WHeresoever you finde the word (behold) writ­ten, you finde something more then ordinary following it, something very excellent, very admirable, and wonderfull, and also some­thing very terrifying and amazing, by reason of the great destruction which attends it: which things at their appearing let them be either joyous or grievous, they will cause great admiration, great wondering and great astonishment, upon all peo­ple, and paleness upon all faces: here followeth this word (be­hold) [Page 2] joy, peace, rest, salvation with eternall glory; also fear, trouble, confusion plagues, Judgments with eternal misery. Therefore Hear ye dispisers, and wonder, and perish; and hear ye Saints, and in hearing rejoyce, and blesse his name who is your King, and com­ing now with clouds; which appearing will cause great joy of heart, and great sorrow of heart; ye shall joy for joy of heart, and they shall sorrow for sorrow of heart; for here is life and death, joy and peace hasting on apace; for the Lords warning peece is shot off upon the world, to give warning to the world of the coming of Jesus Christ, and that there is such a thing, reade Phil. 3. 20. Our conversation is in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour. Heb. 9. 28. And unto them that look for him, he shall appear the second time, &c Titus 2. 13. Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God, Revel. 22. 20. Loe I come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus; This coming of Jesus Christ will be a coming to the purpose; his second coming therefore hear ye sons and daughters of Jerusalem, your King is come, and yet coming still, but it is a cloudy coming or appearing. He that you have waited for so long, and looked for with so many a long look, with fetch­ing of many a long sigh and groane, and in the bottome of your sigh was written, Lord! when wilt thou appear? why, behold he is now coming to thee, oh thou afflicted soul, to ease thee of all thy troubles, and to deliver thee from al thy many sufferings, which thou hast suffered, for this many thousand years, by thy own evill heart and fleshly minde, and also by wicked men, which hated thee and thy King; therefore now lift up your heads, and cast sorrow from your heart, for he that is your joy, is descended the second time, behold he cometh.

Here are three things considerable in these words, first, who it is that proclaims this news, with a behold he cometh, it is the Lord by the mouth of John.

Secondly, what it is he proclaimes, it is of the coming of Iesus Christ, Sions King.

Thirdly, to whom it is proclaimed, it is to all the world, good and bad, godly and prophane, and the reason why it is proclaimed to all, is, because all shall see him, and every eye shall see him; The first appearing of this King is a cloudy appearing, and this cloudy ap­pearing, will be a dark, tempestuous, confused, and destructive ap­pearing, [Page 3] and also bloudy, and for the proofe of this, read Isaiah 50. 3. Psal. 97. 1. The Lord raignes, let the earth rejoyce, and the multitude of the Isles be glad thereof, clouds and darkness are round about him, and Psalm. 18. 9. The Lord bowed the Heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet. This Scripture is fulfil­ling in this your dayes the second time, and then it will be finished; The Lord raigns, do not ye see and feel his power? and if not, why do ye tremble, oh ye Inhabitants of the Earth? Psalm. 99. 1. The Lord raigneth, let the people tremble, and let the Earth be mo­ved; Ye finde it also in the Text, and that cloudy raigning there mentioned, or coming, is now, The Lord is entered his Throne upon Earth, but entered with clouds and darkness, and sits there with clouds and darkness round about him; There is a three-fold appearing of this King upon Earth, for to be, first with Clouds, and that is now.

Secondly, with his Spirit, and that is neer the pouring forth.

Thirdly, with the brightness of his coming, 2. Thessalon. 2. 8. Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. And all these appearings will be in order, according to the order of God, and all of them destructive to the world, and to all things below God, and therefore the word Mystery is brought in; The first appearing of this King upon the Throne, is such a dark and cloudy appearing, that he is scarce known to be there, because his first appearing and power is a cloudy appearing and power, but the second will be more light because spirituall, and therefore more destructive then the cloudy; And the third will be more excellent, more powerfull then both, because it will bring along with it the perfect brightness of your King, and a perfect brightness of his glo­ry, shining out to the view of all the world, which glory will not only consume, but destroy all seeming glorious good and excellent things; I say, the first appearing of this King is so dark and cloudy, that it is hard to be known, whether he be come to sit upon the throne of Judgment or no; and the reason why the Lord comes first with clouds, is, because he taketh great delight to let his Israel know, first, of him, and where he is, whether in the place he spake of returning to, Hosea, 5. 15. or whether risen out of his holy ha­bitation, [Page 4] Zecha. 2. 13. Be silent oh all flesh before the Lord, for this my Lord the King is risen up out of his holy habitation; and that the Lord lets some of his Israel know and understand where he is, whe­ther come down, or not come down, witness Noah, Genesis 6. 13. witness Abraham, Genesis 18. 17, 18. Witness Lot, Gen. 19. 12, 13. witness all the Prophets, and among the rest, Huldah, 2 Cron. 34. 22. And witness Ezek. 4. 1. and 12. v. Witness Daniel, Dan. 10. 14. and 21. Now I come to make thee understand what is noted in the Scripture of truth. Witness the language of Paul, 1 Thess. 5. 4. But you bretheren are not in darkness, that that day should take you as a thief; witness John, who saw by clouds the Lord coming to Judgment, and witness oh thou my soul, to the coming of Jesus thy King, and long-lookt-for Lord and Saviour; but let me tell you one thing by the way, and that is this, the Lord hath yet Mes­sengers for to raise up, and to send forth, which Messengers mouths he will fill largely with good news, and that with great power too, and the news will be this (behold your King) Isaiah 52. 7. But his appearing as yet is but a dark and cloudie appearing, so his Mes­sengers dark and cloudie Messengers; see what order there is in the goings of this King; look to it worldlings, and watch ye Saints, for the Lord my King is risen out of his holy habitation, Jer. 25. 30, 33. The Lord shall roare from on high, and utter his voyce from his holy habitation, I must say the Lord does, the word shall is forgotten with my King, and the word does is come in the roome of it: therefore be silent oh all flesh before the Lord; for he hath a controversie with you all, and he is in this your day come downe to put an end to the controversie, Jer. 30. A noyse shall come even to the ends of the Earth, for the Lord hath a controver­sie with the nations, he will plead with all flesh, and give them that are wicked to the Sword, and they shall pass from end to end: why, the noyse is come, and the controversie is in dispute: what, do not ye hear the voice of God? he calleth to you all, not one is except­ed that is this day in the world, and the voice is, Hear oh ye Priest, and hearken ye house of the Kings, and give ear oh ye house of Is­rael, Hosea 5. 1. Here is Kings, Priests, and Israel, I must put in one number more; that is, all ye people of the world, because the Lord is come to end his controversie with all flesh, therefore not one shall escape, no, not Kings, and for you oh Emperors, Kings, and [Page 5] Rulers, and Princes of the earth; I must tell you one sad thing, you and your names are dying, and your Crowns are taking off from your heads throughout the world, and the Saints King, Jesus by name, the ancient of dayes, Son, the Lord of Hosts, righteous Branch, he shall be set up King in your rooms. And thats the reason why he is coming now with clouds, and it will not be long ere all the King­doms of the world be broken down, nay, they are in this your day ruining by the King of Kings. Dan. 2. 44. In the day of these Kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shal break in pieces all other Kingdoms; Where do you think to stand, O wordlings! who have made gods of earthly Kings, ye and your gods are fallen, like the Philistims false gods, and shall never be remembred more▪ I must confess with you, God by his own providence suffered Kings in the earth for to be, and caused them there for to reign, but now their reign is almost up, and their glory is almost at an end, and when it is not almost, but altogether up, then the Lord will do to you, as he did to Nebucadnezar; let me tell you, O Kings, you are all weighed in the ballance of the King of Kings, and being weighed, you are found too light, and I hear a voice from the Lord, saying to you all, as the Lord said to Belshazer, The Kingdoms are departing from you, and are to be divided among them, who are more fit to reign then you a great deal, this a mystery to you, Dan. 4. 31. Dan 5. 20. The Lord is come to unthrone you all, O Kings! and that is the judgment of the Lord upon you in this your day, but doth that he doth, after a cloudy manner, that you cannot understand nor see, and therefore you contend for your Crown still, but the Lord will con­quer you, and therefore is he risen to unthroan all, Haggai. 2. 