but the glory was remooved the Lord gave him no answere any more from thence The like might be shewed still in the story further as we shall see after in the particulars but this may suffice for the present to manifest this point To returne therefore to our selves we are first to inquire what are the most evident signes of Gods glorious presence in his Church especially in the daies of the Gospell and heereby we are to judge of our estate and whether in regard heereof we have not just cause to feare the Lords departure without speedy repentance and all to give our selves to watch and pray Like as the word sincerely preached and the Sacraments administred according to our Saviours institution are the most infallible marks of the true visible Churches of Christ amongst which he hath promised his presence so long as these are duly observed maintained and reverenced so we may marke also thorow the booke of God fowre most lively evidences of his glorious presence in his Church amongst his people One whereof is more inward felt chiefly in the soules and consciences of men to wit the Spirit of the Lord accompanying the word and the powerfull operation thereof in mens hearts in and by the same word to cause all men to acknowledge the Lord to be there The other three are more outward and apparant to the view of the world although they be nothing but the fruits and effects of the same spirit The first of which three is when the Lord gives to his people abundance of saving and sanctifying knowledge of his heavenly word The second when together with this knowledge he worketh in them true holinesse of life and conversation and obedience to the same word and withall peace and unitie among his people arising from the same The third is in protection when he declares himselfe to be present amongst his people in shielding and protecting them and overthrowing all the plots of the enemies or casting a feare upon the enemie that they dare not rise up against his Church and chosen flocke For the first of these which is more inward viz The Spirit of the Lord speaking and working powerfully in the word It is not the word alone nor the Spirit alone but the word and Spirit going together The Spirit accompanying the word and speaking to the hearts and consciences of men out of the mouthes of his servants This is the Tenor and the very substance of Gods covenant with his Church for the infallible demonstration of his presence in it and with it And I will make this my covenant with them saith the Lord to his Church My spirit which is upon thee my word which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy seede nor out of the mouth of the seed of thy seede from henceforth for ever To make this more plaine As in the time of the law not the Arke alone nor the mercie seate covered with the Cherubims but the answeres from the Arke given immediatly from God were were the undoubted evidences of his most glorious presence amongst them so this must needs be acknowledged of all That not the Gospell alone nor the bare ministry thereof but the powerfull working of the spirit thereby speaking to every mans soule and conscience is the most evident demonstration of the same glorious presence in the dayes of the Gospell As for example when the word is lively and mighty in operation powerfull in converting mens soules and drawing the people of God after it This is the true presence and arme of the Lord. As it was when the Holy Ghost was sent downe appearing in forme of cloven tongues like fire to shew the heavenly fire that should accompany the word and inflame the hearts of the elect like as it then wrought wonderfully upon the consciences of the hearers and that very worke was an infallible witnesse of the presence of the Lord so is it now according to the manner of the working and measure thereof When by the same spirit some are pricked at their hearts with remorse for their sinnes and made to cry out Men and brethren what shall we doe as those who were so pricked at the hearts at Peters sermon When other have their hearts burning within them as the two Disciples going toward Emaus at the opening applying of the Scriptures unto them When as others are smitten downe to the earth in the sense of their own vilenesse and the Majestie of Iesus Christ as persecuting Saul who was made thereby a preaching Paul And when others are compelled to confesse That they neuer heard men speake so as those who came of purpose being sent by the Pharises to catch our Saviour Or as the poore simple man who comming in and hearing the word so Preached is made thereby to fall upon his face and enforced to acknowledge That God is in these men of a truth when others also shall receive such a strong assurance of the truth of God taught unto them being indeed his very word as they cannot be drawne away from it by any violence or feare no nor yet by any perswasions though an Angell should come from heaven and teach them otherwise And to conclude this point This must needs be confessed of all to be the most cleere and invincible testimony of his most gratious and glorious presence and of his spirit powred plentifully upon his Church when by the power of the word the blinde eyes are opened the deafe heare the stonie hearts are bruised the dead in sinne are raised to a new and holy life for this is not a a worke of flesh and blood but of the Spirit of the Lord onely This was a principall part of that lively presence whereby he was so wonderfull and after a sort visible in the primitive Church when the same day were added to the Church about three thousand soules by the preaching of Peter and the other Apostles and after when the Church increased so admirably And by this he hath promised to be with his faithfull ones teaching his truth sincerely unto the end of the world This finally is the full accomplishment of that promise To powre downe his Spirit upon his people in the dayes of the Gospell when he would gather his Church in any place as we may see thorow all the Historie of the Acts. And even as it was then so is it now according to the measure of grace whereby he sends downe his holy Spirit upon any Congregation And in some Congregations under faithfull Ministeries all these blessed be God are apparent thus graciously manifesting his presence thereby And therefore the more generally that this operation appeares in Preachers and people the more visibly doth the glory of the Lord shew it selfe and the more
