to the repentance whereof Restitution is required Oh when a man hath not onely devoured Widdows houses Matth. 23.14 but also they have passed the first and second Concoction in his sttomack yea when they are become blood in the Veins yea sinews in the Flesh of his Estate Oh then to refund to mangle and disintire ones demesnes this goeth shrowdly against flesh and blood indeed But what saith the Apostle flesh and blood shall not inherit the Kingdome of God Yet even this Devil may be cast out with Fasting and Prayer Matth. 17.21 This Sin notwithstanding it holdeth VIOLENT POSSESSION may by those good meanes and Gods blessing thereon have a firm Ejection XLI A Free-will offering WHen Iob began to set up the second time he built his recruited estate upon three bottoms 1. Gods blessing 2. His own industry 3. His friends charity Iob 42.11 Every man also gave him a piece of money and every one also an Ear-ring of Gold Many drops meeting together filled the vessel When our patient Iob plundred of all he had shall return again certainly his loyall subjects will offer presents unto him though they alas who love him best can give him least Surely all is not given away in making the golden Calfe but that there is some left for the businesse of the Tabernacle But surely those have cause to be most bountifull who may truly say to him what David said humbly to the God of Heaven Chron. 1.29.14 Of Thine Own have I given unto thee XLII A good Anchor ISaac ignorantly going along to be offered propounded to his father a very hard question Gen. 22.7 Behold the fire and wood but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering Abraham returned God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering But was not this Gratis Dictum of Abraham Did not he herein speak without-book where and when did God give him a promise to provide him a lamb Indeed he had no particular promise as to this present point but he had a generall one Gen. 15.1 Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward Here was not only a lamb but a flock of sheep yea a heard of all cattel promised unto him It hath kept many an honest soul in these sad times from sinking into despair that though they had no Expresse in Scripture that they should be freed from the particular miseries relating to this War Yet they had Gods Grand Charter for it Rom. 8. 28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are the called according to his purpose XLIII Eyes bad not object I Looked upon the wrong or backside of a piece of Arras it seemed to me as a continued Non-sence there was neither head nor foot therein confusion it self had as much method in it a company of thrumbs and threads with many pieces and patches of severall sorts sizes and colours all which signified nothing to my understanding But then looking on the Reverse or right-side thereof all put together did spell excellent proportions and figures of men and cities So that indeed it was an History not wrot with a pen but wrought with a needle If men look upon our late times with a meer eye of Reason they will hardly find any sence therein such their huddle and disorder But alas the wrong side as objected to our eies whilst the right side is presented to the High God of Heaven who knoweth that an admirable order doth result out of this confusion and what is presented to him at present may hereafter be so shewed to us as to convince our judgements in the truth thereof XLIV Ever Never WE read Psalm 55.19 Because they have no changes therefore they the wicked fear not God Profanesse is a strange Logician which can collect and inferre the same conclusion from contrary premises Libertines here in England Because they have had so many changes therefore they fear not God Iacob taxed Laban Gen. 31.41 Thou hast changed my wages ten times I have neither list nor leisure to enquire how farre our alterations of Government within these few years fall short of that number But it is a sad truth that as King Mithrydates is said to have fed on poyson so long that at last it became ordinarie food to his bodie so the multitude of changes have proved no change in many mens apprehensions being so common and ordinary it hath made no effectuall impression on their spirits Yea which is worse they as if all things came by casualty fear God the lesse for these alterations XLV Hear me out I Must confesse my self to be what I ever was for a Commonwealth But give me leave to state the meaning of the word seeing so much mischief hath taken covert under the Homonymy thereof A Common wealth and a King are no more contrary then the Trunk or bodie of a tree the top branch thereof There is a Re-publick included in every Monarchie The Apostle speaketh of some Ephesians in the 2. and 12. Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel That Commonwealth is neither Aristocratical nor Democratical but hath one sole and single Person IESUS CHRIST the supreme head thereof May I live if it may stand with Gods good will and pleasure to see England a Commonwealth in such a posture and it will be a joyfull Object to all who are peaceable in our Nation XLVI Mons Mobilis I Observe that the Mountains now extant to fall under a double Consideration Those by Creation Those by Inundation The former were of Gods making Primitive Mountains when at the first his Wisdome did here sink a vale there swell a hill so to render the Prospect of the Earth the more gratefull by the alternate variety thereof The second by inundation were such as owe their Birth and being to Noah's floud when the water lying long in a place especially when driven on with the furie of the wind corroded an Hollow and so by consequence cast up an Hill on both sides For such Mountains of Gods making who either by their birth succeed to Estates or have acquired them by Gods blessing on their lawfull industrie good successe may they have with their wealth and honour And yet let not them be too proud and think with David That God hath made their mountain so strong it cannot be moved but know themselves subject to the Earthquakes of mutability as well as others As for the many mountains of our Age grandized by the unlawfull ruine of others swoln to a Tympany by the Consumption of their betters I wish them just as much Ioy with their greatnesse as they have right unto it XLVII Not invisible A Waggish scholler to say no worse standing behind the back of his Tutor conceived himself secured from his sight and on this confidence he presumed to make antick mocks and mouths at him Mean time his Tutor had a Looking-glasse unknown to the scholler before his face wherein he
deputed of the King to hear hee But we know the English Proverb Ill will never speaketh well Let us do that justice to David yea to our own judgements not to beleive a gracelesse Son and Subject against a gracious Father and Soveraigne Some male-contents Ismaels whose Swords are against every one seek to bring a false report on the Parliament as if the Clergie must expect no favour not to say Iustice from them because there are none in the House elected and deputed either to speak for them or hear them speak for themselves Time was say they when the Clergie was represented in the House of Lords by two Arch-Bishops and four and twenty Bishops Time was when the Clergie had their own Convocation granting Subsidies for them so that their purses were onely opened by the hands of their own Proxies but now though our matters be good and right there is no man deputed to hear us I am and ever will be deaf to such false and scandalous suggestions if there be four hundred and odd because variously reckoned up in the House of Parliament I am confident we Clergie-men have four hundred and odd Advocates for us therein What Civill Christian would not plead for a Dumb man Seeing the Clergie hath lately lost their voice they so long had in Parliaments Honour and Honesty will ingage those pious persons therein to plead for our just concernments IV. Atoms at last I Meet not either in sacred or profane writ with so terrible a Rout as Saul gave unto the host of the Ammonites under Nahash their King 1 Sam. 11.11 And it came to passe that they which remained were scattered so that two of them were not left together And yet we have daily experience of greater scatterings and dissipations of men in their opinions Suppose ten men out of pretended purity but real pride and peevishnesse make a wilful seperation from the Church of England possibly they may continue some competent time in tolerable unity together Afterwards upon a new discovery of a higher and holier way of Divine service these ten will split asunder into five and five and the purer moyetie divide from the other as more drossie and feculent Then the five in process of time upon the like occasion of clearer Illumination will cleave themselvs into three and two Some short time after the three will crumble into two and one and the two part into one and one till they come into the condition of the Ammonites so scattered that two of them were not left together I am sad that I may add with too much truth that one man will at last be divided in himself distracted often in his judgment betwixt many opinions that what is reported of Tostatus lying on his death-bed In multitudine controversiarum non habuit quod crederet amongst the multitude of perswasions through which he had passed he knoweth not where to cast Anchor and fix himself at the last V. An ill Match DIvine Providence is remarkable in ordering that a Fog and a Tempest never did nor can meet together in nature For as soon as a Fogg is fixed the Tempest is allaid and as soon as a Tempest doth arise the Fogg is dispersed This is a great mercy for otherwise such small vessels as boats and barges which want the conduct of the Card and Compass would irrecoverably be lost How sad then is the condition of many Sectaries in our age which in the same instant have a Fogg of ignorance in their judgments and