Iosephs bondage is Iudahs aime and a dark Dungeon is Iosephs fate It is not so with Reuben a plot could not succeed worse to Reuben then this did for he tare his haire In the interim sir there is an old catching for Ioseph the Tribes will kill him but Reuben catcheth him The Tribes doe sell him but God doth send him And now sir here we find a third party as wel in Israel then as in England now a party sir and a gallant one too that was no more dreamed of by the old Patriarkes but only what Joseph saw in his vision then was of late thought on by the young Patriarks of England Good and bad men with us all of them miscarry alike in their Councells concerning Ioseph Reuben with us too beats off Simeon and saves Ioseph Iudah he cousens Reuben and sells Ioseph GOD befooles them all and sends the man in a dispatch of his own to Aegypt there to provide food for Israel And thus the wisdome of God Deludes crafty Iudah and secludes king Reuben though he was for the cause from his wiser Councells Nay it pleased PROVIDENCE to cage them up both in Ward together in Aegypt with their Parti-coloured counsels as if they had been both alike enemies to his Great statelinesse and as being equally destructive in their judgments and purposes to his own sanctity and Israels safety Sir I thought to be more short but the way I tooke to follow Ioseph I finde to be rough and intricate and the way I finde is longer too from Dothan to Egypt and from thence backs againe to England then I could imagine I was forced to goe somewhat about because I discovered a variety of Engagements and Holds and Garrisons I saw sir pits and petitions and treaties and treacheries and cryes and counsells and clamors and accusations and dungeons and dangers by the way and so I could not wait upon Ioseph through all these and returne to you so soon as you might expect however my presumption is your candour and I though you wou'd not take offence that I tarried so long for that the occasion of this wearisome length of lines was not only in loyalty to Ioseph but in love to you sir and if I fail something in method and memory you will remember I went through a thicket and forrest of wild beasts and will soone excuse my failings while onely love and thankefullnesse to your selfe and Ioseph doth guide the pen Sir It hath been the good will of him that dwelt in the bush to go as well before Englands Ioseph as Israels and hath led him on through a wildernes of pits a Dothan of dangers a Dungeon of Difficulties hath so cleared the pits of water the Dungeons of darkenesse the Wildernesse of Serpents Serpents of their stings hath so taken out the malignity of every wild beast in the way from Dothan to Egypt and from thence to England knocking out great teeth breaking jaw bones chopping off HEADS so that Englands Ioseph as well as Israels is now beyond the reach of his cruell brothers preserved in the midst of Israelities and Egyptians Malignants are either in ward or else have learned to pronounce our English shibboleth without faultring they begin to say my Lord Ioseph and make low Congies and humble addresses To the SUPREAME AUTHORITY OF THE NATION TO THE COVNCEL OF STATE TO THE KEEPERS OF THE LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND The Lords Commissioners and to all these RIGHT HONOVRABLE Those greater LUMINARIES that would not doe obeysance to our Ioseph are uterly darkened the Sun of this lower Orbe is gon quite Retrograde more degrees then that in the Diall of Ahaz 2 King 20. And the other of our darke worlds greater LUMINARIES the MOON the very emblem of mutability and change being most full of spots in her greatest fulnesse for her ILL WILL TO JOSEPH is Commanded sistence and standing still in the VALLEY OF AJALON in a Country of vallies and there amazingly made to behold and gaze upon the rare and unheard of execusions of the GREAT JEHOVAH done by his despised Ioshua's and the most glittering starres that will not bend shall fall downe and whatever bee their Luster or largenesse the fall of Lucifer shall bee their fate it is manifest to all beholders that a Divine hand hath set a Crowne of Glory upon the HEAD of Englands Ioseph and that Sunne or Starre that shall dare reach after Iosephs Crowne now in his Glory Beleeve it Sir the despised Saints will but triumph at their Treason and they will doe no other but utter a Song of praise to God for their plagues amongst men BABYLON is falne is fallen How art thou falen LVCIFER Sun of the morning This this will be the song of Saints Honoured Sir so long as the Sun hath a course to give or England an Age to live I will not stand to run the parallel I humbly crave that to be the fruit of your Meditations It is now vacation with you there though it be Terme time with us here Indeed Sir they are most happy that have least to do with a deceitfull world that are most vacant from the businesses of an uncertaine Age unlesse they have their eyes the better and