The sect every where spoken against: or, the reproached doctrine of Ely. As it was held forth in several sermons in the year, MDCLI. By Christopher Cob, lay-man, minister of an united people in Ely. Collected and analized for a private use, by Hampden Reeve, Master of Arts, one of that Society, and a constant hearer. Now published by the assent of the whole Society (as a short character, at present, of them and their way, till an opportunity of a farther and fuller discovery) for satisfaction in general.

HOSEA 6.1, 2, &c.

Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for He hath torn, and He will heal us, &c.

IN the former Chapter great complaint is made a∣gainst Israel and Ephraim, that they were Revol∣ters,

that they committed whoredom, and will not frame their doings to seek unto their God, Vers. 3, 4. And this is that misery that befalls such as transgress a∣gainst the Lord, that received not the Truth in the love of it, that obeyed not counsel; the Hand of the Lord will surely meet with such; He will teer and wound them: There shall be no peace to the wicked. When Israel was a child, then I loved Him, saith God; then He was tender, and soft, and pliable to be ordered: but as They called them, so They went from them, Hosea 11.2. As the Prophets called them indeed to come up, and come nigh God, then there is a going backward from Him; He is bent to a back-sliding heart: But Israel and Ephraim shall be sure to be dealt with and made desolate: A Time comes wherein God will meet with Him. The Pride of Israel testifies to his face; there∣fore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity: v. 5. And this is our case; The Pride hath been such, we thought we had been Some-body, and could live alone of our selves; and like the Prodigal have asked to have our portion, and we would be gone and shift for our selves: But alass! all is soon spent with riotous living, and desolation and famine have come upon us, rendings and teerings, perplexities, disquiets and troubles in all our ways. I will be unto Ephraim as a Lion; I will teer, and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue: Hos. 5.14. And when thus it shall be in the midst of the Land, when this is the Souls condition, to be rent and torn by God, and then left and forsaken, that He cannot be found, but He hides Himself; though Job go forward and backward, to the right hand and to the left, yet He is gone and cannot be found. He feeds among the lillies (••aith the Church) until the day dawn, and the shadows fly away: As if she should say, Alass, I

am unclean, but He feeds among the clean ones, among the Lillies that are spotless, the Lillies that grow with∣out toyling and caring, there are his walks; but I am no company for him, He is withdrawn from Me, until the day dawn, &c. This is a hard day indeed, when the Soul is left in this desolate case; there is now need to think of returning: The Prophet He feels the need, and therefore calls to the People, Come and let us return to the Lord. And so all along the Scriptures, the Prophets are brought in as sensible and crying under the misery, though their People were senceless, and careless, and stu∣pid. How do Isaiah, Jeremiah, Samuel, Hosea, and so all the Prophets, stand in the gap for their people, and call upon them in their desolation to come in and return to the Lord! But whom do they call to return? not all men, not such as never was nigh to the Lord; No: Onely Ephraim, and Israel, and Judah, his own people, that have been once nigh, and are backslidden, and turn∣ed Prodigals from their fathers house: Onely to such is the Call; and in the worst time of all, when torn, and wounded, and left of God: (yet, saith the Pro∣phet,) Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He hath torn, and He will heal, &c.

In this Return these things are considerable.

First, They that return know surely that They are out of the way: the Soul must first be made truly knowing and sensible of that, when it is met with in its gaddings, as Hagar was by the Angel, and examined strictly; Whence comest Thou Hagar? and whither wilt Thou go? Thou art quite out of the way in flying from thy Mistress Sarah: Return, and submit unto her. The going out is thus clearly opened and layd upon the Soul.

But wherein were They gone out of the way, that

They are called on to return?