vengeance Thorow out haue I striuen to shew my loue and earnest desire not onely to the whole but also to saue euery soule from these plague Yet haue I not indeuoured any more herein than the Angell for Lot in labouring to pull vs out of the destruction remayning for the impenitent nor any more than Esay Ieremie Ezechiel with other the Prophets and faithfull men of Iudah did before the Captiuitie in seeking to turne away that calamitie and all other their miseries from them nor going past the bounds of the word of the Lord deliuered by those Prophets Nor yet any more at all than I take to be the dutie of euery faithfull Minister and Man of God so far as the Lord shall offer him opportunitie to seeke to preserue all from Gods wrath and to plucke euery soule out of the fire of his vengeance And this by shewing all sorts their sinnes to bring them to repentance thereby by haling drawing to get euery Lot out of Sodom before the destruction come If any one shall be offended for the discouerie of his sinne amongst the generall without the knowledge and sight whereof he cannot be saued and that onely because he would still liue in it or would not be awaked his displeasure therein is no more to be regarded than if one in an heauy sleep in the midst of an house all on fire about him now ready to fall vpon his head to burne him to ashes whom God shall enable to pull forth any such when he shall awake them and cause them to see their danger wherein they were and their gracious deliuerance then will they magnifie his great name that those did so aduenture themselues for them and esteeme such aboue all other of the earth And as for the displeasure of men better is it ten thousand times to haue all the world offended with vs for our labouring in loue and dutie in our place to saue and pull men from vnder Gods wrath and forth of the very pit of hell so much as he shall vouchsafe vs mercy than to haue the Lord angry with vs for being vnfaithfull in that which hath beene committed vnto vs and for neglecting to saue his people from destruction Oh what extreme foolishnes is it to feare man whose breath is in his nostrils and whose heart is in the Lords hand to turne as the boates in the waters to incline as pleaseth him who cānot moue a finger at vs but by his permission nor do any more than he wil turne to 〈◊〉 good and not to feare him who if he be angry with vs neuer so little all our dayes are gone Who would haue killed Moses for omitting the circumcising of his childe who brought the tempest on the sea and would not suffer it to cease vntill that Ionah was throwne into it because he prouided for his owne peace with neglect or at least through feare of performance of that dutie inioyned him which was to goe to Niniue to preach vnto them That within fortie dayes Niniue should be destroyed Who finally threatneth Ieremie to destroy him before the people if he feare their faces and will certainely whip his dearest seruants vnto his worke if they begin to loyter We therefore who are Gods messengers had neede to looke vnto it to indeuour so far as we may keeping within our limits to pull all sorts of sinners with violence out of the fire and to striue to set their sinnes before their faces in their natiue colours And the rather that so all of vs seeing the heynousnesse of our owne sinnes and of the sinnes of our Land may come to some more due consideration of the infinitenesse we did not vnderstand them I take and hold it to be necessarie still to try further all holy meanes we know not which the Lord will blesse Surely for the greatest part the most plaine is the most profitable But if it shall be obiected that the applications to the particular kindes of sinnes and sinners are ouer plaine and come too neere the quicke I answer againe Blessed man is he who can finde them to come neere to his owne corruption and sinne Is not this the onely way to driue vs to behold the true brasen serpent when we feele our selues stung at our hearts Can euer any wretched sinner cry out Men and Brethren what shall I doe that I may be saued vntill he haue his soule thus pierced Or can any fornicator adulterer blasphemer or any other notorious sinner finde the soueraigne cōfort which is in Christs bloud but only such a one Yet this I say vnto euery soule that if any thing doe seeme to pierce which is not the word of the Lord or is any way misapplied that it is not any more to be feared than darts of stubble But so far as it is his blessed word following necessarily out of the same it will one day certainely wound vs and better here whilest we may haue our wounds cured againe by applying that soueraigne remedie of the bloud of the Son of God than to be smitten thorow with it when all hope of cure is past and so to haue our hearts galling vs and vexing vs eternally I therefore here doe