all for all or against all when and by whom he please for as his Wisdom is unsearchable so his Power it is unresistable though the Instrument he may use among wise strong rich and learned men may be mean and contemptible But ever since that I have been precious in the Eyes of the most great and glorious God I have been honourable therefore I have not coveted after Silver or Gold Houses or Lands Offices or great Places but I have laboured and coveted to get and to keep to prove and to improve Rich Graces that so my Fruit may be better than Gold and may do more good for the Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion for the great Exaltation of His Majesty of Great Britain and the great Peace and Prosperity of many Kingdoms than an Army of Men or thousands or ten thousands of Gold or Silver has done I have no grace but what I have received so I have none to be proud of I have not received any but what I have laboured to improve so I have not any to be prodigal with the least grace which I have received from the God of all grace I do esteem it above all the Honours and Riches in the World because that true Grace it is abiding satisfying lasting and everlasting but for the Honours the Riches and Pleasures of this World they be short they be not abiding satisfying nor long-lasting therefore they that would have Grace which is Heavenly Treasure to thrive in their Soul they must value and esteem it above Silver and Gold To be made Partaker of the Divine Nature it is high Honour and great Favour The Righteous shall be glad in the Lord because they trust in him and all the upright in heart will glory Salvation comes not from the Mountains nor from the Hills not from wise strong rich and learned men but from the Lord who made the Earth and the Heavens and that when and by whom he will that all the Glory may redound to him for his right Hand and holy Arm hath the preheminence over all persons in all Nations Let them shout for joy and be glad that favour my Righteous Cause yea let them say continually Let the Lord be magnified which hath pleasure in the Prosperity of his Servants and my Tongue shall speak of his Righteousness and of his Praise all the day long for he hath done marvellous things All the Ends of the Earth that have not seen will see the Salvation of God He maketh Wars to cease unto the End of the Earth He breaketh the Bow and cutteth the Spear asunder and burneth the Chariots in the fire when he pleaseth and by whom he please in these days of the Gospel and in the Reign of our Royal Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain They that trust to their Chariots and Horses will fail but they that trust in the Lord Jehovah in the use of Means and above Means will prevail There is a River the Streams thereof will make glad the City of God which is the Church of God throughout the whole World For one fair Flood doth send abroad such pleasant Streams apace to refresh the City of our God and to wash his Holy Place Is not the Mighty God in Sion Go walk about and go round about her tell the Towers thereof mark ye well her Bulwarks consider her Palaces that ye may tell it to the Generation following for God who is most wise and most strong is with her and is known in her Palaces for a Refuge She is Beautiful for Situation the Joy of the whole Earth is Mount Sion and the City of the great King The Kings of the Earth in these days of the Gospel and in the Raign of our Royal Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain they will admire her Wisdom Power and Strength her Honours Riches and great Glory Shall Deliverance be at hand and the Church of England at a stand Shall there be a Well of Water near Hagar and she weep and be in distress Who hath heard such a thing who hath seen such things Shall the Earth be made to bring forth in one day Or shall a Nation be born at once For as soon as Sion travelled she brought forth before her pain came she was delivered of a Man-child Shall the Lord who is most Wise and most Strong bring to the Birth and not cause to bring forth or cause to bring forth and shut the Womb saith thy God No it will not be for in these days of the Gospel and in the Reign of our Royal Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain the God of Heaven has many Sons and Daughters that are grown up and many to be brought up and more to be brought forth in the use of the Means of Grace which he has appointed and the Church of England has ordained but all the Children of the Most High that are brought up and grown up and to be brought forth all is to be in opposition to the Turk the Pope and the Devil and all the Workers of Evil which will tend very much for the Glory of the Great and Mighty God for the Credit of his holy Gospel for the great Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion the great Joy and Triumph of the Church of England the great Exaltation of His Majesty of Great Britain and the great Peace and Prosperity of many Kingdoms O that the Sons and the Daughters of Men were wise for to make an Improvement of the Wisdom and Power of the God of Heaven which is better than Strength or Weapons of War or Silver or Gold As for the Wisdom that is in the World among unbelieving Jews bruitish Atheists wicked and bloody Papists and rebellious Dissentors and Sectaries it is foolishness and doth many times end in madness for where Envy Strife and Contention is it brings forth too often Sedition and Rebellion But the Wisdom that is from above it is pure and peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie but where Pride Envy Strife and Contention is there is Confusion and every evil Work Now a good man and a bad man will be known by their Fruits for of Thorns men do not gather Figs nor of a Bramble-bush gather they Grapes but every Tree will be known by his own Fruit. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good that which is suitable and seasonable prositable comfortable and advantageous to many Persons and Families in a City and in a Kingdom But an evil man who is a wicked man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil to the great hurt and undoing of too many Persons and Families in a City and in a Kingdom It is commendable for the Sons of Men the wisest the strongest the richest and the most learnedst among them for to have always their heart to be Inditing
Encouragement from Wise Strong Rich and Learned Men though it tends for the great Honour Peace and Prosperity of them But having an eye to the Recompence of Reward which is the Crown of Life that Crown which will never Rust when all the Honour and Glory of this World will be laid in the Dust I have Ventured my Life Endangered my Liberty and have Exposed my self to many Losses Crosses and Reproaches to be Blam'd Sham'd and Condemn'd by many Men for Engaging with the God of Heaven for to make known his mind for the great Joy Peace and Prosperity of Mankind But that God that has Encouraged me and Assisted me in well doing will Protect me and Reward me in due time for well doing They that can deny themselves and overcome themselves for to lay out themselves for his sake and the Gospel will in this World receive a Hundred-fold of Joy Peace and Comfort and in the World to come Eternal Life which they will want that be afraid or asham'd to own him and to appear for him in the worst of times and before the best of Men They that deny him before Men he will them before his Father and Holy Angels in Heaven But they that Confess him here he will them there The time is come that the God of Heaven will not be Slighted and Mocked by the Sons of Men as he has been too long and too much by many of them as by Unbelieving Jews Bruitish Atheists Wicked and Bloody Papists and Rebellious Dâ—ssâ—nâ—ers and Sâ—staries But as in these Gospel Days they wâ—â—l not Know Fear Love Serve and Honour him he will be Honoured upon them in bringing of them to great Shame and Consusion as many have sound and more will find if that they will not Cease to do Evil and Learn to do well but they that will Honour the God of Heaven he has promised to Honour them in this World sometimes it may be with Honours Riches and a long Lise but in Heaven it will be with all that have been Faithful and Fruitful for the great Honour of God the King and Nation in their Generation in this Life he will Reward them in Heaven with Glory Immortallity and the Crown of Life The Eyes of the Lord are upon the Righteous both to behold them and to uphold them for his Eyes run too and fro throughout the whole Earth to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose Heart is perfect towards him to Assist them to Counsel Comfort and Strengthen them and to Defend them and to Punish and Wound them that do Offend them that do Slight and Undervalue them that be as dear unto him as the Apple of his Eye They be his Peculiar Treasure his Crown and Glory his Portion and his great Reward though the Men of this World sees no Excellencies or Beauty in them yet by them that be most Wise they be Counted Excellent Persons for they be the Salt of the Earth the Light of the World the City on a Hill they be Men of great Ability and Nobility for Nobility they have the Creator of Heaven and of Earth to become their Reconciled Father his only and beloved Sons who is the Lord of Life and the King of Glory their Elder Brother the Holy Ghost their Counsellor and Comsorter Angels their Life-Guard the best of Kings and Queens their Royal Nurses Ministers their Servants and the Devil and all Wicked Men their Slaves Do I say Ministers their Servants are not all the Angels in Heaven Ministring Spirits sent forth to Minister for them who are and shall be Heirs of Salvation So that great is the Honour of the Sons of the Most High though they be Slighted and Undervalued in this World by the Workers of Iniquity Who can tell what great things the God of Heaven has laid up for them whom he has provided so many to Honour and to Wait upon some to Ennoble them some to Counsel and Comfort them some to Guard and Regard them some to Provide and Nourish them many to serve and to wait upon them He that has given them his Son who is the High and Mighty one the Chiefest of Ten Thousands will he not with him freely give them all things that shall be most suitable and seasonable Profitable and Comfortable and Advantageous for their Comfort in this Life and their Happiness in a better In this World the Wisdom the Power the Honour and the Glory of the Heirs of Heaven the Members of Christ doth not well appear because that their life is hid with Christ but when he shall appear who will appear with his Mighty Angels and in his great Glory then what will become of them that know him not and have not Obeyed his Gospel they will be Punished with Everlasting Destruction from the Presence of this great Lord and from the Glory of his Power But then he will be glorified in his Saints and admired of all them that believe for he will Change their Vile Bodies that have been upon Earth and make them like