this kinde in reference to ourtimes which all the Evangelists have recorded The latter dayes shal bee short beyond expectation and Christ come sooner then we are aware and therefore the signes of his comming must needs bee expected whereof strange Prodigies are one § 12 Aud now hopeing this may satisfie such as have anycandor its high time to draw the Arrow to the head and hit the marke I shoote at which is to point out the Christian use which godly feare and reverence teaches us to make upon the knowledge of these dreadfull things To which end there are some cautions to be premised I Seeing God is the author of Prodigies wee must religiously observe them and by prayer seeke from him instruction and grace to fit us for a holy improvement of them to his glory and our own benefit Saying as Paul when Christ spake to him in a vision out of Heaven Lord what wilt thou have mee to doe And with prayer wee must joyne all diligence in studying of his holy word for thence it is that al necessary instruction is dertved Be we sure to make use of Prodigies according to this rule and light will come out of darkenesse comfort out of feare Secondly we may not bee too curious in searching after the particular evills which Prodigies foreshew much lesse to know their circumstances when where and how they shall happen It is enough for us and great mercy from God that we have aforehand so much as the noise of his comming to aflict In the state of Israel God was wont to threaten in the Fathers dayes those Judgements which hee purposed to their posteritie and yet upon those threatnings he expected present repentance And surely that Memento given by Christ unto the Angell of Sardis is necessary for every Church and state to apply uato themselves in these dayes Remember how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent If therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thiefe and thou shalt not know what houre I will come upon thee A third caveat is that which God himselfe gives by the Prophet Ieremy Learne not the way of the heathen and be not dismaied at the signes of heaven For the heathen are dismaied at them Where a things are forbidden The one is learning the heathens way that is to worship the creatures themselves or to use any part of their Idolatrous service The other is excessive feare upon the sight of all unpleasant aspects in the heavenly bodies without any true feare of God who causes them and in whose hand it is to hasten or prolong increase or diminish or totally remove all threatned evils The grosser sort of antient Idolalaters thought the Sun Moone and other starres to be Gods and Eclipses and such like to be signes of their anger whereupon they feared exceedingly unto astonishment and addicted themselves by divers rites and ceremonies to pacify them Many times the Israelites were much subiect to like Idolatry against which God there instructs them This place therfore does not condemne all feare upon the sight of prodigies as unlawfull but the abuse of feare when it is placed on the creature not on God and leades not to true piety but to will worship Or when it so captivates that we thinke it in vaine to seeke God by repentance and doe hereupon despise him and harden our hearts and commit all intquity with greedinesse Of all things such a feare is most to be feared As for such whom a lively faith hath incorporated into Christ and a true feare of God in his iudgements made penitent and obedient according to Gods word Prodigies should rather comfort them then otherwise Ioel having said in one verse The Sunne shall bee turned into darknesse and the Moone into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come saith immediately in the uext verse It shall come to passe that who soever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved For in Mount Sion and in Ierusalem shall be deliverance Our Saviour speaking in like manner of the Prodigies which shall happen partly before the destruction of Ierusalem but especially before the end of the world and of the feare which shall be in many said to his disciples When these things begin to come to passe then looke up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh Christ the accomplisher finisher of it Thus much for caution § 13 Now for the uses themselves who will not hereby be assured of a generall judgement comming on apace seeing these forerunners of it I speake both of the Prodigies and of the things which follow and accompany The order of the signes of the latter day is this First false Prophets Many shall be deceived Iniquity shall abound Secondly persecution and by meanes thereof Apostacy in some great misery to others Then Warres Famine Pestilence Prodigies interchangeably till false Prophets and al deceived by them be rootea out of the earth And as touching warrs judgement must begin at the house of God Therein false Prophets arise as Paul saies from among your selves c. Their rising is like the opening of Pandoraes box the