and heads of colledges And therefore I am perswaded that who so lives but a few yeares shall see a greater rot of Nobilitie and Prince-like clergie then ever was seene in this Land which I write not as prophesying for God forbid that I should be so arrogant as to make my selfe a Prophet or the Sonne of a Prophet but as gathering it from the never failing word and Truth of God in such places of that of Isaiah woe unto them that speake good of evill and evil of good which justifie the wicked for a reward and take away the righteousnes of the righteous man from him Therefore as the flame devoureth the stuble and as the chaffe is consumed of the flame so theire roote shall be as rottennesse and theire bud shall rise up like the dust c. A good Christian should rather refuse lay downe offices and honours then take or hold them on such conditions And yet God knowes verie few have of late yeares attained or hold any greate offices or honours but on such termes or at least by reason of some participation with them Witnes those furthest from court and least infected the Leiftenants Deputie-Leiftenants Iudges Iustices Majors Aldermen and other officers made to further or exact and wringe from the people benevolences and loanes and to straine for them or imprison such as stood out or make them serve as Souldiers or lodge and maintain such unruly and unpaide Souldiers as were billited in theire townes and villages for no other service then to punish them things set a foote to hinder the calling of Parliaments breede divisions if not rebellions make the Land weary of warres for defence of religion and so to save the trecherie of the Duke and his confederates from comming to triall who in the meane while have ever found the commons new greivances to put the old accusations and proofes out of theire mindes Many greate complaints have beene made against such men God graunt the King may give them an effectuall hearing in a free parliament least otherwise men fearing to be imprisoned crushed as others have beene should not speake what they know and so trecherie should still prevaile and hinder the King of the happines following the due execution of justice for the throne is established by iustice A Kinge that iudgeth the poore in righteousnes his throne shall be established for euer Prov. 8.15 1. King 12 26. 2. Chro. 17 10. 1. Chro. 29 â—3 â—â—u 11.15 â—â—â—l 22.8 Psa 65.7 Psa 110.2 Reu. 1.5 Prov. 12.3 Esa 30.1 and chap. 31 1. â— Chro. 16 Pro 16.12 a The Papists See the Replie to Fishers Praefac Mat. 10 3â— Pro. 1.5.9 Pro. 24.21 Eccles 8.9 chap. 4.13 Pro. 3.5 Pro. 23.4 Pro. 19.20 vers 27. Pro. 14.28 1. King 12 By depriving them of their priviledges to reform abuses in church and Common-wealth Mar. 3.24 Pro. 20.6 and Ier. 5.1 Pro. 13.10 Pro. 14.6 chap. 16.27 28.30 Isa 29.21 Pro. 17.15 Pro. 29.12 Pro. 19.6 Isa 1.23 Pro. 28.12 Pro. 29.4 Pro. 29. Pro. 28 2â— Gen. 49.6 Mat. 11.6.19 Ier 38 2â— Eccles 10.16 Pro. 14.35 chap. 16.13 chap. 20. â— 20.26 Pro. 21.1 chap. 22.10 11. Pro. 25.1.2 Pro. 26.26 â—eidge of Breda pa. 8 Pro. 17.11 2. Cor. 5.20 Mat. 20.2 1. Pet. 5.3 Mat 22.34 2 Tim. 2.4 2. Chro. 17 5. 1. King 11.14 chap. 26 12.15 2. King 9.14 1 Sam. 2.30 Pro. 28.4.5 Pro 11.14 chap. 15.22 Pro. 29.16 Pro. 24.21 Pro. 28.2 Psa 68.6 Ioh. 12.20 Psa 82.1 6. Isa 5.20.23.24 Psa 1.4 â—ro 29.14
though God religion Prince people state all loose by it which hath filled the Land with many secret murmures and groanes in so much that some who are reckoned wise men have not sticked to infer that there is no likelihood that God shoult ever give a blessing to such mens counsailes as have either assisted the Duke and his faction in theire projects of betraing the Palatinate the French Protestants and the religious indeauours of Parliament men and other good Subjects or connived at these vile practises and so justified him and his confederates for say they such counsellours as could not see these practises which every mechanical fellow and very ploughmen perceived beeing so many so frequent and so apparant they are blind guides unfit to be about Kings and such say they as percived them and did not lay themselves and theire fortunes downe at the Kings feete to shew him the trechery and danger but connived to get or keepe preferment they were cowardly and mercinarily base and unfaithfull to God religion theire King countrie and the verie State wherin they were chosen watchmen Where in policie poperie is connived at neutralitie and Arminianisme favoured delinquents borne out and Parliaments for theire sakes dissolved the King must needes have such Servants and them ever false Cum privilegio for if he hearken to them that say that these are good policies to hearkens to lies God saith Of a Prince that hearkens to lies all his servants are vvicked Men that take his word say that therefore as theire roote must needes prove rotten