or dunghill with this inscription engraven in Marble with fair capitall letters This jakes was once the High-Commission-Court So hatefull and hurtfull I say was that Court and its accursed effects to Gods people in this Kingdome especially being backâ— and â—oulsterd-up with the irresistible wrongs and unavoidable oppressive censures of the Star-Chamber whether godly men and women of all ranks and conditions that disobeyed the High-Commissions unlawfull Commands were turned over when their own Ecclesiasticall Power was not prevalent enough to punish and plague them so deeply as their malice and mischief aymed at Yea and the all-overtopping power of the Councill-Table was no small assailant of the subjects and assistant to the Prelates wicked Designes but that tyrannizing Starr-Chamber Court is by our prudent Parliamentary Worthies voted down as hath been formerly touched to the unspeakable comfort and freedome of the Kings best and most loyall Subjects and the immoderate and excessive power of the Councell-Table is by the wisdome of our most Worthy Senators so ordered and restrained that we may well hope by Gods mercie such things as were heertâ—fore frequently done to the intolerable prejudice of the Subjects libertie will appear amongst us in future times but onely in Stories to give us and our posteritie more just occasion to bless our God for his Majesties goodn ss and for the faithfull and indefatigable endeavours of this present Parliament Now then put all these last fore-mentioned Parliamentary-Mercies together into one account and then tell me whether they do not arise to a mightie 〈◊〉 and deep debt of â—â—erlastingly obliging gratitude to our so bountifull and â—pâ—n-handed enlargedhearted a God to us so und serving and rather wrath-provoking a people in thus conferring such 〈…〉 such incomparable free kindnesses on England such a sinfull naugâ—â—ie Nation Yea tell mee good Reader on serious recoâ—â—ction and recogitation of these most bounteous bl ssings whether the Lord Jehovah hath not been seen most conspicuously to England above all Nations round about it On the Mount of matchless Mercies to the ineffable joy and rejoycing of our Soules in the deepest gulfes of our stinging-Staites Whether our God hath not with admirable patience goodnes and favour waited on us that he might be gracious unto us and exalted himself that he might have mercie upon us for the Lord is a God of judgement O blessed are all they that wisely wait for him For his people shall dwell in Sion at Jerusalem and shall weep no more For he will be very gracious unto them at the voice of their cry and when he shall hear it he will answer them And though the Lord give them the bread of adversarie for a season and the water of affliction yet shall not their Teachers be removed into a corner any more but their eyes shall see their Teachers again Thus O even thus hath our gracious God directly dealt with us thus hath our English-Israels Shâ—aphâ—rd of his late poor despised stock kept a carefull watch over us who had been els made the Prelates perpetuall-Asses to bear all their Romish and slavish burthens Wherefore with holy David we may justly and ingenuously acknowledge Thy righteousnes O God is very high who hast done great things for us O God who is like unto thee Thou who hast shown us great and sore troubles yet hast quickned us again and brought us up from the depth of the grave Our lips shall greatly rejoyce when we sing unto thee and our hearts and soules which â—hou hast redeemed Our tongues shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long for they are confounded and brought unto shame which most seditiously and scelerously ought our destruction And thus have we all most perspicuously â—een and observed how gracious and propitious the Lord hath been to his late most tottering Church crossing her 〈…〉 â—n all their deepest designes most sublime imaginations leaving them still in the lurch and loss when they seemed to swell with highest concâ—ipts of cruell and accursed conquests over their harmless brethren letting them see if they wilfully blind not their eyes their big-swoln tympanie of unsufferable pride and arrogancie to be turned into a flashie ignis fatuus of self-deceiving subtiltie and changing all their vaporous puffs of gross impiety into folly and madness But now let us proceed to enlarge our most serious observations on what remains still in a most admirable measure heerin and let us yet farther see and consider how the Lord who is neverweary of well-doing nay who takes delight and great pleasure to pleasure his freely beloved Ones with his plenteous benefits Of whom we cannot say as Esau to his Father Isaac Hast thou but one blessing my Father but a God who the more he gives the more he hath to give being indeed an unexhaustible spring and never to be dryed but ever-overflowing fountain of all goodnes whatsoever But withall take this note by the way with thee good Reader that as before so now especially in these ensuing remarkable mercies thou shalt see the rage and malice of the malignant partie marveilously interposing their wicked plotts to cross and utterly to frustrate as much as in them lay all the wayes and means of Gods intended yea and miraculously performed mercies to us but yet all their plotts and desperate designes by Gods good providence were still strangely thwarted and timely discovered and disappointed to our comfort and their shame and helpless vexation Let us now then I say goe-on to see how our glorious Lord and King persists to make us of our selves I confesse and in respect of our Capernaum-like means of grace so unimproved the most infull and undeserving Nation under heaven the most beloved and happiest Nation in the world See therefore how our renowned Parliamentary-Worthies freed the Kingdome from that former illegall compelling of the Subject to receive the order of Knighthood against their will from the encroachments and oppression of the Stannary-Courts and Extortions by Clerkes of Markets from vile vexations also by Parkes and Forrests which were now by a Law reduced into their right bounds and limits Yea how they moved and prevailed with the King to set forth his Proclamation for banishing all the Romish Priests and Jesuites out of the Kingdome on pain of death upon their after-apprehension in the Land Together with an Act of Parliament for disarming of all Popish-Recusants over the whole Kingdome to the great comfort and securitie of Gods people who before were in continuall feare of their mischievous insurrections as being well acquainted with their rebellious Spirits on all advantages it also being a Principle of their Religion for the advancement of the Catholick-Cause not to keep any plighted faith with Heretickes for such they account all that are not of their Romish not faith but faction Yea that cage of most unclean birds Sommerset-House I mean in the Strand cleansed in good measure
