whatsoever might any vvay offend thy most holy eyes Though I be weake and unworthy and have had exceeding many slips wants and faylings yet for the worthyness of thy Christ admit of those though so feeble desires which thou hast vouchsafed me Giue me my press-money the earnest and seale of thy holy Spirit My heart is prepared to doe thee the faithfullest service that ever thou shalt enable me Lord by such poore weake Wretches and at their praiers thou hast bin wont to get thy selfe the victorie that no flesh should rejoyce in thy presence but that all glorie honour and praise may be given to thee alone for evermore Reasons to be seriously weighed that onely such can looke or hope to have acceptance here 1. THat these onely are in a true League Covenant with God and thereupon are such as his heavenly Majestie doth not disdaine to call his Friends as Abraham was called the Friend of God And therefore they though they be but dust and ashes may presume through the merit of the Lord Iesus to intreat even for filthy Sodom yea to importune his heavenly Majesty and expect to obtaine of him that if there bee but ten righteous persons in five wicked cities he wil spare all for ten sake These onely are fit men to helpe by their prayers to rescue their Brethren out of the hands of Sathan and of all their cruell enemyes vvhich have carried them away Captives and who do so insult triumph over all and over the Lord himself as thinking that they have already made a conquest of all These are the men and these alone vvhich can with Moses stay the lords hands that he should not destroy his people These are they to whom God can deny nothing Onely these who having thus put their shooes off their feet are fit with that holy Moses to stand before the Lord to be sent to fetch his people their brethren out of Egypt from the Tile-killes and to pull them out of the middest of the fire These are with Aaron thorow the continuall intercession of our great High-Priest meete to helpe to pacifie the Lords displeasure towards the remnant of his people to stand betweene the living and the dead These being supported by Aaron and Hur can holde up their hands till God have got himselfe a glorious victory against Amalek These and these alone are able with Iosuah to cause the Sunne to stand still so farre as the Lord shall see it best for his owne glory until he shall be avenged of all his enemies and therfore much more may they be confident in matters of less moment For vvhat cannot the prayer of Faith bring to passe These men are able with Eliah to moove the Lord so farre as in his divine wisedome he shall see it best to send fire from Heaven to consume their Sacrifices and to make knowne to all that he hath accepted them And moreover to move the Lord to manifest to all the World and that as clearely as if hee spake from Heaven who is the Lord which is his true religion and which the false who they are that are the true children of Iesus Christ and who they are of the otherside that are the Servants of Sathan and Antichrist who are with him who against him These are they who vvith Mordokey and Hester and the rest of the faithfull amongest the Iewes are able to obtain the reversing of that most bloody decree procured by wicked Haman against Gods people although it be to doe all the decrees of the Medes Persians such as to man seemeth impossible euer to bee reversed and to cause Haman to be hanged upon his owne Gallowes To turne the plot devised agaynst Gods people to their joyfullest day a day to be remembred for ever a day of shame and confusion to all Gods enemies These are they whose praiers come up before the Lord as the prayers of holy Daniel Cornelius and Peter and who may looke for an answer from heaven at the evening Sacrifice above all that they can imagine even by the ministery of Gods blessed Angels so farre as shall be best These are they that in the greatest perils of the Church may hope through their praiers with holy Paul to save themselves and all in the Ship with them in such sort as the heavenly Wisedome shall see it best that at least they may swimme out though for not hearkning unto the Lord in time they may all first suffer shipwracke and be 〈◊〉 into the Sea These are they with whom at their cryes our Lord Iesus will be as he was with those three Worthies of the Captivitie in the middst of the hot fiery Furnace and in the verie Lyons den with holy Daniel to stop the mouthes of those hunger-bitten Lyons that the least hurt shall not come unto them more then shal be for his eternall glory with the greater good of his Church People and by whose trialles our blessed God and tender Father hath made knowne the truth of his Religion and of his causes with the innocencie of his people to Kings Princes and Rulers and to cause it by them to be published as it were to the world like as he did when it was commanded by them to bee spred and divulged in all the Dominions of the mightie Monarchs and so from them to goe to all other Nations with whom any of them had any trafficke or familiaritie And by whom he hath beene wont to effect accomplish his owne glorious workes as he hath foretold above all that any of his owne deerest Servants could ever