22. I will overthrow the Throan of Kingdoms, and bring down the power of Nations, and their riders shall come down every one by the sword of his brother; Take notice how they shall come down, and see if the Lord be not risen to pull down all powers; hear again what the Lord saith, and in his word manifests that he regards no power, but that that is righteous and just, like himself, and if they be not so, he will unthroan them all, and therefore it is he is come, Eze. 21. 25. your day is come, all ye Rulers of the earth, in the which your iniquity shall have an end, therefore thus saith the Lord, remove the Diadem, take off the Crown, this shall not be the same, exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high, for I will overturn, overturn, overturn, and it shall be no [Page 6] more untill he come, whose right all is. Let me tell you all that are in power, let it be kingly, or not kingly, you shall all be overturned, and for the Kings of the earth, if they were once as the signet upon the Lords right hand, yet now their time is come of being pluckt from thence: Oh how all the world startles at the footsteps of the Lord upon earth, being they are cloudy, dark, bloody, and tempe­stuous steps; indeed well ye may fear, when the Lord appears sur­rounded with clouds and tempests; who is he that will not fear, and be in great trouble in that day? why this is the day, Psal. 50. 3. Our God is come, ye must now reade it; the verse indeed runs Our God shall come and shall not keep silence, a fire shall devoure before him, and it shall be tempestuous round about him. Esay 30. 30. The Lord shall cause his glorious voyce to be heard, and shall shew the light­ning down of his arm, with indignation of his anger, with the flames of devouring fire, scattering hail-stones and tempests: you know clouds are the forerunners of storms and tempests; and this the cloudy ap­pearing of the Lord hath caused for to be, great storms, and amongst many, one is this, the storm of war, Esay 3. 25. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war, Is it not thus? let me tell you, the war that is now in the world, is the war that Christ spake of long ago, and that was the war of wars, though not the first, yet the last war, and that war is the confused, and unnaturall war, a war ha­ving many divisions in it, Luke 12. 51, 52▪ 53▪ here is division upon di­vision, the father and the son, the mother and the daughter, each one against the other, and a war that causeth most to be offended; Matt. 24. 10. Then shall many be offended and betray one another, and hate one another, it is an iniquity-abounding war, verse 12. great tribulation attending of it, vers. 21. This shall be in the day of the Son of man; how is it, that ye do not discern this time? you shall hear of wars, saith Christ, but not only kingdom against kingdom, but kingdoms divided, Cities, Towns, and Families divided, and di­visions in every mans heart too, as well as in the kingdoms. Hear all once more, The Lord is come down with a sword in his hand, which sword hath a long time been bathed in heaven, and now it is fallen upon every accursed thing, or upon the people of his Curse. Esa. 34. 5. Come near O Nations, and hear, Kings, Priests, and People, and thou Israel, for you are all turned out of the way, and now the Lord hath met with you; look how every man comes bleeding back, some die in [Page 7] the place where the Lord met them, and some falne by the way in their retreat; We have all turned aside from the Lord, and therefore wo be unto us, Esay 10. 1, 2, 3, 4. Wo be unto them that decree unrigh­teous decrees, and turn aside the needy from judgment, and take away the right from the poor, that widows may be their prey; O how is this Scripture fulfilled in this our age, therefore all our glory is like to come down, nay, it is falling, it is falling▪ it is falling, for the Sword is drawn; I must call it the Sword of the Lord, the Lords sacrificing Sword, which will not regard, neither Kings, Priests, nor People, because all are falne from the Lord, Jer. 6. 13. For from the least of them to the greatest, from the People even unto the Priest, all are given unto covetousness; Israel, thou art not out of the num­ber, the Lord hath a controversie with you among the rest, Hosea 4. 1, 2, 3. Hear the word of the Lord, ye are all unclean, and a pollu­ted generation, fit for nothing but to fall by the Sword of the Lord, and to be devoured by the fire of his jealousie, not regarding Kings. Ezec. 39. 18. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the Princes of the earth, every one hath taken of the accursed thing, and every one shall drink of the bloud which his bathed Sword lets out, and therefore the Lord hath called for a Sword, Esa. 13. 3. I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have called my mighty ones for my anger; vers. 11. He will punish for iniquity, and cause the proud to cease; vers. 12. The Lord will make a man more precious then the fine gold: behold this is the day, the Sword of the Lords vengeance is come down in this the day of the Lords vengeance, and in the year of the recompence of the controversie of Sion, therefore behold the day of the Lord God of Hoasts, the day of his vengance, a day of wrath, a day of trouble, of distress, of wastings, of clouds, of thick darkness that no man knows where he is, for every man walks up and down like blind men▪ & that is the reason that every man runs upon the sword of his brother, friends: All things, and all powers, and all practises are corrupt, and perfectly corrupt, and this cloudy power is to destroy them, and now being come destroy he will, and that Nations, not a few, and for that end the Lord hath called for a Sword, and this Sword shall enter into all the inhabitable parts of the earth. Me thinks I see, where the Lord hath called up his sancti­fied ones, and I hear him still calling them up in all the kingdoms of the world, and ere long you shall hear of the Sword of the Lord [Page 8] being drawn, and sheathed in the sides of all Kingdoms by a civill war; England, thou hast begun to drink blood, and thou shalt yet drink one draught more to all the world, and they shall pledge thee round in a bowl of blood again, for the Lord will give them all blood to drink; therefore Hear all ye sanctified ones of the Lord, whom he hath called up to offer up a sacrifice of blood, in what Nation, or Kingdom so ever you are, Esay 13. 3. Esay 54. 16. The Lord hath created you for to destroy, and called you to do that, that never was done, and to unthroan that never was unthroaned throughout the world, yea, and that quickly. Jer. 25. 26. And all the Kings of the North far and neer, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth; wherefore look now on your left side, for there, I suppose is a sword, it is the Lords bathed sword, his sacrificing sword, the sword of the Lords vengance; turn you whether you will, ye shall never be prevailed against, so as to be conquered by a sword of steel of the world, you shall have power to conquer all, and so to overturn all, and to break down all powers, wayes, and governments; but let me tell you one thing, you shall never have power to settle any thing, for ye have not wisdom enough, nor is it any of your work; that is the Lords: do you yours, and let the Lord alone with his, and take heed of abusing your power, and corrupting of it with injustice, if you do, God will raise up a more refined power then yours, and more just, and conquer you, who have been conquerors, and send you to your graves in blood; for this is the bloody age, and when you are gone, the Lord my King will arise, and by his glorious light conquer the most just and most refined conquerers, and so you shall all fall, by the Sword of the Lord, and the last power by the light of the some Lord, in the day of the Lords spiritual and light appearing; This is the cloudy day of the Lord, and the day in which he judges men by the sword, and therefore it is no more mans, but the Lords, Jer. 12. 12 The Spoylers are come up upon all high places, and the sword of the Lord shall devoure from one end of the world to the other, and no flesh shall have peace. A second reason why the Lord comes with clouds, and blood, is this, because his feet stand upon a place where much blood hath been spilt, Rev. 17. 6. I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the Mar­tyrs of Jesus; You Kings and Rulers of the Earth, you have spilt [Page 9] the blood of the Saints by your Law throughout the world, And the Lord my King is come down to follow you throughout the world again, for to give you a deadly draught, and to avenge the blood of his Saints, and so give you blood for blood, Rev. 8. 6. In the cup which she hath filled, fill to her the double, to her utter ruine and perfect removing, 14. ver. and Rev. 16. 6. Oh nations! the cup of the fierceness of the wrath of God is put into your hand by my King, and I cannot but tell you of it, You have drunke blood, oh Kings, for many an Age, and now the Age is up, and time fulfilled, and you shall drink blood again oh Rulers, and all people, Isaiah 49. 25. I will contend with them that contend with thee, I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh, and they shall be drunken with their own blood, let me tell you oh Kings, and all ye Rulers of the earth, from the first day ye wore a Crown, and had power put into your hand, even unto this my day, you have all along slain better then your selves, and each one of them resembled the per­son of a King, and now the Lord is come with Clouds to make inquiry who they were you slew, you have the type in Judges 8. 18. Then said he unto Zeba and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor? And they answered, as thou art, so were they, each one resembling the person of a King; They were my bre­thren, even the sons of my mother, hadst thou saved them; I would not have slain you. Here is a mysterie, but now the time of slaying is come, slay I must, This is the dispensation of the Lord through­out the world, and all this ariseth from the Lords being Generall of all Armyes, which are sanctified by him for this work, Rev. 19. 