1. They were out of the way, in that they broke prison, and ran away from the strait; as Chap. 5.10. The Princes of Judah were like them that remove the Bound: A Bound was set to keep them in a narrower compass, that God might the better come nigh to deal with them: as it is in Job; If They be bound in fet∣ters, and holden in the cords of affliction; then He shew∣eth man his sin, and his transgression, how he hath ex∣ceeded: Then is a time when God can come neer to search and dress the sore, when the Soul is layd fast from running away; when it is held in the Bond of the spirit, then the heart is opened, the wickedness discovered, what a wretched case man is in, hopeless and helpless. And this is the way God takes to hide pride from mans eyes, and lay him low in the dust. And how have we gone out of the way in this? We have removed the Bond, and run away, and would not endure the strait, nor stick to our conditions, to lie so low, and wretched, and helpless: We have flown out from this, and said as They, No, but we are Lords, and will come no more at him. Here have we turned out; and if ever we re∣turn, we must come in sensibly guilty under this, of re∣moving the Bound, and running away from our condi∣tions, living at our hands and own counsels at a distance from God. And now here it is needful for all of you to enquire, how it stands with you? Have you all turned out here in removing the Bound? or were you yet ne∣ver in it? I know some of you were never as yet in this Bond of the Spirit, but have been left to your own wills, and runnings of heart, and never yet were brought to this narrow compass. But some of you, I know, have removed this Bound, have got from your sin, and guilt,

and misery, when opened to you: You have turned your eyes away from your own sore, and looked asquint on anothers faults, and pryed into their miscarriages; have spyed out the mote there, but would not see the beam in our own eye, but have covered that close, and hid it: and therfore is the stroke now come upon us. God hath found us out, though man could not; and there is a secret moth hath eaten and consumed us, and spoyled all our good, because we have run away, and would not endure the bond to be put upon us. I know assuredly the time when God would have brought some of you to a strait, that nothing should have contented you without the knowledg of the Love of God; what the eternal thoughts are concerning you, and what should become of us in the latter end, that we might not live on noti∣ons, or words, or knowledg, or operations, nor any thing short of this: but here have we broke away, and would not endure to come at it. But,

2. They were out of the way in going about to cure themselves before the day came, the time of deli∣verance: Chap. 5.13. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assy∣rian, and sent to King Jareb; yet He could not heal you: such a reaching hath there been after ease and cure and deliverance before the time was come; Therefore (saith God) I will be as a moth and rottenness to E∣phraim: a secret hand hath followed us, as David says; I am consumed by the blow of thy hand: a secret con∣sumption, and mouldring away, and coming to nothing; and of all deaths this is most miserable, to dye so by de∣grees, fall in pieces, and melt away to nothing like a snail: and thus hath the Lord dealt with us, such a wast∣ing and decaying hath been upon us, but yet the thing is not layd heart: None speaks aright, nor says, What

have I done? what is the cause of this desolation? Why is the hand against me? How hath a secret moth eaten up all our good? Time was there was a tender consci∣ence, an awe of spirit, and fear to offend, a watchful∣ness over all our ways, and thoughts, and words; but now all is gone: The Lord hath smitten us, and our flower fadeth.

And now if this were indeed but sensibly upon us, it would make us look home, and not have our eyes in every corner▪ to pry into one anothers failings; but it would be work enough to look on our own guilt, to see how we have broke the bonds, and got away from owning our shame, and lying under our mi∣sery, and have not stayd till we were washed from our blood, but have washed our selves, and forced our selves (as Saul did) to offer sacrifice, when we heard but a report of deliverance: Behold, this is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the World: Yea presently we reckoned all this our own, and clambered up to get into the liberty, before we were called for our of our prisons; and we must therefore down again to our bonds: we were but an untimely birth, and must not live to see the Sun. We tarryed not in our graves till that word came from Christ, Damosel, Arise; Lazarus, Come forth; but we broke away by force, as a Servant runs from his Master; and that shews we broke from him, in that there is no heart to return: we never cared for the Lord, nor loved him since, but as we have been forced to Him for a little ease; and when we have got that, we have been gone presently, and cared for no more.

Secondly, The second Thing considerable in this Re∣turn, is from the Call and Counsel of the Prophet, Come, and let us return, &c. Being once out, we cannot return

of our selves without counsel: The Soul knows not what to do, nor which way to turn, being once lost, it is in such an amaze; so foolish a thing is man: and therefore if we are never brought to that strait, to cry out for some to counsel, and lead, and tell us what to do, Men and Brethren, what shall we do to be saved? without this there will be no returning.