imagine oâ—… could have beene perswaded of by any humane reason that they could ever haue bin brought to pass And thus much for this generall Meditation viz who they be that exclude themselves and also who they are and who alone that can ever looke to be committed as approved of the Lord for this blessed and glorious worke And how wee must strive to passe thorow all the difficulties before wee can approach with any true confidence and assurance to put our hand hereto and much more so as to bee able to preuaile with our God to bee made as his Israel and what confident boldnesse we may houe herein for that if wee bee such as these our God is stil the same hee is not changed neither is there with him any variablenesse or shadowing by turning The seuenth generall Meditation That the Lord notwithstanding graciously cals all sorts to be his helpers herein and therefore every one who will not strive to bee of this number and come to bee on his side must perish and doth iustly bring upon himselfe swift damnation IN this seuenth place the Lord would have us seriously to lay to heart out of all these Meditations the blessed estate and honour of them who are called and admitted to
other the people of the Lord to a lively sense and tender feeling hereof so farre as God enables us and offers uâ—… opportunity The first particular Meditation of this second generall point concerning the calamities dangers of our bretheren in all places and those threatened towards our selves and the chiefe meanes of deliverie and preservation from them FIrst wee are to lay to heart how many of our Bretheren the deare children of our heavenly Father for whom our Lord and Saviour hath taught us thus to cry as for our selves Our Father are now in grievous calamities of all sortes that many others of them are in extreame perill to bee forthwith utterly destroyed and devoured by the rage and power of Sathan and of his bloudy instruments That we also our selves with all the rest of the Churches and sincere Christians in all the world are in extreame danger every moment of time as any of the designes of the Iesuits or other mercilesse enemyes take place if our heauenly Father doe not still protect and preserve us And therefore as very many of our brethren abroad are in continuall feeling of their miseries and of our heavenly Fathers most heavy displeasure against them for all their undutifulnesse crying at his feet for his Fatherly pitty love compassion to deliver and saue them so we ought likewise to doe for them even so many of us as are alreadie assured or ever will assure our owne soules that wee are his naturall children and hereby doe desire to declare our naturall and childlike loue and feare in seeking to appease his displeasure that hee may spare his people And much more are wee to seeke to prevent or mitigate the same heavy displeasure kindled against our selves and hereby to stay the â—…age of Sathan Antichrist all of us being hated and devoted alike to destruction by the malice of the Serpent and his cruell instruments all of us having provoked our heavenly Father alike yea we more then any other to leave us into their hands to be so tried by them untill we be truely humbled in feeling our disobediences and be sensible of our provocations of him by our want of commiseration towards them and of not taking warning by their example That thus wee may lift up our cryes to heaven that hee in the tender bowels of his compassion may both succour and rescue them and also save us from the liâ—…e miseryes which seeme ready to rush upon us for all our sinnes and provocations Wee are withall to labour to bring our hearts to a right consideration that our heavenly Father hath in the riches of his mercy ordained Rulers Governours and all in lawfull and holy authoritie especially Kings and Queenes to bee in his place as nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers to his poore children to deliver and pull them out of the iawes of the dragon to carry them in their armes and in their bosomes from the fury and violence of the Serpent and to preserve and protect them that they may profess his name in peace and safetie and that therefore Sathan must needs maligne them above all other even for this especially And likewise that hee hath ordained the prayers of his people and children to obtayne this at his hand so to incline the hearts of all Kings and Princes and all in authority to pitty them The second particular Meditation of the second generall How he hath beene wont principally to get himselfe glory in saving his Church by Princes and Governors SEcondly wee are to labour to bring our hearts to a true understanding and feeling hereof that as the Lord hath been wont to glorifie his great name in former ages thus in his pittifull compassion saving his Church and Children by Kings and Princes and other deliverers raised up for them and like as hee hath magnified his power and Fatherly care so oft before our eyes in such miraculous and gracious preservations of us of this nation and other our brethren abroad unto this day especially when wee were in the midst of the fire so hee can and will magnifie it againe in a most wonderfull manner if we that are