are of a more quick sight to see their WORKE before them But now Sir who ever maligne that the COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND begins to be Illustrious surely no English heart no Reubenites should doe it yet there are great thoughts of heart for the divisions of Reuben for the discontents of Reuben the contradictions murmurings of this friendly Tribe It is not Irelands Rabsheka but it is Englands Joseph that is honored He is not an English man but an Irish man that hates the young LAD. Beleeve it Sir or suppose it possible The wild Irish the savage Orcades will goe neare to turne Round in halfe an Age will ingage to submit to the Commonwealth of England if our Joseph will protect them And what a base dishonour will it be to our English Cavalry and to some of the division of Reuben too it will be no credit That they will be younger brothers to Pagans and Papists and to the Moores and to the worshippers of Mahomet in their duty of submitting to Englands Joseph will it not be a blushing shame to such as are not quite brased against it to thinke that the barbarous Irish should be sooner disarmed of their blood-thirstinesse then our wretched Cavalry can be brought in by kindnesse and freedome O how soon will the succeeding Age that is already treading upon the heels of this befool and pittyingly beheast the pride and ignorance and wretchednesse and stubbornnesse of this present Generation I said indeed there were some that could already frame themselves to say My Lord Joseph but it is as sure that many of these I would I had not cause to suspect them all I say most of the sâ— do but poure out their old malignity into new bottles have and will act
AN ALARUM TO LONDON OR The Famous LONDON's blowing up by LONDONERS SOUNDED Not to Fire their Buildings but to Quench their Burnings IN A Letter to MAjOR GENERALL BROWNE LONDON Printed by Matthew Simmons next doore to the gilded Lyon in Aldersgate Street 1650. An Allarum to LONDON Not to fire their Buildings but to quench their Burnings In a Letter To Major Generall BROWNE SIR I Am bound by the duty I owe to old Israel to make inquiry after Josephs portion The Birthright of the COMMON-WEALTH OF ENGLAND Religion and Liberty and good Laws and Reformation were the blessed Inheritance bequeathed and promised to England and London and you Sir were one of the Feoffees left in trust to take care that Simeon and Levi brothers in blood and cruelty might not murder him The knife Sir was lately at Josephs throat and you were then a Reubenite to bestride him from the intended cruelty of Treacherous men at the first assault and TREATY OF THE BROTHERS Joseph Sir is newly taken out of the Pit and your selfe with some others of the DIVISION OF REVBEN standing at the pits brink discontented that Joseph is raised It hath pleased the Divine Power to secure the young man in that deep and dark place and hath already begun to exalt Joseph against the unkinde desires of Israelites and Aeyptians Sir you may beleeve it that the same good hand will lead on the COMMON-WEALTH OF ENGLAND as much hated and shot at as ever Joseph was through the deep red Sea of Englands blood and through she Wildernesse and through Divisions and through Contradictions and through Murmurings This Sir is the present estate of Englands afflicted Joseph and this Sir will be done with an out-stretched arme and England shall have passage from the red Sea and Aegypt and the Wildernesse and arive safely in the Land of Canaan and rest and shall have powerfull Victories over all Gods and their Enemies Of this and other Nations and all people good and bad farr and neer shall gaze and stand amazed to see and heare the rare and unheard-of executions yet unfinished Be pleased to read the Record underneath being the Will and Testament of good and great Men great Prophets and consider of it and doe unto Joseph what right you can without more violence and perswade your Friends so to doe for your owne sake and for your Friends sake and for the Cities sake and for Josephs sake Joseph advanced to a Common-wealth for the Common-wealth of Englands sake and shun all prejudice in the reading of it for Benn's sake whereby you fully gratifie his desires and good will to Joseph your selfe and this great City Yours for the sake of Joseph BENJAMIN The hand of old Jacob upon the head of young Joseph THE COMMON-WEALTH OF ENGLAND Gen. 49. 22 23 c. ENGLAND is a fruitfull bough even a fruitfull bough by a Well whose branches run over the Wall The Archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and bated him But his Bow abode in strength and the armes of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob Even by the God of thy Father who shall helpe thee and by the Almighty who shall blesse thee with the blessings of Heaven above blessings of the deepe that lyeth under blessings of the breast and of the wombe The blessings of thy Father have prevailed above the blessings of my Progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting Hils they shall be on the head of ENGLAND and upon the crowne of the head of him that is SEPARATE FROM HIS BRETHREN The Rod of Moses and the red Sea the red Sea of English blood divided for the safe returne of afflicted England out of Aegypt now sojourning in a Wildernesse of wild Beasts and stinging Serpents Deut. 23. 