affright them and to hinder them from prosecuting so just and necessary a work I confesse if the Army were turned Royalists so basely revolted as he acknowledgeth himself to be pag. 31. and were cast back into such blindnesse as to make the King glad with their wickednesse and the Princes with their lies as he doth to his shame be it spoken they had no need following such a cursed principle to carry forth the worke of the Lord any farther but they dare not shew themselves such broken reedes wandring starres light and unconstant neither frame their tongues to such flattery might they gain the whole world Besides it appeares by his writing that outwardly he can be any thing and every thing apply himself every way and so cares not what oppressions be laid upon mens persons state consciences nothing can reach him But others truly fearing God abhor such crooked wayes and know that by the Law of God nature and nations they are bound to seek freedome in a just and fair way for their bodies and souls and therfore the apostacy fals on himself and he is become like one of the foxes in the Prophet who hath seen a vain vision a lying divination saying the Lord saith albeit he hath not spoken with lies making sad the hearts of the righteous whom the Lord hath not made sad and strengthened the hands of the wicked that he should not return from his wicked way promising him life But mark Mr. Sedgwick what the Lord speaketh concerning such Prophets My hand shall be upon the Prophets that see vanity divine lies they shall not be in the assembly of my people neither shal they be written in the writing of the house of Israel neither shall they enter into the land of Israel In pag. 2. having laid some disgrace upon the Remonstrance he proceedeth to shew them the evil and folly of their principles and with such plainnesse as the wise and soberer sort of them shall be convinced the rest condemned in themselves and to satisfie the Readers expectation he takes in hand the first part of their preamble as he cals it which is the Armies tender regard to the freedome and liberty of Parliament his answer to it is this that they deal deceitfully with the world conceale their own principle which is that the powers of the world are to be broken the Parliament is one of the powers of the world and that they are called to break it in pleces and upon this ground they know they act Cocks feeding on garlick overcome others but how with ranknesse of breath not strength If a man should here fly it must be for the smell not the matter For First It is untrue that they hold such a Principle neither do they act upon the ground he mentioneth Secondly Their former practise is a cleer proof to justify what they say for had they not been tender this way they might have prevented a great deal of their own sufferings and not been so long under severall grievances Thirdly At this time there lay a necessity upon them to move for otherwise they had not been faithfull to God for the power put into their hands neither had answered the trust of the people who continually besought them in all parts of the land to prevent their slavery and bondage which was ready to break in and so all their former expences of blood and goods vainly spent and wasted Fourthly It is so far from their thoughtt to break the power of Parliament or to think they are called thereto as their greatest studie and endeavour is how the Parliaments Power may be best improved for the common good of the people and every ones interest Whereas in the Remonstrance it is declared that things are brought to the utmost Crisis of danger and also shewed how and by whom his answer is t is true but you make an ill use of it For the rest he tels us his dream of two in the kingdom the one our life and a wicked one which is wrath As there is nothing in it so there needs no answer onely because I guesse what he would have said a word thus The more we depend upon a wise Phisitian the more will we observe his directions and be the carefuller to use what he prescribeth so every godly man the more his trust and dependance is upon God the more he will serve Gods providence in the use of meanes and not only the ordinary but as the Remonstrance well notes it upon Publike necessity or extremity goe further yet so as good cautions be duly observed This point is excellently set forth in the Remonstrance pag. 4.5.6 and Mr. Sedgwick was so wise as seeing the strength thereof to let it alone Next he chargeth the Arme with wofull feares and why because they say the publick affaires cals upon every man to contribute what help he can It doth not not alwayes argue fear to call for help in danger neither is all fear simply unlawfull But his answer indeed is wofull Vain is the help of man it is to offer help to a wicked world cease ye foolish men c. We have not onely precepts for the lawfulnesse to call for others help but the Saints in all ages have practised it before us for howsoever mans help is vain rested in yet God gives in Power to the creature whereby succour and deliverance is obtained Again the worse the world is the more need there is of help that enormities and abuses may redressed and righteousnesse truth and peace restored But Mr. Sedgwicke councell is if a man see his