of all our thoughts words and actions but also as the only ordinary meanes to bring all his people elect to an effectvall participation and fruition of grace and glory by Iesus Christ and seeing no man in particular though never so wicked and so farre gone in sin and sunke downe in rebellion is for ought he knoweth excluded from salvation if vpon the word of grace preached he belieue and repent which was the case of this people in Ezechiel and seeing faith repentance is requyred in every one that heares the word that he may be saved and not the elect themselues are exempted from this condition of believing therefore after what maner soever God doth accommodate and apply himselfe vnto vs in the dispensation of his word whither by ptomises or threatnings whither by word or oath he doth but as a fisherman that to diverse kinds of fish vseth divers hookes baites and lines some stronger some weaker as the Apostle saith I am become all things to all men that I might by all meanes saue some And who be those some Certainely in the end they proue to be no other but Gods elect Gods word being like to a dragneâ—â— which taketh all manner of fish at least by the externall calling many are called which drawne to shore in the Resurrection the good are gathered into vessells few are chosen and the bad are cast away Now forasmuch as Gods secret ones his elect before their effectuall calling to the state of grace are in all kindâ— and degrees naturally as wicked and corrupt as any of the serpents seed blind incredulous rebelious as those people of the Iewes were and seeing wheresoever the word comes to be preached there are ever some whom God will effectualâ—y saue by the ministry of it as might be proved if we had not exceeded the bounds of a digression or at least wise Gods word wherever preached returneth not in vaine but accomplisheth that which God will haue it and it shall prosper in the thing whereto he sends it Esa 55 11 cannot God then vse his owne meanes and wayes to call men to repentance and so fit his iâ—strâ—ments as whereby effectually to worke the grace of faith and repentance in their hearts but mâ—n must quarrell the wisdome of God herein and so pervert the externall dispensation of his will as either his written word must interfere vpon his secret 〈◊〉 or else downe must fall the whole eternall and immutable Counsell of God Which what is it else but to pull God out of heaven and as the heathen Oratour said More Gygantaâ— bellare cum Dijs Againe sith no man knowes who are of the elect who otherwise but that every one being alike by nature a sinner and so for ought we know may come to be saved by the word of faith preached cannot this word then be preached to all indifferently vnlesse all without exception be saved by it effectually Let vs hearken to this word and obey it The Elect who they be is one of Gods Secrets The Lord knowâ—th who are his and Let euery one that nameth the name of Christ depart frâ—m iniquity And as Moses saith The secret things belong vnto the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong vnto vs and to our Children for ever that we may doe all the words of this Law Deut. 29.29 To conclude then it is not good to remoue the ancient baunds of Gods eternall truth least men pull the Curse vpon them it is a sound and safe rule first to let all positiue truthes in Scripture to stand vnmoveable in their full strength and if there be any other places either of â—xhortation or admonition or redargution or the like whereby God vsually worketh vpon mens affections these must not overthrow Gods fundamentall truthes laid downe positiuely and expresly in his word whereupon our judgements and faith must rest firme and fixed Neither let men too curiously pry into the Arke of Gods secrets as to know how many or who they are that shall be saved but as Christ answered to his inquisitiue Disciples moving a fruitlesse question Are there few that shall be saued Striue ye saith he â—o enter in at the strait gate Luk. 13.23 24. Meddle not we with others matters but labour we to be found in Christ and so to belieue and follow Gods word as we may come to find our selues in the number of Gods elect reioycing that our names are written in heaven as Christ checking Peter about Iohn said Follow thou me Ioh. 21.22 I haue beene the longer in noting the corrupt and rotten doctrines of these times now growne to such a height as they threaten to pull Christ out of his Chaire and to divest his true Disciples of the garment of faith and salvation to the end that the discovery of them though but briefe for the present may cause vs the more carefully to attend and put in practise Christs watch word and no lesse serious then seasonable admonition in this place And so much the more by how much the abounding of false doctrines in these our times even razing the foundation of Gods Grace may point vs as it were with the finger and induce vs to belieue that now already this sixth Viall is