rebelling against their lawfull Soveraigne contrary to thy indispensable Law the Law of Reason and the established Lawes of England What Lord although the furious Multitude like the wild boares of the forrest have trode down the hedge of our Government Our Lawes and like rebellious Waves with mad rolling actions locally removed the Royall supporting pillars of our Nation Yet thou canst in an instance fyle the teeth of the one and again raise up our defending and protecting Pales with a word of thy Mouth Canst command back these furious Waves to their proper Center of obedience and again fixe our removed Pillars in their owne appointed place there to remain like a rock immoveable O Lord Grant these petitions to thy poor unworthy servants for thy Sonne Christ Jesus sake O God of our Salvation hear us O thou the hope of all the ends of the Earth give us help against our trouble for without Thee vain is the help of Man But to return to my former Method I could inlarge in such kind of exemplary additions and acquaint the World how severall others of the first practicall * rooting Faction Presbyt Plotters have met with sinne-speaking Punishment by the Practises of these secondugly Rooters how like Pinns though supposedly rivetted for a setled Continuance some Presbyterians have been knock'd out and others cut off onely to make way for more bloody Independent successours and in this respect could Patricularize some of all degrees whose Lives Reputations or Estates have been exposed to the Block Defamation and Sequestration by the Commands of these Monstrous * Indep Faction Tyrants who from them received their first Power of Command Witnesse c. the Pallace-yard Blood-speaking Scaffolds and elsewhere But because such kind of discourses may perchance by the over-angry Judgement of some be censured as inclining to an uncharitable Upbraiding although my intent herein is onely like the Chirurgeon who Lanceth his wounded Patients even to a displeased frown and angry Exclamations to prevent the festring of his Wounds within which would endanger the whole body thus by such sharp lines to render the cure more certain beyond doubt of Relapse I shall therefore silently passe over such particular Persons not mentioning their Names at all for I delight not in such Repetitions God the searcher of hearts knoweth that I write truth rather wishing all guilty Conspiratours and Frontiers in this rebellion a serious and suddain repentance it being the sole design of this book than the death Ruine or exemplary punishment of any either in Estates or Persons Thus I have laid before you the Religious vizards the Pious Cheats of these rebellious Designers and Complotting Rooters in such plain selfe-confessing and condemning Demonstrations that every one that will not obstinately close the eye of his reason cannot but confesse them undeniable truths Having thus farre proceeded and at this time being no lesse confident than charitable in my hopes that all abused misleadd formerly of the Presbyterian Parry are upon a penitentiall return I shall in the next place answer an Objection or rather shew the fallacy of a new-invented Proposition much discoursed of by the present Ruling Rule-less Independent Faction and swallowed down with much ease by many whose ignorance maketh them insensible of such digestions or hasty-complying cowardice altogether carelesse of their Tasts And it is this That the present commanding Power exercise Potestatem dominandi their governing but more truely tyrannizing power over the people of England as having right thereunto by Conquest say they having subdued them by the sword For the solution of which it will be pains unnecessary to meddle much with those Argumenta Cardinalia Arguments primae magnitudinis of the first ranck at which their Plea of Conquest at one touch like aged tenants of the grave would fall and moulder into ashes Therefore although I cannot be altogether silent yet I shall be but brief in acquainting you That it is against the principles of all Governments for any Party whatsoever by force to endeavour an alteration of an established Government contrary to the fundamentall practice of that Nation Now the fundamentall power of any Nation will appear thus Where the power of making and repealing all kind of Laws of convening and dismissing Councills of Life and Death c. are setled received and practically acknowledged there is the fundamentall Power of a Nation Now that this Power is setled in a free-free-Parliament summoned by the King's command without which they could not assemble and without whom vide J. Jenkens no new Lawes can be enacted nor Old ones repealed He being the sole enlivener of all Law and our supream Governour is a truth which all the Laws of England received and practised do confirm Again that there is an indispensible necessity of maintaining this Principle That all Governments must remain as they are established untill the fundamentally practised power of that Nation shall change the same common reason will plead for me For consider In all Governments there is an impowered Party Governing and Persons Governed Now for the upholding and maintaining this Party governing in security to act accordingly and whereby they may be enabled to