Scotland were all three fallen and the late King was he that came in the roome of these three and entirely possessed the Kingdomes of all three So that this part of this Prophesie is exactly fulfilled in that King and not in any other of the Kings nor in any other person can these things be said to be so exactly fulfilled as in him So that if the Spirit of God here had no further described this little horne it would have been evident that this Prophesie had been fulfilled in this King these three Kingdomes being thus subjected to one King or Prince that formerly were governed by three before whom three were plucked up c. But it is made more apparent that this Prophesie was fulfilled in him by that further description which the Spirit of God in this Scripture gives of the dispositions actions and end or death of this King which we have as it followes Vers 25. And hee shall speak great words against the most High and shall wear out the Saints of the most High c. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ John 15. tels his Disciples that whosoever despised them despised him and whosoever despised him despised him that sent him Whereby its clear that that person that speaks great words against the Saints of the most High doth therein speak great words against the most High That this King did speak great words against the Saints of the most High threatning the ruine and destruction of all Puritans and Round heads as hee termed the saints of God is so well known as there needs nothing to be further spoken to make it appear nor need I mention the the persons which long before the wars which meerely for their being servants of God were persecuted imprisoned fined banished and otherwise threatned and as he spake great words against the most High in his saints so hee spake great words against the Lawes and Ordinances of God prohibiting of them requiring godly and faithfull Ministers to refrain from the worshipping of God from publike praying and preaching of the Word of God upon the first day of the Week Whereas many a poor soul might have been converted to and confirmed in the waies of God in those ordinances but hee constraind as it were the people of the Kingdom to a prophane loose life to dishonour God by inviting and requiring of them to practice prophane and wicked sports upon that day which was appointed for a holy worshipping of God Whereas many poore soules needed rather to haue been encouraged and call'd upon to have more frequently attended upon the Ordinances of God for they perished for want of knowledge And as he thus spake great words against the ordinances of the most High so he nourished and supported many wicked and abominable Priests when many holy and faithfull Ministers of Christ were rejected who did most profanely abuse the Scriptures and despise the very spirit of God and that publikely of which sort there were many among those Centuries of scandalous Ministers that were in the beginning of this Parliament sequestred for their delinquencies Thus in that this King spake great words against the saints and ordinances and spirit of God and had pleasure in such as so did he therein did as here is said of him speake great words against the most high And shall wear out the Saints of the most High Was it not long before the sitting of this Parliament given out by this King that hee would not leave untill hee had left no more Puritans in England then there were Protestants in Rome and is it not generally known what meanes and waies were used to wear them out and to make them weary of living in the Kingdom insomuch as many godly and faithfull people being weary of the impositions upon their consciences of those things which were evill and the prohibitions of them from that which was good as their meetings to call upon the name of the Lord and to confer one with another of the things of God and the repetitions of Sermons did being thus wearied leave their native Kingdom though in all outward respects to their great disadvantage and those that remained how did they groan under their burthens and complain to heaven day and night against the insufferable and wearying proceedings of that unworthy King Thus did hee wear out the Saints of the most high And shall think to change times and lawes and they shall be given into his hand untill c. Therein also he is more exactly characterized and described for it is well known that hee did think and intend to change times and lawes he thought to have made sad times for all circumspect and holy Christians whom he called Puritans and times of joy and rejoycing for all popish and prophane persons And hee thought to have changed those Lawes which had been by preceeding Princes made for the priviledges of the people in civil and spirituall respects and to have imposed lawes destructive to the peoples freedom and liberty and to have ruled all by his own will and made the people slaves thereunto And they shall bee given into his hand untill c. As hee thought to change Lawes and times so he did they were given into his hand for a while he had times and lawes in his hand to change them at his pleasure and he thought to have done so alwaies And to this end consulted with wicked Bishops Popish Lords and profane Judges and to this end also he raised Armies first against the Scots and afterward against all well-affected people in Ireland and also in England Thus this Horn that came up in the room of three did in all things answer this description of him which is given in these 24 and 25 verses and hee comes in no tittle short of it There is but one thing more spoken of him in this Chapter whereby he is any further described then as in these three verses and that is in the 21 verse which I will here take in before I proceed to what followes It is in these words And I beheld and the same horne made war with the Saints and prevailed against them untill c. And herein also did this Horne or King most exactly act according to this which the Spirit of God by Daniel so long since predeclared of him For he did make War against the Saints and that in such a manner as no King Prince or Potentate ever yet did For no History can declare nor in any age or time can it be said that ever armies were raised more properly to fight against and to make war with the Saints as being Saints then these late Armies raised by him and by authority from him have been Many combustions have been in the World and many wars in this and severall other Kingdoms but was ever the quarrell so exactly against Saints and saintship in any War as in this For it was against Saints in a more especiall manner that this horn made War
THE LITTLE HORNS DOOM DOVVNFALL OR A Scripture-Prophesie OF King James and King Charles and of this present Parliament unfolded Wherein it appeares that the late Tragedies that have bin acted upon the Scene of these three Nations and particularly the late Kings doom and death was so long ago as by Daniel pred-eclared AND What the issue of all will be is also discovered which followes in the second Part. By M. Cary a servant of Jesus Christ AMOS 3. 7 8. Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the Prophets The Lion hath roared who will not feare the Lord God hath spoken who can but Prophesie London Printed for the Author and are to be sold at the sign of the Black-spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1651. TO The Vertuous Heroicall and Honourable Ladies The Lady ELIZABETH CROMVVEL The Lady BRIDGET IRETON and The Lady MARGARET ROLE May it please your Ladiships BEing pressed in spirit to divulge this insuing discourse the maine scope whereof being to make this present age more sensible of the late past and present footsteps of God in the world in order to the setting up of the kingdom of our Lord Iesus and the making of all dominions to serve and obey him And observing how that among the many pious precious prudent and sage Matrons and holy women with which this Common-wealth is adorned as with so many precious jewels and choice gemmes which God having here and there placed in it doe set out the glory and lustre of the * This Nation so farre excels in glory and happinesse all other Nations because of of those numbers of precious Saints that are in it and for severall other respects As it made a Reverend * See Mr. Tho. Goodwins Sermon preached before the Parliament in Feb. 1645. which is in print and intituled The great Interest of States and Kingdomes Which in many other respects is worthy the serious view of the best saints Divine of this Nation thus to expresse himselfe concerning it That if wee had stood at Gods elbow when he bounded out the Nations and appointed the times and seasons that men should live in wee should not have known in what nation or kingdome or age wee should have chosen to have lived in rather then in this kingdom for whom God hath done such great things unlesse when Iesus Christ himselfe was alive and the Apostles in those primitive times unlesse in Iudea it self where all the Apostles were together Nation God hath selected and chosen out your Ladiships and placed you in some of the highest places of honour according to your present capacities in the three Nations wherein you have more then ordinary opportunities to honour him And observing withall how that as God hath placed you in the stations wherein you are so hee hath fitted you for them the tendency of your aimes studies and endeavours as it is well knowne being to the exaltation as far as lies in you of that great King of Saints the Lord Iesus whom you love in sincerity and for the setting up of whose glorious Kingdome in the perfection of it you longingly waite which frame of spirit in you hath not been of yesterday only but for many yeeres together hath shined conspicuously and gloriously in you all demonstrating to all Saints that indwelling presence of the holy spirit which is within you I have therefore chosen being of your own sex to dedicate these Treatises to your Ladiships whom I honour because God hath honoured and under your favourable aspects to publish them to the world being assured both First of your ingenuous and gracious acceptation hereof seeing that these treatises tend to the quickning and refreshing of the hearts of those which waite for and expect the comming and the kingdome of our Lord Iesus Christ Knowing that every thing of this nature from how weak an instrument soever it be so it bee with the plaine and cleer demonstrations of the holy Scripture and the holy spirit is very acceptable unto you who are in that waiting and expecting posture And also secondly of your owning and defending and maintaining all the truths which are therein laid down as far as they shall appear in the energie and evidence of the holy spirit unto you who have already so plenarily compared with many other Saints of these present times received of that spirit And now right honourable that as your God hath graciously loaded you both with internall and externall glory under which he keepes you in a sweet meek and humble frame which crownes all the favours which he hath conferred upon you so that you may more