also humbly beg of all the worthy and faithfull seruants of the Lord as I haue in my former labours to helpe me to bring euery peece of this worke to the tryall for the full assurance of euery soule who is desirous to see his euill way and would escape the day of the Lords wrath or who would seeke to helpe to pacifie his wrath kindled against vs. If there be in it any one sentence which is not either the word of the Lord or not arising out of it and agreable thereto that it may be reformed or if it bewray the least partiall affection in leaning to any side but to the Lord and to his manifest truth agreed vpon by vs all who soundly professe Christs Gospell or the least false testimonie Our most holy and blessed God infinite in wisdome power needes not our lye to bring any of his to repentance nor for setting forth of his glory No no his owne word is inough and shall be found aboundantly sufficient to saue all his elect to destroy all his enemies to deliuer his Church to get himselfe the victorie I dare not wittingly affirme one vntruth no not against the bloudie enemie nor against Sathan himselfe no nor yet wrong any creature vnder heauen farre be it from me to giue the Accuser that aduantage How then may I doe it for the cause of the Lord who abhorreth the very least iniquitie and with whom no euill can dwell Moreouer sith all this wholly tendeth to helpe towards the making and establishing our peace with our God by seeking to recall vs all vnto his obedience that we may euery one renew our vow and couenant with him
for the wealth of vs and our posteritie I haue strictly kept my selfe within the limits of the first part of this Watch which conteyneth the Summe of the Couenant of our God wherein we all agree in outward profession and vnto which whosoeuer returneth vnfeignedly to walke in the sincere obedience of it shall vndoubtedly haue eternall life like as euery impenitent transgressor against it is certainely condemned by the generall verdict of all the true Churches of Christ. In all this worke I haue and doe instantly desire of the Lord that I may be a faithfull and true witnesse both for his heauenly Maiestie and for his people and also that I may shew in euery part a right demonstration of an vnfeigned loue to the Church of Christ and towards my Nation euen to euery soule for the sauing of ech from the wrath to come and withall that I may preserue the honour due to all in autoritie chiefly to the highest to binde all hearts to their superiours ech to others and all of vs to Iesus Christ That he may euer remaine our Captaine Protector King and Sauiour euen he who will one day manifest all the secrets of the hearts of men who haue bin with him and who against him who will come quickly and reward euery one as their workes shall be Amen euen so come Lord Iesus CONTENTS OF THE seuerall Chapters particularly as they arise out of the Vision Ezechiel 9. 1. THe Vision giuen to Ezechiel with the occasion and opening of it 2. Certaine directions to be obserued in our reading hereof to teach vs to make right vse of the Vision to our selues 3. The Lord is not wont to bring any terrible iudgement on his Church but euer before hand to giue some euident warning That he neuer warned without cause or in vaine and what iust matter we haue for all our manifold gratious forewarnings to betake our selues to watching and prayer 4. The withdrawing of the Lords glorious presence from his Church is both an euident signe of his displeasure and a manifest threatning of his departure And what causes we haue therevpon to watch and to pray to pacifie the Lord so to hold him still amongst vs. 5. How the Lord is most vnwilling to depart from his Church so long as there is any other remedie manifested in his oft threatning to depart before he goe and of the outward tokens both of his glorious presence in his Church and of his departure from it And what causes we haue in respect thereof to watch and pray continually 6. No priuiledges can doe a people any good if they grow in their iniquitie but the mo their mercies haue bin the greater is their sinne and the heauier shall their iudgement be when it commeth what cause we haue thence to watch and to pray for the fearefull increase of the transgressions amongst vs. 7. The marking of the mourners That is how Gods owne people are marked in the midst of the greatest confusions before the destruction come And so what cause euery one hath to watch and to pray that he may be so marked 8. The propertie of the godly liuing amongst the wicked in a sinfull age is to mourne and cry for all the abominations and tokens of Gods anger Also what cause all Gods seruants haue to watch and pray for the fewnesse of such and that ech of vs may be found of that litle number 9. The enemies by which the Lord threatneth or afflicteth his Church are his soldiers and therevpon what cause we haue to giue our selues to watching and prayer because of the increase of them in number pride and malice 10. The mourners being once marked made sure then comes the vengeance for the destroyers follow at the heeles of the marking Angell What neede we had therefore to watch and pray bicause we know not whether this worke be not already accomplished or how neere it is 11. The principall abominations for which the godly so mourned and which moued the Lord to so seuere a vengeance first in generall after more particularly And therein what causes we haue to watch and pray both to be kept pureâ— from them and to obteyne pardon and redresse of them or at least that we may escape the plagues due vnto them 12. The meanes which the Lord had vsed to bring them to repentance