his children can but give him glory in being unfainedly humbled for our owne sinnes and the sinnes of his people and can meete him in faith by intreaty of peace crying instantly unto him Glorifie Lord thy great name doing onely as he commandeth And seeing all the bloody enemyes of Christ and his Church seeke to trample his glory under foote he will therefore the rather get himselfe glory upon them as upon Pharaoh before all the world when we shall be rightly prepared for the same The third particular Meditation of this second generall That as Sathan and Antichrist haue set themselves to fight against Christ his kingdome so our Saviour hath ordained Kings and Princes to hold up his Scepter and to defend and protect his Subiects and Gospell THirdly wee are to bring our hearts to a due consideration and deepe pondering hereof how as the Gyants before the floud so Sathan his Souldiers haue set themselves to fight against heaven and the hoast thereof yea even against Iesus Christ our Lord King and how they have cast downe his Scepter Throne and Dignitie and trample his crowne under their feet in all the places where they have prevailed and where they beare rule over Gods poore heritage And that as they haue begunne and fearefully prevailed in manie places so they haue resolued to proceed throughout the earth to set up Sathan and Antichrist in the very Throne of our Lord Iesus Christ to defile again his Temple to make his house againe a den of Theeves That Antichrist may fit againe as God in the Temple of God yea in those very places where he hath beene formerly long cast forth so that the zeale of his house euen in this behalfe should eate us up And also wee are to bring our soules to a true sense hereof that as they thus seeke to tyrannize over his people and children to leade in triumphes as captives both our Lord Iesus himselfe and his armies and to keepe under all that belong to the Lord Iesus as slaves for ever so our Saviour hath on the other side ordained and appointed Kings and Princes under him to hold up his Scepter even his heavenly Gospell and that he hath likewise decreed and ordained that even those of them which before had given their power unto the beast to fight against his Soveraigne Majesty and against his people should againe withdraw all their power from the beast when they shall see his wickednesse fully discovered and give it wholly unto his heavenly Majesty to accomplish all his will in making the Whore desolate and for the aduancement of his euerlasting Gospell when they shall truly behold the power and glorie thereof The fourth particular Meditation of the second generall How
mercy And the crie of his servant Which are haue bene so hated 2 Chron. 36. Nothing can give us any true security but our unfeigned repentance Till this nothing but expectation of some dreadfull scourge The remooving of our Candlesticke heavier then all other outward iudgements how we deserve it And to have their Idolatry set up Knives at oâ—… throats Some of these to be feared for want of performance of ouâ—… Coâ—…so oft renewed by vs As in 〈◊〉 Fasts since The peaceable bringing in of our gracious Soveraigne At our deliverance from the hellish Furnace So many wayes witnessed How these must either worke the performance of our promises or arme the Lord against us Not to rest till we have brought our hearts to consider our dissimulation with the Lord. Psal. â—…07 6. 12. 19. â—…3 That we are now so farre further off from repentance That all begin to be almost out of hope oâ—… it How Iudah went further then we Even to a generall renewing the covenant outwardly Yet starting backe The Lord brought that Captivitie Notwithstanding all other meanes of their security To be thinking of the removing the Candlestick from other Churches Though God spare the wâ—…ole at the 〈◊〉 of â—…is deerest Yet everie particular soule not turning and helping must perish Kings Princes ordained and used to bring Gods people to repentance As by Moses c. As by Moses c. To pray therfore as for all of them so chiefly for our dâ—…ead Soveraigne That all may inquire wisely into the causes of all â—…heir evils That all is from the lord to bring us to repentance that hee may spare us And he may take our caus in hand By seeing how our sin is increased And our dangers And by inquiring the meanes to pâ—…isie the wrath And setting themselves to the speedy execution thereof To labour to prevaile for all herein cheefly for our dread Soveraigne bringing thus the greatest deliverance by his hand Lâ—…ad us not into temptation bâ—…t deliver us from evill To Meditate how Sathan having gotten the Church into the wildernes there exerciseth his tyrany on it Sathan seekes to cause all Gods people to fall away or to dissemble for fearâ—… by their miseries To provoke the Lord more against them Or to doubt of Gods favor soundnesse of their religion or faith Or whether they haue any Faith Thence to melancholy distempers To accuse themselves falesly The effect of the right Meditation of these How iustly God may leave Sathan to stand up against us as against Israel Euen against all the Churches but us pâ—…ially How Sathan roares uppon the Churches See Statesmysteries of the Iesuites The earth hitherto caused to helpe the Church Iust feare left our course should bee comming thorow Sathans wonderfull prevailing The right Meditation heereof will make us to cry loude Leade us not c. The fourih branch All the miserâ—…es of the Church chief ly from the Dragon Pastors and Watchmen ordained to preserve Gods Children to bee stirred up heer â—…unto at their cries They that cannot cry to be delivered from the tempter to helpe to deliver their brethreÌ„ must endure all miserie with him For thine is the Kingdome c. To meditate That the Kingdome is our Christs Apoc. 11. 