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Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92860	Animadversions upon a letter and paper, first sent to His Highness by certain gentlemen and others in VVales: and since printed, and published to the world by some of the subscribers. By one whose desire and endeavor is, to preserve peace and safety, by removing offence and enmity.	Sedgwick, William, 1609 or 10-1669?	1656 (1656)	Wing S2383; Thomason E865_5; ESTC R203530	87,657	113

your Paper sure these men are apter for such Work than the old Parliament And why you should so magnifie any thing that is past as to call it Blessed I know not I confess I never yet saw any thing in agitation that could make all parties happy and blessed surely nothing is truly blessed but that wherein all good men may finde rest It may be you plate much of you happiness in a Parliament for in this Article you plead for the Priviledges of Parliaments if you do not many others do think it the onely Cure of our Distemper and therefore I shall freely give you my thoughts of Parliaments A Parliament is a Constitution in which there is some Reason and Equity and of late it hath been very benign to Liberty and Religion for which we may remember it with Honor but I fear it hath been made an Idol by many of us and exalted above its place for which it hath been miserably blasted and curs'd render'd a vain and unprofitable thing subjected to scorn and contempt having lost its Union Majesty and Wisdom The Considerations that I have long had concerning a Parliament are these I. First A Parliament is a Body whereof the King is the head and therefore 't was called his Parliament because form'd and call'd by him at his own pleasure for his own ends and 't was his Interest which he much pleaded for in the beginning of these times a Free Parliament for had they been Free in their Debates and Votes he and all his had been undoubtedly safe For the Parliament did zealously and heartily intend the advancing of him and making him a great Prince and ingaged and protested to it however they were afterward forc'd from their own Protestations but not by any natural motion of their own but by an over-powering hand A Parliament is the Interest of the King and a King as much the Interest of a Parliament II. Secondly A Parliament is a wordly earthly Constitution consisting of worldly Matter Gentlemen of Estates and chosen by People in the capacity onely of possessing so much Land without any respect at all had in Electors or Elected to any Character of Grace or Anointing and therefore 't is the Interest of the World not of the Saints a part of the fourth Monarchy not of the fifth the strength of the Kingdoms of this world not of the Kingdom of Christ form'd by custom in the Darkness and Enmity of the world not in the Light and Wisdom of Christ III. Thirdly The Parliament had it had its Priviledges viz. Freedom for all its Members to Debate and Vote would never have removed any thing of King Lords or Bishops they had all stood to this day had not the Parliament been forc'd by the People We may talk of Priviledges of Parliament but alas who doth not see that we did make bold with their Priviledges by driving some out and driving some on beyond their reason to what we and the People affected and this so grosly that though it might be a shame to do it 't is more a shame to deny it or to seem now to plead for the standing of Parliaments and Priviledges when common sense or ingenuity will tell us we have forc'd and violated them at our pleasures from the beginning IV. Fourthly We cannot in reason expect a Free Parliament at this time because the People are not fit to have a free choice of Members or at least not fit in the sence of the Subscribers for generally the spirit of the Nation at this time is complaining of Sects and Divisions in Religion and jealous that the Anabaptist will get the upper hand and pull down both Magistracy and Ministry therefore we cannot but think give them Freedom to chuse they would pitch upon sober wisemen that should stop this inundation of Innovations in Church and State Therefore you cannot have a Free Parliament except you admit the People to a Free Choice which is the foundation of a Free Parliament which indeed neither the Subscribers nor any rational honest man can admit for the greater number of the People of the Nation are either Malignant and opposing Reformation or lately offended at it or Neutral and sottishly mindless of any thing but their profit all these must be concluded unfit to be the root of that power that must carry on the great Work begun and secure honest men and honest things And should we restrain the Election to honest men for which there is no Law yet they also are for the present unfit for choice being divided into Sects and Parties and so not competent judges of mens ability to govern but will over value their Friends and undervalue their Enemies chuse an unworthy man because of our own party and refuse a worthy man because opposite to us so that the Foundation of a Parliament would be laid though chosen by the best men not onely in bitter strife and enmity but in unrighteousness and partiality and what fruit can we expect but jangling and cavelling from the root of blinde and unjust Contention But alas a Free Choice is out of use amongst us for the custom hath been either to awe the People out of their choice by greatness or to cheat them of it by canvasing and importunities and so either some great men or busie factious men have made Parliament-men in most places and the People in whom we would place the original power over our Lives Liberties and Religion are such fools or beasts as to be thus driven in their Election If we should have a Parliament at this time I should fear it would be like that Beast spoken of Rev. 13. 