that City which hath Magi&s;trates of a contrary Di&s;po&s;ition.</HI> Experience is a &s;ufficient Comment upon this Text. The <HI>Orators</HI> Ob&s;ervation may &s;ufficiently ve|rifie the <HI>Philo&s;ophers</HI> Conclu&s;ion. Sayes he,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Complures &s;e &s;eclere contaminarunt imperii cu|piditate<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cicer. Offic. l. 3.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Many out of an inordinate de&s;ire of
<PB N="204" REF="110"> Rule have contaminated them&s;elves with the guilt of wicked attempts.</HI> And do we not know that many have attempted the mur|der <HI>of Princes,</HI> yea, and have accompli&s;ht their wicked and bloody De&s;igns, that they might make a &s;eizure of the <HI>Supream Power,</HI> and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e them&s;elves of the chief &s;eats of Government? Hath not &s;uch a <HI>Fire</HI> of Ambition been kindled in &s;ome mens Brea&s;ts, as that nothing would <HI>quench</HI> it but the <HI>Life-blood</HI> of their <HI>lawful King?</HI> Is not this it for which the LORD complaines of the Peo|ple of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> the children of <HI>Ephraim?</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 7.7</NOTE> <HI>They are all hot as an oven, and have de|voured their Judges; all their Kings are fallen, there is none among them that calleth upon me.</HI> That is (&s;ayes a learned and Pious Expo&s;itor<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diodat.</NOTE>) <HI>Their rage di&s;co|vers it &s;elf chiefly in their &s;editions, frequent con&s;piracies, and murthers of their Kings.</HI> Thus did <HI>Baa&s;ha</HI> con&s;pire again&s;t <HI>Nadab,</HI> King of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and &s;lew him, and reigned in his &s;tead; and &s;o in his <HI>Blood</HI> founded his mo&s;t <HI>wicked Government;</HI> yea, and for his greater &s;ecurity therein he &s;lew all the <HI>Royall Family,</HI> in&s;omuch as he left not a|live any that breath'd<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Kin. 15 25-34.</NOTE>. Then after his Death, when <HI>Elah</HI> his &s;on began to reigne over <HI>I&s;rael, Zimri</HI> his &s;ervant (<HI>Captaine</HI> of half his Chariots) con&s;pired again&s;t him, and flew him, and reigned in his &s;tead<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 King. 16 8, 9, 10.</NOTE>. Thus he that had taught Subjects <HI>Trea&s;on</HI> and <HI>Rebellion,</HI> by cutting off the Family of
<PB N="205" REF="110"> his Prince for his own e&s;tabli&s;hment, had his own Family pre&s;ently after his Death, by the like act, cut off from the Govern|ment which he had u&s;urpt. Thus, <HI>The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 9.16</NOTE>. Thus we read that when <HI>Za|chariah,</HI> the &s;onne of <HI>Jeroboam</HI> was made King over <HI>I&s;rael, Shallum</HI> the &s;onne of <HI>Jabe&s;h con&s;pired again&s;t him, and &s;mote him before the People, and &s;lew him, and reigned in his &s;tead.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 King. 15 8, 9, 10.</NOTE> <HI>And when</HI> Shallum <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Jabe&s;h <HI>began to reigne, and had reigned a full moneth in</HI> Samaria, Menahem <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Gadi, <HI>went up from</HI> Tirzah, <HI>and came to</HI> Samariah, <HI>and &s;mote</HI> Shallum <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Jabe&s;h <HI>in</HI> Samaria, <HI>and &s;lew him, and reigned in his &s;tead</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 13, 14</NOTE>. This bloody <HI>Menahem</HI> to maintain his &s;ecurity in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of an u&s;urpt Kingdom, laid <HI>heavy Burdens</HI> upon all the <HI>rich men</HI> of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> exacting a &s;umme of money <HI>from all the mighty men of wealth,</HI> for the rai&s;ing of a <HI>thou&s;and Talents</HI> of &s;ilver, to engage the Forces of the <HI>King of</HI> A&s;&s;yria <HI>to confirme the Kingdome in his hand</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 19, 20.</NOTE>. By this means he held the Kingdome for the &s;pace of <HI>ten years,</HI> and then by the <HI>King of Terrours,</HI> who would not be bribed with gold, he was at once deprived of his life and Kingdom. Yet did his &s;onne <HI>Pekahiah</HI> reigne in his &s;tead. But by that time he had reigned <HI>two years,</HI> Pekah <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Remaliah, <HI>a Cap|taine of his con&s;pired again&s;t him, and &s;mote
<PB N="206" REF="111"> him in</HI> Samaria, <HI>in the</HI> Palace <HI>of the Kings Hou&s;e, with</HI> Argob, <HI>and</HI> Arieh, <HI>and with fifty men of the</HI> Gileadites: <HI>and he killed him, and reigned in his roome</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 23, 25</NOTE>. Thus was the <HI>Scepter</HI> ravi&s;h't by the <HI>Sword,</HI> and the <HI>Soveraignty</HI> deflour'd by the <HI>Souldiery.</HI> Thus was the <HI>Palace polluted</HI> with the <HI>Blood</HI> of a Prince, or rather it was <HI>wa&s;h't</HI> from Pollution with his <HI>Blood,</HI> who by the Effu|&s;ion of <HI>Blood</HI> had polluted it. Thus was an <HI>&V;&s;urper</HI> &s;lain, and di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;t of his King|dome by the hand of a <HI>Traitor.</HI> But what became of the bloody Parricide, <HI>Pekah?</HI> Is it not &s;trange that he that waded to the Throne in Blood, and rul'd the Kingdome rather by the Sword then Scepter, &s;hould for<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 27.</NOTE> <HI>twenty years</HI> together &s;it upon the <HI>Throne of I&s;rael?</HI> But yet at length behold the <HI>Sun</HI> of his <HI>Soveraignty</HI> &s;ets in a <HI>cloud</HI> of <HI>Blood.</HI> For it's &s;aid<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 30.</NOTE>, Ho&s;hea <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Elah <HI>made a con&s;piracy again&s;t</HI> Pekah <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Remaliah, <HI>and &s;mote him, and &s;lew him, and reigned in his &s;tead.</HI> Thus we have open'd a <HI>bloody Scene,</HI> and &s;hew'd you the <HI>Trea&s;ons, Murders, Cruelties, Ex|actions, Revenge,</HI> which are the terrible <HI>At|tendants,</HI> that continually wait upon this <HI>State-Fury, AMBITION,</HI> which is main|tain'd in the world by the <HI>Breath of Honour,</HI> and the <HI>Blood of Kings.</HI></P>
<P>Now who will not judge the&s;e to be <HI>perillous Times</HI> to the People of God? But when <HI>Iniquity</HI> thus <HI>Reignes,</HI> then does
<PB N="207" REF="111"> God at length come in, as a <HI>Righteous Judge,</HI> and executes his ju&s;t Judgements upon &s;uch perfidious <HI>Traitors,</HI> and unju&s;t <HI>Judges.</HI> For,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 82.1, 2.</NOTE> <HI>God &s;tandeth in the Congre|gation of the Mighty; he judgeth among the Gods. How long</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>will ye judge unju&s;tly, and accept the Per&s;ons of the wic|ked?</HI> The <HI>Inju&s;tice</HI> of men, &s;ollicits the ju&s;t <HI>Vengeance</HI> of God. His Judgements hang like mighty <HI>weights</HI> upon &s;lender <HI>wires</HI> over the heads of &s;uch a provoking People. He, in his wi&s;e and holy Provi|dence, &s;uffers wicked men, for a time, to be <HI>&s;et up;</HI> but at length by his hand of Power and Ju&s;tice, he <HI>ca&s;ts them down.</HI> And therefore
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tolluntur in altum, Ut lap&s;u graviore ruant.</NOTE>They are but lift|ed up on high that they may have the greater Fall; <HI>as the</HI> Eagle <HI>carries the</HI> &s;hell-fi&s;h <HI>up into the Aire, that &s;o letting it fall, it may break in pieces upon the Rock. The Wi&s;dome, Power, and Ju&s;tice of God is wonderfully &s;eene, in the puni&s;hment of the wicked, when he turns their cruel de&s;ignes again&s;t the righteous, to their own de&s;truction. I &s;hall therefore conclude the&s;e</HI> Political Ob&s;ervations <HI>with holy</HI> Davids Prophetick Repre&s;entation <HI>of the</HI> Practice <HI>and</HI> Puni&s;hment <HI>of the</HI> Profane Politician, <HI>with the Prai&s;e which he therein returnes unto God.</HI> Behold (<HI>&s;ayes he</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 7.14 &mdash;17</NOTE>) he travelleth with Iniquity, and hath conceived mi&s;|chief,
<PB N="208" REF="112"> and brought forth fal&s;hood. He made a pit and digg'd it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mi&s;chiefe &s;hall return upon his own Head, and his violent dealing &s;hall come down upon his own Pate, I will prai&s;e the LORD according to his Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e: and <HI>I</HI> will &s;ing prai&s;e to the Name of the LORD mo&s;t high.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="5" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD><HI>The fifth Symptome.</HI> Perjury and Covenant-breaking.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="V"> THe Times mu&s;t needs be perillous, <HI>When the most &s;acred Tyes of Con&s;ci|ence, Oaths, Prote&s;tations, Vowes and Cove|nants, are made no account of, in ca&s;es of Loyalty and Religion.</HI> When they are but as <HI>Spiders webs,</HI> which entangle the <HI>&s;maller Flies,</HI> but the <HI>greater</HI> break through and e&s;|cape. When, as <HI>Samp&s;ons bands,</HI> they &s;nap them in two, like<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Judg. 16.9</NOTE> <HI>threads of Flax when they touch the Fire.</HI> As the <HI>Demo|niack,</HI> which was bound with <HI>Chaines</HI> and <HI>Fetters,</HI> but he <HI>brake</HI> all the <HI>bands</HI> where|with he was bound<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 8.22</NOTE>. You may call &s;uch <HI>LEGION;</HI> for <HI>many Devils</HI> are &s;urely <HI>entred into them,</HI> to try their &s;trength in them. The Laws of men are <HI>chaines of
<PB N="209" REF="112"> Iron;</HI> the commands of God, are <HI>chaines of Gold;</HI> Oaths and Covenants added thereunto, are <HI>chaines of Adamant:</HI> If Sa|tan once be &s;o &s;trong in men, as that they break all the&s;e <HI>chaines,</HI> we may well expect <HI>perillous Times.</HI> For what <HI>de&s;perate wickedne&s;&s;e</HI> will not &s;uch men attempt? What horrid and unheard of <HI>Villanies</HI> will not &s;uch men commit, as bid defiance to God, in the breach of the mo&s;t <HI>&s;acred bands</HI> of Duty, and <HI>&s;olemne Obligations</HI> to obe|Obedience? Woe be to the <HI>Inhabitants of the Earth,</HI> when &s;uch <HI>Furies of Hell</HI> &s;hall be let loo&s;e upon them.</P>
<P>This &s;in of <HI>Perjury</HI> and Perfidiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, of <HI>fal&s;e-hood</HI> and lying unto God in the vio|lation of <HI>Vowes</HI> and <HI>Covenants,</HI> is a &s;inne which exceedingly incen&s;es Heaven, and provokes the Lord of Ho&s;ts, the King of glory (who&s;e <HI>&s;acred name</HI> is hereby pro|fan'd) to execute his fierce&s;t judgements upon &s;uch a People; and therefore is a <HI>&s;ad Symptome of perillous Times,</HI> and fearfull Pre&s;age of following Judge|ments.</P>
<P>Thus when <HI>Saul, out of his zeal for the children of I&s;rael and Judah</HI> (as the Scri|pture tells us) &s;ought to de&s;troy the <HI>Gibeo|nites,</HI> as being &s;trangers to the Common|wealth of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> God puni&s;ht the Violati|on of that <HI>League</HI> which <HI>Jo&s;huah</HI> had<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">About four hun|dred years.</NOTE> long before made with them<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 9.3 16, 17.</NOTE>, by bringing a <HI>Famine</HI> upon the Land for <HI>three years</HI> un|ce&s;&s;antly
<PB N="210" REF="113"> in the dayes of <HI>David</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 21 1, 2</NOTE>. Though the <HI>Gibeonites deceit</HI> was the foundation of this Covenant, and <HI>Sauls Zeal</HI> the prin|ciple of the pro&s;ecution of them contrary to it, yet is the violation hereof &s;everely puni&s;ht by the plague of Famine. Though it be the <HI>Fire of Zeal</HI> that burns in two the&s;e <HI>&s;acred bands,</HI> yet will the <HI>Fire of Gods wrath</HI> be kindled again&s;t them that &s;hall voluntarily violate them.</P>
<P>So the LORD threatned <HI>Captivity,</HI> and very &s;ore <HI>Judgements</HI> again&s;t the Princes and People of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> for their violation of their <HI>Covenant,</HI> of granting a <HI>Manu|mi&s;&s;ion</HI> to their <HI>Hebrew &s;ervants;</HI> and the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> an&s;wer'd the <HI>Progno&s;tick.</HI> Ob|&s;erve the Lords Charge and <HI>Commination,</HI> the <HI>&s;ting</HI> of that Prophecy, wherewith <HI>Je|remiah</HI> was &s;ent unto them.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 34.13-22.</NOTE> <HI>Thus &s;aith the LORD, the God of</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>I made a COVENANT with your Fathers, in the day that I brought them forth out of the Land of</HI> Egypt, <HI>out of the Hou&s;e of</HI> Bondmen, <HI>&s;aying,</HI> At the end of &s;even yeares, let ye go every man his <HI>Brother</HI> an <HI>Hebrew,</HI> which hath been &s;old unto thee: and when he hath &s;erved thee &s;ix years, thou &s;halt let him go free from thee: <HI>But your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their eare. And ye were now turned, and had done Right in my &s;ight, in pro|claiming every man Liberty to his Neighbour, and ye had made a COVENANT before
<PB N="211" REF="113"> me in the Hou&s;e which is called by</HI> my Name. <HI>But ye turned and polluted MY NAME, and cau&s;ed every man his</HI> &s;er|vant, <HI>and every man his</HI> Hand-maid, <HI>whom he had &s;et at</HI> Liberty <HI>at their plea&s;ure to returne, and brought them into</HI> &s;ubjection, <HI>to be unto you for</HI> Servants, <HI>and for</HI> Hand|maids. <HI>Therefore thus &s;aith the LORD, Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming</HI> Li|berty <HI>every one to his</HI> Brother, <HI>&amp; every man to his</HI> Neighbour: <HI>behold, I proclaime a</HI> Liberty <HI>for you &s;aith the LORD, to the</HI> Sword, <HI>to the</HI> Pe&s;tilence, <HI>and to the</HI> Famine, <HI>and I will make you to be removed into all the Kingdoms of the Earth. And I will give the men that have</HI> tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed my <HI>COVENANT, which have not performed the words of the COVENANT which they had made before me, when they cut the Calfe in twaine</HI> [a Rite &s;ignifying, &s;o let it be done to him that &s;hall violate his Covenant] <HI>and pa&s;&s;ed between the Parts thereof, the</HI> Princes <HI>of</HI> Judah, <HI>and the</HI> Princes <HI>of</HI> Jeru|&s;alem, <HI>the</HI> Eunuchs, <HI>and the</HI> Prie&s;ts, <HI>and all the</HI> People <HI>of the Land, which pa&s;&s;ed be|tween the Parts of the Calfe, I will even give them into the hand of their</HI> Enemies, <HI>and into the hand of them that &s;eek their</HI> Life, <HI>and their dead</HI> Bodies <HI>&s;hall be for meat unto the</HI> Fowles <HI>of the</HI> Heaven, <HI>and to the</HI> Bea&s;ts <HI>of the</HI> Earth. <HI>And</HI> Zedekiah <HI>King of</HI> Ju|dah, <HI>and his</HI> Princes <HI>will I give into the hand of their</HI> Enemies, <HI>and into the Hand
<PB N="212" REF="114"> of them that &s;eek their</HI> Life, <HI>and into the Hand of the</HI> King <HI>of</HI> Babylons <HI>Army, which are gone up from you. Behold, I will com|mand, &s;aith the LORD, and cau&s;e them to return to this</HI> City, <HI>and they &s;hall fight a|gain&s;t it, and take it, and burne it with</HI> Fire, <HI>and I will make the</HI> Cities <HI>of</HI> Judah <HI>a</HI> De&s;olation, <HI>without an inhabitant.</HI> Thus for this &s;inne of <HI>Covenant-breaking</HI> may God break in pieces a perfidious People with the <HI>Iron Rod</HI> of War, and lay a flou|ri&s;hing land de&s;olate.</P>
<P>For this &s;inne does the Lord, by the Pro|phet <HI>Amos,</HI> draw up a <HI>Charge</HI> likewi&s;e again&s;t <HI>Tyrus;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Am. 1.9, 10</NOTE> <HI>Thus &s;aith the LORD, For three tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions of</HI> Tyrus, <HI>and for four, I will not turn away the</HI> puni&s;hment <HI>thereof; becau&s;e they delivered up the whole Captivity to</HI> Edom, <HI>and remembred not the BROTHERLY COVENANT</HI> [which was formerly made between <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Solomon</HI> Kings of <HI>Judah,</HI> and <HI>Hiram,</HI> King of <HI>Tyre,</HI> who being Brethren by identity of <HI>Office,</HI> as Kings; and mutual <HI>Amity,</HI> as Friends, did hereby knit the Bands of <HI>Bro|therhood</HI> with a fa&s;ter knot<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 5.11 1 King. 5.1 and 9.13.</NOTE>] <HI>But I will &s;end a</HI> Fire <HI>on the Wall of</HI> Tyrus, <HI>which &s;hall devoure the Palaces thereof.</HI></P>
<P>God him&s;elf takes an <HI>Oath,</HI> and &s;olemn|ly &s;wears by his <HI>Life,</HI> that he will puni&s;h the King of <HI>Judah</HI> with <HI>Death,</HI> and his People with <HI>De&s;truction,</HI> for his violation of his <HI>Oath</HI> and <HI>Covenant</HI> with the King of
<PB N="213" REF="114"> <HI>Babylon.</HI> See how &s;everely the Lord pro|ceeds again&s;t him for this Sin. <HI>Say now to the Rebellious Hou&s;e</HI> (&s;ayes the LORD to the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Chap. 17.12-21.</NOTE>) <HI>Know ye not what the&s;e things mean? Tell them, Behold, the King of</HI> Babylon <HI>is come to</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>and hath taken the</HI> King <HI>thereof, and the</HI> Princes <HI>thereof, and led them with him to</HI> Babylon. <HI>And hath taken of the Kings &s;eed, and made a COVENANT with him, and hath taken an OATH of him; he hath al&s;o taken the Mighty of the Land: that the</HI> Kingdome <HI>might be ba&s;e, that it might not lift it &s;elf up, but that by keep|ing of his COVENANT it might &s;tand. But he rebelled again&s;t him in &s;ending his</HI> Amba&s;&s;adours <HI>into</HI> Egypt, <HI>that they might give him</HI> Hor&s;es <HI>and much</HI> People. <HI>Shall he</HI> pro&s;per? <HI>&s;hall he</HI> e&s;cape <HI>that doth &s;uch things? Or &s;hall he BREAK THE CO|VENANT, and be</HI> delivered? <HI>As I live &s;aith the Lord GOD, &s;urely in the place where the King dwelleth that made him King, who&s;e OATH he</HI> de&s;pi&s;ed, <HI>and who&s;e</HI> CO|VENANT <HI>he</HI> brake, <HI>even with him in the mid&s;t of</HI> Babylon, <HI>he &s;hall die. Neither &s;hall</HI> Pharaoh <HI>with his mighty</HI> Army, <HI>and great</HI> Company <HI>make for him in the</HI> War, <HI>by ca&s;ting up</HI> Mounts, <HI>and building</HI> Forts, <HI>to cut off many</HI> Per&s;ons. <HI>Seeing he</HI> de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>the OATH, by</HI> breaking <HI>the COVE|NANT, (when lo, he had</HI> given his <HI>HAND) and hath done all the&s;e things, he
<PB N="214" REF="115"> &s;hall not</HI> e&s;cape. <HI>Therefore thus &s;aith the Lord GOD,</HI> As I live, <HI>&s;urely mine OATH that he hath</HI> de&s;pi&s;ed, <HI>and my</HI> COVE|NANT <HI>that he hath</HI> broken,, <HI>even it will I</HI> recompence <HI>upon his own head. And I will &s;pread my</HI> Net <HI>upon him, and he &s;hall be taken in my</HI> &s;nare, <HI>and I will bring him to</HI> Babylon, <HI>and will plead with him there, for his</HI> Tre&s;pa&s;&s;e <HI>that he hath tre&s;|pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t me. And all his</HI> Fugitives <HI>with all his</HI> Bands <HI>&s;hall fall by the</HI> Sword, <HI>and they that remaine &s;hall be &s;cattered to|wards all windes: and ye &s;hall know that I the LORD have &s;poken it.</HI> Thus will no <HI>Force,</HI> no <HI>Confederacy</HI> availe for the &s;ecuring of that per&s;on from a de&s;erved <HI>Puni&s;hment,</HI> who by this &s;in of <HI>Perjury,</HI> and <HI>Covenant-breaking</HI> is become obnoxious to Divine Ju&s;tice.</P>
<P>An OATH is a <HI>&s;acred thing;</HI> it bindes in the Name of God: if it be violated it provokes God to arme his Ju&s;tice with ven|geance again&s;t the Violator. <HI>The LORD will not hold him guiltle&s;&s;e that taketh his NAME in vain</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exo. 20.7</NOTE>.</P>
<P><HI>Perjury</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">A peje|rando fit Vox pejor, quod per|jurio nihil pejus.</NOTE> is a de&s;perate and damnable &s;in. It proceeds from <HI>Athei&s;m,</HI> the mo|ther of Abominations, and produces <HI>Re|bellion</HI> with a thou&s;and impieties. Its a &s;in which the <HI>Heathens</HI> have not onely ju&s;tly <HI>condemn'd,</HI> but al&s;o &s;everely <HI>puni&s;hed.</HI> The <HI>Egyptians</HI> and <HI>Scythians</HI> puni&s;h't Perjury with Death. The <HI>Romanes</HI> cen&s;ure of it,
<PB N="215" REF="115"> in the Law of the <HI>twelve Tables</HI> was this,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Perjurii Poena divina Exitium, humana Dede|cus<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Cic. l. 2. de Legibus.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Though</HI> Perjury <HI>have no puni&s;hment among&s;t men but</HI> Di&s;|grace, <HI>it's puni&s;h't by God with</HI> De&s;truction. That which was thus dete&s;table among&s;t <HI>Heathens,</HI> &s;hould be much more abominable among&s;t <HI>Chri|&s;tians.</HI> However God hath declar'd his <HI>Wrath</HI> again&s;t it from Heaven, as &s;ome re|markable Pa&s;&s;ages of the Divine <HI>Providence</HI> do fully declare, whereof we &s;hall mention two, out of the <HI>Turki&s;h Hi&s;tory.</HI></P>
<P>The Emperour <HI>Albert</HI> had made a <HI>Truce</HI> with the <HI>great Turk,</HI> and &s;olemnly rati|fi'd the &s;ame with an <HI>Oath.</HI> But <HI>Pope Eu|genius</HI> the fourth &s;ent him a <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ation</HI> from his <HI>Oath,</HI> and excited him to renew the <HI>Warre</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Turk.</HI> Thus does the <HI>man of &s;in</HI> make void the <HI>Law of God.</HI> But in the fir&s;t battel wherein the Empe|rour engaged, he was di&s;comfited and &s;laine. Thus he that with his <HI>Sword</HI> cut in two the &s;acred <HI>Band</HI> of his <HI>Oath,</HI> had his <HI>Perjury</HI> written by his enemies <HI>Sword,</HI> with his own <HI>Blood;</HI> whereas had he kept his <HI>Oath,</HI> he might have &s;av'd his <HI>Life.</HI> But the <HI>Infidels</HI> hereupon took occa&s;ion to ca&s;t reproach upon <HI>Chri&s;tianity,</HI> as a Re|ligion that gave Patronage to <HI>Perjury,</HI> and <HI>Covenant-breaking,</HI> when the mo&s;t &s;olemne Obligation had been &s;ealed with the <HI>Name</HI> of <HI>Chri&s;t.</HI> Thus <HI>Covenant-breaking</HI>
<PB N="216" REF="116"> brings the mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Religion</HI> in the World into <HI>contempt,</HI> and makes Chri&s;ti|anity the &s;corne and reproach of Hea|thens.</P>
<P><HI>Uladi&s;laus,</HI> King of <HI>Hungary,</HI> having for a time manag'd his <HI>War</HI> with <HI>Amurath</HI> the great <HI>Turk,</HI> with good &s;ucce&s;&s;e, at length brought him to conditions of <HI>Peace,</HI> which were to him&s;elf &s;ufficiently advan|tagious. For upon this Agreement cer|taine Provinces were to be re&s;tored to the <HI>Hungarians,</HI> which otherwi&s;e could not have been recover'd by the &s;word without the lo&s;&s;e of many Lives. But a Peace being concluded betwixt them, <HI>a &s;olemne League and Covenant</HI> for the confirmation thereof, was interchangably &s;ealed with an <HI>Oath,</HI> taken by both Parties. But the Pope (who&s;e <HI>Holine&s;&s;e</HI> was thought &s;ufficient to &s;anctifie the <HI>&s;infulne&s;&s;e</HI> of the vile&s;t Perju|ry) &s;ent a <HI>Letter of Di&s;pen&s;ation</HI> to his &s;on <HI>Uladi&s;laus,</HI> as a <HI>Key</HI> of his Cabinet, to un|lock tho&s;e Bonds and Fetters wherewith he was bound hand and foot, from the further pro&s;ecution of the Warre with the Turks. And to promote the Popes de&s;igne, the Car|dinal of <HI>Flor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nce,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">See the Hungarian Hi&s;tory.</NOTE> Admiral of the Navy, on the one hand, and <HI>Cardinal Julian,</HI> the Popes Legate in <HI>Hungary,</HI> on the other hand, help to lift him up out of his Ho|nourable <HI>Re&s;traint</HI> (the <HI>Liberty of Warre</HI> being barr'd up to him by a <HI>League of Peace</HI>) into an infamous <HI>Freedome</HI> by &s;trong &s;ol|licitations
<PB N="217" REF="116"> to the renewal of the War with <HI>Amurath.</HI> Hereupon &s;taining the glory of his <HI>Crown</HI> with the breach of his <HI>Covenant,</HI> he a&s;&s;aulted the Turk unawares with a great Army, who yet rallying his Forces with all the &s;peed and vigour he could,<NOTE PLACE="marg">&mdash;Dubiis victoria pennis. Inter u|trumque volat.</NOTE> gave him Bat|tel. The <HI>Victory</HI> for a good while together hanging in an <HI>equal Ballance,</HI> enclin'd to neither &s;ide. But at length the <HI>Scales</HI> be|gan to turne, and <HI>Victory</HI> for&s;aking the Ar|my of <HI>Amurath,</HI> &s;eem'd now ready to a|light upon the Standard of <HI>Uladi&s;laus. A|murath</HI> perceiving this, and withal &s;eeing a Crucifix in a di&s;played En&s;igne of the <HI>Chri|&s;tians</HI> Army advanc't again&s;t him, pluckt the Writing, wherein the late League was contain'd, out of his bo&s;ome, and with eyes and hands ca&s;t up to Heaven, &s;aid, O <HI>thou crucifi'd Christ, Behold this is the LEAG&V;E which thy Chri&s;tians made with me, and &s;eal'd with a &s;olemne OATH, &s;wearing by thy Name; and this have they, without cau&s;e, this day, violated. If thou be a GOD, as they &s;ay thou art, Revenge the wrong done unto thy Name, and the in|jury offer'd unto me, upon thy</HI> perjur'd Peo|ple, <HI>who though they honour thee in their</HI> Words, <HI>do in their</HI> Deeds <HI>deny thee.</HI> Imme|diately hereupon the battel <HI>turn'd,</HI> and th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Turks <HI>prevail'd</HI> mightily again&s;t the Chri|&s;tians. The <HI>King</HI> him&s;elf was &s;laine by the <HI>Jani&s;&s;aries,</HI> and fell in the mid&s;t of his Enemies, though not &s;o much by their
<PB N="218" REF="117"> hands as by a &s;troke of Ju&s;tice from heaven. The <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> fled before the <HI>Mahumetans,</HI> and peri&s;h't by a mi&s;erable &s;laughter, <HI>ele|ven thou&s;and</HI> being &s;laine in the place, very few e&s;caping with their Lives. Thus hath the <HI>Blood</HI> and <HI>Lives</HI> of many &s;laugh|ter'd Chri&s;tians given te&s;timony to the Ju|&s;tice of God triumphing in the puni&s;hment of <HI>Perjury,</HI> and the violation of <HI>Covenants.</HI> This is that which (according to the intent of the wicked coun&s;el of <HI>Balaam</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.14</NOTE>) en|gages God him&s;elfe again&s;t his own Peo|ple.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Xenoph.</NOTE><HI>Age&s;ilaus</HI> general of the <HI>Grecian</HI> Army returned this an&s;wer to <HI>Ti&s;&s;aphernes,</HI> Lieu|tenant to the King of <HI>Per&s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">'s</HI> Army, when contrary to his <HI>Oath,</HI> he had levy'd an Army, and denounc'd War again&s;t him; That <HI>he gave him no &s;mall thanks for that by his</HI> Perjury <HI>he had made the Gods</HI> angry <HI>with the</HI> Per&s;ians, <HI>who he hoped for his</HI> Fide|lity <HI>would be</HI> favourable <HI>to the</HI> Grecians. And the <HI>Event</HI> an&s;wer'd the <HI>Omen;</HI> for joyning Battel he gave the <HI>Per&s;ians</HI> a great overthrow.</P>
<P><HI>Pau&s;anius</HI> notes this to be one chief cau&s;e why <HI>Philip</HI> King of <HI>Macedon,</HI> with all his <HI>Po&s;terity</HI> were &s;o quickly de&s;troy'd, becau&s;e (however otherwi&s;e acompli&s;h't with <HI>Prince|ly Virtues</HI>) he made no account of keep|ing his <HI>Oaths,</HI> but <HI>&s;wore</HI> and <HI>un&s;wore,</HI> as might &s;tand be&s;t with his <HI>Intere&s;t.</HI> How ju&s;tly may we expect that God will root
<PB N="219" REF="117"> out the <HI>Po&s;terity</HI> of perjur'd per&s;ons from the Land, however they may at pre&s;ent flou|ri&s;h in their worldly pro&s;perity!</P>
<P>Though<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 11.2</NOTE> <HI>all things</HI> (at pre&s;ent) <HI>come a|like to all;</HI> yea, though <HI>he that &s;weareth</HI> and violateth his Oath be more &s;ucce&s;&s;eful then he that <HI>feareth an Oath,</HI> yet there is a day of account to come, wherein God will <HI>bring every work into judgement</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 12.14</NOTE>, and then dreadful &s;hall the e&s;tate be of <HI>for|&s;worne Athei&s;ts.</HI> Certainly a <HI>&s;word</HI> hangs over the <HI>Head</HI> of every <HI>perjur'd</HI> Per&s;on, and all his worldly greatne&s;&s;e &s;hall not <HI>&s;hield him</HI> from the danger; as over the head of <HI>Damocles</HI> in the Palace of <HI>Dio|ny&s;ius,</HI> a &s;word was hung by a haire, which when he perceived, he could take no <HI>Plea|&s;ure</HI> in all the &s;umptuous <HI>Preparations</HI> which the Tyrant had made to give him a mo|mentany ta&s;t of his worldly greatne&s;&s;e and felicity. The Lord hath &s;aid, that<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.5</NOTE> <HI>he will be a &s;wift witne&s;&s;e again&s;t the fal&s;e &s;wearers,</HI> and though they &s;ay to God, <HI>De|part from us,</HI> the LORD hath &s;aid, <HI>I will come near to you, to judgement.</HI> The <HI>perjur'd per&s;on</HI> &s;hall not be able to keep that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Zech. 5.1</NOTE> <HI>flying Roll</HI> out of his hou&s;e, which &s;hall bring in with it that <HI>cur&s;e</HI> of God, which &s;hall <HI>con|&s;ume</HI> his dwelling place. For,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Zech. 5.4</NOTE> <HI>I will bring it forth, &s;aith the LORD of Ho&s;ts, and it &s;hall enter into the Hou&s;e of the Thief, and into the Hou&s;e of him that</HI> &s;weareth fal&s;ly <HI>by my Name: and it &s;hall remaine in the
<PB N="220" REF="118"> mid&s;t of his Hou&s;e, and &s;hall</HI> con&s;ume <HI>it, with the Timber thereof, and the Stones thereof.</HI> All the precious <HI>&s;ub&s;tance</HI> of per|jur'd Per&s;ons &s;hall be but as <HI>Stubble,</HI> when the wrath of the Lord, like <HI>Fire,</HI> &s;hall be kin|dled again&s;t them.</P>
<P><HI>Per&s;onal &s;ins</HI> &s;hall have <HI>Per&s;onal puni&s;h|ments.</HI> But when a &s;in is become common and <HI>National,</HI> ju&s;tly may we feare &s;ome <HI>National judgement.</HI> How ju&s;tly may God &s;pread a <HI>thunder-cloud</HI> over a whole Land for the puni&s;hment of the &s;inne of <HI>fal&s;e|hood</HI> and <HI>perjury,</HI> in the violation of &s;acred Oaths and Covenants. <HI>Shall not the LORD have a Controver&s;ie with the Inhabitants of the Land, when there is no TRUTH, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the Land? When by &s;wearing</HI> and for&s;wearing <HI>the Land is polluted,</HI> may we not ju&s;ty feare that <HI>the Land &s;hall mourn, and that every one that dwelleth therein &s;hall langui&s;h</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.1, 2, 3.</NOTE>? Will not the Lord hew that people in pieces by the <HI>&s;word,</HI> and con&s;ume that City with the <HI>Plague,</HI> that &s;hall break the &s;acred band of a &s;olemn Covenant? Thus &s;aith the LORD by <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> concern|ing this &s;in;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lev. 26.25</NOTE> <HI>I will bring a SWORD upon you that &s;hall avenge the QUARREL of my COVENANT: and when ye are gather'd together within your Cities, I will &s;end the PESTILENCE among you, and ye &s;hall be deliver'd into the hand of the Enemy.</HI> Thus Perjury and Covenant-breaking
<PB N="221" REF="118"> brings in <HI>War and De&s;truction</HI> upon a Land, and &s;o mu&s;t needs be a Progno&s;tick of perillous Times.</P>
<P>And more &s;ad and fearful yet it is, when this &s;in is twi&s;ted with the &s;in of <HI>Trea&s;on</HI> and <HI>Rebellion,</HI> and committed under pre|tences of <HI>Religion.</HI> The &s;ouldiers of <HI>Alex|ander,</HI> called<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Argyra&s;pides,</HI> becau&s;e by <HI>Alexanders</HI> gift, they wore <HI>Silver Shields</HI> (as <HI>Plutarch</HI> relates of them) were grand TRAYTORS to their GENERAL, to whom they had bound them&s;elves by ma|ny &s;olemne OATHS and PROTESTATI|ONS, in&s;omuch that <HI>Antigonus,</HI> with whom they had treacherou&s;ly comply'd a|gain&s;t their Prince, the &s;onne of <HI>Alexander,</HI> and their <HI>General, Eumenes,</HI> whom they had deliver'd up bound into his hands, &s;o perfectly hated them for this their <HI>perfidiou&s;|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> that he <HI>burnt</HI> one of their Colonels, and <HI>&s;lew</HI> the other, and engaged the re&s;t in &s;uch de&s;perate &s;ervices in forraigne Coun|treys, that not one of them return'd alive home. When men under the <HI>&s;ilver &s;hields</HI> of Religious Pretences, pre&s;ume they &s;hall be &s;ecure in the guilt of the dete&s;table &s;innes of <HI>Perjury, Trea&s;on,</HI> and <HI>Rebellion,</HI> they &s;hall be &s;ure not to e&s;cape puni&s;hment by the <HI>Iron &s;word</HI> of Ju&s;tice. But now when &s;uch <HI>hateful vices</HI> as the&s;e lift up their heads, and proudly outbraving all oppo&s;ition, <HI>u&s;urp the Throne</HI> of the mo&s;t <HI>Heroick Virtues,</HI> we may &s;afely conclude the dayes are come,
<PB N="222" REF="119"> which the Apo&s;tle hath foretold us &s;hall be <HI>perillous times.</HI> For the&s;e are tho&s;e very <HI>black brands,</HI> and <HI>marks</HI> of Infamy where|with the Apo&s;tle hath <HI>&s;tigmatiz'd</HI> tho&s;e &s;in|ners, which (how <HI>Saint-like</HI> &s;oever they &s;hould appear in their Di&s;gui&s;e of <HI>formal godline&s;&s;e</HI>) &s;hould by their diffu&s;ive <HI>wicked|ne&s;&s;e</HI> make the dayes Evil, the Times peril|lous. For in tho&s;e Daies he hath told us men &s;hall be
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.1-4.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Truce-breakers, Traytors, Rebells:</HI> &s;uch as make no <HI>con|&s;cience</HI> of keeping their <HI>Covenants,</HI> but vio|late the mo&s;t &s;olemn Obligations, religiou&s;|ly ratifi'd; &s;uch as <HI>betray</HI> the Per&s;ons or Intere&s;ts of tho&s;e that have repo&s;ed <HI>Tru&s;t</HI> in them, and to whom they are oblig'd by <HI>&s;olemne Oaths</HI> and <HI>Prote&s;tations</HI> of fidelity; &s;uch as are <HI>di&s;obedient</HI> to their Natural or Political <HI>Parents,</HI> who ri&s;e up in <HI>Rebellion</HI> again&s;t their lawful <HI>Princes</HI> and <HI>Governours,</HI> to whom they have &s;worne <HI>Alleagiance,</HI> or at lea&s;t made &s;olemn <HI>Prote&s;tations</HI> of &s;ubjecti|on and &s;ervice, with hazard of their Lives and E&s;tates. Such <HI>perfidious Per&s;ons</HI> make <HI>pe|rillous Times.</HI></P>
<P>A further and fuller De&s;cription of &s;uch men, we have in the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI> if we rightly under&s;tand the place, for which purpo&s;e, I &s;hall produce the interpretations of &s;ome of the mo&s;t &s;olid, pious, and judi|cious Divines, who may de&s;ervedly be
<PB N="223" REF="119"> reckoned among&s;t the be&s;t Expo&s;itors. The words of the Prophet are the&s;e;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 10.2 3, 4.</NOTE> <HI>Their Heart is divided: now &s;hall they be found faulty: he &s;hall break down their Altars: he &s;hall &s;poile their Images. For now they &s;hall &s;ay, We have no KING, becau&s;e we feared not the LORD; what then &s;hould a</HI> King <HI>do to us? They have &s;poken words SWEAR|ING FALSELY in making a COVE|NANT: thus Judgement &s;pringeth up as Hemlock in the Furrows of the Field.</HI> The Interpretation of this Scripture is given thus;</P>
<P><HI>Their heart is divided,</HI> Or (as it is in the Margin) <HI>he hath divided their heart</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> &dagger;</NOTE> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>:] viz. <HI>Having taken away the Spirit of Peace and concord from them, he hath given them over to Divi&s;ions, Factions, and frequent Murthers of Princes, which will cau&s;e the utter ruine of the Kingdome</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diodati.</NOTE>.</P>
<P><HI>For now they &s;hall &s;ay, We have no King] Within a very &s;hort time God &s;hall take away their King, &amp;c. This taking away of a King, is a remarkable Evidence of Gods Wrath</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lam. 4.20</NOTE>, <HI>and convincing the &s;ame, even to a people obdurate in &s;in, that would faine deny Gods hand to be in it</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Engl. Annot.</NOTE>. Or,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nullus Rex e&s;t nobis] id e&s;t, Non Reges no|&s;tri nobis; &s;ed nos ip&s;i Regibus no&s;tris impera|mus, Leges ferimus, ex|auctoramus, &amp;c<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jun. &amp; Tremel.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>We have no King] that is, we bow not to the commands of our Kings, but we make our Kings bow to our commands; We by our
<PB N="224" REF="120"> own Power, make and null Laws at our own plea&s;ure.</HI> And by the following words it appears, they made no more matter of ca&s;ting off their Laws, and cutting off their King, then a man would make of breaking a bubble. For its &s;aid<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 7.</NOTE>, <HI>As for</HI> Sama<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ia, <HI>her King is cut off as the Fome</HI> [or, a <HI>Bubble</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Diod. Ital</NOTE>] <HI>upon the Water.</HI> Which the Septuagint render thus;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>Samaria <HI>hath con|temptuou&s;ly ca&s;t off her King, as a wi|ther'd weed upon the Face of the water.</HI> Thus did the&s;e wicked wretches <HI>ca&s;t of all Loyalty</HI> in cutting off their <HI>King;</HI> and for the further aggravation of their daring crimes, they <HI>ca&s;t off all Religion</HI> too, in their breaking their OATH <HI>of Allegiance</HI> to their King, and their COVENANT <HI>of new Obedience</HI> to God, as if they re&s;olv'd by &s;ome <HI>de&s;perate De&s;igne,</HI> to &s;hew them|&s;elves <HI>profe&s;t Enemies</HI> both to God and Man. For to this purpo&s;e are the following words interpreted;</P>
<P><HI>They have &s;poken words, &s;wearing fal&s;ely in making a Covenant.] Swearing fal&s;ely,</HI> viz. <HI>to God, in promi&s;ing him Conver&s;ion and Service; or to their King, binding them|&s;elves to be faithful to him, &amp;c</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diodat.</NOTE>. The words impott,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Omnes perjuri &amp; foe|difragi &s;unt, ac novae Con&s;pirationes quotidie inter ip&s;os pullulant<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jun. &amp; Trem.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>They are all of them perjur'd Per&s;ons
<PB N="225" REF="120"> and Covenant-break|ers, and new con&s;pi|racies do daily &s;pring up among&s;t them.</HI> Such are the per&s;ons here de&s;crib'd, and &s;uch are their <HI>Practi&s;es.</HI> Now what can be expected to follow hereupon, but <HI>Mi&s;eries</HI> and <HI>Calamities</HI> to the People of the Land, and at length the <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> of &s;uch perjur'd Per&s;ons? For its &s;aid,</P>
<P><HI>Thus Judgement &s;pringeth up as Hemlock in the Furrowes of the Field</HI>] i. e. in&s;tead of <HI>whole&s;ome judgement,</HI> to relieve the op|pre&s;&s;ed, <HI>cruel Oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> covers the Land, which, as <HI>poy&s;onous Hemlock,</HI> overgrows the poore oppre&s;&s;ed People, who by the barbarous u&s;ages, and mercile&s;&s;e cruelties of the&s;e in&s;olent <HI>Traitors</HI> and <HI>Tyrants,</HI> are <HI>furrow'd</HI> (as a <HI>Field</HI> that is <HI>plow'd</HI>) with continual afflictions<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vide Cal|vinum in loc.</NOTE>. Or, as others inter|pret it of their <HI>puni&s;hments,</HI> which they &s;hall at length procure to them&s;elves by the&s;e wicked <HI>practi&s;es; Gods Judgements &s;hall multiply like Hemlock, or other poy&s;onous Herbs which grow abundantly in the Fields</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Diodati &amp; Engl. Annot.</NOTE>. Thus they that <HI>&s;owe Inju&s;tice</HI> &s;hall at length <HI>reap Judgement.</HI> When &s;uch <HI>cur|&s;ed &s;eed</HI> as this is ca&s;t into a Land, it will not faile to yeeld a <HI>plentiful Crop</HI> of Mi&s;eries and Vexations. Hence then we may &s;afely conclude, <HI>that evil Dayes, pe|rillous Times are at hand, when men make no con&s;cience of Oathes and Co|venants,
<PB N="226" REF="121"> in Matters of Loyalty and Religion.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="6" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD>The &s;ixt Symptome. <HI>Practical Athei&s;me.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="VI"> PErillous are the Times, Dangerous the Dayes, <HI>When men dare in their words to entitle God, to tho&s;e wicked works where|in they deny God.</HI> When men pre&s;ume to prefix the &s;acred and glorious <HI>Name of God</HI> to the mo&s;t injurious <HI>U&s;urpations</HI> and flagi|tious <HI>Enormities</HI> under the Sunne. When men pretending to act for the <HI>Cau&s;e of God,</HI> and the <HI>good</HI> of his <HI>precious people,</HI> having by &s;uch barbarous and bloody <HI>Enter|pri&s;es,</HI> as make the very Earth to blu&s;h un|der the eye of heaven, accompli&s;h't their cur&s;ed <HI>De&s;ignes,</HI> &s;hall dare to charge the actual accompli&s;hment thereof upon the all-glorious God, as having effected the &s;ame <HI>by his good hand of Providence.</HI> When men having brought to pa&s;&s;e their owne <HI>wicked devices</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 37.7</NOTE>, by &s;uch de&s;perate <HI>Acts of Inju&s;tice</HI> and execrable villanies, as the very report thereof ca&s;ts a&s;toni&s;hment upon the mindes of all men that have not utterly
<PB N="227" REF="121"> bani&s;ht all humanity and fear of God, &s;hall yet &s;ay, <HI>This is the LORDS doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 118.23</NOTE>. Bold bla&s;|phemers! For what more horrid <HI>bla&s;phemy</HI> can po&s;&s;ibly be imagin'd, then to make that <HI>God,</HI> who is infinitely and e&s;&s;entially holy, and Ju&s;t, and good, the <HI>Author</HI> of &s;uch intolerable <HI>In&s;olencies,</HI> unparallel'd <HI>Impieties,</HI> and &s;uperlative <HI>&s;innes</HI> of the&s;e de&s;perately daring &s;pirits? The&s;e are certainly the <HI>pe|rillous Times</HI> whereof the Apo&s;tle hath fore|warn'd the people of God. For <HI>in tho&s;e dayes</HI> he hath told us that <HI>men,</HI> however pretending <HI>godline&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;hall indeed be
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.2</NOTE>.</NOTE>Bla&s;phemers.</P>
<P>This was the wonted Practi&s;e of that <HI>man of &s;inne, the &s;onne of Perdition, who oppo&s;eth and exalteth him&s;elf above all that is called God</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2 3, 4.</NOTE>, in&s;omuch as it grew to a Pro|verb,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">In Nomine Domini om|ne Malum.</NOTE><HI>All mi&s;chief comes a Gods Name.</HI> He <HI>dethrones</HI> Princes, makes <HI>unju&s;t Warre</HI> again&s;t Nations and Kingdomes, <HI>per&s;ecutes</HI> Chri&s;tians to death with as much Cruelty as any of the Hea|then Emperours, gives di&s;pen&s;ations to &s;ubjects to rebel again&s;t their Soveraignes, <HI>ab&s;olving</HI> them from their <HI>Oaths of Allea|giance,</HI> and all Obligations to Loyalty and Obedience, and all this <HI>in the Name of God,</HI> and by the pretended conduct of the <HI>Divine Providence.</HI> And does not this
<PB N="228" REF="122">
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2 7</NOTE> <HI>My&s;tery of Iniquity</HI> &s;till <HI>work</HI> in the Chri|&s;tian world? And mu&s;t not the&s;e high <HI>Provocations</HI> of God needs make <HI>perillous</HI> Times? When men <HI>entitle</HI> God to the greate&s;t <HI>Irregularities,</HI> and mo&s;t dete&s;table <HI>Impieties</HI> that ever were acted among&s;t men. When men &s;ecurely act the highe&s;t <HI>Rebellions,</HI> and as &s;ecurely proceed in the&s;e audacious actings under the pre|tended <HI>Patronage</HI> of the Divine <HI>Providence.</HI> Was not God infinitely <HI>Patient,</HI> he would &s;end down <HI>Fire</HI> from heaven to con&s;ume &s;uch <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> on earth.</P>
<P>How oft hath the Church of God been put into <HI>Blood</HI> by tho&s;e that in their di&s;|played <HI>Banners</HI> have borne the <HI>Name of God!</HI> How oft hath that &s;acred Name <HI>IMMANUEL,</HI> GOD WITH US, been abus'd by them that have a&s;&s;embled all their forces to <HI>fight again&s;t God!</HI> How oft have they glory'd in the <HI>Appearings of the LORD of Ho&s;ts</HI> for them, who when they have pro&s;per'd in their audacious attempts, have dar'd to bid defiance to the <HI>Ho&s;ts of the LORD!</HI> How vainly have men boa&s;t|ed that the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Prov. 18.10</NOTE> <HI>Name of the LORD</HI> hath been a <HI>strong Tower</HI> of defence unto them, when (by divine permi&s;&s;ion) they have pro&s;per'd in tho&s;e enormous actings, which carry in them a flat <HI>Contradiction</HI> to all Gods <HI>glorious attributes!</HI> Thus is the <HI>Name of God</HI> fearfully abus'd by the wor&s;t of men. Thus do the Practitioners of the
<PB N="229" REF="122"> <HI>black Art</HI> (a fit name for &s;o dreadful a <HI>Work of Darkne&s;&s;e</HI>) make u&s;e of the Name of <HI>God</HI> for the rai&s;ing up the <HI>Devil.</HI> And do not profane <HI>Politicians</HI> practi&s;e the &s;ame Art? And is not this the way to turne the <HI>Earth</HI> into a <HI>Hell?</HI> needs then mu&s;t the times be perillous, when &s;uch <HI>Ar|ti&s;ts</HI> do abound, when &s;uch <HI>Athei&s;ts</HI> prevaile and pro&s;per in the world.</P>
<P><HI>Plato,</HI> a Heathen Philo&s;opher, &s;o abhor'd all Repre&s;entations of God, the CHIEF|EST GOOD, as the Authour or Patron of &s;uch irregularities and grand enormities by men committed, for the &s;atisfaction of their own lu&s;ts, as that he determines it ut|terly unfit that any &s;uch thing &s;hould be &s;o much as once <HI>&s;poken</HI> or <HI>written</HI> in a <HI>well or|der'd Common-wealth,</HI> le&s;t it &s;hould admini|&s;ter an occa&s;ion to people to entertain any Conceits of God, <HI>unworthy of the puri|ty and goodne&s;&s;e of his mo&s;t holy nature.</HI> And for the rea&s;on of this his determination, he gives us this <HI>Divine Axiome</HI> of undoubt|ed verity;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Plato de Rep. l. 2.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>God is not the Authour of Evil.</HI> How may this <HI>te&s;ti|mony of Plato</HI> make the&s;e impious <HI>Politi|cians,</HI> who pretend they have been taught in the <HI>School of Chri&s;t,</HI> to blu&s;h at their impieties were they not as well <HI>&s;hamele&s;&s;e</HI> as <HI>Godle&s;se</HI>) in <HI>charging God fooli&s;hly,</HI> with tho&s;e &s;ucce&s;&s;eful <HI>attempts</HI> and mon|&s;truous
<PB N="230" REF="123"> <HI>atchievements</HI> which could never have been brought forth into the World, or have &s;een the light, had not the very &s;inews of <HI>Law</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> been cut a&s;under with the <HI>&s;word!</HI> How wickedly are &s;uch enormities offer'd to the Peoples kind embraces, as i&s;&s;uing from the womb of Gods mo&s;t wi&s;e and holy <HI>Coun&s;els,</HI> and midwif't into the world by the powerful efficiency of his <HI>good hand of Providence,</HI> when they are indeed the Births of their own <HI>Policies,</HI> and the proper i&s;&s;ues of their own<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 7.29</NOTE> <HI>inventions!</HI> That God had a hand in <HI>permitting</HI> them, we grant; for there is no evil done without the <HI>Permi&s;&s;ion</HI> of the Divine <HI>Providence:</HI> And that he will have a hand in <HI>Puni&s;hing</HI> them, they &s;hall at length feele, by their own woful <HI>experience,</HI> who were the <HI>Actors</HI> of tho&s;e enormities, which they bla&s;phemou&s;ly charge upon God as the <HI>Authour.</HI> God will certainly vindicate the glory of his holine&s;s, by the &s;evere pu|ni&s;hment of &s;uch <HI>bold Bla&s;phemers,</HI> &s;uch pre&s;umptuous Athei&s;ts. Yea, &s;uch <HI>fearful Provocations</HI> may at length pluck down <HI>dreadful Judgements</HI> upon the whole Land. The Times therefore mu&s;t needs be perillous when the great God is thus provokt by &s;uch fearful <HI>bla&s;phemies,</HI> and horrid <HI>impieties.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="7" TYPE="symptom">
<PB N="231" REF="123">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;eventh Symptome.</HI> Impiety acted with Impunity.</HEAD>
<P>THe Times are perillous to the People of God, <HI>When Ambitious men car|ry <MILESTONE N="VII"> on their mo&s;t injurious De&s;ignes, with Im|punity, to a full accompli&s;hment.</HI> When tho&s;e that under pretences of Religion and Gods glory, &s;eek nothing but the &s;atisfaction of their own lu&s;ts, and tho&s;e who accompli&s;h their ungodly de&s;ignes by the mo&s;t injurious means, and yet pre&s;ume to entitle God to their impious proceedings, do not only <HI>e&s;cape puni&s;hment</HI> under the&s;e high <HI>Provocations,</HI> but al&s;o <HI>pro&s;per</HI> in their <HI>works,</HI> and <HI>flouri&s;h</HI> in the <HI>world.</HI> Thus does God &s;ometimes permit it to be, for the <HI>Tryal</HI> of his peoples Faith and Patience, the <HI>Exerci&s;e</HI> of their Love, Zeale, and other <HI>Graces;</HI> as al&s;o for a <HI>judicial hardening</HI> of &s;uch Athei&s;ts in their wicked wayes, to their <HI>ju&s;t De&s;truction.</HI> Thus &s;ometimes<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.15, 16.</NOTE> <HI>tho&s;e that work wicked|ne&s;&s;e are &s;et up</HI> and e&s;tabli&s;hed, while tho&s;e that truly <HI>feare the Name of God,</HI> are ca&s;t down and oppre&s;t. Thus <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> does not onely for the pre&s;ent lo&s;e its <HI>re|ward,</HI> and <HI>Iniquity</HI> e&s;cape with <HI>Impunity;</HI> but righteous men are <HI>oppre&s;t</HI> and con|temn'd,
<PB N="232" REF="124"> and the wicked are <HI>exalted,</HI> and crown'd with <HI>Dignity</HI> and honour, and flouri&s;h in the world in <HI>Pro&s;perity</HI> and Peace. This is that of which the Wi&s;e man complain'd<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.14</NOTE>, <HI>There is a vanity which is done upon the Earth, that there be</HI> ju&s;t men, <HI>to whom it happeneth according to the</HI> work <HI>of the</HI> wicked; <HI>again, there be</HI> wicked men, <HI>to whom it happeneth according to the</HI> work <HI>of the</HI> righteous. But now the&s;e <HI>Times</HI> mu&s;t needs be <HI>perillous</HI> to the People of God; both in re&s;pect of their <HI>outward e|&s;tate</HI> in the world, wherein they are &s;ubject to the <HI>oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> of the proud, and in dan|ger of <HI>Per&s;ecution</HI> through the in&s;olencies of the wicked: and al&s;o in re&s;pect of their &s;ouls and <HI>&s;piritual condition,</HI> wherein they are obnoxious to many &s;ore <HI>Temptations,</HI> as to call in que&s;tion Gods <HI>Providence,</HI> and to faint in the wayes of <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Thus was holy<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Or, A|&s;aphs.</NOTE> <HI>Davids</HI> Faith &s;tagger'd, his <HI>feet almo&s;t &s;lipt,</HI> and he was in danger of a fearful <HI>Fall,</HI> and began to &s;peak <HI>un|advi&s;edly with his lips,</HI> while he gave way to <HI>carnal rea&s;onings,</HI> and &s;o drew a fal&s;e <HI>Commentary</HI> upon the &s;acred <HI>Text</HI> of Gods <HI>Providences,</HI> darken'd by wicked mens <HI>pro|&s;perity</HI> in the world. <HI>Truly</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.1, 2, 3.</NOTE>) <HI>God is good to</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>even to &s;uch as are of a cleane heart. But as for me, my feet were almo&s;t gone, my &s;teps had well-nigh &s;lipt. For I was envious at the fooli&s;h, when I &s;aw the</HI> pro&s;perity <HI>of the wicked.</HI> Then
