In the Parliament Now is manifest the Son of GOD made flesh and dwelling amongst us Thou art here our Lord incompassed about with infirmities in abundance of weaknesse in temptations feares distresses in so poor a body as thou art not known to them they deny thee kill thee and know not what they do In this forme Thou comest to thy own and thy own receive the not Thou art in them speaking in such dark parables in such confused and un-understood wayes with such a rabble of oppressing Publicans Harlots and sinners about thee that thou art judged a Devil and to mention thee here is blasphemy to all men T is the cry of King and People Away with him away with him he is not worthy to live thou art here loaded with iniquity made sin indeed In the Parliaments assuming the power of the King his Prerogative his revenue we hear the Lord say All that the Father hath hath he given unto me All power in Heaven and in Earth The King is with us we have his power c. Christ saies in this dark poor forme The Father and I am one the Father is me the words that I speak are his and the works that I do He gives me to do them I come from the Father Thus the Son goes forth for a while appeares amongst men and the Father conceals himselfe and is not seen but in the Son and the Son challenging the honour name and power of the Father In the Parliaments undertaking the work of reformation and failing in it We now see the Lord in flesh coming amongst us and entering into The Temple and over turning the mony changers turning out those buiers and sellers those worldly Episcopall party that turn'd religion into a trade and worship into meer gaine and preferment prophesying anew forme a Kingdome but at last lost in it saying I have laboured in vaine I have spent my strength for nought and suffering under this accusation that he would destroy the Templets c. yea the Kingdome too And so the Romans come in and take away both our Place and Nation That he was a rebel to Caesar so crucified in shame betrayed sold and his Disciples leaving of him doubting his word saying We thought he would at this time have Redeemed Israel Our Lord is here in weaknesse failing in his attempts marred in his vizage more then any man so that all turne away their faces from him In the oppressing and confused Government of the Parliament We now see our LORD come not to send peace but a sword to set Father against Son and Son against Father c. Setting two against three and three against two requiring us to leave Father and Mother Houses and Lands for his Name threatning to undoe us and to strip us of all bringing of us to nothing wasting and spoiling the riches of the Nation so disolving of us that we must be borne again new-moulded in a baptisme of bloud In the Parliaments endeavour to preserve the Kingdome to uphold and maintain the freedome of it wee see the love of Christ to the World and his desire of saving it we hear him say Oh England England how often would I have gathered thee c. In the zeal and rage of both parties against each other we see darkly come forth the wrath of God against his enemies God fighting with those that fight against him the fiercenesse of the vengeance of Heaven against his adversaries cursing them raining snares and fire and brimstone upon them Thus doth the holy God dwell with and under the roofe of sinfull man Thou that knowest no sin art made sin Thou livest in those fleshly formes Thou sendest forth spirit and they are created And then doth blow upon them and they dye and wither lose their goodnesse and beauty and are tossed about as vanity as chaffe in the wind That thou mightest destroy them thou commest into the likenesse of sinfull flesh that thou migtest consume sin in the flesh appearest in flesh and so against it and under it that thou mayest at last save it And unfoldest the brightness of thy face and glory to be in perfect and undefiled purity in and under the vilenesse and basenesse of the creatures Chap. XIIII Of the second thing in saving of the Nation The Death of Christ and our fellowship in it AS God bears our sinnes so he suffers under them and we suffer in and with him and thereby is iniquity taken away T is by blood that we have remission of sinne God dwelt in the Kingdom The power of the King it was Gods God was in that majesty and dominion God was in the right and freedome of the Parliament in the peace and happinesse of the Nation in the wealth and honour of the City in the power and strength of the Army in the glory and order of the Church And God suffers in the death of all these he suffers with us loses in our losses not our blood alone but his is shed not our goods onely wasted but the Lords his they are and were and God is in union with them and suffers in them The Lord is made a curse for us our sin hath brought this curse upon God This is a sacrifice well pleasing unto God sufficient for ever to take away iniquity and to appease divine justice Though destruction should for ever wast England it would never be satisfyed but feeding upon the glory of God eating so deep into Englands sides as to reach the heart of God t is time for it to say I have enough let anger cease it doth feed upon God himself Cease to trample upon the head of King Charles God is there thou tramples upon God in him Cease to confound our Parliament Christ is there Cease to destroy the Nation t is a holy and heavenly Nation Now we are reconciled to God we were divided by death now one in death or God so loves us and is so neer to us as to suffer with us and for us our friend indeed that hath layd down his life for us The glorious love of our God is triumphing with us in and over death God is in our misery insulting over it O death I le be thy plague c. and so makes death sweet to us thou art now a lovely bed wherein our Lord and we being uncloathed of life lie down together death rends the vail and takes us into a naked enjoyment of GOD because wee could not live together our earthly in Gods heavenly Kingdome therefore must we die together we die because we have left God and he comes and dyes with us will not live without us but comes into the grave to us so that he might deliver us thence Thou destroying Angell proceed no farther The blood of God cries peace and you English mad to destroy cease crucifying the Lord of glory every wound you make Pierces the heart of God every sad and grieved spirit afflicts God every stone of scorne or
