The churches thank-offering to God her King, and the Parliament, for rich and ancient mercies; her yeares of captivity; her first yeare of iubile; that is, for the marvelous deliverances wrought with God the first wonderfull yeare (since the yeare 88) beginning at September 1640. and ending the ninth of the same moneth following: in all which time, the Lord appeared for his church, as in the dayes of old, out of the middest of the bush, so the church burn'd with fire, and was not consumed. In the preface, the thank-offering is vindicated, and set free, from all the cavills and charges against it; where also it is cleared to be, as every mans duty, so every mans purpose, to offer willingly now, who doth not make full proofe, that he falls short of pagan, papist or atheist; and is wilfully resolved to walk crosse to the most supreme law, the highest reason, and the unquestionable will of God.

¶ 7.

THe Church blesseth Gods wonderfull worke in you, and by you and for you; That you have protested to take the Lord for your God; So you have provided for the Churches security, what ever times may come: for you have brought her into COVENANT with her God. I know that is a thing the Church doth mind every Month, I may say, every Day, and can doe it without you; but not in such a way, as you have done it, in a Nationall way, which you, and none but you, can doe. You could make a Covenant betweene GOD and betweene all the People, that they should bee the LORDS PEO∣PLE a 1.1.

The Church will put a Question to you now, not to pose you, for you are wise, and she knowes the Answer before hand, and would have you know it, yet better. She would know, How you brought this worke about.

Your answer is, Not by your strength, nor by your wisdome, but by the good hand of God upon you, so you brought it about; and so you shewed mercy to your soules, and to the whole Nation.

And thereby the Lord would make you know, That He intended, by you, to doe the Nation good assuredly, with His whole heart, and with His whole soule. The Church hath heard and understands well all the exploits you have done ever since; such as seeme marvellous workes and wonders in the eyes and eares of the multitude; yet to her, they seem (great mercies indeed) but no strange matters, no wonders at all No? no;

1. The Church knowes you had a liberty granted to continue your Session, as long as you will, that is, till you have done Gods will, for Hee procured that grant unto you; this Grant, though shee counts it an exceeding mercy: Yet she doth not count it a won∣der.

2. The Church knowes that you marched valiantly, and trod down

strength: You rent a Lyon without hands, as easie as a man, with both his hands, can rent a kid; and yet this the Church accounts no strange thing neither.

3. The Adversary and enemy had made a breach great like the Sea b 1.2; We asked, Who can make it up? Who can heale it? You could, and you did it, and y••u shall be called the Repayrers of the breaches: You stood in that Gappe, and you made it up; the grea∣test worke that ever was done by M••n, since that Breach was made up betwixt God and Man; since that PACIFICATION made by the MAN CHRIST IESVS; And yet this worke doth not seem strange to the Church Nay, should any one of you tell the Church, That since the Day you entred into the Protestation, the Adversary made great breaches upon your soule, and the Lord made them all up: Temptations came-in upon you like a flood; The Spirit of the Lord set-up a Standard against them c 1.3, they could doe you no hurt, but good a great deale: should you tell the Church so, she would not thinke it strange Should your thoughts stray a little from out this yeare, vvhere vve suppose we are, unto the next, when some say (but they are much mistaken, or see and will not see) that God did no∣thing for you, but against you, and then should you tell the Church, what she knowes well;

That your Soule was amongst Lyons, and yet not devoured; That you did lye amongst those that were set on fire, and yet not consu∣med; none of all this could the Church call wonderfull, or thinke strange. Nay, to expresse it as fully as I am able; Were all the wild∣fire in England (the Church heares the Land is well st••red with it now, and ••he expects it shall be hurled in her face, and throwne into her bosome, she is the But and White, against which the Malignants levell all this, this she knowes, but she is fearelesse) were all this, I say, gathered up and rowled together into one Ball, and then with 500. hands, nay with the whole Arme of flesh, hurled into your Court, and the Church should be told, that the fire tooke not, not one sparke kindled there; not one haire of any head there vvas touched; the Church could not count this vvonderfull neither, no such strange mat∣ter. Why? Because you have protested to take God for your God. You are a pe••ple in Covenant vvith Him; you are sworne Servants to Him; He must protect His sworne Servants; when you are brought to the brinke of destruction, to a precipice (so we must understand it, some ex••gence, some knotty businesse, that all the fingers in the world cannot undoe) such a strait as this: when at one shocke, three king∣domes must be cast downe, if God helpes not * 1.4: I say, in such an ex∣igence, God must helpe. He stands bound to it; You have protested to take Him for your God: He hath protested to take you for his peo∣ple. You have sworne, and by the good hand of God upon you, you vvill stand to the Oath; and He hath sworne: by what? By Himself (by all that is in Himselfe, and He is all;) You vvill stand to your

Oath, that's supposed; He vvill stand to His Oath, that must not be doubted. You rejoyced at the Oath; He vvill rejoyce over you to do you good: It must be so, ye have strucke hands together. Ye may say, The Lord must remember me. How? with the favour He heareth unto His people d 1.5. He must visit me now with His Salvations, that is with a great Salvation. When I am at the pits brinke, one shocke throwes me downe, then, vvith reverence be it spoken, He must de∣liver me. He must come-in at the fourth-watch: when there is no helpe from Earth, then the Arme of the Lord must be revealed from Heaven. I am His and He my God, a God in Covenant. The OATH of GOD is betwixt us; by His good hand upon me, I will stand to it, and then He must stand by me. I am thine •• save * 1.6 me. It vv••s Davids argument, and prevailed still, SAVE me, for I TRƲST in THEE. The Church saith, it had beene a vvonder if God had not done for you even so, for you are His sworne Ser∣vants.

The Church commands me now to proceed on in declaring this won∣derfull worke, vvhich the Lord so strangely, and as graciously (by your meanes) brought about, To bring your selves and the Nation into Covenant with Himselfe. I shall not meddle vvith the severall heads or charges in the same, vvhich vvould take up more roomth, then her•• can be allowed. Religion is the chiefe head (there are the spirits) and a great binder it is, it bindes a people to their God; and God to the people. I proceed herein in this order, first;

• 1. What this PROTESTATION is to you, and all that stand to it.
• 2. What a discovering note it is to your Adversaries.
• 3. The Church will put-up a short prayer to her God.
• 4. Then a Supplication to you.

In all this, you shall have but an Abstract, out of a large Vo∣lume or Theame, rather nothing taken thence, but an addition there∣unto.

Notes

• a 1.1

  2 Chro. 23. ••••
• b 1.2

  Lam 2. 23.
• c 1.3

  Esa. 54 19
• * 1.4

  Nodus vindice dignus. When the Gib∣bet is up & Mor∣decai designed to it the next day, then it's Gods t••me to work••: it is ••or His Glory t•• deferre ••o long; and for the ••lory of His faithful∣nesse to de••er no longer 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Chrys Tom. 4. Epist. 1.
• d 1.5

  Ps. 106. 4.
• * 1.6

  Ps 7. 1.