THE BEAST IS WOVNDED OR Information from Scotland concerning their Reformation Wherein Is breifly declared the true cause and ground of all the late Troubles there and the reasons why they have rejected the Bishops with their Courts Canons Ceremonies and Service-booke Hereto Is added some fruitfull observations upon the former declaration by Io Bastwicks younger Brother JVDG 5.31 So let thine Enemies perish O Lord. The first part Printed in the yeare that the Bishops had their downefall in SCOTLAND TO THE READER COurteous Reader it is a note as the Wise-man noteth it of a foole to beleeve every thing I doubt not but thou hast heard much of the Troubles in Scotland Now that thou mayst not justifie the wicked and condemne the just which are both abomination to the Lord. I have thought fitt for thy good to publ sh this short relation It came to me from such persons as doe well know the proceedings of things there from first to last and therefore thou mayst be confident that the same is trùe It seemes by some notes which I finde in the margent that it was sent from a Scotsman to some good freind that he had in England and in likelihood a strict Nonconformist who shewes his good desire that England might bè reduced unto Scotlands Reformamation and not Stotland to Englands Deformation But not beeing willing to write of things whereof I have no cerraine knowledge I will therefore be silent and leave thee to the reading of the discourse IT was the desire of King Iames by whose instigation I know not (a) It was some Bish a thousand to one else For what mischiefe is there specially if done against the true worship of God but these Creatures of the Earth have their hāds chiefly in it See Syons-plea A Looking glasse for the Prelates the Abreviate c. that the Church of Scotland would admitt that such men as stood Ministers to those Churches which in the time of Poperie were called Bishopricks might have the Title of Lord-Bishops and voyces in Parliament (b) Parliaments will doe better without these men For they well resemble that filthy bird which caries this motto contactu omnia faedat To this the people consented (c) Better they had not for they have smarted for it ever since as their owne relation here manifesteth As the Trōians in consenting to take the Horse into their Citie had their citie spoyled by it So from the Hierarchy as out of the Troians Horses belly hath issued the cause ground of al their late troubles Se Pro. 29 2. and in the yeare 1602. it was by a Parliament confirmed Yet so as with certaine provisoes and conditions then and there expressed That is that all such as were then resident in such places and all such as afterwards should happen to be presented to them should by solemne Oath and publick subscription sweare and be obliged neither to propound nor give consent to any thing propounded in Parliament without a precedent Commission of a generall assembly Moreover that they should not pretend any authority or jurisdiction above other Ministers and that they should be as lyable and subject as any other Ministers to the Sentence and Censure of Presbyteries Provinciall and Nationall Synods To bee short if they transgressed either against those rules or any other institution which the Church tyed them unto they might be and should be excommunicated by the Pres-bytery and Synod and deposed a beneficio officio (d) Jf we had such Law with us in Englād executed we should not be troubled long with Bb nor any of that Brood downward to the Parater For their blasphemies treasōs murders c are so obvious to all mens eyes As the severest punishmēts in any civil Court would be light enought to be laid upon them See Quench-Coale Epist Remonst the last Parl. Howsoever at the first thus they were sworne to doe And were admitted no otherwise neither upon other tearmes but what is before expressed Notwithstanding they having gotten a footing it was not long ere they brake their Oath and attempted many unlawful actions to the great dishonour of Gods name the scandall of the Gospell and to the likely dissipation of the whole Church had not the Lord prevented it by a wonderfull deliverance (a) Such a deliverance God grant England and when we see it we will say thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power thy right hand O Lord hath dashed in peeces the enemies and good cause too for this would prove to our Land a greater blessing thenwas our deliverance from the Gunpowder treason And therefore wee would nor faile to keepe a day of thankesgiving in remembrance of it as did the Iewes after Hamon and his Sonnes were hangd It would required a large volume to set downe all the particular evils and troubles which those Lordly Prelates brought upon that Church And more would have brought had not their hornes (b) By the Hornes of the Beast is meant the Antichristiā power which they exercise over their brethren By which as a Beast with hornes they push the godly sometime into prison other-while to the Pillary many times into forreigne