THE LEAVES OF THE TREE OF LIFE For the healing of THE NATIONS Opening all the wounds of this Kingdome and of every party and applying a remedy to them By which we come to a right understanding between King and Parliament A universal agreement and peace on all sides and the Kingdom restored and setled upon a sure and unmoveable Foundation By the Light GOD shining upon WILLIAM SEDGWICK Doe you not know that the Saints shall Judge the World LONDON Printed by H. for Giles Calvert at the black spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1648. THE PREFACE TO THE WHOLE KINGDOME REad and wonder I know thou wilt to see the Lord so soon upon English ground you are surprized taken fast asleep Awake stand up T is the Lord he is come to save us he was with us upholding our former prosperity and we knew it not he is now with us fighting against our worldly state in such a dark cloud as we are more ignorant of him he will now unvail himself and you shall see him in open face of love and Salvation and say This is the Lord. While you are under him in the World you will finde his feet as fine brasse burning in a furnance His steps will be hard to break you in peeces fiery to consume you yet fine holy and just suffer that and he will take you up into his armes and binde you to himselfe with a golden girdle of love and shew you a face as bright as the Sun shinning in his strength giving you rich love life and light he is severe that will astonish but mercifull that will comfort he is very low in the bottome of your sinnes and miseries there the flesh will despise him but your wants will rejoyce in him and say such a high Priest we need but exalted very high in the largnesse of lovingkindnesse sure that will please you and the evil one only can be troubled at it England it is thy Shepherd the Porter will and must open to him and the Sheep will hear his voice while he calleth them by their names they will follow him and he will lead them out of their misery and he goeth before them In every way of suffering and deliverance he is first sure you will not follow a stranger but flee from him he saith All that went before me are theeves and robbers they are hirelings and come for wages they come not but to steal to kill and to destroy so have all done yet They are hirelings and the sheep are not theirs But I am the good Shepherd I lay down my life for the Sheep I am come that they might have life after their death and that they might have it more abundantly then ever they had it J will seek that which is lost and bring again that which was driven away and will binde up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick and J will feed them in a good pasture upon the high mountains shall their fold be c. I know the narrownes of mans heart will say who hath heard such a thing Who hath seen such things Shall the earth bring forth in one day shall a Nation be born at once Will Christ appear in the earth or if in the earth in a whole Nation what Christ under the sinnes of the Kingdome his blood shed in a Nation a Saviour of the Earth and this in so short a season all at once To this I only answer My thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my waies as your waies but as far as heaven is above earth so far are my waies above your waies saith the Lord This I doe rejoyce in and so wilt thou that heer is light to be seen and eyes to see with that he can open and enlarge the mindes of men and bring them out of prison and make them able to receive the truth This is truth light to shew this truth in eyes to receve it and love to rejoyce in it Wee have no enemy but the devil and he will make all the resistance he can poor weak man may doubt fear c. but Satan will blaspheme rage and say t is impossible t is blasphemy t is against God against man But thou enemy thy discovery is thy ruine thou shalt not speake a word against this Lord but it shall be manifest t is thou a murderer a lyer a destroyer that hath no portion in this thing and therefore wouldest destroy that that will destroy thee and deliver the Kingdome out of thy destroying hands thou art cast down thy Kingdom of darknes is broken by the light of the day of God thou shalt prevail no longer in this Kingdome O Leviathan we now can draw thee out with a hook and thy tongue with a cord thou shalt now make supplications to us and speak soft words to us we now take thee for a servant play with thee as with a bird and our companions shall make a banquet of thee c. Therefore depart thou as smoak before the presence of the Lord. Heer is one that hath the Keys of David that can enter into the Kingdome bring forth the prisoners judge them and save them from Satans cruelty and wrath These are the Leaves not the fruit of the Tree of life the cure is upon the Nation in general that is the subject in hand not men in their particular and personal estate that is yet to come This is Elijah who comes before the great and dreadfull day of the Lord to turne the heart of the Fathers to the Children and the heart of the Children to their Fathers lest J come and smite the earth with a curse The Lord in the spirit of Elijah the dawning of the day upon the top of the mountain washing and cleansing the outward skin of the Nation to prepare for further and greater glory and to remove the present curse of hell and wrath that is devouring of you I have no more to say to you but stand still and patiently hear your doom from the Throne of God advancing it self in WILLIAM SEDGWICK THE LEAVES OF THE TREE of LIFE For the healing of the NATION Chap. I. Shewing the happy and flourishing condition in which the Kingdome of England once stood and the ground of it THE Earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof the world and all that dwelss therein For he hath founded it upon the Seas c. The divine goodnes delights to bring forth it selfe in the whole creation and upon all things stamps his own likenes Especially the heavenly man takes pleasure to bring forth a brief Epitome of himself in his image man The families of Heaven have ingraven their likenes upon the Families of the Earth The new Jerusalem the City of God bestowes her shape and beauty upon these Cities But the highest glory of God in his Kingdome is drawn forth in the Kingdomes of this world and therefore they are above all The Kingdomes of our Lord and