1 2. which did rise out of the sea so the People or Nation is at this time a multitude of confused Tongues Languages and Voices carried this way and that way by the breath and spirits of men And the Beast was like a leopard full of spots of several and different colours and of a monstrous shape the lower parts the feet as a bear the upper parts the mouth as a lion such would a Parliament be They might roar as lions speak high things big words some of them others be fierce and cruel as a bear but yet a beast not of wisdom meekness or love to heal our Distractions for the fury and wrathful spirits of the People can blow up no better a Representative than a fierce and raging Parliament And should this Parliament assemble and sit and assume the Royal power into their hands will the Dragon if I may alude to the Army give them his Power his Seat and his great Authority An Army we have and must have and 't is now Supreme can we then think that they that have the Sword in their hands be they the Subscribers or any other will be so time as to suffer themselves to be voted Traitors by such a Lions mouth and to be laid hold on by such a Bears paws and not remove them For there is no

ANIMADVERSIONS UPON A Letter and Paper first sent to His Highness by certain Gentlemen and others in VVales And since printed and published to the world by some of the Subscribers BY ONE Whose Desire and Endeavor is TO Preserve Peace and Safety By removing Offence and Enmity Printed in the year 1656. A Preface to the Subscribers of the Paper FRIENDS I Have formerly been ingaged in our publick Affairs but have since been so long disingaged as may well free me from the suspition of being a Courtier being both offended at and an offence to them that be in Power I am free from all Parties that are in the Nation and shall use my Liberty in dealing as impartially as I can or as my weakness will permit 'twixt you and our present Governors whom you oppose if I do incline to either side 't is to you as most needing Pity 'T is true they are to be pitied rather than envied yet your condition seems to me much worse than theirs every way as much weaker and darker in your way and spirits as you are in outward place 〈◊〉 power I am a man so much under Temptation Offence Persecution and Contempt that if there be a Party of such I am very natural to them and if there be any by as in my temper to incline me to any it is to such I assure you upon the review of what I have written my Judgement smites me for having been more gentle to you than in Justice and in true Love I ought to be or than your case requires I should be and therefore shall I doubt in transcribing of it be necessitated to more sharpness than I intended But if I were not conscious to my self of a Design of Love to you in it and that in this work I should more serve you than them I could not proceed in it I have examin'd and observ'd all things of this nature that I have met with against this present Government they have pass'd the private censure of my Pen though not publish'd and this I must say of yours and the rest That though this present state of things be very reproveable having much evil in it yet none of you have come forth in Righteousness and Judgment against it nor in a Light that is able either to Convince or Instruct but a deal of weak and dark Accusations from mindes uncasie and sick with Passion and Discontent all tending to blow up a Spirit of Wrath and Violence and so to multiply our Wounds and Maladies not to cure them I have hitherto been silent thinking that those weak Passions that have looked out would vanish quickly as smoke and so they have But in this Paper of yours the humors are more gross are gather'd together and come out in an outward Tumor as if you intended to make a business of it and therefore I am drawn forth in publick to Treat fairly with you and to divert you from your course which I fear is dangerous to your selves and to us all And this I do upon a double ground I. First As one that hath an Interest in the common Peace of the Nation and in the Safety of the Honest and Religious Party both which are lodg'd for the present in this Government be it never so corrupt This Open and Vnited declaring against it with such Violence and Boldness tends to undermine our Peace by Raising a New War and so to let in miserable Confusion amongst us Your Design seems to be To take the Power out of these mens hands into your own which is 〈◊〉 a vain and irrational Attempt for the Sword is already d●●●sed of and setled not to be removed You may Disturb Wa●●e and Destroy by opening a way for your and our Enemies but not get it to your selves and if you had it you would undo us and make your selves more miserable by your Reigning than you can be by Suffering God I know can bring Light