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A84162
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The voice of the iron rod, to his Highness the Lord Protector: being a seasonable admonition presented to him, and to all judicious men: by Arise Evans.
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Evans, Arise, b. 1607.
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1655
(1655)
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Wing E3473; Thomason E1474_3; ESTC R209514
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6,890
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15
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THE VOICE OF THE Iron ROD To his Highness The Lord PROTECTOR BEING A seasonable Admonition presented to him and to all Judicious men By Arise Evans Mica 6.9 The Lords voice crieth unto the City and the man of wisdom shall see my Name Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it London Printed for the Author 1655. To the most discreet and valourous people of Englanâ— both Souldiers and others ARISE EVANS wisheth you grace peace truth glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. BEleved the good effects that my Books which I wrote from timâ— to time had taken upon his Highness the Lord Protector and upon his party hath always been crossed by such Plotters as have sought the life of his Highness to involve the Kingdom in blood again the Plotters foolishly thinking that God is well pleased with blood and that it is impossible for the King and his Highness to agree and come to be in mutual love and peace again And this I speak because I finde the too too sad consequence of the late Plot that hath altered the good affection of his Highness of others that are about him that was wrought on them by Gods blessing on my book called The Voice of Michael the Archangel and those motions for peace which besides I propounded then to them by word of mouth tending to union between the King his Highness And these motives about three months agone when I was there were well resented Upon which reception I wrote something accordingly to shew that I found those motives good effect Which conception of mine to the honour of the true peaceable loyal affections of his Highness and of his party shall be discovered hereafter if God permit But now having a further discovery to shew his Highness even that which he should speedily do to prevent an ensuing evil I wrote and went to the Court not doubting but that my way to his Highness was as passable as before yet coming there I found no passage by reason the unsavouriness of the late Plot was so hainous among them that all we now which mention their peace with Charles the second are counted their adversaries though haply his Highness is of anether mind Nor because I was not admitted am I perswaded that his Highness is unwilling to hear me in a matter of so great concernment but I look upon it as the fancie of the others that kept me from him Therefore blame me not being debar'd from him for printing it that it may come to his hand And though you do blame me I had rather suffer then that his Highness should be ignorant of Gods minde shewed in the foresaid Writing which is as followeth To his Highness OLIVER CROMWEL Lord Protector of Great Britain and Ireland The humble Service of Arise Evans presented to your most serious consideration in these lines following My Lord A Month agone I should have come to your Highness but I was loth to be troublesome for then I had a Vision to charge you not to seek the welfare of these Sectaries whose spirits are fired to do evil and to bring evil upon themselves and you And now after that I had a Vision which shewed that the King was come in to you upon an agreement and that all the haters of the Lord were to be destroyed I had also a kinde of a Vision in the Chappel on the Lords day Feb. 18. 1654. when the man preached upon 2 Chron. 15.2 who at length as he mentioned the Rod of iron I held up my Cane and I believe you took notice of me for you removed upon it and sate back so that I could not see you And there stood before me a young man with his sword gâ—ded upon his thigh much resembling the King Charles Stuart to my thinking who then asked me what is the text And I answered putting my hand upon the hilt of his sword saying The Lord is with you while you be with him And upon that a portly ancient man which was next to him fell down flat as a dead man and he took him up in his arms and the man was revived again and most in the Chappel saw the man fall and taken up again but few saw me hold forth my cane nor could any that saw it gather any thing from it except your self it was so softly and civilly done and I had not thought much of it had not God providentially compleated the Vision by those actions in them two strange men what they were I know not Now all that I thought by holding out my Cane toward you upon the Preacher's mentioning the Rod of Iron was to put you in mâ—nde of what I had formerly delivered unto you touching the bringing in of King Charles and setling the Church-Government but God gave you a further testimony of his will by his providential actions in those two men as a signe to confirm what I had said For the man that had the sword and resembled the King signifieth that the King will come in And the man which fell signifieth your now tottering falling condition and that the King is he that shall raise you up again Let none despise these signes for that signe of Abraham's servant by some would now be rejected as an accident or as a fancie Gen. 24.13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21. Neither would they count the signe on Gedeon's fleece but an accident though Gedeon grounded so high a designe upon it that he went out against the Midianites upon that score Judg. 6.36 37 38 39 40. And wherefore are these things written but that sometimes we should use the like means as occasion serves For Gedeon then had the Scripture to direct him and an Angel was sent to him Judg. 6.11 12. yet notwithstanding the signe confirms him at last and then he goeth on his way My Lord mistake me not I do not say that this was a signe as Gedeons signe was of mans chusing to resolve his doubts but I say This signe or vision was given of God alone to shew the things to come And the Church desireth to see such signes of deliverance Psal 74.7 8 9 10. Of such signes our Saviour speaks Luke 21.25 26. Acts 2.19 20. Gedeons signe was a plain thing but this signe or vision is matter of judgement much like that of Belshazzar Dan. 5 7. which needed an Interpreter therefore my Lord lay it the more seriously to heart And my Lord know also that Church-government is the foundation of all Governments so that neither the Civil nor the Military Government can possibly stand without it for by Church-government men are brought to be of one minde and of one spirit to unity and peace So that it and none else is the Government of Christ and he that wants it except he keep the Scripture from them shall not be able to rule his people You may as well think to make a rope of the driest sand which when you take a handful of it
