Lord that King and Parliament and People and all should be filled with the righteousnesse and goodnesse of God But these things are too good to be spoken of beyond your faith ever to see it But I 'le tell you if this be not your interest to have God all in all to fill every thing and to have all things offered up to him in truth and righteousnesse your interest and Gods are more divided then yours and the Kings and if you adhere to that you have proposd you forsake your owne interest and espouse the Devils the God of this world the Destroyer and will perish with him Thirdly This is a fault that you all along carry the interest of the publique in opposition to the Kings which is a wicked thing to divide them that God hath joined wherein you doe as sword men cut in pieces and indeed destroy and mangle not onely the Kingdome but the word Interest which is of a uniting signification inter esse is to be in or amongst each other The publique hath its interest in the King and the King his interest in the publique or they have the same esse or interest which is to be together in each other the King is in the people and the people in the King the Kings being is not absolute or alone but an interest as he is in union with and relation to his people which are his strength and life and the peoples being is not naked or solitary but an interest in the greatnesse and wisedome of their King who is their life and honour And though you will dis-join your selves from Kings God will not neither will I God is King of Kings Kings and Princes God as well as peoples their God as well as ours and theirs eminently as that spaech enforces God of Israel Israel God above all the nations so King of Kings Kings God more then of common men and by neare and especiall kinred and communion assuming their titles and honour and giving them his majesty and dominion Kinglinesse agrees with all Christians who are of a royall nature made Kings with Christ and cannot but be friends to it being of kin to it the children of God borne of the King of heaven are men of honour not in a base vaine way but in a true just way and if there be not Kings to honor they would want objects to bestow that fulnes of honon that is in their breasts would lose the greatest part of their delight which is majesty and glory would want occasion of expressing their high and noble spirits It 's a bastard religion that is inconsistent with the majesty and greatnesse of the most absolute Monarch and such spirits are strangers from the Kingdome of heaven and know not the glory in which God lives and are of narrow and evill mindes that are corrupt themselves and not able to beare greatnesse and so thinke God will not or cannot qualifie men for such high places with answerable and proportionable power and goodnesse You are indeed much in the flesh in a form of religion which is weake and of a parting nature cannot conceive nor comprehend things in union you are dividing still tweene heaven and earth 'tweene God and King you can't own them in union and so divide King and people but the spirit of God is large and reconciles composes gathers all into one into Christ God and man into one person head and members into one body This love you know not that embraces God and the King in one person and King and people in one body A fourth fault is in your further stating of the controversy 'tweene King and Parliament you bring in in the second place religion the order shewes the present frame of your spirits first the world and then godlinesse But in this you erre exceedingly in putting all the enmity against godlinesse and the power of it on the Kings part and charging it upon him as his interest and assuming all religion and godlinesse to your selves Upon this ground stands much of the controversy betweene the Cavaliers and you that they are wicked you godly they enemies to God you Saints they darknesse you light and therfore as you say afterward What fellowship hath light with darknesse This is a ground if it stand good of an everlasting quarrell and if it fals I hope some of the edge of your contention may be taken off The answer of this is as proper for me as any who you know doe well understand the utmost of the religion you walke in and have beene exercisd in it with as much exactnesse faithfulnesse power and comfort as any of you Your consciences many of you can beare witnesse of the uprightnesse and efficacy of my conversation amongst you and that I was when I was with you not onely a companion but a leader to you in the best things and since have beene tryed by very great sufferings and made a spectacle to God and men and beene publiquely set up as a marke for all men to shoot their opinions and judgements at and dare challenge the whole earth the Lord being my Righteousnesse to accuse me of any injustice to God or man and now must testifie concerning you and my self with you that that way wherein you walke is not the power of godlinesse but a poore weake fleshly form You are indeed Saints by intention counsell hope you aime at it looke for it but in your present state you are carnall and walke in the flesh in great infirmity that your state at best was but to be as the Jewes having a forme of knowledge according to the letter of the law which forme is now corrupted left and forsaken of God and you are become through blindnesse ignorance enemies to