desire of correspondencie with both Houses both in passing those Bils then exhibited to his Majestie and also referring all matters touching the Liturgie and Church-Government to the wisdom and pietie of the Parliament to settle and resolve on And here again good Reader let us reflect our eyes and serious thoughts and see whether the Lord does not still carryon his works of mercie to us by his own strong-arm and almightie power and providence that thus we should now have such strong and heart-chearing hope of a happie and long desired rectifying and reformation of our Liturgie and Discipline two ticklish peices to be tampered with on pain of highest indignation and displeasure in by-past times but now you see and hear of talk yea resolution of reforming them Hereby ratifying and confirming his most righteous word and promise by the Prophet in shewing himself unto our Kingdom a most resplendent glory in the midst of us Making good also that old promise of his to his ancient people of Israel namely I will turn my hand upon thee and will purely purge away all thy drosse and take away all thy tinne O that we therefore in the way of thankefulnessâ— would sincerely perform his holy and just desire of us namely in deed and in truth to obey his voice and cheerfully to do all that he hath commanded us Yet see the still invincible and inveterate malice of the malignant partie who notwithstanding that they cannot but evidently see the hand of God against them crossing all their counsels turning their perniciously boiling obstrisctions to their own destruction in the issue yet still I say they manifest right Pharaoh-like more flintinesse and hardnesse of heart presumptuously spurning at as it were and despising all Gods most wise and over powering proceedings against them thereby most clearly treasuring-up wrath and confusion unto themselves against the day of Gods vengeance and heaping up coals of calamity on their own heads against the day of the Lords burning jealousie For much about this time a most pernicious and seditious Petition was forged and framed by some of the grey-headed but not grave-hearted Citizens of London which was boldly presented to the Parliament by them A Petition I say much tending to sedition and the overthrow of the Parliaments proceedings especially concerning the Militia of the Citie ayming therein at the overthrow of the said Militia and the sure defence of the whole Realm under God which they had formerly most firmly setled over the whole Kingdom In which seditious plot and devillish design of theirs though many of no small or mean rank and qualitie in the Citie yea and some of the highest degree thereof had deep hands and spotted hearts to further it and therefore had subscribed to it yet one or two most pragmaticall spirits among them were chief agents and active instruments openly and audaciously appearing and persisting in it namely one Mr Binion a Silkman in Cheapside who carried himself most proudly and insolently therein from first to the last But the truly godly grave and loyally-affected Citizens of London understanding thereof disavowed it immediately joyned together against it in another most honest fit and fair Petition clean contrary to that other exhibited the same in Parliament desired the justice of the Parliament against â—he other which was received with singular approbation of both Houses Whereupon the other was not long after cast out of the House condemned to be burnt by the hangman as a most scandalous and seditious paper and the foresaid Mr Binion himself persisting in his obstinate and malevolent misbehaviour was made an example of terrour to the rest who more wisely shrunk-in their heads and recanted their former oversight being for his foresaid insolencies and misdemeanours fined 3000. l. disfranchised from the immunities of the Citie made uncapable of ever bearing any office in the Common-wealth and imprisoned for two yeers in the Castle of Colchester And yet again notwithstanding all this I say yea this so fresh and modern admonition as a man might have thought to those malignant spirits They not long after brake out again into a like misdemeanour in the Countie of Kent by the main instigation as it is conceived of Sir Edward Deering late a Member of the House of Commons who at the beginning and for some continuance of this Parliament was well reputed and reported of but at last brake-out into a most violent and virulent opposition of the honourable and pious proceedings of the Parliament which he further most undiscreetly prosecuted by printing and publishing a book of all his former and later Speeches in Parliament and one especially not spoken but onely intended to have been spoken in Parliament Whereupon the said Sir E. Deering was call'd to the Bar sent prisoner to the Tower cast out of the House from being any longer a Member among them his said book condemned to be burnt Which book though it cannot be denied but must be ingenuously confest did render him a Schollar and wittie acute râ—etoriâ—ian yet was full fraught with palpable expressions of an ill-affected heart not onely to the most wise worthie and untainted negotiations of the Honourable Parliament but even to religion and the power of godlines A gentleman he was whom I must acknowledge I my self much honored for the good things I conceived to be in him at first but when I had read this his book which I did all-over as advisedly and impartially as God enabled me I found therein even almost in its very portall or introduction to the matter of it and so along such an unjust and immeritorious eulogie or elogie and hyperbolicall praise of the Arch-prelate of Canterbury in generall and of his book if his of his conference with Fisher the Jesuite in speciall A book most full of pregnant expressions yet cloudily couched of the said Prelates Popish rotten-heartednesse as a most sound and learned Replie to it hath copiously and clearly discovered to all judicious and impartiall Schollars that have read it together with his affected wittie jeâ—ring and scoffing at true pietie in some places and irreligious sublime justification of grosse Popish superstition in other some I could not hereupon I say God knows my heart but greatly grieve for his sake thereby so dishonoured and blush at mine own so clear mistake who had willingly harboured so good opinions of him before But to leave him to his great Lord and Master to whom he must either stand or fall with my heartie prayers for his true and timely retractation I return to my purposed matter from which I have a little digressed but I hope not much transgressed therein Another seditious Petition I say was hatched and contrived in Kent wherein I say t is more than conceived that Sir Edward Deering had a deep hand which contained matter much to the same effect with the former of London Which also it seems was
