over a rotten sepulchre wherein there is nothing but dead mens bones with a shew of wisdome as if you would out the haire of justice and goe away more exact then all that have gone before you a pure medium 'tween all excreams avoiding all the rocks of Levellers and Cavaliers of all rashnes and evil intentions in which work you wrap up your selves in such a miâ—t of circum-locutions and are in such a wood of long and tedious expressions that as Solomon saies Are too wonderfull for me You are in this discourse An Eagle in the aire carried a loft by the prince of the ayre in your owne fancyes A serpent on a rocke a crooked serpent winding and turning this way and that way upon a rocke of confidence of God and your owne wisedome A ship in the midst of the sea You are gone from all firme land from all solid principles of goodnesse and are tossed about in a sea of weaknesse and confusion And the way of a man with a maid You are lusting after your Mistris honour and to enjoy her nimbly fly from one secret place to another to hide your selves from shame such is the way of your adulterous spirits being gone from your husband the Lord to the world You eate up King Parliament and People to satisfie your carnall love of safety and an outward Kingdome and wipe your mouths with some fine language and say you have done no wickednesse you may deceive your selves but can't deceive either God or man 't is very plain that when you have multiplied your vain words your swelling words to justify your selves it is but the atire of a harlot and every one wil see that you doe but darken counsel by words without knowledge and while you think to make your selves more vendible you make your selves more abominable There be many particulars in this part worth answering but those things wherein any shew of strength lies you make often use of them and wee shal meet with them againe he reafter and therefore for present shal passe them over From the seventh to the twelfth page you are relating how the Parliament Voted no more addresses and how they were turned into this course of the Treaty It were exceeding easy to shew in several particulars of your discourse that you doe in favour to your selves abuse the Parliament and others and in most things accuse others of those things that you your selves are guilty of but I shal leave that to some other Pen that loves to deale in such things I would in al things discover to you how unchristian your charges are In summe you here lay open the instability of the Parliament and by what means they were tossed from one thing to another and so declare the evil practises of the Kings party in both you are very large and very harsh to both without any molifying oyle or mirigating mercy having nothing else in your eye but to cover your own shame and as fully as you can discover others to ease your selves and load others T is Christs worke to excuse others and pity them Father forgive them they know not what they doe and to take the burthen and guilt upon himselfe to bear our sinnes he is made sinne for us but 't is your work to condemn others and justify your selves Christ pities others when he suffers by their hands you are cruel and mercilesse to others when they suffer under your hands such infinite distance is there between your spirits and the Spirit of the Lord. The poor Parliament for their sinnes are shattered and broken ful of perplexity the whole Kingdome ful of discontent against them and they reeling this way and that way to save themselves and the Kingdome and know not how to doe it The Kings party for their sinnes likewise lying under sore burdens heavy pressures and strugling to get from under their intolerable afflictions but can't And in al these afflictions our Lord is afflicted and bears al our infirmities they lie upon Christs shoulders and you seeing the Kingdome and the Lord of the Kingdome lying like the poor man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho wounded and halfe dead not onely passe by as the Priest and the Levite and leave it to sinke under its misery but delight to tear and rend its wounds to keep them open that they may bleed continually In al not a Word of peace or pity to any as dry and hard as the rock you have no balm at al for our wounds nothing of the good Samaritan but vineger piercing accusing condemning speeches as Flesh-flies living upon the putrified sores so doe you finde ease pleasure and life to your cause upon the filth and ruine of the Nation In this you are as the man possessed with the Devil you are led by a dark foul spirit to walke and live amongst the graves conversing with the dead carcasse of the Kingdome you stretch out the line of confusion upon the Kingdome and gather together the stones of emptinesse you make long furrowes upon the backs of the people intend our ruine to the furthest and bring in to our desolate Nation the wild beast of the desert to meet with wild beasts of the Islands the Satyre to cry to his fellow the Screech-Owle and the great Owle to lay and hatch and the Vultures with their mates all these dance together in your discourse which is black as pitch dark and uncomfortable as the night and threatning to add misery upon misery upon us and not a sillable of healing mercy in any sure your nature is to take pleasure to wallow and tumble in our Nations woes Give me leave to tel the storyafter you and to relate the businesse thus Once our King and Parliament or People lived quietly and lovingly together imbraced in the armes of divine goodnes prospered together as Husband and Wife till their iniquities on both sides broke this union and being parted by their jealousies and lusts after many unkinde blowes betwixt them The Parliament the Wife in a high rage at the remembrance of al her Lords unkindnesse and giving too much eare to her own passion and the accusations of adultery and provoaked by a multitude of perplexities Voted no move Addresses Shee would have nothing to doe with her Husband but would forsake him for ever and be divorced from him and then you who alwaies have lusted after the Royal Bed encourage her with thanks and court her for your selves But ere long the natural1 affections of these two divided friends though much clogd with jealousies and discontents begins to work towards each other which may be interrupted for a season but cannot be totally extinguisht The Parliament finding nothing but distraction dishonour with scorn and misery in a solitary state and finding her selfe unable to satisfie her unquiet children without their Father begins to thinke how shee may again recover her own head and husband and to this purpose Voted a personal Treaty with the King And now we
Justice upon the Armie REMONSTRANCE OR A rebuke of that evill spirit that leads them in their Counsels and Actions With A Discovery of the contrariety and enmity in their waies to the good spirit and minde of God Dedicated To the Generall and the Councel of War By William Sedgwick But they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest to all men 2 Tim. 3.9 LONDON Printed for Henry Hils and are to be sold over against S. Thomases Hospitall in Southwark and for Giles Calvert at the Black Spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls neare Ludgate M.DC.XLIX TO His Excellency Thomas Lord Fairfax GENERALL Of the Parliaments Forces AND To the Generall Councell of Warre YoV drive furiously over the necks of King and Parliament Lawes Covenants Loyalty Priviledge and no humane thing can stand before you You are now fac'd by the majesty and light of God while you are asleepe in a darke night of earthly affaires You have appeald to God in your second Declaration but did not expect so suddaine an answer T is eternall and almighty truth that must and will prevaile if you come into it 't will save you if you turne from it you forsake your owne mercy if you oppose it you dash your selves in pieces you cannot goe from it or besides it but into the darknesse of hell The Lord is here Oâ—braiding your unbeliefe but mourning over his Jerusalem with love to your persons but with fierce anger against your practises I would you had those lively and fresh evidences of your personall and everlasting good in your owne breasts as I have your eternall state is sure t is your present wandrings that are here condemned Blindnesse hath happened to you in part and this is the time of casting you away you will have a time of being received againe you are now broken off through unbeliefe you will be graffed in againe T is your fall now you shall have a restoring you will wonder to behold so much goodnesse to your enemies and so much severity to you Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisedome and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and his wares past finding out I have reproved you sharply or cuttingly its proper for you With vengeance to save you and to pull you as fire-brands out of the fire your condition requires it Gentlenesse is abusd mercy despisd you have a long time trampled upon kindnesse and obstinately refused the word of the Lord You must remember my Sermon to you at Windsor upon that Text. Overturne overturne overturne t is Scripture still and that word lives in and upon you Salt-marsh his message quickly followed it Depart from the tents of these unrighteous men he lives still And Mr Pinnels admonition from the Lord following that These and other testimonies against you have beene slighted and disobeyed your sinnes grow greater and the anger of God hotter against you your reprieve is not your salvation you are growne to a height of confidence and presumption upon your successes your necks are as iron and your brows brasse and you walke uncontroulable in your way triumphing as the onely Princes in the earth as fit to sway the Scepter of England and all nations as the onely righteous honourable people in the world the great Lords of the Land Therefore it pleases me to powre contempt upon you to be shod with scorne and indignation and so trample upon Princes as morter Except I should deale thus with you you would not be sensible of what I say being hardned against mercy and having done all you have done against love Prosperity â—â—ayes fooles and therefore the rod is sit for their backs I know my dealing is just and righteous to such as you are being as Thâ—l 3.18 19. Enemies to the Crosse of Christ seeming friends to his Gospell Ministry and Kingdome but enemies to his crosse You hate to thinke that those faire beginnings of your peace and deliverance should come to end in shame and death you cannot thinke of leaving your hopes of outward glory