A1r 1

The
Humble Salutation
And Faithful Greeting
Of the
Widow Whitrowe
To
King William.

“Oh King, Live for ever”: That was the Slaalutation
of Daniel to King Darius, as a reward of his
Love to the Faithful, when he came to the
Lyons Den, and cryed out with a lamentable Voice,
and said, “Oh Daniel! the Servant of the living God, is not
thy God whom thou always servest, able to deliver thee from
the Lyons?” Then said Daniel, “Oh King, live for ever, my
God hath sent his Angel, and hath shut the Lyons Mouths,
that they have not hurt me, for my Justice was found out before
him; and unto thee, Oh King, I have done no hurt. Then
was the King exceeding glad, and commanded that they
should take Daniel out of the Den, and no manner of
hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Then said “King Darius, I make a Decree, that in all the
Dominions of my Kingdom, men tremble and fear before
the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, and remainethA -eth A1v 2
for ever, His Kingdom shall not perish, His Dominion shall
be everlasting; He rescueth and delivereth, working Signs in
the Heavens, and Wonders in the Earth, who hath delivered
Daniel from the power of the Lyons”.

And now, Oh King, live thou for ever, seeing it hath pleased
the Almihgghty to deliver thee from the power of all
thy Enemies, and brought thee back safe to England again:
He that is mighty hath done for thee great things, and holy
is his Name; Holy, holy, holy is the Lord; there is no
God like our God, for by Him the Bows of the Mighty are
broken, and by Him the Weak have girded themselves with
strength, Glory, glory, glory be unto Thee, Thou Omnipotent
God; thou God that heareth Prayers, unto Thee shall all
Flesh come, Praises be unto Thee, my Soveraign Lord, who
hath heard the humble Petition of thy Hand-maid, though
unworthy, when I humbly supplicated before the Throne of
thy Grace, saying, “Lord, let King William live in Thy sight,
that he may be an Instrument of thy Glory: Lord, guide him
in thy Counsel, be thou his King and Soveraign, and make him
thy true and faithful subject, that the Angel of thy presence,
the Captain of the Lord’s Host may go before him, as he went
before Joshua, to give him the Victory over all his Enemies, both
within and without, then shalt Thou the Righteous God be exalted,
whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and of Thy
Dominion there shall be no end.” And this know, Oh King,
this Work is to be wrought in every perticular, before it can
be in the general, of which I humbly beseech the Almighty
God, the King may be one of the first Witnesses thereof,
that his Throne may be established in Righteousness & Holiness
all the dayes of his Life: For be it known to the King,
that the time draws near, in which the Prophesy of Daniel
and all the holy Prophets are to be fulfilled, “That the Kingdoms
of this World shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ, and He shall reign for evermore”; in orderder A2r 3
thereunto God has begun to make War with the Nations,
and they are all at War one with another, so that multitudes
will fall by the Sword, and some by other Judgments;
but this is not that which shall accomplish this
great Work, the Reign of Christ, as said the Lord to the
Prophet Hosea, “I will have Mercy upon my People, and will save
them; but I will not deliver them through any Bow, Sword, Battel,
Horses, or Horse-men.” If so, then it must not be by Might,
nor by Strength, “But by my Spirit”, saith the Lord. Believest
thou this, Oh King? then thy Faith stands not in the
Arm of Flesh, but in the Power of the living God; and
this is the Faith that shall give thee the Victory over all thy
Enemies, through this living Faith, which is the Faith of the
Son of God, by which all the Valients of Old obtained their
victorious Triumphs; by this Faith Moses went through
the Red-Sea, where Pharaoh and the Hosts of the Egyptians
were drowned; by this Faith Gideon did as the Lord bid
him, broke down the Altar of Baal which his Father had
made, and cut down the Grove that was by it, and built
an Altar unto the Lord, and offered the second Bullock with
the Wood of the Grove; by this Faith Gideon did as the
Lord commanded him, to send away two and thirty Thousand,
all but three Hundred men; For, said the Lord unto
Gideon, “The People that are with thee are too many for Me to
give the Medianites into their Hands, lest Israel make their
vaunt against Me, and say, Mine Hand hath saved me.”

