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<DATE>2014-10-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Kate Allen</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
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<P>TRUTH Vindicating it &s;elf from TREASON AND REBELLION. OR, A brief di&s;covery how the Faith of the Grace of God to manward, in, and through Chri&s;t Je&s;us our Lord, who once appeared in the end of the world, to put away &s;in by the &s;a|crifice of him&s;elf, and by means thereof is the Saviour of the world; As likewi&s;e the hope of his appearing the &s;econd time without &s;in, to the &s;alvation of them that look for him; not onely clears it &s;elf from, but mo&s;t directly and &s;everely reproves all manner of Sedition, and re&s;i&s;ting the powers that God by his providence &s;ets over us, whether they be good and gentle to us, or whether they be froward, and ri&s;e up a|gain&s;t us.</P>
<P>By TH: MOORE Junior.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for the Author. 1661.</P>
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<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB REF="3" MS="y">
<PB N="3" REF="3">
<HEAD>TRUTH Vindicating it &s;elf from TREASON &amp; REBELLION.</HEAD>
<P>_THe Truth believed and profe&s;&s;ed by us concerning Chri&s;t,</P>
<P N="1">1. In what he hath already done in, and by him&s;elf, as the Son of God, and Saviour of the world.</P>
<P N="2">2. In what he is now become, and doing for us in the name of the Father, as the Saviour of all men, e&s;pecially of them that believe: And</P>
<P N="3">3. In what he will do to the utmo&s;t &s;alvation of them that believe, and wait for him.</P>
<P>The&s;e being the great things of Gods Law, as they re|ceive not te&s;timony from man, or depend not on that for their authority, &s;o neither need they any mans help to vindicate them from any lye, or unrea&s;onable and unju&s;t thing toward God, or man, but doe fully acquit them|&s;elves by their direct and cleare oppo&s;ition to every cor|rupt principle and practice. We &s;hall therefore &s;ay no|thing to vindicate them, or the &s;incete profe&s;&s;ors of them, from tho&s;e evil thoughts and &s;peeches that may be occa&s;ioned by the wicked, and ungodly practi&s;es of &s;ome &s;uch, as having a <HI>form of godline&s;s, deny the power thereof;</HI> but onely a&s;&s;ert them briefly under &s;ome few heads of them, and &s;hew what they are, and what in&s;tructions do
<PB N="4" REF="4" MS="y">naturally ari&s;e from them, as we have received them from the te&s;timony of the Lord, and let them &s;peak for them|&s;elves.</P>
<P>That when <HI>all had &s;inned,</HI> <MILESTONE N="I"> <HI>and come &s;hort of the glory of God,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 3.23, 24. with ch. 5.6-12-18. Joh. 3.16. &amp; 4.42. 1 Joh. 4.14 Joh. 3.17. Gal. 1.4. &amp; 4.4.</NOTE> in and unto which they were created in the fir&s;t <HI>A|dam;</HI> yea, when they were become altogether filthy, and enemies to God; yet <HI>God &s;o loved the world</HI> of mankinde, <HI>that he gave his onely begotten Son</HI> the Saviour thereof, <HI>that who&s;oever</HI> of them (through his grace in, and through this un&s;peakable gift of Grace, bringing Salvation to all men in due time) <HI>believeth in him, &s;hould not peri&s;h, but have e|verla&s;ting life. For God &s;ent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be &s;aved.</HI> And that this onely begotten Son of God, accor|ding to the will of God the Father, by whom he was fore|ordained and appointed to this work from the beginning, and with whom his undertaking was accepted, &amp; precious to this end;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.26. 1 Tim. 1.15. Luke 19.10. Heb. 2.9. 1 Pet. 3.18. 1 Tim. 2.4.6.</NOTE> He <HI>in the fulne&s;s of time, once in the end of the world,</HI> came into the world, and appeared in a body, won|derfully <HI>prepared</HI> for him, in the womb of a Virgin was <HI>made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the law;</HI> to &s;ave &s;inners, even that which was lo&s;t; <HI>And he by the grace of God tasted death for every man, the ju&s;t for the unju&s;t;</HI> He <HI>gave him&s;elf a ran&s;ome for all;</HI> and by the meanes thereof is <HI>the mediator between God and men,</HI> that he might be te&s;tified, or him&s;elf be|come a te&s;timony in due time; that &s;o he might <HI>bring us to God.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. This principle evinceth, that all were lo&s;t by &s;in, even become <HI>dead in &s;ins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Corin. 5.14, 15, 16.</NOTE> and <HI>by nature children of wrath,</HI> one as well as another. <HI>Fora&s;much</HI> (&s;aith the Apo|&s;tle) <HI>as one died for all; we therefore,</HI> and from thence <HI>judge that all were dead;</HI> and therefore henceforth, &s;ince we have received this judgement, we judge, or <HI>know no man after the fle&s;h,</HI> or <HI>as the wi&s;dome of the fle&s;h teacheth,</HI> ac|cording to outward or fle&s;hly differences;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom 3.23.</NOTE> for <HI>there is no difference, for all have &s;inned, and come &s;hort of the glory of God.</HI></P>
<PB N="5" REF="4" MS="y">
<P>By this Doctrine all are proved to be under &s;in in them|&s;elves, and as from <HI>Adam;</HI> whence it is affirmed of them that now believe,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.3.</NOTE> <HI>That they were by nature the children of wrath, even as others;</HI> and <HI>&s;ometimes fooli&s;h, di&s;obedient,</HI> &amp;c. walking with others after the cour&s;e of this world. And this is one, (and a principall one) of tho&s;e In&s;tructi|ons,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 3.9-19.23-27.</NOTE> by which the doctrine of Faith <HI>excludes boa&s;ting</HI> eve|ry where, or in any thing, but onely in the Lord, where others may rejoyce with us; for this &s;hews there was no difference, either as in our &s;elves, or as in re&s;pect of our &s;tate and condition before God, as in and from fallen <HI>A|dam.</HI> Therefore if we have received any thing that makes us differ,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">&lindx;</NOTE> it is of free grace, even of that love and pity that is in him to manward:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 2.3, 4, 5.</NOTE> nor was there any thing that did make God a debtor to us, or more intitle us to &s;uch mercy then others, but even for that love wherewith he loved us, when dead in &s;ins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, and wherewith he &s;till loveth others, that are &s;till &s;uch as we &s;ometimes were; he hath &s;hewed mercy on us, that in us he might &s;hew a pattern of the exceeding riches of his kindne&s;s to others, &s;uch as we. <HI>For we were as &s;heep going astray,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.25. with ver. 18-21. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>but are now returned to the chief Bi&s;hop and &s;hepherd of our &s;ouls.</HI>&mdash;</P>
<P>This the Apo&s;tle <HI>Peter</HI> u&s;eth as a principall motive, to engage believing &s;ervants and &s;ubjects to be &s;ubject to their own Ma&s;ters and Rulers after the fle&s;h, (tho&s;e by Gods providence &s;et over them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. 3. Pro. 13.10. with Jam. 3. <HI>totum.</HI> 1 Cor. 6.11 with Tit. 3.4. &amp;c. 1 Pet. 3.21, 22.</NOTE> whether gentle or fro|ward.) The Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> al&s;o with the like motive, <HI>puts them in minde to be &s;ubject to principalities and powers, to o|bey Magi&s;trates. To &s;peak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, &s;hewing all meekne&s;s to all men; for we our &s;elves were &s;ometimes fooli&s;h,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
<P>For this being heartily minded, tends to hide pride from us, which is the onely root of contention, and &s;o of confu|&s;ion, and every evil work. We were as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">nclean as others in our &s;elves, and in the &s;ight of God; and it is by the Bapti&s;me, or wa&s;hing of regeneration in the name of the Lord Je&s;us, and by the Spirit of our God, in that foun|tain
<PB N="6" REF="5">opened for others, that we are in any mea&s;ure &s;a|ved.</P>
<P N="2">2. This principle al&s;o with the former in&s;truction in|formes,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.11. with <HI>ch.</HI> 3.3, 4. 2 Cor. 5.15</NOTE> and on all occa&s;ions minds us of that infinite love of pity, and compa&s;&s;ion in God to manward, even to the dying &s;inner, while his &s;in is not fini&s;hed; to the fooli&s;h, di&s;obedient, rebellious and froward enemies, who are in no wor&s;e condition then we &s;ometimes were;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">&rindx;</NOTE> for even when we were ungodly, enemies, under the &s;entence of death,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 68.18-20. Rom. 5.6. Ezek. 33.10, 11. 1 Tim. 2.4.6. 2 Pet. 3.15 Jer. 17.16.</NOTE> and ready to peri&s;h, <HI>in due time Chri&s;t died for the ungodly,</HI> evidencing clearly that Almighty God hath no plea&s;ure at all in the death of the wicked that dieth; he would not that any &s;hould peri&s;h, but that through Chri&s;t they might come to repentance, and be &s;aved. And there|fore al&s;o he is kind to the unkind and evil, and exerci&s;eth patience, forbearance, &amp; bounty towards them, which we ought to account to be &s;alvation. The which being dili|gently heard &amp; believingly minded by us, would frame us to &s;ome like-mindedne&s;s with him; that we &s;hould not ha|&s;ten the wofull day to any,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 5.43, 44, &amp;c. Luke 6.27. &amp;c. Ch. 9.53.55, 56.</NOTE> but <HI>love our enemies, ble&s;s them that cur&s;e us, pray for them that de&s;pightfully u&s;e us and per&s;ecute us.</HI> Therefore, &s;aith our Saviour, <HI>I &s;ay unto you</HI> that hear, <HI>Love your enemies,</HI> &amp;c. And with this in&s;truction he reproves his Di&s;ciples de&s;ire of fire to come down from Heaven, to con&s;ume &s;uch as would not receive him; <HI>Ye know not</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>of what &s;pirit you are; for the Son of man came not to destroy mens lives, but to &s;ave them.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. This principle likewi&s;e minds us of the way, or means by which he fir&s;t te&s;tified his love to us &s;inners, and through which his love is &s;till commended, and the righ|teou&s;ne&s;s of God declared in &s;hewing mercy to us, to be nothing le&s;s then the wonderful aba&s;ement and &s;ufferings of Je&s;us Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h for our &s;ins,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3.18 &amp; 4 1.</NOTE> <HI>The just for the unju&s;t, that he might bring us to God;</HI> which not onely &s;hewes the altogether lo&s;tne&s;s and filthine&s;s of man, &s;ee|ing he could have help and mercy no other way; and the infinite greatne&s;s and &s;trength of his love that could not be quenched by &s;o many waters as all our &s;orrows, but for
<PB N="7" REF="5">the joy &s;et before him endured, even for that love and pi|ty he had to manward, when dead in &s;ins and tre&s;pa&s;&s;es, as before&s;aid: But this likewi&s;e directs us the way which he hath him&s;elf trodden and con&s;ecrated for us to walk in, in our &s;eeking the good of others that are yet froward,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 15.1, 2. 1 Cor. 10.33. Mat 20 28 Mat. 5.39. &amp;c. Rom 12.18. &amp;c.</NOTE> and enemies; as al&s;o in which our &s;elves may be &s;anctified and prepared for that glory to be revealed, <HI>viz.</HI> to become &s;ervants to all, &s;o as for their good to edification, even as <HI>the Son of man came not to be mini&s;tred unto, but to mini&s;ter, and to give his life a ran&s;ome for many:</HI> not to &s;eek glory of men, or great things for our &s;elves among them, nor to &s;trive with them, to re&s;i&s;t the evil they render to us for his names &s;ake, but to &s;eek to overcome their evil with good, and in a patient enduring their reproaches, revilings, and evil intreaties, yea laying down our lives for Chri&s;ts &s;ake, that he may be glorified; and for the brethren, that the truth of the Go&s;pel may continue with them, and &s;o a|mong&s;t and for the good of others. In this way we have the promi&s;e of his gracious and powerfull Pre&s;ence with us, to &s;trengthen, protect, and deliver from the evil, and make us partakers of the fruit of his righteou&s;ne&s;s; and who are they (to be compared with him) that would harm us, if we be followers of that which is good?