that he might spare them and how their sinne was increased thereby Also the cause why the meanes could doe them no good And what neede we haue therevpon to watch and pray continually 13. The seueritie of the Lords vengeance and the miseries which all sorts indured in that captiuitie when no other meanes could serue to reclaime them And thence what neede we haue all to watch and pray continually to turne away the like and also to be thankfull for all our former deliuerances from as great calamities so neere vnto vs. 14. How Gods true messengers and all his faithfull seruants are wont to be affected when they perceiue the Lords anger to be kindled and his iudgements ready to rush vpon his people Also the meanes which in this their holy affection they vse to preuent the euils and to pacifie his Maiestie And herein likewise what cause we haue to watch and pray for the want of these affections and for the generall neglect of the state of the people and of pacifying the Lords wrath 15. The sinnes of a people may be so heynous as that the Lord will not be pacified at the prayers of his deerest seruants Also when that time is and what cause we haue therevpon to watch and pray continually 16. The true obedience of Gods faithfull messengers and seruants will bring them boldnesse to appeare before him and this alone when they are able to say in a good conscience Lord I haue done as thou hast commanded me And what great cause all of vs haue to watch and pray continually that we may be alvvayes able to say so to haue boldnes euermore hereby vvhatsoeuer come to passe THE VISION given to EZECHIEL before the great Captivitie of IVDAH set downe in the ninth Chapter of Ezechiel with the occasion and opening thereof 1. HE cryed also in mine eares with a loud voyce saying Cause them that have charge over the Citie to draw neere even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand 2. And behold six men came from the way of the higher gate which lyeth toward the North and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand and one man among them was clothed with linnen with a writers inkehorne by his side and they went in and stood beside the brazen Altar 3. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the Cherub whereupon he was to the threshold of the house and he called to the man clothed with linnen which had the writers inkehorne by his side 4. And the Lord said unto
weake meanes as might seeme but by a woman to wit Huldah the Prophetesse because he knew it to be the word and message of the Lord. And that not onely to so much as shall be pleasing unto us but even to that part of it that shall most directly touch us As indeed it shall be most happy for that man who shall so receive it and shall so humble himselfe before his divine Majestie Therefore we are every one to be so affected the Lords High Priest as was old Ely who disdeyned not to receive a most grievous and dredfull message by the hand of yong Samuel a boy brought up under him but chargetâ— him in the name of the Lord to tell him every word which the Lord had spoke unto him not to hide a word from him And afterwards having heard it in stead of being offended he saith It is the Lord let him doe what seemeth him good Yea we shall most truely declare our homage and obedience to the word of the Lord by submitting our selves wholly unto him and ech acknowledging our particular sinnes as David did at the admonition of Nathan That thereupon we may ech receive that comfortable answer The Lord hath put away thy sinne And that we may all thus helpe to pacifie him that he may not proceed to his heavy resolution howsoever he shall humble us for the manifold dishonours which we have done to him by all our sins and for causing his enemies to blaspheme his great name Gospell which he hath vouchsafed us the profession and libertie of above most other people of the earth 5. Ech of us are to apply every part as spoken to us by the Lord particularly and as making one bodie for even the sinne of the Atheist Idolater Drunkard and so of every wicked man may be said in some sort to be the sinne of ech of us and we are all lyable to the punishments thereof even those of us that thinke our selves most innocent and free from them As the sinne of Achan is counted the sinne of all Israel for so doth the Lord tell Iosua plainely when he punished them all That Israel had sinned they had taken of the excommunicate thing they had done that which Achan did Even so the sinnes of all the notoriously wicked are the sins of us all chiefly their open abominations All of us are guiltie and endangered by the same if at the hearing and seeing them we have not mourned as we should for the dishonour done to the Lord and his anger kindled thereby Or if we have not cryed for pardon sought to turne away the vengeance yea and done our vtmost endevour ech of us in our places and callings to stop them and the course of sinne reigning amongst us None of us can justifie our selves but God might for this very sin depart from us as he threatneth Ioshuah for Achans sacriledge and might leave vs to be wrapped in the same judgement 6. We are to consider that ech of our particular grievous sinnes doe not onely hinder the power of our prayers whereby we should help to pacifie the Lords wrath but also in steed thereof helpe to draw downe the anger of God not onely vpon our selves but vpon the whole Land more specially and principally the notorious and outragious sinnes of our most horrible transgressors as of blasphemers scorners of God and of his truth oppressors drunkards filthy persons and all impudent sinners who hale on the vengeance