11, 12, 13. v. And he was cloathed in a vesture dipt in blood; ye have great trouble in the Earth, and all ariseth this day from the Lords being come with clouds, and by reason of his cloudie pre­sence▪ all Councels are darkned, and all powers are broken down, let them be powers temporall or spirituall, as you call them, and therefore the Lord hath it mentioned three times, overturn, overturn, overturn, untill he come whose right it is, and he will give it him: indeed it is my happiness that the Lord will do this; for by this I know, I shall in due time be perfect, as my heavenly Father is per­fect, but for the present, there is nothing in my heart, nor in the world, but that that is fit for ruine, for truth is fallen in the street, equity cannot enter into her kingdom, nor the heart; worldly [Page 10] wisdome is turned to folly, Isaiah 29. 14. Spirituall and heavenly wisdome, that is returned into the Fathers bosome, Isaiah 41. 28. There is not a man, no not yet a Counsellor among you all, that is able to answer the Lord a word, if he should ask you, out of the Cloud, what you are doing, for he hath taken away all wisdome from you; Is wisdome no more? is Councell perished from the pru­dent? is their wisdome vanished? Jer. 49. 7. Yes, the Lord hath destroyed all the wise men of the world, or else turned their wis­dome into foolishness, Obadiah 8. verse. Shall I not in that day destroy the wise men, and the understanding men? In what day, oh Lord my King? why, in my cloudy day, in a day which I come to recompense, with an overturning all, and making the earth empty, and in turning all out of the world that is in it, Isaiah 24. 1. I will make the earth empty, make it waste, and turne it upside down, Oh! what haste the Lord maketh to finish his work in the world, my King turneth and turneth, removeth and scattereth, and yet not a man takes notice of it, and I beholding my father, cannot but speak to you, and therefore awake oh soules, for me thinks I hear Israel begin to sing in this the cloudy day of God, Isaiah 24. 14. They shall lift up their voice, and shall sing for the Majestie of the Lord, and shall cry aloud from the Sea; but for thee oh world, wisdome and understanding hath left thee, and the Lord hath befooled all thy Counsels, and put a spirit of fear into the heart of every man, and whatsoever men do, they do in fear and much trouble, for this is the fearfull Age; Hath not the Lord scattered all power? being but corrupted, tyrannicall, beastly power, so that there is no way left to save the kingdomes of the world, no, nor thee oh England, but by another manner of power, thou dreamest of, but I see; for that way, by which the Lord once saved kingdomes, is now become the only way to ruine king­domes; And by this you may see that this cloudie appearing of my Lord, hath turned the world upside down, this is the Lords un­throning day, it is the Worlds-power-changing day, and it is a flesh-ruining day, and for this end the Lord is come out of his place with clouds, for to punish the Inhabitants of the earth, for their in­iquity, and to cause it to disclose its blood, and therefore it shall no more cover the slain, Isaiah 26. 21. At this Scripture in his fulfil­ling, even in this our day, the earth shakes and trembles, Psal. 18. 7. [Page 11] He hath made great divisions in the world, great commotions there are, troubles and fears, shakings and tremblings, hearts-fail­ings, and faith-dying, the whole land is barren of faith, the way of truth is hid; Wit, that hath hid it selfe, and understanding hath withdrawn it self, into its secret chamber indeed, it is sought of many, but not found; for unrighteousness, and unconstancy pros­pereth upon earth; Friends, the world is grown very weak, by reason of age, and therefore needs must the evils be very great that are upon it, I, and so they are, for my heart can say Amen to this evill world; These are the evill dayes, the perilous dayes, the sin-multiplying dayes, dayes, in which the word (do violence to no man is forgotten) and for love in the spirit, it cannot be found in neither kingdome, nor heart. Judgment and Justice, with all the other righteous streames is departed, and run sarre away, from Kings, Princes, Rulers, Judges, Magistrates, Priests, people, and from thee oh Israel too, and therefore the Lord is come down to destroy all, Jer. 7. 28. Oh England, thou art the nation of all nati­ons that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord, Isa. 59 3, 4. and so along to the 15. ver. Your hands, oh people, throughout the Land are de­filed with blood, your fingers with iniquity, your lips speak nothing but lies; not a man in thee oh England acts in a just way, not any plead for truth, The way of peace ye know not, there is no Judg­ment in your goings, ye grope like blinde men, and are in desolate places, as dead men, sin and iniquity is grown almost to the height in thee oh Land, and therefore now behold the Lord, Isa. 59. 16, 17. I saw, and there was no man, and therefore behold, I the Lord will put on righteousness as a breast plate, with salvation and ven­geance, for to repay every man; Ye have lost all, oh ye Kings, and Rulers, people, and Ministers of all Lands; for Gospel-light and truth, is taken away by the Lord from you, as well as judgment, justice, and righteousness from Kings, and Rulers, Isaiah 29. 10, 11. The vision of all is become unto you as a book sealed; Hear oh ye Ministers! your gifts are perished, and quite blasted, and your sheep are scattered, Hosea 4. 6. Think what you will, your gifts are perished, although you may say, it is not so, Jer. 18. 18. Ye and [...] gifts are lost, and the judgment of the Lord is upon you, as well as upon Kings and Rulers, for the night of darkness which the Lord spake of long agoe, is fallen upon you all, and darkness [Page 12] hath covered you all, even thick darkness, Micah 3. 6, 7. Here is mischief upon mischief to the purpose, Ezek. 7. 26. Kings, Priests, and people, and thou oh Israel, ye are all turned backward; The wise men shall be turned backward, so that the way of truth, and Gospel-light is hid from you all, your condition hath been a pe­rishing condition many hundred years, Prov. 29 18. Where there is no vision the people perish, The word of the Lord is a precious thing; and it is grown very precious amongst us; Ruling in judg­ment is very precious, Magistracy according to the order of God is very precious too, for I know not where it is; There is a perfect losse of all Iustice and Iudgment, righteousness and truth, there is a famine upon you all; Kings and Rulers they are famished, and lost in their judgment, Ministers and people they are famished too, for the Gospel-knowledg of the Lord, which is bread indeed, is taken by the Lord from you all, yea, and my very pen speaks out to you all, that I am one, whose soul is half famished for want of bread, what a cloudy day are we in? it is no wonder to me to see the Lord come now with Clouds to overturn all, because all is grown corrupt, and fit for nothing else, for the wisdome of both Kings, Priests, and people, and thou oh Israel, is all turned into folly, our knowledg into ignorance, and our light into darkness, and our peace into trouble, & this is by reason of the Lords being come down for to fight against all Nations, and all things, and to plead with all flesh, for with fire and with sword the Lord is now pleading with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord are many, and shall be more, and the Lord is gathering all together for that end, Zepha. 3. 8. O world! me thinks I hear a rumor from my Lord, and I see, an Embassadour which is sent from the Lord to all the world, to tell them they must gather themselves together for ruine, Esay 24. 22. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered together, Who? why Kings, and the host of the high ones, that are on high; The dayes in which we live are the Lords gathering dayes, Joel 3. vers. 2. The Lord does gather, and that round the world, and all Ploughshares are a beating into swords, and Pruning-hooks into spears, and you will see all kingdoms watered with blood ere long, clouds full of blood, and sea full of blood, and the whole world full of blood too, and a man shall come to be more precious then the golden wedge of Ophire; therefore you that are for the sword, and you that are for [Page 13] the famine, to the famine, and you that are for the pestilence, to the pestilence, for this is the great day of the Lord, his dividing day, his cloudy dividing day, his cloudy gathering day, and his cloudy ruining day: your day is come, O worldlings! and now fall you must▪ for you are but the left hand hoast of God; the Lord hath two great hosts, that have lived together many a day, let them alone till the harvest, saith Christ; now the harvest is ready, and therefore ye begin to fall; I saw the hoast of heaven, 1 King. 22. 29. Here is two hoasts, and these are called multitudes, Joel 3. 14. And these multitudes are gathered together by the Lord into the valley of Je­hosaphat; and by reason of the multitudes, it is turned into a valley, decision, all the world is turned into Jehosaphats valley, or into a valley of decision in the world; nay it is, for the Lord is come, and by his cloudy appearing, hath made a great division in the world. Thy King, O Sion is come, and the end of his coming is, to take thee from the enemies, and the enemies from thee, and the world from both, and when this old world is gone, thy kingdom and glory is gone, O worldling! the Lord is making great hast to remove you, and for that end he is gathering you, Ezeck 38. 