is heir of the world by thy free donation O bring forth that glorious day that thou speakest of by thy servant Isaiah when the Sun shall be ashamed and the Moon abashed when the Lord shall reign in Mount Zyon and Jerusalem before thine antients gloriously and that thou wilt open the mouths of thy servants to preach and declare that deluge of fire that shall cause the Heavens to melt and the Earth to be burnt up which thy servants Peter Malachi and Isaiah have preached many hundred years of by the word of the Lord telling it shall come to pass which now in this day is almost forgot That so it may not come upon this Generation unawares as the flood 〈◊〉 upon the old world But make thy servants mouth as a Trumpet to proclaim the day of the Lords vengeance by fire which he will contend with all flesh by The mouth of that dreadful God which did destroy the old world by water hath spoken it and will certainly bring it to pass for he shall come in flaming fire to render vengeance on his enemies who is now a Lamb but then will be a Lyon in which dreadful day the greatest of men shall cry to the Mountains to cover them and the Rocks to dash them in pieces who would not let him Reign over them and to reward his poor servants that now suffer for his glory And so come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen Amen FINIS A Song of Praise Psalm 145. 1. MY God! oh King I le thee extol and I will bless thy Name For ever still and ever will I spread abroad thy Fame 2. Thee ev'ry day extol will I and I thy Name will praise For evermore and ne're give e're till Death shall end my dayes 3. Great is the Lord and greatly too he to be praised is And to be sought beyond all thought no greatness like to his 4. One generation praise thy works unto another shall And shall declare how great how rare thy mighty acts are all 5. I will the glorious honour of thy Majesty unfold My glory sings of wondrous things that never can be told 6. Men shall likewise the power of thy dreadful acts declare With them will I to magnifie thy greatness bear a share 7. They of thy mighty goodness and likewise thy rightousness In memory abundantly with Songs shall it express 8. Jehovah he is gratious and of compassion full To anger flow his mercies who can ever dissanul 9. Jehovah he is good to all his tender mercies fly Abroad so farr all his works are clean overspread thereby 10. They shall O Lord thy works all praise and they thy Saints shall bless Thy Kingdoms glory thy Saints shall story and talk of thy greatness 11. That to the Sons of men might be his mighty acts made known And gloriously in Majesty his Kingdom might be shown 12 Thy Kingdom is a Kingdom still an everlasting one To ages sure still doth indure thy great dominion 13. The Lord upholdeth all that fall he underprops his own Up raiseth he all these that be with troubles bowed down 14. Upon thee wait the eyes of all them thou their meat dost give Seasonably and opening thine hand feedest all things that live 15. Jehovah he is righteous righteous his wayes are all His works are pure merciful sure and very liberall 16. To all that call upon him stands Jehovah very nigh They shall not fall that on him call if in sincerity 17. Those that do fear him the desire of such he will fulfill And if they cry assuredly deliver them he will 18. Jehovah doth preserve all them that heartily him love The wicked all the right hand shall of vengeance them remove 19. The praises of the Lord my mouth shall willingly express His name 't is fit let all flesh it for ever ever bless
Hell Gates and yet are delivered Let me put you in remembrance of these two or three duties 1. Oh see that you ingage your hearts unto the Lord I will love the Lord with my whole heart I will love him dearly Ps 103.1 c. Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thine iniquities who healeth all thy diseases who redeemeth thy life from destruction who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies Oh pray that your love to him who hath delivered your souls from the snares of cruel death and pulled your feet out of the miry Clay where there was no bottom may encrease and abound more and more Josh 24.14 Sincere affections and dissobedience are the only returns that God looks for Deny not these in the highest degree 2. Give up your lives for the Lord. Be content he shall dispose of them in the way he knoweth best for his glory If he shall call you forth to suffer death for a testimony of your love to him and the Gospel of his Son think it not too much for him Well mayst thou undergo ten thousand natural deaths were it possible for Jesus Christs redemption from the hands of thy spiritual enemies is cause enough for thee to serve him without fear of what man can do unto thee Look upon thy past deliverance as things never no never to be forgotten nor sufficiently to be required by thee 3. Take care now thou hast found him whom thy soul loveth oh take care for his undisturbed residence You know what it is to want the comforting presence of Jesus Christ let those who know not the terrors of the Lord and the fearful consequents of his forsakings venture the displeasure of him by their slighting of his precepts and slothfulness in his paths but let not us do so we that know what it is to be thrown into the depths of horror and how hard as well as sweet is our recovery thence oh let not us dare to sleep upon the top of the mast but rather keeping fast hold upon our beloved by the hand of Faith beg of him that he would not depart out of our hearts lay a strict charge over all the cares and comforts and companies and conditions of this life Canticles 2.7 by the Roes and by the Hindes that they stir not up nor awake our Love until he please 4. If the Lord Jesus Christ shall please for his own glory to walk a while out of your hearts again if he shall at any time