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.'

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.

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6

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.

from the Lord, and yet will say the good words, but not do them? and have not you been often warned of this?

And Ezek. xxxiv. there ye may see the evil shepherds, which Ezekiel was to prophesy against, Thus saith the Lord unto the shepherds, woe be unto the shepherds of Israel, that feed themselves; should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ye eat the fat, ye clothe ye with the wool, ye fill them that are fed, but ye feed not the sheep; the weak have ye not strengthened, the sick ye have not healed, neither have ye bound up the broken, nor brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost, but with churlishness and with rigor have ye ruled them, (mark here the false prophets' evil works who left the true work) and the sheep were scattered without a shepherd and when they were dispersed they were devoured of all the beasts of the field; my sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flocks were scattered throughout all the earth, and none searched nor sought after them; therefore as I live, saith the Lord, surely because my flock was spoiled, and my sheep were devoured of all the beasts of the field, having no shepherd; neither did my shepherds seek my flock, but fed themselves, and not the flock; thus saith the Lord behold I come against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hands; [mark,] and cause them to cease from feeding of the sheep, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more, [mark, feed themselves,] I will deliver my sheep from their mouths, [mark, from the shepherds' mouths,] and they shall no more devour them :' so here is seen the marks of those shepherds that devour God's people; come try yourselves ye shepherds, now a-days are not these marks found upon you?

For thus saith the Lord, behold, I will search out my sheep, and seek them, and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day, seek them, and I will bring them out from among the people, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, and I will feed them in a good pasture, in their own fold, and there they shall lie in a good fold, and in fat pasture, and I will feed my sheep, and bring them to their rest, saith the Lord, and I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and I will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and will feed them with judgment;' and this is the Lord's work, by his power, which many can witness, blessed be his name for ever; for the Lord doth judge betwixt sheep and goats: so the Lord is our shepherd, and we shall not want; and the Lord saith to the false shepherds, 'seeing it is a small thing unto you to eat up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture, and to have drank of the deep waters, but you must trouble the residue with your feet, and my sheep eat that which ye have

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trodden with your feet, and drink that which ye have fouled with your feet; therefore, thus saith the Lord God unto them, behold I, even I, [mark,] will judge between the fat sheep, and the lean sheep, because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the weak with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore, I will save my sheep, says the Lord, and they shall no more be spoiled, or a prey unto you; and I will judge betwixt sheep and sheep, and I will set up a shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David, and he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, and I will be their God:' here you may see the Lord God is drawing and gathering his sheep to Christ Jesus, the true shepherd, that lays down his life for his sheep; and this many do witness, that have been scattered, and been made a prey upon by the mouth of the false shepherds, that have fed themselves, and have been wandering from mountain to mountain in this cloudy dark day; but the Lord hath sought them that have been lost, and bound them up that have been broken, and strengthened the weak, and hath brought many to the one fold, into his pasture, to the one shepherd, Christ Jesus, and is bringing others to him; therefore, try yourselves, ye pastors, whether ye are not found in the steps of those false shepherds' ways and steps, which the true prophets cried against.

And Christ saith, 'none can come unto me, except the Father draw him; and the truth of this we witness, blessed be the Lord forever: 'and as a company of thieves wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent, for their work is mischief.' Was not this so in Hosea's days, as you may see in Hosea vi. 9. And was it not so in the days of Christ against him? and is it not so now? read in Matt. xxvii. how early they got up in the morning to work mischief, for when morning was come they rose up together, the chief priests and elders to take counsel together to put Christ to death and hath not this spirit and practice been found amongst ye priests and professors now a-days against Christ's followers?

And in Amos vii. see what rage the high priest Amaziah, was in against Amos, and informed king Jeroboam against him, saying that, Amos hath conspired against thee, O king;' and warned Amos to be gone into the land of Judah, and prophesy there, and prophesy no more at Bethel, which was the king's chapel and court: and then Amos the herdsman said to the priest Amaziah that, 'he was no prophet, but a herdsman, and a gatherer of figs.' Here you may see the wrath and rage of the high priest against the servant of God, as they do now a-days.

And in Micah ii. 11. 'If a man walking in the spirit of falsehood lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine, and of strong drink, he shall even be a prophet for this people.' These were the prophets that VOL. V.-4

pleased people then, and are they not them that do so now? and such like prophets are not like to turn people to God more now than then.

And in Mic. iii. see the chapter throughout, and measure yourselves by those priests and prophets, and see if you be not found in their steps, 'they hatch good,' saith the prophet, and love the evil, they pluck off their skins from them, and their flesh from their bones; they eat also the flesh of my people, [mark, men eat,] they flea off their skins from them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron, then shall they cry unto the Lord, but I will not hear them; he will hide his face from them, because they have done wickedly in their works.' Now here you may see these wicked workers could cry unto the Lord; they had a profession then, as many in their practice do now.

But, thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that deceive my people, and bite them with their teeth, [mark,] and cry peace, (this is a strange peace,) but if any man put not into their mouths, [mark,] into their mouths, they prepare war against them;' and have not we seen this scripture fulfilled, and daily fulfilling among the priests of Christendom, so called?

'Therefore, night shall be unto you for a vision, and darkness shall be unto you for a divination, and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.' [Mark,] ye that are found in these steps; is not the sun gone down upon you all, and doth not then dark night follow? read your condition, and try yourselves.

Then shall the seer be ashamed, and the soothsayer confounded, yea, they shall cover their lips; for they shall have no answer from God.' And is not this one of the doctrines of your faith, that there is no hearing God's voice now a days, nor no answer from God; so that you may cover your lips and be ashamed, and say the sun has gone down upon you, and your day is dark upon you: but Micah saith, truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord; and of judgment, and of strength, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and unto Israel, his sin,' &c. And are not such things to be declared against now, by them that are full of the power and spirit of God now in Christendom, as he declared against then. And saith he, they build up Sion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity' and may it not be said, that Christendom is built up with blood and persecution, and with iniquity? now is not your Zion and your Jerusalem all on heaps, and like a forest that is barren, who plead for sin and imperfection to the grave?

The heads thereof judge for reward,' saith Micah, 'the priests thereof teach for hire, the prophets thereof prophesy for money, yet will they lean upon the Lord and say, is not the Lord amongst us, no evil can come upon us? therefore shall Sion for your sakes be ploughed up like