space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs And yet their spirit not discovered yet Nor when they would have established themselves by an Oath A peculiar enstalment to the High Priest the GOD of our salvation as I shall shew in another Treatise purposely for them To cleare their Spirit to the world how spirituall they were But they would not be discovered then Nor by all the good offices they did the Church in Scotland and Ireland and their mother Church here in England who sayes of them Bloudy fathers have ye beene unto me bloudy fathers have ye beene And yet they are not manifest yet not yet When they would have made void and null as the phrase is All the Votes and Acts of Parliament for the Churches good And was not their spirit discovered now I cannot say No now for all Israel said Yes and they themselves said Yes too◠when they cast themselves out of the Court with their owne hands But yet they will be made more manifest What bloudy wayes have they prosecuted what divellish projects to wrest themselves into their places againe If any there are so divelishly minded so forsaken of common Reason and light of nature that they will give these spirituall men their right hand to lift-them-up to their chaire again though they make way thither through a field of BLOOD yet these Bishops will say Blessed are ye of the Lord ye have compassion on us These men are discovered sure how spirituall they are So are the Temporall Lords too all discovered and fully manifest to all Israel by their deceit guile couzenage their lying not unto man but to the LORD by their justifying the wicked whom the Lord abhorres by their Treacheries Treasons more then bloudy conspiracies now they are manifest enough Lord Digby manifest enough What KEEPERS the Great Seale has manifest enough and what a Recorder the City has manifest enough The LORD turne the Wheele over them all who would turne the Lawes into wormewood and justice into gall and would turne three Kingdomes upside-downe and make Cities ruinous heaps But they are discovered the Keilites too the Ziphites also friends in shew bloudy adversaries in deed These must be convinced also for the Churches innocency must be made manifest and they must put to silence the ignorance of wicked men and this is next to be considered on The LORD brings Saul into Davids Cave 1 Sam. 24.3 there David and his men encompasse him round as Saul and his men encompassed David in the Chapter before Now they come to Parley David cleares his innocency stops the divels mouth opens Sauls mouth for David and against himselfe convinceth Saul makes him weep That 's GODS end They must come to a Parley the second time for the divell is not non-plussed yet he shall be anon 1 Sam. 26.6 7 GOD puts it into Davids heart to goe downe to Sauls campe He causeth a deep sleep to fall upon Saul and his company then David does as we read returning back and standing at a distance he calls-out to Saul and so they come againe to a Parley and now the divell has not a word to say the spirit seemes to depart a little for then Saul heares David speake and so speakes himselfe as if he would make David weep and beleeve that there shall be a sweet agreement betwixt them for ever for Saul blesseth his sonne David and assureth him he shall doe great things 1 Sam. 26.25 and also shall still prevaile O that I could bring up this to this time But I cannot The divell is more mighty now and more shamelesse now then he was then if more can be as surely it can be for as length of time and experiences therein may make him more cunning so more wicked more shamelesse as at this day I can say GOD has brought the King and His Parliament to a Parley once and againe but still the malice of this evill Councell appeared wickednesse still proceeded from the wicked man but how wonderfully was the innocency of David the faithfull servants of the Lord cleared The LORD had this designe now He will make manifest the Adversaries treachery and His Servants innocency and he brings it about thus His Servants shall because they will treat upon a way to accommodate a Peace The LORD left men to goe their owne way not so warrantable by His Word to treat with implacable adversaries that He might bring to passe His owne will and bring good to His people It was conceived by all rationall men that on the Kings party nothing was intended really and indeed but mischiefe and bloudy treachery as is now manifest to the world But GOD suffered it to goe on brought sweet out of that sower good out of that evill The Evill spirit is silenced now the Malignants have not what to say O blessed be GOD He can doe what He pleaseth and what He does is for the good of His Israel This last Treaty betwixt King and Parliament has non-plussed the Divell his MANAGERS all are put to silence now they have not what to say and yet they are not ashamed True the wicked cannot be ashamed Were they sayes the Spirit ashamed when they had committed abomination oppressed GODS Poore to their power shed bloud to their power profaned the LORDS DAY by a Law when they endevoured to establish their cursed Hitrarchy by an Oath were they ashamed Or when they decreed unrighteous decrees and prescribed grievousnesse were they ashamed When