deserved a bitter curse for not coming forth to help the Lord against the mighty Judg. 5. 23. a place considerable Much more then deserve they to be cursed that help against the Lord and take part with the mighty against his people Even so let thine enemies perish O Lord But they that love him shall be as the Sun when he riseth in his strength And so I return to the words of mine Author as followeth fol. 11. viz. I am to judge charitably of the z actions and intentions of my The Author Governours what I think a peradventure is for my hurt may be b intended at leastwise turned to my good I must walk by the c rule of Gods Word and follow the d examples and precepts of my Saviour To pray for them that hate me and do good to them that persecute me and not to forget to pray for all that are in authoritie that I may live a godly life under them in all peace and quietnesse Why may I not suspect that this long enjoyment of the Gospel in peace and plenty hath produced e ill effects in me as well as in my governours But be my governours what they will I have learned to obey all their f lawfull commands and g thank God that I may live under so happy a command If they command me to do no otherwise then what is just and right I must and will willingly do it neither dare I h neglect my duty to them though they forget theirs to me For their offences and neglects to me shall not excuse me to God for them for my offences and non performances of mine to either of them We are not onely to judge charitably of the z actions and Answer intentions of our governours but of the actions and intentions of other men also yet with this proviso that they be not obstinate and persist not in their actions and intentions when as they see or are informed that either in themselves or the issues of them they are evill and ungodly and that they do it of ignorance and misunderstanding and not of wilfulnesse despight and malice as many of the Bishops works and plots yea and of others in authority too have been and are proved Nor must we go upon a peradventures in cases so fundamentally adverse to the universall good For it is not peradventure but most sure that he which seeks to raze the * And by the Bishops and their faction the very foundations both of Church and State have been shaken foundation of an edifice seeks utterly to subvert it nor will any man be so charitable as to let him alone saying he perhaps may intend some better structure or other work to it Nor is it wisdom in any man to suffer a known evill if it lie within his power to avoid it in hope or meer conceit it may be well b meant or at least so prove This is a tempting of the most holy One. We know God turneth all things to the best of his chosen but ought not therfore his chosen to use the lawful means for the avoiding those evils which palpably threaten them or the State and Nation wherein they live or whereof they are members Yes sure Otherwise Mordecai and Esther might have done well to have sate still and said in secure charitie or uncharitable securitie sure Haman intends not such deadly mischief against us as he seemeth or howsoever it may peradventure turn to our greater good But they took another course or else they had been in a dolefull case and all their people And even so had we and this whole Land if we had not used the means God called us to Mine Author saith he must follow the c rule of Gods Word I wish he may for as yet in this he hath not to call evil good and good evil and the d examples and precepts of our Saviour who teacheth us to pray for them that hate us c. and for all that are in authority that we may live godly c. that precept of praying for our enemies is as I conceive principally meant as they are private enemies to our persons onely so prayed Stephen for them Acts 7. 60. not as they are publique and irreconcileable foes of Christ and his Church Anathema Maranatha saith Paul to all that love not the Lord Jesus And for praying for all Governours I agree with him provided they be in lawfull authority and with his own conclusion that we may live godly under them in all peace and quietnesse the which we must not expect under the Bishops That long peace and plenty under the Gospel hath produced e ill effects in us as well as our Governours is undeniable And we are all like a ship that hath laine long still in harbour over grown with the mosse and slime of corrupting securitie and what then Must we therefore any longer abide therein God forbid Let us up rather and be doing and the Lord will prosper us Let our sleeping Commanders be either rowsed or with supine Jonas be cast over board better they then the whole vessell the Nation perish And let our great Barke of Church and State be careined have her very keele turned upward scraped searched calked rigged and trimmed and so faithfully maned out again to the astonishment of our foes and the rejoycing of all those which are imbarked in her and wish well unto her And although the f lawfull commands of evill governours are to be obeyed yet it argueth not that evill Governours are to be tolerated And indeed it is well nay a Miracle and a man hath speciall cause to g thank God if his Governours being evill command nothing but what is lawfull But can an ill tree bring forth good fruit raro aut nunquam very seldom or do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles if it be so is it not by an overruling hand are not the wicked tethered doth not the Almighty turn their wrath to his praise and restrain the rest of their rage Psal 76. 10. yea and bridle their thoughts too But we have much more cause to praise God when our Governours be good men of courage fearing God and hating covetousnesse Exod. 18. 21. then may we with boldnesse expect both good commands and good effects and blessed are the people that are in such a case Eccles 10. 17. True it is that we must h do our duty and perform on our parts though the Governours be wicked and fail on theirs for their neglect shall not excuse ours every vessell shall stand on his own bottome Yet for such Governours as are not lawfully constituted and authorised as the Bishops it is a Quaere what duty is there due whether any So I come to what followeth fol. 11. videlicet Fifthly I dare not but look at the hand of God and not at the instrument The Author onely of my afflictions I know nothing can come to passe but by his permission I am