Countries so that untill these hornes bee cut off there is no keeping house with them beene cut off Among other acts of their Lordly Government they tooke upon them to depose Ministers as they pleased and when they pleased And admitted sundry scandalous persons (c) The Prelates in Scotlād never shewed so much prophanes this way as ours have done For whereas idolaters adulterers lyars forcerers whoremonngers theeves drunkards quid non are allowed and liked off On the contrary they suppresse all them who will not be their Drudges to serve thē and their great Landlord the Pope witnes Wren the Norridge Beast See the unbish of Timot. and Tit. like themselves to the Ministery and chardge of Soules And kept back from the Ministery all honest and able men what they could And not contented with this they procured from the King a warrant under the shew or pretence whereof they silenced the most Godly learned and faithfull Ministers in the Kingdome And also by the same authorities they brought into the Church many Popish Ceremonies to the generall greife of the godly both there and in many other places And these great abuses of theirs they brough the sooner easier to passe in regard there were some Courtiers and Counsellers about his Majestie that were Popishly affected and bore ill will to Sion this is cleare in the cause of Melvin Forbes Bruce and others Worthies of that Church who were exiled (d) Doth the Church of Scotland reckon it for one of her greevances that they have unjustly banished some of her Ministers How then would they have taken it had they seene them whipt in their streetes stood on Pillaries burnd-marked 〈…〉 about the time that the Earl of Northhamton and B. Bancroft had greatest acceptation
with K Iames Soe againe when the 5. Articles were introduced by a most illegall injurious and violent way in the Assembly at Perth who were then present with the King but Buckingam and B. Land twosit instruments as could bee to bring such an evill worke to passe They having thus begun to spoyle the Lords Vineard afterwards they caused many idle pamphlets to be published against that good old way of Government (a) Our Bb. have a trick which the Scot. never used that is to cast men into prison and there deprive them of all meanes of writing and then ser then Parasites and Sycophants to rayle against them Now truly these are wise in their generation or they know had their opposites the liberty that they have they were better be hāgd out of the way then suffer the just shame which they would doe for their filthy lies blasphentiess of that Church by which Government before their Lordships ruled the corrupt Doctrines and ill liues of Preachers were severely corrected and suppressed But for their parts they gave way and liberty unto evill doers and sought only to curbe and suppresse the better sort Add hereunto their procuring from the K a warrant for to exercise such a jurisdiction in the civil Government (b) Forgs the Tipe of Bb. are said to have 2 small threads hanging neere their eyes wherwith they make trapps lay them in muddy places for to devoure the Fish these tove threads signifie the civill and spirituall functions of Bb. wherwith as the Frog with her tvvo threads they take the godly and devoure them as is inconsistent with the Lawes of that Relame the honour of the Soveraigne peace of that Country Nay not here withall are satisfyed but seeke further for a Commission from King Charles and under shew or colour of which warrant (c) As the Scribes Pharisees never left Pilate till he had passed sentence of death against Christ So the Prelates are earnestly importunate with the Kings of the Earth to have Commission and vvarrant from them for to crucifie Christ dayly in his members they make many greevious acts of injustice and greatly oppresse many of his Majesties loyall good subjects (d) If you complaine of oppression and thinke you have just cause for it to vvound the Beast What may wee say of our oppressions which are more for number more heinous for nature longer for continuance and more common and generall For what condition is there of men among us but are horribly abused by them See the Abbreviate These abuses are not all for besides they have vys modis used meanes to gert another Commission from his Majestie whereby to cover their unlawfull wayes unto benefices for themselves and their freinds and withall got a colour of an Act of Parliament to bring the Surplusse into the Church they caused fome Popish Lords to sit upon the Articles of the Parliament An 1633. they were also the instruments that procured an act to be contrived beeing a racification of the Kings prerogative and power to impose such apparell upon Church-men in divine service as he should thinke su Yea and to bring this to passe they moved the King to presse all men either to consent or dissent to the whole Act as it was framed thereby cunningly to draw all the Parliament-men either to deny the K prerogative or else to consent to their plott for the Surplusse More