of God as it were with cart ropes That it is his infinite mercy that it hath bin kept off hitherto And therefore howsoever such men may imagine and boast of themselves to be friends to their country yet in truth they will be found the principall enemies first to Iesus Christ doing as much as lyeth in them thereby to drive him out and to set vp Sathan in his roome and doe not onely murther their owne soules without repentance but also as much as such sins can to betray the Lords Anointed his Church their native Country with all our happinesse into the hands of the bloudie enemie Because for the sinnes of these principally Gods vengeance comes upon his people as here in this lamentable captivitie may plainely be seene And therefore ech of us are to finde out our owne particular sinnes and in the reading and hearing hereof to say This is my sinne which the Lord reproves threatneth us all for and me especially by name So ech of us are to begin to reforme our selves or else we shall never be able to judge of the sinnes of others much lesse have a right feeling of them so as to be helpers to pacifie the wrath by our prayers and to turne away the like plague from our selves 7. Every one of us are to resolve with our selves that whatsoever the Lord shall say unto us we will doe it as the people made profession to the Prophet Ieremie to doe if they had had hearts to haue performed it accordingly and ech to cast away our deerest sins rather than they shall beat backe our prayers and much more helpe to pull downe vengeance upon us Because of that which God threatneth that every soule who turnes not to all his Covenant so far as he shall manifest it to his conscience to be his Covenant and that seeks not also with all his power to cause others to turne shall perish That same sinne wherein any one continueth shall be his destruction and the endangering of all so far as lyeth in him And this may serue for the generall directions in reading this vision to make right use of it to our selves for pacifying the wrath Now to the Vision CHAP. III. The Lord is not wont to bring any terrible judgement upon his Church but usually ever aforehand to give warning thereof neither at any time to waâ—ne in vaine And what cause we have for our manifold forewarnings to give our selves to watching and praier HEe cried in mine eares with a loud voice saying Cause them that have charge over the City to draw neere or the visitations of the City draw neere c. To come to the words of the vision The Lord so plainely foreshewing this dreadfull captivitie not only heere in this Vision but also so many other wayes and denouncing it by his Prophets so long before it came declaring also the causes of it sheweth in the first place That he hath not beene wont to bring any notable judgements upon a people especially upon his Church or where his Church hath beene but he hath ever used to make the same manifestly knowne before at least to his owne faithfull servants amongst them and after as he foreshewed it so to bring it to passe unlesse his anger hath beene some way pacified This we may see in sundry of the most fearefull destructions that ever he
and partly at the instant intreatie of the dressers of his Vineyard who have obteyned of him to spare us yet one yeere longer to see if we will bring forth meete fruit in any time and if no time nor warning will serve then to cut us downe Now we in steed of amending by all these fore-warnings with all the admirable deliverances and blessings which this Land doth injoy waxing every day much worse and the cry of our sinnes with the malice and number of our bloodie enemies being daily increased how can we thinke but that his vengeance must needs be at the doores either that any peace can possibly be so much as hoped for from him so long as our heynous sinnes still remayne heaped up euery day more more What heart therefore having any feare of the Lord considering how his anger must needs be kindled and remembring that implacable hatred of the blood-thirstie enemies but wayting their day doth not tremble in a certaine expectation of some imminent and farre more dreadfull vengeance than ever we felt in former times unlesse our hearts be some way stirred up to pacifie his heavenly Majestie by turning unto him to prevent the same And therefore to conclude this point All these things being laid togither and set as it were in one view before our faces principally that above all other signes the Lord hath given us that our third so terrible and infallible an admonition in the hellish powder-furnace sith none of his warnings shall be in vaine who can denie but that he daily cryeth in the eares of every one of us with a loude voyce as he cryed to Ezechiel Thy visitation oh England draweth neere Therefore repent watch and pray lest I come upon thee of a sodaine and make thee as Ierusalem because no warning will serve neither wilt thou know the time of thy visitation nor be awaked out of thy deepe securitie But of this more fully hereafter when we shall come to see the sinnes of our Land written by the Lord himselfe in the abominations of Iuda before her Captivitie and that in such capitall letters that he that runns by may read them And how we doe iustifie rebellious Iudah living in these dayes of the shining light of the glorious Gospell of Iesus Christ under such a shelter as the Lords Annoynted and also under so good lawes commanding obedience thereunto whereby our sinnes must needes be farre more heynous and inexcusable than theirs or than ever they were in former time And this may serve for a first cause which we have to watch and pray because the Lord cryes so loud unto us all That our visitation draweth neere and that he will come on us suddenly unlesse we repent speedily CHAP. IIII. The withdrawing of the Lords glorious presence from his Church is both an euident signe of his displeasure and amanifest threatning of his departure And what cause we have thereupon to watch and to pray to pacifie his Maiestie and to hold him still amongst us Verse 3. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the Cherub whereupon he was to the threshold of the house A Second principall point which the Lord would have us all to obserue to this purpose is out of this third verse In which he revealed to the Prophet how the visitation of the City or the executioners of the vengeance determined upon it did draw neere this is given as an evident token thereof That the glorious presence of the Lord named the glory of God the God of Israel was gone from the Cherub that is from that place in the Temple where the Lord had promised to dwell for ever and from whence he was wont to shew his presence most sensibly for from thence he used to give answers and now it stood on the threshold of the Temple as ready to depart and utterly to leave that house and his people for their sinnes In this therefore God would have all men to take notice That it is a most certaine signe of his purpose to leave a people and of his vengeance hard at hand when he begins to withdraw the most lively and sensible tokens of his presence from those places where he was wont to dwell and shew himselfe most familiarly As heere for example Although the Temple remaine with the Arke and mercy feate from whence he was wont to speake immediatly from betweene the Cherubims yet the glory is removed the signes are there still but not the lively presence as had beene in former time which was indeed the true glory For further confirmation of this point This we may observe in the booke of God That when he hath beene well pleased with his people and purposed to remaine with them he then hath beene wont ordinarily to shew his presence and that under the law by some such visible or audible signes as whereby al might behold and heare him or at least perceive him some way As in all the iourny towards Canaan he went uisibly before them in the pillar of fire and the piller of the cloude But when they had angred him by the golden calfe he threatneth that he would not goe with them that is he would not goe before them in that visible manner as he had beene wont to bring them to the land flowing with milke and hony because they were a stiffenecked people He would send his Angell with them but in his owne glorious presence he would not goe before them as in former time whereupon Moses is importunate with him that he would never carry them thence if his presence went not with them And that it could not be knowne otherwise that he and his people had found favour in his sight but when he went visibly with them Thus Moses never leaves him vntill he hath prevailed that he will go with them as he was wont The same we may see in the dayes of Iosua where the Lord having withdrawne his lively preâ—ence and suffered his people to be overthrowne before the men of Ai Iosua falleth upon his face before the Arke fasting and mourning and after a sort expostulating with his Majestie for that he would suffer his great name to be dishonored Whereupon God telleth him plainely that he had indeede withdrawne himselfe from them because they were execrable for Achans sinne neither would he be with them any more unlesse they destroyed the excommunicate from amongst them So likewise when he was angry with Saul that he would cast him off he doth not only take his good spirit of wisdome and government from him and sends an evill spirit upon him to disquiet and to vex him but moreover when he asked councell of him in his extremity he answeres him not neither by dreames nor by Vrim nor yet by the Prophets Saul had the Priests with the Vrim before the Arke from whence the Glory was wont to appeare from the Cherubims
we shall finde it thus That these and all other signes mentioned are in great measure come upon us let us answer unfaynedly whether the Lord doth not sensibly threaten and proclaime to depart and leave us altogither unlesse we repent having thus far already withdrawne himselfe from us And to conclude this point whether it be not full time to seeke to pacifie and stay him amongst us if we be not weary of his abode with us and of our happinesse thereby But of this more in the next Chapter where we shall have cause to inquire of the outward tokens of the Lords glorious presence and what a removall he hath made thereof as likewise we see that he hath of this inward Thus much therefore shall suffice to have spoken of this second cause which we have all to watch pray yea even to weepe and cry after him to returne unto us againe in shewing amongst us the power of his Spirit as ever in former time and to abide with us for ever that he never leave us to our bloodie enemies CHAP. V. How the Lord is most unwilling to depart from his Church so long as there is any other remedie which he manifesteth in his oft threatning to take his leave before he goe indeed And of the outward tokens both of his glorious presence in his Church and of his departure from it And what cause we have thereupon to watch and pray continually ANd the Glory of the God of Israel was removed c. A third point specially to be observed is this That the Glory of God removed not once onely but five severall times in this vision before it departed and that it removed not all at once but so oft going away by degrees and that most