union the Son exalting himself from a poor minister a Carpenters Son to sit upon a Throne far above all principalities and powers In their pomp and state of living and worshipping God in an easy rich and brave way is darkly represented the glory of the Church Zion sucking the milk of the Gentiles having Kings and Queens nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers and bowing to the soles of her feet Christ in glory under this abominable filth In the Presbyterian rigid and harsh yoak of Government forcing the mindes of men into a observance of their Reformation We now see the severity of Christ and his strength and power his heat and zeal not contented with a cold formality but requiring every Sacrifice to be salted with fire a smoaky and dark shadow of the baptisme of the holy Ghost and fire Christ in power under miserable weaknes In the Independents uniting their Churches close into one intire body and keeping of them under their own immediate care and not suffering them to acknowledge any other power we see there lyes in it the pastorall care of Christ carrying his Lambs his bosome heavenly union Christ keeping his Spouse chast to himself his personall and immediate governing of them and his absolutenes and Lordlinesse over them Christ absolute and his people independent living only in and with himself In their sharp opposing one another being intolerable one to another is the zeal of the Lord of host seen his jealousy that is impatient of having his Spouse taken from him their persecuting one another a shadow of those stormes and tempests wherewith he persecutes them that take his Spouse his People from him In all these there are some particular excellencies of Christ scattered they have gotten each a peece of the seamles coat of Christ or else they could not be a rent or schisme but in all his visage is so marred his form so uncomly that he is there unknown to any even to themselves Christ bears their shame upon his own body on the tree in their shame and repoach he is reproached suffers deeply for being in such a filthy shape both from themselves and others all the honour beauty order uniformity of the Church is the Lord his face vaild and covered and now t is a ruinous heape he lies buried in it under divisions factions heresies reproach by all this his true body is broken pierced slain This is your sacrifice O yee Priests this blood must wash you and make an atonement and it is sufficient to take away your sinnes though as red as scarlet and put you again into white garments this will satisfy Gods wrath and then the rage of the Nation against you and the wrath one against another will dye Christs body is dead and you are dead you are spirit-lesse life-lesse a meer carcasse rotten sepulchers That which you fear is upon you the Witnesses are slain by the Beast coming out of the bottomlesse Pit The carcases lies in the streets of the great City scorned trampled upon your shame un-buried where our Lord was crucified Dissolved and broken amongst your selves from the People and most from the Lord your live in a miserable world and not in Heaven which only is true life and with you dies the false Prophet the deceiver the Father of lies and all the delusions of the devil and all insulting pride coveteousnesse worldlinesse malice persecution and vaine glory and by this fire of God upon you shall you be purified and cleansed By death the partition wall is broken down betwixt God and you betwixt your selves and betwixt you and your People Of two God and man heavenly and earthly priesthood made one Priesthood one new man The vail is rent and you are now admitted into the holiest and of many kindes of Priests you are one Priesthood one tribe one body in many members one Christ and you and People are one Clergy one lot and inheritance the people Priests with you and you people with them all the Lords People holy their jealousy and enmity your pride and loftinesse being taken away God will not suffer his holy one to see corruption But will raise you up together with Christ Levi shall never want a man to minister before him If you can break the covenant of the day and of the night that there should be no more day nor night in their season then may also my Covenant bee broken with David my servant c. and with the Levits the Priests my ministers The night of their calamity shall be followed with a day of rejoycing And though the Sun have set upon the Prophets yet it stall rise again David and Levi shall have heires Christ shall have Kings and Ministers Kings propheticall or priestly anointed with fulnes of spirit for both and Priests Regall or royall to govern the house of the Lord. Now Joshua thou great high priest and thy fellowes men wondred at I le take away thy filthy garments from thee and will cloath thee with change of rayment I le remove thy iniquity off that land in one day and bring forth the branch The Lord and all his twigs growing out of him full of the Spirit of God in the compleatnesse and fulnes of the spirit seven eyes upon one stone much light and understanding The Lord himself shall be the Temple ministers people gifts all we shall all worship in the house of God for ever now are you Divines indeed holy men men of God one with the holy divinity shining in the brightnes and majesty in the wisdome and judgement of God Anointed with holy Oyle cloathed with beautiful garments of righteousnesse truth and peace Now raisd out of the dust as the stones of Zion as dried bones restored to life by the Spirit of the LORD God sends a plentifull rain showers of righteousnesse whereby thou wilt confirme Levi thine inheritance when it was weary The Lord gives the word Arise and great is the company of them that published it Though ye have lain among the pots Kitchin Priests that have served for the belly Now as the wings of a dove covered with silver and her set hers with yellow gold Winged now with the Dove the Spirits strength in the purity and excellency of silver and gold by heavenly and holy gifts we shall fly aloft and live alwaies in the clearnes and light of God not in the basenesse and foulnesse of the world Christ ascended on high and will give liberal gifts all kinds Bishops Presbyters Independents Apostles Evangelists Pastors c. yea for the rebellious also that the Lord God may dwell amongst them God streaming himself forth in all varieties of Offices and Officers none in vaine all filld with grace and power Now in this restored condition all one with God indeed spirituall and heavenly of pure gold And one with and amongst themselves as Stars of severall magnitude moving in there distinct Orbs all glorious lights yet differing in an excellent variety one from another
THE LEAVES OF THE TREE OF LIFE For the healing of THE NATIONS Opening all the wounds of this Kingdome and of every party and applying a remedy to them By which we come to a right understanding between King and Parliament A universal agreement and peace on all sides and the Kingdom restored and setled upon a sure and unmoveable Foundation By the Light GOD shining upon WILLIAM SEDGWICK Doe you not know that the Saints shall Judge the World LONDON Printed by H. for Giles Calvert at the black spread-Eagle at the West end of Pauls 1648. THE PREFACE TO THE WHOLE KINGDOME REad and wonder I know thou wilt to see the Lord so soon upon English ground you are surprized taken fast asleep Awake stand up T is the Lord he is come to save us he was with us upholding our former prosperity and we knew it not he is now with us fighting against our worldly state in such a dark cloud as we are more ignorant of him he will now unvail himself and you shall see him in open face of love and Salvation and say This is the Lord. While you are under him in the World you will finde his feet as fine brasse burning in a furnance His steps will be hard to break you in peeces fiery to consume you yet fine holy and just suffer that and he will take you up into his armes and binde you to himselfe with a golden girdle of love and shew you a face as bright as the Sun shinning in his strength giving you rich love life and light he is severe that will astonish but mercifull that will comfort he is very low in the bottome of your sinnes and miseries there the flesh will despise him but your wants will rejoyce in him and say such a high Priest we need but exalted very high in the largnesse of lovingkindnesse sure that will please you and the evil one only can be troubled at it England it is thy Shepherd the Porter will and must open to him and the Sheep will hear his voice while he calleth them by their names they will follow him and he will lead them out of their misery and he goeth before them In every way of suffering and deliverance he is first sure you will not follow a stranger but flee from him he saith All that went before me are theeves and robbers they are hirelings and come for wages they come not but to steal to kill and to destroy so have all done yet They are hirelings and the sheep are not theirs But I am the good Shepherd I lay down my life for the Sheep I am come that they might have life after their death and that they might have it more abundantly then ever they had it J will seek that which is lost and bring again that which was driven away and will binde up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick and J will feed them in a good pasture upon the high mountains shall their fold be c. I know the narrownes of mans heart will say who hath heard such a thing Who hath seen such things Shall the earth bring forth in one day shall a Nation be born at once Will Christ appear in the earth or if in the earth in a whole Nation what Christ under the sinnes of the Kingdome his blood shed in a Nation a Saviour of the Earth and this in so short a season all at once To this I only answer My thoughts are not as your thoughts nor my waies as your waies but as far as heaven is above earth so far are my waies above your waies saith the Lord This I doe rejoyce in and so wilt thou that heer is light to be seen and eyes to see with that he can open and enlarge the mindes of men and bring them out of prison and make them able to receive the truth This is truth light to shew this truth in eyes to receve it and love to rejoyce in it Wee have no enemy but the devil and he will make all the resistance he can poor weak man may doubt fear c. but Satan will blaspheme rage and say t is impossible t is blasphemy t is against God against man But thou enemy thy discovery is thy ruine thou shalt not speake a word against this Lord but it shall be manifest t is thou a murderer a lyer a destroyer that hath no portion in this thing and therefore wouldest destroy that that will destroy thee and deliver the Kingdome out of thy destroying hands thou art cast down thy Kingdom of darknes is broken by the light of the day of God thou shalt prevail no longer in this Kingdome O Leviathan we now can draw thee out with a hook and thy tongue