The Everlasting Gospel of Repentance and Remission of Sins,
held forth, and declared, &c.
OH IRELAND! the day of Gods visitation of
Love and tender Mercy hath been upon thee, to try
thee▪ and to prove thee; and the Lord would have
gathered thy People into Covenant and Fellowship
with himself, to live in Love, Unity and Peace, and the Lord
would have made thy Inhabitants blessed, but they would not;
but many have refused the Day of his Love, and they have neglected
his Loving-kindness, and have chosen their own wayes
of Iniquity and Unrighteousness, rather than the way of Truth
and Peace; though the Lord hath often smitten, and caused his
Judgments to be known in the Land, and suffered great destruction
in dayes past, even Plague, Sword and Famine were sore upon
thee, Have thy Inhabitants forgotten the dealings of the Lord
towards thee? Are his Judgments and Mercies clean gone out
of remembrance, which the Lord shewed in thee not many years
since? And because of thy Iniquities and Transgressions, which
were grown very great against God, he was angry with thee, and
provoked against thee, and did give up thy Inhabitants to hardness
of heart, and cruelty of mind one against another, so that
they were given up to destroy and cut off one another, and thousands
of them fel through the malice & wickedness of each others
hearts and hands, and cruel Murders, Robberies, Treacheries,
and a very great destruction was commited amongst thy People;
and this was because Iniquity at that day was full, Pride and Oppression,
Drunkenness and Whoredom, Double-dealing▪ and
Preachery, and all manner of Unrighteousness was grown to the
height, and therefore did the Lord suffer a very great Rebuke in
the Land, and by Sword, Plague and Famine did he plead with
thy Inhabitanas for some years together, even that he might
humble thee and correct thee, and that thy People might turn unto
him, and forsake their Iniquities: Oh! why hast thou forgotten
the dealings of the Lord, running into the same abominations!
for since the Lord stayed his Judgments, Iniquity is incre
••••
even as before; though the Lord hath given thee Rest and Peace
for divers years, and healed thee of thy Sorrows and Miseries,
and replenished thee with People, and this hast had Peace and
Fulness for a good season, but yet thou hast not made a right use
of these mercies as thou oughtest to have done; though the Lord
hath shewed Love and Favour towards thee, in delivering of thee
from thy former Troubles and Miseries, yet thou hast turned, to
thy own hurt, his Blessings into a Curse, through thy abuse of them;
and now through Rest, and Peace and Fulness, thy Inhabitants
are corrupted and become abominably sinfull, and they have
loaden themselves with transgressions, and heaped up wrath against
the day of wrath, even wrathful matter for the wrath of God; and
former Judgments and Mercies, seems to be both forgotten, many
having abused them to their hurt, though the Lord intended them
for their good, and thy Inhabitants are as before, many of them
hardened in Iniquity, rather than turned from it; and they are
turned into their old paths, and drinks of the same Cup of Abominations,
and Pride, and Oppression, and all Unrighteousness in
every part of it, is grown as high as ever it was in thee: Oh how
doth Wickedness abound! Drunkenness, Wantonness, vain Pleasures,
Envy, Wrath, Contention, Heart-burning, Covetousness
and Earthly-mindedness, Double-dealing, False-heartedness,
Idolatry and Hypocrisie, and all fruits of the Flesh, how do they
abound in thee! even as high as ever before, as though thou hadst
never felt Judgment, because of thy sins, and as though thou hadst
never tasted of Mercy that thou shouldest live a better life; but
both Judgment and Mercy by-past are neglected, and the remembrance
of them worn out, and thou hast said in thy heart,
We love this World, its Pleasures and Vanities, and after our
wayes will we go.
Oh Nation and Kingdom, this is thy condition, and thy
present state; thou drinkest up Iniquity as an Ox drinketh
water, and thou addest sin to sin, as if all thou couldst do were
too little, and like as if thou wert appointed for no other end,
but to commit sin; and thou hatest Reproof, and despisest Correction,
and him that reproves thee, thou countest thy Enemy;
for the whole pleasure of many of thy People is in sinning against
God: and thus thou thinkest to serve him with thy sins, and requitest
the Lord evil for his good towards thee, and his Judgments
and Mercies have no place in thy heart; Though yet thou
hast been warned, for these divers years, that thy people should
turn from their Inquities and serve the living God; Repentance
and forsaking of sin hath been preached thorow thee, and warning
hath been given of the Judgments of God that are to come: but
hereof hast thou taken no notice as thou oughtest to have done,
but thy Inhabitants have despised the Lords Servants, and persecuted
them, and thou hast held in derision and under great afflictions
the People of the Lord, and persecuted them for good
Conscience-sake.
And this is the fulfilling of Wickedness in thee, and the hight
of thy Inhabitants Transgressions, in that they have persecuted
such who have warned them, and despised the Lords Reproof, and
would not hearken to the Advice of his People, but do alwayes
reject the Message of Gods Light, which reproves People in their
own Consciences because of Sin, that they should turn from it
and be saved; this Message hath been proclaimed thorow the
Land, even for some years together, wherein the Lord hath visited
thee with his Love, that he might gather thy People, and condemn
their Iniquities, and save their Souls; but thy People have
rejected this Message, and would not be turned from their Idolatrous
wayes and worships, nor from the Hypocrisie of their ways,
that they might be healed; but thy People have forsaken the living
God, and rebelled against the Light, and the way of Peace
they have refused, and turned their backs towards the Lord and
not their face, and after Covetousness and the love of this World
they have gone; though there hath been a great profession of
Worship and Religion in thee, much Preaching and Praying,
Sabbath-keeping and professed Church-fellowship, Ministry and
Ordinances, and a Sect here of one sort, and there another, that
have cryed, Lord, Lord, and have made a shew of Worships and
Duties towards him, yet notwithstanding, Hypocrisie, Falseheartedness,
Covetousness, Double-mindedness, and the spirit
of Pride and Ambition, and vain Glory, have possessed the hearts
of both Teachers and People, in all the false Sects and divers
kinds of Religion; though they have had a shew, as if they were
the Lords People, and a pretence of Worship, and conformity of
Church-fellowship, &c. yet their hearts have not been right
before the Lord; but of these it may be said, even they have
professed God with their mouths, and with their lips honoured
him, and in the very time their hearts have gone after Covetousness,
and been far departed from the Lord; and though they
have cryed, The Temple of the Lord, and we are the Church of
Christ and Members of him, and have Gospel, and Ministry, and
Ordinances; yet these people have walked in Pride and Arrogancy,
and Covetousness, and their hearts have been Corrupted
in the sight of the Most High, and all their Religion hath been
but as the fig-leaves, by which they have sought to cover themselves,
but it cannot be; For behold ye Professors and People of
Ireland! God hath beheld your Hypocrisies, and the Deceitfulness
of your hearts, and your nakedness doth appear; for though
you have professed much of the Spirit, and Spiritual Things, yet
you have walked in the Flesh, and brought forth the fruits thereof,
and your garments of feigned Prayers and Practices, and
your profession of Church and Ordinances, will not cover nor
hide you from the Wrath of the Lamb.