original of alevil And certainly the churches negligence in not convincing them by doctrine and suppressing them by discipline in the particular Churches wherin they first appeared is the corner stone of all and therefore it is fit gods churches should be first in the course of Judgement who are first in the course of sinning The third course of signes which are now most conspicuous shall continue till the first error be discovered and amended and that evill which it hath brought in be removed I meane particular Churches be rightly stated and faithfull in administration of all publicke Ordinances c. § 14 In the meane while for a second use let every one of us learne hence To search and try our waies and turne unto the Lord our God lest our securitie prove prodigious unto us Be we more carefull to know Gods will and to professe that we know and live according to our profession in one or other of these specialties we all faile Yea wherein is it that we faile not see the state of the seven Churches of Asia as St. Iohn describes it and I feare whatsoever is reproved in all them together will be found among us but little of that which they are commended for Were it not that God is iealous of his own honour and in his own phrase feares the wrath of the enemie lest our adversaries should behave themselves strangely and say our hand is high the Lord hath not done this we also ere this time had felt the effect of many prodigies which have beene among our selves But I hope God will shortly stirre up some in a more especiall manner to bring Gods wonders among us in remembrance This for the present may serve something to awaken us And if we regard
hanging of Mahomets iron tombe in the Ayre if it bee as it is reported is no miracle because it may be drawne up by vertue of some Loadstone above it But every thing is a wonder whose cause we know not or at least which wise men know not Admiration alwaies rises out of some degree of Ignorance There is therefore a difference betwixt a miracle and a marvell d under the tearme of wonder 3 Severall things be comprehended 1 Speciall rarities in the course of nature and in the actions and affaires of men e Secondly miracles properly so called Thirdly whatsoever it is which makes the wiser or greater part of men to admire as wel as fooles however it be called Alwhich are here included under the name of prodigies § 5 Having briefly notified the meaning both of the name and thing in hand the next thing most necessary is to consider of the author who gives being to things prodigious and appoints their use That must needs bee God who is the onely Alpha and Omega The center from which all lines are drawne and the circumference wherein they are terminated All predictions whether they bee naturall or supernaturall must needs originally issue from him that decrees things from eternity and causes them to exist in time in all circumstances according to his appointment This hath alwaies been out of controversie not onely among Christians but also among the Philosophers yea even amvng the very Vulgar heathen But though all have reference to God yet not all alike Some things hee either doth immediately or at least wise seemes to doe for both God and nature are often clouded Many things are effected by the Ministery of the Angells Some proceed from me and the course of nature yet not without God Those things which are most common in the course of nature are to bee counted Gods workes and therefore much more those which are strange God puts these Questions to Iob. Hath the raine a Father or who hath begotten the drops of dew Out of whose wombe came the yce and the hoary frost of heaven who hath gendred it The answer to bee made is this God giveth being to al these things according to his pleasure what then shall be thought of raining bloud Fire and such like No otherwise then according to that The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and Brimstone from the Lord out of Heaven He threatens such aforehand and he alone hath power to effect them Therefore when we see or heare of any such thing we can doe no lesse then acknowledge in the Psalmists words This is the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes Psal 118. 23. § 6 But how is it that signes and wonders are said to be wrought by false Prophets for so Moses intimates And our Saviour sayes expresly There shall arise false Prophets and false Christs and shall shew great signes and wonders And to like effect Paul speakes of Antichrist 2. Thess 2. 