with a cord thou shalt now make supplications to us and speak soft words to us we now take thee for a servant play with thee as with a bird and our companions shall make a banquet of thee c. Therefore depart thou as smoak before the presence of the Lord. Heer is one that hath the Keys of David that can enter into the Kingdome bring forth the prisoners judge them and save them from Satans cruelty and wrath These are the Leaves not the fruit of the Tree of life the cure is upon the Nation in general that is the subject in hand not men in their particular and personal estate that is yet to come This is Elijah who comes before the great and dreadfull day of the Lord to turne the heart of the Fathers to the Children and the heart of the Children to their Fathers lest J come and smite the earth with a curse The Lord in the spirit of Elijah the dawning of the day upon the top of the mountain washing and cleansing the outward skin of the Nation to prepare for further and greater glory and to remove the present curse of hell and wrath that is devouring of you I have no more to say to you but stand still and patiently hear your doom from the Throne of God advancing it self in WILLIAM SEDGWICK THE LEAVES OF THE TREE of LIFE For the healing of the NATION Chap. I. Shewing the happy and flourishing condition in which the Kingdome of England once stood and the ground of it THE Earth is the Lords and the fulnesse thereof the world and all that dwelss therein For he hath founded it upon the Seas c. The divine goodnes delights to bring forth it selfe in the whole creation and upon all things stamps his own likenes Especially the heavenly man takes pleasure to bring forth a brief Epitome of himself in his image man The families of Heaven have ingraven their likenes upon the Families of the Earth The new Jerusalem the City of God bestowes her shape and beauty upon these Cities But the highest glory of God in his Kingdome is drawn forth in the Kingdomes of this world and therefore they are above all The Kingdomes of our Lord and
the whole Nation in all parts of it are found fighters against Christ and for it are destroyed You have all been bigge with this misery it hath been within you declared it self in your several formes of cursings and because you lov'd it it s come upon you as a girdle about your loynes it cleaves fast to you Thy Sores are opened from head to foot and lanc'd to let out the filth corruption and if you suffer it to come forth you will immediately finde ease He that confesseth his sinnes and forsaketh findeth mercy If you would you cannot hide them all your reasons pleading your good intentions the clearnes of your consciences can't justify you Here 's one greater then your consciences a sentence so Authoratative as will not be resisted Neither can you by cunning or force escape out of this prison not the stoutest of you not your friends Armies multitudes none can help you Kings are bound in chaines of Iron and Nobles in fetters Such honour have all the Saints Chap. XI Shewing the method of God in curing the Nation viz First to take our sin upon himself T IS written in your hearts and spoken in your mouths That none can save us but God T is the happinesse of the extremity of our misery that wee are past the wisdome and strength of man and so fall onely and immediatly upon the mercy and goodnesse of God Cease from man Behold your LORD The LORD is our Judge The LORD is our Law giver The LORD is our KING Hee will save us He that hath opened hell and death to let you in can and will open it to let you out He hath the Keyes and opens and none shuts and shuts and none opens All this sin and wrath was in us in our best estate though it appeared not t is good t is broken forth t is in order to perfect health our recovery was designed in it and the foundation of a mighty salvation is laid in these deep miseries The method of our cure must be this First to take away sin and curse so long as they lye at the doore there is no passage for mercy to come in or man to go out Now the only way to do this is to lay them upon one that can beare them The LORD Himself they have lain upon the Nation and sunk it utterly destroyed it But now wee see there is one will beare Englands sinnes and the sin and curse of the whole world and there we must charge them yea The LORD charges himself and saies Is there any evill in the City that I have not done Why hast thou caused us to Erre from thy waies Thou hast blinded us that we might not see and hardened our hearts that we might not understand T is thou that hast mingled a perverse spirit amongst our Princes that hast given the Nation the wine of astonishment to drinke The cup of thy wrath that they may Erre in judgement that they may stagger and reel vomit up their own filth and fall and not rise againe And in all this thou hast been just There hath been two great evils amongst us our being divided from God and amongst our selves and this the LORD hath done especially in the great divisions of King and Parliament The day dawning after this dark night of sorrow we can say of England GOD is in thee and none else In these clouds is the Lord and nothing but the Lord Here is God in the lower parts of the earth and the earth shall disclose her blood and no longer cover her slain Verily God is in this place and we knew it not Thou hast alwaies dwelt in the Majesty and greatnesse of the King It is thou that hast Reigned in him But verily thou art a God that hidest thy self under vanity and a lye under a poore sinfull unstable weake creature in a crawling worme thou art there covered with corruption falshood wilfulnesse made sin cloathed with filthy garments so vailed under a thick covering that he himself knew thee not had he known thee he would not have denied thee and crucified the Lord of glory he did it ignorantly thou didst not come forth nor act out thy selfe in thy own brightnesse and power but didst retyre withdraw thy self and lye down in weaknesse and so liv'd in sinfull flesh Thou wert in him dwelling in such thick darknesse in such stormes and tempests of wrath in such a thick mist fog of wicked men lying down there in such a hel of a Dam me crue that his own body did not know thee there His People Rebelled against him and thee when dressed in this deformed shape Thou wert in him raysing up his heart into an absolutenesse and greatnesse T is thou that say dest in him I am alone and there is none besides me I le doe what I will and none shall resist it Thou wert there most Righteously and accoding to thy nature gathering up all thy glory into thy self keeping thy self incommunicable minding only thy selfe and thy owne Majesty and rejecting all things else refusing to stoop to any thing that is mean or below thy selfe disdaining that any should excell but thy self magnifying thy selfe and being confident of thy own sufficiency This now we see darkly shadowing out it self in the Kings Prerogatives Now we see it is Thee The LORD that in his leaving his Parliament leavest thy own Son thy own spouse because she is unclean because she was filthy and poluted This is righteous in God to leave a diseased body labouring under the guilt of the Nations sin to give her up to be tormented to be left desolate for her iniquities In the Kings flying from his Councell to strength Wee now see Divine jealousy that is impatient of having his Majesty sullied and stained by common hands The indignation of the Lord of hosts hurried the King away in violence and taught him to begirt himselfe with power to uphold Royalty yea rather to bury it in the earth then that another should wear the Crown It is the Lord that stiffens and hardens the spirit of the King against all Propositions that may lessen his Greatnesse here God saies My glory will I not give unto another To retain golden Royalty in the flames to be a King still while hated opposed denied Is the Divine Spirit When it is most opposed to contend for it This the Lord doth In the Kings dark and unknown waies in his secret practises We now see Our LORDS obscuring himselfe when fleshly man would finde him out to prey upon him when wicked and rebellious man would rob him of his glory he mists himself in the privacy of darknesse hee hath a long while concealed himself in the midst of us and so kept himself from the world who have alwaies been in pursuite of him because he sees they are not fit to injoy him This is the Lords doing in the darknesse of man the Highest Majesty of God under the shamfull vilenesses of man
plea That he is accountable for his actions to none but God and therefore hath frequently in his Declarations appealed from man to GOD. And Divine justice hath reserved your cause to Himself and kept your Parliament a long while from accusing you of any thing only charging your instruments And when they attempted to bring forth any thing against you as they did in their Declaration upon their Votes to make no more addresses to you They were manifestly weak and mistaken and not being to prove any thing they were forced presently to retract what they had done and shew they produced nothing but their own shame You stand therefore before the Throne of God and are found guilty of transgressing against that foundamental Law from which thou holdest thy Crown The majestie of God the Father and hast broke Covenant first with God secondly with thy People First Thou haft slain and killed thy Father The Lord of glory this is thy Parricide That the great King lies to this day buried in thee as in his Sepulcher That in all thy Reigne thou hast not suffered the Majesty of God to break forth but hast smothered and denied his light to shine through thee amongst men Thou hast owned the title and name of the Lords Anointed CHARLES by the Grace of God but hast not owned the substance of that Anointing and that Grace Hadst thou known and owned that fountain of Divine light and wisdome which lives in thy sacred Head and Breast Thou wouldest have understood the meaning of that Principle The King cannot Erre and so would'st alwayes walke by a certain and never-failing rule But thou forsaking yea professing against that Spirit hast followed the false and crooked rule of thy owne carnall reason and customes and examples of other Princes and the dark counsell of poor petty Politicians Hadst thou known that Immortal fountain of Majesty that is in thee thou wouldest have known the meaning of that position The King cannot dye and would never through fear and jealousy fled from thy People and Parliament because of Tumults Was not that a turning away that Royall face of God that is able to have allayed and still'd the raging of those waves Had you known that Divine power that is in you you would have met such tumults as Christ met those that came to apprehend him and said as he did I am he whom seeke yee And then you had had the same effect They would have fallen before you Or if you had suffered you had layd down your Crown in dishonour it