the Sword Strong-holds and Forts Ammunition and the like into confiding hands To this there is enough said though I had said nothing I will say but this So long as these Strong-holds and Breast-workes doe stand they will bee a memoriall of the Kings illegall and most injurious dealing with a righteous people So long as these shall be spoken of will the injustice the bloudy proceedings of the King in the hands of bloudy Counsellours be remembred also to all generations We shall tell it to our children and they to their children That the King of England would have oppressed his owne people he would have inthralled their Lawes Liberties Religion And for the maintenance of all these their lives and all that was deare unto them did his people so fortifie and Breast-worke themselves against the fury and rage of their King in the hands of bloudy persecuters The Case of Conscience now The People must not stand up for their lives and liberties Ob. against murtherers for if they stand up against them they stand up against their King We deny that and conclude the Contrary Ans That a standing up against Murtherers is a standing up for their King To deliver him out of the hands of Murtherers It has an affiance with duty a full aspect and agreement thereunto Why but if you resist these Murtherers Obj You resist the King and if you resist the King You resist the Higher power and that is the Ordinance of GOD wherto we must be subject for Conscience sake Yes but wee are cleare mistaken in point of Power Ans Therefore I will aske a question and resolve it What is this higher Power Qu. I will tell you first what it is not It is not that Power Ans which the King may have a will to give and may commit to an Edomites hand It is not a destructive power that is from the Divell whereby Saul and his Edomite were inabled to lay waste one City and made faire-offer to destroy another Not such a Power whereby the King and his wicked Councell now indeavour the same destruction to two Kingdomes It is not such a Power What Power then Qu. A Power whereunto in case the King or his Edomite wrongs me Ans though the lowest in his Kingdome yet I may appeale from him or them for Righteous Judgement And this Power is the Law and in the high Court Who can determine what Law is and doe stand bound to right mee oppressed by a Contrary Power though the meanest of many Thousands and not worhty the dust I tread upon yet This Court stands bound to right me And if so be they stand so bound to a private Person we must note this by the way how much stronger is their obligation to two or three Kingdomes To stand up for Defence of Lawfull power against this Destructive Power And now we have learn't our duty and office too we would have the Pa liament stand up for us we made choice of them for that end The greatest shame in the world If wee should not stand up for the Parliament with our Swords in our hands or with what commeth next to hand in defence of Lawfull power and all that is deare or neere unto us involved in the same What! see a King seduced by evill Counsell giving up his power I say his power not the higher power into an Edomites hand and this Edomite flourishing with his Sword and displaying his Banners in Israels Land and Israel stand still the while What a shame to all Israel But blessed be God they doe not stand still they move and they doe great things as their GOD inables them Who gives Courage Spirit and invention when and where Hee pleaseth And where the Inhabitants of the Land are not over-powered by the King and his bloody party there they doe fortify the Cities and Townes and Breast-worke themselves there And these Forts and Breastworkes are like to remaine to after Generations an Eternall dishonour to the King now in the hands of desperate and pernicious Men For when the Childe shall aske Wherefore were these Forts and Breastworkes raised The Father will Answer The King of England seduced by evill Counsell would have destroyed the Parliament of England Laws Liberties Religion Life and all Therefore did the Parliament and all good people in defence of the Parliament and themselves raise up themselves and these Forts Strong-holds and Breastworkes so wee shall declare to our Children what the King by his pernicious Counsellors has done against his good people and what the Lord has done for them shall be had in perpetuall remembrance But will not this be called a resisting of the higher power Qu. Yes by those who understand not what higher power or Law meaneth Ans or judge it to be that which ruleth in their Members Or doe understand by power The Kings private will or that Commission he can give under the Great Seale such a KEEPER it hath into the hands of Edomites Davids utter and implacable enemies now not like but of the same generation with the Edomites in ancient dayes But is it not a Resistance of the Power Quest which is