The Hartlib Papers

away from amongst the creatures; & that there shall bee no hurting nor destroying any more in all the holy mountaine of God; because the earth shall bee full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters couering the bottome of the sea. here the exasperat spirits of men are reconciled; & the meanes wherby God will bring this to passe is said to bee the abundance of his knowledge & the euidence of his will reuealed unto all those that shall bee in his Church. which is one of the princpall conditions & promises which God bindeth himself to performe in the new Couenant Ier. 31. 34. why then should men so deeply despaire of such a matter which God so solemnely doth promise in his owne tyme to bring to passe? if wee looke upon the 76. psalme where the power of Gods name as it is knowne in his Church is sette forth: wee shall see that the chief effect of his glorious presence there: is to breake the instruments of warre; [left margin: v. 3, 4, 5, 6.] to daunt the stout hearted & cast them into a deep sleep: to cause [left margin: v. 8, 9, 10.] iudgment to bee heard from heauen for the saluation of the meeke of the earth; & to make the wrath of man to praise him & to restraine the remainder of wrath.

faile to bee fulfilled; that therefore all such implacable spirits as resist the effect of this his Couenant shall by his iudgments which now are begunne to bee reuealed, bee taken out of the way & destroyed from his Church. if then it is not possible to cause the Lutheran spirits receiue peacable thoughts; I may freely gather that the iudgment is determined ouer them, & that God will bee glorified in their wrathfull disposition through their destruction. here I call to mind the place of Esa 26 8, 9, 10, 11. where the different effects of Gods iudgments are expressed in respect of the righteous & of the wicked. the Godly wait for God in his iudgments they desire him, & seeke him early in the same for they learne Righteousnesse by them. but the ungodly who will not regard the Majesty of the Lord neither when favour is shewed unto him; nor when the Lords hand is lifted up upon him; of him it is said that hee shall bee forced to see it & bee ashamed for his envie at Gods poeple; euen then when the fire of Gods ennemies shall devoure him. for his envie & malice shall not hinder the Course of Gods worke to performe the tenour of his Couenant. if therefore I can bee but a true seruant of this Couenant, & find the way of God out by which hee doth hasten in these his iudgments the accomplishment of his promises; I need not care whether some receiue the offers of Godly peace & unitie or no; because I may bee sure that for their opposition Gods intention will not bee stopped. yet if I find that my intentions & endevours are stopped by their meanes; I must looke so much the more unto my wayes lest I foment some partlicular aime which is not subordinate unto God his purpose, & cannot go along with the meanes of fulfilling his Couenant; if I find any such thing & Cleanse my self from it; then I haue found the Lord in the way of his iudgment & haue cause to draw neerer unto him in his Couenant then formerly I was able to doe. but if after a diligent search of mine owne wayes, no such thing doth appeare unto me but I find rather a Confidence in God & strenth in the euidence of his Counsell to fulfill his Couenant by such an opposition; then I haue found the Lord againe in the way of his iudgment in another manner & must proceede against such implacable spirits to hasten their iudgment: in shewing how crosse their Course is unto the Couenant of God; which beeing made manifest their opposition must needes cease either one way or other for either they will kisse the sonne with feare & reioyce with trembling to yeeld themselues unto his seruice; or else hee will cause them perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. I haue some experience of this since I haue beene in Sweden; & therefore I may speake the more freely of it unto God his glory; I haue seene a suddain iudgment upon him that against the light of his owne conscience sought for strife; for a iudgment of death did quickly sease upon one, that would shew his witte in reuiuing a dead quarrell in public, when in priuat to me, hee hadde seuerall tymes discommended & blamed those that tooke such courses. hee then whiles hee was going about, to doe it himself before hee hadde well begunne the worke, was mightily taken from it. but these iudgments are not alwayes to bee expected in such a kind; for the Lord is long suffering & of great patience towards sinners; & sometymes in the midst of their strongest opposition doth take hold of them for good; as hee Did Saul; when hee made of him his Apostle Paul. I know that the violence of some Antagonists in this cause hath brought a snare upon them, & made them in seeing their owne faults recouer themselues & become authors of moderate thoughts unto others. God hath strange & hidden wayes to worke his owne endes upon the spirits of men; wee are to giue our selues uppe as instruments to bee made use off by him: & such instruments wee shall bee if wee can but bee blamelesse & hold forth the word of life unto this crooked generation. [left margin: Esa. 55. 10. 11.] for the word it self will doe the worke which is to bee done, because it shall not returne to him that sent it void, but shall prosper in that for which hee shall haue sent it. & although wee cannot perceiue how farre the parties which wee deale with all are moued by it, yet, it must not moue us to diffidence of the Effect; who could euer haue imagined that the word which Iohn Wicleff held forth in his tyme would after an hundreth yeares <haue> taken such effect in Bohemia by Iohn Hus & Hierome of Prague his meanes. or that the word of Ihon Hus & Hierome of Prague should haue so mightily broken forth againe throughout all Germanie & whole Europe in Luther & Zwinglius age, & since that age to this haue so mightily continued, against so great oppositions. the strenth of God is neuer seene till it find opposition; & then when it seemeth quite to bee extinguished it appeareth most effectual, euen as Christ himself was then most powerfull when hee was on the Crosse in the graue swallowed [catchword: uppe of]

