that infallible signe of day unto them In the third verse And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men Heaven it self will witness unto this truth Behold where-ever we have this word it speaks out something of admiration that his people might know the certainty of that which is promised you have it in Isa. 52.15 Behold my servant shall deal prudently he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high Christ Jesus the Son of the Eternal God though equal with God yet he took upon him the form of a servant My Servant shall be extolled yea and as it follows the kings shall shut their mouthes at him c. It is said of this new Jerusalem in the fourth verse And the kings of the Earth do bring their glory and honour into it In the fourth verse And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away Here are the Saints in their perfect state a sinless state for surely if there shall be no more crying there shall be no more sinning when a Saint sins God will take care to bring him unto Godly sorrow O but this is a state without sorrow Sin is a way of pain but the former things shall be passed away A Saints grief is either first for himself or else secondly for the sins of others why in both these respects sorrow and sighing shall flee away if it be in himself it is from a body of sin a Law in his members warring against the Law of his minde O but this vile body shall be changed and as it is written made like unto his glorious body Secondly sin in others is that which doth often grieve the gracious heart as it tends unto the dishonour of Christ but in this state the Saints shall have no such cause of grief for Christ alone shall be exalted and admired in them that believe I might cite much more in the behalf of this truth from divers other verses in this chapter but I pass by them all unto the last verse And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lye but they which are written in the Lambs book of life though it hath twelve gates of enterance yet at these gates there are twelve Angels There is such a glory of God in the new Jerusalem as would even torment a poor sinner to be in the presence of it as you may see in the eleventh verse As they see not here into that kingdom of grace set up in the heart of a believer which consists in peace and joy in the holy Ghost so they shall not see into that Kingdom of glory that the believer shall be possess'd of and shall be revealed in him No no it is the Saints onely that can give the description of both Psal. 145.10 And thy Saints shall blesse thee they shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy power to make known unto the Sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious Majesty of his Kingdom I come now to Rev. 22.3 And there shall be no more curse but the Throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve Him Vers 4. And they shall see His face and His Name shall be in their foreheads And there shall be no night there and they need no Candle neither light of the Sun for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever Such as shall be brought unto this state of glory shall never more know what belongs unto the curse for they being redeemed from the curse of the Law Christ being made a curse for them they shall also be delivered from death into a state of immortality and therefore they are said to reign for ever and ever here the Saints shall see that beatifical vision and be perfected in that glory which in some measure was here revealed in them according as the Apostle saith he revealeth them unto us by his Spirit they shall see his face and his name shall be in their forehead this name is that name which Jesus Christ shall write upon him that overcometh even the name of my God and the name of the Citie of my God which is new Jerusalem which cometh down out of Heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new name witnessed in Rev. 3.12 agreeable unto this is that Prophesie in Isa. 65.5 For the Lord God shall slay thee and call his servants by another name but this in the time of this new Jerusalem state as you may see in vers 17. whereas formerly men blessed themselves in the abundance of their enjoyments there shall be no such Generation here but he that blesseth himself in the earth shall blesse himself in the God of truth and whereas formerly the Land hath mourned because of Oaths now he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth And there shall be no night there and they need no Gandle neither light of the Sun for the Lord God giveth them light and they shall reign for ever and ever It hath been night long enough but now the day shall dawn and the shadow shall flee away and it shall be such a day as night shall never follow it yea such a day as shall not need the light of the Sun if by the Sun we may understand as also by the Moon to be held foâ—â—h unto us the Ordinances of the Gospel in this respect in this respect there will be no need of these because we shall no more see darkly as through a glasse though much glory is so manifested but we shall see him as he is Isa. 60.19 20. Now here I would speak a word unto such who professing themselves to have gone through all and do look upon others as Carnalists Legalists that walk in the practise of Ordinances Certainly if in this state there is no need of these we may safely conclude that untill this state there is need of them and that it is the will of God that his people should walk in them according as it is written in Isaiah Thou meetest him that rejoyceth and worketh righteousnesse and remembreth thee in thy wayes We are so frail and to apt to be taken in the snare of iniquity that we have need to be instructed in many things as the Apostle saith though we know them already and if Satan can but once finde us in that sin of spiritual pride then it is to be feared that he will beguile us as once he beguiled Eve For it is the Lords revealed method to discover himself in love and mercy in and through his own appointments but I would not limit the holy One of Israel neither yet would I set up the Ordinances as to the
