Lord that King and Parliament and People and all should be filled with the righteousnesse and goodnesse of God But these things are too good to be spoken of beyond your faith ever to see it But I 'le tell you if this be not your interest to have God all in all to fill every thing and to have all things offered up to him in truth and righteousnesse your interest and Gods are more divided then yours and the Kings and if you adhere to that you have proposd you forsake your owne interest and espouse the Devils the God of this world the Destroyer and will perish with him Thirdly This is a fault that you all along carry the interest of the publique in opposition to the Kings which is a wicked thing to divide them that God hath joined wherein you doe as sword men cut in pieces and indeed destroy and mangle not onely the Kingdome but the word Interest which is of a uniting signification inter esse is to be in or amongst each other The publique hath its interest in the King and the King his interest in the publique or they have the same esse or interest which is to be together in each other the King is in the people and the people in the King the Kings being is not absolute or alone but an interest as he is in union with and relation to his people which are his strength and life and the peoples being is not naked or solitary but an interest in the greatnesse and wisedome of their King who is their life and honour And though you will dis-join your selves from Kings God will not neither will I God is King of Kings Kings and Princes God as well as peoples their God as well as ours and theirs eminently as that spaech enforces God of Israel Israel God above all the nations so King of Kings Kings God more then of common men and by neare and especiall kinred and communion assuming their titles and honour and giving them his majesty and dominion Kinglinesse agrees with all Christians who are of a royall nature made Kings with Christ and cannot but be friends to it being of kin to it the children of God borne of the King of heaven are men of honour not in a base vaine way but in a true just way and if there be not Kings to honor they would want objects to bestow that fulnes of honon that is in their breasts would lose the greatest part of their delight which is majesty and glory would want occasion of expressing their high and noble spirits It 's a bastard religion that is inconsistent with the majesty and greatnesse of the most absolute Monarch and such spirits are strangers from the Kingdome of heaven and know not the glory in which God lives and are of narrow and evill mindes that are corrupt themselves and not able to beare greatnesse and so thinke God will not or cannot qualifie men for such high places with answerable and proportionable power and goodnesse You are indeed much in the flesh in a form of religion which is weake and of a parting nature cannot conceive nor comprehend things in union you are dividing still tweene heaven and earth 'tweene God and King you can't own them in union and so divide King and people but the spirit of God is large and reconciles composes gathers all into one into Christ God and man into one person head and members into one body This love you know not that embraces God and the King in one person and King and people in one body A fourth fault is in your further stating of the controversy 'tweene King and Parliament you bring in in the second place religion the order shewes the present frame of your spirits first the world and then godlinesse But in this you erre exceedingly in putting all the enmity against godlinesse and the power of it on the Kings part and charging it upon him as his interest and assuming all religion and godlinesse to your selves Upon this ground stands much of the controversy betweene the Cavaliers and you that they are wicked you godly they enemies to God you Saints they darknesse you light and therfore as you say afterward What fellowship hath light with darknesse This is a ground if it stand good of an everlasting quarrell and if it fals I hope some of the edge of your contention may be taken off The answer of this is as proper for me as any who you know doe well understand the utmost of the religion you walke in and have beene exercisd in it with as much exactnesse faithfulnesse power and comfort as any of you Your consciences many of you can beare witnesse of the uprightnesse and efficacy of my conversation amongst you and that I was when I was with you not onely a companion but a leader to you in the best things and since have beene tryed by very great sufferings and made a spectacle to God and men and beene publiquely set up as a marke for all men to shoot their opinions and judgements at and dare challenge the whole earth the Lord being my Righteousnesse to accuse me of any injustice to God or man and now must testifie concerning you and my self with you that that way wherein you walke is not the power of godlinesse but a poore weake fleshly form You are indeed Saints by intention counsell hope you aime at it looke for it but in your present state you are carnall and walke in the flesh in great infirmity that your state at best was but to be as the Jewes having a forme of knowledge according to the letter of the law which forme