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A91779 Gemitus plebis: or A mournful complaint and supplication in behalf of the more weak and ignorant of the people of this nation. Drawn up for them by a friend, whose deep sense of his own ignorance and weakness, hath taught him to be compassionate towards all that labour under the same infirmities. / By C. Raie. Raie, C. 1656 (1656) Wing R137; Thomason E886_5; ESTC R203325 25,534 37

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Gemitus Plebis OR A Mournful Complaint AND SUPPLICATION In behalf of the more weak and ignorant of the people of this Nation Drawn up for them by a Friend whose deep sense of his own ignorance and weakness hath taught him to be compassionate towards all that labour under the same infirmities By C. RAIE We roar all like Bears and mourn sore like Doves we look for judgement but there is none for salvation but it is far from us Isa 59. 11. Tolerabilius est Deo quempiam cum ignorantia in humilitate jacere quam cum elatione alta sapere Greg. in Mor. Si propter eos solos Christus mortuus est qui certa intelligentia possunt ista disc●rnere penè frustra in ecclesia laboramus August Epist 102. LONDON Printed by R. Ibbitsan for Tho. Newberry at the Sign of the Three Lyons in Cornhil 1656. To the Honourable the Knights and Burgesses chosen for this present Parliament in the County of Suffolk NOBLE PATRIOTS THis Supplication which now presents it self unto your Honours view was drawn up in much grief and anguish of spirit lamenting to see the sad condition of the people of this Nation in order to their souls and everlasting state whilst after a long expectation of some happy Reformation they are found partly sinking by degrees into the gulf of Prophaneness and Atheisme partly hurried on by the wind of strange doctrines upon the rocks of Heretical opinions destructive to the very foundations of our holy Religion Not much unlike the case of that ship wherein St. Paul was driven to Malta whereof Act 27. 7 one part stuck fast in the earth the other part was broken and driven away by violent waves The sad apprehensions hereof caused me with a weak and trembling hand to draw up this Petition imploring the aid of God and men in this our sinking condition It was indeed intended to be sent abroad in the world as a desolate orphan without any discovery whence it came or to whom in particular to apply it self But after that divine providence had ordered the convention of this great Assembly and assigned your Honours to bear a part in that trust I was easily perswaded to presume so far upon your Christian charity as to direct it first unto your doors humbly casting both it and my self down at your Honours feet beseeching you in behalf of the people of this Nation as the passionate Father mentioned in the Gospel did our Saviour in behalf of his son If you can Mark 9● do any thing have compassion on us and help us A case of higher concernment cannot be presented unto you than this wherein the honour of Christ and salvation of so many thousand souls is ingaged And my hope is that nothing will be more in your thoughts than restoring beauty to Sion and repairing the walls of Jerusalem so ruined every where They seem to me too unreasonably to debase your honourable station who would exempt the case of Christ and the eternal salvation of souls from your care leaving onely the petty businesses of this world unto your cognizance yea to deal most injuriously with you perswading you to neglect that the care whereof is your greatest honour and security and the neglect whereof would certainly blast all your other proceedings Now the Lord vouchsafe to your selves and the rest of that Honourable Assembly a large portion of that Spirit which he put upon Christ the head of all powers A Spirit of wisdome and understanding of counsel and might Isa 11. 2. of knowledge and the fear of the Lord and make you quick of sent in what concerns the honour of Christ the free course of his Gospel and everlasting good of the people and cause that all the mountains of difficulties that now lye in your way may be turned into plains before Zach. 4. 7. you that in the end the languishing hopes of the faithful in the land may be revived the vowed Reformation of Religion accomplished that we and the following Generations may call you blessed as being under God the happy instruments of repairing our breaches and restoring our paths Which is and shall be the daily prayer of Your Honours and of all that love the Lord Jesus a worthless servant C. RAIE Wast Sept. 16 6. To all those Faithful Ministers of Christ in the land whose hearts are mourning under the Present distractions and breathing after an happy reformation amongst us Reverend Fathers and Brethren THat so weak and worthlesse a creature hath presumed to speak thus loud in your ears and by way of petition to suggest to your wisdom some things which will scarcely agree with the principles or practice of diverse whose more eminent piety and learning hath made them worthily pretious and honourable in the Churches of Christ I can give no better account than what David mentioneth as forcing words unwillingly from him My heart was Psal 39. 3 hot within mee thenspake I with my tongue The Principal thing which hath stirred these passions hath been the Consideration of the sad condition wherein the people of this Nation are left whilst not alone some of their eminent Pilots seem to sit down in dispair as if nothing were to bee done in these stormy times but onely to pray and wait for a calm but even diverse of those whose more industrious spirits provoke them to action appear to attend nothing more but to get with the best of their goods unto the boat leaving the ship to sink in the Sea contenting themselves with such a reformation wherein not alone the viler sort whose open profaneness and desperate contempt of God and Religion proclaimes them unworthy the name or priviledge of Christians but even the main body and bulk of the people are left either in the state of absolute heathens having none to take any pastoral care of their souls or any other priviledge for themselves or their children then Jews or Turks might enjoy if they lived amongst us or else entertained as semi-Christians neither fully owned nor cashiered but wearing by halves the colours of Christ Of how exceeding dangerous concernment such a reformation may prove seems to mee not hard to conjecture especially being attempted in such a juncture of time wherein the Magistrate hath in great part withdrawn his coercive power as to things of Religion leaving men to themselves and the Devil hath so many agents at work to seduce men from the very profession of Christ and to intice them back into the Camp of the enemy Suppose this course were taken with some mutinous or dubious army that 1 The more faithful part of the Souldiery were withdrawn from communion with them 2. Their voluntary tenders of renuing their ingagement to their rightful Prince were rejected 3. The most desperate mutineirs who are always soliciting a total revolt were permitted and continued amongst them It were easy to guess what were like soon to become of that Army The deep apprehension