standest The new Jerusalem that is from above Neither hast thou shined with that blessednesse and holinesse but upheld a worldly and divelish darknesse and so art become a filthy Sodome a vile and poluted thing living not as the Lambs wife but in filthiness of adultery with the pomp and greatnesse of the World glorying in thy own Riches Power Multitude and not in the Lord. Thou hast been proud and lifted up and every way hast vaunted and boasted of thy government Militia wisdome c. and hast boldly pressed into the Throne of the Government of the Kingdome and at pleasure hast interposed authoritatively beyond thy place Common Citizens in great confidence of their ability to rule the state busily intermedling in things much above their understandings and quite out of the sphere of their callings You have often given check both to King and Parliament and lifted up your head above the power of the Kingdome and that rashly effeminately and without judgement in rude bold violent and tumltuous waies You have not in a Mother wisdome and moderation endeavoured the composing these differences it was thy place to spread thy Armes of love to imbrace both King and Parliament to have inclosed and begirt them both in unity But thou hast headily passionately according to thysex engaged with the Parliament and wert far too eagar and inconsiderate in promoting war and partiall in thy affection and laying out thy strength T is thy property to be rich and wanting it in a naturall and just way of trade you are many of you turned Officers publicans Excise men others buying Bishops and Irish Lands an unnaturall way of Merchant adventurers to strive to catch the ruines of the Kingdome as they fall or to grow rich upon publick miseries this is un-blest wealth there is a curse followes it Thou sufferest deeply in the common calamity and the spoyling and plundering in the Nation must be put upon thy accompt thou art pillaged in most parts of the Nation The great and intolerable losse of King Court to shine in thee in peace righteousnes proena damni the pesence of the King in thee living in agreement with his People is thy true life and glory and makes thee a heaven and the want of it is to thee intolerable and makes thee a Hell After the recovery of this happinesse doest thou insatiably thirst and canst not live without re-enjoyment of it Thy glory and reward hath been stained thy greatnesse brought down by the Army Thy trade is lost and broken thy wealth wasting and consuming there is stretched out upon thee The line of confusion and the stones of emptinesse Thou art continually shaken with fears and indignations tossed about as a Ball unstable and uncertain Fires of divisions kindled and burning fiercely in thee in all thy meetings common Councel common Hall Nothing but fire and brimstone bitter and sharp contests horrible rage one against another spitting fire in the face of each other preparing for the destruction of one another The wants of the poor threatning to tear out thy bowels a heap of disorder and confusion acting in all things in darknesse and wrath and so art of the nature of the Kingdome in the destroyer and a particular hell of thy self and to thy self mighty in malice rich in madnesse t is thy trade and busines having little else to doe but to design mischiefe to torment thy self Chap. XII Shewing the irrecoverablenesse of Englands ruine by humane waies ENgland thou art lost for ever lost Thou hast departed from God who is thy life and now thou art dead Rejected into destruction The Peace Wisdome Justice and Goodnesse of God hath left thee and the madnesse wrath injustice and malice of Satan fils thee Thou art broken like a Potters vessell into shivers into many peeces Thou art nothing but division head from body limb from limb and each party hath a peece of thee thou art by divine justice distributed and given forth into severall interests The King hath his part The Parliament their part The Army another c. and each an essentiall or integrall part without which the whole cannot subsist These severall principles or spirits of the Nation are by the breath of God blown into the severall parts of the earth scattered into the four winds as much divided as East and West North and South And all parts have distinct natures given to them severall principles of self-subsistence which sets them a contending for their own being yea such beings as can never be nulled standing upon the unmovable pillars of the decree of God and of the constitution of the Kingdome especially in the great division of King and Parliament both must subsist T is as impossible to destroy Kinglinesse wholly or to settle England without a King as t is to overthrow the first person God the Father if Heaven would dispence yet the earth would not King being as naturall unto us as a head to the body King is engraven in the spirit of the Nation If it were consumed to ten men they would have a King if the Nation were shrunk into one Family they would he governed by a King Upon the same ground stands the Parliament you may pull Christ out of Heaven as well as overthrow the interest of Parliament it may be suspended a while but quite suppressed it cannot Christ will eternally uphold it so the Nation will perpetually and restlesly require it it being the heart and life of the Nation The distinct natures or principles are strongly confirmed by Covenant Oath conscience honour on all parts whereby the Persons in whose hands these interests are are engaged to maintain and uphold their particulars to death And so bound to maintain their own both at a distance from God and from each other as while they save it they lose it being in the dark seperated from God to continue it is its certain death so that it must be and they will have it and in the way it is it cannot but be miserable But these parties are not only thus divided one from another but inplacably set to destroy one another in deadly opposition one to another and so instead of being each others life as they should they are each others death standing directly in the way to each others happines each perswaded that they might be well if their adversaries were gon There is a good and an evill in both the good of each is hid from the other and turned away the bright side the face and the back-parts the weaknesse the foule part in view and sight of each other The Kings party say if it were not for this Parliament and Army the Kingdome would be happy the Parliament and Army say if it were not for King and Cavaliers the Kingdome would be happy Being desperatly with mortall hatred enraged one against another they heartily seeke the destruction of each other and in destroying each other they do destroy them selves for indeed they are
