Prophecies concerning the return of popery into England, Scotland and IrelandProphecys concerning the return of popery into England, Scotland and Ireland

Against all which burdens (too heavy for any wise and generous Christians to bear, when once duly informed of the weight and danger of them, and duly reformed from them) as the great Wisdom, Piety, and Order of the Church of England in its sacred Ministry and holy Ministrations, was heretofore the greatest bar and bulwark in all the Christian world: so the disadvantage of the Reformed Religion are now so palpable, and the danger of the people of this Nation, as so obvious in their returning to that Egypt and Babylon again, which is not the Church of Rome, but its disease and oppression; that I know not in ordinary providence any means can be used, or is left, to stop the daily prevalencies of Popery, and the great Apostasy of England to the Romish superstition and subjection in after-times, unless God stir up such Wisdom, Zeal and Care in those that have honest hearts, joined with public power and influence, not so much to fleece and depress Popish Recusants by pecuniary exactions (which is to set Religion to sale, and to make merchandise of mens errors, rather than fairly to persuade and win them by the proper and persuasive engines of true Religion;) but (rather) ⟨p. 21⟩duly to restore and speedily assert the Honour, Order, Succession, Unity, Authority and Majesty of this Reformed Church and its Catholic Ministry: from which when the Papists see our selves to be such profound Revolters, with what face can we expect they should ever come into our Reformation which they now behold with joyful and disdainful eyes, so mangled, so deformed, so massacred by our owns hands? How can we with Justice, Honour, or Humanity, inflict severe penalties upon Papists, as refusing to conform to our Church and Religion, when they protest, with so much truth, to our faces, they cannot see any Church, any Religion among us, as uniform, public, authentic, constant? What (they say) formerly had the goodliest figure and fairest presence of a Christian Church, and the best Reformed of any, is now deformed, ruined, demolished; nothing but scattered rafters and pieces of that ship-wrecked vessel now appear floating up and down in a restless and foaming sea of faction, opposition and confusion, between Bishops, Ministers and People: some are Episcopal, others Presbyterian, a third sort Independent: all are disparate or opposite in Discipline, some are Heterodox in Doctrine:

Against all which burthens (too heavy for any wise and generous Christians to bear, when once duly informed of the weight and danger of them, and duly reformed from them) as the great Wisdom, Piety, and Order of the Church of England in its sacred Ministry and holy Ministratious, was heretofore the greatest barre and bulwark in all the Christian world: so the disadvantge of the Reformed Religion are now so palpable, and the danger of the people of this Nation, as so obvious in their returning to that Egypt and Babylon again, which is not the Church of Rome, but its disease and opression; that I know not in ordinary providence any means can be used, or is left, to stop the daily prevalencies of Popery, and the great Apostasie of England to the Romish superstition and subjection in after-times, unlesse God stir up such Wisdome, Zeal and Care in those that have honest hearts, joyned with publick power and influence, not so much to fleece and depress Popish Recusants by pecuniary exactions (which is to set Religion to sale, and to make merchandize of mens errours, rather than fairly to perswade and win them by the proper and perswasive engines of true Religion;) but (rather)