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 3.9-13.14. Rom. 8.17</NOTE> <HI>But if we &s;uffer for righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake, happy are we; the &s;pirit of glory and of God re&s;teth upon us,</HI> &amp;c. Yea, <HI>if we &s;uffer with him, we &s;hall reign with him,</HI> and be glorified together.</P>
<P><HI>Fora&s;much then as Chri&s;t hath &s;uffered for us in the fle&s;h, arm your &s;elves with the &s;ame minde,</HI> to be doers and &s;uf|ferers of the will of God from the heart, and therein, and according thereto, to be &s;ervants to all, and &s;ufferers here in the fle&s;h, waiting for that Kingdom and Glory to be re|vealed: For,</P>
<P N="1">1. He &s;uffered, the ju&s;t for the unju&s;t, yet <HI>when reviled, reviled not again; when he &s;uffered he threatned not,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.21, 22, 23. 1 Pet. 2.24, 25. ch. 3.18.</NOTE> <HI>leaving us an example, that we &s;hould follow his &s;teps.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. In his &s;ufferings <HI>he bare our &s;ins in his own body on the tree,</HI> that <HI>we being dead to &s;in,</HI> redeemed from the cur&s;e of the Law, <HI>&s;hould live unto righteou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>by his &s;tripes
<PB N="8" REF="6">we are healed;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.20.24. Heb. 1.3.</NOTE> peace and atonement is made, <HI>He hath by him&s;elf purged away our &s;ins</HI> that were imputed to him from before the Father, <HI>and is &s;et down on the right hand of God,</HI> &s;o that the wrath of God, the cur&s;e of the Law, that is the due and proper wages of our &s;ins, is not left in our &s;ufferings, but the &s;avour of his oyntments (who hath turned them from Cur&s;es into Ble&s;&s;ings, even into &s;ancti|fied in&s;truments of preparing us for Glory) is left be|hind him in them, that we may comfortably pa&s;s after him.</P>
<P>The &s;econd Head we &s;hall here mention of the fore&s;aid principles, <MILESTONE N="II"> is this, That by means of the aba&s;ement and &s;ufferings of Chri&s;t in the fle&s;h, and his giving him&s;elf a ran&s;ome for all;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Phil. 2.7-12. Act. 10.36. Rom. 14.9. 2 Sam. 14.14. Heb. 2.14, 15.</NOTE> He, even the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us, is <HI>Lord of all, to the glory of God the Father,</HI> who&s;e Kingdome is thereby brought unto us, and ruleth over all; &s;o as that whereas we were ju&s;tly bani&s;hed from God in the righte|ous &s;entence of his Law, and in the equity of his Ju&s;tice, and could have had no gracious Kingdome, or protection of God over us; but being bani&s;hed from God, mu&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arily have remained in our &s;in and death under the bondage of Satan all our life-time; ye a we mu&s;t have been left to all generations in our confu&s;ion and di&s;order that &s;in had brought upon us, as the fi&s;hes of the Sea, and as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them, and al|&s;o &s;hut out for ever from any hope: This being our condi|tion, by rea&s;on of &s;in entring into the world; Je&s;us Chri&s;t, who verily was fore-ordained, and by vertue of his undertaking accepted with the Father, as the Lord, and Chri&s;t, even before the foundation or beginning of the world,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 1.20. Col. 1.14-17 with P&s;. 75.3. Heb. 9.26. with ch. 2.14, 15. Joh. 12.31 32. Gal. 3.13.</NOTE> as now it &s;tands (for <HI>by him,</HI> as &s;o con&s;idered, <HI>all things con&s;i&s;t,</HI> &s;ince by &s;in they were di&s;&s;olved:) He having <HI>once in the end of the world appeared</HI> in a body prepared for him in mans nature, &s;ubject to all our infirmities; but <HI>without &s;in,</HI> that he might put away our &s;in by the &s;acrifice of him&s;elf; and having in that body born and &s;uffered the judgement of this world, having been made &s;in and a cur&s;e for us: He now in his Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion in the
<PB N="9" REF="6">&s;ame body in which he bore our &s;ins on the tree, hath a|ctually obtained of the Father,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.27 &amp; 28.18.</NOTE> and gloriou&s;ly received in the man, a relea&s;e of mankind from under that &s;entence of bani&s;hment, the cur&s;e of the Law unto him&s;elf, who hath bought them, &s;o that the Father hath delivered all men and all things into his hands, as,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5.22-27.</NOTE> and <HI>becau&s;e he is the Son of man,</HI> and given him <HI>all power in heaven and earth,</HI> as the Lord and Saviour of the world of mankind: For <HI>the Father judgeth no man,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14.7.9.</NOTE> <HI>but hath committed all judge|ment to the Son, and hath given him authority to execute judgement al&s;o, becau&s;e he is the Son of man:</HI> For <HI>to this end Christ both died and ro&s;e, and revived</HI> (or lived again) in that body in which he bore our &s;ins, <HI>that he might be Lord of all: whether therefore we live or die, we are the Lords,</HI> at his di&s;po&s;e, and under his government,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.14,15. 1 Joh. 5.11, 12. Ro. 8.32. Act. 5.31.</NOTE> <HI>who gave him&s;elf a ran&s;ome for us:</HI> and in him eternall redempti|on and life is prepared for us, by means of his death, and &s;o given us in him, that with him it might be given to us. <HI>Him hath God exalted a Prince and a Saviour, for to give unto &s;infull men,</HI> yea to rebellious &s;inners, &s;uch as <HI>I&s;rael</HI> that crucified him, <HI>repentance and forgivene&s;s of &s;ins.</HI> And to this purpo&s;e God hath <HI>glorified the man Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 17.4, 5. with ch. 1.1-14. Heb. 4.14. ct 9.24. 1 Tim. 2.5, 6. I&s;a. 53.12. Eph. 1.21, 22. Heb 2.8. 1 Pet. 3.22 P&s;. 68.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">8. &amp;c.</NOTE> <HI>with his own &s;elf, with the glory he had with the Father</HI> (as the eternall and onely begotten Son of God) <HI>before the world was,</HI> that now in that glory he may <HI>appear in the pre&s;ence of God for us,</HI> the onely and powerfull Mediator between God and men, and to make interce&s;&s;ion for the tran&s;gre&s;|&s;ors; and that in the &s;ame name and glory of the Father he may al&s;o execute the judgement and government of God over us, as the King of kings and Lord of lords, who being <HI>a&s;cended on high, far above all principalities and powers,</HI> and having <HI>a name given him that is above every man that is named, not onely in this world, but in that to come,</HI> hath therein <HI>received gifts for men, yea for the rebellious al&s;o that the Lord God might dwell among them.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. This Principle in&s;tructs us, That <HI>by him Kings reign,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 8.15, 16.</NOTE> <HI>and Princes decree ju&s;tice; by him Princes rule, and No|bles, even all the Judges of the earth;</HI> that all Thrones,
<PB N="10" REF="7">Principalities and Powers are created by him, and for him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 1.15-18. Rev. 1.5. P&s;al. 75.7.</NOTE> and <HI>by him all things con&s;i&s;t,</HI> even as he is <HI>the fir&s;t be|gotten from the dead;</HI> that he is <HI>the Prince of the Kings of the earth;</HI> and that it is he that pulls down and &s;ets up at his plea&s;ure, even now in this time while he &s;ees it good to give the Kingdomes of this world into the hand of the children of men; yet him&s;elf &s;its in the &s;tern, and gives and takes away, orders and di&s;po&s;es at his plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>And this engageth the hearty believer of this truth, to yield honour and &s;ubjection to &s;uch Ma&s;ters or Rulers, in, or after the fle&s;h,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.5-8 Col. 3.22-1 1 Sam. 8.3.7. Ch. 10.24.27.</NOTE> as by his providence are over us; and that for his &s;ake, that in reverence to his infinite wi&s;|dome, power and faithfulne&s;s in ordering all things: for indeed, in not &s;o yielding &s;ubjection to them, as in the Lord, and for the Lords &s;ake, they being &s;et up and made to &s;tand by him; there is a &s;ecret calling his wi&s;dome and faithfulne&s;s into que&s;tion, and &s;o a rejecting or re&s;i&s;ting, not of them onely, but of him from being our King, Go|vernour and Di&s;po&s;er. And &s;o much the Apo&s;tle argues and concludes from the premi&s;es,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro. 13.1, 2, 3. with Col. 1.16, 17.</NOTE> <HI>(viz.)</HI> That <HI>the powers that be are ordained,</HI> or ordered, made, and made to &s;tand, &s;et up, and pulled down, <HI>by God;</HI> and that is &s;o as by Chri&s;t, by whom be judgeth and executeth judgement. <HI>Who&s;oever therefore</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>re&s;i&s;teth the power, re&s;i&s;teth the ordinance of God; and they that re&s;ist &s;hall receive to them&s;elves damnation,</HI> as a re&s;i&s;ter of God in one of his great and gracious ordinances, for the pre&s;ervation of mens lives, and keeping them in good order, that they might &s;eek the Lord;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.24, 25. Eph. 6.8. Ro. 12.19. with Deut. 32.35, 36.</NOTE> for to that end they are ordained by him; and whether they be faithfull to him in the tru&s;t committed to them, or no, to him they mu&s;t give an ac|count, who is their great Ma&s;ter in Heaven, their Lord and ours, by who&s;e providence they were &s;et there, whe|ther for mercy, or as a cha&s;ti&s;ement to them over whom they are &s;et; and vengeance belongs to him, not to us. And for our encouragement quietly to leave it to him, and willingly for his &s;ake to be &s;ubject to principalities and powers, tho&s;e at any time by his providence &s;et over us, this principle further teacheth us,</P>
