and if thefe laft have recover'd their old publick Priviledges in fome Chriftian Countries, they may thank Popery for't, not Christianity: but befides the Abrogation of these and other bad Cuftoms, there have many excellent and wholfeme Laws. been made by Chriftian Emperors, and even a Body of fuch Laws collected by one of 'em, as were useful to the Commonwealth, which are, as it were, the Standard of Equity through a great part of the World. If it be objected, that Christianity has been the occafion of much War and Bloodshed, as it was of old against Religion it felf, by the Epicureans, 'tis cafily and juftly anfwered in the words of St. James, that they had quite another Original," Is "it not from thofe Lufts which war in your Members? The Luft of Empire, of Glory, or the like Intereft, generally lying at the bottom, whatever is pretended. For an Inftance of which we need go no further than the prefent War of the King of France, with moft of the States of Europe, which he'd fain make a Holy War, and get a Cruzado for't, but fuppo fing he fhould Chriften it by that Name, would it be lefs plain that his lawlefs Ambition, and impatience of either Superior, or Equal, has been the Original of much Devaftation and Run? "Is Still we fay, there's nothing in Chriftian Religion that in the leaft warrants, or encourages any ill Practices, but quite the contrary; being undoubtedly, as 'tis ftiled by one who well understood it, the best natur'd Inftitution in the World; and by how much any Communion deviates from Charity 527 and Mercy, by fo much the farther are they remov'd from true Chriftianity, and nearer the Religion of the Heathens, which was really Bloody and Barbarous, whofe very Sacrifices, and higheft Myferies, were Lewdness and Murder, fit for the Demons who invented it, and were worshipt in it: Humane Sacrifices being offer'd in moft Places and Nations, as we learn in the Hiftories, not only of the wild Indians, and new difcovered, but even in thofe of the Phænitiars, Carthaginians, Britains, Greeks, Romans, and ma ny others. We thought it might be no small Entertainment to the Reader to infert the following Paper (which we received this Week from a Worthy Gentleman) intituled, A Prophecy of King William's Greatness, By Stephen Mellifh a Polonian. Prefented to the French King by the Anotator and Publifher thereaf, in Anno 1660. Tranflated from the High Dutch, per T. B. who has the Original now in his Hands, and is willing to fhew it to any Gentleman that is defirous to be fully satisfied therein, On Palm Sunday (the 9th. of April), I dreamed I was walking, and lo, a certain unknown Man came into my Company, and we went together, till we came to a very great Palace; the Name of which I cannot tell. And the Man led me on one fide, and asked me from whence I was? I faid from Poland. What Pers, fuafion, (Religion) are you of? Of the Reformed Evangelical. Do you fing French Palms Yea, ing down, and uprifing. Hereby I gained his Affection and he faid, Stand by me here, no evil fhall befal thee; Thou shalt fee great things which fhall fhortly come to pafs; what thou doft not underftand, ask me of it, and I will explain it unto thee. Then prefently he transformed himself into another fhape, like that of a Spiritual (Ecclefiaftical) Perfon, and I ftanding on this fide him, faw all things very properly, and what I faw, I will declare the truth thereof, without any addition. faid I, that is my greateft Joy, ly-fat the mighty States General,ranged in order in three Rows. And then there was a very great noile of fhouting, and after the fhouting, were Pfalms and Spiritual Songs fung after the French manner, fo that from this Singing and from the Mufick of all forts, a mighty noife was made; the Singing Mafters (Menfchlich Zungen) did affilt aloud in Singing the Pfalms, the Tune of which was known to me. Afterwards a fmall Silver Table was brought in on two Stangs, on which lay the Pope's Crown; and presently at the defire of this King, and of the Princes, the aforementioned Cardinal stood up; and ftroke the Crown with his Staff, fo that it flew all to pieces, and the standers by trod upon the Silver Shivers thereof with their Feet. And this being done, there was dreadful noise of fhouting, and after the fhouting there was great rejoycing, finging and playing of Inftruments. In the firft place, was a Table of Silver, four fquare,fet in the midft of the Palace, Then came in a great King, Cloathed in Silver Rayment, and led the King of Sweden on his right hand, after ward fet himself down at the Table, with his Back Southward, and Face Northward, and the King of Sweden over against him; and on the fide of the faid King, the