would have been raised in honour as his But to fly to a place of strength Digbies counsell who taught Majesty to Digge to earth it selfe into by and indirect paths of darknesse Ther 's no place of strength equall to your owne Royall heart It was to teach the Sun to hide it selfe in the earth for fear of clouds or to depart from his sphere to avoyd mists Or hadst thou lived in the Anointing that is in thee thou hadst not needed to have feared or denied the high demands of thy subjects seeking thy prerogatives from thee or the diminishing thy greatnes by it but mightest have freely powred forth to much honour as would have burst them if they had been corrupt and wicked in their designe or it would have assured thee that there is such a Sun of Majesty in thee as could not be lesse by shining upon them and that Majesty is not in titles names customes the power of a Militia but naturally inherent in thee fixt and sure as God and so inseperable from thee It was meanesse and poornesse of spirit that did not give more fully then they could ask and so have over-come them or if thou hadst made them Kings thou hadst been as truely thy coppy is KING of KINGS so that indeed thy Error hath been Thou hast not been Majesticall enough or lived in the height and absolutnesse of God Secondly When thou hadest broken the bond of union twixt the Eternall and thy Kingdome by which thy Kingdome was become a Kingdome of darknesse a Worldly one and so ruled by the god of this World the Devill Thou hast in opposition to the judge of all men contended to the uttermost to uphold and maintain that vaine Idoll and false power when the holy one hath sent out Watchers to destroy it and hast Pertenaciously refused to give it up to bee slain by Gods justice The more God shewed himselfe against it to breake it the more didst thou persist in striving for it And not committing it to him whose it first was and from whom thou didst receive it hast gon into base carnall and filthy waies to preserve it This is the reason that a long time thou hast run a course of weak dark and black waies being lead about by Satan at his pleasure It was this that sent thee in secret waies to beg aide and assistance of Forraign Princes and not of Princes only but by thy agents hast unworthily sought to private persons for reilefe the almes houses called religious houses Thou hast been dealing in a close and under-ground way with the Bloudy Irish and that party Hast wandered from thy steadinesse to all interests and parties in Scotland and England and so been forced to most unstable and unequall shifts denying thy actions false saying and swaring to various formes and shapes to save thy Worldly Greatnesse from Divine justice Thou in pursuance of it hast pawned thy word engaged thy estate thy Crown jewells undone thy friends and al these things eaten up with contending against a curse doomd by God not knowing yet that he that saveth his Crown shall lose it and hee that loseth it now shall save it As thou hast sinned against the holy God so against thy People and hast fail'd in thy Government towards them not answering your heavenly pattern and foundamentall Law First Thou hast not lived with thy wife thy body the People in the love of a Head Thou shouldst have loved her as Christ loved his Church and gave himselfe for it to sanctify it c. T is true thy spouse was unclean proud high in demands striving with thee the true way to have washt her was to have given thy self freely for her Thy Majestie envied while detain'd from her If it had been shed-abroad amonst them would have heald their distempers and pierced and overcome their hearts Thou hast slighted and neglected thy body not honoured her and hast with-held thy selfe and thy favour from thy People in Generall and hast narrowed thy selfe into a few friends and hast heaped all thy favours upon them Thou hast broken the Marriage knot and hast accepted others into thy wives bed to be sharers in thy Government Thou hast refused thy Parliament and hast admitted into thy bosome and heart of Government thy Wife a Woman a Stranger thy minions favourites and friends That 's thy owne and her Adultery Heerin thou hast prostituted thy Royalty to every flatterer and
given the swaying of the great affaires of your Kingdome to private and inferiour persons who have brought forth instead of Noble and Righteous Lawes a brood of low jugling tricks a rabble of Monopolies Pattents and such brats True thou hast exactly served thy personal relations a loving Husband a tender Father a constant Friend but hast been short in thy Office as a Prince the greatnesse of a KINGS heart hath been shrunke up and withered into the nature of a private man And thy private and Domesticall state hath drowned thy Publike and Royall As thou hast been defective in love and faithfullnesse so in sufficiency and ability of a Head Thou hast not dwelt with her as a man of knoweldge There hath been in the Nation many high and strong workings of spirit towards a greater perfection in Religion and Justice which though mingled with many unholsome vaporus and clog'd with great weaknesse might by an able head have been digested the evill being purged out into good spirits advantagious for the further grouth and increase of the body These are spilt and for want of wisdome to manage them the Kingdome spilt with them This Nation was of a fruitfull and teeming constitution apt to bring forth gallant and noble increase of light knowledge government great improvement in vertue which you in weaknesse of fear and jealousy laboured to stifle and in a superstitious opinion of former times confine this age to their example And being shy and not understanding the waies of God have left the body to her self or to other persons whence ariseth this hideous and misshapen birth in Church and Common wealth This universall disorder and confusion which the wisdome only of the Head and Father of the family can or could prevent I le but adde this one When thou hadst provoaked thy Parliament into a distemper by thy mis-government and estrangeing thy self from her then un-naturally un-Kingly irrationally un-christianly to forsake her betake your selfe to force an act so full of folly revenge so unbelieving so unlike God as along time durst not look up would not bee confest This cropt the sweet flower of Englands peace broke that great vein from whence such streames of bloud have flowed In sum The majesty justice mercy and goodnes of the great God hath not been held forth in thy Government but hid and buried in thee their appearing visibly in thee nothing but the weaknes inconstancy injustice and oppression of vile man Your evils have been great and so are your Judgements you are fallen into a deep pit of misery the chief offender and the chief sufferer great now in nothing but in losse and affliction You have slain the Kingly glory or the true glory of a King and therefore your Authority and dominion must needs die you have laboured to save an earthly greatnesse against Heavens displeasure the onely way to have it ruin'd to expose it to a multitude of stroakes of warth You have divided your self from your People your Parliament and so they become of a help a plague to you and are by others rent and detained from you You Idolized your Wife and friends and are therefore seperated from them Blasted and accursed in all your attempts Your Kingdome is full of miseries and you the Center of them all and must bear in all and for all Become the shame of the World by horrid confusion and distraction Deprived of all power of dominion Thy Revenue and dignity shared by others The majesty of thy Government like a Potters vessell dasht in peeces into Committees c. Thy Mame wounded yea buried under foul and black oblique become the scorne of Pampletters Thy Prerogatives and the highest priviledges of the Crown banded and tossed about the Kingdome in the mouthes and hands of common men When thou hadst left the Lord thy stabillity see what a race of misery thou hast run When thou didst leave the Parliament and wentest into the North Thy Sun set and another rose in England From that time its a dark night with majesty Kinglinesse is laid upon a sick bed and those Nobles gentlemen like blazing torches attending upon you All your waies then were weak faint sick-snatches at a Crown unnaturall and violent striving after a fading glory while your Kingdome lay wallowing in its own bloud At last the Lamp wants Oyle and Majesty dies and gives up the Ghost when you left your Regalia your Seal Crown Councel c. at Oxford now you indeed put of the state of a King and in the condition of a private person wander as a spirit in the Ayre till at last found in the North Apud inferos thrown amongst those leane hungry hagges the Scots who greedily devour this sweet morsel a King and in their ambitious and covetous lusts prey upon him Forced amongst those that he had little before proclaimed traytors and enemies to his Crown and dignity and were devils in his thoughts to him heer he is for a while tormented mockt with the title of a King but indeed a Captive nipt scurged and lasht with their rebukes tempted to blaspheme God in his own Royaltlty and at last valued at lesse then his quoin sold for mony into another hell He is resigned up into other hands Commissioners of the Parliament where he is again to be squeesd and wrackt by Propositions to give up the heart of Regall power ground tween the Milsiones of both Nations not admitted to come to his Parliament but Holdenby thrust into a corner while others frolick in his Dominion Now hurried into another hell snatched out of this as too honorable and taken away by agitators and common souldiers They must have their turn to vex this peece of misery They that had often chased him pursued him with death he must be their prey and be carried about as Army baggage They now will have the moulding of him and will cut out a new garnent of Royalty to cover his nakedness But t is shrunk in the making and they have disposed of the cloth to their own turnes Poor wretch frighted from hence by a new and strange fiend to Regallity Levellers and after another Pilgrimage he arrives at the Isle of Wight where he is again Imprisoned Labouring to please his masters studying how to content all parties and seeking favour and relief of all not forbearing being in great torment to ask the Levellers a drop of water to coole his tongue At last the pit shuts her mouth upon him in the Parliaments Votes to make no more addresses to him which is confirmed by the power of the Army and so forever rejected as an abominable thing never to be medled with Chap. V. Shewing the Parliaments errors WHen the King had involved himselfe in difficulties and weary of toyling to extaicate himselfe hee seeks at length to lay down his head in the lap of the Parliament and to seek help of his owne Spouse to compose the disorders of his Family And the