they had committed these and these abominations Ier. 6.15 were they ashamed Nay They were not at all ashamed neither could they blush The wicked are discovered now nay they have discovered themselves and they are convinced some of them carry a mighty conviction within their Bosome And the Divell is put to silence too so I said I did not say the wicked are ashamed I know well they who have entred the path of the Destroyer and will pursue it they are hardened and brawned in evill They cannot blush But now what great matter have we gained by all this the wicked are manifest now 〈…〉 they are convinced too and yet nor David nor the Church are delivered Delivered nay they are in as bad a case as before and deliverance further off for ought we see True for David must be lower yet and the Churches deliverance further out of sight then now it is for ought we know But I pray you make answere to this and consider well on it Has David been a loser by any thing that has fallen out unto him all this long time so hee thought it of Sauls persecution No you will say for indeed you must say so David has been a great gainer by all this that hath happened unto him in the day wherein the LORD was pleased to exercise him with sore afflictions he has gained experience of his owne spirit how lying warping murmuring hasty proud and stout it was all this he has gained and
the Sword Strong-holds and Forts Ammunition and the like into confiding hands To this there is enough said though I had said nothing I will say but this So long as these Strong-holds and Breast-workes doe stand they will bee a memoriall of the Kings illegall and most injurious dealing with a righteous people So long as these shall be spoken of will the injustice the bloudy proceedings of the King in the hands of bloudy Counsellours be remembred also to all generations We shall tell it to our children and they to their children That the King of England would have oppressed his owne people he would have inthralled their Lawes Liberties Religion And for the maintenance of all these their lives and all that was deare unto them did his people so fortifie and Breast-worke themselves against the fury and rage of their King in the hands of bloudy persecuters The Case of Conscience now The People must not stand up for their lives and liberties Ob. against murtherers for if they stand up against them they stand up against their King We deny that and conclude the Contrary Ans That a standing up against Murtherers is a standing up for their King To deliver him out of the hands of Murtherers It has an affiance with duty a full aspect and agreement thereunto Why but if you resist these Murtherers Obj You resist the King and if you resist the King You resist the Higher power and that is the Ordinance of GOD wherto we must be subject for Conscience sake Yes but wee are cleare mistaken in point of Power Ans Therefore I will aske a question and resolve it What is this higher Power Qu. I will tell you first what it is not It is not that Power Ans which the King may have a will to give and may commit to an Edomites hand It is not a destructive power that is from the Divell whereby Saul and his Edomite were inabled to lay waste one City and made faire-offer to destroy another Not such a Power whereby the King and his wicked Councell now indeavour the same destruction to two Kingdomes It is not such a Power What Power then Qu. A Power whereunto in case the King or his Edomite wrongs me Ans though the lowest in his Kingdome yet I may appeale from him or them for Righteous Judgement And this Power is the Law and in the high Court Who can determine what Law is and doe stand bound to right mee oppressed by a Contrary Power though the meanest of many Thousands and not worhty the dust I tread upon yet This Court stands bound to right me And if so be they stand so bound to a private Person we must note this by the way how much stronger is their obligation to two or three Kingdomes To stand up for Defence of Lawfull power against this Destructive Power And now we have learn't our duty and office too we would have the Pa liament stand up for us we made choice of them for that end The greatest shame in the world If wee should not stand up for the Parliament with our Swords in our hands or with what commeth next to hand in defence of Lawfull power and all that is deare or neere unto us involved in the same What! see a King seduced by evill Counsell giving up his power I say his power not the higher power into an Edomites hand and this Edomite flourishing with his Sword and displaying his Banners in Israels Land and Israel stand still the while What a shame to all Israel But blessed be God they doe not stand still they move and they doe great things as their GOD inables them Who gives Courage Spirit and invention when and where Hee pleaseth And where the Inhabitants of the Land are not over-powered by the King and his bloody party there they doe fortify the Cities and Townes and Breast-worke themselves there And these Forts and Breastworkes are like to remaine to after Generations an Eternall dishonour to the King now in the hands of desperate and pernicious Men For when the Childe shall aske Wherefore were these Forts and Breastworkes raised