and more abound in every grace and blessing of the Lord enjoying yet more full spirituall and sweet communion and fellowship with the Father and with his Sonne Iesus Christ through the spirit that as transplendent stars you may shine gloriously in the severall spheares wherein God hath set you or shall set you while in this world untill you are advanced unto that beatificke vision which is to bee injoyed among the glorified Saints and Angels with Iesus Christ in another world shall be the prayer of My Ladies Your Ladiships devoted unfeignedly to serve you in the Lord MARY RANDE To the READER Courteous Reader I Had written the first of these Treatises intituled The little Horns doom and downfall above seven yeeres since but have bin with-held from publishing of it untill now for ends best known unto divine Majesty but if may so guesse it may bee it was because that men would then generally have been more uncapable of receiving of such things then now they are because now these things are fulfilled and prophesies are then best understood when they are fulfilled But now am I so pressed to publish both this first Treatise and this other which I have but lately written upon this 27 verse of this seventh of Daniel * Having finished it but since the beginning of the moneth of August this present yeer 1651. as that I cannot I dare not with-hold neither of them from publike view any longer but by publishing of them in print I shall expose them to the publike view of all men as far as in me lies And having so done shall leave it to the eternall Jehovah to make it effectuall to those ends to which he hath appointed it which may bee First to convince those of their folly that persist in waies contradictory to or crossing of his present designes to the disturbing of their own soules though they cannot hinder his worke for who can let it for if hee do not convince them none can Or Secondly it may be to confirm others for there are some that are already so far inlightned in their understandings about the present proceedings of God in the world as they do in some competent measure already discerne the footsteps of God in these great present providences and doe discerne also what his designes are in
away his Dominion and destroy him unto the end And what the issue of all this will be is discovered in the following verse but of that in its place But now it may bee some may slight this interpretation saying that it is not to be regarded seeing severall have given severall Interpretations of Scriptures and most of them have been besides the truth and so may this will they say But to those I have but this to say first that upon this account they may continually sleight all that shall bee said in opening the Scriptures though it be never so consonant unto the Truth and minde of the Spirit of God the Author of the Scriptures And so God with such sleight spirits will not have the glory of his pre-decreeing of the things he will have to come to passe many hundred yeeres after and of his exact bringing things to passe according to the counsels of his own will so many hundred yeeres before resolved upon And secondly they in so doing doe give lesse honour to God then the heathens did to their Devilish Oracles which would pretend to foreshew things to come and lesse then they doe to Astronomers who from the stars do pretend to foretell things whereas God oftentimes frustrateth the tokens of those lyars and maketh those diviners mad Isa 44. 25. and they cannot foreshew any thing infallibly though possibly from the stars they may give some uncertain hints of things but it is that which is proper to God alone infallibly to fore-tell things to come As appeares Isa 48. 3 4 5. and Isa 46. 9 10. and which hee doth from time to time do by his servants the Prophets and therefore what they have declared from God hath been done for our observation Rom. 15. 4 Psa 107. 43. Deut. 29. 29. Wherein we may see that what God hath done from age to age hath all along bin the fulfilling of his word of which we are to give him the glory And thirdly though some Interpreters have failed of truth which it may bee hath been the hardening of the hearts of some yet this will not be a sufficient discharge for any from their duty of observing these things that when the truth appeares God may have the glory But fourthly it is true things have often been ancertainely hit at by some men before they came to passe but these things are come to passe and all prophecies are best understood when they are fulfilled or neer to be fulfilled not but that oftentimes prophecies have been cleerely understood long beforehand by many precious Saints But fifthly this is certaine that when the very minde of God in Prophecies is unerringly laid open being cleerly and convincingly discovered to his Saints and servants that desire to pry into and observe these things according to their dutie that even then some will not receive them neither the wise of the world nor the wicked of the world as appeares Mat. 11 25. and Dan. 12. 10. But though the worldly-wise do not yet they that have wisdome from above shall have these things revealed to them and shall understand them as appeares in the same Scriptures for when truth is revealed the children of truth having one and the same spirit shall see it with the same eye and rejoyce with the same joy in seeing of it My Sheepe know my voice John 10. 27. They know that it is my voice and not anothers voice and indeed it is chiefly for their sakes who know his voice who have his spirit that all truths are revealed But all these are generall answers but for this particular Interpretation I have onely this to say That I do not pretend to be any more exempted from uncertainty then any other of the deare servants of God have been to whom God hath very often revealed his secrets though sometimes some things of their owne suppositions have slipt from them and therefore I shall not presse any to believe these things because I have said them unlesse they do therein hear the voice of Christ and his spirit setting them home upon them For this I know that truth is powerfull enough to to prevaile with Saints and for the truth of these things of which I have spoken or of whatever is laid down in the following discourse I leave them to the great God who hath put me upon the publishing of them to make them prevalent with as many as hee intends good unto by them And further this I must professe that it hath not been a few daies only or since the last Kings death onely that I have thus been made to understand this Scripture But I thus understood it for above nine yeeres ago and to this the Lord is witnesse and severall godly people whom I have made acquainted with it at severall times so that when the late King was in his height I declared my confidence that the Parliament should prevaile over him and at last destroy him But seeing as I have said that all Prophesies are best understood in the fulfilling of them the truth of these things will therefore doubtlesse now be the more prevailing with Saints But one word more and that is this That though it is true that usually Saints know the voice of Christ and are able to say certainly this is or this is not the voice of Christ I say though it be thus usually with them yet there are some cases in which they are uncertaine and some truths about which they can neither say that it is truth or that it is not truth And now if this be the case of any about these things I have spoken of I have onely this to say to them that though they cannot receive them presently yet let them beware how they sleight them and this I must tell them that if the Lord had not all along hitherto in the workes of his providence which in many particulars were very observable evidenced the truth hereof and if hee doe not demonstrate it more and more it might bee the more tollerable for them thus to sleight it but considering how wonderfully from day to day this is cleared and will be cleared Oh let them beware how they wilfully shut their eyes against the light of it for any private interest whatsoever lest in shutting their eyes against light they be shut up in Babylonian darknesse and consequently partake with Babylon both in her sins and in her plagues And now I should here proceed to the 27 verse but because it treateth of the glorious Kingdom which Jesus Christ shall have in the world and that being a subject which my spirit is drawn out to treat more largely and amply of it then any yet have done I shall therefore handle it in an intire book by it selfe closing up this discourse with those expressions of the Psalmist Psal 92. 5 6 7. O Lord how great are thy workes thy thoughts are very deep A bruitish man knoweth not neither doth a foole understand this when the wicked
authority of Scripture and such demonstration of the spirit and power going along with them and these great voyces shall have a double effect first they shall minister joy and gladnesse to the Saints and secondly they shall minister terrour to the Popish party for it speakes and works their ruine and third woe that comes upon them The Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever The Kingdoms of this world are become so why were they not so before this seventh Angell sounded or this seventh dispensation Is not the earth the Lords and the fulnesse thereof whose were the Kingdomes of this world but our Lords and his Christs Answer Though it is true they were his yet they were not so visibly the Kingdoms of God and of Christ as they shall then be For they seemed rather to be the Kingdomes of the evill one they were so universally inslaved to the Devill among the Indians and Heathens that professed not Christ and they seemed rather to be inslaved to that man of sin that wicked one that sate in the Temple of God and blasphemed among such as professed Christianity But at this time they shall in a most visible and glorious manner become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ for he shall break down the power of other Kings even of all that will not stoope to him and cast their Crowns at his feet yea he will breake them in peeces as a Potters vessell and that great Papall Beast shall be destroyed with the fire of his wrath and his glory shall be manifested to all people and nations and languages who casting off all other Lords shall willingly be subjected to him and rejoyce in his glorious reign according to that of the Psalmist The Lord * Psal 97. 1. and 96. 10 11 12 13. reigneth and let the earth rejoyce and let the great “ England is one of the great Isles Isles be glad thereof Yea the Kingdomes of this world shall be universally so subjected to our Lord Jesus Christ as they shall all serve and obey him only and other Lords shall not have Dominion over them but they shall have one Lord and his name one in all the earth Thus in a most visible manner shall the Kingdomes of this world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ * Zach. 14. 