sensibly By which he would cause the Prophet most clearely to behold his holinesse and justice that he must needs depart from them for their iniquities wherewith they grieved him and that he was now taking his farewell and yet withall also to see his mercy and tender compassion and how he was as we may so speake most unwilling to depart and leave his people to so many miseries even Ierusalem his owne Citie to such a desolation if any remedie would have bin found This he makes knowne unto them to see if it would worke to stir them up to seeke to retaine his presence amongst them For the evident manifestation hereof First the Glory removes from the Cherub and stands upon the threshold as ready to depart Secondly it removes higher and stands over the dore of the house Thirdly it removing from above the dore and standing againe upon the Cherubims the Cherubims mounted upward from the earth towards heaven as ready to take their flight and leave the Temple altogither Fourthly after this the Glory removes to the midst of the Citie thereby seeming to warne the Citie of the Lords departure Lastly from thence it removes out of the Citie unto the Mount of Olives as utterly taking leave of them and giving them a last farewell untill their Captivitie was accomplished and his anger appeased These were the removes Here we are all againe to inquire yet more carefully whether he hath not made as many and as sensible removes of his glory amongst us of this our Nation and thereby given us as many plaine evidences of his departure not now in a vision but so as all men must needs see and confesse it and also whether withall he hath not as clearely and tenderly manifested as I may so say his unwillingnesse to depart from us if any thing can serve to reforme us This is a point of most serious consideration and such a one as it were an exceeding mercy of the Lord and a token of his gratious purpose toward us if he would but vouchsafe us hearts generally to consider of aright as in his presence and as we must all know it one day To the end we may conceive it the better we are first to consider wherein the glory of the Lord appeareth outwardly in his Church so as it may be beholden of all round about it even of the very enemies As for the former evidence it being more inward is to be perceived chiefly of the inward man the soule and conscience when God so speaks unto them This outward Glory consists in three things principally as was said whereby not only the Lord himselfe is magnified amongst his owne people yea to be seene acknowledged of others but also by which he makes his people to be glorious in the eies of others and to be honoured and feared of their enemies The first is when he bestoweth upon his people such aboundance of heavenly and sanctified knowledge of his worde with an hungring after the same as that the earth seemeth to be filled with the knowledg of the Lord like the waters that cover the Sea as the Prophet Esay speaketh This he promiseth to doe in his Church when he will shew his glory in it in the dayes of the Gospell At what time the Church being exalted as upon the topps of the mountaines there shal be such a hungring and thirsting after the word of the Lord that men shal incite and provoke one another saying Come let us goe up to the house of the Lord for he will teach us his waies and we will walke in his pathes Where he thus puts his lawes into the mindes of his people at least in a vehement desire of it That they all seeme to know him from the least to the greatest of them this is a visible token of Gods covenant with such a people and the pardon of their sinnes that he is their God and this is his glory upon them A second visible token is this when this knowledge is accompanied with obedience and holinesse of life when he thus writes his law in their hearts creating in them new hearts and new spirits Thus the Lord promiseth to be sanctified in his owne people before the eyes of their enemies when he shall clense them from all their filthy sinnes as with pure water when he puts his spirit so upon them as to cause them to walke in his statutes to keepe his judgments and to do them when he puts his feare so generally into their hearts as to cause them not to depart from him Then he makes this covenant for himselfe that he wil not depart from them And chiefly when togither heerewith he gives peace unity amongst them that they have one heart and one way That the Lambe may lodge with the Wolfe without danger the poore harmelesse Christian with them who have beene by nature as bloudy as Wolues when the little child may lead the Lion even a child bringing the word of the Lord may perswade and lead them who were otherwise as proude and fierce as Lyons And when the sucking childe may play upon the hole of the Aspe when the poore seruants of
