The Lord hath called you, Right Honourable, unto arduous and weighty services; A very difficult work it is to cure complicated diseases, to extricate and unravel the entangled interests of divided minds, to allay animosities, to calm jealousies, to moderate rigours of judgement, to close distant opinions, to separate the gold from the dross, the precious truths and worship of God from those many prodigies of error and madness, which had so long assaulted it, to settle the house of God, and the hearts of men, upon firm foundations of truth, peace and righteousness, to join together the sticks of Ephraim and Judah, and to make whole the broken staves of beauty and bands. If you shall now say as David did, make thy way strait before our face; as Jehoshaphat did, we know not what to do, but our eyes are upon thee; as Paul did, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Thou hast done great ⟨p. 16⟩things for us, whereof we are glad, thou hath delivered our eyes from tears, our •ee from falling; what is it that we now shall render to the Lord for all his benefits? truly Lord we are thy servants, and would willingly act in our places for thy name, and for the Interests of thy Christ and of his Church, we have no higher design then this, That the God, who hath wrought wonders for us, may be alone magnified and advanced by us, in Orthodox doctrine, in pure Ordinances, in spiritual worship, in united affections, that no unnecessary thing may remain, as a ground of offence, and fomes of division and separation, but that all healing and closing counsels may be used to make us all of one heart and of one soul: If you thus in singleness and uprightness of heart do bespeak the Lord, I can confidently say from him to you, that he will be with you, and uphold you, that his Spirit will level all mountains before you, and break in pieces any gates of brass, and cut in sunder any bars of iron which stand in your way; the service he requires of you, he will work for you, he will not only command you by his Authority, but assist you by his Grace. When our interests and Gods are folded up together, when we make his Will our will, and his End our end, we are sure never to ⟨p. 17⟩fail in our designs, because he can never miscarry in his.
The Lord hath called you, Right Honourable, unto arduous and weighty services; A very difficult work it is to cure complicated diseases, to extricate and unravel the intangled interests of divided minds, to allay animosities, to calme jealousies, to moderate rigours of judgement, to close distant opinions, to separate the gold from the drosse, the precious truths and worship of God from those many prodigies of error and madnesse, which had so long assaulted it, to settle the house of God, and the hearts of men, upon firme foundations of truth, peace and righteousnesse, to joyn together the sticks of Ephraim and Judah, and to make whole the broken staves of beauty and bands. If you shall now say as David did, make thy way strait before our face; as Iehosaphat did, we know not what to do, but our eyes are upon thee; as Paul did, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Thou hast done great ⟨p. 16⟩things for us, whereof we are glad, thou hath delivered our eyes from teares, our •ee from falling; what is it that we now shall render to the Lord for all his benefits? truly Lord we are thy servants, and would willingly act in our places for thy name, and for the Interests of thy Christ and of his Church, we have no higher design then this, That the God, who hath wrought wonders for us, may be alone magnified and advanced by us, in Orthodox doctrine, in pure Ordinances, in spiritual worship, in united affections, that no unnecessary thing may remain, as a ground of offence, and fomes of division and separation, but that all healing and closing counsels may be used to make us all of one heart and of one soul: If you thus in singleness and uprightness of heart do bespeak the Lord, I can confidently say from him to you, that he will be with you, and uphold you, that his Spirit will level all mountains before you, and break in pieces any gates of brasse, and cut in sunder any bars of iron which stand in your way; the service he requires of you, he will work for you, he will not only command you by his Authority, but assist you by his Grace. When our interests and Gods are folded up together, when we make his Will our will, and his End our end, we are sure never to ⟨p. 17⟩fail in our designs, because he can never miscarry in his.