withdraw the comforts of the Holy Ghost loose not in Satan again by unbelief distress not your selves overmuch by giving way to the least mistrust as if he would never return Ps 77. and more remember his loving kindness and his works and wonders of old think he never goes away but when it is expedient for us Joh. 16.7 and having already sealed us by the holy spirit of promise given us eye-salve enlightning our understandings in the knowledge of his love whereby we are perswaded our names are written in the book of Life Râ—m 11.29 The gifts and calling of God are without repentance 2 Cor. 1.10 He that hath delivered may well be trusted that he will do so again John 10 29. No Man or Devil can take us out of the hands of God John 13.1 Whom be loveth he loveth to the end Phil. 1.6 He that hath begun a good work will carry it on to the day of Christ 5. You have been delivered from the violence of temptations but remember that yet we carry about us such sinful natures the Fruits of our first Parents transgression that would again put up his head against God and his most righteous Laws yea and take part with Satan against him and our selves too there is yet an unregenerate part the remnant of the old Adam remaining in the best and holiest of mâ—n after all the forty years temptations of Israel in an howling wilderness and when they are brought into the Land of rest Judg. 3. yet there the Amorite will be found nothing but dissolution will fetch the leprosie of natural corruption out of our earthly tabernacles Lev. 14.45 and especially will this cursed corruption annoy us with offers to do the same things that Satan before he was dispossessed would have done my experience tells me some of the old filth still sticks behind The wise God will have it so that the vileness and greatness of our old sins might not be forgotten that we may be poised down with humility and put a longing after natures dissolution till which time sin now twisted with our nature will not be removed this remnant of the old man with its stirrings cannot choose but be an heavy burden to the new Rom. 7.24 't is such a body that it made the very soul of a Paul groan and cry out for a deliverance Ex. 17.16 This â—malck God hath sworn it that he will have war with it for evnr As good Souldiers of Christ our Captain let us be perswaded to hold on our war against this party of corruption yet abiding in our natures and in so doing we have the comfort of these ensuing considerations 1. That this remainder of cursed nature though it be not utterly destroyed yet shall it not have dominion over us so as to bring forth Fruits unto death or to be charged upon our persons to condemnation Rom. 8 2. For by Christ our Lord we are dischargea and set at freedom from the Law of sin and death being under the Covenant of grace we have received the spirit of life and power even that blessed spirit that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead which hath quickned us and put life and power into us in a good measure enabling us to crucifie the flesh with its affections and lusts Gal. 5.24 so that its dominion is taken away though its life be continued for a season 2. And it is but for a season that its life is continued in us the war will not hold always there is a time coming when we shall be delivered from this bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God Rom. 8.19 c. 23. and not onely we but those very Creatures the Heaven and the Earth shall be set free from that bondage of corruption which lyeth upon them by reason of the sin of man in that day we shall be made like unto the Son of God in our measure The transfiguration upon the Mount seemeth to be a resemblance of that glory wherein Jesus Christ shall appear as he was the Son of David when he shall come to take the Kingdom unto himself then shall the poor benighted Sons of the day welcome in that joyful morning with a new Song and Psalms of tryumphant victory in their hands Rev. 15.3 then shall all the enemies of our Souls be totally subdued and even
upon him my nature that he might become my Lord and King Saviour and Redeemer who brake the doors of Brass rescued me from the Rape of Hellish furies cast them out delivered my darling soul from the power of the Dog and barred the Gate that he could enter no more to stuff my thoughts with his detestable injections although he attempted a return Thou hast thrust fore at me oh mine enemy that I might fall but the Lord helped me many a time may I now say have these things afflicted me from my youth many a time have they afflicted me from my youth yet they have not prevailed against me The Plowers plowed upon my back they made long their furrows but the righteous Lord he hath cut asunder the cords of the weeked one I was brought low and the Lord helped me He hath delivered my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling Oh Lord my God I will give thanks to thee for ever CHAP. V. Concluding the whole experiment with an account of the unconceivable sweetness of divine consolations the usual consequent of long and sort temptations a more then abundant reason to abide Gods leisure under the heavy load of dâ—sertions Of the cause of writing ANd now at last when the Lord my Lord of whom the Father said sit thou at my right hand until I make thy enemies thy foot-stoolâ— had set my soul at freedom by his mighty power he sent his blessed spirit the holy Ghost that most glorious self evidencing and sweet comforter whose sweetness no heart can conceive but he who hath tasted how good he is who shewed me from the Father and his blessed Son that all the miseries afore mentioned pressing me down were the delusions of Satan and whereas he intended to have made me a shame and reproach to all that should know or hear of my overthrow that now my God hath taken advantage of the greatness of my sins