is now corrupted left and forsaken of God and you are become through blindnesse ignorance enemies to the spirit and to the Crosse of Christ You live not the life of Christ you are not dead to the world nay you oppose that death you will not suffer with Christ you have not the spirit of God walke not in your affaires in the wisedom and strength of God nor in the love of God you know not the minde of God have not communion with God what ever you doe or have done you doe it by the strength of man and not by the power of God and now lest to a poore blinde unstable way not knowing whether you goe your waies being darke and slippery and yet glorying in fleshly and outward things mistaking earthy and common blessings for heavenly and inward crying up the Lord the Lord when you doe the workes of the Devill The Holy God will no longer suffer you to wear those names of Saints and Godly but will cast dung upon your solemne feasts and curse your blessings and discover you to be but whited sepulchres and cause your rottennesse to come forth uncover your nakednesse before the nation that al may abhorre and loath that outward formall religion which you professe it doth and will more stinke in the nostrils of those people that have
over a rotten sepulchre wherein there is nothing but dead mens bones with a shew of wisdome as if you would out the haire of justice and goe away more exact then all that have gone before you a pure medium 'tween all excreams avoiding all the rocks of Levellers and Cavaliers of all rashnes and evil intentions in which work you wrap up your selves in such a miâ—t of circum-locutions and are in such a wood of long and tedious expressions that as Solomon saies Are too wonderfull for me You are in this discourse An Eagle in the aire carried a loft by the prince of the ayre in your owne fancyes A serpent on a rocke a crooked serpent winding and turning this way and that way upon a rocke of confidence of God and your owne wisedome A ship in the midst of the sea You are gone from all firme land from all solid principles of goodnesse and are tossed about in a sea of weaknesse and confusion And the way of a man with a maid You are lusting after your Mistris honour and to enjoy her nimbly fly from one secret place to another to hide your selves from shame such is the way of your adulterous spirits being gone from your husband the Lord to the world You eate up King Parliament and People to satisfie your carnall love of safety and an outward Kingdome and wipe your mouths with some fine language and say you have done no wickednesse you may deceive your selves but can't deceive either God or man 't is very plain that when you have multiplied your vain words your swelling words to justify your selves it is but the atire of a harlot and every one wil see that you doe but darken counsel by words without knowledge and while you think to make your selves more vendible you make your selves more abominable There be many particulars in this part worth answering but those things wherein any shew of strength lies you make often use of them and wee shal meet with them againe he reafter and therefore for present shal passe them over From the seventh to the twelfth page you are relating how the Parliament Voted no more addresses and how they were turned into this course of the Treaty It were exceeding easy to shew in several particulars of your discourse that you doe in favour to your selves abuse the Parliament and others and in most things accuse others of those things that you your selves are guilty of but I shal leave that to some other Pen that loves to deale in such things I would in al things discover to you how unchristian your charges are In summe you here lay open the instability of the Parliament and by what means they were tossed from one thing to another and so declare the evil practises of the Kings party in both you are very large and very harsh to both without any molifying oyle or mirigating mercy having nothing else in your eye but to cover your own shame and as fully as you can discover others to ease your selves and load others T is Christs worke to excuse others and pity them Father forgive them they know not what they doe and to take the burthen and guilt upon himselfe to bear our sinnes he is made sinne for us but 't is your work to condemn others and justify your selves Christ pities others when he suffers by their hands you are cruel and mercilesse to others when they suffer under your hands such infinite distance is there between your spirits and the Spirit of the Lord. The poor Parliament for their sinnes are shattered and broken ful of perplexity the whole Kingdome ful of discontent against them and they reeling this way and that way to save themselves and the Kingdome and know not how to doe it The Kings party for their sinnes likewise lying under sore burdens heavy pressures and strugling to get from under their intolerable afflictions but can't And in al these afflictions our Lord is afflicted and bears al our infirmities they lie upon Christs shoulders and you seeing the Kingdome and the Lord of the Kingdome lying like the poor man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho wounded and halfe dead not onely passe by as the Priest and the Levite and