house a fire not to move or seek to quench it but leave it alone till it be burnt down to the ground because they say in the Remonstrance and seeing no effectuall help from else where to appear he takes them sharply up your curse is not to see when good comes we see salvation is nigh God a present help c. and afterward but somewhat closely we have the salvation and help told us what it is to wit the Treaty First That which he cals good we know to be evil it was as the forbidden fruit pleasant to the eye of some and a thing to be desired but death went along with it for the Treaty we know the bottome of it and its rise in what shop is was forged the dependences upon it the drift and scope thereof namely to bring about a malignant plot to destroy the usefull power of Parliament the right and Priviledges of the Subject to exempt the Grand Incendiaties from punishment to suppresse the free exercise of true Religion and power of Godlinesse and to subject mens consciences to humane Ordinances For the good therefore of the Treaty it s only extended to him and such Royallists as should enslave themselves to the will and lust of Princes as for consciencious of men it was to deprive them of peace comfort and safety Secondly Whereas he saith You are blind and cannot see
THE ARMIES VINDICATION Wherein these five things are proved First That there is a Supream and Soveraign power alwayes residing in the People over and above Kings Secondly That all Kings have been and still are subject to and under Law Thirdly That the People have power not only to convent but to censure depose and punish their Kings for their Tyranny and misgovernment Fourthly That no Nation is so strictly tied to any one form of civill Government or Law but it is lawfull for the People to alter the same to another form or kind upon occasion Fiftly Amongst all formes of Civill Government Aristocratical or Popular is best and safest for the People Besides Here is shewed that to claim any Crown by an hereditary or successive title is upon a false and unjust ground In reply to Mr. William Sedgwick Published for the Kingdomes satisfaction By ELEVTHERIVS PHILODEMIVS 1 Cor. 7.21 But if thou mayest be made free use it rather Printed for Peter Cole at the signe of the printing presse in Cornhill neer the Royal Exchange Anno 1649. To his Excellency Thomas Lord Fairfax Lord General of the Parliaments forces and the General Councel of War My Lord and Gentlemen HAving spent some time in looking over the histories of Nations our own Records and Statutes with severall other works of Statists Politians Lawyers I found that saying truly verified of Solomon In much wisdome is much grief and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow and what he afterward concludes of all his own works and labour I observed to be most true in them touching Polities and civil government Behold all was vanity and vexation of spirit and there was no profit under the sun For indeed men have acted and written either in reference to Princes to humor and please their lusts and will or like the unwise builder the blind leading the blind have built upon the sand upon unsound bottomes and false principles And therefore as Christ in the controversie betweene him and the Pharisees touching divorce sends them back to the originall and first institution of marriage and to the Fathers of the first age of the world as being the first and best pattern and Paul to reform the abuses in the Lords Supper cals them Corinthians to the first institution So there is no better way to have a Common-wealth setled in peace and righteousnesse then to look back at the beginning when men walked by the exact and even rules of equity justice conscience and kept the clear and plain principles of reason and nature this is the Land-measure and Standard whereby the faulty measures coming after are to be corrected and amended How this light first came to be less'ned and then by degrees afterwards upon the matter quite extinguished in some Kingdomes and darknesse to break in as Soveraignities Monarchies Kings prerogatives arbitrary power regal immunities Crownes hereditary and successive c. all bloody and black Characters of Tyrants and conquest it is easie to be seen and I shall shortly by the good hand of God assisting me give you and the whole Nation good satisfaction In the mean time I have thought good to publish this small Treatise and howsoever I question not but your present work and way is clear to you yet to the nation generally it may serve in some good stead as to satisfie the weaker confirm the stronger informe the ignorant and leave the wilfull and obstinate without excuse For the man with whom I deal I have nothing here to say neither indeed would I have sayd any thing to his work considering what for a man he is but that I perceived it was in the mouth of some much cried up people it seemes that are not able to put a distinction between wind and words nor know any difference between rayling and reason And now my Lord and Gentlemen upon you at the present is the eye of the nation you are as a city set upon a hil all Kingdoms about us are looking on you and great things are hoped for and exspected from you and this I must needs tell you the cause of