<PB N="11" REF="7">
<P N="2">2. That he being &s;o exalted (as afore&s;aid) &s;till &s;itteth on the right hand of power,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 110.1, 2 Mat. 11.27, 29. Mat 28.18 P&s;al. 9.16. Joh. 5.27. Prov. 21.1.</NOTE> till all his enemies be made his foot&s;tool; and &s;o, that in the Name and Glory of the Father, he &s;till, and alwayes retains all power in Heaven and in Earth, all power with the Father, and over all things in his own hand, even that power which he gives to Angels or men, to any principalities or powers: He doth not &s;o give it into their hands, as to give it out of his own; But &s;till he hath it, and all authority in the name of the Father, to u&s;e it in the execution of Judgement, as King of kings, and Lord of lords, and to re&s;train or turn about their u&s;e or abu&s;e of it, as he plea&s;eth, and as may &s;erve for his ends, whether for mercy or judgement; even the hearts and hands of Kings are in the hands of the Lord, and he turneth them about as the rivers of water which way &s;oever he plea&s;eth: And &s;o God,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 47.7. &amp; 115.3. P&s;al. 11.4. 1 Sam. 2.2, 3. P&s;. 144.10. with P&s;. 82 Act. 17.24-27.</NOTE> even the Father, is in, and by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, King of all the earth; he hath done in all overturnings, and &s;till doth whatever he plea&s;eth in heaven and in earth, and in all places: The Lords throne is in heaven, whence his eyes behold, and his eye-lids try the children of men; and he is a God that weigheth actions; he giveth greatne&s;s and &s;alvation un|to Kings, and more abundant teaching, with in&s;truction and admonition to u&s;e it well, as their place and tru&s;t is greater: And this for the love and good will he bears to mankind, that they may in their &s;everall places and gene|rations be pre&s;erved and kept in order, that they might <HI>&s;eek him</HI> (the Lord) <HI>while he may be found.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 82. &amp; 75.</NOTE> And if at any time tho&s;e &s;et up over men by him, will not under&s;tand, or learn of him, (as is complained of the generality of them) but lift up the horn, or &s;trength given them, contrary to his end, and coun&s;el, to the countenance of evil doers, and &s;hame and grief of the ju&s;t: yet he that &s;itteth in the hea|vens, knowes how to make their coun&s;els and actions, in which they intend otherwi&s;e, &s;erve his ends, even to cau&s;e the wrath of man to prai&s;e him in the i&s;&s;ue of it, to tend (contrary to their meaning) <HI>to the prai&s;e of them that do well,</HI> by purifying them, and making them to &s;hine
<PB N="12" REF="8">forth more clear in their patient enduring for his &s;ake, and to the &s;hame,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Prov. 16.4. I&s;a. 10.6, 7. Dau. 11.35</NOTE> confu&s;ion and <HI>terrour of them that do evil,</HI> e|ven in tho&s;e things they do to countenance them, or &s;trengthen their hands therein, or otherwi&s;e as he plea|feth: for he hath made, ordained, and ordered all things for him&s;elf, and to &s;erve his own ends, even them that make them&s;elves wicked, and fit them&s;elves for &s;uch di&s;|honourable u&s;es, he hath ordained them for his rods, to &s;courge an hypocriticall nation, and for the purifying and making white his people to the time of the end, and knows how to u&s;e them and their wrath to &s;erve his ends (though they mean not &s;o) and then to re&s;train the remainder of their wrath;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 76.12. &amp; 89.9. with 65.7. &amp; P&s;. 93.</NOTE> for he that <HI>ruleth the raging of the &s;ea, and &s;aith, Hitherto &s;hall thy proud waves come, and no further;</HI> He al&s;o <HI>&s;tilleth the tumult of his people,</HI> for the Lord mo&s;t high is mightier then the noy&s;e of many waters, yea then the mighty waves of the &s;ea, even then when they lift up their voyce;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exo. 18.11 P&s;. 73.28. I&s;a. 8.11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>in the thing which they deal proudly, and lift up the horn, he is,</HI> and will be, <HI>above them;</HI> therefore <HI>holi|ne&s;s becomes his hou&s;e for ever: It is good for us to draw near to God,</HI> to &s;anctifie him in our hearts, and make him our fear and our dread, to put our tru&s;t in him, that we may declare his wonderfull works, and <HI>walk before him in the land of the living;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 62. Gen. 18.25</NOTE> for <HI>all power belongs to him,</HI> and with him al&s;o is infinite wi&s;dome, mercy and faithfulne&s;s, and &s;o all fitne&s;s <HI>to render to every man according to his work: And &s;hall not the Judge of all the earth do right?</HI></P>
<P>Hence therefore we may learn, and be encouraged cheerfully to <HI>commit the keeping of our &s;ouls to him in well doing, as unto a faithfull Creator,</HI> by whom, and for who&s;e plea&s;ure all things, and &s;o all principalities and powers are and were created:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro. 13.3, 4.</NOTE> and therefore, not to be afraid, or deterred from doing that which is good, though the &s;pirit of any of our Rulers, or Ma&s;ters, after the fle&s;h, &s;hould ri&s;e up again&s;t us therein. For becau&s;e he is the head of all principality and power, therefore if we do that which is good, we &s;hall have prai&s;e even of the power that he &s;ets over us; whether they ob&s;erve and walk in his coun&s;el,
<PB N="13" REF="8">or not, he will make them, and that which they do, in his time and way, and at lea&s;t in the i&s;&s;ue tend to our prai&s;e in well doing: But <HI>if we do evil, be afraid of the power,</HI> as it is his in&s;trument, and in his hand; for though they &s;hould intend, and promi&s;e, and do that which may be for the countenancing and &s;trengthening the hands of evil doers, yet fora&s;much as they are his &s;ervants and in&s;truments in his hand, to execute wrath on them that do evil, we may ju&s;tly fear, they and their power &s;hall be made a terrour to us, by him that &s;its in the &s;tern, either more directly, or in the i&s;&s;ue, though they intend not &s;o.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eccle&s; 5.8.</NOTE> <HI>And if at any time we &s;ee the oppre&s;&s;ion of the poor, and violent perverting of judgement and ju&s;tice in a Province, yet marvail not,</HI> nor be a&s;toni&s;hed <HI>at the matter,</HI> as if the ordinance of the Lord &s;hould not &s;tand and take place in every age, place, and bu&s;ine&s;s; but be &s;ilent before the Lord that reigneth, as knowing that <HI>he who is higher then the highe&s;t regardeth,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 103.19, 20, 21, 22. 2 King. 6.16, 17. Heb. 1.14.</NOTE> to give to every man in his way and time according to his work: And there is al&s;o in his hand, as his &s;ervants, other more glorious in&s;truments, &s;uch as be <HI>higher then they,</HI> even the holy Angels, the innumerable multitude of the heavenly ho&s;t, by which he oft turns about the inferi|our powers, and their con&s;ultations and actings as he plea&s;eth. <HI>Are not they all ministring &s;pirits &s;ent forth</HI> and imployed by the Captain of our &s;alvation, and e&s;pecially <HI>for the good of the heirs of &s;alvation?</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. This principle al&s;o directs us how, or in what man|ner to yeild &s;ubjection to principalities and powers, and to <HI>obey Magi&s;trates</HI> in the Lord, and <HI>for the Lords &s;ake,</HI> informing us what that fear, honour, and &s;ubjection is, that is due unto them by the order &amp; appointment of him that is exalted far above all principality and power, who is their Lord and ours: And that is &s;uch, as is contained in, and &s;ubordinate, and &s;ub&s;ervient to, and &s;o &s;tands together with that wor&s;hipping and &s;erving onely, and making him our fear and our dread, unto which we are obliged by his great and gracious Lord&s;hip over us, by right of purcha&s;e:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 45.10, 11.</NOTE> for he is our Lord, and we mu&s;t wor&s;hip him. And in the
<PB N="14" REF="9">wor&s;hipping and &s;erving him onely,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ro. 13.1-7. Rev. 19.2-4. Eph. 6.5-8 Col. 3.22-25. 1 Tim. 6.1, 2. Tit. 2.9, 10 with 1 Cor. 7, 23. &amp; I&s;a. 8.11, 12.</NOTE> This is contained, or included, that we render that fear, honour, and &s;ubjection unto men, which he hath made due unto them from us, by that place in which he hath &s;et any of them over us, and according to his appoyntment, and that we yield this &s;ub|jection, fear, or reverence for the Lords &s;ake, doing what we do therein, in <HI>&s;inglene&s;s of heart as unto Chri&s;t,</HI> and with fear and trembling before him, not as men-plea&s;ers, nor as the &s;ervants of men, or as making them the ultimate or &s;ingle objects of our fear, and of our dread, but <HI>as the &s;er|vants of God,</HI> doing his will therein <HI>from the heart,</HI> knowing that from him every one &s;hall receive his reward accor|ding to his works, for we &s;erve the Lord Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>Now then for under&s;tanding what that honour and &s;ubjection is, that God hath made due from us to them, whom he by his providence orders to be over us, as chil|dren of men; It is needfull fir&s;t to con&s;ider in what place he the Lord of lords and King of kings hath &s;et tho&s;e his Vicegerents (of whom he hath &s;aid they are Gods in their &s;everall places) over us; and &s;o what is by his gift and ap|pointment theirs, and under their power, and what is re|&s;erved by him in his own hand and power, to be peculiarly under his government, in the &s;piritual admini&s;tration of it, that &s;o we may know how to <HI>render to Cae&s;ar the things that be Cae&s;ars, and to God the things that be Gods.</HI></P>