preserve their Persons governed in unity peace and concord and for preventing the ambitious combinations of seditious and discontented persons from endeavouring any thing that may tend to the disturbance of the publick peace that is both the Power governing and the Persons governed Laws are made and those also Penall that such disturbers are no lesse than Traitors and Rebells against such a Constitution of Government Witnesse the good Laws of England against all manner of Sedition J. Jenkens Treason and Rebellion Nay witnesse those bastard-Laws of these latter dayes not that they deserve the title of Laws for Laws rightly so entituled are onely such which receive their immediate direction from the Law of God or else are Emanant from some circumstantiall branch thereof not any way standing in opposition to the substance of the Law Divine that is the Ten Commandements and all Evangelicall Precepts although such Laws are made and executed by men as instruments But these new-minted Laws are rather Rapacitatis than Pacis forced-up Bulwarks to preserve an unjust Power in tyranny and oppression To this purpose you had the military House of Commons publishing the like upon the Martyrdom of our dear Soveraign the King Their Ordinances and Proclamations prohibiting all correspondency with and assistance of his Royall Son Now our Soveraign Lord and King Their erection of that high Court of Ironicall Justice and their proceedings therein Their enjoyning of Subscriptions to their Engagements All which implicitly contain such a confessed Principle Nay were not this a truth essentiall to the fundamentall constitution of a Government as it is and so confessed and maintained to be by all lawfull Powers nay made use of by Usurpers themselves and the worst of such Usurpers Rebellious Subjects and the bloudiest of
Servants nay Submissive Slaves to the imperious Propositions of their owne Created Servants That they who in prosecution of an unchristian unlawfull bloody designe of taking away the power of the King justly by law and reason declared His of forcing away his Negative Voyce in a Lawfull Parliament depriving him of the Command of the Militia of bloodily changing the Civill and Ecclesiasticall Goverment from Monarchicall to Aristocraticall from Episcopall to Presbyterian Witnesse the transactions to passe over other Treaties of that too-late tedious and most unfortunate Treaty in the Isle of Wight in the managing whereof neither Law Reason nor Religion urg'd by our dear Soveraign could work the Commissionated Treatours or rather the factious Commissionating Rooting Traytors in the House to Condescentions more than what ranne paralell and agreed with their most unjust demands of all his Regall Power and wholly altering the government of his Kingdomes Witnesse also the first insisted-on Proposition wherein Good Prince before they will proceed He must contrary to Reason Religion and Law declaratorily Justify their unjust Actions of Rebellion and treason against him and Condemne his own Just defence as unjust The prevaling faction in the Houses still upon Receipt of his Majesty's Concessions and Answers to their demanding Propositions Voting Not Satisfactory Not Satisfactory O fatall Word Not untill his Princely tender Care of his Subjects perceiving the * First Plotters Faction's resolutions to perfect their bloudy designe and his desire of Peace reconciliation and stopping of that issue of blond by themselves first made in his Kingdoms at last his own Royal Interest laid aside condescended so much to their demands that as a King he had nothing more to condescend unto nor they more of his Regall Power to demand These men who thus unlawfully prosecuted and persecuted his Sacred Majesty with distroying Armies thereby to wrâ—st away his lawfull power upon Pretences of a Fundamental Law never heard of never practised before in the Houses not so much as groundded upon the least imaginary authority of Common Reason much lesse the law of the Land and the Protestant Religion had all their bloudily acquired power snatched from them by * Army those I say whom first they impowered to offer bloudy force to his Majesty upon grounds as ayry groundless and unlawfull as pretences of Common Right and distribution of Justice as if Confusion were that Right and unparalelld injustice were the distribution of Common right and Justice year 1641 Some of these Ambitious and Factious Members who by invited tumults of the Citty-rabble forced his Majesty for the Security of his person from his royall pallace at Whitehall and soon after many of their then fellow-members contrary to the Priviledge of all reasonable parliaments were uncivilly forced out of the House by their menaces and conspiring Votes because they would not be voting Conspirators with them in their Trayterous designes against their King Country the truly fundamentall Laws of the Land Some of these I say Parl. were as absurdly thrust out of the House by Pride and his Complices the army 's imps birds of their owne hatching instruments of their owne framing upon accusation of being fomenters of a New War hinderers of Perfecting an intended Reformation or more truly of Com-pleating a pre-resolved resolution or rather a Jesuitized independent