15. Sathan Antichristâ—… sight onely against him Apoc. 16. 23. 24. How they have sent forth their croaÌ„king frogs To stir up all to battle against Christ Iesus To thrust him out of his throne And to destroy all his people We may iust ly thinke this the battle of the great day That though the Lord thus permit them to prevaile to harden them to pursue his people into the Sea Yet there he will get himselfe the victory When his people shall cry unto him Though there be mighty Kings against him and for Antichrist Yet the Lambe sâ—…all over come them That they shall give their power to the Lambe to make the Whore desolate To provoke our selves to more instant crying for the full accomplishment of this To consider how the whore is discovered to all 〈◊〉 mysteries of the Iesuits Layed forth to be visibly beholden of all to be of Sathan by his cheefe workes viz. lying and murther Received her deaths wound by her owne hands in the Powder treason And will fall being spent by her owne violent and bloody rage 4. branch That our Saviour hath clearly foreshewed her destruction of all who receive her marke Revel 19. Made the hoast of heaven to reioyce thereat Made proclamation to all to come to be inriched by her spoiles 5. branch That he will destroy every one that is not on his side Amen To reioyce that Christ is that everlasting Amen Who will performe every word which he hath spoken And is comming quickly After our seeing the order which the Lord takes in saving his Church and necessitie of prayer to be carefull we be such as the Lord calleth to helpe him Our certaine direction by the Lords prayer Our Father That having Christs call in our eares We make sure we be the true children of our heavenly Father by the true marks thereof 2. Pet. 1. 4. The first branch of this meditation more particularly to make this sure That we may not deceive our selves herein we are to thinke What ones we are by nature 1. Cor. 15. 47. Eph. 2. 2. Iohn 8. 44. Eph. 2. 3. 2. What ones we must be by grace 3. That we never rest in using the meanes untill we be such In regard of our miserable estate we stand in till then And more for the horror which will come oâ—… us when our consciences shall be awaked And our blessed estate of the contrary when can we finde our selves Gods Children Meanes cheeâ—…y the word and prayer For obtaining the principall graces Repentance Faith In ouâ—… repentance to 〈◊〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Change 4. If such yet to labour to increase in our assurance in walking before him in more hprightnes Two lessons to be ever in memory to this end 1. That there is but one narrow way of life Iâ—…numerable leading to destruction 2. That one directed onely by Gods word The generall whereof is comprized in the Catechisme For Faith Conuersation Helpes in ouâ—… iourney the Sacraments For more strength so to walke earnest prayer 5. To pray thus for our Brethren as well as our selves that they may have the same assurance and so manifest themselves for their heavenly Father and for the good of all their Brothren as we doe To remember al ioyntly 6. To pray more specially for all in authority As in Gods owne place For the succour comfort of all the rest of their Brethen Bearing his owne name and ordained for this end Esay 49. That they may chiefly be indued with all excellent graces As in the first ranke Better to provoke all the rest And chiefly those peculiar to their places That we may performe all duties to them of honour Obedience Thankfulnes Therein those three Acknowledgment Hearty
impenitently for that they are both blinde and deafe They see not Gods wrath rushing on themselves much lesse can they see it rushing on others They perceyve not our sinnes Nor any tokens of Gods displeasure Nor the furie of the Churches Enemies Nor the multitude of Locusts sent out of the bottomless pit Nor heare the cryes of Gods poore children much lesse his call to repentance Gods wrath upon all such in blinding their eies hardening their hearts Esay 6. 9. 10. Rom. 11. 8. Rom. 11. 9. Esay 56. Esay 22. Especially upon all blind watchmen calling for all the beasts to destroy Psal. 14. 6. All the threatnings in the booke of God against such sins sinners are against them Not any one promise untill they repent Psal. 50 14. 15 4. Reason Every notorious sinner helpes to pull downe the vengeance on all Esay 5. 5. All excluded who have no compassion of their Bretheren in their miseryes If they doe not adventure themselve for their brethreÌ„ â—… Reason 6. None can be right helpers but onely those vvho can more lay to heart the causes of God and his people then their owne None mâ—…ete but they who indeavour to turne from every evill way Mat. 5. 