<PB N="233" REF="124"> he de&s;cribes the <HI>tranquility</HI> of their State, their <HI>Impunity</HI> and exemption from trou|ble, notwith&s;tanding all the <HI>in&s;olencies,</HI> irregularities, and <HI>impieties</HI> they were guilty of. <HI>For</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 3-12</NOTE>) <HI>there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firme. they are not in</HI> trouble <HI>as other men: neither are they</HI> plagued <HI>like other men. There|fore</HI> Pride <HI>compa&s;&s;eth them about as a chaine:</HI> Violence <HI>covereth them as a garment. Their eyes &s;tand out with</HI> Fatne&s;&s;e: <HI>they have more then heart could wi&s;h. They are</HI> corrupt, <HI>and &s;peak wickedly concerning</HI> Oppre&s;&s;ion: <HI>they &s;peak loftily. They &s;et their mouth a|gain&s;t the</HI> Heavens; <HI>and their tongue walk|eth through the</HI> Earth: <HI>Therefore his Peo|ple returne hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. And they &s;ay, how doth God</HI> know? <HI>And is there</HI> knowledge <HI>in the mo&s;t high? Behold the&s;e are the</HI> un|godly <HI>who</HI> pro&s;per <HI>in the world; they</HI> en|crea&s;e <HI>in riches.</HI> And how &s;ad a <HI>Conclu|&s;ion</HI> did the P&s;almi&s;t, under this temptation, draw from the&s;e <HI>premi&s;es.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 13, 14</NOTE> <HI>Verily, I have clean&s;ed my heart in vaine, and wa&s;hed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and cha&s;tened every morning.</HI> Thus do wicked men pro&s;per in their highe&s;t <HI>Impieties,</HI> as if they were <HI>privi|ledg'd</HI> with a perpetual <HI>Impunity.</HI> And, as <HI>Calvin</HI> &s;peaks,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Triumphos &s;uos ut plu|rimum agunt impii: &amp; quum data opera Dei ul|tionem provocent, impu|ne videntur illudere dum illis parcit.</NOTE><HI>This their</HI> Impu|nity <HI>through Gods</HI>
<PB N="234" REF="125"> Forbearance, <HI>when they do, as it were &s;et them&s;elves on pur|po&s;e to provoke his</HI> vengeance, <HI>is the ground of their proud Triumphs,</HI> and in&s;olent in&s;ultations over his Providence, Patience and Ju&s;tice. Now this is a great <HI>&s;tumbling-block</HI> in the way of the godly, while it occa&s;ions in their minds <HI>unworthy thoughts</HI> of the Divine Providence, and mightily <HI>weakens</HI> that <HI>Re&s;traint,</HI> whereby they are kept from the Commi&s;&s;ion of &s;uch Impieties. And therefore it is, as he &s;ayes,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gravis &amp; noxia Ten|tatio, ubi non modo ta|cite cum Deo litigamus, quod res in ordinem non componat, &s;ed etiam ha|benas nobis laxamus ad peccandi audaciam, dum nobis videmur id impune facturi<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Calvin in Initium, P&s;al. 73.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>A &s;ore and hurt|ful</HI> temptation, <HI>not onely as it nouri&s;hes a &s;ecret</HI> Prejudice <HI>again&s;t the Divine</HI> Providence, <HI>as &s;uf|fering things to go out of</HI> Order, <HI>but al|&s;o as it</HI> unbridles <HI>unruly lu&s;ts, and</HI> emboldens <HI>to walk in</HI> forbidden wayes, <HI>while it bani&s;hes the fear of puni&s;hment,</HI> and flatters the &s;oul with promi&s;es of <HI>&s;e|curity in &s;inne.</HI> This then mu&s;t needs make the Times perillous. Concerning this therefore does the Prophet expo&s;tulate with the Lord, as the cau&s;e of many Ca|lamities to the Land. <HI>Righteous art thou O LORD</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 12.1-4.</NOTE>) <HI>when I plead with
<PB N="235" REF="125"> thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy Judge|ments</HI> [Or, as the Margin reads it, <HI>Let me rea&s;on the Ca&s;e with thee concerning thy judgements:] Wherefore doth the way of the wicked</HI> pro&s;per? <HI>Wherefore are all they</HI> happy <HI>that deale very</HI> treacherou&s;ly? <HI>Thou ha&s;t</HI> planted <HI>them, yea, they have ta|ken</HI> toot: <HI>they</HI> grow, <HI>yea, they bring forth</HI> Fruit; <HI>thou art</HI> near <HI>in their mouth, and</HI> far <HI>from their reins. But thou, O LORD, knowe&s;t me, thou ha&s;t &s;een me, and tryed mine heart towards thee; pull them out like</HI> &s;heep <HI>for the</HI> &s;laughter, <HI>and prepare them for the</HI> Day of &s;laughter. <HI>How long &s;hall the Land</HI> mourn, <HI>and the Herbs of every Field</HI> wither, <HI>for the wickedne&s;&s;e of them that dwell therein? [q. d.</HI> Wilt thou O Lord for ever &s;uffer the&s;e wicked ones, who are the cau&s;e that the whole coun|trey is ruin'd through thy ju&s;t wrath<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Diod. in loc.</NOTE>?] <HI>The Bea&s;ts are con&s;um'd, and the Birds, [viz.</HI> by the <HI>drought</HI> and <HI>Famine</HI> brought upon the whole land for the puni&s;hment of the <HI>exce&s;&s;es</HI> of the&s;e wicked ones, and their Athei&s;tical <HI>contempt</HI> of the Divine Pro|vidence] <HI>becau&s;e they &s;aid, he &s;hall not &s;ee our last end. [q. d.</HI> We are &s;o firmly root|ed in our <HI>places of Power,</HI> that notwith|&s;tanding the Judgements of God threatned again&s;t us, we &s;hall flouri&s;h for ever. True,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Engl. Annot. in loc.</NOTE> this <HI>Jeremy</HI> telleth us what at length will befal us, and that all our pre&s;ent <HI>pro|&s;perity</HI> &s;hall end in extreame <HI>mi&s;ery:</HI> but
<PB N="236" REF="126"> his <HI>words</HI> are but <HI>winde;</HI> he will never live to &s;ee any &s;uch matter befall us; we &s;hall &s;ooner &s;ee <HI>an end</HI> of him, then he any &s;uch <HI>end</HI> of us.] Thus do the worlds proud <HI>Potentates,</HI> under <HI>pretences of Piety,</HI> &s;ecurely proceed in their wayes of <HI>wickedne&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;e|cretly &s;lighting the Lords threatnings, and contemning his <HI>Providence,</HI> becau&s;e they are not pre&s;ently overtaken with their oft de&s;erved <HI>puni&s;hments.</HI> And does not this <HI>Pro&s;perity</HI> and <HI>Immunity</HI> of &s;uch profane <HI>Po|liticians,</HI> pre&s;umptuous <HI>Athei&s;ts,</HI> &s;peak the <HI>times</HI> evil and <HI>perillous?</HI></P>
<P>But now it plea&s;es God in his mo&s;t ho|ly and righteous providence, to permit it thus to be, that wicked men being hereby judicially <HI>hardened</HI> in their &s;innes, might more &s;ecurely pa&s;&s;e on and be <HI>puni&s;hed,</HI> and &s;o at length be &s;uddenly &s;wallow'd up into an inevitable <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> Thus, <HI>there is a time wherein one man ruleth over ano|ther to his own hurt</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.9</NOTE>: For, <HI>wickedne&s;&s;e &s;hall not deliver tho&s;e that are given to it</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.8.</NOTE>. Yet, <HI>becau&s;e &s;entence again&s;t an evil work is not executed &s;peedily, therefore the heart of the &s;onnes of men is fully &s;et in them to do evil</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eccl. 8.11</NOTE>. But at length God bringeth the <HI>wheele of his Providence</HI> over them, and &s;tretching forth his <HI>hand of Power,</HI> arm'd with Ju&s;tice again&s;t them, he &s;uddenly thru&s;ts them down from the top of their earthly pomp and glory into a dreadful de|&s;truction. This was the <HI>re&s;olution</HI> which
<PB N="237" REF="126"> <HI>David</HI> received of his difficult <HI>question</HI> in this ca&s;e, which &s;o much perplexed his &s;pi|rit, when he had &s;ought the Lord in his Sanctuary. <HI>When I thought to know this</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 73.16-20.</NOTE>) <HI>it was too painful for me. &V;n|til I went into the SANCTUARY of God, then under&s;tood I their END. Surely thou did&s;t &s;et them in</HI> &s;lippery places: <HI>thou ca&s;ted&s;t them down into</HI> De&s;truction. <HI>How are they brought into</HI> De&s;olation, <HI>as in a moment they are</HI> utterly con&s;umed <HI>with ter|rors. As a</HI> dreame, <HI>when one awaketh; &s;o, O Lord, when thou awake&s;t thou &s;halt de|&s;pi&s;e their Image.</HI> That is, when thy PRO|VIDENCE, which &s;eemeth to <HI>&s;leep</HI> during the time of their <HI>Impunity,</HI> &s;hall awake to their ju&s;t <HI>puni&s;hment,</HI> then &s;hall their earth|ly <HI>pro&s;perity,</HI> and all their worldly great|ne&s;&s;e and glory, which is but an IMAGE of happine&s;&s;e vani&s;h away, and give place to tho&s;e afflicting <HI>mi&s;eries,</HI> that everla&s;t|ing ig<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ominy and contempt, which &s;hall &s;uddenly and irre&s;i&s;tibly come upon them. So likewi&s;e does <HI>JOB</HI> excellently de|&s;cribe the <HI>flouri&s;hing &s;tate</HI> of the&s;e wicked men, and fully re&s;olves the Que&s;tion, and cleares the ca&s;e of their <HI>pre&s;ent impunity,</HI> by &s;etting before us the <HI>triumphs</HI> of the Di|vine Ju&s;tice in their <HI>future Puni&s;hment,</HI> their final de&s;truction. <HI>The Tabernacles of the Robbers</HI> (&s;aith he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job 12.6</NOTE>) <HI>pro&s;per, and they that provoke God are &s;ecure; into who&s;e hand God bringeth abundantly.</HI> But,
<PB N="238" REF="127">
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Job 21.7 &mdash;20</NOTE> <HI>Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are MIGHTY IN POWER? Their &s;eed is e&s;tabli&s;hed in their &s;ight with them, and their off-&s;pring before their eyes. Their hou&s;es are &s;afe from Fear, neither is the Rod of God upon them. Their Bull gendreth and faileth not, their Cow calveth, and ca&s;teth not her Calfe. They &s;end forth their little ones like a flock, and their chil|dren dance. They take the</HI> Timbrel <HI>and</HI> Harp, <HI>and rejoyce at the &s;ound of the</HI> Or|gan. <HI>They &s;pend their dayes in</HI> Wealth [<HI>and</HI> Mirth<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> &dagger;</NOTE>] <HI>and in a</HI> moment <HI>go down into the</HI> Grave. <HI>Therefore they &s;ay unto God,</HI> Depart from us; for we de&s;ire not the knowledge of thy wayes. What is the Al|mighty that we &s;hould &s;erve him? And what profit &s;hould we have if we pray unto him? <HI>Loe, their good is not in their hand, the coun&s;el of the wicked is far from me. How oft is the</HI> Candle <HI>of the wicked put out? And how oft cometh their</HI> de&s;truction <HI>upon them? God di&s;tributeth</HI> &s;orrows <HI>in his An|ger. They are as</HI> &s;tubble <HI>before the</HI> winde, <HI>and as</HI> chaff <HI>that the</HI> &s;torme <HI>carrieth away. God layeth up his</HI> Iniquity [or, <HI>the</HI> puni&s;h|ment of his iniquity<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See the Marg.</NOTE>] <HI>for his children: he rewardeth him, and HE SHALL KNOW IT. His eyes &s;hall &s;ee his</HI> de&s;truction, <HI>and he &s;hall drink of the</HI> wrath <HI>of the Almighty.</HI> Now what can be more plea&s;ant and de|&s;irable then the <HI>Beginning</HI> of the&s;e wicked worldlings; and what can be more dread|full
<PB N="239" REF="127"> and formidable then their <HI>latter End?</HI> And further, &s;ayes he,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job 24.1</NOTE> <HI>Why, &s;eeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him, not &s;ee his Dayes? i. e.</HI> The time by him appointed for the puni&s;hment of the wicked.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Some remove the Land|marks; They violently take away Flocks, and feed thereof.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 4.</NOTE> <HI>They turn the needy out of the way: the poore of the earth hide them|&s;elves together.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> <HI>They cau&s;e the</HI> naked <HI>to lodge without</HI> clothing, <HI>that they have no</HI> covering <HI>in the</HI> cold.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 12, 13</NOTE> <HI>Men groane from out of the</HI> City, <HI>and the &s;oul of the wounded cryeth out: yet God layeth not</HI> Folly <HI>to them. They are of tho&s;e that</HI> rebel <HI>against the</HI> Light; <HI>they know not the wayes thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 22.</NOTE> <HI>He draweth al&s;o the</HI> Mighty <HI>with his POWER he ri&s;eth up and no man is &s;ure of Life.</HI> That is, &s;aith <HI>Diodati,</HI> they &s;ubvert and over|throw all publick Order, and lawful Go|vernment with their violence. Thus far do the wicked prevaile and pro&s;per. But what follows?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 23, 24</NOTE> <HI>Though it be given him to be in &s;afety, whereon he re&s;teth; yet his eyes</HI> [even the eyes of God] <HI>are upon their Wayes. They are</HI> exalted <HI>for a little time, but are gone and brought</HI> low; <HI>they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the eares of Corne.</HI> This may be under&s;tood (&s;ayes a late Expo&s;itor<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Trap in loc.</NOTE>) of the like violence, wherewith <HI>Tyrants</HI> &s;hall be cut off, by which they have cut
<PB N="240" REF="128"> off other <HI>Mighty and great men:</HI> as <HI>Thra|&s;ibulus,</HI> King of the <HI>Mile&s;ians,</HI> by &s;triking off with his &s;taffe certain <HI>ears of corne</HI> (which began to lift up their heads above their fellows) and <HI>Tarquin,</HI> King of the <HI>Romanes,</HI> by doing the like to certaine <HI>Poppies</HI> in his Garden, &s;ignified their mindes to have divers <HI>chiefe men</HI> be|headed: which was accordingly accom|pli&s;hed.</P>
<P>But now when wicked men carry on their wicked De&s;ignes, under the &s;pecious pretences of RELIGION and LIBERTY, and carry out their mo&s;t enormous en|terprizes with IMPUNITY and GOOD SUCCESSE, &s;uch <HI>Times</HI> mu&s;t needs be extreamly <HI>perillous.</HI> For hereby a <HI>wide gap</HI> will be open'd to many <HI>grand impieties,</HI> which will all heighten the provocation of God, to inflict upon &s;uch a people his &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgements.</HI> For as tho&s;e that tru|ly fear God will hereby be much <HI>di&s;courag'd</HI> in the wayes of truth and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, &s;o will the wicked be much <HI>harden'd</HI> and <HI>hearten'd</HI> in their &s;innes, and embolden'd to proceed in their <HI>Impieties,</HI> as the &s;ure&s;t path to <HI>Pro&s;perity,</HI> Greatne&s;&s;e, and Ho|nour in the world. Thus will multitudes unite their &s;trength, with the&s;e &s;trong <HI>Cords of wickedne&s;&s;e,</HI> to pluck down Gods heavie&s;t <HI>Judgements</HI> upon their own heads, which may involve all the Inhabitants of &s;uch a &s;inful Nation in Mi&s;ery, Affliction and Woe.</P>
<PB N="241" REF="128">
<P><HI>Plutarch,</HI> in his <HI>Morals,</HI> hath an ex|cellent Di&s;cour&s;e upon this Subject, from which I &s;hall &s;elect a few <HI>Pa&s;&s;ages</HI> which &s;peak fully to our pre&s;ent <HI>Purpo&s;e.</HI> It can|not &s;urely either be <HI>unplea&s;ant</HI> or <HI>unprofitable</HI> to heare a Heathen di&s;cour&s;ing of the <HI>Providences of God</HI> in permitting of &s;innes, and delaying for a time the puni&s;hment thereof; and in this di&s;cour&s;e to heare <HI>corruption</HI> quarrelling with the&s;e di&s;pen&s;a|tions; and to &s;ee <HI>virtue</HI> in a fainting fit, and <HI>Vice</HI> emboldening it &s;elf thereby; and then pre&s;ently to behold <HI>NATURE</HI> co|ming in with her <HI>golden Lamp,</HI> and clear|ing up the <HI>Divine Ju&s;tice</HI> in a &s;evere com|pen&s;ation of this delay, partly by <HI>Judge|ments</HI> more &s;ea&s;onably executed in this life, and partly by eternal <HI>Puni&s;hments</HI> pre|par'd for &s;uch &s;inners in the world to come. For thus he brings in <HI>Patrocles</HI> &s;peaking of Gods delay in the puni&s;hment of notorious offendors.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>The &s;lackne&s;&s;e and delay of the Divine Power in proceed|ing to the puni&s;hment of wicked men &s;eems to me to be a very &s;ore evil.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Plut. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>And he gives us the rea&s;on of this his Opi|nion.</HI></P>
<PB N="242" REF="129">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>For when the di&s;|charge of this debt of the Divine Ju&s;tice is thus delay'd from day to day, it does more then any thing di&s;courage the hopes, and defect the &s;pirit of tho&s;e that &s;uffer wrong, and on the other &s;ide, it makes the wicked that oppre&s;&s;e them the more confident and audacious. <HI>And a|gain, this is another evil, (as</HI> Olympiacus <HI>replies to</HI> Patrocles)</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>That this &s;lackne&s;s of puni&s;hment wea|kens the Belief of the Divine Providence: It al&s;o ob&s;cures the rayes of Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, and &s;catters the Feares of wickedne&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>But <HI>Plutarch</HI> mo&s;t divinely commends <HI>Sobriety</HI> in judging of the things of God. For as one unskilful in the art of <HI>Mu&s;ick</HI> or <HI>Warre,</HI> or <HI>Phy&s;ick</HI> (as he excellently illu&s;trates it) not knowing the <HI>grounds</HI> and <HI>rea&s;ons</HI> thereof, is not able to give a right judgement of the <HI>actings</HI> of tho&s;e that are expert in the&s;e <HI>Arts:</HI> &s;o much le&s;&s;e fit are we to pre&s;cribe a method to the wi&s;e <HI>Providence</HI> of God for the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of Offendors. And for this purpo&s;e he produces <HI>Pindar</HI> calling the chief Deity.</P>
<PB N="243" REF="129">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>The chiefe or be&s;t Arti&s;t: for as much as to him it pertains, as the Admini&s;trator of Ju&s;tice, to deter|mine when, and how, and how far every wicked man is to be pu|ni&s;hed.</HI> And for all the&s;e his <HI>Determinati|ons</HI> there are good <HI>Grounds</HI> and <HI>Rea&s;ons</HI> well known to his wi&s;dome, though he &s;ees it not meet to manife&s;t them to his creatures, who by the <HI>Law</HI> of their <HI>Being</HI> which they have received from him, are bound quietly to &s;ubmit to all his deter|minations, as ever founded in infinite <HI>Wi&s;dome</HI> and <HI>Ju&s;tice.</HI> Neither &s;hould the <HI>Proceedings</HI> of his providence &s;eeme &s;trange to us, becau&s;e the <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> is hid from us. For (&s;ayes he) even <HI>Humane Lawes,</HI> the Rea&s;on unknown, would &s;eem <HI>ab&s;urd;</HI> yet being made by <HI>Rea&s;onable Creatures</HI> we would not pre&s;ently judge them irra|tionall. When God therefore <HI>delays</HI> the Execution of his Judgement upon &s;inners for the puni&s;hment of their crimes, 'tis not for fear of <HI>Error</HI> or <HI>Repentance,</HI> but to give us an example of <HI>Patience</HI> and <HI>Meek|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> to bani&s;h from us <HI>Anger</HI> and <HI>Impe|tuou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> in puni&s;hing Offences and reven|ging wrongs. Then he makes a large re|pre&s;entation of their <HI>torments in Hell,</HI> who through Gods forbearance, have e&s;caped puni&s;hment on Earth. Thus we &s;ee what
<PB N="244" REF="130"> &s;ound and &s;olid <HI>doctrine</HI> is taught in the <HI>School</HI> of a Heathen Morali&s;t, concerning tho&s;e <HI>Providences</HI> of God which &s;ometimes puzzle the thoughts of &s;ober and under|&s;tanding Chri&s;tians. Hence al&s;o we may take notice that this <HI>Impunity</HI> of wicked men, notwith&s;tanding all their <HI>Provocations,</HI> is a matter of ordinary <HI>Occurrence,</HI> and u|niver&s;al <HI>Ob&s;ervation.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover &s;uch times mu&s;t needs be pe|rillous, if we con&s;ider that Gods <HI>permi&s;&s;ion</HI> of people to proceed in wayes of wicked|ne&s;&s;e without <HI>puni&s;hment,</HI> is the &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgement,</HI> and a &s;ad pre&s;age of the utter <HI>d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;truction</HI> of &s;uch a &s;inful people. <HI>Ah &s;in|ful Nation!</HI> (&s;ayes the LORD concerning <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> when they were de&s;ign'd to de&s;truction<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 1.4, 8</NOTE>) <HI>a People laden with iniquity, a &s;eed of evil Doers, children that are cor|rupters; they have for&s;aken the LORD, they have provoked the holy One of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>unto anger, they have gone away backward. Why &s;hould ye be &s;tricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole</HI> head <HI>is &s;ick, and the whole</HI> heart <HI>faint. From the &s;ole of the</HI> foot <HI>even unto the</HI> head, <HI>there is no</HI> &s;ound|ne&s;&s;e <HI>in it, but</HI> wounds, <HI>and brui&s;es, and pu|trifying &s;ores; they have not been</HI> clo&s;ed, <HI>neither bound up, neither</HI> mollifi'd <HI>with oynt|ment.</HI> But behold the approaching de|&s;truction of this unpuni&s;ht people. <HI>Your Countrey is</HI> de&s;olate, <HI>your Cities are</HI> burnt <HI>with Fire: your Land,</HI> &s;trangers <HI>devoure
<PB N="245" REF="130"> it in your pre&s;ence, and it is</HI> de&s;olate, <HI>as overthrown by &s;trangers. And the daughter of</HI> Zion <HI>is left as a</HI> Cottage <HI>in a vineyard, as a</HI> Lodge <HI>in a garden of Cucumbers, as a</HI> be&s;ieged City. Thus though ju&s;tice have <HI>leaden feet,</HI> and be &s;low in coming, yet it hath <HI>iron hands,</HI> to cru&s;h the rebellious, and break in pieces a provoking peo|ple.</P>
<P><HI>Impunity</HI> is a &s;ad &s;igne of God's <HI>implaca|ble wrath</HI> again&s;t a people, that notwith|&s;tanding many warnings, are become &s;tub|borne in their &s;innes. Hereby they are but re&s;erved for &s;ome greater <HI>Judgement,</HI> fit|ted for a &s;orer <HI>puni&s;hment.</HI> God never &s;pake with a more wrathful voice to the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and to the children of <HI>Ephraim,</HI> then when he &s;aid,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 4.14</NOTE> <HI>I will not puni&s;h your daughters when they commit whoredome, nor your Spou&s;es when they com|mit Adultery: for them&s;elves are &s;eparated with whores, and they &s;acrifice with Harlots: therefore the people that doth not under&s;tand &s;hall fall,</HI> [or, <HI>be puni&s;hed</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Margin.</NOTE>.] And again,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 17.</NOTE> Ephraim <HI>is joyned to Idols, let him alone.</HI> When God thus permits <HI>particular per&s;ons</HI> (e&s;pecially &s;uch as are &s;et in high places, and &s;o are the more Exemplary in their abo|minations) to proceed without puni&s;hment in their &s;ins, its a fearful pre&s;age of &s;ome <HI>General Judgement</HI> to be inflicted upon the whole Land. Thus it was in the ca&s;e of <HI>Ephraims</HI> and <HI>I&s;raels</HI> &s;in. <HI>I know</HI> Ephra|im
<PB N="246" REF="131"> (&s;ayes the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 5.3, 4, 5.</NOTE>) <HI>and</HI> I&s;rael <HI>is not hid from me: for now, O</HI> Ephraim, <HI>thou com|mitte&s;t whoredome, and</HI> I&s;rael <HI>is defiled. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the &s;pirit of whoredomes is in the mid&s;t of them, and they have not known the LORD. And the pride of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>doth te|&s;tifie to his face: therefore &s;hall</HI> I&s;rael <HI>and</HI> Ephraim <HI>fall in their Iniquity:</HI> Judah <HI>al&s;o &s;hall fall with them.</HI> When <HI>great per&s;ons</HI> e&s;cape puni&s;hment from God in the guilt of flagitious enormities, and fearful Pro|vocations, let the <HI>whole Land</HI> tremble for fear of Gods judgements.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="8" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD><HI>The eighth Symptome.</HI> Toleration of Errors in Religion.</HEAD>
<P>THe Prediction of perillous Times is <MILESTONE N="VIII"> certainly accompli&s;h't, <HI>When the &s;im|plicity of the TRUTH, and true WORSHIP of God, is out-fac't by the impudency of ER|ROUR, fal&s;e WORSHIP and profane|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> When <HI>Errour</HI> &s;hall &s;et up its <HI>Throne</HI> in the Temple of God (a Chri&s;tian Church) and <HI>Truth</HI> &s;hall be &s;et at the <HI>foot&s;toole.</HI> When <HI>fal&s;e wor&s;hip</HI> &s;hall lift up its <HI>head,</HI>
<PB N="247" REF="131"> and <HI>true wor&s;hip</HI> &s;hall hang the <HI>Wing.</HI> When <HI>Profanene&s;&s;e</HI> &s;hall proudly pre&s;&s;e into the Sanctuary, and <HI>humble Piety</HI> &s;hall either be excluded or derided. When the ancient and venerable <HI>Truth</HI> and true <HI>Religion</HI> &s;hall grow out of <HI>Credit,</HI> and <HI>Errour,</HI> fal&s;e <HI>wor|&s;hip</HI> and <HI>Profanene&s;&s;e,</HI> as a <HI>new up&s;tart</HI> clad in a glorious <HI>Di&s;gui&s;e,</HI> and waited on by his in&s;olent <HI>Atendants,</HI> on either hand, &s;hall be all in <HI>Fa&s;hion</HI> and <HI>favour.</HI> When the latter &s;hall be &s;uffer'd to brow-beat and ju&s;tle out the former, in many places of the Land. When the <HI>Vultures</HI> &s;hall drive the <HI>Doves</HI> from their Hou&s;es, and the <HI>Wolves</HI> &s;hall contend with the <HI>Sheep</HI> for the Fold, they mu&s;t needs be perillous Times.</P>
<P>When <HI>fal&s;e Teachers,</HI> the Captaines of the <HI>Train-bands</HI> of the <HI>Prince of Darkne&s;s,</HI> who for the carrying on of this de&s;igne, <HI>transformes him&s;elf into an Angel of Light</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11 14</NOTE>, &s;hall by their <HI>Satanical &s;tratagems,</HI> &s;o far prevaile again&s;t the <HI>Kingdome of Chri&s;t,</HI> as to carry away <HI>Captive</HI> many of his Sub|jects, who in their <HI>Bapti&s;me</HI> receiv'd their <HI>Pre&s;s-money</HI> to fight under his <HI>Banner,</HI> the <HI>perillous Times</HI> prophecy'd of by the Apo|&s;tle <HI>are come</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See 2 Tim. 3. v. 1. with v. 6</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Doubtle&s;&s;e the Times are perillous when <HI>Saints</HI> &s;hall be rejected as <HI>&s;inners,</HI> and <HI>Se|ducers</HI> &s;hall be received as <HI>Saints,</HI> though they daily <HI>grow wor&s;e and wor&s;e, deceiving and being deceived</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.13</NOTE>. When <HI>Religion</HI> &s;hall be derided as <HI>&s;uper&s;tition,</HI> and <HI>humane
<PB N="248" REF="132"> inventions</HI> &s;hall be obtruded upon &s;educed Chri&s;tians as the <HI>Ordinances of Chri&s;t.</HI> When the proud <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> &s;hall defie the Army of the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> the Ho&s;ts of the Living God, and <HI>Saul,</HI> with his <HI>men of War,</HI> &s;hall &s;tand and look on; if <HI>David,</HI> or rather the <HI>&s;onne of David</HI> come not to &s;uccour us, we mu&s;t needs be in a dange|rous condition. When <HI>Dagon</HI> is brought into the <HI>Temple</HI> of God, and &s;et above the <HI>Ark;</HI> when <HI>Jeroboams Calves</HI> have more Wor&s;hippers and Followers then the <HI>God of I&s;rael;</HI> when <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> in his Mini&s;ters is &s;et at naught by <HI>Herod</HI> and his <HI>men of War;</HI> When true Chri&s;tianity is <HI>crucifi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d</HI> betwixt <HI>two thieves, Er<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">or</HI> on the one hand, and <HI>Profane&s;&s;e</HI> on the other, do not the People of God know and feel that the&s;e are evil and perillous Times?</P>
<P>When <HI>Idolatry</HI> &s;hall ju&s;tle out true <HI>Chri|&s;tianity,</HI> the Times mu&s;t needs be perillous. To &s;et up <HI>I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ols</HI> in the Temple of God, what is it but the <HI>Abomination which maketh de|&s;olate?</HI> Now error and <HI>Here&s;ie</HI> is a kinde of &s;piritual <HI>Idolatry.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Multi haeretici cum Pa|ganis alios &amp; alios Deos ip&s;i &s;ibi finxerunt, alios &amp; alios Deos &s;ibi ip&s;i fece|runt, &amp; eos etiam&s;i non in Templis, tamen, quod e&s;t pejus, in &s;uo corde po&s;uerunt, &amp; fal&s;orum ri|dendorumque &s;imulacro|rum Templa ip&s;i facti &s;unt<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aug. in Enarrat, P&s;al. 80.</NOTE>.</NOTE> <HI>Many Hereticks</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>Augu&s;tine) as well as Pagans, have them&s;elves feigned and formed many Gods unto them&s;eves, and though they have not &s;et them up in
<PB N="249" REF="132"> Temples, yet which is wor&s;e, they have en&s;hrined them in their own hearts, and &s;o they them&s;elves have become the Temples of fal&s;e and fooli&s;h I|mages.</HI> Now when Chri&s;tians that have been con&s;ecrated by Bapti&s;me to be <HI>Temples of the Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> &s;hall turn them&s;elves into <HI>Temples</HI> of &s;uch phanta&s;tick <HI>Idols,</HI> of their own Invention, this mu&s;t needs be a &s;inne highly provoking the Lord to <HI>Jea|lou&s;ie,</HI> and &s;o &s;peak the Times peril|lous.</P>
<P>But for the further clearing up of this <HI>Symptome,</HI> I &s;hall do the&s;e two things; <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Lay down <HI>the Characters of Erroneous Per&s;ons.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Shew <HI>the Ca&s;es which, upon this Ac|count, con&s;titute perillous Times.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<DIV4 TYPE="characters">
<HEAD>The Characters of Erroneous Per&s;ons.</HEAD>
<P>ERroneous per&s;ons, when they appeare, do (as <HI>Comets</HI>) portend great <HI>Calami|ties</HI> to the Church of God, the Kingdome of Chri&s;t. And if we &s;earch the Prophecies of the New Te&s;tament, we &s;hall finde that
<PB N="250" REF="133"> the <HI>ari&s;ing</HI> and <HI>abounding</HI> of <HI>fal&s;e Teachers, Hereticks</HI> and <HI>Seducers</HI> is expre&s;ly foretold to be <HI>in the la&s;t dayes,</HI> when the Apo&s;tle hath told us <HI>perillous Times &s;hall come. Fal&s;e-Fires</HI> are not wont to appear till the approach of <HI>Night:</HI> and the&s;e mi&s;guiding <HI>New-lights</HI> &s;hall appear in the evening of the world; and great is the danger of tho&s;e that are mi&s;led by them. Our Saviour in his di&s;cour&s;e of the <HI>end of the world,</HI> and Prophecy of tho&s;e things which &s;hould come to pa&s;&s;e in the <HI>la&s;t dayes,</HI> fore|warns us of &s;uch deceivers. <HI>Then</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.23, 24, 25.</NOTE>) <HI>if any man &s;hall &s;ay unto you,</HI> Loe, here is Chri&s;t, <HI>or</HI> there: <HI>believe it not. For there &s;hall ari&s;e fal&s;e</HI> Chri&s;ts, <HI>and fal&s;e</HI> Pro|phets, <HI>and &s;hall &s;hew great</HI> &s;ignes <HI>and</HI> won|ders, <HI>in&s;omuch that (if it were po&s;&s;ible) they &s;hall deceive the very Elect. Behold I have told you before.</HI> God, before his <HI>wheat</HI> is gather'd into his <HI>Garner,</HI> before his Church on <HI>Earth</HI> is tran&s;lated into <HI>Heaven,</HI> before <HI>gracious Saints</HI> are taken up into his <HI>glori|ous Kingdome,</HI> will &s;uffer the <HI>windes of fal&s;e Doctrines</HI> to blow thereupon, that &s;o gracele&s;s ones, who are as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 1.4.</NOTE> <HI>Chaff, carryed about with every winde of Doctrine</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.14</NOTE>, may be &s;eparated from the <HI>Wheat,</HI> the truly gracious. And therefore, &s;ays the Apo&s;tle<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 11 19</NOTE>, <HI>There mu&s;t be al&s;o Here&s;ie,</HI> [or <HI>Sects</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Margin.</NOTE>] <HI>a|mong you, that they which are approved may be made manife&s;t among you.</HI> And &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.1, 2</NOTE> <HI>There were</HI> fal&s;e prophets
<PB N="251" REF="133"> <HI>al&s;o among the People, even as there &s;hall be</HI> fal&s;e Teachers <HI>among you, who privily &s;hall bring in</HI> damnable Here&s;ies, <HI>even de|nying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon them&s;elves &s;wift</HI> de&s;truction. <HI>And many &s;hall follow their</HI> pernicious wayes, <HI>by rea|&s;on of whom the</HI> way of Truth <HI>&s;hall be evil &s;poken of.</HI> And for the <HI>time</HI> of their ap|pearing, this he intimates to us in what he further &s;peaks of them afterwards;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.3</NOTE> <HI>Know|ing this fir&s;t, that there &s;hall come</HI> in the la&s;t Dayes <HI>&s;coffers, walking after their own lu&s;ts.</HI> This is fully confirmed by what the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaks of them in his Premo|nition given to <HI>Timothy,</HI> in both his Epi|&s;tles to him directed. In the former, &s;ayes he,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.1 2</NOTE> <HI>Now the &s;pirit &s;peaketh expre&s;ly, that in the</HI> latter Times <HI>&s;ome &s;hall depart from the</HI> Faith, <HI>giving heed to</HI> &s;educing &s;pirits, <HI>and Doctrines of Devils: &s;peaking</HI> lies <HI>in</HI> hypocri&s;ie, <HI>having their con&s;cience &s;ear<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d with a hot iron.</HI> And in the latter, &s;ayes he,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.1, 2, 6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>This know al&s;o that in the la&s;t Dayes perillous times &s;hall come. For men &s;hall be lovers of their own &s;elves,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Of this &s;ort are they which creep into hou&s;es, and lead captive &s;illy women laden with &s;ins, led away with divers lu&s;ts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.</HI> So likewi&s;e does the Apo&s;tle <HI>John</HI> tell us, that the coming of many <HI>Anti|chri&s;ts</HI> (fal&s;e Teachers oppo&s;ing the Do|ctrine of <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> contain'd in the Go&s;pel)
<PB N="252" REF="134"> does manife&s;tly di&s;cover that <HI>it is the la&s;t time</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 2.18</NOTE>. And &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude v. 17, 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>Beloved, remember ye the words which were &s;poken before of the Apo&s;tles of the Lord</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t: <HI>How that they told you there &s;hould be Mockers</HI> in the La&s;t time, <HI>who &s;hould walk after their own ungodly lu&s;ts. The&s;e be they who &s;eparate them&s;elves, &s;en&s;ual, having not the &s;pirit,</HI> how much &s;oever they may pretend thereunto. Thus we &s;ee its unde|nyably manife&s;t from the Holy Scriptures, that <HI>Fal&s;e Teachers, Sectaries</HI> and <HI>Seducers</HI> &s;hall abound in the Church of God <HI>in the la&s;t dayes,</HI> which the Apo&s;tle hath told us &s;hall be <HI>perillous Times.</HI> Whence we may certainly conclude that when&s;oever the&s;e <HI>Locu&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Caterpillars</HI> &s;hall abound a|mong&s;t us, then are the perillous times &s;poken of come upon us. And that we may the more infallibly know when tho&s;e very <HI>Sectaries</HI> and <HI>Seducers</HI> are come, which are &s;poken of in the&s;e Prophecies, there are certain <HI>Marks</HI> and <HI>Characters</HI> &s;tampt upon them by the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t,</HI> whereby they may be ea&s;ily and infallibly known to us. So the Apo&s;tle to his Prediction of <HI>Perillous times,</HI> &s;ubjoyns a large De&s;cription of tho&s;e <HI>Erroneous Per&s;ons,</HI> who by their <HI>pernicious</HI> Practi&s;es, &s;hould make the times &s;o <HI>pe|rillous</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.1-5.</NOTE>. He de&s;cribes them by very ma|ny <HI>Characters</HI> (which we have already view'd) to which might many more be ad|ded from &s;everal other places of Scripture,
<PB N="253" REF="134"> wherein they are in their proper <HI>Colours</HI> repre&s;ented to us. But it will be &s;ufficient, as to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, to produce a few of the principal of them, to which many of the re&s;t may ea&s;ily be refer'd. The&s;e <HI>&s;educing &s;pirits</HI> then, which rai&s;e <HI>Stormes</HI> in the <HI>State,</HI> and cau&s;e <HI>Confu&s;ions</HI> in the <HI>Church,</HI> may be known by the&s;e <HI>distingui&s;h|ing Marks and Characters,</HI> which follow.</P>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="mark">
<HEAD><HI>The fir&s;t Mark.</HI> Pride and Self-conceitedne&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<P><HI>FAl&s;e-Teachers are very proud and highly <MILESTONE N="I"> conceited of their own Knowledge, not|with&s;tanding gro&s;&s;e ignorance of the great My&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, yea, the plain principles of Religion.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> ha|ving recommended to <HI>Timothy</HI> the preach|ing and pre&s;&s;ing of the &s;ound and <HI>Or|thodox Doctrines</HI> of the Go&s;pel, &s;ubjoynes this premonitory de&s;cription of Fal&s;e Teachers.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ab <GAP DESC="foreign"> &amp; <GAP DESC="foreign">, q. &s;uper re a|liqua in|&s;i&s;tens ei&abque; attento in|haerens a|nimo.</NOTE>.</NOTE>If any man (<HI>&s;ayes he</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.3, 4, 5.</NOTE>) [be Heterodox, <HI>or</HI>] teach otherwi&s;e, and con&s;ent not to
<PB N="254" REF="135"> whole&s;ome words, e|ven the words of our Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> and to the <HI>doctrine</HI> which is according to <HI>Godline&s;&s;e, [or,</HI> come not to the &s;ound preaching of the Go&s;|pel:] He is PROUD [<HI>or</HI> puffed up, <HI>&s;c. with an opinion of his own knowledge, yet</HI>] KNOWING NOTHING <HI>[or, having no right un|der&s;tanding, no &s;etled and &s;olid knowledge of any thing]</HI> but doting [<HI>or,</HI> &s;ick] about questions and &s;trifes of words, whereof co|meth Envy, Strife, Railings, Evil &s;urmi&s;ings, Perver&s;e di&s;putings <HI>[chafing and galling one another with unprofitable Contentions]</HI> of men of corrupt Mindes, and DESTI|TUTE OF THE <HI>[knowledge of the]</HI> TRUTH. <HI>Thus were the&s;e Fal&s;e-teachers as extreamly</HI> ignorant, <HI>as they were un|&s;ufferably</HI> Proud. <HI>So in the Apo&s;tles Pro|phetick Premonition, wherein he repre|&s;ents them, as the Troublers of their Times, they are &s;til'd</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> Boa&s;ters, Proud, High-minded.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.2, 3.</NOTE></P>
<P>The&s;e are the <HI>Bubbles</HI> which we may &s;ee pa&s;&s;ing too and fro, in <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Pompe,</HI> upon the face of the Waters, when &s;ome
<PB N="255" REF="135"> <HI>Tempe&s;t</HI> in the State hath <HI>troubled</HI> the wa|ters of the Sanctuary. They appear <HI>beau|tiful</HI> and <HI>glo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ious</HI> in the eyes of the &s;imple, who are deceived with their <HI>Colours,</HI> when indeed there's nothing at all in them but <HI>winde</HI> and <HI>emptyne&s;&s;e.</HI> What <HI>glorious vaunts</HI> of knowledge have &s;ome <HI>Vile Sects</HI> made, who have been no better then the <HI>Glow|wormes</HI> of the Night. Certain Sectaries in <HI>Aragon</HI> called them&s;elves the
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Illuminati.</HI></NOTE><HI>Illuminated,</HI> as if they onely had been in <HI>Light,</HI> and all the world be&s;ides in <HI>Dark|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Fooli&s;h People! that having a glimp&s;e of the Sunne, thought it &s;hone up|on none in the world but them&s;elves. The <HI>Nicholaitans</HI> and <HI>Valentinians</HI> called them|&s;elves GNOSTICKS (a name &s;ignifying <HI>Knowledge</HI>) as conceiting all others be&s;ides them&s;elves, to be gro&s;ly ignorant of the great My&s;teries of Religion. They might (perhaps) more fitly have been &s;tiled <HI>Lu|ciferians</HI> (for their <HI>Pride</HI>) as a pe&s;tilent <HI>Sect</HI> that aro&s;e up after them, were called upon another account. The fir&s;t Founders of any <HI>Schi&s;matical Society,</HI> built upon &s;ome <HI>Heretical Opinion,</HI> have ever been great pretenders to &s;ingular eminency of knowledge.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Omnibus una Intentio Haereticis &s;emper fuit, cap|tare Gloriam de &s;ingula|ritate &s;cientiae<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Bern. in Cant. Ser. 65.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>All the Hereticks that have ever been,</HI> (&s;aith holy <HI>Bernard) have had this one
<PB N="256" REF="136"> Project in the cha&s;e of glory to make &s;hew of &s;ingularity of Knowledge.</HI> The proud He|retick <HI>Eunomius,</HI> boa&s;ted that he was able with his under&s;tanding to fathome the <HI>Depths</HI> of Gods <HI>Divinity,</HI> and to &s;earch in|to his <HI>hidden Glory.</HI> But the wi&s;e Father Saint <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI> to convince him of his <HI>Igno|rance,</HI> and the folly of his <HI>Arrogance,</HI> in thinking to mea&s;ure the <HI>Ocean</HI> with his <HI>Cockle-&s;hell,</HI> puzzled him with one and twen|ty Que&s;tions about the <HI>Body</HI> of an <HI>Ant</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Epi&s;t. 168 ad Eunom.</NOTE>. For this Pride of Knowledge, notwith|&s;tanding gro&s;&s;e ignorance, St. <HI>Ambro&s;e</HI> com|pares Hereticks to an Owle.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Noctua mirum in mo|dum illuminatur ob&s;curi|tate, luce caecatur. I&s;tud Animal Haereticorum Fi|gura e&s;t<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ambr. Serm. 43.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>The Owle</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>is after a mar|vellous manner in|lighten'd in Dark|ne&s;&s;e, and blinded with Light. This Creature is a Figure of Hereticks.</HI> 'Tis true, as to their Pretences. But they pre|tend they <HI>&s;ee,</HI> when they are <HI>blinde;</HI> and boa&s;t of their <HI>Light,</HI> when they are buried in <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>A <HI>Proud Heart</HI> is a <HI>Seed-plot</HI> of all Er|rours. The&s;e <HI>Weeds</HI> grow apace in a <HI>rank &s;oile.</HI> They are <HI>proud &s;pirits</HI> which trample upon <HI>Pearles of Truth,</HI> which the children of God weare, as Jewels in their bo&s;omes. <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Confidence</HI> are two <HI>principal In|gredients</HI> of a Heretick. Fal&s;e Doctrines are, in Scripture, compar'd to <HI>Leaven,</HI>
<PB N="257" REF="136"> which is of a &s;welling and ri&s;ing Nature.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 16.6, 12 Mark 8.15 Luk. 12.1.</NOTE> The <HI>lighte&s;t eares</HI> of corne lift up their heads the <HI>highe&s;t,</HI> when tho&s;e that are <HI>weightie&s;t,</HI> being full of good graine, hang <HI>down</HI> their Heads. The <HI>light Corne</HI> braves it above the water, while the <HI>ma&s;&s;y Gold</HI> &s;inks down to the bottome. Truth makes a <HI>&s;o|lid Judgement</HI> and an <HI>humble Heart,</HI> when Errour makes a <HI>vaine Minde,</HI> and a <HI>proud Spirit.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="mark">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Mark.</HI> Self-&s;eparation from the true Church.</HEAD>
<P><HI>SEctaries and Seducers are wont to &s;epa|rate <MILESTONE N="II"> them&s;elves from communion with the true Church under pretence of the greater holine&s;&s;e.</HI> They &s;hun <HI>Communion</HI> with the Members of the <HI>true Church,</HI> for feare of <HI>Pollution,</HI> and &s;eparate them&s;elves (as they pretend) into <HI>purer communion.</HI> Thus the <HI>Phari&s;ees, Gno&s;ticks, Adamites,</HI> the filthi|e&s;t Sects, have done. The&s;e indeed made a Profe&s;&s;ion of more <HI>Purity</HI> then ordinary, but their <HI>Practi&s;es</HI> were well known to be full of <HI>Pollution.</HI> The <HI>Phari&s;ees</HI> made a
<PB N="258" REF="137"> <HI>faire &s;hew</HI> outwardly, but within (by our Saviours own Te&s;timony<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 23.25 Luk. 11.39</NOTE>) they were full or all manner of <HI>Filthine&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Iniquity.</HI> Whence he fitly compares them to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 23.27, 28.</NOTE> <HI>whi|ted Sepulchres,</HI> which are <HI>Beautiful</HI> and <HI>&s;plendid</HI> without, but full of <HI>Corruption,</HI> and <HI>Uncleanne&s;&s;e</HI> within. The <HI>Gno&s;ticks</HI> who pretended to be wholely taken up with <HI>&s;ublime Speculations,</HI> did yet &s;o farre plunge them&s;elves into the <HI>vile&s;t Impuri|ties,</HI> and <HI>filthie&s;t Abominations,</HI> that the Name of <HI>Borborites</HI> (taken from Mire and Mud<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, Coenum.</NOTE>) was fitly &s;et upon them, as a <HI>Brand of Infamy,</HI> for the abhor'd loath&s;omne&s;&s;e of their impure Conver&s;ations<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aug. de Haere&s;. c. 6.</NOTE>. Thus while they would &s;eeme to have their <HI>heads in Heaven,</HI> their <HI>feet</HI> &s;tuck fa&s;t in the <HI>Mire</HI> and <HI>Clay</HI> of a filthy life: And while they would be thought to have <HI>e&s;caped the pol|lutions of the World through the KNOW|LEDGE of the Lord Je&s;us,</HI> and the My|&s;teries of the Go&s;pel, <HI>they returned with the dog to his own vomit,</HI> and as
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>The Sow that was wa&s;hed to her wal|lowing in the mire</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.20, 22.</NOTE>. Not long after the <HI>Gno&s;ticks,</HI> &s;prung up that filthy Sect of the <HI>Adamites,</HI> who un|der that Name cloath'd their <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e</HI> with the <HI>Pretences</HI> of the &s;ame <HI>Purity,</HI> that <HI>Adam</HI> had in his <HI>state of Innocency.</HI> But their very <HI>Principles</HI> led to <HI>Uncleanne&s;&s;e,</HI> and their <HI>Practices</HI> were full of <HI>Pollution.</HI>
<PB N="259" REF="137"> For they held it unlawful for men or wo|men to wear any <HI>cloaths</HI> in their <HI>A&s;&s;em|blies</HI> for wor&s;hip, as a thing very un&s;uta|ble to the Nature and intent of their <HI>meet|ings,</HI> which were to be e&s;teemed the one|ly <HI>Paradi&s;e on Earth,</HI> wherein they were to enjoy the <HI>Plea&s;ures of eternal Life,</HI> and not to expect them in <HI>Heaven.</HI> For as God brought <HI>Adam</HI> into his <HI>Paradi&s;e,</HI> &s;o &s;hould Chri&s;tians enter into theirs, <HI>na|ked,</HI> ca&s;ting away their <HI>Cloathes,</HI> as the Badges of their <HI>&s;in</HI> and <HI>&s;hame,</HI> from which they were perfectly freed (which is both the <HI>Opinion</HI> and <HI>Practice</HI> of many <HI>Qua|kers</HI> at this day) being perfectly <HI>pure</HI> and <HI>holy.</HI> In their <HI>Night-A&s;&s;emblies</HI> (for that time they cho&s;e, as indeed fitte&s;t for their <HI>works of darkne&s;&s;e</HI>) after &s;ome extravagant <HI>Di&s;cour&s;es of Religion</HI> (for they rejected <HI>Prayer</HI> as needle&s;&s;e, &s;eeing God knowes our wants without our Adverti&s;ement) they put out their <HI>Lights,</HI> and &s;o committed all manner of <HI>Uncleanne&s;&s;e</HI> in their <HI>Promi&s;cu|ous Copulations.</HI> How fitly does the Apo|&s;tles Character and de&s;cription of the un|believing Gentiles pertaine unto them! <HI>Who</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>having the under&s;tanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, becau&s;e of the Blindne&s;&s;e of their heart.</HI> And <HI>being pa&s;t feeling, have given them&s;elves over un|to la&s;civiou&s;ne&s;&s;e, to work all uncleanne&s;&s;e with greedine&s;&s;e.</HI> So a <HI>Pe&s;tilent Sect</HI> (as
<PB N="260" REF="138"> <HI>Sands</HI> relates it) &s;prang up not long &s;ince in <HI>Arag<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n</HI> (who&s;e Founders were a crew of their <HI>hypocritical Prie&s;ts</HI>) who at the fir&s;t profe&s;&s;ing a kinde of <HI>Angelical Purity,</HI> fell &s;uddenly to the very contrary point of ju&s;tifying <HI>Be&s;tiality.</HI></P>
<P>The Scripture &s;peaks of &s;uch <HI>&s;elf-&s;epa|rating Sectaries</HI> as the&s;e are, both in the Old Te&s;tament and the New, as a &s;ort of men, notwith&s;tanding their <HI>glorious Preten|ces</HI> of holine&s;&s;e and &s;pirituality, ju&s;tly <HI>o|dious</HI> in the &s;ight of God. Concerning &s;uch &s;aith the Lord, by the Prophet <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 65.2-5</NOTE> <HI>I have &s;pread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious People, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts: a People that provoketh me to anger continually to my Face, that &s;acri|ficeth in gardens, and burneth incen&s;e upon Altars of brick: which remaine among the Graves, and lodge in the Monuments, which eat &s;wines fle&s;h, and broth of abomi|nable things is in their Ve&s;&s;els: which &s;ay,</HI> &s;tand by thy &s;elf, come not near to me, for I AM HOLIER THEN THOU: <HI>The&s;e are a &s;moke in my no&s;e, a fire that burneth all the day.</HI> Thus the&s;e profane <HI>Idolaters</HI> and wicked <HI>Necromancers,</HI> would needs (under pretence of <HI>greater Holine&s;&s;e) &s;eparate</HI> them&s;elves from all others, though members of the true Church, le&s;t by <HI>Com|munion</HI> with them, they &s;hould contract <HI>Pollution</HI> to them&s;elves. So the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4.9</NOTE> <HI>Sama|ritans,</HI>
<PB N="261" REF="138"> for the &s;ame Rea&s;on, refu&s;ed to hold &s;o much as any <HI>Civil Corre&s;pondency</HI> with the <HI>Jews,</HI> though they were, (howe|ver corrupt) the onely People at that time whereof con&s;i&s;ted that <HI>Church</HI> of God, wherein onely men might, upon any Scri|pture-ground, expect <HI>&s;alvation</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4.22</NOTE>. Of &s;uch al&s;o does the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude</HI> &s;peak, when warning the believing <HI>Hebrews</HI> of <HI>Mock rs</HI> that &s;hould come in the <HI>la&s;t Time, who &s;hould walke after their own ungodly Lu&s;ts,</HI> he &s;ayes, <HI>The&s;e be they who SEPARATE them&s;elves, &s;en&s;ual, having not the Spirit.</HI> Vile hypocrites! who though they walked after the <HI>Lu&s;ts of the Fle&s;h,</HI> &s;hould thus <HI>&s;eparate</HI> them&s;elves from the <HI>&s;ociety of the Saints,</HI> pretending (doubtle&s;&s;e) therein to be <HI>led by the Spirit.</HI> Thus we &s;ee <HI>&s;elf-&s;eparation</HI> from the true Church is a <HI>Scripture Character</HI> of fal&s;e-Teachers, and Seducers.</P>