For out we are got, that is certain, and have miserably lost our selves: For some of us were formerly truly touched and visited, and taken out of the world, were made to see and understand the vanity of our former ways, and in what a miserable and dangerous estate we lay, if the Lord stept not in to help us out; and whether this would ever be or not, we knew not; and here we were made to own, and bow, and lie under our conditi∣ons as undone Persons, if Mercy help'd not out: Thus we lay low for a time under this bond; but soon as ever we heard a report of Deliverance, and were pointed out to it, as John pointed to Christ, Behold the Lamb of God, &c. Here is one that can cure you, and bring you out, This is the Saviour of the World; when a Light came to shew us this, we presently reached at it, and called all our own, and would not lie in our misery till he called us to come, till the Lord Himself delivered us; but thought now that we saw the medicine lie before us, we were wise enough to take it, and to cure our selves; we thought we could now live of our selves, without being beholding to God; that our Light and Instruction into the Truth, that the sight of Salvation had been enough: And here we went out like Prodigals, till all was spent, and Poverty came upon us as an armed man: We got out, and promised our selves liberty and ease, (as Paul saith of some,) who promising liberty, Themselves be∣came the servants of corruption. We were the farther

off, and the more entangled; that which Job speaks of, If I wash my self (saith he) mine own clothes shal defile me: We have indeed washed and washed our selves, but that will not do; we put on our own clothes again, and we are presently all dirt, as bad as ever: Here hath been our going out, and now we are out, we would never stir home again. But the Call and Counsel is to us, Come, and let us return; That Charge is layd against us, Thou hast forsaken thy first Love; remember whence thou art fallen, and repent. This I speak is a Deep Pa∣rable, if the Soul be not led in, to read the meaning: The Hypocrite he cannot know it; he will ever be hoping and clambering up some way or other to get life, and never endure these bonds, though he perish for ever; and how many are thus utterly lost! And the Sons of God They cannot know this neither, until it cost them dear, till a dart strike through their Liver: They will taste of the Whores dainties, of her sweet morsels, till they are made to vomit all up again, and lose the sweet words. We have taken up words of Scripture, and Hopes, and Promises to our selves, but who gave us them? The Door was open, and we thought we might venture in, and take what we pleased. But the Spouse could give a better account; He brought me into the banqueting house, &c. Did He thus take us by the hand, and bring us in? No, no, we thrust in without the wedding gar∣ment; we stayd not till the Angel was sent to roul away the stone from the mouth of the Sepulchre, till Christ Himself came to loosen the Prison doors, and let the Captives go free. And now to all you that have thus turned out, and therefore have had a blast, a mildew, a secret moth consuming and destroying all your green∣ness, and liveliness, and freshness in the Truth, (for how dead and sapless do you now lie!) to you yet is this

Counsel given, and the Call made, Come, and let us return to the Lord, for he hath smitten, &c. Lie under the hand, and turn to him that smites you. And that is,

Thirdly, The third Thing considerable in this Return, It is to the Lord, who hath wounded, that he may heal. Many they are wounded indeed, but they can heal them∣selves; run to the Promises, and wariness, and resolvings, and they are presently whole: But when the Lord wounds indeed with the wound of a cruel one, when he rends, and teers, and goes away, then shall no healing medicine be found out; when God comes to a strict enquiry once, and searches Jerusalem with candles, looks into every dark corner, and asks for an account of the bottom of the matter; if we know what shall become of us for ever, how our everlasting Condition hangs, whether all we have, all the strong reasons, and hopes, and conclusions from the operations, and enlargements, and powers of Truth, will all these prove our condition good for ever? Was not Saul also among the Prophets? and was not the Spirit of God upon Balaam? and yet both fell short. I won∣der sometimes how we can pass it over from day to day, and not consider what the end shall be; but it is because the wound is not deep, we have no sense to feel, but are like a post in the wall: but when He shall wound home indeed, and strike the blow to the heart, then it will seize; it shall not be so easie getting from it; then, if ever we be cured, the same hand must do it that struck the Blow, all other Physicians will be of no value: but, Come, let us return to the Lord, for he hath torn, and he will heal, &c.