14, 15, 16. In these verses they gather, vers. 18. the Lord rises up, at vers. 19. they shake at his rising, and Israel also, and they fall in Ezeck. 39. 4. Thou maist read thy doom here O worldling! ye are in gathering by the Lord, and ye are, and shall be slain by the Lord, and his Israel, do, and shall go away conquerers, and sing praises to their King, who hath taken to himself his great power, and reigns, although it be but with clouds, and as his coming is a cloudy coming, so his wrath that he poures forth is a cloudy wrath; the day of the Lords wrath is come, and yet still to come, and it hasteth greatly, thou hast outward tem­porall wrath falne upon thee from the Lord, and therefore ye are intombed in your own blood; the Lord hath waited long upon the world, for their filling up the measures of their fathers wrath, and now they are full; the world is full of evill and darkness, hands full, and minds full, and hearts full, and now behold he is come to re­compence wickedness filled up to the brim, with plagues filled up to the brim, and my King hath begun with the plague of the sword, called by the name of a Sicle, Joel 3. 13. and in verse 9. A Sword; you wonder a at these strange things that befall you, and you say in your trouble, you think the world is almost at an end; why, thy [Page 14] world, O worlding! is almost at an end, it shakes mightily, it reels a­pace, and would quickly fall, were but thy doom read to thee; you shall receive your doom here, and sentence in this world, where you have passed sentence upon so many of the Lords heritage; thy sen­tence hath been upon them, Let them die the death, Psal. 94. 21. They gathered themselves together against the souls of the righteous, and condemned the innocent blood; the very same sentence is pas­sed upon thee from the Lord with a wo, Esay 33. 1. Wo to thee that spoilest and wast not spoiled. and Esay 54. 17. wo be to you indeed, for you have risen up against the Lords heritage, and now the Lord is risen up against you; you have judged the Fathers beloved many thousand years, and he is now come for to judg you; and the first Judgment is this, a wounding you all with a taking peace, rest, and quietness from you, and so taking, that you shall never see it more, because the day of the Lord is come, the day which thou hast so long desired, with a praying Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, and Hallowed be thy Name; thou mayst now, it may be, call to minde what you have said all of you, and whom you are angry with: how many times have you said, Hallowed by thy Name, Thy kingdom come? you little know what you said, and what you desired; you prayed for the Lord to come and glorifie his name, which you, and I, and all the world have prophaned all our dayes; and you prayed for the Lords Power, Justice, and Judgments to fall upon you; behold it is come according to your desire, although it be with clouds, and that is the reason why Kings fall, and lose their Crowns and Thrones too; the Lord, the Lord of hoasts my King, whose possession all the kingdoms are, is come, and earthly Kings have, do, and shall perfectly fall before him, for all kingdoms are the Lords, and he is now come for to take possession of them, Dan. 7. 13, 14. Behold one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the an­cient of dayes, and there was given to him dominion, glory, and a king­dom; what wilt thou do, O world? now thy long desire is granted, or where will ye stand, the Saints fear, and are so moved, they cannot tell where to stand: Mal. 3. 2. But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? Behold he is come, and you are doubly miserable by it, and in a worse condi­tion then ever you were, for there went out a wo against you long a­go for this thy desire, Amos 5. 18. Wo unto you that desire the day [Page 15] of the Lord, for the day of the Lord is darkness and not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it, therefore what profit hast thou by it, but rather trouble, fear, with great astonishments, and sorrow added, and in stead of a Lyon, a Lyon and a Bear, and a Serpent too, for to bite, and to tear, and who shall deliver you out of his hand? you are hurt, and in trouble, and yet you cannot tell who hurt you; why, it is the Lord, and nothing but the Lord, and he is come for to gather you for destruction; the day of the Lords gathering is the day of the worlds reeling too and fro, Esay 24. 19. The earth reels too and fro (I must reade it) and is removing like a Cottage, and the transgressions thereof are heavie upon it, and shall fall and never rise a­gain; there are great breakings up and great cries in verse 11. and the 21. the Lord punishes, the Lord is risen to the pray, do you not hear the sound of his feet? nay, ye do not only hear, but feel, not only feel but see: and yet ye cannot tell that the Lord is come down, and that is your plague, Mich. 1. 3. Behold the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth, and the mountains shall be moulten under him; you are all in great trouble and in fear, and you would fain know what the meaning of it is, and to what it will grow; thus much is the mea­ning of all your trouble, it telleth you, the Lord, and Sions King is come down upon the earth, and by reason of his presence the earth shakes, and fears and trembles, I, and sinks under him, being not able to bear his weight, nor to behold his cloudy presence; indeed it is impossible but that it should fear, for the breaker up is come up, and hath broke up. Mich. 2. 13. And Michael the Prince stands up, and my Lord is risen, and your King is before you, O Saints, this is a mystery, Dan. 12. 1. And there is now come, and for to come still, such a time of trouble as never was, for that must be shaken, ye, and is shaking that never was shaken, and that must be removed that ne­ver was removed, because that that is to be brought to my Father, is that that never yet was brought; heaven and earth must be re­moved before thy glory shall come to thee, O Israel! Oh how hea­ven and earth does shake, at this the cloudy appearing of Jesus Christ. Friends, where are you all, where do you now stand? in this the day of the Lords shaking heaven and earth; let me tell you one thing in a mystery, again, all are risen out of their seat in heaven, because of the great shaking there, and all are risen out of their [Page 16] seat on earth, and dare not sit any longer there, because of the great shaking there; Behold I shake heaven and earth, sea, and dry land, all Nations, and then the desire of all Nations shall come and fill ye all, O ye Israel, with his glory, Hag. 2. 6. Heb. 12. 26. Oh what a shaking is there of both things visible and invisible! there is a leaving strong holds visible, and a leaving strong holds invisible, let me tell you one thing more, the shaking of heaven and of earth is so great, that the Sion of God, for whose sake all this is, are but as when a standard-bearer fainteth, and for their sakes these dayes shall be shortned, Isa. 10. 17, 18. Oh what fear and trembling is there seised upon the spi­rits of all the Israel of God, who is able to behold his cloudy pre­sence! Zeph. 3. 16. When I heard, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voyce, rottennesse entered into my bones, I trembled in my self I, that I might rest in the day of trouble; when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops, The Lord in this our day is invading all lands, and his coming is with clouds; chuse whether ye will believe it or no, and this his cloudy power, hath, and will all fall upon powers, let them be powers Kingly, or powers Parliamentary, or power by Sword, ye must all fall, but the power of the sword shal be the last that shal be destroyed, I mean the last visible power: this cloudy power of the Lord is falne upon all your Idols, temporall and spirituall; and high time it is, for all lands are full of Idols, and every man boweth to them, Esay 2. 8. 9. The lofty look of man shall be humbled, and the Lord alone shall be exalted, and ye shall cast away your Idols of silver and gold, and hide your selves, if you could tell where, for fear of the Lord, and for the glo­ry of his Majesty: This day is the day of the Lord, and yet alas, ye are all so blinde, that ye look for peace, and what have you for to do with peace, are not ye all of the earth? have ye not all a wicked earthly minde, and an evil idolatrous heart, and an earthly god, called the god of this world? which god of this world hath blinded your eyes, that ye cannot tell what the Lord is doing; ye look for peace, and that is taken from the earth, Rev. 6. 4. And there went out another horse that was red, and power was given to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one ano­ther, and there was given unto him a great sword: England, what saist thou to this, and now therefore behold trouble, and trouble is most fittest for you all; O world! thou hast been a troubler of [Page 17] the Lords heritage; and O Israel! thou hast been a troubler of thy Father, and that made him return to his own place: thou O world! hast been a wonder unto death, the fathers beloved, in stead of pleading their cause, and now the Lord is come to plead the cause of his heritage himself, and for thee, O Israel! thy life hath been so wicked, and so grieving to the Spirit of God, so that thy long con­tinuance in this thy spirit-grieving way, hath wounded thy King to death in thee, and the life which thou now livest is a dead life; wounded, I say, thou hast thy dear Lord, Zach. 13. 6. What are these wounds in thy hand? these are the wounds which were given me in the house of my friend, Zach. 12. 10. The world hath wounded Christ, and his members have wounded him, and behold now the Lord is risen and come down, for to wound, and never heal, and yet for to wound and to heal, that is, for to pull down and to build, to pull down and to destroy all, both Kings; Priests, People, and thee O Israel! and to take away from us that which we are very loath for to lose, but lose it we must, being got into the cloudy day of God, and if Noah, Daniel, and Iob were in these our dayes, they should save but their own souls, Ezek. 14. 17. and 21. vers. Behold the Lord is come, do not ye hear his sound yet? how long shall the Trumpet blow, O sleepers! ere ye will awake? the Lord is come down, and walks up and down the earth, and not a man heareth him, or seeth him: this is a mystery, ye are certainly asleep, O souls! Kings, Priests, People, yea and Israel too, and that lulled asleep by the Devill into a heart-sleep, and when the heart is once asleep, the cloudy appearing of Jesus Christ cannot awaken it, and a heart-sleep is within one step of the sleep of eternall death, and if ye lie a little longer, O all ye people of the world! Lord have mercy upon you, may be written upon all your doors, for my King will pass by, and enter into his Fathers kingdom, with all his Princes, and then for to awake will be too late; what not yet? cannot ye behold my King, nor see him? why, you shall, for the clouds shall be taken away, and therefore the words run with every eye shall see him,