<P>Among&s;t many &s;uch <HI>&s;eparations,</HI> that of the <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> is, as to our pre&s;ent purpo&s;e, very con&s;iderable. The Father of this Sect was <HI>Donatus,</HI> a <HI>Numidian,</HI> who meerly out of <HI>Envy</HI> and <HI>Spite,</HI> becau&s;e <HI>Cecilian</HI> was prefer'd before him to the <HI>Bi&s;hoprick of Carthage,</HI> and his <HI>devili&s;h De&s;igne</HI> which he conceiv'd hereupon, for the extirpati|on of him and all the Bi&s;hops that ordain'd him, by a <HI>fal&s;e accu&s;ation,</HI> fell to the ground, in <HI>Contempt</HI> of all their <HI>Churches,</HI> built up his <HI>Wall of Separation.</HI> And though by
<PB N="262" REF="139"> his <HI>Pride, Envy, Lying, and Malice</HI> he had printed &s;o many <HI>&s;taines</HI> upon his own <HI>&s;oul,</HI> yet had he the <HI>impudence</HI> to affirme, <HI>that could be no true Church which was not altogether without &s;pot or blemi&s;h,</HI> and that &s;uch was the <HI>Church</HI> by him founded and father'd, and no other in the world. And yet they had no better <HI>Marks</HI> of their un|&s;tained <HI>Purity,</HI> then the&s;e following <HI>Articles</HI> of their <HI>Faith,</HI> viz. <HI>LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE;</HI> that no man mu&s;t be <HI>pre&s;t</HI> to the <HI>Practice of piety,</HI> but every man <HI>left to live as he li&s;t: TOLERA|TION OF ERROURS;</HI> that the <HI>Magi|&s;trate</HI> might <HI>puni&s;h</HI> no man for his <HI>Opinion,</HI> though never &s;o wicked in <HI>Matters of Re|ligion: REBAPTIZATION OF BE|LIEVERS;</HI> that Believers, <HI>Baptiz'd</HI> in their <HI>Infancy</HI> ought to be rebaptiz'd, be|cau&s;e <HI>Infant-Bapti&s;me</HI> was a <HI>Nullity: KILLING NO MURDER;</HI> that though the <HI>Magi&s;trate</HI> might not by virtue of his <HI>Office</HI> puni&s;h any man for his <HI>Reli|gion</HI> or <HI>con&s;cience,</HI> yet they them&s;elves, be|ing thereto <HI>moved by the Spirit,</HI> might <HI>lawfully,</HI> and without any <HI>&s;cruple,</HI> kill a|ny man that was not of the <HI>Hou&s;hold of Faith</HI> (or rather of the <HI>Synagogue of Sa|tan</HI>) if they had him at an advantage. But may we not &s;ay of them (and receive our warrant from our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour)<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 8.44.</NOTE> <HI>Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lu&s;ts of your Father ye will do: He was
<PB N="263" REF="139"> a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the TRUTH, becau&s;e there is NO TRUTH in him. When he &s;peaketh a LYE, he &s;peaketh of his own: For he is a LYAR, and the Father of it.</HI></P>
<P>Now after a while this <HI>Church</HI> of the <HI>Donati&s;ts</HI> was divided in it &s;elf, and &s;o one <HI>&s;eparation</HI> &s;till &s;pringing from another, it at length expir'd in a <HI>fruitful Di&s;&s;olution.</HI> For, as <HI>Vipers</HI> are &s;aid to have a <HI>bloody Birth</HI> by the <HI>Death</HI> of the <HI>Dam,</HI> thus i&s;|&s;u'd from the <HI>Bleeding Bowels</HI> of this <HI>di|vided Church,</HI> many <HI>petty Congregations,</HI> and yet all of them in &s;ome of the foremen|tion'd <HI>Features</HI> and <HI>Lineaments,</HI> &s;omewhat re&s;embling both <HI>Father</HI> and <HI>Mother.</HI> Thus was the <HI>Schi&s;matical Confederacy,</HI> which at fir&s;t rent it &s;elf from the <HI>true Church,</HI> minc't and mangled, as <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> &s;peakes,<NOTE PLACE="marg">In minutula Fru&s;tula.</NOTE><HI>Into &s;mall &s;hreds of Society,</HI> among&s;t whom there was nothing retain'd, but a <HI>few rags of Religion,</HI> which were not &s;uf|ficient to hide their <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e,</HI> either from the eyes of God or men. The chief of the&s;e <HI>Sub-Sects</HI> was that of the <HI>Circum|cellions,</HI> &s;o called from their <HI>Cells</HI> and <HI>Cot|tages,</HI> in which they liv'd <HI>&s;eparated</HI> from all <HI>Society,</HI> that they might have the more freedome for the u&s;e of certain <HI>Austeri|ties</HI> (as they pretended) for <HI>&s;elf-mortifi|cation.</HI>
<PB N="264" REF="140"> But the truth is they rather lurkt in them as <HI>Lions</HI> in their <HI>Dens,</HI> to take the better advantage for the exerci&s;e of their <HI>cruelty</HI> in the <HI>murder of Innocents.</HI> For without <HI>touch of humanity</HI> the&s;e <HI>bloody Mon|&s;ters</HI> would barbarou&s;ly <HI>murther</HI> all they met with, that were not of their Religion, whereby they became more dangerous then <HI>High-way Robbers,</HI> and more dete&s;table then the vile&s;t of men, as being <HI>Enemies</HI> to <HI>mankind.</HI> And thus at length did that <HI>&s;eparated Church,</HI> which gloried in its <HI>&s;ingular &s;anctity,</HI> produce a <HI>Company</HI> of <HI>common Cut-throats.</HI> And by all this we &s;ee that <HI>Seducers</HI> are ju&s;tly <HI>Stigma|tiz'd</HI> with this brand of SEPARA|TISTS.</P>
<P>They are &s;uch as have a <HI>high Opinion</HI> of them&s;elves, though never &s;o <HI>bad,</HI> and a <HI>low Opinion</HI> of others, though never &s;o <HI>good;</HI> and &s;o they <HI>&s;eparate</HI> them&s;elves from the <HI>Saints,</HI> as being too good for their <HI>Society.</HI> But we know that God him&s;elf vouch&s;afes to be <HI>pre&s;ent in the A&s;&s;emblies of his Saints</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 89.7 Mat. 18.20</NOTE>. The&s;e therefore are by the Apo|&s;tle fitly &s;tiled,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>Lovers of them|&s;elves, but de&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are good</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3 2, 3.</NOTE>. And therefore however they may make a <HI>glorious Profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of godline&s;s, if we duly con&s;ider their <HI>Properties</HI> and <HI>Practices,</HI> they are &s;uch as carry a flat
<PB N="265" REF="140"> <HI>contradiction</HI> to that <HI>golden Rule</HI> of the Go&s;pel;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.3</NOTE> <HI>Let nothing be done through &s;trife or vain glory, but in lowline&s;&s;e of minde, let each e&s;teeme other better then them|&s;elves.</HI></P>
<P>It's true, &s;ome of them, it may be, are of a Life unblamable; But,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Haere&s;is docta e&s;t men|tiri, non Lingua tantum &s;ed Vita: &s;i Fidem in|terrogas, nihil Chri&s;ti|anius; &s;i Conver&s;ationem, nihil irreprehen&s;ibilius: &amp; quae loquitur, Factis pro|bat<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bern. Ser. 65. in Cant.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Here&s;ie is not to learne the</HI> Art of Lying, <HI>which it can performe, not with the</HI> lips <HI>onely, but with the</HI> Life <HI>al&s;o: If you demand an account of their</HI> Faith, <HI>there is nothing more</HI> Chri&s;tian; <HI>if you make enquiry of their</HI> Conver&s;ation, <HI>its mo&s;t</HI> unblamable; <HI>and look what they affirme in their</HI> words, <HI>they'l by their</HI> works <HI>confirme it.</HI> But the more <HI>holy</HI> they are in appearance, the more <HI>hurt|ful.</HI> An unblamable life is the fitte&s;t <HI>Field</HI> for Satan to &s;et his <HI>&s;nares</HI> in to take decei|ved &s;ouls. The <HI>Serpent</HI> hath a <HI>beautiful skin,</HI> but a <HI>deadly &s;ting.</HI> A <HI>beautiful Har|lot</HI> &s;hall have the mo&s;t <HI>Followers.</HI> Beautiful and glorious <HI>Appearances</HI> oft vaile the foul|e&s;t and filthie&s;t <HI>Abominations.</HI> The <HI>great WHORE</HI> comes forth in a <HI>glorious Dre&s;&s;e;</HI> and gives her Lovers <HI>Poy&s;on</HI> to drink in a <HI>golden Cup.</HI> Behold her as &s;he is repre|&s;ented to us in the <HI>Coele&s;tial Mirrour</HI> of the <HI>REVELATION.</HI> And (&s;ayes <HI>John</HI> the
<PB N="266" REF="141"> Divine<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 17.4</NOTE>) <HI>the woman was aray'd in</HI> Purple, <HI>and</HI> Scarlet-colour, <HI>and decked with</HI> gold, <HI>and</HI> precious &s;tone, <HI>and</HI> Pearles, <HI>having a</HI> golden Cup <HI>in her hand, full of</HI> Abomi|nations <HI>and filthine&s;&s;e of her</HI> Fornication. The <HI>Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t</HI> is not more glorious in her <HI>Apparel</HI> and <HI>Ornaments,</HI> then this <HI>Mother of Abominations.</HI> A <HI>Scarlet Robe</HI> may cover an <HI>ulcerous Body.</HI> The <HI>Plague</HI> of <HI>Errours</HI> may be upon a man that wears <HI>cloth of Gold</HI> in his Conver&s;ation. <HI>Satan</HI> never &s;hews him&s;elf &s;o much a <HI>Devil,</HI> as when he appears like an <HI>Angel of Light.</HI> And <HI>if Satan him&s;elf is thus transformed into an</HI> Angel of Light, <HI>it is no great thing if his</HI> Mini&s;ters <HI>al&s;o be transformed as the</HI> Mini&s;ters of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>who&s;e end &s;hall be according to their works</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 11 14, 15.</NOTE>.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="mark">
<HEAD>The third Mark: <HI>Railing and Reviling.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="III"> <HI>SEducers are wont with enticing words to deceive weak and un&s;table &s;oules, but to load them that are &s;ound and &s;tedfa&s;t in the Faith, with vile Invectives, and railing Ac|cu&s;ations.</HI> They can hide both <HI>Honey</HI> and
<PB N="267" REF="141"> <HI>Gall</HI> under their tongue: they drop honey with their words, when they would <HI>deceive;</HI> and mix their &s;peeches with Gall, when they mean to <HI>revile.</HI> Their &s;oft and &s;ilken words are <HI>&s;nares</HI> to take the &s;imple; their &s;harp and cruel &s;peeches are <HI>&s;words</HI> to &s;lay the Innocent. Yet it is le&s;&s;e danger to be wounded by their &s;harpe&s;t reproaches, then to be <HI>won</HI> by their &s;ugred &s;peeches. For while their <HI>Reproaches</HI> ca&s;t upon the righ|teous, do (as <HI>Arrows</HI> &s;hot again&s;t a wall of <HI>Adamant</HI>) recoile upon them&s;elves, their <HI>Deceivings</HI> prove (as a <HI>Potion</HI> of deadly <HI>poy&s;on</HI>) the de&s;truction of others; &s;o that their words are, in effect, <HI>&s;words</HI> to &s;lay, tho&s;e whom they are <HI>&s;nares</HI> to take. So that <HI>Davids</HI> de&s;cription of his deceitful enemy<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 55.21</NOTE>, is fitly applyable to them: <HI>The words of their mouth are &s;moother then But|ter, but war is in their heart: their words are &s;ofter then Oyle, yet are they drawn &s;words.</HI> The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> giving the <HI>Ro|manes</HI> a Caution concerning them, &s;ubjoyns thereunto a de&s;cription of them by this very property and Practice. <HI>Now I be&s;eech you,</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 16 17, 18.</NOTE>) <HI>Brethren, Mark them which cau&s;e</HI> Divi&s;ions <HI>and</HI> Offences, <HI>contra|ry to the Doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. For they that are &s;uch, &s;erve not our Lord</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>but their own Belly,</HI>
<PB N="268" REF="142">
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>Et per dulces Sermones &amp; Benedictiones &s;educunt corda innocentium<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Vet. In|terp.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Et per Blandiloquenti|am &amp; A&s;&s;entationem corda hominum mi|nime malorum &s;edu|cunt<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>.</P></NOTE><HI>And by good words and faire &s;peeches,</HI> [or, by plau&s;ible and pious Expre&s;&s;i|ons] <HI>deceive</HI> [&s;e|duce, or lead out of the way, as the High-way <HI>Robber</HI> does the unwary <HI>Traveller,</HI> that fol|lows him without &s;u&s;pition of any harme] <HI>the heart of the &s;imple</HI> [of poore innocent and harmle&s;&s;e People.] Thus the &s;illy <HI>Birds,</HI> deceived with the Fowlers <HI>Call,</HI> are taken in his <HI>Net.</HI> There's ever a <HI>deadly hook</HI> under the <HI>dainty Baits,</HI> which the&s;e &s;ubtile Seducers (expert in the <HI>Art of Angling</HI> for &s;ouls) ca&s;t among&s;t the&s;e poore, &s;imple, ignorant people. They <HI>gild</HI> over their blacke&s;t and bittere&s;t <HI>Pills</HI> (their vile&s;t &s;oul-de&s;troying Errours) with glori|ous pretences, or <HI>roll</HI> them in <HI>Sugar</HI> (of &s;oft and &s;weet expre&s;&s;ions) that their poor deluded patients may be tempted to take them to their own De&s;truction. The Apo|&s;tle warnes the believing <HI>Hebrews</HI> of them, telling them the intent of the&s;e their fine &s;peeches, and &s;ubtile in&s;inuations, &s;ayes he,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>With feigned words</HI> [with plai&s;ter'd phra|&s;es] <HI>will they make
<PB N="269" REF="142"> Merchandi&s;e of you</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.3</NOTE>. Their language is a kinde of <HI>&s;piritual Enchantment,</HI> whereby many &s;ouls are<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gal. 3.1.</NOTE> <HI>bewitcht</HI> into a belief of their erroneous opinions, in&s;omuch as they give an unque&s;tion'd entertainment to their <HI>damnable Doctrines,</HI> and give them&s;elves up to be guided by them in their <HI>pernicious wayes.</HI> Thus do Seducers <HI>draw Di&s;ciples</HI> after them, whom by the <HI>Mu&s;ick</HI> of a &s;mooth tongue, they make to <HI>dance</HI> all the changes of their wild opinions.</P>
<P>But we have yet beheld but one &s;ide of the <HI>Image</HI> of their Words or Di&s;cour&s;e, which as it looks one way, does (as we have &s;eene) appear <HI>beautiful as an Angel,</HI> but if we con&s;ider it on the other &s;ide, it pre&s;ents the <HI>foule&s;t Fiend.</HI> The&s;e that be&s;peak their followers with the&s;e <HI>faire and flattering &s;peeches,</HI> when they &s;peak of tho&s;e that upon ju&s;t and holy grounds oppo&s;e their e|vil and ungodly wayes, are wont to u&s;e the mo&s;t <HI>railing and reproachful language</HI> that their leud imaginations can invent. If you cannot afford them your favourable opinion, and account them the <HI>children of God,</HI> what &s;hall you pre&s;ently heare from them, but <HI>Thou childe of the Devil!</HI> But (alas) how ju&s;tly may this be retorted upon them&s;elves! Railing is &s;urely the <HI>Lan|guage of Hell</HI> (not the <HI>Dialect</HI> of <HI>Hea|ven</HI>) and it does but too &s;adly di&s;cover them that u&s;e it (whatever they profe&s;&s;e or pre|tend) to be the <HI>children of the Devil.</HI></P>
<PB N="270" REF="143">
<P>Now this <HI>Railing-language</HI> is a Scrip|ture-Character of tho&s;e Seducers, of who&s;e coming in the <HI>la&s;t times,</HI> the Apo&s;tles have warn'd us by the Spirit of Prophecy. For thus are they de&s;crib'd to us;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Compare 2 Pet. 2.10, 11, 12. with Jude v. 8, 9, 10.</NOTE> <HI>Pre|&s;umptuous are they, and &s;elf-will'd, they &s;light Government and de&s;pi&s;e Dominion, and</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>Non horrent Dignita|tes convitiis ince&s;&s;ere<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>.</P></NOTE><HI>They are not afraid to &s;peak evil of Dig|nities</HI> [they tremble not to ca&s;t &s;lande|rous reproaches up|on worthy and honourable Per&s;ons.] <HI>Whereas Angels, which are greater in Power and Might, bring not</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>a RAILING ACCUSATION again&s;t them before the Lord.</HI> For, <HI>Michael, the Arch-Angel, when contending with the Devil, he di&s;pu|ted about the Body of</HI> Mo&s;es,</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><GAP DESC="foreign">.</P>
<P>Non au&s;us e&s;t ei im|pingere notam maledi|cti<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Beza.</NOTE>.</P></NOTE><HI>Durst not bring a|gain&s;t him a railing Accu&s;ation</HI> [or, he was not &s;o bold as to JUDGE and CURSE him] <HI>but &s;aid,</HI> The Lord rebuke thee. <HI>But the&s;e as Natural</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>Bruit-Bea&s;ts</HI> [being as well bru|ti&s;h in their <HI>Behaviours,</HI> as &s;otti&s;h in their <HI>Opinions,</HI> unrea&s;onable in their <HI>Rea&s;onings</HI> and <HI>Revilings] made to be taken and de|&s;troy'd</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>, &s;peak evil <HI>of the things that they under&s;tand not</HI> [they wickedly <HI>bla&s;pheme</HI> tho&s;e My&s;teries of Religion which are a|bove
<PB N="271" REF="143"> their apprehen&s;ion] <HI>and &s;hall utter|ly peri&s;h in their own Corruption.</HI> Thus the <HI>&s;peaking evil of Dignities,</HI> the Reviling and Railing upon Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters, is made a certaine Character of the vile&s;t &s;ort of Seducers. The&s;e becau&s;e they cannot &s;pit their poy&s;on in the <HI>Face of God</HI> him|&s;elf, &s;pit it in the faces of tho&s;e, who in re&s;pect of their office, do bear his <HI>Image.</HI> Their &s;pite and malice principally vents it &s;elf again&s;t the <HI>Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel,</HI> concerning whom Chri&s;t hath &s;aid,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 10.16</NOTE> <HI>He that heareth you heareth me; and he that de&s;pi&s;eth you, de&s;pi&s;eth me, and he that de|&s;pi&s;eth me, de&s;pi&s;eth him that &s;ent me.</HI> And &s;urely was Chri&s;t him&s;elf upon earth, &s;uch men would not &s;tick to raile upon him and revile him. We &s;hall the more ea&s;ily be|lieve it, if we call to minde the carriage of the <HI>Sect of the Phari&s;ees.</HI> The&s;e were a peo|ple that u&s;ed many <HI>Au&s;terities,</HI> and pre|tended to more then ordinary <HI>Purity,</HI> and yet there is no man that hath read the Go&s;pel, but knows how fearfully they abu&s;ed the <HI>Sonne of God,</HI> with their &s;cornfull <HI>Railings</HI> and <HI>Reproaches.</HI> Yea, the&s;e vile wretches did not feare to &s;crew up their malicious Railings and Revilings of CHRIST into the highe&s;t and mo&s;t hel|li&s;h <HI>Bla&s;phemies.</HI> They wickedly went a|bout to repre&s;ent the Sonne of <HI>God,</HI> the SAVIOUR of the world, as a SORCE|RER, and one that dealt with the <HI>Devil.</HI>
<PB N="272" REF="144"> They did not &s;tick to &s;ay, he wrought tho&s;e <HI>Miracles</HI> by the power of the Devill<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 9.34 and 12.24</NOTE>, which were the <HI>wonderful works of God.</HI> Yea, they feared not to call him DEVIL, and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.25. with 9.34.</NOTE> <HI>Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils,</HI> who was and is GOD <HI>ble&s;&s;ed for evermore.</HI> Now, &s;ayes our Saviour<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 10.24, 25.</NOTE>, <HI>The Di&s;ciple is not a|bove his Ma&s;ter, nor the Servant above his Lord. It is enough for the Di&s;ciple that he be as his Ma&s;ter, and the &s;ervant as his Lord: if they have called the Ma&s;ter of the Hou&s;e</HI> Beelzebub, <HI>how much more &s;hall they call them of his hou&s;hold.</HI> It's our <HI>Honour,</HI> who are the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, that the Lord hath made us not onely his <HI>Servants,</HI> but the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 4.1</NOTE> <HI>Stewards</HI> of his Hou&s;e. Seeing then the Ma&s;ter of the Hou&s;e hath undergone &s;uch reproaches from the vile&s;t of men, let not us think it &s;trange if we be reviled and railed upon by men of the like &s;pirit, with the mo&s;t Op|probrious Names of <HI>Dog</HI> and <HI>Devil.</HI></P>
<P>Now what's the de&s;igne of the&s;e Seducers herein, but the <HI>bringing the Ministry of the Go&s;pel into contempt,</HI> that having by this meanes fa&s;ten'd many <HI>Prejudices</HI> in the mindes of the People again&s;t the <HI>Preachers</HI> of the Go&s;pel, they might the more ea&s;ily draw them off from their Attendance up|on the <HI>&s;ound Doctrine</HI> by them deliver'd to the embracement of their owne <HI>Erro|neous Opinions.</HI> For, as Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> well ob&s;erves,
<PB N="273" REF="144">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heretici, cum ip&s;am Divinae Scripturae Veri|tatem, quae ubique di&s;fu&s;a Chri&s;ti Eccle&s;ia commen|datur, criminari &amp; ob|&s;curare non po&s;&s;unt, ho|mines, per quos praedica|tur, adducunt in odium, de quibus &amp; fingere quic|quid in mentem venerit, po&s;&s;unt<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aug. Ep. 137. ad Hipponen.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Hereticks, when they can neither &s;tain nor cloud the <HI>Sunne</HI> of SCRIPTURE-TRUTH, which &s;preads its Beames throughout the Church of Chri&s;t, and is ac|counted its glory, en|deavour by di&s;graces to darken the <HI>Stars,</HI> by Reproaches to ca&s;t an <HI>Odium</HI> upon them by whom this Truth is preached; For of them they can freely &s;peak what&s;oever their minde (<HI>or</HI> malice) can invent.</P>
<P>And this their <HI>Malice</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel, they manife&s;t by <HI>per|&s;ecuting</HI> them, as <HI>Cain;</HI> by <HI>Cur&s;ing</HI> them, with <HI>Balaam;</HI> by oppo&s;ing and <HI>contradicting</HI> them, by exalting them&s;elves into their <HI>&s;acred Office,</HI> as <HI>Corah.</HI> And therefore &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude, v. 11</NOTE> <HI>Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of</HI> Cain, <HI>and ran greedily after the errour of</HI> Balaam <HI>for reward, and peri&s;hed in the Gain-&s;aying of</HI> Core. They are<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 13.</NOTE> <HI>raging Waves of the Sea, foming out their own &s;hame.</HI> For what are the&s;e vile <HI>reproaches</HI> which i&s;&s;ue from their mouths, but the <HI>fome</HI> of that cruel <HI>Rage</HI> which boyleth in their hearts? They utter many <HI>hard &s;peeches</HI> again&s;t the chil|dren of God, and e&s;pecially again&s;t the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, that oppo&s;e their
<PB N="274" REF="145"> <HI>damnable Doctrines,</HI> and &s;oul-de&s;troying o|pinions. They are <HI>Murmurers</HI> and <HI>Com|plainers</HI> of good Governours who re&s;traine them, and Flatterers and <HI>Admirers</HI> of wicked leaders, who countenance and en|courage them. But their doome hath been declar'd long ago, as appears by that mo&s;t <HI>ancient Prophecy,</HI> which the Apo&s;tle <HI>Jude</HI> mentions and applies to this very &s;ort of Seducers. For, <HI>Enoch</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude, v. 14, 15, 16.</NOTE>) <HI>the &s;e|venth from</HI> Adam <HI>prophecy'd of the&s;e, &s;ay|ing, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thou|&s;ands of his Saints, to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are un|godly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their</HI> hard &s;peeches, <HI>which ungodly &s;inners have &s;poked again&s;t him. The&s;e are</HI> Murmu|rers, Complainers, <HI>walking after their own lu&s;ts, and their mouth &s;peaketh great &s;wel|ling words, having mens Per&s;ons in</HI> Admi|ration <HI>becau&s;e of advantage.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e <HI>&s;narling Sectaries</HI> are &s;till quar|relling at the <HI>Doctrines</HI> of the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> de|liver'd by the Mini&s;ters of Chri&s;t, and crying up the wilde <HI>Notions</HI> of their own <HI>Braine</HI> in oppo&s;ition thereunto. For <HI>as</HI> Jannes and Jambres <HI>with&s;tood</HI> Mo&s;es, <HI>&s;o</HI> (&s;ayes the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.8</NOTE>) <HI>do the&s;e al&s;o re|&s;i&s;t the TRUTH; men of corrupt mindes, reprobate</HI> [or of no judgement<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Marg. Gr <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>] <HI>concern|ing the Faith.</HI> Herein they are but the <HI>Devils Agents</HI> &s;ent forth to oppo&s;e <HI>Chri&s;ts Amba&s;&s;a|dours.</HI> For,
<PB N="275" REF="145">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Diabolos Haereticos mo|vet ut &s;ub vocabulo Chri|&s;tiano, Doctrinae re&s;i&s;te|rent Chri&s;tianae<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aug. de civitate Dei, l. 18. c. 51.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Hereticks by the In&s;tigation of the Devil, do under the Name of Christians oppo&s;e the Name of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>We read in the Book of <HI>Job</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">ch. 1. v. 6.</NOTE>, that <HI>when the Sonnes of God came to pre&s;ent them&s;elves before the LORD, Satan came al&s;o among them.</HI> So when the <HI>children of God</HI> come to pre&s;ent them&s;elves before the Lord, in the A&s;&s;emblies of his Saints, to &s;eek his Face in the <HI>Beauties of holi|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> and to be in&s;tructed in his will re|vealed in his word, the&s;e <HI>Agents of Satan</HI> will likewi&s;e &s;ometimes come among&s;t them, but 'tis onely with this <HI>devili&s;h De|&s;igne,</HI> to make &s;ome <HI>oppo&s;ition</HI> to the <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters</HI> of the word, and to &s;ubvert the Faith of the <HI>Hearers,</HI> by &s;ome <HI>contradicti|on</HI> of the Doctrines of the Go&s;pel by them deliver'd. 'Twas not then without cau&s;e that Saint <HI>Cyprian</HI> makes this complaint of them;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ad nos &s;aepe &s;tudio ma|gis contradicendi, quam vera di&s;cendi veniunt, &amp; clamo&s;is vocibus per&s;o|nantes malunt &s;ua im|pudenter ingerere, quam no&s;tra patienter audi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">e<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cyp. con|tra Demet.</NOTE>.</NOTE>They often re&s;ort to us, but 'tis ra|ther with a de&s;igne to contradict, then a de&s;ire to learne the Truth which is taught them; and then &s;etting up their Note, they make a fearful bauling, and will
<PB N="276" REF="146"> needs impudently ur<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e their own <HI>Opinions,</HI> rather then patiently h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">are our <HI>In&s;tru|ctions.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>Spirit of Contradiction,</HI> had they but once power in their Hands, would &s;oon be turn'd into the <HI>Sword of Per&s;ecuti|on.</HI> Yea, this very<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.3</NOTE> <HI>Contradiction of &s;in|ners</HI> is one kinde and degree of the <HI>Per&s;e|cution of the Saints.</HI> And therefore &s;ayes <HI>Augustine,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eos teneamus Inter|fectores Prophetarum, quos contradictores inve|nerimus Linguis Prophe|tarum<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aug. l. 2. contra. lit. Petil. c. 14.</NOTE>.</NOTE>Let us hold them to be the <HI>Per&s;ecutors</HI> that kill the Pro|phets, whom we finde to be the per&s;ons that contradict their Prophecies.</P>
<P>The&s;e railing <HI>Apo&s;tates,</HI> the&s;e &s;lander|ing <HI>Seducers</HI> are by the Apo&s;tle called
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.3</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>DEVILS,</HI> being indeed like to the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>great Ma&s;ter,</HI> in that they are <HI>FALS<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">-ACCUSERS of the Brethren</HI> the children of God. Doubtle&s;&s;e Railing and Reviling is not the <HI>Language of the Spirit</HI> of God, by which they pretend to &s;peak. Alas they <HI>know not what <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pirit they are of.</HI> But we know, 'tis not the property of <HI>Sheep</HI> to bark and bite, but of<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 3.2.</NOTE> <HI>Dogs</HI> and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Act. 20.29</NOTE> <HI>Wolves:</HI> And by the names of the&s;e hurtful and cru|el creatures we finde Seducers to be &s;et forth in the Holy Scriptures. When ever therefore in di&s;cour&s;es of the <HI>Things of Heaven,</HI> we heare from any man this
<PB N="277" REF="146"> <HI>Language of Hell,</HI> we may well &s;ay,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">As Mat. 26.73.</NOTE> <HI>Surely thou al&s;o art one of them; for thy &s;peech bewrayeth thee.</HI></P>
<P>There are two other <HI>Characters</HI> by which the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> does in a &s;pecial manner de|&s;cribe the&s;e <HI>Seducers,</HI> which I &s;hall but briefly repre&s;ent, partly becau&s;e I have already toucht upon them, and partly be|cau&s;e they ari&s;e from <HI>latent Properties,</HI> by which we cannot &s;o ea&s;ily di&s;cerne them.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="4,5" TYPE="marks">
<HEAD>The fourth and fift Mark. <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e and Uncleanne&s;&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P><HI>SEducers, however pretending Piety and <MILESTONE N="IV"> Contempt of the World, do indeed pur&s;ue worldly Profits, and &s;ecular Advantages.</HI> They &s;o manage the matters of Religion as<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.5</NOTE> <HI>&s;uppo&s;ing that gain is godline&s;&s;e.</HI> They<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.3.</NOTE> <HI>through COVETOUSNES, with feigned words, make Merchandi&s;e</HI> of poore &s;edu|ced People. They cry out again&s;t <HI>Cove|tou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> in others, that them&s;elves may pa&s;s more un&s;u&s;pected in the guilt of this <HI>&s;ecret &s;in,</HI> this &s;piritual<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Col. 3.5.</NOTE> <HI>Idolatry.</HI> Thus
<PB N="278" REF="147"> while they <HI>condemne</HI> others for <HI>Covetou&s;|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> them&s;elves are <HI>condemn'd</HI> by their own <HI>Con&s;cience.</HI> And therefore was not the <HI>con&s;cience</HI> of the&s;e men <HI>cauteriz'd,</HI> they would find &s;uch <HI>Tumults</HI> within them&s;elves, as would make them take little delight in <HI>troubling</HI> others. But the&s;e are they who<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 4.2</NOTE> <HI>&s;peak lies in hypocri&s;ie, having their con|&s;ciences &s;eared with a hot Iron.</HI> The&s;e are indeed the <HI>Troublers of I&s;rael,</HI> and how fairly &s;oever they carry it, the <HI>golden Wedge</HI> may be found in their <HI>Tents. A heart they have exerci&s;ed with covetous Practices</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.14</NOTE>. This is the Te&s;timony of the <HI>Searcher of Hearts,</HI> of <HI>Truth</HI> it &s;elf, again&s;t which there can be no exception. The&s;e are they whom we have but now, by Scripture-Evidences, <HI>convicted</HI> of <HI>cur&s;ing</HI> the <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of God, who<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude 11.</NOTE> <HI>run greedily after the Errour of</HI> Balaam <HI>for a REWARD.</HI> They are indeed, as they are &s;til'd by the Apo&s;tle,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.2</NOTE>,</NOTE><HI>LOVERS OF SILVER,</HI> though <HI>Boa&s;ters of Saint&s;hip;</HI> and admirers of <HI>Gold,</HI> more then followers of <HI>Godline&s;&s;e.</HI> How|ever they fal&s;ely grave upon their Church, HOLINES TO THE LORD, they can truly write upon their Coine, GOD WITH US.</P>
<P><MILESTONE N="V"> <HI>Seducers are &s;uch al&s;o as while they boa&s;t of &s;piritual Liberty, are in Bondage to fle&s;hly lu&s;ts. Spiritual Pollution</HI> is u&s;ually
<PB N="279" REF="147"> accompanied with <HI>corporal Defilement. The&s;e filthy Dreamers do defile the Fle&s;h</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude 8.</NOTE>. They are by the Apo&s;tle called,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.3</NOTE>,</NOTE><HI>INCONTI|NENT,</HI> (perhaps) for their being carried headlong to <HI>Acts of &V;ncleanne&s;&s;e,</HI> by their <HI>unbridel'd</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> libidi|no&s;um de|not at apud Xenoph.</NOTE> <HI>Lu&s;ts.</HI> For the&s;e are they<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.10</NOTE> <HI>who walk after the Fle&s;h in the</HI> Lu&s;t of UNCLEANNES,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude 4.</NOTE> <HI>turn|ing the grace of God into</HI> LASCIVIOUSNES. Oft while they have <HI>Holine&s;&s;e</HI> in their mouth, they have an <HI>Adultere&s;&s;e</HI> in their Eye. So &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.14</NOTE> <HI>They have Eyes full of Adultery</HI> [or,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">So the Marg. Gr. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> an Adultere&s;&s;e] <HI>and that cannot cea&s;e from &s;in.</HI> Yea, many <HI>Se|ducers</HI> are no better then<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jude v. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Sodomites.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Corrupt Opinions</HI> are u&s;ually accompani|ed with <HI>lewd Practices,</HI> with <HI>filthy Lives.</HI> The <HI>Nicholaitans, Carpocratians, Adamites,</HI> and &s;everal other <HI>Hereticks,</HI> did profe&s;|&s;edly give them&s;elves over to a <HI>loo&s;e and libidinous life. Community of Wives</HI> was an <HI>Article of their Creed,</HI> and <HI>promi&s;cuous Adulteries</HI> were their con&s;tant <HI>Practice.</HI> The <HI>Bohemian Adamites,</HI> when they de&s;i|red to &s;atisfie their bea&s;tly Lu&s;ts, were wont to &s;ay, <HI>My &s;pirit is waxed hot to|wards &s;uch a woman:</HI> To whom he that was the head of the Faction would reply, <HI>Go, and repleni&s;h the Earth.</HI> In all Ages, the <HI>Churches</HI> (if we may &s;o call them without defiling a Name &s;o &s;acred) which have been founded and father'd by fal&s;e-Teachers
<PB N="280" REF="148"> and Seducers, have been<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 18.2</NOTE> <HI>Cages of unclean Birds.</HI></P>
<P>But it's Time we get out of this <HI>filth</HI> and <HI>mire</HI> for fear of defilement. Behold then, for a clo&s;e of this Characteri&s;tical di&s;cour&s;e, the fitte&s;t <HI>Characters,</HI> filthy <HI>conver&s;ation,</HI> and fearful <HI>conclu&s;ion</HI> of the&s;e vile <HI>Apo|&s;tates,</HI> the&s;e deluding <HI>Dreamers,</HI> and &s;elf-deceiving <HI>Seducers,</HI> as repre&s;ented to us by the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter,</HI> in his Prophetick <HI>Premonition</HI> concerning them, which he penned by the conduct of the holy Spirit for a perpetual <HI>Caution</HI> to the Chri&s;tian Church. <HI>The&s;e</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.17-22.</NOTE>) <HI>are wells with|out water, Clouds that are carried with a Tempe&s;t, to whom the Mi&s;t</HI> [or <HI>Blackne&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So Jude v. 13. Gr. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>] <HI>of darkne&s;&s;e is re&s;erved for ever. For when they &s;peak great &s;welling words of Vanity, they allure through the LUSTS of the FLESH, through much WANTONNES, tho&s;e that were cleane e&s;caped from them who live in ERROUR. While they promi&s;e them</HI> Liberty, <HI>they them&s;elves are the &s;er|vants of</HI> Corruption: <HI>for of whom a man is overcome, of the &s;ame is he brought in</HI> Bon|dage. <HI>For if after they have e&s;caped the POLLUTIONS of the world, through the Knowledge of the Lord and Saviour,</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>they are again intangled there|in, and overcome; the LATTER END is wor&s;e with them then the BEGINNING. For it had been better for them not to have known the</HI> way of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, <HI>then after
<PB N="281" REF="148"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ey have known it, to turne from the</HI> holy Commandment <HI>deliver'd unto them. But it <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> happened unto them according to the true Proverb, The</HI> Dog <HI>is turned to his own</HI> vomit <HI>again, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he</HI> So<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>that was wa&s;hed to her wallowing in the</HI> mire.</P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een the <HI>Characters of Se|ducers,</HI> whereby we may know when, ac|cording to the <HI>Scripture Predictions,</HI> they are come among&s;t us: Come we now to con|&s;ider <HI>in what ca&s;es the times are to be ac|counted evil and p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rillous,</HI> upon the account of the <HI>Errours</HI> introduc'd, and <HI>fal&s;e-wor&s;hip</HI> maintain'd by the&s;e over-active Agents of <HI>Satan,</HI> for the di&s;tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bing of the Peace of the Kingdome of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> and the promo|ting of the intere&s;ts of the Kingdom of dark|ne&s;&s;e in the world.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 TYPE="cases">
<HEAD>The Ca&s;es wherein Errour and fal&s;e-Wor&s;hip make the Times Perillous.</HEAD>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="case">
<HEAD><HI>The fir&s;t Ca&s;e.</HI> Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e colour'd with Liberty of Con&s;cience.</HEAD>
<P><HI>VVHen Liberty of con&s;cience is plead|ed, <MILESTONE N="I"> for an unlimited</HI> (or ill|limited)
<PB N="282" REF="149"> <HI>Toleration of irregularities in O|pinion and Practice,</HI> the Times are ju&s;tly to be accounted evil and perillous. The CONSCIENCE of man is indeed the COURT of God, but it hath no <HI>obli|ging power</HI> but from Gods <HI>command.</HI> No man indeed may <HI>command</HI> or can <HI>compell</HI> the con&s;cience. Its &s;ubjected &s;olely to the <HI>Law</HI> and <HI>Soveraignty</HI> of God. The <HI>Will of God,</HI> as manife&s;ted by the light of Nature, as the <HI>Moral Law,</HI> or by Divine Revela|tion, as the <HI>commands</HI> of the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> is the onely <HI>Law</HI> which layes an <HI>Obligation</HI> upon the <HI>con&s;cience</HI> of man, or whereunto a man is <HI>purely out of con&s;cience</HI> bound to yeeld obedience. As for the <HI>Laws of men,</HI> they lay not an Obligation upon the Con|&s;cience, neither is any man bound out of con&s;cience to obey them, any further then he is thereunto ob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ig'd by the <HI>Law of God,</HI> by which every <HI>humane Ordinance</HI> and con&s;titution is ratifi'd, which is founded in a <HI>lawful Authority.</HI> And therefore &s;ayes the Scripture;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.13, 14.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ubmit your &s;elves to every</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">,</NOTE> Ordinance of man <HI>for the Lords &s;ake, whether it be to the</HI> King <HI>as Supreame; or unto</HI> Governours, <HI>as unto them that are &s;ent by him for the</HI> Puni&s;hment <HI>of evil Do|ers, and for the</HI> Prai&s;e <HI>of them that do well.</HI> Subjection and obedience then is due to every <HI>lawful Magi&s;trate</HI> by the Word of God; yea, and every Chri&s;tian ought <HI>out of con&s;cience</HI> to yeeld it to him.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.4, 5.</NOTE> <HI>For he
<PB N="283" REF="149"> is the Mini&s;ter of God, a revenger to ex|ecute wrath upon him that doth evil. Where|fore</HI> (&s;ayes the Apo&s;tle) <HI>ye mu&s;t needs be &s;ubject not onely for wrath [i. e.</HI> for feare of puni&s;hment] <HI>but al&s;o for</HI> CONSCI|ENCE <HI>&s;ake.</HI> Yet is not the <HI>con&s;cience</HI> herein to be &s;ubjected to any Law of <HI>man,</HI> but onely to the Law of <HI>God</HI> requiring this &s;ubjection and obedience to the <HI>Civil Ma|gi&s;trate</HI> for the pre&s;ervation of <HI>Order</HI> and <HI>good Government</HI> in the world. For as it is the highe&s;t degree of <HI>Spiritual T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ranny</HI> for any to lay the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Act. 15.10</NOTE> <HI>Yoke</HI> of any <HI>humane Laws</HI> or Con&s;titutions, whether Civil or Eccle|&s;ia&s;tical, upon the <HI>Neck</HI> of the Con&s;cien|ces of men; &s;o is it no le&s;&s;e then the <HI>&s;in of Idolatry</HI> for any to &s;ubject their Con&s;ci|ences to any &s;uch Laws or Con&s;titutions, &s;eeing it is Gods <HI>Prerogative Royal</HI> to be the <HI>LORD of the</HI> CONSCIENCE. He onely can give a Law to binde the heart and con&s;cience, who can di&s;cerne when that Law is broken or kept, and accordingly give forth a righteous <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> or a <HI>Re|ward</HI> of grace. The Con&s;cience then is not, may not be &s;ubjected to the <HI>Will of Man,</HI> but onely to the <HI>Law of God,</HI> his Will revealed in his Word.</P>
<P>But now when the <HI>Law of God</HI> (the one|ly adequate Rule of the Con&s;cience) is de|clar'd, his <HI>Will</HI> is reveal'd in his <HI>Word,</HI> it's altogether ab&s;urd to imagine that the con&s;cience of man (which in this re|&s;pect<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Quoad <GAP DESC="foreign"> &s;eu prout Con&s;erva|trix Princi|plorum, unde oritur Obligatio.</NOTE>,
<PB N="284" REF="150"> is but the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cu&s;tos Rotularum</NOTE> <HI>Keeper</HI> of Gods <HI>Court-Rolls</HI>) &s;hould <HI>oblige</HI> to any thing that is contrary to it, or &s;hould <HI>ab&s;olve</HI> a man from an Obligation to yeeld obedience thereunto. To plead <HI>Liberty of Con&s;cience</HI> therefore for the divulging of <HI>wicked Opini|ons</HI> contrary to the clear and manife&s;t truths of the Word of God; and for the <HI>Pra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e</HI> of gro&s;&s;e <HI>Impieties,</HI> as in decrying the Or|dinances and wor&s;hip of God, command|ed in his Word, and the &s;etting up a fal&s;e wor&s;hip in the roome of it, contrary to the expre&s;&s;e Rules of the Go&s;pel, this mu&s;t needs be a &s;ore <HI>Evil,</HI> and a very great <HI>Provocation</HI> of the mo&s;t high God; e&s;peci|ally when &s;uch wretched men &s;hall be fa|vour'd, protected, encourag'd, in &s;o unju&s;t a <HI>claime</HI> to this &s;inful <HI>Liberty,</HI> by tho&s;e that are in <HI>Authority</HI> or <HI>Power,</HI> who ought to take care that the Law of God be kept, that they might &s;et a <HI>Crown of Prai&s;e</HI> upon the head of them that <HI>do well,</HI> and be <HI>a</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 13 3</NOTE> <HI>Terror to evil Doers,</HI> by whom it is viola|ted. When this <HI>Liberty</HI> is thus granted and u&s;ed, the times mu&s;t needs be pe|rillous.</P>
<P>To plead <HI>Liberty of Con&s;cience</HI> for an Exemption from any Obli<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ation to the em|bracement of the <HI>Truth</HI> revealed, the at|tendance upon the <HI>Ordinances</HI> in&s;tituted, the di&s;charge of the <HI>Duties</HI> enjoyned in the Word of God, is to break open <HI>a wide gap,</HI> to all manner of <HI>Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> which is
<PB N="285" REF="150"> the ready way to pluck the Judgements of God down upon the Land. This is to make the Con&s;cience which is a <HI>Court</HI> wherein the Laws of God are to be pleaded, to become a <HI>Con&s;i&s;tory,</HI> wherein a man &s;hall be impowered to ab&s;olve him&s;elf from any of Gods <HI>Laws,</HI> and &s;hall take the freedom to act in all things according to his own <HI>Pre&s;criptions.</HI> What can be im<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gin'd to be more Irrational and Athei&s;tical then this? This mu&s;t needs be an <HI>Inlet</HI> to all manner of <HI>Abominations.</HI> Even they that <HI>bla&s;pheme</HI> God, pluck the Lord <HI>J<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;us</HI> (as much as in them lies) from the <HI>Throne</HI> of his <HI>Deity,</HI> be<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> in charging the vile&s;t <HI>Errours</HI> upon the holy <HI>Spirit of Truth,</HI> trample upon the precious <HI>Ordinances</HI> of the Go&s;pel and pretend to be above them, <HI>revile, reproach, and cur&s;e</HI> the children of God, and when they have opportunity <HI>per&s;ecute</HI> them to the death, even the&s;e will for the&s;e wicked <HI>Opinions</HI> and <HI>Practices</HI> plead Liberty of Con&s;cience. Intolerable Impudence! Damnable Impiety!</P>
<P>Now &s;uch <HI>weeds</HI> as the&s;e grow apace un|der the favourable <HI>Influences</HI> of the <HI>higher Plan<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ts.</HI> This <HI>Liberty</HI> once indulg'd will &s;oon become abundantly <HI>fruitful</HI> in the wor&s;t of Evils. Let this <HI>Jubile</HI> (the year of <HI>General Relea&s;e</HI>) be but once proclaim'd, and the Church of God &s;hall &s;oone feele the &s;ad and woful effects thereof. Leave every man but to walk in his <HI>own way,</HI> and
<PB N="286" REF="151"> we &s;hall &s;oone &s;ee the <HI>Vineyard</HI> of God troden down, while its continually traver&s;t in a thou&s;and cro&s;&s;e and crooked paths. Thus when there was <HI>no King in</HI> I&s;rael, <HI>every one did that which was right in his own eyes</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jud. 17.6. and 21.25.</NOTE>. And what was this, but every one might be as wicked and licentious as he li&s;t? The&s;e were <HI>perillous Times</HI> in <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> But when the <HI>Bounds of &s;inne</HI> are removed, the <HI>Banks</HI> of the <HI>Sea</HI> of Gods <HI>Wrath</HI> &s;hall be broken up, and his Judge|ments &s;hall break forth as <HI>mighty Waters</HI> upon &s;uch &s;inners. So &s;ayes the Lord by the Prophet <HI>Ho&s;ea,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 5.10</NOTE> <HI>The Princes of</HI> Judah <HI>were like them that</HI> remove <HI>the</HI> bound; <HI>therefore I will poure my</HI> Wrath <HI>upon them like</HI> Water.</P>
<P>Thus when that liberty is contended for which tends to <HI>Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e,</HI> when <HI>Impie|ty</HI> is grown &s;o impudent as to plead for <HI>Impunity,</HI> the Dayes are evil, the Times are perillous. But if the <HI>Opinion</HI> (favour'd) be &s;o <HI>perillous,</HI> the <HI>Practice</HI> (allow'd) mu&s;t needs be extreamly <HI>pernicious.</HI> If the <HI>Seed</HI> be &s;o <HI>bitter,</HI> what fruit can we expect it &s;hould bring forth but <HI>Gall</HI> and <HI>Wormwood?</HI> This <HI>Provocation</HI> therefore is capable of a higher Degree, which mu&s;t needs be produ|ctive of the greater <HI>Peril;</HI> as in the next ca&s;e.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="case">
<PB N="287" REF="151">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Ca&s;e.</HI> Protection of Errour and fal&s;e-Wor&s;hip.</HEAD>
<P><HI>VVHen Errour and Fal&s;e-wor&s;hip <MILESTONE N="II"> hath as much Countenance and Protection from men in Authority as Truth and the true wor&s;hip of God,</HI> the Times mu&s;t needs be perillous. When the <HI>Harlot</HI> hath equal favour with the <HI>Queen,</HI> and the <HI>Stews</HI> as &s;trong a guard as the <HI>Palace.</HI> When <HI>Thieves</HI> and <HI>Robbers</HI> &s;hall be as quietly per|mitted, and as fully protected in &s;tealing and robbing as the faithful <HI>Shepheard</HI> in watching his Flock, and painful <HI>Labourer</HI> in working in the vine-yard. When <HI>Mad|men</HI> &s;hall be &s;uffer'd to go up and down with <HI>naked &s;words</HI> in their hands, to kill and &s;lay all that are not able to re&s;i&s;t them. When <HI>Plague-&s;ick</HI> men &s;hall have freedome to walk the <HI>&s;treets;</HI> and our <HI>Enemies</HI> full li|berty to impoy&s;on our <HI>Springs.</HI> When a <HI>Guard</HI> &s;hall be granted to them that come to throw <HI>Baits of Wild-fire</HI> into the <HI>City of God,</HI> for the kindling of tho&s;e fires that cannot be quenched. When men &s;hall be <HI>protected</HI> in their <HI>undermining</HI> the founda|tions of the Hou&s;e of God, and in bringing
<PB N="288" REF="152"> in their <HI>Powder</HI> and <HI>March</HI> to blow it up. When tho&s;e &s;hall be admitted <HI>Stewards</HI> of Divine My&s;teries, who put <HI>Poy&s;on</HI> into the meat of the Kings children, the Times mu&s;t needs be &s;ad and perillous. When <HI>illitera<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e Mechanicks</HI> &s;hall be allow'd to be <HI>publick Preachers,</HI> who &s;hall confidently vent the <HI>gro&s;&s;e&s;t Errours</HI> for <HI>glorious Truths.</HI> When tho&s;e that publickly ca&s;t <HI>contempt</HI> upon the <HI>Call of the Ministry,</HI> upon that Ordinance of God, which is the onely Go&s;|pel-way for the Inve&s;tment of fit per&s;ons with Mini&s;terial Authoritie, ORDINA|TION &s;hall be &s;uffer'd to u&s;urp the <HI>Mi|ni&s;terial Office,</HI> and impudently to chal|lenge the Churches <HI>Dowry,</HI> meerly &s;o violating of her <HI>Cha&s;tity,</HI> or if that faile, for fal&s;ely accu&s;ing her to be be a <HI>Harlot.</HI> When &s;o wide a <HI>Gap</HI> &s;hall be cut out by the <HI>Sword</HI> into this &s;acred <HI>Function,</HI> that <HI>Po|pi&s;h Prie&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Je&s;uites,</HI> in a Di&s;gui&s;e, may enter in, and have as much <HI>Counte|nance</HI> and <HI>Encouragement</HI> as the able&s;t <HI>Or|thodox Mini&s;ter</HI> of the Go&s;pel. When a <HI>Schi&s;matick</HI> &s;hall be the onely <HI>Chirurgion</HI> allow'd to heale the Churches Breaches; and a <HI>Wolfe</HI> &s;hall be &s;et over the <HI>Flock</HI> of Chri&s;t; and the <HI>Souls of men</HI> &s;hall be com|mitted to the charge of one of the chiefe <HI>Agents of Satan,</HI> are not the&s;e Dayes of Danger and Di&s;tre&s;s, perillous Times?</P>
<P>When multitudes of <HI>di&s;cordant opinions,</HI> and <HI>Diver&s;ities of Religion,</HI> or wayes of
<PB N="289" REF="152"> wor&s;hip are <HI>tolerated</HI> by the <HI>Civil Magi|&s;trate,</HI> in his Dominion, the <HI>Church of Chri&s;t</HI> is turn'd into a <HI>Chaos of Confu&s;ion.</HI> This indeed was a piece of the <HI>Pagan-Poli|cy</HI> of the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vid. Dio. Sicul. de Egypt. Reg lib. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Egyptian Kings,</HI> for the pre|vention of whatever <HI>Con&s;piracies</HI> might prove prejudicial to their <HI>E&s;tabli&s;hment</HI> in their <HI>Kingdome.</HI> For with what <HI>Rigour</HI> &s;oever they <HI>rul'd</HI> over the People &s;ubject|ed to their Scepter, while they kept them at a <HI>Di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">ance</HI> one from another by <HI>Diver|&s;ities</HI> of Religion, they judg'd there was le&s;&s;e danger of their con&s;piring together, or uniting their &s;trength to ca&s;t off the <HI>Yoke</HI> and <HI>Burden</HI> laid upon them. For &s;till one Faction would be <HI>jealous</HI> of another, and &s;o while they were <HI>divided</HI> by different de|&s;ignes, they could hardly be ever <HI>united</HI> in one Common Intere&s;t. But it mu&s;t needs go ill with the Church of Chri&s;t when &s;uch carnal and cur&s;ed <HI>Policies</HI> have place in a Chri&s;tian Common-wealth. Hereunto there|fore we &s;hall oppo&s;e what we finde in the learned and judicious <HI>Ca&s;ui&s;t Baldwin,</HI> upon this Que&s;tion;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Num con&s;ultum e&s;t Con&s;cientiis &amp; &s;aluti pub|licae, plures quam unam, in bene con&s;tituta Repub|lica, admittere Religio|nem<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">D. Bald|win. de Ca&s;. Con&s;e. l. 2. c. 6. ca&s;. 3.</NOTE>?</NOTE>Whether it be con|&s;i&s;tent with Peace of Con&s;cience &amp; publick &s;afety to admit of more then one Religion in a well-con&s;tituted Common-Wealth?</P>
<P>Having mention'd the Opinions and