the Elector of Heydleberg, of · Saxony, of Brandenburg, having alfo their Faces Westward, and Backs Eastward; but between this King and the Elector of Saxony, fat a Cardinal, or fome Spiritual Perfon of great Authority, in a Silver Chair, at the Corner of the Table,holding in his hand a Bishop's Crofier of Silver, that was very thick, and had on his Head a Cap of an unusual form. On the left fide fat one much like unto Rakozi, Cloathed after the Hungarian manner, the Spanifh Ambaffador near to him, and then the Emperor's, and others: The English and Dutch Ambaffadors fat next to the King of Sweden. About this King ftood Silver Chairs all round, on which Then came in a Queen and fat her felf down near the King, Cloathed like him, and behind her came a Train of Ladies, finging aloud of Pfalms and Songs, bringing a noble Prefent with them on a Golden Stang, which they prefented the King, and then was heard a mighty noife of fhouting, to fecond the fame; After this, came a mighty throng of Nobility and Gentry from all parts of the World, and brought the faid King a Crown and a Sword, which Crown in prefence of all the Potentates, they laid before him, and put the Sword in his Hand that he fhould fight a gainit the Babylonish Beaft; and then made him a Complement, which I could not understand, for it was done in French, and the Man I durft not ask only what related to my feeing, and apprehend ing of things, on which was made a mighty noife of fhouting and finging: And then came in a Company appearing like Citizens, and brought the King a noble Present, and made hima Complement, but I could not understand it; And all this a-new was compleated with fhouting, finging, and playing on Inftruments. tion in all Cities, and ordained liberty as in the old Law. But what could not by him be determined, that should come before the King. It was alfo ordained, that nothing either in Spiritual or Temporal Affairs, fhould be tranfacted without the knowledge of this K. and the forementioned Potentates. His Forces did mightily encreafe from all parts, and his Dominion lies as if it were Dutfchland, and he fhall remain a Celebrated King as long as the World endures, and he fhall have no end. Alfo in the time of his Reign there fhall be Peace, Unity, and all manner of Good, as in Solomon's time. And it was clear Day and I awaked. And now when the Nobility had brought the Crown, and put the Sword in the King's Hand, the faid King gave the King of Sweden the right Hand, and the Princes and Potentates who stood by, and The foregoing Lines are a Vithe King, put their Hands thereon, fion, or Prophecy of one Stephen and kiffed each other; upon which Mellish a Polonian; I have eleven they fung the 20th Pfalm, and more by me of the fame, with then a far greater noife of fhout- Notations on them, Printed in ing and finging was heard; fo that Anno 1678. But the above (for the very Earth fhook again. Then my Diversion, as alfo for fome hereafter they all ftood up, and fuitablenefs which I thought I faw went into a great Church, where init to the prefent Conjuncture) the King crowned the before- I thought worth my while to mentioned Cardinal, and fet upon Tranflate as well as I could from his Head a fingular Patriarchs the Original High-Dutch. The Cap, like a Cardinals Hat, and Publisher and Annotator on the many Preachers fat thereby Cloath. faid 12 Vifions, tells me, that the ed in white Garments, by and three firft were fulfilled prefently round the Altar, and fung French after the Revelation of them, Pfalms in the Prefence of many that the five following were in fulthousands of Men. Then the filling, and therefore doubts the King appointed him to be the Over-lefs of the fulfilling of the four feer of God's Church, as was Mo fes, Samuel, &c. Out of this Church I met with the fame Man in the open Field, where the King Mutter'd bis Army, and fent his Forces towards the South and the West, manful ly to fight and oppofe all who fhould withitand him. But the Cardinal did appoint a Reforma laft. Johannes Amos Comenius, in his Laft Trump over Germany, page 55. gives Stephen Mellifh the following Character. I which have knowledge of him, his Perfon and Converfation, and fatisfied in the Lord, in the first place, that he himself did not Endite his Revelations; fince that he is a Man M m really bon, he may Interpret my Pro- the Confederacy I saw not the really Pious, and one that truly fears God; in the fecond place, that he could not if, he would, being a very imple Man, and fuch things go above his understanding; in the third place, that God having fo feconded him and his Revelation, as to fulfil most of them in a fhort time, doth truly declare that