unto his most Glorious Body which is more Glorious than the Sun in the Firmament to be for ever with him in whose Presence is fulness of Joy and at whose Right Hand are Pleasures for ever more in this World A true Believer is a Man of Wonder because he has the Devil and the World under his Feet and Christ in his Heart who is the Hope of Glory and the Crown of Glory to them that Believe in him and make an Improvement of him And as a true Believer is a Man of Wonder many times to himself so sometimes the God of Heaven will make him a Son of Thunder against the Turk the Pope and the Devil and all the Workers of Evil against all that do Slight and Undervalue the Word of God and Question his mighty Power It is not Men nor Angels but the God of Heaven that has made me a Wonder to my self a Terror to his Enemies and a Crown and a Glory to all them that be Faithful to him to our Royal Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain to the Protestant Religion and to the Church of England The God of Heaven is no Respecter of Persons he that loveth Truth and worketh Righteousness will be Accepted and Rewarded but all the Workers of Iniquity will be Ashamed Confounded and Destroyed He is not a Righteous Man that is not a Humble and a Holy Man a Wise and a Faithful Man a Valourous and a Couragious Man in his Generation for the great Honour of God the King and Nation For Men to want these Graces they will be found Unacceptable to the God of all Grace Unprofitable to them that want Grace and Uncomfortable to themselves in every State and Condition but to have these Graces in Truth and to produce their Fruit will Procure and Secure Men in the Favour of the God of Heaven and of the Wise and Mighty Angels in Heaven and of all them that be
faithful to the God of Heaven to the Protestant Religion and the Church of England Would Men be Wise Strong Rich and Honourable Persons most Excellent Persons more Precious than Gold or the Gold of Ophir they must labour to get and to keep a Sound Heart which is the Life of the Flesh a Wholsom Tongue which is a Tree of Life and Righteous Lips which are the Delight of Kings He that Loveth Pureness of Heart for the Grace of his Lips the King will be his Friend The Heart of the Wise teacheth his Mouth and addeth Learning to his Lips The Wise in Heart shall be called Prudent and the Sweetness of the Lips Increaseth Learning The Wise shall Inherit Glory but Shame will be the Promotion of all them that do prefer the Pleasures of Sin that lasts but for a Moment above the Gain of Godliness that lasts for Ever Godliness it is great Gain and will bring Men to great Fame that be Faithful to the God of Heaven to his Annointed our Royal and Gracious Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain to the Protestant Religion and the Church of England To Fear the God of Heaven and to Honour the King His Majesty of Great Britain it is true Religion which is taught in the Church of England There is no Place Calling or Condition that will Honour Men if that they be not Careful to Honour God and our Royal King in them For what-ever Honours and Riches that Men do get if that they do not Honour the God of Heaven and His Majesty of Great Britain their Honours and their Riches will prove uncertain and their Lives will prove uncomfortable But if that Men will do that Worthy thing as to know when and how for to Honour the God of Heaven and our Royal Soveraign His Majesty of Great Britain in this World it will bring them to great Fame and in Heaven with Holy Angels for ever to Remain If there be Joy in Heaven at the Conversion of a Sinner how much more ought there to be in the Church of England when this Sinner shall bring forth the Fruits of Righteousness for the Glory of the great and Mighty God for the Credit of his Holy Gospel for the great Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion and for the great Exaltation of His Majesty of Great Britain which will bring great Joy and Triumph to the Church of England and great Peace and Prosperity to many Kingdoms They that would bring great Honour to the God of Heaven and to His Majesty of Great Britain must get a Sound Heart and to get a Sound Heart Men must Labour to get a Sound Faith which is more Precious then Gold and doth require more Wisdom Power and Skill to Prove it Improve it and to know when and how for to Manage it than it is to Sway a Scepter and to Rule a Kingdom and more Honour than it is to wear any Earthly Crown This I declare that no Subject whatsoever should Desire or Covet after the Growns and Scepters of Kings and Princes in this World but if that Men will Covet after a Crown let it be an Immortal one which the Righteous Judge will give to all Faithful ones for those that be Faithful to the Death he will give the Crown of Life That Crown which will never Rust when all the Glory of this World will be laid in the Dust A Sound Faith is more Precious then Gold or the Gold of Ophir because it will purifie the Foulest Heart it will in time make a mean Man Honourable a Poor Man Rich a Weak Man Strong a Sick Man Well and a Dying Man Happy which all the things in this World cannot do Divine Faith which is more Precious than Gold it is the Gift and Power of the great and mighty God it is not in the Power of any Mortal Men to give it to their Nearest and their Dearest Friend Parents cannot give it to their Children nor Ministers to their People but the Lord gives it when he will and to whom he will in the use of those Means that he has