rits or devils dwelling and poffeffing Ifrael's ungodly rulers. Now therefore it is that God faith, I will not look to their wants, I will not hear their prayers, I will not go with their armies." So for their three fins God punisheth them with thefe three woeful denials; and yet thefe rulers they will not repent; and fo God leaves them to go on. And now these three devils they take to themselves four more; and now they make up this number feven. And fo to the ripening in iniquity, and then to the undoing and final overthrow of Ifrael. And fo I do expound it, because I take it that the work of these four devils it goes on apace in this our land, and fo it is meant by the felling of the poor for the price of shoes; yea, perhaps for a pair of old fhoes the poor is neglected, by not fupporting of trade, while they are hunting after new-invented pleasures. So from these rulers and their neglecting the poor comes ruin to the commonwealth of Ifrael. And I will fay, fince the fame fins are in this our land, who knows but God will fend the fame punifhments on this land as on Ifrael, or any other nations. And therefore faith God the Lord, for these innumerable fins I will not turn to it; but according to their fins I will deal with them by weight and by measure. So proportion and number shall be their forrows. For as they greedily fold and devoured

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voured the dear people of God, like as hungry)< men eat up choice bread. And also they have or swallowed up the tradesman and the poor, even...}, as the drunkards do tofs off their cups of defired a liquor or rich wines, even fo these wicked men ›› they have undone the comforts of God's dear people, who are his church. By which they have added by measure and by proportion numbers of God's difpleafures on this land; and fo like Ifrael, wickedly they go on to meet their punishment at the hand of God. Because also they have impoverished the commonwealth. And fo, like a generation of vipers, they have destroyed her who brought them into being. And, what is wickedness more than all this, it was done under the colour of long, lifelefs, formal prayers, with a fhow of zeal and fiery And God faith, Luke xx. 47. receive the greater damnation." is the fate of Babylon, and her final recom'pence, Rev. xviii. 5, 6. for her fins are come up into heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities, ver. 6. reward her even as the hath rewarded you, and give her double according to her works; and the cup that the hath filled to All her double. you,

hot devotions. "Thefe fhall

And alfo this

And now fee again. For in this manner God doth reprove the fins and abominations of that once gr.at and glorious city Jerufalem, Ezek.

xvi. 47, 52. Thou haft committed more abo minable, that is to fay, thy fins of hypocrify they are greater wickedness than the fins of Sal maria, of whom it is faid, they had confederacys with devils. And alfo thefe fins of Jerufalem they are more abominable in the fight of God, than the fins of Sodom, ver. 49, against whom God charges thefe four tranfgreffions, as the fountain of all other fins, that is to fay, firft, pride; fecondly, fulness; thirdly, idleness; and fourthly, neglect and unkindness to the poor. These are bad enough; and yet, as I have faid, Ifrael is charged with feven. And so they are more wicked, and therefore their flate is worse.

And now then let every good difpofed, reafonable man confider with himfelf, what fhould we do? fhould we give up ourselves to follow the multitude, in neglecting God, in forfaking our own mercies, faying, We will not obey, though it is the word of God the Lord? And fo with Ifrael be caft out and left of God? Or fhould we, with Ephraim, fee our fins, believe in God's mercy, and with unfeigned repentance feek the favour and moft defirable mercy and love of God in the admirable gift of his Son, to turn us to God? And fo we are brought to fay to our heavenly Father, "Turn thou me, and fo fhall I be turned."

So

So then I do conclude, that every living man that feels he hath got an immortal foul more dear to him than a thoufand worlds, this man loves God, and fo he liftens to God's commands, John xv. 17. and to the children and people of God, who are fcattered up and down among the wicked upon this earth. This is one of God's commands, Rev. xviii. 5. "Go out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her fins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." And all God's children are called upon to know that it is our indifpenfable duty, on all occafions and at all times, to obey God rather than men, Acts iv. 19. And fo, though despised, yet, like Noah, we become diffenters or feparatifts, from the wilfully bling, gay, thoughtlefs, unbelieving, thronging multitude, who, though they fay much for their outward fhows of religion, yet prayer in their families, and private worship, they are ftrangers to. And, except it is to make God or his ways to ferve them in their fins for themselves, these feldom make use of any part of religion at all.

And again, Jefus of Nazareth he is the Son of the living God, and it is our duty to be fullowers of him as dear children. And by many articles of religion, the Son of God teacheth us, that he himself was a diffenter from the

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Jewish national church, Matt. xv. 2, 9. And Peter and Paul, James and John, being brought to fee, and that by grace, by fin Ifrael had forfaken the true God, and left the love and obedience of his word, therefore these men became obe'dient to God, in receiving his Chrift, and following him in that which only is religion, the power of God in fpirit and truth, and fo o outwardly they laboured in the doctrines and ordihances of that power of God, or gofpel they profeffed. And fo, though being defpifed of men, or the rulers of Ifrael, because they had become diffenters from their Jewish, once glorious but fallen mother church, yet thefe, with the other apostles, were called as above fo to do. And therefore, though defpifed of men, yet they were chofen of God, And for this great and truly glorious caufe of God, did all our chriftian, godly martyrs, forfaking the multitude, they followed God in obeying his Son, or the word, in the love of the truth, and fo they became diffenters from that worldly, vain-glorious, fcarlet whore of Babylon, or that bloody church of Rome. And alfo for this fame caufe of obeying God rather than men, we find our English Proteftan, godly families, gathered into the first independent church in England, at London, in the reign of James I. in the year 1616. They became diffenters from the unfcriptural rules

and