indeed the Ordinance of God No Ans but a contending for that Power the setling and establishing thereof in the Land by all lawfull meanes which GOD has not onely allowed but commanded That his people may live as His people in holinesse and righteousnesse giving obedience to their Master in Heaven and in Relation to Him to that power He has set over His people on earth This is more then enough to these questions which we finde so fully and excellently cleared to every eye but theirs who will not see though we should as the Proverbe is Shew them the Sun in our hand Si solem ipsum gestemus in manibus Last 7.1 I conclude then That they and they onely shew themselves conscientious men and to understand the weight of duty who stand-up now for their Lawes and Liberties and life of their lives their Religion so to deliver a captive King a distressed Church and State now in the hands of bloudy and most pernitious Counsellours And if all the people in the Land doe not stand-up now in this breach it is not because they want will but because they want power they are over-powered The Divell is as strong now and works as mightily now so does the Edomite also the Divels right hand in our Land as they did anciently in the Kingdome of Iudab But some make scruple here and conscience too for they say They have taken an Oath to serve the King Ob. and they cannot dispence with their Oath God forbid they should Let them serve the King and serve him heartily and faithfully but then they must not serve his private Will which they see enlived made strong and mighty by an Evill spirit now ruling against the Common-wealth and publike Faith of
ENGLANDS Third Alarm TO VVARRE Stirring up the whole Land as one Man to help the LORD and His servant David all the Faithfull in the World against most bloudy Adversaries mighty Hunters before the LORD In which Warre No Resistance is maintained but what has now as in Davids time a sweet agreement with Duty and affinity with the best Obedience No Resistance then or now of Regall Authority or Higher Power but of those who are the greatest Enemies thereunto Such were Sauls willing Helpers in his War against David such are the Kings Helpers in his Warre now against his best Subjects the Faithfull of the Land Jer. 48.10 Cursed be he that keepeth backe his Sword from bloud 1 Cor. 7.23 Ye are bought with a Price be not ye the servants of men Joel 2.11 Feare not O Land be glad and rejoyce for the LORD will doe great things Gen. 8.1 God remembred Noah and every living thing and all the Cattell that was with him He will remember David and all his afflictions Psal 132.1 Chrysos Serm. 68. Oremus ut Christus suo semper regnet in Milite ut Miles semper suo triumphet in Rege Let us pray That Christ would evermore be King in his Souldier That His Souldier may evermore triumph in his King London Printed for Thomas Vnderhill in the second yeare of the Beasts wounding warring against the Lamb and those that are with Him Called Chosen and Faithfull 1643. TO THE READER This Epistle shewes the purpose of the Book what could not be shewed in the Tiâ—tle cleares the Duty of all good people to stand-up now all as one man Gives Arguments full to that purpose answers all materiall Arguments against is HEe that speaks to All speaks to none Words as Physicke cannot be applied to MAN under that generall notion but to this or that man in particular Therefore I intend all this unto thee who hast taken it into thy hand that thou maist lay it unto thy heart The noise of the Drum and sound of Warre still in thine eares has awakened thee sure no Sleeper now when such a Tempest lyes upon us unlesse thou art as one of those who can be secure in the midst of the Sea or lye asleepe upon the top of a Mast I suppose thee awakened and hearing thy selfe summoned to Warre Thy Call is from Heaven A supposition oâ—ly that the Reul enites and Gadites had built an Alâ—ar contrary to Godâ— command did stir-up the whole congregation of Israel to warre against them Iosb 22.12 So did the forcing a Concubine All Israel arose and were knit together as one man foure hundred thousand men to warre with Benjamin refâ—sing to give up 〈◊〉 Delinquents to death Iudg. 20.1.8.11.13 See Ep. p. 4. all the Lawes of Heaven and Earth have sealed thee thy Warrant for the cause is Gods His Peoples To maintain all that is dear to Him them in Earth Heaven Thy enemies are the Lords Enemies the most insulting that ever the Church was infested with for they are most of them home-bred that are helpers with the Beast of the same Countrey with thee and have the same Mother Besides they have the hornes of a Lamb they will fight under formall colours semblances shewes and pretences of Law and Justice which they carry upon their Swords point It will be the hottest Warre that ever was yet If these Adversaries have the day expect no more mercy from them then from