AN EPISTLE TO Charles the second King of ENGLAND And to every individual Member of His COUNCIL Presented to them in pure love and good will that they might consider of the things herein contained before the King was Crowned or had taken his Oath forasmuch as a necessity from the Lord was laid upon the Pen-man of the said Epistle in order thereto Who is known to diverse people by the name of Christopher Cheesman From the Town of Reading in Berkshire the 15. of the 2d month 1661. GIve ear O King and hearken to Counsel let thy heart be inclined to understanding and diligently consider the things that concern thy everlasting Peace and the well-being of all people under thy Government And Oh you Counsellors of the King know you this that the God of Israel who governs in the Heavens in the earth hath appeared in these Nations in the absence of the King and since his Fathers dayes to bring to passe his great work in performance of his promises and returning the captivity of his people who have been many Ages past most cruelly afflicted and oppressed under Pharaohs hard Task-masters who have exercised Authority over their Consciences But now the Lord God is come to deliver his Israel in the Spirit by the hand of the Great Prophet that Moses prophesied of saying The Lord your God shall raise up a PROPHET like unto me one from among your brethren him shall you hear in all things And whosoever shall withdraw his ear from hearing that Prophet shall be cut off from among the people This is the Prophet O King and Council that is worthy to reign and by the Hand of this Prophet will the Lord bring to pass the purposes of his heart and will set up Justice and Righteousness in the Earth and who ever they be that will not bow down and hearken to this Prophet whether King Councils Parliaments Armies Synods or others shall assuredly be destroyed and cut off from among the people For this Great Prophet of whom Moâ—es spake is the only begotten of God the Christ the Saviour the Light of the World that enlightneth every one that cometh into the World This is he O King and Council that the Lord God hath raised up in these Nations since thy Fathers daies and in thy absence and he alone is worthy to Reign not Synods not Hireling Ministers and thousands there be within thy Dominions O King that have received this great Prophet and true Light and a good understanding thereby Glory glory to the Lord God for evermore and now are making War with the Nations in Righteousnesse and in particular with thee O King and with thy Council not with Sword nor Spear nor plottings nor Combinations to hurt thee O King or any of thy family or people nor any ways seeking to remove thee from thy Crown and Dignity but with the Spirit of God striving to establish thy Throne in Righteousnesse and to Crown thee with everlasting Honour and Dignity And know this O King and Council that the people and servants of the Lord do not strive against flesh and blood neither are their weapons carnal but Spiritual and mighty through God to make war with the man of sin in all his appearances and forms of Governments whether Presbytery or Episcopacy or any other Antichristian Form which must all be thrown down in this day of the Lords mighty power wherein he hath made bare and will yet more and more make bare his Arm and his power and authority shall be known against the Hierarchy of Antichrist in the utter destruction thereof the Lord will dash to pieces all the Powers and authorities of the earth that stand in his way or any way seek to uphold the Kingdom and Authority of the Beast and of the false Prophet which is full of darkness And the Lord God will bring in his Kingdom of Righteousnesse which he hath begun to set up and the same will finish though it be to the everlasting destruction of all Earthly Potentates and people that stand in opposition thereto Therefore O King take heed what thou dost in this thy day and power and O Council of the King take heed least you counsel the King either to swear or to go about to establish or set up the Kingdom of Antichrist under any form whatsoever whether Episcopacy or Presbytery or any other for assuredly if you so do it will be the utter destruction both of You and Your King And again I say Oh King and Councel take heed for your Enemy and the Enemy of mans salvation is very active in this day and will â—ot cease tempting of you both within and without to make â—ou Instruments to obstruct the work of the Lord to whose temptations if you yield the Lord will dash you to pieces and so you will become miserable as those that are gone before you And Oh King in the fear and dread of the Lord prize thy time and the Lords mercies towards thee and thy family for they have been very great in this day of thy visitation wherein the Lord hath not been wanting to thee but hath sent his servants time after time to Counsel thee and to forewarn thee of the sore Judgements that are hastening upon these Nations for the wickednesse thereof And the Lord God hath been striving with thee not only by his spirit in his Ministers and Servants But his witness in thine own Conscience also since he hath set thee upon thy Fathers Throne And my self as one of the least to whom the Lord hath shewed mercy in bringing me into the good Land wherein every one that is faithful receiveth of the fruits and increase thereof and drink of the pleasent streams that therein run which more refresh then all the increase of earthly treasure do now in obedience to the motions of Gods Spirit and in his fear and dread give in my testimony before thee O King and before thy Counsel for the Lord God though King of kings yet not Obeyed by the people out of his fear and teachers of these Nations and for his truth that is fallen in the Gates and for his people though harmlesse and just yet more oppressed than any other people in the Nations by reason of the hireling Ministry which teach the people to err and are Enemies to Gods truth and people Know this now therefore O King that if thou wilt not Regard the Lord Gods striving with thee by his Servants nor hearken to nor return at the reproofs of Gods witnesse in thy own conscience then the Lord will with hold his servants from thee and his spirit from striving with thee and give thee up to hardness of heaâ—t and then thou wilt be ruled by blood-thirsty men enemies to Gods truth his people who will cause thee to do such things which may be was once far from thy heart to do then the Lord God who respects no mans person will smite thee and them with a