the spirit and to the Crosse of Christ You live not the life of Christ you are not dead to the world nay you oppose that death you will not suffer with Christ you have not the spirit of God walke not in your affaires in the wisedom and strength of God nor in the love of God you know not the minde of God have not communion with God what ever you doe or have done you doe it by the strength of man and not by the power of God and now lest to a poore blinde unstable way not knowing whether you goe your waies being darke and slippery and yet glorying in fleshly and outward things mistaking earthy and common blessings for heavenly and inward crying up the Lord the Lord when you doe the workes of the Devill The Holy God will no longer suffer you to wear those names of Saints and Godly but will cast dung upon your solemne feasts and curse your blessings and discover you to be but whited sepulchres and cause your rottennesse to come forth uncover your nakednesse before the nation that al may abhorre and loath that outward formall religion which you professe it doth and will more stinke in the nostrils of those people that have
when you and your friends in the House and abroad shall have your hearts ripped up to you you 'l say this is truth and this is the reason that you seek security something to uphold your tottering Kingdom Now to part with this is death to you and you call it a preposterous and self-deserting way page 27. Now consider this First you have by this wofully defil'd your cause and manifest you undertooke the warre for advantage though it may be you were such strangers to your owne hearts as not to know it But their is more evil in you then yet you understand and it will break forth in your life If the warre had been only defensive you would have rested quietly when much more is offered then we ever had Secondly that you count all your own because you have fought for it the Kingdome and glory of it is but enough to reward you for your workes that you have right to all t is yours and your parties and this makes you often expresse the Kings title by conquest indeed you would enforce him to hold by it though he never mentiond it because it s your present claim you count your selves conquerours which is a brutish thing and by it you would extinguish civility contract religion humane nature law and all the obligations of them to bring in your title force Beastly Warre That you will lose nothing but keep what you have got and would by warre and force secure what by force you have won and therefore call self-deserting all one with self-deniing or self-forsaking preposterous Now then to conclude this you are not Saints yet Saints will not seeke a Kingdome by the destruction of others nor rejoice in the evill of others either sinne or punishment not in others fall that they may rise not advance themselves by an Army composd of ungodly men not by force but love Yet t is true Saints shall reigne notwithstanding and those will prove Saints before you that you little thinke for God will provoke you by a foolish people Know too that Saints rights are secure in heaven and need not begge security of men I scorne that cause that is subject to ruine and destruction and therefore your feares and sad expressions of danger impending shewes your foundation to be upon the sands I laugh at your destruction and mocke when your feare comes You live in God stand for God and the Gospell of God and talking of ruine and destruction base is that way and accursed that is subject to such black thoughts our cause is immortall t is eternall it lives and triumphs in death is gaine in losse destruction is farre from us we know it not But sit under our owne Vine and Fig tree and none makes us afraid Another thing in danger is persons engaged the party adhering you harpe often upon this string pag. 28 29. foure or five times you thinke the King will be revenged of you for your eminent activity against him This discovers a base and poor spirit and unbecoming Christian souldiers to continue war break off peace designe the ruine of the King and his family subvert the whole government of the Kingdome to secure your owne lives and this I know is one maine reason of your present activity and others are but assum'd and pretended to cover this a Principle very destructive to a Kingdomes peace and contrary to the spirit of Christ fear a snare and the pit have taken hold of you that are forced t o continue the disturbance of a nation and all the miseries of warre upon us to save your selves Let us suppose your feares and the feares of those that are called honest men for this is a generall distemper to be demonstrations as doubtlesse to you they are and that indeed the King should picke out a dozen or twenty or more to suffer what then suppose I were one of them I account thus I have victory over death and death is swallowed up by victory and therefore cannot feare it am free from it death cannot hurt me I sport with it am above his reach I live an immortall life and cannot see death and he that hath not this freedome is a slave Secondly I have no life but truth and if truth be advanced by suffering then my life also if truth live I live if justice live I live and these cannot dye but by any mans suffering are enlarged enthroned and so I am enlarged If I or any other have a life distinct from truth it s a lye if distinct