<P>For our help in this, it is con&s;iderable, That God hath made and appointed them the Fathers and Ma&s;ters of our fle&s;h,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.9. Eph. 6.5. Col. 3.22.</NOTE> or our Fathers, Ma&s;ters and Rulers after the fle&s;h; for &s;o we find, that not onely our parents by naturall generation are &s;o called, but al&s;o Ma&s;ters and Go|vernours of families, are &s;aid to be unto tho&s;e under their authority, their ma&s;ters after, or according to the fle&s;h; and in &s;ome equivalent &s;en&s;e the &s;ame may be &s;aid and under&s;tood of the King or chief Principality and Power, as &s;upreme among&s;t men, and of Magi&s;trates and Gover|nours under them;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Pet. 2.13-18. &amp;c.</NOTE> for therefore the in&s;tructions to be|lieving &s;ervants to be <HI>&s;ubject to their own ma&s;ters accor|ding to the fle&s;h,</HI> &amp; to them and other believers that are &s;ub|jects,
<PB N="15" REF="9">to yield &s;ubjection to their &s;uperiour Governours,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 2.9. &amp;c.</NOTE> are &s;ometime conjoyned, to &s;ignifie the &s;ubjection requi|red is of a like nature;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">with ch. 3.1, 2. 1 Tim. 6.1. &amp;c.</NOTE> &amp; otherwhile the in&s;truction to &s;er|vants &s;ubjection to their own Ma&s;ters is onely mentioned, as including the other therein; tho&s;e &s;uperiour powers in their higher places and capacities, being al&s;o our Ma|&s;ters, Fathers, or Rulers, according to the fle&s;h, and that likewi&s;e in &s;ubordination to God in Chri&s;t,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.9.</NOTE> who&s;e we are in &s;oul and body, for <HI>he hath bought us with a price;</HI> but him&s;elf di&s;tinctly and peculiarly is <HI>the father of &s;pirits.</HI> Yea further, to this purpo&s;e, we find, that the King and Governours under him, though ordained,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 13.<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">. 1 Pet. 2.1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> &s;et up and &s;ent by God (and &s;o may be called <HI>ordinances of God,</HI> yet) are al&s;o called <HI>ordinances of men;</HI> and that not onely becau&s;e u&s;ually ordained and &s;et up by, or according to the choice and agreement of the people, as men, or coming to their power or places of tru&s;t by a humane right and title; but al&s;o becau&s;e they are ordained and &s;et over men (accor|ding to Gods order and appointment) in things pertaining to them, as children of men;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan 4.25.31. Joh. 18.36 Mat. 12.28 &amp; 21.43. &amp; 22.2. &amp;c.</NOTE> therefore al&s;o their King|domes are called <HI>The Kingdomes of men,</HI> and &s;ignified to be of this world, even &s;o as to di&s;tingui&s;h them from that gracious &amp; &s;piritual admini&s;tration of Gods Government by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, through and according to the Go&s;pel, called frequently <HI>The Kingdom of God,</HI> &amp; <HI>the Kingdom of Heaven.</HI></P>
<P>Their Ma&s;ter&s;hip, Rule and Dominion is (at lea&s;t prin|cipally and directly) over &s;uch things as pertain onely to the outward man, and to this pre&s;ent life and world;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sa. 2.25. Hab. 1.14.</NOTE> and this ma&s;ter&s;hip, rule and dominion is given them, that in the u&s;e and exerci&s;e of it, they may pre&s;erve mens lives, and keep them in good order, from biting, devouring, or harming one another; and this to a higher end, that men might &s;eek the Lord, and that to that purpo&s;e tho&s;e that do &s;eek him might <HI>under their protection lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godline&s;s and hone&s;ty.</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17.24.27 1 Tim. 2.1, 2.</NOTE> And to accom|modate them as in&s;truments in the hands of God, to u&s;e their power effectually to &s;uch an end (by being <HI>a terrour to evil works, and for the prai&s;e of them that do well</HI>)
<PB N="16" REF="10">power is given them over the fle&s;h or body, in &s;ubordinati|on to him,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 12.10 Luk. 12.4.</NOTE> &s;uch as by which they can and may, with Gods permi&s;&s;ion, correct us after their own plea&s;ure, without asking leave of tho&s;e under their authority: yea, the &s;u|preme Governours under the &s;aid permi&s;&s;ion, may kill the body; and &s;o much power is needfull to be given into their hands, to keep them under their authority, from killing or hurting one another, yet is not this power given out of his hand into theirs; he &s;till hath <HI>all power in heaven and in earth,</HI> and &s;o keeps the &s;ole check and controll over them in that power he gives to them, and to him they are accountable for their u&s;e of it. But &s;till he re&s;erves in his own hand the fatherhood of, and after the Spirit, as his pe|peculiar &s;eat, and that is not onely to &s;it as Lord in the mind and con&s;cience, but in order thereto, and that it may be by him (in the &s;pirituall admini&s;tration of his govern|ment through, and according to the Go&s;pel) renewed, &s;an|ctified, regulated and pre&s;erved blamele&s;s unto the day of Chri&s;t, when the &s;oul and body of them that wor&s;hip and wait for him, &s;hall be re-united in eternall life, in and un|der his glorious Kingdome:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 23.8, 10. I&s;a. 33.22.</NOTE> I &s;ay, in order thereto, to appoint and determine the matters pertaining to the Spi|rit, and to life everla&s;ting; he is him&s;elf the onely ma|&s;ter of our faith, fear, and wor&s;hip towards God, and we are brethren, and &s;o he onely is our Judge, our Law-giver, and our King; and he onely (and not the bea&s;t or world|ly powers and principalities, though they have <HI>names of bla&s;phemy</HI> attributed to any of them, or their Image) is &s;o to be acknowledged and wor&s;hipped by us.</P>
<P>Now then that we may <HI>give to Cae&s;ar that which is Cae|&s;ars,</HI> and not that which peculiarly appertains to God in Chri&s;t,</P>
<P>The fle&s;h, or outward man, is to be yielded up in &s;ubjection, &s;o as in the Lord, and for the Lords &s;ake, as to &s;ay,</P>
<P N="1">1. It is to be yielded up in obedience to their power, lawes and commands, in doing that which they require of us, though grievous to be born; if it be onely an oppre&s;&s;i|on
<PB N="17" REF="10">on or grievance to the fle&s;h, or outward man, or cro&s;&s;e to our will or appetite; if it may be done with a <HI>con&s;cience voyd of offence towards God and man,</HI> and &s;tand with the acknowledgement of the Lord, as the onely ma&s;ter of our faith, fear and wor&s;hip, <HI>the father of our &s;pirits.</HI> And in tho&s;e good works they require, we are to be more ready then others, yea, the more ready and cheerfull in doing them, becau&s;e required: And</P>
<P N="2">2. If the things they require be &s;uch, as cannot be done by us without bringing our mind or &s;pirit in bondage to the power of man in things pertaining to the Spirit,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tit. 3.1. with 1 Pet. 2.13. Col. 3.22.</NOTE> and peculiar Kingdome of God; if they be &s;uch, as in doing which we cannot keep a good con&s;cience towards God and man, or will not &s;tand with the acknowledgement of the Lord, as the onely Father of our &s;pirits: As to &s;ay, the having or owning any other Lord in his place or pre|&s;ence, as the ma&s;ter of our faith, fear and wor&s;hip; the making to our &s;elves any image, or repre&s;entation of him, or bowing to or wor&s;hipping any &s;uch as are made by men for and to us; the profaning his Name or Sabbath, the di&s;honouring or neglect of Parents, though under re|ligious pretences (as the Phari&s;ees taught) the defraud|ing, wronging, or fal&s;e accu&s;ing our neighbour,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 15.4, 5, 6.</NOTE> or with|holding good from the owner, as in not holding fa&s;t the profe&s;&s;ion of our faith in word and conver&s;ation, as we are taught of God, <HI>or for&s;aking the a&s;&s;embling of our &s;elves together</HI> to that purpo&s;e; yet in &s;uch things as the&s;e, the fle&s;h or outward man is al&s;o to be yielded up in &s;ubjection, but not in doing what they require;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 22.21 Act. 4.19, 20. Rom. 6.13. Heb. 12.9, 10.</NOTE> we mu&s;t not give to <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> the things that be Gods peculiar, nor yield &s;uch o|bedience to men as in which the word of God is made voyd; our members are not to be yielded up as &s;ervants to unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, <HI>It is better to obey God then man;</HI> yet the fle&s;h is to be yielded up in &s;uch ca&s;es, in a patient endu|ring, and &s;uffering the puni&s;hment they inflict, when for con&s;cience &s;ake towards God we cannot do what they en|joyn: though they correct us after their own will and plea&s;ure, and wrongfully, we are to endure it patiently,