9. And he shall reign for ever and ever He having once subjected the Kingdomes of this world unto the obedience of himselfe it shall not be with him as it hath been with all the great and potent Monarchs that have formerly ruled the world that one of them have thrust out and destroyed another and one hath taken the Dominion from another No none shall take the Dominion from him But as Daniel saies His Kingdome shall be an everlasting Kingdom and all Rulers shall serve and obey him So John here saies He shall reigne for ever and ever And the foure and twenty Elders which sate before God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty c. What those foure and twenty Elders are will appeare in the fourth and fifth Chapters of this Prophesie They are first mentioned Chap. 4. 4. where they are thus described And round about the throne were foure and twenty seats and upon the seats I saw foure and twenty Elders sitting cloathed in white rayment and upon their heads were Crownes of Gold Now that we may know what these be we must observe what the Angell saies to John in the first verse of that Chapter in these words Come and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter whence it appeares that these Elders as well as the other things which John saw were representatives of some things that were to be after that time Now Chapter 5. we may see what they were that were to be hereafter which these foure and twenty Elders did represent and that is that they were Saints that were redeemed to God by the bloud of the Lamb out of every kindred and Nation and people as appeares in the 8 9 10. verses of that Chapter Now here in this 11 Chapter these foure and twenty Elders that is these Saints and redeemed ones of Christ do upon the sounding of these voyces that the Kingdomes of this world are become the Kingdomes of our Lord and of his Christ fall upon their faces that is they lay themselves low before God and worship him being exceedingly affected with this great work of God and with his great grace toward them in bringing them out of their suffering condition to reign with Christ They fell upon their faces and worshipped God saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned The Saints whatever others do herein yet they if their eyes be open to see it they cannot but give thanks yea solemnly lay themselves low before God in thanksgiving for the great and signall manifestations of the Lord God Almighty and eternall his taking to him his great power in ruling and raigning and laying of such as are indeed his enemies in the dust and yet withall at the same time their hearts may be very much affected with this that any godly men should be so deeply engaged with Gods enemies and consequently do partake of their punishments Because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned Because thou hast not suffered thine enemies alwaies to boast and to triumph but hast begun to lay them low before thee and now hast taken to thee thy great power which thou seemedst to have laid aside when thou sufferedst so long the rod of the wicked to rest upon the lot of thy righteous ones but now dost thou take to thee and shew forth thy great power in punishing and bringing down the power of thine enemies for these things we give thee thanks and because that now more generally universally and evidently thou appearest to reign over men in thy just and righteous deciding of Controversies and in justifying them that in the integrity of their hearts give up themselves to glorifie thy great name and to do that which may be for the good of all thy Saints even of every one that feares thy name small and great laying aside all by and selfe respects yea we give thee thanks for that thou now so evidently appearest to reigne over men in condemning and blasting those that pretending other things force themselves against their judgements to contend for some things which are but a seeming ground of that quarrell against others which was primarily occasioned by their selfe ends which selfe-love hath so blinded them as they could not or would not see but shall see and be made to acknowledge them to thee and to thy Saints by thy righteous judgements This and
have done or suffered doth merit a reward but he will freely give them a glorious reward for all that they have suffered and done for him And shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth This being the time in which he comes to do righteousness and justice in the earth he will render a just reward to the enemies of his people and cause his wrath to go forth against them to their destruction but this is further spoken of in the 19. verse as it follows And the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his temple the Arke of his Testament and there were lightnings and voyces and thunderings and an earthquake and great haile This verse containes a declaration of two great effects the first of which concernes Saints and the latter concernes the enemies of Christ and his Saints That which concernes Saints is in these words And the Temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in the Temple the Arke of his Testament and that which concernes the enemies is in these words And there were lightnings and voyces and thunderings and an earthquake and great haile of this latter effect of the sounding of this Trumpet I shall speake by and by in its place but first of the first effect mentioned in this verse which concernes the Saints which is contained in these words And the Temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his Temple the Arke of his Testament The Temple and the Arke of his Testament are both Old Testament-phrases and for the opening of these things we must first enquire what is meant by these phrases here in the New Testament Now this may be made cleare by comparing Scripture with Scripture for the spirit of God ordinarily cleares that in one Scripture which he leaves more doubtfull in another Now generally in the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ and his Disciples to whom he opened the * Luk. 14. 22. Scriptures of Moses and all the Prophets do make use of such phrases as the Temple and Jerusalem and Sion and the Priesthood and the Sacrifices and the like to expresse those things by them which the outward things in use under the law did type out and they never spake of these things as they are litterally understood as to be so understood in the times of the Gospell but as being now abolished and those spirituall things which they typed out are alwaies to be understood by such phrases in the New Testament and so the spirit of Christ in the Apostles expresly declares as for instance the Churches of God are now said to be the Temple of God as 2 Cor. 6. 16. for ye saith Paul to the Church of the Corinthians are the Temple of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people and so also the Church of God is in the New Testament called the heavenly Jerusalem and Sion as Heb. 12. 22. and Gal. 4. 26. and Rev. 21. 2 3. and in the New Testament the title of High-Priest is given to Christ as Heb. 8. 1. and the title of Priest is given to Saints as Rev. 1. 6. and the spirituall services of Saints are termed sacrifices for with such sacrifices saies the Apostle God is well pleased So that these words in this verse The Temple of God and the Arke of his Testament are to be mystically understood and not literally since such things are abolished Now by the Temple of God we are to understand here the Church of God the Saints the people of God which in the New Testament are stiled the Temple of God And as the Arke of the Testament was of old that wherein the Book of the Law was put in the Temple of old so in this New Testament Temple that is to say in the Church of God there is the Arke of his Testament there is the new and spirituall Laws and Ordinances of God contained Now then this follows upon the sounding of the seventh Trumpet That the Temple of God is opened in heaven that is that the Church of God which before seemed to be shut up and to lye in obscurity now it shall be opened that is be more fully discovered and manifested openly it shall no longer remaine shut up and in obscurity but it shall be visible and in it is seene the Arke of his Testament among the Churches the saints of God is to be seen the Law and Ordinances of God set up in Majesty and purity I say it is to be seen it no longer remaines in doubt what the Laws and Ordinances of God are but in his Temple in his Church they are to be seen under the sounding of this 7th Trumpet Thus much concernes and is peculiar only to saints but that which followes concernes the enemies of Christ which is in these words and there were voices and lightnings and thunderings and an earthquake and great haile these words are to expresse terrible things to come upon the opposers of Christ the like words are used Rev. 8. 5. To expresse the terrible Judgements of God that were to come upon his enemies in the sounding of the trumpets in answer to the prayers of Saints which are there mentioned to be presented before God and wee know that thundrings and lightnings and haile is usually very sad and dreadfull weather and earthquakes and voices are very sad and amazing things Now such terrible dreadfull and amazing things doe come upon Antichrist and his adherents upon the sounding of the seventh Trumpet which will prove exceeding dreadfull distracting and destructive to them and this shall be when the saints shall be in greater freedome and liberty and glory and splendor then ever they were and when nothing shall disquiet them for these tempests must come upon the wicked To them there will be earthquakes but there shall be none among the Saints no earthquakes in heaven the Saints and their societies are heaven but Antichrist and his crew and conclave is earth and upon these come these stormes and these earthquakes but the saints are above the reach of them And thus much for the opening of this latter part of the eleventh Chapter of the Revelation which I have the more fully and distinctly opened as it now came in my way in the cleering of this truth in hand because I have already opened all the former part from the first verse to the fifteenth where I now began so that now I have opened the whole Chapter And now in all these thirteen severall Scriptures which I have produced and opened as there was need is this truth which in this twenty seven verse of this seventh of Daniel is asserted or made as cleare as the Sun And having thus cleared this truth in generall which I have done the more fully to be a foundation to what I have in the following part of the discourse to discover There are
