their lies, and by their flatteries, and I sent them not, saith the Lord, nor commanded them; therefore they bring no profit to this people, saith the Lord.' And therefore, it is clear those that God commands not, nor sends, bring not profit to the people then, nor now; but they feed the people up with flatteries and with lies, therefore examine yourselves, and your fruits; for the wickedness of these false prophets, and priests and pastors, and such as followed and held them up, I will bring saith the Lord upon them an everlasting reproach and perpetual shame that shall never be forgotten,' as may be seen throughout Jer. xxiii. and do you think, that ye that are found in their practises, that these things are forgotten of the Lord, and that he will not visit you for the same? and though the Lord sent unto them his prophets and servants rising up early, but they would not hear, nor incline their ears to obey, but inclined their ears after those false prophets, priests and pastors; is it not so now? Jer. xxv. examine yourselves by the scripture.

Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes, that Jeremiah is worthy to die, and he told them, if they put him to death they would bring innocent blood upon themselves, and upon their city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears;' and this stopped them from putting him to death, as you may see in Jer. xxvi.

And some of the elders said, that Micah prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, and told him that Zion should be ploughed up like a field, and Jerusalem should be as a heap, and the mountains of the house should be as the high place of the forest, but Hezekiah did not put him to death; and Uriah, he prophesied against the city of Jerusalem, he prophesied to king Joachim, and to all his men of power, and princes, and the king sought to slay him, but Uriah heard it, and went into Egypt, but the king sent for him from thence, and slew him; but the hand of Ahikam was with Jeremiah that they should not give him to the people to put him to death; and have not many of the priests imprisoned, and sought the life of many of God's prophets now a-days, that have declared against you the like things?

And Hananiah a false prophet, which took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck, and prophesied lies unto the people, then Jeremiah made him yokes of iron, and Jeremiah said to Hananiah, hear now the words that the Lord hath sent unto thee, thou makest these people to trust in a lie, therefore, thus saith the Lord, I will cast thee off from the earth, this year thou shalt die, because thou hast spoken rebelliously against the Lord: so Hananiah, the false prophet died the same year, in the seventh month. Jer. xxviii.

Again, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, let not your prophets and your soothsayers that be amongst you deceive you, neither give ear to your dreams which ye dream; for they prophesy to you a

lie in my name; I have not sent them saith the Lord.' So their ears are to be unto the Lord, and not to the dreams of their false prophets, nor their own..

And you may see what became of Shemaiah the false prophet, who prophesied unto the captivity, and sent letters in the name of the Lord to them in Babel; thus saith the Lord [of Shemaiah,] because he had prophesied unto you and I sent him not, he hath caused you to trust in a lie, therefore, thus saith the Lord, I will visit Shemaiah and his seed, he shall not have a man to dwell amongst his people, neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people saith the Lord, because he hath spoken rebelliously against me, saith the Lord.' Therefore, see ye priests in Christendom, how dangerous it is to speak lying words in the name of the Lord, and say, thus saith the Lord, when the Lord never spoke unto them; and go about to make him the father of their lies; but such you may see the end of, which were reproved by the true prophet, Jer. xxix. and such shall not enjoy the good of the land, though they may haul and pluck from people for a time. And in Jer. xxxvii. 15. where the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and smote him, and laid him in prison in the house of Jonathan, and put him in the dungeon: and in the 28th verse, they desired that Jeremiah might be put to death; for he weakens the hands of the people, then said Zedekiah, the king, behold, he is in your hands; for the king can deny you nothing, then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Melachia, and they let him down with cords into the dungeon, and there was no water but mire; so Jeremiah stuck fast in the mire, and Ebedmelech, the blackmoor, told the king that they had done evil in casting Jeremiah the prophet into the dungeon, and he dieth for hunger; and so here the blackmoor had more mercy upon him than his own countrymen, the professing priests and Jews, and the king bid the black-moor take thirty men with him, and take up Jeremiah before he died, and so he took old rags and clouts, and bid Jeremiah put them under his armholes between the cords, and so they drew Jeremiah out, as in Jer. xxxviii. and Jeremiah remained in prison till the children of Israel went into captivity to Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar's chief steward took Jeremiah in and said unto him, 'that he loosed him this day from his chain that was on his hands, and if it please thee to come with me unto Babel, come and I will look well unto thee, but if not, tarry still, behold all the land is before thee, whether it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.'

So here is seen the moderation of this heathen to the Lord's prophet, and the fulfilling of the Lord's prophets' sayings upon all the false priests and prophets; for he was bound in a chain to have gone to Babylon amongst the rest, till he understood who he was; and this chief steward of Nebuchadnezzar did say unto Jeremiah, the Lord thy God hath

pronounced this plague against this place, and now the Lord hath brought it to pass, and done it according as he hath said, because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.'

Now here you may see, here this heathen could see the fulfilling of this word of the Lord upon the rebellious professing Jews and Jerusalem, for sinning against the Lord, and not obeying his voice; and see how this heathen could believe in the Lord, and speak of the Lord, which had not the scriptures, which was Nebuchadnezzar's chief steward, as in Jer. xl. And have not many of the Lord's prophets found more moderation and civility amongst the heathen, than from the outside professing christians?