thereby to magnifie his mercy in pardoning thereof according to my cry in the day of my distress and that now I was of Abrahams Family numbred among the spiritual Children of Abraham a priviledge which I often especially under my troubles prized highly and desired earnestly to be partaker off The blessed spirit bearing witness of these things wrought in my soul such unconceiveable joy that in the words of Thomas I cryed out my Lord and my God so ravishing were the kisses of those divine lips of love that my heart was silled with joy unspeakable and glorious my mouth with laughter my body much weakened by the anguish and horror of my soul so that I kept my Chamber for many dayes together was now revived and my youth renewed as the Eagle that casteth her Beak so that I became as lightsome as if I had not known sorrow to the great admiration of my Friends who had known my long confinement to my Chamber by reason of sorrow and heavyness My heart my sorrowful heart of which I was wont to cry out None so fad none so disquieted as thou was now through the joy of the Lord quite altered The spirit of my God now covering me with the glorious robes of his Sons righteousness turned my mourning into dancing put off my Sackcloath and girded me with gladness gave me a garment of praise for the spirit of heavyness so that then and since being upheld by the same hand I could say I carry about me a chearful heart and a much more healthy body notwithstanding the great disappointments I in my worldly condition then met with and still lye under Being now enabled by faith to apprehend my self justified through the righteousness of God even the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputeth to poor sinners the guilt the obligation of my sins to punishment being taken away I can now through the tender mercy of God whereby the day spring from on high hath visited me comfortably give a challenge to Death and the Grave Oh Death where is thy sting oh Grave where is thy victory my dear Lord having ransomed me from the power and fear of the grave and helping me in despight of him that hath the power of death that is the Devil to look upon my self as one of those whom God the Father hath given to the Son as part of the travaile of his soul so that the Lord Christ delights in me as the gift of his Father and the purchase of his own bloud And my God loveth me with the same love wherewith he loveth his Son and all the promises of grace made to sinners in the holy word through Jesus Christ I have an interest in and expect to have fulfilled to me as far as it shall tend to his glory and my good He that gave me his Son will freely also give me all good things Well may I therefore take up the words of the Prophet Oh Lord I will praise thee for though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away and thou comfortedst me For the iniquity of my soul thou wast wroth with me and smotâ—st me but now thou hast healed me and restored comforts to me the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song he also is become my salâ—ation I waited patiently for the Lord and he encâ—â—ned his ear to me and heard my cry he drew my feet out of an horrible pit out of the miry clay and hath set me upon a Rock and established my goings What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits I will call upon him as long as I live I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people When the Lord Jesus is pleased to go away to withdraw the comfortable warm beams of his love and presence from the sight and sence of his poor people Joh. 16.6 like the Apostles their hearts are filled with heavyness they think every day a week and every week a month and every month a year the time seemeth tedious till he return till he lifteth up the light of his countenance till he restores comforts to them like the mother of Sisera they are putting forth their heads crying why are his Chariot wheels so long in coming But oh that such would remember what I now find that it is expedient for them that he should sometimes go away from them withholding his consolations for the holy Ghost the Comforter shall one time or other come to such as wait for it with such joy and peace that passeth all understanding of eye ear and heart of man And then long time spent in waiting shall seem but a little moment Is 40 2. and they shall receive double pay for all the punishments of their iniquities The Children of this world in this are wiser in their generation then the Children of light no discouragement of wind or rain can make them forbear their seasons of sowing in hope nor can the interposition of many perillous months delay work a dissolution of the hope that
root that beareth Gall and Wormwood and it come to pass when he heareth the words of this curse that he bless himself in his heart saying I shall have peace though I walk in the immagination of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst the Lord will not spare him but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoak against that man and all the curses that are written in this book shall fly upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under Heaven and the Lord shall seperate him unto evil Deut 29.19 20. According to all the curses of the Covenant that are written in this book of the Law Because I have called and you refused I have stretched out my hand and no man regardeth but ye have set at nought my councels and would none of my reproofes I also will laugh at your calamity I will mock when your Fear cometh When your Fear cometh as desolation and your Destrection cometh as a whirle-wind when Distress and Anguish cometh upon you c. Prov. 24 c. How express is the holy Law of God terror hath an appointed season distress and anguish lye in the Womb of time God hath hiâ— vials of wrath tribulation and anguish to powrâ—â—â— upon enery soul of man that doth evil Rom. 2. 