the mouth of the Devourer be it Cannon Dragon Wolfe Lion or she Beare or from the Divell himselfe for indeed he playes Rex now he has armed the Edomite Papist I meane with a Sword and with a Sword Spirit though he be he must be resisted But in warring now Ob. I may resist the King No thou shalt resist no other Ans but that Evill Spirit which has put a Sword into an Edomites hand now and has engaged the heart of the King to her who has pawned the Jewels of the Kingdom to purchase Instruments of death thereby to lay waste the Kingdome of Israel and to dethrone the King thereof The soule of the King cleaves in love to her even her who bends all her power against the LORD CHRIST and His Kingdome And To purchase this cursed end which will cost the best Flower in their Crowne and they shall misse of it too when all is done To carry on this horrid designe they have joyned hearts and hands with Irish Rebels and English Monsters men skilfull to destroy whose hearts and hands are steeped in bloud and brawned in villanies There can be no question now of the lawfulnesse of resistance for thou shalt offer no more violence to the King and Kingdome then what thou shouldst offer to the Kingdom of Heaven a sweet violence in contending for the Faith and the trust of the Kingdome But some there are most contrary minded Ob. Lawyers and DIVINES both these are against the Covenant now which engageth to defensive Armes and they say their Reason and Conscience is against it too * and this their example may very well stumble thee Example may win much with unstable mindes Ans But surely the example of such men whose walking is as contrary to a common Light and principles as darknesse is to light as contrary to Christ His wayes and servants as the Divel is or as Hell is to Heaven surely the example of such men cannot perswade with thee These men have so long shut their eyes against a naturall light and so long laboured to stifle and choak a naturall Conscience that now they have not so much Logicke Reason I meane then has a Dog nor any more good Conscience then has a Beast I would rather my tongue should cleave to the roofe of my Mouth then that it should send forth the scum of a foule stomack or corrupt heart rotten speeches The Lord knowes I speake what I know and what all may know that will observe the conversation of these men Anti-Covenanters now like as the inti-petitioners before I will say it againe They have no more true Reason nor good Conscience then a Bâ—ast has No their pleasure and profit are their gods their glory their shame unreasonable men they are And this is the clearest evidence thereof that ever was given a â—â—ll 3.19 They mind earthly things No matter what such Cretians say alwayes Lyars evill Beasts slow Bellies Shew thy selfe a man bring forth the speare and stop the way against these Murtherers for even these men are as one of them Obad. 11.12 They stand on the other side They have looked on the day of their Brother They have rejoiced in the day of his destruction and have spoken proudly in the day of distresse these are as one of them Thou wilt wish that these may be cut off that so trouble us and bring forth the speare against those Murtherers whose notorious violences are more legible all over the Land Ob. No thou
the Edomite in our sense and in Scripture language That Legion of the Papists now Raging and Rioting in our Land we shall resist the King too for this Edomite is the chiefe MANAGER next to the Divel of all the Kings affaires in this Kingdome his very best Subjects and truest Friends O horrible what words are these Papists his best Subjects It must passe for it has the Kings allowance he has declared it so he has proclaimed it so once and againe and a third time The Edomites in Ireland in England they are the Kings best Subjects those he may confide-in his heart may cleave to them in love when David The faithfull of the LORD are called Traitors every day and his good People Rebels all O David cannot be silent now any longer GOD knowes and all the Christian world knowes Davids heart is upright and his hands cleare and his prayer pure touching this matter Their hands have not shed innocent bloud nor have their eyes seen it but with indignation and Zeale against these Murtherers And we say That many Kings have beene seduced by evill counsels Many whose hearts have beene stolne away from their good people and given-up into their enemies hands cleaving to them in love and some have shed bloud to their power as Saul here and others after him But oh how loth I am to speake The Evill Counsellours have carried-on the King in the Path of the destroyer beyond all These for he has given a Commission to destroy his good people and makes shewes That his soule bleeds over them He pittieth his Peoples nakednesse and takes from them their cloathes hee calls them Rebels in Ireland and entertaines the