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A52047 A plea for defensive armes, or, A copy of a letter written by Mr. Stephen Marshall to a friend of his in the city, for the necessary vindication of himself and his ministerie, against that altogether groundlesse, most unjust and ungodly aspersion cast upon him by certain malignants in the city, and lately printed at Oxford, in their Mendacium aulicum, otherwise called, Mercurius Aulicus, and sent abroad into other nations to his perpetual infamie in which letter the accusation is fully answered, and together with that, the lawfulnesse of the Parliaments taking up defensive arms is briefly and learnedly asserted and demonstrated, texts of Scripture cleared, all objections to the contrary answered, to the full satisfaction of all those that desire to have their consciences informed in this great controversie.; Plea for defensive armes Marshall, Stephen, 1594?-1655. 1643 (1643) Wing M768; ESTC R15835 25,154 32

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themselves into Popery so many unworthy Gentlemen fight to destroy a Parliament and thereby fight themselves and posterity into slavery so many Papists in Armes contrary to so many knowne Lawes and armed with Commission to disarme Protestants contrary to their knowne Liberties and the Protestants who exceed their number an hundred fold not to rise as one man to subdue them And who would have believed that he should have seen after all this an Army raised by the Parliament in such an extremity for such an end having hazzarded their lives undergone all these hardships performed all these services and whose untimely disbanding may prove our irrecoverable ruine straitned for want of pay while England is worth a groate Behold regard and wonder marvellously I relate a thing which many will not believe though it be told unto them Hab. 1. 5. But though the Worke be harder the case is still clearer both in regard of the intentions of the Parliament and also of their adversaries For the Parliament multitudes would not believe but that they had further aimes then their own and the publique safety that they intended if not to depose His Majesty yet by force of Armes to compell him to that which is not fit for a King to yeeld to But now by their frequent petitioning of his Majestie especially by the reasonablenesse of their late Propositions and Instructions wherein they desire a present disbanding of all Arms even before any other bills were past and were willing to have the Ports Forts and Ships c. of the Kingdome resigned up into his Majesties hands provided onely that in these times of dangers they might pro hac vice be put into the hands of such as the State might confide in The sincerity of their intentions are now so plain that I think Malignity it self cannot but be convinced of them And the intentions of the contrary councels are as plain their mask now falling off and their designe more then ever discovered to be the overthrow of Parliament Liberty Laws and Religion For at first we had Declarations to preserve all the just priviledges of Parliament but now we see men proclaimed Traytors for executing the Commands of the two Houses and the two Houses themselves if not in direct yet in equivalent termes proclaimed Traytors yea denyed to be a Parliament because his Majestie withdraws himself and after multitudes of Petitions refuses to returne and because many of their Members have deserted them and are protected by his Majestie from the Houses who have sent for them Yea they are required to recall their Votes as illegall and that such as they have fined and imprisoned may bring their Habeas Corpus to be tried in an inferiour Court Yea people provoked to scorn them and thereupon multitudes not fearing to trample upon and cast as vile scorn and contempt unjustly upon that thrice-honorable Court as ever was cast justly upon the Commissaries Courts We have heretefore been assured that the knowne Lawes of the Land should be the only rule of government but to name no other instances now we see the Commission of Array to be justified to be Law which the Parliament hath not only declared but demonstrated and the Countries where ever it hath prevailed found to be the utter destruction of all the Lawes made for the Subjects liberty Heretofore Proclamations were put out that no Papists should be entertained into his Majesties Army because the resolution was to maintaine the Protestant Religion But now we see them armed and armed with Commission and Protestant Doctors in their writings justifying it and being armed dare professe their Religion publickly set up their masse in the second City of the Kingdome cutting in pieces and burning Bibles and as multitudes of reports come from beyond the Seas and the supplies that come from thence confirme it all the Papists in Christendome contributing to this War as to the Catholicke cause Heretofore the Libertie of the Subject seemed to be stood for yea defended against the Parliament as if it were possible the representative body should enslave it self and in the meane time while these things are promised hundreds yea thousands of his