for the day that shall burn like an oven is before to Manhim; yea, it hasteth greatly, it slumbereth not.1 "O Mansoul, is it little in thine eyes that our King doth offer thee mercy, and that after so many provocations? Yea, he still holdeth out his golden sceptre to thee, and will not yet suffer his gate to be shut against thee: wilt thou provoke him to do it? If so, consider of what I say: to thee it is opened no more for ever. If thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. Yea, because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke; then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. He hath prepared his throne for judgment; for he will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. Therefore, O Mansoul, take heed lest, after thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked, justice and judgment should take hold of thee." Now, while the Captain Judgment was making this oration to the town of Mansoul, it was observed by some that Diabolus trembled; but he proceeded in his parable and said, "O thou woeful town of Mansoul, wilt thou not yet set open thy gate to receive us, the deputies of thy King, and those that would rejoice to see thee live? Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the day that he shall deal in judgment with thee? I say, canst thou endure to be forced to drink, as one would drink sweet wine, the sea of wrath that our 1 Mal. iv. I. 2 Pet. ii. 3. 2 Job xxxvi. 18, 19. 4 Ezek. xxii. 14. 3 Ps. ix. 7. Isa. lxvi. 15. soul The King has prepared for Diabolus and his angels ? speech of Consider, betimes consider." Captain Then stood forth the fourth captain, the noble tion Captain Execution, and said, "O town of Mansoul, once famous, but now like the fruitless bough; once the delight of the high ones, but now a den of Diabolus: hearken also to me, and to the words that I shall speak to thee in the name of the great Shaddai. Behold, the axe is laid to the root of the tree; every tree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire.1 "Thou, O town of Mansoul, hast hitherto been this fruitless tree; thou barest nought but thorns and briers. The evil fruit fore-bespeaks thee not to be a good tree; thy grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.2 Thou hast rebelled against thy King; and, lo! we, the power and force of Shaddai, are the axe that is laid to thy roots. What sayest thou, wilt thou turn? I say again, tell me, before the first blow is given, wilt thou turn? Our axe must first be laid to thy root before it be laid at thy root: it must first be laid to thy root in a way of threatening, before it is laid at thy root by way of execution; and between these two is required thy repentance, and this is all the time that thou hast. What wilt thou do? Wilt thou turn, or shall I smite? If I fetch my blow, Mansoul, down you go; for I have commission to lay my axe at as well as to thy roots, nor will anything but yielding to our King prevent doing of execution. What art thou fit for, O Mansoul, if mercy preventeth not, but to be hewn down, and cast into the fire and burned? time to make an answer "O Mansoul, patience and forbearance do not Mansoul act for ever: a year, or two, or three, they may; desires but if thou provoke by a three years' rebellion (and thou hast already done more than this), then what follows but, Cut it down? nay, After that thou shalt cut it down.1 And dost thou think that these are but threatenings, or that our King has not power to execute his words? O Mansoul, thou wilt find that in the words of our King, when they are by sinners made little or light of, there is not only threatning, but burning coals of fire. "Thou hast been a cumber-ground long already, and wilt thou continue so still? Thy sin has brought this army to thy walls, and shall it bring it in judgment to do execution into thy town? Thou hast heard what the captains have said, but as yet thou shuttest thy gates. Speak out, Mansoul: wilt thou do so still, or wilt thou accept of conditions of peace?" These brave speeches of these four noble captains the town of Mansoul refused to hear; yet a sound thereof did beat against Ear-gate, though the force thereof could not break it open. In fine, the town desired a time to prepare their answer to these demands. The captains then told them, that if they would throw out to them one Ill-pause that was in the town, that they might reward him according to his works, then they would give them time to consider; but, if they would not cast him to them over the wall of Mansoul, then they would give them none; for," said they, 66 we know that so long as Ill-pause draws breath in Mansoul, all good consideration will be confounded, and nothing but mischief will come thereon." 66 1 Luke xiii. 9. Diabolus Then Diabolus, who was there present, being interrupts loth to lose his Ill-pause, because he was his them orator (and yet be sure he had, could the captains have laid their fingers on him), was resolved at this instant to give them answer by himself; but then changing his mind, he commanded the then Lord Mayor, the Lord Incredulity, to do it, saying, "My lord, do you give these runagates an answer, and speak out, that Mansoul may hear and understand you." So Incredulity, at Diabolus's command, began and said, 66 Gentlemen, you have here, as we do behold, to the disturbance of our prince and the molestation of the town of Mansoul, camped against it but from whence you come, we will not know; and what you are, we will not believe. Indeed, you tell us in your terrible speech that you have this authority from Shaddai; but by what right he commands you to do it, of that we shall yet be ignorant. "You have also, by the authority aforesaid, summoned this town to desert her lord, and, for protection, to yield herself up to the great Shaddai, your King; flatteringly telling her, that if she will do it, he will pass by and not charge her with her past offences. "Further, you have also, to the terror of the town of Mansoul, threatened with great and sore destructions to punish this corporation, if she consents not to do as your wills would have her. "Now, captains, from whence soever you come, and though your designs be never so right, yet know ye that neither my Lord Diabolus, nor I, his servant, Incredulity, nor yet our brave Mansoul doth regard either your persons, message, or His the King that you say hath sent you. power, and sets nor Incredulity to "As for the war that you threaten to make upon us, we must therein defend ourselves as well as we can; and know ye, that we are not without wherewithal to bid defiance to you; and in short (for I will not be tedious), I tell you, that we take you to be some vagabond runagate crew, that, having shaken off all obedience to your King, have gotten together in tumultuous manner, and are ranging from place to place to see if, through the flatteries you are skilled to make on the one side, and threats wherewith you think to fright on the other, to make some silly town, city, or country desert their place, and leave it to you; but Mansoul is none of them. "To conclude: we dread you not, we fear you not, nor will we obey your summons. Our gates we keep shut upon you, our place we will keep you out of. Nor will we long thus suffer you to sit down before us: our people must live in quiet: 1 your appearance doth disturb them. Wherefore arise with bag and baggage, and begone, or we will let fly from the walls against you.' This oration, made by old Incredulity, was seconded by desperate Will-be-will, in words to this effect:-"Gentlemen, we have heard your demands, and the noise of your threats, and have heard the sound of your summons; but we fear not your force, we regard not your threats, but will still abide as you found us. And we command you, that in three days' time you cease to appear in these parts, or you shall know what it is once to dare 1 Luke xi. 21. E answer them |