contempt cast upon KING or Parliament upon one side or other is flung at Christ and he that opprosseth poor England in her miseries or addes one dram of sorrowes more reproacheth his maker Yea If thou doest mock poor King Charles poor Parliament poor Cavaliers or poor Round-heads thou reproachest God in all these if thou doest goe one foot farther It is to make long furrows upon the back of Christ If men or devils should bee obdurate our God is now tender will not still go on to smite his own flesh and blood As God died so are we dead with him England is dead and all her glory greatnesse and justice is slain We departing from God who is our life cannot live and 't is well wee can't live in Gods absence If we could have saved this life we had lost it and losing it we save it For if we had kept it we had kept it against God and now it 's dead it dyes into God It returnes to him from whence it came dying with Christ being offered up by this Priest-hood it goes with Christ dead with him and he saies I go to my Father so that we are fallen indeed into God and there is nothing now but God This is our peace by this the wall of partition 'twixt God and us is broken down and of twain made one new man destroying the enmity that honour power dominion that stood at enmity against God is abolisht slaine in the slaying the earthly creature That which could not endure GOD is brought downe and wee are hereby brought into God By death is destroyed him that had the power of death the Devill his power and interest in the Nation is utterly destroyed his kingdome of darknesse and wrath is broken downe he is cast out and shall no longer destroy the Earth nor deceive the Nation into these mad fightings one against another it is now taken from him that ruled with cruelty envy wrath folly and given to Christ who will Reign in Peace and Righteousnesse in Mercy and Goodnesse And as there is a Union wrought by this death betwixt God and the Kingdome so betwixt KING and Parliament betwen all parties and of two or many we by death are made one man as truly united as head and body as a man to himself And all Ordinances Covenants c. are abolisht Prerogative Kinglinesse is slain lyes in the dust no KING a Prisoner a Captive no Parliament a Rout a Scuffle a confused heap What can you demand of the King He hath nothing to give you mock your selves and him Why are you jealous of him He can't do good or hurt Why do you labour to save your selves from his power or revenge fear a dead power Do you think he shal returne from the grave to vex you Alas it is not he but Devils that trouble you you need not fortify your Parliament with a Militia with Acts against a dead power Or Why should the King contend for a dead Crowne or the People raise Authority from the dust How foolish and vaine are the attempts of his party Being dead on both sides in the grave Heer the wicked cease from troubling The weary Be at rest The prisoners rest together they hear not the voyce of the oppressor The small and great are heer the servant is free from his Master How is it that you vex one another It 's a hel sure and you are Devils one to another Is not the grave enough to swallow up enmity Why should the Parliament insist upon Covenants Promises Ingagements Or the King upon his Honour Prerogative Friends The Law hath power over a man so long as he lived no longer There is no bands now upon you neither party can require any thing of you You have stood it out for your principles for your parties Cavaliers for KING Rounds-heads for Parliament till you and they are all lost together All your engagements for and against each other are taken away Law is slain right property righteousnesse and truth hath forsaken the Earth it is in neither side you may lye stil and be at peace for all is dead for which you contend There doth nothing live but shame sorrow folly and madnesse and that is dead too in your death The King is dead his Majesty is slain crucified and lies in the bowels of the earth that is in his Parliament and People he is descended into us dyed into the Kingdome And hence it is that Parliament men Committee men Army City and Citizens are all become petty Kings Kinglinesse being sow'd in the earth And so though we have lost our King yet we have him in us The King is dead and our life of Majesty our Kingdome died with him we cease to be a Kingdome when our head ceased to rule and are become a herd of wilde Beasts He took us all into himself and so made a rich Sacrifice of al the glory of the Kingdome in one He dyes for us they are our iniquities that denies us the blessing of government we have the benefit of his suffering it is for us By this he comes down into the meanest subject into the worst condition of a subject bonds hee empties himself into us and fills us with Royalty and gives the lowest to have fellowship with the highest by his descending from the Throne into the Prison and his ascending from the Prison to the Throne there is an open way and passage from misery to greatnesse by this the poorest creature in England shal have accesse to the Throne for mercy and justice And the KING shal acknowledge this is my fellow subject my fellow prisoner I am and was as low as meane as he This shall fill punishments with grace and make paines and judgements acceptable from a Prince that is a Brother a fellow-sufferer This is that which onely can fit a KING for Reigning to goe by the Crosse to suffer first by which trialls and temptations he is for ever able to pitty such as are tempted and doe suffer The Parliament is dead also cannot will not out-live the KING puts off her glory with the Kings and sits downe in the dust dyes into the King as the King into the Parliament goes down into his grave follows him and there lyes wrapt up in him the life union and Majesty of the Parliament and as the King arises out of the Parliament so the Parliament out of and with the King The Parliament dyes for the People so constantly adheres to the Peoples rights that She perisheth in the obtaining of them and because She cannot by life She doth and wil by death free us The Cause that She undertook though sensibly be lost yet by her shamfull suffering is confirmed and a Testimony of blood given to a work of Reformation which is more effectual then twenty Bills And so our Parliament doth us most right not being able to help us to lye downe and bear our curse her self She dyes into the Army gives up
of each ether and passing from one to the other by and in the Spirit Ministers and People Townes Corporations Manufactures Markets Grasing Feeding all but the abundant flowings forth of the fulnesse of Christ pleased to expresse it self in such formes You are all one Common-wealth of God and Christ and in you all doth Christ suffer in that deadnes disorder spoil confusion that is amongst you doth the body of Christ suffer T is the blood of Christ that gives life to all these things and in the spilling of them his blood is spilt With him you suffer as he with you The glory riches peace and comfort of England is become a troubled Sea yea mare mortuum a dead Sea There is no life in any thing you doe no joy in your labours no comfort in your lives no hope of enjoying what you have a Chaos a great grave is England become wherein is cast all her riches But by this death is Satan the Prince of death overcome the author of your miseries the destroyer of the earth that fils you with wanes suits quarrels that sowed the tears of strife amongst Gods husbandry that hot fiery Serpent that provoaked thirst to drunkennesse that empty hungry fiend that led you to gluttony that filthy one that wrought breaches in your families discontents in your relations wasting in your estates that cursed all your blessings denies you joy mirth sports recreations Thou enemy of man art slain and with thee darknesse