WHO have been eye witnesses of the favour and kindnes of the Lord unto you, and have been partakers of many and great deliverances, who have seen the power of the Lord going be­fore you, and his righteousnesse being your rereward, when they said in their hearts, you should become as a booty unto them, and as a prey to feed upon, then the Lord appeared for his own name sake, and did lift up a standard against them, and made them as dri­ven stubble before the bow, even when they swelled as Jordan, not that you might glory in strength, nor in your own activity, but in him who taught your hands to war, and your fingers to fight, even when you were but low, weak and unable, in your own sight, then did he appear in his strengh, that none might glory but in him, whose arm hath brought Salvation, and hath given your lives for a prey; And hath raised up many of you from low estate, even as from the sheepfold, to be Rulers of thousands and hundreds, of fifties and tens. Consider the years past, and call to mind the for­mer days of old, and see where you are now, if you are not dege­nerated from the first integrity, & fallen into the same practice, & abomination as they were in, whom the Lord scattered before you, cast out as an abominable branch; & do not think in your hearts that the Lord hath given your enemies into your hands, and made them tributary unto you, that so you might glory in your strength, & grow up to the same abomination of the Nation, and follow the lusts of your hearts, & swell up in pride through the aboundance of spoyl & treasure. But it was well said by the Prophet, When Ephraim spake trembling he exalted himself in Israel, but when he offended in Ba­al he died; and this was a commandment to Israel, that when they came into the Land which the Lord gave to their Fathers, they were not to worship strange Gods, neither to walk after the custome of the Heathen: What was the cause, do ye judge, that God bla­sted the enemies in this Land, and turned their counsell backwards, [Page 2]and their wisdome into folly, and made their Prophets fools, and their Deviners mad? was it because you were more then they, or your strength geater then theirs, let that in your consciences judg? Or was it because the Lord was weary with the Oppression of the Rulers, who grinded the faces of the poor, and with the Hypocrisie of the Priests and Teachers, and with the false-heartednesse of the people, for every one dealt falsly and treacherously with the Lord? And yet they were so proud, they could not be content herewith, but as the mouth of hell is never satisfied, no more were they ex­cept all would bow down to their King whom they would have set up, and the Priests for their Calfe were so zealous, either must all submit to this, or else nothing but fire and sword, and destruction on the right hand, and on the left was threatned, but the Lord saw the pride of Moab, and considered it, and made her serve who sat as a Queen; Not because, as I say, you were great, or mightier, or stronger, but for his own name sake, and for making way for a further thing, which many yet cannot see, even that his everlasting truth might find way and be published, according to his own will, for the advancement of his own glory: and he will declare it by whom he will, and where he will, and when he will, though to the crossing of all mens wills; although some would hedge him up by a Law made in their wills, or limit him to a time; and many shut his Messengers out, and say as Amaziah the Priest of Bethel to Amos, this is the Kings Chappel, or as some say a Garrison, or some prohibited place by a Law; yet that which would limit the holy one must be made even with Earth.

Hath the Lord cast them out, and hath planted you in, and hath he given you Dominion over Provinces, Towns and Cities, which you builded not, that you should walk in their footsteps, oh nay be sure of this the Lord will visit you for these things; Are not many of you countenancing the Priests and Teachers of this Nation, and upholding the same worship, which some of you in years past would have been ashamed of, and are not you going to learn of them, and to be taught by them, who before Dunbar, Prophecyed all your destruction, and your totall overthrow, and delivered you up to Satan as Heriticks: and so were made false Prophets, and tellers of lies in the sight of all their own Nation, and also to your understan­ding: [Page 3]and were they deceived then, and false Prophets then, and incendaries to imbroyl all the poor people of this Nation in blood to fight for their imagined calfe Presbitery; and are they now be­come your Teachers? O tell it not in Gath, nor publish it not in Askellon, least the uncircumcised rejoyce and laugh at your folly; Will you joyn to Baal, and serve Ashteroth? oh let Baal plead for himselfe: And must these now be upholden by the Sword, as the Ministers of Christ, and be defended? Will you suffer them to put out your eyes, that they may make you grind like Sampson at a Mill? Are not they all out of the Doctrin of Christ, and out of the practice of all Prophets, Christ and his Ministry? Are not they time-servers, hirelings, greeedy of filthy lucre, fierce, despisers of those that are good? Are not they wholly without the life of god­linesse, and also quite without a true form? search the Scriptures and see if they declare not against all such practises. Truly I may say, as the Prophet said of the Priests of Jerusalem, Prophanesse is gone out from them into all Nations, for they have daubed with untem­pered morter, and luld people in security, and have cryed peace unto them, when they have all walked according to the Imaginations of their own hearts; in few words this I say unto you, The helper and hel­ped will both fall together.

