The Way to Heaven Discovered, Author to Commonwealth government
A word of Advice to the preſent Supream Authority of ENGLAND, &c.
Most noble, and honoured Sirs,
WHom God, even the God of the ſpirits of all fleſh, hath at preſent intruſted with the higheſt places, not only in the Field, but alſo in the ſeat of Juſtice: My prayers to God for you are, that the Lord would make you rather gracious, and inwardly holy, then outwardly happy; and give you a ſpirit of divine wiſdome, and valour ſuitable to the work that lyeth before you, that ye may improve the preſent oportunity that is put into your hands, for the glory of God that gave it you; Conſider, the preſence of the Lord is in the midſt of you, the prayers of his Saints and Servants are continually poured out for you, the eyes of the people are upon you, all expecting ſome great things to be done by you: yea, and the other parts of the world look upon you, if ye go on in a way of righteouſneſs they will follow you.
It will be a glory for the Engliſh Nation to give a bleſſed example to all the people of the earth, to free themſelves from tyranny and ſlavery.
If a worm might be thought worthy to adviſe you, then give me leave to tell you, there is but one thing in the main that God and his people doe expect from you, viz. That ye would eye the Lord Jeſus in all your actings, and advance his Kingdome as much as in you lyeth: and if this be uppermoſt in your hearts, firſt in your thoughts, and moſt conſtant in your purpoſes, ſo that ye do in your judgements prefer, and in your wills deliberately mind the glory of God, the advancement of the Kingdome of his dear Son, by the aſſiſtance of his holy Spirit; then ſhall the work of the Lord proſper in your hands, and the day ſhall be light before you, and his footſteps that are not yet known, ſhall be diſcovered to you, and ye ſhall ſee your work before you.
Chriſt was once humbled, that we might be exalted; let him now be exalted, that we might willingly be humbled by him; although he be willing to give you grace, yet his glory he will not give to any other: Let it be a comfort for you that he hath exalted you in the hearts of his people; although you are a table-talk, and a by-word, and a ſcorn in the hearts, and by the tongues of his enemies.
Well, would you ſtand your ſelves now others are fallen, and not only keep, but alſo add to the honour which God hath given you? Then make it your buſineſs to exalt the Kingdome of Chriſt, not only in your ſelves, but alſo in this, and the neighbouring Nations; and remember that the rock of ages pulleth down ſome to the end that others might not exalt themſelves when they are in power; for the Lord hath decreed to ſtain the pride of all earthly honour, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth, that ſo all fleſh might be humbled, and the Lord alone exalted: therefore ſeek not ye great things for your ſelves; (as many of thoſe that went before you) leſt ye be laid aſide, and no eye pitty you.
Provide nothing more for your ſelves then ye have (I beſeech you) but to ſeek for the honour of Chriſt, and the freedome of the Saints, and theſe Nations wherein your owne freedomes and ſafeties are involved: Conſider that the Lord hath hitherto made ſome of you friends to his people, and a terrour to their and his enemies: and our prayer to the Lord is, that he would teach you as once he did good Nehemiah, to do many years hard ſervice freely, becauſe the payments were heavy upon their fellow creatures, as you may ſee in Neh. 5. 14. 18.
That ye may ſay as that ſervant of Chriſt did, to the glory of God, and the ſhame of the former ſelf-ſeeking powers, ver. 15. But the former Governours that had been before me, were chargable unto the people, and had taken of them their Bread and Wine, beſides fourty ſhekels of Silver; but ſo did not I (ſaid this good man) becauſe of the feare of the Lord. I have but a few things more to begg of you (as upon my bended knees, and with weeping eyes) which if ye will but hear and grant, it may make much for the glory of God, the honour of the three Nations, and the Comfort of your owne Souls.
The firſt thing is, that ye would ſet ſome time and perſons apart, to heare and receive the private petitions and grievances of the poor Widows and Fatherleſs, ſo much neglected by the former power; for they have poured out their complaints in the midſt of their wants, and their cry came up before the Lord, before the diſſolving of the late Parliament.
