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ing out, My flesh and my blood, be upon the Daughter of Babylon; the fouls under the Altar are groaning, How long, O Lord God, Holy and True, will it be ere thou avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the Earth? and will the Lord refrain himfelf, and shut out the Prayers of his Prifoners of Hope? I tell you nay;but as a Lion, and as a young Lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of Shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be affraid of their voice, nor abafe himself for the noise of them: fo fhall the Lord of Hofts come down, to fight for Mount Sion, and for the Hill thereof; Utterly to dethrone the Antichriftian Beast, Whore, who have made themselves drunk with the blood of the Saints (for which he will make them drunk with blood (even their own blood) for they are worthy) and to canfe his poor oppreffed ones, to inherit the Throne of Glory, in despite of their Oppreffors!" Reader, whoever thou art, into. whofe hand this little Tract may come, I cannot but crave thy stay, out of pure love, to speak a few things to thee in the Portal. If thou art one that art a Scorner, Derider, Perfecutor of the Saints ( under what denomination foever) if thou art glad in thy heart (as was wicked Edom and TyEus of old) at the sufferings of the People of the Lord, yea; if thou art but a civilized perfon, or a meer outfide Profeffor, without any acquaintance. with the work of Regeneration upon thy Spirit, and the Power, and Myftery of Christianity, and Godliness; whatever thy enjoyments, comforts, hopes, or confidences be, know of a certainty, that this day of the Lord's Wrath, will sweep them away all, and thou wilt utterly perish in the flames of his Indignation. Oh then thou wilt cry out, Fool accounted their life madness, and their end to be without honour, but now they are Dumbred among the Children of God, and crowned with glory; but I am caft out to be tormented, millions of millions of ages: that I could prevail with thee, ferionfly to confider of thy state, ( art thou able to meet, and contend with the Most High?) to proceed no farther in rebellion, treafuring up wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous Judgment of God. Ofling away thy Weapons, kifs the Sor, that he be not angry with thee, and thon perish in the way! Content not thy felf, in being accounted a Chriftian, that thou hast escaped the pollutions of the World, nor in the performance of fome dead, formal, fapLefs and fpiritlefs fervice to the Lord, which profiteth nothing: Get an Intereft in Chrift, freely tendred in the Gospel, deep humiliation for thy formier iniquities, a fpirit of Grace and Supplication, inward Purity and Heart-uprightness, or perish for ever. Oh fee that thou haft Oyl in thx

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veffel, as well as in thy lamp, or thou wilt not be able to dwell with devouring fire, and everlasting burnings! If thou art a Child of Light, indeed begotten of the Lord, acquainted, and holding communion with bim in his Ivory Pallaces; O what cause haft thou to tryumph in God, for his wonderful, wonderful Grace to thee! O how should'st thou love him? how should'st thou praise him? with what eagerness shouldest thou be profecuting the concerns of his Glory? how tenderly should'st thou be affected with his difhonour? how full of Supplications and heart-groans for him,to arife thoroughly to plead his Caufe? how ready to fell all for his Glories fake, and follow him whitherfoever he goes? Otake heed of giving way to a spirit of fumber (the temptation of this day of the Bridegrooms tarriance) do not fay a confederacy, with thofe that lay a confederacy, against the Lord; receive not the Mark of the Beast in thy forehead, or hand: Keep the Virginity, in respect of Worship,that thou mayeft be found without fault before the Throne of the Lamb: Hold fast thy beginning-confidence, that hath fo great a recompence of reward: 'tis but a very little while, and thy God will come with Vengeance, even God with a Recompence, he will come and fave thee. Stand fast, and keep thy ground, within a small moment thou shalt be finging, The Winter is paft, the Rain is over and gone Keep faithful to God, and while thou art in the Wilderneẞthou shalt not be without thy fprings of living Water, he will speak comfortably to thy heart, and give thee thy Vinyards from hence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of Hope; and he will bring thee fafe (yea the right way) to Canaan, where thou shalt fee thy King in his beauty, burger no more, neither thirst any more, nither shall the Sun light on thee, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed thee, and fhall lead thee unto living Fountains of Waters, and God shall wipe away all Tears from thy eyes. Obleffed Day! Ó royal State! do not your hearts O fing under the thought of it? who would refufe (if the Lord would firengthen him) to fwim through a Sea of blood (though his own blood) to follow FESUS who will affuredly crown us, with its Enjoyment? If thou art one who (through the power of Temptation) art turned afide by the Flock of the Companions, and art worshipping with the Nations, waiting at the pofts of an Antichriftian Miniftry for teachings, I do affure thee my bowels are troubled for thee,and with a Pen dipt in my own Tears could I write to thee. O why wilt thou for fake the Fountain of Living Waters, for broken Cisterns that will hold no water? wilt thou change thy glory for that which will not profit ? Is it because there is not bread enough in thy Fathers house,