same Rebels here He professeth to do all by helpe of GOD and the Law and all he does has a manifest contrariety to GOD and contradiction to the Law He professeth with his tongue to be for Religion indeed when his heart and hand is utterly against the professors of the same To take them from the Earth He professeth to maintaine his Peoples liberties and does all that is in the power of his hands to inthrall and oppresse his people To make their neckes bend to the Edomites yoake he would make beleeve his hand goes along with GOD when hee puts it forth against The Almighty in all his peoples sight as if he had an arm like GOD. But the bloudshed in both his Kingdomes this The Lord sees and heares the voice of it too And which maketh the voice yet louder The LORD heares how he chargeth it upon the innocent and blesseth the Murtherers those that have shed it indeed The LORD lay it close to the heart of his Majesty that his soule may bleed over the blood he hath shed That he may forbeare to say so till he does so That his soule may shed teares for the bloud he hath shed indeed and indeed Let others pray The LORD bring his Majesty home to his Parliament upon the wings of the Churches Prayers They that pray so pray well but they pray better who pray The Lord open the Kings eyes and heart that he may discerne the Path he has trod the way he is in and feele the working of that bloud shed upon his soule working in him a sorrow after a godly sort The LORD shew him the falshood the hypocrisie of his heart make it as manifest to him as it is to all his good People That his uncircumcised heart may be humbled that he may abhorre evill and loath himselfe for what he has done Amen say I and all who wish that his soule may prosper He may come home to his Parliament and doe more hurt then good there unlesse his heart be humbled for all he has done first I remember very well the Eleventh King of Scotland the worst King that ever was I thinke yet was brought home to his Parliament I meane he came-up to his good People even to all the desire of their hearts for thus he did Those pernicious Counfellors he had many and they stole away his heart or he stole away theirs surely the King was worst because chiefest in the trespasse he suffered to be imprisoned and over some the wheele was turned And all this he did in deep dissimulation that he might the more freely with no resistance worke-out his owne will and doe according to his owne pleasure afterwards And so he did the yeare after by that time he saw all cleare before him the hearts of his Nobles gained for he gave the offenders into their hands and all was well and now they must be feasted They were glad of that and to supper they came which was served-up in a Lordly dish and after the meat Wine they are and dranke and their hearts were merry but the worst Wine was kept last towards the close of the Feast the Nobles were made drunke with their owne bloud as with sweet Wine A few escaped and those few by the helpe of the People rose-up against their King and slew him I shall not meddle with that though in the close of the worke I shall point to that King againe and another halfe as bad I conclude from hence That till the King be truly informed for what he has done That he has walked in the counsell of the ungodly his foot has stood in the way of sinners and he sitteth in the seat of the scornfull Till his heart be humbled for this Tâ—ll his soule cleaves to the ground for this and what else God and his conscience best knowes Till this be the King cannot come-back to his Parliament he caâ—not be to the heart and desires of his good People there Therefore pray we LORD turne the heart of the King give him a sight of what he has done and humble his soule in the sight of it th the hath blasphemed the Name of his GOD deal deceitfully with his Maker treacherouoy with His People abominably with His Day prophaning it by a Law He must be restlesse in his spirit till he hath vindicated That dishonour done to That Rest forcing and persecuting His best Servants touching that matter and shedding their bloud to his power ever since LORD give the King a sight of all this and of all that The Searcher of hearts and his owne heart knowes by himselfe and kindly humble him for all Then all the rest followes the King will be right for his Parliament his heart will be with them then it will be said and not till then What the King does pleaseth all his people and what his good people doe pleaseth the King Amen But if the King doe not his duty his people must doe theirs if hee looke not to his charge how he rules not his but Gods People THY PEOPLE sitting in GODS Throne Yet must the people look to their obedience they must be subject to the higher Power notwithstanding I come then to resolve what this higher Power is and the cases of conscience thereabouts Not touching the giving of