For the Almighty knew it was in the Nature of
Man to return Ingratitude, by assuming all Good to himself,
and so to rob God of his Honour; for vain Man would be
wise, although he be born as the wild Asses-Colt; but the only
wife God in His time finds a Remedy for this Malady, for
saith He, “I will not give my Glory to another”: But this living
Faith gives the Victory over self, and all self-interest, and
hath nothing in its Eye but the Glory of God, and the ConversionA2 version A2v 4
of Souls; it triumphs over the World, with all its
perishing Glories, scorning the Pomps & Effemenency thereof;
for it knows that Pleasure is only worth seeking, that
lasts forever; by this Faith the Walls of Jerico fell, yet there
was a trespass in the excrement thing, which was the cause
that Israel turned their Backs before their Enemies; and this
caused a deep Humiliation upon Joshua, the Servant of the
Lord, who rent his Clothes, and fell to the Earth upon his
Face, before the Lord, until the Evening, he and the Elders
of Israel puting Dust upon their Heads, and there lay till the
Lord said to Joshua, “Get thee up, wherefore liest thou upon thy
Face, Israel hath sinned?”

Oh where are the Penitents in these days, such broken
and contrite-hearted Ones, that lie with their Mouthes in
the Dust before the Lord, crying for their own Sins, and
the Sins of the People: Although wo and alas! how far
doth the Sins of these times exceed theirs of that time? but
Israel hath sinned in the excrement thing, and therefore
cannot stand before their Enemies; “Neither will I be any
more with you,” said the Lord, “except you destroy the accursed
thing.” Now understand, Oh King, that Israel of Old was
but a Tipe or Figure of the Spiritual Israel, that is the state
of every true Christian; their outward Travils, of the inward
travil of the Soul; their outward Warfare a Tipe of
the inward Warfare; as the Scripture saith, “There was War
in Heaven, Michael and his Angels against the Dragon and his
Angels”; or as the Apostle saith, “The Weapons of our Warfare
are not Carnal, but Spiritual, and mighty through God
for the breaking down of the strong Holds of the Man of Sin,
and for the bringing in of every thought into the obedience of
Christ.” Here is work enough for Christians to be imployed,
if they had nothing else to do, besides “the Lusts of the Flesh,
the Lusts of the Eye, and the Pride of Life, which is not of
the Father, but of the World”, saith Christ Jesus; yea a mans A3r 5
mans own Will must be denyed, and the Will of God
done in our Earth, as it is in Heaven; these are the Excrement
things that must be stoned, and all that belongs to
it burnt with Fire, before Christ can reign in the Soul.

Therefore, Oh King, be valient for the Truth upon
Earth, and come thou forth to help the Lord against the
Mighty, for his Controversie is with the Man of Sin, and
he will plead with all Flesh; therefore fear not, Oh King,
neither be thou faint-hearted, let but the Accursed be taken
away, which is all Self-interest; and let nothing be in thy
Eye but the Glory of God, and the Exaltation of His ever
blessed Name; And the King keeping in the humility of his
Soul at the Feet of Christ Jesus, then I’ll say to thee as Saul
said to David, when he went to fight with the Philistine, “Go,
and the Lord be with thee, to destroy Sin, and to root out Wickedness
out of this Nation.” For why should the King be shorter
in this his Work, for the Lord, than the Heathen Kings
that knew not God were in theirs; for King Nebuchadnezar
bowed himself to Daniel, and said, “I know of a truth, that your
God is a God of Gods, and a Lord of Kings, and a Revealer
of Secrets, seeing thou couldst open this Secret.” So the
King made Daniel a great man, and gave him many and
great Gifts; he made him Governour over the whole Province
of Babel, and Chief of the Rulers, and above all the wise men
of Babel. And King Darius did the same, as the King may
read at his pleasure more at large; and not only so, but
made a Decree, That in all the Dominions of his Kingdom
men Tremble and Fear before the God of Daniel. And the
King of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonas, he arose from
his Throne, and he laid his Robes from him, and covered
him with Sackcloth, and sate in Ashes, and he proclaimed,
and said through Nineveh, by the counsel of the King and
his Nobles, saying, “Let neither Man nor Beast, Bullock nor
Sheep taste any thing, neither feed, nor drink Water, but let Man A3v 6
Man and Beast put on Sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God;
yea, let every Man turn from his Evil Way, and from the
Wickedness that is in their Hands, who can tell if God will turn
and repent, and turn away from His fierce Wrath, that we perish
not. And God saw their Works that they turned from their
Evil Ways, and God repented of the Evil that he said He would
do unto them, and He did it not.” Oh what Repentance was
here, a Repentance never to be repented of.