appointed and the Church of England has Ordained and that is hearing the Word of God Preached Divine Faith which is more Precious then Gold comes by Hearing but not for Hearing Hearing the Word of God is the Instrumental Cause but our Saviour is the Original Therefore he is worthy for to have the Honour and the Glory of the Actings of every Mans Faith because that he is both the Author and the Finisher of it And though it is not in the Power of all the Ministers of the Gospel in London or in England to beget a Spark of Faith where it is not yet it ought to be their great care to take notice where it is wrought and to Countenance and Encourage that Person that has it for to bring it forth because that it is such a Spark that it will in time break forth into a Flame for the Glory of Gods great Name and to put the Turk the Pope and the Devil and all the Workers of Evil to Shame and to bring His Majesty of Great Britain and the Church of England throughout the whole World to great Honour Renown and Fame And that without having a Sword in the Hand of Men or Money at Command without making a Noise about Religion without making of many Words or having the Voice much heard As Divine Faith is a High and Honourable Grace because it is the Gift and Power of the Great and Mighty God so it will Enable a Man for to prepare High and Honourable Work Pleasant Profitable and Delightsom Work Victorious Glorious and Crowning Work that will try the Wisdom and the Skill the Valour and the Courage of many Wise Strong Rich and Learned Men what they can do and what they will do in these Days of the Gospel and in the Raign of our Royal Soveraign for the great Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion for the great Joy and Triumph of the Church of England for the great Exaltation of His Majesty of Great Britain and for the great Peace and Prosperity of many Kingdoms that so many Nations may be freed from Slavery and in the whole World there may be great Joy Peace and Prosperity Faith that is true works by Love and Love seeks not her own but the great Joy Peace and Prosperity of many a one in Court City and Countrey As the God of Heaven is a Wonder-working God a Victorious and a Glorious God so Divine Faith which is more Precious than Gold is a Wonder-working Grace a Victorious and a Glorious Grace That Grace which will Enable a Man for to set a-work the Wisdom and the Power of the God of Heaven will Enable him to set a Work the Wisdom and the Power of Martial Men Great are the Noble Acts Recorded in Holy Writ that Gods Worthies have done by the Power of Faith not by the Power of the Sword by the Power
is a Garden inclosed a Spring shut up a Fountain sealed from the world but it is in the World The men of the World will condemn many that do profess Religion for they love their own and will not quarrel contend and slight one another so much as they that be for this Party and that Party for this Opinion and that Opinion and all against the Church of England It has been want of love to God and to Fellow-members that has caused so much Strife and Contention Sedition and Rebellion for about Fourty years that it has been only the Lords mercy that we have not been confounded nor consumed long before now But shall we still provoke the Lord to anger who is most Great and most good will he not provoke us to anger even to the shame and confusion of our own Faces if that we will not Conform and Reform to him and to the Government of the Church of England Has not the Church of England Enemies enough from the Church of Rome to Encounter withal But must she be slighted and undervalued vexed and perplexed by them that should readily and willingly assist her but not in the least resist her What ever Wisdom Power Courage or any Grace any Member has received in the Church of England they ought to prove it and improve it and to know when and how for to manifest it for the great peace and prosperity of the Church of England and not to make a noise about Religion to be the Head of this Party or that Society that is divided from the Church of England This is that which makes Mutiny and Confusion it argues too much self-seeking and will prove unto many self-undoing As all the Members of the natural Body act for the good of that Body so all the Members of the Church of England ought for to act for the great Honour Peace and Prosperity of the Church of England or else they be not for her but against her The mighty God who is most Great and most Good will plead thy Cause O Church of England therefore let the Tuâ—k the Pope and the Devil and all the Workers of evil combine and design to undermine and overthrow the Church of England they will be deceived confounded and for ever ashamed The Lord of Hosts hath purposed and who shall disannul it And his hand is stretched out and who shall turn it back Is not destruction to the wicked and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity Therefore let not any Envy or Fret at the prosperity of the Wicked but rather let them be pitied For if that they do not bring forth good Fruit in due season they will soon be cut down like the Grass and wither as the green Herb But the Salvation of the Righteous is of the Lord he is their Strength in the time of trouble he will help save and deliver them because they trust in him but the Transgressours will be destroyed together the end of the Wicked is to be cut off the Lord of Hosts hath broken the Staff of the Wicked and the Scepter of the Rulers For Babylon the Glory of Kingdoms the Beauty of the Chaldees Excellency will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah How art thou fallen from Heaven O Lucifer Son of the Morning How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the Nations The Lord of Hosts will rise up against Babylon and cut off from them what he has promised the Name and Remnant and Son and Nephew saith the Lord. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual Stroke He that ruled the Nations in anger is persecuted and none hindreth Then this Proverb will be taken up against the King of Babylon and many will say How hath the Oppressor ceased the golden City ceased that made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the Cities thereof that opened not the house of his prisoners Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming it stirreth up the dead for thee even all the chief ones of the earth it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the Nations all they shall speak and say unto thee Art thou also become weak as we Art thou become like unto us thy pomp is brought down to the grave and the noise of thy Viols the worm is spread under thee and the worms cover thee for thou hast said in thy heart thou wilt ascend into heaven thou wilt exalt thy throne above the stars of God thou wouldst ascend above the heights of the clouds thou wouldst be like the most high Yet thou shelt be brought down to hell to the sides of the pit they that see thee they shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee saying Is this the man that made the world to tremble that did shake kingdoms The Lord of Hosts who is most wise and most strong will punish the World for their Evil and the Wicked for their Iniquities He will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the Terrible And when the Lord hath performed his whose Work upon Mount Sion and on Jerusalem he will then punish the stout heart of the King of Assyria and the glory of his high looks Shall the Axe boast it self against him that heweth therewith Or shall the Saw magnifie it self against him that shaketh it As if the Rod should shake it self against them that lift it up Or as if the Staff should hit up it self as if it were no wood Cannot the Potter do with the Clay as he please As the Clay is in the hands of the Potter so are all men in all Nations in the hands of the Lord of Hosts to rule and over-rule them at his will and pleasure Therefore let all the Inhabitants of the World fear him let them tremble at his presence who has placed the Sand for the bound of the Sea by a perpetual Decree that it cannot pass it though the Waves thereof toss themselves yet can they not prevail though they roar yet can they not pass over it And shall the Workers of Iniquity the Seed of evil Doers the Children of Disobedience the Enemies of the Gospel rage and fret and combine and design to undermine and overthrow the Workers of Righteousness those that be faithful to the Protestant Religion and to his Majesty of Great Britain and the Church of England but it will tend to their own shame and confusion For the Righteous will slourish but Destruction will be to the Workers of Iniquity though they may make a Covenant and Agreement with Death and with Hell when the over-flowing Scourge shall pass thorow that it may not come unto them but they will be deceived because they have made Lyes their Refuge therefore their Covenant with Death shall be disanulled and their Agreement with Hell shall not stand When the over-slowing Scourge shall pass thorow then they shall be trodden down by it
to the Faint and to them that have no Might He increaseth Strength he discovereth deep things out of Darkness and bringeth out to Light the shadow of Death He increaseth the Nations and destroyeth them He enlargeth the Nations and straiteneth them again He taketh away the Heart of the Chief of the People of the Earth and causeth them to wander many times in a Wilderness where there is no way They grope in the dark without light and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man He breaketh down and it cannot be built Again He shutteth up a Man and there can be no opening He with holdeth the Waters and they dry up also He sendeth them out and they overturn the Earth when he pleases With him is Wisdom and Strength the Deceived and the Deceiver are his If he cut off and shut up or gather together who can hinder him He sitteth upon the Circle of the Earth and all the Inhabitants before him are as Grashopers He stretcheth out the Heavens as a Curtain and spreadeth them out as a Tent to dwell in Therefore let all the Sons and Daughters of Men learn to know fear love serve and to honour this great and mighty God whose Wisdom is unsearchable whose Power is unresistable whose Goodness unexpressible and whose Love is unchangeable and according to his Power so will his Anger and his Wrath be against the seed of evil doers and the workers of Iniquity Who can or will say that there is not a God that made the World and don 't govern the World Have ye not known Have ye not heard Hath it not been told you from the beginning Have ye not understood from the Foundations of the Earth that the Everlasting God the Creator of the Ends of the Earth fainteth not neither is weary There is no searching of his Understanding even the Youth shall faint and be weary and the Young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord will renew their Strength they will mount up with Wings as Eagles they will run and not be