〈◊〉 and who knows what a day may bring forth Prov. 27.1 7. How many a time hath Hell-fire flashed in thy face already and yet thou returnest not I mean how oft hast thou found terror seizing upon thee at all times which yet thou hast shaken off again I can hardly believe there is any sinner in the world that now sinneth with the greatest delight and freedom but findeth that his way is beset with dangers I know not what may be said of such who live in Countryes where the word of God hath not been familiarly taught the Apostle of the Gentiles seemeth to speak the same thing plainly concerning them Even they have witness bearing Consciences and thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another Rom. 2.15 The Devils servants have an hard Apprentiship before they be made free They sin with much bondage before they come to sin with delight The spirit of God hath striven with them their own hearts have smitten them secret warnings have they had within themselves oh do not this thing which God hateth now what do these things mean why they shew you what is like nay sure to be the wages of sin that God will not be blamed when he shall sentence you to an eternal bondage under his heavy wrath He now would have frightned you out of your sinful state and you would not he sent his spirit to strive with you and wring your weapons of sin out of your hands and you would not let them go he gave you some tastes of the Cup of trembling shook the full bottles of wrath before thy eyes which he might have put to thy lips and held them fast there until thou hadst been overwhelmed with terrors He drew his bow and whet his sword that thou beholding that mightest prepare thy seâ—f to escape the prepared instruments of death So that poor sinner thou art not an utter stranger to the things that I am perswading thee to think off the terrors of God Some small appearances may be have been sometime found in thee upon commission of some extraordinary sin Well see to it this is the bitter root which though thou labour to bury it under the Earth a while will without doubt spring up into a mighty tree bringing forth the fruits of shame pain and death 8. Thou goest on merrily in the way of thine own heart labouring to suppress thy sorrows at the first rising Thou hast no thoughts of thy latter end which thou smotherest not in their very beginning But remember though thou fearest not thy self now upon the Earth but thy danger is better thought off in Hell Oh I think with thy self that the story of dâ—mned Dâ—vâ—s was not penned from the mouth of Christ in vain Luke 16.27 c. rather judge it to be as indeed it is an argument fetcht from Hell to carry thee over into the ways of Heaven All thy old acquaintance and relations who once while they were in the Land of the living spent their days in pleasure drawing thee on to use the good things that are now present Wisd 2.6 c. Come on let us fill our selves with costly wine and Ointments and let no flower of the Spring pass by us Let us Crown our selves with Rose-bud before they be withered let none of us go without his part of our jollity let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place for this is our portion and our lot is this Let us oppress the poor righteous man let our strength be the Law of justice let us lye in wait for the righteous because he is not for our turn he is clean contrary to our doings he upbraideth us with our offending the Law and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education He professeth himself to have the knowledge of God and he calleth himself the Child of the Lord he was made to reprove our thoughts he is grievous unto us even to behold for his life is not like other mens his ways are of another fashion we are esteemed of him as counterfeit false come he abstaineth from our ways as from filthyness he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed and maketh his boast that God is his Father let us see if his words be true and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him For if the just man be the Son of God he will help him and deliver him from the hand of his enemies let us examine him with despightfulness and torture him that we may know his meekness and prove his patience let us condemn him with a shameful death for by his own saying he shall be respected In contemplation follow these boon Companions down to Hell and you shall find them of another mind Wisd 5.2 c. There they shall be troubled with terrible fear and shall be amazed at the strangeness of the despised righteous mans salvation so farr beyond all that they looked for And repenting and groaning within themselves for anguish of spirit shall say This was he whom we had sometimes in derision and a Proverb of reproach we fools accounted his life madness and his end to be without honour How is he numbred among the Children of God and his lot is among the Saints therefore have we erred from the right way we wearied our selves in the way of wickedness and destruction what hath Pride profitted us or what good hath riches with our vaurting brought us all those things are passed as a shadow and as a Post that hasteth away and as a Ship that pâ—sseth over the waves of the water or when as a bird hath flown through the air or like an arrow shot at