to the People they are fild with indignation against them If to the Army that 's misery enough to have the sword to be their Lord they know they then must be their slaves t were well they could not be but that 's dreadfull too and therefore they must continue in the great wrath of an angry God who hath left them given them up to this wretched state blasted accursed in every thing they take in hand setting a stamp and marke of dispeasure upon all their undertakings every thing that come forth from them sign'd with vengeance that we may reade vanity and death upon all that passes from them and so cold and ineffectuall that it s buried in neglect as soon as t is brought forth In great shame and confusion fallen from great honour and Majesty to be the scorne and contempt of the meanest People utterly spoyld of all renown and laid open to the revilings of the basest And in hideous confusion not knowing where they are how they come in or which way to get out not knowing the state of the Kingdome or their own affairs fallen into a vast wildernesse of numberlesse evils not knowing how to settle King People Army or any on peece in his right place In perpetuall distraction and division continually griped and paind with the rending of their own bowels being tormentors to themselves they need not others to mischiefe them if they were alone they would continually mischiefe themselves they are in perfect hatred and deadly feare one of another and broke and shattered into such variety of factions that they can't handsomly side but every side hath his subdivisions and so his owne side when he hath joyned to ruin others will ruin him There is this of hel too They are restlesse perpetually agitated and tossed about from side to side from party to party from one thing to another full of contradiction to themselves drunke with the wine of the wrath of God they reele and stagger to and fro from one thing to another condemn a thing for Treason one while justify it another a King and no King Vote and un-vote and that not in triviall but in the weightiest things of the Kingdome childishly and miserably uncertain Thus are you of a remedy become a wofull disease of Saviours destroyers of Church and Common-wealth Our great fence against tyranny and oppression become the strength of tyranny and opression Mighty and strong in nothing but to keep misery and destruction together that it leave us not Evil imbodied ruine form'd into a state wickednesse in a Law all folly and confusion inthroning it selfe securing it felse and sitting in the great Councell of Parliament to contrive for the People new vexations This is your doom For leaving the light and wisdome of the Lord Jesus and for exalting your selves above him left in wrath cast off and become the Kings your own and the peoples hell Chap. VII Shewing the sin and punishment of the people of both parties HAving seen the sin judgement of these two great earthly powers let us descend lower and view the People of England as they are divided by these two heads King and Parliament into two streames Round-heads and Cavailiers You are both deeply guilty of the evil of both your heads and therefore justly fall into the same condemnation look upon your King and in him see your transgressions and proportionably your sufferings from a righteous God Look you upon your Parliament and in them behold your wickednesse and your just afflictions you have joynd your selves to them or leand upon them and are fallen with them or you upheld them and supported them in their wicked waies and they are fallen with al the burthen of Gods wrath upon you and so breake you to peeces But particularly and besides theirs you are guilty First of the same things in a lesser way You are tyrants and oppressors in your estates in your families as husband wife father and children and do all live not in the light of God and Christ but in the darknes of Satan and this world if you had not a generall you would be devoured with private vexations the same evils being broken forth upon the world in families trades bargains deceits cosonage suites strife warrs jarres differences if the light of God appear not for your deliverance you will bee utterly ruined and the joy and comfort of these things utterly wasted for the whole frame of things is out of course and there is secret curses stolne into all relations and things which much shakes and distracts though not quite over-throwes their peace There is in your taking of parts blinde zeale ignorance of God and of the Kingdomes constitution and grosse Idolizing man Every one hurrying on in his way without judgement or consideration forgetting God and making flesh your arme mad of your particular Idols KING and Parliament which now you see are empty vaine and helplesse things In taking sides you are carried much by sinister and by respects each seeking to make himselfe something by the warre and to advance themselves whil'st they seeke to advance their party all aiming at a worldly and carnall ease prosperity and preferment and while you strived to exalt your selves you have lost the ground and foundation of all your hopes and every one seeking to make himselfe something hath made the whole nothing in seeking to adde to what you had you have lost the whole There was also much revenge bloudy malice against your neighbours and malignancy against each other thirsty after the ruine of each other and glad of oppertunities of doing mischief one against another And for these wicked things are become partners in the misery of the King and Parliament as you have their and your owne sinnes so you suffer their and your owne plagues Their destruction is yours you can't but be miserable in their misery in their divisions your very hearts are divided The very foundations are out of course and you are left in a state of calamity without meanes or hopes of recovery Besides The wrath of God is daily wasting of you and you are wasting one another the Nation becoming such a hel of confusion that men are Divels one to another maligning and hating each other to death These waies would utterly waste you if you had ten thousand times more then you have The fruit of all your long labours sweept away from you in a moment by mischievous villains to have your bread taken from you and your selves and wives and children tirannized over by free quarterers Honest industry quite discouraged being almost use-less most men that have estates betrayed by one side or other plundered sequestered Trading the life and subsistance of thousands decaying eaten up with taxes your poor ready to famish or to rise to pull reliefe from the rich mens hands by violence the heavens and earth jarring in unseasonable weather and summer and winter fighting together and invading each others
In the Parliament Now is manifest the Son of GOD made flesh and dwelling amongst us Thou art here our Lord incompassed about with infirmities in abundance of weaknesse in temptations feares distresses in so poor a body as thou art not known to them they deny thee kill thee and know not what they do In this forme Thou comest to thy own and thy own receive the not Thou art in them speaking in such dark parables in such confused and un-understood wayes with such a rabble of oppressing Publicans Harlots and sinners about thee that thou art judged a Devil and to mention thee here is blasphemy to all men T is the cry of King and People Away with him away with him he is not worthy to live thou art here loaded with iniquity made sin indeed In the Parliaments assuming the power of the King his Prerogative his revenue we hear the Lord say All that the Father hath hath he given unto me All power in Heaven and in Earth The King is with us we have his power c. Christ saies in this dark poor forme The Father and I am one the Father is me the words that I speak are his and the works that I do He gives me to do them I come from the Father Thus the Son goes forth for a while appeares amongst men and the Father conceals himselfe and is not seen but in the Son and the Son challenging the honour name and power of the Father In the Parliaments undertaking the work of reformation and failing in it We now see the Lord in flesh coming amongst us and entering into The Temple and over turning the mony changers turning out those buiers and sellers those worldly Episcopall party that turn'd religion into a trade and worship into meer gaine and preferment prophesying anew forme a Kingdome but at last lost in it saying I have laboured in vaine I have spent my strength for nought and suffering under this accusation that he would destroy the Templets c. yea the Kingdome too And so the Romans come in and take away both our Place and Nation That he was a rebel to Caesar so crucified in shame betrayed sold and his Disciples leaving of him doubting his word saying We thought he would at this time have Redeemed Israel Our Lord is here in weaknesse failing in his attempts marred in his vizage more then any man so that all turne away their faces from him In the oppressing and confused Government of the Parliament We now see our LORD come not to send peace but a sword to set Father against Son and Son against Father c. Setting two against three and three against two requiring us to leave Father and Mother Houses and Lands for his Name threatning to undoe us and to strip us of all bringing of us to nothing wasting and spoiling the riches of the Nation so disolving of us that we must be borne again new-moulded in a baptisme of bloud In the Parliaments endeavour to preserve the Kingdome to uphold and maintain the freedome of it wee see the love of Christ to the World and his desire of saving it we hear him say Oh England England how often would I have gathered thee c. In the zeal and rage of both parties against each other we see darkly come forth the wrath of God against his enemies God fighting with those that fight against him the fiercenesse of the vengeance of Heaven against his adversaries cursing them raining snares and fire and brimstone upon them Thus doth the holy God dwell with and under the roofe of sinfull man Thou that knowest no sin art made sin Thou livest in those fleshly formes Thou sendest forth spirit and they are created And then doth blow upon them and they dye and wither lose their goodnesse and beauty and are tossed about as vanity as chaffe in the wind That thou mightest destroy them thou commest into the likenesse of sinfull flesh that thou migtest consume sin in the flesh appearest in flesh and so against it and under it that thou mayest at last save it And unfoldest the brightness of thy face and glory to be in perfect and undefiled purity in and under the vilenesse and basenesse of the creatures Chap. XIIII Of the second thing in saving of the Nation The Death of Christ and our fellowship in it AS God bears our sinnes so he suffers under them and we suffer in and with him and thereby is iniquity taken away T is by blood that we have remission of sinne God dwelt in