<PB N="290" REF="153"> Judgement of &s;ome others in this matter he thus concludes,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><P>Idcirco apud omnes in confe&s;&s;o e&s;t, Magi&s;tra|tum illum graviter pec|care in DEUM &amp; &s;ub|ditos, qui Religiones va|rias, quas praecavere po|tui&s;&s;et, in Republica voluntarie admittit, re|cipit, fovet, aut ab&s;que ulla nece&s;&s;itate retinet. Is enim nihil aliud facit, quam quod confu&s;am Dei ignorantiam &amp; O|pinionem (quam<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lib. 19. de Legibus.</NOTE> Plato &s;ummam omnium rerum publica<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">um Pe&s;tem ap|pellavit) introducit, &s;i|quidem omnis humanae Societatis Fundamentum convellit, qui Religioni e&s;t noxius.</P>
<P>Qua propter<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Lib. 2. de Eunomia.</NOTE> Tholo|&s;anus cen&s;uit, Magi&s;tra|tum, &s;i adventitias Re|ligiones admi&s;erit, tan|quam Rei publicae ever|&s;orem &amp; clancularium Patriae Proditorem, pri|vandum e&s;&s;e Authoritate &amp; Dignitate gubernandi non tantum, &s;ed &amp; &s;i Rex fuerit, Regno ac Ditionibus &s;uis; quae in praedam &amp; Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ionem eorum veniant qui eas illa lue liberaverint, id&abque; per novam con&s;titutionem Friderici Imperatoris fieri ad&s;erit.</P></NOTE>It is therefore con|fe&s;&s;ed on all Hands, that, that Magi&s;trate does grievou&s;ly &s;in a|gain&s;t GOD and his Subjects, who volun|tarily admits, re|ceives, cheri&s;hes, or without any nece&s;&s;ity, retains divers Religi|ons in the Common-Wealth, which he might have made Pro|vi&s;ion again&s;t. For he does no other then in|troduce a confu&s;ed ig|norance and opinion of God (which <HI>Plato</HI> call'd <HI>the chiefe&s;t Plague of all Com|mon-wealths</HI>) fora&s;|much as he de&s;troys the foundation of all humane &s;ociety, who is injurious to Religi|on.</P>
<P>Wherefore <HI>Tholo|&s;anus</HI> judged that if a Magi&s;trate &s;hould admit of what&s;oever Religions &s;hould a|ri&s;e,
<PB N="291" REF="153"> he was proceed|ed again&s;t as an un|derminer of the Com|mon-wealth, and a privy traytor to his Countrey, and &s;o not on|ly to be deprived of his Authority and Dig|nity of governing, but al&s;o if he was a King, of his Kingdome and Dominions, which &s;hould become a prey and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion to them which &s;hould have freed them from &s;uch a plague; and this he a&s;&s;erts to be done by a new constitution of the Emperour <HI>Frede|rick.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>re&s;olve</HI> I &s;hall leave to the <HI>cen&s;ure</HI> of them that &s;hall peru&s;e it; only this I &s;hall &s;ay (&amp; that I conceive upon a &s;ufficient ground) that an <HI>Authoritative Allowance and publick Protection of diver&s;ities of Opinion &amp; Practice, about the Fundamentals of Doctrine and Wor|&s;hip, in the &s;ame Religion, is every whit as pernicious as the Toleration of different Re|ligions.</HI> For as in the liberty of different Religions, People are in danger to be drawn off from the true Religion to a fal&s;e, &s;o does the allowance of different opinions and practices about fundamentals, tend to the utter &s;ubver&s;ion of the true Religion, to the manife&s;t and inevitable Ruine and De&s;truction of mens pretious and immortal &s;oules. The <HI>Magi&s;tratical Protection</HI> then of Errours in Religion, and different ways of Wor&s;hip, &s;warving from the rule of the Word of God, mu&s;t needs &s;peak the times
<PB N="292" REF="154"> perillous; e&s;pecially when this LIBERTI|NISME &s;hall be e&s;tabli&s;ht by LAW, rec|kon'd among&s;t the <HI>ju&s;t rights and Priviledges of the People of God,</HI> and accounted a GLORIOUS LIBERTY. When the <HI>Plague</HI> is thus far broke out a|mong&s;t us, we may all write upon our Doors, LORD HAVE MERCY UPON US.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="case">
<HEAD>The third Ca&s;e: <HI>Mi&s;u&s;ing Gods Mini&s;ters.</HI></HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="III"> <HI>VVHen men &s;hall mock Gods me&s;&s;en|gers, and abu&s;e his Amba&s;&s;a|dours, the times are evil and perillous.</HI> This is a &s;ad Symptome of approaching judge|ments. God is infinite in <HI>Patience,</HI> but this is a &s;inne &s;o highly <HI>provoking,</HI> that God can bear no longer, he cannot (I may well &s;ay, with Scripture-warrant) <HI>with-hold his hand</HI> from puni&s;hing &s;uch a people. For 'tis the highe&s;t <HI>abu&s;e</HI> of his riche&s;t <HI>Mercy,</HI> and gracious <HI>conde&s;cention</HI> to the children of men. Shall the Lord &s;end his <HI>Me&s;&s;en|gers</HI> with <HI>me&s;&s;ages of Love;</HI> his <HI>Amba&s;&s;a|dours</HI> with <HI>Emba&s;&s;ies of Peace</HI> to a &s;inning,
<PB N="293" REF="154"> a provoking People, that de&s;erve to be vi&s;ited with Judgement and de&s;troy'd in his Wrath, and &s;hall tho&s;e vile &s;inners dare to <HI>affront and abu&s;e</HI> them, yea, deal with them as <HI>Malefactors,</HI> rather then the Lords <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters;</HI> mu&s;t not this needs provoke the Lord to arme his <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> with <HI>vengeance</HI> a|gain&s;t &s;uch a people, and to puni&s;h them without <HI>Mercy,</HI> in the execution of his &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgements?</HI> This was the &s;inne which made the &s;tate of the Jews de&s;perate and deplorable. This the Lord charges upon them as a <HI>higher Provocation</HI> then their I|dolatries, for which therefore he vi&s;ited them with <HI>remedile&s;&s;e puni&s;hments.</HI> This, this was that &s;in of the Jews for which God de|liver'd them up into <HI>Captivity,</HI> and brought an utter <HI>de&s;truction</HI> upon the City <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem.</HI> For thus does the Lords charge &s;tand upon perpetual Record again&s;t them in ho|ly Scripture.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 36.14-20</NOTE> <HI>Moreover all the chief of the Prie&s;ts, and the People tran&s;gre&s;&s;ed very much, after all the Abominations of the Heathen, and polluted the Hou&s;e of the LORD, which he had hallowed in</HI> Jeru&s;a|lem. <HI>And the LORD God of their Fa|thers &s;ent to them by his</HI> Me&s;&s;engers, <HI>ri&s;ing up betimes</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">That is (&s;aith the Margin) <HI>continually &amp; carefully</HI></NOTE>, <HI>and &s;ending; becau&s;e he had compa&s;&s;ion on his People, and on his dwelling place. But they MOCKED the MES|SENGERS of God, and de&s;pi&s;ed his words, and MISUSED his PROPHETS, until the wrath of the LORD aro&s;e again&s;t his
<PB N="294" REF="155"> People, till there was no</HI> REMEDY. <HI>There|fore he brought upon them the King of the</HI> Chaldees, <HI>who &s;lew their young men with the &s;word, in the hou&s;e of their Sanctuary, and had no compa&s;&s;ion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that &s;tooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the ve&s;&s;els of the Hou&s;e of God great and &s;mall, and the Trea&s;ures of the Hou&s;e of the LORD, and the Trea&s;ures of the King, and of his Princes; all the&s;e he brought to</HI> Babylon. <HI>And they burnt the Hou&s;e of God, and brake down the wall of</HI> JERUSALEM, <HI>and burnt all the Palaces thereof with Fire, and de&s;troy'd all the goodly Ve&s;&s;els thereof. And them that had e&s;caped from the Sword car|ry'd he away to</HI> Babylon: <HI>where they were &s;ervants to him and his &s;onnes, until the Reigne of the King of</HI> Per&s;ia. Thus great were the calamities, &s;ore were the Judgements with which God plagued the people of <HI>Judah</HI> for the contempt, re|proach and &s;corne which they ca&s;t upon his Prophets and Me&s;&s;engers, which he &s;ent in his mercy to them.</P>
<P><HI>Abu&s;e of Amba&s;sadours</HI> is a high <HI>Crime of State,</HI> a barbarous villany, violating the <HI>LAW of NATIONS.</HI> Princes are wont to write &s;uch <HI>Crimes</HI> in the <HI>Blood</HI> of the guilty, unle&s;&s;e where an <HI>Arme of Power</HI> is wanting to weild the <HI>Sword of Ju&s;tice.</HI> The contempt and reproach which is ca&s;t upon <HI>Amba&s;&s;adours</HI> reflects upon the
<PB N="295" REF="155"> <HI>King</HI> that &s;ent them. Abu&s;e of the Lords <HI>Amba&s;&s;adors</HI> is a high offence, a fearful <HI>Crime</HI> committed again&s;t the LAW of GRACE. The contempt and reproach ca&s;t upon them reflects upon God him&s;elf. <HI>He that de&s;pi&s;eth them, de&s;pi&s;eth</HI> CHRIST, <HI>de&s;pi&s;eth</HI> GOD<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luk. 10.16</NOTE>. Now it's ju&s;t with God in this ca&s;e to call home his Amba&s;&s;adours, and to denounce WAR again&s;t tho&s;e his<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 19.27</NOTE> E|NEMIES which have abus'd them, or be|ing in place and Power, have &s;uffer'd the abu&s;e to go unpuni&s;ht.</P>
<P>When <HI>David</HI> thought to &s;hew kindne&s;&s;e to <HI>Hanun,</HI> and &s;ent his <HI>Amba&s;&s;adours</HI> to comfort him after the <HI>Death</HI> of his <HI>Father,</HI> and they were <HI>&s;hamefully treated,</HI> and vil|lanou&s;ly abu&s;ed by him, <HI>David</HI> rai&s;ed WAR again&s;t him and his people to de&s;troy them<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 10</NOTE>. The Go&s;pel is a <HI>Letter of Com|fort,</HI> which God, the <HI>King of Heaven,</HI> &s;ends by the hands of his <HI>Amba&s;&s;adours,</HI> the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, to poore mi|&s;erable &s;inners, involv'd in manifold <HI>&s;uf|ferings</HI> and <HI>&s;orrows</HI> upon the <HI>Death</HI> of their <HI>Father,</HI> ADAM, with Commi&s;&s;ion to <HI>com|fort</HI> them; and to this end to <HI>invite</HI> them to a <HI>&s;umptuous</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 25.6</NOTE> FEAST, richly furni&s;h't with the <HI>choice&s;t Dainties,</HI> which he hath provided for them. But now when the&s;e unthankful wretches &s;hall <HI>abu&s;e</HI> and <HI>vilifie</HI> the Lords Amba&s;&s;adours, how do ye think will he deal with them? But perhaps you'l think, this is &s;o high a degree of
<PB N="296" REF="156"> <HI>Ba&s;ene&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Ingratitude,</HI> that its not to be imagin'd that any men &s;hould be found &s;o void of all <HI>virtue</HI> and <HI>humanity</HI> as to be guilty of it. Hear then a true Relati|on from the Lords own mouth, of that <HI>Re|ception</HI> which &s;ome of the&s;e &s;inners gave the Lords <HI>Amba&s;&s;adours,</HI> and of the &s;ad effects and con&s;equents thereof. The fir&s;t me&s;|&s;engers being &s;hamefully repul&s;ed,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 22.4-7.</NOTE> <HI>Again he &s;ent forth other &s;ervants, &s;aying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold I have pre|par'd my Dinner: my Oxen and my Fat|lings are killed, and all things are ready: Come unto the</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Marriage</NOTE> FEAST, <HI>but they made light of it, and went their wayes, one to his Farme, another to his Merchandi&s;e: and the Remnant took his &s;ervants and entreated them &s;pitefully, and &s;lew them. But when the King heard thereof, he was wroth: and he &s;ent forth his ARMIES, and de&s;troy'd tho&s;e MURDERERS, and burnt up their City.</HI> Thus ill do men requite the Lord for his love: thus &s;everely does the Lo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d revenge the reproach and wrong of|fer'd to his Servants, the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel.</P>
<P>When the <HI>Lord of the Vineyard</HI> &s;ends his <HI>&s;ervants</HI> to the <HI>Husbandmen,</HI> to whom he hath left his Vine-yard, and they abu&s;e them, how will he deale with the&s;e Hu&s;|bandmen? <HI>He will mi&s;erably de&s;troy tho&s;e wicked men, and will let out his Vineyard unto other Husbandmen, which &s;hall render
<PB N="297" REF="156"> him the fruits in their Sea&s;on</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Mat. 21.33-14</NOTE>. For this &s;in, after the return of the rebellious Jews from the <HI>Babyloni&s;h Captivity,</HI> wherewith God had &s;everely &s;courg'd them, for full<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Chro, 34.21.</NOTE> three&s;core and ten years, for this &s;in, did the Lord utterly and finally <HI>de&s;troy</HI> the Ci|ty <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and lay the whole land <HI>de&s;o|late.</HI> Heare the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t for this making that mo&s;t pathetical Lamen|tation over this rebellious City, and fore|telling its ruine. <HI>O Jeru&s;alem, Jeru&s;alem</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 23.37, 38, 39.</NOTE>) <HI>thou that kille&s;t the Prophets, and &s;tone&s;t them which are &s;ent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children to|gether, even as a Hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your hou&s;e is left unto you de&s;olate. For I &s;ay unto you, ye &s;hall not &s;ee me henceforth, till ye &s;hall &s;ay, Ble&s;&s;ed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.</HI></P>
<P>When King <HI>Philip</HI> had be&s;ieged <HI>Athens,</HI> and put the City into much di&s;tre&s;s, he promi&s;ed to rai&s;e his &s;iege, if they would give him in ho&s;tage ten of the able&s;t <HI>A|thenian Orators.</HI> But <HI>Demo&s;thenes</HI> to di|vert the <HI>Athenians</HI> from an&s;wering his de|&s;ire by clo&s;ing in with this Overture, made u&s;e of this <HI>Apologue.</HI> The <HI>Wolves</HI> (&s;aid he) de&s;ired a League with the <HI>Shepherds,</HI> upon this condition that the <HI>cau&s;e of their &s;trife</HI> might be taken away, which was the Shepherds <HI>Ma&s;tiffs.</HI> This granted, and the <HI>&s;heep</HI> deprived of their <HI>Guard,</HI> the <HI>ra|venous
<PB N="298" REF="157"> Wolves</HI> fea&s;ted their cruel hunger, and &s;atisfi'd their thir&s;t of blood at the &s;hepherds co&s;t, by a fearle&s;&s;e <HI>preying</HI> upon the poore &s;laughter'd &s;heep. Ju&s;t thus (&s;aid he) would <HI>Philip</HI> deal with you, if once you &s;hould yeeld to deliver unto him your <HI>vigilant Watchmen,</HI> your <HI>faithful Orators.</HI> Alas, we are taught by a more certaine <HI>Oracle,</HI> that <HI>if the Shepherds be &s;mitten, the &s;heep mu&s;t needs be &s;cattered</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Zec. 13.7</NOTE>. <HI>Naha&s;h</HI> the <HI>Am|monite</HI> would make a <HI>Covenant of Peace,</HI> with the men of <HI>Jabe&s;h-Gilead</HI> upon no other terms then the&s;e; that he might <HI>thru&s;t out all their right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all</HI> I&s;rael<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 11 1, 2</NOTE>. If tho&s;e per&s;ons, that <HI>wicked Generation</HI> of men, that will never be &s;atisfi'd with any <HI>Propo&s;itions of Peace,</HI> unle&s;s the <HI>Seers may be put out of their Places,</HI> the <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> (as they reproachfully call them) may be ca&s;t out of their <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ions,</HI> well may it be laid as a la&s;ting RE|PROACH upon our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> ISRAEL. If &s;uch per&s;ons as the&s;e &s;hall have liberty to plead again&s;t the <HI>Pa&s;tors</HI> of the <HI>Church,</HI> the <HI>Shepherds</HI> of the Lords <HI>Flock,</HI> &s;hall we not judge the&s;e to be perillous Times? What then &s;hall we &s;ay to the&s;e things?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 3.1, 2</NOTE> <HI>Finally, Brethren, pray for us that the Word of the Lord may have free cour&s;e, and be glorified, even as</HI> [yet] <HI>it is with you: and that we may be deliver'd from</HI> [&s;uch ab&s;urd<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Marg. Gr. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>] <HI>unrea&s;onable and wicked men,</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="4" TYPE="case">
<PB N="299" REF="157">
<HEAD><HI>The fourth Ca&s;e.</HI> Contempt of Gods Ordinances Countenanc't.</HEAD>
<P><HI>WHen men under the Countenance and <MILESTONE N="IV"> Protection of the higher Powers can &s;ecurely ca&s;t contempt upon the Ordinances and wor&s;hip of the mo&s;t high God,</HI> the dayes mu&s;t needs be evil, the Times perillous. If when the Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel are de&s;pi&s;ed, <HI>Iniquity</HI> does <HI>abound,</HI> &s;urely when the Ordinances of God, the very <HI>means of grace,</HI> are contemned, <HI>&s;inne</HI> mu&s;t needs <HI>&s;uperabound.</HI> And <HI>&s;uperabounding &s;inne,</HI> will certainly at length bring the <HI>overflow|ing &s;courge.</HI> When the <HI>Bea&s;ts</HI> of the <HI>Field</HI> &s;hall defile the <HI>Waters</HI> of the <HI>Sanctu|ary;</HI> and the <HI>filthy &s;wine</HI> &s;hall trample down the <HI>green Pa&s;tures,</HI> wherein the &s;hepherds of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> are wont to feed their Flocks. When the <HI>Courts</HI> of the Lord &s;hall be covered with the <HI>Filth</HI> of Re|proach; and the <HI>Gold</HI> of the Sanctuary &s;hall be trampled under feet. When men &s;hall ca&s;t dirt into the <HI>Galleries</HI> of the great King; and <HI>di&s;grace the Throne of his glory.</HI> When men &s;hall vilifie the Lords <HI>Taber|nacles,</HI>
<PB N="300" REF="158"> and &s;pit in the face of the <HI>Beau|ties of Holine&s;&s;e.</HI> When men &s;hall ca&s;t &s;tones at the <HI>Windows of the Sanctuary,</HI> by which the <HI>Sun of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> &s;heds forth his beames of light upon the chil|dren of <HI>Zion.</HI> When men &s;hall cut in two tho&s;e <HI>golden Pipes,</HI> by which the <HI>Waters of Life</HI> are convey'd from the <HI>Wells of Sal|vation,</HI> for the refre&s;hment of the City of God. When men pre&s;ume to act the&s;e Im|pieties, and are therein countenanc't by the <HI>higher Powers,</HI> the Times are &s;ad and perillous.</P>
<P>Contempt of Gods holy Ordinances is a very provoking &s;in. 'Twas a high charge again&s;t <HI>Judah,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eze. 22.8</NOTE> <HI>Thou ha&s;t de&s;pi&s;ed my Holy things, and ha&s;t profaned my Sab|baths.</HI> To ca&s;t reproach upon Divine in|&s;titutions, is to bla&s;pheme the Name of God. So &s;ore an evil mu&s;t needs make &s;ad Times. Of this does the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI> com|plaine, and expo&s;tulate with God. <HI>O God</HI> (&s;ayes he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 74.10</NOTE>) <HI>how long &s;hall the adver&s;ary reproach? &s;hall the enemy bla&s;pheme thy Name for ever?</HI> He reproaches <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> that vilifies the coine that beares his <HI>Image and Super&s;cription.</HI> The Ordinances of the Go&s;pel are that <HI>Gold of Sion</HI> which bears the <HI>Royal &s;tamp.</HI> When men &s;hall reject this <HI>Gold</HI> and call it <HI>Dro&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;urely<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 6.30</NOTE> <HI>Re|probate &s;ilver &s;hall men call them, becau&s;e the LORD hath rejected them.</HI></P>
<P>The dayes are evil, when <HI>vile &s;inners</HI>
<PB N="301" REF="158"> (who yet account them&s;elves the onely <HI>Saints</HI>) &s;hall contemptuou&s;ly trample up|on the <HI>precious Ordinances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI> When tho&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Go&s;pel-Ordinances of INFANT-BAPTISME, by which onely the <HI>children</HI> of Believers are admitted in|to the <HI>Church,</HI> and Sacramentally wa&s;ht from their <HI>&s;ins</HI> in the blood of their <HI>Savi|our;</HI> ORDINATION OF MINISTERS, by which onely fit per&s;ons are authoriz'd to <HI>preach the Go&s;pel,</HI> and di&s;pen&s;e the <HI>Seales of the Covenant;</HI> SINGING OF PSALMES, wherein the Church on earth becomes a lively <HI>Image</HI> of Heaven, and the Saints of God have a kinde of <HI>Pre-po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of Paradi&s;e;</HI> when the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Ordinances (I &s;ay) &s;hall be &s;lighted, vilifi'd, contemn'd by a company of <HI>hypo|critical Profe&s;&s;ors,</HI> who have taken up a <HI>&s;hew of Religion</HI> onely to delude men, and di&s;honour God, the times mu&s;t needs be perillous; e&s;pecially when &s;uch <HI>ungodly Ones</HI> &s;hall be <HI>protected</HI> and <HI>promoted</HI> by the higher Powers, by whom they ought rather to be <HI>puni&s;h't</HI> for their Irreligion and Profane&s;&s;e in their open contempt of God, his Authority, Wor&s;hip and Honour in the&s;e his holy in&s;titutions. Yea, when they &s;hall be countenanc't, not onely in the con|tempt of the&s;e <HI>Divine In&s;titutions,</HI> but al&s;o in the Introduction of &s;undry <HI>humane Inventions,</HI> in&s;tead of the&s;e and other Or|dinances of God, to the utter exclu&s;ion of
<PB N="302" REF="159"> Gods <HI>true Wor&s;hip,</HI> and the &s;etting up of a <HI>fal&s;e wor&s;hip,</HI> founded in their own Will, in the World. As when they &s;hall intro|duce into their <HI>Schi&s;matical Societies,</HI> fal&s;e|ly called <HI>Chri&s;tian Congregations,</HI> the RE|BAPTIZATION OF BELIEVERS, which is nothing el&s;e but an actual <HI>Renunciation</HI> of their former <HI>Bapti&s;me,</HI> and &s;o con&s;equent|ly of the Covenant of their God, and <HI>a</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.29</NOTE> <HI>counting of the blood of the Covenant where|with they were &s;anctifi'd, an unholy thing:</HI> Horrid Impiety! Al&s;o, the con&s;tant PREACHING OF GIFTED BRE|THREN, who are &s;o farre from being <HI>cal|led</HI> to the work of the Mini&s;try, that they wickedly &s;coff at the onely <HI>Go&s;pel-Call</HI> thereunto, <HI>Mini&s;terial Ordination;</HI> yea, which is yet wor&s;e, when the&s;e proud <HI>In|truders,</HI> pre&s;umptuous <HI>U&s;urpers</HI> of the Mi|ni&s;terial Office, &s;hall be accounted the one|ly <HI>Go&s;pel-Mini&s;ters,</HI> &s;uch as will preach the Go&s;pel <HI>freely</HI> to poore Creatures. This is a very &s;ore evil; for as much as under this pretence of <HI>exerci&s;ing their GIFTS,</HI> the vile&s;t <HI>Hereticks</HI> in the world, &s;hall have an opportunity of <HI>poy&s;oning</HI> the peo|ple of God with their <HI>damnable Doctrines,</HI> by publick preaching in the open A&s;&s;em|blies. Horrid <HI>&s;tratagem</HI> of Hell, for the <HI>&s;ubver&s;ion</HI> of &s;oules! Moreover, when BREAKING OF BREAD by the pre|tended <HI>Pa&s;tors of Churches,</HI> &s;hall be intro|duc't in &s;tead of the <HI>Supper of the Lord,</HI>
<PB N="303" REF="159"> which is indeed no better then a <HI>mock-Sacrament,</HI> being admini&s;tred by them that are no Mini&s;ters of the Go&s;pel, and &s;o have no authority at all to admini&s;ter any of the Ordinances of God. For if the changing of the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper from a <HI>common</HI> and <HI>ordinary</HI> to a <HI>&s;acred Sacramen|tal U&s;e,</HI> be an act of <HI>Mini&s;terial Autho|rity,</HI> as doubtle&s;&s;e it is, then this their <HI>breaking of Bread</HI> is no better then a <HI>mocking of God</HI> in an Api&s;h imitation of the &s;acred actions of one of his holy Ordi|nances. So when in&s;tead of <HI>&s;inging of P&s;almes,</HI> they &s;hall introduce into their A&s;&s;emblies the <HI>&s;inging of &s;illy</HI> HYMNES, of vulgar Compo&s;ure, which whether for <HI>Rime</HI> or <HI>Rea&s;on,</HI> are not much to be pre|fer'd before tho&s;e which the common Ballad-mongers &s;ing in the &s;treets under the Name of <HI>Godly Ballads.</HI> When Gods holy <HI>Ordinances</HI> &s;hall be contemn'd, and the&s;e fearful <HI>Corruptions</HI> in his wor&s;hip and &s;ervice &s;hall be introduc't and allow'd, needs mu&s;t the Times be extreamly evil and perillous.</P>
<P>Yea, when a <HI>wicked Generation</HI> of men &s;hall be &s;uffer'd, with Impunity, to ca&s;t <HI>Contempt</HI> upon all the <HI>Ordinances</HI> of Gods Wor&s;hip; to vilifie and reproach the <HI>A&s;&s;emblies of the Saints,</HI> calling them the <HI>Synagogues of Satan,</HI> with many more vile reproaches, which I think not meet
<PB N="304" REF="160"> to mention; what &s;hall we think, are not the Dayes evil, the Times perillous? When tho&s;e &s;hall be countenanc't, ho|nour'd, advanc't in the State, being &s;et in <HI>Places of Power and Tru&s;t,</HI> who do what they can to ca&s;t an <HI>Odium</HI> upon the <HI>Ordi|nances</HI> of the Go&s;pel, are not the dayes evil, the Times perillous? The&s;e &s;acred Ordinances are the <HI>paths of Chri&s;t</HI> wherein he walks among&s;t his People, and hereby do men<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 79.51</NOTE> <HI>reproach the foot&s;teps of Gods a|nointed.</HI> Hereby do vile per&s;ons ca&s;t dirt at the <HI>Chariots</HI> of the King of glory. Here|by is the Lord continually provoked to de|part from &s;uch a people, and therefore the dayes which are defil'd with the&s;e <HI>Abomi|nations</HI> mu&s;t needs be perillous Times.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="5" TYPE="case">
<HEAD><HI>The fift Ca&s;e.</HI> Sinners Sedulity and Sloth in Saints.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="V"> <HI>VVHen the &s;pirit of Errour and Pro|fane&s;&s;e prevailes more and more in the World, and the Spirit of Prayer and Zeale for truth and holine&s;&s;e decayes more and more in the Church,</HI> the Dayes are evil, the Times perillous. When <HI>fal&s;e Fires</HI> appear, and the <HI>Fire</HI> of the <HI>Altar</HI> goes
<PB N="305" REF="160"> out, &s;ure God is departing from his Tem|ple. When the <HI>Locu&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Caterpillars</HI> &s;warme in the Fields, and the <HI>Frogs</HI> croak in every corner of the Hou&s;e, the Judge|ment of God is already upon the Land. When<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.6, 7</NOTE> <HI>&s;illy women are led captive</HI> in Troops by &s;ubtile Deceivers, and &s;oul-deluding Se|ducers<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.2</NOTE> <HI>draw many Di&s;ciples after them,</HI> the la&s;t Dayes, which we are told &s;hall be perillous Times, are come upon us. <HI>Acti|vity</HI> of bad men, in carrying on their wic|ked <HI>De&s;ignes,</HI> and <HI>Lukewarmne&s;&s;e</HI> in good men, in promoting the <HI>Cau&s;e</HI> and <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> of Chri&s;t, is a &s;ad Symptome of &s;ome &s;ore evil at hand. When few are zealous for <HI>Truth</HI> and <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> &amp; multitudes are zealous for <HI>Errour</HI> and <HI>Impunity</HI> in the contempt of Gods holy wor&s;hip, we may ju&s;tly feare God will &s;hortly bring &s;ome fearful judge|ment on the Land. When<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.12</NOTE> <HI>Iniquity a|bounds, and the love of many waxes cold,</HI> the Winter is come, and &s;tormes mu&s;t be expected. When the <HI>Spirit of Prayer</HI> de|parts, the <HI>Spirit of Judgement</HI> comes in the roome of it. <HI>When the Winde cea&s;es,</HI> pre&s;ently <HI>the Rain falls.</HI> When the hands of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> fall down in Prayer, and <HI>A|malek</HI> prevailes in battel, we mu&s;t needs ex|pect it &s;hould go ill with <HI>I&s;rael.</HI></P>
<P>When Chri&s;tians are fallen from their<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.4</NOTE> <HI>fir&s;t Love,</HI> and Profe&s;&s;ors are grow'n<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.16</NOTE> <HI>Lukewarm</HI> in Religion; yea, and many are become <HI>Key-cold</HI> in the Cau&s;e of Chri&s;t,
<PB N="306" REF="161"> while&s;t others are very <HI>forward</HI> and <HI>zea|lous</HI> to promote the Honour and Adora|tion of the Deified IMAGES of their own Fancies, they mu&s;t needs be perillous Times. ZEALE is the <HI>Pul&s;e</HI> of the <HI>Church,</HI> as JUSTICE is of the <HI>Common-wealth.</HI> Now a wi&s;e <HI>Phy&s;ician</HI> by feeling the Pul&s;e may judge of the &s;tate of the <HI>Patient.</HI> If it be <HI>violent</HI> and irregular, the body is inflam'd and in a great <HI>di&s;temper;</HI> if it be very <HI>weak,</HI> &s;low, remi&s;s, and much interrupted, it is a &s;ad Symptome of ap|proaching <HI>Death. Apostacy</HI> in <HI>Religion</HI> is a fore-runner of <HI>Ruine</HI> and <HI>De&s;truction</HI> to &s;uch a particular Church and People<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 8.5, 15</NOTE>. <HI>Lukewarmne&s;&s;e</HI> in Religion is a loathed temper. <HI>I know thy Works</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord of the Church of <HI>Laodicea</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.15, 16.</NOTE> too true a Patterne of the Church of <HI>England) that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then becau&s;e thou art Lukewarme, and neither cold nor hot, I will &s;pew thee out of my mouth.</HI></P>
<P>In the&s;e ca&s;es all good Chri&s;tians have cau&s;e to bewaile the &s;ad condition of the Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="9" TYPE="symptom">
<PB N="307" REF="161">
<HEAD><HI>The ninth Symptome.</HI> Divi&s;ions in the Church, and Union of her Adver&s;aries.</HEAD>
<P>THe children of the Church have ex|perience <MILESTONE N="IX"> of perillous Times, <HI>When the Profe&s;&s;ors of the true Religion are di|vided, and the profe&s;t enemies thereof are united.</HI> When the <HI>Canaanites</HI> are com|bin'd again&s;t the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> and the <HI>I&s;rae|lites</HI> are divided among&s;t them&s;elves, needs mu&s;t they be di&s;tre&s;&s;ed by their Enemies. When <HI>Idolatrous Nations</HI> joyne in <HI>Confe|deracy</HI> again&s;t the People that profe&s;&s;e the <HI>true Religion,</HI> their State mu&s;t needs be dangerous. Of this does the P&s;almi&s;t com|plain as &s;peaking the &s;ad &s;tate of the People of God, and therefore he makes his earne&s;t &s;uit to God for redre&s;&s;e, &s;aying;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 83.1-8.</NOTE> <HI>Keep not thou &s;ilence, O God: hold not thy Peace, and be not &s;till, O God. For, loe! thine E|nemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lift up the head. They have ta|ken crafty COUNSEL again&s;t thy Peo|ple, and con&s;ulted again&s;t thy hidden ones. They have &s;aid,</HI> Come, and let us cut them off from being a <HI>Nation:</HI> that the name of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> may be no more in remembrance.
<PB N="308" REF="162"> <HI>For they have</HI> con&s;ulted <HI>together with one CONSENT: they are CONFEDE|RATE again&s;t thee. The Tabernacles of</HI> Edom, <HI>and the</HI> I&s;hmaelites: <HI>of</HI> Moab <HI>and the</HI> Hagarens. Gebal, <HI>and</HI> Ammon, <HI>and</HI> A|malek, <HI>the</HI> Phili&s;tines <HI>with the Inhabitants of</HI> Tyre. A&s;hur <HI>al&s;o is joyned with them: they have holpen the children of</HI> Lot. Needs mu&s;t tho&s;e be perillous Times with the People of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> when as a &s;mall Flock of <HI>&s;heep,</HI> they were &s;urrounded with &s;o many troops of <HI>Wolves, Lions</HI> and <HI>Bears,</HI> thir&s;t|ing after their blood, and ready to teare them in pieces and devoure them.</P>
<P>When, in the Dayes of <HI>Jeho&s;haphat</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Chr. 20</NOTE>, <HI>Moab,</HI> and <HI>Ammon,</HI> and mount <HI>Seir</HI> con|&s;pired again&s;t <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and came up again&s;t <HI>Jeho&s;haphat</HI> to battel, both he and all the people of the Land were &s;truck with feare in the apprehen&s;ions of their great danger. And well might they fear, when <HI>three Na|tions</HI> had arm'd them&s;elves again&s;t that People, that had provoked the Lord by their &s;innes to give them up into their E|nemies hands. But behold a &s;trange <HI>turne of Providence,</HI> which affords a further il|lu&s;tration to the matter in hand. The&s;e three great Armies, by a wonderful <HI>&s;trata|gem of the Divine Providence</HI> were divi|ded one again&s;t another, and &s;o now their great <HI>&s;trength</HI> became the cau&s;e of their <HI>weakne&s;&s;e</HI> and de&s;truction; for even without any &s;troke &s;truck by <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> they them&s;elves
<PB N="309" REF="162"> de&s;troy'd one another, in&s;omuch that when <HI>I&s;rael</HI> came again&s;t them, they had none to encounter with but the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 24.</NOTE> <HI>dead Bo|dies</HI> of the &s;laine, which were <HI>fallen to the earth, and none e&s;caped.</HI> Thus as their <HI>Conjunction</HI> was their &s;trength, their <HI>Divi&s;ion</HI> became their overthrow.</P>
<P>Sad <HI>Divi&s;ions</HI> and bitter Contentions a|mong&s;t Chri&s;tians, do not onely make them a &s;corn and <HI>Deri&s;ion</HI> to their enemies, but al&s;o expo&s;e them to the danger of an utter <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> Such Chri&s;tians as (like <HI>Cranes</HI>) fight among&s;t them&s;elves, do ea&s;ily be|come a prey to others. Their enemies (like <HI>Eagles</HI> and Vultures) will ha&s;ten to their Overthrow. Thus did the <HI>Romane</HI> EAGLES prey upon the mi&s;erable <HI>Jews,</HI> conflicting together in <HI>Civil Di&s;&s;en|tions,</HI> until the &s;treets of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> ran down with blood, and the Body of the City became as a bloody<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.28</NOTE> CARKAS. For before the final deva&s;tation of that renown|ed City, it was divided (as <HI>Jo&s;ephus</HI> relates) into a threefold Faction, which under the Conduct of <HI>John, Simon</HI> and <HI>Eleazar,</HI> cru|elly conte&s;ted one with another; and that <HI>bloody Generation,</HI> called the <HI>Zealots</HI> (of whom we have formerly &s;poken) adhering, as occa&s;ion &s;erv'd, to each party, cea&s;ed not to foment this cruel <HI>Di&s;&s;ention,</HI> and to enrage the heat of this <HI>burning Fever</HI> in the heart of the holy City, which could never be cured without the &s;hedding of
<PB N="310" REF="163"> abundance of <HI>Blood,</HI> and the lo&s;s of many thou&s;and lives. And when the Body of the City was mi&s;erably torne with the&s;e <HI>Di&s;|&s;entions</HI> within, and in continual danger of the Romans <HI>Inva&s;ion</HI> from without, me|thinks that <HI>Pathetical Repre&s;entation</HI> which the Hi&s;torian makes of their mi&s;erable condition, with the weeping wi&s;hes of the woful inhabitants, is enough to fetch <HI>Tears</HI> from the eyes of any that &s;hall but &s;eriou&s;ly minde it. For, &s;ayes he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jo&s;eph. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>The City being a&s;|&s;aulted on every &s;ide by treacherous con|&s;piratours, and a rabble multitude of unneighbourly Neigh|bours in the out-parts thereof, the People in the mid&s;t, like to &s;ome great body, were cruelly rent and torne. But the anci|ent men and the women being utterly at a lo&s;&s;e which way to e&s;cape &s;uch pre&s;&s;ing cala|mities, wi&s;h't for the</HI> Romanes, <HI>hoping that a</HI> forreign Warre <HI>might give them &s;ome re|lea&s;ement from the bleeding mi&s;eries of the&s;e</HI> inte&s;tine Broiles. Thus the afflicted <HI>Pati|ent</HI> wi&s;hes, &s;ends for the <HI>Chirurgion</HI> to make an <HI>Inci&s;ion</HI> into his Body, and draw away the blood from his Veines, for the cool|ing of the boyling heat which he feeles
<PB N="311" REF="163"> in his heart. But &s;ad is the &s;tate of that people who are in more danger, in more feare of their own <HI>bloody Brethren,</HI> then of the mo&s;t <HI>enraged Enemies.</HI> But alas when the <HI>Romanes</HI> furiou&s;ly came again&s;t them, how ea&s;ily did a divided &s;elf-de&s;troying people become a prey to their cruel ene|mies, who &s;lew with the &s;word about <HI>e|leven hundred thou&s;and</HI> of them, utterly de&s;troy'd that famous <HI>City,</HI> and that glo|rious <HI>Temple,</HI> which was ju&s;tly renown'd throughout the whole World.</P>
<P>A great <HI>River,</HI> who&s;e water runnes in one channel, is not ea&s;ily fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dable: but cut it into le&s;&s;er &s;treames and <HI>Rivulets</HI> (as <HI>Cyrus</HI> did <HI>Euphrates</HI> when he a&s;&s;aulted <HI>Babylon</HI>) and it may be ea&s;ily pa&s;&s;ed over. Thus <HI>Sedition</HI> in a &s;tate facilitates the way to its <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> And, <HI>the matter of Se|dition</HI> (&s;ayes the Lord <HI>Verulam</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Bacon, in E&s;&s;ayes, c. 15</NOTE>) <HI>is of two kindes; much Roverty, and much di&s;con|tentment. It is certaine</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>&s;o ma|ny overthrown estates, &s;o many Votes for Troubles.</HI> When a <HI>Fire</HI> is kindled among&s;t old <HI>broken Hou&s;es,</HI> it burns mo&s;t violent|ly and irre&s;i&s;tibly. When men are grown <HI>de&s;perate,</HI> the times mu&s;t needs be <HI>dan|gerous.</HI> Now, <HI>the Cau&s;es and motions of Seditions</HI> (&s;ayes the &s;ame Authour) <HI>are Innovation in Religion; Taxes; Altera|tion of Laws and Cu&s;tomes; Breaking of Priviledges; general Oppre&s;&s;ion; Advance|ment of unworthy Per&s;ons; Strangers; Dearths;
<PB N="312" REF="164"> Disbanded Souldiers; Factions grown de|&s;perate; and what&s;oever in offending People, joyneth and knitteth them in a common Cau&s;e.</HI> The&s;e things carry in them &s;o much light and evidence for their own truth and cer|tainty, and that &s;ufficiently confirm'd by many &s;ad experiences, that when we &s;ee this <HI>Matter,</HI> the&s;e <HI>Motives</HI> of Sedition, we need not doubt to &s;ay, <HI>the Times are perillous.</HI></P>
<P>It's mo&s;t certaine, that <HI>Union</HI> is the <HI>Stength, Divi&s;ion</HI> the <HI>Weakne&s;&s;e</HI> of any People. This the Wi&s;e Father taught his children, when he gave them a <HI>bundle of Rods</HI> to break, which they were not able to do when <HI>bound together,</HI> but ea&s;ily &s;napt them in &s;under when <HI>&s;ever'd,</HI> and &s;ingly deliver'd unto them. <HI>&V;nion</HI> is the Principle of <HI>Self-pre&s;ervation,</HI> but <HI>Divi&s;ion</HI> tends to <HI>Self-de&s;truction.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">No&s;tine igitur, quod omne quod e&s;t; tam diu manere atqu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ub&s;i&s;tere, quam diu &s;it unum: &s;ed interire atque di&s;&s;olvi pa|riter, quando unum e&s;&s;e de&s;ierit<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Bo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t. de Con&s;ol. l. 4</NOTE>?</NOTE><HI>Doe&s;t thou not know then</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>Boetius) that every thing that is, does &s;o long abide and &s;ub&s;i&s;t as it conti|nues to be ONE; but when once it cea&s;es to be one, then is it di&s;&s;olv'd and comes to nothing?</HI> A hou&s;e well <HI>compact</HI> will &s;tand in a &s;torm, but when the Building is <HI>di&s;-joynted,</HI> an ea&s;ie pu&s;h will throw it down, and one part of it &s;erves as an
<PB N="313" REF="164"> in&s;trument to break the other in pieces, and is it &s;elfe <HI>broken in breaking.</HI> And therefore,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ari&s;t. Polit.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Perillous are Brea|ches among&s;t Bre|thren:</HI> when this is the <HI>Epidemical di&s;ea&s;e</HI> of a Nation, it &s;peaks the times to be perillous.</P>
<P><HI>Union</HI> of the Inhabitants, is a Nations <HI>&s;trength</HI> and <HI>glory:</HI> but <HI>Di&s;&s;entions</HI> weaken its <HI>Strength,</HI> &s;tain its <HI>Glory,</HI> and pre&s;age its <HI>Ruine. Union</HI> of the Inhabitants is a brazen Wall of <HI>Defence</HI> round about a Nation, to keep its enemies out; but <HI>Divi&s;ion</HI> opens an hundred <HI>Gates</HI> for them to enter in. Its ea&s;ie to &s;ubdue that Nation, which takes the onely way to de&s;troy it &s;elf. But now,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nulla, quamvis &s;it mi|nima Natio, cito pote&s;t ab Adver&s;ariis deleri, ni&s;i propriis &s;imultatibus &s;eip|&s;am confecerit<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Veget. l. 3</NOTE>.</NOTE>No Nation, be it never &s;o &s;mall, can be &s;uddenly de&s;troy'd by its Adver&s;aries, unle&s;&s;e it di&s;patch it &s;elf by its own di&s;|cords and di&s;&s;entions. <HI>But when a Nation &s;hall by &s;undry</HI> Factions <HI>and frequent</HI> Se|ditions <HI>teare in pieces its own bowels, it may &s;oone be cru&s;h't and quell'd by a</HI> For|reign Force.</P>
<P>When <HI>two great Nations</HI> profe&s;t enemies to the true Chri&s;tian Religion are <HI>combin'd</HI> in a <HI>League of Amity,</HI> and <HI>one &s;mall Na|tion</HI> profe&s;&s;ing the Chri&s;tian Religion, is <HI>divided</HI> within it &s;elf into almo&s;t a thou|&s;and
<PB N="314" REF="165"> fragments, by a multitude of <HI>di&s;cor|dant Sects,</HI> and many of them are already inflam'd after <HI>War</HI> and <HI>Blood,</HI> and can hardly forbear &s;ome <HI>bloody Attempts,</HI> for the tearing in pieces of their fellow-Mem|bers of the &s;ame Nation, and a great number of them are the clo&s;e <HI>Friends</HI> to the open <HI>Enemy,</HI> and are continually blowing up the <HI>&s;parks of Di&s;&s;ention,</HI> for the kindling of the <HI>Fire of War</HI> in the whole Kingdom, are not &s;uch a People in a dangerous &s;tate, and are we not to account &s;uch dayes to be perillous Times? For, <HI>When Di&s;cords, and Quarrels, and Factions are carry'd o|penly and audaciou&s;ly</HI> (as that learn|ed States-man<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">acon, in E&s;&s;ayes, c. 15</NOTE>, before mention'd, well ob&s;erves) <HI>it is a &s;igne the reve|rence of Government is lo&s;t. And Re|verence</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>is that wherewith Princes are girt from God.</HI> When this <HI>Girdle</HI> is once loo&s;ed, the <HI>Garment</HI> will ea&s;ily be pluckt off, the <HI>Government</HI> will &s;oone be di&s;&s;olv'd. And yet mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e ea&s;ily, when it is not onely <HI>loo&s;e,</HI> but <HI>rent,</HI> with the&s;e Civil Di&s;&s;entions. Divi&s;ions have produced great <HI>Alterations,</HI> accompanied with many woful-<HI>Effects,</HI> in the mo&s;t potent Kingdomes on Earth, the mighti|e&s;t Monarchies of the World. The <HI>Divi&s;ions amongst the</HI> Trojans (as a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">D. Featly.</NOTE> Modern Di|vine well ob&s;erves) <HI>brought in the</HI> Graeci|ans; <HI>the Divi&s;ions among&s;t the</HI> Graecians, <HI>brought in</HI> Philip; <HI>The Divi&s;ions of the</HI>
<PB N="315" REF="165"> A&s;&s;yrian <HI>Mona <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ught in the</HI> Per&s;ian; <HI>of the</HI> Per&s;ian, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> Macedonian; <HI>of the</HI> Macedonian <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> <HI>the</HI> Roman; <HI>of the</HI> Roman, <HI>brought in the</HI> Turk: <HI>La&s;tly</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>the Divi&s;ions am<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">g the</HI> Britans <HI>of this Nation, brought in fi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t the</HI> Saxons, <HI>then the</HI> Danes, <HI>and la&s;t of all the</HI> Normans; <HI>and who &s;hall come next, invited by our Civil Di&s;tractions, God knows.</HI></P>
<P>Our Saviour who&s;e Te&s;timony is truth it &s;elf, plainly tells us,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mark 3.24, 25.</NOTE> <HI>If a Kingdome be divided again&s;t it &s;elf, that Kingdome can|not &s;tand: And if a Hou&s;e be divided a|gain&s;t it &s;elfe, that Hou&s;e cannot &s;tand.</HI> Does not nature it &s;elf teach as much? Is it not a <HI>Divine Harmony</HI> which hath tun'd the world into &s;uch a <HI>beautiful Frame,</HI> and makes the Sun, Moon, and Stars keep &s;uch a <HI>regular Dance?</HI> Are not <HI>Kingdoms, Cities, Hou&s;es</HI> then mo&s;t happy, when they do not, by the <HI>noi&s;e</HI> of their <HI>tumults,</HI> de|prive them&s;elves of the &s;weet plea&s;ure of this <HI>Heavenly Mu&s;ick?</HI> When PEACE that <HI>Bird of Paradi&s;e,</HI> &s;its and &s;ings in the Land, do not we pre&s;ently &s;ee a <HI>flowry Spring</HI> of all de&s;irable <HI>earthly Felicities?</HI> And when by our kinde u&s;age we invite her to our <HI>Bo&s;omes,</HI> does &s;he not pre&s;ent|ly &s;till our <HI>tumultuous Thoughts,</HI> put our affections into a <HI>delicious Dance,</HI> and heigh|ten our hearts gladne&s;&s;e to a kinde of <HI>ra|vi&s;hment</HI> and &s;weet exce&s;&s;e, by her Angel|lick Notes; yea, does &s;he not tune all our
<PB N="316" REF="166"> <HI>Voices</HI> to &s;ing in <HI>Con&s;ort,</HI> this &s;hort and &s;weet <HI>Ditty?</HI></P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nulla &s;alus BELLO: PACEM te po&s;cimus omnes<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Aen. 11.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>No &s;afety lies in War: For PEACE we all declare.</HI> Or ra|ther that which the <HI>Angels</HI> &s;ang at the Birth of the <HI>Prince of Peace,</HI> when the Temple of <HI>Janus</HI> was &s;hut, and <HI>Wars</HI> were all hu&s;ht in the <HI>World</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Cuncta atque con|tinua toti|us generis Humani aut Pax fuit, aut Pactio. Flor. Hi&s;t. l. 4.</NOTE>;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>Glory to God in the highe&s;t, and on earth PEACE, good Will towards men</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luk. 2.14</NOTE>. Welcome <HI>dear Peace,</HI> come from the <HI>Bo|&s;ome</HI> of <HI>Heaven</HI> to poure <HI>Bal&s;ome</HI> into our <HI>bleeding Wounds,</HI> and heal our cruel Con|tentions on <HI>Earth.</HI></P>
<P>And well may PEACE be welcome to us. For, &s;ayes the Orator,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Nomen PACIS dulce e&s;t, &amp; ip&s;a res &s;alutaris. PAX e&s;t tranquilla li|bertas. Nam nec privatos focos, nec publicas Leges, nec Libertatis Jura chata habere pote&s;t, quem Di&s;|cordia, quem caedes Civi|um, quem Bellum civile delectat: eumque ex numero hominum ejici|endum, ex finibus hu|manae Naturae extermi|nandum puto<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Cic. in Philip.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>The very Name of PEACE drops &s;weetne&s;&s;e, and the Thing it &s;elfe is Health, Safety, Hap|pine&s;&s;e. PEACE is a Tranquility in the Fruition of Liberty. And therefore he neither tenders the welfare of his pri|vate Family, nor the publick intere&s;ts of Lawes or Liberties
<PB N="317" REF="166"> who delights in Di&s;cords, the &s;laughter of Citizens, and Civil War; and therefore</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>I think him fit to be bani&s;ht the Bounds of Humane Nature, and not to be reckon'd in the number of men.</HI> Surely if <HI>&s;acred</HI> HARMONY &s;hould lay a&s;ide her <HI>Harp,</HI> by which &s;he compo&s;es &s;o many <HI>di&s;cordant Natures</HI> into, an amiable and well-agreeing <HI>Order,</HI> the whole Creation would pre&s;ently fall into a <HI>fiery Contention,</HI> and &s;o all the <HI>Beauties</HI> of this rare Build|ing would be &s;tain'd with the <HI>Blood</HI> of the warring Creatures, until the whole Fabrick, weaken'd and wa&s;ted with the&s;e Flames and Wars, would &s;uddenly &s;ink down into the fir&s;t <HI>Chaos of Confu&s;ion.</HI> And if once DISCORD &s;hould draw her <HI>&s;word,</HI> and with her Forces and Followers, <HI>Wrath, Cruelty, Revenge, Malice, Murders, Ma&s;|&s;acres, Fears, Fury, Horrour,</HI> and the re&s;t of her <HI>ragged regiment,</HI> march forth into the world to warre again&s;t mi&s;erable mankinde; and if once, according to her wonted <HI>&s;ucce&s;&s;e</HI> in all her warres, &s;he &s;hould come to dominere over <HI>Kingdomes, Ci|ties, Families,</HI> they would &s;oon become &s;o many mi&s;erable <HI>Maps of Confu&s;ion,</HI> and <HI>Stages of Blood.</HI> HAPPINES would pre|&s;ently take Wing and flie from them, when once DISCORD &s;hould come to <HI>reigne</HI> among&s;t them.</P>
<PB N="318" REF="167">
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Neque enim Civitas in Seditione pote&s;t e&s;&s;e: bea|ta, nec in Di&s;cordia Do|minorum Dominus<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Cicer. l. 1 de fin. Bon. &amp; Mal.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>For no City can be Happy that is the Seat of Sedition, nor will Happine&s;&s;e dwell in that Hou&s;e which is the habitation of Strife, the very Governours whereof are under the Domini|on of Di&s;cord.</HI> When therefore <HI>Peace, Love, Unity</HI> departs from a Nation or Church, and <HI>Strife, Hatred, Divi&s;ion</HI> &s;uc|ceeds in the the room, and regency there|of, that people mu&s;t needs have experience of perillous times.</P>
<P>For &s;urely when we &s;ee in the &s;ame Land, <HI>Church</HI> again&s;t <HI>Church, Altar</HI> again&s;t <HI>Altar, Pulpit</HI> again&s;t <HI>Pulpit, People</HI> again&s;t <HI>People,</HI> its a &s;ad Symptome of the Ruine and De&s;truction of that Land. For <HI>Divi|&s;ion</HI> brings <HI>Confu&s;ion,</HI> and <HI>Confu&s;ion</HI> brings <HI>Destruction.</HI> And when the <HI>Sheep</HI> turne head and &s;trike at one another, it's a &s;ign a <HI>&s;torme</HI> is at hand<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Plin. Nat. Hi&s;t. l. 11. c. 17.</NOTE>. They that are thus <HI>wanton</HI> while the windes are &s;till, will finde their &s;tate <HI>woful</HI> when the &s;torme is come For,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Di&s;cordiarum fraterna|rum horrendi even<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">us; fratres ip&s;os, &s;tir<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">emque &s;uam, domos, regna, fun|da everterunt<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Livy, dec. 1. l. 3.</NOTE></NOTE><HI>Di&s;cords amongst Brethren have pro|duced dreadful ef|fects: hereby have they de&s;troy'd them|&s;elves and their Fa|milies, both Root and Branch; yea, Hou&s;es, Kingdomes, Foundations have been overturn|ed
<PB N="319" REF="167"> by them.</HI> Thus terrible are the <HI>&s;tormes</HI> of Civil Di&s;&s;entions, which break forth up|on a Church or Nation, when once the <HI>&s;acred bands</HI> of brotherly love, wherewith they were bound up and held under Re|&s;traint, are broken. God who&s;e holy and gracious <HI>Pre&s;ence</HI> makes his Church hap|py and glorious, is a God of <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Love,</HI> and he requires all his children to live together in <HI>Love</HI> and <HI>Peace,</HI> that he may dwell among&s;t them. So &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle to the <HI>Corinthians;</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 13 11</NOTE> <HI>Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one Minde, live in Peace; and the God of Love and Peace &s;hall be with you.</HI> But when the People of God do by their continual <HI>Jarrings</HI> bani&s;h the&s;e excellent <HI>Virtues</HI> (which as <HI>Doves</HI> when they heare a <HI>noi&s;e,</HI> fly out of their Hou&s;e) they provoke God to <HI>depart</HI> from them, and by his <HI>Departure</HI> at once to de&s;poyle them of all <HI>Happine&s;&s;e.</HI> When the <HI>Bees</HI> fight in the Hive, the <HI>King</HI> flies away and leaves them, after which (as Natura|li&s;ts ob&s;erve) they never pro&s;per. If for the <HI>Contentions</HI> of Chri&s;tians Chri&s;t &s;hould for&s;ake his <HI>Church,</HI> we mu&s;t needs be in a mo&s;t mi&s;erable condition.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee how &s;ad the &s;tate of a Church or Nation is, which is &s;haken and &s;hatter'd with Civil Di&s;&s;entions. But the &s;tate of &s;uch a divided people is yet more &s;ad, when the enemies &s;eeing them