then this they perswaded his Majesty to sett downe with his owne hand the names of all the Noblemen that should discent from the aforesaid Act and that they should be taken as men disrespecting his Majesty and his Service and that hee should not heare them to give any reason for their dislike of the thing And whereas there was found afterwards with the Lord Balmerin a certaine writing containing some reasons wherefore the Noblemen could not ascent unto the said Act And some other passages expedient to vindicate their persons and cariages from the reproach of beeing dis-affectionated to his Majesties Service and this set downe in a Potition with an intent that it should be presented to the King by the Noblemen but was not The Bishops getting a sight of this Copie according to the rest of their doings caused this good Nobleman for having this Perition to be condemned of Legis Majestatis And it went neere with his life (a) Our English Preates this way are None-such For if they perceive a man to bee an enemie to their unblessed Kingdome they will bee sure to have his blood for it if they can this our Noblitie know well enough the which makes thē the unwillinger to power out their vials upon the throne of the Beast Their Lordships having gone thus farre are not affraid to publish a Booke of most wicked Canons (b) Consider O Englād what cause thou hast to free thy selfe out of the hāds of these theeves murderers who have many yeares bound thee as Tyrants and Turkes doe Gally-slaves to their oars I say bound thee with their Canons Articles Injunctions as so many irons fetters to row for them Romes Boat So that Scotlād bath nor the cause which thou hast to putt those Amalekites to the sword among which one is that whosoever shall affirme that the Service-booke which was not yet out but in hatching containes any thing erronious shall be excommunicated ipso facto it was not long after this ere they caused the said Service-booke to be published Which hath in it not only the Superstition and Popery contained in the English Leiturgis but some thing more and that they might bring the Church nolens volens to use this Jdol-booke they procured a Proclamation (c) Quae whether the Scotsmen did well to refuse the Service-booke being commaunded by the K. to use it quid sequitur to be published wherein al his Majesties subjects were commanded to conforme strictly thereunto as to the only forme of Gods publick worship for that Church Beeing thus swollen (d) Nor like Ours For their insolencies are intollerable specially that little great Laud but this gives me hope that their shame fall is at hand drosse assoon as ever it hath gotten up to the top and elevated it selfe above the pure mettall is then scummed off cast away These like drosse scumme are risen up above their betters therefore c. See Psa 119 199. with a presumptuous conceit of their power and thinking now that neither great nor small had either the courage or wisedom to stand in their way (e) As the Scots Bb. were deceived so I trust will Ours be the Bishop of Ederb in July 1637. gives order to the Ministers of that Citty that they read the aforesaid Service-booke in their Congregatious Which would be such a Masse in Scotland as the Pope himselfe (f) Pope Pius 4 sent Vincentio Parpatia Abbot of S. Saviours to Qu. Eliz offering her to confirme the
no new thing for Princes by the instigation of wicked Prelates to have their names and authority abused I has was Consiantines authority abused when he authorized by the perswasion of Bb. the Arrian Haeresie So Theodesius when he established the Haeresie of Entiches So Arcedins when hee banished Chrisostome that ye discharge charge all such convocations (b) (b) The way for his Majestie to have such convocations meetings discharged is to discharge the Bb. of their power and places and in his name authority to call a Parliament and willingly to suffer a legall pro ceeding against the Prelates and in this God shall have glery the King honour the Land peace and the enemies of the Lord their due desert and untill this be neither England nor Scotland wil see good dayes meetings in time to come vnder the penalty of Treason and also that ye command charge and inhibit our leiges and subjects that none of them on any hand presume to resort or repaire to the Burrough of Starling nor to any other Burrough where our counsell and Session sits till first they declare the cause of their comming to our counsell and declare their warrant to that effect And further that wee command and charge all and Sundrie Provosts Bayleives and Magistrates within their Burroughs that they and every one of them have a speciall care and regard to see this our Royall will and pleasure readily and dutifully observed in all points and that no violence bee suffered within your bounds under all the highest penalty crime or offence that they may commit against us in that behalfe And also that ye commaund and charge all and sundry Noblemen Barrons Burgesses who are not actually indwellers within