Hosonna to the Son of David OR A TESTIMONY To the Lord's Christ Shewing His rule and reign over the people of the Jews upon Earth a thousand years together with his second personal appearance proved from the Scripture of Truth With A general word of Use from the point to Saints and Sinners By Samuel Grosvenour And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son and shalt call his name Jesus He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the Throne of his father David Luke 1.31 32 33. LONDON Printed for L. Chapman at the Crown in Popes-Head-Alley 1659. To the Reader IT is observable throughout all generations that truth in its first appearance in the world can be very hardly entertained but rather opposed I am sure of all truths this hath not nor is not like to escape For Gospel-truths will bring Gospel-sufferings and therefore whosoever thou art that wilt inquire into this truth I begge of thee that thou wouldst first sit down and consider what it will cost thee and search the Scriptures whether things be so or no For this is no new Doctrine but that which hath been testified by the mouths of all the Prophets and consider what the Apostle saith For he hath chosen us unto salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth So that every truth is to be looked after by believers because that God who is a God of truth is sweeth to be injoyed in all truth Reader accept of this small mite and the Lord grant that the eyes of thy understanding may be inlightned in the knowledge of Christ as King Priest and Prophet unto thy poor soul and then how sweet will it be unto thee to consider that that King that rules and reigns in thy heart shall ride Conquering and to Conquer untill all his Enemies both within and without in thy heart and my heart and in the world be made a footstool which shall be the desire and prayer of him who is a servant unto the God of Jacob Sam. Grosvenour Hosanna to the Son of David Or A Testimony to the Lords Christ THe most wise God of Heaven and Earth hath so ordered and disposed of all truth revealed in his word that every truth throughout all generations hath broke forth in its due season and truely this truth that I am now speaking of it doth more particularly concern the Saints of the last times I shall make it appear how all along this truth hath been testified unto from the first to the last we shall begin with Gods promise unto Abraham the thirteenth of Genesis and the fifth verse And the Lord 〈◊〉 said unto Abraham after that Lot was separated from him Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art Northward and Southward and Eastward and Westward For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever This land was the land of Canaan which God promised Abraham yea and a promise that is yet to be fulfilled Object Abraham was in the Land of Canaan and his seed after him Answ. It is true but in what condition they were strangers and Pilgrims there and this they confessed and therefore this could not be a possession of it Ob. I but God in promising Abraham the Land of Canaan it was a Type of the heavenly Canaan Answ. It is true Abraham had an eye of faith to see into the promised rest as all the seed of Abraham that are spiritual Jews have However there is more then this in the promise For observe how God cites this promise unto him it is said After that Lot was separated from him I do not question but that Lot belongeth unto the general Assembly and Church of the first-born whose names are written in Heaven but yet Gods Covenant must be with Abraham now observe the promise For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed for ever now we know that all the Types of the Law as that of the bloud of Bulls and Coats and others they did all center in Jesus Christ and so every true believer hath entered into that rest but consider what the Lord saith The Land which thou seest the breadth and length of it will I give unto thee and to thy seed for ever And you shall finde in many places of Scripture that when the Lord promises to bring back again the Captivity of the Jews he saith I will bring them into their own Land a Scripture as clear as the Sun for this you may see in Jer. 23.5 6 7 8. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a King shall reign and prosper and execute Justice and Judgement in the Earth In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called The Lord our righteousnesse and in vers. 8. They shall dwell in their own Land So that here is both the two Tribes and the ten Tribes promised to enjoy their own Land again which is the Land of Canaan under the rule and reign of that righteous branch unto David which is the Lord Jesus Christ for it is said he must execute Justice and Judgement in the earth That Christ is that branch spoken of you may see plainly in the eleventh of Isaiah the first verse the whole Chapter is a sweet discovery of the Kingdom of Christ and in the ninth verse he saith The earth shall he full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the Sea We shall now begin with all the Prophets that have spoken in the name of the Lord and that the Lord might be justified out of the mouths of the wicked stand forth wicked Balaam in the 24th of Numbers and the third verse And he took up his Parable and said Balaam the Son of Beor hath said and the man whose eyes are open hath said Pray observe in the first place it is said in the second verse that the Spirit of God was upon him from whence I would inferre this that a Soul by the common enlightning of the Spirit may come to see into this and other glorious truths and therefore it ought to be our care that we have not onely that Spirit upon us but the Spirit in us and as Christ saith Rejoyce not that the Spirits are subject unto you but rather that your names are written in heaven so I say Rejoyce not in thy knowledge of this Kingdom but rather that Jesus Christ is King in thy heart whereby thou comest to have assurance that thou hast an Interest in this glorious spiritual Kingdom when Jesus Christ shall come to be admired in all them that believe But to go on where we lest Balaam in the seventh verse He shall pour the water out of his buckets speaking of