And He will heal us. Now,

What Ways doth the Lord take to Cure this Wound?

1. The first Way to cure a Wound throughly, is by

removing the ill humor that feeds and maintains the sore, else all plaisters and salves applyed to heal are in vain, and to no purpose. So God deals with the Soul; He goes first to the Root, to stench the corrupt humor, the bitter Fountain that feeds and supplies all the streams; Sensse and Reason they have been the ill hu∣mor which have fed the sore all along, whilest we could wring, and wrestle, and murmur, and complain against God, saying, Why hath he made me thus? Why hath he brought us into this Wilderness to destroy us? Who hath resisted his Will? Whilest these pleadings and reason∣ings live, 'tis impossible our conditions should be mend∣ed; these will fester and corrupt, use what means we will for healing; therefore God promiseth, I will heal their back-slidings; that way He takes when he intends a Cure. Whilest we go about to cure our selves, and flee upon Horses, because they are swift, so long the case grows worse with us, the wound encreaseth; but stand still, and see the Salvation of God, saith Moses: Let him alone, and He will never leave, till he hath met with the bitter Root that spoyls all our prospering.

2. Another way of healing a wound, is by taking a∣way or asswaging the extremity of the anguish and smart of the sore, else the violence of the pain will let no∣thing take place: So is it with the Soul, sometimes there is such an extremity of anguish that perplexes and torments it, that nothing of hope or encouragement can come near it: When it is made to look over all its rebellions, and standings out, and provocations, what it hath done, how it hath grieved the Holy Spirit, and refused mercy, and brought all this that it now lies under on its own head; You may thank your self for this, saith the Accuser, this is your own will, and way, and choyce; and this causes a felt anguish and torture in the Soul, when all circum∣stances

come up of sins done seven years since, as if but newly acted: How Thou provokedst God, and broke prison at such a time, and slightedst and turnedst back: This eats, and corrodes, and frets the Soul, and gives it no rest, to hear, or hope, or beleeve any thing from God. And therefore this is the next Thing God doth in going to cure; He removes all the guilt, and sin, and shame, and unbelief, that lay upon the Soul, and lays all upon the scape-goat, to be carryed into the land of forget∣fulness; that though the iniquity of Judah and Israel be sought for, yet it cannot be found: I will remember their sin no more (saith God;) and this pacifies and as∣swages the pain, and calms the Soul: He makes the storm a calm, and so brings them to their desired ha∣ven, &c.

3. Another way God takes in healing, is, by apply∣ing a plaister of mercy and loving-kindness: Then He speaks kindly and friendly to the Soul, comes with words of peace; he comes enquiring, Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no Physician there? Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her King in her? The Lord opens to the Soul a soveraign Balm that can heal all sores: He dis∣covers his Son the Lord Jesus, that seed of Truth that lies within; This is my well-beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now He comes gently to the Soul, and moves and stirs in it; not altogether to despair and cut off it self from hope; but an enquiry is made in the Soul, Is not the Lord in Zion? Is there not hope in Israel concerning this thing? However desperate the case seems, yet hope gets up; Who can tell but he may be gracious? It is one thing to have Truth manifested to be within the Soul, and another thing to have the use and enjoyment of it; one thing to have a healing plai∣ster applyed, and another thing to be healed: In the

third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight: To be raised out of this pit of mire and clay, out of this dark dungeon, to live in his sight; to be brought out of darkness into his marvelous light, this is wonderful! And how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tydings of peace! These good tydings are a sweet reviving plaister to the dying Soul. When just now at the brink of the Pit; and the Life draws nigh to the grave; then for an Interpreter to come, one of a thousand, to shew to Man his righteousness, to open that seed and principle of Life that is within, and so save his life from going down to the pit; Is not such a Balm as this able to cure all wounds? how doth this calm and quiet the Soul, and beget admirings! O who would ever think any good should grow here! that Truth should lie hid in such a filthy, defiled and pollu∣ted heart! as Jacob breaks forth, God was in this place, and I knew it not: and Hagar, I did not think to have met with the Lord here: What! when all hope of life is gone, yet then to have salvation and deliverance o∣pened; out of the Eater to have meat; in the midst of all guilt and shame and sin and lusts that oppress and torment, yet to have this opened, That such a Soul as this is no less then the gate of Heaven, where God and Angels are to pass in and out; This is a pleasant plaister indeed: This heals the dying inwards, when it is given in by God, not taken up by mans gatherings, and conclusions, and hopings, as all the healings before were.