Againe, Another great evill is found amongst you, who some­times have been asserters of liberty, and have said, it would be great happines to obtain liberty of conscience, to worship God in Spirit and truth, as he was made manifest; but now, when you are tried, you are setting to have your selves worshipped with caps & knees, and in language, such as all the holy men of God never owned nor knew, and have forgotten the rock from whence you were hewn; have you not turned some of the Souldiers out of the Army, who have jeoperded their sives in the time of the gretest straits in the high places in the field, onely for conscience sake, because they cannot submit to your wills, nor give that to man which belongs to God, and this hath the Lord against you. Therefore all be warned in time, and take heed you swell not up in pride, and walk lofty upon the mountains of arrogancy, for pride goes before destruction, nei­ther learne ye the customes of them whom the Lord hath brought down, lest the same be your portion as theirs, and take heed of ease [Page 4]in the flesh, and of doing violence to the honest, and them that fear the Lord amongst you, for then you bear the Sword in vaine, and are no Souldiers for God; but the Sword is to be turned against the violent doer, & you ought to be an incouragement to them that do well, but how far some of you is from this, the light of Christ in your consciences will let you see. Let me tell you, the Lord hath made some of you instrumental to levell the mountains without, & to cut down the rough places which were not passable, see that you boast not your [...]elvs against him that hewd with you: for as I said be­fore, this which is done is but a all preparation to somthing further, which he himselfe will bring and is bringing about, & that by weak things, & things that are not, see you despise it not, & so loos the re­ward of all you have done, for not by might, nor by power, nor by sword shield, or buckler without, but by his own arm will he bring salvation, and exalt his own horn above all his enemies, & will bring salvation to his own feed. And now oh be wise & resist him not in his way lest ye be numbred amongst Transgressors, & your memo­rial wear out, & you perish amogst them that gainsay.

Now he is bringing down the mountains within, and staining the pride and glory of all flesh, and sifting the Nations, and all the chaffe shall be blown a­way, and all abominations shall be brought to judgement, and the dead great and small shall arise, and every one shall receive according to his works, for he is risen in his strength as a man of war, to wound the head of the Dragon in the Sea, and to put a hook in the mouth of Leviathan, the old Dragon, and he is come to bind him, & to chain him up that he deceive the Nations no more. And this he will doe, and is bringing to passe by the little stone cut out of the mountaine without hands, he will smite downe the great Image of pro­fession, and make their carkasses fall with their Idols, that nothing but him­selfe may raigne: that all may know that the most high rules in the King­dome of the children: therefore love justice, truth, and righteousnes, and be not examples of evill to the Nations, neither to your Souldery, nor open not the mouths of the Heathen, nor strengthen the hand of evill-doers, least you fall together: but all mind that which searcheth the hearts, and shews you sin, and will preserve you out of it; if you (the light which comes from Christ which he hath enlightned you withall) mind, here is your teacher and leader present, & if you hate it, it will condemn you, & all your actions to­gether, & misery will be the end, harden not your hearts against instruction, lest you perish amongst fools, & there be no more rembrance of you.

Leith, 145 Month, called July 1657.