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house, that thou goeft a begging to the doors of strangers? Is it nothing to thee to caft contempt upon the pure Inftitutions of Chrift, to provoke the Lord to fend leanneß into thy foul? Is it a small matter to be an occafion of grief, and ftumbling to thy Brethren, to pour contempt upon the Officess Wisdom and Faithfulneß of Christ, to harden perfons in a false way of worShipping of God,to their eternal ruine,to disobey the Heavenly Voice,calling aloud to thee, to come from the Lions dens, and mountains of the Leopards, to come out of Babylon? O arife, depart hence, this is not your reft, it is polluted, baften thine efcape,be like the He-Goat before the Flocks,in thy retreat from the Tents of thefe Falle-worshippers, left being partaker of their fin, thou receiveft of their plagues, that are even ready to be poured forth! Who knows but this may be the last Warning thou mayeft have from God? I could easily expatiate ( for great is my pity towards thee) were I not fenfible how far I have already exceeded the limits of an Epiftle, to fo Small a Treatife, which I willingly fubmit to thy cenfure (through the importunity of many judicious Chriftians) with this request at thou reade it with ferioufnefs and impartiality. It bath m imes been given up to the Lord, and the fervice of his poor People, for above this year that it hath lain by me if thou art any way advantaged or bettered by it, give God the glory; and let him have a share in thy Prayers, when neareft the Throne, who accounts it his glory to be

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A Servant to the weakest of the Lord's Lambs.

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MAPTUPION ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝΟΝ.

OR,

A Chriftian and Sober Testimony against Sinful Complyance.

B

The PREFACE to the enfuing Difcourfe.

Eing to treat of one part of the inftituted Worship of Chrift, under the Gospel, with refpect unto the duty incumbent upon the Saints, in order thereunto, it may feem to any indifferent perfon, but a reasonable Poftulatum in the prefent Enquiry, that the whole thereof be divolved upon the Scriptures of the NewTeftament and thofe Royal Laws, that Chrift (the alone King and Law-giver of his Church) hath given forth for Saints under the NewTeftament-Difpenfation to walk by, until they arrive unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift, Eph.4. 13. not perplexing our felves, nor the confciences of any, with the judgments of men in generations paft, (wherein they cannot aquiefce, though to take off the prejudices of fome againit Truth, upon the account of its feeming novelty, we may bere and there manifeft their harmony with us, in the main Principles of the enfuing Structure) nor what was (or may be fuppofed to be) permitted, unto the Saints, before the time of Reformation, whilft the worldly Sanctuary was yet ftanding, the carnal Ordinances appertaining thereunto in being, at leaft by the Providence of God, not fully diffolved, as afterward, both it and they were, being buried in the afhes and ruines of that Temple, to which they were infeparably annext. Yet, inafmuch, as fome beams of Light may be communicated unto the prefent Enquiry, by a retrofpection into the ftate of things in the time of the old Law, it fhall not be grievous to us, (nor will it be altogether unprofitable to the Reader) briefly to remark, fo far as may concern the

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matter in hand, the ftate and management of affairs, under that Oeconomy and Difpenfation. Not to mention the Adminiftration of holy things in the time of the Ante-Deluvian Fathers, not the general Apoftacy from the pure wayes of God, in the dayes of Seth, (when according to their duty the faithful Remnant (the Sons of God) feparated from the wicked (or the daughters of men) and folemnly joyned themselves together, to worship God according to his holy Appointments, Gen. 4. 26.) Let us take a brief view of things, with relation unto the People of God, after the giving of Moses's Law,when a Standard was fet up for them to repair unto, and they became (being gathered into one) as a City on an Hill, confpicuous unto all.

First then, that the Lord gave unto the People of the Jews (whom he had chofen out of all the Nations of the World, to be a People near to him, his peculiar treafure above them all) Statutes and Of dinances to walk by, both with relation to Civils and Ecclefiafticks, which they were indifpenfibly bound to conform to, without adding to, or detracting therefrom: That the management of all their affairs was fingly to be bottom'd upon, and conform to, thefe Statutes and Judgments, is very frequently afferted in Scripture, Exod. 21, 1. Lev. 18.4. and 19. 37. and 20, 22, and 25. 18. and 26. 15, 43. Deut.4.1,5,8. and 5.1. and 7.11. and 11. 1, 32, and 12,1. and 26. 16. and 30. 16. 1 Chron. 16. 12. and 28.7. Pfal. 89. 30. Ezek. 5. 6. and 36. 27. Dan. 9.5.

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zly. That perfons were appointed by the Lord, to be chofen by the Congregation, for the publick administration of Ordinances and Worship, cannot be denied: Thus were the Livites, Exod. 13.2, 12, 13. and 22. 29. Numb.3. 12. called therefore the Wave-Offering of the Children of Ifrael, Numb. 8. 9, 10, 11. becaufe given up by them to the Lord as their Offering, by folemn Ordination and Impofition of hands.

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3ly. That perfons thus invefted into the Office of Priesthood were not left to the liberty of their own wills, nor had they any dependance upon the Will or Authority of the fons of men ( one, or other of them) either in refpect of the matter or manner of their WorThip, the whole whereof was purely of Sovereign Inftitution, and Divine Appointment, Exod. 25. 9, 40. Numb. 8.5. Heb.8. 5. 1 Chron. 28.11, Exod.8. 27. Lev.10. 1. Exod. 39. 1,5, 7, 21, 26, 31, 43.

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