out of Darkness and Salvation out of Confusion but as a Man my Nature is much ingaged to uphold this wretched Frame of things in which our Peace and Safety seems to lie till God be pleas'd to finde a better way for us rather than the whole work should run back into utter Desolation and Confusion And therefore cannot but withstand your Spirit in which there doth not appoar either Strength to get or Wisdom to use Power if you should have so much Wrath and Fury to administer as to overthrow this Power you might continue a time to Torment the Nation but the same Violence and Wrath would hurry you on to such things as would Ruine both your selves and us II. Secondly I would deal with you as a Christian and one that earnestly desire to see the least Beam of the true Glory of that Kingdom of Christ that you profess for True you have the Name and Notion of it amongst you and that too pitifully besmear'd with Darkness and Folly but for the thing it self you are so short of it yea so opposite to it that when it shall come forth in Truth and Power you will not be able to stand before it I am very much perswaded that if you had any thing of a sober and real sence of your selves and it of your own Vileness and Vncleanness and of its Majesty and Purity you would hide your selves in Shame and Self-condemnation and not appear openly for it And therefore I cannot but in that little knowledge that I have of Religion appear against your Vnjust and Vndue claim to the Kingdom of Christ It may be you are confident you have it and act for it and do expect that all should bow to that broken Image of it that you have set up whatever you now think 't will be at last found a great kindeness to you to tell you That you in your present Actings are not so much as in a way to it but are setting up Passion Enmity Darkness and Wrath not the Grace of Christ and His Kingdom O take no pleasure in medling with Sin and Evil in any God knows is a grief to me to deal with it were it not necessary for your Instruction I could not at all take notice of I am sorry I am not able to do you good without discovering your weakness to you and the world my intention is not to condemn or dishonor you but to direct you into a better path You are now come forth against your Brethren in the common Road of Accusation and worldly Enmity wherein you disturb the peace of your own house where you may live quietly you gratifie your Enemies and that railing wrathful Spirit that is abroad in the world and cannot but wound and vex your own souls I shall onely wish you to retire into your selves and your own souls you fight now with the Fame Appearance and outward Shew of Sin in your Brethren you may at home deal with the very Spirit Body and Root of the same Unrighteousnes where if you

see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burthen c. Here you have not an ox or ass going astray and lying under a burthen but men your friends The Text tells you your duty if you be able to perform it 't is to bring back that which is gone astray and to help that which lyeth under its burthen These are the chief Things express'd in your Letter which as I conceive do offend your minde some generals that run through both your Letter and the Paper inclosed we may consider hereafter Your spirit comes forth more fully in the Paper which is the substance of your Testimony where we have the fairest opportunity of serving of you by removing those stumbling-blocks that offend you therefore I shall hasten to give you my thoughts of it ANIMADVERSIONS VPON A PAPER inclosed in a LETTER and sent to His Highness from some Gentlemen and others in Wales IN this Paper there is a Preface to the Articles and the Articles themselves In the Preface you do as you do in your Letter shew us your Commission which yon have after a long time earnest seeking of the Lord what we finde in our consciences and afterward in faithfulness towards God and meekness towards men perform what duty is incumbent upon us and at last in pursuance of our duty to God our fellow-members as Christians as men c. In these things I suppose you put much confidence and think that none that are religious will oppose a Work that comes into the field in the name of Duty Conscience accompanied with Prayer and Scriptures c. I deny not that these things are amongst you and in a great measure but I would advise you not to build too much upon them for these Reasons I. First Because if you will look abroad you cannot but see what with great grief of heart I have observ'd That in and with these things viz. The kingdom of Christ Glory of God much seeking of God Conscience Duty c. in some where there seems to be as much purity sincerity and uprightness as in your selves I may say more light evidence and power yet I say such vile things have come forth in them and with them which you your selves would abhor and which they themselves that brought them forth have sadly repented of do but therefore allow of a little suspition of your selves and consider that some while they honestly and heartily for ought either themselves or others know seek after Christ they are led into unreasonable and absurd things contrary to the light of Nature and Religion and to the hurt of themselves and mankinde and why may not you in your religious Zeal and Duties be carried into