and lying down quietly to let the world trample upon you This you count folly Whose end is destruction Destruction you practise t is your worke t is your end you cant not see beyond it and you are hastening to it it is the center to which you tend and therefore I cannot but shew it you that you may stop your course before the pit shut her mouth upon you Whose God is their belly Your saith understanding and God is sunke into your bellies and your rule your strength your confidence is onely in sensuall and brutish things your raisd spirits into the things of God are buried in an inferior region of grosse dull carnall affaires and except I should peirce deepe your slow bellies would not finde eares Indeed you are so lost and drownd in sensible things of the world and so eager in seeking for those things your belly your carnall affections require of you that I doubt you will be deafe to what I say Whose glory is in their shame You are full of glory in your great things that you have done wonderfull things a mighty presence of God But in summe what is it You have torne a poore sinfull Kingdome in pieces You have executed wrath upon your Brethren Friends and Country-men You have laid desolate your Father the King the Parliament your Mother your owne Country this is your glory to be executioners Assyria the rod of my anger What a crowne is this Have you restrored blessed healed comforted saved any No you have but plunged the Kingdome and your selves into a pit of darknesse and confusion When the things of God are proposd to you to suffer for others to love enemies to doe good to all to blesse all you glory in your shame and say you serve the Lord in this and there be lower as wel as higher dispensations You are indeed servants of God so was Nebuchadnezzar so is the Devil and you do the work of God but t is base drudgery t is his strange worke to be instruments of his vengeance and t is a lower dispensation indeed to dispense curses not blessings to be below in hell exercisd in the wrath of God not above in heaven in the glory and love of God and for sons heires so you would be thought to take pleasure in such mean employment is vile and unworthy Who minde earthly things this is another property of yours your minds are now captiv'd to the earth deepe in the lower parts of the earth in the belly and foundations of the earth pleading the earthly cause of earthly people or digging caves and holes in the earth to secure an earthly peace to your selves It s high time to withstand you and to rebuke this destroying Angel for t is not men onely that suffer from your violence but the Lord your sword goes so deep That it peirces thorow his soule also You are gone so farre in dissolving
cursing dividing and so are in the Kingdome of darknesse and the Devill This is your judgement all the evill that you bring forth is within you t is your owne though you will fix it upon another if it were not in you you would not could not produce it And why beholdest thou the mote in thy brothers eye but considerest not the beame that is in thine owne eye c. The evils that you charge the King and his party with though great in your narrow mindes are but motes in the account of God your smalnesse aggravates them his largenesse lessens them He that counts the nations as a drop of a bucket and dust of the ballance counts these miscarriages that are amongst the nations a very small matter easily blowes away that which you silly creatures lift at as mountaines toile and sweat at it to bring forth ruine from it T is but a mote to a godly heart easily forgiven and a mote in the eye hindring sight the King and his party many of them saw no better thought they ought to defend their right against us that rebeld And now it s a more in the eye indeed it vexes them they are afflicted for it under the hand of God and that 's your cruelty You persecute him whom the Lord hath finitten and talke to the griefe of those whom God hath wounded But you have a beame in your eye Your sinnes are greater being aggravated by many mercies much light that others have not enjoyed your sinne is a beame your religion strength upon which you leane and lay so much weight that 's become an iniquity and a beame in your eye that you cannot distinguish any thing nor discerne good from evill but are starke blinde you cannot see your brethren but judge them enemies and enemies are not fit judges and if you could see them brethren you would not judg them as you doe you cannot see to pull out the mote to take away the evill and leave the eye but you are pulling out the eye the eye of the Kingdome one that is the apple of Gods eye of whom he fares Touch it not not the eye onely but the head and so the whole body taking away the eye that you may leade the body whether you please Having taken this power of judging out of your hands and shewd your sinne and shame in presuming upon it We shall now consider some grounds you lay downe why the King is not to be received againe to peace nor restored to his office and dignity And we shall in the view of them see how much your injustice is against God and your selves in that where you professe for justice First You insist upon this pag. 24. God hath given him so clearly in your hands to doe justice and afterward God hath given a double judgement against him c. And elsewhere you pag. 5. to set forth Gods favour to you you say God makes hast to judgement and hath appeared as a severe avenger T is true God hath judged the King againe and againe and dealt very severely with Him He is the greatest sufferer in the Kingdome having lost His Crowne Honour Family Liberty Revenue c. And you thrive increase in wealth honour live better now then ever are Lords where you come and you add misery to misery and affliction to affliction Is this justice or malice Hath God judged twice And why will you not submit to his judgement Why will you take it out of Gods hand Doth not God know how to doe it Is he not severe enough You say he is severe Doth he want wisedome to secure himselfe and his people He knowes not how to make all sure you must mend it When did God chasten or judge man and then give him to men to chasten againe Or when did Gods people fall upon punishing after God had done it Is God weary of afflicting and repents him of the evill or remisse in executing his judgement that you would have men take it into their hands Know foolish men your plea is your condemnation and what you bring as your strength shewes your rebellion and unsubjection to the judgement of God Secondly You argue pag. 24. No remorse appearing proportionable to the offence if that could be seene you should regard it with a proportionable tendernesse towards him Herein you destroy and deny that free mercy of God upon which you have lived a long while and manifest that your profession of the Gospell was indeed but in letter not in power if it had you would as freely forgive as God for Christs sake forgave you And give freely as you have received freely Where the love of God and the Gospell comes in power it transformes and changes the person into its owne glory and makes a Christian be indeed to others what God is to him and in him You requiring proportionable remorse for the offence and then will give proportionable regard how legall and humane is this God forgives and shewes mercy that men may repent he loves first before we can love but you must receive good before you can give and will see repentance before grace and that in the severest way of merit Such sure will be the way of God to you yea such it is and your hearts are dry and utterly void of the riches of divine mercy and you live upon your workes duties experience victories and such empty huskes and not upon the love of God or else you would not bring forth such wretched harsh flinty stuffe as this is Then you say There is no change of heart no repentance no free nor full yeilding to all the parts of publique and religious interest you know not the heart nor can you judge of the Kings principles they are too high for you you know not your owne hearts and therefore not his you expect he should turne not to God but to your forme of religion and government and cannot count any thing a change but yeilding to your way which if he should he should but be seven times more the Child of the Devill T is true the King hardly parts with his right and unwilling to commit the government wholly into others hands but he hath done it though in weaknesse and darknesse in a smoke but for you to quench this smoking flax is not the spirit of Christ he is in a doubting condition 'tweene willingnesse to yeild and a feare of wronging himselfe his posterity and others by his grants t is a hard case and deserves bowels of pity and is pitied by the bowels of the mercy of God though you deale harshly with him It s a hard thing to part with honour and greatnesse it s easier far to seeke and get it then leave it and if you could remember how God got ground in our hearts when he came to change us how we disputed every inch never yeilded to the Lord but by constraint you would accept of the Kings compliance But remember the