The Father will Answer The King of England seduced by evill Counsell would have destroyed the Parliament of England Laws Liberties Religion Life and all Therefore did the Parliament and all good people in defence of the Parliament and themselves raise up themselves and these Forts Strong-holds and Breastworkes so wee shall declare to our Children what the King by his pernicious Counsellors has done against his good people and what the Lord has done for them shall be had in perpetuall remembrance But will not this be called a resisting of the higher power Qu. Yes by those who understand not what higher power or Law meaneth Ans or judge it to be that which ruleth in their Members Or doe understand by power The Kings private will or that Commission he can give under the Great Seale such a KEEPER it hath into the hands of Edomites Davids utter and implacable enemies now not like but of the same generation with the Edomites in ancient dayes But is it not a Resistance of the Power Quest which is indeed the Ordinance of God No Ans but a contending for that Power the setling and establishing thereof in the Land by all lawfull meanes which GOD has not onely allowed but commanded That his people may live as His people in holinesse and righteousnesse giving obedience to their Master in Heaven and in Relation to Him to that power He has set over His people on earth This is more then enough to these questions which we finde so fully and excellently cleared to every eye but theirs who will not see though we should as the Proverbe is Shew them the Sun in our hand Si solem ipsum gestemus in manibus Last 7.1 I conclude then That they and they onely shew themselves conscientious men and to understand the weight of duty who stand-up now for their Lawes and Liberties and life of their lives their Religion so to deliver a captive King a distressed Church and State now in the hands of bloudy and most pernitious Counsellours And if all the people in the Land doe not stand-up now in this breach it is not because they want will but because they want power they are over-powered The Divell is as strong now and works as mightily now so does the Edomite also the Divels right hand in our Land as they did anciently in the Kingdome of Iudab But some make scruple here and conscience too for they say They have taken an Oath to serve the King Ob. and they cannot dispence with their Oath God forbid they should Let them serve the King and serve him heartily and faithfully but then they must not serve his private Will which they see enlived made strong and mighty by an Evill spirit now ruling against the Common-wealth and publike Faith of
better Subject he is and friend both and more right for Sauls designes the more he declares himselfe an enemy to David Why now David cannot trust Saul All his sweet words are lost if he be melting a little the Evill spirit and the Edomite will harden him againe So David will to his Strong-hold and is resolved upon the question To go to GATH out of Sauls reach else he could not avoid Sauls bloody hand he thought which pursued him so far even till he had driven David from out of the Inheritance of the Lord And so Sauls Evill spirit is fully discovered now and manifest He must be convinced also non-plussed and put to silence The Evill spirit shall bee convinced that he shall not be able to say a word but in way of acknowledgement and honest confession from a sound conviction That he is a lyar a murtherer and has erred exceedingly See how convincing Truth is from Davids mouth and how ingenuous Saul is in his confession 1 Sam. 26.21 I have played the foole and erred exceedingly He had indeed Saul Davids grand enemy is fully discovered convinced also yet David is not delivered no. though all Sauls Right men the Edomites implacable adversaries his false friends Keilites and Ziphites are made manifest too yet David is not delivered no not yet we shall see more reason for it anon first we must bring-this-up-to our time GOD delayes his Churches deliverances now for the same reason sure That the adversaries thereof might be fully manifest to all Israel The actings of the evill spirit President over the Kings Councell were not manifest enough sixe yeares agoe when they thrust a cursed Booke upon the Scots and after that the sword Nor when they called a Parliament in England not to ease the yokes but to ingage the Kingdome in that warre which would have â—ashed the people one against the other even the father and the son together Ierem. 