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A70342
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The Commons petition of long afflicted England to the chiefe chancellor of heaven and onely ivdge of Earth with his gracious answere thereto.
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C. I.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing I1; ESTC R19037
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3,100
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8
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THE Commons Petition OF Long Afflicted England TO THE CHIEFE CHANCELLOR OF HEAVEN AND ONELY IVDGE OF EARTH With His Gracious answere thereto Published by C. I. for the Benefit of all True affected CHRISTIANS LONDON Printed for Iohn Hammond 1642. The humble Petition of the poor distressed Commons of long afflicted ENGLAND IF bleeding soules dejected hearts finde grace Thou all-disposer turne not back thy face From us thy Supplicants thrice 3 Suns have worn Their Summer suits since we began to mourne Egypts ten plagues we have endur'd thrice told Since blest Eliza was with Saints enrold Thy Messengers of wrath their viols powre Each day upon our heads nay every houre Plagues beget plagues and fruitfull vengeance growes As if there were no end set to our woes Have our blacke sinnes good God rais'd such a cloud Twixt us and heaven that cries though nere so loud Can get no passage to thy mercy Seat Are our iniquities good God so great So infinite as neither groanes nor teares Can entrance get Remember but the yeares Of our afflictions then forget we crave Our sinnes and bury them in deepest grave Of darke oblivion hide them in the side Of our Redeemer O let them be ty'de In chaines that they may never rise againe Let us no longer sue and cry in vaine Let these our supplications this complaint Tenderd by our late Soveraigne now thy Saint At last finde grace was 't not we humbly pray Enough at first thou tookst that Queen away Was not that Dove that Lamb of innocence Sufficient sacrifice for our offence Oh no our sinnes out-â—â—'d her and our crimes Did threaten to out-live the last of times Thou didst remove her that she might not see The sad beginnings of our misery Had Egypt thicker darknesse then had wee When clearest eyes at mid-day could not see Vnwholsome mists strange fogges rumours of warres Evill portending Comets blazing starres Prodigious births and most unnaturall seasons Spurning Philosophers quite beyond their reasons Frightiug the silly poore the rich dehorting To leave their downy beds where they lay snorting Heaven in combust on seemes the sky in Armes The starres beat Drummes the sky doth sound Alarms The aire hath often bloody colours spread And all to rouze us from the lazie bed Of base security yet nought will fright us Till we were robd of that did most delight us Henry our joy Henry whose every limb Thteatned to conquer death and not death him Henry our pride yea even Henry the blest In whom great Britaine set up all her rest Who had not in that one an ample share What subject had not rather lost his heire What tender mother did not wish that Dart Had glanc'd from him and strooke her darlings heart All they which vertuous were all which were good Turned their watry eyes to streames of blood But needs must thine annointed leave the Citie Before it be destroyd such is thy pitty And such thy goodnesse Are there yet full ten Is there good Lord a number-lesse of men Whose innocence may slack thy kindled ire And keep this Sodom-Britaine from the fire Of thy just ones is there not yet a soule Whose uprightnesse hath power to controule Thy heav'd-up-hand of justice if there bee For his or her sake cause thy clemencie To waken mercie let thy justice slumber And save the greater for thy lesser number For his or her sake wee doe humbly pray Respite of time give us a longer day And then enabled by your grace and favour Wee l purchase pardon by our good endeavor Plague famine darknesse inundations Warrs wee have endured and Innovations With evpectation of the worst can follow By Popish Prelates that have hearts most hollow Their Plots discover'd even with feare and horror Makes us to sleep with care and wake with terror Nor are we all this while from venome free The Catterpillar hangs on every Tree Lowsie Promooters Monopoly-mongers A crew of upstart Rascalls whose feirce hungers Can nere be satisfyed a sort of slaves Far more unsatiate then are Whores or Graves And doe more mischiefe then Egyptian flies That with their buzzing blinde the peoples eyes Yet at the last God hath us comfort sent In the bright Sun-shine of our Parliament VVhich may dispell the misty foggs of error And turne our clowdy day into faire weather The last Petition wee most humbly crave Is They one heart one minde may have A GRACIOVS ANSWERE from our Blessed Mediator c. YOur bold Petitions Mortalls I have seen And finde it full of passion full of spleen Prayers that enter heaven and gaine a hearing Are wing'd with Charity heer 's no appearing VVith supplications fraught with ire or gall I doe confesse poore soules the truth of all And wish a period to your miseries But first your infinie iniquities Must have an end Alas you must begin To love faire Vertue as you have done sin You must redeem what 's lost and know As heaven hath ever been to vengeance slow So by degrees is grace and mercy won Eyes that be full with gazing at the Sun Increase their griefe If you would mercy gaine From unjust actions you must then refraine How dares a wretched servant once require From his just Master either grace or hire You must put off the shoes with which you troad The way of sin ere you discourse with God Give me but ground for Commeâ—â—â—â—ions Incouragement and then your supplications I shall receive I left you rich 't is true And proud withall You feard none all fear'd you You were so farre from feare that you denide To pay him feare that gave you cause of pride You must be humbled heaven ever punish'd yet All kind of Ranknesse with an opposite Hee that will surfit ere he gaine his health Must strictly fast Had you sate still in wealth You never would have bow'd your stubborn knee Vnto your great Creator heaven or me I will not grieve your troubled soules too much Yet gently your ingratitudes I le touch And that you may the better know your errors I shall unto your memory call favors By you forgot unthankfully forgotten My favors by you burried are and rotten It is no ostentation to relate Courtisies done to such as are ingrate I found you humbled like a scatterd flock Your very soules beaten against the Rock Of Ignorance and Superstition Just in the way to follow to perdition I paid the shepherd and the Pilot too And got nor Lambe nor flock nor fleece more then my due Where I never exacted from the common store Though all alike were Rich alike were poore For mine and thine they are such things As scarsly known twixt Subjects and their Kings Princes like the Sunne should from the floods exhale The wealth they raise then in a showre let fall In every place as they see cause a share And not consume them in the worthlesse aire Their full Exchequers should like Conduits be Open to all but to the poore most free And subjects should like fields be full of springs That naturally still fall toward their Kings The Common-wealth should alwayes be in motion Seas flow to brooks and brooks should fall to th' ocean Such Royall and such loyall community Keep Kings and subjects still in unity I cannot say I grieve this place is free From passion as from iniquity But yet I must since Scotland with it joyne Englands Exchequer is no better coine Sure there 's false play I feare the younger brother Is growne too wise too crafty for the other It is an ill made marriage where the Bride Spends faster then the husband can provide Princes are Gods on earth and subjects eyes Vpon their actions must not stand like spies It is a dangerous and ungodly thing To pry into the Chamber of a King The Arke of State is sanctified and must Be onely toucht by such are put in trust But you expect an auswer to your petition Then know poore soules t is given mee in commission From heavens great King to tell you all that 's past To what 's to come is but a sparke or blast Your sorrowes yet alas like womens throwes Doe goe and come but there must follow woes Ere England be delivered it will make Your very intrailes bleed your soules to quake The dayes will come when 〈◊〉 men will 〈◊〉 And children wish they never had been borne The sword will eate what plague hath over-split And fire consume what famine hath not ript The Gospels Sun will lose his glorious light And ignorance as dark as blackest night Will spread her sable wings about this I le And Babylons proud Whore once more defile Albions white Clifts with her infectious breath Except I shield you that have conquerd death Repent forsake your sinne and stop my ire And save your Sodome-Britaine from the fire FINIS