<PB N="320" REF="168"> thus weaken'd by <HI>Divi&s;ion,</HI> do &s;trengthen them&s;elves again&s;t them by <HI>Confederacy</HI> and combination. For as that great Hi&s;tori|an ob&s;erves;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Per Di&s;cordias Civiles externi tollunt animos<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Livy, d. 1. l. 3.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Civil Di&s;&s;entions animate Forraigne Foes</HI> to a ho&s;tile Inva&s;ion. Its the Devils maxime in the Church, and a principle of Machiavillian Policy in the State;</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Divide &amp; Impera.</NOTE><HI>Rend and Rule;</HI> Divide a People in|to Fractions, and then they are ea&s;ily <HI>&s;ubdu'd</HI> by a forraigne Power, who are already <HI>weaken'd</HI> by their own Divi&s;ions. Woe be to the godly, when they are <HI>divided</HI> among&s;t them&s;elves, and the wicked are <HI>combin'd</HI> again&s;t them. When <HI>Herod</HI> and <HI>Pilate</HI> (who before were at <HI>enmity between them&s;elves</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 23.12</NOTE>) were made <HI>Friends,</HI> Chri&s;t was &s;oon after condemn'd and <HI>crucifi'd.</HI> Certainly for the <HI>Divi&s;ions of Brethren</HI> there is cau&s;e of <HI>great Thoughts, great &s;earchings of Heart;</HI> and the <HI>Com|binations</HI> of the Churches Enemies are by all good Chri&s;tians to be re&s;ented as the <HI>&s;ad Symptomes of perillous Times.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="10" TYPE="symptom">
<PB N="321" REF="168">
<HEAD><HI>The tenth Symptome.</HI> Security in a State of Uncertainty.</HEAD>
<P>THe Times are then lea&s;t free from pe|rill, <MILESTONE N="X"> <HI>When there is a general Security upon the Spirits of men without any regular &s;ettlement of Church or State.</HI> When all things are much out of <HI>Order,</HI> and yet all &s;orts of men &s;it down <HI>&s;ecure</HI> in their pre|&s;ent &s;tate and condition. When notwith|&s;tanding the <HI>great changes</HI> wrought by the Divine Providence in the world, men are generally &s;o <HI>&s;ecure</HI> as if they had never &s;eene, or were &s;ure they never &s;hould &s;ee any <HI>change.</HI> Strange it is that a <HI>&s;hip</HI> new|ly to&s;t with a <HI>Tempe&s;t,</HI> and very lately like to have been &s;wallow'd up by the Seas, &s;hould <HI>&s;aile &s;ecurely</HI> among the yet <HI>unquiet Waves,</HI> when the cloudy heavens threa|ten a <HI>new &s;torme.</HI> Though the <HI>&s;torme</HI> be pa&s;t, it's no wi&s;dome while men are yet at &s;ea, to be &s;ecure in a <HI>Calme.</HI> Men are oft in mo&s;t <HI>Danger</HI> when they are in lea&s;t <HI>fear</HI> of Danger. Do not your Mariners ob&s;erve, that the greate&s;t <HI>Calme</HI> is oft the Fore|runner of the greate&s;t <HI>Storme?</HI> And have not the mo&s;t dangerous <HI>Earth-quakes</HI> come unawares, after a &s;till and <HI>quiet &s;ea&s;on,</HI>
<PB N="322" REF="169"> and &s;uddenly &s;wallow'd up men and bea&s;ts, Hou&s;es and Cities? <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">owever, <HI>&s;ecurity,</HI> e&s;pecially in an un&s;etled &s;tate of things, is a <HI>Symptome</HI> of great Danger, a Progno&s;tick of perillous Times. How ea&s;ily may a <HI>&s;leep|ing man</HI> be &s;laine, as <HI>Alexander</HI> &s;lew him whom he found a&s;leep on the watch, and well he de&s;erved &s;o &s;udden a <HI>Death,</HI> who was &s;o &s;ecure in a Time of <HI>Dan|ger.</HI></P>
<P>Strange it is that men &s;hould &s;it &s;till in a mindle&s;&s;e &s;ecurity, notwith&s;tanding the great <HI>mutations,</HI> unexpected <HI>emergencies,</HI> various <HI>turnings</HI> of the wheeles of the Di|vine Providence, which call aloud upon them to minde what <HI>great works</HI> God is doing in the world, and to meet him by <HI>Repentance,</HI> le&s;t he &s;hould &s;uddenly de|&s;troy them in his <HI>wrath.</HI> Strange it is that men &s;hould be &s;ecure, when <HI>contrary winds</HI> blow hard upon the great Sea of the world, and the <HI>mighty Waves</HI> da&s;h them&s;elves in pieces one again&s;t another. When twins do &s;trangely <HI>struggle</HI> together in the teeming womb of Time, and Providences &s;eeme to carry in them <HI>Contradictions,</HI> to the beholders eye. When the Times are &s;uch as that which the Father de&s;cribes, if we take his Ob&s;ervations in a Political &s;en&s;e. For &s;ayes he,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Greg. Naz. Orat. 53. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>This Time is full of Contrarieties, of Births and Deaths,
<PB N="323" REF="169"> of the flouri&s;hing and plucking up of Plants, of curing and kil|ling, of building up and breaking down of Hou&s;es, of weep|ing and laughing, of mourning and dancing.</HI> Now when the Times are &s;uch, that the <HI>Ri&s;e</HI> of &s;ome, is the <HI>Fall</HI> of others; the <HI>Glory</HI> of &s;ome, is the <HI>Di&s;grace</HI> of others; the <HI>Joy</HI> of &s;ome, is the <HI>Grief</HI> of others; is it not &s;trange that men &s;hould be &s;ecure? Yea, when the <HI>Ri&s;ing</HI> of a few, &s;hall be the <HI>Ruining</HI> of many; the <HI>Enriching</HI> of a few, &s;hall be the <HI>Undoing</HI> of many; and the <HI>Rejoycing</HI> of a few, &s;hall cau&s;e the <HI>Lamenting</HI> of many; are not the Times perillous, and is it not &s;trange that men can be &s;ecure? When the <HI>Strong</HI> &s;hall be made <HI>Weak,</HI> and the <HI>Rich</HI> &s;hall become <HI>Poore,</HI> and the <HI>Honourable</HI> &s;hall be e&s;teemed <HI>Ba&s;e;</HI> while tho&s;e that were poore, and weak, and ba&s;e, &s;hall become Rich, and Strong, and great in the World, are not the Times perillous? May we not then &s;ay,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10 12</NOTE> <HI>Let him that thinketh he &s;tandeth, take heed le&s;t he fall?</HI> Is it not &s;trange that at &s;uch a Time men can be &s;ecure? But then does <HI>Security</HI> much encrea&s;e the <HI>Danger,</HI> and make the Times the more perillous.</P>
<P>How oft have great Armies and Cities living in &s;ecurity, been &s;uddenly &s;urprized
<PB N="324" REF="170"> and de&s;troy'd by a &s;mall handful of men! Thus <HI>Gideon</HI> with <HI>three hundred</HI> men, wea|ry, hungry and faint, went up again&s;t the two Kings of <HI>Midian, Zebah</HI> and <HI>Zalmun|na,</HI> and their Ho&s;ts, about <HI>fifteen thou&s;and</HI> men, and vanqui&s;ht them, and took the two Kings pri&s;oners: Thus they di&s;com|fited the whole Ho&s;t; for its &s;aid, <HI>The Ho&s;t was &s;ecure</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Judg. 8.11, 12.</NOTE>.</P>
<P>Thus when the <HI>Danites</HI> &s;pies <HI>came to Lai&s;h, and &s;aw the People that were therein, how they dwelt</HI> carele&s;&s;e, <HI>after the manner of the</HI> Zidonians, <HI>quiet and</HI> &s;ecure, <HI>and there was no Magi&s;trate in the Land, that might put them to &s;hame in any thing</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Judg. 18 7</NOTE>; they made the Report hereof to their bre|thren that &s;ent them, and encouraged them to attempt the Inva&s;ion of them, &s;aying, <HI>Ari&s;e, that we may go up again&s;t them: for we have &s;een the Land, and behold it is ve|ry good: and are ye &s;till? Be not &s;lothful to go, and to enter to po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e the Land. When ye go, ye &s;hall come unto a People</HI> &s;ecure, <HI>and to a large Land: for the Lord hath gi|ven it into your hands: a Place where there is no want of any thing that is in the Earth</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Judg. 18 9, 10.</NOTE>. So <HI>&s;ix hundred men of the</HI> Danites <HI>took to them their Armes, and came unto</HI> Lai&s;h, <HI>unto a People that were at quiet and</HI> &s;ecure: <HI>and they &s;mote them with the Edge of the Sword, and burnt the City with Fire</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Judg. 18 11, 27.</NOTE>, and &s;o they took their Land unto them&s;elves for an Inheritance. Thus <HI>&s;ecurity</HI> expo&s;es
<PB N="325" REF="170"> men naked to <HI>Danger,</HI> and opens a wide door to de&s;truction. <HI>For when they &s;hall &s;ay, Peace and Safety: then &s;udden De|&s;truction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with Childe, and they &s;hall not e|&s;cape</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.3</NOTE>. And therefore &s;ayes the Lord, <HI>Woe to them that are</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">So the Marg. Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> SECURE <HI>in</HI> Zion, <HI>and tru&s;t in the mountaine of</HI> Samaria, <HI>which are named chief of the Nations, to whom the Hou&s;e of</HI> I&s;rael <HI>came:</HI> [as to places of Wor&s;hip, Seats of Ju&s;tice, Courts of their Kings.] <HI>Pa&s;&s;e ye unto</HI> Calneh, <HI>and &s;ee; and from thence go ye unto</HI> Hemath <HI>the great; then go down to</HI> Gath <HI>of the</HI> Phili|&s;tines: [all of them once great and migh|ty Cities, but now for their &s;innes, de|&s;troy'd and ruin'd: &s;o that whatever they &s;ometimes were, behold them now and &s;ee] <HI>be they better then the&s;e Kingdomes</HI> [of <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>I&s;rael?] or their Border great|er then your Border? ye that</HI> [in your car|nal &s;ecurity] <HI>put far away the Evil Day,</HI> [the Day wherein God will call you to account for all your mi&s;carriages, and &s;e|verely puni&s;h you for all your provocati|ons, though you now (that you may the more &s;ecurely continue in your &s;innes) put the Thoughts thereof far from you] <HI>and cau&s;e the Seat of Violence to come neare</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Amos 6.1, 2, 3.</NOTE>. That is, &s;ayes <HI>Diodate, You Chieftains, who put away far from you all thought and fear of Gods Judgements, and in the meane while joyne with, and draw near to Publick Ty|ranny;
<PB N="326" REF="171"> as if &s;innes and their puni&s;hments could go the one without the other.</HI> But Gods Judgements will for certaine at length &s;urprize &s;ecure &s;inners.</P>
<P>The Danger mu&s;t needs be great when men live <HI>&s;ecure</HI> in the guilt of tho&s;e <HI>&s;innes</HI> and Provocations, whereby they have made God him&s;elf to become their <HI>Enemy.</HI> When men <HI>pre&s;ume</HI> of <HI>&s;afety,</HI> meerly becau&s;e they <HI>pro&s;per</HI> in their <HI>&s;innes;</HI> and are &s;ettled on their <HI>Lees,</HI> becau&s;e they are not yet <HI>em|pty'd from ve&s;&s;el to ve&s;&s;el,</HI> in the executi|on of the Lords Judgements; that think with them&s;elves becau&s;e God hath hither|to let them alone, he will neither meddle nor make, in any thing that concernes them. Dreadful is the day of the Lords Wrath, which is at hand, when he will narrowly &s;earch out the&s;e &s;ecure &s;inners, and &s;everely puni&s;h them for all their Pro|vocations. For &s;ayes the Lord,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Am. 1.12 &mdash;18</NOTE> <HI>It &s;hall come to pa&s;s at that time</HI> [which is prefixt for their puni&s;hment] <HI>that I will &s;earch</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>with Candles,</HI> and puni&s;h <HI>the men that are</HI> &s;ettled on their Lees; <HI>that &s;ay in their heart,</HI> The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil. <HI>There|fore their</HI> Goods <HI>&s;hall become a</HI> Booty, <HI>and their</HI> Hou&s;es <HI>a</HI> De&s;olation: <HI>they &s;hall al&s;o build</HI> Hou&s;es, <HI>but not inhabit them; and they &s;hall plant</HI> Vineyards, <HI>but not drink the Wine thereof. The GREAT DAY of the LORD is near, and ha&s;teth greatly,
<PB N="327" REF="171"> even the Voice of the DAY of the LORD: the</HI> mighty man <HI>&s;hall cry there bitterly. That Day is a DAY of WRATH, a Day of</HI> trouble <HI>and</HI> di&s;tre&s;&s;e, <HI>a Day of</HI> Wa&s;tne&s;s <HI>and</HI> De&s;olation, <HI>a Day of</HI> Darkne&s;&s;e <HI>and</HI> Gloomine&s;&s;e, <HI>a Day of</HI> Clouds <HI>and thick</HI> Darkne&s;s, <HI>a Day of the</HI> Trumpet <HI>and</HI> Alarme <HI>again&s;t the fenced Cities, and a|gainst the high Towers. And I will bring</HI> di&s;tre&s;s <HI>upon men, that they &s;hall walk like blinde men, becau&s;e they have &s;inned again&s;t the LORD, and their</HI> Blood <HI>&s;hall be pou|red out as</HI> Du&s;t, <HI>and their</HI> Fle&s;h <HI>as the</HI> Dung. <HI>Neither their SILVER nor their GOLD &s;hall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORDS WRATH, but the whole Land &s;hall he devoured by the fire of his Jealou&s;ie: for he &s;hall make a &s;peedy Rid|dance of all them that dwell in the Land.</HI> Thus pre&s;umptuous and &s;ecure &s;inners may at length pluck down dreadful Judgements both upon them&s;elves and the whole Land. When &s;uch <HI>&s;inners</HI> are to be found in <HI>Zion,</HI> the Times mu&s;t needs be peril|lous.</P>
<P>Before the per&s;ecution in <HI>Bohemia,</HI> the Churches there having had a long continu|ed <HI>calme</HI> of Peace, in the plentiful enjoy|ment of the Go&s;pel and means of grace, men began to grow extreame loo&s;e in their Lives, and very <HI>&s;ecure</HI> in their &s;innes, though they were guilty of many and great Provocations, in&s;omuch as many pious
<PB N="328" REF="172"> and prudent men began to pre&s;age that &s;ome horrible <HI>&s;torme</HI> would &s;uddenly ari&s;e, and &s;ome fearful tempe&s;t would fall upon them: And the <HI>Event</HI> an&s;wer'd the <HI>Ex|pectation.</HI></P>
<P>Now how perillous are tho&s;e Times, wherein the <HI>Judgements</HI> of God are ready every moment to fall upon the Heads of a <HI>&s;ecure</HI> People! When every man minds his own <HI>private concernments,</HI> and little regards the <HI>Publick;</HI> when no man duly lays to heart the &s;innes of the Times, or <HI>mournes</HI> for tho&s;e <HI>Abominations</HI> whereby the Lord is provoked to de&s;troy the Land; when no man<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See I&s;a. 64.6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>&s;tirs up him&s;elf to take hold on the LORD, and call upon his holy Name;</HI> When Gods own people do not &s;o take notice of the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 28.5. I&s;a. 5.12.</NOTE> <HI>Operation of his hands,</HI> do not &s;o &s;eriou&s;ly minde his Providential Di&s;pen&s;ations, and lay to heart the di|&s;tracted condition of his Church, as they ought; when there is not that <HI>watchfulne&s;s,</HI> that care and <HI>zeale</HI> for the cau&s;e of Chri&s;t, that <HI>frequency</HI> and <HI>&s;eriou&s;ne&s;s</HI> in &s;eeking of God that there ought to be; but an <HI>univer|&s;al &s;lumber</HI> and &s;ecurity is fallen upon the children of men, it's a &s;ad Symptome of perillous Times.</P>
<P>Thus I have given you the <HI>Symptomes of perillous Times,</HI> and have now com|pleted the Number I intended; But I &s;hall adde one more by way of <HI>Corollary</HI>
<PB N="329" REF="172"> and <HI>Conclu&s;ion,</HI> which carries in it a re|&s;pect to all the re&s;t,</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 N="11" TYPE="symptom">
<HEAD>The la&s;t (but not lea&s;t) Symptome. <HI>The Perill of Plain-dealing.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THe Times are then perillous, <HI>When its a perillous thing for a man to lay down <MILESTONE N="XI"> the Symptomes of perillous Times.</HI> They are the <HI>&s;ins</HI> of men that make the Times perillous, and thence mu&s;t we draw the <HI>Symptomes</HI> of perillous Times. Now the more <HI>obdurate</HI> men are in their &s;innes, the more <HI>Impatient</HI> they are of reproofs, the more <HI>enraged</HI> they are at their Reprover, <HI>hating</HI> him for <HI>tel|ling them the Truth,</HI> and <HI>per&s;ecuting</HI> him for warning them of <HI>the wrath to come,</HI> the more perillous are the times. Thus when the wicked and rebellious Jews were faithfully reproved by <HI>Stephen,</HI> for tho&s;e fearful &s;ins whereof their own <HI>con&s;ciences</HI> told them they were deeply guilty; as when he plainly told them to their faces, that however they would be thought the <HI>onely people of God,</HI> they were no better then <HI>Per&s;ecutors</HI> and <HI>Murderers,</HI> per&s;ecu|tors
<PB N="330" REF="173"> of the <HI>be&s;t of men,</HI> Murderers of the <HI>Sonne of God;</HI> they were <HI>cut to the heart, and gna&s;hed upon him with their teeth, and &s;toned him</HI> with &s;tones to death<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Acts 7.52 54, 59.</NOTE>. And who knows not that the&s;e were perillous Times to the People of God?</P>
<P>Yea, the&s;e are perillous Times both to the <HI>Reprover,</HI> and to the <HI>Reproved:</HI> the one is in danger of <HI>Per&s;ecution</HI> from men; the other is in Danger of <HI>Destruction</HI> from God. Of &s;uch Times does the Lord &s;peak by the Prophet <HI>Amos,</HI> &s;aying;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Am. 5.10</NOTE> <HI>they hate him that rebuketh in the Gate</HI> [the place of Publick Conventions, where <HI>wi&s;|dom cryeth to the &s;imple</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Pro. 1.21</NOTE>] <HI>and they abhorre him that &s;peaketh uprightly,</HI> [not dealing deceitfully with them in the matters of the greate&s;t concernment.] But what follows hereupon? <HI>Fora&s;much therefore</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 11, 12, 13</NOTE>) <HI>as your treading is upon the Poore, and ye take from him burdens of Wheat, ye have built Hou&s;es of hewen &s;tone, but ye &s;hall not dwell in them: ye have planted plea&s;ant Vineyards, but ye &s;hall not drink Wine of them. For I know your manifold tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, and your mighty &s;innes: they afflict the ju&s;t, they take a Bribe, and they turne a&s;ide the poore in the Gate from their Right. Therefore the</HI> Prudent <HI>&s;hall keep</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Nam &s;ub Tyranno dicere quod velis, peri|culo&s;um; quod nolis, mi&s;erum e&s;t. Plin. Ep. 14. l. 8.</NOTE> &s;ilence <HI>in that time, for it is an evil time.</HI> This, unle&s;&s;e they had a <HI>Call</HI> from God, as had the Prophets of the Lord, to <HI>re|prove</HI> the&s;e wicked ones for their &s;innes,
<PB N="331" REF="173"> and to give in their <HI>Te&s;timony,</HI> in the be|half of God again&s;t their irregular and un|ju&s;t proceedings.</P>
<P>The times are unque&s;tionably perillous, when the <HI>Terrible one</HI> is in <HI>Power,</HI> and the <HI>Scorner</HI> is in <HI>Favour,</HI> and they that <HI>watch</HI> for iniquity are <HI>rewarded:</HI> That make a man an <HI>Offendor</HI> for a<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Sub Ty|ranno vo|ces non &s;unt libe|rae, multo minus in Tyrannum Drepan. Paneg. c. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Word,</HI> and lay a <HI>&s;nare</HI> for him that reproveth in the <HI>Gate,</HI> and turne a&s;ide the ju&s;t for a thing of nought. The&s;e are perillous Times to the People of God, neither can the Church, according to the Scripture-Calculation, expect good Dayes, till<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 29.20, 21.</NOTE> <HI>the terrible one is brought to nought, and the &s;corner is con|&s;umed, and all that watch for Iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offendor for a Word, and lay a &s;nare for him that repro|veth in the Gate, and turne a&s;ide the Just for a thing of nought. In that day</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 18, 19</NOTE> <HI>&s;hall the meek encrea&s;e their joy in the LORD, and the poore among men &s;hall rejoyce in the Ho|ly One of</HI> I&s;rael. Then<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 24.</NOTE> <HI>they al&s;o that</HI> erred <HI>in &s;pirit &s;hall come to under&s;tanding, and they that</HI> murmured <HI>&s;hall learne Do|ctrine.</HI></P>
<P>When the <HI>Great men</HI> of the Times &s;hall become <HI>Terrible ones</HI> to the People of God, and watch for opportunities to <HI>en&s;nare</HI> his Prophets, and &s;eek an occa&s;ion to <HI>per|&s;ecute</HI> the Preachers of his Word, who reprove them for their fearful Impieties and horrid enormities, whereby they pluck
<PB N="332" REF="174"> down Judgements upon the whole Land, the Times mu&s;t needs be evil and perillous. But yet let &s;uch know the <HI>Judgement</HI> of God is ready to fall upon their own heads, who have thus laid <HI>&s;nares</HI> for the life of others. For, <HI>Judgement is toward you</HI> (&s;aith the LORD<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 5.1, 2</NOTE>) <HI>O Hou&s;e of the King</HI> [O ye State-Robbers, that have turned the Kings Hou&s;e into a <HI>Den of Thieves] becau&s;e ye have been a SNARE on</HI> Mizpah, <HI>and a NET &s;pread upon</HI> Tabor: [<HI>i. e.</HI> You have laid &s;nares to entrap the Innocent in their Lives and Goods, as Hunters and Fowlers do upon the Hills of <HI>Mizpah</HI> and <HI>Tabor</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Diod. Annot.</NOTE>.] <HI>And the REVOLTERS are profound to make SLAUGHTER</HI> [q. d. they are pro|found in making PLOTS to murther men] <HI>though I have been a REBUKER of them all</HI> [who have thus villanou&s;ly con&s;pired again&s;t them, who have rebuked them for their &s;ins in my Name.] Thus will the Lord at length finde out and pu|ni&s;h proud and pre&s;umptuous <HI>Per&s;ecutors</HI> of his Prophets and People; yet during the time of their Prevalency and <HI>Predomi|nancy,</HI> in Church and State, the Dayes mu&s;t needs be evill, the Times peril|lous.</P>
<P>When <HI>Micaiah,</HI> the Prophet of the LORD is rudely <HI>interrupted</HI> by fal&s;e Pro|phets, and <HI>&s;mitten on the cheek</HI> for pro|phecying the Truth<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 King. 22.24.</NOTE>: When this Injury is <HI>protected</HI> by an ungodly Prince, yea,
<PB N="333" REF="174"> and &s;econded by a <HI>fal&s;e Impri&s;onment,</HI> it's &s;urely a perillous Time. When a wicked Ruler, ra&s;hly engaged in a de&s;tructive enterprize, &s;hall &s;ay concerning a Preacher of Gods Word, that &s;ought to reclaime him,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 27.</NOTE> <HI>Put this fellow in the Pri&s;on, and feed him with Bread of affliction, and with Water of affliction, until I come in Peace.</HI> When if a Prophet of the Lord, do but forewarne the People of following judge|ments, &s;ome <HI>furious Captaine</HI> &s;hall appre|hend him, and fal&s;ely<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Accu&s;an|di frequens &amp; publica Rabies gravius to|gatam ci|vitatem confecit. Senec. l. 3. c. 26. de Benef.</NOTE> accu&s;e him to the <HI>Princes of the people,</HI> and the&s;e &s;hall with|out Colour of <HI>Law</HI> or <HI>Justice,</HI> &s;mite him and ca&s;t him into pri&s;on. Yea, when this will not yet &s;atisfie their malice and cruelty, but they &s;hall pre&s;s hard upon him with their fal&s;e Accu&s;ations, &s;aying, <HI>He weakens the hands of the Souldiers and Citizens by preaching &s;uch things as the&s;e are, at &s;uch a &s;ea&s;on as this is;</HI> and &s;o under the&s;e pretences &s;eek to put him to Death; the&s;e are manife&s;tly perillous Times for the People of God, and &s;urely &s;ome great Judgement hangs over the Heads of &s;uch a Nation. For ju&s;t thus did the Prin|ces of <HI>Judah</HI> deale with the Prophet <HI>Je|remy;</HI> and what follow'd thereupon, but the utter Ruine and <HI>De&s;truction</HI> of the City <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the carrying <HI>Captive</HI> both of the Princes and of the People into <HI>Babylon,</HI> as we read in the &s;acred Records of the Holy Scripture<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See Jer. 37, 38, and 39. ch.</NOTE>? Behold his u&s;age,
<PB N="334" REF="175"> the fore-running pre&s;age of the&s;e &s;oon-following calamities on the Jewi&s;h Na|tion. <HI>It came to pa&s;&s;e</HI> (&s;ays the &s;acred Story<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 37.11-15.</NOTE>) <HI>that when the Army of the</HI> Caldeans <HI>was broken up from</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>for fear of</HI> Pha|raohs <HI>Army, then</HI> Jeremiah <HI>went forth out of</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>to go into the Land of</HI> Ben|jamin, <HI>to &s;eparate him&s;elf thence in the mid&s;t of the People. And when he was in the Gate of</HI> Benjamin, <HI>a CAPTAINE of the Ward was there, who&s;e name was</HI> Irijah, <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Shelemiah, <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Hananiah, <HI>and he took</HI> Jeremiah <HI>the Prophet, &s;aying,</HI> Thou falle&s;t away to the <HI>Caldeans. Then &s;aid</HI> Jeremiah, It is fal&s;e, I fall not away to the <HI>Caldeans: but he hearkened not to him: &s;o</HI> Irijah <HI>took</HI> Jeremiah, <HI>and brought him to the Princes. Wherefore the PRIN|CES were wroth with</HI> Jeremiah, <HI>and &s;mote him, and put him in PRISON in the Hou&s;e of</HI> Jonathan <HI>the Scribe: for they had made that the Pri&s;on:</HI> But the&s;e wicked Prin|ces are not yet &s;atisfi'd herewith. We have a further account of their injurious <HI>proceed|ings</HI> again&s;t him, their fal&s;e <HI>charge</HI> and bloody <HI>Petition</HI> prefer'd in an unju&s;t <HI>Court,</HI> with the <HI>I&s;&s;ue</HI> thereof, &s;uiting to their own <HI>De&s;ires,</HI> or rather (though di&s;guis'd in a <HI>Petitionary Way,</HI> as appeares by the &s;tory) their peremptory <HI>Demands,</HI> &s;o little Reverence did they beare to the Authority of their King. For thus is it re|corded;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 38.1-6.</NOTE> <HI>Then</HI> Shephatiah <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Mattan,
<PB N="335" REF="175"> <HI>and</HI> Gedaliah <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Pa&s;hur, <HI>and</HI> Jucal <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Shelemiah, <HI>and</HI> Pa&s;hur <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Malchiah, <HI>heard the words that</HI> Jeremi|ah <HI>had &s;poken unto all the People, &s;aying, Thus &s;aith the LORD, he that remaineth in the City &s;hall die by the</HI> Sword, <HI>by the</HI> Fa|mine, <HI>and by the</HI> Pe&s;tilence; <HI>but he that goeth forth to the</HI> Caldeans, <HI>&s;hall live: for he &s;hall have his</HI> Life <HI>for a</HI> Prey, <HI>and &s;hall live. Thus &s;aith the LORD, This City &s;hall &s;urely be given into the hand of the King of</HI> Babylon's <HI>Army, which &s;hall take it. Therefore the Princes &s;aid unto the King, We be&s;eech thee let this man be put to DEATH: for thus he weakneth the Hands of the men of War that remain in the City, and the Hands of all the People, in &s;peaking &s;uch words unto them: for this man &s;eeketh not the [PEACE</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So the Marg. Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE>, or] <HI>Welfare of this Peo|ple, but the HURT. Then</HI> Zedekiah <HI>the King &s;aid,</HI> Behold, he is in your hand: for the King is not he that can do any thing again&s;t you. <HI>Then took they</HI> Jere|miah, <HI>and ca&s;t him into the Dungeon of</HI> Malchiah, <HI>the &s;onne of</HI> Hammelech <HI>that was in the Court of the Pri&s;on: and they let down</HI> Jeremiah <HI>with cords: and in the Dungeon there was no water, but mire: &s;o</HI> Jeremiah <HI>&s;unk in the mire.</HI> Thus wicked Rulers are wont to exerci&s;e their Ri|gours upon the Lords faithful Prophets, and then needs mu&s;t &s;uch Times be perillous to the People of God.</P>
<PB N="336" REF="176">
<P>Thus when the Apo&s;tle fore-warnes us of <HI>perillous Times,</HI> he plainly tells us, that in tho&s;e Dayes,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.3</NOTE> <HI>men &s;hall be Fal&s;e-ac|cu&s;ers, Fierce, De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are Good.</HI> Say the CAPTAINES of the Ho&s;t to <HI>Jehu,</HI> concerning a Prophet of the LORD,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 King. 9.5, 11.</NOTE> <HI>Wherefore came this MAD fellow to thee?</HI> Thus when <HI>Piety</HI> is bani&s;ht from the <HI>Court,</HI> and <HI>Iniquity</HI> abounds in the <HI>Camp,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;. 59.15.</NOTE> <HI>he that departeth from Evil is accounted MAD</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So the Marg. and Jun. Hebr. <GAP DESC="foreign"> Praedae exponit; &s;e &s;ed &s;ecun|dum R. Salom. Aberrans, ve&s;anus, &s;tultus ha|betur.</NOTE>, and &s;o hereby <HI>maketh him&s;elf a PREY.</HI></P>
<P>When the <HI>Scepter</HI> is &s;natcht from the hand of VIRTUE, and the <HI>Sword</HI> is put into the hand of VICE; when AU|THORITY is &s;tript of her <HI>Robes of State,</HI> and POWER is cloathed and adorn'd with her <HI>Spoiles,</HI> it's high time for TRUTH and PIETY to fly to the <HI>Sanctuary of God,</HI> and there to wait for the HONOUR of MARTYRDOME at his <HI>holy Altar.</HI></P>
<P>When the <HI>Mines</HI> are made, the <HI>Pow|der</HI> is laid, and the <HI>Match</HI> is lighted for the blowing up of the <HI>Hou&s;e,</HI> as the <HI>Dan|ger</HI> is great to them that are therein, &s;o cannot the <HI>Di&s;covery</HI> be made without <HI>Danger.</HI></P>
<P>How &s;ad is the &s;tate of things, when <HI>Warning</HI> &s;hall be given to men from God of their near approachings evils and <HI>Judge|ments,</HI> which God is ready to execute up|on them for their &s;innes, and they &s;hall contemptuou&s;ly reject all &s;uch <HI>Admonitions,</HI>
<PB N="337" REF="176"> with many <HI>tart invectives</HI> (at lea&s;t) and <HI>&s;harp reflections</HI> upon them that have thus warn'd and admoni&s;ht them in the Name of the Lord, &s;aying, <HI>All this is but out of the Pride of their hearts, the bitterne&s;&s;e of their &s;pirit, and their Di&s;affection to the Government.</HI> Thus did the rebellious Jews reject the reproofs and premonitions of the Prophet <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> immediately before they experimented the <HI>&s;trength</HI> of Gods hand, and the <HI>&s;mart</HI> of his Rod in the <HI>Ba|byloni&s;h Captivity.</HI> For thus, &s;ayes he unto them,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 33.26</NOTE> <HI>Ye &s;tand upon your &s;word, ye work Abomination: q. d.</HI> Now ye have the <HI>&s;word</HI> in your hand, ye tru&s;t in your owne <HI>&s;trength</HI> and are &s;ecure in your &s;innes, as if the Evils and Judgements whereof I have warn'd you in the Name of the Lord, &s;hould never befal you. But &s;ayes he un|to them,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 33.</NOTE> <HI>When this comes to pa&s;&s;e, (loe it will come) then &s;hall they know that a Prophet hath been among them.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Demo&s;thenes,</HI> the famous <HI>Athenian Ora|tour,</HI> and illu&s;trious A&s;&s;ertour of the <HI>Grae|cian Liberties,</HI> again&s;t the injurious in|tru&s;ions of the <HI>Macedonian Monarch,</HI> being bani&s;ht by his ungrateful Citizens, as he departed out of the City, a company of the <HI>Athenian Youth</HI> coming to &s;ee him, he gave them this coun&s;el; that if they were wi&s;e they &s;hould never meddle in <HI>matters of State,</HI> all Activity in publick concernments being, through the <HI>Malice</HI>
<PB N="338" REF="177"> of &s;ome, and <HI>Envy</HI> of others, continually attended with manifold <HI>Dangers</HI> and <HI>Di&s;|graces.</HI> And further to confirm his Coun|&s;el, for his own part he a&s;&s;ured them, that if the <HI>Athenians</HI> would afford him the Li|berty of <HI>Choice,</HI> whether to go (as he was wont) into the <HI>A&s;&s;emblies</HI> to make <HI>Ora|tions</HI> to the People, or to climb a <HI>Scaffold</HI> to receive the <HI>&s;troke of Death,</HI> he now knew &s;o much by his own experience of the <HI>Feares, Envies, Su&s;pitions, Slanders, Accu&s;ations and Injuries</HI> that &s;till attend him that &s;hall intere&s;&s;e him&s;elf in the Af|faires of the Common-wealth, though out of a de&s;ire of the <HI>Publick Good,</HI> he would rather choo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e the <HI>plaine Way</HI> to Death, then that <HI>rough</HI> and dangerous <HI>Path</HI> to Honour<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Plutarch, in Vita Demo&s;th.</NOTE>. What &s;hould be the ground of this <HI>Choice,</HI> but that he thought <HI>one Death</HI> was rather to be cho&s;en then <HI>many?</HI> Thus we &s;ee how <HI>publick Per&s;ons</HI> are expo&s;ed to Danger in <HI>perillous Times,</HI> e&s;pecially when the Common-wealth is pe&s;ter'd with <HI>Factious People.</HI> There are two things which a Factious, Ambitious People can never beare, the <HI>Tongue</HI> of the <HI>Preacher,</HI> and the <HI>Head</HI> of the <HI>Prince.</HI> But beyond all colour of contradiction, the peril of Gods <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> in delivering his <HI>Me&s;&s;age</HI> to a people profe&s;&s;ing Religion and godline&s;&s;e, &s;peaks the Times to be pe|rillous.</P>
<P>But what &s;hall I &s;ay more to this
<PB N="339" REF="177"> wicked Generation, but with the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gal. 4.16</NOTE> <HI>Am I therefore become your enemy, be|cau&s;e I tell you the truth?</HI> Be it &s;o; <HI>Ne|verthele&s;&s;e</HI> (&s;ayes the LORD<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eze. 33.9</NOTE>) <HI>if thou warne the wicked of his way to turn from it: if he do not turne from his way he &s;hall a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> in his iniquity, but thou ha&s;t delivered thy &s;oul.</HI> Well then,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49.4.</NOTE> <HI>I have</HI> not <HI>labour'd in vain, I have</HI> not <HI>&s;pent my &s;trength for nought and in vaine: For my judgement is with the LORD, and</HI> both <HI>my</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> &dagger;</NOTE> <HI>WORK and REWARD is with my God.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Opus, Metonym. Operis, Merces. Buxt.</NOTE></P>
<P>Thus we have largely re&s;olved the <HI>fir&s;t Que&s;tion</HI> concerning the knowledge of tho&s;e Times, which the Apo&s;tle hath fore|told us &s;hall be perillous: We &s;hall now give a brief an&s;wer to the <HI>two</HI> remaining <HI>Que&s;tions,</HI> and &s;o proceed to the <HI>&s;econd</HI> principal <HI>Enquiry</HI> which was at fir&s;t pro|pounded for the pro&s;ecution of th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;ub|ject.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="question">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Que&s;tion.</HEAD>
<P><HI>VVHy are the&s;e Times &s;o peril|lous?</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Que&s;t."></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> Becau&s;e, I. <HI>God is provoked.</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="An&s;w."> The loving <HI>Favour</HI> of a gracious reconciled God makes the Saints happy, and the <HI>Times ble&s;&s;ed</HI>
<PB N="340" REF="178"> and glorious. But when the &s;innes of men have provok'd the <HI>wrath</HI> of God, what can we expect but <HI>perillous Times?</HI> God is no le&s;&s;e <HI>dreadful</HI> in his <HI>Judgements,</HI> then he is <HI>gracious</HI> to his Saints in the di&s;tribu|tion of his <HI>Favours.</HI> Doubtle&s;&s;e <HI>it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the liv|ing God</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.31</NOTE>. And the <HI>Abominations</HI> of &s;uch Times are &s;o many <HI>Provocations</HI> of the mo&s;t high God. If his <HI>Jealou&s;ie burn like fire</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 79.5. Zeph. 1.18 and 3.8.</NOTE>, and his fierce <HI>wrath</HI> &s;hould once be <HI>kindled</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 2.12 Num. 11.33 P&s;. 106.40</NOTE> again&s;t us, how &s;hould the Inhabitants of the Land be as withered <HI>stubble</HI> before him! What dreadful Judge|ments hath a <HI>provoked</HI> God thrown down from heaven upon a <HI>provoking</HI> people! He drown'd the world with water, and burnt up <HI>Sodom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah</HI> with Fire, and hath &s;laine many thou&s;ands of his Enemies with the edge of the Sword, for tho&s;e fearful <HI>Impieties</HI> wherewith they provoked the <HI>pure eyes</HI> of his glory. Needs mu&s;t tho&s;e be perillous Times, wherein the Lord of ho&s;ts is fearfully and continually provok'd to <HI>arme</HI> him&s;elf with vengeance, and come forth to the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of a rebellious People<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See I&s;a. 59.12-19</NOTE>. He hath <HI>lightening</HI> in his eyes, and <HI>thunder</HI> in his hands: if once he be provoked to anger, he can in a moment <HI>burn</HI> up a &s;inful Nation, in an in&s;tant <HI>break</HI> in pieces a rebellious People.</P>
<P N="2"> <MILESTONE N="2"> II. <HI>Men are perverted.</HI> When the minds of men are perverted by the <HI>Doctrines</HI> of
<PB N="341" REF="178"> <HI>Deceivers,</HI> all their paths are full of <HI>dark|ne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>danger.</HI> For the <HI>Minde</HI> is the <HI>eye</HI> of the &s;oul. And <HI>the Light</HI> of the &s;oul, as <HI>of the Body is the eye: if there|fore thine eye be &s;ingle</HI> (&s;ayes our Saviour) <HI>thy whole body &s;hall be full of Light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body &s;hall be full of darkne&s;&s;e</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.22 23</NOTE>. He who&s;e eyes are blinde walks in darkne&s;&s;e at noon-day. And when men walk in <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> they are continually expo&s;ed to <HI>Danger.</HI> When <HI>damnable Doctrines</HI> are publickly preach'd, and multitudes are baptiz'd into the <HI>Belief</HI> of them, and &s;o the &s;ouls of men are <HI>per|verted</HI> and impoy&s;on'd by them, the&s;e mu&s;t needs be Dayes of Danger, perillous Times. When the Power of <HI>Truth</HI> failes, and the Plague of <HI>Errour</HI> and Here&s;ie reignes; When the <HI>Glory</HI> of true <HI>Chri&s;ti|anity</HI> is eclip&s;t, and the <HI>My&s;tery of Ini|quity</HI> is mightily working in the mindes of men, &s;uch Times mu&s;t needs be perillous and pernicious.</P>
<P N="3">III. <HI>The Land is polluted.</HI> Reigning <MILESTONE N="3"> &s;innes, prevailing abominations, e&s;pecially when <HI>patronized</HI> by tho&s;e by whom they &s;hould be <HI>puni&s;hed,</HI> whereby they become National &s;innes, do exceedingly <HI>pollute</HI> a Land. Now when the Land is <HI>polluted,</HI> what can be expected but that God &s;hould <HI>depart</HI> from it, and bring in a <HI>Deluge</HI> of Judgement, or kindle a dreadful <HI>burning</HI> to purge it? Is not this then a &s;ad pre|&s;age
<PB N="342" REF="179"> of perillous Times? After the Hou&s;e of the Lord in <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was polluted by the Abominations of the people of <HI>Judah,</HI> both the City and the Temple was de|&s;troy'd<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 36.14, 15, &amp;c.</NOTE>. When the Land of <HI>Canaan</HI> was polluted by the &s;innes of the <HI>Canaanites,</HI> God deliver'd both them and their Land into the hand of the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> and when it was polluted by the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> he deliver'd them up into the hand of the <HI>Canaanites,</HI> as we read in the Book of the <HI>Judges</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See al&s;o, P&s;al. 106.38-42.</NOTE>. When the Land is <HI>polluted</HI> by its &s;innes, it's ju&s;t with God to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lam. 2.2</NOTE> <HI>pollute</HI> it by his Judge|ments. And what then can we expect but <HI>perillous</HI> Times in a <HI>polluted</HI> Land?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="question">
<HEAD>The third Que&s;tion.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Que&s;t."> <HI>WHat is the peril of the&s;e Times?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> The evils to be feared in the&s;e Times are &s;uch as the&s;e;</P>
<P N="1"><MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="An&s;w."> I. <HI>The judgement of God on the Land.</HI> God may ju&s;tly bring the <HI>Sword</HI> and <HI>Fa|mine</HI> and <HI>Pe&s;tilence</HI> for the puni&s;hment of &s;uch a provoking People. The&s;e three <HI>Ar|rows</HI> are ever ready in Gods Quiver to be di&s;charg'd again&s;t his Enemies. God may &s;weep that Land with the <HI>be&s;ome of De&s;o|lation,</HI> wherein men under pretences of Gods glory &s;eek their own intere&s;ts and e&s;tabli&s;hment. He may puni&s;h <HI>&s;pirituall</HI> Abominations with <HI>temporal</HI> Judgements:
<PB N="343" REF="179"> <HI>Per&s;ecution,</HI> with <HI>War;</HI> the plague of <HI>Er|rours,</HI> with the <HI>Pe&s;tilence;</HI> the <HI>Contempt</HI> of the heavenly Manna of his holy <HI>Word,</HI> with <HI>Famine</HI> and want of nece&s;&s;ary food. He may <HI>wa&s;h</HI> that Land with <HI>Blood</HI> that hath been <HI>defiled</HI> with <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion</HI> and <HI>Murder.</HI> He may <HI>&s;weep</HI> that hou&s;e with the <HI>Pe&s;tilence</HI> that hath been defiled with <HI>Pride</HI> and <HI>Per|jury.</HI> He may <HI>&s;courge</HI> that people with <HI>Famine,</HI> that have &s;in'd through <HI>Fulne&s;&s;e of Bread.</HI> He may <HI>break</HI> that land in pieces by the thunder of his <HI>Judgements,</HI> that hath not taken warning by the lightening of his <HI>Threatnings,</HI> in the preaching of his Word.</P>
<P>So for <HI>&s;piritual Judgements;</HI> for the <HI>A|bominations</HI> of his People, the Lord may <HI>go far from his Sanctuary</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 8.6</NOTE>. When a Church hath <HI>left its fir&s;t love,</HI> God may <HI>come &s;pee|dily and remove its Candle&s;tick out of his Place</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 2.4, 5</NOTE>. When men &s;hall <HI>abu&s;e</HI> the &s;er|vants of the Lord, &s;ent forth to gather the Fruits of his Vineyard, he may ju&s;tly <HI>de|&s;troy</HI> them, and <HI>give the Vineyard unto o|thers</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mark 12.9.</NOTE>. When men are grown <HI>greedy</HI> of the gain of <HI>Oppre&s;&s;ion,</HI> and <HI>weary</HI> of the <HI>Ordinances</HI> of God; when Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e is become cruel in <HI>grinding the faces of the Poore</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 3.25</NOTE>, and Profane&s;&s;e bold in &s;lighting of <HI>Sabbaths</HI> and &s;acred <HI>Solemnities</HI> of Divine Wor&s;hip, God may ju&s;tly cau&s;e that Land to <HI>tremble</HI> for the horrour of his Judge|ments, and plague that peoples contempt
<PB N="344" REF="180"> of his Wor&s;hip by a <HI>Famine</HI> of his Word. And &s;o hath the Lord threatned to puni&s;h the&s;e &s;innes in his people <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> by his Pro|phet <HI>Amos,</HI> &s;aying;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Amos 8.4-12.</NOTE> <HI>Heare this O ye that</HI> &s;wallow up the needy, <HI>even to make the</HI> Poor <HI>of the Land to</HI> faile, <HI>&s;aying, When will the</HI> New Moon <HI>be gone, that we may &s;ell Corne? and the</HI> Sabbath, <HI>that we may &s;et forth Wheat, making the Ephah</HI> [wherewith they mea&s;ured their Grain] <HI>&s;mall, and the Shekel</HI> [wherewith they weighed the money which they received for payment] <HI>great, and fal&s;ifying the Balances by deceit? That we may buy the</HI> poore <HI>for &s;ilver, and the</HI> needy <HI>for a paire of &s;hooes; yea, and &s;ell the refu&s;e of the wheat? The LORD hath &s;worne by the excellency of</HI> Jacob, <HI>&s;urely I will never forget any of their Works. Shall not the Land</HI> tremble <HI>for this, and every one</HI> mourn <HI>that dwelleth therein? and it &s;hall ri&s;e up wholly as a</HI> flood, <HI>and it &s;hall be ca&s;t out and drowned, as by the flood of</HI> Egypt. <HI>And it &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e in that day, &s;aith the Lord GOD, that I will cau&s;e the Sunne to go down at noon, and I will</HI> darken <HI>the earth in the</HI> clear day. <HI>And I will turn your</HI> Fea&s;ts <HI>into</HI> Mourning, <HI>and all your</HI> Songs <HI>into</HI> Lamentation, <HI>and I will bring up</HI> &s;ack|cloth <HI>upon all</HI> Loynes, <HI>and</HI> baldne&s;&s;e <HI>upon e|very</HI> Head: <HI>and I will make it as the</HI> mourning <HI>of an onely &s;onne, and the end thereof as a</HI> bitter Day. <HI>Behold the dayes come, &s;aith the Lord GOD, that I will
<PB N="345" REF="180"> &s;end a FAMINE in the Land, not a</HI> Fa|mine <HI>of Bread, nor a Thir&s;t for Water, but of</HI> hearing the Words <HI>of the LORD. And they &s;hall wander from Sea to Sea, and from the North even to the Ea&s;t, they &s;hall runne to and fro to &s;eek the</HI> Word of the LORD, <HI>and &s;hall not finde it.</HI> When the Lord &s;hall bring the&s;e judgements upon a Land or Nation profe&s;&s;ing the true Religi|on, the Church may call her Children<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 4.21</NOTE> <HI>ICHABOD, for the Glory is departed.</HI> Thus for the &s;innes of <HI>Judah</HI> did the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 9.3 and 10.4, 18, 19.</NOTE> <HI>Glory of the Lord</HI> (an illu&s;trious pledge of his gracious pre&s;ence) depart from <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> and &s;ad were the <HI>Calamities</HI> which en&s;ued thereupon. Thus the Times are perillous when the <HI>&s;innes of men</HI> are grown to that height, that we may ju&s;tly expect the <HI>Judgements of God</HI> upon the Land.</P>
<P N="2">II. <HI>Per&s;ecution of the Church.</HI> When <MILESTONE N="2"> <HI>Clouds of Darkne&s;&s;e</HI> are &s;pread over the City of God, what can be expected to follow but <HI>&s;howers of Blood?</HI> For when the <HI>Sun</HI> &s;hall be turn'd into <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> we well know the <HI>Moon</HI> &s;hall be turn'd into <HI>Blood</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joel 2.31</NOTE>. When a <HI>storme</HI> is rai&s;'d by the Prince of the power of the Air, what can we expect but that the <HI>Ship</HI> wherein <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> is imbarked with his <HI>Di&s;ciples,</HI> &s;hould be to&s;t on the Waters, and almo&s;t overwhelm'd with the Waves<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mar. 8.24</NOTE>? When Images of <HI>Gold</HI> are &s;et up and ador'd by the men of the World, what can the children of God expect but
<PB N="346" REF="181"> to be ca&s;t into a <HI>fiery Furnace</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Dan. 3.1, 21</NOTE>? When <HI>Gain</HI> is accounted <HI>Godline&s;&s;e,</HI> and <HI>Oppre&s;|&s;ion</HI> of the innocent is &s;tiled <HI>Ju&s;tice,</HI> then <HI>who&s;oever will live godly in Chri&s;t Je&s;us &s;hall &s;uffer per&s;ecution</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3.12</NOTE>. When the <HI>Wolves</HI> come in flocks to the <HI>Fold,</HI> and <HI>Lions</HI> are the <HI>Lords of the Soile,</HI> what can be ex|pected but that the <HI>Sheep</HI> and <HI>Lambs</HI> &s;hould be worried? When there is much <HI>Cockle</HI> among&s;t the <HI>Corne,</HI> much <HI>Chaff</HI> among&s;t the <HI>Wheat,</HI> we may conclude it &s;hall not be long (at lea&s;t if the winde ri&s;es or turnes) before it be <HI>winnow'd.</HI> When we &s;ee <HI>every Shepherd in</HI> I&s;rael <HI>is an abominati|on to the</HI> Egyptians<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 46.34</NOTE>, we may expect the <HI>Egyptians</HI> &s;hould pur&s;ue the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> e|ven into the heart of the <HI>Red Sea.</HI> When the &s;ubtile <HI>Foxes</HI> are come into the <HI>Vine|yard,</HI> we may conclude their cruel <HI>Teeth</HI> will be &s;oon dy'd red in the <HI>Blood of the Grapes.</HI> If the <HI>Scarlet Whore</HI> be once brought into the <HI>Hou&s;e of God,</HI> we &s;hall &s;oone &s;ee her <HI>drunken with the Blood of the Saints</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 17.4, 5, 6.</NOTE>. We &s;till finde the Names of the Saints written in <HI>Red Letters</HI> in the <HI>Romi&s;h Calendar.</HI> If the SWORD depo&s;e the SCEPTER, and rule in its &s;tead, we may be &s;ure it will <HI>eat fle&s;h and drink Blood,</HI> yea, the blood of <HI>Kings,</HI> and <HI>Prin|ces,</HI> and <HI>Prophets,</HI> who leaving the <HI>Sword</HI> &s;tain'd with the <HI>Guilt</HI> of <HI>Murder,</HI> &s;hall be them&s;elves crown'd with the <HI>Glory</HI> of <HI>MARTYRDOM. SIN</HI> is a <HI>cruel
<PB N="347" REF="181"> Mon&s;ter;</HI> if it once get the <HI>Supreme Power,</HI> it will &s;oon turne a <HI>Land of Beauty</HI> into a <HI>Sea of Blood.</HI></P>
<P N="3">III. <HI>De&s;truction of mens &s;ouls.</HI> If the great <HI>red Dragon</HI> with his Taile draw down <MILESTONE N="3"> many of the <HI>Stars</HI> of <HI>Heaven</HI> and ca&s;t them to the <HI>Earth</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 12.4</NOTE>, we may expect a dark night to follow. If the <HI>Springs</HI> be impoy|&s;on'd, it mu&s;t needs be <HI>Death</HI> to men to drink of the waters. If the <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> carry away the <HI>Ark</HI> from <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> we mu&s;t expect many thou&s;ands to be &s;laine and peri&s;h<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 4 10, 11.</NOTE>. If God take away his abu&s;ed <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> call home his de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>Mini&s;ters,</HI> and &s;o men loo&s;e the <HI>true Religion,</HI> how many thou&s;and <HI>&s;ouls</HI> mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily peri&s;h everla&s;tingly. The <HI>&s;oul</HI> is exceeding preci|ous; its a <HI>Jewel</HI> ine&s;timable, of more worth then the whole <HI>World</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 16.26</NOTE>: its <HI>lo&s;&s;e</HI> is irrepa|rable; a <HI>World of Gold</HI> cannot redeem <HI>one &s;oul</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">See P&s;al. 49.7, 8. with 1 Pet. 1.18, 19.</NOTE>. Now when &s;uch a <HI>&s;torme</HI> is ri&s;en that the <HI>&s;ouls</HI> of men are in danger of be|ing <HI>&s;hip-wrackt,</HI> the &s;tate of that people is &s;ad, <HI>the Times are perillous.</HI></P>
<P>Thus we have &s;een the <HI>Characters</HI> of the Per&s;ons that make the Times perillous, and the &s;everal <HI>Symptomes</HI> of perillous Times, with the <HI>Cau&s;es</HI> and <HI>Con&s;equences</HI> thereof, and &s;o fully fini&s;ht our <HI>fir&s;t Enquiry.</HI></P>
<DIV3 N="2" TYPE="enquiry">
<PB N="348" REF="182">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Enquiry.</HI> How pious per&s;ons mu&s;t demean them|&s;elves in perillous Times.</HEAD>
<P>IT much concernes the people of God to con&s;ider with them&s;elves, what the Lord calls them unto, and calls for from them in all conditions into which he is plea&s;ed to ca&s;t them, that their Lives and Carriages may expre&s;&s;e a <HI>Re&s;pon&s;iblene&s;&s;e</HI> to the Divine Providence. The&s;e are they whom the Lord hath <HI>&s;elected</HI> from thou|&s;ands to lift up his <HI>Name</HI> and <HI>Glory</HI> in the World. They are therefore in a &s;pecial manner to <HI>glorifie</HI> God, by &s;uch <HI>Actings</HI> and <HI>Demeanours</HI> as may be &s;uitable to all his <HI>Di&s;pen&s;ations.</HI> When God is mo&s;t <HI>di&s;|honour'd</HI> by the wicked, the godly &s;hould mo&s;t <HI>honour</HI> him. Saints are <HI>Souldiers</HI> call'd forth to fight the <HI>Battels</HI> of the Lord of Ho&s;ts: when the Enemies of the Lord do mo&s;t abound and are mo&s;t active, the Souldiers of his army &s;hould be mo&s;t <HI>va|liant</HI> for his Cau&s;e, mo&s;t <HI>vigilant</HI> again&s;t their force and Politick Encroachments upon the intere&s;ts of his Glory. The <HI>Trees</HI> of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e of Gods own Planting, &s;hould bring forth <HI>Fruit</HI> in all Sea&s;ons.