hate the Popish crew But when the Lamb shall have overcome the ten Kingdomes and shall have put them into a new frame and posture and when his glory shall be wonderfully seen among his people and all the world shall heare how gloriously he shall manifest himselfe among them in giving of his people miraculous victories over and unheard of successe against the Beast and his Associates and that in such a wonderfull manner as the like hath not been heard of and when the Jews shall heare of this and heare how the Kingdomes are fallen from the Beast and how they loath those abominable practises with a perfect hatred and how that they do all set themselves against that cursed company and intend to make them desolate and utterly to destroy them as the enemies of him who is the true Christ At this time I say way will be made for the bringing of them in and then the Gospel in the purity of it shall be preached unto them being wholly freed from the imbasing mixtures of Romes inventions and the pure Gospell of Jesus Christ shall in the preciousnesse and sweetness and glory of it be cleerly heldforth unto them and they then will begin to be convinced seeing that our Lord Jesus Christ doth manifest his wrath and displeasure against that prophane sort of men and ruines them and destroyes them and takes vengeance on them for all their abominations that they have committed and all the murthers and cruelties that they have exercised upon his holy people whom now he ownes and gloriously goes on to save them with outward and externall salvation as well as inward and giving of them to tread upon the necks of their enemies and to be exalted above the Nations Then I say cleere way will be made for them to be brought in and to beleev the Lord Jesus to be indeed their King and Saviour and Prophet and to give up themselves to him and to his protection and when they shall thus do they shall have the spirit abundantly poured out upon them and they shall bemoane themselves for their folly in that they have so long rejected Jesus Christ and shall then look upon this Jesus whom they have pierced and shall mourne for him as for an only son as appeares Zach. 10. and that Scripture seemes to import that such shall be the spirit of grace and supplication and so strongly shall that spirit work in them as they shall therein exceed us for grace shall be so powerfull and love shall worke so wonderfully in them and so melt their hearts as that they shall be so deeply afflicted for their having rejected Jesus Christ as they shall be in bitternesse as one that is in bitternesse for his first borne and being so in good earnest it is said that each soule shall mourne apart * Of the admirable manner in which the Jews shall be converted And for the manner of this their unfaigned conversion the Holy Ghost speakes as if this worke should be done very suddenly and very admirably as appeares Isa 66. 7 8. Before Sion travelled shee brought forth before her paine came she was delivered of a man child who hath heard such a thing Who hath seen such a thing Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day shall a Nation be brought forth at once For as soon as Sion travelved she brought forth her children Here it is clearely implyed that the work shall be very admirable and be very suddenly strangely and unexpectedly done It shall be done as it were before any work is visibly begun and before those ordinary preparations to such a worke that do use to precede the same work in others at other times when others have been begotten and borne to Christ there hath been a long travelling in birth for them before they have been brought forth and the paines and the pangs of the new birth do ordinarily precede the bringing of it forth in some more in some lesse in all some but here it is said Before she travelled she brought forth before her paine came she was delivered O what a wonderfull what an admirable thing is this and therfore in the next verse it followes by way of admiration who hath heard such a thing who hath seen such a thing as if it had been said this is a thing which hath not been heard of these are things that never have been seen and can ye beleeve such things Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day Shall a Nation be borne at once And shall these things be so indeed Yea they shall for it follows As soone as Sion travelled she brought forth her Children The worke of the birth of a Nation shall be very sudden The earth shall bring forth in one day Zion no sooner travelled but she brought forth her Children it was so soon and her travell so quickly over as it may in comparison of others be said to be no travell but to be done before travell and before paine came a paralell place to this we have Isa 49. Where the Lord saies that though Sion said my Lord hath forsaken me and the Lord hath forgotten me that yet he had not forgotten them but they were graven upon the palmes of his hands and that their wals were continually before him and that the time should come when he would wonderfully enlarge them and therefore saies in the 20. verse The children which thou shalt have after thou hast lost the other shall say againe in thine eares the place is too straight for me give place to me that I may dwell And at the 21. verse Then shalt thou say in mine eares who hath begotten me those I have lost my children and am desolate a captive and removing to and fro and who hath brought up these behold I was left alone these where they It is a broken expression for thsre is no other word added in the Heb to where they shewing amazedness at the miraculousnes of the thing It shal be of such a sudden that those multitudes shall be brought in after the Churches being desolate a Captive and being removed to and fro up and down at the pleasure of tyrants when her children seemed to be all lost and none of the Sons of Sion could as it were visibly appeare that she shall say in her heart who hath begotten me these Or how came I so suddenly to have so many Children Who hath brought them up Or what shall I say Where they What a miracle is it that I should have such a multitude of Children on such a sudden after my desolated captivated and wandering condition Thus in these Scriptures it appeares that this worke shall be very sudden in a very short time it shall be done a Nation shall be borne at once and the Earth shall bring forth in a day which implies a very short time but to consine it to a naturall day consisting of 24 houres I see no reason nor necessity
but then this adversary of theirs shall have no power to oppose them for this thousand yeers but he shall be bound up for so says the holy Spirit Rev. 20. 1 2 3. And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on the dragon that old serpent which is the devil and Satan and bound him a thousand yeers and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand yeers should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed for a little season Here we see that for this thousand yeers after the destruction of the Beast and False Prophet and the Kings of the earth and all other enemies of the Saints that grand enemy of the Saints is laid lowe also even that roaring lion And that ye may be sure 't is he that is thus clapt under hatches he is here set out under those several denominations that the Scripture in several places gives him And first he is stiled the Dragon but lest it should be doubtful what the dragon is it follows that he is that old Serpent and lest this be not plain enough it is further said Which is the devil and Satan Thus this enemy of the Saints is we see to be bound up also and therefore it is said that an angel having a great chain in his hand laid hold of him and bound him for a thousand yeers and he did not onely binde him but cast him into the bottomless pit nay and not onely so but he shut him up in the pit and set a seal upon him importing the doing of it to purpose the doing of it securely that so he might deceive the Nations no more until the thousand yeers were finished Thus is it clear that in this thousand yeers this great enemy of the Saints shall have no power to molest them And this is that which Paul also speaks of Rom. 16. 20. The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly In that the Apostle speaks of the doing of it in the future time as that it shall be done shortly it is clear that he means not that treading down of Satan which was then already done even that which Christ had done upon the Cross when he conquered sin and Satan and so in a sence trod Satan under the feet of his Saints but of a further treading of him under feet which was to be done in future times But yet we have not seen Satan troden any more under feet then he was in the Apostles times for greater was his prevalencie in the midnight of Popery then in the Apostles time it was Therefore this treading under foot of Satan of which Paul speaks is yet to come and doubtless the Apostle speaks of this time when Satan shall be bound up and shut up in the bottomless pit and sealed And when this time is come will this prophecie of Paul be made good The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly And now having thus far described this new world shewing how it shall be setled in peace by the God of peace and that Satan shall be troden under the feet of his Saints I shall now proceed to declare the great and glorious priviledges that shall then and in this kingdom be conferred upon the Saints And they may be referred to two Heads 1. Spiritual and internal 2. Outward and external Of the spiritual priviledges and prerogatives that Saints shall then enjoy And first I shall speak of the spiritual priviledges and blessings which the Saints shall then enjoy for therein shall be their greatest joy and glory and without which the other sort of blessings would be rather hurtful then profitable to them Now the fountain of all their spiritual advantages and priviledges will consist in the abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon them of which I shall first speak and then of the particular effects and benefits of it And of this abundant pouring out of the Spirit the Scripture speaks plentifully in several places as Isa 44. 3. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine off-spring Thus abundantly will the Spirit be poured out as he here promises that he will pour it out by floods it shall not be by drops or by small streams but by floods shall it be poured out upon those that are dry and thirsty But how do some Saints now thirst after these waters of life being as dry and parched ground for want of it But alas they have but now and then some drops or at most some small streams of it that doth a little refresh them and quicken them But where is the soul that hath those floods of the Spirit yet poured upon it How do the best of Saints complain for want hereof But the time is coming when they shall have no cause to complain for they shall have floods of the Spirit poured out upon them And this is the time which is also spoken of Isai 32. 15. when the Spirit shall be poured out from on high and the wilderness shall be a fruitful field and the fruitful field be counted for a forest Here the holy Ghost says that at this time the Spirit shall be so abundantly poured out upon the Saints as that those that were lookt upon as a wilderness for barrenness shall now become a fruitful field and those that were formerly a fruitful field should be accounted as a forest in comparison of the fruitful fields that shall then be Again Joel 2. 28. And it shall come to pass that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesie your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit This prophecie is clearly a prophecie of this time for it is expresly said that this shall come to pass in that time when the Lord will plead with all Nations for the controversies which his Sion hath against them which now he will do in these later days and which never yet hath been so fully done as he then will do And he says that when he doth this his people shall never be ashamed any more which time is yet to come therefore this promise hath not yet been fulfilled Besides it 's clear that this promise was never yet fulfilled for when was ever this promise in the fulness in the altitude and latitude fulfilled When was the Spirit poured upon all flesh When was the Spirit generally poured out Was it ever poured out upon all flesh The greater number of people may indeed receive the denomination of All the people but the least number of people as one of an hundred or