and favourable reproof from the Lord himself of such false and faithlesse fears in his children Hearken unto me ye that know righteousnesse the people in whose heart is my Law Fear ye not the reproaches of men neither be ye afraid of their revilings For the moth shall eat them up like a garment and the worm shall eat them like wooll but my righteousnesse shall be for ever and my salvation from generation to generation And that especially in the 12 and 13 verses of the same chapter I even I am he that comforteth you who art thou that thou shouldst be afraid of a man that shall die and of the son of man which shall be made as grasse and forgettest the Lord thy maker that hath stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth and hast feared continually every day because of the furie of the oppressour as if he were readie to destroy and where is the furie of the oppressour Certainly good Reader here 's a most exact description of the condition of very many of Gods children even at this very day O what fear of the force or fraud is there of men yea of wicked men who shall undoubtedly perish together with their most desperate designes and profoundest policie What startling is there at a base weak project of theirs though our eyes have seen them vanish like a vapour and come to nought What frights and fears are in the hearts of Gods people even every day as the Lord saies because of their seeming furie but certain frenzie and madnesse which yet our God hath crusht and confounded in its highest ruff and deepest danger-threatning bluster For shame therefore for shame let us labour against such groundlesse such causelesse fears and put on godly resolution and invincible courage since the Lord is our God and is good and does good and who hath done all this great good for us Which brings us to my fourth and last Observation on these fore-mentioned pa liamentarie mercies namely That the Lord onely is our salvation and hath engaged himself and his own great Name to deliver us by his faithfull word and promise and that therefore we should patiently wisely and zealously depend on him for deliverance Since I say the Lord onely is our strength and not the failing arm of flesh which we know is an accursed prop and will deceive like the broken reeds of Egypt let us therefore often remember that of good King Jehosaphat which indeed I desire may be a constant and cordiall memento to us all to stablish and strengthen our hearts piously and patiently to wait on the Lord namely Hear me saies that good King O Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem beleeve the Lord your God so shall ye be established beleeve his Prophets and promises so shall ye prosper Even so I say to thee O England and ye noble and renowned inhabitants of London famous over the whole Christian world for the glory of God among you beleeve the many and most sweet and precious-promises which God in Christ hath made unto you so shall ye certainly prevail and prosper lay hold on the promises yea rest and roul your selves and even live upon the promises so shall it undoubtedly go well with thee Now we have a sure word of promise that Babylon shall fall yea saies the Lord by the Prophet in respect of the certainty of it Babylon is fallen is fallen with an ingemination which implies matter of moment and all the graven images of her gods the Lord hath broken to the ground Yea saies the Prophet Jeremie Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed Now then I say good Reader having such a sure word of promise even from the fountain of Truth yea Truth it self let us with Christian courage by faith lay fast hold on it and infallibly beleeve it for Truth hath spoken it and certainly heaven and earth shall sooner perish than one jot or tittle of his precious word and promise shall not be performed Hast thou I say as a reverend and learned Divine once sweetly delivered a sure word of promise abide close by it for certainly whatsoever the work of Gods providence may be which ofttimes I confesse seems even point-blank to crosse and contradict our hopes mainly for triall of our faith and patience yet stick-fast to the word of promise rest and relye on it wait with the patience of the Saints for the performing of it For as the Lord said to the Prophet Write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it For the vision is yet for an appointed time but at the end it shall speak and not lie though it tarrie wait for it because it will surely come and it will not tarry See here good Reader what sound and solid grounds of Christian courage comfort and confidence is here Who then would be afraid Who would not strongly and immoveably relie on the Lord his so mightie so sure foundation See I say what an abundant Cornucopia of sweet refection is here for the most drooping heart that may be who then would Tantalize in the midst of such so fair heart-upholding store Alas alas good Reader if under such props and supportations our hearts should flag and faint and sink by fear and infidelity which indeed is the bitter root of slavish fear might not the Lord too justly upbraid us as once he did the murmuring children of Israel the sinfull and rebellious Israelites Since the Lord onely is our fast and firmly-rooted Rock and his works are perfect and all his wayes judgement a God of truth and without iniquitie most just and right If we thus corrupt our selves with sinfull infidelity our spot is not then the spot of his children but we being thus a perverse and crooked generation may not the Lord then I say most justly upbraid us and say Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise Is not God your Father that hath bought you and establisht you O remember the dayes of old of thy old slaverie and bondage of Romish-Egypt the black and palpable fogs of Popish idolatrie and superstition consider the yeers of many past generations ask your fathers and they can shew you your elders and they can tell you And certainly as good Ezra said in such a like case If after these great mercies and deliverances which God hath wrought for us and wherwith he hath so graciously crowned us we should yet again break our covenant with God we should violate his righteous commandments turn his so sweet and precious grace into wantonnesse and make this his patience and goodnesse to us a ground of our licentiousnesse and loosse living would not the Lord and that most justly be angrie with us untill he had utterly consumed us Yes certainly he would For though t is most true that the Lord hath proclaimed himself to the whole world and all generations
