Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A82014
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The humble petition or remonstrance of Rich: Day of Eton neer Windsor, to the Parliament of the Common-wealth of England. I. For the repairing of the decay of wood and timber. II. For the planting of an able preaching ministry throughout the land. III. For the working of the works of mercy and charitie: and for an act against the pride of apparell.
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Day, Richard, of Eton.
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1652
(1652)
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Wing D470; Thomason E668_4; ESTC R206968
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8,683
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14
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There is nothing dearer to God then his sacred Word and the saving of soules for which the Son of God was incarnate and suffered shame reproach and a cruell death Now when once the true Religion is established in a Nation the planting and propagating of it is of all religious causes the next in order by the necessity of just consequence For otherwise we make our selves unworthy of so great a benefit and at length we hazard the losse of it As for this our Nation it hath abounded in wealth and peace heretofore and that of a very long time together through the great and rich blessing of God upon it Wherefore it is much to be lamented that in all that peaceable time a pious learned Ministery hath not been planted and setled throughout the Land as it might and ought to have been For this cause especially as I in my conscience am perswaded is the wrath of God incensed and stirred up against the Land Other sins there are very great and many even a multitude and heape of them But the neglect and contempt of the Word of God in this kinde overthroweth all in the foundation Under correction it may seeme to overthrow the ground of publick proceeding in the late lamentable warre Which I could declare more particularly if I thought it convenient Sure I am if we refuse to plant our own and the onely true Religion when God giveth time and meanes to doe it our consciences if we aske them will tell us that we doe altogether deserve to be plagued with the contrary It is Gods exceeding great mercy forbearance that the true Protestant Religion which we praise and professe is not utterly taken from us a good while agoe and the Antichristian placed and set up in the roome thereof Wee have wanted neither time nor means to do the will of God in this kinde but we have wanted love and good will to stirre us up thereunto If we have found and known the sweetnes of the Word of God in our selves and for our own particulars how is it that we have not earnestly sought to communicate it to others When thou art converted sayth he convert thy Brother It is extreame cruelty thus to neglect the soules of our Brethren and Neighbours which ought to be as deare unto us as our owne He liveth not the life of a Christian but a dead dull uncomfortable being he hath in this world whatsoever he is that enjoyeth not the benefit of the word of God duely preached taught in the dayes of solemne Assemblies I meane the Sabbath dayes in the publique Churches according to the Ordinance and appointment of God There is nothing under heaven that may be compared to the benefit thereof It is the ease and release of all weekly labour all worldly sorrow misery and trouble And in some degree it is a lively representation of the Kingdome of heaven where the Psalme-singers the holy Saints and Angells are filled with unspeakable joy gladnesse by their continuall beholding of the glorious presence of God and giving him thankes and praises As it is written in the booke of the Psalmes In thy presence is the fulnesse of joy and at thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore I will shortly conclude this point with a briefe recicall of that which was uttered at the Councell or rather the Conspiracy of Trent It is well knowne that that Councell was packt and plotted for the Pope Neverthelesse there were divers grave learned judicious and religious men convened therein and no great favourers of the Pope Amongst whom the Bishop of Toledo sitting as Ambassadour for his Maister the King of Spaine spake thus I have heard it often said that if there were yet but one soule to be saved supposing that the propitiation for sins were not throughly made as it is Christ would descend againe and suffer Wherefore quoth he I marvaile with what Conscience the Pope can give himselfe any rest having the cure of so many Churches lying upon him and no course taken to discharge the same Thus spake he according to the common error and opinion of the deluded Princes and people of those times as touching the unlimited power and jurisdiction of the Pope over all Churches The application whereof were easie to be made in regard of those many desolate and unprovided Churches in this our Land but I omit it for brevity sake humbly referring it to all pious prudent serious and religious consideration For the longer that this matter is deferred the more pernitious it is to the State God never yet left the contempt of his holy word and the holy Ministery thereof unrevenged nor never will From hence I shall humbly crave leave to descend to the third and last particular which I had in mine intention to have proposed to the said late King that is to say for the working of the works of mercy and charity towards the poore in a magnificent sort answerable to his regall estate and in some degree to the exigency of the people For otherwise as for the distributing of small summes of money at certaine times we know there was an ordinary course setled in the office of the Kings Almoner About a yeare or two agoe I heard of somewhat that was intended by the Parliament to be done in this kinde within the Citie of London Which gives me the greater encouragement to speake and treate of the matter here I would not presse this duty to the present State in these so chargeable times but that I know most assuredly how it may be most easily and conveniently performed notwithstanding any taxes or payments now already imposed upon the people or ever likely to be imposed It may be done in a privative way in a positive In this place I shall onely insist upon the privative for the encrease of the workes of charitie by substracting and taking away from the works of superfluitie vanity and overflowing wickednesse My most humble and earnest request now therefore is that a strong permanent Act may be framed and put forth against the pride of apparell As I conceive it the pride of this Land will be the destruction thereof if it be not timely repressed It is so excessive that I suppose the divine justice of God cannot beare it Let not my fancy or folly be objected against me in this case but let the matter be examined by the Word of God which is the rule of truth In the third Chap. of the Prophecy of Isaiah there is a particular enumeration and recitall of those proud fashions and gestures which were used among the Israelitish women in those dayes If any man should goe about to doe the like among us as the Prophet doth there he would seeme to trifle and to deale absurdly and ridiculously But the Spirit of God doth not trifle neither is any Word of God idle or vaine If any man should doubt whether the eye and observation of God were