THE PETITIONERS VINDICATION from CALVMNIE and ASPERSION And the Young Mans Animation to the building up of ZION Published in their Defence against a scurrilous Book or Pamphlet lately written against them by I. W. and scandalously intituled Petitions against Bishops and their Votes in Parliament Subscribed unto after a Clandestine delivered after a tumultuous manner and falsly going under the name of a whole County or Town proved to be both contrary to our late taken Protestation as also utterly unlawfull by many other cleare and evident Reasons Now answered and refuted and Petitions delivered unto the PARLIAMENT by impregnable reasons proved to be both lawfull and according to the Petitioners duty and the late taken Protestation With many other remarkable passages worthy of observation By T. Robinson Veritati Devotum Prov. 26. 24 25. He that hateth will counterfeit with his lips but in his heart he layeth up deceit Though he speak favourably beleeve him not for there are seven abominations in his heart LONDON Printed by T. P. and M. S. and are to be sold at the Castle in Cornhill 1642. COurteous Reader for your better understanding of this Book I have first recited the Author of the book I answer his matter with the folio of his book wherein it is then as I handle his particular sayings or assertions I denote them alphabetically both in his matter and mine as for example In his Ingression or entrance fo 2. of this book he saith viz. For him who is but a private subject and no Law-maker to give his hand in a factious way c. I first undertaking to clear that scandall set the letter a at the words factious way and so likewise in my answer thereunto And thus throughout the whole Treatise that wheresoever a letter by it self is in any part of my Answer you may look back to the same in my Authors argument just precedent and discern more plainly the thing by him affirmed or implyed and by me refuted And if I had not so done I know not how you would rightly have understood him For he hath observed neither rule or method in his discourse or argument but heapeth up many things confusedly together thereby to perplex the mind and darken reason that so like a cunning Merchant he may the better in a bundle put off his suffisticated ware for sound and currant unto men T. R. THE PETITIONERS VINDICATION FROM Calumnie and Aspersion And the Young Mans Animation to the building up of ZION THe Author of the aforesaid book folio 1. doth by way of Introduction first imply the importuning will of some friend by him there called Mr. Cachisme for his hand to a Petition such as by his discourse appeares have of late by severall parts and persons of this Kingdom been delivered to the Honorable House of Parliament Secondly his unwillingnesse to subscribe the same and willing mind to satisfie him therefore albeit as he saith he shall be alwayes readie and willing not onely to give his hand but his heart and purse likewise for the good of the Common-weal County or Parish wherein he lives and for that cause hath been both active and passive severall yeers together Where he properly liveth or what his proper name is I know not nor hath he declared it may be he doth here but reside or sojourn upon some negotiation and his true living may be in Spaine France Flanders or elsewhere and so what he hath apologized may be * For the good of the common weal County or parish wherin he lives good otherwise the sequell of his writing in my judgement doth plainly render him evilly affected to our good viz. to the Republique of this our England and the common cause in hand For his pretended satisfaction tends meerly to the diminution of the courage and constancie of good men the freezing of the cold and the incouragement of the wickedly bold And his Ingression But for me who am but a private Subject c. is palpably a slye insinuation of a matter of * The best glosses are often put on the worst commodities and the worst wine into the purest glasses The Authors Ingression conscience for the not subscribing his friends Petition the better the reby to gain credence and perswâ—sion from the hearts of people and that principally from the greater multitude the ignorant and indifferent But by the way a word of that viz. But for me who am but a private b subject a c Protestant and no d Law-maker to give my hand in a factious a way and without e command from Authoritie to will that there should be f no Bishops and that they shall have no voice in the House g of Peers is against my h conscience and that i light of reason and understanding which I have received And I dare not comply with the k distempers of the people and follow the streame of a multitude to do evill on these grounds follooeing Ye have him in his own words verbatim Lo here he concludes both Petitions and Petitioners to the House of Parliament