blindnesse mistakes accusations treacheries lies falshoods that vexed English men These hatefull quarrels between Round-head and Cavalier are dead and buried with all your transgressions one against another and all will and power to mischief one another That partition wall is broken down that kept you at distance from God and from each other that made you dark ignorant and sinfull in your way And you are now raisd in a new life The old heaven and earth is fled away because it was corrupt and we have a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwels righteousnesse In all your waies businesse trade sports neighbourhood dwels the God of righteousnesse they are all in God and God in them the goodnesse of God flows forth in them and all of them shall bee filled with the peace joy and life of God Truth stall spring out of the earth and Righteousnesse look downe from heaven The Lord shall give that which is good and our Land shall yeild her increase You are sow'd in sin in darknes and shall rise now light and holynesse and with you truth it self The true and living God shall spring up in every thing The truth of God filling all your fields with corne pastures with grasse that which is good God Himselfe your corne shall be better then Manna Angels food you shall feed continually upon the bread of life you shall lye down quietly in the armes of God and none shall make you afraid God Reigns let the earth rejoyce let all that is in it be glad you shall have mirth plenty wealth food rayment and GOD all in all You shall be Govern'd by God in peace and righteousnesse the wicked one shall be destroyed for ever Our Sonnes shall be as plants grown up in their youth our Daughters as corner stones pollished after the manner of a Palace our Garners full of all manner of store our Sheep shal bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets our Oxen strong to labour there shal be no breaking in of trouble nor going out of comfort no complaining in our streets Happy are the People that is in such a case yea happy is the People whose God is the Lord. This is the Great happinesse God is our God and we his People Now ye may sit under your own Vine and under your own Figge-tree which is the love of God shadowing you and feeding of you Let the earth be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the Sea there shall be none barren of the grace of God amongst you not a dark corner of the Earth for cruelty to dwell in but all shall bee enlightened with the joy and peace of God such a power of light and heat shal shine from the Sun of righteousnesse as shall melt the churles heart into liberality the Land-lord shall not rack you nor the Vsurer grinde you Taxes and Excise shal not oppresse you The rich shall not be a prisoner to his wealth nor the poor for want he that hoorded corne shall bring it forth the buried mony shal rise trade shall revive the hungry shall be fed the naked cloathed all happy but he that refuses and resists this grace the Devill You shall all praise the Lord from the rising of the Sun to the going down of it rejoyce in the King in the Parliament all their honour greatnesse and dominion is yours you shall have the comfort and benifit of it and from them shall you receive flouds and streames of righteousnesse that none shall want the rich shall be freed from the curse in his wealth and desire no more the poor shall be satisfied and have enough every one and every thing shall be filled And your railings shall be turned into songs your fightings into daunces your feares into rejoyceings live in love in the face of God as brethren as owe family lying in the wombe of one happy Mother England a Paradice the Land of Emanuel rejoycing in the prosperity of each other and the heavens shall blesse you the God of heaven shal shine on you Christ The true Heaven is open to you Princes Magistrats look gently upon you in love smile on you and these lowring frowning clouds that have vexed you with excesse of raine shall be scattered and these heavens shall favour you with seasonable weather you shall have all blessings of heaven and earth Thus the People are recovered from slavery under Satan and wicked men into a freedome to live in the face of God into freedome with and union to their King their Parliament and amongst themselves and so are free-borne a Nation borne in one day a Royall and Princly race a blessed and happy generation Borne of GOD and of their KING Chap. XIX The restoration of the Ministry by Christs bearing their sin and by his death and resurrection THE Ministry hath been deeply defiled and wofully accursed they lye under great sinnes and heavy judgements But here is balme for them a Physitian will cure them a fire will purify the Sonnes of Levi you are the LORDS portion GOD who said you were not my People will say you are the People of the living God Idol Shepherds are you but the GREAT Shepherd is seeking after you and will restore you The Lord is under your sinnes bears your iniquities under the Luciferian pride of Episcopacy seeking to advance themselves into worldly greatnes into Princes favour into Lordlinesse it being broken in peeces we see under it the Kingly and Priestly Office of Christ in
union the Son exalting himself from a poor minister a Carpenters Son to sit upon a Throne far above all principalities and powers In their pomp and state of living and worshipping God in an easy rich and brave way is darkly represented the glory of the Church Zion sucking the milk of the Gentiles having Kings and Queens nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers and bowing to the soles of her feet Christ in glory under this abominable filth In the Presbyterian rigid and harsh yoak of Government forcing the mindes of men into a observance of their Reformation We now see the severity of Christ and his strength and power his heat and zeal not contented with a cold formality but requiring every Sacrifice to be salted with fire a smoaky and dark shadow of the baptisme of the holy Ghost and fire Christ in power under miserable weaknes In the Independents uniting their Churches close into one intire body and keeping of them under their own immediate care and not suffering them to acknowledge any other power we see there lyes in it the pastorall care of Christ carrying his Lambs his bosome heavenly union Christ keeping his Spouse chast to himself his personall and immediate governing of them and his absolutenes and Lordlinesse over them Christ absolute and his people independent living only in and with himself In their sharp opposing one another being intolerable one to another is the zeal of the Lord of host seen his jealousy that is impatient of having his Spouse taken from him their persecuting one another a shadow of those stormes and tempests wherewith he persecutes them that take his Spouse