Christ lies much now upon your actings if you doe the worke of the Lord negligently unfaithfully fearfully oh my bowels doe yearn and I tremble to think what dishonor will come to Gods great name what scandal and proach to the glorious Gospel what sadnes and sorrow too the soules of the righteous and what tryumph and joy there will be in the tents of wicked men But I hope better things of you though I thus speak I need not tell you how much you have seen of God and how his powerfull presence hath gone all along with you to this present time neither need I tell you by what a strong arm and a strange providence you have beene brought up to this work But if you should now ask of me as the young man did of Christ what lack we yet I would say constancy and faithfulnesse to the end will crown not only this but all your former actions Methinks I could say more to you then Mordecai did to Hester Who knowes whether thou art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this We know and blessed be God for it the Lord hath made you his Israels Saviours and by you hath wrought deliverance for his people he hath put much glory already upon you now therfore stand fast quit your selves like men you have the prayers of the Saints with you and for you and for the enemies their defence is departed from them and the Lord is with you fear them not But seeing the Treatise is short I shall not make too large a forespeech I well remember your expression in the Remonstrance calling upon every man to contribute what help he can and truly there is all the reason in the world for it that every one now should lay himself out to further so honorable and good a work And for my part according to the small portion I have received I shall not be wanting in your vindication but for the things by you proposed and your prosecuting of them to wit that the King may be brought to his tryal the enemies of our peace punished hurtfull Laws nullified the peoples grievances and oppressions removed freedom and liberty of conscience without danger to the State granted a better form of Government setled as I shall undertake the just defence thereof so I shall shortly make it more manifest to the whole nation that there is nothing in all things desired of you nor prosecuted by you but what is according to justice reason nature conscience and what the Lord himself doth allow and call for In the mean time my prayer shall be for the blessing of God to be upon your labor and his powerfull protection over your Persons Sirs I am Your Honors devoted servant E. P. To the Reader Friendly Reader HOwsoever the Proverb be true he shall finde worke enough that hath to do with the multitude
here in Mr. Sedgwick namely to have the Army disbanded this hath been a long time sought after and severall wayes attempted to effect it But it seemes seeing all other meanes failes him he now studies to make the Army flye by a false prophesie as if our worthy Nehemiah and the rest would give over the building through a needlesse and foolish fear And indeed they have all the reason in the world to think that God hath not sent him for the statutes of the Lord are perfect right pure clean true and righteous altogether Out of the mouth of the most high proceedeth not evill and good Where we find as in his writing is abundance contradiction falshood flattery the wicked justified the righteous condemned evill called good and good evil darknesse put for light and light for darknesse bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Gosple Truths and Ordinances are scorned and derided c. there we may groundedly conclude that such a one was never thereto called of God But it seemes here to be Mr. Sedgwicks case as it once happined to Antonius when he angled some dived under water put fish upon his hook which he cast up and thought he had taken them If I should lay his fish together in a heap a man would soon perceive by the kind who put them upon the hook For instance look here good Reader out of what water is this fish taken and what fish is it speaking to His EXCELLENCY and the Generall COVNCEL of WAR he tels them It pleases me to pour contempt upon you to be shod with scorn and indignation and so trample upon Princes as morter If this be not the spirit of Antichrist then was it never in any man But let us see how Pope-like he sets his foot upon the neck of Princes Destruction your practice t is your work t is your end you cannot see beyond it your faith understanding God may I use your own words pag. 22. you lie grosly is sunk into your bellyes and your rule your strength your confidence is only in sensuall and brutish things you act against God and God against you your soules loath him and his soul loaths you And of the whole Army he saith Never were men caught in such a snare of the devil as you are you are true to nothing neither God nor man your wayes are beastly cruel absurd monstrous you continue in armes against command of God and men you are a company of deceivers and mountebancks that talke of curing saving delivering but all wast spoyl and destroy the people You are gone from all principles of goodnesse from the Lord to the world you are become through blindnesse and ignorance enemies to the spirit you love not the life of