to be a * Mark doth he not impudently asperse the whole Parliament hereby as if they did countenance both factions and factious persons for they accepted both the Petitioners and their Petitions factious a phrase wholly scandalous Answer and used to deter others For what disturbance or commotion was thereby either plotted or practised through them either against King or State what breach of Law or publique peace only as members sensible of the great jeopeardy the whole Body was in they humbly fought for redresse to the Fountain of succour and justice And every one as a private b man hath an interest in the publique state and cause of the Land For it is not onely one mans cause but every ones and we are all members one of another And as every particular member doth participate of the universall health or sicknesse of the body and as every member naturall doth grow and prosper according to the distemperature or sound constitution of the heart or brain from whence and on which its whole life and motion doth depend so is it in every member politique And as the members corporall being hurt sick or any wayes grieved do by a naturall instinct and way inscrutable forthwith look and send unto the prime parts before named for strength and comfort yea and secretly excite all the other parts also to be assistant So questionlesse may the members of the Body politique finding themselves wounded weakned and many wayes grieved by their oppressive foes and distractive fears lawfully look up and by humble Petition sue unto the King and Parliament both which are one the verie heart and head life and being of this pristine land and Nation and of every true member of the same yea and invite others also to assist them therein The woman in her distresse cried to the King of Israel for help when it was not in his power to help 2
for in all his discourse he doth not so much as blow upon it And what way more humble and lesse offensive then supplication and what way more submisse and tolerable then petition Sure he is rapt in the spirit intimating divine deprication then which with God nothing indeed is more forcible But I think I may rather say unto him Satin ' sanus es is he well in his wits for what is more lawfull nay more needfull and commendable then to ask things lawfull whether from God above or of the gods belowe especially with this conclusion humbly subjecting to their grave wisedom as it is well known all our Petitioners have done Again what man distempered in mind sick or maimed in body or crazed in estate will not discover to his Divine Physitian or Lawyer his grief yea and the cause too if he can earnestly imploring help and comfort from him nay not cease untill if it may be he hath in some good measure obtained it And hath not the whole mind and body to wit both the Ministery and Magistracie of the Land and every living member thereof been grievously distempered sick and wounded and whom should we inform and make acquainted with our desperate maladies and their causes But that most wise and ever approved skilfull Minister Physitian and Lawyer the all healing Parliament whom we have chosen and in whom under our God we do confide for the diligent search of our distempers redresse of our grievances reparations of our estates and restauration of our perfect health and strength again Yet as the Patient doth alway find and feele somewhat more in himself then the Doctor can discover or discern So doth the great Patient our Land and Kingdom find and feele many close and inward griefs which that learned Doctor the Parliament cannot of it self espie and therefore on necessitie must be by their great Patient the people informed of or else they can minister no remedie My Author hath forgot the old Rule Egrotare malum sed pejus nolle sanarl It is ill to be sick but much worse not to seek cure Besides he is but an ill servant and a negligent that while his master is busie in private consultation within or in serious examination of his estate will not have a carefull eye into the shop and affaires abroad and in case he discry any danger theft or other evill act do not speedily give his master notice for remedy The happie Parliament is our Privie Councell Chamber or the great withdrawing roome of the Kingdom where they as so many great State Masters do sit in consultation and strict examination of our publique estate and welfare The whole Land is the shop of all manner of intercourse and negotiation We should prove our selves but very bad members remisse servants and carelesse if while our great Masters were thus busied within we should not once look about in the shop in the common-wealth every man according to his severall place and if we see or foresee any evill present or approaching not yeeld them intelligence that so they may happily make prevention And now do I remember the urgencie yea and the varietie of vehement arguments the poore widow of Tekoah used to bring back banished Absolom 2 Sam. 14. 4. to 21. a wretch and of no relation to her Ought not we much more to be instant and that by many Petitions with our David with our Parliament who are indeed even as an Angel of God in hearing of good and bad therefore the Lord their God be with them vers 17. for the bringing back not of a murderous Absolom but a poore dejected distressed Kingdom spoiled and stabbed as I may say to the very heart not by one but many faire looked false-hearted Absoloms yea and as all the people throughout the Tribes of Israel 2 Sam. 19. 