so things can never goe wel with the Christian world much lesse with the religion and state of England till the councell which hath beene so Dukified be in a manner wholy changed they therefore count them fooles who thinke if God should take the King away issules that the injured King and Queene of Bohemia should come to the crowne things must needes mend saying that could not be unles the councell were also changed and made examples to keepe others from the like treacherie and temporising for say they if a King be constant to religion they also can make greate shew of defending religion as the Duke and others dâ—d thereby to get trust that they may under hand betray it And people say they had the like hopes when King Iames died seeing our King that now is make greate preparations and for ought wee know with sincerity but by the practise of the Duke and his faction retaining all his fathers counsell which for the most part were Hispanolished Frenchified Romanâ—sed or Newtralised and suffering som worse both spirituall and temporal to be added unto them al those forces weere soone brought to nothing things are growne a greate deale worse and to the greater greife of all goodnes and good men without Gods speciall mercie remediles seeing that a king who only heares and sees things in such mens reports can not know the truth and that no man dares speak for a free Parliament that may sift it out much lesse for an effectuall reformation for as Wisdom saith of such potent counsellours When the vvicked rise up men hide themselves but when they perish the righteous increase A man that hardeneth his neck when he is rebuked shall sodainly be destroied and can not be cured as God manifested in the Duke when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice but when the wicked beareth rule the people sigh Rehoboam was not strengthened by such counsellors but weakened A King and his people are a body politik and the Parliament his representative body Now as in a body if the faculty of the braine in one side be stopped that it can not descend through the sinewes to the senses of moveing in the limbes and members then those parts have the dead palsie and the man becomes as it were halfe dead and as unable to doe any service effectually as our men were at the Palatinate Cales Ree Rochel and in the Parliament howse so is it with the body politick of greate Britain through the practise of som Iesuited Spirits who beeing disguised in the sheepes clothing of a protestant outside gotten into the place of favourits counsellors have cuningly infected many both Bishops and others In whom and by whom the braine for the most part is ill affected and the reciprocall passages betweene the head and the members are stopped so that the right facultie can not descend through the sinewes the peeres Iudges and Bishops to the senses of moveing in the Kings body the Parliament and so his Ma tie giveing no life and strength to that body and the best members thereof nor they meanes to him the whole body is halfe dead so unable to offend adversaries that it can not defend it selfe but must needes perish if those ill humours in the braine of counsell be not by his maiestie purged and removed whereas if he did agree with the Parliament and had a counsell favouring the moveing indeauours of the same he must needes grow dreadfull to them who now hope to see his kingdom by these continued divisions easely conquered witnes the Popes Bull to the present French King given at Rome Septemb. 4. 1626. Now then seeing that it is cleare that in these things the Kings Ma tie himselfe who is ruled and abused by them is not the least sufferer but hath cause to say of them as old Iacob did of Simeon and Levi bretheren in evill Jnto their secret let not my Soule come and that thus divided from his people which under God are his strength he must nedes be in more danger of foraigne enemies forced to treate with them on harder conditions which is one of the secret ends that som of these whisperers had to helpe the Catholike cause at least under a pretext of zeale to the Kings prerogative which zeale they used both as an instrument to worke division and a cloake to cover theire treacherie to our religion and theire secret favour to Rome and her champions what true Subject but wil pray and indeauour that the King may see expell these dangerous counsellors which is the ende of these few collections and reflecting the light of that wisdom on theire practises which saith Blessed is he that shall not be offended in me but wisdom is justified of her children practises so desperatly persisted in that there seenes to be eniuitie jelousie and emulation betweene France and Spaine whether shall by theire meanes hold the continued honour of cousening in the end of conquering us wherein yet I should abhor to be so plaine indeede to medle at all if the many greate and manifest wroÌ„gs done to God religion my King countrie with the extreme danger the three later stand in did not seeme to crie out of silence banking to call to me for plaine dealing what ever it cost me as Isa 1.23 Ezech. 22.27 for 1. What a miserable thing
