37. Then shall neighbours exercise their charity, for the help of the ignorant about them, without the suspicions of venting heresies, or sedition, or encroaching on the pastor's office. And neighbours, when they come together, shall not take praying together, or holy conference, or singing God's praise, or reading good books, or repeating their teachers' sermons, or counselling each other, to be a bad or dangerous work: but the ignorant, that cannot spend the Lord's day in holy exercises at home, (because they cannot read or remember much,) shall join with the families of their more understanding neighbours, who can help them; (as they met, Acts xii. 12, for prayer; and as neighbour families were to join in eating the passover with the family that had not enough to eat it;) for love and unity shall end these jealousies. And all shall be done under the guidance and oversight of their pastors; and not in enmity of opposition to them, or to the concordant church assemblies. And oh what helps and comfort will this be to all faithful pastors, when all the work lieth not on them alone; but every one sets his hand to build, in his proper place; and when they that converse together all the week, are seconding that which he more seldom teacheth them in public!
38. The younger sort of ministers, that are now bred up in Vulcan's forge, shall be then trained up under grave and peaceable men; where uniting and peace-making principles shall be the rudiments of their literature.
39. And the younger sort of the people shall be no more tempted into envious heats against their afflicters; nor into contentious sects, because of controversies; but shall be fed with the milk of peaceable principles, and be educated in the love of love itself. And the names of sects, and church divisions, and proud pretendings, shall, by use, be made as disgraceful, as now the names of swearing, drunkenness, and whoredom are.
40. And oh how dear, how amiable, how honourable will their governors be, to such a people (especially that blessed prince, that shall first perform this work)! How heartily will they pray for them, plead for them, and fight for them! and how freely will they contribute any thing in their power to their aid! and how impatient will they be against every word that would dishonour them! How blessed will the people be under such a prince! and how sweet and easy will the life of that prince be, that is to govern such a people!
GRANT, O LORD, THAT THIS GREAT HONOUR AND COMFORT MAY FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE KING OF ENGLAND, BEFORE ALL OTHERS IN THE WORLD. Kings will then see, that it is their interest, their honour, and their greatest happiness on earth, to be the wise, pious, righteous governors, of a wise, pious, just, united people; that love them so much, that still they would fain serve them better than they are able.
41. The ignorant, vulgar, and ruder sort, observing this amiable concord, and all the blessed fruits thereof, will admire religion, and fall in love with it: and multitudes that shall be saved, will be daily added to the seriously religious, and the house of Christ will be filled with guests.
42. Hereupon the scandalous and flagitious lives of common protestants will be much cured; for the number of the flagitious will grow small, and crimes will be under common disgrace. Besides that, they will be punished by the magistrate; so that gross sin will be a marvel.
43. The books of plain doctrine and holy living, with the pacificatory treatises of reconcilers, will then be most in esteem and use; which now are so disrelished by turbulent, discontented, siding persons. And abundance of controversial writings, about church government, liturgies, ceremonies, and many other matters, will be forgotten and cast aside as useless things; for the swords shall be made into plough-shares and pruning-hooks.
44. The happy example of that happy prince and country, that shall begin and first accomplish this work, will be famous through all the protestant churches; and will inflame such desires of imitation in them all, and be such a ready direction in the way, that it will greatly expedite their answerable reformation. And the famous felicity of that prince, in the reformation and concord of his subjects, will kindle in the hearts of other protestant princes and states an earnest desire of the same felicity. And so, as upon the invention of printing, and of guns, the world was presently possessed of guns and of printed books, that never before attained any such thing; so here, they that see the happiness of one kingdom brought about, and see how it was done, will have matter enough before their eyes, both to excite their desires and guide their endeavours in the means to bring all this to pass.