Selected quad for the lemma: peace_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A92055
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The armies remembrancer. Wherein they are presented with a sight of their sinnes and dangers. And also with a Scripture expedient for their preservation. / By a cordiall friend to the kingdomes welfare, Rr.
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Rr.
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1649
(1649)
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Wing R2166; Thomason E537_6; ESTC R14971
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36,097
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40
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by the Lord of Hoasts not only refuse to disband but as aforesaid march up and bring that evill upon the Parliament which by their own and the Kingdoms Protestation they feared from the Northern Army Viz A Rape and Force upon them And that by your continuance in Armes should occasion as through the Activity of Malignant Spirits so generally through the sence the Countries and the Kingdom had of their unsupportable burthen by your means to be again imbroyled in a New War Wherein as you are not guiltlesse as in the occasion of the war So chiefly in the interruption of that peace so generally desired And therefore when as the poor Kingdom torn and rent with civill wars weary of its burthen seeing no hopes of ending by the Sword but that one extremity did daily beget another had prevailed by their Petitions to the Parliament for a Treaty which was obtained and in it such a progresse made as that the Parliament notwithstanding your Remonstrance voted The Kings last Answer to be a good foundation for a Peace and settlement Yet who hath disappointed the Kingdoms hopes but you not only inveighing against the Treaty as just or safe for the Parliament to mannage though you durst when time was presume to Treat with him your selves when it was unquestionably unjust for you having no delegation from the Kingdome or its Representatives but also by the power of the Sword to interrupt it without and against the consent of the oppressed Kingdom whose cry I fear is gone up to heaven against you Besides which with your interposition in the affaires of the Kingdome in taking the work out of the hand of the Kingdoms Representative Have you not by your late practises not only endeavoured but acted those iniquities which you were only raised to prevent in the forces raised by the King namely the subverting of the fundamentall Laws of England the power and priviledges of the Parliament and the lawfull Liberties of the Subject And all under the colour of laying new foundations for freedome which in the language of Justice Sedgwick have little of right freedome or common safety in them being framed with restect to your own private interest why therefore saith he doe you dissemble with men holding forth a foundation to settle the Kingdom when that you doe professe your selves to be appointed and called for breaking in pieces the powers of the world page 48. But if there be any reall intentions in you of a settlement which your intimate friend doth much question that you may see what your private spirits confident of their Abillity and Judgement for greatest matters of State Policy have produced to impose upon the Kingdome I shall give you the description of your intended Government by Justice Sedg Not in his New View but in his True View of the Army p. 22. For your present forme of Government it is such a headlesse Monster such a boddy doddy such an all breech so different from the Majesty of God and the Wisdome of men that it would fright solid and serious men to their Armes If I should fight against any thing I should fight against this But more seriously hoping that God will never permit you to erect and set up a second Fabrick that falling so short of the glory of the first Temple of our Government should fill all Spectators with watery eyes and yet extreamely fearing lest that under all your pretences for justice instead of any kinde of Government you are laying the foundation of perpetuall misery unto this Kingdome both by intestine and Forraigne troubles Oh let Odeds interrogation take hold of your hearts are there not with you even with you sinnes against the Lord your God not onely in Relation unto the King and Parliament but in Relation unto the whole Kingdome But in the fourth place let me be your Remembrancer a little further And with Oded aske you Are there not with you even with you sinnes against the Lord your God not onely in relation to King Parliament and Kingdome but also in relation to the Metropolis of the Kingdome the Famous City of London the great assistant of the Parliament Famous for its incouragement to the Parliament in maintaining it as was acknowledged by Mr. John Pym in his Speech to them Novemb. 10. 1641. Not to speake of its sufferings in common with the Kingdome by the meanes of your former disobedience to the Parliament Or to minde you at large of the contempt you poured upon the City shortly after when you marched through the City as Conquerours with Bayes in your hats your possessing your selves of the Tower of London casting out their Lievetenant put in by the Parliament at their request impeaching and imprisoning by your meanes some of their Aldermen that were knowne to be of Publique Spirits not inriching themselves with the ruines of the Kingdome together with some of the Common Councell both for piety and stability to their Principles Protestation Vow and Covenant without exception charging the whole City with defection and Apostacy from the Parliament I beseech you seriously consider cannot they taxe you with unfaithfulnesse as well as King Parliament and Kingdome Peruse but your Letter sent to them from Royston June 10. 1647. Wherin you professe you desire no alteration of the Civill Government nor that you seek to open a way unto licentious liberty under pretence of obtaining ease for tender consciences page 5. and doe not you professe that when the State hath once made a settlement you have nothing to say but to submit or to suffer Do but compare your practices with this profession made unto the City and consider whether you have not much cause to be humbled are not all your present practices in opposition to the Parliament Kingdome and City made our of measure sinnefull by acting so contrary unto your profession But besides all this Consider I pray you the feares and the dangers which you have exposed them unto in this your last expedition against the Parliament not to speake of your unreasonable demands for monies in such vast summes your menacing pressing for your arreares even for those twelve moneths service past since the Vote of your disbanding Is not your possessing your selves of the gates of the City planting Ordinances against them as in Black-friers and other places your violent seizing upon the person of their Shreive Major Generall Browne Are not these most injurious and unchristian carriages to the City And besides the unconceivable damage you have brought unto it by the decay of trade and merchandizing who knoweth what further danger may arise by quartering the Army thus amongst them These things thus laid together and well weighed must needs bring you to a sound conviction that there are with you even with you sinnes against the Lord your God in relation to the City Again are there not with you even with you sins against the Gedly learned and sound Ministers in the Kingdome Are you not such
