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A67326
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A second Christian warning-piece wherein is shewed the first and chief cause of England's present misery, proved to be the chief magistrate's neglect, in not fully doing that work God hath commanded, that must yet be done, because God hath said it, before this nation can expect deliverance. Humbly presented to the Parliament.
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Wall, Thomas.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing W487; ESTC R218348
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8,614
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8
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A Second CHRISTIAN WARNING-PIECE wherein is shewed the first and chief Cause of England's present Misery proved to be the Chief Magistrate's Neglect in not fully doing that Work God hath commanded that must be yet done because God hath said it before this Nation can expect Deliverance Humbly presented to the PARLIAMENT Right Honourable THe most wise God who useth the Ministry of his glorious Angels in the Government of the World hath also ordained some Men to be Governours in the Nations in which weighty Work that wise King Solomon had some of the prudentest Men in his Kingdom to give counsel in times of greatest danger for the Preservation and Peace of his People 2. Your Honours by the Providence of a gracious God are the King's Majesty's most grave Counsellors in Parliament gathered together at such a time when this if not three Protestant Nations are in most apparent danger of Desolation not only by the many Judgments of Plagues and Fires already come but many more threatned by reason whereof the Nation as it is a Body Politique its whole Head is sick and Heart faint so that from head to foot there is nothing but Wounds and Bruises and putrified Sores full of Corruption which in the eye of Reason cannot be cured only by cutting off some dead fleshly Traitors and so think thereby to heal the Nation 's Wound when as the chief Cause hath not yet been look'd into not known and so cannot be removed therefore it still breaketh out afresh more dangerous than at former times as hath been proved by many years wofull experience Therefore it is the opinion of the ablest Physicians when a Body is desperately diseased the Cause must be enquired into and when known the Means ordained of God used for removing it before there can be a Cure either in the Body of a Man or a Nation 3. The truth of this your Honours may see in Holy Writ that the Lord in the days of David King of Israel sent a sore Judgment on that Land of three years Famine and so long it continued until the Cause was inquired into by the King and his Council and when it was known to be for the sin of King Saul's bloody house for destroying the Gibeonites his Subjects whom by Oath according to the Covenant made with them by Joshua and all Israel before the Lord he ought to have defended and preserved But so soon as King David gave order that Judgment should be executed God was immediately entreated for the Land O that this may be well minded by your Honours 4. Because the Lord sendeth not his sore Judgments either of Famine Sword or Pestilence on a Nation especially on his own People without a just Cause as is proved by another President When God commanded King Saul utterly to destroy Amaleck because he murdered the Lord's People when weary and faint in the Wilderness as they journied to the promised Land and for the neglâ—ct hereof God suffered an Amalekite to kill King Saul and also by reason the Lord's Work was done so negligently the whole People of the Jews in King Ahasuerus his Country were near to be destroyed in a day by the Plottings and Contrivances of that wicked Haman the seed of Agag the King of Amaleck had not the Lord marvelously prevented it And whether these things in a figure are not the cause of the present Misery and Danger this Nation is in let your Honours be Judges 5. Because the Lord having commanded the Kings of the Earth especiâ—lly Protestant Kings to hate the Whore to wit of Rome utterly to make her desolate according to Rev. 17. because she as a second and spiritual Amaleck murdered the Lord's People making her self drunk with the Blood of Saints as they are travelling in the Wilderness of this World towards their everlasting Rest so that because a part of this Work was done by King Henry the Eighth K. Edward the Sixth and Q. Elizabeth of happy memory when they abolished out of this Nation the Lord Abbots Cardinals Jesuits with some other of her Abominations and is not fully finished but neglected by the King and his Parliament God had almost suffered the Kings Majesty whom God preserve to be murdered by four Ruffians the seed of the spiritual Whore because all the Romish Inventions either in Ministry or other of her yet remaining Abominations imposed by Law of oversight on the Consciences of the King's Subjects in Protestant Churches is not abolished and for this same Neglect whether the whole Nation is not in as much danger to be destroyed as the Jews were in Mordiea's days by the Plottings and Contrivances of the wicked Hamans of that Popish blood-thirsty Generation your Honours can best judge Lastly Because the King's Majesty together with your Honours will not bear with such an affront from any foreign Princes or States to impose upon you some of their Laws and Officers to be joyned with yours in any of the Offices Customs or Orders in Government of the Nation No more will the Lord Jesus have imposed on him in the spiritual affairs of his Church any of the Offices or Traditions of the Popes Prelats or any other not warranted by the Word of God without incurring his high displeasure And for Confirmation hereof I shall make bold to lay before your Honours these four Reasons 1. As light and darkness can have no communion together no more saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 6. can Christ and Belial that is Christ in his Ordinances and the Pope or his Prelats in their Traditions and Inventions joyn'd in Worship together but as the Lord destroyed them that set the Ark of God and Dagon together and consumed his own People in his Anger that saith the Lord Ezek. 43. 8. set my Threshold and theirs Me and Them mine Ordinances and their Abominations together in Worship How can Protestants for these things think to fare any better than those Idolaters afore-mentioned let the wise in heart judge 2. If God made the Canaanites as thorns in the eyes and sides of the Children of Israel because they defiled themselves with their Abominations and made a breach in the Covenant made between the Lord and them who commanded them not to meddle with their Inventions in Worship nor make Marriages with them May it not be even so with these Nations because Protestants have defiled themselves with many Popish Inventions in Worship and also because many do make Marriages with the Papists hath not God since the Reformation began even for these things made the Papists as thorns in the eyes and sides of this Protestant Nation I leave to your Honours to judge 3. If the Lord did vex the Children of Israel with all Adversity so that there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in because they worshipped God with another Ministry and Inventions of King Jeroboam's making and because they kept the Statutes of Omri and the manner of the house of