beholding the evident sun-shine of the truth in the subsequent and most luculent demonstrations thereof in this Kingdom of England after a speciall manner which God hath graciously made the very Land-mark of all his rich mercies to the everlasting glory of his great Name and free grace unto us a most sinfull and undeserving Nation as we have been and that in the midst of such means and miracles of mercies which he hath conferred on us and wrought for us above all our neighbour Nations round about us Now herein my purpose is omitting many former mercies to our Land of high concernment and most worthy of everlasting and indelible thankfull remembrance as the shaking off of the Antichristian shackles and yoke of Poperie begun in the dayes of King Henry the eighth and his most blessed Son King Edward the sixth but especially in the happie halcyon-dayes of Queen Elizabeths reign of ever most blessed memorie Since whose most blessed dayes and times we have enjoyed the Gospel of peace and peace of the Gospel almost these hundred yeers and now are not onely Protestants but most blessedly begin to be reformed Protestants notwithstanding the many most nefarious and treacherous plots against her sacred person happily defeated the falsly so termed Invincible Spanish Armado in 1588 and the most exorbitant and hell-hatch't Powder-plot by those Romish traytors Garnet a grand-Jesuite and his twelve impious apostles in the yeer 1605 by heavens vigilant eye of providence timely prevented together with many private and pernicious conjurations or conspiracies not so much by force as by fraud clandestinely machinated and by Gods mercie fruitlesly attempted enough to fill up voluminous Treatises and infâ—â—itâ—ly to magnifie Gods endlesse praises all which I say here to omit my purpose and main intention is as I fore promised by the blessed assistance of Gods gracious Spirit to manifest and declare to all who vouchsafe the patient and impartiall perusall hereof all the memorable and wonder-striking Parliamentary mercies effected for and afforded unto this our English Nation mauger the malice of Hell and Rome Papists and profane Atheists Satans active and able agents with inthe space of lesse than two yeers last past 1641 and 1642. And for the better and more exact setting forth of the most illustrious lustre and glorious beautie of these incomparable parliamentarie-pledges of Gods undoubted love and free favour toward us my intention is first to shew my Reader the cloudy-Mountain of Straits into which the Lord had in his wisdom and justice brought us or rather suffered us to be drawn and driven into for our sins and transgressions and then the sweet and serene-Mountain of Mercies wherein God was most gloriously seen of his meer mercie for our most timely and happie deliverance I mean I say to let the godly Reader see the deep distresse and danger whereinto we were plunged by the nefarious and multifarious plots and projects of Jesuiticall-Priests and perfidious Prelates for I may most justly couple and link them together like Simeon and Levi brothers in iniquitie of these our late and worst times and other most disloyall atheisticallagents in these desperate designes all of them faithlesse factors for the See of Rome all of them complotting and contriving to reduce us to the accursed Romish religion yea all of them combining and confederating to work and weave our three famous and flourishing Kingdoms England Scotland and Irelands fatall and finall ruiâ—e and downfall This being done I shall endeavour by Gods assistance most punctually to promulgate and most exactly to record to posterity those even myriades of remarkable mercies conferred on us to strange amazement and deep admiration of all truly pious and faithfull Christians That thus contraries being set together in an exact Antithesis or opposition they may both appear the more apparently to the eyes and understanding of ingenuous and judicious beholders that thus I say the dangers being seriously considered and worthily weighed the mercies may the more gloriously break forth like the Suns glorious rayes and heart-cheering bright beams after a thick and black cloudie storm and heart-damping tempest and that thus I say the god y Reader ruminating and recollecting Both in his sad and serious re-cogitations may justly and ingenuously acknowledge that God was in the Mount for our Deliverance Now herein for my better and more methodicall proceeding in this renowned Storie I have resolved to make our most famous and renowned Parliamentarie-Worthies first Remonstrance wherein all our Kingdoms heavie pressures and oppressions are summarily and succinctly even to the life delineated my most worthily imitable copie and pattern to write by but in these I intend to be as concise and brief as conveniently may be because my chief ayme and resolution is â—o hasten to the copious and comfortable narration and description of our Parliamentarie-Mercies and Deliverances to the everlasting glorie and precious praise of our great and good God and that at the rare and faire sight and cordiall contemplation of them the godly Reader may break out in an extasie of holy and heavenly joy and say with holy David Truly God is good to his English Israel and to all therein of an upright heart Wherefore now to pretermit all further ambages and circumlocutions and to addresse my self seriously to the matter intended I shall first with my most worthie-Masters briefly declare the root and growth of their mischievous designes and the rice of our dangerous estate thereby Secondly the maturity and ripenesse to which the malignant partie had hatcht and cherisht it before the beginning of this Parliament Thirdly the efficacious means used for the eradicating and rooting up of this evill weed so rank-grown in the garden of the Kingdom both by the Kings royall assistance and Heavens blessing on the Parliaments great wisdom industrie and providence Fourthly the bold affronts and audacious obstructions and oppositions to interrupt and check the Parliaments fair and faithfull progresse and proceedings therein all along Fifthly and lastly the counter-checking means used to annihilate and make void those obstacles and impediments which so retarded the fair fabrick and comely structure of a happie reformation of those superfluous and rank-grown evils and of redintegrating and re-establishing the ancient honour and security of this Crown and Nation even by a Parliamentarie-power the onely remedie left under God to prop-up the tottering State to force away our over-flowing fears and to heal the mortall wounds and sores of our distressed Land Now the root and rice of all the plot was found to be a pernicious woven knot of malignant active spirits combining and confederating together for the supplanting and utter subverting of the fundamentall Laws and principles of government on which the religion and government of the Kingdom were firmly establisht And those actors and promoters were fiâ—st and principally Jesuited-Papists whose teeth had long
