Tears of Repentance, Dedication 2 – Author to the reader
To His Excellency, the Lord General Cromwel; Grace, Mercy, and Peace be Multiplied.
Right Honorable,
ENvy it ſelf cannot deny that the Lord hath raiſed and improved You in an Eminent manner to overthrow Antichriſt, and to accompliſh, in part, the Propheſies and Promiſes of the Churches Deliverance from that Bondage: In all which Service, the Lord hath not only kept Your Honor unſteined, but alſo cauſed the Luſtre of thoſe precious Graces of Humility, Faith, Love of Truth, and Love to the Saints, &c. with which, through His Free Grace, He hath enriched You, to ſhine forth abundantly beyond all exception of any that are, or have been Adverſaries to Your Proceedings. Now as the deſign of Chriſt in theſe daies is double, namely, Firſt, To overthrow Antichriſt by the Wars of the Lamb; and Secondly, To raiſe up His own Kingdom in the room of all Earthly Powers which He doth caſt down, and to bring all the World ſubject to be ruled in all things by the Word of His mouth. And as the Lord hath raiſed and improved You, to accompliſh (ſo far as the Work hath proceeded) the firſt part of His Deſign, ſo I truſt that the Lord will yet further improve You, to ſet upon the accompliſhment of the ſecond part of the deſign of Chriſt; not only by indeavoring to put Government into the hands of Saints, which the Lord hath made You eminently careful to do, but alſo by promoting Scripture Government and Laws, that ſo the Word of Chriſt might rule all. In which great Services unto the Name of Chriſt, I doubt not, but it will be ſome Comfort to Your heart to ſee the Kingdom of Chriſt riſing up in theſe Weſtern Parts of the World; and ſome confirmation it will be, that the Lords time is come to advance and ſpread His Bleſſed Kingdom, which ſhall (in his ſeaſon) fill all the Earth: and ſome incouragement to your heart, to proſecute that part of the Deſign of Chriſt, namely, That Christ might Reign. Such Conſiderations, together with the Favorable Reſpect You have alwaies ſhewed to poor New-England, hath imboldned me to preſent unto Your Hand, theſe first Confeſsions of that Grace which the Lord hath bestowed upon theſe poor Natives, and to publiſh them under the protection of Your Name, begging earnestly the continuance of Your Prayers for the further proceeding of this gracious Work: And ſo committing Your Honor to the Lord, and to the Word of His Grace, and all Your weighty Affairs to His Heavenly Direction, I reſt
Your Honors to ſerve You, in the Service of Chriſt JOHN ELIOT.
To the READER.
Chriſtian Reader,
I Know thy Soul longeth to hear Tydings of Gods grace powred out upon theſe goings down of the Sun, becauſe the Spirit of God by the Word of Propheſie, uſeth to raiſe up and draw forth ſuch actings of Faith, as accord with the accompliſhment of thoſe Propheſies, when the time of their accompliſhment is come. When Iſrael was to return from Babylon, the Spirit by the word of Propheſie, raiſed up ſuch actings of Faith, as were put forth in the exerciſe of all gifts neceſſary for the accompliſhment thereof. Daniel prayeth. Zerubbabel hath a Spirit of Ruling, the peoples affections are looſe from their dwellings, and have a Spirit of Traveling. Ezra, Nehemiah, and all the reſt of the Worthies of the Lord, are raiſed at that time to accompliſh what is Propheſied. In theſe times the Propheſies of Antichriſt his down fall are accompliſhing. And do we not ſee that the Spirit of the Lord, by the word of Propheſie, hath raiſed up men, inſtruments in the Lord hand, to accompliſh what is written herein. And the Spirit of Prayer, and expectation of Faith is raiſed generally in all Saints, by the ſame word of Propheſie. In like manner the Lord having ſaid, That the Goſpel ſhall ſpread over all the Earth, even to all the ends of the Earth; and from the riſeing to the ſetting Sun; all Nations ſhal become the Nations, and Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Chriſt. Such words of Propheſie hath the Spirit uſed to ſtir up the ſervants of the Lord to make out after the accompliſhment thereof: and hath ſtirred up a mighty Spirit of Prayer, and expectation of Faith for the Converſion both of the Jewes, (yea all Iſrael) and of the Gentiles alſo, over all the world. For this Cauſe I know every beleeving heart, awakened by ſuch Scriptures, longeth to hear of the Converſion of our poor Indians, whereby ſuch Propheſies are in part begun to be accompliſhed. Yea, the Deſign of Chriſt being to erect his own Kingdom, in the room of all thoſe Dominions, which he doth, and is about to overturn: You ſhall ſee a Spirit by ſuch words of Propheſie powred forth upon the Saints (into whoſe hands Chriſt will commit the manageing of his Kingdom on Earth) that ſhall carry them forth to advance Chriſt to rule over men in all affairs, by the word of his mouth, and make him their only Law-giver, and ſupream Judge, and King.
