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A82143 A declaration of the English army now in Scotland, touching the justness & necessity of their present proceedings in that nation. Imprimatur Joh: Rushworth. England and Wales. Army. 1650 (1650) Wing D666; Thomason E609_10; ESTC R205957 10,147 16

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own terms and to admit him to the exercise of his Royal Authority in our hearts and to follow him whether soever he goeth he having of his own good will entred into a Covenant of Grace with his poor Saints and be assured it is he that leadeth us into Scotland he hath done in England and Ireland And therefore we do in the spirit of brotherly love and of the fear of the Lord beseech you to look about you for our Lord Jesus is coming amongst you as a refining fire and as Fullers sope and blessed are those in whom the least dram of sincerity shall be found We have a Paper directed to us from the people of Scotland it having been publiquely made known to us at the head of our Regiments wherein we are first desired to consider the lawfulness of our marching into Scotland We bless God we did that before we came and are abundantly satisfied that we are brought hither by the Lord nay many of us lying under temptations of flesh and blood and going about to frame excuses to take us from this march found that to have staid behinde had been to have turned our backs upon Jesus Christ and to have deprived our selves of much sweet communion with God that now through his goodness we do enjoy We have also considered the Arguments by which you go about to weaken the grounds of the Parliaments and our Superior Officers leading us into Scotland and must needs give you this re●●●n That we are still abundantly established in this belief that what the Parliament of England hath done in sending us into Scotland hath been of absolute necessity to preserve them selves from being destroyed in their Religion and Liberties which they have been at so much cost both of blood and treasure to purchase and preserve and therefore by the way we must needs tell you that we cannot endure to hear them called A Pretended Parliament which we desire you to take notice of That if you write to us again you would speak more reverendly of the Authority of our Nation or else we shall easily think you will upon every occasion be ready to invade England that you may set up an Authority which you may call lawful And let us as in the presence of the Lord farther assure you That we have already examined our consciences as before the Lord and have a clear assurance in our hearts That he will countenance us in this Action and that we do not break any Covenant which we have Sworn before God Angels and Men but could be contented should we not thereby Idolize the Covenant to march to any Engagement with you if called thereunto by the Lord with the Covenant on the Tops of our Pikes and let the Lord Judge who hath observed the Ends of the Covenant best you or we Yet we do acknowledge We have not been the exact Performers though not the wilful Breakers thereof Our consciences also bear us record We do above any thing in the world desire the Union of the two Nations and it is our prayer daily That those that fear the Lord in England and Scotland may become one in the hand of the Lord and joyn together in the advancement of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and throwing down and trampling upon the Seat of the Beast Why should not Scotland as well as England rejoyce to see the Horns of the Beast cut off that we may joyn together to hate the Whore and to burn her flesh with sire The Lord is our witness whom we fear we come not to oppress you or shed your blood we have cryed to the Lord again and again to prevent it we have sent our Declarations of love to the People of God in Scotland which some amongst you though they pretend to answer yet do most injuriously and unchristianly keep from their sight nay most falsly misrepresenting us as a people come with intentions to destroy the poor Inhabitants and that we are left of our God to be destroyed but we have made our prayer to the Lord and made known before him their sayings who hath told the people of Scotland That God hath forsaken us and therefore bid them persecute and take us for now the Sectaries day is come c. But the Lord is still with us he is our Refuge and a present help in trouble ready to be found we do believe the cry of the oppressed in Scotland will be heard and wo be to those that are the cause thereof Our Quarrel is still against Malignants the Root whereof is now through the evil policy of some Statesmen become the Head of Scotland We dare not quarrel with those whose hearts are upright with Jesus Christ and faithful and loving to England but with those who are most treacherous and false to both and therefore we dare not any of us though tempted thereto by your Papers be so carnally wise as to desert the Cause and Work of Jesus Christ in which we have hitherto been so long and so miraculously carried on Do you think we are men so weakly principled as to be perswaded without the least strength of Argument to desert the Interest of our own Nation and expose thousands of the precious Saints of Jesus Christ to be trampled upon as the dirt in the streets when the Lord is about to put on their beautiful garments and to make them a praise in the earth Or can we think you betray our superior Officers in whom we see so much of the sweet Spirit of Jesus Christ into your hands whose mouthes are opened wide to devour them we pray you not to wait for such a thing The Lord hath brought us hither by his Providence and upon him we shall with confidence depend till we see a glorious issue which we humbly and heartily desire may be without the effusion of any more blood and if it be the will of God both speedy and comfortable to you and us that we may return with joy into England and leave Scotland rejoycing that an English Army hath been amongst them which possibly may be the sooner effected were you and we suffered to confer and open our hearts one to another we do believe much of the bitterness of spirit would be allayed in our Brethren of Scotland did they know how exceedingly we are slandred by the pens and tongues of many of your Kirkmen concerning our Religion and Faith towards God which though we may not vainly boast of yet according to the Apostles direction we are ready to give an answer to the meanest Christian in Scotland that shall ask a reason of the faith and hope that is in us with meekness and fear And indeed we account our best way of contending with those Slanderers is to pray the Lord to make our hearts sound in his Statutes that we be not ashamed that so we sanctifying the Lord God in our hearts and having a good conscience they that speak evil of us as of evil doers may be ashamed whilest they falsly our good conversation in Christ And thus we have in the naked plainness of our souls opened our hearts unto you our dear Brethren that fear the Lord in Scotland where-ever you be found whether in the highest Councels or the poorest Cottages who though you now lie scattered the Lord will in his due time bring you together and binde you up as his Jewels and make you one with those that fear the Lord amongst us which the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and in him our God and our Father also bring to pass in his due time and in the mean time make both you and us wise to understand the things that concern the exalting of Christs Kingdom That in all our undertakings we may be subservient to the affairs of Jesus Christ and above all things take heed how we stir up any of the powers or strength of this world to destroy one another The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace be with you Amen From the Leaguer at Muscleborough August 1.1650 FINIS