they can proceed from no other caufe but from him that knoweth all things. So far Fo-better fatisfied. But because in hannes Amos Comenius, quoted in the Preface of my little Book; but who he is I cannot tell, I fup pofe him to be a learned Pole, or German; but let him be who he will, the Character seems to be very fincere and honeft, and therefore has induced me to Tranfcribe it. The Publisher and Annotator on the beforementioned twelve Vifions, fuppofed this Great King in my Text to be the King of France, and about Thirty Years ago prefented them to him at St. Germans, (with feveral other Books) by the hand of the Earl of Comingjs, who told him that the King had received it, and fent it to the Sorbon, with a command that the Doctors fhould perufe it, and give him the fenfe of it. No doubt but Lewis XIV. flattered himfelf much that he was to be this Great King, and probable it is that he drew fome of his measures therefrom; for we find he began to pick Quarrels with the Pope, and defigned to have fet up a Pa triarch in France, and had he not had other Work cut out, he might have made a confiderable advance therein But now to his Mortification, he may easily perceive he is not the Man. being not at all joyned in any fuch Contederacy; but without the help of the Ser Q Do the Scriptures teach that the Sufferings of Chrift were greater than the Punishments due to the Ele&? 4. They teach, or at least unanfwerably imply, that 'tis poffible for fome to be deftroy'd, to perish, &c. for whom Chrift died: See Rom. 14. 15. Deftroy not him with thy Meat for whom Chrift died: Nor does the Holy Scripture ufe to give fuch folemn Directions, where there's no need ; nay, where there's an impoffibility of the Evils falling out, which is caution'dagainft,which is yet more pofitively expreffed (though in the form of an Interrogation) in 1 Cor Cor. 8. 11. And through thy knowledge hall thy weak Brother perif, for whom Chrift died? Q. Does the Scripture affign any other End to the Sufferings of Chrift, as purchased by them, befides the Salvation of the Ele&t? not thus improve it, 'tis his own fault; whence 'tis plain that he may do it, though ftill not by his own ftrength, but the affistance of Heaven, which never leaves Men, till they have first left it. Q Does the Scripture command fuch things as Men by the Power of natural Abilities may perform, which in their Nature bave a tendency to produce Faith, and which the Spirit of God ordinarily bleffeth to that End? A. It affigns other Ends befides the actual Salvation of those who fhall be faved, as is plain from the Scriptures before quoted We add, thofe Ends are, the attoning fo far for the fins of all Mankind, A. A Man can do no action as to make 'em in a falvable con- properly and perfectly acceptable dition, or to repair the Ruins to God, by his own Natural Abiwhich were made by the firft 4-lities, abftracted from the affidam, which is plain from Rom. 5. 12, 18, &c. Q. What is that Faith which is required in the Scripture as a Duty, and without which it says there is no Salvation? ftance of God's Spirit Bu by his common affiftance he ma Pray, abftain from fin, and feve ral other good Actions, which if he continues in, he'll have still more aid, and go on to perfectoin. 4. Afteddy Belief of all that Q. If Men are not guilty of God reveals, efpecially the Gof-Self-destruction, or great fin and pel-particularly therein, that Jefus is the Meffia, or Saviour of the world, and that he'll fave me if I depend upon him, and obey his Commands: By which it appears that Affurance is not of the Effence of it, as we have formerly proved. Q. Do the Scriptures teach, that Men to whom the Gospel is Preached, can attain to that Faith by improvement of Natu. ral Abilities, without the affi ftance of Special Grace? A. No: They no where affirm any fuch thing; but they affirm, either in Terms, or by unavoidable Confequence, that every Man un der the Gospel, to whom it is Preached, has fo much Grace given him, that if he improves it, 'twill certainly at laft make him perfect in Glory; and if he does folly, who condemn or omit the use of the Means which the Spirit of God ufually makes effectual to Salvation, because they are not certain they shall be so to them? A. This proceeds on a falfe Suppofition-- If they use Means, they fhall be undoubtedly effectual. Q. What way did the Seven thin Ears of Corn appear to devour the thick or full Ears in Pharaoh's Dream ? A. We fuppofe, by approaching to 'em, and taking 'em, within themfelves, as one Sheaf or Heap of Corn may be loft in another. Q. What's the meaning of that place in the Revelations, Blefied is he that watcheth and keepeth his Garments? M m 2 |