do what you can it will slip thorow your fingers as think to rule this Nation without a strait Church-government even such a Government as your Army hath and that duely and diligently it be executed upon offenders But you will say There was no such Government in the Apostles time I answer No for they were but as men that beat for Volunteers and that list men to go into a strange Island which cannot prescribe absolute Laws for them whilst they remain in their own native Land but when they are come to the intended Island then they have Laws given them which if they transgress they must suffer accordingly though it be to the death Or to speak more plainly in your own Military language the Apostles were as men when at first they are raising an Army who put their Souldiers immediately in Companies under some inferiour Officers and there they let them rest a while yet it is then intended that the Souldiers shall not remain so always but the intent is that there shall be a General in chief over them besides Colonels and Majors and a compleat Government among them So likewise when the Church at first by the Apostles were in gathering and put under such Government as then being persecuted they best could do they doubtless then intended for it a Government that should be compleat even such a Government as we had not long since here in England Therefore stand for Church government and for Charles Stuart or else you cannot stand proclaim him speedily lest some Parliament-men do it before you and then you be undone for that party which proclaims the King now shall increase like a snow-ball and I tear all that you can do shall not be able to dissolve it My Lord the people generally look upon you now as one that can shew no colour for your Authority to rule them for since the last Parliament disowned you whom we looked upon as honest men all do disown you and the most judicious say that nothing will bring you into favour with them again but your speedy restoring of the Church and King Oh do not let your adversaries prevail against you through your neglect You know Samson slept so long upon Dalilah's knees until his locks were cut off that when he poor man awaked and thought to go out and prevail as at other times alas he was soon overcome and had his eyes put out and was put to grinde in a mill like as if he had been a founder'd blinde horse Judg. 16. 19 20 21. So these Colonels dally with you but in the mean time they cut off your locks in the Army and they know already that they have more of the Army on their side then you have besides their furious party abroad else would they not be so bold with you as they are They say Treason never prospers and why because if it prosper none dare call it Treason Therefore what is Law to day may be Treason to morrow I know there is no truth among the Sectaries but that of the Anabaptist which did all for rebaptizing is a truth as I shall make it appear by Scripture by Reason by ancient Records and by Saint Augustine's own confession but their denial of Infants baptism by their Sureties is an errour as I have and shall make it appear with as full proof at large Therefore the Cause as we call it is a controversie which God had with his people for their sins Mic. 6.2 and though he gave them into your hands for a time do not you go as the Heathen did go beyond their Commission in afflicting Gods people Zech. 1.15 16. My Lord to deal plainly with you do you think that the people are so abased now through the fear of you that they will maintain your 30000 men besides the great Navie and a great Court for you at their own cost and charges whereas they know that by their exchanging you for King Charles they shall be freed from all that cost and charge judge with reason is it wisdom for you to think so for then the Kings Revenues and Church-Revenues running in their own chanel again will make the people as free from Taxes as they were before these Troubles began And many that have bought of the King and Bishops Lands to my knowledge are so honest wishing it were come to that pass though they should lose their money by it My Lord I have been told by discreet men of all parts in England which are no enemies to you and therefore they bid me tell you that they perceive there will be a sudden general Rasing against you at one day and hour in all the Counties of England and by Visions also and Scripture it is confirmed to me that it will be so if you do not prevent it by the speedy proclaiming of Charles Stuart It is true Jeremiah was favourably used by Zedekiah and so was I by you therefore Jeremiah shewed him the way how to save himself his City and family and he seemed to be well pleased with it but notwithstanding Zedekiah went in his own way to do it and you see what became of him and of his City and Family Jer. 38. Jer. 39. and I beseech you consider that if the Country will not pay the Assesments as I hear many say they will not because you had no power say they from the last Parliament to raise money I say If they will not rate it how can you raise it in equity And if you want money what will become of you The late King lost all upon that score going to raise Ship-money without consent of Parliament Take heed what you do for I believe your Souldiers consider all these things as well as others and that though for the present they obey you to see what you will do yet they will not serve you to keep their native Country in such bondage Therefore trust not to them upon such an account but do righteous things and then they will gladly follow you My Lord you are designed for higher things then to live so dishonorably at White-hall as to be counted a Tyrant and the very enemy of your native Country My Lord you are to look higher then on such a lowe contemptible way of living you are to do the work of God for which you were designed and called and you are to have the dominion though not for your self over the chiefest City in the world afore it be long as I told you in my former books And wherefore was Darius his age â—et down Dan 5. 31. but that you might know when it shall be your own age will tell you that keep it secret Come not short in these vertues of a Heathen Captain Alexander the Great who did excellent things for his own vain-glory but do you the like to the glory of God therefore you must exceed him in such godly vertues which he by nature did the things contained in the Law as Saint Paul