begun in a great measure to be poured out hastening on the next and so to stirre vp our dull sides to keepe the stricter watch And here also we are given to note by the way how the great battell is first begun to be fought after a spirituall manner by the armies and forces of false Prophets in this Viall never more plentifull powerfull and perillous then now and so much the more perillous by how much they cover their heresies with the guilefull pretences of the Reformed Religion as of the Church of England This spirituall warre of theirs is nothing els but a beating vp of the Drum and sounding the Alarme in the eares of the Kings of the earth to induce seduce them to a confederacy and part-taking with the Beast against the Lambe with Antichrist against Christ. But the Lambe shall certainly overcome them Magna est veritas et praevalet And againe because ever where false doctrines begin to venditate themselues specially such as strike at the very root of the Gospell Gods free grace and saving faith they draw after them a traine of all vices and daring sinnes at their heeleâ— as Simon Maguâ— did that huge troope of his Samaritan Disciples intoxicating the heart and affections with the Circean Cup of their selfe-seducings forgoing and forgetting all conscience and honesty to become great and high as if their ambition aimed at the very throne of the Beast himselfe therefore also Christ admonisheth his servants to keepe a diligent watch over their wayes and guird the garment of sobriety closse about them least it be torn from their back either with the malignant teeth and tongues of false Prophets and croking Froggs which with their Sardonian smiles would scoffe
THE SEVEN VIALS Or A briefe and plaine Exposition vpon the 15 and 16 Chapters of the Revelation very pertinent and profitable for the Church of God in these last times By H. B. Rector of Saint Matthews Friday-street Reve 19.19 20. And I saw the Beast and the Kings of the Earth â—nd their armies gathered 〈◊〉 to make warre against him that sate on the Horâ—◠〈◊〉 against his army And the Beast was takeâ— and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had the Marke of the Beast and them that worshipped his Image Thâ—se both 〈…〉 into a Lake of fire burning with 〈…〉 LONDON Printed by William Jones dwelling 〈◊〉 Red-crosse-street 1â—28 TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE CHARLES KING OF GREAT Britaine France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Dread Soveraine DIOGENES the more he was by Antisthenes the Philosopher threatned beaten from his schoole the more ardently he frequented it saying to his Master Do you but beat I will find you a head nor shall you find so hard a club as therewith to driue me away from your Philosophy What hee did suffered for Philosophy's sake the like or more am I ready to sustaine for the service and honour of Your Majesty No discouragements can beat me from this resolution no not death it selfe So prevalent iâ— my affection as my insufficiencies best knowne to my selfe cannot restraine it Yea though I was told Your Majesty was lately offended with me But I answered No J had no reason to belieue it For first J knew well the gentle disposition of your royall breast guided by such a dextrous iudgment is not easily incensed where there is no iust cawse And J am sure I daily inioy the influence of your favour though not the gratious aspect of your face for even the feet doe liue moue though remote by the Heads breathing You are the breath of our Nostrills And as J told my Lord of London at my first examination about Israels Fast All that I had done was for Gods glory the service of my King Country the Church of England whereof wee were members and for which I was ready if need were to lay downe my life And now gratious Soveraine J am bold to present Your Maiesty with such a peece as no Prince in Christendome but Your selfe can iustly challenge the dedication of it if the meannesse of the Presenter doe not extenuate the worth of the Present Jt containes a most divine Prophecy of the pouring out of the seven Vialls Revel 16 which according to that ability vouchsafed me of Christ the least and last of all his servants J haue indeavoured to open Jt pertaineth to Your Maiesty by a proper right The full accomplishment of this Prophecy is like to fall in Your gratious Raigne which God prolong to make it glorious to posterity And surely when J compare the fulfilling of this Prophecy with those many Princely indowments which Your God hath inriched Your Royall Person with J am so much the more confirmed in this my perswasion Such a zeale such loue of the truth such a peerelesse and Princely wisdome such a magnanimous spirit were not planted in Your noble breast for nothing So as I dare boldly conclude as was said to David Your Maiesty shal do great things and prosper Nor speake J by coniecture This Prophecy will clearly evidence the same Cleare it is though for the present it seeme