uppe of death; then hee ouercame him that hadde the power of death & rising out of the graue poured out his spirit upon all flesh to gather in the Church uniuersall. as it was in Christ himself at the first erecting of the new Couenant; so it must bee unto the ende of the world in euery member & instrument of his; at the propagating of the Couenant in euery degree & period of the manifestation therof. therefore as the Iewes before his death did not acknowledge him; neither was hee made the head of the Corner till the builders hadde reiected him; so wee shall find that it fareth alwayes with the worke of Gods Couenant proposed unto a nation; it is neuer truly accepted & acknowledged till it bee first reiected by the builders & discountenanced in the face of this world. for this cause also the two witnesses must bee killed & their Carkasses must lye dead in the streets of the great Citie; that by their Resurrection the world may bee terrified & made to giue glory unto the God of heauen, whom in the dayes of their testimonie they would not acknowledge, whiles they were in warfare with the beast. but after that in the eye of the world the beast shall haue ouercome them, & seeme to triumph ouer them, then shall they bee true and Effectuall Conquerors of the world; for immediatly after their Resurrection when they are taken up into heauen, the Sound of the Seuenth Angels trumpet is heard; wherat the great Mysterie of God which hee hath denounced by his prophets is to bee finished; the Eternall Gospell is preached; & by it all the Kingdomes of this world become the Kingdomes of the Lord & of his Christ; & as for the states men that sitte at the Helme by whom the course of thinges should bee turned; shall wee expect more now of them, then they shewed unto Christ himself; they were no great ennemies unto him when hee was accused of his aduersaries, but rather shewed him some favour & would haue saued him if they durst haue displeased the Clergie: so it is now also; the states men will neuer turne the Course of affaires so as to dare to maintaine Christs Cause against his accusers with full right & powerfull authoritie: it doth suffise them, that they can wash their hands & of his blood <left margin: before the world professe themselues to bee cleere> although they bee not guiltlesse of it before God. they haue as yowr author well saith other endes in such a worke as this is, then that which God doth aime at, or ought to bee intended by his seruants; I can beare witnesse of many of them that they are not auerse from pacification & from the scope of a better Reformation then hitherto hath beene practised; but they dare venture no more for it then Pilate durst doe for Christ. therefore their indifferencie & coldnesse in this worke is to me no discouragement but rather an argument of hope & faith in God, that seeing they care no more for this businesse then their forefathers cared for Christ, that therefore God will bee so much the more Effectually glorified in it; as hee was in the death & resurrection of Christ for there can bee no greater argument of spirituall prosperitie unto a spirituall worke then that it bee found in a Conformitie with Christ & his worke: for if it bee so intertained & dealt withall in this world as hee and his Apostles were it hath a sure Character of the same euent which hee & his ministerie hadde, & that is all that I can desire. I will therefore confesse your authors third & fourth obiection to bee true viz: that the rents of mens spirits growing from Religion haue beene euer long liued & of very hard Composure <left margin: & that chiefly> by Reason of the persons which maintaine the factions such as Dr Hoe is & some others that climbe up to eminent places by ambition. this is true but yet this doth not hinder the aduancement of God his worke in the Gospell, no more the Ambitious Spirit of the Pharisees & Scribes could hinder the progresse of Christ & his Apostles worke after that it was once in a setled course & public agitation: there bee Nicodemusses <left margin: & Gamaliels> also amongst them which in the Counsell of the Elders giue in a good word & stoppe the violence of un- [catchword: iust]