Christ you know not the mind of God neither have any communion with God Amongst you is the greatest enmity and malignity to the spirit of God and the greatest pride hypocrisie self confidence and spirituall wickednesse you are manifestly guilty of the present oppression upon the poor people and the intollerable burden of Free-quarter and unreasonable taxes you exspect the King should turn not to God but to your form of Religion and Government and cannot count any thing a change but yeelding to your way which if he should he should be seven times more the childe of the devil You are tugging and pulling down the Kingdom in pieces to satisfie your self with dominion you hope for nothing but for deceit falshood and treacherie you speak evill but cannot speak good you never spake any good of the King or any other but in scorn Here is some of the fish which Mr. Sedgwick hath cast up we need not to describe them they shew themselves what they are and the black lake out which they are taken But is this Mr: Sedgwicks voice oh poor man truly I pitty thee and howsoever no Rabshekeh Ishmaelite or Shimei could hardly have uttered greater slander and more falshood yet considering the temptation thou lyest under and what a depth of delusion God hath suffered thee to fall into thou art rather to be pittied then punished Michael the Archangel durst not bring against the devil a rayling accusation but you durst raile at the people of God and charge them with notorious untruths but take heed lest the strength of that prayer reach you Let the lying lips be put to silence which speaks grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous Psal. 31.18 Because I am willing that the Army should take notice what Mr. Sedgwick writes as well for them as against them Thus he charitably expresseth himself at first Your eternall state is sure t is your present wandrings that are here condemned Here is some comfort for you souldiers but will he stand to this not all for presently with the same mouth not minding what he had said he puts them all out of Heaven and out of all hope of salvation and shuts them up in the bottomlesse pit and this with as much confidence and certainty as if God had revealed to him what their future state should be le ts hear the sentence against the Army The Lord saith he appoints you a portion with hypocrites and unbeleevers where shall be weeping knashing of teeth Again pag. 11. If you adhere to that you have proposed you forsake your own interest and espouse the devil the God of this world the destroyer and will perish with him What their eternall salvation sure and yet may perish with the devil this is no true light the Spirit of God witnesseth otherwise But again pag. 18. You are cursing dividing and so are in the kingdome of darknesse and of the devil and often You are no Saints pag. 23.24 And in pag. 35. he passeth a finall doom where he saith You are reserved to be punisht from the presence of the Lord this is your second death As this vain and rash judging of his shewes by what spirit he is led so it is not worth the answering only it bewrayes great weaknesse and darknesse in him and that he is not himselfe For who but Mr. Sedgwick or a man under such distempers would write so vehemently as he hath don against the Army of which more in its place for rash judging of others wheras I dare clearly affirm there is hardly a precedent of any one man that fell so fouly and grosly in this very thing as he himself hath done Turpe est doctori cum culpa redarguat ipsi For his perverting of the Scripture Phil 3.18.19 scandalously applying it to the Army I mind it a thing in him neither new nor strange for the rest of his works shew what a proper gift he hath to wrest and abuse the sacred word of God Yet not to passe over the place altogether silent there seemes to be something here which is close and hid wherefore is Phil. 3.18 19. quoted and commented upon it is to make the Army contemptible and odious Paul saith many are enemies
grievous crimes and miscarriages with his partie not having any thing at all to gainsay the truth of the relation to vilifie and reproach the reporters 5. In sending us to his book we take good notic of it and what he there saith of the rich mercy to the King and his party and from it do observe how extremly he is carried away with vain fancies and publishing idle dreams to the world The Spirit speaketh expresly clearly and with fulness of certainty which evidently demonstrates that in these things he speaks not by the Spirit of God seeing his words fall to the ground In page 19. he begins to take into consideration some grounds laid down in the Remonstrance why the King is not to be received again to peace nor restored to his Office and dignity and promiseth to let them see how much their injustice is against God and themselves in that which they profess for justice 1. Saith he you insist upon this pag. 24. God hath given him so cleerly into your hands to do justice and afterward God hath given a double judgment against him c. and pag. 5. God makes hast to judgment and hath appeared at a severe avendger To this his answer is The King is the greatest sufferer in the kingdom hath God judged him and why wil you not submit to his judgement will