weary and walk and not faint Let who will glory in their Wisdom Power and Strength in their Honours Riches great and high Places I will glory in my Weakness and Infirmities and in my Insufficiency that I that have nothing comparatively and am nothing seemingly yet from Gods All-sufficiency I have Wisdom Power and Strength for to understand his Mind for to make it known in due time for the great Joy Peace and Prosperity of Mankind in these days of the Gospel and in the Reign of our Royal Sovereign his Majesty of Great Britain Who will rise up for me against Evil Doers Or who will stand up for me against the workers of Iniquity Unless the Lord who is most Great and most Good had been my help my Soul before now had dwelt in Silence but the Lord of Hosts has been with me and is with me as a mighty terrible One Therefore they that be incensed against me for engaging with him for the glory of his great Name for the Credit of his Holy Gospel for the great Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion for the great Joy and Triumph of the Church of England for the great Exaltation of his Majesty of Great Britain and the great Peace and Prosperity of many Kingdoms they will be ashamed if not confounded Let all praise him for their Wisdom their Power their Honours their Riches their Great and High Places Let all praise him daily for their Health their Strength their Liberty for their Food their Rayment their Habitation and for the Peace and Prosperity of their Friends and Relations yea of their very Enemies And praise him for all Losses Crosses and Reproaches for they will work for the good of them that love God for God had great love to the Sons of Men when they were Enemies unto him To this end the most Wise God who is the God of Love and Peace has sent and continued from Generation to Generation his Gospel which is the glad Tydings of Salvation That so among the Sons of Men and the God of Heaven there might be a great and a lasting Reconciliation God is Love he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God and God in him He that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen It is Love to the God of Heaven and to the Sons of Men that has enabled me to deny my self to overcome my self and to lay out my self in so noble a Design as for the great Joy Peace and Prosperity of Mankind as for the great Honour and Renown of the Protestant Religion for the great Joy and Triumph of the Church of England for the great Exaltation of our Royal Soveraign his Majesty of Great Britain and for the great Joy Peace and Prosperity of many Kingdoms They that will be willing to engage their Heart Soul Strength Will and Affection in the Service of God he will give them Wisdom Power and Strength to make them able As the Lord doth by his own Wisdom and Power rule and over-rule all Nations as one Man so he can with the same Wisdom and Power with one Man when he please to make bare his Arm for his Arm is very long and very strong and that his Enemies will know the Turk the Pope and the Devil and all the workers of Evil to their great shame and overthrow and that in these days of the Gospel and in the Reign of our Royal Soveraign his Majesty of Great Britain The Lord thy God O Church of England Reigneth be the People never so Impatient he whose Dominion it is from Sea to Sea and from one end of the World to the other Therefore let the Righteous rejoyce and be glad and shout for joy of heart but all the workers of Iniquity the seed of Evil Doers the Children of Disobedience will be ashamed and confounded if that they will not Conform and Reform to the Protestant Religion as it is Establisht in the Church of England when the Lord who is most Great and most Good doth inable a Mortal Man for to understand his Mind to have done what is remarkable he will inable him to make it known in due time that it may be recordable Wise Men lay up Knowledge till a fit time and he that hath Knowledge spareth his Words till a fit season and a Man of Understanding is of an excellent Spirit that knows what when and how that may be done which tends for the great Honour Joy Peace and Prosperity of a King and Kingdom How much better is it therefore to get Wisdom rather than Gold and Understanding above choice Silver because it will give unto them that do imbrace it an Ornament of Grace and a Crown of Glory How forcible are right Words but what doth Arguing reprove to contend for this Opinion and that Opinion It has been a great shame to the Protestant Religion and the
he was killed by two of his Sons they that should have been his best Friends were his worst Enemies What got Ambitious and Proud Haman who plotted and contrived the destruction of many Thousands of the Jews but the ruine of himself and all his Posterity for both he and his Ten Sons were Hanged for such Treachery But yet the workers of Iniquity the Seed of Evil doers the Children of Disobedience are not afraid nor ashamed to combine and design to destroy the Righteous although the Righteous Lord who is most Wise and most strong doth defend them and will Wound and Consume them that do offend them What says our Saviour who is the Lord of Life and the King of Glory It were better that a Milstone were Hanged about the Neck of unbelieving Jews Bruitish Athiests wicked bloody and deceitful Papists and rebellious Dissentors and Sectaries than to offend the least Member that doth believe in him because they be as dear unto him as the Apple of his Eye they are his purchased ransomed and