<PB N="18" REF="11">and &s;till to give them that reverence, as &s;till to acknow|ledge them our ma&s;ters by Gods appoyntment, according to the fle&s;h; it is he that hath put it under their power, and for good ends, and we ought not to re&s;i&s;t his ordinance, but yield them that is theirs, though they abu&s;e their pow|er,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Exo 22.28 Act. 23.5. Mat. 5.39. &amp;c. 1 Pet. 3.9-14. with I&s;a. 8.11, 12, 13. Rom. 12.17-21. I&s;a. 28.16. 1 Pet. 2.6. Rom. 13. Pro. 24.21.</NOTE> and not to threaten them when we &s;uffer, <HI>not to cur&s;e the Gods, nor revile the rulers of the people,</HI> but &s;till to <HI>ble&s;s and pray for our enemies and per&s;ecuters;</HI> And <HI>if we &s;uffer for righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake,</HI> and <HI>take it patiently, happy are we, the &s;pirit of glory and of God resteth upon us;</HI> we are <HI>not to &s;ay a confederacy with any in their evil wayes,</HI> to &s;ave or defend our &s;elves, either by having fellow&s;hip with any (though they have power on their &s;ide) in their unfruitfull works of darkne&s;s, but rather reprove them; or by complying with any (under what pretence &s;oever) in re&s;i&s;ting the powers that be, or the wrath and evil which they would wrongfully execute upon us, but rather give place to wrath, for vengeance is the Lords, and he &s;hall repay: he that believes makes not ha&s;te, nor &s;hall be confounded; but he that re&s;i&s;teth the power, re&s;i&s;teth the ordinance of God, and &s;hall receive to him&s;elf damnation; therefore let us not meddle, nor have any thing to do with them that are given to change their God, or their King, for who knoweth the ruine of them both?</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e this &s;ubjection of the outward man, or after the fle&s;h,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Eph. 6.5-8. Col. 3.22-25.</NOTE> to our ma&s;ters, fathers and rulers in and after the fle&s;h, is &s;o to be yielded by us, as in the Lord, in the faith, fear, and acknowledgement of him as the Lord of lords and King of kings, by whom the&s;e reign, and &s;o as for his &s;ake (as before is hinted) not doing what we doe, or yiel|ding up the fle&s;h to &s;uffer what we are called to, as men-plea&s;ers, or &s;eeking prai&s;e therein of men, not out of &s;trife and vain-glory, but as approving our hearts to God in &s;inglene&s;&s;e of heart, as unto Chri&s;t; neither making them our fear and our dread, but &s;anctifying the Lord of ho&s;ts in our hearts, and yielding our &s;ubjection to them in reve|rence to him, and for con&s;cience &s;ake towards him, who is the principall object of our fear, and motive to our reve|rencing
<PB N="19" REF="11">them; and &s;o in awfulne&s;&s;e before him that hath put them in that place, and us in this, who is holy in all his wayes, and righteous in all his works. The fear of man bringeth a &s;nare;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 29.25, 26.</NOTE> but who&s;o putteth his tru&s;t in the Lord &s;hall be &s;afe; many will &s;eek the Rulers favour; but every mans judgement cometh from the Lord: The Lord reigneth, let all the inhabitants of the world fear be|fore him, and &s;tand in aw of him.</P>
<P>The la&s;t head we &s;hall mention of the fore&s;aid princi|ples, and but briefly propound, is this: <MILESTONE N="III"></P>
<P>That the Son of man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 9.28. Mat. 16.27 &amp; 26.64. Act. 1.11. &amp; 3.19, 20. Rev. 1.7. 1 The&s;. 4.14-16. 1 Joh. 3.1, 2.</NOTE> even the Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t him|&s;elf &s;hall appear the &s;econd time, and that in the &s;ame bo|dy in which he bore our &s;ins on the tree, and is now recei|ved up into glory, and &s;hall then come in the glory of his Father, which he now po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth in heaven it &s;elf for us, and with his holy Angels; and then &s;hall bring with him all that &s;leep in Je&s;us; for the Lord him&s;elf &s;hall de&s;cend from heaven with a &s;hout, with the voyce of the Arch|angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Chri&s;t &s;hall ri&s;e fir&s;t (namely, before the re&s;t of the dead) and then the &s;urvivers of that body &s;hall immediately be changed, and they together &s;hall meet the Lord in the air, and &s;o come and appear with him in glory, and be for ever with the Lord.</P>
<P>Then, in that day of his &s;econd and glorious appearing,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Col. 3.4. Rev. 11.15.17.18. Rom. 8.17, 18-23. P&s;. 82.7, 8. with P&s;al. 2. <HI>tot.</HI> Dan. 7.18.22.27.</NOTE> he &s;hall take to him his great power, and reign; and tho&s;e that now &s;uffer with him, &s;hall then in their rai&s;ed and glorified bodies reign with him; then the Kingdomes of this world &s;hall become the Kingdomes of the Lord; he &s;hall then take the outward admini&s;tration of govern|ment into his own hands, and give it to his Saints (the children of the fir&s;t re&s;urrection) and they &s;hall admini|&s;ter it with him; then the Saints (that are in this life and world, the filth and off-&s;couring of all things) &s;hall judge the world.</P>
<P>Then he &s;hall create new heavens and new earth, in which righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;hall dwell; for the heavens and the earth that are now, &s;hall be di&s;&s;olved and purged by
<PB N="20" REF="12">fire;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 6.2, 3. Luk. 19.12 &amp;c. 2 Pet. 3. 2 Tim. 4.1. 2 Cor. 5 10</NOTE> yea, he &s;hall make all things new; and in that day of his appearing and Kingdome, he &s;hall judge the quick and the dead, for all &s;hall be rai&s;ed and appeare before his Judgment-&s;eat, every man in his own order; and then &s;hall he reward every man according to his work. This a&s;&s;ures us, that his Kingdome, of which his Saints (as Saints) are heirs, is not of this world, nor to be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed or enjoyed any other way then by faith (which is the evi|dence of things not &s;een, the confidence of things hoped for; we &s;ay, not any other way to be enjoyed) by any in the time of this pre&s;ent life in the fle&s;h, or by any till they &s;hall all be gathered together, and him&s;elf come to be with them, untill they be the children of the re&s;urrection, and &s;o compleated the children of God. Men (as men) are children and heirs of this world, and of the Kingdomes thereof; believers (as believers) are heirs of the world to come; therefore they are not to fight for Chri&s;ts Kingdome, of which they are heirs, but to believe, wait, and &s;uffer patiently for it; for this is not the time of the glorious manife&s;tation of it; it's the Fathers good plea&s;ure to give it them in his time, and when they &s;hall be altogether made meet for it, and till then they cannot take &amp; po&s;&s;e&s;s it, and that is not till he come him&s;elf per&s;o|nally in the glory of his Father, and then God will give it him who&s;e right it is for him&s;elf, and for them. He that be|lieves will not make ha&s;te, and not making ha&s;te &s;hall not be confounded. The time we have to live every one in the fle&s;h, is a &s;uffering time; and till him&s;elf come and bring them that &s;leep in Je&s;us with him, it's to them all<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="right margin cropped or obscured" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 span">; waiting time; and the excellency and ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of that hope, with the certainty of the ground, in&s;tructs and &s;trengthens patiently to wait for the coming of the Lord while we look not at the things that are &s;een, but at the things that are not &s;een; for the things that are &s;een are temporall, but the things that are not &s;een are eternall.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="treatise">
<PB N="21" REF="12">
<HEAD>An In&s;truction Occa&s;ioned By the PRIDE and INSURRECTION of Evil men, Under pretence of GODLINESSE; As it was propounded to the con&s;i|deration of others in writing, <HI>Jan.</HI> 16. 1660. Now publi&s;hed for more general u&s;efulne&s;s, By TH: MOORE Junior.</HEAD>
<P><HI>WOe to the world, becau&s;e of offences;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 18.7.</NOTE> <HI>for it mu&s;t mu&s;t needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh.</HI> Our Savi|our having declared how &s;ad and dangerous a thing it is to <HI>offend one of tho&s;e little ones which believe in him;</HI> that &s;o he might warn his Di&s;ciples again&s;t it whatever occa&s;ion might be offered them: He then adds to the &s;ame pur|po&s;e this <HI>woe to the world becau&s;e of offences,</HI> but e&s;pe|cially to <HI>that man by whom the offence cometh:</HI> In which (it &s;eems to me) he &s;peaks of &s;uch occa&s;ions of offence, or
<PB N="22" REF="13">&s;tumbling-blocks laid before the men of the world, as would have much in them to provoke them to <HI>offend tho&s;e little ones which believe in him,</HI> or to do things to the trou|ble, hinderance and grief of them; and of the&s;e he &s;aith, <HI>It mu&s;t needs be that offences come:</HI> and this he declares to be a woe, a great affliction or mi&s;ery to the world, a cor|rection or judgement upon them, it being a great means of blinding and hardening them again&s;t Chri&s;t and his lit|tle ones, and &s;o of bringing de&s;truction on them&s;elves. But therefore woe e&s;pecially to the man by whom the of|fence cometh, God will look upon him or them as the principall agents in the grievance and hard mea&s;ure occa|&s;ioned to his little ones from the world by &s;uch offences, &amp; in the evil and mi&s;ery the world bring upon them&s;elves by that meanes, and will require their bloud at the hands of &s;uch, as by whom the offence cometh. Therefore take we all heed of it, that we give no ju&s;t occa&s;ion of offence in any thing to the Jew or Gentile, or to the Church of God; I &s;ay, that we give no ju&s;t cau&s;e or occa&s;ion: for then onely we are truly &s;aid to give offence, or the of|fence that others take cometh by us; whereas if they take offence at us, and <HI>per&s;ecute us for righteou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake,</HI> for being <HI>followers of that which is good,</HI> the offence then co|meth not by us, 'tis the offence of the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t; and he will take that as done to him&s;elf from them.</P>
<P>Now we give ju&s;t occa&s;ion of offence, and lay a &s;tum|bling-block in their way, to &s;tumble them again&s;t Chri&s;t his truth and people; if any of us, while we pretend, or &s;eek to be ju&s;tified by Chri&s;t, and to have all our rejoy|cing in him, yet are found &s;inners, allowing and ju&s;tify|ing our &s;elves in any evil way or work, contrary to Gods law; or refu&s;ing, neglecting, or omitting any good work required of us by the powers &s;et over us, or to the doing which we have opportunity, or <HI>u&s;ing our liberty</HI> in Chri&s;t, as to things indifferent, for a <HI>cloak of</HI> pride or <HI>malici|ou&s;ne&s;s,</HI> and <HI>not as the &s;ervants of God,</HI> as 1 <HI>Pet.</HI> 2.13-17.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="13">