his People from him In all these there are some particular excellencies of Christ scattered they have gotten each a peece of the seamles coat of Christ or else they could not be a rent or schisme but in all his visage is so marred his form so uncomly that he is there unknown to any even to themselves Christ bears their shame upon his own body on the tree in their shame and repoach he is reproached suffers deeply for being in such a filthy shape both from themselves and others all the honour beauty order uniformity of the Church is the Lord his face vaild and covered and now t is a ruinous heape he lies buried in it under divisions factions heresies reproach by all this his true body is broken pierced slain This is your sacrifice O yee Priests this blood must wash you and make an atonement and it is sufficient to take away your sinnes though as red as scarlet and put you again into white garments this will satisfy Gods wrath and then the rage of the Nation against you and the wrath one against another will dye Christs body is dead and you are dead you are spirit-lesse life-lesse a meer carcasse rotten sepulchers That which you fear is upon you the Witnesses are slain by the Beast coming out of the bottomlesse Pit The carcases lies in the streets of the great City scorned trampled upon your shame un-buried where our Lord was crucified Dissolved and broken amongst your selves from the People and most from the Lord your live in a miserable world and not in Heaven which only is true life and with you dies the false Prophet the deceiver the Father of lies and all the delusions of the devil and all insulting pride coveteousnesse worldlinesse malice persecution and vaine glory and by this fire of God upon you shall you be purified and cleansed By death the partition wall is broken down betwixt God and you betwixt your selves and betwixt you and your People Of two God and man heavenly and earthly priesthood made one Priesthood one new man The vail is rent and you are now admitted into the holiest and of many kindes of Priests you are one Priesthood one tribe one body in many members one Christ and you and People are one Clergy one lot and inheritance the people Priests with you and you people with them all the Lords People holy their jealousy and enmity your pride and loftinesse being taken away God will not suffer his holy one to see corruption But will raise you up together with Christ Levi shall never want a man to minister before him If you can break the covenant of the day and of the night that there should be no more day nor night in their season then may also my Covenant bee broken with David my servant c. and with the Levits the Priests my ministers The night of their calamity shall be followed with a day of rejoycing And though the Sun have set upon the Prophets yet it stall rise again David and Levi shall have heires Christ shall have Kings and Ministers Kings propheticall or priestly anointed with fulnes of spirit for both and Priests Regall or royall to govern the house of the Lord. Now Joshua thou great high priest and thy fellowes men wondred at I le take away thy filthy garments from thee and will cloath thee with change of rayment I le remove thy iniquity off that land in one day and bring forth the branch The Lord and all his twigs growing out of him full of the Spirit of God in the compleatnesse and fulnes of the spirit seven eyes upon one stone much light and understanding The Lord himself shall be the Temple ministers people gifts all we shall all worship in the house of God for ever now are you Divines indeed holy men men of God one with the holy divinity shining in the brightnes and majesty in the wisdome and judgement of God Anointed with holy Oyle cloathed with beautiful garments of righteousnesse truth and peace Now raisd out of the dust as the stones of Zion as dried bones restored to life by the Spirit of the LORD God sends a plentifull rain showers of righteousnesse whereby thou wilt confirme Levi thine inheritance when it was weary The Lord gives the word Arise and great is the company of them that published it Though ye have lain among the pots Kitchin Priests that have served for the belly Now as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her set hers with yellow gold Winged now with the Dove the Spirits strength in the purity and excellency of silver and gold by heavenly and holy gifts we shall fly aloft and live alwaies in the clearnes and light of God not in the basenesse and foulnesse of the world Christ ascended on high and will give liberal gifts all kinds Bishops Presbyters Independents Apostles Evangelists Pastors c. yea for the rebellious also that the Lord God may dwell amongst them God streaming himself forth in all varieties of Offices and Officers none in vaine all filld with grace and power Now in this restored condition all one with God indeed spirituall and heavenly of pure gold And one with and amongst themselves as Stars of severall magnitude moving in there distinct Orbs all glorious lights yet differing in an excellent variety one from another
in glory and all pleasant and usefull one to another And in union with the State or Kingdome You were divided you kept them from medling with Spirituall things and they in requitall and revenge excluded you from Civill things you both in your dark and worldly state made lawes against each other The heavenly or spirituall men must not medle with earthly affaires they defile them nor earthly men act in heavenly or spirituall Thus were you cruell and unkinde to your selves and to each other one setting up an Heaven without an earth the other an earth without a heaven These in the Lord are married together in perfect union the same Lord being by the same spirit King and Priest and administring his Church and Kingdome together they are joynd in the King and must run down in fellowship together into the lower parts Now truth springs out of the earth You shall have God and Christ in the truth of the Spirit springing up in all your civill affaires in all your Lawes Statutes customes nothing else but heavenly truth and all your businesse civill and naturall shall be holy to the Lord blessed Ordinances of Heaven you shall be in all of them in the light of God and minister in Gods presence Vpon the horse bridles upon the pots upon all things written holinesse to the Lord And righteousnesse shall look down from Heaven Heaven shall shine forth to you righteous lawes You shall see the same things done in Heaven that are done in the earth looking in each others face and answering one another heer in THIS world earth will be no burden to Heaven being new and Heaven no trouble to earth no stranger when shee shewes her face and looks out she is the same thing and both joyning together salvation springs forth of them the Earth by her fellowship