very terrible overthrow and utter ruin and destruction as he hath done to those that hath gone before thee who would not hearken to Gods servants nor Return at his reproofs For known be it to thee O King God did not remove those men from the throne of Government in these Nations for their well doing but for their evil for their unrighteous and unjust actions because they Governed not for God and therefore as the Kingdoms of the Earth are the Lords so he disposeth of them as he pleaseth He plucks down the Governours therein whose actions proclaims them Traytors to their Lord and Master who intrusted them and set up others to try them also whether they will obey and do his commands and the things that he delights in To wit Mercy and Justice true Judgement and Righteousnesse and the contrary he denys with the workers thereof from the highest to the lowest And so when that wicked and perfideous Generation of men would by no means be reformed then the wrath of the Lord was kindled and his decree went forth against them And so they were dashed in pieces even like a Potters Vessel 't was their wickedness caused them to fall nothing else for they still obstructed the Lords work and yet he bore with them a long time and would not that any should break them to pieces but disappointed all plottings and combinations against them from time to time and also councelled them by his Ministers Servants which he sent unto them and did warn them of the evil that fell upon them long before it came and Reproved them of their evil deeds and divers times suffered their own servants to take their power from them and then they lay under shame and Contempt for some time and then Restored to Government again but still they went on in their evil Practices being Coveteous self-seeking men having a form of Godlinesse but denied the power thereof they were Great Oppressors and Hard Hearted men And Imprisoned the Ministers and Servants of the Lord And maintained an Idle Dronish Idolatrous Hireling Tyth-taking Ministry in the Nations And suffered them to persecute Oppresse and Afflict the most pretious Ministers and Servants of God whose Estates they took away and whose bodies they Imprisoned and some of them most cruelly abused in prison even unto death Mark therefore O King had the Lord been pleased with such things then doubtlesse thou and thy party had never returned to Govern in these Nations any more if the Lord had seen good that Oppression and Grinding the faces of the poor and maintaining a Hireling Ministry and forcing the people of God to pay Tithes and persecuting and Imprisoning of Gods Ministers and Servants should have continued in these Nations then those men which he removed to bring thee in might have been fit Instruments for such a work and no need for Thee to have been brought in in so eminent a manner to do the work with which the Spirit of the Lord was burdened and grieved from day to day and for which his wrath brake forth against those men whose names now rot in perpetual infamy Theresore doth it not concern Thee O King and thy Councel to consider what you are doing For the Lord is the same now as ever he was and regards not Kings Councels Parliaments Armies Protectors so called or any one more than another otherwaies then they are found in the path of Righteousnesse Mercy and true Judgement Therefore Awake Awake O KING with Thy COVNCEL stand up and see whereon the Basis of Thy Kingdom stands least Thy Crown and Dignity fall in the dust in these great Overturnings for verily verily there is yet a greater Oturning then has been that will suddenly come upon these Nations In which Overturning O King Thou and Thy party if you proceed as you have begun must be the very subject matter of the day and must drink the very bottom and dregs of that Cup which all persons that have miscarried in Government for divers years past have tasted of for the Lord has tryed you many years by sore and grievous affliction and now hath restored you that all People and Nations may see what you will do And Thou O King and thy party hath begun to set up and maintain that false Ministry and worship and Idolatrous practice and vain sports for which the wrath of God brake forth about twenty years since against thy family that is to say EPISCOPACY with all the Abominations both in Worship and Practice which it brings along with it notwithstanding the light that shines in this day of the Lords mighty power and this glorious day of visitation wherein the Lord hath admitted you to stand for tryal And know this O King Thy Father and his party deceased never saw such a day nor received so much mercy as Thee and thy party that now survives have done but were in the dark and cloudy day folded up under the Hireling Ministers and had not the Ministers of Christ the light of the world sent unto them with message after message as to Thee and Thy party hath been done counselling Thee O King and thy Councel to fear God and to work righteousnesse and the Ministers and servants of the Lord have been faithful unto Thee O King in every thing and in this thing in particular that is Thou limit not the Spirit of God in forcing all to worship God after the manner of the Nations and Heathen nor to maintain a hireling Ministry for where there is such a thing done by authority there must of necessity follow great ignorance and grosse