The second appearing of my King will be a spirituall appearing, and so a spirituall destruction shall attend this spirituall appearing, [Page 18] that is, a destruction attended with much light, therefore the word Every eye is brought in; when this cloudy appearing of Jesus Christ is finished, then comes this spiritual appearing of the Lord for to destroy that the cloudy appearing of my King could not do, which spirituall appearing will cause all flesh for to tremble doubly, and out of trembling, fear, and out of fear, flie to the mountains, hills, and great rocks for to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord, Rev. 6. 16, 17. But let me tell you, there will not be a moun­tain nor a hill left in all the world to hide thee from the presence of the Lord, for that is the reason why the Lord comes first with clouds and darkness to remove every mountain and hill, and every hiding place, that you shall have no where to go for shelter, for the Lord will make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the Nations, Isa. 52. 10. Oh what an exceeding light, and glorious appearing of Jesus Christ will there be ere long, for all eyes shall see, and light shall burn, and God will search all the world, and all hearts too, and cause them for to see and know what they are, Isa 9. 5. Every battle of the Warrier is with a confused noise, and garments rouled in blood. This shall be with burning and fury of fire. And Zeph. 1. 12. at that time I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are setled upon their lees, and say in their heart, the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evill; but you shall know ere long, what the Lord will do when he cometh, for to give you eyes to see withall, that you never saw; there are divers eyes, the eyes of the body, the eye of Reason, the eye of Faith, and the eye of the Understanding; for the eye of the body, you know it is a dim-sighted thing, and cannot behold the Sun, it is good for nothing but for to give light unto the body; but this eye here spoken of by John is a spiri­tuall eye, or ye may call it the eye of the Lord gone forth from the Lord to the works of his hands to behold their great Workman, the Lord of hosts, for nothing can behold the Lord but that which comes from the Lord: I am apt to think, that the eye which the Lord will open to all flesh, in the day of his glorious light appearing, will be the eye of the Understanding and my reason is this, because that Paul saith, that by that eye when once opened, they shall know what is the hope of their calling, what is the riches of his glory of his inheritance in his Saints. Ephes. 1. 18. Isa. 41. 20. That we may see, know, and understand together, and then shall they see eye to [Page 19] eye, when the Lord shall bring again Sion, and then shall we behold him as he is. Hear Israel, and ye gentile world too, for ye are both brought in; hear Israel, the first sight that thou shalt have of thy King, will be a sad sight, for thy wounded Saviour will be represent­ed unto thee, which thou hast wounded, pierced, and grieved all thy days; but the time now of thy grieving him is almost up, and he is coming out of cloudy dispensations, for to cause thee by his light to see, what thou art, and what thou hast done, and what a condition thou art in; and when he hath carried thee, hither and thither, up and down, here and there, and shewed thee all thy abo­minations and all thy idols, and imaginary religious Exercises, as he did to Ezekiel, in Jerusalem, and in the Temple there, Ezek. 8. 5, 6, 9, 10, 11. and so to the end of the Chapter; that is a Gospel type, we may read there what our condition is; for thou art the Temple of God, and this Temple of the Lord is defiled with all maner of unclean things. O thou Temple of the Lord! there is great abomi­nation in thee, spiritual abomination, mysterious abominations, and there dwells in thee, thou canst not tell what; for every thing that bears not the image of the Lord, is sin upon thee, and thou art de­filed with all maner of unclean things; with an unclean heart, an unclean minde, an unclean conversation. O how death is written upon all thy labors and ways, rathen then life: Behold therefore the Lord is come down for to open an eye to thee, wherewith thou shalt see all that thou hast done, to be wicked, fleshly, and nought: The first sight will be a sorrowful sight, but after sorrow comes joy. Israel, the Lord will first open thy eye, because judgment shall begin first with thee, yea, this spiritual judgment: The Lord will first search thee with candles, and after thee, then thy enemies; thou shalt see first, because thou shalt rise first; nay, dost not thou begin to see? for methinks the clouds begin to break; if not, what's the reason of so much strange noyses among the Sion of God? was there ever heard or seen the like, that is in this our age? what distress? what blasphemies? what cursings? These days are the last days, these days are the blaspheming days: I tremble to think how all the world is, and will be filled with blasphemy, Revel. 13. 5. & 7. 3. & 16. 9, 11, 21. Here is trouble indeed to the purpose, war was but the beginning; and this shall be the end, and when ended, never trouble more shall come neer thee, O Israel; for thou shalt see thy [Page 20] King ere long with great joy, and with such a beholding of him, as thou never yet didst behold him withall, and by this thy beholding of him, thou shalt goe forth and speak great things of his name to the consuming of all the world, Ps. 40. 3. And he shall put a new song into thy mouth (even praise unto our God) men shall see it and fear, God will come and consume all within thee, because thou shalt consume all without thee, and make all fall before thee, by the light and glory that God will cloath upon thee, and all shall come unto thee, in chaines, and shall bow, and make supplication unto thee, and Ps. 149. 8. To binde their Kings in Chaines, 2 Thes. 2 8. Whom he will consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming, all things below himself, which destruction every one shall see, and be convinced, it is the Lord. Saints and worldlings, your eyes shall be opened all ere long for to behold your selves first, & then the Lord after; Israel, the eye which the Lord will give unto thee, shall as well behold all the glory of the fathers house, as it did cause thee to behold all thy evill, for this eye will carry thee into the secret chamber of God, there to behold all the inside glory of thy fa­ther, and thou shalt not only see it, but be convinced all that is thine, and laid up for thee of old, yea, and thine for to wear upon thy shoulders in the day, when the Lord comes for to give reward unto his Saints, and them that fear his name, which day is hasting on amain, and it will not be long ere thou seest thy King, by the perfect light of God, called the light of an eye; And for thee oh world! thou shalt have an eye opened unto thee by the Lord, for to cause thee for to see him withall, and so to convince thee of all thy evill wayes, and of all thy evill deeds, and hard speeches, which thou hast moved withall towards his Israel; You may all read your doome in Jude, and hear there what the Lord saith; He saith that the next appearing after the cloudy, called the day of light, or the day of Christ, which day will be a day of conviction, a day of enlightning, throughout the world, of good and bad, a convincing day to all men of their wayes, Jude 15. ver. Therefore rejoyce oh Sion, and fear oh world, for the Lord is come near to Judgment, and it will be a spirituall one, attended with the spiritu­all light of God, Isaiah 4. 4. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughter of Sion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem by the Spirit of Judgment, and the spirit of burn­ing; [Page 21] This light of the Lord will be a reproving light, a light which shall cause men to see and be ashamed, and see, and yet not be ashamed, because he will bring a further wrath upon them, it will be a reproving light, John 16. 8. When he comes he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Oh the mighty, great, and unparallell fear that will fall upon all the world, by rea­son of the light of God, which shall break forth upon them, for to behold the Lord withall: and as they shall behold him, so them­selves too, and reade their own charge, and be their own Judges, Math. 12. 33. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. That is, by thy own mouth, thou shalt be judged, either for salvation or damnation, and therefore Christ saith, The words that I have spoken, and you have rejected, shall judge you at the last day, John 12. 48. You are got into the last dayes, yea, unto the last dayes of the last dayes, that is, into the half time Daniel spake of, and that half time is almost out too, Oh world! and therefore a spirituall judgment is near to be re­vealed to us all; And the words that Christ hath spoken, shall judge us all, that is, God will open the eye of the understanding of all, by his spirituall light, by the which light you shall know, and see, what you did reject, and what you have done in rejecting, and also what Christ said, and how you all have answered him again, and also how you have lived, and you shall need no other Judge then the light of God, which shall shine upon your understanding and consciences, for that shall give you light into all your wayes, in the which ye have walked, and this your enlightned understand­ing and convinced consciences shall condemne you all, that is, all flesh; There is a mysterie, John 8. 9. And they that heard it being convinced in their consciences, went out one by one; their con­sciences bearing witness again, Romans 2. 15. Their consci­ences also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meane while, either accusing or excusing, and a convinced conscience either of good, or bad, lyeth in the understanding being enlightned, your un­derstanding and consciences oh Saints and worldlings! is all the book that God needs to use in the day of his spirituall judging of you, and behold he is coming to Judgment, and every eye shall see, by this light of God, every one shall be saved that have part in the first resurrection, and by the same light every one shall be destroyed, [Page 22] that have not part in him: so that this light of God will bring sal­vation and destruction, both at one time, unto the two hoasts that stand at the right and left hand of God, Isa. 33. 4, 5. The sinners in Sion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites, and who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? reade one of the next verses, and it tels you who shall, and who shall not; the Lord is come, and coming still for to destroy, and yet to save, and thats the reason why all flesh doth so fear, Ezek. 39. 21. I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my Judgments that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them, Isa. 66. 14. The hand of the Lord shall be known towards his servants, and his judgments towards his enemies, ye shall not only have judg­ment, but see the judgment of the Lord upon you, yea, eat your own flesh, and drink your own blood, and the Lord will come for to open your eyes for to see it, And the glory of the Lord shall be re­vealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Isa. 40. 5. And again, that they may see, know, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this; you shall see the Lord oh ye nations! ere long in his Saints with great power, for to consume thee oh world, and all that is in it, that will be the next dispensation of God after the cloudy; Sion stand up now and rejoyce, for thou hast almost received double for all thy sins, Isaiah 40. 2. Therefore comfort thy self in thy God, for my King is very near bringing double joy, double peace, double rest, and double glory, with a double spiritu­all power, Isaiah 61. 7. And all shall be thine, and therefore gather to thee, And the reason is, because the Lord will glorifie the house of his glory, and all shall call thee the City of the Lord, the Sion of the holy one of Israel; for the Lord will give thee such a spiri­tuall power, that by that power thou shalt consume all the wicked in thee, so that no oppressor shall passe through thee any more, Zach. 9. 8. And I will encamp about my house, because of the Ar­my, and because of him that passeth by, and because of him that re­turneth, and no oppressor shall pass through thee any more, for now have I seen with my eyes; this is a mystery, the light of God is a consuming, and a destroying light, Isaiah 11. 4. Hear oh world! your fall is begun, for your Prince that is your leader, is wounded by the light of God, and so wounded, that he bleeds all the way he goes, and so he will untill he hath bled himself to death, for the [Page 23] wound that is given him, is an uncurable wound, for it is given him by a mighty Prince, called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Sions King and your terrible Judge, and from this arises all your fear, and you know it not; Oh who shall stand before this great Judge, when he cometh out of Clouds into light, to judge with light and glory: why, this the Lord is coming near withall, and the day of the Lords light, will be the day of the Lords dividing, Joel. 3. 14. Or the day of the Lords great separating, not only a dividing, or separating the powers of evill men far from you oh Saints, or you from them, but a dividing or separating two ancient warriers, flesh and Spirit: so that you shall never learn war more; Why, oh soul! thou shalt never learn war more, for the Lord who is thy King, will conquer, all thy inside enemies, as well as thy outside enemies, and there shall be a great valley between ye both, and that is the reason why he comes with his glorious light, for to destroy all, and then for to make known all to you, Israel thou hast been a long time under a vaile, the which vaile so covered thy fathers glory, that ye could not see, nor yet discern him, but now ye shall very suddenly, for it is neer taking away, Isaiah 25. 7. And he will destroy in this Mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vaile that is spread over all Nations; A spi­rituall light brings a spirituall discerning along with it, Malachi 3. 18. Then shall ye return and discern, and Isaiah 14. 16. And they that see shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man? Thy eyes shall be opened too oh world, and thou shalt see, and know, what Israel is, thou shalt know the Lords Sion, but with another manner of knowledge, then ever yet thou knewest them withall, and by that sight thou shalt confess, this is the seed which God hath blessed, Isa. 69. 1. And as the light of the Lord in thee causes thee to know his Israel, so the light of the Lord in them shall destroy thee, as well as that in them, that bears not his image, and therefore is but stubble, and not fit for any thing but to to be destroyed by the light of God, Isa. 10. 17. 18. And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his holy one for a flame, and it shall burne, and devoure his thornes and briars in one day; And as the Lord hath wounded the Prince of evill powers, so he hath wounded you all, and is revenging the blood of his Saints, Land the Lord is come for to make a full end of all things, but first with [Page 24] Clouds, and by and by with light, for all shall be destroyed by the light of God; and I cannot but out of pure love give you warning of it: look therefore oh world about you, cannot ye see him yet? is Israels cloud between you and the Lord that ye cannot behold the Lord? why, the light of God will cause the clouds to remove, and then woe to be you, And they also which pierced him. Hear ye despisers, and piercers of the Lords Sion, I will tell you what you have done, you have pierced the most precious Jewels the Lord hath, and pierced them so deep, that the wound is gone through the very side of God; And he is now coming, for to open thy eyes to cause thee to see the many wounds that thou hast given him and them, and when that is represented, you shall see your selves wounded with a deadly and eternall wound, even unto death, and yet never for to die, in dying thou shalt dye, and yet not dy, Re­vel. 9. 6. And in those dayes men shall seek death, and shall not finde it, for the light of God will keep them alive for ever and ever, thy fall will be very great; Oh worldling! although you be as the Sunne of the morning, how art thou cutting down to the ground, which didst once weaken the Nations? and thou art in ca­sting out of the grave of security, where thou hast lived and layen in peace, for many an Age. Therefore hear ye sufferers for the Lord, he hath recorded thy sufferings in his book, and them that pierced thee hath he in remembrance, and behold, he is coming to reward upon them the evill of their own wayes, and will plead with them here for thee, I, he will plead with all thy enemies temporall and spirituall, inside and outside ones, he remembers them all, and all shall fall and never rise more, I, and that quickly, for the great day of the Lord is coming on amain; cannot yee see, hear, nor take notice, of the Lords goings, which proclaims to all the world that he is coming? ye are angry, and ye cannot tell with what, ye are displeased and ye cannot tell with whom, and the Lord is now coming to tell you, it is with himself that you are offended; There is a generation that must be offended, being out of the holy num­ber, and therefore not honoured with that princely name Israel, so having no lot in the holy land, and therefore no entrance into the princely and heavenly Court, into which Christ is coming for to ga­ther all his up into, by the light of his father; Great will be thy joy oh soul, who art boloved of God, when this light of God [Page 25] hath not only purified thee, but carried thee into the Court and mansion of heaven, and set thee down there with thy father, and thy King Jesus, who is now come with Clouds, and by and by with light, watch ye therefore all ye sons of Sion.