of those Egyptian croaking Froggs the Filthy Capuchin-Fryers and Priests who lay lurking there too long like so many muzled Wolves and Tygers all these or the most of them banished and transported over-Sea from us And the Queen-Mother of France the more to free our hearts from feares and discontents happily also transported beyond Sea from us About which time also to settle our hearts with yet more solid comfort and the more firmly to consolidate our future hoped happines it pleased the Lord to put into the hearts of our most noble Parliamentary Patriots to unite and knit all the three Kingdomes of England Scotland and Ireland in-a most firme League and Conjunction of perpetuall love and amitie and of mutuall defence against all malignant Adversaries either domestick or forrein and to confirm all this by a particular act of Parliament ratified by a full consent of the King and both Houses together with an act of absolute oblivion of all exceptions and differences whatsoever formerly intervening twixt Prince and people Upon which both Armies of English and Scottish Souldiers were shortly after most happily peaceably dismissed and disbanded to the high hononr of our wonder-working God and the unexpressible joy and comfort of both Nations thus most lovingly and sweetly shaking hands of true friendship at their peaceable departure And for the farther confirmation of this our happines and due retribution of praise and glory to the Lord our God the authour of it there was an Ordinance of Parliament for a day of publick and solemn thankesgiving for this peace so happily concluded between England and Scotland which for the glorie of God and honour of our King and Worthies in Parliament I have thought fit here to insert verbatîm as it was published An Ordinance of Parliament for a day of publick thanksgiving for the peace concluded between England and Scotland VVHereas it hath pleased almightie God to give a happie close to the treatie of peace between the two Nations of England and Scotland by his wise providence defeating the evill hopes of the subtill adversaries of both Kingdomes for which great mercy it was by the Kings most excellent Majestie the Lords and Commons in this present Parliament enacted that there should be a publick thanksgiving in all the Parish-Churches of his Majesties Dominions It is now ordered and declared by the Lords and Commons in Parliament that the time for the celebration of that publick thanks to almightie God for so great and publick a blessing shall be on tuesday the 7 th of Sept. by prayers reading and preaching of the Word in all Churches and Chappels of this Kingdome whereof we require a carefull and due observance that we may joyne in giving thanks as we partake of the blessing with our brethren of Scotland who have designed the same day for that dutie According to the act of this present Parliament for confirmation of the Treatie of Pacification between the two Kingdomes of England and Scotland whereas it was desired by the Commissioners of Scotland that the loyaltie and faithfulness of his Majesties Subjects might be made known at the time of the publick thanksgiving in all places and particularly in all Parish-Churches of his Majesties Dominions Which request was graciously condescended unto by his Majestie and confirmed by the said Act. It is now ordered and commanded by both Houses of Parliament that the same be effectually done in all Parish-Churches throughout this Kingdome upon tuesday the 7 th day of Sept. next coming at the time of the publick thanksgiving by the severall and respective Ministers of each Parish-Church or by their Curates who are heerby required to reade this present Order in the Church And was not the Lord most gloriously heer seen in the Mount of admirable mercie and deliverance to England and Scotland after such a marveilous manner as never any Nation could produce the like parallell of gracious providence And may we not therefore with holy David Israels sweet singer confess we have found the Lord according to his word a sure defence for the oppressed even a refuge in time of trouble And therefore they that know thy name will put their trust in thee for thou Lord hast not forsaken them that have seriously sought thee Yea he that is our God is the God of salvation and unto this God and mightie Lord belong the issues from death Heer also ere I have done with this mercie let me desire the Reader to take notice of the admirable wisdome and justice of God in thus clearing the innocencie and integritie of his children O what bitter aspersions did the Prelates Arminians and malignant partie cast on our brethren of Scotland at the first nothing but traytors and rebells could be heard out of their slanderous mouths But now see I say how Gods wisdome and justice ordered it that even those tongues that had so taunted them yea and in their pulpits too should now be forced even in the face of their Congregations to give themselves the lye That of Job being heerin most clearly ratified that The poore hath hope and iniquitie stoppeth her mouth and that also of the holy Prophet David which is full to our purpose That the King and all good men shall exceedingly rejoyce and glorie in God but the mouth of them that speake lyes shall be stopped And now also let me tell thee courteous Reader to make these mercies yet more glorious to the praise of our God that in the interim that those two Armies lay so together in the North the pestilent Spirits of the Malignant partie lay not still but were most maliciously working by their agents and instruments the Popish Lords and pernicious Prelates being also maine sticklers in all these mischievous designes to disaffect and discontent his Majesties Armie by scandalous and most false accusations and imputations on the Parliament thus to engage it for the maintenance of their most wicked designes of keeping-up the Bishops in their votes Lordly honours and functions and by force to compell the Parliament to order limit and dispose their parliamentarie proceedings in such a manner as might best concurre with the intentions of their dangerous and potent faction Now this plot of bringing the English Armie from the North Southward to London against the Parliament for the causes aforesaid having been particularly enquired into and examined both by that noble and vertuous Gentleman M r Fynes and Sir Philip Stapleton with others they made report thereof to the House of Commons about June 17. 1641. That they found that for the advancing of the said plott the Earl of Strafford had attempted his escape out of the Tower and to effect it the better had promised that worthy Gentleman Sir William Belfore then Leifetenant of the Towre 20000 li. and to marry his Sonne to his Daughter and to make it one of the greatest Matches in the Kingdome but Sir Williams loyaltie was