the Burrough neither are of number of the privy counsell and Session and members therof and are already within this Burrough that they and euery one of them remoue themselves and depart and passe forth of the said Burrough and not returne againe without the said warrant within Six houres after the publication hereof vnder the said penalty of Treason (c) (c) It is high time for the Nobilitie both in Scotland England to looke about them considering the monstrous unparaled presumption of Bb. who are growne so impudent as they are not affraid to perswade Kings to proclaime all the great Peeres and Princes of the Land Traitors Rebels if they will not become the which used to bite people and howsoever he was spoken often unto of it yethee reformed it not At last the curre wounded the man himselfe his Children at this he was very angry and caused the curre to be hanged immediately We poore men have been a long time biten by the Prelaticall Dogs and we have complained thereof to your Honours but you 〈…〉 And as concerning any petitions that shall hereafter be given to vs upon this or any otner Subject wee are likewise pleased to declare that wee will not shut our cares there from Soe it bee not prejudiciall to our royall authority Given at Starling vnder our Signet the 19 of Febr 1638. Per actum Dominorum Consily For the safety of religion the honour of the King and the lawfull liberties and previledges of the subjects the Nobility and Commissioners aforesaid were forced to publish a protestation against the Proclamation and thus they say WEE Noble men (a) (a) It is a thing to bee wished that our Noblemen Barens and Ministers would take to heart the greevances of the time and joyntly seek by a lawful way the redresse thereof We see in Worldly matters what one cannot doe many can So in this case howsoever some few single men have not prevailed with the King to east out the bond-woman her children yet if there be a general seeking by the whole Nation there is no fear but he will give a gracious answere Barrons and Ministers appointed to attend his Majesties answer vnte our humble petitions and to present our gree uances and to doe what else might lawfully conduce to our humble desires Did upon the 13. of September last present one supplication to your Lordships and another upon October following as also a new relatiue to the former in December after the 19. day In all which wee humbly remonstrated our iust exceptions against the Service book booke of Cannons Arch-Bishops and Biships of this Kingdom as the contrivers (b) (b) They may wel be called contrivers for I know not for what use they are in all the world unlesse it bee to contrive wayes how to suppresse Christs Kingdome to advance Antichrist meanteaners urgers thereof against their sitting as our Judges (c) (c) When will theeves murderers c. be punished if none but themselves may judge their cause Might the Bb. be brought to an impartiall triall no doubt but they would be soone condemned for notorious malefactors But if their facts may not be examined any where but where they themselves are Iudges it wil be long enought before they suffer according to their merit until the causes betweene them and us bee decided And withall wee earnestly suplicated to beeridd and delivered frō these evils (d) (d) If the Scotsmen have just cause to seeke his Majestie that they may be rid of Bb. and their Tayle What cause have we then to seeke for it having beene a thousand sould more basely abused by them then ever they were Truely it is to be wondered that we are still but it may be our Nation forbeares to petition his 〈…〉 in earnest from all other innovations of that kind introducted against the laudable lawes of this Kingdome as namely that of the High Commission and other evils particularly and generally mentioned in our lupplications complaints And that these our Parties delinquent against our religion and lawes might be taken order with and these pressing greeuiances bee redressed according to the Lawes of this Realme as in our supplications wee have more largely expressed the which wee gave unto your Lordships upon the 19. December aforesaid against the Arch-Bishops and Bishops our parties who by consequence therefore neither could be nor may be our Iudges Whereupon your Lordships declared by your act given at Dealkieth the said 19 of December that you would present our Petition to his Majestie Royall consideration and that without any prejudice to us the said Supplicants and moreover that wee should bee heard (a) (a) It is a crying none of this Land that the poore mans cry is not heard And this comes to passe through the crast of Prelates who seeke to have their causes justified in all Courts without any triall or examination If a Bat touch a Storkes egge it becomes they say addle after I know not what the secret operation is that Bb. have in their touch But this I know by their touch they make many addle egges or rather addle heads both in Church and Common-wealth in time and place convenient