iust Resolutions now and then. it is true that with men which seeke their owne ends in spirituall places & employments no Euangelicall Peace & unitie can bee kept or gained further then their endes are serued; but it may fall out also & doth fall out that their endes are so discouered that for the same they loose all respect and authoritie amongst those whom they ouerrule & keepe in outward respect by their meere place supported by Civill authoritie; as now it doth befall unto Dr Hoe; his endes of ambition & Couetousnesse are so euident unto all Lutheranes that they are all ashamed of his name, & no man respecteth him but such as for civill respect dare not disregard him. So that those men in striuing against Conscience & duetie to hinder Peace; ouerthrow themselues in their owne Course of opposition, & consequently giue occasion to men of Righteous intentions to preuaile so much the more upon honest affections by how much their wickednesse & shame is made notorius. as for the Iesuits which are said to creep in & take upon them the name of Lutherans & obtain professors places I will not denye but such a thing may bee & that it is not possible to ouercome such<TRANS SWITCH="2"></TRANS> any<TRANS SWITCH="1"></TRANS> Antagonists of peace; yet I cannot bee persuaded that there should bee any quantitie of such now amongst the Lutheranes. neuerthelesse I will suppose it to bee so, & then I say, that although there is no appearance to conquer such an Antagonist of this worke (as beeing no doubt one of those uncleane spirits which come out of the mouth of the Dragon & of the beast & of the false prophet Reu. 16. 13. & which are preparing the Children of perdition unto the Battaill of the great day of the Lord) yet that for all this the endevours of Euangelicall Peace & unitie will not bee without effect, to such as are Capable of peacale thoughts. & why should not wee bee as zealous in propagating the Gospell of Peace as such diuellish spirits are in bringing men unto endlesse strife shall they bee more industrious in doing Euill then wee in doing good? & if wee sit stille & doe nothing for the maintenance of Truth & Peace is not the whole cause betrayed unto them by our negligence? So then their actiuitie to undermine the Gospell putteth a necessitie upon is to discharge unto God & his Churche our dueties, leauing the euent unto him who in the day of his great battaill will decide the quarrell & muster uppe all the endevours of his Seruants to make them effectuall in the great victorie which hee shall haue of his ennemies.

of that which I doe mainly prosecute & aime at: hee <for hee> only sheweth how unlickly it is that Lutherans & the Reformed Divines should agree to beare one with another in their seuerall professions & Ceremoniall Constitutions, without railing condemnations & invectiues one against another; but I aime at something more then this to witt at the ground of all brotherly union betwixt & true Reformation amongst Christians wherby they may bee able to build uppe one another in the feare of God that first aime is a particular businesse which at first I did intend in outward profession more directly then any thing else, but the last is an uniuersall scope which now I more professedly prosecute then the former: if this bee gained & proposed to Conscionable Divines the former will follow of it self, but although the former should bee obtained as in the low Countries it is in use yet wee shall not bee much neerer the latter; & if the latter bee not obtained wee shall not prooue true seruants of Christ Iesus in his Gospell of Peace according to the tenour therof in the new Couenant wherby hee hath united us to God as his Children, & one to another as his brethren & members each of others. I confesse if I did intend only the particular aime which hee supposeth here to bee my chief scope; then his arguments would bee of greater force then I could bee able to auoid; but seeing they hitte not the marke which I shoote haue sette before mine eyes; therefore I am not much troubled at them; althoug I find them to bee reall difficulties incident unto my endevours, which exclude not the the particular intention heretofore mentioned, but rather including it as a subordinat worke unto the principall negotiation, I take occasion to further it by the bye. from whence now also yow may Gather what I can Answer unto his last obiection Concerning the series of the Prouidence of God going along to fulfill the prophecyes; namely that I am encouraged in mine endevours by the contemplation of the Prophecies, which reueale unto us the approaching tyme of the killing of the witnesses: because I know that immediatly after that tyme the Kingdomes of the world are to bee Christs; & that therefore the preparatiues wherby all soules are to bee brought unto the obedience of his Kingdome in the unitie of the spirit & the bond of Peace; are to bee aduanced according to the Principles of the euerlasting Couenant. so the neerer the tyme of their killing is the more I am obliged to bee diligent in this businesse of reconcilement which is grounded upon fundamentall & uniuersall truths, which will bee the only meanes of ouerthrowing the beasts Kingdome; & because these truths will find their chief strenth & authoritie in the testimonies of Divine Scriptures of the old & new testament; therefore the beast will sette her self by all meanes more then euer before to kill these witnesses, which also shee will doe in humane appearance for a space but in effect because the truths testified by them will not bee putte put of mens hearts but after a season bee reuiued & worke more powerfully then euer before upon the Consciences of men when the Eternall Gospell shall bee preached unto all kindreds & nations of the world. I am not at all sollicitous of the tyme when these thinges shall come to passe; for I beleeue that they shall bee, & that sufficeth to oblige me to sette foreward my worke: because I know that they are subordinate at least in the generall meanes & drift unto the accomplishment of that mysterie; if not also in all the particulars; wherin I labour daily to become more & more compleat according to the measure of the gift which it pleaseth god to bestow upon me. thus I haue endevoured in some sort (though in great haste) to giue yow satisfaction to the doubts proposed; if the author bee a Divine I suppose I doe know him; but if hee bee a states man I can not guesse so well at him, yet I think I could go neere to hitte him; but this is a needlesse curiousitie. one thing hee doth mention which yow haue not sent me viz: his thoughts upon my Analyticall worke: for hee [left margin:] saith that hee perceiueth yow haue sent his thoughts to me on that subiect & yet I remember not that euer I haue seene the same: perhaps they are amongst some of Dr T. his papers which I haue not yet redde; for I suspect him to bee the author of these doubts. to him & all other freinds Commend me; the grace of God bee with yow & yours