same measure c. you will have occasion ere long to think of this with horror Thirdly You argue against the accommodation because now there is no equall ballance of affaires pag. 24. Your meaning is as you often expresse the Kings forces are wholly subdued he is in your power and now to restore him to a state of equality to your selves making your selves levell with him To all men yet what you make an argument of severity and justice hath beene an argument of mercy noble enemies require no more but to get their enemies into their power then they shew mercy T is Elisha's reason concerning the Syrians Wouldst thou smite those that thou hast taken captive with the sword and with the born set bread before them that they may eate and returne to their master This way likewise the Father of mercies uses and hath used to you and us never bringing us downe but that he might restore us and lift us up againe And all noble creatures both man and beast have this part of the majesty of God in them to spare them they have subdued only Devils get into their hands that they might torment A fourth reason is That he often caused warre to maintaine his interest against the publique interest this constantly and unweariedly We must note this by the way in proposing such an interest as you hold forth to be the ground of the quarrell you lye grossely for these things as you propose them were never thought on in the beginning of the quarrell yea the Parliament and we alwaies professed the contrary c. never to alter the government never to change the fundamentall lawes yea to protect and defend the Kings person therefore the case now stated by you is much different from what it was yea these principles you were lately not onely ignorant of them but opposd them when held forth by the Levellers and are indeed but the dust or shivers of a split or broken Kingdome that you and they have gathered together to build your selves a nest with and taken up now in designe onely to attaine your end malice ambition and revenge But your proposing this as that against which the King made warre you doe the most justifie the King that ever arty one did or can doe for your present forme of government is such a headlesse monster such a hoddy-doddy such an all-breech so different from the majesty of God and the wifedome of men that it would fright solid and serious men to their armes if I should fight against any thing I should fight against this And doth not your present practise confirme the King and his party in their way of warre when they now see clearly what before we conceald that the life of the King and his posterity is aimd at If there be any reason for a Prince to take up armes against his subjects this is when men attempt to destroy the King and overthrow the very foundations of government T is true for a Prince to strip himselfe wholly of all his dominion and royalty in love to his subjects and to cure and recover their rebellions is Christ-like and the Lord will enable the King to make a full resignation of all and of Fife too into the hands of God and when he shall doe it it will be his ease and deliverance And what the Lord requires in light and mercy you require in darknesse and malice For the Lord takes away that he may restore againe and the King shall by loosing save all by parting with his power unto God in darke and cruell men shall receive it againe into the life and glory of God You come pag. 26. to the second part of the question and a second reason against accommodation The safety of this agreement Let us consider what you would have secured and that is expressed in your Remonstrance That the King hath forfeited all his power into your hands That the people are free to make the best advantages And pag. 27. Having him and his party captivated and in their power and sometimes you speake conquest which shewes that we have gotten all the King hath we have by warre gotten advantage of power honour c. And this is in danger now to be given away and lost by a Treaty We see murder will out what hath beene whispered in a corner is come to be told upon the house top We have all this while to justifie our selves in this warre said that our warre was but defensive and indeed if it prove otherwise we must repent of it and beare the shame of it and now the truth shall come forth I must deale plainly with you and my selfe indeed it s so grosse in your writing that it was not onely defensive but offensive that it cannot be conceald and that we had designes of particular interest and advantage When we began the war there was this in our mindes and hath beene in our mindes continually That the King and his party were wicked men and not worthy or fit for their places and power they had and that we were Saints godly and they did properly belong to us That the Saints are to have the high places in the earth and now was the time for these things to be performed and no body is now fit to administer justice to rule over men but we Therefore we alwaies were glad of any of the Kings wayes that tended to difference and breach glad when he left his Parliament and tooke armes thinking that he was running to his destruction and that he would split himself and his party by it and we should have the spoile of them and an opportunity to obtain our ends and though we complaine now of the Kings obstinacy really we have beene alwaies glad of it because it led to his destruction and consequently to our advantage and the King not yeilding you know now at this time was thirsted after and you would not stirre till he manifested a yeilding minde to accommodation or peace being alwaies held destructive to our end or the recovery of our right the whole Kingdome for we thinke our selves the onely true Lords except the King would take part with us and become one of our Saints and so we should share with him But wow God manifests that you are not Saints but as weake men as others as fooilsh oppressing as others if not worse that you are not in a condition of reigning yet he is pleasd to blast your honour and keep you low and hath so ordered it that a Treaty is on foot to settle things and you are left out are likely to lose those places which you and your riend have not to attain those golden daies you hoped to see you find fancies of reigning to be but a dream that you must come down again from that you have gotten and hoped to get so your outward and fleshly glory is dying lies a bleeding in this miserable inconvenience of a Treaty this insnaring Treaty
to the prince of darknesse departed from God to the God of this world by which Satan hath betrayed you spoyled all your glory gotten those good things God gave you into his possession and imployes them against the Lord and takes the poor people of God captive to serve in the foule and base waies of the world and the Lord now comes for justice against this spirituall wickednesse in places you have dealt against small petty corruptions and have seen them executed but now the devil hath corrupted all your gifts and graces and spilt the bloud of Christ who was a babe in you and brought great spirituall mischiefs upon you death wrath trouble absence of God deprived you of your freedome with God c. now God cals for justice against this destroyer of such precious beginnings of godlinesse and creates trouble in your spirit for want of it but this cunning serpent beguiles you and sets up a shadow of an enemy a King without as an object to your justice to save himselfe and all his villany from the justice of God within Poor beguild wretches you are not yet acquainted with his wiles you are turned out of the righteous way and will never finde peace till you come to see all those evils in your selves in truth which are in shew and shadow in the King and when the sword of the Spirit which cuts inwardly is turned against those enemies of God you will doe justice indeed Secondly This way of acting in you for justice is great apostacy for a company of men that have been led up into such high things of God to live in God and doe all things in the Spirit of God now to fall down into the way of heathens to lay the weight of their spirits upon so poor a thing as moral justice and to daunce after the example or take for their guide and rule the blinde actings of Gentiles that lived in the world without God and onely sought an outward freedome and to prostitute the Spirit of God to such Common and prophane things is exceeding unworthy of the profession of a Christian and a going back from Canaan to Aegypt Thirdly Your Justice is but a bare name or a heathen covering borrowed from men to hide your shame your malice unbeliefe feare and such like monstrous lusts which you know you are not free from and though you would not see you shall see and the world shall see too that you are as other men are and take up the lees and dregs of the world cunning waies to remove adversaries to take away those that stand in your way and paint them over with the names of justice security to the publique interest and so act them in the face of the Sunne Take but this instance hundreds of the Kings party the basest and worst of them who have borne armes for the King are yet admitted into your Army joyned with you in engagements because it is for your advantage end the strengthning your selves to let goe the principal and punish inferiour instruments say you is not just And so spare inferiours to serve us and punish great ones to secure our selves of them it is great injustice It is an old deceit of justice to lay hold of small offendors and let goe the great ones that is grosse and common but to accept the small ones into alliance favour and service because we want their bodies and to seeke the ruine of great ones because we would have their honours places and estates is a new wickednesse a path not trodden in before high flying and gallant cruelty spare rogues slaves to doe slavish worke men of no conscience worth nor honesty and strike at a Prince standing for his interest engaged by conscience and honour This is your justice Now for the King against whom you goe in ful cry I have this to say to check your violent course First That he had and hath a true lawful right in the Kingdome and to the Kingdome as good as any man hath to any thing he possesses his crown revenue and dignity is as righteously his birth-right and inheritance as anothers house or land and he that denies this is wilfully blinde As he hath a right to his Crown and Subjects so it is his Peoples right to have a King I confesse it my birth-right to have relation to a King to live under a great Monarch and if I am denyed it I am denyed my native right and so my pleasure of honouring and serving him and receiving honour from him and many and great profits comming by him And he having a right to his Crown and his People a right to him it was as just for him and his party to stand for their right as for any other party to uphold theirs It is true his interest and Parliaments and Peoples were all in the darke and none could distinctly divide one from another or clearly judge which is which and so ordained by God for the fall of them as they stood in a worldly way It is true the King abused his interest and power and in the exercise of it transgressed against GOD and his People And it is as true when the Parliament came to plead their right they were to seeke and did in contending for it sinne against GOD and the King so that both have a right both have some reason to contend for their right but both have erred in maintaining their rights And therefore the King is not free from sinne alone nor guilty alone nor his party The Parliament not free alone nor guilty alone but each side have some good and evill mingled together you nor they perfectly righteous all have transgressed and gone out of the way and therefore t is pride and partiality in you to say he is guilty of all the bloud rapine c. No all are guilty We must say There it none righteous no not one You may say he was first guilty or most guilty because he is first and greatest and so hath suffered first most but to clear your selves as pure only condemn others as guilty onely is pride and uncharitablenesse and all proceedings upon this ground are acts of hostility and a continued prosecution of the old difference Thirdly I say that the King in his present state is more righteous then you he now suffers and acts and is in his present way the most just in the Kingdome First He hath confessd his errour though you wickedly urge it against him and though it be in weaknesse yet the Lord is tender of him in it He hath expresly own'd his sinne and the Parliament implicitly in yeilding to treat with him and shewing a readinesse to receive him to favour T is in their hearts that they were rash violent and too captious and ready to take advantages against the King being spurd on by some carnall and smister ends and so farre as they incline to acknowledge their errours they are in a way to pardon Onely