Oh People of Ireland, many of you have been corrupted in
your hearts, and polluted in your minds, and from the highest of
you to the lowest, you are sound Transgressors against God, even
from the Professor to the Porphane the Lord hath found no good
fruit amongst you, well-pleasing to him, but four grapes and bitter
fruit have you brought forth, even fruit of a bad tast and
loathsom smel unto the Lord; and now the Lord hath found you
out in your wickedness, and the cry of your Iniquities call for
Vengeance; for of you it may be said, Ah Nation laden with
Iniquity! ah sinful People! a seed of Evil-doers, corrupted from the
crown of the heal to the soal of the foot: these things are so, and
they cannot be hid: But now the Lords purpose is to deal with
thee, because of thy sins, seeing he is provoked against this People
by their Iniquities, who have been disobedient to the living
God; Therefore will he renew his Judgments of old, and withdraw
his Mercies, and he will plead with the People in his Justice:
his Judgments are at the door, and he will punish the
stout-hearted, and proud and arrogant, till they learn meekness
and humility; he will correct the Transgressors with his Rod of
heavy Wrath, till they turn to him by Repentance; and all that
will not bow and kiss the Son, and cease from evil, and learn to do
well, they shall be broken and cut off and perish in his anger, and
he will never heal them; even the Feller will come upon thy
People, O Nation, who will hew down thy Cedars, and cut up
thy strong Oaks; the Fanner is coming upon thee to sift thee,
to preserve the good Grain, and to separate the Chaff into the
fire; thy Strength will be made weak, and thy Crown will be
toden down, and thy Beauty shall be marred, and all thy Glory
and Might shall fade like a flower in that day, when the Lord of
Hosts pleadeth with thee, and when he rewards thee for thy
Wickedness, Then Wo unto thee, and unto all the Wicked and
workers of Iniquity, and he will cause them to remember what
they have done; thy Sins, O Nation, shall be set in order before
thee, and thy Persecution of the Lords Servants shall be charged
to thy account, and the Rod of Affliction shall reach close unto
thee because thereof; and as thy Rulers have done to others, so
shall it be done to them, into Captivity shall they go, and the
Spoyler shall come upon the Land: for Iust is the Lord, and his
Iudgments altogether equal; and though he be long-suffering and of
great forbearance, yet he forgets not to plead with his Enemies,
and to plague the Ungodly, nor to shew mercy to them that trust
in him; And doubtles there is a Cup of Wrath prepared for the
Wicked to drink, and it seemeth to be near, even a day of great
Wrath & Tribulation upon Sinners and Transgressors, who have
rejected the Lord, and despised his Reproofs, and would not receive
the Message of the Light of the World, that they might be
healed.
Wherefore, Repeat, Repent all sorts of People, all Sinners and
Transgressors, tremble before the Lord ye stout-hearted and rebellious
Children; Wo unto ye unjust Rulers and Judges, that
have exercised unjust Judgment in the Land, that have judged
for Gifts and Rewards, and that have turned aside just Judgement,
Mercy and Truth, and that have persecuted the Innocent
without just cause; Wo unto you that have been Oppressors of
the Poor and Needy, ye that have not judged for the Lord as ye
ought to have done, but have been ambitious and vain-glorious,
and puffed up in the flesh by high Titles and Places of Honour,
ye that have exalted your selves above your Brethren, and sought
Honour of Men, and loved the Honour of this World more than
the Honour of God, Wo unto you; for the day of the Lords Judgment
is at hand, and an account of your Stewardship must you
give: Ye that should have judged in Mercy, and Truth, and Equity,
but have perverted just Judgment, and made the Innocent
Offenders, and have not been a praise to them that do well, nor a
terror to evil-doers as ye ought to have been; Wo unto you, and
to the Oppressing and Falshearted Lawyers, and that Train, who
have been greedy of Gain, and served your own Ends, and sought
Riches to your selves, and the Cause of the Poor hath not been
freely pleaded by you; Wo unto all ye that have made a Trade
of doing Judgment and Justice, and have been exercised in the
Laws for your own Ends, and not singly for the Lord; Tremble
ye sons of Wickedness, ye that have exercised the Power of Antichrist
and the Beast, for the Judgments of the Lord are at hand
to be executed upon you.
Wo unto you Great and Rich men, ye covetous and earthly
Worldlings, ye that have made your selves rich by Oppression and
grinding the faces of the Poor; that have got Gain by hard dealing,
and added Land to Land and Field to Field, and that have
over-reached the Ignorant, and oppressed the Widows and Fatherless,
and that have exercised Cruelty and hard dealing to
your Tenants and Servants, and have laid heavy Yoaks upon
such with whom you have dealt, and that have made your selves
great and rich in the Earth by such means; Wo unto you, Misery
is coming upon you, weep and howl, ye earthly greedy covetous
Wretches of this World, who have sought Riches more than the
Lord, and gotten Gain by Oppression and Over-reaching your
Neighbours; your Riches so gotten shall never prosper nor be
blessed to you, but shall be a Curse to you, and your Children
and your Covetousness will God plague; Ye that have gotten
Goods and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of your dayes:
Wo unto you Carnal minds, all the treasures of them are corruptible,
your Lands, Gold and Silver are fading treasures; the
day of the Lords Judgments are at hand upon you, and the Rod
of his Wrath will smite you, and ye shall have Poverty and Want
instead of Fulness and Excess, and ye shall have Leanness and
Barrenness, and God will plead with you in the way of have
sinned against him; The time of your Visitation draws near.
Wo unto you Merchants, Traders, Buyers and Sellers, that
have been double-dealers and double-tongu'd, and dealt deceitfully
in your Commodities with your Neighbours; VVo unto ye
that have got Gain by double-dealing, and by feigned and flattering
speeches have beguiled one another, and sought to out-reach
in your barganing every man his Brother! These things have ye
done, O ye Covetous men, ye have even robbed the Poor by your
craft and guileful dealing, by your smooth and flattering tongues;
and if any amongst you could not use fraud, and dissemble, such
have been your prey and scorn; and it's your use to discommend
a Commodity when you buy it, and to praise it when you sell it;
and ye make a fair outside to please the eye, and ye use multitude
of words and fair speeches, and deceive the Simple, and get
Gain by Oppression, Craft and Deceit: Wo unto you, Repent
of this your sin; Cleanse your hearts, ye Sinners; and purifie your
hearts, ye Double-minded: I charge you by the Lord, give over
your double-dealing, and deceitfull merchandize; cease to lye
and defraud, cease your flattery and feigned words, and speak
the truth every one to his Neighbour, and come out of your Iniquities;
use not a bad conscience any longer, for it's a fearfull
Abomination against the Lord; but minde the Light of Christ in
you, which will convince you in your Consciences of your naughty
and sinful wayes, and that Light will exercise your Consciences
to do the Truth, and speak the Truth to your Neighbour in
all things, and this is blessed, and the Gain that is thereby gotten,
is not a Curse; for ye ought in all your wayes to reverence
the Lord and respect him, that he should lead you and guide you
in your exercise of all earthly things: For the Earth is the Lords;
and the Fulness thereof, and it ought to be exercised to his Glory;
and there is sufficient in this Creation for all People, And therefore
covet not earthly things one from another, neither oppress
nor over-reach one another about them; neither treasure up
earthly things, while the Poor want, for if ye do, ye hide your
selves from your own slesh, laying field to field till there is no
place for the Poor; and wo unto such, the Day of the Lord will
be upon you: but learn the Wisdom of God, how to be ordered,
and how to order all things of this Creation, and be in unity
and good agreement amongst your selves, and do not fall out nor
strive, not contend nor envy one another about earthly things,
but if ye have much, or if ye have little, be contented with what
you have, and do not grind the hearts and consciences one of
another to get earthly things, for they will fade and perish away;
and seek not after that which perisheth, but after that which is
unto eternal life; for the Day of the Lord is at hand, and his
Judgments upon all Oppressors, Double-dealers and false hearted
Flatterers, that are covetous of earthly things.