And mark Oh King, what influence this true Repentance
had upon God, and how this true Humiliation pleased
the Lord; God saw their Works that they turned from
their Evil ways; this was more than Words, Oh King; these
that were called Heathens out-stript the pretended Christians
of our Age in their Service to God; they gave him Works,
but these give Him Words: And this was the complaint of
God to the Jews of Old, “Ye have wearied Me with your Words”:
And it is the same now with these called Christians of our
times; they multiply their Services, as the Jews did, Praying
; Preaching every day; they let go multitude of Words, but
holds fast their Iniquity, their abominable Pride, Arrogance,
Deceit, Hatred, Malice, Lying, Slandering, Treachery, betraying
one another; besides Covetous, Earthly-mindedness,
and all manner of vain and wicked Pleasures, Gaming, Plays,
Whoredom, Drunkenness, and prophane Swearing, its as if
the Angel of the bottomless Pit were let loose to reign
in the Mouths of Men; and their is no hopes of a
change, whilst those in Authority, that should execute
the King’s Command upon the Offender, is the very same
with them in prophane Swearing, and the Debauchery, together
with all manner of Injustice to the Widow and Fatherless;
although the Lord hath said, and commanded, “Ye
shall not trouble the Widow, nor Fatherless Child; for if thou
vex or trouble such, and so they call and cry unto Me, I will surely A4r 7
surely hear their Cry, then shall my Wrath be kindled, and I
will kill you with the Sword, and your Wives shall be Widows, and
your Children Fatherless”, Exod. 22.

Oh thou that art Holy and True, who art Just in all thy
Ways, and Righteous in all thy Judgments, who Lord shall
say unto thee, what dost thou? thou long-suffering God, that
hath suffered thy Majesty to be dis-throned from one Generation
to another since the World began, yet how hast Thou in
Thy endless Mercy given Thy good Spirit to lead & instruct
them in the Way of everlasting Happiness; and not only so,
but in every Generation sent thy Servants and Messengers,
to reveal Thy Holy Will and Pleasure to them; but ungrateful
Mankind, instead of returning Thee all holy Adoration,
with humble Obedience, they have done despite to thy Spirit
of Grace, by crucifying Thee afresh, and puting Thee to an
open shame; they have hated thy Messengers, bringing all
manner of Reproachful terms, as Fools and Mad-men, saying,
the Prophet’s a Fool, and he that is rich in the Spirit
of the Lord, mad; saying, “Christ had a Devil”, said
they, “Why hear ye him?” And now they say, one is Mad,
and the other any thing that the Angel of Darkness can invent;
so great is their Malice to cover the Good with so great
an Evil, to frighten People that the Truth may take no impression
upon them, to cause them to return from their
Evil Ways, that so they might find acceptance with Thee
the Righteous God, whose end is good in all Thy Visitations
to mankind: but if they hate all Thy Counsel, and will
have none of Thy Reproof, Then art Thou clear when thou
judgest, and justified when Thou condemnest, and their
Blood upon their own Heads; Thy Servants and Messengers
being Thy Witnesses, that thou hast given Them an Hour,
wherein they might have laboured in Thy Vineyard, and a
Day wherein they might have wrought out their Salvation
with Fear and Trembling; for Thou didst command them to A4v 8
to work whilst it is Day, saying, “The Night cometh when
no Man can work”: for Thy holy Spirit will not always strive,
and Thy long-suffering will have an end, and then the Breath
shall cease from before Thee, which Thou hast made: And
thus hath the holy and everlasting God strove with the
Sons and Daughters of men, to recover them out of their
fallen estate into Himself, the Fountain of all Goodness,
both by His own good Spirit in them, to reprove the Evil, and
justifie the Good, & by His Servants the Prophets in all Ages,
altho indeed some few good men their Feet slipt for not keeping
in the pure Humility & strict Watchfulness; but did they
continue therein? no, but have left upon Record their true Repentance
for a Sea-mark, that none might ever fall therein,
as David and Solomon, which saw the Vanity of all things
under the Sun, and prest all to a timely Life of Holiness,
saying, “Remember thy Creator in the Days of thy Youth, before
the Evil Days come, or the Years approach, wherein thou shalt
say, I have no pleasure in them”: And so it goes on to the end,
Eccles, 12. And in the 11th Chapter he hath them in
derision, saying, “Rejoyce, Oh Young Man, in thy Youth, and
let thine Heart cheer thee in the days of thy Youth, and walk in
the ways of thy Heart, and in the sight of thine Eyes; but know
thou, that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment.
Therefore take away Grief out of thy Heart, and cause Evil to
depart from thy Flesh”: Signifying that Evil is the cause of
Grief; “For”, saith he, “Childhood and Youth are Vanity”;
which is some of the principal things most delight in: “But”,
saith he, “because Judgment upon Evil Works is not executed
speedily, therefore the Hearts of the Children of Men are fully
set in them to do Evil.” This is sad indeed, and most lamentable
that Men should make no better use of the long-suffering
of the Lord, which should lead to Repentance, and Amendment
of Life: And this hath been the labour and travail
of all the Souls of the Righteous, both for themselves and B1r 9
and others; for after the Lord had shed his Love in their
Hearts, they could not be contented till others were partakers
of the same, which hath caused the Heart of the Wise
to be in the House of Mourning, whilst the Heart of Fools
have been in the House of Mirth; of which exercise the
holy Prophet Jeremiah had a deep share, when he cryed out,
and said, “Oh that my Head were full of Water, and my Eyes
a Fountain of Tears, that I might weep Day and Night, because
of the Destruction of my People: Oh that I had in the Wilderness
a Cottage of wayfaring-men, that I might leave this
People, and go from them; for they are all Adulterers, and
an Assembly of Rebels, for they bend their Tongues like their
Bows for Lyes; but they have no Courage for the Truth upon
the Earth; for they proceed from evil to worse, and they have
not known me, saith the Lord: Therefore let every one take heed
of his Neighbour, and trust you not in any Brother; for every
Brother will use deceit, and every Friend will deal deceitfully:
One speaketh peaceably to his Neighbour with his Mouth, but in
his Heart he layeth wait for him.” Oh King, this day is this
Scripture fulfilled. “And shall not I visit them for these
things, saith the Lord? Or shall not my Soul be avenged on
such a Nation as this? Yea, I will feed this people with Wormwood,
and give them the Waters of Gall to drink: Then shall
the High Looks of man be Humbled, and the Loftiness of men
Abased, and the Lord alone Exalted: For the Day of the Lord
shall be upon all the Proud and Haughty, and upon all that is
Exalted, and it shall be made low; Amen, Lord.” So let it be,
that all the Glory may be given thee, who art Lord of
Lords, and King of Kings.