from justice its unjust Thirdly My life is a common life I live with you and in you I can confesse you and all have a right to it if you come for it take it if I had a life separated from you I would lay it downe for my brethren and I ought to do it that I might live with you and you with me and I would spoile principalities and powers by this crosse If the King should come to take it I would so freely yeild that he could not but yeild to that love that can dye for him so hold forth a true immortall power that is too strong for earthly and fleshly oppositions or if any should seeke my life I would be content to give it that I might live againe in their soules And this is the way of the Gospell to overcome Tyrants and no other way and to gaine Kingdomes indeed Fourthly I count it not an honest life that needs such force with so much misery to the Kingdome to maintaine it but on the other side I am engaged to dye for my Country and I shall more advantage the cause of liberty and religion by one single suffering that is pure then we have done by all the bloud that hath beene shed in this rude way of warre and lay a better and stronger foundation against tyranny and errour then all these warres I judge it ten times more honourable for a single person in witnessing truth to oppose the world in its power wisdome and authority standing in its full strength and that nakedly and singly then fighting many battels by army force this Is brutish common the other Christian divine holy excellent and therefore your great care of securing your selves comes from a slavish fear of death from an unwillingnesse to suffer and want of the power of godlinesse to meet the power of the world with and true and heavenly love to your Country you know not that command Eph. 5.2 Walke in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himselfe a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour If you had this perfect love it would cast out fear if your life were indeed united to God or Christ were your life or that you loved others so as you could dye for them you would not not now be to seeke for security 'T is your great fear and expressed page 38. you may be made a sacrifice That which is proposed to you by God
the powers of the world and that you are called to break them in peices And therefore it becomes you you know to be steeld with stoutnesse and resolution to trample upon all authorities that stand up against that justice of God that acts you The priviledge of Parliament is a poore corrupted thing to that extraordinary presence of God that goes with you and those high undertakings that you have in hand for the publique good and the eternall salvation of the people You should do as you have done breake through these spider-webs of priviledge and freedome of Parliament and immediatly goe through all to that glorious worke of yours and not suppresse your owne principles to court the world into a deceived opinion of tender regard to them Indeed the priviledge and freedome of Parliament is gon and lost long agoe and you doe but fancy one for a new and true priviledge and freedome doth not yet appeare to you neither can you owne them In the next part of your preamble you tell us the reasons of your present declaring your selves because things are brought to the utmost crisis of danger T is true this but you make a very ill use of it There is two in the Kingdome the holy one our life peace union agreement c. whom you have not seene yet and a wicked one which is wrath malice death revenge c. These two are now conflicting together The holy one would establish love bearing one with another forgiving one another selfe-deniall c. The destroyer would continue mischeifs warres accusations cruelties c. The contention growes sharpe and the evill one making his utmost and last resistance Now we that see the power of truth and love are at rest being assured that the righteous Lord is above all But here you come with your wofull feares and say which cals upon every man to contribute what helpe be can Doe not you know yet that vaine is the helpe of man You and all men come to offer helpe but it is to a wicked world to bring fuell to the fire of wrath for feare misery and destruction should cease raging Cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils A proud and empty thing and cease you foolish men from blowing the coales of division amongst us And seeing no effectuall helpe from else where appeare your curse is not to see when good comes Wee see salvation is nigh them that fear him that glory may dwell in cur land God a present helpe in the time of trouble You are blinde and cannot see the Lord our effectuall Saviour An enemy would make this sense of your words Warre is your life and seeing peace ready to come and no effectuall helpe appeares to lengthen out misery and destroy the Treaty you will doe it And now you give us the ground of your undertaking thâ—s worke Conscience and duty to God and men obliges you sleighty passe over this which should be fully cleared and the reason is you are not upon a sound foundation nor dare you come to a strict examination of your owne ground but are hurried on blindly upon weake passions of feare jealousy necessity c. without any sound bottome This likewise I observe from your words here and from some conference with some of you that you know not which of these