<P>And indeed, by whom&s;oever, or in which of the&s;e wayes &s;oever the offence cometh, generally the root is pride, or a will and de&s;ire &s;et for great things for them|&s;elves here, to be rich in them&s;elves, or have a &s;elf-&s;uffici|ency, or to be known, honored and exalted above others in this pre&s;ent world, as appears by con&s;idering the occa&s;ion of the&s;e &s;ayings of our Saviour, which we find (in the be|ginning of that <HI>Mat.</HI> 18.) to be the ambition of &s;ome of the Di&s;ciples; their de&s;ire of eminency in the Kingdome, of chief place, honour, and rule therein, in the time of this pre&s;ent life and world; yea,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro. 13.10. with Jam. 3.13-17. &amp; 4.1-6.</NOTE> <HI>onely by pride cometh con|tention,</HI> and therewith <HI>confu&s;ion, and every evil work.</HI></P>
<P>Hence it is that many, e&s;pecially in the&s;e la&s;t dayes, that have <HI>a form of godline&s;s</HI> (even of wor&s;hipping God in Chri&s;t, and &s;eeking his Kingdom) yet not acknowledging the riches, freene&s;s and truth of Gods grace in Chri&s;t to manward, and &s;o not the infinite vertue, preciou&s;ne&s;s and onely excellency of the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, for bringing back &s;inners to God, and for &s;aving to the utmo&s;t him that be|lieveth; that being indeed the power of God unto &s;alva|tion, &amp; &s;o the power of godline&s;s; they not with the heart believing this, or not &s;o receiving the love of the truth, as to &s;ave them, but denying its in&s;tructions and efficacy upon them, which is to crucify them to the world, and the world to them, to teach and &s;trengthen them to deny them&s;elves, and take up their cro&s;s and follow him, and to wait for his Son from heaven: But their &s;oul being lif|ted up with their knowledge and attainments, and not humbled in them; they are found in their works denying him, and ca&s;ting off his yoke, and <HI>&s;eeking great things for them&s;elves</HI> here, and yet that under pretence of godline&s;s and &s;eeking his Kingdom, under which they &s;trengthen them&s;elves in an evil way, as if thereby they were delive|red from all laws and rules of in&s;truction given us in the Scripture to do any abomination, as to be truce-breakers, railers, &s;peaking evil of Dignities, di&s;obedient to Parents &amp; Governours, unthankfull, unholy, profane, Murtherers, Traitors, <HI>&amp;c,</HI> And by rea&s;on of the abounding of &s;uch
<PB N="24" REF="14">iniquity, ungodline&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of men, who hold &s;omething of the truth (though in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s) and &s;mother and withhold it all from its humbling and &s;a|ving operation in them; the name of God is bla&s;phemed among the Gentiles by their means; the way of truth e|vil &s;poken of, and the Mini&s;try that believers have recei|ved of the Lord, to te&s;tify to the grace of God, blamed, as if Chri&s;t (as preached in the Go&s;pel) were the Mini&s;ter of Sin, or the way of Truth were the way of Fal&s;hood, de|ceit, guile, murther, revenge, and the Mini&s;try were a Mi|ni&s;try and &s;pawn of &s;edition, &amp;c.</P>
<P>And <HI>wo to the world, becau&s;e of</HI> &s;uch <HI>offences:</HI> And why woe to them, and not rather woe to Chri&s;ts <HI>little flock,</HI> his de&s;pi&s;ed ones, that <HI>keep the word of his patience,</HI> or his <HI>little ones</HI> in any &s;ence, that are by his gracious imputation and acceptation believers in him? &s;eeing they are like to &s;uffer the deepe&s;t &s;hare of the influence of &s;uch offences here; for the world cannot di&s;tingui&s;h between the form and power of godline&s;s, nor know them that call on the name of the Lord <HI>in truth,</HI> and with a <HI>pure heart,</HI> from them who <HI>having a form of godline&s;s deny the power;</HI> they will look upon them all under one notion, and be filled with indignation and hatred again&s;t them all, and &s;eek to grieve, vex and de&s;troy all that have any profe&s;&s;ion of godline&s;s, even the righteous with the wicked: Why then doth he not rather &s;ay, Woe to the Church, yea to all that have any profe&s;&s;ion or form of godline&s;s upon them? for becau&s;e of &s;uch offences they &s;hall be &s;traitned, per&s;ecuted and reproached as evil doers, and have their names ca&s;t out as evil under heaven. True it is, they &s;hall &s;o, and e&s;pecially <HI>they that will live godly in Christ Je&s;us,</HI> &s;hall <HI>mourn</HI> under manifold afflictions (though &s;uch as having a form deny the power of godline&s;s may &s;ometimes rage and be confident, and otherwhiles be mad and bla&s;pheme) and the <HI>world &s;hall rejoyce:</HI> But yet rather woe to the world, then to the little ones of Chri&s;t; though their <HI>righteous &s;oules be vexed and grie|ved</HI> on every hand, yet there is no &s;uch cau&s;e of weeping
<PB N="25" REF="14">for them, as for the world, that yet lies in ignorance, and under the power of the wicked one, becau&s;e of the mi&s;e|ries that &s;hall come upon them; for they hereby are kept from glorifying God in the day of his vi&s;itation, and &s;trengthened in their evil principles and practi&s;es, that none of them returnes from them, and hardened again&s;t the&s;e little ones; yea happily the more again&s;t them, as any of them are known to them, rather then again&s;t others that have a form of godline&s;s, but deny the power, becau&s;e their doctrine rightly held forth and walked in, is more convincing and reproving to them; and yet they know not how to re&s;i&s;t the wi&s;dom and &s;pirit by which they &s;peak and act, but not di&s;cerning between the one and the o|ther, and now finding the&s;e occa&s;ions and advantages a|gain&s;t &s;ome that bear &s;uch a like profe&s;&s;ion, they &s;treng|then and harden their hearts again&s;t all, and again&s;t Chri&s;t and his truth; the power of which they have &s;ometimes felt among&s;t or from his little ones; and then without controul or check upon their &s;pirits, they proceed in their hardne&s;s, to &s;eek the re&s;training of their liberty, vex|ing, per&s;ecuting and &s;laying them; and this tends to bring heavy wrath on them&s;elves, that will render them mi&s;erable to the utmo&s;t: For <HI>vengeance belongs to God,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Deut. 32.35, 36.</NOTE> and though he be <HI>&s;low to anger,</HI> and wait long that he may be gracious, yet he will repay to <HI>&s;uch as go on &s;till in their tre&s;pa&s;&s;es;</HI> and again, <HI>the Lord &s;hall judge his people;</HI> therefore <HI>woe to the world becau&s;e of offences.</HI> As for them that <HI>keep the word of his patience, they &s;hall be kept from the hour of temptation,</HI> from the evil of it; and for all their &s;hame they &s;hall have double glory, and in their own hand po&s;&s;e&s;s it. But <HI>woe to the world,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>for it mu&s;t needs be that offences come.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>That they that are approved may be manifest,</HI> as al&s;o that they may be tried and purged, and made more abun|dantly partakers of his holine&s;s, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.19. <HI>Dan.</HI> 12.10. &amp; 11.35. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 48.10.</P>
<P N="2">2. That others al&s;o more weak, wavering, or guilefull, may be di&s;covered to them&s;elves and others, and that
<PB N="26" REF="15">timely, while it's yet to day, that they may be reproved and healed, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 11.32. <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.10.</P>
<P N="3">3.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1.18, 32. with P&s;al. 18.11, 12. &amp; 2 The&s;. 2.10, 11. Prov. 1.31, 32.</NOTE> That for the good of all, while it is to day, or while the day of grace is towards them, God may righteou&s;ly reveal his wrath from heaven (not onely again&s;t &s;ome, but) again&s;t all ungodline&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of men, who hold the truth in unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, perverting and corrupting the word God to their own de&s;truction, in his ju&s;t leaving them to reap the fruit of their own wayes, and to be filled with their own devices, and &s;ending &s;trong delu&s;ions to them, that they &s;hould believe a lye, or giving them up to their own hearts lu&s;ts, and to the power of the tempter; and that he may do this &s;ea&s;onably, for the warning the &s;urvivers to <HI>flee from the wrath to come,</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. His wrath (in &s;uch judgements) is revealed again&s;t the ungodline&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of &s;uch men, as ha|ving had &s;ome knowledge of the way of truth more then others, and &s;till retaining a form of godline&s;s, and happily more flouri&s;hning in appearance,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 2.10, 11. Rom. 2.17-24. 2 Pet. 2.2.</NOTE> yet deny the power of it (as before) and who&s;e &s;oul is lifted up, not &s;o receiving the love of the truth, as to humble and to &s;ave them; his wrath is revealed again&s;t &s;uch, in giving them up to their own delu&s;ions that they have cho&s;en &s;uitable to their lu&s;t, and to be led captive by Satan at his plea&s;ure, to the occa|&s;ioning offences to the world, and &s;o bla&s;phemy to the name and doctrine of God, and way of truth, and grief to the righteous from them; which will all fall on their head, if not timely admoni&s;hed, even to their own confu&s;ion and de&s;truction.</P>
<P N="2">2.