Wo unto all ye Drunkards and Swearers, Whoremongers and
Prophane Persons, the Judgments of the Lord are upon you unawares;
ye that destroy the Creation upon your Lusts, that are
run into the Excess of Wine and Beer, and that cover it excessively,
and that drink till ye inflame your selves, and spend your
time in it; ye are like the Beasts of the field, and like the Swine
that wallows in filthiness; ye pervert the right use and end of
the good Creatures of God, and spend them upon your lusts, and
have not regard unto the living God; and one sin even begets
another, Drunkenness begets Swearing, and Prophane words,
and VVhoredom, and beastly Affections, and thus you adde sin
to sin, and heap up one sin upon another, contrary to the Light
in your own Consciences; and thus ye serve the Devil and Satan,
committing Iniquity, with both hands, as it were, by Drunkenness
and Swearing, and taking the Name of the Lord in vain,
and Cursed Speaches, and falling out one with another; and
your minds are erred from the Lord, and ye abuse your selves,
and your own bodies, which were made for the Service of God,
and not for Whoredom; and ye slay your own Souls by your own
Iniquities, and many times provoke the Lord to destroy both
soul and body: VVo unto you, the Plagues of God are your
portion, and Misery your end here and hereafter; Repent of
your Iniquities, and turn from them, lest the Lord find you in
your Iniquities when he comes to Judgement; for if you continue
in them you can never be pardoned, but you sin unto death,
and the Lord will come upon you suddenly; for ye that follow
Drunkenness and Prophaness you live contrary to the Light in
your own Consciences, and you sin against your knowledge,
against that knowledge that God hath given you; and this is your
greatest sin, even because ye do the things which ye know ye
should not do, and the Light in your Consciences doth shew
you, that these things are evil before you do them; but ye doing
the things contrary to the Light in your own Consciences, this
makes your crime heinous, and your sin unpardonable, if ye continue
in Sin and Prophaness, contrary to the reproof of Gods
Spirit in your own Consciences: VVherefore ye prophane persons,
cease to do evil, lest the Lords Judgments come upon you
suddenly to your destruction, and the Lord smite you, and you
never be healed.
VVo unto all ye hypocritical and deceitful Professors of Religion,
that hold the Truth in Unrighteousness, that have a talk
and a shew of Religion, and that have the name of Church-members
and of Worshippers of God, but are dead in sins and
trespasses; ye that are Christians by name, but want the nature,
who are wolves in sheeps cloathing, that have Christs words, the
the Prophets and Apostles words, but want their Spirit and Life;
VVo unto you, the Day of the Lord is at hand upon you, ye Hypocrites,
ye that serve God with your lips, and with your mouths
profess much love, when as your hearts are full of Envie, Covetousness
and Earthly-mindedness; ye are the Apostate Christians,
that have taken the Form of Godlinesse upon you, but want
the Power; ye preach, and pray, and hear Sermons, and keep
Sabbath-dayes, and perform Duties, but ye are not changed in
your hearts, but the old nature is alive, and the old birth lives in
you; and ye are unlike unto God in nature, and ye walk in the
Flesh and not in the Spirit, and ye take Christs words and the
Apostles words, and use your tongues, when God never spoke to
you; O ye Hypocrites! ye have a name to live, but are dead, and
ye think ye are Rich, when as ye are poor, miserable, blind and naked,
and your souls are lean and want the Bread of Life, and ye have
not put off the body of Sin, nor have you overcome your Souls
enemies, but the burden of Sin lyes upon your Consciences, and
Temptations overcome you daily; and though you say, ye have
Faith in Christ, yet your hearts are not purified, but the Old Man,
with his deeds, is yet alive, and the New Creature is not
brought forth in you, nor is Christ living in you, and speaking in
you; the day of the Lord will come upon you, you false-hearted
men, ye Apostate Christians, that hold the Profession of Truth,
and Church, and Gospel, and Ministry in your unrighteous minds;
your Sacrifices are not acceptable to God, nor your Offerings
well-pleasing to him; for your hearts are not aright before him,
and your Hypocrisie will God judge, and his Wrath will go out
like fire to consume your glory, and God will cloath himself
with Zeal, as with a Cloak, and with a Garment of Vengeance,
and he will slay you with his Sword, and wound your Consciences
with the Words of his Mouth, and your Religion will not
save you, nor your Garment cover you from the Wrath of the Almighty:
Wo unto you, the Mighty Day of the Lord is at hand
upon you, ye Earthly Professors, who would be heirs of two
Kingdoms, who would enjoy God and this World too, and love
its Vanities and Profits and Pleasures, and Honours, and live in
strife and contention one with another about earthly things, and
about your Religion too, and are not of one heart, and mind, and
soul, but are strangers to the New Covenant of God, though you
hear Sermons, and say a Form of Prayer, and keep Sabbaths and
Lecture-dayes, and perform Ordinances and Duties, and yet
your hearts are hard, and the body of Sin and Death lyes upon
your Consciences, and you are not changed into the Divine
Nature; this Religion will not save you, away with it all, it's
of Antichrish, and his spirit leads you, while you walk in the
Form of Godliness without the Power, the Lord will come upon
you suddenly; therefore Repent ye of your Hypocrisies, and
turn to the Spirit of God within you, hear its Reproofs, and obey
it, and walk in the Spirit, and be ye Changed, or else you can never
be Saved.
VVo, Wo unto all ye false Teachers and blind Leaders of the
People, ye Diviners and false Prophets, and Day of the Lord is
at hand upon-you; ye have deceived souls for dishonest gain,
ye have run and were never sent of God, and ye have not profited
the people at all, and ye have taken the name upon you of
Ministers of Christ, when he never sent you forth; and you have
kept a prating and preaching up and down, and run for Gifts,
and Rewards, and Hire; ye have deceived the World, and the
Bloud of Souls rests upon you: O ye Generation of Serpents! poyson
hath lodged under your tongues, your hearts have been rotten,
and your tongues feigned and full of flattery, and you have
been as Canker-worms in the Earth, and have corrupted the
whole World; Whom have not ye deceived by your Lyes and
false Divinations? Whom have not you cryed Peace unto, if
they would but give you Gifts, Money and Hire? What Form
of Religion would not you take up for advantage to your selves?
how often have you turned from one way to another? Oh ye
false-hearted men, the God of Heaven will shew you no mercy;
ye are the men that have made the Earth drunk with false faith,
and false doctrines, and with contention and distention, sometime
preaching up one Government, sometimes another; and
sometime being for one way of Worship, and sometimes for another;
Treachery hath lodged in your hearts above all others;
ye have eaten up the sin of the People, and cryed Peace unto the
Ungodly: Wo unto ye that have gone in Cain's way, that have
bread Contention, Persecution, Strife and Emulation amongst
People, and that have gone in Balaams way for Gifts and Rewards,
and would do any great man a pleasure, and even curse the
people for Money; ye have been such as all the holy Prophets
cryed against, your fruits and works declares it; ye have sought
for your Gain from your Quarter, and could never have enough,
such as Isaiah cryed against, Chap. 56. and such as Micha cryed
against, Micah 3. That preached for Hire, and divined for Money,
and leaned upon the Lord, and cryed Peace to them that would give
Money, and prepared War against them that would not: and these
things have you done, some of ye Teachers and Priests, and ye
have been blind Watchmen, and ye have been idle and lazy
Shepherds, such as Ezekiel cryed against, Chap. 34. that ruled
over people with Force and Cruelty, and killed them that were
fed, and did not heal the diseased, nor strengthen the weak, but
pusht with the horn at such as went astray from you; and idle
and lazy Shepherds have you been, who have not sed the Flock
with living food, but you have caused them to drink of the foul
waters, and their souls are lean and barren under your Preaching;
Oh look into your Flocks, and see what fruit is brought
forth by them, and what may be gathered from them; Oh the
abundance of Pride and Wickedness, of Ambition and Vainglory,
and Covetousness, and the love of this World, lying
and double-dealing, and all the fruits of the flesh, How do they
abound amongst the flocks of your fold? who are in their fruits,
and by their works not the Sheep of Christs Pasture, but are like
Goats and VVolves under your Teaching; Can ye behold this
and consider of it, and not be ashamed of the fruit of your wayes?