ye take it out of Gods hand when did God chasten or judge men then give him to men to chasten again or when did Gods people fall upon punishing after God hath done it is God weary or remisse that you would have men take it into their hands Ans. 1 It is a bad consequence because a man hath bin a great sufferer therefore no more should be inflicted God punished Phaeraoh many wayes and greatly too yet he hardening his heart had afterward heavier sorer and deeper plagues 2. Men in the execution of justice upon offenders take not judgment out of Gods hand but rather indeed are Gods hand in the work 3. When God gave in a witness against Acan that he had troubled Israel howsoever that was a Divine punishment upon him yet did the people afterwards stone him to death and so the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger 4. What weariness or remisness in executing judgement do men impute to God who having by his providence cast into their hands a principal offender if they according to his desert proceed to justice against him The truth is in his Answer there is not one word that comes directly home to the matter for which he brings it Secondly he saith You argue page 24. no remorse appearing proportionable to the offence if that could be seen you would regard it with a proportionable tenderness towards him Again you say There is no change of heart no repentance no free nor full yeelding to all the parts of a publick and religious interest This he refutes thus Herein you destroy and deny that free mercy of God upon which you have lived a long while manifest that your profession of the Gospel was indeed but in letter not in power God loves first before we can but you must receive good before you can give you know not the heart nor can you judge of the Kings principles they are too high for you If he should turn to you he should be but seven times more the child of the Devil Howsoever Mr. Sedgwick for his own turn takes some broken pieces of the Remonstrance and toucheth not the strength of the matter yet so much he takes out as he cannot answer But to the point 1. It is agreeable to Gospel truth and walking in the power thereof for Saints upon just occasion to lay open the unrighteousness of men and to endeavour that punishment may be inflicted whether it be in an eclesiastical or civil way 2. Observe the loosness of his arguing God loves first What 's the inference therefore offenders as murderers thieves c. ought not to be punished 3. If I see and tast the fruit I can easily discern what the tree is without digging to the root He tells us page 31. The speech sheweth what is within and cites Matth. 12.34 35. hence we may undoubtedly conclude that men apparently and visibly wicked are corrupt and unfound within 4. What the King's principles are which are so mysterious and deep we search not after them his known principles are known to be dangerous and destructive to the Nation he holds them without change or amendment 5. Is Mr. Sedgwick in good earnest and speaks as he thinks that the King should be seven times more the child of the Devil if he should turn to the Army What! in a condition better than they yea seven times better surely then they are very bad In pag. 12. he saith He understands not the utmost of the religion they walk in This seems to make the accusation the more probable but many others lesse prejudiced against the Army and better principled in religion know 't is false and that they are as holy and pure in conversation as he himself howbeit with lesse noise sound not a trumpet before them as the hypocrits do Thirdly He brings in the Remonstrance arguing against the accomodation because there is no equal ballance of affairs page 24. your meaning is saith he as you often express the King's forces are wholly subdued Here he is short Noble enemies require no more but to get their enemies into their power then they shew mercy for this he brings Elisha's example 2 King 6.22 and add how the Lord never brings us down but that he might restore us and lift us up again Ans. 1. It is sometimes so far from commendation to spare an enemy gotten into our hands as that not to do justice upon him exeedingly displeaseth God To omit many instances 't is memorable in Ahab's case what sad tydings the Prophet brought him for letting Benhadad to escape Thus saith the Lord Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction therefore thy life shall go for his life and thy people for his people 1 King 20.24 So Saul his sparing of Agag when he was in his hands was one cause that the Lord did rend the Kingdom of Israel from him Again what hath been more frequently practised by noble enemies than severity and justice upon such as they have gotten into their power who of all the Kings of Canaan taken in war by Joshua were not afterwards by his appointment put to death So Samuel did Agag and Jehu Ahaziah King of Judah 3. Touching Elisha's example in sparing the Syrians it teacheth us thus much that in our own cause we must render good for evil and if our enemy hunger feed him and from his words to the King of Israel we may gather that men used not to kill such as in the field were taken captives and stood not out in hostility But there is nothing from the place to be