two to take for your principle God or man but are in a luke-warme condition neither hot nor cold neither hot enough in the spirit of God to doe all things in a divine way nor so cold as to submit to the lawes of men In discourse with some of you against your proceedings that they were contrary to the royall law the Will and Way of our Father Which is To doe good to them that hate us and persecute us to forgive our enemies to overcome evill with good to conquer by esuffering and love They have professed that in these things they act as men in a civill respect which in you that own your selves to be godly spiritual men and to have the power of godlinesse is great impiety For you in your affaires openly and professedly to decline the perfect way of Christ and goe to the wayes of the Heathen to lay aside exclude and thrust out the heavenly man and his light that you may please your selves in the darknesse of men You do fully manifest not being Christian divine holy in all things that truly you are so in nothing and so your religion is vaine Or that you are fallen from God to man You begun in the spirit and end in the flesh and so Christ is of none effect at all for he that doth not doe all things in the power of God he doth nothing in it You forget that speech of Saint Paul You walke as men are you not carnall When we say if you will walke as men you must submit to your Governours live under humane Laws and be subject to them then you fly from such ordinary things to an extraordinary call as Phineas to be carried by the mighty power and presence of God that you in all things are as the Israelites in the wilderness to have a Pillar of Cloud by day and Fire by night to goe before you Thus you halt between two opinions and gad about to change your way and are true to nothing neither God nor man but become as those Beasts in the Revelations that have many heads and crowns upon them your waies are beastly cruel absurd monstrous with many heads yet you 'l be crown'd with the most glorious titles of the presence of God the people of God the cause of God Therefore know this though you would shuffle up your ground work Conscience and duty to God and men you shall not For a conscience guided by the wisdom power of God scornes such base and unworthy waies as you walk in those men that you think are far below you scorn to lift up themselves above theit superiours and to Lord it over King and Parliament as you doe nor dare continue in armâ—s against command of God and men and uphold a company of vile and wicked wrecches only for their own safety to the wasting and destroying of their Country Now you begin another part of your preamble wherein you say that that rule of Salus populi suprema lex is of all others most apt to be abused You have all pretended to this maxim but have miserably abused it and the people too a company of deceivers and mountebanks that talk of curing saving delivering but all wast spoyle and destroy the people We shall ere long see that Suprema lex that law of love the mercy and goodnesse of the most high God is onely Salus populi the salvation of the People of England its misse-applyed so long as any man assumes it to himselfe And here for two or three pages you are trimming your way to seek love as the Prophet saith you put an excellent dresse upon your work and daub
afraid We know none can hurt us having Salvation for wals and bulwarkes and can and doe live in the face of hell death Devils and not be disturbed yea seeke no other protection then the arme of God They are the sinners in Sion that are afraid We that are the people of God dwell in that mountaine where there is no hurtfull thing Our City gates stand open night and day and we feare no surprizes no designes can betray us we are not troubled to shut our gates to keepe out death evill flyes from us we need no black designs against our enemies to save our selves we do declare against all that walk in a way contrary to this That their wisdom is not from above not pure so not peaceable but is earthly carnally sensuall and devilish In this perplexed state you are in is seene your judgement is begun you have left God and he hath left you to these tormenting feares this is the wrath that was threatned upon you you are seeking selfe-safety t is your businesse therefore you uphold your Army to preserve the lives of the godly party and safety flyes from you God lookes every way upon you with sadnesse and wrath t is your wickednesse to thinke of or speake of safety in a worldly state you have beene taught otherwise and know you shall never have it you thinke you may use the meanes no all meanes are wicked that have an end contrary to the revealed will of God and this hath beene told your hearts that there 's no peace but in God This is a generall distemper and that which your friends are guilty of extreamly but T is the spirit of hondage to feare and not of love and a sound minde This passion sets you on work and therefore your businesse must needs be base and vile to act for ones selfe in any kinde is evill and un-christian but to aft for selfe-safety is so meane and poore a thing as it must needs produce most vile and absurd actions It is of all affections the unworthiest a deepe pit and causes blacke horrid and foule things I 'le shew you a little that rest and peace which we enjoy that security which you have turned your