Therefore, Oh King, for the Glory of God, and for the
Establishing thy Kingdom in Righteousness in this World,
and for thy everlasting Peace and Happiness in that which
is to come, when time shall be no more, be not negligent
in this work, but put thy Hand to it with all thy Might, and B with B1v 10
with all thy Strength; for Words will not serve the Lord,
but he will have Works; it is not the outside external
Worships of men that will do the work of this Day, if that
would have done the work of the Jews in their Day., they
had been in favour of God still, but he loathed them
and their Services, and therefore cast them out of his sight,
although his Spirit had strove long with them, and sent his
Prophets early and late, saying, “Bring no more your vain
Oblations, your Insence is abomination to me; I cannot suffer
your Moons and Sabboths, nor solemn Days, nor your solemn
Assemblies, they are a burden to me, I am weary to bear them;
and when you shall stretch out your Hands I will hide mine Eyes
from you; and though you make many Prayers, I will not hear
you, saith the Lord.”

Alas! would not these many Services do? no; why? because
they that offered them were poluted, and so were
their Services; What then would please the Lord? “Wash
ye, make ye Clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from before
mine Eyes; cease to do Evil, learn to do Well, seek Judgment,
relieve the Oppressed, judge the Fatherless, defend the
Widow, and then let us reason together, saith the Lord, though
your Sins were as Crimson, they shall be white as Snow: but if
ye refuse, and be Rebellious, ye shall be devoured with the Sword;
the Mouth of the Lord hath spoken it”: But saith He, “Thy
Princes are Rebellious”, (that is as much as to say, them in
Authority) “and Companion of Thieves; every one loveth
Gifts, and followeth after Rewards; they judge not the Fatherless,
neither doth the Widows Cause come before them.” This
is thy state, Oh England! and particularly London, I am a
Witness; and therefore thus saith the Lord God of
Hosts, and the Mighty One of Israel; “Ah, I will ease me of
mine Adversaries, and Avenge me of mine Enemies; and because
all these Sins, which the Jews were guilty of, are found
in thy Skirts, for which I have cast them out of My sight, and the B2r 11
the remainder of them left in Darkness; therefore now I will
turn mine Hand upon thee, Oh England! and burn out thy Dross
till it be pure, and take away all thy Tin; and after this will I restore
thy Judges as at the first, and thy Counsellor: as at the beginning:”
But before this shall be, an overflowing Scourge
must pass through thee, Oh England! which shall consume
thy Iniquities, and put an end to thy Transgressions. Oh
England! what Lamentation shall I take up for thee, my
Native Country, for which I have known Days of Sorrows,
and Nights of Mourning, do I say Days of Sorrows; O
God, thou knowest how many Years I
have born the Iniquity of the one Sort on
the one side, and the Iniquity of the other
Sort on the other side, Open note wha01-rota Of the Professors
and the Prophane. yet will not this ease thee, Oh England,
of that which is swiftly coming upon thee, and upon
thy Inhabitants of all Sorts.
And now, Oh King, God hath brought thee into this
Nation, for what end? that will appear by thy Works,
and as thou acts for God, so shall thy Reward be; for He
places all His Promises conditionally; “Obey my Voice, and I
will be your God.” As Azariah said, when he went out to
Asa, after a great Victory, which God had given him; then
said the Prophet, “O Asa, and all Judah, hear ye me, the Lord
is with you while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He
will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake
you”, 2 Chron. 15. And in the 14th Chapter the King may
be pleased to Read how King Asa cryed to the Lord his
God, and said, “Lord it is nothing with Thee to help with
many, or with no Power: Help us, Oh Lord our God,
for we rest on Thee, and in thy Name a rewe come against this
multitude: Oh Lord, thou art our God, let not man prevail
against Thee.” Thus the Etheopians Host were overthrown,
which were Ten Hundred Thousand, and Three Hundred
Chariots, without the Power or Policy of Men, neither B2 feared B2v 12