<PB N="349" REF="182"> Times of <HI>Perill</HI> to the Church, are Times of <HI>Tryal</HI> of the <HI>Piety</HI> of the Saints. When <HI>&s;in</HI> appears in its highe&s;t <HI>Pride,</HI> then &s;hould <HI>Grace</HI> &s;hine forth in its greate&s;t <HI>Glory.</HI></P>
<P>As for you therefore, my beloved bre|thren, that truly fear the name of the Lord, and de&s;ire to know what your <HI>Duty</HI> is in &s;uch Ca&s;es, attend the&s;e <HI>Directions</HI> which I &s;hall give you out of the Word of God.</P>
<P>When it is your Lot to live in <HI>perillous Times</HI> take notice of the&s;e Duties.</P>
<DIV4 N="1" TYPE="duty">
<HEAD><HI>The fir&s;t Duty.</HI> Sorrow for the Sinnes of the Times.</HEAD>
<P>DO you live in evil Times? Then, <HI>Be|waile <MILESTONE N="1"> before the Lord the Sinnes and Abominations of the Times.</HI> Prevailing <HI>Impieties</HI> make the Times <HI>perillous.</HI> The <HI>&s;ins</HI> of the wicked call for the <HI>&s;orrows</HI> of the Saints, becau&s;e hereby the <HI>Name</HI> of God is di&s;honour'd, and the &s;ouls of men are defiled. Thus was <HI>Davids</HI> heart <HI>grie|ved</HI> and his eyes &s;hed <HI>Tears</HI> for the &s;ins of his Times. <HI>I beheld the Tran&s;gre&s;&s;ors</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>and was grieved becau&s;e they
<PB N="350" REF="183"> kept not thy Word</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 158</NOTE>. And again, <HI>Rivers of waters runne down mine eyes, becau&s;e they keep not thy Law</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 136</NOTE>. When a Land is de|filed by &s;in, the&s;e <HI>Rivers of Teares</HI> are the be&s;t means to prevent a <HI>Deluge of Blood.</HI> When the wrath of God is kindled again&s;t an ungodly Nation, there is nothing more powerful to <HI>quench</HI> it then the <HI>Tears</HI> of the truly godly. By this means &s;hall you pre&s;erve your &s;elves from <HI>Defilement</HI> by the &s;innes of the wicked, and happily prevent the <HI>Judgements</HI> which are rea|dy to be executed on a &s;infull Na|tion.</P>
<P>Now, Chri&s;tians, is not this a duty you are very <HI>Defective</HI> in? And yet is there not much cau&s;e for it? When did you &s;hed a <HI>Tear</HI> for all the <HI>Sins</HI> of the Times? When did you ever look upon <HI>London,</HI> as Chri&s;t upon <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> a &s;inful City, and <HI>weep over it</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luk. 19.41</NOTE>? What? &s;hall the &s;treets of it run down with <HI>Rivers of Blood</HI> before you can &s;hed a few <HI>drops of Teares</HI> for its pre|&s;ervation? When did you <HI>meet</HI> together to <HI>weep</HI> over a &s;inful Nation? When did you, that can ea&s;ily <HI>weep</HI> upon other occa|&s;ions, go apart and poure out <HI>Teares</HI> into the bo&s;ome of God for the Sinnes and Abo|minations of <HI>England,</HI> and &s;ay, <HI>Ah Lord! In thy</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 63.9</NOTE> <HI>Pity and in thy Mercy &s;pare a &s;in|ful Nation?</HI> Do you not &s;ee upon <HI>En|gland</HI> many <HI>Symptomes of her De&s;truction,</HI> except fervent <HI>Prayers</HI> &s;teep'd in penitent
<PB N="351" REF="183"> <HI>Teares</HI> do prevent it? O how many and how great are the <HI>Abominations</HI> of the Land, the <HI>Provocations</HI> of the mo&s;t high God! What <HI>dreadful Dayes</HI> may we yet live to &s;ee if the Lord &s;hould deal with us accor|ding to our <HI>De&s;ervings!</HI> How &s;oon may the <HI>Clouds</HI> of heaven, which were wont to drop down <HI>Ble&s;&s;ings</HI> on our heads, be di&s;|&s;olv'd into <HI>&s;howers of Blood.</HI></P>
<P>Ah, my Beloved! have you not read, in the <HI>holy Scriptures,</HI> what dreadful <HI>Judge|ments</HI> the Lord hath executed upon <HI>Cities, Nations, Kingdomes,</HI> his own <HI>People,</HI> yea the whole <HI>World?</HI> Know you not that God turn'd the whole <HI>Earth</HI> into a <HI>Sea,</HI> and de|&s;troy'd all <HI>Fle&s;h</HI> (&s;ave the Family of <HI>Noah</HI>) with a <HI>Flood?</HI> How he pour'd a <HI>Flood</HI> of Fire and Brim&s;tone upon the Cities of <HI>So|dom</HI> and <HI>Gomorrah,</HI> and con&s;um'd them with Flames, and turn'd that <HI>plea&s;ant plain,</HI> that was as the <HI>Garden of God</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 13.10</NOTE>, into a <HI>noi&s;ome Lake?</HI> How that God was <HI>wroth</HI> with his own people, the children of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> whom he had cho&s;en to him&s;elf out of all the kindreds of the earth, and <HI>&s;lew</HI> them in the VVilderne&s;&s;e, &s;o that onely <HI>Jo&s;hua</HI> and <HI>Caleb,</HI> of all tho&s;e that came out of <HI>E|gypt,</HI> entred into <HI>Canaan?</HI> And how often after they were po&s;&s;e&s;t of the Land of <HI>Ca|naan,</HI> he <HI>&s;old</HI> them into the hands of their enemies that oppre&s;t them in the Time of the Judges? How in the dayes of <HI>Eli,</HI> he deliver'd them into the hands of the <HI>Phili|&s;tines,</HI>
<PB N="352" REF="184"> who &s;lew them with a <HI>great &s;laugh|ter,</HI> in&s;omuch that in one battel there fell of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> thirty thou&s;and Foot-men<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 4.10</NOTE>? How the Lord &s;ent a <HI>Pe&s;tilence</HI> among&s;t them in the dayes of <HI>David,</HI> which ra|ged &s;o exceedingly, that in three dayes &s;pace there dy'd of the people &s;eventy thou&s;and men<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Sam. 24 15</NOTE>? How the Lord brought the King of <HI>Babylon</HI> into <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> who burnt the <HI>Temple</HI> of the Lord, the Palace of the Prince, and the <HI>Hou&s;es</HI> of the Nobles with Fire; brake down the Wall thereof and utterly de&s;troy'd the <HI>City;</HI> carry'd both Princes and People <HI>Captives</HI> into <HI>Babylon,</HI> where they endur'd a hard <HI>Bondage</HI> for three&s;core and ten years<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Hing. 25. and 2 Chro. 36.14&mdash;ult.</NOTE>? Now (know you not that) <HI>all the&s;e things happened unto them for en&s;amples unto us,</HI> and that <HI>they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the World are come</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10 6, 11.</NOTE>? Oh do but con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly with your &s;elves, what were the <HI>Cau&s;es</HI> of all the&s;e fearful <HI>Judgements</HI> which God, who is the <HI>Father of Mercies,</HI> brought upon the men of the world, yea, upon his <HI>own Peo|ple.</HI> Were they not the <HI>&s;innes of the Times</HI> whereby men pluckt down upon their own heads the&s;e <HI>Plagues</HI> and <HI>Puni&s;hments?</HI> Now pau&s;e a little and con&s;ider &s;eriou&s;ly, Are not the <HI>&s;ame &s;innes</HI> that drew down Judge|ments upon them to be found among&s;t us? Is not the <HI>Pride, Luxury, La&s;civiou&s;ne&s;s, Licenci|ou&s;ne&s;s, Athei&s;m</HI> &amp; <HI>Impieties</HI> of the old World
<PB N="353" REF="184"> to be found among&s;t us? Are there not<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.4.</NOTE> <HI>Mighty men (Giants</HI> in worldly <HI>Greatne&s;s</HI>) who employ their might in <HI>fighting again&s;t God,</HI> in the&s;e our Dayes? Are not the &s;ins of <HI>Sodom</HI> to be found among&s;t us? Is not the <HI>City</HI> and <HI>Land</HI> polluted with the vile&s;t Impurities and Pollutions? Are not the <HI>Murmurings, Cruelties, Inju|&s;tice, Oppre&s;&s;ions, Fal&s;hoods, Covenant-break|ings, Revoltings, neglect of Gods Wor&s;hip, Contempt of his Ordinances, Hypocri&s;ies of I&s;rael</HI> to be found among&s;t the people of <HI>England?</HI> Have we not then cau&s;e to tremble in the Apprehen&s;ion of the judge|ments which hang over our heads? e&s;pe|cially if we &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider that tho&s;e &s;innes which <HI>&s;everally</HI> in them drew down &s;uch dreadful judgements, are to be found <HI>jointly</HI> in us, and that notwith&s;tanding the <HI>Light</HI> of the Go&s;pel and the <HI>Meanes</HI> of grace plentifully enjoyed by us, which are mo&s;t fearful <HI>Aggravations</HI> of this dreadful guilt? Nay, is not the guilt of many hor|rid <HI>Blasphemies,</HI> and helli&s;h <HI>Impieties</HI> which have not been heard of in former Ages, to be found among&s;t us? Does it not make your hearts to tremble to con&s;ider that &s;o many <HI>crying &s;ins,</HI> &s;o many <HI>provoking im|pieties,</HI> &s;o many <HI>bloody Abominations</HI> &s;hould abound and reigne among&s;t us, when for any one of them &s;o reigning, &s;o abound|ing, the whole Land might be involv'd in <HI>mi&s;eries</HI> and <HI>Confu&s;ion</HI> and <HI>Blood?</HI> Are not
<PB N="354" REF="185"> the&s;e then perillous Times? Surely, <HI>it is of the LORDS mercies we are not con&s;umed, and becau&s;e his compa&s;&s;ions faile not</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Lam. 3.22</NOTE>, But who knows how &s;oon the Lord in his <HI>Ju|stice</HI> may proceed to the execution of his <HI>Judgements</HI> upon us, and &s;o turne our <HI>Chephzibah,</HI> a Land of Beauty, the Lords Delight, into an <HI>Acheldama,</HI> a Field of Blood?</P>
<P>What then is to be done by us, Chri&s;tians, for the <HI>Prevention</HI> of the Lords Judgements on a &s;inful Land? O come and bring e|very one your <HI>two Buckets,</HI> and pour them out before the Lord, for the <HI>quenching</HI> of the <HI>Fire</HI> of the Lords wrath which is kin|dled again&s;t a &s;inful Nation. <HI>Fasting,</HI> and <HI>Weeping,</HI> and <HI>Mourning</HI> hath been a way which hath proved very effectual for the turning away the &s;ore&s;t Judgements, the diverting of the neare&s;t De&s;truction. Thus was the de&s;truction of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> delay'd in the time of <HI>Jo&s;iah</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 King. 22.19, 20.</NOTE>, &amp; the de&s;truction of <HI>Nineveh</HI> in the Days of the Prophet <HI>Jonah</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jon. ch. 3</NOTE>. This is that to which God <HI>calls</HI> at &s;uch a time as this, in a Day of <HI>Danger</HI> and <HI>Di&s;tre&s;&s;e.</HI> When the Lord had threatned terrible Judgements again&s;t <HI>Zion,</HI> this was the duty to which by his Prophet he call'd the Inhabitants of <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Joel 2.12-19.</NOTE> <HI>Therefore al&s;o now &s;aith the LORD, Turn ye even to me with all your Heart, and with FASTING, and with WEEPING, and with MOURNING: And rent your</HI> Hearts, <HI>and not your</HI> Gar|ments,
<PB N="355" REF="185"> <HI>and turne unto the LORD your God: for he is</HI> Gracious <HI>and</HI> Merciful, <HI>&s;lo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to</HI> Anger, <HI>and of great</HI> kindne&s;&s;e, <HI>and repenteth him of the Evil. Who knoweth if he will returne and repent and leave a ble&s;&s;ing behind him, even a meat-Offering and a drink-Offering to the LORD your God?</HI></P>
<P><HI>Blow the Trumpet in</HI> Zion, <HI>&s;anctifie a FAST, call a</HI> &s;olemne A&s;&s;embly. <HI>Gather the</HI> People: <HI>&s;anctifie the Congregation: A&s;|&s;emble the</HI> Elders; <HI>Gather the</HI> children <HI>and tho&s;e that &s;uck the Brea&s;ts: Let the</HI> Bride-groom <HI>go forth of his Chamber, and the</HI> B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ide <HI>out of her clo&s;et. Let the</HI> Prie&s;ts, <HI>the Mini&s;ters of the LORD, weep between the Porch and the Altar, and let them &s;ay,</HI> Spare thy <HI>People,</HI> O LORD, and give not thine <HI>Heritage</HI> to reproach; that the <HI>Hea|then</HI> &s;hould rule over them. Wherefore &s;hould they &s;ay among the People, <HI>Where is their God?</HI></P>
<P>Now mark what follows. <HI>Then will the LORD be</HI> jealous <HI>for his Land, and</HI> pity <HI>his People. Yea, the LORD will</HI> an&s;wer <HI>and &s;ay unto his People, Behold, I will &s;end you</HI> Corn, <HI>and</HI> Wine, <HI>and</HI> Oyle, <HI>and ye &s;hall be &s;atisfi'd therewith, and I will no more make you a</HI> reproach <HI>among the Heathen.</HI> Now how great an encouragement &s;hould this be to us in perillous Times, to &s;eek the Lord &s;olemnly, &s;eriou&s;ly with Fa&s;ting and Prayer! Do you ever remem|ber
<PB N="356" REF="186"> that the Judgements of the Lord came upon his people while they were <HI>Fa&s;ting,</HI> and <HI>Weeping,</HI> and <HI>Mourning?</HI> No, when &s;innners are <HI>Fea&s;ting,</HI> and <HI>Sporting,</HI> and making <HI>Merry,</HI> then does the Lord bring his judgements upon them, even &s;udden de&s;truction. <HI>For</HI> (&s;ayes the holy Gho&s;t) <HI>When they &s;hall &s;ay, Peace and &s;afety: then &s;udden de&s;truction cometh upon them, as Travail upon a woman with childe, and they &s;hall not e&s;cape</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.3</NOTE>. Do you know, or have you con&s;ider'd what was the <HI>carriage</HI> of the men of the <HI>old world,</HI> when the Lord brought the <HI>Flood</HI> upon them; and of the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> a little before they were carryed captive into <HI>Babylon?</HI> Why the Scripture tells you, that <HI>in the Dayes of</HI> Noah, <HI>that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in Marriage, until the day that</HI> Noah <HI>enter'd into the Ark, and knew not untill the Flood came and took them all away</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.38, 39.</NOTE>. They <HI>knew not,</HI> that is, they con&s;i|dered it not, regarded it not: For they had been warned of the coming of the Flood by the <HI>Preaching</HI> of <HI>Noah</HI> for the &s;pace of one hundred and twenty years, and by his preparing an <HI>Ark</HI> for the pre&s;ervation of him&s;elf and his own Family. So the <HI>carele&s;s posture</HI> of the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> in a free indulgence of their <HI>&s;en&s;ual Delights,</HI> did but a little precede that <HI>cruel Captivity</HI> and <HI>bitter bondage,</HI> which they &s;o long &s;u&s;tained in <HI>Babylon</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Am. chap. 6.</NOTE>.</P>
<PB N="357" REF="186">
<P>Now are not the people of the Land, in the&s;e our Dayes, generally <HI>&s;en&s;le&s;&s;e</HI> of the crying &s;ins, and <HI>fearle&s;&s;e</HI> of the following Judgements which may ju&s;tly fall upon us? Is it not time then for them that feare the Lord, to lay the&s;e things to heart, and to <HI>weep</HI> and <HI>mourne</HI> before the Lord for the&s;e Abominations? Does it not both well be|come, and neatly concerne the people of God in the Land, to call one another to <HI>Fa&s;ting</HI> and <HI>Mourning,</HI> and <HI>bitter La|mentation,</HI> le&s;t the Lord &s;hould kindle a fire in his wrath, &s;o that none can quench it? O Chri&s;tians, can you &s;it &s;till and be <HI>&s;ecure</HI> in &s;uch Times as the&s;e? What, do you not care how &s;oone the <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> the glory departs from <HI>England?</HI> Do you not care what becomes of <HI>Religion,</HI> what be|falls the <HI>Church,</HI> how &s;oon you loo&s;e your <HI>Opportunities</HI> of enjoying the ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Or|dinances</HI> of the Go&s;pel? Oh are not the&s;e <HI>Opportunities</HI> precious, are not the <HI>Ordi|nances</HI> of God precious, are not the <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel, and the <HI>People</HI> of God precious in your E&s;teeme? How then will your hearts bear it to &s;ee the&s;e Mini|&s;ters of the Go&s;pel <HI>murther'd,</HI> the&s;e peo|ple of God led as <HI>&s;heep</HI> to the <HI>&s;laught<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r?</HI> Alas! you know not how near the Dayes may be wherein you may &s;ay, <HI>Time was when we enjoy'd the Ordinances of God, and had many opportunities of &s;eeking the Face of God in the A&s;&s;emblies of his Saints,
<PB N="358" REF="187"> but (alas) now we a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e deprived of the&s;e en|joyments.</HI> And oh! will you not yet lay the&s;e things to heart, &s;o as to mourn be|fore the Lord for tho&s;e Evils whereby we have provoked the Lord to plague the whole Land with his Judgements, and utterly to deprive us of the&s;e precious Pri|viledges?</P>
<P>Do you &s;ee no cau&s;e of <HI>Feare,</HI> no &s;ignes of <HI>Danger?</HI> Are not <HI>Sabbaths</HI> profan'd, <HI>Ordinances</HI> contemn'd, the <HI>Word</HI> de&s;pis'd, the <HI>Sacraments</HI> &s;lighted, <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> reviled, <HI>Scriptures</HI> rejected, the <HI>Spirit</HI> re&s;i&s;ted, <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> crucifi'd afre&s;h, and the <HI>Name</HI> of God bla&s;phem'd among&s;t us? Now are not the&s;e fearful <HI>Provocations</HI> of the mo&s;t high God? May not the de&s;pi&s;ed <HI>Manna</HI> be re&s;trained, and God give us <HI>Quailes</HI> (meat for our Lu&s;ts) in wrath? May not God ju&s;tly puni&s;h mens <HI>wearine&s;&s;e</HI> of his <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> with a <HI>Famine</HI> of his <HI>Word?</HI> when men prize the <HI>World</HI> above the <HI>Word</HI> of God; may not the Lord ju&s;tly take away his Word and Go&s;pel from &s;uch an unwor|thy people? May not he &s;uffer the <HI>&s;eales</HI> of his Covenant, the <HI>Pledges</HI> of his love to be taken away from us, or polluted to us? May not our <HI>Teachers</HI> be removed into a corner? May not the <HI>Holy Scriptures,</HI> the Well-&s;prings of our Comforts and Joy, be &s;ealed up from us? May not God take away his <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> from us, that he may no more<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.3</NOTE> <HI>strive</HI> with a people
<PB N="359" REF="187"> devoted to de&s;truction? May not God charge upon the Land the guilt of his Sonnes <HI>Blood,</HI> and revenge upon a rebel|lious people the wrong done to his owne <HI>Name?</HI> Is it not then high time for us to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Am. 4.12</NOTE> <HI>meet</HI> the Lord by <HI>Repentance,</HI> and to <HI>humble</HI> our &s;elves before him for the &s;ins of the Land, le&s;t his indignation break forth upon us as a <HI>Breach of the Sea,</HI> and there be no means left to e&s;cape?</P>
<P>Come then, Chri&s;tians, and let us <HI>weep</HI> and <HI>mourne</HI> before the Lord. It may be he may regard our <HI>Tears,</HI> and hear the voice of our <HI>weeping</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 6.8</NOTE>, and put on <HI>Bowels of Compa&s;&s;ions</HI> towards us, and &s;pare our Land. Who knows but the <HI>whole Land</HI> may fare the better for the &s;akes of a few <HI>Mourners in Zion?</HI> Oh let's every one labour to become one of that number. So when the Lord &s;hall ari&s;e and have mercy upon <HI>Zion,</HI> we &s;hall be called to partake of her Joy. <HI>Rejoyce for joy with her</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 66.10</NOTE>) <HI>all ye that have mourned for her.</HI></P>
<P>However, Chri&s;tians, go into your <HI>Clo&s;ets,</HI> and weep before the Lord in <HI>&s;ecret,</HI> for the &s;innes whereby God is <HI>openly</HI> di&s;honour'd: This was the holy re&s;olution of the Pro|phet <HI>Jeremy</HI> upon the pride and &s;tubborn|ne&s;&s;e of the people of <HI>Judah,</HI> the &s;ad Symp|tomes of approaching Judgements. <HI>Heare ye</HI> (&s;ayes he &dagger;) <HI>and give eare,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 13.15, 16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>be not proud: for the LORD hath &s;poken. Give
<PB N="360" REF="188"> glory to the LORD your God, before he cau&s;e darkne&s;&s;e, and before your feet &s;tumble upon the dark Mountaines, and while ye look for light, he turne it into the &s;hadow of Death, and make it gro&s;&s;e Darkne&s;&s;e. But if ye will not hear it, my &s;oul &s;hall weep in &s;ecret places for your Pride, and mine eye &s;hall weep &s;ore, and run down with teares, becau&s;e the LORDS Flock is carried away captive.</HI></P>
<P>Now if you be of the number of tho&s;e that <HI>mourn</HI> and <HI>&s;igh</HI> for the Abominations of the Times, if the Lord &s;hall bring his Judgements in your dayes upon the Land, he will prepare his <HI>&s;ecret Chambers</HI> of pro|vidence for your pre&s;ervation. Thus the Lord &s;ent his <HI>Angel</HI> to &s;et a <HI>Mark</HI> upon the fore-heads of the men that <HI>mourn'd</HI> for the &s;innes of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> that they might be <HI>&s;pared,</HI> when all the re&s;t of the City by an impartial &s;troke were to &s;uffer an in|evitable de&s;truction<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Ezek. 9.4-7.</NOTE>. Thus <HI>Lot</HI> living in <HI>Sodom,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2.7, 8.</NOTE> a lu&s;tful City, <HI>vexed his righteous &s;oul from day to day,</HI> with a <HI>holy &s;orrow</HI> for the &s;ins of the <HI>filthy Sodomites,</HI> and &s;o the Lord <HI>pre&s;erved</HI> him in the dreadful overthrow of that &s;inful City. O then, Chri&s;tians, mourne and weep for the &s;innes of the Times, the Abominations of the Age wherein you live, and it may be you may by this means &s;ave the <HI>City,</HI> &s;ave a <HI>Kingdome</HI> from de&s;truction, however you &s;hall be &s;ure to &s;ave your own <HI>&s;ouls.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="2" TYPE="duty">
<PB N="361" REF="188">
<HEAD><HI>The &s;econd Duty.</HI> The Practice of Piety.</HEAD>
<P>ARe they Dayes of Danger, Times of <MILESTONE N="II"> Perill wherein you live? yet, <HI>Dare to be pious though the Times be perillous.</HI> To be religious, when Religion is both in <HI>Fa&s;hion</HI> and in <HI>favour</HI> is no great prai&s;e: but its the glory of a Saint to be <HI>Holy</HI> and <HI>Good,</HI> when the Times he lives in are <HI>&s;infull</HI> and <HI>Evil.</HI> It's a <HI>Crown of glory</HI> which &s;hall flouri&s;h for ever, which the <HI>Hand of God</HI> him&s;elf hath &s;et upon the head of <HI>Noah;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.9.</NOTE> Noah <HI>was a ju&s;t man, and perfect in his Generations,</HI> which were &s;inful and wicked. <HI>Job</HI> &s;hone as a bright <HI>Star</HI> in the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> when almo&s;t all the world was over|&s;pread with <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e.</HI> And therefore God him&s;elf hath given him an <HI>honourable Te&s;timony</HI> in his Word, both for<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job. 1.1</NOTE> <HI>Piety</HI> and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jam. 5.11</NOTE> <HI>Patience,</HI> and thereby an everla&s;ting ble&s;|&s;ed <HI>Memorial.</HI> Doubtle&s;&s;e its a Saints <HI>Duty</HI> to be religious, when for Religions &s;ake he is expo&s;ed to <HI>Danger.</HI> Here's the tryal of &s;incerity, when <HI>Truth faileth,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 59.15. See the Margin.</NOTE> <HI>and he that departs from iniquity maketh him|&s;elf a prey, and is accounted mad</HI> for his
<PB N="362" REF="189"> paines. Better it is to lo&s;e the <HI>favour</HI> of men, then to incur the <HI>di&s;plea&s;ure</HI> of God. The <HI>lo&s;&s;e</HI> of the favour of men is no|thing, compared to the <HI>gain</HI> of the favour of God. Its nothing to flock to the <HI>Ta|bernacle</HI> in Times of <HI>Peace;</HI> but its wor|thy of <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> indeed to accompany the <HI>Ark</HI> of God in all the perils of <HI>War.</HI> Be not di&s;courag'd, Chri&s;tians, by the <HI>Danger</HI> of the Times, from doing tho&s;e <HI>Du|ties</HI> whereby in your places you may glorifie God.</P>
<P>Moreover, con&s;ider, to be good in <HI>bad Times,</HI> is the way to make bad <HI>Times good.</HI> And therefore, &s;ayes Hierome,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ne dicas priora Tem|pora meliora fuere quam nunc &s;unt; Virtutes fa|ciunt Dies bonos, Vitia malos<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Hier. in Eccl. c. 41.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Say not the Times were better heretofore then now they are; Virtues make good Dayes, Vices bad.</HI> Its then the wi&s;dom of a Chri&s;tian to turn his <HI>complaint</HI> of e|vil Times, into the <HI>Practice</HI> of excellent Virtues; for this will be &s;ingularly condu|cible to the making of the Times good.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chry&s;. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE></NOTE><HI>For the Day is good or bad</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>Chry&s;ostome) not according to its own Nature (for one day does nothing differ from another:) but according to our di|ligence
<PB N="363" REF="189"> or &s;lothfulne&s;s</HI> in the improvement of it. <HI>If thou work|e&s;t righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, the day becomes good unto thee; if thou committe&s;t &s;in, evil and full of Vexation. If thou wi&s;ely con&s;i|dere&s;t the&s;e things, thou may&s;t &s;o di&s;po&s;e thy &s;elf, as to have the whole year pro&s;perous and happy: This, if thou make Prayer and Almes-Deeds to be thy daily exerci&s;e.</HI> Thus Chri&s;tian Virtues, and Exerci&s;es of Religi|on are the mo&s;t excellent <HI>Antidotes</HI> again&s;t <HI>Evil Times.</HI> To be diligent, &s;erious and con&s;tant herein, is the onely way to &s;ee <HI>good Dayes.</HI> Though a man be encompa&s;t with the blacke&s;t midnight of <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e,</HI> let him light up his <HI>Lamps,</HI> and he pre|&s;ently enjoys the Benefit and protection of the <HI>Light,</HI> which does, as it were, with a thou&s;and gli&s;tering Spears, defend him a|gain&s;t the Inva&s;ion of all the Forces of <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e.</HI> Certainly there is nothing more nece&s;&s;ary and conducible, more excellent and efficacious for the changing of an I|RON AGE into a GOLDEN SEASON, then the con&s;tant exerci&s;e of PIETY and CHARITY among&s;t Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P>And if every Chri&s;tian would but &s;eri|ou&s;ly minde his <HI>Particular Duty,</HI> how much might he contribute to the <HI>General
<PB N="364" REF="190"> good!</HI> How &s;oon are the <HI>foule &s;treets</HI> of a great City made <HI>clean,</HI> by every mans &s;weeping his <HI>own Door!</HI> How &s;oon would the great work of REFORMATION be accompli&s;ht, if <HI>every one</HI> would but <HI>reform one!</HI> So &s;hould the mo&s;t <HI>dangerous Dayes</HI> &s;oon become, what by many they are fal&s;e|ly called, <HI>glorious Times.</HI> For its the <HI>Goodne&s;&s;e</HI> or <HI>Badne&s;&s;e</HI> of men which makes the times <HI>good</HI> or <HI>bad.</HI> Tho&s;e are the <HI>wor&s;t Times,</HI> wherein men are <HI>wor&s;t;</HI> and tho&s;e the <HI>be&s;t Times,</HI> wherein men are <HI>be&s;t.</HI> Though <HI>bad Times</HI> are <HI>wor&s;t</HI> to the <HI>be&s;t</HI> men, yet <HI>good men</HI> &s;hould be <HI>be&s;t</HI> in the <HI>wor&s;t Times.</HI> Such was <HI>Noah</HI> in the old World, <HI>Lot</HI> in <HI>Sodome, Daniel</HI> in <HI>Babylon; Golden Saints</HI> in an <HI>Iron Age.</HI> Thus in the <HI>Evening</HI> of the Old Te&s;tament-Admi|ni&s;tration, when the darke&s;t <HI>&s;hades</HI> vail'd the Churches <HI>Glory,</HI> &s;ome Saints there were which &s;hone as bright ri&s;ing <HI>Stars</HI> in the rayes of true <HI>Piety,</HI> which &s;parkled as o|rient <HI>Jewels</HI> in the lu&s;tre of godly <HI>Zeale</HI> and invincible <HI>Sincerity.</HI> For when ba&s;e <HI>Hypocrites</HI> began to bla&s;pheme, and &s;ay<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.13-17</NOTE>, <HI>It was in vaine to &s;erve God, and it was to no profit or purpo&s;e to keep his Ordinance, or to walk humbly b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fore him:</HI> When they began <HI>to call the proud happy, becau&s;e they &s;aw them that wrought wickedne&s;&s;e exalted, and tho&s;e that tempted God delivered; Then they that feared the Lord &s;pake often one to another.</HI> And oh <HI>precious</HI> were the&s;e <HI>Per|&s;ons,</HI>
<PB N="365" REF="190"> and this their <HI>Piety</HI> in the account of God! For, <HI>Then the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a Book of Remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his Name. And they &s;hall be mine &s;aith the LORD of Ho&s;ts, in that day when I make up my Jewels, and I will &s;pare them as a man &s;pa|reth his own &s;on that &s;erveth him.</HI> Now who would not but de&s;ire this &s;pecial inte|re&s;t in Gods Love and Favour, in Times of Danger and Di&s;tre&s;&s;e? What an encourage|ment then, Chri&s;tians, &s;hould this be unto you to be good in bad Times!</P>
<P>Certainly, Chri&s;tians, <HI>&s;anctity</HI> is the be&s;t way to <HI>&s;ecurity.</HI> The<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, i. e. qui Coelum &s;pectar. A|then. l. 7. &amp; Plin. l. 32. c. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Urano&s;cope</HI> is a <HI>Fi&s;h</HI> (as the Naturali&s;ts tell us) which hath but one eye, ju&s;t on the top of the head, look|ing upward towards heaven, yet thereby &s;he fore&s;ees and prevents Dangers. To keep the <HI>Eye</HI> of the &s;oul ever open <HI>Hea|ven-ward,</HI> is the &s;afe&s;t way for the <HI>Prevention</HI> of tho&s;e Dangers to which we are expo&s;ed in the trouble&s;ome <HI>Sea</HI> of this World. For God hath an <HI>Eye</HI> continually open upon them for their <HI>Pre&s;ervation,</HI> who have an <HI>Eye</HI> continually open upon him, in their <HI>Conver|tions.</HI> Yea, by this means you may nor one|ly <HI>&s;ave your &s;elf,</HI> but be a happy means to <HI>&s;ave the whole Nation,</HI> by &s;tanding in the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 22.30</NOTE> <HI>Gap</HI> (as<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106.23</NOTE> <HI>Mo&s;es</HI>) to hinder the breaking in of Gods <HI>Judgements</HI> upon a provoking People. O then be <HI>Diligent,</HI> Chri&s;tians, and
<PB N="366" REF="191"> <HI>Con&s;tant</HI> in the &s;erious <HI>Practice</HI> of &s;olid <HI>Piety.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>General Duty</HI> hath &s;everal <HI>Branches,</HI> which are of &s;pecial <HI>Concernment</HI> to Chri|&s;tians that live in <HI>perillous Times;</HI> and therefore take <HI>notice</HI> of them in the&s;e fol|lowing <HI>Particulars.</HI></P>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="branch">
<HEAD>The first Branch.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> <HI>KEep your &s;elves from the Corruptions of the Times.</HI> Take heed of being <HI>tainted</HI> with the &s;ins and Abominations of the Times wherein you live. The fuller the World is of <HI>Defilements,</HI> the greater mu&s;t your care be to<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jam. 1.27</NOTE> <HI>keep your &s;elves un|&s;potted from the world.</HI> Thus <HI>Noah</HI> kept him&s;elf cleare from the <HI>Corruptions</HI> of the old world; <HI>Lot</HI> pre&s;erv'd him&s;elf pure from the <HI>Pollutions</HI> of <HI>Sodome; Daniel</HI> was not defiled with the <HI>Idolatries</HI> of <HI>Babylon.</HI> Thus the <HI>Fi&s;h</HI> retains its <HI>Fre&s;hne&s;&s;e</HI> in the <HI>&s;alt Sea,</HI> the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> its <HI>&s;weetne&s;&s;e</HI> among&s;t the <HI>noy&s;ome weeds,</HI> and the <HI>Diamond</HI> its <HI>Bright|ne&s;&s;e</HI> though it lie in the <HI>Du&s;t. Gold</HI> though melted in the <HI>Furnace</HI> will not mix with the <HI>Dro&s;&s;e.</HI> Keep your &s;elves <HI>pure</HI> from <HI>&s;in,</HI> as you de&s;ire God would pre&s;erve you (as <HI>Noah</HI> in the Ark) <HI>&s;afe</HI> from <HI>Dan|ger</HI> in perillous Times. If you cannot <HI>make the Times better,</HI> yet &s;ee that the times do not <HI>make you wor&s;e.</HI> In Times of a com|mon <HI>Contagion</HI> there's much danger to e|every particular Per&s;on. Take heed of <HI>De|cayes of grace</HI> by the <HI>encrea&s;e of &s;in</HI> in the
<PB N="367" REF="191"> World. When<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 24.12</NOTE> <HI>Iniquity abounds,</HI> take heed le&s;t your <HI>Love</HI> to God and goodne&s;&s;e wax <HI>Cold.</HI> Though <HI>Errours</HI> abound, be careful you decay not in your love to the <HI>Truth.</HI> You have been <HI>forewarn'd</HI> of the&s;e Evils in the Word of God, that you might not be <HI>in&s;nared</HI> with them, when the peril|lous Times therein foretold are come upon you. Let me be&s;peak your <HI>eare</HI> and <HI>watch|fulne&s;&s;e</HI> in this re&s;pect, in the words of the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.17, 18.</NOTE> <HI>Ye therefore, Beloved, &s;eeing ye know the&s;e things before, beware le&s;t ye al&s;o be|ing led away with the Error of the wicked fall from your own &s;tedfa&s;tne&s;&s;e. But grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Je&s;us Chri&s;t: to him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="branch">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Branch.</HEAD>
<P><HI>STrengthen not, by an active Compliance, <MILESTONE N="2"> the hands of Evil Doers.</HI> The&s;e are they which make the <HI>Times perillous.</HI> A <HI>quiet &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion</HI> to the Providence of God, wi&s;ely ordering all the <HI>Changes</HI> in the world, does well become the Saints. It is good for a Saint to take notice of Gods <HI>hand</HI> in all things, and to &s;ubmit to his <HI>Will</HI> (as well in permitting of <HI>Evil,</HI> as in Depriving of <HI>good</HI>) with &s;ilence. So <HI>David,</HI> though at the fir&s;t<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 39.1, 2</NOTE> <HI>troubled to &s;ee the wicked in Power while the righteous was op|pre&s;t,</HI> at length expre&s;t his <HI>&s;ubmi&s;&s;ion</HI> by
<PB N="368" REF="192"> <HI>&s;ilence;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 39.9</NOTE> <HI>I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, becau&s;e thou did&s;t it.</HI> But every Godly man mu&s;t have a &s;ingular care, le&s;t by a|ny <HI>active compliance,</HI> he &s;hould &s;trengthen the hand of <HI>Evil Doers</HI> in their <HI>irr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gular actings.</HI> This was the &s;inne wherewith the Lord &s;harply charg'd <HI>Jeho&s;haphat,</HI> a good King, by the hand of <HI>Jehu,</HI> the Prophet, and threatned wrath for it.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Chr. 19 2</NOTE> <HI>Shoulde&s;t thou</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>Jehu</HI> to <HI>Jeho&s;haphat) help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.</HI> And therefore though the Lord of all may permit <HI>great changes</HI> to be irregu|larly made, both for the manife&s;tation and puni&s;hment of the <HI>Pride</HI> of man, yet mu&s;t not his people yeeld any <HI>con&s;ent</HI> or <HI>con|currence</HI> to them that irregularly make them. This is the <HI>wi&s;e Coun&s;el</HI> of the wi|&s;e&s;t of men, which was dictated to him by the wi&s;dome of God;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 24 21, 22.</NOTE> <HI>My &s;on, fear thou the LORD and the King: and meddle not with them that are given to change, For their calamity &s;hall ri&s;e &s;uddenly, and who knoweth the ruine of them both?</HI> Take heed therefore, Chri&s;tians, of contributing to the <HI>Ri&s;e of Evil Doers,</HI> le&s;t you fall in their <HI>Ruine</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 18.4</NOTE>. <HI>Partake not in their &s;ins, le&s;t you partake of their Plagues,</HI> and feele the <HI>&s;mart</HI> of their <HI>Puni&s;hments,</HI> for having ta&s;ted the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of their <HI>Favours.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 8.11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>For</HI> (to &s;peak to you in the words of the Prophet) <HI>the Lord &s;pake thus to me with
<PB N="369" REF="192"> a strong hand, and in&s;tructed me that I &s;hould not walk in the way of this people, &s;aying, &s;ay ye not, A Confederacy, to all them to whom this people &s;hall &s;ay, A Confederacy; neither fear ye their Fear, nor be afraid.</HI> Take heed therefore le&s;t by your concur|rence with them who&s;e pernicious practices do make the&s;e perillous Times, you contract to your &s;elves the <HI>guilt</HI> of their &s;innes, and contribute to the <HI>Evil</HI> of the Times.</P>
<P>Let not the <HI>De&s;ire</HI> of <HI>Gain</HI> or <HI>Glory,</HI> nor the <HI>Fear</HI> of <HI>Di&s;grace</HI> or <HI>Danger</HI> induce you hereunto. A man can never be un|done by the greate&s;t lo&s;&s;e he can &s;u&s;taine for the keeping a <HI>good con&s;cience,</HI> and pre|&s;erving an intere&s;t in Gods Love and Fa|vour. He is <HI>Rich</HI> and <HI>Happy</HI> that hath God for his <HI>Portion,</HI> and Heaven for his <HI>Inheritance,</HI> how great &s;oever his <HI>&s;ufferings</HI> and <HI>lo&s;&s;es</HI> be; when he that wants this, notwith&s;tanding his greate&s;t worldly <HI>Gaine</HI> or <HI>Glory,</HI> is <HI>Poore</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;erable.</HI> Account not that <HI>Gaine</HI> which may hazard the <HI>lo&s;&s;e</HI> of your immortal &s;oul.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mar. 8.36</NOTE> <HI>For what &s;hall it profit a man, if he &s;hould gain the whole world and loo&s;e his own &s;oul?</HI> Abhor the ba&s;ene&s;&s;e of &s;erving your &s;elf of the evil of the Times, by &s;eeking a <HI>private gaine,</HI> by that which will turn to the <HI>publick lo&s;&s;e.</HI> Abhor the ba&s;ene&s;&s;e of fearing to adventure a <HI>private lo&s;&s;e,</HI> by that which may turn to the <HI>Pub|lick gaine.</HI> Never expect that God &s;hould
<PB N="370" REF="193"> ble&s;&s;e tho&s;e <HI>Riches</HI> to you or yours, which are rais'd out of the <HI>Ruines</HI> of the Church or Common-wealth. He is no good mem|ber of either that hath not learn'd to de|ny his <HI>Private Intere&s;ts</HI> for the <HI>Publick Good.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="branch">
<HEAD>The third Branch.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> <HI>COn&s;ider one another to provoke unto Love and good Works</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 10.24</NOTE>. When a <HI>Fire</HI> is <HI>kindled</HI> in a <HI>Hou&s;e,</HI> in a <HI>City,</HI> every one that can &s;hould contribute his help to <HI>quench</HI> it. O labour to <HI>quench the Flames</HI> that are kindled in the <HI>Church,</HI> which is the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3.15</NOTE> <HI>Hou&s;e</HI> and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.22</NOTE> <HI>City of the living God.</HI> O &s;tir up one another to the exerci&s;e of <HI>Brother|ly Love and Charity,</HI> and &s;o help to ce|ment the <HI>Breaches</HI> that are among&s;t <HI>Bre|thren</HI> in the Family of God. 'Tis the <HI>Policy</HI> of your enemies to <HI>Divide</HI> you to your <HI>Ruine;</HI> 'Tis your <HI>wi&s;dom</HI> joyntly to endea|vour after that <HI>Union</HI> which is your <HI>beauty, &s;trength,</HI> and <HI>glory.</HI> Stir up one another al&s;o to <HI>good works</HI> as meanes &s;ingularly conducible to the amendment of evil Times. There is no &s;ea&s;on &s;o &s;harp but the <HI>Trees of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> &s;hould be laden with fruit. <HI>Good Works</HI> are a &s;ingular <HI>Ornament</HI> to the Saints in evil Times. <HI>Good Works</HI> are a Chri&s;tians <HI>Shield</HI> and <HI>Crown;</HI> his &s;afety in <HI>Danger,</HI> as they intere&s;&s;e him in the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 41.2</NOTE> Pro|mi&s;e
<PB N="371" REF="193"> of Pre&s;ervation, and in <HI>Di&s;graces</HI> his Crown of glory. Now it well becomes Chri|&s;tians to <HI>encourage</HI> one another to tho&s;e duties whereby they may mo&s;t honour God in times of danger and <HI>di&s;couragement.</HI> When the <HI>Proud</HI> were inve&s;ted with <HI>Power,</HI> and profane Politicians had <HI>exalted them|&s;elves;</HI> they were perillous Times for the People of God; yet<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.16</NOTE> <HI>Then they that feared the Lord &s;pake often one to another,</HI> by way of Coun&s;el, Comfort, and Encouragement in the wayes of God. O labour to do as much good as you can in a <HI>little time.</HI> For when the Dayes are Evil, you know not how little time you may have, how few <HI>Opportunities</HI> of well-doing you may en|joy.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Eph. 5.15, 16.</NOTE> <HI>See</HI> then <HI>that ye walk circum&s;pectly, not as Fooles, but as Wi&s;e, Redeeming the Time becau&s;e the Daies are evil.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="4" TYPE="branch">
<HEAD>The fourth Branch.</HEAD>
<P><HI>LIve in the exerci&s;e of your mo&s;t excellent <MILESTONE N="4"> graces.</HI> Let the <HI>Lu&s;tre</HI> of them appear in the eyes of the World, that &s;o you may dimini&s;h the <HI>Darkne&s;&s;e</HI> of an evil Ge|neration. When the Nights are <HI>darke&s;t</HI> every one &s;hould be careful to hang out their <HI>Lights.</HI> When the Sun, the <HI>Chariot of Light,</HI> hath carried the <HI>Day</HI> to another World, the <HI>Night</HI> comes forth deckt with all her <HI>Jewels.</HI> Search your Cabinets, put
<PB N="372" REF="194"> on your <HI>Jewels,</HI> exerci&s;e your <HI>Graces,</HI> your <HI>Faith, Love, Patience, Humility, Zeale, Hope, Confidence,</HI> and &s;o labour to pre&s;erve a <HI>Day of Light and Holine&s;&s;e,</HI> in &s;pight of all the encroachments of the <HI>darkne&s;&s;e of Sin and Vice.</HI> Labour to be e|very whit as <HI>Good</HI> as others are <HI>Evil.</HI> Stir up your &s;elves e&s;pecially to the exerci&s;e of tho&s;e <HI>Graces,</HI> which &s;tand in oppo&s;ition to the reigning <HI>Vices</HI> of the Times. Study to &s;hew your &s;elves as <HI>Active</HI> for God, as others are for the World: as truly <HI>Content</HI> with your condition as others are <HI>Covetous, Op|pre&s;&s;ive, Ambitious;</HI> as <HI>Faithful,</HI> as others are <HI>Fal&s;e;</HI> as <HI>Pious,</HI> as others are <HI>Profane;</HI> as much to excel in <HI>Charity, Moderation, Humility,</HI> as others exceed in <HI>Cruelty, Cen&s;oriou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Pride.</HI> It well becomes Saints to be <HI>be&s;t,</HI> when the Times are <HI>wor&s;t.</HI> So <HI>Fire</HI> burnes <HI>hotte&s;t</HI> in the <HI>colde&s;t</HI> wea|ther, and <HI>Stars</HI> &s;hine <HI>brighte&s;t</HI> in the <HI>dark|e&s;t</HI> Nights. So &s;hall you lift up the <HI>Name</HI> and <HI>Glory</HI> of God in the World, and your <HI>lives</HI> &s;hall be illu&s;trious <HI>Te&s;timonies</HI> for the cau&s;e of God again&s;t a wicked world. Beg <HI>Grace</HI> of God therefore that in evil and perillous Times you may live to his <HI>Glory;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.15</NOTE> <HI>That ye may be blamele&s;&s;e and Harmle&s;s, the Sons of God, without rebuke, in the mid&s;t of a crooked and perver&s;e Nation, among whom ye &s;hine as Lights in the World.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="5" TYPE="branch">
<PB N="373" REF="194">
<HEAD>The fifth Branch.</HEAD>
<P><HI>DAre to appear in your places for the <MILESTONE N="5"> Cau&s;e of God again&s;t the Evils of the Times.</HI> Why &s;hould not every <HI>pious Chri|&s;tian</HI> dare to do more for God, and the intere&s;ts of his Glory, then any <HI>profane Politician</HI> dares to do again&s;t him? Why &s;hould you be afraid to appear on the <HI>&s;tronger &s;ide?</HI> It is indeed de&s;perate <HI>Folly</HI> and <HI>Madne&s;&s;e</HI> in <HI>impotent man</HI> to pre&s;ume up|on any action or undertaking, which carries in it an apparent or con&s;equential Oppo&s;iti|on to an <HI>Omnipotent God,</HI> upon who&s;e Pro|vidence he hath a continual dependance, in&s;omuch as without &s;ome concurrence thereof, he cannot move a Hand, nor &s;tirre a &s;tep? Alas! This Almighty God can with the lea&s;t Finger of that <HI>glorious Hand</HI> by which he governes this All, in one moment cru&s;h the <HI>greate&s;t Ar|mies</HI> of the mightie&s;t men upon earth, as a<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job. 4.19</NOTE> <HI>Moth,</HI> and crumble them into <HI>du&s;t.</HI> But for the Saints, that are guarded with an <HI>Omnipotent Arme,</HI> they may with a holy con|fidence appear in the <HI>Cau&s;e of God,</HI> again&s;t the mo&s;t potent adver&s;aries in the world. For <HI>greater and &s;tronger is he that is with us, then they that are with them: For</HI> (as the good King <HI>Hezekiah</HI> &s;aid to the Captaines of his Army at the approach of the King of <HI>A&s;&s;yria</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Chron. 32.7, 8.</NOTE>) <HI>with them is an Arme of Fle&s;h, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us.</HI> And<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.31</NOTE> <HI>if God be for us, who can
<PB N="374" REF="195"> be against us?</HI> Fear not then, ye &s;onnes of the mighty, ye children of the mo&s;t high, to appear for God and his cau&s;e a|gain&s;t the impieties and iniquities of evil and perillous times. Remember,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 21.8</NOTE> <HI>the fearful</HI> are &s;et in the <HI>Front</HI> of that Troop of Rebels, that &s;hall be &s;ent to Hell. Know you not that in this ca&s;e when Gods Cau&s;e and Glory &s;uffers, <HI>He that is not for God is a|gain&s;t him.</HI> Take heed then le&s;t while you fear a <HI>le&s;&s;er</HI> danger you fall into a <HI>greater.</HI> 'Tis then your greate&s;t wi&s;dome and &s;afety to take the <HI>&s;tronge&s;t &s;ide,</HI> and that is to appear for God. So may you &s;ay; with <HI>David,</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 118.6</NOTE> <HI>The LORD is on my &s;ide, I will not fear what man can do unto me?</HI> And again,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 56.11</NOTE> <HI>In God have I put my tru&s;t: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 118 8, 9.</NOTE> <HI>It is better to trust in the LORD then to put confidence in man. It is better to tru&s;t in the LORD, then to put confidence in Princes.</HI></P>
<P>Dare to <HI>appear for God</HI> therefore in your places, and to plead his Cau&s;e again&s;t wic|ked and unrea&s;onable men with more <HI>Cou|rage, Re&s;olution,</HI> and <HI>Boldne&s;&s;e,</HI> then they have to oppo&s;e it. Stand up therefore in Dayes of Danger, and appear for the <HI>Truth</HI> and <HI>Glory</HI> of God that made you, for the Honour and Intere&s;ts of the Lord <HI>Je&s;us Christ,</HI> that redeem'd you with his own precious blood; appear for his <HI>Word</HI> and <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> his <HI>Ordinances</HI> and <HI>Ministers,</HI> his
<PB N="375" REF="195"> <HI>Sabbaths</HI> and <HI>Sacraments,</HI> his <HI>Church</HI> and <HI>Saints,</HI> and all the ju&s;t Rights, Dues and Priviledges thereof, again&s;t a wicked Ge|neration of men that dare openly deny the <HI>Truth,</HI> and profane the <HI>Name</HI> of God; that are not afraid to ca&s;t Contempt and Reproach upon his <HI>Word</HI> and <HI>Wor&s;hip,</HI> to &s;coff at his <HI>Sab|baths</HI> and <HI>Sacraments,</HI> and &s;light his holy <HI>Or|dinances,</HI> to abu&s;e, revile and vilifie his <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters,</HI> his Amba&s;&s;adours, &s;eeking to pluck their <HI>meat</HI> from their <HI>mouths,</HI> de&s;iring to imbrue their hands in their <HI>blood,</HI> endea|vouring their utter <HI>extirpation</HI> out of the Church of God; that dare to lay &s;acrilegi|ous hands upon the <HI>Rights</HI> and <HI>Revenues</HI> of the Church (which &s;he holds by a firmer Title then the greate&s;t Lord in the Land does or can do his inheritance) and there|by &s;eek to turne her children out of their <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion,</HI> that they may enrich them&s;elves (as too many have done) by the Churches <HI>Ruines.</HI> Now, Chri&s;tians, will you be <HI>a|fraid</HI> or <HI>a&s;ham'd</HI> to appear in &s;o ju&s;t a cau&s;e, again&s;t &s;uch wretched men, &s;uch wicked Adver&s;aries as the&s;e? Shall the&s;e come un|der the <HI>Name</HI> of Religion, and rob you of the <HI>thing,</HI> while you &s;it &s;till and do nothing? Shall the <HI>Intere&s;ts</HI> of Chri&s;t, and <HI>Glory</HI> of God fall to the ground, rather then you will ri&s;e up and appear for the maintenance of the one, and defence of the other? How will you an&s;wer it to God at the great day of account? O therefore be not
<PB N="376" REF="196"> afraid to appear for the <HI>Cau&s;e of God</HI> a|gain&s;t the <HI>Evil of the Times,</HI> in the Places and Stations wherein God hath &s;et you. This will be your <HI>Crown of Glory,</HI> and <HI>Cau&s;e of Rejoycing</HI> at the great Day of the appearing of the Lord <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And oh that tho&s;e that are <HI>Highe&s;t in Place</HI> and <HI>Power</HI> would &s;eriou&s;ly lay the&s;e things to heart, and quitting all &s;elf-intere&s;ts in|con&s;i&s;tent with the Cau&s;e and Intere&s;ts of the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, &s;incerely &s;tudy and endeavour the advancement of Gods Glory, in the e&s;tabli&s;hment of <HI>Truth,</HI> and true <HI>Religion</HI> among&s;t us! And is it not mo&s;t rea&s;onable which I plead for, when tho&s;e I &s;peak to are profe&s;t <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> and that I plead for is the <HI>Cau&s;e of Chri&s;t?</HI> Why may nor the <HI>Mini&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel be as well heard to plead for the Wor&s;hip and Ordinances of Chri&s;t, as the profe&s;t <HI>Enemies</HI> of the Go&s;pel-mini&s;try to plead again&s;t them by whom the&s;e Ordinances of Wor|&s;hip (according to the order of the Go&s;|pel) are to be admini&s;tred. Give me leave then to <HI>rea&s;on</HI> with you, and <HI>plead</HI> the Cau&s;e of God. Why &s;tick you at the <HI>E|&s;tabli&s;hment</HI> of the Wor&s;hip of God in the Land, and the <HI>puni&s;hment</HI> of &s;uch rebellious Athei&s;ts as ob&s;tinately refu&s;e to wor&s;hip him? What think you, is there a <HI>God,</HI> or not? If there be a God, and but one God, is he to be <HI>wor&s;hipt</HI> or no? If he be to be wor&s;hipt, whether are you &s;till to &s;eek <HI>how</HI>
<PB N="377" REF="196"> he is to be wor&s;hipt, and &s;till in doubt <HI>what</HI> are the Ordinances of his Wor&s;hip? What, are not the <HI>holy Scriptures</HI> the Word of God? Is not his <HI>Will</HI> therein plainly and clearly reveal'd touching the Ordinances of his Wor&s;hip? Well then, are not the <HI>Word, Sacraments,</HI> and <HI>Prayer,</HI> undeniably the Ordinances of his wor&s;hip? Have they not been &s;o receiv'd and reverenc't by the <HI>Churches of Christ</HI> in all Ages? Ought not this Wor&s;hip then by the <HI>Civil Sanction</HI> of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate</HI> to be e&s;tabli&s;ht in the Land? Ought not they that are in Gods &s;tead for Government to &s;ee that God be wor&s;hipped? Ought not then <HI>Mi|ni&s;ters</HI> of the Go&s;pel, rightly call'd to that <HI>&s;acred Office,</HI> according to expre&s;s Go&s;pel-Rule, to be <HI>placed, maintained,</HI> and <HI>protected</HI> in every City, Town and Pari&s;h (where there is a competent number of people to attend the &s;ervice of God) for the admini&s;tration of the Ordinances of his Wor&s;hip? Ought not all the <HI>People</HI> of the&s;e places to be <HI>Authoritatively enjoyn'd</HI> to give dilgent, con&s;tant, reverent Atten|dance upon the <HI>Publick Wor&s;hip</HI> of God in the&s;e holy Ordinances, and that under &s;ome <HI>Penalty</HI> for every <HI>Wilful Neglect,</HI> which might be conveniently imploy'd for the <HI>Relief of the Poor</HI> in &s;uch places? And ought not tho&s;e that <HI>obstinately refu&s;e</HI> to wor&s;hip God in the&s;e his holy Ordinances, and much more tho&s;e that <HI>ca&s;t Reproach</HI>
<PB N="378" REF="197"> upon them, and them that do attend them, to be cha&s;tiz'd (as the wor&s;t &s;ort of<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.3, 4.</NOTE> <HI>Evil doers,</HI> being open Rebels again&s;t the God of Heaven) with &s;ome <HI>&s;everer puni&s;hment?</HI> Shall not they that <HI>neglect</HI> their <HI>Duty</HI> in this kinde be <HI>guilty</HI> of all the <HI>di&s;|honours</HI> that are done to God, by all tho&s;e that neglect, contemne and reproach the Ordinances of his Wor&s;hip? Was the Scrip|ture &s;ilent, does not the <HI>Light of Nature</HI> clearly di&s;cover an Obligation, as to the &s;ub&s;tance of this duty, to lie upon tho&s;e who are called forth by Divine Providence to <HI>Governe for God,</HI> to whom alone per|taines, by original Right, the Government of the World? I &s;hall leave the&s;e things to your <HI>Con&s;ideration,</HI> onely minding you that you &s;hall be call'd to <HI>account</HI> at the Judgement Day for what&s;oever Power you are intru&s;ted with, how you have obtain'd, imploy'd and improv'd it for God; and &s;etting before you the <HI>excellent Example</HI> of an Heathen Prince, even <HI>Artaxerxes</HI> King of <HI>Per&s;ia,</HI> who relea&s;t the children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> from their Captivity in <HI>Babylon,</HI> and gave order for their return to <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the &s;etting up and e&s;tabli&s;hment of the right <HI>Wor&s;hip</HI> of the true God, by the &s;pe|cial Direction and Conduct of the <HI>Spirit</HI> of God. A &s;pecial pa&s;&s;age of his <HI>Commi&s;&s;ion</HI> or Letter of Tru&s;t to <HI>Ezra</HI> the Scribe (as is recorded in the holy Scripture<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezra 7.25, 26, 27.</NOTE>) we have in the&s;e words; <HI>And thou</HI> Ezra, <HI>after
<PB N="379" REF="197"> the wi&s;dome of thy God, that is in thy hand, &s;et Magi&s;trates and Judges, which may judge all the People that are beyond the Ri|ver, all &s;uch as know the Laws of thy God, and teach ye them that know them not. And who&s;oever will not do the Law of thy God, and the Law of the King, let judgement be executed &s;peedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to Bani&s;hment, or to Confi&s;|cation of Goods, or to Impri&s;onment.</HI> And that this Coun&s;el was of God, it appears from the Words of <HI>Ezra</HI> hereupon, <HI>Ble&s;|&s;ed be the LORD God of our Fathers, which hath put &s;uch a thing as this in the Kings Heart, &amp;c.</HI> Now what's this but a branch of the <HI>Moral Law,</HI> requiring the right wor&s;hip of the true God, explain'd in the <HI>Edict</HI> of a Heathen Prince, who&s;e hand was herein guided by the Spirit of God, and his <HI>Example</HI> recorded to be approved of God, and &s;o con&s;equently of perpetual obligation to all people, and at all times, as well under the New Te&s;tament as the Old? But <HI>the Robbery of the wicked &s;hall de&s;troy them; becau&s;e they refu&s;e to do judgement</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Pro. 21.7</NOTE>.</P>
<P>It much concernes al&s;o <HI>inferiour Ma|gistrates</HI> and <HI>Officers,</HI> who are intru&s;ted with <HI>Power</HI> for the <HI>Puni&s;hment</HI> of <HI>Offen|dours,</HI> to be faithful in the <HI>di&s;charge</HI> of their <HI>Duty.</HI> By this means a good <HI>&s;top</HI> might be put to many of the &s;preading A|bominations of the Times. <HI>Drunkenne&s;&s;e</HI>
<PB N="380" REF="198"> and <HI>R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">velling, Swearing</HI> and <HI>Sabbath-breaking,</HI> and &s;uch like vile enormities, and God-provoking &s;ins might in a great mea&s;ure be re&s;train'd, if tho&s;e per&s;ons in every <HI>Town</HI> and <HI>Pari&s;h,</HI> to whom it per|taines by vertue of their <HI>Office</HI> to take <HI>cognizance</HI> of the&s;e and &s;uch like <HI>Crimes,</HI> were but as <HI>Vigilant</HI> and <HI>Active</HI> as they might and ought to be, to bring tho&s;e that are found guilty of them to condigne pu|ni&s;hment. But through the <HI>&s;loth</HI> and <HI>re|gardle&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> of Officers, &s;uch Offendours grow <HI>bold,</HI> and &s;uch Crimes become <HI>com|mon,</HI> &s;uch Abominations are exceedingly multiply'd. But oh that &s;uch would con|&s;ider, that all the &s;ins of tho&s;e Places and Per&s;ons which they have received Power to <HI>re&s;traine</HI> or <HI>puni&s;h,</HI> and exerci&s;e it not, are ju&s;tly chargeable upon their heads, and they &s;tand guilty of them in the &s;ight of God. For 'tis a &s;ure Rule;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Malum qui, cum pote&s;t, non prohibet, facit.</NOTE>He that may hin|der an Evil and doth not, is guilty of it. And if according to this Rule, all the <HI>Oathes, Cur&s;es, Drunkenne&s;&s;es</HI> and <HI>Profana|tions of the Lords day,</HI> which might have been prevented or puni&s;hed by Per&s;ons in|ve&s;ted with <HI>Authority</HI> and <HI>Power</HI> for that purpo&s;e, be ju&s;tly chargeable upon them for their <HI>neglect</HI> of their <HI>Duty</HI> in this Ca&s;e, we may &s;urely &s;ay, without any &s;lander, <HI>Many of our Magi&s;trates and Officers</HI>
<PB N="381" REF="198"> (however they may &s;eeme &s;ober and re|ligious per&s;ons) <HI>are the greate&s;t Swearers, Cur&s;ers, Drunkards, and Sabbath-breakers in the Land.</HI> And doubtle&s;&s;e many &s;hall be <HI>indicted</HI> and <HI>condemned</HI> for the&s;e &s;innes, at Gods Tribunal, in the <HI>Day of Judgement,</HI> becau&s;e they have not exerci&s;ed the power wherewith they were intru&s;ted, in their Places, for the puni&s;hment of them in o|thers. Oh therefore &s;tir up your &s;elves with <HI>Zeal</HI> and <HI>Faithfulne&s;&s;e</HI> to the Execu|tion of your <HI>Office,</HI> the di&s;charge of your <HI>Duty</HI> in this kinde, that you may re&s;traine <HI>Sin</HI> in others, and keep off <HI>Guilt</HI> from your own &s;ouls, prevent the <HI>Di&s;honour</HI> of God, and the <HI>De&s;truction</HI> of the Land. This al&s;o would very much conduce to a <HI>Happy Change</HI> of the Times. For never can we expect to &s;ee <HI>good Dayes,</HI> till<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Am. 5.24</NOTE> <HI>Judgement run down as waters, and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e as a mighty &s;treame,</HI> for the purg|ing of the Land from its Impurities and Abominations.</P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="3" TYPE="duty">
<HEAD>The third Duty. <HI>Prayer for Amendment.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IS it your Lot to live in Evil Times, <MILESTONE N="III"> Dayes of Danger and Di&s;tre&s;&s;e, Then <HI>Pray to the Father of Eternity for the
<PB N="382" REF="199"> Change and Amendment of the Times.</HI> All our<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 31.15</NOTE> <HI>Times are in his Hand;</HI> he changes them from good to bad, or bad to good as plea&s;es him. 'Tis he that cau&s;es the <HI>Sun</HI> to &s;hine, or covers it from us with a <HI>Cloud,</HI> as he plea&s;es: Our Dayes are <HI>clear</HI> or <HI>cloudy,</HI> our Times are <HI>good</HI> or <HI>evil,</HI> according to his Ordering and Govern|ment. To whom then &s;hould we go but to him, that orders all changes, for the change of evil and <HI>perillous,</HI> into good and <HI>pro&s;perous</HI> Times? He can take away <HI>evil men,</HI> or make them <HI>good,</HI> and &s;o amend the Times. When we &s;ee men continue in their &s;innes, and daily grow to a greater <HI>height of Wickedne&s;&s;e,</HI> we have then cau&s;e to fear the Times will grow wor&s;e rather then better. And therefore in this Ca&s;e, the People of God had need be very earne&s;t and importunate with God in their Prayers, le&s;t the <HI>Provocations</HI> of the wicked &s;hould be more prevailing for the bringing down of the Judgements of God, then the <HI>Pray|ers</HI> of his People for the <HI>Prevention</HI> of tho&s;e <HI>Judgements,</HI> and the <HI>Procurement</HI> of his <HI>Mercies,</HI> upon the Land. When the &s;ins of the Land cry aloud for <HI>Judgment,</HI> the Saints of God had need to cry aloud for <HI>Mercy.</HI> The <HI>Prayer of Faith</HI> is the mo&s;t effectual means, by Gods own appointment for the <HI>Removal</HI> of evils felt, the <HI>Prevention</HI> of evils feared, and the <HI>Procurement</HI> of good things de&s;ired. There is not therefore a
<PB N="383" REF="199"> more &s;ad <HI>Symptome</HI> of the approach of &s;ome dreadful Judgement then the <HI>Re|&s;traint</HI> of the <HI>Spirit of Prayer</HI> in the Peo|ple of God. Thus when <HI>I&s;rael</HI> had fear|fully provoked God, by cu&s;tomary com|mi&s;&s;ion of <HI>gro&s;&s;e &s;innes</HI> after <HI>glorious deli|verances,</HI> as Theft, Murder, Adultery, Perjury, Idolatry; and had extreamly ag|gravated the&s;e &s;ins by <HI>pretences of Religion</HI> and godline&s;&s;e; (For they would <HI>come and &s;tand before the LORD in his Hou&s;e, as if they &s;hould &s;ay, We are deliver'd to do all the&s;e Abominations,</HI> as the Lord hath te&s;tifi'd again&s;t them by his Prophet<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Jer. 7.9, 10</NOTE>) and when thereupon God purpo&s;ed to ca&s;t them off for their &s;ins, he forbad his Prophet to pray for them. For, &s;ayes the Lord,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 7.15 16</NOTE> <HI>I will ca&s;t you out of my &s;ight, as I have ca&s;t out all your Brethren, even the whole &s;eed of</HI> Ephraim. <HI>Therefore</HI> pray not <HI>thou for this People, neither lift up</HI> Cry <HI>nor</HI> Prayer <HI>for them, neither make</HI> Interce&s;&s;ion <HI>to me, for I will not hear thee.</HI> This <HI>Prohibition</HI> of the Prophets <HI>Prayer</HI> for them, was more terrible then the <HI>Com|mination</HI> of the &s;ore&s;t <HI>Judgement</HI> again&s;t them. While a <HI>Praying Spirit</HI> is kept up in the hearts of Gods people, there is hopes of prevailing with God for mercy for a &s;in|ful Nation. Prayer does as it were binde up the hands of <HI>Omnipotency,</HI> that an of|fended God cannot inflict a de&s;erved Pu|ni&s;hment upon a provoking People. And therefore when the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> had made
<PB N="384" REF="200"> them a <HI>Molten Calf,</HI> and wor&s;hipped it, and the wrath of God was kindled again&s;t them to de&s;troy them, <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> by his <HI>Prayer</HI> pre|vented their De&s;truction. And therefore did the Lord &s;peak thus to <HI>Mo&s;es;</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Exod. 32.9, 10. with Deut. 9.13 14</NOTE> <HI>I have &s;een this people, and behold it is a &s;tiff|necked people. Now therefore LET ME ALONE that my wrath may wax hot again&s;t them, and that I may con&s;ume them, and blot out their name from under Heaven. And I will make of thee a great Nation, even a Nation mightier and greater then they.</HI> Thus we &s;ee God could not execute his fierce wrath upon his people, unle&s;s <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> would <HI>let him alone</HI> by cea&s;ing to <HI>pray</HI> for them. But this Command being rather Declarative of Gods <HI>wrath</HI> again&s;t I&s;rael, then expre&s;|&s;ive of his <HI>Plea&s;ure</HI> that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;hould cea&s;e Praying, (<HI>Holy Prayer</HI> being <HI>Gods Delight) Mo&s;es</HI> &s;till proceeds in his <HI>Interce&s;&s;ion</HI> for <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and joynes <HI>Fa&s;ting</HI> with his <HI>Prayer,</HI> and &s;o prevailed for Mercy. For it is &s;aid,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exod. 32 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>Mo&s;es be&s;ought the LORD his God,</HI> and &s;aid, <HI>Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot again&s;t thy people,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil again&s;t thy peo|ple.</HI> And how gracious an An&s;wer did he re|ceive unto his prayer! For it is &s;aid hereupon<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">ver. 14.</NOTE> <HI>And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.</HI> And again, when <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> had beheld their abomination, in ma|king and wor&s;hiping the molten <HI>Calf,</HI> he thus relates his Carriage &amp; &s;ucce&s;s;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Deut. 9.18, 19,</NOTE> <HI>And I fel down</HI>
<PB N="385" REF="200"> (&s;aith he) <HI>before the Lord, as at the fir&s;t, four|ty daies and fourty nights: and I did neither eat bread nor drink water, b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cau&s;e of all your &s;ins, which ye &s;inned in doing wickedly, in the &s;ight of the LORD to provoke him to Anger. For I was afraid of the Anger and hot di&s;|plea&s;ure wherewith the Lord was wroth again&s;t you to de&s;troy you. But the Lord hearkened un|to me at that time al&s;o.</HI> And therefore is it recorded of him in the Holy Scripture, that the Lord &s;aid, <HI>That he would de&s;troy them, had not</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>his cho&s;en &s;tood before him in the Breach, to turn away his wrath, le&s;t he &s;hould de&s;troy them</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 106 23</NOTE>. And doth not the Lord (&s;uch is his infinite <HI>Patience</HI>) before he proceeds to the Execution of his Judge|ments upon a rebellious People for their un|&s;ufferable <HI>Provocations, &s;eek for a man among them that may make up the hedge, and &s;tand in the Gap before him for the Land, that he may not de&s;troy it</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ezek. 22 30</NOTE>? O then that &s;ome <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> might ari&s;e and <HI>plead</HI> with the Lord for his people, that he might remove his <HI>Judge|ments,</HI> and continue his <HI>Mercies</HI> to them, and &s;pare a &s;infull Nation, a defiled Land! So <HI>Abraham</HI> brought down Gods Mercy by <HI>Steps,</HI> in his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 18.23. ult.</NOTE> <HI>Interce&s;&s;ion</HI> for <HI>Sodom,</HI> &s;o far, that if but <HI>Ten righteous per&s;ons</HI> had been &s;ound in that whole &s;infull City, God would not have de&s;troyed it. Now how great an Encouragement &s;hould this be unto you, Chri&s;tians, in <HI>Perillous Times,</HI> to make your Addre&s;&s;es to God by <HI>fervent Prayers!</HI> Oh!