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 11.6.</NOTE> Wrath is therein revealed again&s;t the ungodline&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s of another &s;ort, more gro&s;ly pro|phane, &s;uper&s;titious and idolatrous, in ordering &s;uch &s;tum|bling-blocks to them, that they may be broken, &s;nared and taken; in leaving them to their own hearts lu&s;ts, and to their ungodline&s;s and unrighteou&s;ne&s;s, without &s;uch humblings and reproofs as formerly, even to fill up the mea&s;ure of their &s;in, that wrath may come upon them to the uttermo&s;t, if not timely prevented by their being pro|voked to jealou&s;ie.</P>
<PB N="27" REF="15">
<P N="3">3. Wrath is revealed again&s;t all hearers, that are not doers of the word of the Lord, by his taking away in the influence of &s;uch judgements, the mercies, liberties and advantages they have made havock of; and this is good and needful to be timely revealed, for the warning all, while it is to day, that tho&s;e not wholly given over to blindne&s;s may &s;ee and fear: And for &s;uch rea&s;ons it mu&s;t needs be that offences come, and therefore wo to the world: but woe, woe e&s;pecially to the man, or men by whom they come; it may be ea&s;ier to them, that being offended by &s;uch temptations and offences, do from thence offend and grieve Chri&s;ts little ones; I &s;ay, <HI>ea&s;ier for them in the day of judgement, then for him,</HI> or them by whom the offence cometh.</P>
<P>Therefore though we know the&s;e things, and be e&s;tabli|&s;hed in the pre&s;ent truth of the Kingdom and patience of Je&s;us; yet let us have them alwayes in remembrance, that &s;o by the word of his lips we may keep us from the paths of the de&s;troyer.</P>
<P><HI>It is the Fathers good plea&s;ure</HI> (who hath given his one|ly begotten Son to &s;uffer even to death for us all,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 12.32.</NOTE> when &s;inners and enemies) to give unto tho&s;e little ones, who though his grace in Chri&s;t to manward believe on him, the everla&s;ting life &amp; <HI>kingdom;</HI> but it is <HI>not of this world,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 18.36</NOTE> nor in the time of this pre&s;ent world to be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed, but by faith and hope, which is the <HI>evidence of things not &s;een,</HI> or &s;en&s;i|bly enjoyed, the <HI>confidence of things hoped for;</HI> God hath re&s;erved <HI>the new heavens and earth, the world to come,</HI> for tho&s;e that now &s;uffer with him, and patiently wait for the Lord, and they &s;hall inherit it, and then &s;hall judge the world, as reigners with him. But now, though both the hea|vens and earth are the Lords, both by creation and redem|ption al&s;o, yet the earth is not &s;o kept by him in his own hand, or not &s;o under his own immediate government by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and by his holy Angels, as the heavens are: Therefore he &s;aith, <HI>The heavens,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;. 115.16.</NOTE> <HI>even the heavens are the Lords, but the earth hath he given to the children of men;</HI> the <HI>Kingdomes of this world</HI> are not yet, nor &s;hall in the
<PB N="28" REF="16">time of this world, &s;o <HI>become the kingdomes of the Lord, and of his Chri&s;t,</HI> that he &s;hould <HI>take to him his great power and reign;</HI> for that is &s;poken of as &s;een in vi&s;ion, to be fulfil|led under the &s;ound of the &s;eventh Angel, when there &s;hould be <HI>time no longer</HI> afforded to this pre&s;ent world;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.15-17. &amp; 10.6, 7. Luk. 20.34</NOTE> but <HI>the mysterie of God &s;hould be fini&s;hed, as he hath declared to his &s;ervants the Prophets;</HI> in the mean time, men (as men) are the proper children and heirs of this world, and the kingdoms and heritages thereof; and &s;o if the Saints of God have any &s;hare in the kingdoms or heritages of this world, they have not their right and title to the &s;ame as Saints (&s;o they are heirs of the world to come) but as men, upon a humane, naturall, or civil account; and tho&s;e that are not Saints, as upon &s;uch accounts, they have right to any thing in this earth, their right and title is as good (as to the pre&s;ent po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of it) as if they were Saints or be|lievers in Chri&s;t:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;a. 17.14.</NOTE> the men of the world have their portion in this life, and it's fraud or robbery to &s;eek to withhold or take it from them. And therefore believing &s;ervants (even &s;uch as are under the yoke of unbelieving Ma&s;ters) are in&s;tructed to <HI>count their own ma&s;ters</HI> in or <HI>after the fle&s;h,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 6.1. with 1 Pet. 2.13-17. &amp; Tit. 2.9, 10. with ch. 3.1</NOTE> <HI>worthy of all honour,</HI> even of all that honour God by his providence hath given them, and made due to them, by putting them in that place of ma&s;ter&s;hip. And by not ob&s;erving this coun&s;el, there is occa&s;ion given for the name and doctrine of God in Chri&s;t to be bla&s;phemed, as tending to &s;edition, and lifting men up out of their place in which God hath &s;et them.</P>
<P>And the &s;ame in&s;truction holds good to believers, that by Gods providence are &s;ubjects, to count their Kings, Governours, or Rulers after the fle&s;h, worthy of all that honour due to them, as in the place in which God hath &s;et them over us. Therefore <HI>every &s;oul</HI> (even of believers) is admoni&s;hed to <HI>be &s;ubject to the higher powers,</HI> &s;uch as by Gods providence are in pre&s;ent being over them, with|out di&s;puting how (whether legally or no, as to man) they came by that place (that que&s;tion pertains not to Chri&s;ti|ans, in order to their &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion to the powers over them)
<PB N="29" REF="16">yea this we know, God exerci&s;es a more e&s;peciall and im|mediate providence in the ordering tho&s;e places of the higher powers among men;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 75. &amp; 82.</NOTE> the power of pulling down and &s;etting up principalities, is more peculiarly re&s;erved by him in his own hand, to be done as he plea&s;eth, and not left &s;o much unto the power or di&s;po&s;e of men as the outward admini&s;tration of government over men, which he hath put into their hands, and left more under their power; nor doth God u&s;e his Saints (as Saints) as in&s;tru|ments of pulling down or &s;etting up, it pertains not to them as &s;uch, but God doth it either by his more immedi|ate providences, and tho&s;e either more ordinary, as in the determining times, life and death in his ordinary way, or more wonderfull and extraordinary, or &s;ometimes by men, as men, &s;ometime by evil in&s;truments, he pulls down and &s;ets up at his plea&s;ure, whether for mercy or cha&s;ti&s;e|ment, and alwayes wills us to be &s;ubject to them, that by his wi&s;e and gracious providence are &s;et over us; and that not onely for wrath, but for con&s;cience &s;ake, not one|ly for fear of their wrath (or &s;o, and in &s;uch ca&s;es and times onely, as when we cannot avoyd it, but are awed to it by the wrath of men) but at all times, even for con|&s;cience &s;ake towards God, who hath &s;et them in &s;uch pla|ces over us, and without whom they could not have had that power, nor can &s;tand in it one day; whatever be their right and will, and whatever their policy and &s;trength to pur&s;ue or maintain it: yea, he hath declared it great wic|kedne&s;s to lift up a hand again&s;t him that is in the pre&s;ent time, by Gods providence, King, Governour, or Ruler o|ver us, yea, though he were or &s;hould be &s;uch as he there mentioned (1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 24.3 6-10-13.) whom God <HI>gave them in his anger,</HI> Ho&s;. 13.11. or &s;uch as tho&s;e Emperours in <HI>Pauls</HI> time: Neither are the Tares to be pluckt up from among the Wheat, nor the wicked to be &s;evered from a|mong the ju&s;t, in the pre&s;ent &s;tate of the kingdom of hea|ven, as in this world admini&s;tred;
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 13.40, 41-49, 50.</NOTE> nor are men (as men) capable of doing that work: But in the end of this world, <HI>when the Son of man &s;hall appear from heaven with his migh|ty
<PB N="30" REF="17">Angels,</HI> and when the children of the fir&s;t re&s;urrecti|on &s;hall be rai&s;ed and made equall to the Angels, he &s;hall at that time <HI>&s;end his Angels</HI> to do that work; And <HI>they &s;hall gather out of his kingdome all things that offend, and them that do iniquity;</HI> till then, he bids his &s;ervants let them alone, the tares in Chri&s;ts field, the wicked in his kingdome, as here admini&s;tred. Nor will Je&s;us Chri&s;t own any (though they pretend commi&s;&s;ion from him) that go about to pluck them out, or to take the kingdoms of this world out of the hands of the men of the world, to take it to them&s;elves as their portion, or inheritance as Saints, before <HI>the Lord</HI> him&s;elf <HI>come,</HI> and <HI>bring all that &s;leep in Je|&s;us with him;</HI> for he hath commanded them the contrary, and admoni&s;hed them, that <HI>his kingdome is not of this world, if it were, his &s;ervants might fight</HI> for it; but becau&s;e it is not, they ought not. This is the time of their &s;uffering with Chri&s;t in their &s;everal ages, that &s;o they may be con|formed to his Image in &s;ufferings now, and through them in the i&s;&s;ue of them in glory. <HI>If we &s;uffer with him</HI> in this world (where he &s;uffered all the days of his fle&s;h, and for his names &s;ake, and where that &s;uffers reproach and bla|&s;phemy, and quietly bear and endure it, without retorting and threatning, being followers of his &s;teps, <HI>we &s;hall reign with him, and be glorified together.</HI> But of this be we admo|ni&s;hed, there is a great difference between &s;uffering with him, and &s;uffering as evil doers, I mean ju&s;tly as &s;uch; for a man may &s;uffer as a deceiver and traitor, or the like, and &s;uffer wrongfully, he being true. The Apo&s;tles were accu&s;ed of treachery and &s;edition, &s;ometimes again&s;t their own nation, &s;ometimes again&s;t the Romans, but wrong|fully; but if a man give ju&s;t occa&s;ion of his &s;ufferings, as &s;uch, he hath cau&s;e to be a&s;hamed, and not glory in tho&s;e his &s;ufferings (though yet in taking &s;hame, he may find mercy with him, when there is none with men.)</P>