cleane contrary that the destruction of Antichrist with his whole power and confederacy is now neere at hand And for proofe and perswasion thereof J wish it stood with Your Maiesties good pleasure and leisure to read over this Prophecy It is but the expense of a few howers but may exercise Your best meditations and noblest thoughts for many dayes many yeares after This whole booke of the Revelation is a Propheticall Chronologie tâ— the end of the world Of it Christ pronounceth Blessed is he that readeth and they that heare the words of this Prophecy and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand How much more is this verified of this last and most famous Prophecy in this booke towards the full consummation whereof these our present and last times draw on â—amaine Your Royall Father of blessed memory even in his youth wrote a most exquisite Paraphrase of this whole booke from whose bright torch all along I haue beene bold to borrow light for my dimme candle But me thinks I heare some suggest O Sir this booke is not licensed But whose fault is that The Authors Or the Licensers I could wish that such suggesters would confesse the true cawse why Orthodox bookes are so borne downe as they may not be licensed For Popish Arminian bookes are licensed but the contrary such as are writen in confutation of them are according to Gods word the doctrine of the Church of England may not be allowed So that I humbly submit it to your Maiesties vnpartiall iudgement to determine whether the Printer for printing such a booke as this without license or he that should license such Orthodox bookes will not according to authority in that behalf be more worthy of censure And certainly they that suppresse Orthodox bookes would they not also stop Preachers mouthes that they should not speake the truth Yes certainlyâ— For may it please your Majesty to vnderstand how even your Majesties honour suffers in this case For whereas vpon a Proclamation published in your Highnesse name Iune 14. in the second of your Raigne expressely forbidding any preaching or printing of such Doctrines as were repugnant to the Doctrine of the Church of England established we all hoped that all Arminian Popish Doctrines would be husht silenced wee by experience find it quite contrary for the Arminians shamelesly alledging that all their doctrines are according to the Church of England vnder this pretence they wold suppresse all truth as forbidden by your Royall Proclamation Which if it were true it should not be lawfull any more to preach the Gospell then to print books in defence of it So that some are neither affraid nor ashamed to say in plaine termes that they must license no bookes against Arminius Good God what pittifull times doe we liue in how different from former as I was bold to tell my Lord of London But I trust your Maiesty will vindicate your honour herein Gods truth exprest in Scripture is no changeling This is that which wee call the Doctrine of the Church of England and no other This hath beene sealed by the blood of so many Martyrs witnessed by so many Worthies of our Church for almost this fourescore yeares without intermission whose writings no time shall blot out ratified by so many Acts of Parliament as not all the Devills in hell nor all the Arminians on earth shall be able to disanull it The Gospell shall flourish maugre all
of the blind credulous vulgar to be believed only Thus it becomes a Miracle of implicit faith And what can he believed more miraculous then that an impotent Priest should be able to doe that which â—â—lls not within the compasse of Gods omnipotency For to cause one and the some naturall circumscript body to be in a thousand distinâ—â— places at one and the same moment of time 〈◊〉 to be in the highest heavens and here vpon 〈◊〉 at the same instant is a meere contradiction a meere lye and 〈◊〉 impossible for God to doe it but a silly Priest can easily doe this with saying over but fiue words To cause the same circumscript body consisting of so many dimensions such a length such a breadth such a thicknesse to remaine the same in all the quantities of it and yet to be confined and circumscribed within the narrow limits of a thin and narrow Wafer Cake the body suffering the while no diminution is a meere contradiction a meere lye and so is impossible for God to doe it but a soâ—â—y Priest can miraculously doe it swâ—llow downe the intire body of Christ with all the dimensions and large quantity of it at one morsell downe his wide Weson To cause the same body consisting of flesh blood and bone all of a solid substance to remaine in their solid constitution without alteration and yet at the same time vnder the formes of a Wafer Cake to melt in the mouth where neither flesh blood nor bone are to be felt as Christ shewing to his doubting Disciples his naturall body saith Handle mee and see a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me haue is a meere contradiction a meere