<PB N="386" REF="201"> Is there none that will lift up a <HI>Prayer</HI> for a &s;infull Nation, before the Lord proceed to execute the fiercene&s;s of his wrath upon it? O &s;tir up your &s;elves to <HI>wre&s;tle</HI> with God in his own &s;trength, and re&s;olve not to let him go <HI>till he ble&s;s the Land. O Pray, Pray, Pray</HI> without cea&s;ing, that the Lord would turn away his Anger from us, and after all our Shakings and Divi&s;ions, &s;ettle <HI>Peace</HI> and <HI>Truth, Righteou&s;ne&s;s</HI> and <HI>true Religion</HI> a|mong&s;t us. And, Oh!<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 62.6, 7</NOTE> <HI>Let the Watchmen that &s;tand upon the Wals of the City of God, never hold their peace: O ye that make menti|on of the Lord, keep not &s;ilence; And giv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> him no Re&s;t, till he e&s;tabli&s;h</HI> England, <HI>and make his Church in this Land a Prai&s;e in the Earth.</HI> Oh let all the Children of God unite their Forces, with Faith and Fervour to pre|&s;ent unto the Lord that excellent Prayer of the Church, with which I &s;hall conclude this Direction, and may they have the &s;ame gra|cious An&s;wer of Peace. O then lift up your hearts, and &s;ay,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 85.4 ult.</NOTE> <HI>Turn us, O God of our Sal|vation, and cau&s;e thine Anger towards us to cea&s;e. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out thine Anger to all Genera|tions? Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy People may rejoyce in thee? Shew us thy Mer|cy, O LORD, and grant us thy &s;alvation.</HI></P>
<P><HI>I will hear what God the LORD will &s;peak: for he will &s;peak peace unto his People, and to his Saints: but let them not turn again to Fol|ly. Surely his Salvation is nigh them that
<PB N="387" REF="201"> fear him, that Glory may dwell in our Land. Mercy and Truth are met together: Righte|ou&s;ne&s;s and Peace have ki&s;&s;ed each other. Truth &s;hall &s;pring out of the Earth; and Righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall look down from Heaven. Yea, the Lord &s;hall give that which is good; and our Land &s;hall yield her encrea&s;e. Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall go before him, and &s;hall &s;et us in the way of his &s;teps.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="4" TYPE="duty">
<HEAD><HI>The fourth Duty.</HI> Taking Sanctuary in God.</HEAD>
<P>ARE you fallen into Perillous Times? <MILESTONE N="IV"> And do you de&s;ire pre&s;ervation? Then <HI>Make God your Refuge till the&s;e dangers be overpa&s;t.</HI> God is a <HI>Hiding place</HI> for his Saints, their <HI>Rock</HI> and <HI>Refuge</HI> in times of Trouble; their <HI>Fortre&s;s</HI> and &s;trong <HI>Tower</HI> in times of Danger and Di&s;tre&s;s. So hash he revealed him&s;elf in his Word; and &s;o have his Saints found him to be by <HI>&s;weet Experiences</HI> in the Times of their <HI>&s;ad Extre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ities. The Lord</HI> (&s;aith <HI>David</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 18.2</NOTE>) <HI>is my Rock and Fortre&s;s, and my Deliverer: my God, my Strength in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my &s;alvation, and my high Tower.</HI> Thus un|der
<PB N="388" REF="202"> various expre&s;&s;ions he &s;ets forth Gods <HI>Power</HI> as engaged for his <HI>Saints Pre&s;ervati|on.</HI> So &s;aith he el&s;ewhere,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 27.1</NOTE> <HI>The Lord is my Light &amp; my Salvation, whom &s;hall I fear? The Lord is the &s;trength of my life, of whom &s;hall I be afraid?</HI> Then to fortifie his <HI>Confidence,</HI> he produces his experience;<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 2.</NOTE> <HI>When the wicked, even mine Enemies and my Foes came upon me to eat up my fle&s;h, they &s;tumbled &amp; fel.</HI> And then upon this Experience he builds his <HI>Confidence;</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Though an Ho&s;t &s;hould encamp again&s;t me, my heart &s;hall not fear; though War &s;hould ri&s;e again&s;t me, in this will I be confident.</HI> And the ground hereof was this, that God was his <HI>Refuge</HI> and Pre&s;erver: For (&s;aith he<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 5.</NOTE>) <HI>In the Time of Trouble he &s;hall hide me in his Pa|vilion: in the &s;ecret of his Tabernacle</HI> (the mo&s;t inviolable Sanctuary) <HI>&s;hall be hide me, he &s;hall &s;et me up upon a Rock.</HI> And again, &s;aith he,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 32.7</NOTE> <HI>Thou art my hiding place, thou &s;halt pre&s;erve me from Trouble: thou &s;halt compa&s;s me about with &s;ongs of deliverance.</HI></P>
<P>Yea, Its the Priviledge of every Saint, that he hath an Intere&s;t in this pre&s;erving Power and Mercy of God in times of Di|&s;tre&s;s and Danger. So &s;aith the P&s;almi&s;t,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 9.9.</NOTE> <HI>The Lord al&s;o will be a Refuge for the oppre&s;|&s;ed, a Refuge in Times of Trouble.</HI> And there|fore this is the ground of the Churches confi|dence, in the Times of the greate&s;t Trouble and Confu&s;ion?<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 46.1, 2, 3.</NOTE> <HI>God is our Refuge and Strength; a very pre&s;ent help in Trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the Earth
<PB N="389" REF="202"> be removed; and though the mountains be car|ried into the mid&s;t of the &s;ea. Though the waters thereof rore and be troubled, though the mountains &s;pake with the &s;welling thereof.</HI> God is both a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 84.11</NOTE> <HI>Sun</HI> and a <HI>Shield</HI> to his Saints, their <HI>Light</HI> in Darkne&s;s, and <HI>Defence</HI> in Dan|ger. They are dear to him, <HI>and he</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 49.2.</NOTE> <HI>hides them in the &s;hadow of his hand:</HI> He wears them as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.17</NOTE> <HI>Jewels</HI> in his bo&s;om; he<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Deut. 32 10</NOTE> <HI>keeps them as the Apple of his eye.</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Zec. 2.8.</NOTE> <HI>He that touch|eth you,</HI> (&s;aith the Lord concerning the Chil|dren of Zion) <HI>toucheth the Apple of mime eye.</HI> He hath <HI>&s;ecret Chambers</HI> of Providence for the Pre&s;erving his People in Times of Dan|ger by publick Calamities. <HI>Come, my people</HI> (&s;aith the Lord<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 26.20, 21.</NOTE>) <HI>enter thou into thy Cham|bers, and &s;hut thy Doors about thee: hide thy &s;elf as it were for a little moment, untill the Indignation be over pa&s;t. For behold the Lord cometh out of his Place to puni&s;h the Inhabi|tants of the Earth for their Iniquity: the Earth al&s;o &s;hall di&s;clo&s;e her Blood, and &s;hall no more cover her &s;lain.</HI></P>
<P>The glorious Attributes of God are as it were a Tower of Defence to the truly godly in Times of Danger. <HI>The name of the Lord</HI> (&s;aith the Wi&s;e man<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Prov. 18.10</NOTE>) <HI>is a &s;trong Tower: The Righteous runneth to it, and is &s;afe.</HI> When Peril pur&s;ues a Saint, he runs to God as his Refuge. Yea,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Pro. 22.3</NOTE> <HI>A prudent man fore-&s;eeth the Evil, and hideth him&s;elf; but the &s;imple pa&s;s on, and are pun&s;hed.</HI> This <HI>Prudence</HI> doth well become the <HI>Pious</HI> in Times of <HI>Pe|ril.</HI></P>
<PB N="390" REF="203">
<P>But that you may with <HI>Boldne&s;s</HI> and <HI>Com|fort</HI> have Recour&s;e to God, in Times of Di&s;tre&s;s and Danger, as your <HI>Refuge</HI> in the &s;torm, your <HI>hiding Place in Times of Trou|ble,</HI> Do the&s;e three things.</P>
<DIV5 N="1" TYPE="work">
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Work.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="1"> <HI>CLear your Intere&s;t in God.</HI> If you think to have <HI>Recour&s;e</HI> to God for &s;afety in Danger, and have no Intere&s;t in God, your Hope may deceive you, and you may <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ail of this &s;pecial priviledge of Divine <HI>Pre&s;erva|tion,</HI> and in&s;tead thereof, fall and peri&s;h by a ju&s;t <HI>De&s;truction.</HI> If a man pur&s;u'd by his <HI>Enemies</HI> in the Times of War, &s;hall have Recour&s;e to tho&s;e for Refuge of whom he hath no a&s;&s;urance that they are his <HI>Friends,</HI> he may but fly from one Danger, and fall in|to the mouth of another. Yea, though you &s;hould have an Intere&s;t in God, yet if you have no <HI>Evidence</HI> of this Intere&s;t, you can|not with that Boldne&s;s and Confidence, wherewith otherwi&s;e you might, fly to God for Refuge in Daies of Danger. Be it your care therefore not only to get an Intere&s;t in God, but to clear it up by <HI>undeceiving Evi|dences</HI> to your &s;oul and Con&s;cience. Then may you triumph with <HI>David</HI> in the very Face of Danger,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.1</NOTE> <HI>The LORD is my Light and my Salvation, whom &s;hall I fear? The LORD is the &s;trength of my Life, of whom &s;hall I be afraid?</HI> So again, &s;aith he,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 28.7</NOTE> <HI>The</HI> LORD <HI>is my &s;trength, &amp;
<PB N="391" REF="203"> my Shield, my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my &s;ong will I prai&s;e him.</HI></P>
<P>Que&s;t. <HI>But how may I clear my Intere&s;t in God?</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;wer; By the&s;e Evidences,</HI> ^1^. <HI>Faith</HI> in Him, ^2^. <HI>Love</HI> to Him, ^3^. <HI>Conformity</HI> to his Wil revealed in his Word. <HI>Faith</HI> u|nites the &s;oul to God. <HI>Union</HI> is the very Foundation of <HI>Intere&s;t,</HI> and &s;o a &s;ufficient <HI>Evidence</HI> thereof. <HI>Faith</HI> intere&s;ts the &s;oul in the Covenant of <HI>Grace,</HI> and the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mar. 16.16</NOTE> <HI>Salvation</HI> therein promi&s;t. Now 'tis by vertue of the Covenant of Grace the &s;oul comes to have an Intere&s;t in God. The di&s;covery there|fore of the Grace of <HI>Faith</HI> is a &s;ufficient <HI>Evidence</HI> of the &s;ouls <HI>Covenant-Intere&s;t</HI> in God. Faith unites the &s;oul to Chri&s;t, <HI>Who dwels in the heart by Faith</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.17</NOTE>. Now it is in and through Chri&s;t that Believers have an Intere&s;t in God. Hence is the life of a Be|liever &s;aid to be <HI>hid with Chri&s;t in God</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Col. 3.3.</NOTE>. He then that is by Faith <HI>united</HI> to Chri&s;t, is there|by <HI>intere&s;&s;ed</HI> in God.</P>
<P>And as <HI>Faith</HI> is the Band of our <HI>My&s;tical,</HI> &s;o is <HI>Love</HI> the Band of our <HI>Moral Union</HI> with God, and &s;o it likewi&s;e evidences the &s;ouls <HI>Interest</HI> in Him. Our <HI>Love</HI> to God &s;prings from Gods <HI>Love</HI> to us. <HI>For we love Him, becau&s;e he fir&s;t loved us</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4.19</NOTE>. Now who are they that have an Intere&s;t in God, but they that are beloved by him?</P>
<P>Now its the Nature of both the&s;e Graces,
<PB N="392" REF="204"> <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Love,</HI> to work the &s;oul wherein they are &s;eated to a Conformity to the per|&s;on upon which they are acted. The <HI>Eye</HI> of Faith beholding the <HI>Beauty of Holine&s;s</HI> in the <HI>Face</HI> of God, transforms the &s;oul in|to the &s;ame Image. So the Apo&s;tle &s;peak|ing of the Glory and Efficacy of the Evan|gelical Admini&s;tration, thus expre&s;&s;es him|&s;elf.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 3.18</NOTE> <HI>For we all with open Face, beholding as in a Gla&s;s the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the &s;ame Image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.</HI> So likewi&s;e <HI>Love</HI> a&s;&s;imi|lates the per&s;on loving, to the per&s;on belov|ed. When <HI>Mettal</HI> is melted, it bears the figure of the Mould into which it is ca&s;t. Indeed in God the immutable <HI>Pattern</HI> of all <HI>Perfections,</HI> Love is of a more tran&s;cendent Nature and Efficacy in all its operations. God by loving us <HI>a&s;&s;imilates</HI> us to him&s;elf; but we by loving God, are <HI>a&s;&s;imilated</HI> to him. For this <HI>A&s;&s;i|milating motion</HI> of Love &s;prings from the <HI>Quickering Motive</HI> thereof, which gives Life, Vigour and Activity to Love. Now the <HI>Motive</HI> of our Love to God, is in him: but the <HI>Motive</HI> of Gods Love to us, is not in us, but in him&s;elf. 'Tis a <HI>Flower</HI> that &s;prings from the <HI>Root</HI> of free Grace. But now this <HI>Conformity</HI> to God in the <HI>Beauty of Holine&s;s</HI> being produc'd by the Efficacy of the&s;e excel|lent Graces, <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Love,</HI> mu&s;t needs evidence the &s;ouls <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> in God. 'Tis <HI>Grace</HI> flowing from God to the &s;oul, which rai&s;es the &s;oul up to a <HI>Conformity</HI> to God, and his
<PB N="393" REF="204"> Will revealed in his Holy Word. And <HI>Communication</HI> of Grace &s;peaks the &s;ouls <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> in God. If the <HI>Branch</HI> flouri&s;h by Virtue of &s;ap derived from the <HI>Stock,</HI> it is certainly ingraffed thereinto.</P>
<P>Now doth your &s;oul re&s;t upon God in a way of <HI>Believing?</HI> Doth your Heart go out after God in a way of loving? Do you expre&s;s a <HI>Conformity</HI> to God, and his Will revealed in his Word, in a way of <HI>Holy Living?</HI> Doth your <HI>Faith</HI> work by <HI>Love?</HI> Doth your <HI>Love</HI> produce <HI>Likene&s;s?</HI> Doth this <HI>Likene&s;s</HI> nouri&s;h your <HI>Love?</HI> Doth this <HI>Love</HI> &s;trengthen your Faith? Do yon find your &s;oul to move towards God, by <HI>Faith</HI> and <HI>Love;</HI> and to pre&s;s after <HI>Conformity</HI> to God in <HI>Holine&s;s</HI> of Heart and Life? Then have you good and &s;ure <HI>Evidences</HI> of your <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> in God.</P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="2" TYPE="work">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Work.</HEAD>
<P><HI>ACT all the Powers of your &s;oul upon God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="2"></P>
<P>Let your <HI>Under&s;tanding</HI> eye him in his glorious Excellencies and All-&s;ufficiency, as infinite in Wi&s;dom, Power, Goodne&s;s and Truth. Let your <HI>Will</HI> choo&s;e him, as the chiefe&s;t good, and your highe&s;t Happine&s;s, and re&s;t in him as your only Satisfaction and Security. Let your <HI>Affections,</HI> with full tide, carry your &s;oul to him, as your only Rock and Refuge. Let your <HI>Love</HI> be to him, your
<PB N="394" REF="205"> <HI>De&s;ires</HI> after him, and your <HI>Delight</HI> in Him, above all things in the world. Stir up your &s;elf al&s;o to the lively <HI>Exerci&s;e</HI> of your mo&s;t excellent <HI>Graces,</HI> whereby your &s;oul may be lifted up above Difficulties and dangers in the world, and much advanc't and advantag'd in its neare&s;t Approaches and Approxima|tions to God. Set your <HI>Faith, Hope, Tru&s;t</HI> on work; Act your <HI>Faith</HI> on his Promi&s;e, your <HI>Hope</HI> in his Mercy, your <HI>Tru&s;t</HI> in his Power. So &s;hall you be ever <HI>near</HI> unto God, as a Child under his Fathers <HI>Arm,</HI> a <HI>Favorite</HI> in his Princes <HI>Bo&s;om.</HI></P>
<P>There is a &s;ort of<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Echini.</NOTE> <HI>Fi&s;hes,</HI> called by <HI>Ca&s;|&s;iodore,</HI> for their delicate Temper and curi|ous Colour,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Croceae Deliciae divitis Maris.</NOTE><HI>The Saffron-colour'd Delights of the rich Sea.</HI> The&s;e when a <HI>Storm</HI> ari&s;es, gather to them&s;elves <HI>little &s;tones</HI> (the &s;ame thing have &s;ome ob&s;erved of the <HI>Bees</HI>) to poi&s;e them|&s;elves in <HI>&s;wimming</HI> thorough the boy&s;terous <HI>waves</HI> (as the Bees in <HI>flying</HI> thorough the blu&s;tering <HI>Win<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s</HI>) and &s;o they make to &s;ome <HI>Rock</HI> (as the <HI>Bees</HI> to their <HI>H<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ve</HI>) as their Refuge from the tempe&s;tuous Fury of the &s;ea. So <HI>Believers,</HI> who are</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mundi Divitiae, Deliciae Chri&s;ti.</NOTE><HI>The Riches of the World, and the De|lights of Chri&s;t,</HI> when any <HI>Storm</HI> or <HI>Tempe&s;t</HI> ari&s;es in the <HI>Church</HI> or <HI>State,</HI> gathering to them&s;elves the <HI>Pearls</HI> of <HI>Go&s;pel-Promi&s;es,</HI> to keep them in an even <HI>Poize</HI> in Perillous
<PB N="395" REF="205"> Times, that they may not be driven away with every<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 4.14</NOTE> <HI>Wind of Doctrine,</HI> nor di&s;com|po&s;ed by every <HI>Wave</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Luk. 6.48</NOTE> <HI>of Temptation,</HI> &s;hould &s;peedily make to Chri&s;t, as a <HI>Hive of &s;weet|ne&s;s,</HI> and a <HI>Rock</HI> of <HI>Strength,</HI> for their Security and Peace. Now this Application to him is made by the Believing &s;ouls <HI>Acting</HI> of Faith upon him, in time of Trouble.</P>
<P>And thus mu&s;t the Saints act the <HI>Powers</HI> of their &s;ouls upon God, if they would be intere&s;&s;ed in that <HI>Protection</HI> which pertains to the Saints by Divine <HI>Promi&s;e. Sanctifie the Lord of Ho&s;ts Him&s;elf</HI> (&s;aith the Prophet<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 8.13 14</NOTE>) <HI>and let him be your Fear, and let him be your Dread: and he &s;hall be for a Sanctuary.</HI> Now what is it to <HI>&s;anctifie the Lord in our Hearts</HI> (as the Apo&s;tle ex|pre&s;&s;es it<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3.15</NOTE>) but to <HI>pre&s;ent</HI> his glorious Ex|cellencies and Perfections, his infinite Pow|er and Greatne&s;s before the view of our &s;ouls, and to &s;tir up our &s;elves to tho&s;e Act|ings which carry in them a &s;uitablene&s;s and corre&s;pondency to &s;uch manife&s;tations of God to us? And what is this, but to act all the powers of our &s;ouls upon him, as a God, who for his <HI>greatne&s;s</HI> is worthy to be feared and adored, for his <HI>goodne&s;s</HI> is to be loved and de&s;ired, for his <HI>Wi&s;edome, Mercy, Power and Truth</HI> is to be tru&s;ted in, and &s;ubmitted to in all Things? Now he that thus fears his <HI>Name,</HI> believes his <HI>Word,</HI> tru&s;ts in his <HI>Power,</HI> and waits for his Mercy according to his <HI>Pro|mi&s;e,</HI> &s;hall be priviledg'd with a comfortable
<PB N="396" REF="206"> <HI>Security</HI> on Earth, or (which is much better) admitted into the inviolable <HI>Sanctuary</HI> of Heaven.</P>
<P>For to &s;uch do the <HI>Promi&s;es</HI> of Divine <HI>Protection</HI> pertain. They may be for a time afflicted and di&s;tre&s;&s;ed through the Pride and prevalency of the wicked,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 37.39, 40.</NOTE> <HI>But the &s;alva|tion of the Righteous is of the LORD; He is their &s;trength in the Time of Trouble: And the LORD &s;hall help them and deliver them: He &s;hall deliver them from the wicked, and &s;ave them becau&s;e they tru&s;t in him.</HI> And therefore he is &s;aid to be a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Pro. 30.5.</NOTE> <HI>Shield</HI> and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 18.30</NOTE> <HI>Buckler</HI> to them that <HI>tru&s;t</HI> in Him. He is their<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 71.3</NOTE> <HI>&s;trong Habitation whereunto they may continually re&s;ort:</HI> He is their <HI>Rock</HI> and <HI>Fortre&s;s</HI> for their Defence again&s;t all the A&s;&s;aults of their Enemies. And therefore<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 125.1</NOTE> <HI>They that tru&s;t in the LORD &s;hall be as Mount Zion which cannot be re|moved, but abideth for ever.</HI> For<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Nah. 1.7</NOTE> <HI>The</HI> LORD <HI>is good, a &s;trong hold in the day of Trouble, and he knoweth them that tru&s;t in him.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
<DIV5 N="3" TYPE="work">
<HEAD>The third Work.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="3"> <HI>BE much in Communion with God.</HI> The Lord is the Pre&s;erver of his Saints in Perillous Times. And who are they that are intere&s;ted in this <HI>&s;pecial protection,</HI> but tho&s;e that are rai&s;ed into this <HI>&s;piritual Communion?</HI> Communion with God is a Saints &s;weete&s;t
<PB N="397" REF="206"> and <HI>&s;afe&s;t Sanctuary</HI> in Times of Danger. And therefore did <HI>David</HI> &s;o much de&s;ire of God that he might<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 27.4</NOTE> <HI>Dwell in the hou&s;e of the</HI> LORD <HI>all the dayes of his Life, to be|hold the beauty of the LORD, and to en|quire in his Temple;</HI> that is, that he might live in Communion with the true Church in the U&s;e of holy Ordinances, to enjoy a con|&s;tant Communion with God all the Time of his continuance in the world. For (&s;aith he,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">v. 5.</NOTE> giving you the Rea&s;on of this his Reque&s;t) <HI>In the Time of Trouble he &s;hall hide me in his Pavilion: in the &s;ecret of his Tabernacle &s;hall he hide me, he &s;hall &s;et me up upon a Rock.</HI> As if he &s;hould &s;ay, He &s;hall keep me in <HI>Secre&s;ie,</HI> pre&s;erve me in <HI>Security&punc;</HI> advance me to <HI>Dignity</HI> and <HI>Glory.</HI> As he &s;aies el&s;where,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 3.3</NOTE> <HI>Thou,</HI> O LORD, <HI>art a Shield for me, my Glory, and the Lifter up of my head.</HI> A Saint never re&s;ts &s;o &s;e|curely as when he dwels in the &s;ame <HI>Pavilion</HI> with God, when God him&s;elf hides him under the <HI>Ark,</HI> in the mo&s;t &s;ecret Place of his holy Sanctuary. The <HI>further</HI> from God, the <HI>nearer</HI> to danger, as a <HI>&s;heep</HI> that is gone a&s;tray from the Fold: But the <HI>nearer</HI> to God, the <HI>further</HI> from Danger: As a Child under the Arm of the Father. Gods &s;pecial pre&s;erving Providence is as a Pavili|on to that Saint that lives in Communion with God. There's no &s;uch place of &s;afety for a Subject in times of Peace, as in the <HI>Pre&s;ence-Chamber</HI> of the King: nor in Times
<PB N="398" REF="207"> of War, as in the <HI>Royal Tent. Noah</HI> was &s;afe in the <HI>Ark,</HI> though to&s;t with the Waves and Billows of an <HI>univer&s;al deluge,</HI> when all the World be&s;ides was drown'd with water. A Saint in communion with God is kept &s;afe in the <HI>Ark</HI> of his holy Covenant. Upon this account, its more &s;afe for a Saint to dwell in <HI>Gods Hou&s;e</HI> in Times of Danger, then to flie to the &s;tronge&s;t <HI>Fortre&s;&s;e</HI> for &s;afety. <HI>I had ra|ther</HI> (&s;ayes <HI>David</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 84.10</NOTE>) <HI>be a Door-keeper in the Hou&s;e of my God, then to dwell in the Tents of Wickedne&s;&s;e.</HI> Why &s;o? He gives you the Rea&s;on,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 11.</NOTE> <HI>For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield;</HI> He is a <HI>Help</HI> at hand, a &s;trong <HI>Defence</HI> to his Saints in time of Dan|ger.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 91.1</NOTE> <HI>He that dwelleth in the &s;ecret place of the mo&s;t high, &s;hall abide under the &s;ha|dow of the Almighty.</HI> He that dwells in the <HI>&s;ecret</HI> of <HI>communion</HI> with God, &s;hall be &s;afe under the <HI>&s;hadow</HI> of the <HI>Protection</HI> of his power. In communion with God a Saint<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 40.31</NOTE> <HI>mounts up as with the wings of an Eagle,</HI> and &s;o &s;ores above the Difficulties and Dangers of the lower world. Com|munion with God is a <HI>garden enclo&s;ed:</HI> As no &s;tranger can enter into it, &s;o a Saint hath mo&s;t &s;afety while he dwells in it. Communion with God is a Saints <HI>peculi|ar Priviledge,</HI> heighten'd with this, that it intere&s;ts him in a <HI>&s;pecial Pro|tection.</HI></P>
<PB N="399" REF="207">
<P>O then, Chri&s;tians, be much in commu|nion with God. Be much in tho&s;e <HI>Duties of Religion</HI> wherein gracious &s;ouls do main|taine this <HI>holy Communion.</HI> Be much in<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.6</NOTE> <HI>Clo&s;et-Prayer,</HI> much in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 24..63. Heb. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE> <HI>D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">vout-Me|ditation,</HI> much in<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 4.4</NOTE> <HI>Communing with your own Heart,</HI> as an excellent help to com|munion with God. Stir up your graces, and &s;et all the Powers of your &s;oule on work in the&s;e &s;piritual Duties; for other|wi&s;e you may &s;pend <HI>much Time</HI> daily in Reading, Praying, Meditating, and yet en|joy <HI>no communion</HI> with God. Leave not a Duty till you can get your heart <HI>warm'd</HI> by it, till you can feel it <HI>melting, burning</HI> within your brea&s;t, <HI>melting</HI> with<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 136</NOTE> <HI>&s;orrow</HI> for &s;in, and <HI>Joy</HI> in God; <HI>burning</HI> with a holy <HI>Anger</HI> and an ardent<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 119 139</NOTE> <HI>Zeal</HI> for Gods Glory, &s;uffering by the &s;innes of the Times. Cea&s;e not till you can finde your very &s;oul <HI>going out</HI> to God, and God, by the power|ful Influences and Operations of his holy Spirit, <HI>coming in</HI> to your heart, in holy Duties. This is to maintain communion with God; and this is <HI>to live in Heaven on Earth.</HI> This will be to you a <HI>Spring</HI> of living Comforts, in a dry and barren <HI>Wilderne&s;&s;e.</HI> You &s;hall have no cau&s;e to be <HI>di&s;con&s;olate</HI> in your <HI>De&s;ert-condition,</HI> while the <HI>Manna</HI> of &s;piritual <HI>Mercies</HI> drops down from Heaven upon your &s;oule in Communion with God. Hereby you &s;hall be able to fetch <HI>Waters</HI> of Comfort out of
<PB N="400" REF="208"> the <HI>Flin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y Rocks</HI> of Affliction and Per&s;e|cution. And which may be &s;ufficient to revive your drooping Spirit in the greate&s;t dangers, from this <HI>Holy Mount</HI> (of Com|munion with God) you may take a faire Pro&s;pect of the <HI>Heavenly Canaan.</HI> Yea, he that lives in communion with God on earth, does already dwell in the <HI>Suburbs of Heaven.</HI></P>
</DIV5>
</DIV4>
<DIV4 N="5" TYPE="duty">
<HEAD><HI>The fift Duty.</HI> Longing to leave the Earth and live in Heaven.</HEAD>
<P><MILESTONE N="V"> IS it your lot to live in the la&s;t Dayes, and to experiment the evil of perillous Times? Then, <HI>take off your hearts from things on earth, and long to live in heaven.</HI> O Chri&s;tians, here are <HI>Perils</HI> below, but there's <HI>Peace</HI> above: you finde <HI>troubles</HI> on earth, but you have <HI>Trea&s;ures</HI> in heaven. It's time for you to be <HI>dead</HI> to the world, if you are indeed <HI>ri&s;en</HI> with Chri&s;t.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Col. 3.1, 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> <HI>If ye then be ri&s;en with Chri&s;t, &s;eek tho&s;e things which are above, where Chri&s;t &s;itteth on the right hand of God. Set your affecti|on on things above, not on things on the Earth. For</HI> (if true Believers) <HI>ye are dead,
<PB N="401" REF="208" MS="y"> and your life is hid with Chri&s;t in God. And when Chri&s;t who is our life &s;hall ap|pear, then &s;hall ye al&s;o appeare with him in Glory.</HI> O with what pantings, what thir&s;t|ings, what longings &s;hould your hearts be draw'n forth, in the&s;e perillous Times, after this <HI>appearing</HI> of Chri&s;t, after the&s;e <HI>Participations</HI> of glory! When you look <HI>downward</HI> to a world of <HI>Sinne</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;ery,</HI> full of wicked men, defil'd with wicked works, me thinks you &s;hould &s;ay with the P&s;almi&s;t<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 120.5</NOTE>, <HI>Woe is me that I &s;ojourne in</HI> Me|&s;ech, <HI>that I dwell in the Tents of</HI> Kedar. And when you look up to a Heaven of <HI>Bli&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>Glory,</HI> to a God of <HI>Grace</HI> and <HI>Mercy,</HI> who fills Heaven with Divine Beauties and everla&s;ting Delights, being to all his Saints above, an inexhau&s;tible <HI>Fountaine</HI> of unexpre&s;&s;ible plea&s;ures, <HI>Felicities,</HI> Joyes, me thinks you &s;hould cry out with holy <HI>David;</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 42.1, 2</NOTE> <HI>As the heart pant|eth after the water-brooks, &s;o panteth my &s;oul after Thee, O God. My &s;oul thir&s;teth for God, for the living God: When</HI> (O when) <HI>&s;hall I come and appear before God?</HI> When you con&s;ider the <HI>frequent Changes</HI> which you &s;ee on earth, with tho&s;e many <HI>Dangers, Feares, Troubles</HI> and <HI>Calamities,</HI> which are occa&s;ion'd thereby, and do commonly en|&s;ue thereupon, methinks you &s;hould grow <HI>weary</HI> of this <HI>World,</HI> and extreamly <HI>long</HI> to <HI>leave</HI> the <HI>Earth,</HI> that &s;o you might for e|ver <HI>live,</HI> where all the Saints enjoy an <HI>un|changeable
<PB N="402" REF="209"> Happine&s;&s;e</HI> in <HI>Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>But you'l &s;ay, <HI>It's true, we live in</HI> trouble|&s;ome Times, <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">herein the</HI> Evils <HI>we fe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l are many, and tho&s;e we fear are more; and &s;o we have no great Rea&s;on to be over in-love with this pre&s;ent</HI> World. <HI>It's true, likewi&s;e, that</HI> Heaven <HI>is a</HI> glorious Place, <HI>wherein I do believe the</HI> Happine&s;&s;e <HI>of the Saints is &s;o great, that they cannot de&s;ire it to be greater, the</HI> Fruition <HI>exceeding the</HI> Expectation. <HI>And therefore I know it is ten thou&s;and fold bett r to live in</HI> Heaven, <HI>then to abide &s;till on</HI> Earth, <HI>in the mo&s;t</HI> pro&s;perous, <HI>and therefore much more in the mo&s;t</HI> perillous <HI>Times. But who can be willing to leave the</HI> Earth, <HI>before he is fir&s;t &s;ure of</HI> Heaven? <HI>And therefore I de|&s;ire to be re&s;olved how I may know that Heaven is mine?</HI> To this I an&s;wer;</P>
<P>Dare you live on <HI>Earth,</HI> without any evidence for eternal life in <HI>Heaven?</HI> How is it you fear not every moment to drop into <HI>Hell?</HI> What paines have you taken to attaine this evidence? Have you ever &s;pent one whole <HI>Day,</HI> one &s;erious <HI>Houre</HI> for the attainment of it? O lazy Believers! Is it not pity but you &s;hould want the <HI>Comfort</HI> of it, who can &s;o well content your &s;elves without it? Would you not rea|dily take more paines for the attainment of a firme title to an <HI>earthly Inheritance,</HI> to an e&s;tate of two or three thou&s;and pounds a yeare, then ever you have yet taken, for the attainment of a well-ground|ed
<PB N="403" REF="209"> Evidence for the <HI>Kingdome of Heaven?</HI> O carele&s;&s;e and &s;ecure Chri&s;tians! How unworthy are you of the glorious things which God hath prepared for his Saints in the World to come! Surely if God &s;ave you, you &s;hall feele the <HI>Fla&s;hings of Hell,</HI> to fright you out of your &s;ecurity, before you enter into the <HI>Joyes of Heaven.</HI> And what are you re&s;olved &s;till to continue &s;e|cure in this uncertaine condition, not knowing what &s;hall become of your &s;ouls to Eternity? To what purpo&s;e &s;hould I direct you to the attainment of this mo&s;t ble&s;&s;ed <HI>A&s;&s;urance</HI> of &s;alvation, and eter|nal ble&s;&s;edne&s;&s;e in heaven, when you will &s;carce take the paines, or think it worth the while, to examine your con&s;ciences, or to try your <HI>Evidences</HI> for an eternal<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.4</NOTE> <HI>Inheri|tance re&s;erved in Heaven</HI> for all the children of God? Well then I &s;hall &s;pare my pains and &s;peak no further to you, but leave you to &s;leep on in your <HI>&s;ecurity,</HI> till God by &s;ome &s;harp Di&s;pen&s;ation &s;hall awake you.</P>
<P>But yet to afford &s;ome <HI>Help</HI> to the poore trembling &s;oul, that would rather then all the World attain this comforta|ble <HI>A&s;&s;urance</HI> of its &s;alvation, and is wil|ling to deal &s;eriou&s;ly with it &s;elf, in &s;earch|ing for tho&s;e <HI>Evidences,</HI> which may clear its title to this glorious Inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, I &s;hall give &s;ome <HI>Direction</HI> towards this <HI>Di&s;covery.</HI></P>
<PB N="404" REF="210">
<P>Poore &s;oul, doe&s;t thou de&s;ire to know whether Heaven be thine? Whether God hath in&s;tated &s;o <HI>poore a Creature</HI> as thou accounte&s;t thy &s;elfe to be, in &s;o <HI>rich an Inheritance;</HI> Then tell me; or rather ask thy own &s;oul, the&s;e <HI>Que&s;tions</HI> I &s;hall put to thee, and ob&s;erve what <HI>An&s;wer</HI> &s;hall eccho from thy con&s;cience thereupon. Say then, Is <HI>God</HI> thine? Is <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> thine? Is the <HI>Spirit</HI> of God and Chri&s;t given to thee? If God have given thee him&s;elfe, his Sonne, his &s;acred Spirit, lift up thy heart with joy, thy &s;oul with prai&s;e, <HI>Hea|ven</HI> with all the Beauties and Bli&s;&s;es, all the Joyes and Glory of it, is undoubted|ly thine to all Eternity. He that hath given the <HI>greater,</HI> certainly will not deny the <HI>le&s;&s;er.</HI> Now if when God could give thee nothing <HI>greater,</HI> he hath given <HI>him&s;elf,</HI> with his Sonne and holy Spirit to thee, certainly he will not with-hold the <HI>le&s;&s;er,</HI> he cannot deny thee <HI>Heaven.</HI> He that hath God for his God, mu&s;t needs have Heaven for his Inheritance. For God and Heaven are in&s;eparable. Where the <HI>King</HI> is, there is the <HI>Court:</HI> where God is, there is heaven. As none can po&s;&s;ibly enjoy Heaven without God (who is the Heaven of Heaven) &s;o neither can any po&s;&s;ibly enjoy God without Heaven, without a pre&s;ent <HI>Title</HI> to it, &s;ufficient to &s;ecure the future <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion</HI> of it to Eterni|ty.
<PB N="405" REF="210"> For the&s;e great<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 11.29</NOTE> <HI>Gifts of God are without Repentance.</HI> Never did God give him&s;elf to any &s;oul, and afterwards ca&s;t that &s;oul into Hell. Well then, poore &s;oule, &s;ee how rich and happy thou art. Can&s;t thou &s;ay to God, my God and my Father? Can&s;t thou &s;ay to Chri&s;t,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 20.28</NOTE> <HI>My Lord and my God?</HI> Can&s;t thou &s;ay to the holy Spirit, my Guide and my Comforter? Look then up to heaven and &s;ay (as thou truly may&s;t) This is my Home and my <HI>Inheritance;</HI> this when I leave the Earth mu&s;t be my <HI>habita|tion</HI> for ever.</P>
<P>But thou wilt &s;ay unto me; <HI>How &s;hall I know this, that God is my God, and that he hath given his Son and holy Spirit to me? This latter difficulty is as great to me as the former.</HI></P>
<P>Thou &s;aye&s;t; <HI>How &s;hall I know that God is my God?</HI> Why, doe&s;t thou take him for thy God, can&s;t thou &s;ay, the Lord is my God, and him will I &s;erve.<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 144 15</NOTE> <HI>Happy is the &s;oul that is in &s;uch a ca&s;e.</HI> Doe&s;t thou give thy &s;elf up unto him, as thy God, and place thy happine&s;&s;e in the enjoyment of him as the <HI>chiefe&s;t good?</HI> Can&s;t thou &s;ay,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 73.25.</NOTE> <HI>Whom have I in heaven</HI> (O Lord) <HI>but thee? and there is none upon earth that I de|&s;ire be&s;ides thee.</HI> Does thy heart clo&s;e in with him according to the Tenour of the Covenant of Grace; <HI>Ye &s;hall be my peo|ple, and I will be your God</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jer. 30, 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE>? Does thy heart &s;ay, <HI>Amen,</HI> to this Covenant-pro|mi&s;e?
<PB N="406" REF="211"> Be it &s;o Lord, Wilt thou give thy &s;elf unto me? Wilt thou indeed be my God? Then will I be thine, and onely thine for ever. Behold here am I, O Lord, do what thou wilt with me, for to thee do I give my &s;elf, body and &s;oul for ever. Can&s;t thou indeed &s;ay thus? Then is God thine, Heaven is thine. Speak; What &s;aye&s;t thou to this?</P>
<P><HI>This I can truly &s;ay; If the&s;e things be &s;o, the Lord is &s;urely my God. For I do freely, with my whole heart and &s;oul give my &s;elf wholly unto him. I de&s;ire in all things to be obedient to his will. I would not willingly for the gain of the whole world, do any thing that might offend or di&s;honour him. I de&s;ire that he would enable me more and more by his Grace to &s;erve him: For I de&s;ire not to live a day longer, then I may live to his Glory. And I am not onely wil|ling to take him for my onely happine&s;&s;e, and freely to leave all the &s;weete&s;t and deare&s;t Comforts I have in this world, for the en|joyment of him, but I &s;hould look upon it as the ground of my highe&s;t joy, and of everla&s;ting thankfulne&s;s, that though he &s;hould take a|way all from me, he would yet be plea&s;ed to give him&s;elf unto me, to be my God and</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Gen. 15.1.</NOTE> exceeding great reward.</P>
<P><HI>Thanks be unto God for his un&s;peakable gift</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 9 15.</NOTE>. If thou can&s;t indeed &s;peak thus, Happy art thou, God is thine and thou art his, and &s;halt be happy in him, and
<PB N="407" REF="211"> with him, for ever in Heaven.</P>
<P><HI>Ble&s;&s;ed be the Name of the Lord who hath magnifi'd his</HI> Mercie <HI>to me, and hath had</HI> compa&s;&s;ion <HI>on me, the chiefe&s;t of &s;inners, the lea&s;t of Saints. I am willing upon this ground of the New Covenant, to believe his Love, to look up to him as my God. But how may I know that Chri&s;t is mine?</HI></P>
<P>Why, If God be thine, Chri&s;t is thine al|&s;o. If he have given thee him&s;elf to be thy God, he hath given thee his Sonne to be thy Saviour. 'Tis in Chri&s;t that he is thy God. The <HI>Covenant of Grace,</HI> wherein God becomes thy God, is founded in <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> his Mediation and Satisfaction. And Chri&s;t, in all his<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Col. 1.19.</NOTE> <HI>Fulne&s;&s;e</HI> of Grace and Glory, is that great<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Joh. 4.10</NOTE> <HI>GIFT OF GOD,</HI> which is promi&s;ed in the Covenant of Grace. Now then if God be thine, and thou art his, according to the Tenour of the New Cove|nant, he hath given his Sonne unto thee (as a <HI>Jewel</HI> from his bo&s;ome, for a pledge of his glorious everla&s;ting love) and hath given thee to his Son, (as a part of his riche&s;t <HI>Trea&s;ure</HI> in the World) to redeeme, &s;anctifie and &s;ave Thee. And if Chri&s;t be thine, and thou art his, Heaven, the Inhe|ritance which he hath purcha&s;t for Believers with his blood, is thine al&s;o. For thus hath he &s;aid,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 17.24</NOTE> <HI>Father I will that they al&s;o whom thou ha&s;t given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my Glory, which thou ha&s;t given me: for thou loved&s;t me before
<PB N="408" REF="212"> the Foundation of the World.</HI></P>
<P>Moreover, further to cleare it up to thy &s;oul that Chri&s;t is thine, let me ask thee, Hath God ever &s;hew'd thee what a poor, lo&s;t, undone Creature thou art in thy &s;elf, by rea&s;on of thy &s;innes? Hath he made known to thee the Fulne&s;&s;e and All-&s;uffi|ciency of Chri&s;t, with thy ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;ity of him to ju&s;tifie, &s;anctifie and &s;ave thee, or thou mu&s;t peri&s;h forever? Ha&s;t thou, in the Gla&s;&s;e of the Law, &s;een thy own <HI>De|formity,</HI> and the incomparable <HI>Beauty</HI> of Chri&s;t in the Gla&s;&s;e of the Go&s;pel? Ha&s;t thou &s;een thy own<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 3.17, 18.</NOTE> <HI>Nakedne&s;&s;e,</HI> and ap|prehended thy need of the <HI>Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> of Chri&s;t, as <HI>glorious clothing</HI> for thy naked &s;oul? Ha&s;t thou been made &s;en&s;ible of thy<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.3.</NOTE> <HI>&s;piritual poverty,</HI> and have the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 3.8</NOTE> <HI>un|&s;earchable riches of Chri&s;t,</HI> been unfolded before thee in the Go&s;pel? How have the&s;e things wrought upon thy heart? Ha&s;t thou felt thy heart &s;tirred within thee hereupon? Ha&s;t thou felt God<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 6.44</NOTE> <HI>drawing</HI> thy heart out in de&s;ires and longings after Chri&s;t? Ha&s;t thou been made willing to take Chri&s;t upon his own termes; to be thy Soveraigne as well as thy <HI>Saviour?</HI> To rule over thee as well as to &s;ave thee? To &s;ave thee from thy lu&s;ts and<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 1.21</NOTE> <HI>&s;innes,</HI> as well as to &s;ave thee from Wrath and Hell? Ha&s;t thou beene made willing to take his &dagger; <HI>Yoke</HI> upon thee,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.29, 30.</NOTE> and to bear his <HI>Burden?</HI> Hath Chri&s;t beene welcome to thee when he hath come with
<PB N="409" REF="212"> his<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 9.23</NOTE> <HI>Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> to lay it upon thee, as well as when he hath come with his <HI>Cordials,</HI> to refre&s;h and comfort thee? Speak &s;eriou&s;ly, can&s;t thou account thy &s;elf more happy in the pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t in <HI>Pri&s;ons,</HI> and <HI>Per|ecutions,</HI> then in the mid&s;t of all worldly <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> and <HI>Pro&s;perities</HI> without him? Tell me truly, if thou mighte&s;t certainly have thy wi&s;h, and de&s;ire granted, what would&s;t thou wi&s;h for, whom would&s;t thou de&s;ire? <HI>Ah, None but Chri&s;t, None but Chri&s;t.</HI> What doe&s;t thou tru&s;t to, on whom do&s;t thou re&s;t for &s;alvation? On thy own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, in thy own &s;trength? <HI>Oh no, None but Christ, None but Chri&s;t.</HI> Art thou indeed <HI>Vile</HI> in thine own eyes, and are all things in the World but <HI>vile</HI> in thy e&s;teeme, in compari&s;on of Chri&s;t? And is Chri&s;t above all things unto thee exceed|ing <HI>precious? Truly, if I know mine own heart, I e&s;teeme all the Riches of the world to be but</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Phil. 4.8.</NOTE> <HI>lo&s;&s;e, and dung in compari&s;on of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Je&s;us my Lord.</HI> Well then, thou art a Believer? For <HI>unto them</HI> onely <HI>that believe is Christ precious</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.7</NOTE>. And if thou art a Believer, thou &s;halt certainly be &s;aved, thou &s;halt &s;urely one day behold thy Savi|our in Heaven, and there live in the frui|tion of his glorious Loves unto all Eter|nity.<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 3.16.</NOTE> <HI>For God &s;o loved the World, that he gave his onely begotten Sonne, that who|&s;oever believeth in him &s;hould not peri&s;h,
<PB N="410" REF="213"> but have Everla&s;ting Life.</HI></P>
<P>Now what &s;ay&s;t thou, poore &s;oule? How does thy Heart eccho to the&s;e Que|&s;tions?</P>
<P><HI>Why, through the Grace of God, this I can &s;ay. It hath pl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ed the Lord &s;o far to di&s;|cover the</HI> emptyne&s;&s;e <HI>of &s;elf, and</HI> &s;infulne&s;s <HI>of &s;in unto me, that &s;ometimes when I look down upon my &s;elf, I</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eze. 36 <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">1</NOTE> loath <HI>and</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Job 42.6</NOTE> abhor <HI>my &s;elf, and cannot but wonder that ever the Lord &s;hould vouch&s;afe to look upon me, and love me. Yea, I wonder he hath not thrown me into Hell. And when the Lord fir&s;t revealed</HI> Chri&s;t Je&s;us <HI>to me in his Go&s;pel, in his</HI> All-&s;ufficiency <HI>and</HI> Readine&s;&s;e <HI>to &s;ave me, it even ov<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rcame my Heart, and my thoughts and rea&s;onings were &s;uch as the&s;e; Oh good God! And ha&s;t thou given thy deare&s;t Son, to &s;uffer &s;uch a cur&s;ed and cruel d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ath for &s;uch a vile &s;inner as I am! O &s;weet|e&s;t Mercy! O infinite goodne&s;&s;e! O glorious Love! Then me thought I first felt my Heart, that before was like a</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eze. 36.26</NOTE> &s;tone <HI>within me, to melt and &s;en&s;ibly di&s;&s;olve at once into</HI> &s;orrow <HI>and</HI> joy;<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Zac. 12.10</NOTE> * Sorrow, <HI>that ever I had &s;inned against &s;uch a good God;</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 2.10</NOTE> Joy, <HI>that ever Mercy and Salvation &s;hould be tendered to &s;uch a vile &s;inner. And then when I ca&s;t up my Eyes to Chri&s;t, and beheld him, &s;ome|times as crucifi'd on Earth, &s;ometimes as glorifi'd in heaven, my heart &s;ure &s;pake with|in me, much to this purpo&s;e; O deare Je&s;us! And ha&s;t thou endured &s;uch grievous</HI> &s;uffer|ings,
<PB N="411" REF="213"> <HI>for the &s;alvation of &s;uch a mi&s;erable &s;inner as I am? What woulde&s;t thou leave thy Fathers</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 1.18.</NOTE> Bo&s;ome <HI>and glory, to live here on Earth, and die on the</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.8.</NOTE> Cro&s;&s;e, <HI>to &s;ave the Life of a crawling Worme? Ha&s;t thou poured out thy</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Joh. 19 34.</NOTE> Hearts blood, <HI>to que<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> thy Fathers dreadful</HI> wrath, <HI>and to <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">+cha&s;e his glorious</HI> Love <HI>to a poy&s;onous Toad? Is it po&s;&s;ible? Can it be believed for Truth, that the Sonne of God &s;hould come to &s;ave &s;uch a &s;inful wretch as I am? Yea, He hath &s;aid it, and I believe it.</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 1.15</NOTE> This is a faithful &s;aying, and worthy of all accepta|tion, that Chri&s;t Je&s;us came into the World to &s;ave &s;inners, of whom I am chiefe. <HI>Hereupon I found my heart carried out in a re&s;tle&s;&s;e and in&s;atiable longing de&s;ire after Chri&s;t, yea, and indeed in&s;eparably cleaving to Chri&s;t, thus manife&s;ting him&s;elf to me in the Go&s;pel. For then I not onely &s;aw the &s;infulne&s;&s;e of my &s;innes, but I lookt upon all my</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 64.6.</NOTE> Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;es as filthy rags, <HI>and &s;o humbling my &s;elf for my &s;innes, and renoun|cing utterly my own righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, I ca&s;t my &s;elf wholly upon my Saviour, and re&s;ol|ved</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Job. 13.15</NOTE> though he &s;hould &s;lay me I would tru&s;t in him. <HI>And now though &s;ince I have not often found &s;uch &s;weet and powerful workings upon my Heart, yet this is the &s;tate wherein</HI> I <HI>stand,</HI> I <HI>have &s;olemnly re&s;igned my &s;elf wholly up into the hands of Chri&s;t, as my Soveraigne and Saviour, to be done with, and di&s;po&s;ed of in every thing, as &s;eemes be&s;t
<PB N="412" REF="214"> unto him, and on him only do I re&s;t for Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s and Life Eternal.</HI></P>
<P>Happy &s;oul! God hath magnified his Mercy to thee, and done more for thee, then for thou&s;ands. God hath drawn thee t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Chri&s;t, and united thy &s;oul to him by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">h, a <HI>Band indi&s;&s;oluble.</HI> For thou ha&s;t in this Declaration of Gods dealings with thee, laid open the very <HI>My&s;terie of Faith,</HI> and manife&s;ted how the <HI>Holy Gho&s;t</HI> hath by this <HI>Heavenly Band</HI> in&s;eparably knit thy &s;oul unto thy Saviour. Rejoyce then in thy God. For thy &s;oul is &s;afely lockt up in the Everla&s;ting Ble&s;&s;ed Embraces of thy Redeemer. Yea, thou &s;halt be for ever worn as a Jewel in his bo&s;om. Fear not, <HI>For in the day that God makes up his Jew|els</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Mal. 3.17</NOTE>, he will remember thy &s;oul. And though thy Faith be weak, be not di&s;|couraged. Thou &s;tande&s;t not in thy own &s;trength, but in the &s;trength of Chri&s;t, who is<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 63.1</NOTE> <HI>Mighty to &s;ave.</HI> The &s;afety of the Child in the Mothers Bo&s;ome, lies not in the &s;trength of its own weak Arms, wherewith it clings about her; but in the &s;trength of the Mothers Arm, and the Affectionate Tenderne&s;s of her heart to|wards it. What? though thy Faith be weak, thy &s;trength be &s;mall, and thy Enemies &s;trong, thou art <HI>kept by the Pow|er of God through Faith unto &s;alvation</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.5.</NOTE>. Chri&s;t is thine, and &s;o Heaven and Happi|ne&s;s is thine al&s;o.</P>
<PB N="413" REF="214">
<P><HI>The Lord grant I may live to his Prai&s;e, that hath &s;hewed Mercy on me. For the Glory of God is, I know, the end of the&s;e Di&s;pen&s;ations of his Grace. For thus it is written</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Eph. 1.12, 13, 14.</NOTE> That we &s;hould be to the prai&s;e of his glory who fir&s;t tru&s;ted in Chri&s;t. In whom <HI>(&s;aith the Apostle)</HI> ye al&s;o tru&s;ted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the Go&s;pel of your &s;alvation: in whom al&s;o after that ye believed, ye were <HI>&s;ealed</HI> with that <HI>Holy Spirit</HI> of Promi&s;e, which is the <HI>Earnest of our Inheritance,</HI> untill the Re|demption of the purcha&s;ed Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, unto the prai&s;e of his Glory. <HI>But how may I know that God hath gi|ven me this Earne&s;t of my Inheritance; that I am &s;ealed with his Holy Spirit, or that he hath given his Holy Spirit to me?</HI></P>
<P>If God hath given you Faith in Je&s;us Chri&s;t, he hath certainly &s;ealed you with his Holy Spirit, and &s;o given you the <HI>Ear|ne&s;t</HI> of your heavenly Inheritance. For it is the Spirit of God, which is the Spi|rit of Grace, by which that Faith was wrought in your Heart, by which you have been united to Je&s;us Chri&s;t. The Graces of Sanctification, Repentance, Faith, Hope, Love to God, Charity, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> are the prints of this <HI>Privy Seal,</HI> wherewith God &s;eals Believers as his own <HI>Peculiar,</HI> which in what&s;oever &s;oul they are found,
<PB N="414" REF="215"> to that &s;oul is the <HI>Spirit</HI> of God given as an <HI>Earne&s;t</HI> of an eternal Inheritance in Heaven. And where there is one Grace of the Spirit, as that of Faith, which hath already been evidenc't, there are all the re&s;t, though not equally vi&s;i|ble. Though &s;ometimes but one <HI>Star</HI> do appear in the Heavens, yet we are &s;ure all the re&s;t are fixed there, though they are clouded from our &s;ight.</P>
<P>Moreover the Spirit of God where ever it is, is a Spirit of <HI>Holine&s;s, Prayer</HI> and <HI>Comfort.</HI> Now do you de&s;ire to know whether the Spirit of God be given to you, and do indeed dwell in you? Then &s;earch your Heart, and tell me what you di&s;|cover upon the&s;e Enquiries. Do you find &s;in to be a <HI>Burden</HI> to you, and are you <HI>weary</HI> of it? Do you indeed <HI>hate</HI> your &s;weete&s;t &s;ins, and <HI>love</HI> the &s;tricte&s;t wayes of Holine&s;s? Do you maintain a con&s;tant <HI>Conflict</HI> again&s;t your Corruptions? Can you truly &s;ay with the Apo&s;tle,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 7.19</NOTE> <HI>The good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.</HI> For,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">v. 21.</NOTE> I <HI>find a Law that when I would do good, evil is pre&s;ent with me.</HI> Yet <HI>I delight in the Law of God after the inward man.</HI> Oh do you not extremely long to be freed from this <HI>Bondage</HI> of Corruption, that in the duties of Holine&s;s you might enjoy a more glorious <HI>Freedom</HI> of Communion with God? What
<PB N="154" REF="215"> is it which chiefly makes the world uncom|fortable to you? Is it <HI>Sin</HI> or <HI>Suffering?</HI> Which of the&s;e two is it which you mo&s;t con&s;tantly fear, and mo&s;t carefully decline? Can you heartily ble&s;s God for <HI>Afflicti|on,</HI> when it becomes a Means to promote in your Heart the work of Grace and Ho|line&s;s? Is not your heart grieved for the Sin that cleaves unto you in your be&s;t per|formances? Do you not find your heart endeared to the Children of God, more then to any others in the world? Doe you know what it is that thus engages your Affections to them? Is it not the <HI>Beauties of Holine&s;s?</HI> If it be thus with you, then &s;urely doth the Spirit of Holi|ne&s;s dwell in you.</P>
<P>Furthermore, Do not you find your Heart drawn out in holy <HI>Breathings</HI> after God? Are you not wont to pour it out dayly in<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Mat. 6.6.</NOTE> <HI>Secret,</HI> into the Bo&s;ome of your <HI>Heavenly Father?</HI> If any thing af|flict you, or oppre&s;s your Spirit, are you not wont to goe and make your mone un|to God<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 142.2</NOTE>? When you want any choice Ble&s;&s;ing, are you not wont to go and ask it of God? Do you not e&s;teem it a <HI>&s;ingular Priviledge,</HI> that you may freely go upon all Occa&s;ions, and open your Heart unto your Heavenly Father? And do you not find &s;ometimes when you go unto God under great Di&s;couragements, many <HI>&s;weet Enlargements</HI> in Prayer? Do
<PB N="416" REF="216"> you not find your heart inflamed with Love to God, when you perceive he is plea&s;ed to hear your Prayers, and an|&s;wer your Reque&s;ts? But is not your Spi|rit much<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 30.6</NOTE> <HI>troubled,</HI> when he hides his <HI>Face</HI> from you? Do you not account tho&s;e &s;ad Daies, wherein you find &s;uch a <HI>Deadne&s;s</HI> in your Heart, &s;uch a <HI>Dulne&s;s</HI> upon your Spirit, that you cannot find that Refre&s;hment in prayer, which you was wont to receive even in your &s;ore&s;t Af|flictions? But are not tho&s;e daies fe&s;tival with your &s;oul, wherein God inlarges your Heart in Prayer, and in Returns thereof, inlarges his Hand with Ble&s;&s;ings? Is it thus with you? Then &s;urely the Spirit of God is given to you, and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 1.14</NOTE> <HI>dwels</HI> in you. For the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Zec. 12.10</NOTE> <HI>Spirit of Grace</HI> is a <HI>Spirit of Supplication.</HI> For when of <HI>Sinners</HI> God makes us <HI>Sons,</HI> he &s;ends the <HI>Spirit of Adopti|on into our Hearts whereby we cry, Abba, Father</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.14, 15.</NOTE>. Such then are the Children of God, and <HI>Heirs</HI> of the Kingdom,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.17</NOTE> <HI>joint Heirs with Chri&s;t</HI> of the Kingdom of Glory.</P>
<P>To conclude, Hath your &s;oul ever ta&s;ted the &s;weet <HI>Comforts</HI> of Communion with God? Have you been &s;en&s;ible of the re|fre&s;hing Influences of his Holy Spirit, when &s;ometimes his Face hath &s;hone up|on your &s;oul in Duties or Ordinances? Do you prize the&s;e Comforts above all earthly Delights? Have you felt your