feared they the strength and subtilty of their Enemies, but
trusted in the Arm of the Lord; and so they prospered:
And as may be read in the Chapter before, how wonderfully
God appeared for Ahijah against Jeroboam, for time
would fail to rehearse for the Royal Acts of the Lord, and
his great Power, what he did in Ages past for His great
Name, and them that trusted in it; and He is the same
God as ever, and His Power is the same, as shall appear
in this His Day, for the renowning of His High and Mighty
Name, and the laying all Flesh in the Dust before it.

Thus I have taken the boldness to incourage the King
not to trust in his own Wisdom, Power, Policy, or Strength,
but in the Arm of the Lord, which he shall see made bare
before him. And this I humbly beg of the King, that he
never take any Enterprize in hand, but that he first goes to
the Lord for Counsel, for so did David in every thing, as
may be read in Samuel, as when the Amaleks burnt
Ziklag, and carried away all that belonged to David, and to
his men, both Men, Women and Children, and slew not
a Man, but carried them away Captive; then David and
his People lift up their Voices, and wept until they could
weep no more: And David, was in great Sorrow, for the
People intended to Stone him, the Hearts of the People were
so vexed for their Wives and Children: But David comforted
himself in the Lord his God, and David asked Counsel
of the Lord, saying, “Shall I follow after this Company? shall I overtake
them?” And the Lord answered him, and said, “Follow,
for thou shalt surely overtake them, and recover all.” And when
David had saved the Inhabitants of Keilah from the Philistians,
and Saul intended to come thither, then David said,
“O Lord God of Israel, thy Servant hath heard that Saul will
come and destroy the City for my sake; will the Lords of Keilah deliver B3r 13
deliver me up? And will Saul come down, as thy Servant hath
heard? Oh Lord God of Israel, I beseech Thee, tell thy Servant.
And the Lord said, He will come down. Will the Lords of
Keilah deliver me up, and the Men that are with me into the
hand of Saul? And the Lord said, They will deliver thee
up.” So the Lord shewed David what the Arm of Flesh
was, although he had ventured his Life to save theirs: but
he that was David’s Teacher, was his Counsellor, and so
his Preserver, which was the cause he kept so close to Him,
and would do nothing without Him, always begging, saying,
“Teach me, O Lord; Guide me in thy Counsel”: And
great necessity there was for it; for all the Counsels of Men
failed him in his greatest Distress, as in Ahithophel, who
was David’s Bosom-friend, whose Counsel to David was as
the Counsel of God, yet this Man sought David’s Life; but
what was his end? God confounded his counsel, and
brought him to shame. And this hath been often seen,
that the greatest Favourites have proved the most Treacherous,
which was one cause the Lord spake so much
by the Mouths of his Prophets, saying, “Trust ye not a
Counsellor, put no confidence in a Guide.” And said Christ, “A
man’s Enemies are they of his own House”: As this may
be read within, so it hath often proved without: So then
its for the King’s safety not to believe every Spirit, but try
the Spirits whether they be of God; for the King hath received
a measure of the Spirit of God in himself, which is
the Touch-stone by which he may try the good from the
bad, the right from the wrong; and the Apostle bids, “Try
all things, and hold fast that which is good.” So the King
keeping close to the Spirit of God in himself, and giving diligent
heed to the motions and dictates thereof, he shall
have no need to go to any for Counsel, for the Inspiration
of the Almighty shall give him an Understanding,
which is the Spirit of Truth, that shall lead him into all Truth, B3v 14
Truth, and out of all Error. For this understand, Oh
King, that in thy Office, or Call, thou standest in the place
of God to the People, to bring their Causes unto God, and
to reveal the Will of God to them, and to shew them the
Way wherein they must walk, and the Work that they must
do, and to provide among all the People men of Courage,
fearing God, men dealing truly, hating Covetousness, and
all manner of Evil, and appoint such over them to be
Rulers.