And in Lament. ii. 14. where he speaks of the flattering prophets, and saith, Thy prophets have looked out vain and foolish things for thee, and they have not discovered thine iniquity to turn away thy captivity, but have looked out for thee false prophecies and causes of banishment.' And so instead of discovering to people their iniquity, which is the cause of captivity and banishment from the Lord, you teach people to plead for their body of sin, and death, and iniquity to the grave, when all is buried together, then for ten or twenty shillings give them a funeral

sermon.

And in Lam. 4. 13. For sins of her prophets, and the iniquity of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, they have wandered as blind men in the streets, and they are polluted with blood.' See how Jeremiah laments over these poor people, to whom the false priests and prophets were the cause of so much misery; and was it not because of those false priests, scribes and pharisees that destruction came upon the Jews and Jerusalem in the days of Christ, who would neither own him themselves, nor suffer others; and is it not the same cause that brings misery upon all Christendom now, even the sins and iniquities of the priests and people?

And in Jer. xii. there you may see how the false priests were like to foxes that worried and destroyed the sheep and lambs; son of man prophesy against the prophets of Israel, that prophesy out of their own hearts,' so it was not from the Lord, thus saith the Lord God, woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirits, and have seen nothing, Oh Israel, thy prophets are like unto foxes in the waste places; ye have not risen up in the gaps, neither made up the hedges of the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.' So is not this the mark now of all the false prophets that follow their own spirits and see nothing, who say, they have not the same spirit as the prophets and apostles had? Is not this your confession both in old and new England, and other places? and how can you make up the hedge, or stand in the

gap, and not be in that spirit and power that the prophets and apostles were in, but rather make it wider ?

But further, the Lord saith concerning the false prophets, They have seen vanity, and lying divination, saying the Lord saith it, and the Lord hath not sent them, and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word of their prophecy: have ye not seen a vain vision, and have not ye seen a lying divination, and ye say the Lord saith it, when I have not spoken? therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because ye have spoken vanity and seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you saith the Lord.'

6

Now here we see such that the Lord hath not spoken to, and the Lord hath not sent them, yet these false prophets or teachers would father their words upon the Lord, and will they not do so now? saying the Lord saith it, and profess themselves that the Lord sent them, when the Lord never spoke to them; but the Lord and his prophets are against all such? And the Lord saith, My hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity and divine lies, they shall not be in the assemblies of my people, &c. they shall know that he is Lord;' and saith the Lord, because they have deceived my people, saying peace, and there was no peace; one builds up a wall, and behold, the other daubs it with untempered mortar, and this wall shall fall; for there shall come a great shower, and I will send hailstones that will cause it to fall, and a stormy wind shall break it down, and when the wall has fallen, will it not be said, where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? So God will destroy all these false prophets, and their wall, and their daubings to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall and be consumed, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord, I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say unto you, the wall is no more, neither the daubers thereof (to wit, the false prophets of Israel,) who prophesied upon Jerusalem, and seeing visions of peace for it, and there is no peace saith the Lord."

So here is the end of the false prophets, and their daubing, and their wall, who follow their own spirit, and see nothing, and such cannot temper the mortar: for that is done by God's spirit, they must follow that, and they that do, cry against such as Ezekiel declared against.

And so the son of man was to set his face against all such as prophesied out of their own hearts, and such as sowed pillows under the armholes, that they might lie soft in their sins and wickedness, and hunted the soul of God's people. And saith the Lord, will ye pollute me amongst my people for handsful of barley, and pieces of bread, to slay the souls of them that should not die,' &c.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will have to do with

your pillows, wherewith ye have hunted the souls to make my people fly, and I will tear them from your armholes, and I will let the souls go,' blessed be the Lord, for it is his own work, which many witness, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly; here the Lord rescues the souls out of the snares of the false prophets, to him be glory forever; 'your vails also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hands, to be hunted, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, because with your lies you have made the hearts of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad, and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not turn from his wicked way, by promising him life;' and this is the work of the false prophet, that follows his own spirit, that hath not the spirit of God's prophets, to make the heart of the righteous sad, and to strengthen the hands of the wicked, that they should not turn from their wicked way, promising them life in it, and teaching them to plead for sin as long as they live; but the everlasting life is out of it, being turned from the way of the wicked; and do not you priests now a-days promise them life, though you say, they must carry their body of sin and death to the grave; and so are worse than your forefathers, whom the Lord by his prophets declared against.

Therefore saith the Lord, Ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divination, for I will deliver my people out of your hands, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.' So it is the Lord that delivers his people out of the hands of these false prophets, that follow their own spirits, and teach for handsful of barley and pieces of bread, a divination of their own brain, and say, thus saith the Lord,' when the Lord never spoke unto them, nor sent them; and many can witness this deliverance of the Lord, blessed be his name forever. Ezek. xiii. throughout.

And the Lord said also, Thou son of man, the children of my people that talk of thee by the walls, and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, come I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh from the Lord, for they come unto thee as a people used to come, and my people set before thee, and hear thy words, but they will not do them, for with their mouths they make Jests,* and their hearts go after their covetousness, and lo, thou art to them as a jesting song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can sing well, for they hear thy words, but they do them not; and when this cometh to pass, for lo, it will come, then they shall know a prophet hath been amongst them, when the Lord hath brought his plagues and judgments upon them,' as in the aforegoing chapter. Ezekiel xxxiii. 31. And is not this the condition of people now? and are they not more forward to do the false prophets' words than the true, which he speaks

* Heb.