expecting any satisfaction from you but acceptation only of my good will for you looking for a better recompense of reward then al the earthly Generals in the world can give My opinion is that you need not trouble the Lord General or his Counsel with many Petitions but make a forlorn List of your names and places of aboad who groan under oppressions by false and pretended actions and illegal chargeable and delatory practises and proceedings in the Law And let there be one general Petition drawn up which is as good as a thousand and let it contain the substance of your complaints and what you desire and let the same be presented with speed to them who have power to redress your grievances That they may appoint a certain number of honest and faithful men to sit early and late as Commissioners Fully to hear and finally to determine all manner of grievances depending in suits of Law which shall not happen to be ended by Law within a certain convenient time limited and thereby they may probably dispatch 100. Causes in a day which will be a great ease to the People they sitting daily so long as there is any busines for them to do that all men may enjoy their just rights without molestation That Justice may be no more cloathed with sackcloth nor judgment turn'd into wormwood and gall That truth may be no more blemished by falshood nor equity kept out by inquity O yee mighty ones who sit as Gods defend the poor Widdows and the Fatherless do justice to the afflicted and needy Deliver the poor and needy rid them out of the hand of the wicked It concerns you to double your diligence in well doing for all the foundations of the earth are out of course and the dark places thereof are full of the habitations of cruelty Shall the desolate Widdows and Fatherless be made the chief marks for injustice to shoot at And be continually vexed and tormented by the most cruell illegal and delatory proceedings in the Law and the Woman though she brought 10000 l. portion to her Husband and could have no claim in his real estate but for her life time that but a third and though never so aged yet upon the death of her husband she required by the Law to deliver up all to the Heir saving the dwelling House for 40. dayes and if she passe the time of 40. dayes must still be liable to action And before she can compel the Tenant to plead with tearms of Law called Assoynes Adjournments and Views shall a whole year be spent then in the fire of contention to make them spin out the rest of their dayes in vanity and yeers in trouble and then if the Sheriff or Crowner fail to return the Jury which is a common thing a fine is set upon them indeed but a four penny matter will take it off and this is enough to put off the poor Widdow another year Shal such evill customes still remain up and down the Land As for her personal Estate the Executor he possesseth all although it be never so many thousands And then in the mean time the poor widows have no relief but in Chancery where they must serve a compleat Apprentiship before they can be made free by Law And thereby the poor desolate widdows through extreme necessity are forced to borrow pawn yea and sometimes to begg their bread sue in forma pauperis so the remedy is worse then the Disease And if the widdow dye while the Suit is depending al 's lost and then the Heir or Executor robs all the rest of her children of al And the Fatherless are constrained to sue for their portion 21. 22. years yea sometimes 23. years before they can recover it Thus as I said before the Widdows are their prey and they rob the Fatherlesse But wee unto the Oppressors what will they do in the time of their visitation O Cromwel the Lord of the Land lay it to thy heart Look to these things redresse these grievances in time unlesse the prize be gone out of thy hand and the Crown be fallen from thy head Work now O now before darknes and the shadow of death seize upon thee in the Land of oblivion where the light is as darknes for thou art here to day but thou dost not know where thou shalt be to morrow A word for L Col JOHN LILBVRNE LEt Lilburne live and not dye O let him live and see better dayes For most of his dayes hitherto have been sorrow and his travel grief How often hath this pitcher been at the Well! and will it still go well with it And how many knocks hath it endured upon the hard stones and yet is not broken but holds tack and as tough as a lether Jack But beware lest the fire of contention scorch it and make it useless O Lilburne Lilburn hear what he saith who said he would be wise but it was far from him If thou hadst as much wisdom as courage If as much prudence as confidence If as much meeknes and gentlenes as strength of memory If as much depth of apprehension as ready delivery Thou wouldest be a rare Phenix or Bird of Paradice But every man hath his proper gift one after this manner another after that And yet thou hast all these in a measure Thou hast done and suffered much yea so much that an Enemy of Sathan is sent to buffet thee that thou mayest not be exalted in thy self And why wast thou so ravished with the routing of the Parliament Thou art not the first wise man deceived through confidence in man Be not overcome or drawn in by every one that speaks thee fair and faineth himself just to intrap thee Beleeve not every spirit first try and then trust lest they proove as broken teeth and feet out of joynt Thou outcast of England didst not thou know that the Parliament had erred And didst thou think the Lord General and his Councel of Officers did wel in confirming their Acts and denying to break such yoaks or to go against any of them after their dissolution of a Parliament or no Parliament who made Laws or no Laws Of force or of no force Then in Authority or not in Authority And now the same or not the same Who had driven thee out saying go serve other gods 1 Sam. 21.11 12 13. and 28.2 and 29.8 as if they had a designe upon thee to force thee for thy preservation to fain thy self to be that which thou wast not and to take upon thee to do that which thou didst not nor darest do And how didst thou come into this Wildernes to tread upon English ground to defend thy self with a sword without a hilt before thou hadst made thy peace with men of War who had armed themselves and forewarned thee Wil the falling out of lovers be the renewing of love it hath moved thee to seek to them and may perswade them to embrace thee If thou desirest the Mercie of God to preserve thee the Assistance of Saints and Angels to protect thee If thou wouldst have thine Enemies at peace with thee Let thy ways always please the LORD and strive to outstrip all the world in the choicest wisdom if possible Forsake the foolish and live My son fear thou God and the Supream Pro. 24.21 and meddle not with them that be given to change Some men have been almost distracted through oppression others have learned wisdom by affliction and thou hast bought experience at a dear rate and thine enemies have not scaped scot free Therefore be not passionate but patient And When thou art escaped with thy life for a prey refine what 's worth the refining and when thy cup is full carry it even very even Moreover my son Ecles 12.12 by these be admonished of making many books there is no end and much study is a wearines to the flesh Belsavage 22 th June 1653. S Chidley GOD Grant Repentance to our Enemies GOD Give Salvation to the holy Separated Church GOD Preserve the peace of the Common-wealth of England Amen