The Humble PETITION OR REMONSTRANCE Of RICH DAY OF Eton neer Windsor To the PARLIAMENT of the Common-wealth of ENGLAND I. For the repairing of the Decay of Wood and Timber II. For the Planting of an able Preaching Ministry throughout the Land III. For the Working of the Works of Mercy and Charitie and for an Act against the pride of Apparell LONDON Printed by M. Simmons in the Yeare 1652. Honourable Sir ABove a yeare agoe I petitioned your Honour and under your name the Parliament of England for the raising of a future Plantation of Wood and Timber throughout the Land Considering it as one of the greatest comforts of life a worke of mercy and charitie to the poore of piety towards God and his Church and of absolute necessitie for the maintenance of Navigation the building of Houses the maintenance of husbandry and divers usefull and necessary Trades in the Common-wealth All which notwithstanding it was not my opinion that the matter could be throughly proceeded in so soone as my selfe and others could wish or desire Neither doe I hould it the worke of one yeare but rather such as will take up an employment for divers yeares one after another successively True it is if it like your Honour I have heard it estimated by some of good understanding and knowledge that the losse of any one yeare in the due prosecuting of this affaire for the Common-wealth is of no lesse value if not farre greater then the losse of one hundred thousand pounds Yet this I consider with my selfe that the State may be so employed otherwise that they cannot so instantly pursue it as some thinke they may Such a dishonourable disloyall conceit cannot enter into me that those which sit at the Sterne watching and waiting all opportunities to doe publique good can wilfully enviously or carelesly betray the honour strength comfort and conservation of the Common-wealth in such a maine and most important busines as this In as much as Wood and Timber will alwayes be worth money it is in the power of the State very easily and within a reasonable time to raise divers millions of money by planting and encreasing of woods besides other comforts and commodities arising thereof On the contrary woe to this Land at leastwise as I conceive for the decay of Woods not onely if Shipping shall faile whereof it is sayd to be in apparant danger for time to come but if Sea-coale shall faile as I am sure it may by more accidents then one the misery whereof began to be seene and felt not very many yeares agoe when the Scots were possessed of New-Castle Certainly it is the will of God that mens lives should by all means be made comfortable and that we use our wits strength knowledge whatsoever it is to the profiting of one another and setting forth the praise of God in the world Imitating the nature of good Angels who though they excell in dignity and beauty all other creatures yet they disdaine not to be serviceable to men doing it with singular love and good will and infinitely rejoycing therein In consideration whereof a certain Theologicall Writer hath this excellent saying That after the example of Angells we ought to employ our selves in soule and body calling credit and all we have for the good of men Thus I have presumed under assurance of honourable favour and leave to revive the memory of my late Petition Proposition or Remonstrance for repairing the decay of Wood and Timber Toward the latter end whereof I did intimate to your Honour how that I had also travailed with the late King for the planting and propagating of the word of God in a just and due manner throughout the Land I did it by way of Petition as the case necessarily required and briefly and summarily the effect was this In the first place I did justly and truely affirme it that the state and condition of Impropriations is apparantly derogatory to the glory of God and salvation of soules Next I shewed unto the King how it rested in his owne sole power to grant Licences in Mortmaine whereby to make the Churches capable of a restauration in that case by due course of Law and not otherwise Thirdly I proposed a Collection of benevolences to be had and made throughout the Realme of England whereby Appropriatories might be satisfied either in Land or money to the full value of their estates Lastly I suggested a competency of yearly rent to be reserved upon all those Livings as they should grow to be purchased to the King his heires and Successors in lieu of first Fruits Tenths and Subsidies to the end that the revenew of the Crowne or State might not suffer diminution by any device or proposition of mine This was the maine ground and the summe and substance of my Petition Whereby it may appeare as I suppose that I intended no wrong or violence to any but proceeded in a lawfull peaceable and satisfactory way and not otherwise As for a generall free restitution of Impropriations which hath been often earnestly urged heretofore I have ever held it a most unreasonable and uncharitable demand besides the impossibility of obteining it And in case that it were possible to have it prevailed in at this day it would not onely be the undoing of private Families but also the dissolving of Collegiate Societies which are the Seminaries Nurceries of good learning and of Gods true Religion in the Land It was meerly a Satanicall device tending to the destruction of souls when Impropriations were put upon Colledges in exchange for Lands of another tenure For then and from thence-forth the Church could not build up it selfe without destroying it selfe In as much as Colledges are rightly called Semen Ecclesiae the seed of the Church I omit for brevity sake to shew how the matter was discussed at my attendance at the Councell board how the King was ready to have proceeded and by whom and under what pretence the proceeding was secretly stopt and stayd Whatsoever shall be conceived of my proceeding with the said late King which is here above recited it is a comfort to my Conscience that I have faithfully travailed in a lawfull and peaceable way for the propagating of the word of God which is the glory strength of a Nation and the light and life and everlasting happines of every true Christian Believer I never proposed any thing to the said late King but what I meant to justifie at and to a Parliament whensoever For though the times then were such that no Parliament could be had the reason whereof I well perceived and understood yet I did not believe that the state of those times would continue long whatsoever the alteration should be And the ground reason of my conjecture did not faile me Now to crave humble leave to speak somewhat of the matter in generall although but briefly in comparison of that which might be said I doe thus conceive of it