9. We read also that many signes done before Pharaoh by Moses were also done before him by the Magitians of Aegypt No doubt but Satan and his Instruments are permitted to doe great things for the triall of Gods Church and children but in all they doe they are no more but instruments Therefore that Fire wherewith Jobs sheepe and servants were consumed is fuly called the Fire of God though the Prince of the Ayre was in that the Incendiary and the bellowes and added oyle to the flame But Gods wonders and Satans differs very much Oftentimes in the thing it selfe Satan seemes to worke miracles but God workes miracles indsed Satan also makes a shew of doing many things which indeed hee doth not deluding the outward senses and the the Phantasie He alwayes lies against God or nature Therefore well saith Moses Who is like unto thee O Lord among the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse fearefull in praise doing wonders But in the ground and end there is alwayes a vast and manifest difference betwixt the one and the other All that Satan does is out of hatred envy and malice to God and man But all that God doth is in mercyor Iustice The plot which the Devill prosecutes in every particular is to rob God of his glory to make his word of none effect and to frustrate the salvation intended for the Elect. Gods immutable purpose is to glorifie himselfe to fulfill his word in all the promises and threatnings and to save those whom he hath chosen in Christ The one intends nothing but fraud and mischiefe the other to approve his goodnesse even to them that wilfully perish Satan labours to bring men into Heresie superstition and Idolatry to blind their eyes harden their hearts and wholly to corrupt them in all their wayes God would have all men come to the knowledge of the truth that they might be saved a if any desire to know how it may be knowne which wonders be wrought by God especially and which by Satan let them consider This is needlesse for us curiously to inquire after and fruitlesse to bee knowne Our duty is to looke upon all good and evill as coming from God as Iob did saying The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken c. Shall wee receive good from the hand of the Lord and not evill And though some Prodigies be but rarities in nature yet are wee to ascribe all to God in as much as nature is his handmaid and even of naturall things there is more to be made then a naturall use § 7 As for the matter wherof Prodigies consist that is worthy to be considered of but warily to be determined A confused Notion that some things are prodigious without knowledge of the particulars and whether it be good or evill that is portended hath bred and nourished much curiositie and superstition needlesse feares in some fond hopes in others there have anciently beene a sort of men who have made it their study and profession to teach what is ominous and of what such were the Soothsayers Astrologians Chaldeans and the like But the light of the Gospell hath made all these see ming starres to vanish And yet still pride curiositie infidelity like bitter rootes growing in the heart of mankinde naturally leade them much what in the same way Hence it is that almost every accident is by some counted a signe of good or evill lucke according to our common phrase To reckon up particulars in this kinde would be both tedious and ridiculous But it must be granted that some things are Prodigious true And that some things are so in reference to particular persons and families Some to Countries Nations and whole States This also cannot be denied Whatis then the rule to know them by No vulgar conceit no nor every pretended reason Nor yet all manner of experience so far as wee are to regard Prodigies The Scripture is a sufficient rule Therein we
neither the voyce of God on earth by his Ministers nor the voyce of God from heaven by his wonderous workes though Noah Job and Daniel were among us they shall deliver but their owne soules God must deny himselfe or we perish if we continue impenitent The name of reformation which we have in our mouthes will no more helpe us then the Iewes crying The Temple of the Lord We be Abrahams children In many abuses there is not so much as a colour of reformation as in the matter of sacriledge for one It was after Iosiah had reformed many things that his heart was tender and smote him upon hearing of the Law Perceiving thereby there were yet more abuses in the Land than he at first was ware of Antichrist had made all places like Augean stables They doe therefore surely neede a continuall clensing The God of all grace fill us according to our measure with wisdome and zeale that we may grow from beauty to beauty in his eyes § 15. And seeing God is so gracious as by all meanes to manifest himselfe and his intended judgements he hath not left himselfe without witnesse but we are altogether without excuse Let him have the prayse which is due unto his name who abounds toward us in all meanes of grace whereby we might be made wise unto salvation Thy Word O Lord is sufficient of it selfe to warne all the World Thy Workes are the utmost that we can aske or thinke what shall we say of thy wonderous Workes from day to day Oh thou holy one of Israel All this is that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings and overcome when thou art judged It will be thy glory that thou ast shewed us signes in Heaven above and wonders in Earth beneath But it will be our