Three Kingdoms Made One by Covenant, Title page – To the reader
THREE KINGDOMS MADE ONE, By entring COVENANT with one GOD; wherein we have theſe Remarkables, worthy all obſervation.
I. What it is to Covenant with God.
II. How hardly his People are drawn into it.
III. How The Lord has ſuffered His Adverſaries from time to time To Buffit His People thereinto.
IV. The height of this Covenant above former Covenants, and Reaſons why?
Clear Demonſtrations alſo to ſhew.
I. The neceſſity of this League and Covenant; whereunto there are grave Objections made, and Anſwered.
II. The Legality and Equity of this Covenant for the Caſting out of Archbiſhops and Biſhops, with their Curates Service, and all together; And Anſwer made to all that can be reaſonably objected againſt their Caſting forth.
III. The Exemplaryneſſe of this Covenanting way; It is according to the foot ſteps of all the Godly, as all the truely Noble in the World have gone in before us.
IV. The Seaſonableneſſe of it, and therein the Power, Wiſedome, and Goodneſſe of God, All wonderfully admirable.
V. The Sweetneſſe of the Promiſe touching this matter, The purging out of the Rebels; and how ſaluted a farre off: If Rebels continue longer in the Land; if more Rebels come plundering into the Land, Then there is excellent Reaſon, why it muſt be ſo, and abundance of Comfort for the Church of God, and no cauſe of fear.
VI. The force, efficacy, and vertue of Covenanting with God; It never failed the Church; It never ſhall fail the Church unto the Worlds end.
VII. One Objection there is, but it is cleared; and Gods Intereſt in the buſineſſe is ſo cleared too, That He muſt help His People, That He muſt.
VIII. We have Reaſons and Arguments enough, why He muſt help; His glory is engaged, even He Himſelf; and ſo we have concluded.
By Ez: W.
Deut. 27. 17, 18, 19.
Thou haſt avouched The Lord this Day to be thy God; And The Lord hath avouched thee this Day to be His peculiar People; And to make thee high above all Nations, which He hath made in Praiſe, and in Name, and in Honour; And that thou mayeſt be an holy People unto The Lord thy God as He hath ſpoken.
London, Printed for Chriſtopher Meredith, and are to be ſold at the ſign of the Crane, in Pauls Church-yard. 1643.
READER.
I Have of late faſtened my thoughts upon a great buſineſſe; The Militia of Kingdoms, how To fortifie them▪ To ſet them in a ſafe Poſture for Warre. By Gods good hand with me my Thoughts have iſſued the Means, how to compaſſe, and bring about this greateſt Work, none like it. Theſe are the means; Firſt, Purge out the accurſed, Perſons and Things; That muſt needs be firſt. But this is not done by humane ſtrength; Men have done it, yet working as Inſtruments in Gods hand; and He has been brought down to them and their Work. How? By Faſting, Praying, Preaching, &c. Mighty means all theſe to bring God down to a People (but all theſe cannot keep God cloſe to a People.) And becauſe we are loſt in generalls, I have ſingled forth one Perſon, To exemplifie all this; To ſhew what exploites he has done; How he has maintained his Militia by all theſe Means; and more to be ſhewn in due time; but more ſpecially by This, the chiefeſt of all Means, which now follows, Covenanting with God; That is, An Ingaging Work; It Ingageth us to God, and God to us; This is Covenanting, and moſt prevailing it is every way: Indeed, Nothing does the Work throughly, but This Covenanting with The Lord. An high and mighty Work, of large, yea infinite capacity; Therefore it muſt take up more roome then we would have it, Conſidering how loth men are to fill their hands with Papers now a dayes; or to be at Coſt, unleſſe for news, ſome of it, not worth a Sparrows price; though a Penny more, might gain us very much, and undeceive the whole World, even of unbeleevers; as one *The Vndeceiver, I ſhall name the Author anone for honour ſake, in a Low Caſe; If I would make a requeſt in ſo low a matter, I would entreat you read it.has done very happily that way; but there is a generation of Men that will not give twopence for knowledge; They care not what the Learned ſay, but they can read and beleeve lyes. In reference to the preſent time, and this nov…ll Reader, all for News; This comes out a part, and alone, like a piece or a cantle, broken off in the midſt, and therefore begins ſo abruptly.