are fallen upon the principal and main subject of your Remonstrance to shew the evil and danger of this Personal Treaty in page 12. c. you fall directly upon this miserable inconvenience of a Personall Treaty and elsewhere miserable insnaring Treaty It seems this Treaty doth very much offend you declare so bitterly against it T is true while things are at this imperfect state it is a very easy matter to accuse or condemne any person or thing but a hard matter to justifie or save any thing that 's the worke of the devil this is the work of God I confesse this Treaty is a poor low dark thing neither party managing of it with that clearnes brightnes of love and goodnesse that I could wish that it doth not for the present give satisfaction to any side being infirm you have great advantage in appearing against it and some shew of reason for it and therefore your acting against it may doe some good to cleare it from some evill that adheres to it for this is my minde you nor none else can doe any hurt to him or them that are truly good but all things be they never so evill in themselves worke together unanimously and constantly for their good For this Treaty there is a blessing destroy it not the seed of peace is in it and it wil thrive and flourish act what you can against it you cannot destroy peace or union that 's the Lords In this darke businesse where the King and Parliament are groping together to finde a little ease and rest for themselves being wearied with the miseries of war doth the Lord come as a theefe in the night so that if both parties should designe by it to cosen the world and one another the thiese would cozen them both I meane steale away their evill lusts and sinnes and bring good out of it against the designes of men and if you would trample upon it because its low and poor and be jealous of it as dangerous and insnaring he will deceive you too and make it for your good and peace as wel as others and against your present thoughts of strife steale into your breasts and beget love and peace there also This is the robbery of this thiefe in the night to steale away evill from us and surprize us with good Your fiery contention therefore against it will be very usefull t will burne up those doubts and feares that are on either side melt each other into a closer union The root of it being the divine love all you doe against it will but quicken that principle and spur them on to a more hearty and earnest closing and while you endeavour to rende them from each other they will clapse the faster about each other and turne all their contention against you who from your present promoting of differences will be suspected to be the authors of all their strife Let us now examine the reasons you give against a Treaty pag. 14 c. You first quere and then declare that it is not just and good nor safe and so all along you insist upon these two things satis faction and security To prove the justice of it you state the interests of the Kingdome and Parliament as they have beene the matter of our quarrel In which we finde these faults First You would make your owne and the publique interest to be one they are so much different that you are faine to patch them up together often and bring in yours in a parenthesis as here pag. 14. though even the particular safety of such as have engaged for the publique is not to be neglected In this and in the rest of your discourse it appeares you conceive your selves neglected and left out in the Treaty and you do by this require your own interest to be considered and that 's very obstructive to peace for men in a distracted Kingdom to uphold a particular interest thwarting the generall peace and union the common interest of all States and with violence to enforce it to the ruine of the whole That which you offer to us is not the publique but your particular interest which indeed is not your interest neither but a rent and division an erroneous opinion For that there be a common and supreame councell that the power of making lawes chusing officers punishing offendors be in them c. It s very apparent that this is not halfe the interest of the Kingdome t is much too narrow for a rich honourable nation Generally you know the people of England desire peace setled religion establisht truth freedome of trade and this with His Majesty under their King that he may govern them according to their honest and knowne lawes that they may live in prosperity and honour For these devised things you propose the people know them not affect them lesse then know them they are invented onely to please and secure your selves and to pul downe Monarchy against which you would make your selves irreconcileable These principles are but the ax or knife to prune and cut the extravagancies of Monarchy or tyranny and if al the Kingdome were an ax or knife we were in an ill case You are but a part and alas an inconsiderable part not one of an hundred will owne what you set downe as the publique interest and a diseased part a bone started out of his place a piece of timber that is gone from the whole frame of the Kingdome which is large and consists of King Lords Commons with innumerable excellent branches growing out of these Now this were a strange cure to breake off the bones in the body to bring the whole to one dis-jointed part or to force the whole house to come after one piece that is started out is il workmanship T is a strange thing that men should place the welfare of the Kingdome in such inconsiderable things Methinks t is a wonder that men should bring forth some pedantick conceits and then magnifie them so farre as entitle them to the whole Kingdome Thus will meane and narrow spirits doe when they intrude themselves into publique affaires When souldiers men of private spirits confident of their ability and judgement in greatest matters shall produce brats of their owne braine and impose them upon the nation we shall be slaves indeed Secondly That you that are Christians that talke of the reign of Christ and of the Saints should now engage your selves to so base an interest as this is that you will espouse so poore a quarrell which in summe is to throw downe a King and Lords and set up the people That all power should be in the hands of the Parliament and that to be certaine and in the hands of a subordinate officer to call c. Will the establishing of this satisfie you for all the bloudshed estates ruin'd c is this your satisfaction should you not rather propose that all power and dominion and reigne should be given to the
Lord that King and Parliament and People and all should be filled with the righteousnesse and goodnesse of God But these things are too good to be spoken of beyond your faith ever to see it But I 'le tell you if this be not your interest to have God all in all to fill every thing and to have all things offered up to him in truth and righteousnesse your interest and Gods are more divided then yours and the Kings and if you adhere to that you have proposd you forsake your owne interest and espouse the Devils the God of this world the Destroyer and will perish with him Thirdly This is a fault that you all along carry the interest of the publique in opposition to the Kings which is a wicked thing to divide them that God hath joined wherein you doe as sword men cut in pieces and indeed destroy and mangle not onely the Kingdome but the word Interest which is of a uniting signification inter esse is to be in or amongst each other The publique hath its interest in the King and the King his interest in the publique or they have the same esse or interest which is to be together in each other the King is in the people and the people in the King the Kings being is not absolute or alone but an interest as he is in union with and relation to his people which are his strength and life and the peoples being is not naked or solitary but an interest in the greatnesse and wisedome of their King who is their life and honour And though you will dis-join your selves from Kings God will not neither will I God is King of Kings Kings and Princes God as well as peoples their God as well as ours and theirs eminently as that spaech enforces God of Israel Israel God above all the nations so King of Kings Kings God more then of common men and by neare and especiall kinred and communion assuming their titles and honour and giving them his majesty and dominion Kinglinesse agrees with all Christians who are of a royall nature made Kings with Christ and cannot but be friends to it being of kin to it the children of God borne of the King of heaven are men of honour not in a base vaine way but in a true just way and if there be not Kings to honor they would want objects to bestow that fulnes of honon that is in their breasts would lose the greatest part of their delight which is majesty and glory would want occasion of expressing their high and noble spirits It 's a bastard religion that is inconsistent with the majesty and greatnesse of the most absolute Monarch and such spirits are strangers from the Kingdome of heaven and know not the glory in which God lives and are of narrow and evill mindes that are corrupt themselves and not able to beare greatnesse and so thinke God will not or cannot qualifie men for such high places with answerable and proportionable power and goodnesse You are indeed much in the flesh in a form of religion which is weake and of a parting nature cannot conceive nor comprehend things in union you are dividing still tweene heaven and earth 'tweene God and King you can't own them in union and so divide King and people but the spirit of God is large and reconciles composes gathers all into one into Christ God and man into one person head and members into one body This love you know not that embraces