things contrary to the Law of Love and destructive to your selves and the publick peace II. Secondly Because you come forth not against a people that are prophane but such as are exercised in the same things that you are a people that pray that wait and seek for God and his Light to guide them as highly professing and practising religious Duties as your selves and are in that wherein you oppose them in their duty to God and men and for ought that you or I can judge with as much sincerity as you and such as have shined in the life of godliness equal to you if not beyond you so that 't is but praying against praying duty against duty conscience against conscience and sincerity against sincerity therefore if you do indeed honor these things as part of the Grace and Kingdom of Christ consider you do with Christ oppose Christ you sight against your own life and strength Is it not then far more honorable and Christian-like to suffer the greatest loss of worldly Liberties and Priviledges of Parliaments and Governments and to pay Taxes Tithes and all that can be laid upon us or that you contend against rather than to war Christ against Christ duty against duty prayer against prayer III. Thirdly Because this Quarrel hath been fought already in duty and consicience to God with prayer and seeking of the Lord in defence of the kingdom of Christ and his Way and Worship against a people who in obedience to their King maintain'd the Legal Rights and customary Worship of the Nation and judgement given in the case not onely for you but for all the honest people of the Nation which ingaged for this cause they therefore that will not rest in the sentence of God but make another Quarrel about the same thing wherein indeed there is none will I think suffer as contentions in a high degree setting the way and people of Christ against the way and people of Christ 't is therefore but reason that good men and good things should now live peaceably together or if there be a difference that we do not arm our selves as the outwardly-religious against the outwardly prophane not with Declarations Accusations nor with outward weapons no nor with praying and preaching in enmity and against one another as formely we did against the Cavaliers but with the spirit of God which is a spirit of love and light with more inward weapons that will pierce to the dividing of soul and spirit IV. Fourthly Because the things that you profess and that we have spoken of had their time and their work in publick in which they appear'd in power and majesty against their enemies but alas how much are they now polluted with folly madness gross error vanity wrath and violence as if the Abomination of Desolation were in the holy place 'T is too visible in others and visible enough in your Paper where there is it grieves me to say it falshood wrath deceit and blowing the fire of War amongst brethren which is abominable to humble and gracious spirits yea to nature and reason and tends directly to lay us desolate without safety or protection therefore what ever you think of the glory of your Cause as you have drest it up I must in faithfulness tell you my sense of it which I believe will be the sense of all rational men I had rather ingage for the honest principles of Necessity Safety publick Peace civil Government though under many defects and corruptions than for the highest things that you profess so as you now profess them and though this may appear to you prophane yet I know there is nothing more prophane nor more likely to extirpate all Religion and to set Atheism on the throne than for honest and religious people to war upon one another Therefore Friends before you go any further be perswaded to come forth of that private spirit in which you are and with a little charity look abroad and you will finde the Sun doth not shine onely into your window That the law of God is wondrous broad and spreads it self over and into other mens consciences as well as yours though with some difference as the subject is dispos'd to receive it and that others are as true and

of without accusing our selves also II. Secondly We may be asham'd to remember any of them but if one why not all why not the Covenant Protestations and at last the Oath of Allegiance for in all the name of God was called upon There is an oath for the King and his Posterity an Engagement and Declaration against him 't will be of little use to enquire whether an Oath required by a settled Government and voluntarily sworn to for an Ordinance of God instituted in plain Scriptures both of old and new Testament for so Kingly Government is I say whether such an Oath Or an Engagement injoyn'd by a broken Power or a Declaration of an Army that never challenged any lawful Power against an institution upon an interpretation of a dark prophesie of the Revelation whether of these two be most binding 'T will help you and us little to resolve it III. Thirdly This is most considerable how far the letter of Oaths binde which may be in some doubtful in others contradictory and how far the equity and spirit of them binde and then to enquire what is the pith and substance of all our Protestations and Covenants which when sifted out let them have their just and righteous consideration And then 't were good to consider which of them this present Government