9. were at strife to bring back David to his Kingdom whom ambitious Absolom his unnaturall sonne had put to flight so why should not we contend what City what company and what County should be formost with our pains and petitions to bring back I cannot say our King Charles from exile God forbid but I may say * His Person to his Parliament his ancient glory and honour and the old renown of this Land and Nation which the aspiring Absoloms of our time unnaturall Brats have so farre as they could even put to flight and banished out of sight yea out of many a heart And I know no sound and honest heart can deem this a mark of a w tyrannicall Judge or an illegall witnesse or of a transgressour of the Laws or one that seeketh confusion as my Author implyeth against the Petitioners But he will say they came with weapons as swords bils staves c. It is true but neither to offend nor enforce but to defend their own persons from such as for their good will to the common good * As Lunsford and his company the Bishops imps and Dam-me Boies at Whitehall did maligne them and to their eternall contempt and odium be it spoken did despightfully use them And thus much for his third ground Now you shall hear his fourth fol. 4. viz. I am likewise obliged to maintain the Kings royall person honour The Authors 4. ground and estate and to preserve the union and peace between the three kingdoms much more among our selves Now there is no better way thereunto then to x keep his laws for both the honour and safety of the King the liberty and peace of the Kingdom and welfare of them both are involved in them Here is little to be gainsaid for who knoweth not that the Answer prime way to honour his Majestie and to preserve peace in the Kingdom and common-wealth is to keep and obey the Laws provided alway they oppugne not Gods Laws and I would they had been alway kept as they should have been and then we should have had lesse trouble at this time Yet one thing more then meer obedience to the Law is every one that hath taken the Protestation bound unto that is to do their best to bring every one that doth disobey the Laws to condigne punishment otherwise there can be but little peace be you and I never so obedient and the best way to conserve peace is to endeavour the correction of all the perturbers thereof which are the violators of the Laws the bonds of our peace and herein have the Petitioners but justly also fulfilled their oath in praying the execution of the Laws upon all Recusants and Delinquents who have ever been the onely Authors of our unquietnesse seeking still to break our bands our Laws and to cast our cords to wit our Statutes from them But as for my Author I do not understand that he desireth any such execution for he rather judgeth the Petitioners for justice breakers of the Laws then keepers of them and this he secretly x implyeth though not openly averreth And so I come to his fifth ground
our blessed w unity and bring the Actors within the compasse of a x punishment from the law of God and man for not walking according to the expressed Statutes contained therein In both these second and third causes I conceive little said but Answer what hath already been spoken and inserted See his sixth ground where he secretly accuseth some for breach of their oath for sinister ends as fear favour c. and see his third ground where he condemneth the Petitioners for enforcing that by will which they cannot obtain by reason See also to the latter end of his first cause where he speaketh of ingaging men to breake their oath and of enforcing them thereunto c. all which particulars are in their proper places already answered Yet by the way mark with me I pray how slily he seeketh to divide between the Landlord p and the Tenant a man and his friends as if dependancie alliance and relation was sufficient cause to avert the one from perswading and the other from according to concurre in a good action Howsoever I will say somewhat more in the behalfe of the undertakers and subscribers because in this place he speaketh loud How can any man in common sense think the Petitioners against whom he inveighs did what they have done in a sinister way either for fear or favour nay in humane judgement they might at that time have rather feared for doing it and have reaped disfavour for was not then both wind and tide against them were not our chief adversaries the cause of all our troubles then pregnant and powerfull above measure threatning not onely the particular opposers of them but even the ruin of the whole State and Kingdom And for this cause to my knowledge many that were willing * For they said the popish Lords and Bishops will get the upperhand and then all that give their hands against them will be questioned durst not underwrite against them and many that did were drawn thereunto more by force of conscience through the Protestation then any free will of their own though ardent in desire by reason of the dread they apprehended from the might and malice of them against whom they petitioned So that if God had not wonderfully brought our foes down the Petitioners had in stead of q gain sustained incomparable losse for those the enemies would certainly have devoured us And as for r vain glory that it might be said this is the Babell they have wrought It never I am confident entred into the Petitioners hearts for their desires and endeavours are to pull down Babel and to raze it to the very bottome even that Tower of confusion which hath been here so long upheld by the Babylonish Priests and partie that fame may tell future posteritie this your fathers did Laid Babylon waste expelled her Idol Priests pulled down her high Altars and pleasant pictures and trod all her rich ornaments under seet that so they might serve the Lord in truth and peace And this is both lawfull and by God required Deut. 12. 