the Kingdome I know this taking an Oath is much pleaded and Conscience of breaking there But let these conscientious men looke inward deale truely and turne their conscience outward that we may see it then we shall reade their mindes plainly That it is not conscience of an oath that troubles them for they cannot be bound by an Oath to serve the lusts of men But this pincheth them They are conscientious of unlawfull gaine and they will hold it fast still and their honours they will not part-with nor their reputation amongst men They will hold to the King that he may hold fast with them They will serve his lusts that he may serve theirs and this is all the conscience these men have which they have choaked as well as they can that they may the more quietly hold-fast iniquity and keepe close their unjust gaine and quite neglect their duty while they suffer the Divell to command in chiefe and the Edomite not onely to buffet but to destroy their brethren they looking upon all this the while with open face and hold their hands in their pockets or shrinke them up into their sleeves in homage to the Evill spirit and the Edomite and then plead Conscience to beare-out their basenesse of spirit when they make no conscience of unjust gaine nor of their vow in Baptisme nor their Protestation nor Covenant for there they take an Oath and draw upon them a Curse if they performe not It will not serve their turne But I forbeare We are concluded what is the Power GOD hath set over us That we must make conscience of obeying that and to resist the contrary power with all our might we must be as active that way as zealous for the truth as our enemies are against it as valiant to maintaine our Lawes and Liberties as the adversaries are to destroy all Why should it be said Infelix populus Dei non habet tantum fervorem in bono quantum mali 〈◊〉 malo Hiâ—ron O unhappy people of God! They have not so much zeale in good as the wickea have in evill not so much zeale to build-up as the wicked have to pull downe not so much zeale to advance Christ and Hâ—s Government as the wicked have to dethrone Him The People of GOD unhappy in that point have not the courage and constancy in the love of the SPIRIT that the wicked world hath in the lusts of the flesh That courage nay nothing like it Ad ertibescenâ—iam nostram dico Nâ—â—ron to our shame it must be spoken Yea but we must heare more what is spoken to take off that little courage and zeale the people of GOD shew at this time in their war against the Beast Let us heare first Master Fullers Argument I mean not his against the high Commission Oath which could never be answered till it was taken away but the Court-flatterers argument Pag. 260. Master Fullers in his Holy-Warre he sayes Subjects are Adjectives nothing in themselves bâ—â—â—ll they are in reference to their King in fâ—ll agreement with their Princes will and dependence upon him That every Reader may understand this Argument I will unfold it clearly to Master Fullers meaning in the Grammaticall construction of the same The Subjects must be Adjectives and the King the Substantive that is first If the King will number himselfe with the wicked those that will ruine themselves and their King the Subject is an Adjective he must number himselfe with those also else he makes bad construction sayes he Secondly If the King bring himselfe into a miserable Case the Subject must throw himselfe into the same câ—se too though it be upon the swords point Thirdly if the King degenerate and prove Feminine uxorious and womanish as a man may be the Subject is an Adjeâ—tive hee must degenerate too for he must be of the same gender with his Substanstive or if the King will be Neuter neither Masculine nor Feminine of neither side neither hot nor cold a midling person and he is worst of all be he what he will be the Subject is an Adjective he must be so too this is that the Grammarian calls Concord such an agreement or dependence the Subject has upon his King as the Adjective has with his Substantive with whom it must agree in Number Case and Gender All this is good Grammar but the worst Logicke that ever I read for there is no Reason in it at all No Reason at all that the Subject whom God has made a man endowed him with a reasonable Soule That this man should be Adjective wholly at the dispose and will of his Prince so dependant upon him of the same minde and judgement though the Princes minde be most contrary to the minde of Christ But it is excellent Divinite not as Master Fuller understands it but as we must understand it The Subject is adjective and GOD his King has only a Bâ—ing in Himselfe The Subject is adj ctive nothing in himselfe but all in reference to and dependance-on his GOD no being in himselfe but all in GOD he understands he wills he does he loves he hates all in reference to GODS command he is an adjective all his dependance is upon