VVhat have ye brought forth these many years? or what profit
have the People received from you, who are yet in their sins, unturned
from them, and not converted to God? whereby it appears
you have run, and never were sent, because the People
are not profited at all; and it grieves the heart of the Righteous
to look into your Vineyards, and to see such bad fruit growing;
you have been sloathfull Tillers, and have not sown the good
Seed in the hearts of the People, but the Seed of Corruption
brings forth fruit in them, and your Vineyards are like barren and
untilled ground, that is unplowed and undigged, and unplanted
with Trees of Righteousness: Oh ye have been unprofitable
Vineyard-dressers, and ye have laboured for your selves, and not
for the Lord, as is manifest; and ye have been idle and lazy,
and the God of Heaven is weary of you, and the time is at hand
he will pluck you up by the roots, and visit you with great destruction,
and your name shall be a Reproach amongst men; for ye
have not sought the Lords honour, but your own; and ye have
been changable in your wayes for your own advantages; ye have
preached for filthy Lucre, and through Covetousness made merchandize
of People; and ye have traded with the Scriptures, and
made a Trade of Preaching the Gospel; and ye have made Traffick
of the Souls of men: and these things have you done, and
the Lord hath kept silence, and he hath forborn to smite you,
and therefore have you been hardened the more in your Transgressions,
as though the Lord took no notice; and you have filled
your hands with dishonest gain in your unrighteous wayes, and
your sins are increased every day against the God of Heaven;
you repent not when you are warned, but reject reproof, and go
on without fear; ye are a company of proud men, heady and
high-minded men, ambitious and self-seeking persons, even
such as the Prophets, Christ and the Apostles marked forth for
Deceivers, and your fruits and works do prove it; ye have been
covered with the Sheeps cloathing in your unrighteous natures,
and your Iniquities are almost full, and the Lord will bring unresistable
destruction upon you; in a day when you cry, Peace, peace,
then sudden destruction will come: Wo unto you, because of your
Iniquities, the Earth is weary of you, which ye have corrupted
through your false wayes, and the Kingdoms groan under your
Oppressions, and the Earth will spue you out, and the People,
whom you have deceived, shall rise up in Judgment against
you; the dreadful Day of the Lord is at hand upon you, ye Apostates
from the Life and Faith of Christ Jesus, for of that race
you are, even of them Apostates that went out in the Apostles
dayes, that went in Balaam's way, and Cain's way, for ye are of
the spirit that kills and persecutes people about Worship and
Sacrifices, and Religion, as Cain did; and ye go for Gifts and
Rewards, even as Balaam did: These things are so, the Witness
of God in your Consciences shall answer, and all People shall
acknowledge the truth hereof in the day when God pleads with
all the wicked.
All People, Return and Repent of your Iniquities, the dreadful
Day of the Lord is at hand, ye Sinners and Transgressors, ye hypocritical
Professors and prophane Persons, the Day of Vengeance
is at hand: Whither will you fly, and where will you leave
your glory? where will you seek a defence, or where can you be
hid? the Mountains will not cover you, nor the Rocks will not
fall upon you, the wrath of the Lamb you cannot escape, even
the long-suffering of God will be turned into a flame of anger,
and patience will be turned into sharp rebuke, the wrath of the
Lamb will utterly smite you, and the Cup of Gods Indignation
you must drink, all the Earth must tast of it, and the Wicked
shall drink the dreggs; Wherefore all ye Inhabitants of the
Earth forsake your Transgressions, that the Lord may not cut you
off for ever, but let God arise to destroy your Iniquities, and to
save your Souls, let him take vengeance upon your Inventions,
that he may forgive you: Oh! why will you dye, why will you
perish? the Lord would have you to return, that he might save
you.
And this is the day of your Visitation, the door of Mercy is yet
open for a little season, and the Lord yet calls unto you for a
moment; but the time is at hand, that he who is filthy, shall be
filthy still, and that determination shall be passed, Come, ye Blessed,
and, Go ye Cursed; the doleful sentence shall be pronounced
to all workers of Iniquity, Into everlasting Burning must they depart,
prepared for the Devil and his Angels, and shall not see the
Countenance of the Lord to refresh their souls, but in the presence of
the Lord, and of the Lamb, shall the Wicked be tormented: Wherefore
hear and tremble, all ye Transgressors that live and act contrary
to your knowledge, and against the Witness of God in your
own Consciences; and this is your great sin, for which the wrath
of God cometh, not because you have acted in Ignorance and
without knowledge, but because you have acted against the Light
in your Consciences, and sinned against your knowledge, and done the
things, which you knew were evil before you did them; and because
hereof you are not to be excused, but the burden of your own
sins and the guilt of them will fall heavy upon you in the Day of
the Lord; For this is the Condemnation of the World, that Light
is come into it, but you have loved Darknesse rather than Light, and
followed evil deeds and loved them, and this contrary to the Light
that is come into the world, and which hath enlightned your own
Consciences.
Certain Propositions of Faith laid down, which every
one must believe, or else they cannot be saved.
I. NOw none can be saved from the Wrath of the
Lord but they who are saved from their Sins;
for Sin brings the Wrath of God upon the Consciences
of men, and Anguish upon Soul and Body; and who are
not saved from Sin, cannot be saved from Wrath; for
Wrath pursues the Guilty, and he that doth evil, sin lies at
his door, and continual anguish upon his spirit because of
sin, and the load and burden of the body of death oppresseth
his soul, and anger from God kindleth in his
breast, because he hath sinned; and he knows he is
gu
•••
y of Transgression, and the Lord wounds him in his
Conscience, and no man in that state can speak peace unto
him, nor can any save him from the Wrath of God,
because he is not saved from his Sin, nor from the guilt
of it; but his grief and burden is, because he hath sinned
against the Light in his own Conscience: And therefore
whosoever will be saved from Wrath, must be saved from
Sin and Christ, must purifie his heart, and the Blood of
the Lamb must sanctifie him, and his Conscience must be
cleansed from the guilt of Transgression, and Christ must
live in him, and he must live the life of Faith, which gives
victory over all Sin, or else he cannot be saved with the
Salvation of God eternally.
II. Again, Whosoever will be saved with the Salvation
of God, must own the Light of Christ Jesus in his
own Conscience, and he must believe in this Light and
walk in it, even the Light in his Conscience, that convinces
him, and checks him for his evil deeds, and that
lets him see what sin he is guilty of; you must believe in
this Light, and follow it, and depart from that, and forsake
that Iniquity which it convinces you of, and do that
Good which it moves your hearts unto, or else you can
never be saved; for if your continue in evil-doing, contrary
to the Light of Christ in your own Consciences,
you are in a condemned condition, and you cannot be
justified of the Lord, while you are accused by the Light
within you, of such and such sins, and that you are guilty
of them, and forsakes them not; for the God of Heaven
condemneth and justifieth men according to the Witness
of the Light in their own Consciences; for it is Gods
Evidence, to bear witness for God, and to accuse or excuse
every man in his sight, and according to its evidence,
God justifieth or condemneth all the children of men.
III. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must be born again of
the Seed of God, and must be changed and renewed in mind and
heart, and spirit; and old things must pass away, and all things
must be made new; and a new nature must live in you, and the
Image of God must be brought forth, which is in Righteousness
and true Holiness, which is like unto God; and this is the new
Creation, which every one must witness to be wrought in them
that ever enters into Gods Kingdom; For saith Christ, Except
a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God; for
it is not a profession of Religion made with the lips, nor the practises
of Duties and Ordinances, taken on the performed in the
old nature, and a holding of truth in unrighteousness; this is not
the way of Salvation, but it is the regenerating and making like
unto God, being his Image of Justice, Truth and Righteousness;
it is this in which men may be saved everlastingly.
IV. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must receive the Spirit
of God, and it must dwell in them, even the Spirit of the Father;
and they must be taught by it, and led into all Truth, to do
the Truth, and speak the Truth in all things; even the Spirit of
Truth must be received, to teach and to lead in all the wayes of
God; it alone must teach; and all the Hireling-Teachers of
the world must be turned away from, by whom peoples souls have
been deceived; all such as have run, and God never sent them;
that have cryed up Teaching and Ministry, and through whom
people have not received the Spirit of the Father; all such
Teachers must he denyed, their Church and Ministry; and the
Spirit of the Father must only teach and lead; and you must
walk in the Spirit, and not after the Flesh; for if you walk after
the Flesh, in the wayes and works of it, you are in the state of
Condemnation, and not of Salvation; and the Spirit of God doth
not teach you, but you are out of the New Covenant of God; in
which Covenant all are taught of the Lord, and in Righteousness
are they established: the Spirit of God is put within them,
and the Law of God is written in their hearts; and they need
no man to teach them, but as the Spirit teacheth: and this is the
New Covenant of Peace with God, into which all must come to
witness this, or else they cannot be saved.
V. Again, All that will be saved, must be sanctified, cleansed
and purified from all unrighteousness, by the Spirit and Word
of God, whereby every heart must be made clean, and every
conscience sprinkled with the Blood of the Lamb; and the body
of Sin and Death must be put off, and the bondage of Corruption
must be broken, and Iniquity must be forsaken, and turned from,
and Sin must be judged in the flesh, and Purity, Holiness and
Righteousness must live and reign in all that will be saved; and
Sin and Transgression, and the guilt of it must be removed; and
you must shew forth the Image of God in Holiness and Righteousness;
and must be pure, as he is pure, in kind and quality;
and you must walk in Holiness and Righteousness, being freed
from Corruption, and from the wayes of Sin and Death, being
sanctified in Body, Mind and Spirit, by the Word of the Lord;
and Sin must be blotted out, and Transgression must be covered,
and Iniquity must be remembred no more, and in all things you
must cease to do evil, and learn to do well, if ever you will be
saved.
VI. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must witness Christ revealed
in you, and He must live in you, and you must be followers
of him whithersoever he goes, and your Bodies must be
the Temples of the living God, and God must walk in you and
dwell in you, according to his promise; and he must be your
King, your Judge and Law-giver, and Teacher, Father and
Master, and he must be all in all unto you, even God the Father
who is blessed for ever; you must know him near you, and
feel his presence in you, to be your joy, life and peace; and you
must have fellowship with him in Spirit, and must worship him
in Spirit, and by the Spirit, without respect of Dayes, Times or
Places: Every one that will be saved must come into this, and
witness it, for this is the way of the Salvation of God.
VII. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must live in the
power of Godliness, and must deny all Forms of Religion without
the Power; all Profession of Scriptures, Ordinances, Church-member-ship,
Praying and Preaching, which is not in the Power
of God, and by his Spirit, must be denyed, and that part that
holds it, (that holds the Form of Godliness without the Power)
must be crucified; and every one must come into the Power of
the Spirit of God, and must witness that to work in them, to will
and to do; and no more professing of the things of God, but as
they are witnessed by the work of his Spirit in their hearts: you
must not hold Truth any longer in unrighteousness, nor make a
profession of it in your unrighteous minds; no more talking of
Justification and Redemption, nor of any of the matters of Gods
Kingdom, but according as they are witnessed by the working of
the Spirit of God in the heart; and every one must feel in himself
the evidence and testimony of the Spirit of God to witness
the Truth in his heart (or conscience) of what he professeth with
his mouth.
VIII. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must witness the
Scriptures of Truth fulfilled in themselves: the things that they
have read of without them, must be wrought within them, wrought
in their hearts by the same Spirit as gave forth the Scriptures;
they must passe through the same conditions as the holy men of
God did; and the same truth that the Scriptures declare of, must
be revealed in the heart, by the same Spirit that gave forth the
Scriptures; and none must profess more than they do enjoy from
God; and all flesh must be silent from speaking of the things of
Gods Kingdom, which they have not seen, handled, tasted and
felt, by the working of the Spirit of God in their Consciences:
and this is to witness the Scriptures fulfilled, when you have
experience of the same conditions, and of the same operations
and manifestations which the Servants of the Lord passed through
and had experience of; and so that you may speak what you have
heard, and seen, and handled, and tasted of the Word of Life:
All that will be saved must come to this, and witness it.
IX. Again, Whosoever will be saved, must believe in Jesus
Christ, and receive him; and they must take up his daily
cross and follow him; and must know him to mortifie and crucifie
them to the world: and he must work the same things in
you by his Spirit spiritually, as he wrought without you in his
Person, or else you have no part in him, nor salvation by him:
For it is not enough unto eternal life, only to believe that there
was such a one as a Christ, and that he did and spoke such and
such things at a distance without you; for many may make a belief
and a profession of this, and yet perish; but Him that was,
of whom you read, without you, must you receive, and witness
within you; and you must know Him as he was before Abraham
was, and before the world was; and He himself by his Spirit
in you must give you the knowledge of Himself, what He
was before the beginning, what he is now, and what he shall
for ever be.
X. Again, Every one that will be saved, must come up out of
the Apostacy into which all Christendom hath been fallen, and
must come into the same Spirit, Life and Power as the Apostles
were in, from which Life, spirit and Power, all Christendom
have been Apostates, and they have held the words and practices
of the Apostles without the same Life and Power, and made
Sects, Churches and Ministers, but out of the same Life and
Spirit as the holy men of God were in; and all that will be saved,
must be restored and recovered into the same Spirit and Life
in their Churches, Ministry and Ordinances, as the Apostles of
Christ Jesus were in: and this is Restoration, when People come
again into the same Life and Spirit of God, which the Apostate
Christians have all wanted, and been in the Form of Ministry,
Churches, Religion and Godliness, without the Power; And
unto this is the Lord God restoring People, his Day is dawned,
and his everlasting Light is risen, and his Name will be known
in the Earth: And none can be saved with the salvation of God,
but who believe, receive and understand these things.
A general Objection answered.
Object. 1. And whereas there is a great cry by some people of
late, That there must be no more Private Meetings, but all People
must come to Church (as they say) and that there must be no more
Conventicles, &c.
Answ. As for Conventicles, I understand you mean Meetings
out of Publick Steeple-houses, and that there must be no private
Meetings for Preaching and Prayer, but all People must be forced
to come to Publick Places of Worship. Now I say, if the
Authority that is now set up, and hath the Power, doth exercise it
self in this way; then the God of Heaven will be provoked
against it, to overthrow it and confound it, if it proceed contrary
to the End of just Rule and Authority ordained of God, which
is for the punishment of them that do evil in things between
man and man; but not to impose upon mens Consciences, in
things relating to the Worship and Service of God: But the Lord
God is wholly Judge in such matters, and not any man; and if
any men should erre in their minds concerning Faith and Doctrine,
and the Worship of God, that belongs to the Lord to punish,
and not to any Earthly Authority.