our Noahs building the Arke and calling all to enter nor our Lots mourning crying to all Good brethren deale not so wickedly Doe we not daily increase in our senselesnesse and still more harden our selves against all warnings signes and tokens untill the floud-gates of heaven be open and the vengeance of God come powring downe And to goe yet one step higher and to adde this one demand more Are not very many amongst us come to that height of impietie to scorne and to abuse by all meanes all those that mourne for the evils and who will not run with us to all excesse of ungodlinesse And if any doe ever reprove such though in the griefe of their hearts with the greatest love and reverence are they not ready to say as those unto Lot Hence who made thee a Ruler and a Iudge so to thrust them away with all disgrace Or which is yet worse if worse may be Is not this too common in very many places to use them as Ieremie was used to load such with all opprobrious slanders as tho they were the vilest men that could live upon the earth and those that seeke not the good of the Land but the hurt and as if indeed there were none to be hated but they be they never so peaceable and obedient And finally are they not made such in many places as Ieremie saith of himselfe whom every bodie curseth though they have neither given nor taken upon usurie but lived without ofâ—ence or intermedling in the world Nay although they be such persons whom all the world cannot touch except for such infirmities as are incident to all the sonnes of Adam or the matters of their God as Daniâ—l was Doe we not thus adde to the increase of their sorrowes to kindle more the Lords anger for the injuries done unto them and by seeking to drive them out from amongst us or at least to cause them to cease crying to the Lord for us Which unkindnesse he can no way indure sith these I meane who make conscience of all his commandements are the deerest unto him of all the people of the earth and the onely preservers of the rest so long as they remaine amongst us And thus much shall serve for this in like manner what cause we have to watch and pray yea to tremble and cry for the small remainder of our mourners and also to the end that we our selves may be found to be of the number of them so to helpe to appease the wrath or so to escape in the evill day CHAP. IX The enemies by which the Lord threatneth or afflicteth his Church are his souldiers and what cause we have to give our selves to watching and prayer for the increase of them in number pride and malice IT remaineth now that we shall come to shew the abominations for the which the godly so sighed cryed what and how great they were But the handling thereof may be more profitably reserved unto the sixt verse where the Holy Ghost sets downe how fierce his wrath was and how grievous the plagues were which the Lord threatneth to inflict upon them that by the greatnes of the vengeance we may better consider the heynousnesse of the abominations Having therefore thus finished this first Commission which was to the marking Angell for the preservation of all the godly we will come to the second commission given to the destroying Angels how they should deale with all the rest conteyned in these words following Vers. 5. And to the other he said in my hearing Goe yee after him thorow the Citie and smite Let not your eye spare neither have pitie sâ—ay utterly olde and young c. Here the Lord delivering this Commission aloud and bidding these destroying Angels to goe and smite to spare none will have us all to consider this well That the enemies by which his Church is afflicted as the Babylonian here meant to whom he said Goe yee after him thorough the Citie and smite are the Lords soldiers They come not nor fight of themselves alone but at his comand they fight also his battels though they know not so much nor purpose any such matter but doe it in the pride and malice of their hearts No point is more necessarie for us to know becasue in the plots and conspiracies of wicked enemies and in all the rage against the Church of God it is so rare a thing for any man to looke at the Lord and how he sends and orders all but every man almost useth still to looke onely at the hand of the enemie Neither is any truth more cleerely set forth in the booke of God We will content our selves with two or three places which are past all exception in which he hath of purpose taught this point most fully First we may begin with the former great Captivitie of Israel of the Ten Tribes caried captive into Assyria by Salmanazar which was a good space before this captivitie of Iudah The Holy Ghost saith that the Lord in his wrath sent upon them the King of Asshur to destroy them Whom the Prophet â—say in speaking of both the Captivities joyntly and the like instruments and reasons of both calleth the rod of Gods wrath because he had in his wrath prepared the Assyrian as his rod to whip both Israel and Iudah for their rebellion He termes also their staffe meaning the weapons in their hands his indignation because all their weapons were cheifly prepared to execute his most fierce indignation He calls them moreover the Lords axe whereby he cut downe the Nations All were the Lords instruments He sent these Assyrians and gave them the charge to spoile and trample under foote the rebellious Israelites as the mire in the streets But did the proud Assyrian know thus much how God used him as his soldier or did he purpose in it to execute Gods wrath and his terrible judgement No saith the Lord he thinketh not so neither doth his heart esteeme it so as to avenge my quarrell but he imagineth to destroy not a few nations that is All that he doth he doth in pride and malice of his owne wicked heart and by his owne strength as he foolishly thinketh Therefore the Lord saith plainely That when he had used him as his rod to correct his people first Samaria and then Ierusalem first Israel and after Iudah that he would surely burne the rod in the fire He would visit the proud heart of the King of Asshur and bring downe his proud lookes and as a fire in his vengeance consume him utterly And secondly for Manasseh the sonne of that worthy Hezechiah when he went backe from the good wayes of his father and set up againe all the abominations that his father had taken away and had also destroyed that pietie and religion which his good father had so laboured to build up and finally when he caused his people to doe worse