leave it to sinke under its misery but delight to tear and rend its wounds to keep them open that they may bleed continually In al not a Word of peace or pity to any as dry and hard as the rock you have no balm at al for our wounds nothing of the good Samaritan but vineger piercing accusing condemning speeches as Flesh-flies living upon the putrified sores so doe you finde ease pleasure and life to your cause upon the filth and ruine of the Nation In this you are as the man possessed with the Devil you are led by a dark foul spirit to walke and live amongst the graves conversing with the dead carcasse of the Kingdome you stretch out the line of confusion upon the Kingdome and gather together the stones of emptinesse you make long furrowes upon the backs of the people intend our ruine to the furthest and bring in to our desolate Nation the wild beast of the desert to meet with wild beasts of the Islands the Satyre to cry to his fellow the Screech-Owle and the great Owle to lay and hatch and the Vultures with their mates all these dance together in your discourse which is black as pitch dark and uncomfortable as the night and threatning to add misery upon misery upon us and not a sillable of healing mercy in any sure your nature is to take pleasure to wallow and tumble in our Nations woes Give me leave to tel the storyafter you and to relate the businesse thus Once our King and Parliament or People lived quietly and lovingly together imbraced in the armes of divine goodnes prospered together as Husband and Wife till their iniquities on both sides broke this union and being parted by their jealousies and lusts after many unkinde blowes betwixt them The Parliament the Wife in a high rage at the remembrance of al her Lords unkindnesse and giving too much eare to her own passion and the accusations of adultery and provoaked by a multitude of perplexities Voted no move Addresses Shee would have nothing to doe with her Husband but would forsake him for ever and be divorced from him and then you who alwaies have lusted after the Royal Bed encourage her with thanks and court her for your selves But ere long the natural1 affections of these two divided friends though much clogd with jealousies and discontents begins to work towards each other which may be interrupted for a season but cannot be totally extinguisht The Parliament finding nothing but distraction dishonour with scorn and misery in a solitary state and finding her selfe unable to satisfie her unquiet children without their Father begins to thinke how shee may again recover her own head and husband and to this purpose Voted a personal Treaty with the King And now we
you if you repent not but for the present occasion t is said there they shall be Truce-breakers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 against accommodation no treaty no agreement Or breakers of Covenant and then it followes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accusers and at this you are exquisite Thirdly That Covenants being the strength of humane societies and so great bulwarks of the world degenerated or apostasied Religion is the great engine of Gods wrath appointed to breake them downe Solemne Oaths and Covenants are able to hold most mens consciences but men heightned by Religion into the forms of the spirit doing things by immediate direction from God carrying a glorious presence of God before them affirming that they are called by God to doe some speciall worke in the world these can easily mount above the highest forts of Oaths and trample them under foot presently Men that have tasted of these high things and begin to make them serviceable to worldly ends they are such cunning pick-locks that they can finde a way through all dores to come to the treasures of power and authority A people that have had a savour of heavenly things in a fleshly way turne them loose into the world and they 'l teare it up by the roots they are whetted for destructions such as are spoken of Ezek. 21.31 Brutish men skilfull to destroy such wicked spirits are now abroad that are brutish spare not the holiest nor honourablest things Kings Lords Ministers Scriptures Ordinances Oaths Covenants lay all waste and yet in the greatest brutishinesse skilfull though there be the most sensuall and beastly confusion yet they shall doe it artificially skilfully say t is for God justice religion c. and that they doe it by the power of Christ and the spirit of God in religious zeale c. and so exact that they will not be knowne from builders restorers reformers But the holy good wise mercifull spirit of the living God the Father of mercies will in his owne light condemne this uncleane spirit and drive him out of the land Having cleared your way to what you have to propose you give us your apprehensions of the remedy page 60. your first is to lay aside this evil and dangerous Treaty This is a strange remedy against civil warres to lay aside treating Then you require that the Kings demands be rejected especially that of his restitution to London This is very terrible to you that the King should recover any strength no keepe him downe as long as you can let him not rise how far is this from the power of godlines oracting in the power of God a poore pusillanimous cowardly