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth verse 26 27. yet in my flesh shall I see God my eyes shall behold him this was the comfort of Jobs knowledge that he knew that Christ was his Redeemer O man or whoever thou art that readest what doth thy Soul say to this canst thou say as Job said hath Christ given thee an entrance into his everlasting Kingdom of Grace believe it otherwise this truth will afford thee little comfort he doth not say A Redeemer or THE Redeemer but MY Redeemer and this Redeemer shall stand upon the earth yea saith he mine eyes shall behold him for our vile bodies shall not be taken away from us at Christs appearance but as Paul saith they shall be changed and made like unto his glorious body And now we come to the 2. Psalm where you have a plain demonstration of Christ and his Kingdom vers. 6. Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Zion as sure as ever this was performed in his state of Humiliation so shall it surely be accomplished in his Exaltation Acts 4.25 yet this Psalm doth more particularly point at his Exaltation when he shall come the second time without sin unto salvation for it is said in the 9. verse Thou shalt break them with a Rod of Iron agreeing to that which is said in another place By the breath of his mouth he shall slay the wicked yea we finde sometimes that God hath so revealed this truth in his word that it cannot well be understood spiritually unlesse we will turn Scriptures into Allegories as in Psalm 47. where the very Translators or Expositors of the Bible have helped us with this Exposition The Nations are exhorted cheerfully to entertain the kingdom of Christ In the 2. verse it is said He is terrible and a great King over all the earth whereas Christ as he is King to his people he is the Prince of peace Isa. 9.6 but see the work that this King is to do in v. 3. He shall subdue the people under us and the Nations under our feet this will be more especially done at his second glorious appearing agreeing to that in Dan 12.1 And another thing that you may take notice of in the Psalm is in v. 9. where he saith The Princes of the people are gathered together even the people of the God of Abraham By Princes here I understand the Saints of God for they are made Kings and Priests by Christ unto God the Father as the Apostle saith If ye be Christs then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs according to the promise Gal. 3.29 that it is spoken of the Saints that shall rule and reign with Christ as Princes you may see in Isa. 32.1 Behold a King shall reign in righteousnesse and Princes shall rule in judgement Second verse and a man shall be as an hiding place from the winde and a covert from the Tempest this is the Man Christ Jesus born of the Virgin Marie crucified dead and buried and ascended for as he suffered as God-man in the earth so he shall be exalted as God man upon the earth witness his own words who is truth it self Mark 13.26 And they shall see the Son of man coming in the Clouds with great power and glory Christ so coming as he is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham Now the place whereunto he shall gather all his people it is said to be the excellency of Jacob which is in the Land of Canaan The next Psalm that speaks of this truth is 67. 4. O let the Nations be glad and sing for joy why what is the matter it follows For thou shalt judge the people righteously and lead the Nations upon earth It cannot be denied but that Christ doth govern and dispose of all things now but this points at his very personal being as God-man upon the earth vers. 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase I cannot believe that the earth doth now yield the same increase that it did before the fall of Adam but certainly God will make the earth as glorious for the second Adam as ever he did for the first You have also a plain Prophesie of his Kingdom Psalm 72. But I passe to the second of Isaiah in the second verse And it shall come to passe in the last dayes that the Mountain of the house of the Lord shall be exalted in the top of the Mountains agreeing to that in the fourth of Micah the first The Scripture maketh a difference between the latter dayes and the last dayes Christ saith As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the dayes of the coming of the Son of Man Object But is not Christs second coming called the judgement of the great day as in the sixth of Jude where then is any room for dayes I answer that this day of judgement may as well be taken for the thousand years rule of Christ as for one days and the Scripture doth bear witnesse that there is no difference as to God second of Peter the third and eighth verse One day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day in the fourth verse And he shall judge among the Nations and shall rebuke many people Here he is brought in performing his Kingly office upon the Throne of his father David amongst the Nations the glorious effects of this his Kingdom you have in Isa. 35. The whole Chapter is a most glorious Prophesie of the Kingdom of Christ not onely internally in the spirit of his people but also externally in the world Object Was not this already performed when Christ came in the flesh when the deaf did hear and the blind see and the lame leap