a Tempest of violence in their affections being too blind to go right and yet too active to stand still VI Down yet Up. HYPOCRIT in the native Etymologie of the word as it is used by ancient Greek-Authors signifieth such a one qui alienae personae in Comoedia aut Tragoedia est effector et repraesentator who in Comedy or Tragedy doth feigne and represent the person of another In plaine English Hypocrite is neither more nor less then a Stage-player We all know that Stage-players som years since were put down by publick Authority and though something may be said for them more may be brought against them who are rather in an Employment then a Vocation But let me safely utter my too just fears I suspect the fire was quenched in the chimney and in an other respect scattered about the house Never more stange Stage-Players then now who weare the vizards of Piety and holiness that under that covert they may more securely commit sacriledge oppression and what not In the days of Queen Elizabeth a person of Honor or worship would as patiently have digested the LYE as to have bin told that they did weare false Pendents or any counterfeit Pearl or Iewels about them so usual in our age yet would it were the worst peece of Hypocrisie in fashion Oh let us all labor for integrity of heart and either appear what we are or be what we appear VII Caleb all heart I Was lately satisfied in what I heard of before by the confession of an excellent Artist the most skilful in any kinde are most willing to acknowledge their ignorance that the mystery of Aneiling of glass that is baking it so that the colour may go clean thorow it is now by some casualty quite lost in England if not in Europe Break a peece of Red glass painted some four hundred years since and it will be found as red in the middle as in the out sides the colour is not onely on it but in it and thorow it Whereas now all Art can perform is onely to fix the Red on one side of the glass and that oft time so faint and fading that within few years it falleth of and looketh pyebald to the eye I suspect a more important mystery is much lost in our age viz. the transmitting of Piety clean thorow the heart that a man become Inside and Outside alike Oh the sincerity of the ancient Patriarchs inspired Prophets holy Apostles patient Martyrs and pious Fathers of the Primitive Church whereas onely outside sanctity is too usual in our age Happy the man on whose Monument that character of Asa 1 King 15.14 may be truely inscribed for his Epitaph Here lyeth the man whose heart was perfect with the Lord all his dayes Heart perfect Oh the finest of wares All his dayes Oh the largest of measures VIII Fye for Shame COnsidering with my self the causes of the growth and increase of impiety profaness in our Land amongst others this seemeth to me not the least viz. the late many false and erroneous Impressions of the BIBLE Now know what is but carelessness in other books is impiety in setting forth of the Bible As Noah in all unclean creatures preserved but two of a kind so among some hundreds in several editions we will insist onely on two instances In the Bible printed at London 1653. We read 1 Cor. 6.9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall inherit the Kingdom of God For
not inherit Now when a Reverend Dr. in Divinity did mildly reprove some Libertines for their Licentious life they did produce this Text from the Authority of this corrupt edition in justification of their vicious and inordinate conversations The next instance shall be in the Bible printed at London in quarto forbearing the name of the Printer because not done wilfully by him in the singing Psalms Psal. 67.2 That all the Earth may know The way to WORLDLY WEALTH for GODLY wealth It is too probable that too many have perused and practised this erroneous Impression namely such who by Plundering Oppression Cosening Force and fraude have in our age suddenly advanced vast estates IX Little loud Lyers I Remember one in the Vniversity gave for his question Artis compendium Artls Dispendium The contracting of Arts is the corrupting of them Sure I am the truth hereof appeareth too plainly in the Pearle-Bible printed at London 1653. in the volume of Twenty foure for therein all the Dedications and Titles of Davids Psalmes are wholly left out being part of the Original Text in Hebrew and intimating the Cause and the Occasion of the writing and composing those Psalmes whereby the matter may be better illustrated The design may be good to reduce the Bible to so small a volume partly to make it the more portable in mens pockets partly to bring down the price of them that the poor people may the better compass them But know that vilis in the Latine tongue in the first sense signifieth what is cheap in the second sense what is Base The small price of the Bible hath caused the small prizing of the Bible especially since so many damnable and pernicious mistakes have escaped therein I cannot omit an other Edition