worldly policy you dare not thinke of the King getting any power for then you know you durst not deale with him not barely in the power of God but he a prisoner and you free having an Army at your command you dare accuse him if he were in power you would shrinke out of the Kingdome whereas if you lived in the power of God you might trample upon Thrones if he were wicked pul him from his greatest glory and binde him in chains Secondly you would have that bargaining proposition laid aside and would have all justice done immediatly from the judiciall power of the Kingdome the Parliament and not by grant from the King you doe the King a courtesy in that and this being done you wish moderation and mercy not as long as there be any apprehension of fear there 's little mercy from fearful enemies mercy is in Breasts that are strong and mighty But page 62. you come to the marrow of the businesse to propound high things that sha1l reach us peace with God and quiet amongst men There was never such a mocking of God since the world stood for men that have professed Christ our peace so long as you have done should now tall from that atonement which you only talked of had not in power to offer up to God the bloud of men the bloud of men already in affliction the bloud of their enemies and that upon such principles to secure themselves to obtain and keep self-advantages 't is such a sacrifice as was never yet by the darkest heathens invented if you had covertly sought revenge upon him c. you had had some equals and examples for your fact but to doe the same thing in feare and revenge to remove an adversary and boldly impudently to bring it to God as a sacrifice to appease his displeasure and expiate sin is an unparalel'd wickednes and a project as foolishly contriv'd to quiet the people by taking away a Prince beloved of his people indeer'd to them by his sufferings whose government though ful of weaknes was far better then those that succed him a Prince strong in the affection of his Subjects and forain alliance and then when he is in a yeelding way to peace to give satisfaction to his Subjects yea when he is upon an agreement then to seeke the removal of him by death or deposure against the desires of the bodie of the Kingdome and of their representatives in Parliament upon the foul and black designs of a few unbelieving people that this should be a way to quiet the Kingdome it 's as far from policy as the other is from piety But to your Proposals first you propound That that capitall and grand author of our troubles the Person of the King may be brought to justice for the treason blood c. Two things we wil consider First Your Justice Secondly The person upon whom 't is to be administred First 'T is not justice that you desire it appears so to your blinde and deceived hearts but in the face of God it appears farre otherwise To tel you that justice must be done by law and that no law takes hold of the King will not convince you though to others it wil manifest that you that pretend to contend for the laws are the greatest violaters of them But the searcher of hearts will deale otherwise with you and shew you what 's within you and discover the falshood and injustice of your spirits First Know this for you have felt it that God hath a controversy with you that though you have done many things for him yet you are not perfect but there is some wicked thing to be purged out of you which is your glorying in that fleshly way in which you are God hath called you out of it and you have refused him and sunke down deeper into it blessing add strengthning your selves in it being unwilling to strip your selves naked of those carnal1 helps and advantages that you were engaged to or to suffer a losse of those glorious favours that you have received that you might have better but loving this present evil world and despising the Spirit of God and refusing his safety alone and to rest and live under his wings abhorring to cease acting in the flesh and to be perfected by sufferings You have by this joyned your selves
to the prince of darknesse departed from God to the God of this world by which Satan hath betrayed you spoyled all your glory gotten those good things God gave you into his possession and imployes them against the Lord and takes the poor people of God captive to serve in the foule and base waies of the world and the Lord now comes for justice against this spirituall wickednesse in places you have dealt against small petty corruptions and have seen them executed but now the devil hath corrupted all your gifts and graces and spilt the bloud of Christ who was a babe in you and brought great spirituall mischiefs upon you death wrath trouble absence of God deprived you of your freedome with God c. now God cals for justice against this destroyer of such precious beginnings of godlinesse and creates trouble in your spirit for want of it but this cunning serpent beguiles you and sets up a shadow of an enemy a King without as an object to your justice to save himselfe and all his villany from the justice of God within Poor beguild wretches you are not yet acquainted with his wiles you are turned out of the righteous way and will never finde peace till you come to see all those evils in your selves in