13 c. Blessed of the Lord be his Land for the precious things of Heaven for the dew and for the deep that coucheth beneath And for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun and for the precious things brought forth by the Moon and for the chiefe things of the ancient Mountaines and for the precious things of the lasting Hills And for the precious things of the Earth and the fulnesse thereof and for the good will of him that dwelt in the Bush Let the blessing come upon the head of England and upon the top of the head of him that was SEPARATED FROM HIS BRETHREN The glory of ENGLAND is like the Hornes of Vnicornes and with them he shall push the PEOPLE The Waters of Jordan divided And ENGLAND upon his advance to Canaan Joshua 10. Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moone in the Valley of Ajalou and there was no day like that And Joshua sayd Bring out those five Kings unto me and he sayd unto the Captaines of the men of Warr which went with him Come neer and put your feet upon the neck of these Kings Feare not nor be dismay'd for thus shall the Lord doe to all your Enemies against whom you fight For my Honoured Friend Major Generall BROWNE SIR LIberty of all enjoyments is neer to life and as much as that amounts unto I doe acknowledge that to be the just summ of my Obligation to you for I beare you witnesse you were that vigilant Governour of Abingdon that did by Exchange of me for another Prisoner give me my freedome from a harsh Imprisonment at Wallingford when a little longer stay there would have made me as miserable as the malice of an enraged Enemy could make me Sir The Obligation wherein I stand bound is double you were faithfull then to the Publique you were freindly then to me I have therefore endeavoured to make my sutable addresse unto you the one was private to thank you the other is publique to acknowledge you Sir It is emminently known unto you what a great turne of Providence there is visible amongst us since that time and how strange and amazing it hath been and yet is to the Inhabitants of this Island as if there had been a totall and perpetuall Eclypse of the Sun of Englands glory you know also how it hath pleased the wisedome of God to suffer the judgements of good people to vary about this matter and how dangerously their opinions have diversified them into very unkinde speeches and behaviours one towards another and I hope neither of them will forget what fat advantages were given thereby to the Enemy yet how rawny and leane they grow still upon the variety and full mouthfulls of them they could never thrive but were so cursed upon the top of them all that it was usuall to observe they could never come off without the losse of a head the breaking of a neck or the battering of the bones some mischiefe or other did still post after them from place to place Kent Essex the North c. Where ever they went they could never keep off the Gentleman upon the pale Horse but vengeance would
over the Wall and pull them out by head and shoulders Sir It is acknowledged you did manifest much wisedome and courage in the first part of your Actings for this Nation but it is also sayd that in the latter part of your adventures the more you excelled in boldnesse and abilities to speake the more of danger it did portend I did never yet know any that did suspect much lesse impeach your INTENTIONS as retrograde for the maine of them or declining from the first integrity of them but there doth lye a BLAME upon you that you did not so soon or seasonably submit unto the wisedome of God that hath it seemes against your declared will made better provision for you and us too then it was possible for you to make for your selves or for us by all the wisedome you could put forth Sir Let us extoll and speak well of that wisedome that doth restraine the dangerous results of our Counsells and of that Providence that cures our improvidence the good God we may see is so much the more carefull of us by how much he espyeth our weaknesse and shallownesse to be the more in dealing for our selves with a subtill Enemy and in providing for our owne safety Sir The wisedome of God hath wonderfully next to a Miracle determined that Englands Joseph could not come home safe by a Treaty nor yet be ever restored to his Father with Life and Honour before his cruell and treacherous Brethren were brought upon their faces put in ward and made to acknowledge their great trespasse Wee are verily guilty concerning our Brother Sir It is manifest that the Patriarchs were almost all of them very ill affected to Joseph Steven notes as much in his Confession Acts 7. 