the Kingdom The power of the King it was Gods God was in that majesty and dominion God was in the right and freedome of the Parliament in the peace and happinesse of the Nation in the wealth and honour of the City in the power and strength of the Army in the glory and order of the Church And God suffers in the death of all these he suffers with us loses in our losses not our blood alone but his is shed not our goods onely wasted but the Lords his they are and were and God is in union with them and suffers in them The Lord is made a curse for us our sin hath brought this curse upon God This is a sacrifice well pleasing unto God sufficient for ever to take away iniquity and to appease divine justice Though destruction should for ever wast England it would never be satisfyed but feeding upon the glory of God eating so deep into Englands sides as to reach the heart of God t is time for it to say I have enough let anger cease it doth feed upon God himself Cease to trample upon the head of King Charles God is there thou tramples upon God in him Cease to confound our Parliament Christ is there Cease to destroy the Nation t is a holy and heavenly Nation Now we are reconciled to God we were divided by death now one in death or God so loves us and is so neer to us as to suffer with us and for us our friend indeed that hath layd down his life for us The glorious love of our God is triumphing with us in and over death God is in our misery insulting over it O death I le be thy plague c. and so makes death sweet to us thou art now a lovely bed wherein our Lord and we being uncloathed of life lie down together death rends the vail and takes us into a naked enjoyment of GOD because wee could not live together our earthly in Gods heavenly Kingdome therefore must we die together we die because we have left God and he comes and dyes with us will not live without us but comes into the grave to us so that he might deliver us thence Thou destroying Angell proceed no farther The blood of God cries peace and you English mad to destroy cease crucifying the Lord of glory every wound you make Pierces the heart of God every sad and grieved spirit afflicts God every stone of scorne or
her Ghost into the Armies bosome and leaves the Army Executor of her wil dies into the People and al dying together and tumbled into one grave of confusion By this death there is a perfect Remission of sinne here is a true Act of oblivion on all sides a blotting out of transgressions Hath the King transgrest hee lyes in the dust for it he is in your own bowels devoured by you if you accuse him you accuse your selves look upon him now as pierced by you and you can't think of his sins but of your own shame with self-piercing self-wounding hearts Neither can the King remember the Parliaments injuries but he must in those thoughts be oppressed they are in him and if he should think of revenge he must be revenged upon himself death wholly overcomes and spoiles revenge and leaves it nothing at all to feed upon Or if any party do look back they see all these mutuall violences in the Divine wisdome and goodnesse the sting of them being taken away with pleasure and content and glory in these marks not of hatred but love glory in the Crosse and rejoyce in your mutuall sufferings together and one for another all bitterness and envy being slain thereby Every one as now in the accuser you see your own good and your adversaries weaknesse and sin so shall you by this change of death see all the evill as your own and be able to beare it every one accusing himself and acquitting others so that the greatest enmity will be against your selves or any thing that makes a division and nothing remaining to be hated but enmity or hatred it selfe There cannot a thought of strife or enmity arise now but it must appear in blood in the blood of Kings Queenes Princes Parliaments enmity being slaine at first look you do see death in it and so abhorre to change a word with it look upon it as a murtherer and immediatly fly from it into each others bosomes Here is away too to pay all debts to cancell all obligations on both sides in this pit of death must all be swallowed up Debts are forgiven a dead man Here is a death of the Old man The old Quarel the old termes of enmity the old man and his lusts The lustings of the KINGS party after honour greatnesse preferment the Parliament after places Bishops Lands c. the Armies lustings after arreares the lusts of envy malice tyranny oppression coveteousnes desiring each others goods the fuell of this flame in all is buried Thus as before our remedies were our diseases so now our diseases our miseries become our remedy in saving we lost now in losing we save Our gain was losse and our losse is become gain through the riches of the wisdome and mercy of the Lord our GOD Now we must say we had perisht if we had not perisht Chap. XV. Of the compleat cure of the Nation shewing it in its Raised state and parrticularly the King NOw through the tender mercy of our God doth the day sparing from on high visit us To give light to them that sit in darknes in the shadow of death to guid our feet in the way of peace The bright day of Englands Redemption is come the sweet morning of our Resurrection A rise let us go from this pit of misery Let us wrap up all our grave cloaths of shame sin and sorrow and leave them with their Father the destroyer in this dark night of hell and death The Lord saith it and in the power of the Lord we doe break open Iron gates of death and let goe these poor prisoners of hope and before we goe we will spoile the spoyler trample Satan under foot laugh and mock at thy power ruine thy Kingdom of darknes take away from thee thy power to vex wholly destroy thy destruction Oh thou enemy destruction is come to a perpetuall end We smite thee upon the cheek-bone thou canst bite no more Now we lead captivity captive we were under thee now thou thy selfe art a prisoner and a servant thou hast not hurt us but done us good in destroying us thy curses are turned to blessings to our infinite advantage Thou thy self shall be under the burden of divine wrath We are escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler your snare is broken and we are delivered and thou fallest into the pit thou diggest for others by thy wounding us wee are healed thou hast bruised our heel but we have broak thy head thy whole design of Englands ruine and thy plots are discovered and turned against thy selfe upon thee and thy wrath as a foot-stoole doe we ascend into the blessed throne of God We lock thee up in chaines of darknesse and throw thee under the earth get thee hence and all thy darknesse with thee that keeps Englishmen from seeing God in one another take with thee all thy bitternesse rage madnesse oppression tyranny all thy lies and falshood thy false Oaths and breach of Covenant all thy disorder and confusion thy mischievous plots and all thy scorne and reproach and all thy false accusing Father to Son and Son to Father c. Thy rayling and revilings blasphemies with every thing that is cursed and goe headlong into the deep Sea of thy perdition we wil live in heavenly peace love and righteousnesse in the light and glory of our own God Shake thy self from thy dust captive daughter this cloud of dust that darkens thee from divisions emptinesse barrennesse vanity instability and ascend into the light majesty union and strength of God England is become the Kingdome of the Lord and of his Christ God reigns in her she is become a holy Nation a heavenly Kingdome God is in her and none else The tabernacle of God is with men he now takes his great reign upon earth he is come he is come to judge the People righteously and to govern the Nation upon Earth The majesty of the Trinity dwelling before in weaknes that is sowed dyed it s raised in power before in flesh now in Spirit before covered and vailed hiding himselfe now in open and naked face We are now a new creature a new Kingdome of righteousnesse living in the immediate brightnesse of the face of God God is with us with all his host of power and goodnesse mercy and wisdome to establish us in peace and justice there is nothing amongst us but God who is exalted alone and saith I am and there is none besides me and hath taken the Kingdome into himself and every thing is what it is in the glory of God now indeed the soyl is the Lambs he is English Earth The people the Lords and shall be filled with the excellency of God in himself The Lord is King God himself reigns God is upon his throne and saith openly to the whole Kingdome I am your King you are my People I le rule you with a pure golden Scepter of righteousnesse and peace you shall submit to me and
of each ether and passing from one to the other by and in the Spirit Ministers and People Townes Corporations Manufactures Markets Grasing Feeding all but the abundant flowings forth of the fulnesse of Christ pleased to expresse it self in such formes You are all one Common-wealth of God and Christ and in you all doth Christ suffer in that deadnes disorder spoil confusion that is amongst you doth the body of Christ suffer T is the blood of Christ that gives life to all these things and in the spilling of them his blood is spilt With him you suffer as he with you The glory riches peace and comfort of England is become a troubled Sea yea mare mortuum a dead Sea There is no life in any thing you doe no joy in your labours no comfort in your lives no hope of enjoying what you have a Chaos a great grave is England become wherein is cast all her riches But by this death is Satan the Prince of death overcome the author of your miseries the destroyer of the earth that fils you with wanes suits quarrels that sowed the tears of strife amongst Gods husbandry that hot fiery Serpent that provoaked thirst to drunkennesse that empty hungry fiend that led you to gluttony that filthy one that wrought breaches in your families discontents in your relations wasting in your estates that cursed all your blessings denies you joy mirth sports recreations Thou enemy of man art slain and with thee darknesse blindnesse mistakes accusations treacheries lies falshoods that vexed English men These hatefull quarrels between Round-head and Cavalier are dead and buried with all your transgressions one against another and all will and power to mischief one another That partition wall is broken down that kept you at distance from God and from each other that made you dark ignorant and sinfull in your way And you are now raisd in a new life The old heaven and earth is fled away because it was corrupt and we have a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwels righteousnesse In all your waies businesse trade sports neighbourhood dwels the God of righteousnesse they are all in God and God in them the goodnesse of God flows forth in them and all of them shall bee filled with the peace joy and life of God Truth stall spring out of the earth and