with Heaven brings forth good fruit peace righteousnesse and justice for the Land and the Earth without Heaven brings forth nothing but cold dead Lawes and Heaven without Earth but airy phansies both in conjunction make a compleat happinesse Now shall we meet together all Sorts in a generall assembly in the light of Heaven as golden candlesticks The holy one walkes in the midest of us emptying the golden Oyle by golden pipes from his golden self into his golden vessels his ministers And in this holy assembly sitting in the light of God all things shall be manifest to us wee shall see the whole forme of the house of God all the doors windows and pillars of it nothing of its statutes and ordinances shall be hid from us no error shal go undiscovered unrefuted all that have gon astray shall be brought back the ignorant shall be instructed the opposing and dissenting convinced and the obstinate rejected and cast out such a harmony and consent of hearts and mindes in this love and light must needs bring forth blessed fruit What ever is true in any religion we shall owne what is false we shall judge The darkness of Popery shall fall before our light we shall undermine the Kingdome of darknesse and set up truth in that beauty and majesty as shall gain all hearts upon such firme pillars as none can move her Wee feare not Papists nor all their strength we shall need no Lawes against them but The Law of the Spirit of life which wee know will over-come them The Gates of our Heavenly Jerusalem shall be open night and day let who will come in or go out No Vncleane thing shall enter into us But all the KINGS of the Earth all the wisdome state pompe and glory of Rome and all the World must bring their glory to this City this New Jerusalem And all the Nations upon Earth that shall be saved shall walke in the light of it Chap. XX. Of the restoration of the Army Levellers and City of London THE Army is but a particular part and that temporary and occasionall and is by this bright shining of the Sun of Righteousnes meltted into a generall peace and unity but lying under a particular condemnation it shall receive a particular discharge And we know thy imployment is so irksome and unpleasant to thee To be the kingdomes Gaoler to keep war in and peace out or to stand in the way to the Tree of life with a flaming sword to keep men from the injoyment of their liberty KING peace though thou art commanded to it by God these things being yet forbidden the people yet thou wilt be glad to be released from it that thou and all other may come into the Paradise of God and feed together upon the fruit of Divine peace and love There is under thy assuming power over the Kingdome King and Parliament and all and in thy maintaining thy Military power above and against the Civill in thy seeking thy owne subsisting and attempting to bee the Kingdomes Lord and restorer The Lord cloathing himself with zeal as with a garment incompassing himself about with flames of fire A Man of War a Lord of Hosts Casting away his Fatherly Government because of the Nations rebellion in all parts against himselfe and ruling us with a Rod of Iron God marching before us out of Egypts slavery into a Wildernesse turning us from a Civil Government into a Wildernesse and incamping in the midest of us and administering Laws to us as at sinai in thundering and lightning clouds and darknensse so terrible that makes all tremble A yoke that neither we nor our Fathers are able to beare And so we see Gods severity under mans iniquities And because it is the Lords Rod we kisse the Rod and love you for it Death is proper for this administration The Lord our Husband the Law dies wee were bound to honour you so long as you lived in the power and goodnes of God The whole Kingdome bowed before you while you led us safely through the Wildernes But Moses cannot bring us into Canaan but must only have a view of it and dye at mount Nebo This power is weak through the flesh and cannot do it if you contend now to effect any thing it is but the Devil striving for the body of Moses you are labouring to set up an honourable carcasse or to call back life into a dead body Christ did come into it and hath offered it up in his owne body and naild this power fast to the Tree you are dead fixt to the tree of shame by the curse with your Lord and by death you shall over come more then ever you overcame by life submitting to death your wils reasons lusts your seeking a worldly Kingdome your desire of lording it over others by force of armes with all your projects are slaine and all enmity in you against others and others against you Death hath disbanded you easd you of your hellish and wrathfull imployment Reconciled you to all and all to you brought you from being Turkish Janisaries to bee English men You are disolved into a body of love into GOD
with God God with him drink of this health freely and the whole Kingdome shall PLEDGE be bound to fill it again and drink down this heavenly liquor of the Majesty of God in the King into them and the whole people shall say and see it performed GOD SAVE THE KING The King is saved in God and God the salvation of the king This restoration fully satisfies the Parliaments Interest gives her high PRIVILEDGES She is called to an honourable state to live in the Lord Christ to sit with Christ in heavenly places to be one with the Son the body of God to be Jerusalem above the mother of us all and therefore FREE free with God and in God with the King freedome to enter into his heart and bosome to lye there continually The king shall greatly desire thy beauty Thou now hast POWER as well as liberty to make Righteous Lawes in perfect Righteousnesse that shall stand for ever such a King and such a Parliament as we have long beg'd to agree together in just things and in both we shall reap the fruit of our prayers which though they were sowed in weaknesse and now seem dead and rotting in the earth yet shall rise in power The great Interest of the Parliament the COVENANT is here fully satisfied The end that we looked upon HAVING THE GLORY OF GOD IN OUR EYES that glory is now manifest God in glory All Popery c. rooted out and the root of it Satan a thorow and perfect REFORMATION God once formed the Kingdome after himself in his owne likenesse in which it corrupted he hath taken down the old forme and sets up a new reformes us in State and Church now we shall have doctrin and disciplin according to the WORD OF GOD the true and eternall Word the Word it self brought forth and according to the example of the BEST REFORMED CHURCH The generall assembly in heaven c. We have the KING in honour the KINGDOMES heavenly and earthly UNITED and a strong bond that will binde these three and all the Kingdomes of the earth in one life law and peace By this THE POWER OF GODLINES is set up Godlines