2 3. 2 Chron. 14. 3 5. Isa 30. 22. And that the Petitioners and their petitions have not hindered but furthered proceedings of State and prepared a way of relief for the oppressed the blessed effects do testifie and so apparantly the t consequence of these petitionarie wayes are not dangerous and in stead of u threatning the subversion of law government and governours they do promise nay almost assure us an establishment of Law government and Governors and that especially of good ones for if they be good what cause will there be to petition against them much lesse to hurt them Nor hath this way broken the w unity amongstus but the bonds it hath broken of our sweet unity breakers And what x punishment can there be incurred where no transgression as is proved is committed I am sure God by his good successe and the Parliament by their good acceptance have in stead of pronouncing the Petitioners guiltie spoken them both innocent and honest carefull and provident for their Countrey And now am I come to my Authors Furthermore saying fol. 7. viz. Furthermore this doth not agree with the light of reason and The Author y understanding which God hath given me to walk by nor that Christian experience I have found under z the crosse In his sixth ground fol. 5. of his book and elsewhere he inveigheth Answer vehemently against such as seduce others to break their Protestation But if there be a more diabolicall meane or manner of seducement then this he here useth judge ye pretending conscience against conscience with the more facilitie to insnare conscience For thus doth he lead captive the simple vanquish the feeble and repell the fearfull and faint hearted As if he was the onely man and y knowledge dwels onely with him But if he have no more light then here shineth from him for all his brags he seeth no more then a Beetle and his understanding is no more then the Asses sensuall and earthy But he hath been taught by z affliction and therefore you must beleeve him I must confesse affliction maketh many wise scholers but not every one nor hath he so farre as I can see yet perfectly learned his lesson for if he had or was sensible of trouble and oppression sure he would omit no lawfull means for help and deliverance I never knew but in any streight or trouble I might make use of all lawfull wayes and occasions for the procurement of my ease and inlargement and that when God opened the doore I not onely might but ought otherwise I should be guilty of contempt to come forth and escape Gen. 8. 8. 12. 18. Jer. 38. 12. Act. 12. 9. 11. And we have all been a long time in bondage and sore affliction I hope seeing God is pleased by the Parliament to open a doore unto us yea and a wide one it is lawfull for us to use our libertie and to use those means he doth so freely affoord us for our Restauration and re-establishment And so I come to more of his grounds causes or reasons or rather repetitions for I cannot tell what truly to call them But you shall have them exactly as I find them fol. 8. viz. First that for the vice or abuse of any thing the right and lawfull The Author use thereof or execution of the office should be c abolished and taken away or that for the a present particular offences of some the innocent posteritie shall suffer For I am not convinced in my d conscience of the unlawfulnesse of the office of a Bishop and am perswaded that there have been many b godly and zealous Martyrs for the truth and many of them still remaine godly and religious Protestants What reasonable man will deny all this onely let my Author Answer prove that the office of a Bishop as it is now by our Bishops held and exercised lawfull and lawfully used
assured that i sin is the prime cause of all my sufferings and I fear that ingratitude in not being thankefull and walking worthy of those great mercies received hath been a principall cause why God hath shut the hearts of some of our Governours at this present as is much feared This whole argument is good and godly let the Devill have Answer his due and worthy of practise in all Protestants yet it tends nothing to prove that the Petitions against which my Author hath undertaken his discourse are unlawfull or that the authors of them hath therein acted any thing either against God or man And I do confesse that for the wickednes of a people God sendeth wicked Governors and that i sin is the prime cause of all our miseries But that ingratitude or other sin of the people is the principall cause why God doth shut up the hearts of Governours I do deny that is their own wickednesse Witnesse Pharaoh and Saul 1 Sam. 15. 23. 26. Many people have suffered for their Governours but to my knowledge I never read that ever any Governour suffered for the people Saul the hypocrite dealeth falsely and slayeth the Gibeonites but the people endure three yeers famine for it 2 Sam. 25. 1 2. So David sinneth but the people are plagued 1 Chron. 21. 7. 17. For the sin of Manasseh the King was all Judah carried captive 2 King 24. 3 4. And were they not the high Priests and Elders that crucified Christ yet was the whole Nation therefore destroyed And that it is the Governors own sin that causeth God to harden them I further prove it thus They having a will to fin and no regard unto God nor unto his word therefore doth he in his just judgement give them up to a reprobate mind to do things that are not convenient Rom. 1. 28. 