Strange and Remarkable Prophecies and Predictions 2
The source for this document is https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A64685.0001.001
Project Note
This is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
The source of this document is the Early English Books Online (EEBO-TCP) website. Those books were transcribed in a character for character manner and can be very cumbersome to read since there was no standard spelling during that time. Many spelling variations such as "unlesse", "vnlesse", and "vnles" regularly appear.
This project was conceived to clean up those books as much as possible and make them more accessible to the interested reader, leading to the creation of a massive list of variant spellings and their corrections. This was used to clean up the text, but is of course only as complete as the list itself. Because of the nature of the original transcription, some words have missing characters or places where the original language (e.g., Greek) was not transcribed. This effort does not change that. Be aware that the original transcription can also be faulty and in some cases entire sentences may be missing.
Although this is no substitute for a properly compared, proofed, and scholarly edition, I believe that the result is a document which is far more accessible, particularly for searching for terms using standard spelling. The document has been cleaned and presented in what I hope is a pleasing and useful format for the vast majority of Christian brothers and sisters who just want access to read these spiritually nourishing works.
However, a word of warning: The Puritans were a very diverse group of people and their age was characterized with godliness, but also much upheaval, disputation and strife. They disagreed on many doctrines and some of these works contain less orthodox or Scriptural views than others. The reader is strongly advised to read with discernment, particularly if it is unknown whether author is trustworthy.
This project took a huge amount of time and skill to bring to fruition. I would particularly like to thank David Jonescue for the initial list of Puritans he found on EEBO and the concept behind this project as well as the continuous, unceasing efforts toward seeing this complete. Without his labor, this would not be available. Alex Sarrouf was invaluable in providing the initial list of over 7,000 spelling variations he had identified and corrected, as well as continuing to review more than 16,000 additions to that list for any typos.
Logan West
(with David Jonescue and Alex Sarrouf)
www.puritansearch.org
Strange and Remarkable Prophesies and Predictions Of the Holy Learned, and Excellent JAMES VSHER Late L. Arch-Bishop of Armagh. and Lord Primate of Ireland. Giving an Account of his foretelling
- I. The Rebellion in Ireland Forty Years before it came to pass.
- II. The Confusions and Miseries of England in Church and State.
- III. The Death of King Charles the first.
- IIII. His own Poverty and want.
- V. The Devisions in England in matters of Religion:
Lastly, Of a great and Terrible Persecution which shall fall upon the Reformed Churches by the Papists, wherein the then Pope should be chiefly concerned.
Written by the Person who heard it from this Excellent Persons own Mouth, and now published earnestly to persuade us to that Repentance and Reformation which can only prevent our Ruin and Destruction.
And the Lord said, shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do
Gen. 18.17.
Licenced November the 16th
CORKE, Reprinted by William Smith, in the Year 1677.
〈1 page duplicate〉Strange and Remarkable Predictions of that Holy, Learned, and excellent Bishop, James Usher, late Lord Primate of Ireland.
THe Author of the Life of this Excellent and Worthy Primate and Arch▪Bishop, gives an Account, that among other extraordinary gifts and graces, which it pleased the Almighty to bestow upon him, he was wonderfully endued with a Spirit of Prophecy, whereby he gave out several true Predictions and prophesies of things a great while before they came to pass, whereof some we have seen fulfilled, and others remain yet to be accomplished. And though he was one that abhorred Enthusiastic Notions, being too Learned, Rational, and knowing, to admit of such idle Freaks and Whimsies. Yet he prosest,
From which Spirit he foretold the Irish Rebellion Forty years before it came to pass, with the very time when it should break forth, in a Sermon Preached in Dablin in 1601 where from Ezek. 4.6. discoursing concerning the Prophets bearing the Iniquity of Judah forty days, the Lord therein appointed a day for a year; he made this direct Application in Relation to the connivance at Popery at that time. From this year (says he) will I reckon the sin of Ireland, that those whom you now embrace, shall be your Ruin, and you shall bear this Iniquity. Which prediction proved exactly true, for from that time 1601, to the year 1641, was just Forty years, in which it is notoriovsly known, that the Rebellion and Destruction of Ireland happened, which was acted by those Popish Priests and other Papists which were then connived at. And of this Sermon the Bishop reserved the Notes, and put a note thereof in the Margent of his Bible, and for 20 years before he still lived in the expectation of the fulfilling thereof, & the nearer the time was, the more confident he was that it was near accomplishment, though there was no visible appearance of any such thing; and (says Dr. Barnard ) the year before the Rebellion broke forth, the Bishop taking his leave of me, being then going from Ireland to England, he advised me to a serious Preparation, for I should see heavy sorrows and miseries before I saw him again; which he delivered with as great confidence, as if he had seen it with his eyes, which seems to verify that of the Prophet, Amos 3.7. Surely the Lord will do nothing but he will reveal it to his Servants the Prophets.