darknesse wil soon cover the face of such a Nation for a forced Uniformity in matters of Gods worship and the hireling Ministrie are not of God but of the devil not of Christ but Antichrist and such a Ministry I do affirm and shall maintain was the cause of Thy Fathers fall for the hireling Ministry at that time had their hearts full of war and were divided and so ministred death unto the people on both sides And if thou O King shall suffer Religion to be established by a Law and shall force people thereunto it will be Thy utter ruin and thou wilt assuredly miscarry in Government as any that hath gone before thee And this I declare to thee in tender love and pity towards thee and likewise exhort thee in the fear dread of the Lord God that thou swear not at all for if thou dost thou breakest the Command of Christ Jesus the Light of the World who is the wisdom of God By whom Princes rule and the Kings of the earth decree Justice who said Swear not all Consider O King what advantage is swearing to the Just man Will he be the more just for swearing Or is the command of Christ of none effect Nay O King the Just man need not swear thereby to add to his integrity nor doth the Unjust man any waies abate or destroy the deceit
or hypocrisie of his wicked heart whereby he may become more juster by swearing Therefore O King if thou canst not do Justice and Right for the People over whom God hath made thee chief Ruler and Magistrate without swearing thou wilt never be able to do it by Swearing Nay O King but on the contrary for thee to swear that thou wilt maintain such Religion or do such and such Justice for the people puts thee into an absolute incapability to do Justice forasmuch as that thou refuseth that wisdom by which Kings decree Justice as aforesaid that is Christ Jesus the Wisdom of God who said Swear not at all and so said his Apostle James And under the Old Covenant An Oath was an end to all strife but Christ the Oath of God and New-Covenant said Swear not at all and Christ the New-Covenant is the Prophet that Moses prophesied of and said whosoever would not hear him should be cut off from among the people Therefore O King and Council swear not at all neither establish Religion by a Law to force an Vniformity thereunto nor maintain a Hireling Ministry for such a thing was the overthrow not only of thy Father but of all that have followed after till thy self by the mighty hand of God wert set in the place where now thou art The Parliaments Protectors and Armies were all Swearers and high pretenders to Religion in the form but nothing in the power but persecuted all the upright in heart who were in the power but out of their Form So I say those Governours who have miscarried in Government did busie themselves very much in matters of God touching the Consciences of other men whereof they had nothing to do but in the mean time neglected the witnesse of God in their own particulars and so were mindlesse and careless of their duties as civil Magistrates professing themselves wise and exalting themselves into the Temple of God wherein they had not to do save in their own particulars They became fools even in the management of their Civil affairs and so laid a sandy foundation and like foolish builders continued building their own till such time their building did fall and great was the fall thereof And all this did proceed from the Hireling Ministry which hath in all ages brought forth the same fruits being still fawning upon and tampering with the great men of the Earth and Kings and Councils and Parliaments and all men in Authority to establish Religion and to settle their maintenance and then as the Prophet saith of them He that will not put into their mouths they presently make war against him and this hath been the state and condition of this Nation and others And therefore O King and Council be wise and learn by other mens harms who not contenting themselves in their places to do the work God set them about but leaving their own work undone did intermeddle and busie themselves about Gods work and the Consciences of men of which Christ alone is Lord and for this hath the Lord dashed them to pieces one after another since Thy Fathers dayes First the Parliament then Protector so called and Protector again then Parliament then Army and Committee of Safety so called then Parliament again against all which the Lord hath appeared in much severity and hath removed all out of his way and hath brought Thee and Thy party into their place and Authority to try you Take heed I say therefore O King and Councel of running against this rock for if you do you will assuredly be dash'd to pieces as they already are for false worship and false Ministers must down and all that take part with them and till that time there will never be peace on Earth for t is the false Ministry that divides the people and causes them to run into factions and divisions and that sets people at variance one with another The false Ministry O King that 's the evil tree which brings forth bad fruit And indeed they can do no otherwayes for they are not of God but of the evil one It s clearly so O King for the tree was to be known by his fruit and he is now grown so big and his fruit so numerous that one may run and read of what sort the tree is and they that see it not to be the evil tree are very near the pit of everlasting destruction Thou wast a child O King in thy Fathers dayes and knew not to what perfection this evil tree was then grown but withdraw thy self a little into thy private chamber there inquire of the Ancient of dayes and ask counsel at the Oracle of God the Light in thine own conscience and therewith compare the Doctrine of Christ who is the Word of God and is very near thee even in thy heart in thy mouth and thou wilt then see hear and understand what Christ his Apostles saith and the Prophets before them concerning the false Prophets and the false Ministers C. C. THE END