Members of both Houses away from their dutie and attendance on them and to go down to York thereby to make the Parliament as it were bleed to death and moulder to nothing and thus to blemish the actions of Both Houses of Parliament as done by a few and inconsiderable number and rather a partie than a Parliament and perhaps to set-up an Anti-parliament at York A desperate and most dangerous practise utterly to ruinate all But all in vain I trust in the Lord as hitherto we have happily seen in all their designes for ever blessed be the Lord our God for it But on the other side we may most apparently perceive and clearly behold by all those fore-mentioned particulars on the Parliaments part the most admirable and even onely-heaven-inspired wisdom moderation prudence pietie patience and indefatigable vigilancie of our ever to be honoured and everlasting renowned Peers and Commons in Parliament most humbly demeaning themselves alwayes toward his Majestie most wisely and courageously against the malignant partie most religiously and faithfully to Church and State in generall and most graciously tenderly and affectionately as so many fathers of their Countrey to all singular petitions and petitioners desiring their aid and assistance in a fair and fitting way for the good of Church and State which was most undeniably evident by the most sweet reciprocall resultaâ—ce and concurrent confluence of hearts and affections of all in City and Countrey over all the whole three Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland that had any spark or glimpse of true grace yea of but meer common-grace and goodnesse to the infinite praise and glorie of the Lord our God be it spoken and to the unexpressible joy of our souls even of the souls of all those that cordially love and desire to live to see the glorious and most happie espousals and never-again-to be-sequâ—stred-union and marriage twixt Peace and Truth the grand and gracious desire of that good King Hezâ—kiah the main if not onely ayme and â—nd of this prudent Parliament and which ought to be also of every true godly Christian with them Now therefore friendly Reader I say all those fore-mentioned particulars conglomerated into one bodie of serious animadversion those clouds of witnesses attesting this truth say was not thy wonder-working God the Lord Jehovah most admirably most gloriously even far beyond all humane apprehension or expression seen in the Mount of mercies for Englands mightie Deliverance Tell me good Reader speak thy conscience freely hath not England found yea hath not this blessed Parliament found our God raising up one Elisha or other to reveal and timely to discover all the wicked plots and devises of the malignant partie even now and of late and indeed all-along against the happie hope-breathing condition of our greatly envied Church and State So that we may say of England now adayes especially within this yeer and a half as Balaam once said of the children of Israel Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob neither is there any divination against Israel for according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel What hath God wrought So certainly we have all seen it and the very adverse and malignant partie must needs confesse it Surely there is no enchantment against England and Scotland nor is there any divination of the wicked that can prosper against the Houses of Parliament for according to these times of our wonderfull deliverances It shall be said to succeeding posteritie of England and of Scotland O what hath our most gracious God freely wrought for us Nay let me speak in particular to those of the malignant faction or let me rather sing it out with most emphaticall joy as Moses did in his sweet song of Gods high praises and let them denie it if they can Their Rock is not as our Rock even they our enemies themselves being judges For had their rock or rather Egyptian-reed been able to have over-powred our celestiall-Rock we had undoubtedly long ere this been made most wofull spectacles to them and theirs of ineffable ruine and implacable wrath whereas we are now most hopefully happie spectators of their most black shame sorrow and precipitating confusion Even so Amen Lord Jesus hasten it for thine elects sake Now then these things being thus how can we but with holy David break out into over-flowing cordiall-gratitude and say with his heart and tongue What shall we render to the Lord for all his blessed benefits toward us We will take the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord. We will pay our vows of universall true obedience unto the Lord in the presence of all the people Yea I say how can we forbear to break-forth into pious King Davids excitation and stimulation of our hearts to infinitely obliged thankfulnesse but with sincere rouzed-up souls to sing Blesse the Lord O my soul and all that is within me blesse his holy Name Blesse the Lord O my soul and forget not all or any of his precious benefits Who hath forgiven all thine iniquities and healed all thy great and grievous diseases Who hath redeemed thy life from destruction and hath crowned thee with loving kindnesse and tender mercies In summe therefore to wind-up all briefly let me beseech thee good Christian Reader to make this four-fold holy use and observation of all these premises these remarkable and unparalleld parliamentarie-parliamentarie-mercies to England to unworthie sinfull England First to admire and adore the infinite and free mercie of our good God who hath done all these great things for thee even for his own Name sake because this so glorious a wonder-working attribute of free-grace and merci pleaseth him best of all Know O England that it was not for thine own sake that God hath done all these things for thee but for his holy Names sake which alas thou hadst most extremly profaned But thy God was willing to sanctifie his own great Name which thou I say hadst profaned and because he would make the wiâ—ked and ungodly among thee to know that God is the Lord and that he will be sanctified in you before their eyes and that they may see that the Lords hand is listed uâ— against them though they will not see yet they shall see and be ashamed of their envie at Gods people when the fire of Gods wrath devoures his enemies and when they shall perceive that the Lord onely hath ordained peace for his people and hath wrought al his works in us and for us Let us not therfore my dear Christian English brethren and friends so much look on our sins as to dead our hearts or to damp our faith by saying one to another O but our sins are greater than other Nations and therefore surely the Lord will not yet save and deliver us till we are fitted for mercie Alas alas if God should not be mercifull to us till