I humbly intreat the King, take this Counsel, though from
a Woman; (the Lord is no respector of Persons) which
shall be for his own safety, and the the good of all the Nations,
and which was the Counsel of Jethro to Moses, though a
Man of God, Exod. 18. And King David in his last
Words, as is left upon Record, Sam. 23. saith he, “The Spirit
of the Lord spake by me, and his Word was in my Tongue;
the God of Israel spake to me, the Strength of Israel said, Thou
shalt bear Rule over Men, being Just, and ruling in the Fear
of God.” And so he goes on Prophecying of the Kingdom
of Christ, of which he was a Figure, and of the Destruction
of the Kingdom of Antichrist, which Prophecy is to be
fulfilled in the last days. As saith the Prophet Micha, “The
Mountain of the Lord’s House shall be Established on the
top of all the Mountains, and it shall be Exalted above all the
Hills; Glory be to God for ever; and the People shall flow
unto it; yea, the Nations shall come and say, Come, let us
go to the Mountain of the Lord, and to the House of the
God of Jacob, and he will teach us his Ways, and we will
walk in his Paths: for the Law shall go forth of Sion, and the
Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Then it shall not go
forth from them that that teach for Hire, and divine for
Money; no, no, but from Jerusalem, the holy City, the
Temple of the Living God; and he shall Judge among
the People, and Rebuke mighty Nations, and they shall break B4r 15
break their Swords into Mathooks, and their Spears into
Sithes, and Nation shall not lift up a Sword against Nation,
neither shall they learn to Fight any more. But how
must this Work be done? must it be by the Formal Christian,
whose Religion stands in the outward performance
and duty of Christianity, without having an inward Life
and Power of Faith, and Love uniting them to Christ? no,
no, but the Worshippers within the Temple, and before
the Altar, who do indeed worship God in Spirit and in
Truth; “For such,” saith Christ, “the Father seeks to worship
him, whose Souls are made his Temples, and he is honoured and
adored in the most inward Thoughts of their Hearts, and they
Sacrifice their Lusts and vile Affections; yea, and their own
Wills too,” as said that worthy man Bishop Usher. And this
know, and that from the Lord, except they forsake their
Pride, Covetousness, Self-Interests, Malice, Deceit, and
Lyes, with their whole Life of sinful Pleasures and Vanities,
all their Preaching, Praying and Hearing is all
abomination to the Lord, and the Lord abhors it.

And you that will not be gathered in this the Day of
God’s long-patience, you are the Wicked, that are as Bryars
and Thorns that must be thrust away, because you cannot
be touched with hands; that is to say, neither by Mercy
nor Judgment: “Therefore you must be burnt in the place
where you stand”, 2 Sam. 23. Therefore, O King, live forever
in that Life which is Incorruptible, which fadeth not
away, but indureth for ever; and therefore it is I press the
King so much to a Pure and Holy Life: for as I said before,
as he acteth for the Lord here, so shall his Reward be hereafter:
And my desire to God for the King is, that he may
leave nothing undone of his Duty to God, whilst he is on
this side of the Grave; for their is but a certain limit of time
appointed to thee, which if thou shalt not make use of, to calm B4v 16
calm and alay the many Distempers of thy Soul, it will
pass away, and thou with it, and never more return. Therefore,
O King, live for ever in that Life, which Christ our
Lord was a Pattern; For said God to Mosses; “Look thou,
make all things like the. Pattern shewed thee in the Mount”:
which Pattern was Christ: “They drank the Rock, and
that Rock was Christ”, saith the Apostle. So Christ is to
be the Pattern of a Christian, which he must square his Life
by in this World, his holy, humble and self-denying Life;
“Learn of me,” saith he, “for I am Meek and Lowly, and you shall
find Rest to your Souls”: Who humbled himself to the
Death, even the Death of the Cross, to save Sinners from
their Sins; glory be to God for ever.