God and the King in one person and King and people in one body A fourth fault is in your further stating of the controversy 'tweene King and Parliament you bring in in the second place religion the order shewes the present frame of your spirits first the world and then godlinesse But in this you erre exceedingly in putting all the enmity against godlinesse and the power of it on the Kings part and charging it upon him as his interest and assuming all religion and godlinesse to your selves Upon this ground stands much of the controversy betweene the Cavaliers and you that they are wicked you godly they enemies to God you Saints they darknesse you light and therfore as you say afterward What fellowship hath light with darknesse This is a ground if it stand good of an everlasting quarrell and if it fals I hope some of the edge of your contention may be taken off The answer of this is as proper for me as any who you know doe well understand the utmost of the religion you walke in and have beene exercisd in it with as much exactnesse faithfulnesse power and comfort as any of you Your consciences many of you can beare witnesse of the uprightnesse and efficacy of my conversation amongst you and that I was when I was with you not onely a companion but a leader to you in the best things and since have beene tryed by very great sufferings and made a spectacle to God and men and beene publiquely set up as a marke for all men to shoot their opinions and judgements at and dare challenge the whole earth the Lord being my Righteousnesse to accuse me of any injustice to God or man and now must testifie concerning you and my self with you that that way wherein you walke is not the power of godlinesse but a poore weake fleshly form You are indeed Saints by intention counsell hope you aime at it looke for it but in your present state you are carnall and walke in the flesh in great infirmity that your state at best was but to be as the Jewes having a forme of knowledge according to the letter of the law which forme is now corrupted left and forsaken of God and you are become through blindnesse ignorance enemies to the spirit and to the Crosse of Christ You live not the life of Christ you are not dead to the world nay you oppose that death you will not suffer with Christ you have not the spirit of God walke not in your affaires in the wisedom and strength of God nor in the love of God you know not the minde of God have not communion with God what ever you doe or have done you doe it by the strength of man and not by the power of God and now lest to a poore blinde unstable way not knowing whether you goe your waies being darke and slippery and yet glorying in fleshly and outward things mistaking earthy and common blessings for heavenly and inward crying up the Lord the Lord when you doe the workes of the Devill The Holy God will no longer suffer you to wear those names of Saints and Godly but will cast dung upon your solemne feasts and curse your blessings and discover you to be but whited sepulchres and cause your rottennesse to come forth uncover your nakednesse before the nation that al may abhorre and loath that outward formall religion which you professe it doth and will more stinke in the nostrils of those people that have
God is so Diabolical as there 's no excuse for it by doing this men shew them selves Devils for whom there 's no mercy no favour It follows For wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy selfe for thou that judgest dost the same things There is a fellowship in evill as in good every man while he is a sinner hath in him whatever any sinner hath as every righteous man hath what ever another righteous man hath If you judge any part of your nature you judge the whole If a man that lives in the world then your selves your spirits principles actions which are all worldly and sinfull Especially and particularly what ever any party accuses another of concerning these warres they themselves doe the same things To instance in the present case You judge the King guilty of breaking Covenant of betraying trust have we not broke our oath of Allegiance to him and betrayed the trust he put in his people and have not we likewise betrayed that trust the Parliament put in us when after promises of subjection to them the Army refused and made warre with them You judge him guilty of all the bloud rapine spoile Dare any man say he is not guilty of it Were we absolute in taking up armes in prosecuting the warre in continuing in armes Is there not in all self-love malice revenge envy distrust of God Had we beene rightly carried in freeing England from oppression we had freely laid downe our lives in a voluntary suffering and that would have saved the Kingdome whereas by our rash running to force we are guilty of the miseries of warre as well as the King But in continuing the Army after your enemies subdued you are manifestly guilty of the present oppression upon the poore people of the intolerable burden of free-quarter and unreasonable taxes You charge him for seeking to set up his owne interest of will and power Doe you not doe the same thing What doe you now but set up will and power Going beside all Law and right to set up the worst will and power the will and power of People of the sword Therefore let me expostulate with you as that Apostle Thou that saiest a man should not steal doest thou steal c. Thou that hast so much light as to oppose tyranny art thou the veriest tyrant Thou that plead'ft for Laws art thou greatest violater of Laws We will goe further with the Apostle Thou that abhorrest Idols doest thou commit sacriledge You abhorre his waies as grosse but you have more secret and close iniquities you rob God even of his Throne setting up your formal religion in the place of God you complain of shedding innocent blood and you shed the truly innocent blood of Christ Of Rapine and spoyle and you daily spoyle the Temple of God your own bodies and soules with your noysome lusts Afterwards verse 3. Thinkest thou this O man that judgest them that doe such things and doest the same that thou shalt escape the judgement of God He that judgeth is guilty and his guilt begins to stir in him God begins to write bitternes in the conscience and then to save himselfe he begins to judge others judgement of men is the constant effect of troubled spirits and this is your condition you are restlesse in your selves you finde God frowning upon you for your sinnes that makes you seeke for fatis faction for blood that it may be expiated and the wrath of God appeased The fire is kindled in your owne hearts your tongues are set on fire of hell If you had the peace of God upon true grounds you would be still or if your consciences were besprinckled with the blood of Christ you would not seek for expiation But there is the voice of thy brothers blood the blood of Abel cries not the blood of Christ The blood of Christ if you knew it cries peace reconciliation union favour love taking away enmity The bloud of Abel for revenge for justice this is your voice which shews a Cains spirit you are troubled for your sinnes Thinkest thou to escape the righteous judgement of God no thou art running farther into it you are not quitting your selves but increasing your evils Or despisest thou the riches of his goodnesse God hath been gracious unto you and re priev'd you for a while from destruction doe you thus abuse it to harden your hearts to pride malice and wicked insulting over your brethrent is this the use of your Victories to have oportunities to doe more mischiefe And so treasure up wrath for your selves For all that you lay upon others you provide it and store it up for your selves God hath declar'd you know rich mercie to the King and his party in my Booke called The Leaves of the Tree of Life You despise this rich mercy scorne it and set up your mercylesse justice against it Not knowing that the goodnesse of God leades to repentance you require repentance before mercy Gods goodnesse goes before and leads to repentance and that goodnesse that hath beene manifest though you ignorantly despise it counting it folly and madnesse upon no other ground but because t is too rich and good for you to apprehend it shall produce its owne effect in power and manifest your ungodlinesse in contradicting of it And know you that no man shall appeare either directly or indirectly against it but he shall by it discover the evill of his owne heart and manifest that he walkes in darknesse and knowes not the glorious counsell of the Lord. There is one place more I would have the world consider and it would make them afraid of judging Math. 7.1 c. Judge not that you be not judged You have judged the King and his party for it you shall be judged I 'le judge you And what judgement yee judge you shall have that measure that you give him you shall receive You exclude him from peace you have none your selves You thrust him from mercy you have no mercy your selves You live not in the enjoyment of divine love if you did you could not be so cruell as you are such enemies to peace You are that evill servant God hath forgiven you ten thousand talents you come and take your fellow servant by the throat for an hundred pence The Lord is wrath with you and now your forgivenesse is recald and you must pay the utmost farthing You shall not have mercy as you have had it freely but you shall suffer for it You remember the Kings finnes God will remember yours againe Know this you are not in the Kingdome of God nor blessed if you were you would be peace-makers for Blessed are the peace-makers for theirs is the Kingdome of heaven they that are blessed by the enjoyment of God and in the light of Gods Kingdom they see all things in union the King one with God and the Parliament and people one with the King they are one in God in his largenesse of love but you are