GOD his walking is before GOD his love to GOD he expends and layes-out himselfe for Him and renders all backe to Him To Whom be glory for ever and ever Amen But wee must recall what was said before A. the manner of the Persian Subjects Subjects indeed Their manner was to shrink-up their hands into their sleeves in homage to their King VVhat have we to doe with Heathenish customes B. This shrinking-up their hands into their sleeves implyed an absolute obedience which we absolutely deny But yet we will hearken to it this once and reade it againe as we finde it in Xenophon It was the manner of the Persians in presence of their King and homage to his Sacred Majesty To shrink-up their hands into their sleeves But they never did so while their King was smiting their Cities and laying waste their Townes Indeed there was never such a thing read of as now we see with our eyes A King laying waste his owne kingdome as at this day And therefore if we doe not shrink-up our hands into our sleeves we must be pardoned But consider we Beza's note upâ—n Rom. 13.5 Although the Magistrate have no pâ—wer over the Conscience yet he is the Miniâ—ter of GOD Ob. Etiamsi magist atus 05 in conscientiam jus non habet tamen qu ni De. sit Minister bona conscientia ei resisti non potest and cannot with good Conscience bee resisted His Note is somewhat fuller and more binding Act. 23. verse 5. We must heaâ—til honour Magistrates yea though they be Tyrants And it is out of all question that so they were when Saint Paul taught submission unto them whether to the supreame powers or the powers under him But it is as cleare That their obedience
better Subject he is and friend both and more right for Sauls designes the more he declares himselfe an enemy to David Why now David cannot trust Saul All his sweet words are lost if he be melting a little the Evill spirit and the Edomite will harden him againe So David will to his Strong-hold and is resolved upon the question To go to GATH out of Sauls reach else he could not avoid Sauls bloody hand he thought which pursued him so far even till he had driven David from out of the Inheritance of the Lord And so Sauls Evill spirit is fully discovered now and manifest He must be convinced also non-plussed and put to silence The Evill spirit shall bee convinced that he shall not be able to say a word but in way of acknowledgement and honest confession from a sound conviction That he is a lyar a murtherer and has erred exceedingly See how convincing Truth is from Davids mouth and how ingenuous Saul is in his confession 1 Sam. 26.21 I have played the foole and erred exceedingly He had indeed Saul Davids grand enemy is fully discovered convinced also yet David is not delivered no. though all Sauls Right men the Edomites implacable adversaries his false friends Keilites and Ziphites are made manifest too yet David is not delivered no not yet we shall see more reason for it anon first we must bring-this-up-to our time GOD delayes his Churches deliverances now for the same reason sure That the adversaries thereof might be fully manifest to all Israel The actings of the evill spirit President over the Kings Councell were not manifest enough sixe yeares agoe when they thrust a cursed Booke upon the Scots and after that the sword Nor when they called a Parliament in England not to ease the yokes but to ingage the Kingdome in that warre which would have â—ashed the people one against the other even the father and the son together Ierem. 13.14 This evill spirit was not manifest enough yet for wickednesse may bee established by a Law in Scotland and yet pretence very faire To establish True Religion Lawes and Liberties here in England And goodly and sweet words were spoken that way and much done touching Bishops and their Courts And all this while the evill spirit was as an Angell of light And his Actings more indiscernable then before But then the Designe touching the Army in the North changed the Divels colour quite and made him looke as black as soot as he is an Angel of darknesse But let the evill spirit alone he can cleare up himselfe againe he will not be made manifest yet No not when he prevailed by the evill Counsell To remove the Lieutenant of the Tower in whom all Israel could confide and placed a Murtherer there in that Strong-hold notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough No nor when he counselled the King to desert the Parliament No nor when he perswaded the King to call all Israel to war against David and all that had their hand with David under pretence of taking a guard to his person Nor when he made the Edomite Generall in the field MANAGER of all the Kings affaires here in Israels Land notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough yet But now we know what spirit they are of and who rules them For the Land is filled with bloud from corner to corner Zeph. 