designe somwhat more bloudy than the Presbyterian Thus Deus omnipotens in aetennum Justus Thy actions O Lord are all Justice thy deeds Righteousness it self Thou therefore the fountain of all wisdome that dost oftentimes proportion and symbolize both for quality and quantity mens punishments to their Sins thereby by plain demonstrative signes inviting them to repentance Grant good Father that all such guilty persons thus reading their iniquities in their punishment may repent them of their fo mer Sins that so thou mayst pardon their transgressions and remember their offences no more To this purpose restore O Lord unto them the Purity of reason as men A Zealous unmoved fixednesse in thy true religion the Christian Protestant faith Loyalty and faithfull obedience to their undoubted Soveraign and Lawfull King Cha. the Second c. and these not verbally but really expressed by actions beseeming men whose reason not humorous opinion is their guide By deeds befitting Christian Protestants whose * Scripture directing rule is the unerring Word not groundlesse faincyed revelations the Suggestions of the deceiving Angelicall Divell and not the Perswasions of thee who art the God of Spirits By actions becoming Subjects whose obedience without interruption willingly followeth the smooth Current of an Established Law not hurryed along by the tumultuous Torrents of arbitrary Ordinances nor Obedientially swimming in the troublesome Waters of mens Corupt wills O Father of mercyes whatsoever punishments Thou in thy Just judgment for our manifold sinnes shalt inflict upon us give us not over to a generall infatuation of Spirit a benummednesse in our Understanding and Reason lest we degenerating into the nature of beasts with Nebuchadnezzar be design'd to graze in the feilds with beasts that perish O everliving God Deprive us not of thy Candlesticke thy gospell of truth lest for want of true guides we all become blind and like them leading one another irrecoverably fall into the Ditch of everlasting destruction O Let not my Lord be angry and thy Servant shall speak but this Once Father of Mercies as we desire that thy word may still Continue a Lanthorn to our feet and thy Precepts a directing Light to our Paths so we humbly beseech thee that out of thy infinit Loving kindnesse thou wouldst look upon us and not take from us our Established ancient fundamentall Lawes That so our Corrupt Natures may still by them be rectified the extravagant excurrences of our Obstinate perverse Wills and actions may be limitted lest Ambition Sedition Treason Perjury Rebellion Murder Sacriledge Regicidism Envy Hatred Tyranny Oppression and all manner of wickednesse becoming particular Commanding Lawes we like Ravenous Wolves devour one another And in order to this great mercy good God restore unto us our great Law-maker Preserver and Protectour thy Servant our Soveraign the much wronged Princely Son of a more injured Murdered Martyr'd Royal Father Cha the Second of Great Brittaine King c. Put the Sword and Scepter into his hands Place the Crown upon his Head Thou who art able and Powerfull in Extremities in this his extremity shew thy Ability and Power O Lord as thou hast designed him our Supream Governour so in order to his possession of thine own designed Government prepare the hearts of all his Subjects with submissive obedience unto him as to thy Vice-gerent on earth work into their spirits a sensiblenesse of their former erroneous practises against his Royall father and let their endeavours for the restoration of his Princely son to his father's Throne evidence to the world their unfeigned repentance for their sins committed against Thee the King of kings in
Suns by them forced under clowds the great reason of this our present night of ignorance and hellish errours However this truth still remaineth notwithstanding so many bloody storms and rebelliously opposing waves like a Rock unshaken being built not on sandy foundations but on sure Principles of undenyable Reason pure undefiled Religion and Laws like Rivers from their fountains streaming forth and remaining apparently established at this very day That a bloody and enforced extirpation of a Government by Subjects contrary to the power commands and against the Person of their lawfull Soveraigne and the fundamentall Law of the Kingdom is the highest degree of Treason and Rebellion by their own confession That such practises are against the principles of all Governments therefore condemnable by the Law of Nations From all which confessed Positions we may collect this Truth in generall That in reference to the opposition of powers by Law Reason and Religion the Touchstone of all Powers that is Governments whatsoever maintained just such as the King's Supremacy and Regall Power is no obedience active ought to be rendred to Powers or rather Persons unjustly usurping a Power such as these rooting-Conspirators are having neither warrant by Religion nor Law to command such an opposing obedience much lesse to do as they have done viz. to murder and dethrone Kings subvert our Religion and Laws endeavouring to vassalize us to a submission unto their unlawfull commands For it is better to obey God than man that is when our refusall of obedience to