backes upon in refusing the Lord and for want of it are groping in these darke waves of yours First I feare no party nor interest because I love all I am reconciled to all and all are reconciled to me I have enmity to none but the son of perdition I oppose nothing but destruction and therfore nothing opposes me T is enmity begets insecurity and while men live in the flesh and in enmity to any party or interest in a privace divided and selfe good there will be perpetuall wars and strife except that particular should quite ruine all other parts and live alone which the universall must not will not suffer for the admitting a part to eate up and devoure others were to destroy the whole which is God and such a minde in any part doth not onely fight with another part but against the whole and so every faction of men striving to make themselves absolute do directly warre against God who is love peace and a generall good gives being to all and cherishes all and therefore in such opposition of fellow members and of God the God of peace and union there can be no peace nor securicy But we being enlarged into the largenesse of God and comprehending all things in our bosomes by the divine spirit are at rest with all and delight in all for we know nothing but what 's in our hearts Kings Nobles are much beloved because they are in us of us one with us we being Kings and Lords by the anointing of God Secondly We inherit all things having overcome we are free the Sons of God and all things are given unto us are our owne for our use the greatest as well as the least and therefore feare nothing being Lords of all To be in a state apprehensive of danger is to be a servant and while servants are quarrelling one with another beating one another their Lord is absent and they are in danger one of another This is the condition of all the world and of you in the Army and therefore are farre from Lordship true spirituall reigning yea hell deaths destruction it selfe is ours and doth us service In our great houses there are vessels of honour and of dishonour both usefull and profitable Captivity is become our captive death is become life confusion hath its beauty they are all excellent as wee in our house dispose of them and enjoy them our interest is publique extends to all and all are our interest Thirdly We live in heaven peace is in our wals and plenty in our palaces that word is performed to us They shall see evill no more wee know no evill in our Paradise not eating of the forbidden fruit all is good in all we see a smiling bright sweet face of majesty Wee live upon Mount Zion and it is large enough to receive our souls bodies estates lives families all is taken within the Gates of the Holy City and this City reaches all over the earth Here we enjoy all things all persons all actions we never goe out of it but live in the peace and safety of it continually And here there is no more curse nor death sorrow and sighing flee from us God wipes all tears from our eyes and enjoying this and all in this in truth and power we need no defence no safety but our owne rocke Our house which is from heaven Fourthly I feare nothing in the world because Greater is he that is in us then he that is in the world I have overcome the world it is at my feet I trample upon it If you finde any world in me you shall doe me right to afflict it break it Let it suffer t is righteous it should I would have no worldly thing that lives out of God have rest it s against my life and principle and by this I doe overcome it and shall never be troubled for the losse of it for I would have no inheritance no life or being but in the eternall world The world I know it is a poore shadow a fading thing and is onely terrible in the darke there 's nothing in it but it is more excellently and mightily in us in God Men Kings Emperours as they are in an earthly state we know they are wormes that shall dye mortals and trouble they may themselves not us They are not worthy of a caution to them that live above them or take heed Have they power so have we everlasting power and either theirs is one with ours or infinitely short of it you shew your selves weake and under them when you feare them Have they policy wisedome we have treasures either theirs is ours or else we can make fooles of them if they act not in our light we are and can when we will goe beyond them
they are filly men that fear cunning narrow pated men that cannot secure themselves from policy Have they multitudes a large and numerous party we have more and they can have none but ours all are ours we have Legions ten thousand times ten thousand They that are with us are more then they that are against us yea all are for us if they knew us and what they would have we having with us the desire of all nations Would they have a King they are in the darke but wee know they truly can desire none but our King c. and if you doubt and fear you are solitary and alone a widow not married to God and his innumerable hosts Of all things we would not fear men because they are wicked false breakers of Covenant perfidious c. This is to set up wickednesse by a Law to accuse God that the wicked goe unpunished that 't is in vain to serve him that he is not just 't is to offer the highest honour to the basest creatures men in wickednes We know they worke in that fire that will destroy them if men be evil