that tended that way And by reason of the indwelling of sin the remainder of the curse for our first transgression which the best of Gods servants do carry about them taking advantage thereof being like unto Tinder that is ready to take fire as soon as is toucht doth cast his fiery darts into our souls part within us our hearts are ready to opose every truth of God and so we have a daily warfare and great strivings to keep our hearts from consenting to his wicked injections and much ado to bring them into a subjection unto the truths of God and like unto the Bird that hath a dogg tyed unto his legg whereby he is hindred from flying up into the Air and so by his impressions left upon our souls which is so weighty a burden that unders us from soaring up to Jesus Christ by 〈◊〉 and so vigilant is that cursed enemy to the glory of God and mans salvation that he goeth about day and night seeking whom he may davour and taking advantage of our weakness in our sleeps annoying us often with sinful dreams then laying his delusions upon us who still pursuing me according to his former methods lately in the night acted upon me in my sleep as though I had been in the number of them who were dragged from the Tribunal seat to Hell having received the sentance of condemnation with the damned and all this to the end and purpose it possible he could to have blasted that glorious mercy I received from the Lord by the witness of his blessed spirit that God did rather take the advantage of the greatness of my sins for the magnifying of his mercy rather then his justice in my condemnation and that I was of Abrakams family as I have declared in my Narrative in the day when the Lord gave me deliverance out of his hand But so impudent is this fiend of Hell called by the word of truth a lyar from the begining and so the Father of lyes using his old trade towards me with the subtlety of the old Serpent and all this to daunt my faith and to have blasted the mercy which I received from my gratious God who hath laid it upon my soul by such a witness that I believe and know all the Devils in Hell shall not be able to overthrow it And that I may magnifie and set forth the goodness of God I will take up the words of the Prophâ—t Isaiah O Lord my God I will exalt thoe and praise thy name for ever for thou hast done wonderful things according to thy councel of old thou hast been a strength to the needy in his troubles a refuge against the tempest so that the blast of the mighty was as a storâ—â— against the wall the Lord will destroy death and wipe away tears from the faces of his and take of their rebakes the Lord hath spoken it and â—ill make it good and in that day will men say â—â—lo this is our God we have waited for him yea in the way of his judgements he will save us and we will be glad in his salvation He shall bring down the pride of Moab and lay their defensed walls as low as the dust in that day shall this song be sunged in the Land of Judah we have a strong City salvation shall God sâ—t for walls and bulworks Open ye the gates that the righteous Nation may enter therein for by an asured purpose wilt thou preferve in parfect peace for ever because they trusted in thee Trust in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Thou wilt make equal the righteous way of the just the desire of our souls is to the remembrance of thy name for when thy judgements are upon the Earth the Inhabitants of the Earth shall learn righteousness even they that fear thy name but the wicked will not do so nor behold the Majesty of the Lord O Lord they will not now behold thy hand but they shall see it and be confounded with the zeal of thy people but unto us thou wilt ordain peace for thou kast wright all our works for us thy dead men shall live and with my body shall they arise even with my body and shall behold the King in his beauty Awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust thy dew is as the dow of kerbs and the Earth will cast out his dead and in that day of this power shall the coming in be like the drops of dow that arise from the Womb of the worning Thou hast drunk of the brook in the way therefore shall thy head be lifted in that day for the Lord â—â—mâ—â—h out of his place to visit the iniquity of the Inhabitants of the Earth and the Earth shall disclose his blood And to receive the Kingdoms for his inheritance and the utmost parts of the Earth for his possession beirg Heir thereunto by donatian of the Father and â—hâ—n shall that good word of the Lord be â—â—de good that at the â—â—me of Jesus every knee shall bow both in Heaven and Earth and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is both Lord and King to the praise and glory of the Lord for the Father hath said when he brirgeth his first begotten again into the world 〈◊〉 all the Angels and every Creature worship him And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see together O Sion that bringest good tidings get thee up into the Mountains O Jerusalem that bringest good ridings lift up thy voice with strength be not affraid say to the Cities of Judah behold your God behold he comith with power and his arme shall rule behold his Reward is with him and his work before him and he shall feed his flock like a Shepherd and gather his lambs in his armes and carry in his bosome and guide them with them which are with young It is he that hath measured the waters in his fists covered the Heavens with a span comprehended the dust of the Earth in a measure weigheth the Mountains in Scales and the Hills in Ballances Who hath instructed the spirit of the Lord of whom took he Counsel Who instructed him and taught uim in the way of his judgements Behold the Nation are as a drop of water or counted as the dust oâ— the Ballance He taketh up the Isles as a little thing Lebanon not sufficient for a fire nor the beasts thereof for a burnt Offering to whom the will you liken God he sitteth upon the Circle of he Earth and the inhabitants are as Grasshoppets he spreadth out the Heavens like a Curtain he bringeth the Princes to nothing and maketh the Judges of the Earth as vanity to whom then will ye liken me saith the holy one lift up your eyes and behold who hath Created all these things he bringeth out his Armies by number and calleth them all by their names by the greatness of his strength nothing faileth O ye suffering Saints