TWELVE HUMBLE PROPOSALS To the Supreme Governours of the three Nations now assembled at Westminster concerning The Propogation of the Gospel New modling of the Universities Reformation of the Laws supply of the necessities of the poor And many other things of great moment which may conduce to the honour of God and the comfort and joy of his people By M. R. an admirer and adorer of the good providence of God in making such happy changes in these Nations Prov. 29.2 When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice but when the wicked beareth Rule the people mourn Judges 5.9 My heart is toward the Governours of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people Prov. 28.16 The Prince that wanteth understanding is a great oppressor but he that hateth covetousnesse shall prolong his dayes Prov. 22.16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches and he that giveth to the rich shall surely come to want LONDON Printed by Henry Hills for R. C. and are to be sold by Giles Calvert at the Black-spread Eagle at the West-end of Pauls 1653. To the Right Honourable the Supreme Governours of the three Nations now assembled at Westminster Right Honourable WHen I read and consider those sacred Chronicles of the Kings and Governours of Judah and Israel how variously they acted in their several affairs towards God and man sometimes finding that the Kings and Governours of those times were not upright with God but turn'd aside from him and consequently they were of profane and carnall hearts and then the worship of God was laid aside and Idols were set up and their actions were profane and unjust and every one loved covetousnesse and none called for justice And sometimes again finding as it were the tide turned and a good Joash succeding a wicked Ahaziah and Athaliah and a good Josiah succeeding the most wicked reign of Manosseth and then a most blessed and glorious change is made in the Nation and O how greatly is the Lord honoured by such Governours and how are the hearts of his people made glad and how doth Justice and Righteousnesse flourish and the Nation in General fare the better I say when I consider these things and compare them with the present proceedings of God towards these Nations in laying aside the late Tyrannicall King that reigned over them and putting the Government into the hand of a Parliament among whom there were many good men though too many bad also who brought in a blessed change though not such a reformation as was expected and gave free liberty to the people of God to worship God according to his will and protected them from the oppositions and malice of forein enemies though not from the oppressions of some intestine inmates I mean the Lawyers and wicked men that oppressed by the Law And consider withall how God hath removed that mixed Parliament and convened together a company of men of whom it is to be hoped that every individual member of them have their hearts upright with God I do comfortably hope and am perswaded that God will now grant such daies to these three Nations as they injoy'd in Iudah in the daies of David Solomon Asa Iehosaphat Ioash Hezekiah and Iosiah when Judgement did run down as water and Righteousnesse as a mighty stream and the people were called upon every where throughout that Realm to cleave unto the Lord and to walk in his waies and Justice was duly administred I will instance but in that good King Iehosaphat of whom it is said 2 Chron. 19.8 9. that he did set Judges in all parts of the land giving them a charge in these words Take heed what ye do for ye judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in Judgement Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you take heed and do it for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God nor respect of persons nor taking of gifts And having this hope that things will now be carryed in such a current among you I am encouraged to present unto your Honours these few proposals being perswaded that all things of this nature will be acceptable unto you and that you having the Spirit of God in you which presseth after Righteousnesse and Holinesse all motions tending thereto will be welcome and also usefull unto you from whomsoever they come and as for me I could not chuse but communicate those few things that were upon my heart by way of proposal to you though I should have been glad if others had been more forward and prevented me herein for so it had been done I should have been satisfied and I could wish if any others had any other thing upon their Spirits that may be of publique advantage that they would all present them to your confiderations for it being done onely by way of proposal it can be no way prejudicial but may be severall wayes advantageous to you if your Spirits be humble as I hope they are and will not slight any thing because it is propounded by another for if it should be so that the same things are propounded to you upon sollid and good grounds which you had in your hearts before to do or if it should be so that what is or shall be propounded to you by any of Gods people though a great number should make proposals to you should come short of what you have already in your heart to do the Spirit of God being powred out upon you to fit you for Government as it was upon the seventy Elders Yet this advantage you would have by their proposals that you would be incouraged to go on vigorously in the doing of those things which both God and his people do perswade you to And thus leaving you to the consideration of the following Proposals I only desire you if there be any thing herein that suits not with your inclinations or intentions to remember they are but Proposals and may be either waved or improved as the Lord shall guide your hearts The first four proposals shall be concerning General and the rest concerning particular things The first Proposal 1. Proposal That the Supreme Governours alwaies would remeÌ„ber that they â—hat Rule over men must be â—ust Ruling in â—he fear of God And the first thing that I do propound to you in general is that you labour to keep alwaies fresh upon your Spirits those last words of David the Son of Iesse the man who was raised up on high the annointed of the God of Iacob and the sweet Psalmist of Israel mentioned 2 Sam. 23.1.2.3 The Spirit of the Lord spake by me and his word was in my tongue the God of Israel said the rock of Israel spake to me He that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of God and he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth even a morning without clouds as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after