From this Spirit of Prophesy be foresaw the Changes and Miseries of England in Church and State, for having in one of his Books, (called De Prim. Eccl. Brit. ) given a large account of the destruction of the Church and State of the Britain's by the Saxons, about 550 years after Christ: He gives this among other Reasons, why he insisted so largely upon it, that he foresaw that a like Judgment was yet behind, if timely Repentance and Reformation did not prevent it: and he would often Mourn upon the foresight of this long before it came.
From this Spirit he gave mournful intimations of the Death of our late Sovereign Charles the first, of whom he would be often speaking with fear and trembling, even when the King had the greatest success, and would therefore constantly pray, and gave all advice possible to prevent any such thing.
From this Spirit he foresaw his own Poverty in worldly things and this he would often speak of with admiration to the hearors, when he was in his greatest Prosperity, which the event did must certainly verify.
From this Spirit he Predicted the Devisions and Confusions in England in matters of Religion, and the sad consequents thereof, some of which we have seen fulfilled & I play God the rest which he feared may not also be accomplished upon us.
Lastly from this Spirit he foretold, That the greatest stroke upon the Reformed Churches was yet to come; and that the time of the utter Ruin of the See of Rome should be when she thought herself most secure: and as to this last, I shall add a brief account from the Persons own hand who was concerned therein, which followeth in these words.
The year before this Learned and holy Primate And Bishop Usher died, I went to him, and earnestly desired him, to give me in Writing his apprehensions concerning Justification and Sanctifi: cation by Christ, because I had formerly heard him Preach upon those Points, wherein he seemed to make those great Mysteries more intelligible to my mean capacity, then anything which I had ever heard from any other; but because I had but an imperfect and confused Remembrance of the particulars, I took the boldness to importune him, that he would please to give a brief account of them in Writing, whereby I might the better imprint them in my Memory, of which he would willingly excused himself, by declaring his intentions of not writing anymore, adding that if he did write anything it should not exceed above a sheet or two; but upon my continued importunity, I at last obtained his promise.
He coming to Town some time after, was pleased to give me a visit at my own House, where I failed not to challenge the benefit of the promise he had made me; He replied, That he had not writ, and yet he could not charge himself with any breach of Promise; For (said he) I did begin to write, but when I came to write of Sanctification, that is of the New Creature, which God formeth by his Spirit in every Soul which he doth truly Regenerate I found so little of it wrought in myself, that I could speak of it only as Parrots by Rote, and without the knowledge and understanding of what I might have expressed, and therefore I durst not presume to proceed any further upon it.
And when I seemed to stand amazed to hear such an humble Confession from so great and experienced a Christian, He added I must tell you, we do not well understand what Sanctification and the New Creature are; It is no less then for a man to be brought to in an 〈◊〉 •… signation of his will to the will of God, and to live in the Offering up of his Soul continually in the flames of Love, as a whole burnt Offering to Christ and how little (says he) are many of those who profess Christianity experimentally acquainted with this work on their Souls.
By this Discourse, I conceived he had very excellently and clearly discovered to me that part of Sanctification which he was unwilling to write.
I then presumed to inquire of him what his present apprehensions were concerning a very great Persecution which should fall upon the Church of God in these Nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, of which this Reverend Primate had spoken with great confidence many years before, when we were in the highest and fullest state of outward Peace and Settlement. I asked him whether he did believe those sad times to be past, or that they were yet to come, To which he answered, That they were yet to come and that he did as considently expect it, as ever be had done, adding, That this sail Persecution would sall upon all the Protestant Churches of Europe; I replied, That I did hope it might have been past as to these Nations of ours, since I thought, that though we, who are the People thereof, have been punished much less than our sins have deserved, and that our late Wars had made far less devastations, then War commonly brings upon those Countries where it pleaseth God in Judgment to suffer it; yet we must needs acknowledge, that many great Houses had been Burnt, Ruined, and left without Inhabitants, many great Families impoverished and undone, and many thousand Lives also had been lost in that bloody War, and that Ireland and Scotland, as well as England, had drunk very deep of the Cup of God's Anger, even to the overthrow of the Government, and the utter Desolation almost of a very great part of those Countries.