the places whereon such great men are set are slippery enough without dropping butter and oyl Job 32.21 22. instead of tears upon their footsteps Give not flattering titles lest it cost you dear lest your maker soon take you away Put no confidence in Princes Psal 62 9. Prov. 29.25 Isa 23.9 1 Cor. 1.31 Deut. 22.10 nor be afraid of an arm of flesh lest you be deceived and ensnared God hath purposed to staine the pride of all glory that he who glorieth may glory only in the Lord. Use no comparisons between one man and another unless you be very well acquainted with their Natures and dispositions their actions and affections and the Laws by which both must be tried with their callings works and maintenance which will much help you to make and mend if you be an exact observer and that with ease I shall not spend much time to contend with those Ministers who would make the Lord General Cromwel like unto Moses It may be he is more like unto Moses Rom. 13.1 Ephe. 4.11 12 13. then they are like unto Aaron Moses was the meekest man upon the Earth zealous against idolatry and for the setting up of Gods publique worship Numb 12.3 Levit. 24.12 A merciful man and very cautious of putting men to death contrary to the right manner and was a lover of the People and would have them saved though himself were blotted By faith Moses when he was come to yeers Heb. 11.24 refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches then the treasures of Egypt for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward By faith he forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible Through faith he kept the passeover and the sprinkling of blood lest he that destroyed the first-born should touch them Now I do profess that God hath not revealed it unto me nor do I see how it can be proved that his Excellencies Declarations are like unto Moses Law Deut. 33.4 Psal 119. Or that the Acts of Parliament confirmed by him are like unto the Statutes and Judgments of the holy and blessed God Or that Moses hanged the poore theeves meerly for theft Exod. 22.3 and let the rich theeves go free I find not that he ever was so unworthy as to presse his poore Countrey-men to death for not pleading guilty or not guilty His meeknes and gentlenes would not admit of forcing any in a tyrannical way to accuse themselves ☠He scorned to cut any man off upon one single testimony He was no Libertine Deut. 12.30 32. nor gave any loose libertie for the Magistrates to follow the old Cananitish customs He had more compassion in him than to suffer the prisoners to starve in his sight for want of bread Now untill it be made appear that the Lord General is more then a Prophet and hath talked face to face with God Numb 12,6-8 and beheld his similitude I hope no godly man will be offended with me for my negative voice Matt. 22.21 but give unto Cesar the things which are Cesars and unto God the things which are Gods Let Moses have his wages for his work Heb. 3.5 for he was a faithful servant And let Cromwel be Crowned with the honor that 's due unto him and suffer me to declare my opinion and afterwards let the flatterers speak My minde gave me long ago that the LORD GENERAL CROMWEL was like THE KING 2 King 9.20 THE LORDS ANOINTED I mean Nimble John the son of Nimsby who drave furiously and said come with me and see my zeal for the LORD Doubtless he was a brave stout valiant Souldier and a victorious Conqueror of Gods enemâ—es Chap. 10. an utter enemy to the wayes and ruiner of the House of his Master Ahab The destruction of Jezebel and rooter out of Baal and made his great Cathedral a very jakes A man who wrought much by policie and was very honest and for ought I know observed THE LAW OF GOD much But he walked in the sins of Jerohoam and yet God remembred his good old service and let him sit upon the Throne to the fourth Generation And who knows what good things God hath laid up in store for our Capt General But the best provision which I can make for him Psal 141.5 for the present is the pretious balm of plain and righteous dealing which shall never break his head And humility adorning him like the lillies which grow best in low places the entertainment which I shal give him in these sad and unsetled times is to lead him by the waters of Marah in the valey of weeping to the house of mourning the storehouse for tears where the hearts of the wise frequently retire and the Widdows by the sides of the house are set like weeping Vines and the Fatherless children like the plants thereof round about the tables of contempt feeding on the bread of sorrows and drinking tears in an abundant measure Where the rooms are paved with love and the flooers strowed with ashes the Chambers hung with sackcloth the flat battlements for defence covered with coals of fire against the approach of the Enemy in the wardrobe sheeps kins and goats skins the outhouses dens and the chambers caves to lodg pilgrims and strangers who feed continually on the bread and water of affliction to whom a prison is a palace death life and the reproach for Christ great riches the sellars beneath filled with bottles of tears to quench all Tyrants thirst There is the cup of trembling and the wine of astonishment for the King of Terrors NOt far from this Mansion-house there is a place where is the throne of Judgment with six steps but he that goeth up must put off his shoes from off his feet for the place where he standeth is holy ground and every step hath its particular name The first step is called Repentance from dead works The second is Faith towards God The third is the Doctrine of Baptismes The fourth is the laying on of hands The fifth is The resurrection from the dead And the 6th is Eternal Judgment And there above is the Throne of Judgment set At the end of the said steps are twelve Lyons six on the one side and six on the other answerable to the 12 Princes of the Tribes of Israel or the Lambs twelve Apostles And there is no other Jury Priviledge of Parliament cannot here be pleaded there being a prerogative power above it The Statutes of Omri are all here condemned to be burnt in great contempt And a Law established which will serve all Nations This is a Court of Justice and Equity too where whores and harlots and all others may have free liberty to plead their causes without feeing a