when you and your friends in the House and abroad shall have your hearts ripped up to you you 'l say this is truth and this is the reason that you seek security something to uphold your tottering Kingdom Now to part with this is death to you and you call it a preposterous and self-deserting way page 27. Now consider this First you have by this wofully defil'd your cause and manifest you undertooke the warre for advantage though it may be you were such strangers to your owne hearts as not to know it But their is more evil in you then yet you understand and it will break forth in your life If the warre had been only defensive you would have rested quietly when much more is offered then we ever had Secondly that you count all your own because you have fought for it the Kingdome and glory of it is but enough to reward you for your workes that you have right to all t is yours and your parties and this makes you often expresse the Kings title by conquest indeed you would enforce him to hold by it though he never mentiond it because it s your present claim you count your selves conquerours which is a brutish thing and by it you would extinguish civility contract religion humane nature law and all the obligations of them to bring in your title force Beastly Warre That you will lose nothing but keep what you have got and would by warre and force secure what by force you have won and therefore call self-deserting all one with self-deniing or self-forsaking preposterous Now then to conclude this you are not Saints yet Saints will not seeke a Kingdome by the destruction of others nor rejoice in the evill of others either sinne or punishment not in others fall that they may rise not advance themselves by an Army composd of ungodly men not by force but love Yet t is true Saints shall reigne notwithstanding and those will prove Saints before you that you little thinke for God will provoke you by a foolish people Know too that Saints rights are secure in heaven and need not begge security of men I scorne that cause that is subject to ruine and destruction and therefore your feares and sad expressions of danger impending shewes your foundation to be upon the sands I laugh at your destruction and mocke when your feare comes You live in God stand for God and the Gospell of God and talking of ruine and destruction base is that way and accursed that is subject to such black thoughts our cause is immortall t is eternall it lives and triumphs in death is gaine in losse destruction is farre from us we know it not But sit under our owne Vine and Fig tree and none makes us afraid Another thing in danger is persons engaged the party adhering you harpe often upon this string pag. 28 29. foure or five times you thinke the King will be revenged of you for your eminent activity against him This discovers a base and poor spirit and unbecoming Christian souldiers to continue war break off peace designe the ruine of the King and his family subvert the whole government of the Kingdome to secure your owne lives and this I know is one maine reason of your present activity and others are but assum'd and pretended to cover this a Principle very destructive to a Kingdomes peace and contrary to the spirit of Christ fear a snare and the pit have taken hold of you that are forced t o continue the disturbance of a nation and all the miseries of warre upon us to save your selves Let us suppose your feares and the feares of those that are called honest men for this is a generall distemper to be demonstrations as doubtlesse to you they are and that indeed the King should picke out a dozen or twenty or more to suffer what then suppose I were one of them I account thus I have victory over death and death is swallowed up by victory and therefore cannot feare it am free from it death cannot hurt me I sport with it am above his reach I live an immortall life and cannot see death and he that hath not this freedome is a slave Secondly I have no life but truth and if truth be advanced by suffering then my life also if truth live I live if justice live I live and these cannot dye but by any mans suffering are enlarged enthroned and so I am enlarged If I or any other have a life distinct from truth it s a lye if distinct from justice its unjust Thirdly My life is a common life I live with you and in you I can confesse you and all have a right to it if you come for it take it if I had a life separated from you I would lay it downe for my brethren and I ought to do it that I might live with you and you with me and I would spoile principalities and powers by this crosse If the King should come to take it I would so freely yeild that he could not but yeild to that love that can dye for him so hold forth a true immortall power that is too strong for earthly and fleshly oppositions or if any should seeke my life I would be content to give it that I might live againe in their soules And this is the way of the Gospell to overcome Tyrants and no other way and to gaine Kingdomes indeed Fourthly I count it not an honest life that needs such force with so much misery to the Kingdome to maintaine it but on the other side I am engaged to dye for my Country and I shall more advantage the cause of liberty and religion by one single suffering that is pure then we have done by all the bloud that hath beene shed in this rude way of warre and lay a better and stronger foundation against tyranny and errour then all these warres I judge it ten times more honourable for a single person in witnessing truth to oppose the world in its power wisdome and authority standing in its full strength and that nakedly and singly then fighting many battels by army force this Is brutish common the other Christian divine holy excellent and therefore your great care of securing your selves comes from a slavish fear of death from an unwillingnesse to suffer and want of the power of godlinesse to meet the power of the world with and true and heavenly love to your Country you know not that command Eph. 5.2 Walke in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himselfe a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour If you had this perfect love it would cast out fear if your life were indeed united to God or Christ were your life or that you loved others so as you could dye for them you would not not now be to seeke for security 'T is your great fear and expressed page 38. you may be made a sacrifice That which is proposed to you by God
are defiled and they begin to trade in the world with a pretence that t is for God they are so cunning that no bonds of honesty or faith can possibly hold them This businesse of your repentings concerning your former compliance with the King is a great strength to you and you much build upon it You have seene your sinne you say and been humbled for it and sought God and are cleane from it you have been troubled but now are at peace Alas poore men A deceived heart hath turned you aside and you see not the lye in your right hand This your Righteousnesse is a broken bow that starts aside A broken reed that while you leane upon it will peirce your hand To shame you for the iniquity of holy things and shew the abhomination even of your Reformation Know this from him who knowes your wayes and hearts First That it was not your sinne to carry out principles of tendernesse and goodnesse to all and of faire and gentle dealing towards enemies as you formerly did in your proposals but to doe this falsly and hypocritically to take these Lambe-like proposals to cover a Ravening Wolfe or to assume them not out of love to them but to gaine reputation or to gull and cheate a party into a quiet waiting upon you for deliverance till you had gaind your end and then deceive them and wholly relinguish them this is your sinne And this you were by me admonished of concerning the King that if you did looke towards him you should nakedly and freely discover your hearts and bosomes to him if he did so close with you it might be wel but that you should not as you did in distrust of God falsly without judgement accept of him and agree with him that was declared to you to be evill and a daubing with untempered morter Secondly In your turning now you turne not to God God saies to you You do not at all fast to me but you are an empty vine bringing forth fruit to your selves For this present expedition though you are blinde and see it not is meerly for and to your selves And there are in you the same wickednesse that was in the former and worse frailty is now malice unbeliefe turnd to self-confidence carnall counsell into devilish counsell There is nothing more of the glory of God in you now but lesse yea That which you seem'd then to have is taken from you your wisedome mercy moderation c. So you turne not from the iniquity of your way not from this in hypocirsy to this in truth in righteousnesse but from a vaine proposall of good to acting evill you turne indeed but to Egypt you are gone from good in shew to evill in substance Thirdly The root of this worke you have in hand is a sense of the losse of Gods favour you have felt Gods frownes upon you and that hath put you upon this work to recover your lost splendour and to make satisfaction This is a miserable dark principle and begets very wicked practises in a sense of the wrath of God to seek for means to expiate his displeasure Esavs teares Sauls sacrificing Israels offering up the first borne of their bodies for the sinne of their soules Poore blinded men when they seeke to satisfie God run more in wickednesse against him he that goeth upon such grounds to satisfie an angry God and to quiet a fearfull and guilty conscience will alwaies be bloudy and cruell and are thrust on commonly to some eminent folly some notorious and absurd wickednesse and so are you not being establisht in the love of God nor walking in a plaine path of righteousnesse but blinded in wrath are hurried from one extream to another This cursed giddinesse of flesh to doe evill and think they doe God good service is the fruit of apostacy and quenching the spirit of God to be so left to your selves that which way soever you goe you commit iniquity and not able to know or practise the truth you are in this the greatest examples of divine justice that this age hath brought forth The second thing that lies in your way is the Covenant which obliges to the preservation of the Kings person and authority pag. 54. but not so strongly but the snare is broken and you have an honest way to escape Many things you bring to quit your selves from it that clause In the preservation of the true Religion and liberty of the Kingdome pag. 55. If it have an evill sense it cals for repentance pag. 57. This however will never faile repentance knowes how to wash away any Covenant Then you plead 't was 'twixt man and man and would exclude the King as not present nor consenting pap 58. and after would exclude God from being any thing but a witnesse pag. 50. You would have God have as little interest in it as you can T is a very ill temper of minde that lessens the interest of God in our affaires It s an ill tongue that is an oratour for man and denies God that saies God is but thus T is no dishonour to the King to be left out where God is not admitted to be a party onely a looker on But God saies What you did to one of these little ones you did to me You vowd to me in the King though a