to your salvation doe it now to save the Kingdome if you debate this motion in the Court of carnall reason it will be cast over the barre and want of its due recentment and acceptance But if the Lord by his convincing spirit through those convincing interrogations which I have propounded shall but awaken your consciences as he wrought upon those armed men in the History by Odeds unexpected coming out to meet them I should then hope all carnall and fleshly reasonings being denyed you would prove as imitable a president to future generations as I desire that army in the History may prove a convincing paterne to you Upon a sound conviction that army was changed in their purposes delivered up their Captives forsooke their spoyle and submitted to their Princes Oh that God by what I have propounded to worke this sound conviction would make it effectuall Then would you deliver up your Captives submit to your Princes and that blacke and bloody cloud of raine and confusion that is like to come upon you and the Kingdome would be scattered And let me adde thus much further that if to what hath beene propounded the Lord shall graciously incline your hearts As you shall therby revive the hearts of this dying Kingdome with hopes of a joyfull accommodation betweene the King and Parliament which for the present is only interrupted by your meanes I make no question but as you shall finde the Lord accomplishing his promise to you that when a mans wayes please the Lord he will make his enemies to be at peace with him So likewise stirring up the hearts both of King and Parliament to grant you that liberty of conscience that Christ hath purchased for you and not only so but giving you such favour in their eyes as still to be continued in such numbers and for such time as shall be thought convenient for the publique safety and that for your maintenance the people will chearefully pay their Taxes when they are but in some hopes of a comfortable end of all their troubles Weigh this I beseech you and consider that there are many thousands that although they cannot close with you or approve of your sinfull waies yet would be exceeding sad to see any of you that are the eminent Officers and Commanders of this Army or the Souldiery either That have done such gallant service as Souldiers exposed unto such a miserable condition as this course you are in doth inevitably tend unto We would willingly save you and pluck you as firebrands out of the fire rescue you from that sentence of death that your unwarrantable actions have possed upon you We would say of you who are the Jonathans the Worthy Commanders of the Army Shall Jonathan dye that hath wrought this great salvation in Israel God forbid 1 Sam. 14.15 But Oh do not you by shutting your eares against the counsell now given you destroy your selves and become your own executioners expose the Kingdome to perpetuall wars both sorreign and intestine Which that it may be prevented do not study how to evade any Arguments that I have presented before you for your conviction that there are in you even in you sins against the Lord your God But follow the example of these Worthies here in the History leave arguing against them and fall to acting and let me but humbly adde one thing more That if you shall but find your hearts inclining to the counsell and advice that I have laia before you and that this Scripture Expedient hath taken hold of your hearts That you as Saints and Christians as plainly and lovingly would administer the same Physick to the City There is no question but you with Oded may say unto them Are there not with you even with you sins against the Lord your God and that not only absolutely but in relation to your selves and that the City with humilitie and due respects may tender the same expedient unto the Parliament to whom no doubt it may be said as unto the Souldiers and Governours in this Historie Are there not with you even with you sins against the Lord your God and they likewise may present it unto the King who stands in need of a convincing Interrogation also Which Scripture Expedient being sincerely and cordially laid before each other out of Principles of Love and an unfained desire of Reconciliation that there may be no more disterences amongst us that are Brethren by so many bonds We according to the Gospel-precept Confessing our sins one unto another and praying one for another James 5.16 We who have so wofully wounded one another with wounds of all sorts and kinds we may be healed and may find the Lord graciously returning unto his Jerusalem healing us with revealing abundance of Peace and Truth And thus hoping by what I have presented before you I shall administer occasion to you to make use of Davids benediction 1 Sam. 25.32 Blessed be the Lord which hath sent thee this day to meet us and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept us this day from coming to shed blood from avenging our selves with our own hands And that I shall receive as comfortable an Answer from you as did that weak instrument vers 15. Goe up in peace to thy house for we have hearkened to thy voice and have accepted of thy person We look not upon the weaknes or the unworthinesse of the Instrument nor any failings of his in the delivery of his mind in the discharge of his Conscience Which aforesaid favour I doe the more importunately desire being conscious to my self of my own weaknesse and dis-abillity for this Service which though I might have bin helped against by consulting with some of the godly and learned Ministry in it yet I purposely declined the same knowing your prejudice against them as those which trouble your Babel Thus humbly beseeching the Lord to give the Comforter to be your Convincer I leave you to the serious consideration of what I have said and the Lord give you understanding Jer. 13.17 But if you will not hear it my soul shall weep in secret for your pride FINIS