13.14 This evill spirit was not manifest enough yet for wickednesse may bee established by a Law in Scotland and yet pretence very faire To establish True Religion Lawes and Liberties here in England And goodly and sweet words were spoken that way and much done touching Bishops and their Courts And all this while the evill spirit was as an Angell of light And his Actings more indiscernable then before But then the Designe touching the Army in the North changed the Divels colour quite and made him looke as black as soot as he is an Angel of darknesse But let the evill spirit alone he can cleare up himselfe againe he will not be made manifest yet No not when he prevailed by the evill Counsell To remove the Lieutenant of the Tower in whom all Israel could confide and placed a Murtherer there in that Strong-hold notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough No nor when he counselled the King to desert the Parliament No nor when he perswaded the King to call all Israel to war against David and all that had their hand with David under pretence of taking a guard to his person Nor when he made the Edomite Generall in the field MANAGER of all the Kings affaires here in Israels Land notwithstanding the evill spirit was not manifest enough yet But now we know what spirit they are of and who rules them For the Land is filled with bloud from corner to corner Zeph. 3.3 The Princes within her are roaring Lyons reade-on her Iudges are evening Wolves never such violences acted by Tartars Caniballs as by these Princes Surely I cannot tell what shall be done unto them these murtherers GOD knowes And that they have broken all the lawes of Heaven and Earth Divine and Humane such Children of Belial they are Iob 31.3 I cannot tell what strange punishment shall befall these workers of iniquity Doth not the LORD see their wayes and count all their steps We will leave them in His Hands Who has put a bridle in their lips But this I can tell What an execution The LORD would have done upon those who had wrought villany in Israel joyning themselves unto BAAL-PEOR Num. 25.3 as these unto as abominable an Idol as was that But they had not shed bloud in the defence of that Idol These Princes in name have filled the Land with bloud from corner to corner Yet hearken what The LORD sayes unto those who joyned themselves unto Baal-Peor as these to the Idol of Rome Take all the heads of the people Vers 4 and hang them up before the LORD against the Sun that the fierce anger of The LORD may be turned away from Israel We will wait Gods time for then they shall be made manifest indeed before Israel and before the Sun In the mean time the evil spirit is discovered and discerned plaine enough for by his meere motion he has prevailed with the King to seale a Commission to his Edomites To kill and to slay his good people to lay a City waste even a Mother in Israel And if they will doe so to their power They shall approve themselves in so doing his best subjects and truest friends so he blesseth murtherers whom GOD will lay if they repent not in the lowest hell They have compassion on their King why they Because they will to their power destroy a mother City in Israel They would have a whole Kingdome wasted Blessed be ye of the LORD ye have compassion on me does the King say Blessed be The LORD The discovering GOD Who has had compassion on His poore people trusting in His Name and on His dwelling place Blessed be GOD The Spirit that rules the King and his Councell is discovered the Edomites also those bitter enemies the Keilites and the Ziphites too those false and treacherous friends Take them in order The Edomites first Those called SPIRITVALL Lords They must be discovered how full of spirit they were Their spirit was not sufficiently discovered eight yeares ago when they forced a cursed Paper to be read in all the Churches there to publish a Declaration for Sports and Passe-times on The LORDS DAY Their spirit was not discovered by all this for this the people liked reasonably well They had an Advouson for liberty To riot on the LORDS DAY and they were glad of that The people had a grant from the Bishops The Bishops from the Archbishop he from the King and that should be sufficient warrant for them and every one of them to riot on the LORDS DAY And for every Minister from the Pulpit GODS mouth there To command the people so to do O abominable Yes they have justified the Heathen at this point And yet these Bishops are not discovered yet They are in their white Robes yet we shall see them in Scarlet by and by And yet not manifest to all the Christian world say they how spirituall they were when with the Scarlet Whore they would have rode in the bloud of Scotland up even unto their horses bridles by the
Yeere of his Age He was no sooner Marryed but hee Doted and had a speciall gift in flattering himselfe Excluâ—a Nobilitate And those about him few or none of the Nobility the worst he could pick from cut of the Cities or Country quickly learnt the Court-Art and could flatter as well as their King but none more accurately then the Priests could doe They told their King he might doe what he listed he was King and his will was the Law Thereafter he might punish and might pardon and bestow his honours as he would and not as the Common Law wills but saies the Author all as hee wills so it must bee will was Law and King both and Commands all What a miserable Confusion was here The face of the Kingdome quite changed Nobles could not be heard nor the Law neither and good Men were Silent Some base Men or quite degenerate had the eare of their King and his heart and commanded his hand and they did all till they had almost undone all for they Monopolized the Common good of all the Subjects their King They Ingrossed his heart that deare Commodity So as That which should be as Rivers of water to Refresh the whole Kingdome they made as a sealed fountaine quite shut-up to all honest Men and open to c. In the Nick of Time