Oh the unspeakable walling and crying out there will be ere long! I even tremble to think how the earth will ring with the cries of enlightned soules, which have the light of God given them for no other end, then to be an eternall plague unto them, great crying, because of great wrath, and this great wrath will cause great anger to ceaze upon your spirits, And your anger will arise from two causes, first from the Lords coming to judge thee by the light of himself in thee; Secondly, by the Lords coming for to give rewards unto his Saints, and to them that fear his name. First from the Lords appearing for to judge you by the light of God in you; The day of the Lords appearing will be a day of great trouble, be­cause it will be an eternall appearing, an appearing that shall bring along with it eternall light, eternall darkness with an eternall death too, Isa. 8. 22. And they shall look unto the Earth, and behold trouble and darkness, and dimness of an anguish, and they shall be driven into darkness; As eternall light, eternall darkness with eternall death makes up but an eternall plagues, so eternall light, eternall life, eternall joy, eternall peace, and an eternall glo­ry, with an eternall knowing of God, as he is in himself, makes up an eternall salvation to the saved ones of God. Worldlings, where are you? what are you doing? are ye filling up the measures of your fathers wrath fuller yet? why, make hast, for my King cannot come with a light, called the light of an eye, untill you have finished the works of darkness, and if I be not mistaken, you have almost, if not altogether finished your work, for Sions King, and your terrible Judge makes hast to come away, and me thinks I hear you begin to waile, but if not waile, you are filled with much trou­ble, fear and anger which is within one step of wailing; the next sight of my King will make you waile, then farewell all your ho­nors, rich treasures, and worldly enjoyments, for all are condem­ned [Page 26] to dye already, and then they leave thee, and thou must leave them, I say, trouble, fear, and anger ye have in your hearts, and your hearts full of it, but ye cannot tell what is the cause of it, nor from whence it ariseth; I will tell thee, First, from the Lords coming to judge thee, and thy Judgment is begun, but it is a cloudy judg­ment, that is, an unseen, and an unknown judgment, if it were made known to thee by the light of the Lord, what the Lord is adoing, and going still about for to do to thee, and what hast he makes un­till he hath done, thou wouldest not only fear, but waile, and let me tell thee one thing over again, all thy glory, wisdom, riches, honor, and delight, with all thy other injoyments, are condemned by the Lord of the whole Earth, for to dy the death nay, they are dead, and that is the reason thou hast so little comfort in the world, in this thy age; There is a great change made, instead of a sweet smell there is a stinke, and instead of a girdle, a rent, instead of well-set haire, baldness, and instead of a stomacher, a girding with sackcloth, and burning instead of beauty, so that all is out of or­der, by reason of the cloudy day of God, and when once the Lord appeareth with light, then will thy wailing begin, but never end, be­cause the light that God will give thee, will be a light that will ne­ver goe out, Rev. 14. 11. And the smoak of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night; thy City and thy glory oh world is falling, is falling, is falling Rev. 14. 8. And now thy great strength is gone, and therefore nothing but trouble com­eth in the roome, by reason of the Lords appearing; And it will not be long ere the earth shine, or be enlightned with the Lords glory, and the shining and enlightning is for to let thee know, that thy kingdome and glory is going, being but a Babylonian glory, Rev. 18. 1. 2. And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven, having great power, and the earth was enlightned with his glory, and he cryed with a strong voyce saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and become the habitation of Devils; Thou oh world! hast the mysterie of iniquity dwelling in thee, and by thy mysterious iniquities, hast carried the Lords Israel captive at thy will, for many thousand years, and now the years of thy power is up, and the day of thy ruling is at an end, because all thy actions have been unrighteous actions, and all thy wayes and paths, which thou hast walked in, have been sinfull wayes and paths, and therefore now after thy [Page 27] iniquity, woe be unto thee, Ezek. 16. 23. Woe be unto thee indeed saith the Lord, for thy sins have reached up to heaven, and have rais­ed the Lord of hosts out of his place, Isa. 33. 10. Now will I arise saith the Lord, now will I be exalted, now will I lift up my self, be­hold now he is come down, and is with thee, to be exalted over thee, and to recompense upon thee according to thy works, Rev. 18. 5. For her sins have reached up to Heaven, and God hath remem­bred her iniquity, your wayes oh ye sons of men, and all ye rulers of the Earth have been, and are still Canaanitish wayes, and ye have all run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, but in the end will perish in the gainsaying of Core, Jude 11. ver. Thy end is now begun, I, the end of your evill wayes oh Saints, and world­lings, is come up before the Lord, and what do you think to doe? for Job, whom the Lord honored with the name of my servant, and faithfull one, and just in all his wayes, yet though so, when the Lord who is a God of so pure eyes that cannot behold iniquity, did but once rise up, Job feared, with a saying, What then shall I do? Job 31. 14. When God ariseth up and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? If the Sion of God do as it were fear, what wilt thou do oh world? then the Lord arises up to the prey, and to gather thee for eternall ruine, and to judge thee with an eternall Judgment, at­tended with a just sentence, and a just reward like thy works; Oh all ye workers of iniquity; and by the light of God ye shall see it, and then your wailing will begin. What ailest thou oh world for to waile, why, do ye not know oh ye blessed of the Lord the light of him who is your King; and therefore raigneth over you, and in you, even he whom I scorned and rejected with a saying, This man shall not rule over me, hath wounded me to the heart by this light; and this light by which he hath enlightned me, carrieth me forward and backward, backward and forward, just as he did David after he had committed adultery with Beersheba, and slew Ʋriah with the Sword, he carrieth me backward, to behold all my evill deeds which I have done; and the many wounds that I have given him and you, And also carrieth me forward to behold what once was offered me, what mercies and what blessings, what glory, and what life, what peace and what rest, with an eternall salvation with your eternall King, but now rejected of him, by my own rebellious and scornfull denying of him and you, and I be­hold [Page 28] all this by the light of God, and this light of God causes me to waile, with an everlasting wailing, and therefore what conditi­on can be like unto mine? why, no condition can be like unto thine, for thou art doubly miserable, and therefore shalt be doubly plagued by that light that shall come down from the Lord to shine upon thee.