we are fit for mercie certainly he must never be mercifull to us But here we see and Moses confirms it farther to us that oftentimes God shews not mercie to a people because they are greater in number or better in condition or fitter for his mercie than another people but because the Lord freely loved us above or before all others ouâ— neighbour Nations round about us and that he might keep his word and promise made of old to save his people when they called on him in the day of their trouble that so they might glorifie him And most undoubtedly for this very end the Lord hath poured on his people of England within these two or three yeers an extraordinarie spirit of grace and prayer or supplication in these dayes of their distresse and great calamitie yea and notably manifested by all these fore-mentioned returns of prayer even far beyond their hopes and desires that he is a God hearing prayers and so hath encouraged his people notwithstanding their sins to come unto him and hath clearly let them see that t is not in vain to call on our God and to wait till he have mercie Hence therefore I say let us learn to admire and adore the bounteous and open-hand and enlarged bowels of love and compassion of our good God and indulgent Father who hath done all these so great and so good things for us even of his own meer mercie and free favour and because mercie pleaseth him Since then it is most true and unquestionable that God hath not so dealt with every Nation nay I may justly say not with any Nation as he hath with us of England O let us all seriously endeavour to out-strip every Nation round about 〈◊〉 Thankfulnesse and Obedience which is the second Observation I desire to make of these remarkable parliamentarie mercies to us Thankfulnes I say first to our good and gracious God who hath been the onely author and fountain of all these full and fairly over-flowing mercies to us Who hath thus blessed where the enemie hath cursed Who hath thus made the plots and devises of our adversaries the main means of their own shame and smart of their own certain ruin and destruction Yea who hath thus firmly and faithfully performed all his good word and will unto us hitherto and therefore with holy David to cry out and say Not unto us Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give all the glory for thy mercie and for thy truths sake Yea to raise and rouze-up our souls to the highest peg and pitch of holy extasies of praise and thanksgiving to our God and to break-out as the same holy David did My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise even with my glorie Awake psalterie and harp yea awake soul and heart I my self will awake right early yea and right earnestly I will praise thee O Lord among the people and I will sing praises unto thee among the Nations For thy mercies are great above the heavens and thy glorie above all the earth Set up thy self therefore O our God more and more above the heavens and thy glory above all the earth And let not this our thankfulnesse be meerly a work of lip-labour but let it also yea especially produce an effectuall work of life-labour of true obedience which indeed is better than sacrifice Obedience I say to all Gods commandments universall-submission to the whole will of God Which is mainly seen in breaking-off from our sins those great blocks that stand in the way and hinder Gods good things from us accursed sin I say which locks up all the gates of Gods goodnesse and sweetnesse from us by true and cordiall repentance by hating and forsaking our closest and sâ—yliest insinuating darling sins our bosome-Dalâ—lahs which is the onely-golden-key to open the doores to lift-up the flood-gates of all Gods rich treasury of grace and over-flowing favours and mercies to us Objection But here I may demand and not impertinently I hope May we not also give thanks and due commendations to our noble and renowned Worthies in Parliament who have so cheerfully and so indefatigably spent themselves and their precious time for us and the Kingdoms good Answer Yes undoubtedly and that most duely but in the first and most and best place to the Lord our God who is the author and fountain of all our mercies and unto them in the next place as the channels or conduit-pipes by and through whom God is pleased to convey these comforts to us And as a grave godly and learned Divine of our Citie fitly observed It is not onely decent and comely to give them thanks even as we would if a Lord or great friend should send us some extraordinarie gift by his servant we would first give condign thanks to the Lord or friend that sends it and also gratifie the servant or messenger by whom t was sent with some reall expression both of our high esteem of the donor and also of our gratefull hearts to the messenger for his pains in bringing it to us So without all question it is not onely decent as I said before but due and equall that we should at least return most heartie thanks to these honourable and happie Messengers of our great Lord and gracious God who hath by them conferred upon us such and so many indelible monuments of mercies and admirable Deliverances especially when we consider I say with what invincible patience and pains what admired wisdom and untyred sweetnesse of spirit both Lords and Commons have for us and our good neglected their own lives and livelyhood their own private and personall affairs and just delights otherwise befitting such persons and personages even beyond the slender and lanck expression of my poore pen yea of the most eminent parallel of any by-past times And therefore worthie yea most worthie that we should praise and prize them and pray for them too that our God would repay into the bosomes of them and their posterity all the sweetnesse of their love and loyaltie to God their King and Countrey which we all have found and felt to our unspeakable joy and comfort Which being so as most certain so it is Ah foule shame for such as most injuriously endeavour to traduce and blemish as much as in their foule mouthes and false hearts is the most honourable name and unspotted reputation of so renowned prudent Peers and pious Patriots whose equals for pietie prudence patience and indefatigable pains for Church and State this Kingdom and Nation never since it had a being beheld Yet some I say have not blushed nor been asham'd to manifest such foule effects of black and ignominious ingratitude and therein most palpable impietie as cannot chuse but be most exceeding irksome and odious both to God and man Some saying they see little or nothing done as yet others convinc'd