Therefore blush and be ashamed, O Mankind, of what so[Gap in transcription—1 letterobscured]
soever, for thy Ingratitude, that retains nothing but Rebellion,
and Disobedience to Him, that instead of this great love,
might have consumed thee, and all things else in a moment,
and so sent thee to the dust from whence thou camest. And in
the holy Spirit of inflamed Love Moses offered to have his
Name blotted out of the Book of Life, rather than God
should destroy his People, although the Lord proffered
him such a Gift, as to make him a great Nation: Here
was Self-love banished, which stopt the Anger of the Lord
for that time. And David in the like case, when he had
sinned in numbering the People, in the deep humility of
his Soul, when he was covered with Sackcloth, he and the
Elders of Israel with him, falling with their Faces to the
Earth before the Lord, whom he saw between the
Earth and the Heavens, stand with his drawn Sword in his
Hand, and stretcht out to Jerusalem, then David cryed
out to God, and said, “Is it not I that have sinned? it is even
I that have commited this Evil: O Lord my God! I beseech
thee, let thine Hand be upon me, and on my Father’s House,
and not on thy People for their destruction.” Then the Lord com- C1r 17
commanded Gad the Prophet to tell David what he should do;
so David and his Offering was accepted in this Spirit of deep
Humiliation and Contrite-heartedness; for said David, “A broken
and a contrite Heart, O God, thou wilt not despise”: And
saith the Lord, “Rent your Hearts, and not your Garments, and
turn to the Lord your God, for he is Merciful, slow to Anger,
and of great kindness; yet not making the Guilty innocent.” So the
Lord give the King a Heart to consider these things, what
great need there is of a deep Humiliation, with rended and
broken Hearts, and all Mouths in the Dust before the Lord,
crying mightily to Him to wash us thoroughly from all our Iniquities,
and cleanse us of all Unrighteousness; but not hholding
down our Heads like a Bull-Rush for a day, and returning like
the Dog to his Vomit: Oh, this is abomination to the Lord,
and his Righteous Soul abhors it. And further, the Lord preserve
the King from that Trespass that Jehosaphat (though a
good man) was guilty of, in joyning with Ahab: And the
Lord commanded Jehu, who went out to meet the King,
and said to Jehosaphat, “Wouldst thou help the Wicked, and love
them that hate the Lord? Therefore for this thing the Wrath of
the Lord is upon thee; nevertheless good things are found in thee,
because thou hast taken away the Groves out of the Land and hast prepared
thine Heart to seek God.” So King Jehosaphat brought back
again all Judea, and Jerusalem, to serve the Lord; and he set
Judges in all the Land, and said to the Judges, “Take heed what
ye do, for ye execute not in the Judgments of Man, but of the Lord,
and he will be with you in the Cause and Judgment. Wherefore
now let the Fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed, do it, for
there is no Iniquity with the Lord our God, neither respect
of Persons, nor receiving of Rewards. And he charged
them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the Fear of the Lord faithfully,
and with a perfect Heart, and of every Cause that shall come
before you of your Brethren, that dwell in their Cities, between Blood
and Blood, between Law and Precept, Statutes and Judgments, ye C shall C1v 18
shall admonish them, that they Trespass not against the Lord,
that Wrath come not upon you and your Brethren; thus shall ye do,
and trespass not, therefore be of Courage, and do it, and the Lord
shall be with the Good.” 2 Cron. 19. And the next Chapter gives an account
how wonderfully the Lord appeared for this good man,
when Tidings came, that three Nations were come against him
to Battel, he set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaims a Fast
throughout all Judea, and to ask Counsel of the Lord what
to do? he and all Judea stood before the Lord with their Wives
and Children, and little Ones: Then said the King, “Oh our
God! wilt not thou judge them? For their is no strength in us
to stand before this Multitude, neither do we know what to do, but
our Eyes are upon thee.” Here they appeared before the Lord in
their Poverty, in their Littleness, their little Ones were before
him; here they were in the sence of their own nothingness;
these were little in their own eyes, and nothing in their own
sight; but they had Him in their eye that was Great; “Our Eyes
are upon Thee”: Then their Eye was not upon the Nations for
help, they did not send down to Egypt for help; no, but they
sent their Cryes to God, and he helped them, who is the
helper of the helpless, and all that trust in Him; then came the