rain Wherein ye that are called to be Rulers over men have your great duty and your very great incouragement thereunto laid down your duty being to be just and to Rule in the fear of God which I hope you will seriously consider dayly for your incouragement thereunto is exceeding great for if you so be and do you shall never be put out in obscurity not but your light shall be glorious and the fruits that you bring forth in that light shall be pretious for you shall not be unfruitful if you be just and Rule in the fear of God but you shall be as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain which is exceeding desireable to all whom lt concerns Oh therefore let this pretious word be alwayes sounding in your ears and make deep impressions in your hearts HE THAT RULETH OVER MEN MUST BE JUST RULING IN THE FEAR OF GOD. 2. Proposal That they would alwaies remember that Jesus Christ must now reign so act as those that are officers deputed by him 2. Prop. That you would consider that the time of the reign of Christ is at hand either personally or by the glorious powrings out of his Spirit upon his people which will as visibly demonstrate that he is King and reigneth as if he were personally on earth and when he reigneth he will Judge the world with equity and the people with his truth Oh therefore do you strive to be his forerunners and to give the world a tast what it is to have Jesus Christ to reign over the Nations of the earth either immediately in his own person or mediately by his Saints making them Princes in all Lands by doing such Just and Righteous things as you do know or may know Jesus Christ will do when he reigns on earth so will you do as much as in you lieth to set up the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth and to hasten that glorious time for which the Spirit and the Bride the Spouse of Jesus Christ hath so long waited Saying come Lord Iesus come quickly 3. Prop. that you would take up holy resolutions in the strength of the Lord PLACE = marg 3. Prop. That they would make it all their care to do service for Christ in their place and leave the care of themselves and their posterity wholly to him and not your own strength to lay aside all your own interests and outward advantages and to be in a manner careless of your own outward estates not caring what becomes of them so you may advance Christ but resolving with a holy indignation to trample upon any worldly advantages when they come in competition with doing service for Christ not taking care to lay up great estates for your posterity or to gain great estates for your selves aiming at being accounted great and honourable among men leave you that to others that believe not for how can you believe that seek honour one of another but knowing that the more careless you are of providing estates for your children and of seeking the honour of men upon the account of doing service for and the honouring of God whose great name you have taken upon you and whose servants you professe your selves to be the more care will God take for you and yours and the more honour shall ye receive from men said I from men onely I might say from God also for they that honour God God will honour Oh theresore make it your work to honour God! and trust him for estates PLACE = marg 4. Proposal That they would be speedy in doing the work of Christ made hast an◠delayed not 〈◊〉 keep thy righteous judge ments Ps 11◠and whatsoever shall be good for you and yours 4. Prop. That you be quick and speedy in doing the work of the Lord being diligent in business fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. I say be speedy though not without seriousness and consideration for hope deferred maketh the heart sick and the tedious delays of your predecessours in authority made the Common-wealth sick and weary and with reverence be it spoken God himself weary to the spuing them out They spending commonly but sixteen hours in a week for the disphatching of those great and weighty things which God called for at their hands and which they had no heart unto whereas they had more need to have sitten 16. hours in a day to have dispatched their work that so there might have been no complainings in our streets But they accounted onely three or four houres sitting in the forenoon onely of four dayes in the week sufficient for the doing the work they had to do as if there were nothing now to be done but to spin out the time of a perpetuall Parliament from age to age and therefore they would do but a little now and a little then consider of an Act for the relief of the poor or for paying publique faith-money one day and then lay it aside for three six twelve moneths together and do no more in it this year than they did the last But oh that by how much they have been negligent and careless of doing the work which they ought to have done by somuch the more you would be diligent and resolved and unwearied in your work and labour of love for God and for his people and for the Common-wealth of the three Nations I say not this as if things could be all done in a moment for they will deserve to be blamed that shall be too pressing upon you and be by and by offended if you make not such hast as some hasty Spirits may expect But I only propound that you take up resolutions to be speedy and if you so resolve and indeavour it as you can approve your hearts in the sight of God you need not care though some troubled and hasty Spirits should be offended only impute it to their zeal and ignorance And their zeal being good therefore dispise them not because of their ignorance of the greatness of your work and the obstructions that may possibly be sometimes in your way And thus much for the general Proposals and now I come to propound some particular work which may tend very much to the honour of God and the joy of his people being done by you 5. Proposal That they would zealously indeavour to propagate the Gospel 5. Prop. That it be your earnest endeavour to propagate the Gospel and this I propose to you not so much as you are Magistrates but as you are Christians that is to say as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord and so are become indeed the Sonnes of God for it is the duty of every such soul as is indeed not onely a Professor but a Possessor of Christ to do all that in him lies in his particular place and Station to propagate the Gospel these four ways First in praying that the Gospel may run and be glorified 2. In improving what