they can't hurt me but as they hurt themselves they are hastening to their own destruction they carry their ruine with them besides we know such men are in hel and there chaine them though Kings we can by the power of God binde them in chains of Iron have power to binde the devil and cast him into the bottomlesse pit We assure you that the devil shal not appear in any form or persons be they never so great never so gifted never so glorious in religion or power be it in you or any other but we will deal with him cast loads of wrath upon him and fil him with torment cast him from his heaven of outward religion or power and secure him within his own bounds that he shall no longer destroy the earth We doe and wil dissolve his works be they never so wisely contrived Set our feet upon him and tread upon this Lyon and Adder and he shall not hurt us Therefore you while you tel us or your great fears and demonstrate certain certain insecurity and travel to bring forth your sense of danger you and the godly party are in you think you are wise men must act as rational men for your safety and judge us fools mad men that if you should doe as wee the whole Christian cause would fall to the ground and all would be lost We wil lay this upon you Rev 21.8 The fearfull and unbelieving c have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death you are in a lake of sire worke in the fire and this is of the Lord it is the just judgement of God upon you not of men but of and by the Lord you are beyond the reach of men but are reserved to be punisht from the presence of the Lord This is your second death you were dead in sinnes are quickned by repentance but are gone back the life of grace and Religion is dead in you and you that escaped the first are fallen into a second death But one word more answering to this Revelations 22.15 Without are dogges you are acting all along without the City yea professedly setting up a power that is in the world at distance from and out of God which you cal highest power on earth created standing power on earth and for that power that divinity hath design'd you laugh at it you know your wholl trade is now driven in the world as distinct from heavenly things though you would cover it too with a sheeps skin and cry t is the Lord the Lord with us but you are cast out and gone out and live out of the blessed and glorious presence of God and so are dogs rated by God into a filthy kennel of base things and are fearful as dogs God hath beaten you by the King and kept you under and you are fearful of the same hand stil and thinke 't will be worse yet we shall suffer again and that sets you a barking out your wrathful angry and feirce stuffe If you were with your Father in his presence as Sonnes these clamours would cease and you would be above all and doe good to all and blesse all as your Father doth This is a main ground-worke of your whole busines that law of nature which teaches men to save themselves and therefore wee have taken the more paines to discover the rottennesse of it and how you decline God and grace to flye to depraved and corrupt nature to be your guid and God and to the poore and basest principle of nature self-preservation which must lead to the unworthiest things and for professed Christians to act so low is great wickednes and a curse You doe in this discourse meet with two objections First Your own former declaring for the King which seems a little to trouble you but you with some difficulty scramble over it and I thinke in that spirit that you are in will stand at nothing we will only say this that by breaking those Proposals you justify all the breach of promise in the King or any others and doe not onely break the command but teach men to doe so for upon the principles of your apology for your selves every man is free from all engagements whatsoever As first you say page 43. concerning your complyance with the King Partly necessitating us for the present prevention of that mischiefe to the publike they were runing into in that kinde as we apprehended we were drawn into c. if men for necessity and to avoid publique danger say a thing though hee performe it not there is no great evil in it Secondly That moderation was but Hypotheticall That is no such engagements are absolute but conditionall nor to be observed but saving the Publique interest Now we being judges of what is safe for the publique interest can deliver our selves when we please which is the Pharisees law If a man say it is Corban it s a gift shall be free Thirdly We aimd not at the strengthening our selves to the ruin of any persons but to prevent c. So that there be honest intentions we may steppe over these outward bonds and wisely to prevent mischief breake all relations trample upon all authority And afterward you repent and say 'T was errour frailty unbeliefe and carnall counsels pag. 44. And pag. 52. you fall upon it againe and there you say were led to it by the Parliaments course and now God hath opened your eyes and let you see beyond what you did before How excellently doe you teach men to goe from what they have said if they see further and can repent it they are free See how abhominable religion is when once corrupted There 's no kinde of men can be such compleat and neat knaves as a Jesuite a Pharisee an old well studied professour of Religion when once mens consciences