The Seven Vials, Title page – Dedication
THE SEVEN VIALS Or A briefe and plaine Exposition vponupon the 15: and 16: Chapters of the Revelation, very pertinent and profitable for the Church of God in these last times.
By H. B. Rector of Saint Matthews Friday-street.
Reve: 19.19, 20.
And I saw the Beast, and the Kings of the Earth▪ …nd their armies, gathered … to make warre against him, that sate on the Hor… … against his army: And the Beast was take…, and with him the False Prophet, that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them, that had the Marke of the Beast, and them that worshipped his Image. Th…se both … into a Lake of fire burning with … ▪
LONDON, Printed by William Jones, dwelling … Red-crosse-street. 1…28.
TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTY PRINCE, CHARLES, KING OF GREAT Britaine, France, and Ireland; Defender of the Faith, &c.
Dread Soveraine.
DIOGENES, the more he was by Antisthenes the Philosopher threatned & beaten from his schoole,Aelian. li. 10 cap. 16. the more ardently he frequented it, saying to his Master, Do you but beat, I will find you a head; nor shall you find so hard a club, as therewith to driue me away from your Philosophy. What hee did & suffered for Philosophy's sake, the like or more am I ready to sustaine for the service and honour of Your Majesty. No discouragements can beat me from this resolution; no not death it selfe. So prevalent i… my affection, as my insufficiencies (best knowne to my selfe) cannot restraine it. Yea though I was told Your Majesty was lately offended with me. But I answered, No; J had no reason to belieue it. For first, J knew well the gentle disposition of your royall breast, guided by such a dextrous iudgment, is not easily incensed, where there is no iust cawse. And J am sure I daily inioy the influence of your favour, though not the gratious aspect of your face; for even the feet doe liue, & moue, though remote, by the Heads breathing. You are the breath of our Nostrills. And as J told my Lord of London, at my first examination about Israels Fast, All that I had done, was for Gods glory, the service of my King & Country, & the Church of England, whereof wee were members; and for which I was ready (if need were) to lay downe my life.
And now gratious Soveraine, J am bold to present Your Maiesty with such a peece, as no Prince in Christendome, but Your selfe, can iustly challenge the dedication of it, if the meannesse of the Presenter doe not extenuate the worth of the Present. Jt containes a most divine Prophecy, of the pouring out of the seven Vialls, Revel▪ 16: which, according to that ability vouchsafed me of Christ, the least and last of all his servants, J hauehave indeavoured to open. Jt pertaineth to Your Maiesty by a proper right. The full accomplishment of this Prophecy is like to fall in Your gratious Raigne (which God prolong) to make it glorious to posterity. And surely when J compare the fulfilling of this Prophecy with those many Princely indowments, which Your God hath inriched Your Royall Person with, J am so much the more confirmed in this my perswasion. Such a zeale, such louelove of the truth, such a peerelesse, and Princely wisdome, such a magnanimous spirit, were not planted in Your noble breast for nothing. So as I dare boldly conclude, as was said to David▪ Your Maiesty shal do great things, and prosper. Nor speake J by coniecture. This Prophecy will clearly evidence the same. Cleare it is, (though for the present it seeme cleane contrary) that the destruction of Antichrist, with his whole power and confederacy is now neere at hand. And for proofe and perswasion thereof, J wish it stood with Your Maiesties good pleasure and leisure to read over this Prophecy. It is but the expense of a few howers, but may exercise Your best meditations and noblest thoughts for many dayes, many yeares after. This whole booke of the Revelation is a Propheticall Chronologie t… the end of the world. Of it Christ pronounceth, Blessed is he that readeth, and they that heare the words of this Prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand. How much more is this verified of this last and most famous Prophecy in this booke, towards the full consummation whereof these our present and last times draw on …amaine. Your Royall Father, of blessed memory, even in his youth, wrote a most exquisite Paraphrase of this whole booke; from whose bright torch all along I hauehave beene bold to borrow light for my dimme candle.