there came an Ambassadour out of England if I well remember to treat of Peace and to seale it with a Marriage when the Prince and Princesse should come to age So great a businesse required consultation The King calls a Parliment He with his wicked Counsell has his end satisfaction of a Private will and to enlarge Private wealth The Nobles and Commons have their end the Common-wealth the publike Faith and Trust of the Kingdome They are all assembled the Lord Douglasse a faithfull Minister of State is their Speaker his Speech is long that which relates to the present is short He tells them wherefore they were called together what their Kings end what theirs the Kings businesse requires no haste the matters of the Kingdome does he opens unto them the sinke of the Court shewes the Nobles and Commons their Vassalage under these the vilest persons who stanke all the Kingdome over We are Nobles sayes he ye and we are a free people yet if we looke not to it quickly we must be made servants to the basest Masters the lusts of our King and his favourites who have stollen away our King his heart is gone quite alienated from his friends and betrayed to his enemies No sooner this was spoken and his speech ended but out he and the rest went Nobles and Commons and to the Court gate What is the mattes sayes the King We will plucke the evill Counsellours from your side said they The Question was quick the Answer was as quick They will have their demands and they have them those evill Counsellours the Plague and Pests of the King and Kingdome all but one and he was a youth too ingenuous to learne the art so quickly is spared at the request of the King but all the rest are given over unto them and they as quickly hang them up How did they doe for Ropes That might be a question indeed being so neare the Court gates Vt câ—m funes in re subâ—ta decsseâ—â— They made an honest shift for they hanged these evill men up with their horses bridles Perfidious Scots said some three years agoe Honest Scots say I and shall say so till I read and finde the contrary They will bestirre themselves when they see a Kingdome neare to ruine There is not the like story but a very notable one of Dursthus their eleventh King mentioned befoâ—e hee was slaine in battell by his owâ—e subjectâ— They â—re blamed for it to this day that they brake their Oath with their King No they did not he brake with them and was the most perfidious King that you shall read of in any Chronicle The case is plaine and the manner of resistance cleared to be as becommeth Israel then and now But all Israel comes not in now as they did then to help the LORD against the Mighty There will be excellent Reason given for this in the next Chapter CHAP. 8. Mans extremity is Gods opportunity David had a glorious deliverance when he was made meet for it So shall the Church have when their adversaries have filled up their measures When Gods People are purified in their furnace then their God will send them glorious Saviours and a glorious Salvation In the meane time they hold fast their confidence DAvids helpers came-in he was raised to a glorious condition here on earth the Crowne was set upon his head presently and there is mighty Reason why it was so His head was made meet for a Crowne he was fitted for deliverance All his strong holds were downe all his Altars the lying vanities whereto he trusted were as Chalke stones that are beaten asunder Isa 27.8 He was greatly distressed forsaken of all humane helps refuge failed all is gone and all the discouragements in the world were upon him yet at such a time he fainted not but encouraged himselfe in the LORD his GOD Then he could exalt GOD in that day Psal 18.12 he could say of Him Thou art my strength my Rocke my Fortresse c. he called upon the LORD in that day SO he was saved from his enemies and from the hand of Saul 2 Sam. 22. Our case is otherwise our helpers come-not-in as to David all as one man we are yet greatly distressed True you will say in some quarters of the Land but it is not every mans case and God forbid it should be so all the Land over So say I too Amen And yet it must be every mans case I meane not to suffer all alike the spoyling of our goods but to be affected and afflicted for what others our Brethren and Sisters doe suffer that way this must be every mans case to have a sympathy a fellow-feeling of what others doe suffer wee must suffer all in compassion before we are dâ—livered every man must beare his part Heb. 10.33 partly sayes the Apostle whilest we were made a gazing stocke both by reproaches and assliâ—â—ions and partly while ye became companions of them that were so used If we examine our case by this Scripture it will tell us how fit and meet wee are for deliverance which we wonder does linger so long The sword has greatly distressed our land how has it wrought upon the oppressed therein or what compassion in those who have not yet been oppressod by it Surely it may be answered Perdidistis utilitatem calamitatii miseâ—rimi fâ—cti estis pessimi permansistis Aug. de Civis l. 1. c. 33. that the most of us have lost the fruit of all this sore wrath which has lyon upon our neighbours these many yeares and upon our owne land these few moneths which yet