Answ. Though the Prophesie hath a special eye unto that time and was specially fulfilled then yet it reacheth unto a higher dispensation as will appear if we consider the 8th verse and the 10th verse in the 8th verse it is said And an high-way shall be there and a way and it shall be called The way of holinesse I know not the like expression again in all the Scripture where the way of holinesse is called an high-way I do believe that when Christ spake of the straight way and narrow Gate that leadeth unto life that he meant the way of holinesse now we know that an high way it is a broad way and a plain way and yet rightly considered they do not oppose each other for while the Prince of the power of the aire which is the Devil doth rule and bear sway in the world he as all other Kings have hath his high way which is the high way of sin error and profanesse and there are multitudes that are found galloping in this way but the way of holinesse is so strait that he that walks in that way must walk alone but when Christ cometh and shall be King over all the earth then shall be fulfilled that saying of the
Now it will be to our purpose to consider in what respect these shall be said to sing the song of Moses which is Typical for I believe that both Jews and Gentiles shall sing this song And they sung a new song saying Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the Seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and Nation And hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign upon the Earth Rev. 5.9 10. so that out of every people Christ will have a peculiar people Now let us see how well the children of God travelling towards this new Jerusalem and the children of Israel towards the Land of Canaan will Agree together First then to take in the spiritual meaning as the Children of Israel were in Egypt under sore bondage so are all the sons and daughters of Adam by nature under the bondage of sin and Satan and led captive by him at his pleasure 2 Tim. 2.26 now the Lord by the hand of Moses he brings them out of Egypt and they are set safe over the Red Sea and now for the Land of Canaan but they came not thither for we read of their sad fall through unbelief Heb. 3.18 so the Lord by the death of Jesus Christ hath set out a way for all towards the heavenly Canaan but few come thither and why so Many are called but sew are chosen one of a Tribe and two of a Family as the Scripture witnesseth Many that are first shall be last and the last first Secondly if we look at the mystical meaning then by Egypt we are to understand Babylon mystical Babylon amongst whose inhabitants there is Egyptian darkness and the Lord now in the dayes of the Gospel having called and brought his people out of Babylon while they stand upon a Sea of glass mingled with fire they are inabled by the Spirit of God to sing They sing the Song of Moses and of the Lamb saying Just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints Isa. 33.22 The Israel after the flesh they sing being delivered from outward Enemies the Israel after the Spirit they shall sing being delivered from all their enemies both inward and outward In Rev. 19. you have the great joy and rejoycing of the Saints at the downfal of Babylon whilst the Kings of the Earth which have committed Fornication with her and the Merchants of the Whore are weeping and wailing and crying out Alas alas the Saints they shall be saying Alleluiah salvation and honour glory and power unto the Lord our God even so Amen Alleluiah It is a praising and rejoycing in the Lord for his great Judgements and vengeance which he had taken and to this end Christ was anointed to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God Isa. 61.2 63.4 34.8 but in what posture then shall the Saints be in that day you may see in the 7. vers. Let us be glad and rejoyce and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his Wife hath made her self ready Well amongst all this vengeance and Judgement let us see what will be the Name of Jesus Christ and that is King of kings and Lord of lords vers. 16. We come now to Rev. 20.1 we have presented unto us an Angel coming down from Heaven having the Key of the bottomless pit whether Christ be meant here by this Angel or no I shall leave that to the judicious Reader with his meditations upon Rev. 1.18 where Christ faith I have the Keys of Hell and Death now this Angel layeth hold on the Dragon which is Satan and bindes him a Thousand years and he is cast into the bottomless pit with a Seal upon him Some there are that do imagine that this thousand years was in the time of Constantine but I see no ground for the truth of it for when he shall be bound the Nations shall not be deceived with any false worship as ever hitherto they have been since the man of sin that son of perdition hath been up and that he was loosed in the time of wicked Hildebrand a Necromancer but the words here in the 3. vers. faith That after his binding he must be loosed for a little season now the wise man faith There is a time a season for everything and if the time since in the Scriptural Account can be lookt upon as a little season yet where hath Satans work been For I believe that Satan is yet at his first work in being a lying Spirit in the mouthes of false Prophets and so deceiving the Nations in the things of God and of Christ and carrying on the Mystery of Iniquity and at this work he is new very busie labouring to pervert Foundation-truths by sinful suggestions into our hearts I know it by mine own experience for he hath been very much labouring to blind my understanding and judgement in a foundation-foundation-truth but O for ever blessed he that faithful High Priest the Lord Jesus Christ who knowing all his plots hath still kept my Faith running out upon his word with an answering It is written But now his last work that we read he shall do is to