likenesse of God in Spirit in Power or God himselfe all things else being but a forme We have here PROPRIETY God our own God we restored to him and hee to us his own Vineyard Every one shall enjoy what he hath in peace and coveteousnesse the root of oppression destroyed every one shall have enough every one shall bee satisfied have so much as hee hath ability to beare and others shall freely part with that which hath been burthensome to them selves none have more then they want and all that they want all in such a condition place office as they are fit for as they are capable of Every one having a minde to his condition and a condition to his minde every one by Divine wisdome so disposed as he shall rest in it and not move after others there being no discontent but in hel which is in perpetuall motion after every thing and attains to nothing THE LORD SHALL BE ONE AND HIS NAME ONE in both Kingdomes There is now but one LORD all gathered into Christ hee is LORD indeed and his name written upon every thing in Church and State nothing but the Lord spoken and done amongst us in heaven and earth in England and Scotland The Spirit of the Lord running through these Kingdomes and through all persons in it ruling over all in and by himself the whole shall be called by this Name The Lord and so not only one man but one Lord there being nothing but the glory and righteousnesse of the Lord amongst us This is that which we have desired and attempted to set up THE KINGDOME OF CHRIST THE REIGN OE THE SAINTS The holy God holy Christ holy Spirit with holy men and Angels Reigning together This rich LO RD filling all Magistracy with justice all People with love our Ministry with truth our hearts with heavenly joy all our Laws with life and light our Cities with unity and wealth our Villages with plenty our Families with content our Persons with happinesse our King especially with honour glory safety ease of heart clearness of understanding a sweet injoyment of his Queen and Children the Parliament LORDS and COMMONS with perfect agreement majesty goodnesse love of the King and peoples prosperity This is a true PERSONAL TREATY wherein King and Parliament and all the people are together one person one body living in one Spirit Thus the Lord is Englands desire and Englands joy him we sought for him we finde God gives us all that we desir'd and more then we could ask or think of and that too in a more excellent way then we could imagine T is the Lords doing and t is marvellous in our eies T is the day of the Lord we will rejoyce and be glad in it T is thy self O God Englands life and soul and England is thy delight thy first-borne of all the Nations of the earth T is thy self out saviour and salvation T is thy justice hath took vengeance upon our inventions and saved in that vengeance T is thy power triumphing in our weaknesse thy mercy rejoyces in our deliverance thy wisdome shines forth that brings light out of darknesse turnes mourning into rejoycing makes our Tragedy end in a Comedy a seasonable deliverance now when all miseries and destructions are met together in our bowels a cleare Sun to break forth of a suddain out of such blackensse of darknesse as covered us Thou hast carried us through death to life yea through thy own death to thy own life T is by blood wee are saved by the blood of Christ Thou hast done all things well thy workes are all excellent and perfect Let the People praise thee O God yea let all the People praise THEE FINIS Poscript THese are the Leaves of the tree of Life that will give a new life to this Nation and will heale all her deadly maladies but the leaves not the fruit yet effectuall It 's written here weakely it shall be mighty in operation imperfectly expressed now but fully and accurately will it write forth it self in action T is death to resist them The rebellious do dwell in a dry land in hel Particular persons may be confounded the Nation is the Lords and shall be recovered hee that opposeth all the evils of the Kingdome shall gather into his heart and hee shall bee the common shore into which the Nation shall empty forth all ber plagues wrath and destruction leave the Kingdome and dwell there thou shalt cease tormenting the Nation and torment them that resist You see the Leaves I know you desire the Fruit that is indeeed the life of all you shall speedily injoy it all the glory and happinesse of this Nation beer expressed and of all the Nations of the earth and heaven too shall in its highest perfection dwell in every particular soul This and every peece of it and more ten thousand times then this shall in the purest and fullest glory of Father Son and Spirit Grown every Saint and fill his soul body relations calling businesse recreation and all with the Righteousnesse and Light of Heaven and the Face of God Errata Page 2. line 21. for were read weare p. 16. l. 25. for Mame r. Name p. 45. l. 2. for see their r. see their p. 55. l. 16. for Mation r. Nation l. 22. for them selves and families r. himself and family p. 57. for Chap. 11. r. Chap. 13. p. 81. l. last for a second r. as a second p. 82. l. 29. for dody r. body p. 88. 13. for stall r. shall The Contents CHAPTER I. SHewing the happy and flourishing condition in which the kingdome of England once stood and the ground of it pag. 1. CHAP. II. Shewing the kingdome of England in its corrupt and declining estate pag. 6. CHAP. III. Shewing the kings errours pag. 10 CHAP. V. Shewing the Parliaments errours pag. 18 CHAP. VI. Shewing the judgement upon the Parliament pag. 26 CHAP. VII Shewing the sinne and punishment of the People of both partyes pag. 29 CHAP. VIII Shewing the wickdnesse of the Ministery or Clergy and their judgement pag. 32 CHAP. IX Shewing the iniquity of the Army and its judgement pag. 39 CHAP. X. Shewing the state of the Levellers pag. 45 CHAP. XI Shewing the judgment of the City of London pag. 47 CHAP. XII Shewing the irrecoverablenesse of Englands ruine by humane wayes pag. 50 CHAP. XIII Shewing the method of God in curing the Nation viz. first to take our sinne upon himself pag. 57 CHAP. XIV Of the second thing in saving of the Nation The death of Christ and our fellowship in it pag. 62 CHAP. XV. Of the compleat cure of the Nation shewing it in its raised state and particularly the king pag. 69 CHAP. XVI Of the Parliament in its raised estate pag. 74 CHAP. XVII Of the perfect union betwixt king and Parliament and by them with his People in this new and raised estate pag. 76 CHAP XVIII Of the cure of the people of the Land by this death and resurrection pag. 87 CHAP. XIX The restoration of the Ministrie by Christs bearing their sin and by his death and resurrection pag. 90 CHAP. XX. Of the restoration of the Army Levellers and City of London pag. 97 CHAP. XXI Of the admirable fulnesse of this restoration satisfying all Interests FINIS