<PB N="417" REF="216"> Heart &s;ometimes <HI>melting</HI> under the glorious Sun-&s;hine of Gods ravi&s;hing Face? Have you felt your Heart <HI>di&s;&s;olved</HI> (as a Lump of Sugar in a Bowl of Wine) into Holy Joy under the <HI>Pourings</HI> forth of the Love of God? Then you may indeed,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.2</NOTE> <HI>Rejoyce in the Hope of the Glory of God:</HI> and your<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rom. 5.5</NOTE> <HI>Hope &s;hall not make you a&s;ham|ed, becau&s;e the Love of God is &s;hed abroad in your Heart by the Holy Gho&s;t, which is given unto you.</HI></P>
<P>Behold then, O gracious believing &s;oul, what ground thou ha&s;t to long for Hea|ven, &s;eeing if it be thus with thee, thou ha&s;t a clear undoubted Title to it, as thine Eternal Inheritance! For can&s;t thou not by the foregoing Evidences, dear up thy Receipt of the <HI>Earnest</HI> thereof, the Holy Spirit of God? What &s;ay&s;t thou?</P>
<P><HI>Truly I dare not deny what great Things God hath graciou&s;ly done for me. This then I can truly &s;ay, though I am a poor &s;infull Creature, I do heartily de&s;ire that God would &s;anctifie me throughout by his Holy Spirit, and make me holy. Though &s;in be in my heart, yet my heart is not towards my &s;in, but again&s;t it. I know by &s;ad experience my Infirmities are &s;o many, my Corruptions &s;o &s;trong, that I daily &s;in again&s;t God, but yet if my Heart deceive me not, I would rather choo&s;e to un|dergo the</HI> greate&s;t &s;uffering, <HI>then willingly to commit the</HI> lea&s;t &s;in <HI>again&s;t my good
<PB N="418" REF="217"> God. I have had experience of many Troubles and Afflictions of one kind or another, but this I am &s;ure of, that none of them have been &s;uch a</HI> Hearts-grief <HI>unto me as this, that I have offended and di&s;honoured God by my &s;ins. And 'tis my daily Request unto him, that he would vouch&s;afe to give me &s;uch a Mea&s;ure of his Grace, that for the Time to come, I might live only to his</HI> Glory. <HI>I find my Heart, I do confe&s;s, many Times much &s;traightened in Prayer, but yet &s;till the bent of my &s;oul is towards God. And I find that when I have been mo&s;t enlarged in Prayer, my heart is mo&s;t apt to be lifted up in</HI> Spiritual Pride, <HI>and when mo&s;t &s;traightened, to be most ca&s;t down in</HI> Self-Aba&s;ement. <HI>And yet, I ble&s;s God,</HI> I <HI>do not in the&s;e</HI> En|largements <HI>forget my own</HI> Vilene&s;s, <HI>nor in the&s;e</HI> Aba&s;ements <HI>forget Gods</HI> Goodne&s;s. <HI>And thus I do perceive that it plea&s;es God to do my &s;oul good by his</HI> different Di&s;pen|&s;ations. <HI>But Oh how &s;weet, how ravi&s;hing, how glorious are the Incomes of God to my &s;oul &s;ometimes in Prayer! O me thinks</HI> I <HI>am lifted up above all the worlds Vanities, above its Riches and Glory, in &s;o much, that if the whole world was a</HI> Globe of Gold, I <HI>&s;hould no more regard it then a</HI> Heap of Dung, <HI>in compari&s;on of the glorious &s;oul-ravi&s;hing Joy</HI> I <HI>feel in Communion with God. Oh me thinks my &s;oul is walking with God in</HI> Paradi&s;e; <HI>its &s;oaring with the &s;acred</HI> Seraphims, <HI>about the</HI> Throne <HI>of God; its bathing it &s;elf delici|ou&s;ly
<PB N="419" REF="217"> in the</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 36.9</NOTE> Fountains of Life, and Rivers of Plea&s;ures, that are at Gods right hand<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 16.11</NOTE>; <HI>it's even drencht in the glorious Joyes of Eternity. O then m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">thinks it grieves me to come out of &s;uch a</HI> Paradi&s;e, <HI>to come down from &s;uch a</HI> Heaven, <HI>to turn mine eyes from beholding &s;o much</HI> Beauty <HI>and</HI> Glory <HI>as my &s;oul then &s;ees in the</HI> Face <HI>of God; or that the worlds Vanities interpo&s;ing, &s;hould again rob me of &s;uch a</HI> bea|tifical Vi&s;ion. <HI>But alas! 'tis but &s;eldome I experiment &s;uch pretious Enjoyments. My heart, alas! oft for a long while together, is as an</HI> In&s;trument <HI>un&s;tring'd, and utterly out of Tune, upon which</HI> I <HI>can make no</HI> Mu&s;ick, <HI>no Melody at all.</HI> I <HI>am in a dead, flat, dull Temper, and can hardly tell, how to bring out a Word in Prayer, or put up one petition to God with any Fervour. But yet even in this Condition</HI> I <HI>can a little refre&s;h my &s;elf with Reviews of the Lords former loving Kindne&s;&s;es to my &s;oul. For</HI> I <HI>have &s;ometimes felt my heart marvellou&s;ly refre&s;ht with his</HI> gracious Comforts, <HI>and my &s;oul hath been &s;ometimes sprinkled with</HI> glorious Joyes. <HI>If the&s;e then be the fruits and flowrings forth of the</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 Joh. 3.9</NOTE> Seed of God <HI>in me; if the&s;e be the Productions of the Spirit of Holine&s;s, and Evidences of its In-being in the heart, then</HI> I <HI>hope</HI> I <HI>may comfortably conclude, that God hath been plea&s;ed to give unto me his Holy Spirit.</HI></P>
<P>Ble&s;&s;ed be thou, O Believer, for thou ha&s;t unlockt unto me Chri&s;ts <HI>Garden of
<PB N="420" REF="218"> Spices,</HI> and ha&s;t refre&s;ht my Spirit by leading me up and down in <HI>flowry walks,</HI> while thou ha&s;t laid open before me thy Experi|ences of Gods gracious Dealings with thy &s;oul, in the Communications of his Spirit to thee; whereby thou ha&s;t given me Occa&s;ion to review &s;ome <HI>&s;weet Pa&s;&s;ages</HI> of that &s;oul-ravi&s;hing Communion, which a poor Crea|ture, and a wor&s;e &s;inner then thy &s;elf, hath &s;ometimes had with the All-glorious and ever gracious God. Now a&s;&s;ure thy &s;elf I dare no more <HI>delude</HI> thee in the&s;e great Concernments, the&s;e Matters of ever|la&s;ting Con&s;equence, then I dare <HI>delude</HI> my own &s;oul. For &s;hould I dare to &s;peak Peace to thee in an un&s;ecure Condition, and &s;o flatter thy &s;oul into Hell, thy Life would God require at my hand, in the Judgement day. Know then, dear Soul, to thy pre&s;ent Comfort and everla&s;ting Joy, the&s;e are not the fruits of <HI>Corrupt Nature,</HI> but of &s;aving <HI>Grace;</HI> and this <HI>Grace</HI> flows from the Spi|rit of <HI>Holine&s;s</HI> which is given to thee, and in re&s;pect of the&s;e ble&s;&s;ed Fruits, Effects, Influences and Operations thereof dwelleth in thee, and will certainly conduct thee to a Kingdom of Glory. Fear not then the <HI>Evils</HI> that are or &s;hall be upon Earth; for thou ha&s;t an Eternal <HI>Inheritance</HI> re&s;erved for thee in Heaven. Thou art one of the &s;mall number of Chri&s;ts <HI>ltttle Flock, and it is thy Fathers good plea&s;ure to give thee tht King|dom</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Luk. 12.32</NOTE>.</P>
<PB N="421" REF="218">
<P>Thus I have &s;hewed thee, O Believer, how thou may'&s;t clear thy <HI>Title</HI> to the Kingdom of Heaven, thine <HI>Evidences</HI> for eternal Life. How thou may'&s;t know, upon infallible Scripture-Grounds, that Heaven is thine <HI>Inheritance.</HI> What then remains, but that living in <HI>Peril|lous Times</HI> on earth, thou &s;hould&s;t long to be po&s;&s;e&s;t of the <HI>Glorious Joyes</HI> of Hea|ven?</P>
<P>And therefore now we are here together in the <HI>Wilderne&s;s,</HI> come, Believer, come along with me to the top of <HI>Pi&s;gah,</HI> and let us there take a <HI>Pro&s;pect</HI> of the <HI>Holy Land.</HI> See&s;t thou there the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 33.17</NOTE> <HI>Land that is a far off?</HI> Behold, that's the <HI>Land of Promi&s;e,</HI> where after our weari&s;ome <HI>Pilgrimage,</HI> we &s;hall have an everla&s;ting <HI>glorious Re&s;t.</HI> There the <HI>Flouri&s;hing Vines</HI> are ever laden with full <HI>Clu&s;ters</HI> of the riche&s;t Grapes. Oh! Happy &s;hall we be, when in&s;tead of the <HI>Waters of the Wilderne&s;s,</HI> we &s;hall come to drink of the <HI>Wines of Canaan.</HI> There the Ri|vers do continually flow with<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Exo. 3.17 Flumina jam Lactis, jam Flu|mina Ne|ctaris ibant Ovid. Aetas Aure<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> <HI>Milk</HI> and <HI>Honey.</HI> The<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;hall we &s;it down by the <HI>Cry&s;tal &s;treams</HI> of the <HI>pure&s;t Plea&s;ures,</HI> and drink our <HI>Fils</HI> of the fre&s;h <HI>Fountains</HI> of glo|rious <HI>Joyes,</HI> everla&s;ting <HI>Delights.</HI> Here we are encompa&s;t with <HI>Enemies;</HI> but there we &s;hall have a perfect <HI>Tranquillity,</HI> an eternal <HI>Security,</HI> an unchangeable <HI>Felicity.</HI> Oh that we had but<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 55.6</NOTE> <HI>Wings like a Dove,</HI> that we might fly from this High Mountain to that HOLY LAND.</P>
<PB N="422" REF="219">
<P>Come, Believer, why &s;tande&s;t thou here gazing upon a tumultuous Throng of people, that ru&s;h out of the Gates of <HI>Babylon,</HI> to per&s;ecute and afflict the Children of <HI>Zion?</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 33.20, 21.</NOTE> <HI>Look upon</HI> Zion, <HI>the City of our Solemnities: Thine eyes &s;hall &s;ee</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>a quiet Habitati|on, a Tabernacle that &s;hall not be taken down, not one of the Stakes th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">reof &s;hall ever be re|moved, neither &s;hall any of the Cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious LORD will be to us a place of broad Rivers and Streames, wherein &s;hall go no Gally with Oars, neither &s;hall gallant &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ip pa&s;s thereby.</HI> No, there &s;hall be no <HI>Enemy</HI> to terrifie us with a threatned <HI>Inva&s;ion,</HI> nor any to mole&s;t us with a bloody <HI>Per&s;ecution;</HI> for our City &s;hall be<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 26.1</NOTE> <HI>wall'd</HI> with <HI>Salvation,</HI> and our &s;treets &s;hall be <HI>pav'd</HI> with <HI>Peace.</HI></P>
<P>Happy are the Inhabitants of the Heaven|ly <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI> There they that have wal|lowed in the <HI>Du&s;t,</HI> &s;hall walk on<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 21.21</NOTE> <HI>Gold:</HI> They that have been wrapt up in <HI>Darkne&s;s,</HI> and buried in <HI>Di&s;grace,</HI> &s;hall wear Robes of <HI>Light</HI> and Crowns of <HI>Glory.</HI> Were all the <HI>glittering Stars</HI> of Heaven turn'd into <HI>glorious Suns,</HI> what glorious <HI>Robes</HI> of Light would their intermixed <HI>Beams</HI> weave for the Inhabitants of the Earth! And yet all this would be but a &s;hadow of the Glory of Heaven. For were all the&s;e <HI>Suns</HI> in the highe&s;t Heavens, they would be at once <HI>eclip&s;t</HI> and di&s;appear, darkened with the All-tran&s;cending Brightne&s;s of the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 21.23</NOTE> <HI>Glory of God.</HI>
<PB N="423" REF="219"> Sure we are,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 24.23</NOTE> <HI>The Moon &s;hall be confound|ed, and the Sun a&s;hamed, when the Lord of Ho&s;ts &s;hall reign in Mount Zion, and in</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>and before his Antients gloriou&s;ly. Glorious things are &s;poken of thee, O City of God</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 87.3</NOTE>.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg">Incomparabiliter clara e&s;t Civitas aeterna, ubi Victoria, ubi Veritas, ubi Dignitas, ubi Sancti|tas, ubi Vita, ubi Aeter|nitas<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Aug. de Vita aeter|na.</NOTE>.</NOTE>The Eternal City (<HI>&s;aith</HI> Augu&s;tine) is of incomparable Cla|ritude, where there is Victory, where there is Verity, where there is Dignity, where there is Sanctity, where there is Life, where there is Eternity. <HI>Oh who would not long to live in that place, where the Inhabitants are po&s;&s;e&s;t of &s;o many ine&s;ti|mable Priviledges!</HI></P>
<P>Come, Chri&s;tians, what &s;ay you to the&s;e <HI>glorious things</HI> above, now you experiment &s;uch <HI>perillous Times</HI> below? Here you are wandering in the <HI>Wilderne&s;&s;e;</HI> Do you not long to be po&s;&s;e&s;t of the <HI>Land of Promi&s;e?</HI> to &s;ee the <HI>Beauties,</HI> ta&s;te the <HI>Plea&s;ures,</HI> and enjoy the <HI>Priviledges</HI> of the <HI>Coele&s;tial Ca|naan,</HI> the <HI>&s;upernal Jeru&s;alem?</HI> Here you are to&s;t on a trouble&s;ome <HI>Sea,</HI> &s;hould you not de&s;ire to arrive at the <HI>Haven</HI> of HAP|PINESSE, to Land in GLORY? Here you &s;it by the <HI>Rivers of Babylon;</HI> &s;hould you not <HI>weep</HI> when you remember <HI>Zion?</HI> Even weep for <HI>&s;orrow</HI> that you are &s;o long ab&s;ent from it, which is the Place of your <HI>Triumph</HI> and <HI>Joy?</HI> Know you not that when once you are arriv'd at the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 48.2</NOTE> <HI>City of the
<PB N="424" REF="220"> great King,</HI> your <HI>Waters of &s;orrow</HI> &s;hall be all turn'd into the <HI>Wine of Joy?</HI> For <HI>the ran&s;omed of the LORD &s;hall return and come to</HI> Zion <HI>with Songs, and everla&s;ting</HI> Joy <HI>up|on their Heads: they &s;hall obtaine</HI> Joy <HI>and Gladne&s;&s;e, and</HI> &s;orrow <HI>and &s;ighing &s;hall flee away</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 35.10</NOTE>. The<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e &s;hall you &s;ee tho&s;e <HI>Turtle Doves,</HI> who&s;e mourning voice you heard by the Waters of the Sanctuary, having their<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 68.13</NOTE> <HI>Wings cover'd with Silver, and their Feathers with yellow Gold,</HI> gla&s;&s;ing their Eyes in the cry&s;tal Fountaines of Eternal Life.</P>
<P>The State of man may be di&s;tingui&s;ht in|to <HI>three Regions;</HI> there's a <HI>lower Region,</HI> which is the Region of Nature; a <HI>middle Region,</HI> which is the Region of Grace; and the <HI>highe&s;t Region,</HI> which is the Region of Glory. There's no true <HI>Tranquillity</HI> nor <HI>Safety</HI> in the fir&s;t; there are many <HI>Stormes</HI> and <HI>Tempe&s;ts</HI> in the &s;econd: there's <HI>Re&s;t</HI> and <HI>Joy,</HI> a perfect <HI>Peace</HI> with the pure&s;t <HI>Plea&s;ures</HI> in the third, without intermi&s;&s;ion or end. Oh how &s;hould the Saints, who have been tran&s;lated from the <HI>Region</HI> of <HI>Nature,</HI> into the <HI>Region</HI> of <HI>Grace,</HI> long to be tran&s;lated (e&s;pecially in <HI>&s;tormy</HI> and <HI>tem|pe&s;tuous</HI> Times) from the <HI>Region</HI> of <HI>Grace</HI> into the <HI>Region</HI> of <HI>Glory.</HI></P>
<P>True they mu&s;t be uncloath'd of this <HI>Mortal Body,</HI> before they can enter into that <HI>Region of Light,</HI> to put on the Robes of <HI>Immortal Glory.</HI> For,
<PB N="425" REF="220">
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Induci in Nubes, pe|netrare in plenitudinem Luminis, irrumpere cla|ritatis Aby&s;&s;os, &amp; lucem habitare inacce&s;&s;ibilem, nec temporis e&s;t hujus nec corporis *.</NOTE>To be taken up in|to the Clouds, to pa&s;s into the fulne&s;&s;e of light, to break into the Aby&s;&s;es of Claritude, and to dwell in the Light which is inac|ce&s;&s;ible,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Bern. &s;up. Cant. Ser. 38.</NOTE> is neither con&s;i&s;tent with this state of Body, nor competible to this pre&s;ent Time. <HI>But why &s;hould we not be wiling that God &s;hould ca&s;t down our</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 5.1</NOTE> Tabernacle of Clay, <HI>when we are a&s;&s;ur'd he will rai&s;e us up a</HI><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 15 43</NOTE> glorious Tem|ple <HI>in the roome of it, a fit</HI> Man&s;ion <HI>for an immortal &s;oul</HI> ally'd <HI>to God,</HI> array'd <HI>with Glory?</HI></P>
<P>We are indeed incompa&s;t with <HI>Mercies</HI> on Earth; but we &s;hall be &s;urrounded with <HI>Glories</HI> in heaven. Mercy &s;peaks a &s;tate of <HI>Imperfection</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;ery;</HI> but Glory &s;peaks a &s;tate of <HI>perfect Felicity.</HI> Ah Chri&s;tians! Your <HI>Enemies</HI> will pur&s;ue you, till you are entred into the <HI>Sanctuary</HI> of God. The <HI>Avenger of blood</HI> will pur&s;ue you, untill you have taken the <HI>City of Refuge.</HI> Who are the&s;e Enemies but your <HI>Sins,</HI> with tho&s;e Troops of <HI>Mi&s;eries,</HI> which they lead up again&s;t you to de&s;troy you? Who is the A|venger of blood, but <HI>Satan,</HI> who &s;eeks the Life of your &s;ouls to de&s;troy it? Now what is this Sanctuary? What is this City of Re|fuge? 'Tis <HI>Heaven,</HI> the place of the Saints Re&s;t and Peace, Joy and Glory.</P>
<P>Ah Chri&s;tians! Why are your affections
<PB N="426" REF="221"> like <HI>ravenous Vultures</HI>) &s;eeking their <HI>Prey</HI> upon Earth, when (with the <HI>Royal Eagl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI>) they &s;hould be mounting up to Heaven, to &s;eek their <HI>Re&s;t</HI> in Glory? Ah Chri&s;tians! What <HI>amiable Objects</HI> can you behold upon Earth, which make you &s;o loth to be going hence, at lea&s;t to long &s;o little to leave this World, that you might live for ever in the Contemplation of the <HI>Glorious Beauties</HI> of Heaven? Surely it grieves your Hearts here to &s;ee <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> in his <HI>Blood,</HI> as he is daily<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Heb. 6.6</NOTE> <HI>crucifi'd afre&s;h</HI> by the &s;innes of men; but then oh how will it joy your &s;oules to behold the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">I&s;. 33.17</NOTE> <HI>King in his Beauty,</HI> Chri&s;t at his Fathers right hand in glory, where he &s;hall <HI>&s;it till all his Foes are made his Foot|&s;toole</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;. 110.1 Heb. 1.13.</NOTE>. Oh me thinks if Chri&s;t be indeed the <HI>dearly beloved</HI> of your &s;ouls, and infi|nitely more <HI>precious</HI> in your e&s;teeme, then all the&s;e earthly enjoyments, you &s;hould extreamly long to be <HI>di&s;&s;olved,</HI> that you may live with him for ever in Heavenly Glory.</P>
<P>Ah Chri&s;tians! What can you find or ex|pect but <HI>Troubles</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;eries</HI> on Earth? What then &s;hould your de&s;ires and longings be, but to be at<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.9.</NOTE> <HI>Re&s;t</HI> with Chri&s;t in Hea|ven? Why does it plea&s;e the Lord, who by his powerful Providence and Government orders all things that come to pa&s;s in the World, to &s;uffer the&s;e <HI>&s;tormes</HI> and <HI>tempe&s;ts</HI> to ari&s;e, and &s;o &s;orely <HI>&s;hake the</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">I&s;a. 61.3</NOTE> <HI>Trees of Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> of his own planting, but to
<PB N="427" REF="221"> loo&s;en their <HI>Roots</HI> from the Earth, and &s;o to prepare them to be <HI>tran&s;planted</HI> into Paradi&s;e? Its the Priviledge of the Saints of God, that<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rom. 8.28</NOTE> <HI>all things work together for their good.</HI> And it's a con&s;iderable advan|tage that the people of God have by pe|rillous Times, that thereby they are <HI>weaned</HI> from the world, made willing to be <HI>di&s;|&s;olv'd,</HI> and de&s;irous to leave the Earth to live for ever in Heaven. Oh labour, Chri&s;ti|ans, to fetch this <HI>honey</HI> out of the <HI>Carka&s;s</HI> of the Lion; to make this <HI>good u&s;e</HI> of <HI>bad Times.</HI> Let your hearts &s;it <HI>loo&s;e</HI> to all your earthly Contentments, and let your &s;ouls daily long more and more to be <HI>uncloath'd</HI> of your mortal Bodies, and to live in im|mediate communion with Chri&s;t in heaven|ly Glory. Oh long and labour to get out of this <HI>Wilderne&s;s of Thornes,</HI> and to enter in|to that <HI>Flowry Paradi&s;e</HI> of everla&s;ting De|lights, which God hath prepared for his children, when this life is ended. O long to &s;ee an end of the&s;e <HI>evil Dayes,</HI> that tho&s;e <HI>glorious Dayes,</HI> whereof the Pious Father &s;peaks, may at length begin, which never &s;hall have an end.</P>
<P><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Ba&s;il. in P&s;al. 33.</NOTE>.</NOTE><HI>Now</HI> (&s;ayes he) <HI>indeed our Dayes are evil, but there are o|ther Dayes that are good, Dayes who&s;e light &s;hall never be
<PB N="428" REF="222"> cut off by darkne&s;&s;e, Dayes that &s;hall ne|ver be &s;evered by the dark Curtaines of Night: For God him&s;elf &s;hall be their eter|nal Light, crowning them with the re&s;plen|dent Raies of his own glory.</HI> O the difference betwixt our <HI>Dayes on Earth</HI> and the&s;e <HI>Days of Heaven!</HI> Here we have often <HI>cloudy</HI> &amp; <HI>&s;tormy</HI> Dayes, but there's an everla&s;ting <HI>Calm,</HI> an everla&s;ting <HI>Sun&s;hine</HI> of Love and Glory. The&s;e are oftimes days of <HI>Trouble</HI> and <HI>Torment,</HI> but tho&s;e above are alwayes Dayes of <HI>Triumph</HI> and <HI>Joy.</HI> The&s;e are Dayes of <HI>Sin</HI> and <HI>La|bour,</HI> of <HI>&s;uffering</HI> and <HI>&s;orrow;</HI> but tho&s;e are all holy <HI>Sabbaths</HI> of <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> and &s;acred <HI>Festi|vals</HI> of Divine <HI>Delights.</HI> So the &s;ame Fa|ther &s;tiles them,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><HI>Delicious, Holy, Everla&s;ting Sab|baths,</HI> Dayes of eter|nal Delight. So &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle al&s;o;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Heb. 4.9</NOTE><HI>There remaineth therefore a Re&s;t</HI> (an everla&s;ting glorious <HI>Sabbati&s;me) for the People of God.</HI> Oh how &s;hould the Saints long and labour to enter into this <HI>glorious R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t!</HI></P>
<P>Happy are you, Saints, if all the <HI>Waves of afflictions,</HI> and rolling Billows upon which you are to&s;t in the trouble&s;ome Sea of this World, &s;et you daily, hourely nearer to the <HI>faire Havens</HI> of everla&s;ting Happine&s;&s;e. But, O then be &s;ure you &s;teer your <HI>Cour&s;e</HI>
<PB N="429" REF="222"> by the &s;acred <HI>Compa&s;s</HI> of the Word of God. Oh be daily preparing your &s;elves by a <HI>holy Life,</HI> for a <HI>happy Death,</HI> if you de&s;ire to enter into a glorious eternity. In vaine &s;hall you long for <HI>Heaven,</HI> if you &s;till live in &s;inne, which is but to walk in the way that leads to <HI>Hell.</HI> Unle&s;&s;e the <HI>Image of God</HI> be renew'd upon your &s;oules in the Beauties of holine&s;&s;e, while you are yet on Earth, never &s;hall you &s;ee the <HI>Face of God</HI> in Heaven. For,<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.14</NOTE> <HI>without holine&s;&s;e no man &s;hall &s;ee the Lord.</HI> Oh then, be daily cruci|fying your <HI>Corruptions,</HI> exerci&s;ing your <HI>Gra|ces,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Cor. 7.1</NOTE> <HI>perfecting holine&s;&s;e in the Feare of God,</HI> and &s;o preparing your &s;elves for hea|ven, that you may be<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Col. 1.12</NOTE> <HI>meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light.</HI> Then may you with comfort <HI>look for Chri&s;ts coming,</HI> who will receive you up into his Kingdom and Glory.</P>
<P>True believers are &s;uch as<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 4.8</NOTE> <HI>love the ap|pearing of Chri&s;t,</HI> &s;uch as may with confi|dence<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.12</NOTE> <HI>look for, and ha&s;ten unto the coming of the Day of God.</HI> But then con&s;ider,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 3.11</NOTE> <HI>What manner of Per&s;ons ought you to be in all holy Conver&s;ation and Godline&s;&s;e,</HI> that you may with <HI>comfort</HI> look for the coming of Chri&s;t, and with <HI>confidence</HI> ha&s;t to the Judgement day? Remember that the<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.11, 12, 13.</NOTE> <HI>Grace of God,</HI> reveal'd in the Go&s;pel, <HI>which brings &s;alvation to you, teaches you that denying ungodline&s;&s;e and worldly Lu&s;ts, you &s;hould live &s;oberly, righteou&s;ly and godly
<PB N="430" REF="223"> in this pre&s;ent World;</HI> So, <HI>looking for that ble&s;&s;ed hope, and the glorious appea ing of the great God, and of our Saviour</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Let <HI>Prayer</HI> and <HI>Piety</HI> then be your daily Exerci&s;e, during Life, that though you live in <HI>perillous Times,</HI> you may fini&s;h your Daies in <HI>Peace.</HI> Be diligent in <HI>doing of good,</HI> and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 5.22, 23.</NOTE> <HI>Ab&s;taine from all appearance of Evil. And the very God of Peace &s;anctifie you wholly: and</HI> I <HI>pray God your whole Spirit, and Soul, and Body be pre&s;erved blamele&s;&s;e unto the Coming of our Lord</HI> Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Jude 24, 25</NOTE><HI>Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to pre&s;ent you faultle&s;&s;e before the pre&s;ence of his Glory with exceeding Joy; to the onely wi&s;e God, our Saviour, be Glory and Maje&s;ty, Dominion and Power, now and ever. Amen.</HI></P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="author's note">
<PB REF="223">
<HEAD>The Authour's Ad|verti&s;em<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nt.</HEAD>
<P>_REader thou art now come to the End of this Book; let me tell thee what was the End of the Author in publi&s;hing it. God, in the Scripture, tells us that <HI>evil Dayes, perillous Times &s;hall come.</HI> This is doubtle&s;&s;e <HI>written for our In&s;truction.</HI> It's then &s;urely the Duty of a Mini&s;ter of the Go&s;pel, to give People WARNING of the&s;e perillous Times, and (after the Example of the Pro|phets, and faithful Preachers of the Word in all Ages) to give in his WITNES again&s;t the evil of the Dayes. This, out of <HI>Faithfulne&s;s</HI> to the great Intere&s;ts of the Glory of God, and the Salvation of &s;ouls. The Author, upon this Ground, rea|dily embraced, what he judged his fitte&s;t <HI>Opportunity,</HI> for the di&s;charge of this Duty, that &s;o he might have <HI>a good con|&s;cience, both towards God, and towards men.</HI></P>
<PB REF="224">
<P>Moreover, the Author ob&s;erving with Griefe, how the generality of men per|ceiving their <HI>Danger</HI> in &s;uch perillous Times, are wont to &s;tudy their <HI>&s;afety</HI> by carnall <HI>Compliances</HI> with every <HI>ri&s;ing Party,</HI> whereby when a <HI>wicked Party</HI> prevailes, it &s;trengthens it &s;elfe mightily to the carrying on and Accom|pli&s;hment of tho&s;e De&s;ignes, which are de&s;tructive to the whole Nation, in the Safety or Ruine whereof particular Per|&s;ons and Societies mu&s;t needs &s;tand or fall. Thus the <HI>Trees</HI> &s;ubmit them&s;elves to the <HI>&s;cratching Bramble,</HI> and put their <HI>Tru&s;t</HI> under its <HI>&s;hadow,</HI> till at length <HI>Fire</HI> coming forth from it to devoure the <HI>Noble Cedars,</HI> con&s;umes the whole <HI>Forre&s;t.</HI> Such is the Folly of men, that oft-times by that very meanes whereby they &s;eek for <HI>Safety,</HI> they runne them&s;elves into the greater <HI>Danger.</HI> I judg'd it my Duty therefore to endeavour a Di&s;covery of <HI>a more ex|cellent Way.</HI></P>
<P>Doubtle&s;&s;e here lies our greate&s;t <HI>Dan|ger;</HI> in our provoking God by our <HI>&s;ins,</HI> to puni&s;h us and the whole Land by his <HI>Judgements.</HI> If he become our <HI>Ene|my,</HI>
<PB REF="224"> they are not men, be they never &s;o great and mighty in Power, that can help or &s;ave us. And by <HI>&s;inful com|pliances</HI> how &s;oone may the whole Na|tion be involv'd in the guilt of tho&s;e horrid <HI>Perjuries,</HI> injurious <HI>Incroach|ments,</HI> fearful <HI>Enormities,</HI> and God-provoking <HI>Abominations,</HI> which may pluck down the &s;ore&s;t Plagues and Pu|ni&s;hments upon all the People of the Land. Our onely &s;afety then lies in making our <HI>Peace</HI> with God, by humbling our &s;elves for all our &s;innes, and turning to him with our whole Hearts, and &s;o in walking humbly with him in his holy wayes, and keeping our &s;elves cleare from the E|vils and Abominations of the Times. For <HI>if God be with us, who can be again&s;t us?</HI> If he that is <HI>Mighty to &s;ave</HI> be our <HI>Friend,</HI> we need not care who are our <HI>Enemies,</HI> nor feare what man can do unto us. Now this is the Scope and Drift of the pre&s;ent Treati&s;e; and to give a timely Warning of this <HI>Danger,</HI> and a &s;ea&s;onable Admonition of this <HI>Duty,</HI> was the De&s;igne, and is the De&s;ire of the Author.</P>
<P>For this Rea&s;on and end therefore was
<PB REF="225"> this <HI>Sermon</HI> fir&s;t preached, and after|wards by the <HI>Advice</HI> of many of his Re|verend Brethren, the Ministers of the Go&s;|pel in the City of <HI>London,</HI> was this <HI>Di&s;|cour&s;e</HI> publi&s;hed. If thou de&s;ire&s;t to know what was at the fir&s;t preached in the <HI>Ser|mon,</HI> and hath been &s;ince added in the <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e,</HI> which hath &s;welled it to this Bigne&s;&s;e, take this Account. The Sermon mainly con&s;i&s;ted of the&s;e two things; the <HI>Symptomes</HI> of perillous Times, and the <HI>Duty</HI> of the Saints in &s;uch Dayes of Dan|ger. For the former; tho&s;e &s;even Symp|tomes were laid down, which according to the Order wherein now thou finde&s;t them, are the third, fourth, fift, &s;ixt, eighth, ninth and la&s;t. For the latter; the fir&s;t and &s;econd Duties onely were pre&s;t, and therein principally the fift Branch of the &s;econd Duty. Almo&s;t all the rest, with &s;undry illu&s;trative Enlargements of the&s;e, are added in this Treati&s;e, that it might, by the Ble&s;&s;ing of God, become of more <HI>General U&s;efulne&s;&s;e.</HI> This Adverti&s;e|ment I have added for thy &s;atisfaction, which I &s;hall conclude with this Caution; <HI>Take heed thou art not one of them that make the Times perillous.</HI> By
<PB REF="225"> a &s;erious Peru&s;al of the fore-going Di&s;cour&s;e, and a Religious Reflexion upon thy &s;elfe, thou maye&s;t come to know whether thou art on Gods &s;ide or again&s;t him. But &s;ee thou do thy &s;elf no <HI>Hurt</HI> by what's meant for thy <HI>Good.</HI> Harden not thy &s;elfe a|gain&s;t the Admonitions given thee in the Name of the Lord. For, Know; the BOOK in thy hand, however <HI>buried</HI> in Contempt, will <HI>ri&s;e</HI> up in Judgement a|gain&s;t many <HI>Great Ones,</HI> many <HI>Guilty Ones</HI> in this Nation, at the la&s;t Day; who&s;e guilt will be aggravated by their &s;lighting of this timely Warning, given them by</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>A poor, unworthy Servant of the</HI> Lord Je&s;us, <HI>in the Mi|ni&s;try of his glorious Go&s;pel, THO. WILLES.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE>London, <DATE>Aug. <HI>15. 1659.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="226">
<HEAD>The Book commended to Gods Ble&s;&s;ing.</HEAD>
<P>_GLORIOUS GOD, This poor thing, which thy unworthy &s;ervant hath <HI>fini&s;h't</HI> in thy <HI>&s;trength,</HI> is now <HI>pre&s;t</HI> for thy <HI>&s;er|vice.</HI> And behold I have here brought it before thy Maje&s;ty, that it may receive thy <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing.</HI> Thou, who art the great God, delighte&s;t to do great things by <HI>weak Means,</HI> that thy Power may appear, and thy Name may have the Glory. O that it would plea&s;e thee to make u&s;e of this poor thing, as an <HI>In&s;trument</HI> in thine own hand, for the Glory of thy great Name, and the good of thy People, in this &s;inful Nation! Oh let not the <HI>Weakne&s;&s;es</HI> and <HI>Infirmities</HI> of thy &s;ervant, that herein di&s;clo&s;e them&s;elves, hinder the <HI>&s;ucce&s;s</HI> of this &s;mall <HI>&s;ervice,</HI> which he de&s;ires hereby to do thy di&s;tracted
<PB REF="226"> Church. Lord, own and accept what is <HI>Good</HI> in it, for it is thine own: but what is <HI>Evil,</HI> pardon and cover, as proceeding from the weakne&s;&s;e of a poor Creature, that would willingly do thee much better &s;ervice, and yet is willing to &s;ubmit to thy Will, though Thou &s;houlde&s;t &s;ubject him to the meane&s;t employment. And give, O Lord, &s;o much <HI>Charity</HI> to his dear Bre|thren, that they may <HI>cover the Infirmi|ties</HI> of their poor weak Brother in <HI>Love;</HI> and not &s;eek to <HI>hurt</HI> him, by that whereby he de&s;ires to do others <HI>Good.</HI> Oh that thou woulde&s;t be plea&s;ed to put it into their Hearts, from the di&s;|coveries of thy poor &s;ervants Weak|ne&s;&s;es, to take an occa&s;ion to adore the Riches of thy <HI>free Grace,</HI> and to exalt thy Name with <HI>Prai&s;es,</HI> for that thou ha&s;t been plea&s;ed to intru&s;t them with more <HI>excellent Abilities</HI> for thy &s;ervice! So &s;hall thy &s;ervant have cau&s;e to <HI>glory in his Infirmities,</HI> when thereby &s;ome <HI>Glory</HI> &s;hall redound to thy Name.</P>
<P>But as for the <HI>Proud,</HI> who make it their Glory to oppre&s;&s;e the <HI>Poor,</HI>
<PB REF="227"> keep thy &s;ervant ever in that Re&s;o|lution, to which by thy grace thou ha&s;t rai&s;ed his heart, rather to pe|ri&s;h by their Power, then by any <HI>un|worthy Compliance,</HI> to &s;eek his own Pre|&s;ervation or Advantage, to thy Di&s;|honour. Fill his Heart, and the Hearts of all thy faithful &s;ervants, with a <HI>holy Contempt</HI> and <HI>Scorne</HI> of their Favour, who&s;e <HI>Friend&s;hip</HI> is flat <HI>Enmity</HI> with God. Make thy &s;ervant one of them, <HI>in who&s;e Eyes a vile Per&s;on is contemned,</HI> how Great or Glorious &s;oever he be in the World's eye; but let him e|ver <HI>honour them that feare the LORD.</HI> Let not thy &s;ervant think it &s;trange if he &s;uffer <HI>Reproach</HI> from them, that ca&s;t <HI>Di&s;honour</HI> upon Thee; but rather rejoyce in their Reproaches, as the <HI>Badges of his Faithfulne&s;&s;e,</HI> and weare them as his <HI>Crown</HI> and Glory. Let him not &s;tudy <HI>to plea&s;e men,</HI> le&s;t he loo&s;e the Honour of being <HI>the &s;ervant of Chri&s;t.</HI> Oh let thy &s;ervant behold <HI>Smiles</HI> in thy plea&s;ed Face, and ta&s;t the &s;weetne&s;&s;e of thy precious <HI>Pro|mi&s;es,</HI> and &s;o &s;hall he not fear the <HI>Frownes,</HI> nor regard the <HI>Threats</HI> of
<PB REF="227"> Proud, Perfidious, and Pre&s;umptuous &s;inners. Let him never de&s;ire to have them for his <HI>Friends,</HI> who by their horrid Enormities have made God their <HI>Enemy.</HI> Let him never &s;eek to be <HI>e&s;teemed</HI> by them, who&s;e <HI>In&s;olencies</HI> proclaime to the world that they <HI>contemne</HI> God. Yet, Oh that thou woulde&s;t open their Eyes to &s;ee their &s;ins, before thou tumble them from their Earthly Glory into Hell! Oh that in &s;tead of accounting thy &s;er|vant their <HI>Enemy for telling them the Truth,</HI> they might &s;ee and con&s;ider that it is the highe&s;t act of <HI>Friend|&s;hip</HI> to &s;hew them their <HI>Danger</HI> before it be too late. Oh that it would plea&s;e thee by thy Spirit, to convince them of tho&s;e &s;ins, and fearful abo|minations, which thy &s;ervant hath endeavour'd herein to repre&s;ent, as in a <HI>Gla&s;&s;e,</HI> before their faces! Oh give them to repent of their <HI>wicked Deeds,</HI> and to humble them&s;elves for their <HI>in&s;olent Actings.</HI> However, Lord, by thy powerful Providence <HI>re&s;train</HI> them in their wayes of wickedne&s;&s;e, who&s;e <HI>Ambitious</HI> and <HI>a&s;piring &s;pirits</HI> prompt
<PB REF="228"> them to the mo&s;t <HI>Audacious</HI> and <HI>ille|gal Actings,</HI> for the &s;ecuring of their own <HI>Intere&s;ts,</HI> and the E&s;tabli&s;hment of their own <HI>Glory</HI> and <HI>Greatne&s;&s;e</HI> upon the Ruines of the Church and Com|mon-wealth; re&s;train them, O Lord, lo&s;t they pluck down <HI>Judgements</HI> not onely upon their own heads, but al&s;o on the too guilty Nation.</P>
<P>And vouch&s;afe, O God, to look down from thy high and holy habi|tation, upon this &s;inful Land; but not with an <HI>Eye of Fury</HI> and Revenge, but with an <HI>Eye of Mercy</HI> and Love. Thou &s;ee&s;t what <HI>fearful Abominations</HI> are committed among&s;t us: Thou knowe&s;t what <HI>perillous Times</HI> are come upon us. Thou &s;ee&s;t how cruel enemies do rend the body of thy dear &s;onne, the CHURCH, which he hath re|deemed with his own blood. Thou heare&s;t with what helli&s;h <HI>Oaths</HI> and <HI>Bla&s;phemies</HI> vile Creatures daily teare thy &s;acred and glorious Name. Oh! If thou wa&s;t not infinite in Mercy and Patience, thou had&s;t long ago rain'd down <HI>Fire</HI> and <HI>Brim&s;tone</HI> upon our heads, or involv'd the whole
<PB REF="228"> Land in <HI>Confu&s;ion</HI> and <HI>Blood. It is of the Lords mercies we are not con&s;umed, becau&s;e his compa&s;&s;ions fail not.</HI></P>
<P>But now, O Lord, <HI>hear;</HI> O Lord, <HI>have Mercy;</HI> O Lord, <HI>forgive</HI> the ma|ny and great &s;ins and Provocations of this Land, and do not <HI>for&s;ake</HI> us utterly, nor irre&s;i&s;tibly <HI>de&s;troy</HI> us, as we have de&s;erved. We mu&s;t needs confe&s;&s;e that <HI>we</HI> and <HI>our Princes</HI> have greatly &s;inned again&s;t thee, and fearfully pro|voked the pure Eyes of thy Glory. Lord humble us from the <HI>highe&s;t</HI> to the <HI>lowe&s;t;</HI> give us a true <HI>Repentance</HI> for all our &s;ins, and <HI>Grace</HI> to turne to thee our God with our whole hearts, and &s;o <HI>&s;pare</HI> us, and <HI>heale</HI> our Land. Oh &s;tirre thy people up to tho&s;e <HI>&s;pecial Duties,</HI> which are at this Time in a &s;pecial manner incumbent on them. Let this <HI>Warning</HI> and <HI>Call</HI> which thou give&s;t them by the hand of thy &s;er|vant, become, through thy Ble&s;&s;ing, effectual for the <HI>Awakening</HI> of thy &s;ervants out of their Security, and the <HI>Engaging</HI> of them to tho&s;e Duties, whereby thy Wrath and Judgements may be prevented, and a <HI>wide Door</HI> may
<PB REF="229"> be opened, whereby thy Ble&s;&s;ings may flow in abundantly upon us. O Good God, puni&s;h not this Land with a <HI>Fa|mine of thy VVord.</HI> Oh take not thy Go&s;pel &amp; Ordinances from us; Remove not thy <HI>golden Candle&s;tick.</HI> Oh never let it be &s;aid, <HI>The Glory is departed from England!</HI> It were better for us to &s;ee our &s;treets runne downe with the <HI>Blood</HI> of the &s;laine, and to behold the <HI>Bodies</HI> of thy Saints <HI>burnt</HI> in flames, then to live in peace, and grow cold in our love to thy Truth, till we have utterly lo&s;t the Go&s;|pel. Prayers put up in <HI>Flames</HI> and <HI>Blood</HI> might recall it againe, when a general <HI>&s;loth</HI> and <HI>&s;ecurity</HI> in &s;inne, may forfeit it for ever. But, O Lord, continue thy <HI>Go&s;pel,</HI> pre&s;erve thy <HI>People,</HI> and ble&s;&s;e thine <HI>Inhe|ritance</HI> in the Land. But if for our <HI>&s;innes,</HI> thou &s;halt &s;uffer tho&s;e <HI>&s;tormes</HI> to ari&s;e, whereby thy Church &s;hall &s;uffer <HI>Shipwrack,</HI> Oh let this poor <HI>Plank</HI> ca&s;t out by the hand of thy un|worthy &s;ervant, be a Meanes to &s;ave &s;ome Soules. Oh let this &s;mall <HI>Light</HI> direct &s;ome &s;oules in
<PB REF="229"> the right Path, for their eternal Salvation, to the Glory of thy free Grace, through the Lord <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> our onely Mediator and Redeemer. <HI>Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<PB REF="230">
<HEAD>Errata Typographica.</HEAD>
<P>Some &s;mall <HI>Mi&s;takes</HI> have e&s;cap't the <HI>Pre&s;s,</HI> whereof &s;ome few are amended with the <HI>Pen.</HI> Some few <HI>Mi&s;pellings, Mi&s;pointings</HI> crave their <HI>Pardon of cour&s;e,</HI> as Things of &s;uch ordinary Incidency in Printing, that the greate&s;t Diligence can hardly prevent them. Some of the mo&s;t <HI>material Mi&s;takes,</HI> which offer'd them&s;elves to Notice upon a <HI>&s;wift Review,</HI> are the&s;e that follow.</P>
<P><TABLE>
<ROW>
<CELL ROLE="label">Errata.</CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label">Correcta.</CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label">Pag.</CELL>
<CELL ROLE="label">Lin.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>intended</CELL>
<CELL>extended</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
<CELL>29</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Premuniti.</CELL>
<CELL>Praemuniti.</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
<CELL>24</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>overcome</CELL>
<CELL>overtake</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
<CELL>20</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign">.</CELL>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign">.</CELL>
<CELL>37</CELL>
<CELL>19</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Vial</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Viol</HI></CELL>
<CELL>48</CELL>
<CELL>6</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Frevalency</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Prevalency</HI></CELL>
<CELL>54</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Exce&s;s;</CELL>
<CELL>Exce&s;s?]</CELL>
<CELL>93</CELL>
<CELL>13</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>he</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>the</HI></CELL>
<CELL>93</CELL>
<CELL>14</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Octavious</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Octavius</HI></CELL>
<CELL>94</CELL>
<CELL>16</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>victus</CELL>
<CELL>vinctus</CELL>
<CELL>97</CELL>
<CELL>marg.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>&s;catter'd</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>&s;hatter'd</HI></CELL>
<CELL>150</CELL>
<CELL>22</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign">.</CELL>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign"></CELL>
<CELL>141</CELL>
<CELL>marg.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Corne</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Corke</HI></CELL>
<CELL>257</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>thus</CELL>
<CELL>there</CELL>
<CELL>263</CELL>
<CELL>11</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Diabolos</CELL>
<CELL>Diabolus</CELL>
<CELL>275</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Name</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Doctrine</HI></CELL>
<CELL>275</CELL>
<CELL>5</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>Baits</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>Balls</HI></CELL>
<CELL>287</CELL>
<CELL>23</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL>Baldwin. de Ca&s;. Con&s;e.</CELL>
<CELL>Balduin. de Ca&s;. Con&s;c.</CELL>
<CELL>289</CELL>
<CELL>marg.</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><HI>he was pro|ceeded a|gain&s;t</HI></CELL>
<CELL><HI>he was to be proceeded again&s;t</HI></CELL>
<CELL>291</CELL>
<CELL>1</CELL>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign"><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Error Seculi.</NOTE>.</CELL>
<CELL><GAP DESC="foreign">.</CELL>
<CELL>Rom. 12.</CELL>
<CELL>v. 11.</CELL>
</ROW>
</TABLE></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="230">
<HEAD><HI>A</HI> SYNOPSIS of the foregoing TREATISE in &s;ix TABLES.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<HEAD>The fir&s;t Table. JN unfolding the <HI>Prophecy of perillous Times,</HI> we are to con&s;ider the <HI>Parts</HI> of the</HEAD>
<ITEM>1. TEXT, the <HI>Subject of the Di&s;cour&s;e.</HI> The&s;e are <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="The Page of the Book"> two; for herein we have a
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Prediction of Danger,</HI> wherein we are to con|&s;ider the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Termes,</HI> wherein it is expre&s;t; <HI>Perillous Times &s;hall come.</HI> <MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="The Page of the Book"> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Time,</HI> when it is to be expected; <HI>in the la&s;t Dayes.</HI> <MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="The Page of the Book"> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Premonition of Duty,</HI> directed to <HI>Timothy,</HI> and in him to every faithful Mini&s;ter and good Chri&s;tian; <HI>This KNOW al&s;o that in the la&s;t Dayes perillous Times &s;hall come.</HI> <MILESTONE N="14" UNIT="The Page of the Book"> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. TREATISE, or the <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e upon the Subject;</HI> which (an&s;werable to the Parts of the Text) are two, <HI>&s;c.</HI> the
<LIST>
<ITEM>I. DANGER <HI>to be di&s;covered.</HI> Here are two things to be con&s;idered; <HI>&s;c.</HI> the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Means of the Demon&s;tration,</HI> when the&s;e Times are come; This by the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. CHARACTERS <HI>of pernicious Per&s;ons.</HI> Tab. 2.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. SYMPTOMES <HI>of perillous Times,</HI> which (as to the main intent of them) are
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Morall.</HI> Tab. 3.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Political.</HI> Tab. 4.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Ground of the Denomination,</HI> why the&s;e Times are &s;o called; <HI>&s;c.</HI> becau&s;e of the <HI>Evils</HI> and <HI>Dangers</HI> of them. Tab. 5.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>II. DUTY <HI>to be di&s;charged.</HI> Tab. 6.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="231">
<HEAD>The &s;econd Table.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The CHARACTERS <HI>of pernicious Per&s;ons</HI> are drawn <MILESTONE N="25" UNIT="Pag."> from their <HI>Properties</HI> and <HI>Practices,</HI> and are
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. Po&s;itive and ab&s;olute; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Lovers of their own &s;elves.</HI> <MILESTONE N="26" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Covetous.</HI> <MILESTONE N="28" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Boa&s;ters.</HI> <MILESTONE N="28" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Proud.</HI> <MILESTONE N="29" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Incontinent.</HI> <MILESTONE N="37" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>Fierce.</HI> <MILESTONE N="38" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>7. <HI>Heady.</HI> <MILESTONE N="44" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>8. <HI>High-minded.</HI> <MILESTONE N="45" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Relative, in Reference to
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. God; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Unholy.</HI> <MILESTONE N="33" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Lovers of Plea&s;ures more then Lo|vers of God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="47" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Having a forme of godline&s;&s;e, but denying the power ther<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">of.</HI> <MILESTONE N="49" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. Men; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Di&s;obedient to Parents.</HI> <MILESTONE N="31" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Without Natural affection.</HI> <MILESTONE N="33" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Truce-breakers.</HI> <MILESTONE N="34" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Fal&s;e-Accu&s;ers.</HI> <MILESTONE N="35" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>De&s;pi&s;ers of tho&s;e that are good.</HI> <MILESTONE N="39" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>Traytors.</HI> <MILESTONE N="40" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. Both God and men; as,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Bla&s;phemers, Re|vilers.</HI> <MILESTONE N="30" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Unthankful.</HI> <MILESTONE N="32" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Wicked men and Seducers.</HI> <MILESTONE N="51" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="231">
<HEAD>The third Table.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The <HI>Morall</HI> SYMPTOMES <HI>of perillous Times</HI> are the&s;e,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Prevalency of Impiety:</HI> wherein are &s;ome <MILESTONE N="54" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Special &s;innes,</HI> making the Times perillous; as, <MILESTONE N="57" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Athei&s;me and Irreligion.</HI> <MILESTONE N="58" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Murmuring again&s;t God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="62" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Inju&s;tice, Cruelty, Oppre&s;&s;ion.</HI> <MILESTONE N="65" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Swearing and Cur&s;ing.</HI> <MILESTONE N="76" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Adultery, Fornication, Unclean|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> <MILESTONE N="83" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>Gluttony and Drunkenne&s;s.</HI> <MILESTONE N="86" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>7. <HI>Phanta&s;ticalne&s;&s;e, Vanity and Pride of Apparel.</HI> <MILESTONE N="103" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Special Ca&s;es,</HI> wherein the Times by rea&s;on of the&s;e &s;innes, are in a &s;pecial manner perillous; as in ca&s;e of <MILESTONE N="122" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Commonne&s;&s;e of &s;in.</HI> <MILESTONE N="124" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Generality of Offendours.</HI> <MILESTONE N="128" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Ob&s;tinacy and Impudency in &s;inning.</HI> <MILESTONE N="132" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Remi&s;&s;ne&s;&s;e of Magi&s;trates and Of|ficers in puni&s;hing.</HI> <MILESTONE N="138" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Incorrigiblene&s;&s;e and</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <MILESTONE N="142" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2: <HI>Formality in Religion.</HI> <MILESTONE N="151" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Security in a &s;tate of uncertainty.</HI> <MILESTONE N="321" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Divi&s;ions in the Church and Union of her Ad|ver&s;aries.</HI> <MILESTONE N="307" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="232">
<HEAD>The fourth Table.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The <HI>Political</HI> SYMPTOMES <HI>of perillous Times,</HI> are the&s;e,
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Impiety vail'd with hypocri&s;ie.</HI> <MILESTONE N="160" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Iniquity clo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Authority.</HI> <MILESTONE N="190" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">jury and Covenant-breaking.</HI> <MILESTONE N="208" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Practical Athei&s;me.</HI> <MILESTONE N="226" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Impiety acted with Impunity.</HI> <MILESTONE N="231" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>6. <HI>Toleration of Errours in Religion.</HI> Here we are to con|&s;ider the <MILESTONE N="246" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Characters</HI> of erroneous per&s;ons, which are the&s;e <MILESTONE N="249" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Pride and &s;elf-conceitedne&s;s.</HI> <MILESTONE N="253" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Self-&s;eparation from the true Church.</HI> <MILESTONE N="257" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Railing upon Magi&s;trates and Mini&s;ters.</HI> <MILESTONE N="266" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> <MILESTONE N="277" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Uncleanne&s;s. ibid.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Ca&s;es,</HI> which upon this account con&s;titute pe|rillous Times. The&s;e are <MILESTONE N="281" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Licentiou&s;ne&s;&s;e colour'd with Liberty of Con|&s;cience.</HI> <MILESTONE N="281" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Protection of Errour and Fal&s;e-wor&s;hip.</HI> <MILESTONE N="287" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Mi&s;u&s;ing Gods Mini&s;ters.</HI> <MILESTONE N="292" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Contempt of God's Ordinances counte|nanc't.</HI> <MILESTONE N="299" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Sinners &s;edulity, and &s;loth in Saints.</HI> <MILESTONE N="304" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>7. <HI>Perill of Plain-dealing.</HI> <MILESTONE N="329" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="232">
<HEAD>The fifth Table.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The <HI>Evils of perillous Times</HI> are to be con&s;i|dered as the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Cau&s;es</HI> there|of; as the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Provocation of God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="339" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Perver&s;ion of men.</HI> <MILESTONE N="340" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Pollution of the Land.</HI> <MILESTONE N="341" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Con&s;equents</HI> thereof; as the
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Infliction of Judge|ment on the Land.</HI> <MILESTONE N="342" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Per&s;ecution of the Church.</HI> <MILESTONE N="345" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>De&s;truction of mens &s;ouls.</HI> <MILESTONE N="347" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<PB REF="233">
<HEAD>The &s;ixt Table.</HEAD>
<ITEM>The DUTY <HI>of the Saints</HI> in perillous Times is <MILESTONE N="348" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Mourning for the Abominations of the Times.</HI> <MILESTONE N="349" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>The &s;erious practice of true Piety.</HI> This Duty con&s;i&s;ts of five Branches, which are the&s;e, <MILESTONE N="361" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>To keep them&s;elves from the corruptions of the Times.</HI> <MILESTONE N="366" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To take heed of active compliance with tho&s;e that are the chief cau&s;ers of the evils of the Times.</HI> <MILESTONE N="367" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>To con&s;ider one another to provoke unto Love and Good Works.</HI> <MILESTONE N="370" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>To live in the Exerci&s;e of their mo&s;t excellent Graces.</HI> <MILESTONE N="371" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>To appear boldly in their places again&s;t the Evils of the Times.</HI> <MILESTONE N="373" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>Earne&s;t Prayer to God for the amendment of the Times.</HI> <MILESTONE N="381" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>Making God their refuge till the Dangers are overpa&s;t.</HI> For this end there is a threefold <HI>Work</HI> required; <HI>&s;c.</HI> <MILESTONE N="389" UNIT="Pag.">
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>To clear up their Intere&s;t in God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="390" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>To act all the Powers of their &s;ouls upon God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="393" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>To be much in communion with God.</HI> <MILESTONE N="396" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>Taking off their hearts from Earth, and longing after Heaven. Looking and longing for the coming of Chri&s;t.</HI> <MILESTONE N="400" UNIT="Pag."> </ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Rev. 22.20 21.</NOTE><HI>He which te&s;tifieth the&s;e Things, &s;aith, &s;urely I come quickly. Amen. Even &s;o, Come Lord Je&s;us.</HI></P>
<P><HI>The grace of our Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t be with you all. Amen.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