one of a thousand cannot be said to be All. But when was the Spirit poured out so much as upon one of a thousand Again when was the Spirit so abundantly upon all ages degrees and sexes as that all might prophesie that is in the lowest sence be able to speak to edification exhortation and comfort How few of those that are Saints have the spirit of Prophecie in this sence to any purpose upon them carrying of them forth to publish the Gospel for the edifying comforting or conversion of others The number of those is very small witness the complaints of many Country-towns and Parishes even within this Kingdom which they make for the want of faithful able men to preach the Gospel among them And if there be very few men that are thus furnished with this gift of the Spirit how few are the women Not but that there are many godly women many who have indeed received the Spirit but in how small a measure is it how weak are they and how unable to prophesie for it is that that I am speaking of which this text says they shall do which yet we see not fulfilled Indeed they have tasted of the sweetness of the Spirit and having tasted are longing for more and are ready to receive from those few that are in any measure furnished with the gifts of the Spirit for prophesying but they are generally very unable to communicate to others though they would do it many times in their families among their children and servants and when they would be communicating to others into whose company they come though sometimes some sprinklings come from them yet at other times they finde themselves dry and barren But the time is coming when this promise shall be fulfilled and the * That all ages sexes degrees shall have the spirit of Prophecie in these later days Saints shall be abundantly filled with the Spirit and not onely men but women shall prophesie not onely aged men but young men not onely superious but inferiours not onely those that have University-learning but those that have it not even servants and handmaids For this by the way let me say There is nothing absolutely necessary to the making of a convert and of a convert a publisher of the Gospel which a soul that is but furnished onely with Understanding and Reason is not capable of if the Spirit be poured out upon it whether it be a Heathen so called for distinction sake or one brought up in the profession of Christianity or whether it be learned or unlearned or whether it be male or female I say a soul indued with Understanding and Reason is capable of Religion and all religious performances if it be indued with the Spirit and there is no other thing absolutely necessary thereunto And when the Spirit shall be more abundantly poured out upon Saints this shall be made evident so that according to this gracious promise sons and daughters servants and handmaids old men and young men shall prophesie But some may say This promise was fulfilled in the Apostles times and the Apostle Peter expresly cites it Acts 2. 18. when the Spirit was theu poured out upon them But to that I answer It is true the Apostle Peter cites it there but it doth not therefore follow that this promise was then fulfilled neither was it but the Apostle cites it upon this occasion The twelve Apostles having then received the promise of the pouring out of the Spirit it carried them forth powerfully and wonderfully and in an extraordinary manner to speak forth the things of God which when those that were in Jerusalem both strangers and others saw and heard they began to marvel at it and to say that they were full of new wine But the Apostle Peter understanding this stands up and tells them that they were not drunken as they supposed but cites to them this Scripture whereby he would have them to understand that this need not be so strange to them which they then saw and heard in them if they considered what was promised long ago in the Prophet Joel That the Spirit should be abundantly poured out upon all flesh and considering this they need not wonder thus to see the Spirit now poured out upon a few men But though the Apostle thus to this end there cites this Scripture yet was it not then in the largeness of it fulfilled For in those times though some men young and old and some women some of their sons and daughters did prophesie yet were it very few in comparison of those that did not and therefore it could not be said that the Spirit was then poured upon All flesh but that time is to come and is to be in that day we are speaking of wherein indeed the Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh in an abundant manner and come no whit short of what this Scripture imports So that though for the time which hath been ever since the Apostles days to this present time it may be said of the Church of the Saints of God that they have lien among the pots that I may allude to that of the Psalmist Psal 78. 13. in respect of that obscurity and deformity in which they have been for want of that spiritual glory which the abundant pourings out of the Spirit will put upon them yet at this time to use the Psalmists expression they shall be as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her feathers with yellow gold that soil filthiness corruption and deformity that hath appeared in them wherein in many respects they have seemed to be as worldlings are covered over with earth and sullyed with the blackness of corruption as having lien among the pots all this shall be done away and as innocent doves they shall mount up and and shine in splendor and purity when more abundantly the Spirit shall be poured out upon them And this time it is that is spoken of Isa 52. 1 2. Where the Lord is speaking thus to the Church Awake awake put on thy strength O Sion put on thy beautiful garments O Jerusalem the holy city for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircucised and the unclean Shake thy self from the dust arise and sit down O Jerusalem and loose thy self from the bands of thy neck O captive daughter of Sion It 's the presence of the Spirit in the fulness of it that beautifies the Saints and cloaths them with beautiful garments and is their strength and by it they arise and mount up above the world and shake themselves from the dust and are losed from all their bonds and are made free This time is also spoken of Isa 60. 1 2. Where the Lord speaks thus to his Church Arise shine for thy light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee for behold darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people but the Lord shall arise upon thee and his glory
shall be seen upon thee And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising And v. 19 20. The sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightness shall the moon give light to thee but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light and thy God thy glory Thy sun shall no more go down neither shall thy moon withdraw it self for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended How glorious shall the Church be when thus the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon them in such fulness It is true there is in every true Saint and hath been in the darkest times of Popery in the times of their greatest weakness and darkness some true glory But how hath it been besmeared and eclipsed with their weaknesses and corruptions that have appeared in them But now the Spirit shall be poured so abundantly upon them as they shall arise and shine Now the Sun and Moon shall be no more their light those means and appointments wherein formerly they received light and saw some brightness they shall now be no lights comparatively for being compared with those full pourings out of the Spirit that they shall then have and those immediate inlightnings they shall then receive from God they shall be no lights and be of no use unto them because the Lord will be their everlasting light and their God their glory And it being so their Sun shall no more go down nor their Moon withdraw its self and the days of their mourning shall be ended They shall no more have a midnight of Popery overspreading them nor no more be burthened and bowed down by corruptions nor no more be afflicted by their enemies Their mourning dark days are past away and they shall live in joy light and glory for ever But thus having spoken in the general of the happy condition in which the Saints shall be in regard of the fulness of the Spirit which shall be poured out upon them I shall now proceed to the particular effects which the Spirit shall then work in them as the Scripture declares that the Saints in these days shall be filled with the Spirit 1 By which they shall be filled with knowledge 2 By which they shall be in an humble frame 3 By which they shall be filled with love 4 By which they shall be filled with a holy filial fear 5 By which they shall be enabled to worship the Lord acceptably 6 By which they shall be all united 7 By which they shall be enabled to act justly and righteously 8 By which they shall be put into a meek and sweet frame 9 By which the weak shall be made strong 10 By which they shall be enabled to speak a pure language 11 By which their minds and affections shall be raised and made heavenly 12 By which their wills shall be swallowed up in the will of God 13 By which they shall walk in the integrity and singleness of their hearts 14 By which they shall be enabled to mortifie all corruptions 15 By which they shall appear very glorious in the eyes of all 16 By which they shall be enabled to make a holy use of all the creatures And 17 By which they shall abundantly be filled with divine joy I shall begin with the first That the Saints having an abundant measure of the Spirit shall then be filled with knowledg * How Saints shall be fil'd with knowledge And this appears cleerly in that known place Isa 11. 