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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