4. The Lord heals this sore by setting a time, ap∣pointing a day for deliverance, and putting the Soul in a posture of waiting till that come: so the Angel opens to Daniel, Seventy weeks are determined, to finish transgression, and to bring in everlasting Righteous∣ness.

And so in the Psalms, the Church pleads with God, that It is time to have mercy upon Zion, yea the set time is come: But what is this set time for Zion to be built? Why, it follows, For it pities thy servants to see her stones lie scattered in the dust. This is the set time, when the hearts of any are raised to pity and take to heart the desolation and ruines of Zion: and when the Soul is pitched upon this, to lie in the dust, lost and scattered, and undone as it is, till the heart of some or other be raised to pity it. It is impossible you should ever be brought forth as children of the Truth, unless the Heart of some be turned towards you to be a Father; as the Text saith of Elias, He shall turn the hearts of Fathers to Children, and Children to their Fathers. The Soul is layd down here, it cannot get up it self, but must lie wounded and half dead, till some good Samaritan pass by and take it up; and this is the greatest tryal and hardest thing to bear, that ever could come to mans heart, That He must lie thus buckled and submitted to another, till his Brother come to pity and take him up: And now if the heart scorns, and will not come in here to be thus beholding to another, it may lie long enough, and not yet the time of healing is come: If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it: if thou scorn this thing, to lie as thou art till the heart of some father be turned to thee, thou mayst go long enough without cure: But the Soul that God hath indeed pitched upon this, as the way for its cure, that, is ever looking when some shall turn in to pity it, and ask how it doth, and take it out of the dirt where it sticks fast; and there∣fore it is ever crying out, Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Is there none that mindes my sorrows? Was ever grief like mine? And is there none to pity and lay my case to heart, and travel, and pray, and cry

for me! Such a breaking out is there, not murmuringly nor commandingly, but bewailing and crying out, out of the sense of misery, and longing for cure; O that there were some to pity! Nothing else can content, be∣cause it is pitched upon that as the way for its cure; all other plaisters cannot reach the sore: and therefore it cries for some to help it, as the blinde man cryed after Christ; Thou Son of David, have mercy on me: and no rebukes from others, to hold his peace and be still, can prevail with him, but still the cry goes on, till the cure is done.

But it followeth:

After two days He will raise us up, and we shall live, &c.

The second days work now follows, the day of re∣viving; no man shall seek the Lord in vain. The Pro∣phet here invites & calls to come and return: and if any shall be prevailed with, they shall not lose their labor in the Lord: Verily there is a reward for the Righteous: Mark the upright man, and consider the perfect; for the end of that man is peace. After two days He will revive such as return, and in the third day He will raise them up; and this is a strange cure indeed, for such a wound to be so soon cured, in two days! This is won∣derful; when, as David cries out, My wounds stink, and are corrupt; when, with onah, the Soul lies in the bottom of Hell, and cries out, The Earth with her bars is about me for ever; when all hope of life is taken a∣way, and the Soul concludes, My wound is incurable; yet within two days a cure is wrought, the case is alter∣ed; the man possessed with a Devil now sits at the feet of Jesus, sober and clothed. Here is a Physician of value indeed; That when Peter sleeps fast bound be∣tween two Souldiers, and the next day 'tis concluded

He should be brought forth to be executed; then in a nick of time an Angel is sent, the chains fall off, and the iron gates open of their own accord, and Peter is delivered; At midngiht a cry was heard, The Bride∣groom cometh. In a moment, in a time unthought of, the stream is turned: Though grief endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning: 'tis soon done, but a word with Christ; Peace, be still, and a great calm is wrought: Speak but the word (saith the Centurion) and my servant shall be healed. After two days He will revive us. But,

How doth He revive? what way takes He to it?