9 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea This whole chapter is a cleer Prophecie of this time when there shall be new Heavens and a new earth and an universal rectitude shall appear in all the world as appears in that chapter Then shall knowledge abound in the world the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It is not said With humane knowledge but that knowledge which is infinitely transcendent unto all humane knowledge the knowledge of the Lord yea so full of divine light and knowledge shall they then be as they shall have no cause to complain that they have but little and they want more for if the Sea may be said to want waters then may they complain but they shall have no cause for they shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea in this day when Jesus Christ and his Saints shall gloriously reign on earth And then in a most eminent manner shall that part of the new Covenant be made good which saith they shall no more teach every man his neighbour saying Know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them saith the Lord Jer. 31. 34. Though it is true that in a sence this is now made good to the Saints for the least of Saints hath a true knowledge of God though but in a weak degree but then most eminently shall this promise be made good Again Isai 54. 13. in which Chapter the Lord makes many glorious promises of what he will do for his people in this time wherein he will put more glory upon them then ever he hath yet done At the thirteenth verse it's said And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of thy children Thus with an abundant measure of divine knowledge shall Saints be filled in that time But secondly being thus filled with the Spirit they shall be thereby made fully sensible of their own unworthiness and so walk humbly * That Saints shall be in an humble frame in those times before the Lord. For when they shall consider in that time what great and glorious things God hath done for them how he hath magnified his grace to them in giving of them full deliverance and times of peace and joy for all their times of sorrow and doubling their joys for their sorrow as Isai 61. 7. so as they never underwent so many sorrows but they shall partake of double joys and that everlastingly and when they shall consider that all this is from free love and tender mercy to an unworthy people it will put them into a very humble posture And this is clear Ezek. 16. 60 61 c. where the Lord having promised that notwithstanding all the unworthinesses of his people which are there enumerated yet he will do glorious things for them but he tells them that when he doth so for them that then they shall be ashamed of their ways and remember them and be confounded and never open their mouth any more because of their shame when he is pacified toward them The consideration of the grace of God to such as were unworthy shall so melt and humble their hearts before him the Spirit being abundantly in them as they shall never be lifted up in the pride of their hearts
it and the Lamb is the light thereof They shall then have no need of those men that shine as the Sun and Moon to the Church to inlighten others no but then as I have said They shall be all immediately taught of God and they shall not need to teach one another saying Know the Lord but the glory of the Lord and the Lamb shall lighten them And thus as far as I have been enabled and the Scripture giving clear testimony have I answered that Question What Ordinances shall be used at that time and how shall Saints then worship God I proceed Sixthly The Saints being filled with the Spirit they shall then be enabled to worship the Lord with one * The Saints shall then all worship the Lord in one way minde and one heart and in one way It shall not be then as now in these dark times it is wherein one is of this minde and another of that minde and a third of a third minde about several parts of the Ordinances of God and these divisions in Opinion rest not there onely but make divisions in Affection also But then it shall not be so and therefore we finde mention made but of one street in the New Jerusalem Rev. 22. 2. implying that they shall all walk in one way And Zeph. 3. 9. the Lord says that he will turn unto the people a pure language that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord and serve him with one shoulder And this appears also in that fore-mentioned place Zech. 8. 20 21. where it is said that the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts I will go also Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts Where it is clear that all people in all Cities and Nations shall be of one minde in the Worship of God And Jer. 32. 39. the Lord there says that in that time he will give his people one heart and one way And seventhly The Saints being thus in that time abundantly filled with the Spirit all * Justice and righteousness shall flourish in those days just and righteous things shall be done by them And this is clear Isai 60. 18. Violence shall no more be heard within thy land nor wasting nor destruction within thy borders Though there hath been violence in the Land formerly yet then there shall be no more but vers 21. Thy people shall be all righteous they shall inherit the land for ever the branch of my planting that I may be glorified And so full of the spirit of judgement and righteousness shall the Saints then be as it is said Isai 32. 16. that judgement shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field In the verse before it is said that the Spirit shall be so poured out as that those that had been as a barren wilderness should now become as a fruitful field and in this verse it is said that in all whether they were such as had been a wilderness or such as had been a fruitful field judgement and righteousness should dwell And to this same purpose is that Isai 1. 26 27. Afterward thou shalt be called the citie of righteousness the faithful citie The like is said of it Jer. 31. 23. They shall use this speech of thee The Lord bless thee O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness How full are these expressions shewing how glorious for holiness this new world shall be And for this cause it is that when these new heavens and new earth are promised they are distinguished from the old or former heavens and earth by this character WHEREIN DWELLETH RIGHTEOVSNESS Thus the Saints in these times shall be so full of righteousness and judgement as they shall receive their very denomination from it And as it is said of the Lord God Almighty that his Name is holy so is it said of them They shall be called The city of righteousness the faithful city the habitation of justice the mountain of holiness so gloriously shall they then shine in righteousness and justice Eighthly By this abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon the Saints in that time they shall be put into a very * The meekness of the Saints in those days meek and sweet frame of spirit In Psal 149. which is a place I have already cited shewing that it is a Prophesie of these times at vers 4. it is said that the Lord will beautifie the meek with salvation whereby it is clear that they shall be meek spirits that shall then be beautified with salvation that shall be members of that kingdom And indeed it must needs be so for their Saviour is so they do learn and shall learn of him to be meek and sweet and lowly in in their hearts and carriages but not so but as that this meekness shall be consistent with courage stoutness and valour also when God calls them to exercise it And therefore as our Saviour is a Lamb and a Lion so they shall be as meek as * How a Lamb-like and a Lion-like nature may be consistent Lambs and yet as bold as Lions and not fear to do the work about which they are set as appears vers 6. 7. where it is said They shall have the high praises of God in their mouthes and a two-edged sword in their hands to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people to binde their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron Thus meek and sweet in spirit shall the Saints be and withal full of life and courage Again that the Saints shall be full of meekness at that time appears by that speech of our blessed Saviour Matth. 5. 5. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth Now the Saints could never be said so fully to have this promise made good to them as they shall in that time for many of the Saints in a sence never inherited the earth And as their Saviour spake of himself in the days of his humiliation so may it be said of them in these days of their humiliation That they have not many of them where to lay their heads And for the most part wicked men have possest the earth but many of them never had any inheritance in it And I am perswaded that our Saviour had this time in his eye when he said Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth So that though yet this promise was never fully made good yet there is a time coming wherein it shall be clearly and fully made good And of this time also speaks David when he says Psal 37. 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth shal delight themselvs in the abundance of peace He had said in the two former verses that evil doers should be cut off and that though the wicked did flourish for a
is an evil to come into a fashion after it hath been some time used if it be sober No I say not so for I know no Scripture that so says But I say that it becometh Saints to be more composed then others and not to be so forward as others in minding such vanities and not to put themselves into immodest habits but to do what in them lies to restrain the exorbitances of the times in such things And this I say That they do discover that they have very little of the Spirit that are not able to deny themselves not sometimes in very fooleries in this kinde Not but that rich apparel may be worn and comely ornaments may be used Holy women * Gen. 24. 22 30 47. have been and may be adorned with Bracelets and Rings and Jewels But fooleries and immodest apparel c. must be avoided and when the Spirit is more abundantly poured out it will be so And they will be very regardless of these vanities and be more grave composed and discreet in their carriages For then in all their clothing furniture and necessary utensils shall appear not vanity but Holiness to the Lord. They shall be so clothed and have such furniture as shall manifest that they are not a vain people but a holy people As appears Zech. 14. 