But me thinks I heare some suggest, O Sir, this booke is not licensed. But whose fault is that? The Authors? Or the Licensers? I could wish, that such suggesters would confesse the true cawse, why Orthodox bookes are so borne downe, as they may not be licensed. For Popish & Arminian bookes are licensed; but the contrary, such as are writen in confutation of them, & are according to Gods word, & the doctrine of the Church of England, may not be allowed. So that I humbly submit it to your Maiesties vnpartiall iudgement to determine, whether the Printer, for printing such a booke as this without license, or he that should license such Orthodox bookes, & will not, according to authority in that behalf, be more worthy of censure. And certainly they that suppresse Orthodox bookes, would they not also stop Preachers mouthes, that they should not speake the truth? Yes certainly… For, may it please your Majesty to vnderstand, how even your Majesties honour suffers in this case. For whereas vponupon a Proclamation published in your Highnesse name, Iune 14. in the second of your Raigne, expressely forbidding any preaching, or printing of such Doctrines, as were repugnant to the Doctrine of the Church of England established, we all hoped, that all Arminian & Popish Doctrines would be husht, & silenced; wee by experience find it quite contrary: for the Arminians shamelesly alledging that all their doctrines are according to the Church of England, vnderunder this pretence they wold suppresse all truth, as forbidden by your Royall Proclamation. Which if it were true, it should not be lawfull any more to preach the Gospell, then to print books in defence of it. So that some are neither affraid, nor ashamed to say, in plaine termes, that they must license no bookes against Arminius. Good God, what pittifull times doe we liue in, & how different from former, as I was bold to tell my Lord of London? But I trust your Maiesty will vindicate your honour herein. Gods truth exprest in Scripture is no changeling. This is that, which wee call the Doctrine of the Church of England, and no other. This hath beene sealed by the blood of so many Martyrs, witnessed by so many Worthies of our Church, for almost this fourescore yeares without intermission, whose writings no time shall blot out, & ratified by so many Acts of Parliament, as not all the Devills in hell, nor all the Arminians on earth, shall be able to disanull it. The Gospell shall flourish maugre all opposites, even vntill all the seven Vialls be poured out, which shall be in the vtter destruction of Babylon, as is cleare by this Prophecy. In vaine doe they attempt to discountenance the truth, by branding & blaspheming it as Puritanicall, rebellious, & the like. This truth which we professe, makes your Royall Diademe both firme & glorious. Herein we appeale to your owne clearest iudgement, whither those who professe themselues Arminians, or those, whom they reprochfully call Puritans, do more honour & maintaine your Kingly Soverainty It is Gods owne Prerogatiue, that he cannot be vniust, although hee bee Omnipotent. Princes are called Gods, but they are not so essentially. And theirs comes neerest to Gods Prerogati…e, the greater power they hauehave over their wills & affections, to do nothing but what is iust, according to law and conscience, the onelyonly rules of all iustice. No man ever better defined, or distinguished betwixt a lawfull good King, and an vsurping Tyrant, (they be his owne words) then the most iudicious King Iames, of blessed memory, in his Basilicon Doron, the second part, in the beginning. Also in his speech in Parliament, 1603: towards the end; & in his Speech to the Lords and Commons of the Parliament at White Hall, 1609: towards the beginning. And suffer me (Gratious Soverain) to alledge two or three of his Royall Sentences, for the confutation of all Sycophantizing Flatterers, that labour to set at odds, & in a most perillous opposition your Prerogatiue, & Lawes, & so c…nsequently your Royall Person, & loyall People. In these our …imes (saith he) we are to distinguish between the state of Kings in their first Originall, & between …he state of settled Kings and Monarchs, that do at this time governe in civill Kingdomes So …hat his Maiesty having mentioned the Bishops Sermon then, wherein he had spoken at large, & in generall of the power of Kings; the King adds this qualification of his owne, saying, If I had beene in his place, &c. I would hauehave concluded as an English-man, &c. putting so, a difference betweene the generall power of a King in Divinity, & the settled, and established State of this Crown and Kingdome. And a little after: In such Kingdomes, The King binds himselfe by a double Oath to the observation; of the fundamentall lawes of his Kingdome: Tacitly, as being a King, and so bound to protect as well the People, as the Laws of his Kingdome: and expressely, by his Oath at his Coronation so as every iust King in a settled Kingdome is bound to obserue that paction made to his People by his Lawes, in framing his government agreeable thereunto, according to that paction which God made with Noah after the Deluge, &c. perpetuall & invilable. And therefore a King governing in a settled Kingdome, leaues to be a King, and degenerates into a Tyrant, as soone as he leaues off to rule according to his Lawes. Therefore all Kings, that are not Tyrants, or periured, will be glad to bound themselues within the limits of their Lawes; and they that perswade them th… contrary, are Vipers, and Pests, both against them▪ and the Common-wealth. So the most iudicious King. Thus they that would seeme the Kings most intimous & intire friends, by opposing his Power against his well settled Laws, are by King Iames his verdict, no better then Vipers, & Pests, and that both against the King, and Common-wealth. Vipers eat through their Mothers Bowells, & Pests destroy & sweepe away all. And the Lord ever remoue far from your Maiesty such Vipers, such Pests. Would they turne the Prerogatiue into a Derogatiue, & the best & most religious King in Christendome into a Tyrant, & one periured? God forbid. But the Lord our God, who hath given vsus such a Sonne to sit vponupon such a Fathers Throne, established by iustice & mercy, ever keep the Kings heart from being infected by any such Pests. Herein let your Prerogatiue Royall ever most gloriously shine forth in manifesting your Maiesty to be like your selfe, a most righteous & religious King over a free people, in governing them according to your iust Lawes established, and most vnlike to a Tyrant over slaues. Thus your Maiesty so nobly acquitting your Kingly honor to the Parliament now assembled, & before all the world; & vindicating your Royall reputation, from all those, whom your Royall Father of blessed memory calls Vipers and Pests; pronouncing a woe to such, saying, Woe b… … him, that divides the Weale of the King from the Weale of the Kingdome, sith the hearts and riches of the People, are the Kings greatest Treasure: what infinite louelove doth it win of all your loyall subiects, and what a terrour will it strike into your enemies? This happy Vnion of affections between Prince & People, the Head & the Body, shall make you invincible, & victorious, amiable to your friends, terrible to foes, Honourable with all. Go on therefore in this your Honour, most renowned Soueraine; your zeale to God in maintaining his Truth, in suppressing Arminian Heresy, in supplanting all corriuall-Idols, being ioyned with your iust policy, and truely Kingly gouernment of the best people in the world: shall so fasten you to God, and him to you, and your people, that the generations succeeding, shall hauehave cause to call you blessed, and heauen shall at length welcome you with a crowne of glory; all which is the dayly & dutifull prayer of
Your Majesties most faithfull Subiect and Servant, HENRY BVRTON ▪