in a large 12o making the Book of Truth to begin with a loud lye pretending this title Imprinted at London by Robert Barker c. Anno. 1638. Whereas indeed they were imported from Holland 1656. and that contrary to our statutes What can be expected from so lying a frontispiece but sutable falshoods wherewith it aboundeth Oh! that men in power and place would take these things into their serious confiderations a caution too late to amend what is past but early enough for the future to prevent the importing of forreign and misprinting of home-made Bibles X. Name General WE reade of Ioseph when advanced in the Court of Pharaoh that he called his eldest Son Gen. 41.51 Manasseh for God said he hath made me forget all my toyle and my Fathers house Forget his Fathers house the more unnaturall and undutifull Son he may some say for his ungodly oblivion O no Ioseph never Historically forgot his Fathers house nor lost the affection he bare thereunto onely he forgot it both to the sad and to the vindicative part of his memory he kept no grudge against his brethren for their cruell usage of him If God should be pleased to settle a Generall peace betwixt all parties in our Land let us all name our next-born child it will fit both Sexes Manasseh That is forgetting Let us forget all our Plunderings Sequestrations Injuries offered unto us or suffered by us The best oyle is said to have â—o Taste that is no Tang. Though we carry a simple and single remembrance of our losses unto the grave it being impossible to do other-waies except we raze the faculty of memory Roote and Branch out of our mind yet let us not keep any record of them with the least reflection of revenge XI Apt Scholars MOthers generally teach their children three sins before they be full two years old First Pride Point child Where are you fine Where are you fine Secondly Lying It was not A. that cryed it was B. that cryed Thirdly Revenge Give me a blow and I will beat him Give me a blow and I will beat him Surely children would not be so bad nor so soon bad But partly for bad precedents set before them partly fâ—â— bad precepts taught unto them As all three Lessons have taken too deep impressions in our hearts so chiefly the last of revenge How many blows have been given on that account within our remembrance And yet I can make it good that we in our age are more bound to pardon our enemies then our Fathers and Grand-Fathers in their Generation For charity consisteth in two main parts In donando condonando IN GIVING and FORGIVING Give we cannot so much as those before us our estates being so much impaired and impoverished with Taxes unknown to former ages Seeing therefore one Channell of charity must be the less the stream thereof ought to run broader and deeper in the other The less we can Give the more we should forgive But alas this is the worst of all that Giving goeth not so much against our coveteousness ' bâ—â—forgiving goeth more against our Pride and Ambition XII All well wearied TWo Gentlemen Father and Son both of great quality lived together The Son on a time Father said he I would faine be satisfied how it cometh to pass that of such Agreements which I make betwixt neighbours fallen out not one of twenty doth last and continue Whereas not one of twenty faile wherein you are made Arbitrator The reason answered the other is plain No sooner do two friends fall out but presently you offer your self to compremise the difference wherein I more commend your charity then your discretion Whereas I always stay till the parties send or come to me after both sides being well wearied by spending much money in Law are mutually desirous of an Agreement Had any Indeavoured some sixteen years since to have advanced a firme peace betwixt the two opposite parties in our Land their success would not have answered their intentions mens veynes were then so full of bloud and purses of money But since there hath been so large an evacuation of both And men begin soberly to consider that either side may by woefull experience make other miserable but it is only our union can make both happie some hope there is that a peace if now made may probably last and continue which God in his mercy make us worthie of that we may in due time receive it XIII O INCONSTANCY LEarned Master Camden Treating in an Astrologicall way under what Planet * Britain is seated alledgeth but one Author viz. Iohannes de Muris who placeth our Island under Saturne whilst he produceth three viz. the Fryer Perscrutator Esquidius and Henry Silen which place Britain under the Moone It will add much in the general apprehension of People to the judgment of the latter that so many Changes and vicissitudes in so short a time have befel our Nation wee have been in twelve years a Kingdom Common-wealth Protectoâ—dome afterwards under an Army Parliament c. Such inconstancy doth speak us under the Moon indeed But the best is if we be under the Moon the Moon is under God And nothing shall happen unto us