In the true portraiture of his facred majesty Charles the second, it appears, that by God this king reigns, in that he hath exercised those providences over him, that are hardly exercised over ten thousand of us. That ftar in the east (which was discovered over St. James's at mid day, feeming from heaven to gratulate the royal birth, difplayed its modeft beams in fpight of fun fhine, in the middle of the air) (peaks much this way: The powers in heaven that fo watchfully guarded him thro' those sad days, wherein thousands fell at his right hand, and ten thousands at his left, aim'd at fome great prize; his royal life, the care of angels, muft not go out privately, and be loft un profitably in a corner. Oh how the angels forbade those millions of profane hands, that would rudely have touched the Lord's anointed! his efcape at Worcester was almost miraculous: He fought his way all along five miles from Worcester, then he turned to the lefs frequented ways that could be, until he came to the borders of Staffordfhire, then he removed to an adjoining wood, where he, and only one with him, walked fecurely a while, until they found an oak for his majesty, in the hollow of which he lodged himself for three days and three nights, until my lord Wilmot providing for his majesty a fafe lodging, and then feeking him in the wood, with much ado found his facred perfon guarded, and as I may fay, fed by angels. Let this story never be forgotten. EIKON BASILIKE. By F. R.

2. They keep us in, or reftore us to health.

One going to London inned and lodged all night at the Maiden head in Cat-eaten Street, where the fame night died a young wife of the peftilence; as another had died before, the fickness and death of the parties being concealed, he arose in the morning, took fome repaft, and went about his occafions, but at his return in the afternoon, as he was going into the inn, a friend called him back, and told him the truth; in the midft of the difcourfe, he. faw the gates fhut before his eyes, and prefently was writ ten upon them, Lord have mercy on us. This hath minded him of God's providence and promife, Surely be ball

deliver

deliver thee from the noisome peftilence, for he shall give his angels charge over thee.

John Trelille, a poor cripple in Cornwal, that for fix teen years together was fain to walk upon his hands by reafon of the close contraction of the finews of his legs, (upon three motions in his dream to wash in a well called Madernes) was fuddenly so restored to his limbs, that I faw him, faith my author, able both to walk and get his own maintenance..-Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, in his dream received the prefcript of a remedy of his disease, which the physicians could not cure. Whence came this,

but by the fuggestion of angels? Have we been raised up from deadly fickneffes, when all natural helps have given us up, God's angels have been our fecret phyficians. Bishop Hall

3. They furnish us with all neceffaries of this life.

Mr. Samuel, a godly minifter in queen Mary's days was conveened before bishop Bonner, who committed him to prifon, and there chained him up to a post, in such fort, that standing on tip-toes he was fain to bear up all the weight of his body in that manner, to his intolerable pain; befides, he allowed him but three morfels of bread, and three fpoonfuls of water a day, fo that he was extremely tormented with hunger and thirft, and had his body fo miferably dried up, that he would fain have drunk his own water, but could not make one drop. But after he had continued in this miferable cafe three days he fell asleep, and one clad all in white feemed to stand before him, telling him, that from henceforth he should neither hunger nor thirst any more; which also came to pass, though he was not burnt till many days after. Whyte's Power of godliness. A doctor of divinity, of fingular learning and piety, fent his maid to the market to get provifion for the following week But all the money he and his wife could make was but five fhillings; his wife fell a weeping, and told her husband, that there was little likelihood that they could live together, and that therefore she would take one or two of her children with her, and live among her friends, if he could provide for himself and the rest of the children: Nay, dear wife, faid he, we have lived thus long together,

together, let not us now part, let us rely on God's providence. She in her grief and hafte answered, Well, fend providence to market, and fee what it will bring home. It was fo that day, that a nobleman who knew this doctor very well, dining with divers gentlemen at an inn, looking out of a window, faw the doctor's maid, whom being an antient fervant, he knew, and fent for her up, afking her how her mafter did; the anfwered, Very well, and fell a weeping; he enquiring the caute, fhe told him what ftraits they were brought to; he wondring, and be ing troubled at it, called the inn keeper, and wifhed him to give that maid ten pounds, and every one of the gentlemen gave twenty fhillings a-piece, So the doctor fending providence (of which the angels are fervants and inftru. ments) to market, it brought him home fifteen pounds. Doubtless it is because we do not trust not because God either cannot, or will not give, that makes as fo orten want mercies; and fuch providences would be ufual, if our confidence in God were but fo. Idem ibidem.