truth which are in shew and shadow in the King and when the sword of the Spirit which cuts inwardly is turned against those enemies of God you will doe justice indeed Secondly This way of acting in you for justice is great apostacy for a company of men that have been led up into such high things of God to live in God and doe all things in the Spirit of God now to fall down into the way of heathens to lay the weight of their spirits upon so poor a thing as moral justice and to daunce after the example or take for their guide and rule the blinde actings of Gentiles that lived in the world without God and onely sought an outward freedome and to prostitute the Spirit of God to such Common and prophane things is exceeding unworthy of the profession of a Christian and a going back from Canaan to Aegypt Thirdly Your Justice is but a bare name or a heathen covering borrowed from men to hide your shame your malice unbeliefe feare and such like monstrous lusts which you know you are not free from and though you would not see you shall see and the world shall see too that you are as other men are and take up the lees and dregs of the world cunning waies to remove adversaries to take away those that stand in your way and paint them over with the names of justice security to the publique interest and so act them in the face of the Sunne Take but this instance hundreds of the Kings party the basest and worst of them who have borne armes for the King are yet admitted into your Army joyned with you in engagements because it is for your advantage end the strengthning your selves to let goe the principal and punish inferiour instruments say you is not just And so spare inferiours to serve us and punish great ones to secure our selves of them it is great injustice It is an old deceit of justice to lay hold of small offendors and let goe the great ones that is grosse and common but to accept the small ones into alliance favour and service because we want their bodies and to seeke the ruine of great ones because we would have their honours places and estates is a new wickednesse a path not trodden in before high flying and gallant cruelty spare rogues slaves to doe slavish worke men of no conscience worth nor honesty and strike at a Prince standing for his interest engaged by conscience and honour This is your justice Now for the King against whom you goe in ful cry I have this to say to check your violent course First That he had and hath a true lawful right in the Kingdome and to the Kingdome as good as any man hath to any thing he possesses his crown revenue and dignity is as righteously his birth-right and inheritance as anothers house or land and he that denies this is wilfully blinde As he hath a right to his Crown and Subjects so it is his Peoples right to have a King I confesse it my birth-right to have relation to a King to live under a great Monarch and if I am denyed it I am denyed my native right and so my pleasure of honouring and serving him and receiving honour from him and many and great profits comming by him And he having a right to his Crown and his People a right to him it was as just for him and his party to stand for their right as for any other party to uphold theirs It is true his interest and Parliaments and Peoples were all in the darke and none could distinctly divide one from another or clearly judge which is which and so ordained by God for the fall of them as they stood in a worldly way It is true the King abused his interest and power and in the exercise of it transgressed against GOD and his People And it is as true when the Parliament came to plead their right they were to seeke and did in contending for it sinne against GOD and the King so that both have a right both have some reason to contend for their right but both have erred in maintaining their rights And therefore the King is not free from sinne alone nor guilty alone nor his party The Parliament not free alone nor guilty alone but each side have some good and evill mingled together you nor they perfectly righteous all have transgressed and gone out of the way and therefore t is pride and partiality in you to say he is guilty of all the bloud rapine c. No all are guilty We must say There it none righteous no not one You may say he was first guilty or most guilty because he is first and greatest and so hath suffered first most but to clear your selves as pure only condemn others as guilty onely is pride and uncharitablenesse and all proceedings upon this ground are acts of hostility and a continued prosecution of the old difference Thirdly I say that the King in his present state is more righteous then you he now suffers and acts and is in his present way the most just in the Kingdome First He hath confessd his errour though you wickedly urge it against him and though it be in weaknesse yet the Lord is tender of him in it He hath expresly own'd his sinne and the Parliament implicitly in yeilding to treat with him and shewing a readinesse to receive him to favour T is in their hearts that they were rash violent and too captious and ready to take advantages against the King being spurd on by some carnall and smister ends and so farre as they incline to acknowledge their errours they are in a way to pardon Onely