20 21. For they shall make an holy use of all the blessings which God shall multiply upon them They shall no more abuse them but they shall be sanctified to their uses so as all shall have this inscription upon them in respect of their holy use of them HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD Thus Saints shall not minde vanity in these times But shall have their Spirits raised and lifted up into an heavenly and holy frame Again twelfthly Another effect of this more abundant pouring out of the Spirit upon the Saints will be this that they shall be more fully centred in the will of God and it shall be their resting place his * How Saints shall will the will of God Will will be their Will and be the satisfaction of their spirits This the Spirit always works in the hearts of the Saints where he comes and the more of the Spirit a Saint hath the more of this appears in him But in those times we are speaking of when the Spirit shall be thus gloriously seen upon the Saints then in a most eminent and full manner shall this appear in them all the will of God shall be sweet unto them And this is intimated in that excellent pattern of Prayer which our Lord and Saviour hath communicated unto his people in these words Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Where our Lord would have us to pray for the coming of this his Kingdom and for the doing of his will on earth as it is done in heaven which will be when that his Kingdom cometh For though now many know their Lords will and do it not yet it shall not be so then but knowing his will they shall do it and delight in the doing of it for his will is their will and theirs it is because it his so that they shall all pray and say Thy will be done and shall have strength to do it His will shall be done in earth as it is in heaven in that day Again in the thirteenth place The Saints in this time being filled with the Spirit shall * Saints shall then walk in the integriâ—y and singleness of heart all walk in the uprightness of their hearts Integrity and singleness of heart shall appear in them and hypocrisie and double-mindedness shall be loathsome to them and be utterly contrary to their natures They are children that will not lye and none but such shall be inheritors of this kingdom as appears Psal 24. 4. where the Psalmist says that none shall enter into this holy hill but he that hath clean hands and a pure heart who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully And so also Psal 15. 2. the Psalmist again saith that he that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousnesses and speaketh the truth in his heart shall dwell in it So that such and none but such shall possess this Kingdom And Psal 37. 18. this is again confirmed The Lord knoweth saith the Psalmist the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be for ever they shall possess this inheritance And of the upright ones is it said Isai 33. 15. that they shall dwell on high and shall see the King in his beauty This is their Character They that walk in righteousnesses and speak uprightnesses v. 15. And in the fourteenth place The Spirit being thus abundantly poured out upon the Saints they shall thereby be enabled to mortifie all corruption so that it shall not at * Corruption shall not at all break out in the Saints then all break out in them for though it be true that all that is born of the flesh is flesh and those that are in the state of mortality shall carry flesh about them yet they being all new born shall be then so filled with the Spirit as that they shall mortifie all the deeds of the body and the Spirit alone shall live and act and sway and bear rule in them and they being born of God shall not sin but shall hate every false way and not suffer the least evil motion to take place for indeed it is not possible it should they being so full of the Spirit for Saints do experiment this now that when the Spirit in the power and life and glory of it doth abide in them as some tastes of it some Saints sometimes have O then not the least evil motion will take place in their hearts there is an utter antipathy in their spirits at that time to every thing that is not pure But when this is withdrawn then they are often foiled with temptations and vanity hath too much place with them until a fresh supply of the Spirit come and mortifie it But when the Spirit shall be so abundantly poured out upon the Saints as the Scripture declares What a wide difference will there be between their condition now and their estates then Then shall they always walk up and down in the strength and power of the Spirit and never want its presence and then it shall be their continual delight to walk in the paths of holiness and nothing will be more irksome and more loathsome to them then any sin or sinful thought And though by the first Adam sin came into the world so that all are born sinners yet being new born the second Adam shall save them from all sin and that not onely from the guilt of sin but sprinkle clean water upon them pour out the waters of the holy Spirit upon them and they shall be clean from all the filth of sin in a more eminent and glorious manner then ever they have been so that corruption
c. Here is mention of four several employments for several men 1. the Plow-man 2. the Reapers 3. the treader of grapes 4. the Sower of seed And Jer. 33. 12 13. In that day in the place where it had been desolate there shall be habitations of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down and the flock shall again pass under the hand of him that telleth them And Isa 61. 5. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks and the sons of the alien shall be your plow-men and vine-dressers Thus in these words is it clear that men shall then follow several employments Again Isa 62. 8 9. I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies and the sons of the stranger shall no more drink thy wine for which thou hast laboured but they that have gathered it shall eat it and praise the Lord and they that have gathered it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness Here it is clear that labour they shall and each man shall enjoy the fruit of his own labours they shall not be unjustly deprived of it as now many be And so again Isa 65. 21 22. They shall build houses and plant vineyards and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands Mark this They shall long enjoy the work of their hands By the work of their hands they shall purchase estates and they shall be long enjoyed by them and their children no strangers shall deprive them of them But now by these several Scriptures it is clear that several employments men shall follow as plowing sowing and planting and reaping and treading the vines keeping and feeding flocks and herds and building houses c. But now though the Scripture mention not expresly the following other employments as Handy-craft-employments working in gold and silver and brass and iron and silk and linen and woollen c. yet is it clearly implied that they shall use such employments in those Scriptures that speak of their building houses in those times and of having gold and silver and apparel in great abundance c. So that it is clear that Saints shall labour in several employments in those times But whatever the lawful employments be in which they labour whether in Husbandry or Handy-craft-employments strangers shall not drink the wine nor eat the food nor inhabit the houses nor wear the apparel for which they have laboured but they and their children shall comfortably enjoy the work of their hands So that all of them by their labours and employments not toylsom and burdensome employments but by their employments which shall be as recreation to them as some employments are to ingenious men now for it is irksome to them to be always idle I say All of them by their pleasant easie and well-regulated employments shall get a plentiful * If the diligent hand by the blessing of the Lord do now make rich much more shall it then store of all those outward things which shall tend to the comfortable subsistence of them and theirs with which they shall have no grief nor vexation at all but sorrow and sighing shall flee away and everlasting joy shall be unto them And so much for answer to this Querie A Querie But thirdly Another Querie may be How the raised Saints that shall come to reign with Christ on earth shall walk and act here in the world An Answer to the Query To which I have no other answer to make but this having already shown that they shall be raised spiritual bodies that they shall not act with respect to their bodies as those other Saints that shall live and shall be born in those times who have not laid down their mortal bodies and been raised again for as our Saviour speaks expresly that in the Resurrection They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage but they shall be as the Angels of God so it shall be with them So that the actings and walkings of the raised Saints here on earth may be much like the actings of the Angels of God But to declare how they shall act more particularly and how and in what manner they shall reign on earth with Christ I dare not undertake to describe any further the Scripture being silent as to particulars and I think that enough for us to know in these matters which the Spirit of God thinks enough to declare of them in Scripture But so much as the Scripture declares we may not onely safely but as our * Deut. 29. 29. duty search into Rom. 15. 4. Therefore so much as I finde the Scriptures declaring thereof do I here exhibit and shall no more A Query But fourthly Some may be apt to enquire Whether all creatures shall be made use of by us then the sensitive creatures as well as the vegetive This Querie is occasioned by that saying of the Apostle which we have Rom. 8. 21. which hath been already mentioned where the Apostle says that in that day of the manifestation of the sons of God that then the creature shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption Now will some say Is it not a bondage to the sensitive creatures to be killed for the use of man And we do not finde that Adam in innocency made use of any of the sensitive creatures but of herbs and fruits of the trees and of the ground for food And is it not therefore probable that the Saints shall do so in the new Jerusalem-times An Answer to the Query To all which I answer first It is cleer by what I have already said that the Saints shall then be blessed with the enjoyment of all sorts of creatures in abundance as with corn and Wine and Oyl and all the fruits of the earth so also with flocks and herds and Camels and Asses from whence also it is cleer that they shall make use of these sensitive creatures as well as the vegetive for why else should they be promised as outward blessings to them if they should not make use of them And what should they keep flocks and herds for if they did not use them for food But it is not to be doubted but their flocks and herds are to be for food unto them and so likewise are their Camels and Asses and other creatures of that kinde to be for other uses to man kind as for labouring in the ground and carrying burthens and journying and all other things wherein men have occasion to make use of them As appears Isa 30. 23. Thine oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender c. And Isa 66. 20. And they shall bring your brethren out of all Nations upon Horses and in Chariots and in Litters and upon swift beasts c. And by this in mans making use of all these creatures it will be manifested that man is Lord of them all in that they shall be all subject to him and be useful for him