vices but let it be your special care that faithfull and discreet men be appointed to administer justice throughout the Nation and then for other imployments as the Custom offices and the like if there be not godly men enough to be found for them they may be disposed of to others that are of most civil and blamelesse conversation but if Godly and conscientious men may be found for all then such should be chosen before others and things should not be carryed as they have lately been that enemies and men of vicious lives should be imployed when honest and faithful men that have suffered much for their faithfulnesse to the Common wealth could never yet be imployed because they had not so many friends to speak for them nor did not so eagerly seek after places as others did 11. Prop. That no officer that serves the Common wealth in such â—mployments as are not haâ—ardous to their lives or â—ealths be alâ—owed more â—han 200 l. â—er annum 11. Prop. That moderate and reasonable stipends be allowed unto all those that are imployed that they may have no temptation to do the work grudgingly or sparingly but may dilligently attend it as they ought to do provided it be no such stipend as may enrich men but that it may be accounted a dishonourable thing for to have it said that such a man was but in a mean condition the other day and now is enricht by the publick treasure I mean for such men as live at home and in ease and do not at all hazard their lives or health or limbs for the publick welfare but as for such as so do it would be ingratitude in a high degree if they were not well rewarded but it is no ingratitude to give those men but mean rewards that do but mean aâ—d easy services for to be Commissioner of the Customs is easie service and to be a Treasurer or the like is easie service and ordinary rewards may suffice for them so that no man for the discharge of such offices should have more than 150 l. or 200 l. per annum even they that have most and are in the most honourable of such imployments and others but 40.50.60 or 100 l. per annum according to the quality such persons have lived in and the imployment they shall be fit for for some men of mean parts may be fit onely for mean imployments whereas other imployments require men of better parts learning and abilities for the mannaging of them and such men as have been so brought up and are so quallified will deserve greater stipends answerable thereunto but any man though he hath five or six children may maintain his family very comfortably with 200 a year though not in outward state and pomp and needlesse vanities in maintaining musick and dancing-Masters to teach their children and decking of them in silks and silver and the like men that have estates of their own before may do in these things what they please but it should never be said that the publick treasure should be so expended for there are many other more necessary things to be done therewith and not to bestow a thousand or five hundred or three hundred a year either upon any man that is imployed in easy and peaceable imployments at home And some Gentlemen of noble and publick spirits who are men of great gifts for understanding and prudence and have withall a holy heart and zealous for God who have great estates of their own will be found no doubt ready and free whensoever they shall be desired to officiate in Honourable imployments as in being administrators of justice and Commissioners in other cases c. and will not take any reward at all for it but do it out of desire to be doing service for Christ and to be improving their Talents for his use but will be unwilling that ever it should be said that they were made rich by the Common-wealths Treasure as to the Honour of many noble Gentlemen in the Land it may be yet said of them they have not medled with it even such as Abraham as would not take of the King of Sodom the worth of a thread even to a shoe latchet lest it should be said he had made Abraham rich But other men of mean estates being men of large abilities and of great Wisdom and Prudence and Piety being imployed in such offices for want of rich men enough so qualified should be allowed as aforesaid 12. Prop. That no more of the lands belonâ—ing to the Common-wealth be henceforth sold but reserved to eaâ—â— the people Taxes Excise custom 12. Prov. That you sell no more of those Lands that are forfeited to the Common-wealth either in England Scotland or Ireland than of meer necessity you must at the least that you do not sell them wholly but sell them onely for seven or ten years time that so afterward they may come into the publick custody again and serve to defray publick charges that so taxes excise and customes those great burdens of the people may be taken off And thus I leave these few Proposals to your Honours serious-considerations having great expectations that the Lord will make of you repayers of breaches and restorers of paths to dwell in And that to this end he will powre out his Spirit upon you even the Spirit of Wisdome and Understanding the Spirit of Counsel and Might and the Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord that so you may be of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord and may judge with Righteousnesse the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the Earth * Isa 11.2 as it is said your Lord and Master Jesus Christ shall do when he cometh is the fervent prayer of Right Honourable The unworthy servant of Christ and his people M. R. London July 7th 1653.