Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A31391
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A Caution to all true English Protestants concerning the late popish plot by way of a conference between an old Queen-Elizabeth-Protestant, and his countrey-neighbour.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing C1558; ESTC R36286
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12,077
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14
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for the preservation of true Religion our King our Families and Posterity 1. All old quarrels and animosities must be forgotten and we must learn of our Lord Jesus Christ to be more meek and humble forgiving those that trespass against us and never render evil for good but contrariwise good for evil The Episcopal must forget the injuries they received from the Presbyterians long ago and do nothing by way of revenge and the Presbyterians must not remember the severities they have met with from the Episcopal these last twenty years and render evil for evil 2. All should resolve as one man to act like Queen Elizabeths Protestants 3. It greatly concerns all Protestants never to fear the Papists cruelties nor expect their mercies 1. Fear them not Resist the Devil and he 'l flee from you nothing can more effectually break all their Plots than Protestant courage Their work is Hellish and so is their Master and so are their principles and the methods they take 't is after the blood of Innocents they hunt by lying and perjury and every evil way blaspheming God and the King and therefore God is against them and their own consciences cannot but now and then terrifie and affrighten them But our cause is the Lords the defending our King and our selves against the unjust cruelties of the Papists the abiding firm to Gospel-Truths God is on our side Why then should we fear Fear them not but stand still and you shall see the Salvation of God 2. Expect not their mercies they are a treacherous deceitful people and no faith is to be kept with Hereticks i. e. with Protestants is their Rule Let not Dissenters nor any of the Church of England think that they shall be spared if ever Popery prevails they 'l say Hail Master and betray you they 'l kiss you and cut your throats Believe them not for they are made up of lies equivocations and mental reservations and count it meritorious to kill Protestant Dogs as they call us Be not therefore frighted out of your Râ—â—gion nor flattered into their snare Queen Mary made brave Promises to the Gospellers i. e. the Protestants but all ended either in cruel Prisons as the Bishops Cole-house Lollards Tower c. or in Smithfield and many other Fires 4. 'T is our joint-interest to remember the wonderful deliverances God hath given our King the great City and these Kingdoms in order to the shewing our unfeigned thankfulness by an hearty Reformation Let us not insist on the Tything Mint Annise and Cummin and neglect the great and weighty matters of the Law nor let us insist on trifles and neglect this great duty of Reformation 'T is the call of the present Providence the duty of the day and the Lord help both you and my self to an honest obedience and then we shall all have cause to magnifie the Lord for further and fuller Salvations C. I thankfully acknowledg your love in that you have given your self so great a trouble to inlighten me in these necessary points I would only beg the favour of your thoughts concerning one thing and I have done P. What is that Neighbour C. Sir I have been told that there was a Parliament some months since that did Resolve in the House That if the King should be taken away by any untimely death which God forbid they would revenge his death on the Papists What reasons can there be given for such a Resolve P. 'T is not to be questioned but that that great Council did what they did on the highest reasons namely To shew their Loyalty and Love to his Majesty to assure the Papists that the day should not be their own though they should accomplish their Devilish design viz. the death of our Soveraign and therefore 't would be their Interest to keep themselves from Treason and the blood of Protestant Princes C. But what equity is there in revenging his death on all Papists P. Great equity For the Treason of these bloody wretches is of the highest nature it being to destroy the best of Kings and the Protestant Religion yea and to ruin these Kingdoms by turning us all into blood which design can never in their own apprehensions be accomplished but by the whole Popish strength and therefore 't is not to be questioned but that the whole party at least all men of brains and interest are acquainted with if not engaged in it C. But Sir you suppose that though the most part be acquainted with it yet all may not actually engage in it must they feel the smart of Protestant revenge also P. Sir I tell you that as 't is not to be supposed but 't is known to all in general although some may hate the Treason because of the bloodiness thereof at least with reference to their kindred that are among Protestants or it may be they are so much English men as not to engage actually yet since they know the Treason their concealing of it is enough to make them guilty C. There is much in that which I did not so much consider and I am sure for my imploy you know Sir calls me unto divers parts of the I and that the generality of Protestants are so firm to the Protestant Religion so dutiful affectionate and loyal to his Majesty that they will be so full of rage should the Papists make the attempt and kill the King that they will soon have cause to repent of such treachery P. I am of your mind being the more encouraged to conclude so from the special Providence of God that have appeared in favour of the Protestant Cause against them already God hath been is and will be known by the Judgments he executeth in the Earth the wicked being taken in the snare they have laid for the innocent The Lord reigns and by signal Providences he hath prevented the execution of Popish Plots in doing so by his own arm turning 〈◊〉 against them which they designed for themselves as the death of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey c. God brings about his own glory and the Protestants safety by the most unlikely and improbable ways as might be shewn diversly But I am call'd away and can only add That if we are not too secure nor too fearful but act as becometh good Protestants and Loyal Subjects we shall see the Doom of the Plot and of all Plotters Farewell I must be gone FINIS