3.3 The Princes within her are roaring Lyons reade-on her Iudges are evening Wolves never such violences acted by Tartars Caniballs as by these Princes Surely I cannot tell what shall be done unto them these murtherers GOD knowes And that they have broken all the lawes of Heaven and Earth Divine and Humane such Children of Belial they are Iob 31.3 I cannot tell what strange punishment shall befall these workers of iniquity Doth not the LORD see their wayes and count all their steps We will leave them in His Hands Who has put a bridle in their lips But this I can tell What an execution The LORD would have done upon those who had wrought villany in Israel joyning themselves unto BAAL-PEOR Num. 25.3 as these unto as abominable an Idol as was that But they had not shed bloud in the defence of that Idol These Princes in name have filled the Land with bloud from corner to corner Yet hearken what The LORD sayes unto those who joyned themselves unto Baal-Peor as these to the Idol of Rome Take all the heads of the people Vers 4 and hang them up before the LORD against the Sun that the fierce anger of The LORD may be turned away from Israel We will wait Gods time for then they shall be made manifest indeed before Israel and before the Sun In the mean time the evil spirit is discovered and discerned plaine enough for by his meere motion he has prevailed with the King to seale a Commission to his Edomites To kill and to slay his good people to lay a City waste even a Mother in Israel And if they will doe so to their power They shall approve themselves in so doing his best subjects and truest friends so he blesseth murtherers whom GOD will lay if they repent not in the lowest hell They have compassion on their King why they Because they will to their power destroy a mother City in Israel They would have a whole Kingdome wasted Blessed be ye of the LORD ye have compassion on me does the King say Blessed be The LORD The discovering GOD Who has had compassion on His poore people trusting in His Name and on His dwelling place Blessed be GOD The Spirit that rules the King and his Councell is discovered the Edomites also those bitter enemies the Keilites and the Ziphites too those false and treacherous friends Take them in order The Edomites first Those called SPIRITVALL Lords They must be discovered how full of spirit they were Their spirit was not sufficiently discovered eight yeares ago when they forced a cursed Paper to be read in all the Churches there to publish a Declaration for Sports and Passe-times on The LORDS DAY Their spirit was not discovered by all this for this the people liked reasonably well They had an Advouson for liberty To riot on the LORDS DAY and they were glad of that The people had a grant from the Bishops The Bishops from the Archbishop he from the King and that should be sufficient warrant for them and every one of them to riot on the LORDS DAY And for every Minister from the Pulpit GODS mouth there To command the people so to do O abominable Yes they have justified the Heathen at this point And yet these Bishops are not discovered yet They are in their white Robes yet we shall see them in Scarlet by and by And yet not manifest to all the Christian world say they how spirituall they were when with the Scarlet Whore they would have rode in the bloud of Scotland up even unto their horses bridles by the
those few prevailed for the evill was from themselves the accursed thing is in Israels Camp There is a deep matter in it said Iob A root of wickednesse it must be discovered and rooted out before The LORD will take off His hand Who gave Iacob for aspoile and Israel to the robbers Did not The LORD Isa 42.24 He against Whom we have sinned For they would not walke in His wayes neither be obedient to His law Verse 25. Therefore He hath poured upon him the fury of His anger and the strength of battell The anger of the LORD is kindled against His people and He hath stretched forth His hand against them and their carcasses were torne in the midst of the streets Then the LORD was pacified towards His people was He not No for all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still The Syrians before and the Philistines behinde and they shall devoute Israel with open mouth Now The LORD is pacified No not yet For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still And the very same reason now as then For the people tâ—rneth not unto Him That smiteth them neither doe they seeke The LORD of bosts Therefore His hand is stretched out still It is repeated againe and againe to assure us if we proceed in our sinning before The LORD He will proceed in punishing before all Israel and before the Sunne till we repent of our sins He will not repent of His sore plagues He will proceed to smite till our uncircumcised hearts be humbled till we can accept of our punishment and say from an ingenuous and humble spirit The LORD is righteous in all that He has done against us Till this be we shall finde it will be thus His anger is not turned away but His hand is stretched out still I will punish you seven times more for your sinnes and I will breake the pride of your power Levit. 