30. Had Gods Word been by Saul regarded Saul by God had never been rejected And thus fall they to sin the more freely and abuse their authoritie eating up Gods people as bread untill God by their hand hath sufficiently punished them and then doth he break those rods in peeces and consume them in his wrath for the evill of the people shall not excuse their ungodly government no nor extenuate their judgement And so I proceed again as followeth fo 12. viz. Sixthly I know God will correct his children for their sins and in The Author the exceution of his judgements on the world he will begin at his own house either to work out sin or to work in grace or to make that grace more manifest which is already wrought I know that the end of Gods correction is reformation till then if smaller afflictions will not prevail greater shall if not one kind then another if the sword of our enemies do not the swords peradventure of our own amongst our selves shall if not they peradventure the pestilence or the famine or some other shall sundrie of which sometimes come together to let the world know that our afflictions come not immediate from any one k secondary or instrumental cause but that it is from the will and pleasure of the Almighty so to order and to dispose it who will not take off his judgements as the effects till our sins as the cause be removed Herein likewise is nothing to be gainsaid Onely I must still Answer notifie that whatsoever is here alledged doth not justifie mine Authors clandestine aspersions against the aforementioned Petitioners and Petitions or any wayes condemne therein either their actions or persons That our afflictions come not immediately from any k secondarie cause who knoweth not Is there evill in the City and God doth it not Amos 3. 6. Lam. 3. 38. Yet this doth not therefore prove that such instruments as aâ—â— manifestly the secondarie causes of our troubles either justifiable or tolerable And as mine Author would not have us account the Bishops the immediate cause of our perturbation and affliction so I wish he would advise them not to take us for the onely cause of their shamefull fall and confusion but their own detestable impietie and abomination the which the righteous Lord hath justly brought on the heads of them to the astonishment of the whole earth So I come again to his own words fo 13. viz. Seventhly I dare not l use any unlawfull means to ease mine The Author affliction I know no better way then by m humiliation and prayer to God for a sight of those sins whereby I had provoked him to wrath and for grace and true repentance for the same and remission by the merits of my Savâ—our Jesus Christ And then to apply my self with all diligence to all lawfull means to remove them yet I am not to put too much n confidence in them I could never yet find any benefit by o impatience under the hand of the Almighty I have found more afflictions procured thereby and I am assured that the Church and children of God never lost by their p patient suffering What this man l dare not do I am sure as yet we have not Answer done as hath been plainly proved albeit he secretly involves our rebuke in his dare not For as not he so no man can prove a petitionary way unlawfull and other means then humble petitions and modest solicitations there hath been none used by us excepting that principall means of m humiliation by himself so much preferred the which by the goodnesse of our King and Parliament hath rather been president then subsequent to our other endeavours And I verily beleeve men have been so farre from putting too much n confidence in the use of means as that they have not given due credit to the promise of God made unto them For how many but a while since did even despaire * Witnesse every mans arming himself and standing upon his guard notwithstanding the means used And of o impatience who can reprove us what people have so easily subjected their necks to such grievous yokes as we have done and that not for daies but yeers illegal taxes impoverishing Patents forcible impositions popish Inquisitions cruell censures and bloody sufferings And now the waters are moved God hath sent his Angel to cure us shall we not stir shall we not enter shall we not lay hold upon so happie an occasion if we cannot make means our selves we may with the lame man at the pool of Bethesda sit still long enough there are none so charitable many otherwise to make means for us We have not with the traiterous Papists rebelled for our oppressions but like a woman with child patiently waited though in great anguish the Lords appointed time for our deliverance and it being come and we in pain may we not seek for help to the Midwife of our heavy burthens the skilfull Parliament yes doubtlesse lawfully and ready and willing are we to undergo whatsoever charge or trouble they shall enjoyn and put upon us so that we