Righteousnesse look downe from heaven The Lord shall give that which is good and our Land shall yeild her increase You are sow'd in sin in darknes and shall rise now light and holynesse and with you truth it self The true and living God shall spring up in every thing The truth of God filling all your fields with corne pastures with grasse that which is good God Himselfe your corne shall be better then Manna Angels food you shall feed continually upon the bread of life you shall lye down quietly in the armes of God and none shall make you afraid God Reigns let the earth rejoyce let all that is in it be glad you shall have mirth plenty wealth food rayment and GOD all in all You shall be Govern'd by God in peace and righteousnesse the wicked one shall be destroyed for ever Our Sonnes shall be as plants grown up in their youth our Daughters as corner stones pollished after the manner of a Palace our Garners full of all manner of store our Sheep shal bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets our Oxen strong to labour there shal be no breaking in of trouble nor going out of comfort no complaining in our streets Happy are the People that is in such a case yea happy is the People whose God is the Lord. This is the Great happinesse God is our God and we his People Now ye may sit under your own Vine and under your own Figge-tree which is the love of God shadowing you and feeding of you Let the earth be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the Sea there shall be none barren of the grace of God amongst you not a dark corner of the Earth for cruelty to dwell in but all shall bee enlightened with the joy and peace of God such a power of light and heat shal shine from the Sun of righteousnesse as shall melt the churles heart into liberality the Land-lord shall not rack you nor the Vsurer grinde you Taxes and Excise shal not oppresse you The rich shall not be a prisoner to his wealth nor the poor for want he that hoorded corne shall bring it forth the buried mony shal rise trade shall revive the hungry shall be fed the naked cloathed all happy but he that refuses and resists this grace the Devill You shall all praise the Lord from the rising of the Sun to the going down of it rejoyce in the King in the Parliament all their honour greatnesse and dominion is yours you shall have the comfort and benifit of it and from them shall you receive flouds and streames of righteousnesse that none shall want the rich shall be freed from the curse in his wealth and desire no more the poor shall be satisfied and have enough every one and every thing shall be filled And your railings shall be turned into songs your fightings into daunces your feares into rejoyceings live in love in the face of God as brethren as owe family lying in the wombe of one happy Mother England a Paradice the Land of Emanuel rejoycing in the prosperity of each other and the heavens shall blesse you the God of heaven shal shine on you Christ The true Heaven is open to you Princes Magistrats look gently upon you in love smile on you and these lowring frowning clouds that have vexed you with excesse of raine shall be scattered and these heavens shall favour you with seasonable weather you shall have all blessings of heaven and earth Thus the People are recovered from slavery under Satan and wicked men into a freedome to live in the face of God into freedome with and union to their King their Parliament and amongst themselves and so are free-borne a Nation borne in one day a Royall and Princly race a blessed and happy generation Borne of GOD and of their KING Chap. XIX The restoration of the Ministry by Christs bearing their sin and by his death and resurrection THE Ministry hath been deeply defiled and wofully accursed they lye under great sinnes and heavy judgements But here is balme for them a Physitian will cure them a fire will purify the Sonnes of Levi you are the LORDS portion GOD who said you were not my People will say you are the People of the living God Idol Shepherds are you but the GREAT Shepherd is seeking after you and will restore you The Lord is under your sinnes bears your iniquities under the Luciferian pride of Episcopacy seeking to advance themselves into worldly greatnes into Princes favour into Lordlinesse it being broken in peeces we see under it the Kingly and Priestly Office of Christ in
in glory and all pleasant and usefull one to another And in union with the State or Kingdome You were divided you kept them from medling with Spirituall things and they in requitall and revenge excluded you from Civill things you both in your dark and worldly state made lawes against each other The heavenly or spirituall men must not medle with earthly affaires they defile them nor earthly men act in heavenly or spirituall Thus were you cruell and unkinde to your selves and to each other one setting up an Heaven without an earth the other an earth without a heaven These in the Lord are married together in perfect union the same Lord being by the same spirit King and Priest and administring his Church and Kingdome together they are joynd in the King and must run down in fellowship together into the lower parts Now truth springs out of the earth You shall have God and Christ in the truth of the Spirit springing up in all your civill affaires in all your Lawes Statutes customes nothing else but heavenly truth and all your businesse civill and naturall shall be holy to the Lord blessed Ordinances of Heaven you shall be in all of them in the light of God and minister in Gods presence Vpon the horse bridles upon the pots upon all things written holinesse to the Lord And righteousnesse shall look down from Heaven Heaven shall shine forth to you righteous lawes You shall see the same things done in Heaven that are done in the earth looking in each others face and answering one another heer in THIS world earth will be no burden to Heaven being new and Heaven no trouble to earth no stranger when shee shewes her face and looks out she is the same thing and both joyning together salvation springs forth of them the Earth by her fellowship with Heaven brings forth good fruit peace righteousnesse and justice for the Land and the Earth without Heaven brings forth nothing but cold dead Lawes and Heaven without Earth but airy phansies both in conjunction make a compleat happinesse Now shall we meet together all Sorts in a generall assembly in the light of Heaven as golden candlesticks The holy one walkes in the midest of us emptying the golden Oyle by golden pipes from his golden self into his golden vessels his ministers And in this holy assembly sitting in the light of God all things shall be manifest to us wee shall see the whole forme of the house of God all the doors windows and pillars of it nothing of its statutes and ordinances shall be hid from us no error shal go undiscovered unrefuted all that have gon astray shall be brought back the ignorant shall be instructed the opposing and dissenting convinced and the obstinate rejected and cast out such a harmony and consent of hearts and mindes in this love and light must needs bring forth blessed fruit What ever is true in any religion we shall owne what is false we shall judge The darkness of Popery shall fall before our light we shall undermine the Kingdome of darknesse and set up truth in that beauty and majesty as shall gain all hearts upon such firme pillars as none can move her Wee feare not Papists nor all their strength we shall need no Lawes against them but The Law of the Spirit of life which wee know will over-come them The Gates of our Heavenly Jerusalem shall be open night and day let who will come in or go out No Vncleane thing shall enter into us But all the KINGS of the Earth all the wisdome state pompe and glory of Rome and all the World must bring their glory to this City this New Jerusalem And all the Nations upon Earth that shall be saved shall walke in the light of it Chap. XX. Of the restoration of the Army Levellers and City of London THE Army is but a particular part and that temporary and occasionall and is by this bright shining of the Sun of Righteousnes meltted into a generall peace and unity but lying under a particular condemnation it shall receive a particular discharge And we know thy imployment is so irksome and unpleasant to thee To be the kingdomes Gaoler to keep war in and peace out or to stand in the way to the Tree of life with a flaming sword to keep men from the injoyment of their liberty KING peace though thou art commanded to it by God these things being yet forbidden the people yet thou wilt be glad to be released from it that thou and all other may come into the Paradise of God and feed together upon the fruit of Divine peace and love There is under thy assuming power over the Kingdome King and Parliament and all and in thy maintaining thy Military power above and against the Civill in thy seeking thy owne subsisting and attempting to bee the Kingdomes Lord and restorer The Lord cloathing himself with zeal as with a garment incompassing himself about with flames of fire A Man of War a Lord of Hosts Casting away his Fatherly Government because of the Nations rebellion in all parts against himselfe and ruling us with a Rod of Iron God marching before us out of Egypts slavery into a Wildernesse turning us from a Civil Government into a Wildernesse and incamping in the midest of us and administering Laws to us as at sinai in thundering and lightning clouds and darknensse so terrible that makes all tremble A yoke that neither we nor our Fathers are able to beare And so we see Gods severity under mans iniquities And because it is the Lords Rod we kisse the Rod and love you for it Death is proper for this administration The Lord our Husband the Law dies wee were bound to honour you so long as you lived in the power and goodnes of God The whole Kingdome bowed before you while you led us safely through the Wildernes But Moses cannot bring us into Canaan but must only have a view of it and dye at mount Nebo This power is weak through the flesh and cannot do it if you contend now to effect any thing it is but the Devil striving for the body of Moses you are labouring to set up an honourable carcasse or to call back life into a dead body Christ did come into it and hath offered it up in his owne body and naild this power fast to the Tree you are dead fixt to the tree of shame by the curse with your Lord and by death you shall over come more then ever you overcame by life submitting to death your wils reasons lusts your seeking a worldly Kingdome your desire of lording it over others by force of armes with all your projects are slaine and all enmity in you against others and others against you Death hath disbanded you easd you of your hellish and wrathfull imployment Reconciled you to all and all to you brought you from being Turkish Janisaries to bee English men You are disolved into a body of love into GOD