mouth if it at Tyburn or some such place for the promoting the Popish design or Treason his being hang'd is enough to procure the pardon of that Lye But Capt. Bedlow expected no pardon from any of their Priests neither was at his dying hour in a capacity of receiving it from Esq Ketch C. How do the Papists hold such dangerous Errors then surely no wonder that some of these Jesuits were so confident in their lying at Tyburn it being said by the Learned that one of them dyed with another lye in his mouth P. That 's true Gawen did so as hath been shewen by those that writ Answers to their dying Speeches and as all the Learned know and it hath been since proved by Mr. Jenison that another of them dyed with a lye in his mouth and therefore their confident pleading their Innocency when most guilty should never tempt you to doubt concerning the being of a Popish Plot. C. I cannot but acknowledg that there hath been and it may be still is a Popish Plot but is there not a Presbyterian one too P. Alas poor man what should tempt you to fear that there is a Presbyterian Plot. C. Tempt us to fear a Presbyterian Plot do you say Good Sir don't you hear some of our Clergy that are good Protestants to make the Presbyterians as bad as the Papists yea worse for some of them say they would rather turn Papist than Presbyterian and if the Presbyterians are as bad as Papists why may not they then have their Plots as well as the Papists P. Neighbour I must confess that there are too many of our Clergy who do very frequently talk as you say but you must remember that there are a greater number of the more sober and judicious of our Clergy that are of another mind and who are griev'd at the very heart to find so many young brisk blades in their Pulpits and out of them to be so subservient unto the Papists in their Plots which must either be an effect of their folly or of their treachery unto the Church of England C. What Sir do you say it must be the effect either of their folly or treachery unto the Church of England How do you make that out Good Sir P. This is easily done for unless they are prodigiously ignorant they cannot but know that the bravest Protestant Subjects in the Land are branded by the name of Presbyterians as appears by Mr. Dangerfield's Narrative yea such persons as are the honour of our Church and the Glory of the Kingdom are under the Presbyterian name rendred Plotters such as my Lord President and many others Which being so what Son of the Church without folly or treachery can say that the Presbyterians are as bad as the Papists What! is the Glory of the Church of England when under a Presbyters name as bad as Popery and would they indeed be rather Papists than such Presbyterians what do they then say but that they themselves are really Papists C. They do not mean those worthy persons you mention but such as are for Petitions to wit the Dissenters from the Church of England P. Neigbour see how you are abus'd For 1. the Papists whose design these men serve mean all undaunted Protestants when they say Presbyterians 2. You your self suggest the same for by Presbyterians you mean such as were for Petitioning viz. Dissenters But who more for Petitioning than such as are for the Church of England Who were those that Presented the Petitions were they not Sons of the Church Again How many Grand Juries Petitioned but are all those Dissenters Really if all such as were for Petitioning be Dissenters from the Church the Church of England is become inconsiderable which is according unto Popish suggestions which are that either we must be Papists or Presbyterians as if there were no Protestants in England but the Presbyterians and as if the Church of England had dwindled into nothing or turn'd Papists or Presbyterians and that the Parliament being hearty enemies against Popery are Presbyterians Thus you see how those young hot-heads among our Clergy do either discover great Folly or Treachery or both C. I must acknowledge that part of our Clergy who do talk thus do discover themselves guilty of great folly or of a wretched Treachery But I hope 't is not so with all our Clergy P. No surely 't is not the temper of all the thorough Protestants among the Clergy which are many they abhor these things though for their doing so are hated by these high-flown men as much as if they were Dissenters C. Truly Sir I think you are in the right but I would fain know what those Presbyterians are that the name is become so odious P. If you expect that I should acquaint you with what the Presbyterians are I must first distinguish between a few hot brains that are among them and the more sober and greater part C. Why Sir are there hot heads among them also How comes this to pass P. There are some Fools and Knaves crept in amongst all Protestant Parties whether Episcopal or Presbyterian and a thousand to one but the high-flown and factions on all sides are the extremely ignorant or such as are but Protestants in Masquerade i. e. Protestants in name but Papists in heart The over-zealous in all parties who are of the more ignorant sort being the Fools made use of by these disguised Papists that turn themselves into all shapes as their interest directs C. Do you really believe that this is so Good Sir P. I do indeed for Divide Impera hath been ever the Roman Maxim that is to use all means for the dividing Protestants and in order hereunto the man of sin of late call'd The Gentleman of Rome sends forth his Instruments among all sorts of Protestants with a dispensation for the dissembling their own and for the professing any other Religion and accordingly 't is not to be questioned but that there are some among our Clergy others among the Dissenters at least among the Presbyterians in Scotland where through their influence some of a softer temper have been ensnared to an insurrection These Emissaries being the brands of Hell that have turn'd the whole Europaean World into a fire they being the men to whom we owe all our divisions Civil Wars c. yea these Jesuits are the men that occasion'd the last Wars and the Death of the late King and all the Disturbances that have been ever since C. Really Sir you have acquainted me with what I knew not till now Pray good Sir shew me how I shall come to know these for let them be of our Church or among the number of Dissenters did I know 'em I would hate 'em as I hate the Devil P. Neighbour 't is hard to give Infallible tokens of these Villains since 't is so easie for the Devil to transform himself into an Angel of light however that you may not be grosly deceived I 'le tell