9. and there files up their Malignity upon Record And the Patriarchs moved with envy sold Joseph c. There was but one amongst ten but voted against Joseph but voted him a bondman in Aegypt and you well know that Israels Joseph was a type of Englands Joseph sure there is an English Israel and doubtlesse there is an English Joseph too and the paralell that runnes along in all the veynes of the troubles and preservation of them both goes as free from halting as any I have read of Indeed there is some disproportion betweene the number and the virulency of the haters of the one and of the other Israels Joseph had but nine against one that hated him but Englands Joseph can make their Vnits tens their Tens hundreds their Hundreds Thousands and these within us too besides those many without us and these Patriarchs too English Patriarchs and for the implacability of their Envyings ours observe no measure or limitation of time or condition but are beyond compare Those in Dothan did weepe and take on in Aegypt now that they saw their younger Brother was preferred that they dealt so ill with him in Dothan ours in England weepe Milstones nay when stones weepe they be dry Joseph in anguish they rejoyce Joseph advanced they Maligne still and doe reach after him and though he be advanced above the Sun yet doe bark though in vayne as Doggs that will wawle against the Moon Sir I would begin with Israels Joseph and with the Archers that shot at him first you doe remember the sacred History had the Patriarchs any cause to hate Joseph yet did they not resolve his death and did they not cunningly contrive his ruine indeed Reuben is honourably recorded for his willingnesse to save him and to restore him to his Father but alas the man is more to be commended for his affection then his discretion True Reuben doth bestride the Child and very manfully delivers him at the pit and pleads O doe not kill him shed no blood lay no hand upon him Here 's a pit throw him there Honest man Joseph is more beholding to thee for thy good wish then thy great wit What throw him into a pit Reuben Is that all the liberty thou canst obtaine for Joseph by a Treaty what dost thinke thy Brothers be Children or be they babes and will they so soone be pleased and can they forget the dreame or are they strangers in Dothan or doe they not know the way to the pit where Joseph is Alas Good man Thou knowest is not thy Brothers are too revengefull and too deep for thee to deale with for life and liberty by a Treaty what cares Simeon and Levi for conditions and promises when they resolve to be Treacherous have they not Swords by their Sides what doe they care for a Treaty Treaty them no Treaties hatred and revenge for Josephs Vision are setled upon the Lies what if the Malignant Tribes returne when thou art gone and kill Joseph in the pit when no man sees it to tell the old Man hath not thy wisdome provided well for thy young Brother to make a Grave for him and to save the Tribes the labour of digging one and to save Old Jacob Funerall expences for his Beloved Joseph what have thy Brothers more to doe now but a knock and a Shovell of Earth and Joseph is not Ah Reuben Reuben I love thy pitty but I feare the Pit there is but little good like to be of this Treaty however Joseph thanks thee for thy good meaning And Judah Sir would be thought a friend to Joseph too but it is easy to prove him an Arch Malignant indeed his enmity glides along in smooth Language and runs away in a still Channell without noyse which argues the depth thereof we have nothing but his owne words and his owne Declaration that speakes him a freind and these neyther speake him any other but a Comparative freind he would not be thought lesse then an Enemy to Joseph but onely not to be so bloody as the rest were or would have beene Then all his deeds be Acts of Hostility Oh it is Joseph our Brother our flesh and blood yet let us sell him save his blood bit sell his body save his body in Doth in but damne his soul if possible in Aegypt if this be all thy kindnesse Judah thou wilt kill thy Brother with kindnesse Judah Sir was a dangerous Enemy to the budding Common-wealth of Israel I am more then halfe perswaded that it was hee which gave his Brothers Commission of Array to doe what they did indeed we could not finde his Packet of Letters but we finde him in the head of the bloody Crew and the Orator upon all occasions He was that Noble Tribe that had many Kings in his loynes He was a declared Royalist and it fell to him by Eldership to be their Generall upon this designe Reuben the Eldest was too honest for their purpose and had declared his good affection to Joseph at the first Assembly of the Brothers His vote went that Joseph should goe home he should goe home and be a comfort to old Israel Simeon and Levi next in yeares had carryed the Generall-ship from Judah but that they had