1. He takes off all the bonds and chains and fetters that hamper and keep down the Soul: He lets the Prisoners go free, and so makes a release. The Enemy comes in, with many fears and perplexities, and mists of darkness, and hard conclusions; Sure God hath for∣saken and left me for ever; I shall come to nothing; He hath brought me into this wilderness to destroy me: These bonds lie hard, and oppress and keep down the Soul. But now Christ comes and discharges the Ene∣my, and takes him that doth let and will let out of the way: All iniquity is made to stop her mouth; and the poor hath hope: And this is one way he takes to re∣vive.

2. Christ revives and chears the Soul by unswadling and opening Himself to it: I am Joseph your Brother: And this revives the heart indeed, when Christ is open∣ed and revealed to be within, when the Soul is made to see it is of kinde to Christ, of the same stock, having the same Father: He that sanctifies, and they that are sanctified, are all of one. When this is opened, that there can be a clear witnessing, This is the voyce of my

Beloved; This is He my Soul longed for: He is come, He is come, as the Martyr cryed out at the stake: and they in Isaiah, This is our God, we have waited for him; we will rejoyce and be glad in his Salvation. This is a reviving Cordial.

3. He revives the Soul by preaching Peace and good-will to it: When this voyce comes nigh, Peace be to this house: Christ is called the Prince of peace, and none can speak peace to the Soul but He onely; and before He comes and gets up in the heart, there is nothing but mists and darkness and confusions, per∣plexities and troubles, which vex and disquiet the Soul: but Christ comes preaching Peace to them that are nigh, and them that are afar off: That message is brought by an Angel, Peace be on Earth, and good-will towards men. And this revives the heart, to have these glad tydings of peace published, to have peace in all thy ways, peace at home, and peace abroad, peace in thy coming in, and peace in going out: Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. This is a way of sweetness indeed.

4. He revives the Soul by preaching the everlast∣ing Gospel to it. There is a Gospel, and an everlast∣ing Gospel; the Gospel is offered, and tendred, and preached to all, to every Creature; I, but the ever∣lasting Gospel, the tydings of that everlasting Love and good-will to the Soul, this is another manner of Gospel, to have this preached by Christ, Fear not little flock, It is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the Kingdom: This takes and revives the heart, and chears and strengthens it, and makes it able to run through all snares and bonds and intangle∣ments, when this everlasting good-will is preach∣ed, which shall sound in the Ears to all Eternity.

And this is the second days work: After two days He will revive us, &c.

And before I leave this, I would you should enquire and see, whether you have ever known this work of Christ or not? Hath the Son ever revived you?

1. Hath Christ ever set the Prisoner free in you? Hath he taken you out of the Lions mouth? Hath He broke all your bonds and chains, fears and scruples, and unbelief, all silenced and stopped? Have you known this time, when the strong man was bound, and cast out, and spoyled of all his armor? Did ever the Father lift up his Son in your view? Were you ever yet removed out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of his dear Son? The Light might shine upon you in the first days work, in the work of the Father, as the light shines upon a wall, but enters not through it: The Light shined in the Darkness, but the Darkness compre∣hended it not. But now see, hath he translated you out of the Kingdom of Darkness into his marvelous Light? If you are not made to know clearly and distinctly where you stand, and what hath passed upon you, and what not; without this you can never go forward, unless this Son be manifest in you, this Deliverer sent from Heaven, who hath the keyes with him to open all doors, and take off all bonds and fetters of fear and unbe∣lief.

2. Have you ever known the time when Christ unswadled and opened Himself unto you? Can you tell the day and time and place and strait you were at, when this was opened clearly, I am Joseph your Brother? This was a reviving indeed; if your Souls ever had such an Answer as this in such a strait, this would call, and raise up from the dead. And then,

3. Have you ever heard that everlasting Gospel

of Love and good-will preached? That you are indeed his chosen, that you have a seed of his own in you, that you were chosen in the well-beloved before the founda∣tions of the World were layd? However we may lean, and hope, and expect, and promise our selves, yet till this everlasting Gospel be preached to us, we are but uncertain in the bottom of all, and, for ought we know, may be for ever miserable.