But this Holy man, turning to me, and fixing his Eyes upon me with that serious and ireful look which he usually had when he spake God's word and not his own; and when the power of God seamed to be upon him and to constrain him to speak, 〈…〉 could easily discern much to differ from the countenance wherewith he usually spake to me; He said thus,
Fool not yourself with such hopes, for I tell you, all you have yet seen, hath been but the beginning of sorrows to what is yet to come upon the Protestant Churches of Christ, who will ere long fall under a sharper Pers • cution then ever yet has upon them; and therefore (said he to me) look you he not found in the Outward Court, but a worshipper in the Temple before the Altar, for Christ will measure all these that profess his Name & call themselves his People and the Outward worshippers he will leave out, to be • rodden down by the Gentiles. The Outward Court (says he) is the formal Christian, whose Religion lies in performing the outside duties of Christ stianity, without having on inward Life and Power of Faith, and Love uniting them to Christ, and these God will leave to be trodden down, and swept away by the Gentiles; But the worshippers within the Temple and before the Altar, are those who do indeed worship God in spirit and Truth, whose Souls are made his Temple, and he is Honoured and Adored in the most inward thou his of their hearts, and they Sacrifice their Lusts and vile affections, yea and their own wills to him; and these God will hide in the hollow of his Hand, and under the shadow of his wings, and this shall be one great difference between this last, and all the other preceding pers • cutions; For in the former, the most eminent and spiritual. Ministers and Christians did generally suffer most, and were most violently fallen upon, but in this fast Persecution, these shall he preserved by God as a Se • d to partake of that Glory which shall immediately follow and come upon the Church, as s • on as ever this storm shall be over; for as it shall be the sharpest, so it shall be the shortest Persecution of them all; and shall only take away the th • gross Hypocrites and • ormal Professors, but the true Spiritual Believers shall be preser •• d • ill the Calamity be over past.
I then asked him by what means or Instruments this great Trial should be brought on, He answered B • the Papists, I replied, that it seemed to me very improbable they should be able to do it, since they were now little countenanced, and but few in these Nations, and that the hearts of 〈◊〉 People were more • et against them then ever since the Reformation. He answered again, That it would be by the hands of Papists, and in the way of a sudden Massacree; 'and that the then Pope should be the chief Instrument of of it.
All this he Spake with so great Assurance, and with the same serious and concerned Countenance, which I have before observed him to have, when I have heard him foretell some things which in all human appearance were very unlikely to come to pass, which yet my sell have lived to see happen according to his Prediction, and this made me give the more earnest attention to what he then uttered.
He then added,
This was the Substance, and I think (for the greatest part) the very same words which this Holy man spake to me at the time before mentioned not long before his death, and which I writ down, that so great and noble a Prediction might not be lost and forgotten by myself nor others.
This gracious Man repeated the same things in Substance to his only daughter the Lady 〈◊〉 and that with many tears, and much about the same time that he had expressed what is aforesaid to me, & which the Lady Tyrril assured me of with her own mouth, to this purpose.
That opening the Dore of his Chamber, She found him with his Eyes lift up to Heaven, and the tears running a pace down his Checks, and that he s • emed to be in an Ex • asie, wherein he continued for about half an hour, not taking the least notice of her, though she came into the Room, but at last turning to her, he told her, That his thoughts had been taken up about the Miseries and Persecutions that were coming upon the Churches of Christ, which would be so sharp and bitter, that the contemplation of them had fetched those Tears from his Eyes, and that he hoped he should not live to see it but possibly she might, for it was even at the door, Therefore take head (says he) that you he not found sleeping.
The same things he also Repeated to the Lady Basse, Wife to the present Lord Chief Baron of Ireland, but with adding this circumstance, That if they brought back the King, it might be delayed a little longer, but (said he) It will surely come; therefore be sure to look that you he not found unprepared for it.
To conclude in the words of Dr. Barnard, speaking of this Excellēt Person,