26.18 i. e. If you will walk contrary to Me I will walk contrary to you And now consider we with all our hearts how contrary we have walked We thinke the wrath that lyes upon the land is sore and heavy and indeed it is so But consider we was it a light provocation to prophane The LORDS day to mar the beauty of it more then any other day The Bishops gave command for that you will say That is true Therefore the land has spewed them forth You shall heare more of their rough hand and bloudy designes But never any more of their unrighteous decrees and grievousnesse Be the Nations never so angry they shall never prevaile to bring in Bishops againe But the people were content to have it so to have The LORDS Day so prophaned to have such a scorne put upon it And therefore if we be trod-upon all the land over as mire in the streets And if the land should now lye-fallow and keep her Sabbaths we must acquit The LORD and say Hee is righteous But I will not reckon up particular sins for they are infinite We are conluded Great and marvellous are Thy workes LORD GOD ALMIGHTY just and true are Thy wayes Thou King of Saints for Thy judgements are made manifest Rev. 15.3 2. The LORD makes His Adversaries successefull gives them power over His people to put forth all their wrath against them as at this day I say all their wrath never was there such a wrath boiled to such a height of rage as now it is at this day for it is agâ—iâ—â—â— David and his men put forth by Davids King and his men which will be a scorching wrath and it shall be put forth to the utmost extent because under specious shewes and formall pretences to maintaine our Lawes by lawlesse men our Liberties by companies of Robbers our Religion by Papists the bloudiest men that are or ever were in the world haters of GOD and the power of godlinesse This will be a bloudy persecution the roughest hand will be put forth now that ever was put forth against the Church for it is put forth against David and his men as was said by Davids King and his men for Reasons so specious and formall in some mens eyes as aforesaid Never any Popes were greater oppressors then those that had the most specious names Pope Godly Pius Pope Harmlesse Innocent Pope Civill Vrban these were wicked Popes yet not more wicked then they who have a form and specious pretences They will make a people free by oppressing their Lawes and them under the foot of pride c. and their King glorious so they say by making him a Lord over a conquered Nation Vnum aliqueâ— voluptate ac deliciis flâ—ere gementibus undique ac lament antibus aliiâ— hoc non est Regni sed carceris esse custodem Th. Aâ—â— Vâ—â—p and that sayes Sir Thomas Moore is not to be a King over men but a Taylor over Captives To be a Keeper of a prison and not chiefe Guardian in a Kingdome Yet the LORD may suffer these men or rather beasts in the shape of men to goe-on to the length of their chaine and to prosper so as it may be said The Tabernacles of Robbers prosper and they that provoke GOD are secure into whose hand the LORD bringeth abundantly GOD is righteous so we are resolved But why is it so For excellent Reason That their Adversaries may fill up their measure apace and heighten their destruction which will be in all His peoples sight as lifted-up even to the Skies Their rage reacheth to heaven so shall their judgment also Secondly GOD useth the wicked as Scullions to try His people and to purge and to make them white so perfecting His praise and His Churches salvation to make His people MEET for deliverance as we shall heare by and by GOD does not suffer this viperous generation to run at large laxis habenis as a best with reines on nâ—ck that they might satisfie their lusts upon His people though so they do and GOD suffers it to be done but that is not Gods end this God intends The purifying the purging the humbling of His servants that their lusts may be subdued the lusts of the Eye of the world and Pride of life This is Gods end the very purpose of His heart to make a people meet for deliverance when this is done the Rod shall be cast into the fire the tabernacles of the Robbers shall be destroyed and they sent to their owne place We wait and God waits We have waited three yeares God has waited eighty yeareâ— we wait for deliverance GOD waits for glory in waiting to shew mercy we shall have our waitings in good time when His people shall be truly humbled for then they shall see their desire upon their enemies and give GOD the glory of all His worke even of His strange workâ— for Thirdly When His people are meet for deliverance they shall be delivered