Majesties Subjects plundred with His Majesties Proclamations against plundering in the hands of diverse of the plunderers And their persons led away in Ropes and Chaines like Turkish Gally-slaves and many cast into Prisons and Dungeons only for defending themselves against robbers and murderers abusing His Majesties Name where their Jaylours use them worse then the Turkes doe their Christian slaves or one that hath any thing of man in him could use a dog And vvhen all these things are now done the Parliament not only sitting but having so much strength in the Field what can vve expect when these men have prevailed vvhen at the putting on of their harnesse their usuall language is nothing but blasphemy against God not to be mentioned and against His people calling all that adhere to his and the Kingdomes Cause Parliament dogs and Parliament rogues what language will you expect to heare if once they come triumphantly to put it off If while the event is uncertaine they cut us out such kinde of Lavves Liberties and Parliament priviledges as these are if GOD for our sinnes sell us into their hands thinke if you can vvhat Lavves Liberties and Parliament-priviledges our posteritie shall finde recorded in our bloud for our selves alas who shall live when God doth this Nay who would desire to live I vvould rather vvith holy Austin make it my humble suite to that GOD vvhose are the issues of life and death that Hee vvould rather take mee from the Earth then let mee live to see His deare Church and my native Countrey delivered into the 〈◊〉 of such blasphemous and barbarous men So that in stead of repenting and withdrawing from the work I could wish that my voice were able to reach into every corner of the kingdome and that I could awaken all people to see the danger and misery that is flowing in upon them That every soul might be quickened up to make his owne and help to make Englands bleeding dying Englands peace with God and every one who hath any interest in Heaven to cry mightily unto that God in whose hand the hearts of Kings are and who rules in the Kingdomes of men that the power of our God might be great towards us in turning away these imminent calamities and turning the heart of our King towards His great and faithfull Councell and rescuing Him out of the hands of this Generation of men who delight in bllood Our God hath not yet said Pray not for this people but if the Lord say he hath no delight in us Righteous art thou O Lord and just are all thy judgements onely let us not be accessary to our own destruction and the destruction of so flourishing a Kingdome let us not through our covetousnesse or cowardize selfe-love or sloth betray our Lawes Liberties Lives Religion into the hands of men from whose hands we befoole our selves if we expect more mercy or lesse misery then the poore Christians of Constantinople found with the Turkes when thankes to their owne niggardlinesse O let it never be so with England they fell into their hands Oh let us labour to prevent their Swords thrusting into our bodies and their Swords into our Soules let our God doe with us what he vvill let us doe vvhat vve should and vvhile vve have any money in our purses any blood in our veins or any spirits in us devote all to the maintenance of this rightfull cause and if vve perish vve perish Nor doe I feare to be for this condemned by any right discerning man as an incendiary to a Civill War I knovv the miseries of a Civill War Warre is the severest of all Gods judgements and Civill Warre the cruellest of all Warres vvhere is the greatest hatred the deepest treachery the most unnaturall butcheries where the father murders the sonne the sonne the Father the brother embrues his hands in his brothers blood and vvhoever gaines all are loosers 〈…〉 Cives quae tanta licentia belli Oh the 〈◊〉 of our age and Countrey If England have such a lust to War 〈◊〉 we find no forraigne Enemies but we must Warre against our selves and at this time too Cumque superba for●t Babylon Spolianda 〈◊〉 When the proud Turrets of the whore of Babylon are to be levelled with the Earth when Germany when Ireland are to be rescued out of her bloudy pawes Can vve finde no fitter Object for the fury of the Cannon then our Townes Houses Bodies But alas The Generation vvith vvhom vve have to deal had rather a thousand times see the glory of England in the dust then the pride of Rome And though a evil War be miserable yet no such misery as the peace vvhich they vvould beteeme us a Sicilian vespers or a Parisian massacre from vvhich good Lord deliver us Save Lord let the King hear us vvhen vve call Thus Sir you have my thoughts at large you may either lay this Letter by you or communicate it for the satisfaction of others at your ovvn pleasure I blesse God I am gathering strength and hope ere long by my return to my Lord and the Army if God please not to smile upon us vvith a safe Accommodation in the mean time to give a reall proofe that my judgement is the same that formerly it hath been and I hope you believe my affection is the same still to you and therefore vvithout further trouble I subscribe my selfe Your loving friend Stephen Marshall