lye and so impossible for the Omnipotent to do it but an vnclean spirit of the Divell breathed from the mouth of the vnreasonable Beast can do it In a word to cause the same blessed body which was borne of the blessed Virgin and now glorified in heaven to b◠〈◊〉 crâ—ated of the very substance of bread 〈…〉 into it is against the truth of God 〈…〉 of our Creed Bâ—râ—e of the Virgin Mary a morâ— wicked heresie then that of the 〈…〉 of Christâ— humanity to be of the 〈…〉 and so overthrowing mans salvationâ— which could 〈◊〉 be wrought but by the Sonne of God in 〈◊〉 nature that had sinned and so it stands noâ— with th◠〈◊〉 and glory of God to make such a counterfeit body yet 〈◊〉 Priest can doe it And such are the Miracles which these froglike vncleane spiritâ— of Diuells due worke daily Againe these spirits or Agents are here called the spirits of Divells VVe read not in all the Scripture of any men so called Iudas onely is called a Divell These 〈◊〉 spirits of Divells to note them to be Divells incarnate and that the spirit of the Divell is more predominant more raigneth and rageth in the world in the time of this Viall then ever from the beginning of the world and that especially in these sprightfull Agents with their confederates and consorts This being that 〈◊〉 wherein the Divell hath but a short space to â—aigne and therefore he now playes the Devill Chapter 12 1â— And these got to negotiate with the Kings of the earth Will not lesse serue These be 〈◊〉 Froggs indeed that like to those Aegyptian frogge daâ—e leap and crawle vp into Kings chambers So prudent are they in their generation They are no peddling merchants but professe to be great Iewellers fit to 〈◊〉 with Princes For so they may sweep whâ—le Kingdome along If they can 〈◊〉 the great Landlord they will be sure of the Tenants But whereabout doe they negotiate with Kingsâ— Surely in no small State-businesses but euen to stirre them vp to take part with the Beast and to make warâ—e with the Lamb to fight against the Gospell 〈…〉 or suppresse the true Religion and the Professors of it a matter I wiâ— of no small consequence for any state Although perhaps 〈◊〉 great many will not belieue this at least such as 〈◊〉 and will not 〈◊〉 but willingly winke for feare they should be eye witnesses of their owne wofull wrâ—ck and otherâ— which on 〈…〉 cowardise hath prouided 〈◊〉 when was there ever a greater and more generall confidence of these Froggs then now Yee all are 〈◊〉 A man would thinke some Bull had of late roared from Rome causing all the Froggs to couch close in their holes This 〈…〉 may be a shrowd signe of sâ—me such thing in good earnest Whereas otherwise it is one stonifician poynt of pollicy when any Bulls come from Rome to cast a hood over the hornes to dissemble and choake it altogether Iust so it was in King 〈…〉 of happy memory when a Bull came froâ— the 〈◊〉 Pâ—pe Paulâ— 5 so unreasonable as the Papists gaue ours 〈…〉 maliciously counterfetted by some who bore 〈…〉 will to them vntill the same was confirmed by a second Breeâ—e from the same Pope both 〈◊〉 and answered by his Majesty But we need not 〈◊〉 could to confirme the late former sith we see 〈…〉 so good effect in the obedient silence and calmnesse of hiâ— Catholicke sonnes who according 〈◊〉 that speciall charge given by the Pope in that late Breeue are now all hush'd expecting the signall of the 〈◊〉 day thâ—â—â— haue so long longed for For we must noâ— dreame that these froggs are asleep all this while They lye but closse 〈◊〉 froggs in the deepe of winter waiting till the spring câ—ll them forth to croake and hum 〈◊〉 togâ—ther 〈◊〉 Confederates to the battell Yet they arâ— as busie and clossâ— negotiating now as ever Even now 〈◊〉 they a gathering as fast as they can the Kings of the Earth and of the whole world a great part for the whole to the battell of the great day of God Almighty They are noâ— content in every state where they may 〈…〉 egge on Kings to suppresse the truth and the Professors of it in their severall dominions as in 〈…〉 and the rest but they labour to muster all the Kings of Christendome together to make warre against the Gospell and vtterly to their vttermâ—sâ— extinguish it at oncâ— Doe but goe to Dâ—vâ—râ—liftâ— â—liftâ— and loâ—ke beyond thâ— seas and then tell me whether eveâ— thiâ— Viall at least in this one point was so apparantly poured ouâ— And such is the condition of the time of this Viall that these froggs shall never lâ—â—ue croking their Kings together vntill they haue brought them to the â—aine battâ—ll Theâ— still sollicit the Kings of the earth But our hope and comfort is that which they make account to be their day is and shall proue the great day of God Almighty He it is that meanes to strike the stroke and to make it his owne day even the great day of God Almighty which shall be a day of darknesse and gloominesse to all Gods enemies The zeale of the Lord of hosts will performe this He is the God Almighty Next followeth the third branch or