may be eased and acquit of our abortives And as never any through p patience in obedience to Gods will hath in the end been damnified so I am confident we shall not but on the contrary be greatly benefited for he that hath begun the good work for us will not fail to perfect it And so I come again to mine Authors own words fol. 13. viz. Eightly as I know that Gods q decree in his determination of The Author judgements shall be fulfilled so I am confidently assured that when the time of his deliverance is come all the power and subtilty of the devill and his instruments as they shall go no further then he hath limited them so they shall not hinder him from taking off his rod when he pleaseth For he is able to bring his will to passe by means without r means and contrary to means rather then his children shall not have their due reliefe The s Sea shall part the earth shall open and swallow up their adversaries or fire shall come down from heaven and destroy them And this may t comfort Christians that God reignes and rules as King in heaven the cause of his Church and children is his and he beholds and governs the inhabitants of the earth he hath the hearts of all in his hand he can turn them or overturn them when he pleaseth for the good of his when our wayes please him he can make our enemies be at peace with us and the same hand to heal us that hath wounded us it is he onely that can make men to be of one heart and one mind and to make all things to work together for the best of them that love him There is nothing here but what is truth Onely to me he seemeth Answer subtilly to insinuate that because whatsoever God hath q decreed cannot be altered or averted we must therefore sit still and do nothing like those desperate wretches who say if God hath ordained me to be saved I shall be saved if he have appointed me to be damned I shall be damned what can I do But this ought not so to be It behoveth us in the morning to sowe our seed and in the evening not to withhold our hand to be diligent and constant in the use of all good means omitting no opportunitie for who knoweth whether shall prosper this or that or whether both shall be alike good Eccles 11. 6. we must do our endeavour and refer the issue to God who doth all things after his own good pleasure True it is that God can save r without means and by contrary means but he seldome or never doth either unlesse means be wanting or that in case all means being used have failed then in a case extraordinary he will shew himself glorious for the deliverance of his Church to get himself a name that his enemies may be astonished and his people incouraged to trust in him Such was the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and the blind mans receiving sight with spittle mixt with clay But when the Israelites came to enter the promised Land they must use the means the sword for it if they will have it although they could not divide the Sea yet they can fight And because they are afraid and will not fight they shall wander fourty yeers longer and perish every one that was unwilling God could as easily have slain the Canaanites for them as he did the Egyptians and so at once have given them possession but he would not the purchase would have been too cheap they would not have valued the prize And therefore when they come to win that strong City Jericho they must take pains and apply themselves to means though it be but walking and sounding on Rams horns God doth not make miracles his everie dayes work though truly we may say to his glory that of late he hath daily shewed miracles amongst us But for the most part they have been by his blessing through the use of means though weak and mean and therefore let us not be idle but still be doing Mine Author appeareth plainly to be of their mind at least his arguments tend to that end who say * And others who thank God their hand is to none of their petitions or to the Protestation what need we trouble our selves to petition is not the Parliament wise enough do they not know what they have to do Yea undoubtedly better then we can teach them and without question they are most wise Yet under favour I beleeve not so fully wise as altogether needlesse of instruction and advice And though most understanding yet not so perfectly knowing as not to stand in need of information advertisement I have known parents hearken unto children And Eli that old Judge of Israel advised with hearkned unto young Samuel 1 Sam 3. 17 18. but this by permission My Authors perswasion wherewith he laboureth to have us do nothing but fit expect miracles from heaven is much like that I have read of a certain Jew after Christ who because God in old time had miraculously brought the Jews by the hand of Moses through the Sea perswaded the people that God would do the like for them by him and so brought most of them to perish miserably in the waters Even so this man infers As if because God can do such mighty things as he s reckons and hath formerly by his marvellous power delivered others us also as in that Gunpowder-plot of the Papists miraculously and absolutely without us that therefore he will do so now But have we not found and God by proof hath caused us to know that if we had been thus minded we almost all before this had perished For the rest of his eighth assertion that it may t comfort Christians that God reigneth in heaven rules in the earth taketh the cause of his children to be his c. and turneth all to the best of them that love him I acknowledge But as it may serve for comfort to Gods Church and people so may it serve for terrour and discomfort to all that are his enemies and oppose his Church for God is a most severe Avenger of their wrongs And so I come to my Authors conclusion fo 15. viz. To conclude I hope by this time you have received full v satisfaction The Author why I have refused to subscribe Yet let me w assure you that if the Parliament shall think fit to alter that government I dare not in conscience and duty to the Protestation refuse to be governed by it And now mine Author thinks that by his slight sophisticall Answer arguments he hath u satisfied the whole world for his non subscription hoping by this means also to dehort many others And truly amongst the ignorant squint-eyed and neutrall his assertions may much prevail and his Pamphlet have more faith from them then the Bible But to the judicious zealous more quick-sighted he very