you lye downe in the Eternall By this your arreares are paid you are nothing you are dead and you can require nothing you and your demands are fallen to the ground your service is dead and nothing is due to it but to be buried and all your miscarriages in forgetfulnesse Who do you require arreares of The Kingdome is dead the sword reignes and therefore the Kingdome is free if you will be paid take blood want spoile confusion ruin that 's all that is left of the Kingdome pay your selves of that Do you expect it of the Parliament That is dead too Poor Parliament you have eat it up your selves in greedines of pay you tore her bowels out and you can have no more But all anger is past there remaines nothing but love you are dead and live with Christ come forth of your graves stand up in the resurrection of Christ in union and fellowship with Christ The Lords host now the Lord is in you and you pitch your tents about the Lord and are the arme of God stretched out for his owne defence and for the punishing of transgressors living in the strength and Spirit of the Lord and now mighty and powerfull to execute Divine pleasure Now you are under the Captain of our salvation and at once interested in the salvation of the Nation and of Christ our Saviour Now we can pay you arreares you never stuck upon arreares till you sunk into the earth into poor earthly mindes rise you again into spirit you will count it your honour to help England freely Mony and a Saviour cannot subsist together That Spirit of Christ that once acted in you to let goe the prisoners Englands freedome and justice without price or reward that spirit shall revive in you and then you will scorne to be mercenary I know you disdaine to keep Englands woundes open to suck her blood you have hazarded your lives for justice and freedome and can't now insist upon pay you are worthy your selves and have the worth of all with you if you desire pay enter with us into Cānaan and you shall have Vinyards that you planted not wels that you diged not A land flowing with milk and hony such mercies and blessings as you could not expect The Lord is Judge he will audite your accompts and pay all that he owes you Religion flourishing in the purity of it peace and righteousnesse as Rivers and Seas the sweet holy unmolested enjoyment of your own families and estates in the presence under the government of the most high You shall now subsist in our bowels be disolved into the Church and Kingdome which is the beloved of Christ Terrible as an Army with banners terrible to the world and the God of the world to the prince of darknesse and so wee shall disband you into spirit and power the whole Nation shall be Souldiers able to draw the sword of the Spirit against all forrain power amongst our selves wars shall cease from the earth you must beat your swords into plowshares and spiers into pruming hooks to your honest trades again there will need no Iron or steely wrath but to plow up your own hearts and to cut down enemies within your own brests all our Townes and Cities are garisoned with a heavenly host and we have salvation for our wals and bulwarks we shall lye down in peace and none make in afraid while we need force we shall use you but not in civil wars you must be removed and only imployed in service against strangers if you delight to sit down by the still streames of Englands peace and feed in our green pastures of eternall love you shall if your valour makes you desirous of military actions we shall finde enemies abroad to imploy your swords against and when you under take such expeditions the Lord shall goe with you you shall have Angels spirits that shall make you invincible where ever you goe The Levellers grew out of the Army and are again shrunk into the Army and therefore we will now joyne you to the Army being mingled together In your endeavour to impose your Democracy your popular Government upon the Kingdome over-throwing and overturning all powers into the People we hear the voice of one crying in the Wildernes England is become a Wildernesse all flesh grasse all power is corrupt the Spirit of the Lord hath blowne upon it and its withered This is John Baptist that exalts the valies and brings down the hils he brings all into the waters the People God is in these Levellers casting the Mountains into the depths of the Seas plunging all into a confused People not suffering one stone to lye upon another Thy place is to be in the Wildernesse and not to come into the City to expire and dye speedily to decrease that he that comes after may increase Thou art beheaded thy devices are fallen to the ground a mushrome thou wert little and art nothing What went you out to see A reed shaken with the wined growing out of the mire of the Nation or a man clothed with soft rayment People got into Kings houses In this state thou art vanisht lost and raised in the Spirit of Christ the divine and eternall love of God and in this Kingdome there is a perfect Levell The People the originall of the Parliament and King by a free giving up themselves and and their estates to the Parliament and King are in the King and Parliament and fully pertake of the royalty and power of both and are leveld with it The People give honour and glory to the King and so higher then hee or he their Subject He that gives is greater then he that receives heer all the people are one with that spirit that is kingly that Anointing that makes Christ King and so called mine Anointed living all in the liberty of that spirit that makes Kings and are most perfectly content in the Kings greatnesse being that which themselves constitute making it themselves they live in it and enjoy it And the King is levelled to the people by his sufferings or humiliations and by his love taking in every Subject to himself humbling of himself to be but the Kingdoms Servant and wearing his Crown only for the happinesse and good of the people living together and brought into one body head and member The eternall love is the Leveller Divine Charity that lifts not up it selfe but is lifted up and being lifted up drawes all after it I rejoyce in the healing thy breaches oh London thou honourable City Thy iniquities have been great there is a righteous one under them that will carry them without the City as a scape Goat into the wildernesse we see the Lord in thee in thy greatest filth in thy violent enforcing powers above thee to thy own minde in constraining the Parliament to thy will by bold petitions urged with tumults we see darkened and shadowed the intercession of the Son of God who with violence wrests
from his Father favour for himself and his people he comes with boldnesse to take what he asks and saies I will and the power that Saints have in Christ to command God in prayer In thy siding with the Parliament against the King and thy free powring forth thy self for her We see the excessive love of Christ to his Church who is ravisht with love and for her forgets all things else In thy ingrossing the riches of the Kingdome into thee thou art a shadow of Christ who treasures up wealth and riches of glory in the City of God for us But thy glory is gon thy true life the beautifull presence of God hath left thee and thou art burning in flames of wrath jealousies envies divisions thou art wasted into a sceleton thy trade obstructed by Sea and Land thy People filled with rage thy bowels pained with fierce contests of parties pulling various waies quite restlesse an unquiet Sea in continuall agitation The Lord dyes in thee the LORDS delight thou wert his Spouse thy glory and greatnesse it was the LORDS he suffers in thy suffering and is covered in thy ashes lyes under the burthen of all thy wants is pierced with the necessities of the poor And thou art in the dust of confusion a ruinous heap the seat and place of vexation lying in a thick cloud of darknesse But his fire purifies thee in these flames thou losest thy filthy pride coveteousnesse malice revenge c. Thou shalt not perish utterly The voice of God is heard in thee to revive thee thou shalt be built again Thy foundations shall be all of precious stones c. The glory of God shall shine in thee thou art now the City of God a Righteous City this is thy name The Lord is there The Lord displaies his glory in the midest of thee The new Jerusalem indeed in truth in Spirit in perfect union with GOD a heaven and so in union amongst your selves Peace within thy wals and plentiousnes in thy palaces a City at unity in it self there shall not be the least found of discord in thee Thy nature is love light and holines The City of the great King made happy by the presence of the King and all the state and honour of the Kingdome Now open thy armes of Divine love and take into thy imbraces the glory of England Kings Princes Nobility Gentry Ministry Judges Lawyers with all the wisdom justice power and excellency of heaven and earth let all flock together in one God one Christ one Spirit one City and thousands of thousands of Saints and Angels dwelling in thee Nothing shal be heard in thee but mirth and joy in the Lord our God praises of the Great King Open thy gates thy everlasting doors that the King of glory the Lord of Hosts with all his host of Princly powers may enter in And all the riches of the World shal flow into thee in thy trade naturally and abundantly the wealth of both Indies and all parts shal seek unto thee and offer up it selfe to satisfy thee thou shalt be crownd with blessings all contents and pleasures shal continually run dawn thy streets and all in the sight and face of the holy God in the pure River of life Chap. XXI Of the admirable fullnesse and compleatnesse of this restoration satisfying all interests ALL the works of God are perfect found out of all them that take pleasure therein The greatest and highest are reserved for us in this later and great day of God wherein it pleaseth the LORD to appear in his fullest and most excellent glory this of Englands salvation is a sweet bud of it a little taste of that infinite Majesty that is now breaking forth in the glorious appearing of God In this businesse the Lord satisfieth his own Interest who is Alpha and Omega the first and the last and this is the rock of our pleasure that thou art pleased and satisfied Thou reignest thou art King this is thy due all power and dominion is thine t is thy right to have all all are thine for thee they were created and made King Parliament Lords Commons Ministers People all sorts all sides all parties are the Lords and thou wilt reign over and in all from Sea to Sea from one end of the Earth to the other as lightening shining from East to West so is thy Kingdom and thy glory is now due to thee that thou shouldest appear not in weaknesse to serve men but in thy great Majesty in thy highest honour thou must now shew forth plainly thy self in thy utmost most enlarged goodnesse power wisdom Nothing now will serve thee but to be ALL IN ALL To be All thou art in Heaven in all