‘Again, consider, and let it move on thy heart, not to exalt thyself, nor to be high-minded, but to fear continually, knowing that thou standest not by thyself, but by another, and that he is able to abase thee, and give thee into the will of thine enemies whensoever he will; and how the Lord hath preserved thee sometimes wonderfully, and doth unto this day, from the murderous plots, and crafty policy of evil men, who seek thy evil, and would rejoice in thy fall, and in the desolation of thy family and countries: how have they, and do they lay snares for thy feet, that thou mayst be cut off from amongst men, and die unhappily, and be accounted accursed? And yet to this day he hath preserved thee, and been near to keep thee, though thou hast hardly known it; and the Lord’s end is love to thee in all these things, and yet a little longer to try thee, that thou mayst give him the glory. ‘O that thy heart were opened to see his hand, that thou mightest live unto him, and die in him, in peace. And beware lest hardness of heart possess thee, if thou slight his love, and so be shut up in darkness and given to the desires of thine enemies, and left to the counsels of treacherous men, who may seek to exalt thee by flattery, that they may the better cast thee down, and destroy thee, and blot out thy name in reproach, and make thy posterity a people miserable. But now, O consider, and let it enter into thy heart, for thou hast not answered the Lord, but been wanting to him, for all this, and hast chosen thy own way and glory, rather than his, and not fulfilled his counsel in raising thee; for the bonds of cruelty are not loosed by thee, and the oppressed are not altogether set free; neither is oppression taken off from the back of the poor, nor the laws regulated, nor the liberty of pure consciences altogether allowed: but these dominions are filled with cruel oppressions, and the poor groan every where under the heavy hand of injustice; the needy are trodden down under foot, and the oppressed cry for deliverance, and are ready to faint for true justice and judgment. The proud exalt themselves against the poor, and the high-minded and rebellious contemn the meek of the earth; the horn of the ungodly is exalted above the Lord’s heritage, and they that are departed from iniquity, are become a prey to oppressors: and the cruel-hearted deal cruelly with the innocent in these nations. Many are unjustly, and wofully sufferers, because they cannot swear on this, or that occasion; though in all cases they speak the truth, and do obey Christ’s commands, even such are trodden upon, by unjust fines charged upon them; and this is by the corruptness of some that bear rule under thee, who rule not for God as they ought, but turn the sword of justice. Some suffer long and tedious imprisonments, and others cruel stripes and abuses, and danger of life many