gather the nations against this beloved City to their final destruction he is no sconer out of prison but he goes to his work and loseth no time it is said that he went out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth Why it is reported by writers that Jerusalem is in the midst of the earth and so in this sence Christ will rule in the midst of his enemies as it may truly be said when Christ taketh possession of any heart why there is flesh and sin and the world I but Christ he is King he keeps his Throne and will at length bring them down under his seat though for a time for ends best known unto the Lord they may have their lurking corners in the soul Now when Satan had cathered them together the next news that we finde is their general destruction by fire which I believe is the general destruction of the whole world with all things that are therein Heaven and earth shall pass away faith Christ but not one tittle of my word until all be fulfilled for I finde that the general Judgement of the righteous and the wicked it followeth afterward and then shall those wicked ones who were in that last Conspiracie against Christ and his people and so filled up the measure of the sins of all the Serpents seed that went before them be condemned before his Tribunal for the book shall be opened and every one shall be judged according to his works But before this Throne and Judgement of Christ upon this white Throne by himself particularly spoken of in vers. 11. we have divers Thrones spoken of in the fourth verse And judgement was given unto them who had
CHRIST shall Reign So come O Lord O quickly come The Bride shall glory then This is Saints joy that Christ shall come ALLELUIAH AMEN A POST-SCRIPT I Have now but this one thing more to acquaint the Reader withal and that is The reason why this little Treatise is brought forth into the world Know therefore all and every one unto whom this Treatise shall come That on a certain time I entered into a publique Assembly where a great Rabbi did speak against this Truth and called the Professors thereof Hereticks But this I should have minded before That as I was purposing in my heart to go in because I thought I might hear something that was good nevertheless I had this sweet Voice behind me from the Spirit of the Lord My Sheep hear my voice and a stranger they will not follow nevertheless wretched man that I was I went on and came in and while I was hearing I had great strivings and struglings in my soul whether I should speak or no one great Objection was a Declaration from the Higher Powers against the Disturbance of any publick Minister but by Experience have I learned that the truth of Christ is to be vindicated rather then the command of man obeyed But just and righteous was the Lord in that after I had grieved and resisted if not vexed his Spirit that he should leave me to mine own strength and so flesh prevailed and now at what time soever I came to present my self before the Lord the Words of Christ stuck as a Dart in my heart He that is ashamed of me and of my words in this sinful and adulterous generation of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his Father and of his holy Angels And though I could not for some space of time afterwards see my sin yet now Satan helpt on to the uttermost so that I was in great fear that I was guilty of that Unpardonalle sin but the Lord that watched over my soul for good did first strengthen my faith from the consideration of the unvaluable preciousness of the blood of Christ but still unbelief was very powerful and great tumults there were in my soul yea I may say The bones of my peace were broken sometimes concluding this and sometimes that and at the same time under the guilt of another sin that lay heavy upon me and thus was I afflicted and tossed but not comforted but God that is plentiful in loving kindness visited my soul with so sweet a promise so sutable unto my condition as possibly my soul could wish for when he was working godly sorrow in my soul and gave me a sight of him whom I had pierced yea when I was mourning for the Abomination of others from Isa. 6.5 and had the sence of these sins upon my heart I cried out in my sorrow Lord whither shall I be carried away in this stream of iniquity It was immediatly whispered into my soul by the sweet and still voice of the Spirit of God My Grace is sufficient for thee And faithful is the Lord who hath fulfilled his Promise for whereas before I did finde that he had taken his holy Spirit from me and I had not the pourings forth of the Spirit of Grace and Supplication now his assisting grace was come and now I consessed my sin freely I question not but that also his accepting grace is sufficient for me and his rewarding grace in his due time even for me also on whom the Lord Jesus might have been ashamed Now therefore in the words of my dear Saviour I do counsel every one that hath an ear to hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches Rev. 2. A SONG OF PRAISE A Rise shine forth my Soul thy light is come Stand and admire at free-Grace and Love The morning-Star appears break forth O Sun With thy sweet Rayes descending from above Disperse all Clouds and gather my souls prayse My Love my Choice my Glory and my Crown O Thou who art the Ancient of dayes To Thee be Honour Power and Renown Sam. Grosvenor FINIS Mr. Kâ—â—llys