Conſider (I requeſt you) That, the earth and all thereen is the Lords, (not our Storehouſe) and ye are, at preſent, his Stewards: wherefore, as in Prov. 3. 7. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to doe it. So in the end ye ſhall be able to ſay with Job, That ye have not withheld the poore from their deſire, nor cauſed the eyes of the Widow and Fatherleſs to faile, nor ſeen any periſh for want of cloathing, nor ſeen any poore in the ſtreets without covering.
(I could almoſt ſay to you, as once Abraham did to the Lord, Gen. 18. 27. Behold, now I have taken upon me to ſpeak, which am but duſt and aſhes; I would begg leave to preſent a few things more to your ſerious conſideration.)
The next thing is, That when ye make inquiſition for ravening wolves, propheſied of by Chriſt and his Apoſtles, Mat. 7. 15. compared with Acts 20. 29. that come to us in Sheeps cloathing; that ye would not do as the late Parliament did, ſtop the Wolf's mouth in one Town and let him go and devour, or at leaſt, deceive the Sheep in another; if he be adjudged unfit to bite or devour in one place, let him be held as unfit in another, leſt ye ſhould do as if (in effect) they did put out the fire in Canne and ſend it to Marlborough, or endeavour to ſtop the plague in Briſtoll by ſending the infected perſons to London.
The next thing that I would begg of you for this poor nation, is, That whereas the laſt Power did promiſe much, and perform little; be ye more like God, I (both humbly and earneſtly) requeſt you, by promiſing leſs then ye intend to perform; that ye may appeare to us in very deed to be like him: He promiſed the Children of Iſrael only the Land of Canaan; but beſides that, he gave them two other Kingdomes which he never did promiſe to give them: And to Zacharias, Luke 1. 20. He promiſed to give him his Speech again at the Birth of the Child, but beſide that he gave him the gift of propheſie; ſo that, as Paul ſaith, He can give and do abundantly, above all that we are able to ask or think.
And yet that ſay ye abide in him, ought ſo to walk, as ye have him for an example. See Eph. 3. 20. 1 Joh. 2. 6.
The next thing I would beſeech of you, moſt noble and honoured Senators, is this, That ye would endeavour to unite all the Saints ſound in the Faith, to an union in the ſpirit of Love. Though England be but as a garden to the whole world, & all the people in it but a handfull, and ſcarce one of twenty of this handfull godly men; yet were theſe few Saints united by the bleſſed Spirit, ſo, as their hearts might agree together, as touching any thing they ought to ask; and were ſo well affected to lift up one voice, and one heart (according to the will of God) they would have the things they ask; ſo as nothing ſhould be too hard for them to do; all the world could not ſtand before them, nor undermine them, for they would be wiſe in the Lords wiſdome, and ſtrong in him, and in the power of his might: Shall Herod and Pilate agree? Turks and Pagans agree? Beares and Lyons agree? Tygers and Wolves agree? and ſhall not Saints agree? If the Saints were but once united, Antichriſt would ſoone be deſtroyed.
Oh let not our Supream Power, under God, be angry, and I will ſpeak but this once. Oh let me then ſay to you, as once Mordecai did to Heſter, Heſt. 4. 14. If thou altogether holdeſt thy peace at this time, then ſhall their enlargement come, and deliverance ariſe from another place, or power, but thou and thy Fathers houſe ſhall be deſtroyed; and who knoweth whether thou art come to the Kingdome for ſuch a time as this? And (under correction) let me tell you, the work is the Lords, and if ye will not carry it on, he will lay you aſide with ſhame, and raiſe up thoſe that he will own and bleſs.
And whereas moſt of the Godly people in England are crying mightily to God for you, to purge out ſelf-ſeeking, and to plant a ſpirit of Government in you, and to furniſh you with naturall and ſpirituall abilities ſuitable to the work that lyeth before you; but if ye begin to flag (as the former power did) and ſo let the work ſtick in the Birth; and every one minding his owne things, not the things of Jeſus Chriſt; then let me tell you, that all the Lords people in England, and the other Nations, will be praying to him, and wreſtling with him, and give him no reſt, night nor day, till the Lord turne you alſo out of doores, and bring in thoſe that he will own and bleſs.
FINIS.