little one imprisoned sicke naked yet your oath was to me God saies I put in the preservation of the Kings life and authority into the Covenant into all your oaths and protestations on purpose to save him after all his sufferings for sin And observance is due to me I was in that Covenant and will punish the breakers Where are you now Concerning your breaking this Covenant in a thing so expresse so agreeable to all the Parliaments Declarations and Remonstrances we will lay downe these three considerations First That Oaths and Covenants the maine pillars of humane society the greatest determiners of controversies the chiefe part of divine worship is in this age most commonly violated and impudently prophaned Poore world what will you doe Thy great security from danger Oaths thy Physitian that hath cured thy breaches often and heald distempers is become ineffectuall There is such wickednesse amongst us and that crept into the best of men and under such pretences of piety to God that no Covenants will hold them Certainly if God doth not manifest a new and everlasting Covenant to compose and binde us together we shall live in a wildernesse of horrid confusion Secondly That these are the last and perilous times spoken of 2 Tim. 3.1 c. And that you amongst others are the people there spoken of Lovers of themselves That 's your fundamentall Law selfe-preservation and the ground of your present actings to intrude your selves into the worlds greatnesse out of a high opinion of your owne deserts thinking your selves onely wise just holy honourable c. I could shew you the other particulars and may in time apply the Text to
you if you repent not but for the present occasion t is said there they shall be Truce-breakers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against accommodation no treaty no agreement Or breakers of Covenant and then it followes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accusers and at this you are exquisite Thirdly That Covenants being the strength of humane societies and so great bulwarks of the world degenerated or apostasied Religion is the great engine of Gods wrath appointed to breake them downe Solemne Oaths and Covenants are able to hold most mens consciences but men heightned by Religion into the forms of the spirit doing things by immediate direction from God carrying a glorious presence of God before them affirming that they are called by God to doe some speciall worke in the world these can easily mount above the highest forts of Oaths and trample them under foot presently Men that have tasted of these high things and begin to make them serviceable to worldly ends they are such cunning pick-locks that they can finde a way through all dores to come to the treasures of power and authority A people that have had a savour of heavenly things in a fleshly way turne them loose into the world and they 'l teare it up by the roots they are whetted for destructions such as are spoken of Ezek. 21.31 Brutish men skilfull to destroy such wicked spirits are now abroad that are brutish spare not the holiest nor honourablest things Kings Lords Ministers Scriptures Ordinances Oaths Covenants lay all waste and yet in the greatest brutishinesse skilfull though there be the most sensuall and beastly confusion yet they shall doe it artificially skilfully say t is for God justice religion c. and that they doe it by the power of Christ and the spirit of God in religious zeale c. and so exact that they will not be knowne from builders restorers reformers But the holy good wise mercifull spirit of the living God the Father of mercies will in his owne light condemne this uncleane spirit and drive him out of the land Having cleared your way to what you have to propose you give us your apprehensions of the remedy page 60. your first is to lay aside this evil and dangerous Treaty This is a strange remedy against civil warres to lay aside treating Then you require that the Kings demands be rejected especially that of his restitution to London This is very terrible to you that the King should recover any strength no keepe him downe as long as you can let him not rise how far is this from the power of godlines oracting in the power of God a poore pusillanimous cowardly worldly policy you dare not thinke of the King getting any power for then you know you durst not deale with him not barely in the power of God but he a prisoner and you free having an Army at your command you dare accuse him if he were in power you would shrinke out of the Kingdome whereas if you lived in the power of God you might trample upon Thrones if he were wicked pul him from his greatest glory and binde him in chains Secondly you would have that bargaining proposition laid aside and would have all justice done immediatly from the judiciall power of the Kingdome the Parliament and not by grant from the King you doe the King a courtesy in that and this being done you wish moderation and mercy not as long as there be any apprehension of fear there 's little mercy from fearful enemies mercy is in Breasts that are strong and mighty But page 62. you come to the marrow of the businesse to propound high things that sha1l reach us peace with God and quiet amongst men There was never such a mocking of God since the world stood for men that have professed Christ our peace so long as you have done should now tall from that atonement which you only talked of had not in power to offer up to God the bloud of men the bloud of men already in affliction the bloud of their enemies and that upon such principles to secure themselves to obtain and keep self-advantages 't is such a sacrifice as was never yet by the darkest heathens invented if you had covertly sought revenge upon him c. you had had some equals and examples for your fact but to doe the same thing in feare and revenge to remove an adversary and boldly impudently to bring it to God as a sacrifice to appease his displeasure and expiate sin is an unparalel'd wickednes and a project as foolishly contriv'd to quiet the people by taking away a Prince beloved of his people indeer'd to them by his sufferings whose government though ful of weaknes was far better then those that succed him a Prince strong in the affection of his Subjects and forain alliance and then when he is in a yeelding way to peace to give satisfaction to his Subjects yea when he is upon an agreement then to seeke the removal of him by death or deposure against the desires of the bodie of the Kingdome and of their representatives in Parliament upon the foul and black designs of a few unbelieving people that this should be a way to quiet the Kingdome it 's as far from policy as the other is from piety But to your Proposals first you propound That that capitall and grand author of our troubles the Person of the King may be brought to justice for the treason blood c. Two things we wil consider First Your Justice Secondly The person upon whom 't is to be administred First 'T is not justice that you desire it appears so to your blinde and deceived hearts but in the face of God it appears farre otherwise To tel you that justice must be done by law and that no law takes hold of the King will not convince you though to others it wil manifest that you that pretend to contend for the laws are the greatest violaters of them But the searcher of hearts will deale otherwise with you and shew you what 's within you and discover the falshood and injustice of your spirits First Know this for you have felt it that God hath a controversy with you that though you have done many things for him yet you are not perfect but there is some wicked thing to be purged out of you which is your glorying in that fleshly way in which you are God hath called you out of it and you have refused him and sunke down deeper into it blessing add strengthning your selves in it being unwilling to strip your selves naked of those carnal1 helps and advantages that you were engaged to or to suffer a losse of those glorious favours that you have received that you might have better but loving this present evil world and despising the Spirit of God and refusing his safety alone and to rest and live under his wings abhorring to cease acting in the flesh and to be perfected by sufferings You have by this joyned your selves
you justifie your selves as innocent and so most or 1ast guilty Secondly He hath beene in this Treaty in a self-denying way in a way of parting with his rights though misinterpreted b ing looked upon through enmity and jealousyes and you and the Parliament are upon the gaining and securing to your selves He is coming downe you and others are getting up He is falling you rising He is a sufferer you inflicters of sufferings Thirdly He ownes a God in the world and appeales to him that principle that you disdain so much pag. 47. and elsewhere is more righteous then yours which are seeking to set up a darke forme of Government without God so just as not to need God in which we may rest and never goe further to appeale to God The King hath appeald to God and it hath cost him deare God hath judged him for his sinnes as you say often in your Remonstrance and t is a wonder to me that you should fleight that maxim of impunity from man and appealing to God when God is come forth so visibly as he is to punish all ill government Yea that which you fly to your selves in your second Declaration and the Holy God is as righteous to you as to the King to punish you in your kinde as him in his And as it hath beene his fall so it will be his and your rising sticking fast to your appeale to God in distresse he will restore him and you A fourth is this That the King in his offers of peace hath shewd a fatherly and large spirit and endeavoured the comprehending of all interests and you insist only upon your own and others as relating to yours The fifth and last thing I have to say for the King is that which I have already published That he is an Image of the glory of God the Father and chosen by the divine majesty to bring forth it selfe A vessell of honour pardoned loved and taken into union with God And t is not the least aggravation of your sinne that you goe on in your waies against him after the divine Grace had so publiquely ownd him And this you doe without any knowledge of the mind of God or any ability to shew the evill weaknesse of that discovery but in a rude and brutish pursuing of your owne sense and experience you are sunke deepe into the earth or else you would not say after such a manifest judgement given by God as you doe pag. 48. If they claime by immediate divine designation let them shew it pag. 50. in