Secondly, from the Lords coming for to give rewards to his Saints, what a plague will it be to thee oh world for to behold Gods Israel, whom thou thoughtst not worthy to live, nor yet the remembrance of them in the earth for to be, that they so little esteemed of the earth among men, should come to be cloathed with such glory, and righteous robes, and to be invested with all the glo­ry of heaven, called the glory of the father? didst thou never hear of Mordecai, and the royall cloathing he wore, and the horse that he rid upon, and the Crown Royall which was set upon his head, and the Proclamation which was made before him, by one of the most royallest Princes of that Court, and of the ring that was put upon his finger? this is a mysterious type, these are the Lords Mor­dicai's, that I now tell thee of, and they shall all of them ride up­on the wings of the Lords free grace, ere long, although thou now disesteemest of them, and they shall have given them all manner of change of raiment, called the white robes, though for the present their cloathing is but ragged and filthy and an old cloathing, thou art angry with them now, and enviest them with thy very heart, although they do but bear a dark Image of God, and their light is but an imperfect light that they have yet O world! And though their gifts, knowledg, and understanding be imper­fect, and their cloaths ragged, yet thou hatest that in them they have. Well, thou shalt not hate this imperfect image long, for the Lord is coming for to take them away; and methinks I hear a voyce crying in my ears, Take away, take away, take away, these filthy rags, Zach. 3. 3, 4. And he spake to them that stood by him, Take away those filthy Garments which they stand before the An­gel withal, they shall be suddenly taken away; for that is the reason why Michael the Prince stands up, that Arch-Angel; and that is the reason why the breaker up is come up, it is I say, For to take away all our putrified and corrupt cloathing; and upon the remove, there will be trouble in thee, O Israel. And now they are risen, it will [Page 29] not be long ere it is finished, Dan. 9. 24. It is but as it were a seven­ty weeks; before it shall be done, seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy City; to finish transgressions, and to make an end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteous­ness. This is a Mystery; you have this Mystery opened in part in Heb. 9 28. unto them that look for him; he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation. It will not be long, ere this Scrip­ture be fulfilled upon thee, O Israel, for thou art the City spoken of in Daniel. The world is old▪ and the Cities of the Nations are old too, and therefore every thing is stepping his last step, and looking his last look, and a joying his last joy, and in speaking his last words, and in breathing out his last breath. O World, thou art dying, thou art dying, and all within thee too; for the end of all things is at hand, I, and the beginning of all things is at hand; the beginning of a new look, a new joy, and so a new enjoyment; a new song, called the song of the Lamb, a new language, even the holy Lan­guage of Heaven, a new righteousness, a new peace, a new salva­tion, a new glory, a new breath, a new life, even the holy Life of God; therefore what will thou do? O World, I cannot but weep for thee; for the Bride, and the Bridegroom, will meet ere long, and then there will be no room for thee among them. The Bride by the power and light of the Lord, is a making her self ready, un­derstand it if thou canst; for it is a Scripture phrase, and the Bride shall be made, as fit a bride for the bridegroom, as the bridegroom is for the bride; and then meet they shall, and shall be both as glori­ous and comely, as all the glory in Heaven and Earth can make them; and they shall wear this, the inside, perfect glory of the Fa­ther in thy sight, and this shall be one of thy plagues, I say; that the children of the light will have a glorious white robe given them, and they shall wear this their robe in thy sight, being the children of the day, 2 Thes. 5. 5. And for thee, O World, thou art not so in the dark, but that the Lord can, and will enlighten thee to behold Sions glory; and therefore, he saith, Every eye shall see him▪ I, thou shalt see him, and them; Why? who shall we see, you blessed of God? why? you shall behold the bride, and the bridegroom; that is, Christ and his Saints, the King and his Subjects, the Father, and the Children, the Head, and the Members, the King, and the Kings, the lover and the beloved, both cloathed with one glory, [Page 30] from the Father of glory; and then the desire of the Lord my King, will be fulfilled. Father, make them one, as thou and I am one, John 17. 21, 22, 23, 24. Pray reade there, O Israel, and that will tell thee what condition thou wilt be in ere long; for the height, and breadth, depth, and length of the love of Christ, shall be known to you, and ye shall be filled with the fulness of God: How dost thou like this, O World? I must tell thee one thing more, and when that one thing comes to be fulfilled; it will be as an Arrow in thy heart, and so a hearty plague upon thee; for thou shalt know, and see all this by the light of God, but shalt receive no more of it to thy com­fort, then that Lord did, which stood in the gate of Samaria, after that long destructive siege was raised; and that bread was to be had, who was trodden down in the gate, and died; he saw indeed, but never tasted of it, read 2 Kings 7. 2, 19, [...]0. Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof: So, O World, thou mayest stand without the gate, or at the gate, and look in and see the glorifi­ed ones of God, but never enter in for to joy with them; for thou art the dog, and without are dogs, Rev. 22. 15. within is perfect joy, without perfect wailing; and the Word telleth you, That the Reason of the Worlds wailing will be, by reason of the appearing of Jesus Christ in his brightness. The cloudy appearing of Jesus Christ is a dark appearing, and a dark appearing is an unseen, and an unknown appearing to all men as men; and what the eye seeth not, the heart grieveth not for, that's a common phrase among you; but you shall have eyes given you for to see the Lord withal; and then the sight of him, will cause wailing in you. The Lords wrath is begun with clouds, but shall end with light, the Spiritual light of God, and then thy plagues will be perfected. The Lord hath waited upon you long, O Kings, Princes, Rulers, Magistrates; and all ye powers of the earth after what name or title soever mentioned; with all ye Ministers and people, I say, my King hath waited upon you very long, and suffered you to fill up your wickedness, and to make mea­sure up to the brim; and when thou hast done, Sions King will be­gin with a saying. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; get ye down, for the fat is overflown; their wickedness is great, and come to perfection; and wickedness perfected, will be recompenced with plagues perfected: The Lord hath begun to pour out his vials of plagues upon thee, O World; and he will never leave pouring out, [Page 31] until he hath perfected them all; for there is a perfection of plagues, as well as a perfection of beauty; there is a full knowing all mise­ries, as well as a full knowing all mysteries; and the time is hasten­ing on apace by the Lord, in the which, both shall be known: There­fore all ye powers of the earth, make hast and do that ye do quickly; for when you have poured forth all that you have to pour, and ful­filled all that you have to fulfil, upon Christ and his Members, that you have no more to fulfil; then the Lord will begin to pour out all that he hath to pour, and to fulfil all that he hath to fulfil upon you, that is, All the plagues written in this Book, Revel. 22. 18. And when the Lord hath done all that he hath to do, and fulfilled or poured forth upon you all that he hath to pour, then ye shall be left in your misery for ever: and then the word, Even so Amen, shall be finished upon you.

The word, Even so Amen, hath a joyful sound, and a terrible sound. Hear, O Israel, and ye Nations of the Earth; hear ye Na­tions, and all ye powers of the World; Ye are fit for nothing, but to be destroyed by the light of God; your very actions speak out, your destruction is neer at hand; for death is written upon all your footsteps, and the word, Even so Amen, will prove your dreadful doom: For when the Lord hath poured upon you all plagues, and hath separated all his sheep far from you, and you from them, and withdrawn himself, after that he hath enlightened you with an eter­nal light, for to be your eternal plague; and to perfect your plagues, you shall have darkness, and light mixed together, eternal light, and eternal darkness; and darkness shall cover thee for ever, even thick darkness, that Jude spake of, To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever; and when all this is done the Even so Amen is finished.

And now hear one word more oh Israel, behold the Lord my King is coming, and yet come too; And at his presence the world shakes, and mountains tremble, and the end of his coming is for to finish upon thee, all that he hath for to finish, and to give thee of the fatness of his house, to cloath thee with the perfect heavenly glory, and to give thee that, that shall never be taken from thee, nor ne­ver be shaken, but remain with thee for ever, thy heavenly King is coming, and in his hand there is for thee spirituall and heavenly blessings, I, and he is coming with both hands full, and they hold all [Page 32] the inside treasure in heaven and earth, and when all that that is for thee, whether it be wisdom or knowledg, glory or blessings, is given unto thee, and cloathed up thee, according to the full and perfect gift of God, then the word, Even so Amen, will be finished. The word, Even so Amen, ends all, it puts an end to all thy sufferings and sorrows, and it puts an end to all thy faith, and heavenly hope; be­cause thy heavenly King hath brought unto thee, the unseen sub­stance, and thou hast received that, that thou so long hopedst for; and if we hope for that we see not, then we do with patience wait for it: And Faith it is the substance of things hoped for, and the evi­dence of things not seen; but thou shalt have a thousand times more then ever thou couldst believe or hope for; and when that not seen, and not believed, and not hoped for substance and treasure, which the Lord hath laid up for thee, is given to thee, then the word (Even so Amen) will be finished upon thee. I shall therefore close up all with a saying, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, to conceive the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.