It is a day of ſmall things with us: and that is Gods ſeaſon to make the ſingle beauty of his humbling Grace, to ſhine in them, that are the verieſt ruines of mankind that are known on earth; as Mr. Hooker was wont to deſcribe the forlorn condition of theſe poor Indians. I ſee evident demonſtrations that Gods Spirit by his word hath taught them, becauſe their expreſſions, both in Prayer, and in the Confeſſions which I have now publiſhed, are far more, and more full, and ſpiritual, and various, then ever I was able to expreſs unto them; in that poor broken manner of Teaching which I have uſed among them. Thēir turning Doctrins into their own experience, which you may obſerve in their Confeſſions, doth alſo demonſtrate the Teachings of Gods Spirit, whoſe firſt ſpecial work is Application. Their different Gifts likewiſe, is a thing obſervable in their Confeſſions, wherein it is not to be expected that they ſhould be all Eminent, it is not ſo in any Society of men; but in that there be ſome among them that are more eminent, it is a ſign of Gods favor, who is raiſing up among themſelves, ſuch as ſhall be his inſtruments to conveigh a bleſſing unto the reſt. Their frequent phraſe of Praying to God, is not to be underſtood of that Ordinance and Duty of Prayer only, but of all Religion, and comprehendeth the ſame meaning, with them, as the word [Religion] doth with us: And it is obſervable, becauſe it ſeemeth to me, That the Lord will make them a Praying people: and indeed, there is a great Spirit of Prayer powred out upon them, to my wonderment; and you may eaſily apprehend, That they who are aſſiſted to expreſs ſuch Confeſſions before men, are not without a good meaſure of inlargement of Spirit before the Lord.
The points of Doctrine that are here and there dropped in their Confeſſions, may ſuffice at preſent for a little taſte to the Godly diſcerning Saints, That they are in ſome meaſure inſtructed in the chief points of Salvation, though there be no Doctrinal Confeſſion on purpoſe ſet down to declare what they have learned, and do beleeve.
If any ſhould conceive that that word which they ſo often uſe [I thought, or I think] ſhould need explication, as a godly Brother did intimate to me on the Faſt day, let this ſuffice, That it is to be Conſtrued by the preſent Matter: For ſometimes it is a thought of Faith; ſometime of Fear; ſometime of Ʋnbelief; ſometime of Carnal Reaſon; and ſometime of Ignorance.
Laſtly, It is plainly to be obſerved, That one end of Gods ſending ſo many Saints to NEW-ENGLAND, was the Converſion of theſe Indians. For the Godly Counſels, and Examples they have had in all our Chriſtian Families, have been of great uſe, both to prepare them for the Goſpel, and alſo to further the Lords work in them, as you may evidently diſcern in moſt of their Confeſſions.
Beloved Reader, I have no more to ſay as neceſſary to Prepare for the following Matter, only to beg, yea earneſtly to beg the continuance of all your Prayers; by the power whereof (through the Grace and Interceſſion of Chriſt) I beleeve this wheele of Converſion of theſe Indians, is turned: and my Heart hath been alwayes thereby encouraged, to follow on to do that poor little I can, to help forward this bleſſed Work of Spreading and Exalting the Kingdom of our dear Savior Jeſus Chriſt, under the direction and protection of whoſe Word and Grace, by Faith committing you; I reſt,
Your unworthy Brother, in our dear Savior, JOHN ELIOT.