misery if we regard them not or if regarding we doe not blesse thee the Almighty or if blessing thee in words we repent not and amend Of our selves we are able to doe none of all this Let it not alwayes be said of us as it was sometime of thy people Israel Yet the Lord hath not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and eares to heare unto this day For thy Annoyiteds sake powre upon us thy spirit give us hearts according to thine owne heart and cause us to walke in thy wayes Truth Lord thou mayst leave us to our selves and let us perish if thy Grace were not free for thee to bestoâ—â—r not it were no grace If thou sayest I have no pleasure in you doe to us as seemeth good in thy sight Yet be pleased to remember thy Covenant And for his sake who hath sealed it with his bloud poure out his spirit among us Worke knowledge in our minds submission in our wills Yea sanctify us we beseech thee throughout Oh love us and cause us to love thee and then wee know assuredly that all things shall worke together for the best Amen If any thing offend thee Christian Reader in this Prologue consider herein I tread an unbeaten path wherein it is easie to erre The way it selfe is rough my spare houres for such imployment few Importunity of others and arguments drawne from the publicke good have stollen mee from my selfe to doe others service in this businesse If it seeme strange I make so much a doe to usher in a small Pamphlet consider not the book but the subject In Prodigies God comes in as riding on a Cherub and flying on the wings of the wind How then can just exceptions be taken at one for coÌ„ming before to cry Bow the knee my boldnesse pardoned I am content to beare all other blame In Magnis est volxisse Satis Errors in the Preface In the first Sect. r. Axionaâ—a for him r. himself In 2. Sect. them r. him for fooler fooâ—e 3. Sect. for suspitiously r. superstitiously for paedicant r pâ—rdicaâ—â— 5. Sect. for No is in mar 1. Iovis so mer men in 7 Sect. so pledge â— pledges in mat-tom r. revel for prediens r. pâ—edictâ—ors in the 〈◊〉 Seâ—t r. which ate adapted DREADFVLL AND PRODIGIOVS ASPECTS WHICH have happened and appeared in the Ayre Water and on Earth beyond the common course of nature in diverse parts of Germany since the beginning of these late bloody bâ—oyles in that Country from the yâ—erâ— of our Lord 1618. to this present time together with briefe observations of the issues and Consequences ensuing after 〈◊〉 AMong the many troubles and turmoyles Courteous Reader which have long time roved and raged not onely in Bohemia but also in divers other places of Germany there appeared a terrible Comet with a great blazing tayle which was as terrible as visible It appeared first October 26. 1618. in the signe of Scorpio and the tayle thereof was extended betwixt the Spicavirginis and Arcturus towards Polus Septentrionalis Afterwards it tooke its progresse in Signo Librae continuing its course from the Ecliptica to Topico Cancri from East to West or Northerly It was to be seene often in a cleare Skie in the East In Bohemia and Ausiria it appeared at first with red in other places with a Saturnish pale-red colour for the space of 27. dayes and in some places longer This fearefull ominous Link or Torch the Omnipotent Iehovah had constituted and ordained in the Pulpit of the Heavens to bee a Preacher of Repentance that sinfull man might see and discerne that for incorrigible sinne he was resolved to plague and punish them if they timely prevented not the threatned danger by seeking grace and speedi'y fying from sinne the sole cause thereof For in as much as the â—â—cure and bood-winckt-World had long despsed and neglected the gracious reclaming voyee of his sacred Word in the publike preaching thereof by his vignant and diligent Ministers and refused to heare those charmers charme â— they never so wisely running on in their accustomed course of sinne and transgression refusing to be reclamed and living all their dayes in sensuall impenitence as if God regarded not their doings and tooke no notice of their desperate rebellions Therefore the Almighty Lord God as mercifull as just sent forth these his prodigious signes in the Sunne Moon and Starres of Heaven as certain fore-runners of his wrath and of imminent and eminent Plagues and punishments on them if not speedily prevented thus if it were possible to awaken men from thei even dead sleepe of sin to timely repentance and true reformation of life but otherwise to shew and assure them that he would come suddainly and severely upon them and bring all those evills and miseries on them which those hideous and hoâ—â—ed lignes did portend unto them Of which his proceeding in former ages manifold examples are extant both in the sacred Scriptures and in other various and volummous Histories which for brevities sake I heere of purpose pretermit This Comet herein mentioned hath bin indeed a certain harbinger and fore-runner of the Lords high indignation and future