a way of rejecting and denying at least Which we are sure can be no lesse then something of Divinity Indeed you cannot nay will not see divine things amongst men else you would not now say Let them shew it But of all t is the greatest wonder that you should be such opposers of Divinity and divine designation who have professed God is in all there is nothing but God and cry up the name of God so much to be in your owne darke and confused wayes and will not acknoeledge him in any thing that is honourable or excellent And though your Remonstrance be against this glory of God breaking forth in the King your actions shall and doe promote it and this may be your comfort that these sufferings will so refine and improve him that he will appeare in that excellent spirit of love and goodnesse as shall freely forgive your violence against him and rejoice in his sufferings being the certaine way to a true Throne of Glory Thus I dare meet with al your power and interpose betweene the edge of your inflamed wrath and the King I value not what you can doe or say If you say I am turnd Royalist I am of a Royall Seed a Royall Priesthood and a lover of Royalty in the most High God and no where else If you say I doe it upon carnal grounds you may say it but shal not long thinke it but wil wish your selves as free from worldly respects and selfe-seeking in acting against as I am in appearing for the King ere long The three next things propounded are but the raveling out of the same principle wherein you shew what a reach your great feares have and how wary you are to fortifie your selves against al from whom there may be any appearance of danger And so the Kings Children must suffer and a competent number of his chiefe Delinquents There is here nothing of a new principle and therefore I omit it Your sift is for satisfaction of Arrears This is a main wheel though it makes little noise here For I believe if you could get your Arrears which are very considerable summes of money and would helpe you to live conveniently and could rationally and upon visible grounds promise your selves safety and a quiet life you would be content to lay downe many of you and be quiet This is good sober dealing and you thinke it very justifiable For the Labourer is worthy of his hire And you know many of you I thinke the greatest part of the body would have left long agoe if they had not hoped to recover some good part of their Arrears But is this sutable to our profession when we undertooke this Warre Did not we scorne a mercenary souldier or souldier of fortune And upon those termes have dealt with God and men yet now the Kingdome must lye under misery till you have your arrears I 'le but say this to you you are upon as good a way to pay or acquit your Arrears as the Scots were Your next thing propounded is concerning the Parliament that it should have a Certaine period and so the great trust reposed in them may returne to the people pag. 65. This Parliament hath beene a pretty hackney for you you can ride it as long as you will and which way you wil and then turne it up Prescribe it what it shal doe and how long Wee see now your tender regard to the priviledge of Parliament How pitifully you use this Old Masse as you cal it pag. 45. You guard it and regard it mould and turne this masse til it be fit for your purpose and when it hath dethron'd the King and enthrond your government you will release them and send them packing You are as the Sea boundlesse let loose from all ties and obligations of superiours and none can stand before you You trample upon Parliament as well as upon King imprison him and force these to doe your worke and then a period At last you shew us the grounds that you would have the Kingdome setled upon pag. 66. which I shal not much meddle with in particular Onely consider First That you professe your selves and t is your property to be appointed and cald for breaking in pieces the powers of the world and to be As the Potstheards of the earth that dash one against another And in this you are very skilful and able But what then have you to doe with
setling T is not your trade you were never cut out for it nor bound ' prentise to it and so it seemes by the grounds you lay of common right which are onely framd with respect to your owne private interest and have little of right freedom or common in them onely much of safety for your selves as you thinke Why doe you dissemble with men holding forth a foundation to settle the Kingdome when you know al things are unsetling and for that you act Or if this be a ground laid for future settlement and safety it s a wofull Babel an Idol a lye a vanity a thing that cannot save Will this reach to heaven or save you from the floud of wrath that is broken out upon you T is an unprofitable empty desolate thing A vessell in which is no pleasure neither inward nor outward Like the image of Dagon fallen and without his head You would thinke it Apostacy for men to goe backe to 10 or 20 years since but to plead for an age before the conquest and run backe to to the most barbarous times not only from God to the glory of great states but to Egypts Garlicke and Onions to the dul senselesse people and set them up as Idols to save you and fall downe before this wood and stone as things of vast concernment What a condition are you shrunk into Ensnard in holes of earth Here lies the glory of your Saintship of your Kingdome of God or this is the end of al your carnal and fleshly religion This is the heaven you settle in the grounds of your peace The Lord marches thorow the land in indignation and wounds the head out of the house of the wicked by discovering the foundations to the weak Thou didst strike thorow with his staves the head of the villages Thou hast wounded the head the glory of the Kingdome and now thou strikest thorow the head of villages not onely destroy royall but popular power and dost rip up the foundations and shew the folly rottennesse and ungodlinesse of the lowest stones as wel as of the highest None shall escape thy Righteo is iudgements Your last thing propounded is a contract or agreement a contract or bargaine not a marriage for there is no husband An agreement with death no life no God no wee have enough of them Alas they are poore things they will not hold a quarter of a year a cobling device Let us have a Saviour that can defend himselfe and needs not to be tied together and naild fast by an agreement or contract this is a poore God an old Canonical trick subscriptions Conformity for State as wel as for Church That none be capable of any benefit by it but such as subscribe None beare any office or place of publique trust nor King except be subscribe This is publique liberty and common right There was never grosser tyranny ever appeard in the world T is I am very sure the last and worst piece of folly in this kinde that ever was brought forth And after the casting off al powers breaking al Covenants this comes in as a crowne of the worke a great chaine of darknesse to binde us to the earth for ever a great bog in which we may lye fast Where is that liberty of the spirit that glory of God that should make men confesse God is in you of a truth This is your binding Kings in chaines of Iron Did ever men fall from praying for professing of preaching of aiming at the last and great glory of God as you do to such a beggarly rudiment as agreement with the people subscription upon penalty Your condition is well expressed Isay 65. 4 5. Which say Stand by thy selfe come not neare me for I am holier then thou You say to the King Bishops and Presbyters stand by thrust them away and their oaths conformities covenants stand by al you Ecclesiastical subscriptions we wil have a civill one You required some we wil have al subscribe We are the most Righteous that have come yet none before us did such things as we And yet saith the Text Which lye amongst the graves You lye downe in the rotten Sepulchres of the Bishops their waies are dead and putrified and you goe downe into them and defile your selves with them And lodge in the monuments You have striven long for reformation and for the Kingdome of God but at last wildred and nighted you take up your rest and lodging amongst the dried bones of your dead ancestors would save your selves by oaths subscriptions c. which are the great signes of the uncertainty and mortality of states when they finde they begin to dye they set up their memories on these monuments of Covenants and Subscriptions And eate swines flesh that 's another evil You live upon that beast a swine that loves digging and rooting in the earth You are not content with what the earth by the favour of heaven sends forth but are digging into and turning up the bowels of the Kingdome to satisfie your swinish appetites Or love to wallow in mire and to lye upon the dunghil of the Kingdomes confusions and take pleasure in it And broth of abhominable things you abhominate tyranny compulsion enforcing in others to impose and advance their owne interest but refusing to doe the thing it selfe you eate the broth doe the same thing in a looser weaker baser and more servile way You are the lees and dregs of the world the taile of it you thinke you are the best but are the worst for the world growes worse and worse and the deeper you goe into it the further you are from God and the neerer to hel to confusion for the world hath its foundations in the deeps T is a fond conceit arising from the grossest ignorance and self-love to thinke that you are better then others al your waies being more absurd violent irrationall then the worst of those that have gone before you You may reade your description excellently penned long agoe 1 Tim. 4.1 c. Now the spirit speaketh expresly He speakes to whom all times are now who sees all things present He speakes truth things are because he speakes them Therefore doth your glory fade away Because the spirit of the Lord hath blowd upon it and he speaks expresly There 's nothing the Lord brings forth more exactly fully and clearly then the apostacy of carnal professours a worke wherein be delights to be compleat and to doe it to the life to fil religious flesh kicking against him with absurd folly and grosse wickednesse In the latter times which are these daies when time growes low t is the worst That time wherein we are looking for the greatest good then appeares the greatest evill And that in Apostates Some shall depart from the faith the spirit saies now expresly you are these some you have departed from the faith First From the doctrine of faith expressed in the last verse of the former Chapter and in the 6.