be against whether it be not against those Oaths and Covenants made for the Right of the King and if so how came we to be acquitted from those former Oathes or whether it be against the Engagements made against Monarchy it seems to me to be another thing set up besides rather than against that Engagement being of another nature from that which we engaged against as we shall see hereafter But alas these Questions do not heal nor help us onely they may serve as dust to put in our mouthes to silence us that we upbraid not nor accuse one another We have taken notice of the chief things in the Preface of your Paper we shall now proceed to consider the Articles of Accusation themselves which speak out plainly what it is that troubles you YOur first Witness or Article is against Apostasie which you express in a Parallel 'twixt this Nation and the old Israelites in their deliverance out of Egypt saying They and we have soon forgot God our Savior c. We have not set our hearts right c. but have gone back and deals treacherously and turn'd aside like a deceitful bowe c. have provoked the Lord to anger by our inventions This first is more honest and ingenuous than any thing that follows it There is a serious truth in it and 't is soberly and humbly exprest if you do indeed mean what you have written For you say WE have soon forgo●ten God c. WE have not c. If you are true in this WE you have taken your share of the guilt and shame with your brethren and the whole Nation and have own'd a union with them in this head sin or root-sin of Back sliding which is but just if it was a slip 't was an honest and a loving one be perswaded to own it and to number your selves with us sinners and to bear your part of guilt and punishment also if it comes Sin is general so will Judgement be 't is therefore safer for you to lie down under Self-condemnation and either trust to mercy or seek to avert calamity than to justifie your selves as innocent persons and witnesses I take no pleasure in speaking of it but I fear what you write is too true that there is a general Apostasie amongst us it may be they that are in great place and so liable to great temptations are more guilty than others or else their guilt is more manifest but sure there is a general declining in the visible Professors of Religion and as you say Our hearts have not been right nor our spirits stedfast to God but we have turn'd aside like a deceitful bowe 'T is most manifest in these particulars I. First We are in Religion divided into several opinions forms names words and ways of worshipping God in which we walk in enmity to our brethren of different judgements which shews we have turn'd aside from God who is one and his name one whose Law is exceeding large who is love he saves all comprehends all under his wings And that which is purely of God and his word 't is sweet easie and delightful to all that are godly but that which leads men into divided paths and into opposition whereby we grieve afflict and offend godly ones there is in all those things some inventions of our own something of carnal reason Therefore in all divisions that are amongst us how ever we commend our own way as pure and would impose it upon others and not admit him to a share of the salvation that God hath wrought for all his people that denies it yet there is in every one mixtures of our own which while we zealously prosecute we turn aside from God and his law of Love II. Secondly We do as Israel abound in performances religious exercises in new moons solemn assemblies where we offer rivers of oyl the beasts of a thousand mountains expressions enlargements notions scriptures duties yet Israel departed from God and turn'd aside into themselves in these things therefore are they call'd theirs own ways and not that which God delighted in Isa 66.3 4. Alas how grosly are our preachings prayings assemblings churchings polluted with pride vain glory worldly ends is it not apparent that we deal treacherously with God while we seem to exalt his kingdom we do indeed seek our own honor and advantage and the exaltation of our own gifts party and ministery For when we ingage the strength and might of our hearts in these things and neglect to serve the Lord with our souls in a soul humbling and soul-cleansing work wherein the power of godlinese lies and when by these things we life up our selves above others and as Lords over others do we not as a deceitful bowe while we seem to shoot at Gods enemy we shoot at our own enemies and while we seem to aim at his honor aim at our own III. Thirdly We once were meek and lowly contented with mean things in the world so we might but enjoy Christ in his own Ordinances Now how we imploy our Gifts our Light our Zeal our Way to get uppermost Diotrephes-like to have the preeminence what contending for dominion envying plotting laboring either to maintain or got Greatness and Power imploying our light and gifts to pull down and destroy not to save and that which would destroy would rise it self and get into place If there be amongst us these three or any of them there is departing from God enmity self or pride the constant companions of Apostacy If we have departed from God and the majesty and largeness of his salvation into destroying enmity into perverse self into tyrannical pride 't is no