the Earth to bring forth all thy riches to fill every creature all glory in all things Thou art all in Earth as well as all in Heaven all in King in Parliament in People there is nothing but thy self in these thou art Bishops Presbyters Independents all these and all in these all Majesty power glory justice in the King and all the same in the Parliament and all that too in the People thou art all the labour strength riches freedome in the People all this in the Parliament all the same in the King all night and all lownesse Thou art all wisdom Authority Government in Bishops all care zeal labour in Presbyters all love union absolutenesse in Independents and all these in every one thou art the same in all ALL IN ALL All in darknesse all in light all in weaknesse all in strength all that every part is all the wholl is all the wholl in every part and all Heaven all Glory all peace all quietnesse all love all goodnesse in all these parts and wholl Lesse then this generall and near union and mariage will not satisfie thee being thy self satisfied thou doest satisfy all and being pleased thou pleasest all thy content contents every one because thou art all art content it self in all Thou hast shaken all Nations and the desire of all Nations is come We have been shaken into peeces and every peece shaken out of all order and peace Thou art good that thou doest but shake only rends that thou mayest make way for thy selfe to enter and for all to enter with thee into every part What we desire we have we can desire nothing but the Lord nothing is desirable but the Lord the Lord we have and in the Lord wee meet with every desirable thing the desire satisfied which if a tree of life God was our desire which is now interpreted being brought forth into performance and enjoyment God the bottom and top the desire and desired meeting in one Spirit and Kingdome GOD the root in our desires grown up into the fruit attainment The interest of this whole Kingdome in this restoration is satisfied and that consists in First PEACE a sure Peace a well grounded Peace here you have the richest jewell of peace that heaven hath
with God God with him drink of this health freely and the whole Kingdome shall PLEDGE be bound to fill it again and drink down this heavenly liquor of the Majesty of God in the King into them and the whole people shall say and see it performed GOD SAVE THE KING The King is saved in God and God the salvation of the king This restoration fully satisfies the Parliaments Interest gives her high PRIVILEDGES She is called to an honourable state to live in the Lord Christ to sit with Christ in heavenly places to be one with the Son the body of God to be Jerusalem above the mother of us all and therefore FREE free with God and in God with the King freedome to enter into his heart and bosome to lye there continually The king shall greatly desire thy beauty Thou now hast POWER as well as liberty to make Righteous Lawes in perfect Righteousnesse that shall stand for ever such a King and such a Parliament as we have long beg'd to agree together in just things and in both we shall reap the fruit of our prayers which though they were sowed in weaknesse and now seem dead and rotting in the earth yet shall rise in power The great Interest of the Parliament the COVENANT is here fully satisfied The end that we looked upon HAVING THE GLORY OF GOD IN OUR EYES that glory is now manifest God in glory All Popery c. rooted out and the root of it Satan a thorow and perfect REFORMATION God once formed the Kingdome after himself in his owne likenesse in which it corrupted he hath taken down the old forme and sets up a new reformes us in State and Church now we shall have doctrin and disciplin according to the WORD OF GOD the true and eternall Word the Word it self brought forth and according to the example of the BEST REFORMED CHURCH The generall assembly in heaven c. We have the KING in honour the KINGDOMES heavenly and earthly UNITED and a strong bond that will binde these three and all the Kingdomes of the earth in one life law and peace By this THE POWER OF GODLINES is set up Godlines likenesse of God in Spirit in Power or God himselfe all things else being but a forme We have here PROPRIETY God our own God we restored to him and hee to us his own Vineyard Every one shall enjoy what he hath in peace and coveteousnesse the root of oppression destroyed every one shall have enough every one shall bee satisfied have so much as hee hath ability to beare and others shall freely part with that which hath been burthensome to them selves none have more then they want and all that they want all in such a condition place office as they are fit for as they are capable of Every one having a minde to his condition and a condition to his minde every one by Divine wisdome so disposed as he shall rest in it and not move after others there being no discontent but in hel which is in perpetuall motion after every thing and attains to nothing THE LORD SHALL BE ONE AND HIS NAME ONE in both Kingdomes There is now but one LORD all gathered into Christ hee is LORD indeed and his name written upon every thing in Church and State nothing but the Lord spoken and done amongst us in heaven and earth in England and Scotland The Spirit of the Lord running through these Kingdomes and through all persons in it ruling over all in and by himself the whole shall be called by this Name The Lord and so not only one man but one Lord there being nothing but the glory and righteousnesse of the Lord amongst us This is that which we have desired and attempted to set up THE KINGDOME OF CHRIST THE REIGN OE THE SAINTS The holy God holy Christ holy Spirit with holy men and Angels Reigning together This rich LO RD filling all Magistracy with justice all People with love our Ministry with truth our hearts with heavenly joy all our Laws with life and light our Cities with unity and wealth our Villages with plenty our Families with content our Persons with happinesse our King especially with honour glory safety ease of heart clearness of understanding a sweet injoyment of his Queen and Children the Parliament LORDS and COMMONS with perfect agreement majesty goodnesse love of the King and peoples prosperity This is a true PERSONAL TREATY wherein King and Parliament and all the people are together one person one body living in one Spirit Thus the Lord is Englands desire and Englands joy him we sought for him we finde God gives us all that we desir'd and more then we could ask or think of and that too in a more excellent way then we could imagine T is the Lords doing and t is marvellous in our eies T is the day of the Lord we will rejoyce and be glad in it T is thy self O God Englands life and soul and England is thy delight thy first-borne of all the Nations of the earth T is thy self out saviour and salvation T is thy justice hath took vengeance upon our inventions and saved in that vengeance T is thy power triumphing in our weaknesse thy mercy rejoyces in our deliverance thy wisdome shines forth that brings light out of darknesse turnes mourning into rejoycing makes our Tragedy end in a Comedy a seasonable deliverance now when all miseries and destructions are met together in our bowels a cleare Sun to break forth of a suddain out of such blackensse of darknesse as covered us Thou hast carried us through death to life yea through thy own death to thy own life T is by blood wee are saved by the blood of Christ Thou hast done all things well thy workes are all excellent and perfect Let the People praise thee O God yea let all the People praise THEE FINIS Poscript THese are the Leaves of the tree of Life that will give a new life to this Nation and will heale all her deadly maladies but the leaves not the fruit yet effectuall It 's written here weakely it shall be mighty in operation imperfectly expressed now but fully and accurately will it write forth it self in action T is death to resist them The rebellious do dwell in a dry land in hel Particular persons may be confounded the Nation is the Lords and shall be recovered hee that opposeth all the evils of the Kingdome shall gather into his heart and hee shall bee the common shore into which the Nation shall empty forth all ber plagues wrath and destruction leave the Kingdome and dwell there thou shalt cease tormenting the Nation and torment them that resist You see the Leaves I know you desire the Fruit that is indeeed the life of all you shall speedily injoy it all the glory and happinesse of this Nation beer expressed and of all the Nations of the earth and heaven too shall in its highest perfection dwell in every particular soul This and every peece of it and more ten thousand times then this shall in the purest and fullest glory of Father Son and Spirit Grown every Saint and fill his soul body relations calling businesse recreation and all with the Righteousnesse and Light of Heaven and the Face of God Errata Page 2. line 21. for were read weare p. 16. l. 25. for Mame r. Name p. 45. l. 2. for see their r. see their p. 55. l. 16. for Mation r. Nation l. 22. for them selves and families r. himself and family p. 57. for Chap. 11. r. Chap. 13. p. 81. l. last for a second r. as a second p. 82. l. 29. for dody r. body p. 88. 13. for stall r. shall The Contents CHAPTER I. SHewing the happy and flourishing condition in which the kingdome of England once stood and the ground of it pag. 1. CHAP. II. Shewing the kingdome of England in its corrupt and declining estate pag. 6. CHAP. III. Shewing the kings errours pag. 10 CHAP. V. Shewing the Parliaments errours pag. 18 CHAP. VI. Shewing the judgement upon the Parliament pag. 26 CHAP. VII Shewing the sinne and punishment of the People of both partyes pag. 29 CHAP. VIII Shewing the wickdnesse of the Ministery or Clergy and their judgement pag. 32 CHAP. IX Shewing the iniquity of the Army and its judgement pag. 39 CHAP. X. Shewing the state of the Levellers pag. 45 CHAP. XI Shewing the judgment of the City of London pag. 47 CHAP. XII Shewing the irrecoverablenesse of Englands ruine by humane wayes pag. 50 CHAP. XIII Shewing the method of God in curing the Nation viz. first to take our sinne upon himself pag. 57 CHAP. XIV Of the second thing in saving of the Nation The death of Christ and our fellowship in it pag. 62 CHAP. XV. Of the compleat cure of the Nation shewing it in its raised state and particularly the king pag. 69 CHAP. XVI Of the Parliament in its raised estate pag. 74 CHAP. XVII Of the perfect union betwixt king and Parliament and by them with his People in this new and raised estate pag. 76 CHAP XVIII Of the cure of the people of the Land by this death and resurrection pag. 87 CHAP. XIX The restoration of the Ministrie by Christs bearing their sin and by his death and resurrection pag. 90 CHAP. XX. Of the restoration of the Army Levellers and City of London pag. 97 CHAP. XXI Of the admirable fulnesse of this restoration satisfying all Interests FINIS