And what! must not the People of God come together to
worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth? Must not People conveen
together in this Age, as the People of God did in Ages
past? Did not Christ many times preach in the Desert, and sometimes
in a ship by the Sea-side, and sometimes on a Mountain,
as you may read in the Scriptures? And did not he often preach
unto the Pharisees, and sometimes to his Disciples, out of the
publick Synagogues? And might not the Iews have called those
Meetings, Conventicles, because they were not in their Publick
Synagogues? And also, did not the Apostles and Saints, after
the Resurrection of Christ, when they returned from Ierusalem,
meet together privately? for they went into an Upper Room,
and waited upon the Lord, and continued with one accord in
Prayer and Supplication: And again, at another time, they were
about an hundred and twenty in number, that were in one place
to wait upon the Lord, and Peter preached unto them; and
were these Meetings Conventicles, because they were not in a
publick Synagogue, but in an Upper Chamber, and in a private
place? And thus the Saints of old met together, as ye may read,
Act. 1. and worshipped God in Spirit and in Truth, and preached
and prayed; and must not the People of God now meet together
to pray and wait upon the Lord, but they must be reproached
with the name of Conventiclers, and threatned and punished
for so doing? Oh how blind is this Generation, and how
contrary to the true Christian Spirit in their practices! And did
not Philip preach Jesus unto the Eunuch in a Chariot, as they
went on the way? and this was not in a publick Synagogue, as
in Act. 8. And did not Peter preach to Cornelius, with many
others, in Cornelius his house? and this was a Meeting, and
not in a Synagogue, Acts. 10. And did not the Apostles
and Saints meet together in an Upper Chamber, where Paul
preached until midnight amongst the Saints? Act. 20. and was
this a Conventicle, and an unlawfull Meeting? Might not the
Iews have said, this was an Unlawful Assembly, being in a
Chamber, and not in a Publick Synagogue? And again, Did
not Paul preach in his own Hired House for two whole years together,
and received all that came in unto him? Act. 28. And
here were Private Meetings out of Publick Synagogues. But did
the Iews threaten them, and inflict sufferings upon them, because
they met in private houses, and would not come to their Synagogues
and Publick Worship? or did they reproach them with
the name of Sectaries and Conventiclers, when they met together
to wait upon the Lord, sometime in praying, and sometime in
preaching? And thus you may see by many Examples, that the
Saints and true Christian Churches in the dayes of old met together,
sometime on Mountains, and sometime in Deserts, and
sometime in Upper Chambers, and sometime in their own hired
houses, and not in the publick Synagogues; but they were gathered
from the Temple and first Priesthood, and from the Worship
which God had once commanded, which stood in outward
things and Ordinances; and when they had received the substance,
they denyed the shadows, types and figures, and did
not uphold them any longer: And they were gathered by the
preaching of the Gospel into the second and new Covenant, and
they met together in private Houses, and upper Chambers, and
by the Sea-side to preach and pray, and to worship the Lord▪ and
we do not read that the Iews persecuted them for so doing: And
will you that have the name of Christians persecute the People of
God, though they meet together in private houses, and their
own hired houses, and cannot come to your Temples and Steeple-houses?
And will not you suffer such to meet together out of
your Publick Places, but you will persecute them, and call them
Hereticks, and such like? Is not this worse than ever the Iews
did to the Apostles? And so you are out of the Example of the true
Christians, who met together, and preached and prayed often,
and not in a Synagogue or Publick Place; but you cry against
them that do so, and threaten to persecute for it: and thus you
shew your selves out of the true Christan Example, and in this
you are worse than the Iews and more cruel, if you should persecute
People for meeting together to wait upon the Lord in their
own houses, or in what place or time, as the Lord should move
their hearts; but if you proceed in this way, and will not permit
the People of God to meet together in their own houses,
and not in your Idol-Temples; then the Power of the Lord will
confound you, and God will break you to pieces, and you will
feel his heavy Wrath upon your Consciences, and God will
smite you with his Judgments inwardly and outwardly.
Now for your restraining of people from one way of Worship,
and forcing them to another, and compelling them about Religion
by cruel Laws and Commandments of men; this is of Antichrist,
for you to do, and of the Devil: for all forcing of People to this
kind of Worship, and from another, and imposing upon their
Consciences in matters of Gods Kingdom; this is also of Antichrist,
and contrary to Christ and his VVay; for he won People
by sound Doctrine, and by Love, and by a good Conversation;
and so did his Disciples, for they never forced any by outward
violence to their Worship, nor to their Church-government and
Ordinances: but it was the practice of the Beast, and the Dragon,
that first forced People, and compelled them to worship,
since the dayes of the Apostles, Rev. 13. It was Antichrist that
first imposed upon People in the Ignorance of their Consciences,
and contrary to their Consciences, by the Commandments of men,
false Faith, false Worship, false Ministry, false Doctrine, and
false Religions; so that now, if you should force any contrary to
their Consciences, to your Steeple-houses, to hear and say your
Form of Prayers, we shall say then you are Antichrist, and of the
Devil, if so be you should endeavour to compel any, either against
their Consciences, or in the Ignorance of their Consciences, to
your way of Worship or Religion.
Therefore take heed how you meddle in these things, lest
God confound you: and as for us, we are the People of God,
we fear his Name, and worship him, and cannot bow to the Devil;
and we need not be forced to worship the Lord, for his Spirit
leads us into all Truth, and we need none of your outward Prescriptions,
or Form of Prayers, for the Spirit of God teacheth
us in all these things, when, and where, and how we should
worship the Lord God, who is a Spirit, and will be worshipped in
Spirit and in Truth, which is free, and not by outward force; and
all the Worship that is otherwise, and not in the free Spirit of
Christ, is of Great Babylon, whom the Lord will confound and
destroy.
Another general Objection answered.
Object. 2. Again, Whereas it is said by some, Now there must
be no more private Preachers, Unlearned men, and men not Ordained
must not now preach any more; Lay-persons must not be Preachers
that are not so qualified, nor so and so ordained: and this is the present
talk among some people.
Answ. To this I also answer, and say, VVo to them that
would stop, or quench, or limit the Spirit of God in Sons or
Daughters; for such are denyers of the Scriptures and the Power
of God; and such bring guilt upon their own Consciences, and
work fearful Abomination against God. And what, must not
the Spirit of the Lord speak now, where it is, in this Age, as it
did in the dayes of old, as you may read in the Scriptures? for,
was not Elisha a Plow-man, and was not he called from the
Plough, 1 King. 19. and became a Prophet of the Lord unto
the House of Israel, and had the Spirit of Elijah poured upon him?
and would not you have said he was a Lay-man, a Plow-man, unordained,
not fitting to preach, if you had lived in his dayes?
And was not Amos called from following the Flock? who had
been no Prophet, nor no Prophets son, but an Herds-man,
Amos 7, 14, 15. and it was lawful for him to preach the Word
of the Lord, though he was but an Herds-man, and had been no
Prophet, nor Prophets son; which if he had lived in your dayes,
you would have called him a Lay-man, an unfit person, unlearned,
and one not ordained for the Ministry: and you, like Amaziah
the wicked Priest of Bethel, would now quench the Spirit, as he
would have done in Amos, who was a Trades-man, and such an
one as you now call Lay-men, who are not (as you say) fitting
to preach. And did not Christ Jesus himself chuse Fisher-men,
and sent them forth to preach the Gospel? and such as were
men of Trades, and unlearned in Books, as it is written, Act.