love their Brethren doing to all as they would be done unto and in this is the whole duty of Man comprehended 3. Seeing God hath shewed unto man what is good Mic. 6. 8. and then especially unto Kings the Lord's Lieutenants who with their great Council in Parliament are 1. to do justly 2. love mercy 3. and to walk humbly with God This will be 1. when the Romish Whore is by Act of Parliament abolished out of this Land not in destroying the lives of the Papists that transgress not the Laws but live peaceably as loyal Subjects to the Government in all Civil things as well as other Perswasions but to destroy all Popish Abominations out of Protestant Churches 2. In loving Mercy when the King's Majesty with his Parliament shall make an Act That no Protestant or any other living peaceably of what Nation soever they are shall not be imprisoned for Conscience sake in things spiritual especially in the matter of Tithes considering how many are daily cast into Prison because they cannot in conscience pay them for these Reasons 1. Because Tithe was an heave Offering under the Law abolished by Christ who was the end of the Ceremonial Law for Righteousness to all that believe The Priesthood being changed so of necessity the Law Heb. 7. 2dly Tithes were never payable but in the Land of Canaan so never commanded of the Gentile Churches 3. Tithes were not paid by any Christians for eight hundred years after Christ as antient Writers say and then Pope Pascalis appointed Tithes should be paid to his Priests Therefore in paying Tithes Christ is denied to be faithfull in his House as Moses was to appoint a Ministry and not their Wages and the Pope made equal with Christ in giving Laws to his Church O that your Honours would find out a way to remedy this great evil and take off this yoke from the necks of all Protestant Subjects seeing Solomon saith To punish the Just is not good c. Prov. 17. 26. Then the 3d thing God requires is That both King Parliament and all the King's Christian Subjects walk humbly with God and this will be when they shall worship him in Spirit and in Truth according to his directions in his last Will and Testament That so Christ Jesus may in all things spiritual reign in his Church which was and is the true foundation of all promised Peace to the Lord's People As for example under the Law So long as Israel worshipped the Lord as he commanded them by his Servant Moses in Ministry Ordinances Time and Order God promised that they should dwell in the Land in confident safety Lev. 25. And when all Israel's Males went three times a Year to Jerusalem to worship and left none to guard their Dwellings but very aged Men and young Children the Lord was a Wall of Fire about them Zech. 2. in making their enemies to be at peace with them And so long as the primitive Christians feared the Lord and worshipped him as Christ Jesus had appointed in his Testament the Churches had rest throughout all Judea Galile and Samaria And thus when the Lord giveth quietness who can make trouble but when be hideth his face for the reasons aforesaid who can behold him whether it be done against a Nation or a Man only Thus I have discharged my humble duty first unto his Majesty and next unto your Honours and lastly to all the Nation though the unfittest of many in a work of this nature beseeching your Honours not to despise it coming from so unworthy an Instrument but remember that there were many wise Men in the City Abel for renown termed a Mother in Israel who despised not a Womans Counsel when it was for the preservation of that City and this of a whole Nation if God so bless it And because the Work your Honours are herein moved to do is but what the Lord commandeth to be done though great and glorious in removing all Popish Rubbish out of Protestant Churches that a throrow-Reformation may be made that so the Anger of the Lord may be turned from this Nation Therefore let not ten to two discourage you who have God's Promise on your side that the Whore must be made desolate that the Canaanites or Popish Walls are strong and that your Opposers are powerful as Giants Neither let the opposition of the Tobiass s and Sanballats of the Times hinder the Work seeing God opened the King of Assyria's heart to strengthen the hand of the Lord's People in the figurative Work of the Lord's Building And what hath the Lord done less on the heart of his Majesty and we are bound to believe it is real that hath encouraged your Honours to take care of the Protestant Religion and what care can be like that to cleanse it from all Popish Inventions either in the Ministry or Service or any other thing whatsoever in Worship which is not found agreeable to the Rules of Christ's Testament which God hath appointed in the Work of Reformation from Antichrist's Apostacy the Golden Reed of God's Word to measure the Spiritual Altars Temple and Worshippers therein For so long as the forbidden thing hid in the Camp of Israel remained in Achan's Tent Israel could not stand before their Enemies how then shall this Nation so long as the forbidden thing of Popish Abominations is retained in the Camp or Tents of Protestant Churches stand before their Enemies which the Doctrine of the Gospel forbiddeth all Christians not to taste touch or handle in Worship The neglect of this glorious Work commanded of God in not making the Romish Whore utterly desolate in the Nation hath been the chief cause God is angry with us in not only suffering so many Plots to be contrived to the utter ruine thereof because there is still retained so many Popish Abominations in Ministry and Traditions as aforesaid the Fire of which hath kindled in the Bosom of Protestant Churches at this day all the Contentions in Religion to the dividing Protestants one from the other into so many diversities of opinions Also it hath given strong confidence to the Papists to believe that such Protestants as can without scruple of conscience adhere to and imbrace again so many Popish Abominations in Worship which they once vomited up shall in God's just Judgment be made either by fraud or by force to imbrace all the rest of the Popish Abominations which our former Governours abolished to wit the Lord Abbots Cardinals Jesuits Friers and all other Reliques expelled with them seeing the Meat is not worse than the Broth that so the head and tail of that beastly Clergy may be joyned together when they are united to their younger Brethren the Arch and Lord Bishops as the Proverb is Birds of a feather will not rest in their motion till they come together and then the deadly wound of the Beast will be again healed to the Scorpion-like tormenting Plague Rev. 9. of all true Protestants if the King