have found him to be The Lord the Lord mercifull and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercie for thousands forgiving iniquitiâ— transgression and sin yet it is as true that he will by no means clear the guiltie but will visit the iniquitie of fathers upon the children and upon the childrens children unto the third and fourth generation Wherefore I say let our onely fear be to offâ—nd this God as loving and obedient children to disobey so loving so gracious and indulgent a Father of mercies and God of so many comforts and consolations yea to provoke so patient a God so loath to strike when stirred yea constrained thereunto by our unsufferable sins so ready to help and heal what sin hath wounded Let us then be seriously advised since such free favour is shown unto us to behold the majestie of the Lord and to learn righteousnesse and not to do unjustly in the land of uprightnesse lest whiles we will not learn righteousnesse by the historical miseries of others I mean Germanie and Ireland God make us a historie of wo and wretchednesse â—o others round about us Yea I say let us contrariwise be coâ—strâ—ined cordially to love such a God of love who so dâ—lights to load â—s with his love in such unparralleld unpattern'd measure as never any Nation could produce the like presidents But let this our love be free and filiall not mercenarie and so as reverend M Calamie before mentioned in his said Fast-Sermon meretricious love onely or else mainly for love of reward or fear of punishment but let it be pure and sincere and out of an honest heart and good conscience as unto the Lord the onely searcher of the heart and reins and who is onely pleased with sinceritie and integrity of heart truth in the inner-parts And now to wind-up all and to conclude leâ— holy love I say and perfâ—ct obedience be the precious râ—â—ribution of all these rare and singular mercies of our bountifull God unto us unto us I say a Nation so iâ—â—â—deserving such an 〈◊〉 of oveâ—-flowing favours a Nation so well-deserving an â—npattern'd-deluge of direst destruction a Nation so freely so extraordinarily beloved a Nation so meretoriously deserving to be extremly hated a Nation I say so fill'd and fraught and beautifide with blessings and yet a Nation and people so defiled and stained with siâ—s and transgressions of deepest dies In sad and most serious consideration whereof I desire that what that good Prophet Samuel prest on the people of Israel might take deep impression on mine own and all my conscionable and Christian Readers hearts Though O England thou be a sinfull Nation yet fear not turn not aside from following the Lord but serve him now with all your heart And turn not aside with disloyall apostacie to base and bloodie and blasphemous Rome or any of her Romish innovations and Nation-confounding high provocations for then should ye go after vain things which cannot profit or deliver you in the day of your distresse for they are vain But cleave and adhere fast to the Lord and to his pure and holy worship for the Lord will not forsake his people for his own great Names sake because it hath pleased the Lord to make us his people above all Nations round about And as for me your poore and unworthie brother that I may use the said holy Prophets own words God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray continually for my land and nation But I desire by this Prophets blessed direction to admonish and shew you the good and right way to conserve and increase all these many and most rich mercies and deliverances to you and your springing posterity Onely fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart for consider how great things he hath done for you And now for a full and finall close and conclusion of all give me leave good Reader to use my most dear and even blessed Saviours holy and wholesome exhortation to that dispâ—ssessed man in the Gospel on whom he had wrought that great miracle Go home to thy friends saith our Saviour and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee So I to my self and all my godly Readers Let us go home to our own hearts to our own houses yea and to Gods house too and tell our own souls our wives children and friends yea and teach our children to tell their posterity after us how great and how good things the Lord our God hath done for us for England Scotland and Ireland three most sinfull Nations and how he hath had compassion on us meerly for his own free mercies sake and because mercie best pleased him And then and therewithall let us again and again ruminate and recogitate yea practise and perform that pregnant precept of our great Lord and Master Christ Jesus to that poore and infirm man who had for many yeers together been a poore lame creeple just our case in the spirituall sense and whom our Saviour had wonderfully cured Behold thou art made whole sin no more saies our Saviour lest a worse thing come unto thee So let us all say to our own souls in particular and to our land and Nation in generall behold we are all hitherto strangely saved and delivered out of the hands of our malicious and malignant enemies O let us take heed and labour by the help of Gods Spirit that we sin no more especially that realm ruinating sin of back-sliding to Romish idolatrie and Popish superstition lest a worse thing come unto us For certainly as a wise husband will discreetly bear with many failings yea and main faults and infirmities too in his wife whom he loves but iâ— she once defile his marriage-bed by adulterie O he can by no means endure that indignity and disgrace So undoubtedly it is with the Lord our God who hath married his Church and children to himself who will as we all have deep daily experience and as was most remarkably evident in King David bear with many grosse and foul faults and failings in them but if once they defile his marriage-bed as I may so call it violate their faith not that I think or beleeve t is * possible for his truly elected-ones and effectually-called-ones to fall away totally or finally from true faith or soul-saving grace and pure profession or religion by commiâ—ting idolatrie spirituall adulterie and foolish and faithlesse superstition he will by no means put-up or endure this heinous yea this hideous and most hatefull sin this infallibly punishment-provoking sin especially I say if it be stubbornly and stiffely persisted in but as was notably manifested in King Solomon will undoubtedly be avenged on us for this insufferable disloyaltie and the fire of his conjugall jealousie will most infallibly break-out upon us to our utter destruction without remedie