redeemed ones they are his chosen and beloved ones They are the travel of his Soul and for them he has prepared both a Kingdom and a Crown which is immortal and unchangeable but there is not any of the Sons and the Daughters of Men that can merit or purchase it in what they can do or suffer therefore say unto the righteous be what they will where they will and whom they will that it will be well with them It will be well with them here in their worst condition and under their greatest Tryals Troubles and Afflictions but it will be better with them hereafter for Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard nor the Heart of Man is not able to conceive what God has laid up for them that love him but wo unto the Wicked unto all the workers of Iniquity because it will go ill with them they will have the fruit of their own doings of their own works and not the fruit of Christs merits and purchase because they do slight and undervalue him and will not be ruled by him who is the wisest Counsellor the best Comforter and the greatest Suporter who is a present help in time of trouble But the Wicked the Seed of Evil doers the Children of Disobedience the Workers of Iniquity the Enemies of the Gospel do many times fall into trouble and their Friends leave them the Devil hates them and God forsakes them but whosoever they be that hearkeneth unto the Lord so as to abey him will dwell safely and be quiet from the fear of Evil much more from the lust of Evil but for the Workers of Iniquity the Seed of Evil doers the Children of Disobedience though Hand joyn in Hand they will not be unpunished but many times Transgressors and the Workers of Iniquity are destroyed together What got the Spanish Armado whom the Pope called the Invincible Armado presuming no power could with-stand them much less overcome them But it pleased the Lord who is most great and most good to help his Hand-maid Elizabeth Queen of England of Blessed Memory that they was so in giving her a Victorious and a Glorious Conquest barer'd and scater'd so defaced and disgraced that they will never recover while they be a Nation And that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works unto the Children of Men when that the Enemies of the Gospel do what they can to destroy them But though they should dig as deep as Hell from the Eye of Men yet the Eye of God doth alwaies see them What got the bloody Papists the Gun-powder Traytors by combining and designing to undermine and overthrow with one blow Religion Laws and Liberty Nobility and Gentry Yea all the Royal Family But it pleased the Lord whose Wisdom is unsearchable to help the King to understand the Traytors Treason and to give that Wisdom to his Majesties Royal Grand-Father King James of England of famous Memory that his Friends did Admire him and his Enemies was Confounded by him for he soon apprehended the Plot and gave speedy order for the discovering and securing of the Traytors which was soon done and they brought to their deserved shame and ruine for they were taken in their own Nets did fall into their own Pits and there violent Dealings came down upon their own Pates The Lord who is most wise and most strong will not cast away a perfect Man neither will he help the Evil doers but Evil doers will he cut off but they that wait upon the Lord will inherit the Earth In these Gospel days and in the Reign of our Royal Sovereign his Majesty of Great Britain great will be the Peace of the Church of Christ through the whole world but especially in England Scotland France and Ireland therefore many will come and Sing in the Right of Sion and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord for Wheat and for Wine and for Oil and for the Young of the Flock and of the Herd and their Soul shall be as a Water'd Garden and they shall not Sorrow any more at all as they have done then will the Virgin rejoyce in the Dance both Young Men and Old together for the Lord will turn their Mourning into Joy and will Comfort them and will make them Rejoyce from their sorrow and it will come to pass that like as the Lord hath Watched over his People to pluck up and to break down and to throw down and to destroy and to afflict so will he Watch over them to Build and to Plant and he will gather them out of all Countries whither he hath driven them in his Anger in his Fury and in great Wrath and the Lord will bring them again unto his Holy Place to worship him in a right Manner And he will cause them to dwell safely and he will be their God and they shall be his People and the Lord will give them one heart and one way that they may fear love and serve him for ever for the good of themselves and of their Children after them And because the Sons and the Daughters of Men do too often forget to remember their Creator Redeemer and Preserver he will make an Everlasting Covenant with them that he will not turn away from them to do them good but he will put his fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from him yea the Lord will rejoyce over them to do them good and will plant them in his Land with his whole heart and with his whole soul assuredly For as the Lord who is most wise and most strong has brought great evil upon his people for their rebellion so will he bring upon them all the good that he has promised that so they may be humbled and reformed for the goodness of God should lead men to repentance but not unto disobedience He that knows his Masters will and doth it not shall be beaten with many stripes All