mans unlawfull commands are warrantable by his all-commanding Law But let us examine the Scripture Every soul must be subject unto the higher power Rom. 13 saith the Scripture that is There is no power but of God if they be godly powers Bad Rulers are by the permission not the ordination of God those just Powers whom God hath ordained for the good government of his people and have right and title to be styled Governours being regularly received setled practised and confirmed in a Nation as the Government of England was by King Lords and Commons all acting orderly in their severall Sphears yet all meeting in an unanimous agreementâ— for the generall good both of Prince and People And these thus meeting and consulting together the High Court is rightly entituled a PARLIAMENT a name in it self venerable and to be greatly esteemed by all true Christian hearts Such a PARLIAMENT O God of mercies restore unto poor decaying and dying England Now that this command of subjection must concern onely the lawfull governing Power and not rebellious Subjects who by treachery blood and deceit have snatched away the power of governing from the lawfull Governours and exercise it by a ryrannicall usurpation both over Prince and People the subsequent words of the Text confirmeth For to what end were that advice of the Apostle That Princes are not to be feared for good works but for evill That is if people governed be obedient and act in their places things unblamable the Prince and the Law need not to be feared by them in a way of condemnation and punishment But if Subjects to speak in the words of the Apostle shall do evill by infringing the Law of God by rebelling against the lawfull Government and Governour as this prevailing faction hath done then the Prince he bearth not the sword in vain for he is the Minister of God to take vengeance on such evill doers that is to punish them according to their demerits Now do I wonder how any man can be so unblushingly impudent needham Politicus as to make use of this Scripture conscientiously to engage the common people of England's subjection to this present Rule-lesse Ruling Power when as on the contrary they are hereby obliged to be assisting to their Prince that so he may be the better enabled to discharge that duty which God and the Law requireth from him and to punish these workers of iniquity The current of the Text running clearly for subjection to lawfull Governours from the people who are to be governed Nullius prohibitio valet divinis obviaâ—e praeceptis Gods precepts may not be countermanded by man's prohibitions nor God's prohibitions prejudiced by man's precepts Again 1 Pet. 2. we are exhorted to submit our selves to every Ordinance that is lawfull Ordinance of man for the Lords sake whether it be to the King as to the superiour or unto Governours as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evill doers and the praise of them that do well Where pray take notice the Apostle's advice is quite opposite to the practice either of the Conspirator's or the subjecting Subscribers of these daies for we are not commanded to submit our selves to every wicked Ordinance by which good men are onely injured and the worst of men commended nor are we to obey the now †The King being Supream in his own Kingdom the people can be but Subjects and if Subjects have no power to command but by way of derivation from the King therefore the present ruling Faction have no just power to command but fall under the notion of wicked and evill doers whom the King ought to punish and all good men should be assisting thereunto This is the doctrine of the Apostle domineering Power but the King as Supream therefore not these who are but Subjects nor any of their Agents whose commands and actions already have murdered the King our Supream Governour and still continue to destroy his Royall Son and all others who will not walk in the same bloody paths with them Is this think you to submit to the King as Supream In brief the Scripture enjoyneth us to obey the King and his servants The Faction commandeth us to obey them subjects against the Kings commands destroying Him and all his faithfull servants O monstrum horrendum Are these the good works which the Apostle commandeth us to perform in the 11th verse of the same Chapter that God may be glorified by us in the day of visitation And is this our honest conversation whereby we may stop the mouth of evill speakers Surely no my dear Country-men It were blasphemy onely to suppose so Is the wilfull sleighting and neglecting of God's precepts and the dethroning of Kings the way to obey God and honour the King as we are commanded in the same Chapter Did our Saviour Jesus Christ command Matth. Mar. that those things which belonged unto Caesar should be given unto him and shall the Faction not onely command the contrary but themselves plunder all from him depriving him of his Honour Regality Revenues nay Life and all Shall the Preacher advertise us to obey the Kings commands Eccles 8. in regard of our Oaths and shall the Faction command us to disobey his commands nay engage us by contrary Oaths thereby making us guilty of a double perjury Nay shall the people of England upon as it were the first invitation of these