ground for this see Isa. 61.1 Paul the chiefest of the Apostles glorieth in this that he was the servant of Jesus Christ Rom. 1.1 and when once thou art the servant of Jesus Christ it will no longer then be thy complement unto men Your Servant Sir for Saints are bought with a price that they might not be the servants of men 1 Cor. 7.23 Another it may be will say I have been an Enemie unto Christ and to his Wayes and to his People truly this is a very bad condition yet Christ makes Friends of Enemies all sinners are Enemies but God commended his love unto us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us therefore it is high time for thee to see that thou lovest aright and hatest aright if thou lovest rightly thou lovest God if thou hatest rightly thou hatest the world See what James saith Jam. 4.4 Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity to God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God And John saith Love not the world nor the things of the world If any man love the world either the lusts of the flesh or the pride of life or the lust of the eyes the love of the Father is not in him Saints do not thus learn Christ who hath said If any man will be my Disciple let him take up his Cross and follow me Of a vagabond stranger thou mayst be an adopted Son of a Begger a King and therefore seek not after the Kingdoms of this world but rather profess as once the Captain of our Salvation did before Pilat My Kingdom is not of this world I shall conclude all that I have to say with that good word of the Apostle Peter in Act. 2.36 Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ Peter so preached Christ that he got three thousand souls at that time in the Net of the Gospel a good example for the Ministers of the Word to take pattern by And we shall finde that he preached unto them of the visible Kingdom of Christ as you may see vers. 30. Knowing that God had sworn with an Oath to him that of the fruit of his loynes according to the flâ—sh he would raise up Christ to sit on his Throne A Scripture it is so full to the truth that neither all the Sathan-like transformed Angelical light on the one side or all Political Philosophical light on the other side shall be able to deceive the truly-enlightened Soul Now therefore I intreat you unto whom this shall come that ye receive it in the love of it and marvail noâ— that ye cannot hear these things from the Great Doctors and Rabbies and Clergy men of this our age for it is the Fathers good pleasure to hide these things from the wife and from the prudent But wo unto them for their judgment is at band as it is written The wisdom of their wise men shall perish And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid Isa. 29 14. The Lord give thee an understanding heart to try whether these things be so or no AMEN I would now willingly also commend something unto such as are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be Saints even unto as many as are preserved in Christ Jesus which have received the White Stone which none knowes but he that receiveth it That you would shew forth the Vertues of Him that hath called you and hath translâ—â—ed you out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of his marvellous light I cannot but cry out with the Apostle What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy câ—nversations and Godliness O it becomes us that look for Christ from heaven to have our conversation in heaven certainly the knowledg of this truth should makeus to trample upon the world the glory thereof as base contemptible and to content our selves in the worst of conditions in the quiet hope patient waiting of our Lord from heaven Surely the coming of Christ cannot but yield very much comfort unto the soul that is assured of its interest in Christ Are Saints the Stewards of Christ then let them know that their Lord and Master will return and call them to an account and blessed is the servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall finde so doing Are Saints the Spouse of Christ the Bride of that blessed Bridegroom then let them know that whatever their afflictions may be in this world yet their loving husband will return from his long journey and put an end to all and let not the Saints expect their full deliverance until he come but rather persecution and suffering while the world stands for he hath said In the world re shall have trouble and through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom and therefore it is our duty to arm our selves with the same minde For if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him Christ Himself hath shewn us the way and we are called by His Name O let u follow his footsteps And surely it doth highly concern us to look to it that as Christ fore warn'd us we be not overtaken with surseiting and druâ—kenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon us unawares we shall hardly win the race if our hearts be loaded with the things of this world and they will so lull us asleep that we shall endanger our selves to be found sleeping at Christs coming and therefore how doth it become the Saints at this day to be provoking one another to love and to good works exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the day approaching O let us consider that our Lord is a Person of such Highness and Excellency that he deserves our waiting for Him for he is the King of kings and Lord of lords It is but bring faithful unto the death and enduring unto the end the battel is but once to be sought and the race is but once to be run but yet the Lord knows that without his sufficient grace we shall not overcome and therefore how doth it concern us to take the oyl of the grace and spirit of God into out Lamps lest when the bridegroom cometh we should be found wanting but rather to shine as lights set upon an hill and as Bees sucking Honey from this precious flowery Truth from which so many spiders have suck'd poison as if History may be believed some out of a notion of this Kingdom to be but meer earthly and for sensual delights have run out into all manner of licentiousness and the devil hath made great use of it against the truth and no doubt but he will do still but what faith the Apostle We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth but truly with shame let it be confessed we do much in these dayes against the truth