29. And to receive the love of every part of Gods truth 2. Thess. 2. 10. Rom. 1. 21. Ezek. 14. 3. Though they flatter themselves God will not be mercifull to them Deut. 29. 19. Deut. 19. 20. But will give them up to be deluded 2. Thess. 2. 11. And in the end to a reprobate sense Rom. 1. 28. Ezek. 14. 14. That Gods owne Prophets shall helpe to deceive such Iohn 9. 31. Prov. 28. 9. Psal. 66. 18. None but they who in all things indeauour to be with our Saviour are true disciples Mat. 12. 30 Our danger in approaching neere to our God with out a warraÌ„t 2 Sam. 6 7. Numb 24 40 41 c. Deut. 1 41 45. Exod. 19 24. Math 22 11 12 13. Onely they who are so qualified as the Lord requires are the men whoÌ„ he cals Esay 6 8. â—… Cor. 1â—… 9. These only in a true league with God Deut. 16 17 18 19. These fit to helpe to rescue their Brethren from Sathan To stay the Lords hands Exod. 32. 20. â—…4 To whom he can deny nothing These fit to fetch Gods people out of Egypt Thesemeet to pacific the Lord and to stand betweene the living and dead To hold up their hands against Amalek To make all creatures to be for his people untill he haue got himselfe the victory Heb. 11. 1. King 18 38 39. To move the Lord to manifest the truth of his religion 1. King 18 36 37 38 39. Dan 3 6. To reuerse Hamans dedecree Hest. 8 5 6. Hest. 7 8. Hest. 8 18. The prayers of these ever come up before the Lord and they may surely expect an answere in his due time Acts. 10 10 11 12 c 30. Dan. 9 20 23 24. These may hope with Paul to save themselues and all in the ship Acts. 27 24. With these will Christ Iesus be in the fiery Furnace and the Lyons den Dan. 3 24 25. Dan. 6. 22 23. And in their greatest tryals make their innocency his religion knowen Dan. 3 29 30 31 c. Dan. 4 33 34 Dan 6 22 23. Conclusion of this generall Meditation Who meete How we must strives heereto And what confident boldness we may then have Iam. 1 7. The blessed estate and honour of all admitted to this worke and contrarily God excludes none but who exclude themselvess But cals all That all are iustly damned who come not to helpe Some reasons shewing that he cals all to helpe if ever they will see his face with ioy He cals all to be with him He cals all to regard him in his members Mat. 25. To repent turne from all their evill wayes that they may live Rom. 10. 20. 21. Ezek 18. 21 22 30 31 32 c. 33 11. The Lords protestation He calls all to his Covenant Lev. 26. Deut. 28. He calls all to pray as he hath directed God calls all to lay hold of all the promises of mercy Without limitation of time Ezek. 18. 21. 22. Psal. 95 7. Or exception of sinne Ezek. â—…8 Esay 55. 3. Or person Numb 21. 8. 9. Iohn 3. 14. 15. 18. And calls all to behold all the examples in his booke of receiving poore sinners Luk. 15. 10. The favour such are in upon their repentance Luke 7. 47. Never any such a one reiected Rom. 5. 20. Three things to be thought of ever untill we be of this number That the Lord hath ever stood still stands knocking at the heart of every impenitent sinner Chiefly of all in his Church By his word And Sacraments As Baptisme And the Lords supper And by the good motions of his Spirit And now at this time louder then ever By all the tokens of his displeasure Rage of the enemie Our favours This helpe More particularly â—…e stands at the heart of every one reading this or the like admonition That they would repent of their impenitencie To have their soules clensed Chiefly of ungraciousnesse in keeping out the Lord Iesus Christ will come to such a one Rev. 3. 20. 2. Cor. 3. 9. And contrarily to them who harden their hearts against Christ Iesus The sound of his calls shall ever be in their eares affrighting them Exhortation to all to heare now Dan. 4. 24. Psal. 95. 7. To thinke what it is to refuse Christs call to ioyne with Sathan and the damned Such to bethinke themselves what they will doe when Christ comes Apoc. 14 4. When all threatned against them shall be fully executed For the evidence hereof To behold the fearfull spectacles Of men tormented with horror of conscience in the Scriptures In daily examples How they are tormented in conscience for particular slips or failings How these 〈◊〉 indure the flashings of hell fire Iob. 7. 15. If it be so with these heere Though they be most deer unto the Lord. What shall become of all impenitent sinners And chiefly of all Christs enemies 1. Peter 4. 18. 19. If the righteous be scarsly saved how they If paine of a tooth be so great what shall their totall torment be These sufficient to convince all Deut. 30. 19. 20. How God sets before us life and death blessing cursing Life if we will harken to his call That we shall not need to feare Nor be dismaied for loosing all Mat. 19. 27. Mat. 10. 37. 38. Luke 14. 26. But contrarily have boldnesse Prov. 28. 1. Rom. 8 35. 36. Rom. 8. 35. 36. Be more then Conquerours Ron. â—… 37. Death and cursing in not yeelding to him Deut. 30. 19. 20. Our estate when feare shall come on â—…s of a sodaine Prou 1 27. Prou 28 1. Iob 15 20 21 22. Deut 28 63 c. 1 Sam 25 37 38. God bids us choose life Deu 30 25. 20 We cannot thinke that any one was ever reiected who