<P>Likewi&s;e there is great difference between tho&s;e &s;uffe|rings, in which a man takes up his Cro&s;s patiently, bearing tryals when they come, enduring them patiently without re&s;i&s;ting the evil, whether he meets with them in Gods
<PB N="31" REF="17" MS="y">way, or they be ordered to him by way of correction to turn him into it; and tho&s;e &s;ufferings which a man brings on him&s;elf by re&s;i&s;ting, and &s;eeking to keep them off: let no man glory of &s;uch &s;ufferings, as if they were any thing of the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t or afflictions of the Go&s;pel, or for his &s;ake, when it's evident, they would have re&s;i&s;ted and avoided them, if they could; and meerly procured them, by &s;eeking to &s;ave their lives, and avoid the Cro&s;s, (yea, that al&s;o often in their pride, and &s;elf-will) contrary to all Rules of in&s;truction given them by the great Lord and Ma&s;ter, who <HI>came not to be mini&s;tred unto, but to mini&s;ter, and to give his life a ran&s;ome for many;</HI> and when he could have prayed for <HI>more then twelve legions of angels,</HI> and had them &s;ent forth to re&s;cue him, would not, but accepted the Cup, though bitter, which the Father gave him to drink: He patiently <HI>endured for the joy &s;et before him</HI> in the glory thereby to be po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed in the &s;ame body in which he &s;uf|fered, and for us, <HI>that</HI> &s;o <HI>he might bring us to God.</HI></P>
<P>That therefore we may be <HI>armed with the &s;ame mind that was in Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> even with a fixed Spirit, &s;ingly &s;et for the doing the will of God, and living to that, that his great Name in Chri&s;t may be known, and glorified by us, and o|thers may be profited; and &s;o for the quiet bearing and enduring the tryals we may meet with in his way, without re&s;i&s;ting or threatning, or being moved from the Faith and Hope in Chri&s;t, or from the profe&s;&s;ion of it, let us fir&s;t always diligently con&s;ider him, as <HI>Heb.</HI> 12.1, 2, 3. 1. Chri&s;t him&s;elf hath &s;uffered for us in the fle&s;h, even all the days of his fle&s;h; He was a &s;ufferer in his birth, bringing up, life and death, though he was Lord of all, and our Anoin|ted King and Saviour, the Captain of our &s;alvation; yea, <HI>he was made perfect through &s;ufferings:</HI> and &s;urely this was, that his followers &s;hould not live this life they have to live, in the fle&s;h, (or natural body) to the lu&s;ts of men, (their own or others) but to the will of God; and &s;o al|&s;o, that they &s;hould <HI>live this life in the fle&s;h,</HI> (not by a &s;en|&s;ible enjoyment of the hope of his calling, but) <HI>by Faith in the Son of God, who loved us, and gave him&s;elf for us.</HI>
<PB N="32" REF="18">And if &s;uch things happened to the Lord and Ma&s;ter of the hou&s;hold all his life-time here in the fle&s;h, (in this &s;tate of mortality in which yet we are) why &s;hould any of the hou&s;hold count it hard mea&s;ure to have &s;uch u&s;e in the world, and &s;uch &s;ufferings in the fle&s;h as he graciou&s;ly or|ders to us, that we may be conformed to his image? If he patiently endured who might have re&s;i&s;ted, why &s;hould any of us murmur, or not take it patiently, <HI>for as much as Chri&s;t al&s;o &s;uffered in the fle&s;h, leaving us an example that we &s;hould follow his &s;teps?</HI></P>
<P>Yea, 2. He &s;uffered all tho&s;e un&s;peakable great things that were laid on him by the Father, and from the hands of men, for us, even for us that were &s;inners, altogether filthy,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">&rindx;</NOTE> and enemies to him, and yet cryed not again&s;t us that occa&s;ioned tho&s;e &s;ufferings to him. VVhereas what he calls us to &s;uffer, is for him that hath &s;o loved us, as to lay down his life for us when we were enemies; and is the God, and Fountain of our lives, and of all our mercies, and that by means of his death. Yea, he &s;uffer|ed for our &s;ins, whereas our &s;ufferings are for his righte|ou&s;ne&s;s &s;ake, if we &s;uffer with him; or however, they are by his righteous order, and &s;o in and by the hands of a Me|diator, for the purging away our &s;in, and making us parta|kers of his holine&s;s, who would not willingly and chear|fully follow his &s;teps.</P>
<P>Seeing al&s;o, 3. Through his &s;ufferings the way is made po&s;&s;ible, that we may follow him, and receive no harm thereby, but much good by the &s;avour of his oyntments left behind him; for he <HI>having born our &s;ins in his own body on the tree,</HI> hath not left them for us to feel the weight of them in the wrath due for them in our &s;ufferings, but hath nailed them to the tree; being rai&s;ed from the dead, he hath by him&s;elf purged away our &s;ins from before God, and obtained all power to forgive all our &s;ins, and heal all our di&s;ea&s;es, and him&s;elf (having redeemed us from the cur&s;e of the law, and obtained plenteous and eternall re|demption for us, that the ble&s;&s;ing of <HI>Abraham</HI> might come upon us) is become in the Name of the Father, the
<PB N="33" REF="18" MS="y">great Apo&s;tle and high Prie&s;t of our profe&s;&s;ion, and the head over all things to the Church. So that we are not in any of our &s;ufferings left under the power or will of any adver&s;ary, but by him the kingdom of God is brought to us, and rules over us; none can do any thing beyond his permi&s;&s;ion, and he will watch over us for good, and be a pre&s;ent help in time of trou|ble; &s;eeing al&s;o, <HI>Though our iniquities te&s;tifie again&s;t us,</HI> yet <HI>with him there is forgivene&s;&s;e, that he may be fea|red</HI> and hoped in by us: and in due time he will fully deliver &amp; <HI>redeem I&s;rael from all his troubles. He that be|lieves will not make ha&s;te;</HI> and not making ha&s;te, he &s;hall not be confounded. And with th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter"> con&s;ideration &amp; retaining in the heart this hope, with the rea&s;on of it (as given us in Chri&s;t Je&s;us) which we &s;hall find powerfull to teach, &s;trengthen &amp; &s;ave us; let us al&s;o be willing in the day of his power, as he is (by the preaching of the Cro&s;s of Chri&s;t, and by his judgements) working us to will and to do, mortify, cut off, and ca&s;t from us &s;uch de&s;ires, affections and purpo&s;es, &s;et upon things here below, as are di&s;covered and reproved by his grace bringing &s;alvation; they otherwi&s;e will prove treache|rous to us, and occa&s;ion us to fall in a day of tempta|tion: As to &s;ay, the love to the prai&s;e of men,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Joh. 5.44. &amp; 12.42. &amp;c. Jam. 4.3, 4.</NOTE> or to be known and owned as &s;ons of God in the world; a will to be rich, or the love of money, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 6.9, 10. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 33.32, 33. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119.36, 37. as in any mea&s;ure we have found Chri&s;t, &s;o <HI>for the excellency of the knowledge of him, all things are to be</HI> parted with <HI>as lo&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>dung,</HI> el&s;e we cannot go on to know and <HI>win him,</HI> and <HI>be found in him.</HI> See the many admonitions to this purpo&s;e, not onely in the following part of that <HI>Matth.</HI> 18. <HI>Mark</HI> 9. &amp;c. But al&s;o in <HI>Mat.</HI> 16.24. &amp;c. <HI>John</HI> 12.25. &amp;c. <HI>Luke</HI> 14.26-33. <HI>Mat.</HI> 13.44-46.</P>
<PB N="34" REF="19">
<P>Con&s;ider what is &s;aid, and the Lord of his mercy make us wi&s;e and &s;trong in the grace that is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us, that we be not moved by any afflictions (though we &s;uffer wrongfully) either from <HI>holding fa&s;t the profe&s;sion of our faith,</HI> or to do any evil, in murmuring again&s;t, or <HI>&s;pea|king evil of dignities,</HI> or <HI>&s;triving,</HI> or <HI>threatning</HI> when we &s;uffer, but <HI>commit our &s;elves to him that judgeth righteou&s;ly:</HI> yea, let Gods mercy be re|membred and acknowledged, which he hath &s;hewed towards us in all the admini&s;tration of his government over us in manifold changes, and e&s;pecially beyond what could have bin expected (con&s;idering the offences that have come by ma|ny profe&s;&s;ing godline&s;&s;e) under this our King and pre&s;ent government; for whom, and for which let us pray, that under the &s;ame Gods peculiar people may yet have opportunity to <HI>lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godline&s;&s;e and hone&s;ty.</HI> And if by occa&s;ion of offences given by others we &s;uffer, <HI>take it patiently; in &s;o doing, the &s;pirit of Glory and of God &s;hall re&s;t upon us:</HI> threa|ten not, but <HI>pray for them that per&s;ecute us;</HI> nor do any thing <HI>through strife or vain-glory,</HI> but <HI>walk in wi&s;dome towards them that are without,</HI> even in the wi&s;dome of God, and in that (and not as &s;elf|will or pride might move us) <HI>redeem the time,</HI> &amp; improve the opportunities God may afford, in endeavouring the helpfulne&s;s of our &s;elves, and one another in the faith and patience of Je&s;us, looking for the mercy of God unto eter|nall life, and meddle not with things that be|long
<PB N="35" REF="19">not to us, <HI>nor have fellow&s;hip with</HI> any in their <HI>unfruitfull works of darkne&s;s, but rather reprove <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">hem:</HI> And the Lord &s;o direct us all, and &s;ancti|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">e us wholly, and pre&s;erve us blamele&s;s unto the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">y of Chri&s;t.</P>
<CLOSER>Amen.</CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<TRAILER><HI>FINIS.</HI>
<PB REF="20" MS="y"></TRAILER>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