them in deceiving of them as he did Eve that he will it's likely perswade them to believe that they shall by their power overcome the Saints and as he perswaded Eve to believe that in eating the forbidden fruit they should be as gods knowing good and evil so he will perswade these that in making war they shall overcome the Saints though Jesus Christ be with them Thus this old deceiver and lyer shall deceive the unconverted miserable people among the Nations of the world who during all the time of the thousand yeers will be quiet and never dare to attempt any such thing and yet then they shall gather togetner against the Saints and think to overcome them but when they shall attempt to do it the Saints shall then have no need of swords nor spears to defend themselves against that brunt that one assault for the text says Fire shall come down from God out of heaven and devour all these wicked men Thus is declared what will be done after Satan is loosed and what his reward for this work shall be is declared vers 10. And the devil that deceived the nations was cast alive into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever And now comes to be declared what shall follow immediately upon this and that follows in vers 11 12 13 14 15. And I saw a great white throne and him that sate upon it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them And I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works And the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire In these verses is declared that immediately upon the ruining of all the wicked of the Nations the last and general day of judgement is to follow When comes the Resurrection of all both just and unjust I say the last and general day of judgement and resurrection of all for in this twentieth chapter of the Revelation it is cleer that here is a mention made of two Resurrections and the one to be a thousand yeers before the other and the first is treated of in the 4 5 and 6 verses and is there called the FIRST RESURRECTION and the second is laid down in these verses where it is said that the Heavens and the earth are then to be annihilated to flie away at the presence of the Lord who upon his white throne of righteousness after these thousand yeers are finished is to appear and to judge all the dead small and great who are to stand before him being all raised out of the Graves and out of the Sea and all places where the dead have been laid and to be judged righteously according to the Gospel and according to their works and they being so judged it will follow that whosoever is not found written in the book of life shall be cast into a lake of fire And this general day of judgement here treated of is also treated of in several other Scriptures as in Mat. 25. 31 32 c. Where our Saviour thus describes it and says that in that day he shall sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all Nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his Sheep from the Goats and he shall set the Sheep on his right hand but the Goats on the left Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was c. And then shall he say also unto them on the left hand Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels for c. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal Thus in this Scripture is this general day of the final judging of all spoken of also wherein to every one is to be rendred according to his works Again another Scripture to this purpose is that in the first of the Corinthians at the fifteenth chapter where Paul more largely discourses of the doctrine of the Resurrection in some particulars of it then it is any where else in Scripture treated of where in the first part of the chapter he makes it his work to prove the certainty of the Resurrection of the body against those Pharisaical spirits that denyed it And having proved the Resurrection by many undenyable and unanswerable Arguments he comes to declare at the twenty third verse and so on in what order the Resurrection shall be he having before said that all shall be raised But says he it shall be every man in his own order Christ the first fruits and afterward they that are Christs at his coming Here is the Order of the Resurrection Christ the first fruits Well Christ was to be raised first in order of time and that was done already Christ was raised when the Apostle writ this Epistle But who are to be raised next The Apostle tells us It must be they that are Christs And when must they be raised The Apostle answers At his coming Afterward they that are Christs at his coming This is the first Resurrection wherein the Saints must at the coming of Christ be raised to reign with him spoken of Revel 20. 4. But then the general Resurrection and the last great day he speaks of in vers 24. 25. and 28. Where he says Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet the last enemie that shall be destroyed is death And when all things shall be subdued unto him then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all Here he declares that Jesus Christ being come and having received his kingdome and his Saints being raised at his coming to reign with him that after his coming and reigning and ruling and putting all enemies under his feet and death it self Then cometh the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to his father and the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all That is there shall be a cessation of the
administration wherein God commits all things to be done by the Son And then when the time of Christs kingdom on earth is expired God shall be all in all after this last general Resurrection when death it self shall be destroyed And the Apostle gives a further description of that general Resurrection at vers 51 52 c. Behold I shew you a mystery we shall not all die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed for this corruption must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory In these verses the Apostle cleerly speaks of the last general judgement for he says that the Saints shall not all Die but shall all in a moment be changed and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and this he says shall be at the last trump and that demonstrates it to be the last day that the Apostle is speaking of because he says it shall be at the last trump for there is a trump which must sound before this of which the Apostle speaks 1 Thes 4. 16. where he speaks of the raising of the dead in Christ who must rise first even of the first Resurrection when the Saints must rise to reign with Christ Now the Apostle calling this the last trump it is cleer he speaks here of the last Resurrection and again its cleer by this also because he says that at this time Death shall be swallowed up in victory And that then shall be brought to pass that saying O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory That is then the victory shall be gotten over death death shall be no more an overcomer it shall destroy no more but be destroyed it self And this is the last enemy that shall be destroyed As Rev. 20. 14. and 1 Cor. 15. 26. Thus is it cleer that in these verses Paul speaks of the last general Resurrection I have the rather mentioned and opened these Scriptures that speak of the last general Resurrection that there might not be a confounding of the first Resurrection with the last and that the one might not be taken for the other as is very common And thus have I briefly shewn as far as from the Scripture appears to me what is to be done upon earth after the finishing of the thousand yeers of the reign of Jesus Christ and his Saints on earth And now having laid down this general description or discovery of the new Jerusalem both in the internal and external glory of it and of what things are to precede it and to succeed it I shall conclude all with that saying of the Psalmist Psal 111. 2 3. The works of the Lord are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein His work is honourable and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever And now might I come to a large Application of all which is applicable several ways but desiring to be brief therein I have included all in these following Verses Vnto the Court of Parliament who are Supreme in England Ireland and elsewhere These Poems humbly are addrest Which placed are before the rest WHo knew Grave Senators when first of all In Parliament to sit you had a Call What great designes you were appointed to What world-amazing acts you had to do None but Jebovah doubtless then could tell Who knew his own holy Decree full well And therefore did betimes to you appear And fill you with his holy Spirit and fear And then his Purposes to bring to pass The Bill for non-dissolving of you was Confirmed so as not to be repeal'd To bring about his holy Will reveal'd So long ago to Daniel when he writ That to ' stroy the Horn the Judgement should sit And now you see you were the Instruments To bring about JEHOVAH'S high Intents Which were his People to defend and save From all their foes and therefore pow'r he gave You then and strength his enemies to withstand That did oppress the Saints with a high hand But they are overcome and shall no more O'ercome the Saints as they did heretofore For now the Judgement hath the Horn destroy'd And all that Crew that were by him employ'd And now the time 's expir'd wherein the Beast Should overcome the Saints his wo's increast Now Jesus Christ doth on Mount Sion stand And there his Saints do wait on his Command So that henceforth overcome all they shall That up against them rise and make them fall And now ye that in Parliament have bin The happie Instruments of this great King What cause have you in him for to rejoyce That guided were to make so good a choice To cleave unto this Cause and to forsake The other Party not for to partake With them in sins or punishments but to Wait on the Lord his blessed Will to do But now know this If any of you did Aim at yout selves and walk in paths crooked And in that place of Judicature sitting Pretending one did mean another thing And if your labour care and onely aim Have been to serve your selves and get a name The fruit's but temporary that y 'ave had And soon will moulder perish quail and fade And when you come to die what good will 't do When that your Consciences shall accuse you That you unfaithful and deceitful do Prove to the Trust that is repos'd in you For though accounts to man you never make Yet unto God you shall who them will take And then though all your heaps of gold you would Give up to clear your selves yet never should You be releas'd when Death doth once you call Before the great JEHOVAH'S Tribunal Your wisdom it would be betimes therefore For peace to seek and for to clear your score For now 's the time if ever it be done Before your life 's expir'd and glass is run You know the way Zacheus took That 's written in the blessed Book But now I 've done with you within this Court Whose ways have not been of a good report If that among you any such there be For I can none accuse all may be free For any thing that I can prove or lay Unto the charge of any there this day And yet there may be many Though I do not know any NOw of the Wise this will be accepted For why such counsel never breaks the head And as for you who in that Senate fit Whose consciences before the Lord acquit You fully do from ill reports abroad And clear you from deceitfulness and fraud Who walked have in the sincerity Of your own hearts and have in equity And