There was a certain poor family, who being in great want, and having little or nothing for the children in it, when dinner time came they put them off with play-things, and told them they would fee if they could get them fomething for fupper: And when fupper time came, they would give them fome fmall piece of bread, and fo get them to bed; and thus they used them fo long, while at laft the children would not go to bed, but cried for bread That night it was fo, the lord Faulkland waking before midnight, could not fleep, and then it came into his mind that this family was in great want, infomuch that he cal led up fome of his fervants, and fent them with a great loaf and a cheese to the houfe; when they came, they found the children crying for bread, and the parents weeping by them, who with a great deal of joy and eagernels received that unexpected provifion. Thus the Lord ordered it by his providence, that they were not only then relieved, but their neceffities being related to the lord Faulkland, he took care of them for the future. Idem ibidem.

Luther hath this story: A certain woman, in the time

of

of famine, having nothing at all for herself and children to eat, being brought into very great extremity, the refolved upon this courfe; fhe made herself and all her children ready, and with a great deal of comfort and confidence the walked to a spring not far from her house: As fhe was going, one met her, who asked her, whither was fhe going with her children? She told him that all her provifion was quite fpent, and fhe was going with ner children to fuch a fountain close by, being confident that God that had provided drink for her and her children, would there provide food for them alfo; and he that heard the young ravens, and provided for them, would much more take care of her and her little ones. He that met her wished her to return home, for the fhould meet with provifion that was ready for her there; fhe returned and found a confiderable quantity of meal, which was food for her and her children, but whence this provifion came, she knew not, nor knew the man who told her of it. SECT. VII.

Experiences of this Truth as to our inward Man.

FOR fome experiences of this bleffed truth, in respect

our

1. They declare 'to us God's will: Of old they did fo to Abraham, Lot, Mofes, Jacob, Manoah, Gideon, David, Elijah, Elifha, Ifaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zachary; and in the New Teftament they did fo to Jofeph, Mary, Zechariah, the shepherds, Mary Magdalene, Peter, Philip, Cornelius, Paul, John the evangelift, and to all the apostles. At this time they do not fo vifibly declare God's will, nor must we truft to vifions or revelations; yet many times they teach us by dreams, and many times they coin impreffions on our fancy and imagination while we are waking: They can make rare and wonderful compofitions of what they find in us; fo that to me, here is the difference between the converfe of men and angels; men can speak to the understanding by the mediation of our external fenfes, but the angels go a nearer way to work, and fpeak first of all to the internal fenfes, making fuch compofitions there as the understanding presently takes off, and reads what is written. Do we not, waking

and fleeping, fee impreffions in our fancy, of things that we thought we had forgotten? this is done by the angels. Dingley.

One being a long while trained up in ceremonies, noti onals, fables, unprofitable matter, rather than found and faving knowlege, which is in faith: At laft converfing with tome godly men, and with practical books, he found fome impreffions in his fancy of another kind of divinity, and fo inclined, that divinity was rather practical than fpeculative; and that fuch kind of preaching as was ufually delivered in an affected fprucenefs of language, and vainglorious trimnefs of the windy and dead letter, would never fave fouls Thefe impreffions were more and more fixed in him, and at laft he was fatisfied, that many poor illiterate fouls, that felt the power of godlinefs on their own hearts, had more true knowlege of divinity than ma ay learned doctors and rabbies, that had nothing but orthodoxy, or a fwimming knowlege of truth: And that many unlearned fnatched heaven, and took it by violence, whilft many learned with their learning perished, and went down to hell. The efficacy of this light he gives to the Spirit, but the inftrumentality of it, as working upon the fancy or imagination, he afcribes to the angels.

A godly woman falling into great defertions, at laft the Lord in fecret prayer came in with abundance of light and comfort; but within a month after, fhe began to receive the Lord's fupper, all her former fears and troubles turned upon her, infomuch as a little before the bread was ad miniftred to her, tho' fhe could not fay that the devil ap peared to her in a bodily fhape, yet he feemed to her as if he did, and told her, that she should not eat; but then the Lord was pleased to bring into her mind that paffage of Canticles, Eat, Omy friends: Notwithstanding, Satan ftill continued terrifying of her, and when fhe had eaten, told her the fhould not drink; but the Lord brought the fecond claufe of the verfe into her mind, Drink, yea, drink abundantly my beloved; and fo the drank alfo, and prefently was filled with fuch unspeakable joys, that the knew not how fhe got home; which foul-ravishing joys continued for a fortnight after, and filled her mouth with fongs