4. 13. When the Rulers saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived they were Unlearned, they marvelled; and these were
Ministers of Christ, and preached the Everlasting Gospel, whom
you would have called Lay-men, and men unfit to preach, had
you lived in their dayes. And Paul himself by occupation was
a Tent-maker, it is said, and he laboured with his hands, and yet
was a Preacher of the Gospel; and there are multitudes of Witnesses
in the Scriptures of these things, how that men of Trades,
and unlearned in Letters and Books, and never were brought up
at Schools and Colledges, but followed the Plough, and were
keepers of Cattel, and some followed fishing; such as these in
old time had the Spirit of God given them, and they preached
the Gospel: And what if the Lord at this day give his Spirit to
such as these, and send them forth to preach the Gospel, even
to such as were brought up and educated (it may be) at Handycraft
Trades, and are labouring-men, and are not learned at
Schools and Colledges; will you limit the Lord, and quench his
Spirit, and reproach his Wayes and Servants, and now call them
Lay-persons, and say they are not fitting to preach? for they are
not Learned nor Ordained, say you; and calling them Mechannicks
and private Preachers, and say, they must not now be admitted
to preach the Gospel; and in this you deny the Scriptures,
and the Example of the Saints in former Ages, and so neither
know the Scriptures, nor the Spirit that gave them forth: though
you say, you own the Scriptures, yet if the same things come to
passe which they declare of, you deny them in this Age, and
cry against such as Hereticks who witness the fulfilling of them;
which shews you are of Antichrist, and that you quench the Spirit
in Sons and Daughters, which God hath promised in the
New Covenant, that he would give and pour forth upon Sons
and Daughters, and they shall prophesie: And are not we to look
for these things now? VVhat, must not God's Promises be fulfilled?
must not an Herds-man now preach if the Word ofs the
Lord come unto him? and must not Plow-men now speak of the
things of God, if they have experience of them? and must not
Fisher-men and Tent-makers bear witness to the Name of Christ,
if they have received of his Spirit? And will you deny the
Scriptures, which saith, As every one hath received the Spirit and
the Gift, so let him administer the same one to another? 1 Pet. 4.
or, do you say, None must have the Gift of the Spirit, but such
as are brought up at Schools and Colledges? or, will you limit
the Holy One to such and such men and wayes? Oh you are
blind and ignorant, who would quench the Spirit of God, that
it should not speak in these dayes, and thus you are denyers of
the Scriptures: but God hath given of his Spirit, and spoken in
our hearts, and we must prophesie, and speak as the Spirit of
God giveth utterance, as the Saints of old did, Act. 2. 4.
Now for your way of making Ministers at Schools and Colledges,
and so quallifying them with Knowledge in the seven
Sciences, as it is said, and ordaining them in that manner and
way, as among Papists and Protestants hath been practised for
Ages, this way of making Ministers, and sending of them forth;
was never known among the Apostles; for they were not thus
made and ordained, and sent to preach, nor was this way of
making and sending forth Ministers, till the Spirit and Power
of God was lost and forsaken by the Apostate Christians; and
the Scriptures make no mention of such wayes, nor give no Example
for such things; and we cannot own any Religion, nor
any practice thereof, but what we have Example for from the
Saints of old before us: and we believe that it is generally of
Antichrist, to invent and introduce such and such Practices for
Religion towards God, and for the worship of him, for which
there is no Example in all the Christian Churches in the Apostles
dayes; and we believe that way of making Ministers, and
sending of them forth, which is not approvable by the Scriptures,
nor according to them, is of Antichrist, and not of God;
neither can we own such Ministers nor their Ministry, who are
not ordained of God, and according to the Scriptures: nor can
we deny private Preachers nor their Ministry, as you call them,
if they have received the Spirit of Christ, though they be not so
learned outwardly, nor ordained according to what some may
call the right way; but who are Ministers, made and sent of
God, and have the Authority of his Spirit, such we own, and
cannot deny; and such the Lord will bless with his Presence,
to the confounding of all their Enemies.
Concerning Settlement in a happy Government.
Object. There hath been great Divisions and Distractions in these
Nations for divers years; and in the midst of them the great cry hath
been by many for Settlement and Peace, and for a quiet and happy Government.
Answ. These things hath the Lord suffered to come to pass in
the world; even great Contentions, Divisions and Distractions,
and much Changes of Government in these Kingdoms; And the
appearing cause of these things, hath been from the lust that hath
warred in the Members, for from thence doth Wars and Strife
arise; and many have been Ambitions, Vain-glorious, Self-seeking
and Covetous of the Honours and Pleasures of this VVorld;
the lust and desire of these things hath possessed the minds of men,
and induced them to envy and wrath one against another, and
hath filled them with heart-burnings, and cruelty of mind, to the
killing and destroying of one another, by Wars and Bloodsheds,
and by Plots and Contrivances have sought how to extinguish one
another from the Earth, that themselves might be exalted: and
thus from the desires that have warred in mens minds, have Wars
arisen against the persons of men, and among them: and this is
the appearing cause of the Wars and Distractions that have been
in these Nations; though the hidden cause (which hath not so
appeared) hath been in God, and because of the wickedness of
men, both high and low, and because of their Oppressions and
Abominations, which have been many and great in the World;
Therefore hath the God of Heaven been provoked in just Judgement
towards Rulers and People, to suffer men to destroy one
another, and to execute Bloudsheds and Destructions one upon
another; and he hath brought it to pass, in giving up men to the
fulfilling of their cruel intents, which hath been hatched in their
evil minds, every man against his Neighbour, and even because
they have been departed out of his Counsel, and followed their
own wicked wayes; and Justice, and Mercy, and Truth have been
wanting amongst men in these Nations; so that this is the principal
cause wherefore the Lord God hath brought about and suffered
these Wars, Distractions, Confusions and Discords in
these latter dayes; and out of the justness of Gods Judgments,
because of the wickedness of men, have these things been.
And now these Distractions and Confusions, and Discords
amongst men can never wholly and truly cease to be, till Iniquity
and Transgression be repented of, and turned from, which
is the very cause wherefore God hath done and suffered these
things, as I have said; and so men must cease from Oppression,
from Cruelty, and from all Unrighteousness, and must turn to the
Lord, and become cleansed from their sins, ere ever the Judgements
of the Lord be removed, and these Distractions, Wars
and Confusions cease to be in these Lands; and till men become
meek and humble, and till they cease to seek Revenge one of another;
and till they cease all Oppression and Covetousness, Injustice
and Unmercifulness; and till they forsake their worldly
Honour and high Titles, which puffs them up in Arrogancy and
Ambition; and even till every man forsake his particular Iniquity;
till all these things be, Distractions will not cease, nor
shall Settlement, and Peace, and happy Government ever be:
This is certainly so; for except the Cause be removed, the Effect
can never cease: and there appears to be at this day as great (if
not far more) Dissatisfactions in the minds of some People, than
hath been heretofore; and it appears to be as far from Settlement
and true Peace in an happy Union in Government, as for
many years; though it hath been expected by many, that we
should have Peace and Settlement in Government, yet, behold,
it cannot be; for there are Discontents and Murmurings in the
minds of men, and Unsettlement in their spirits, and the Foundation
of a happy Government is not yet discovered unto many;
nor do the people walk in the way of Peace, but Iniquity is abounding,
Oppression and Cruelty yet lives; Hard-heartedness
and Envy, Pride and Ambition, are not yet cut down, neither
in all the Governours, nor in the Governed: and this is not the
way of Peace and true Settlement; but it is the way of Troubles
and Distractions, and the very Foundation of greater Distractions
and Wars, rather than of Settlement and happy Government:
These things are so; and therefore true Peace and Settlement in
good Agreement, who can expect? because the ground of Distractions
and Unsettlement is continued and increased, rather
than abated and removed amongst many; and the true Foundation
of Peace and Settlement in happy Government, is not yet
raised up amongst men; but because Injustice and Oppression are
continued, therefore will God be provoked to bring Distractions,
Wars and Tribulations upon the Kingdoms of all the World;
and God will confound and dash in pieces, Powers, Authorities,
Rulers, Nations and Peoples; and He will break one Potsherd
against another, and overthrow one Mountain against another;
and the hands of cruel men will God suffer to devour one another;
and ambitious and malicious hearts shall be suffered to
finish one anothers end, because of their own wickedness: and
therefore be not deceived; Blessedness in the Kingdoms of this
World can never be, except Iniquity and Transgression be departed
from; except Oppression and Hard-heartedness dye; and
except the Foundation of War and Strife be removed, and the
Foundation of Peace and happy Government be raised up amongst
men.