Spirit of the Lord upon Jahasiel in the midst of the Congregation,
and he said, “Hearken ye all Judea, and ye Inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and thou King Jehosaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto
you, Fear you not, neither be afraid of this great Multitude, for the
Battel is not yours, but God’s: To morrow go ye down against
them; behold they go up by the Cleft of Ziz, and ye shall find them at
the end of the Brook; before the Wilderness of Jeruel; ye shall not
need to fight in this Battel; stand still, move not, and behold the
Salvations of the Lord towards you, O Judea and Jerusalem:
fear ye not, neither be afraid; to morrow go out against them, and
the Lord will be with you.” Then Jehosaphat bowed down
with his Face to the Earth, and all the Congregation fell upon
their Faces before the Lord, worshipping Him, and whilst they C2r 19
they were worshipping and praising the Lord, their Enemies
were killing and destroying one another: so when they came
to their Enemies, they were all dead men. And thus they
were saved, who were little in their own eyes, and nothing in
their own sight: And so it will be with thee, Oh King, if thou
follow the Lord fully, for thou hast the same God to trust
in that all the Valiants of Old had. Now here the King may
see in what they did Well, and in what they did Evil, which
is set down for that end, the King and all his Followers may
chuse the Good, and refuse the Evil; which if thou dost, Oh
King, God will make thee a Dread to the Nations, and the
Fear of God shall be upon all the Kingdoms of the Earth,
when they hear that the Lord is with thee; so thou shalt be
a Terror to Evil-doers, but an everlasting Praise to them that
do Well, when the King s all bring back the People from following
their Idolatrous ways, to serve the Lord in Holiness
and Righteousness all the days of their Lives, as Jehosaphat did,
and that good King Josiah, who did uprightly in the sight of
the Lord, and bowed neither to the right hand nor to the
left, but begun betimes to destroy Superstition and Idolatry,
whose Heart melted when he heard of the Plagues and Judgments
that were pronounced in the Book of the Law against
the Transgressors thereof; Then said the King, “Go ye and inquire
of the Lord for me.” Then they went to Huldah the
Prophetess, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Colledge, and they
communed with her, and she answered them, “Thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, tell the Man that sent you to me, Thus
saith the Lord, I will bring Evil upon this place, and on the
Inhabitants thereof, because they have forsaken me, and provoked
me to Anger, with all the Works of their Hands. Therefore my
Wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched:
But to the King of Judah that sent you to inquire of the
Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God,
of Israel, The Words that thou hast heard shall come to pass; but because C2v 20
because thine Heart did melt, and thou hast humbled thy self before
the Lord, and rent thy Clothes, and wept before me, I have
heard thee, saith thee Lord; therefore I will gather thee to thy
Fathers, & thou shalt be put in thy Grave in peace,” 2 Chron. 34. And
in the next Chapter may be read the strong and holy Zeal of
this good King, how he destroyed all the Abominations of
the Land, and made a Covenant before the Lord, That
they should walk after the Lord, and keep his Commandments,
his Testimonies and his Statutes, with all their Hearts,
and with all their Souls: For like unto him (said they) was
there no King before him that turned to the Lord with all
his Heart, and with all his Soul, and with all His Might. Yet
this good King, because he went out against the King of Ægypt,
and did not ask Counsel of the Lord, he was therefore
slain: Here we see what a dangerous thing it is for men to go
upon such designs in their own Wills, and not in the Counsel
of the Lord. But David would do nothing without God,
he leaves himself, he goes out of himself into God, and there
hangs as a Child upon the Breast of its Mother, presenting nothing
to the Lord but his Poverty, his Nothingness, his Insufficiency,
and these in a rending Heart: David knew what
would please the Lord, and wherein the Blessing was to be
found: for saith Christ, “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs
is the Kingdom”: He did not say, Blessed are the Rich in Spirit,
but the Poor. And in this Spirit of Poverty and Contrite
heartedness before the Lord, go on, O King, in all thy
Ways and Works, and the Lord shall be with thee, which
is the fervent Desire of thy Humble Hand-Maid, and the
Lord’s Servant,

The End.