Again, True Peace and Settlement in good Government can
never be, except the Lord alone be owned as Judge and Law-giver,
and his righteous Laws to be executed in the Earth; that
Justice and true Judgment may flow down, and all the contrary
may be stopped and limitted by the just Laws of God; and all
unjust and unequal Laws (made and established in the Ignorance
of men) which have not been justly according to the Law of God,
nor depended thereupon; such Laws must also be made void,
judged and cast out, and the Law of God must enter: This must
be accomplished, if ever true Settlement in a happy Peace be
amongst us: the Laws must be changed, the unjust and unequal
cast out, and just and equal Laws brought in▪ for because
hereof, while unjust and unequal Laws have been executed in
Judgment, therefore have we wanted Settlement and Peace in
a happy Government, and the contrary hath been, and will continue
till all unjust, unequal and oppressive Love be discontinued.
Again, If ever true Peace and Settlement in a happy Government
be amongst men▪ Governours, Rulers and Executors of
the Law must be Iust persons and Righteous men, Men that fear
God, and hate Covetousness, and that depart from every evil way;
and all ambitious, self-seeking, and unjust men must be cast out,
even all they that have sought themselves, and not the Lord, in
their places of Trust; such as have perverted Justice and true
Judgment for their own corrupted ends; and such as have been
cruel and hard-hearted Oppressors; all such as these must be cast
out, and the Law must not be committed to such to execute, neither
must such sit in Judgement over the People; for because
hereof, and while such men have ruled and governed, and executed
the Laws, no true Settlement in a Just Government, but
the contrary hath been, even Distractions and Tribulations; and
while such men do continue to rule and judge, and execute the
Laws in any part of the world, we shall never have a happy Government
nor Settlement in it in this world; nor till Just men,
that have the Spirit of God, and sound Judgment, that are humble
and meek, patient and merciful, and such as fear the Lord,
and walk in his wayes, be called to rule and judge, and execute
the Laws; and the Laws must be just and holy, and the Executors
of them equal and upright men. Till these things be accomplished,
a happy Settlement in this Worlds Kingdoms can
never be, but God will dash one Mountain against another, and
throw one Hill upon another; and he will give no Peace among
the Kings of the Earth, but stain the Glory of all the Worlds
Governments, till Truth and Righteousness come to reign, and
till Just Laws be executed by Just men, and till Mercy and Justice,
Truth and Equity flow forth abundantly.
Therefore all Nations, you have been deceived while you have
turned up and down, from one way and manner and kind of Government
to another, and from one sort of Governours to others:
sometimes you have been for a Parliament; sometime for
a Protector; and sometime for neither: from each of these to
others you have changed, thinking to have Peace and Settlement
in a happy Government; but it could not be: for there are
continual Distractions until this day in the minds of men, and
they are yet unsetled in their spirits; and there are Heart-burnings,
and Envyings, and seeking of Revenge; and while
these things are, nothing but Distractions and Tribulations;
not Peace, but Troubles, even till these things be removed;
And till we have just and equal Laws, according to the Law of
God, established over us, and Just, and Holy, and Righteous
men to execute them in Judgement upon us; and till we have
Truth and Righteousness sit on the Throne; until this be, no
true Settlement in a happy Government; but Distractions and
Contentions, and woful Tribulations in the Kingdoms of the
World, and amongst men; and this is certain, and according
unto the Will of the Lord: and in the justness of his Judgements
these things come to passe; for it is Injustice and Oppressions,
and want of Mercy and Truth, which is the Foundation
of Contentions and Distractions; and it is Justice and
Equity, Truth and Righteousness, that is the only Foundation
of Peace and Settlement, and a happy Government for a perpetual
continuance.
To all False Christia
••
THere are many false wayes in the world, and many false kinds of Religions,
and people are in much disagreement about their Church, Worship and
Ministry; Papists are opposing the Protestents, and the Protestants the Papists;
and there is a great contention in the World. But the Papists are in a wrong
way, and so are the Protestants too; and their Religions are both false in many
things; for whilst they profess Christ and Christianity, and make a shew of
Righteousness in outward appearance, yet many of them live in sinful wayes,
and bring forth the fruits of Iniquity against the living God, and Pride, Cheating,
and Double-dealing, Covetousness and Envy, Drunkenness and Whoredom,
and all Wickedness is abounding and brought forth, both by the Apostate
Christians, though they cry up the Name of Christ, and the Profession of Godliness,
yet are they wicked in the sight of God, and they are not changed in
heart and mind, nor do they know the New Birth; and all such are out of
the right way, in the way of Errour, if they have the Form of Godliness, but
want the Power; though they may have Masse, or say Common-prayer once a
week, or oftner, yet all this is but Abomination and Deceit, whilst they practise
Iniquity, Hatred, Back biting, Lying, Drunkenness, and the like; they
that act these things, the Plagues of God will be their portion, and Misery their
end, and their Profession in Religion will not save them.
The Day of the Lord is at hand, ye Hypocrites, ye false Christians, ye that
profess God with your lips, and your hearts are far away: Therefore repent ye
and tremble before the Lord, lest he smite you with Vengeance: and forsake
your false Religions, both your Masse, and your Forms of Prayer; and be not
Idolaters, in professing love in your mouthes, and honour with your lips, whilst
your hearts are departed from the living God; and now come to learn the true
Religion: Depart from all Iniquity, and do not lye, nor swear, nor be drunk, nor
steal, nor murder, nor envy; but love the Lord with all your hearts, and your Neighbour
as your selves: And this is the true Religion, in which man may be saved,
and live in Soberness, Meekness and Honesty, and speak every man Truth to his
Neighbour, and live in love one with another, and be kind and gentle, and bring
forth the fruits of the Spirit of God; Cease to do evil, and learn to do well, and
depart from all Iniquity, and follow after Righteousness: This is true Religion,
and in it you may be saved: this is the right way, all that walk in it shall have
Peace and Blessing from God; and all that walk contrary, Damnation is their
portion: Therefore you Papists and Protestants (so called) turn from your Hypocrisie,
and learn this way, and cease from your false worships, that are after the
Forms and Traditions of men, and not after the Spirit of God; and learn to worship
God in the Spirit, that you may be saved: You have a Light from Christ
in your consciences, which lets you see what sins ye are guilty of, and it reproves
you for your sin: If you belie
•
e in the Light, and walk in it that is the right
way, then you will deny what is evil, and follow what is good in your Coversations,
but if you follow what is evil, and act contrary to the Light in your
Consciences, and repent nor. Vengeance in flames of fire will be your portion.
This is the day of your Visitation, the Army of the Lamb is gone forth, and
the Sword of the Spirit is drawn amongst them, that will wound your Consciences,
and God will smite you with the words of his mouth, ye Rocks, and Hils,
and Bryars and Thorns, and fruitless Trees, the God of Heaven will hew you
to pieces, and pluck you up, and oast you into the fire to be consumed. Repons,
for the Day of the Lord is at hand.
THE END.