grow from bad to worse make but the adversaries abroade and at home more insolent and God to give us over to be deceived by their practises As wee may see in the fruite of that treatie with Spaine wherin King Iames who had euer favoured the Papists and slacked the execution of lawes against them at last to attaine his ends first with Spaine and then with France permitted aide to goe to the Archduches and after to the French King against the Rochellers more manifestly connived at poperie favored the ould Countesse divers Lords others the freinds therof frowned on the religious opposers of their practises in court parliament suffered not the lawes to be executed on Priests Iesuits but suffered them in a manner openly to dispute preach and write and in som sort forbad preaching writing against them all which could not but make Israel to sinne many to leave their love and zeale of the truth others to fall to Poperie Arminianisme temporising or neutralitie which things it seemes were also donne and suffered to binde them by those favors from practising against his life as they had done against the life of Queene Elizabeth Howsoeuer neither by those fauours nor yet by urging and pressing fruitles traditions and ceremonies and silencing such as groaned under them were theire number lessened and drawne nearer to our religion but rather multiplied and made to affirme that the most learned and wise on our side did hereby shew theire good opiniō of Popish religion In so much that Fisher the Iesuit grew so insolent in print as to incite the King by the example of the French King Henric 4. to let in the Iesuits saying that besides thanks presents from Peru China c. he purchased 2000. pounds for his fame But he knew the Kings timerous nature and therfore as B. White observed He had his ende in mentioning that instance knowne to the world direfull and tragicall a hope by that trope to intrude by terrour for how they requited that Kings loue the dolefull catastrophe shevved therefore he addeth male ominatis parcite verbis Knowing that mē would be ready to infer that King Iames was like to finde no better requital of Papists for his politik favouring of them which is alwaies just with him to permit who saith He that vvil saue his life viz. by ungodly temporisings shal loose it The King knew that though he should call the best protestants puritans wrong them and theire religion yea see it suffer never so much injurie and losse from others yet there was no danger of them much lesse that a King should neede to burne Paraeus his workes though he meant to deserve evill for religion bindes theire hands But must they therfore have the more injuries heaped on them to please the Papists or because Papists are bloodie if crossed in religion must Kings therefore temporise with them and not rather trust in Gods protection as Queene Elizabeth did That which men doe in an unjust policie to prevent an evil is in Gods justice suffered to be the cause that brings it on them as Gen. 11.4 Ioh. 11.48 And accordingly it seemed so probable that King James died by the practise of such papists and popelings as every day lulled him asleepe with tales flatteries wine jests songs and catches while the Palatinate was loosing that the Parliament desired to have it sifted out but this proceeding for him was dashed in such sort as he to his owne hurt had oft crushed the indeauours of many Parliaments by prerogative wherein he haveing by checks and scornes prevailed against the councels and priviledges of Parliaments and refused to let them rid him of such flatterers and secret enemies as neither truly feared the Lord nor the King but midled with jesuited Spirits given to change religion and government as beeing of the Spanish faction that was true in him which the Preacher saith J saw a time that man ruleth over man to his ovvne hurt In so much that some saide Better is a poore and vvise child then an old and foolish King that vvill be no more admonished But certainly he had greate abilities of understanding and judgment if feare of the papists power and practises and an unlimited desire of peace with them had not made him use many temporising policies pleasing to them and greivous to his best subjects Howsoeuer his policies of that kinde found no better fruite then the increase of papists and the emboldening of them here the shamfull losse of the Palatinate the undoing of his posterity there the danger of loosing his only Sone in Spaine the more violent persecution of the protestants 〈◊〉 Germanie and France to the losse of many freinds abroade of 〈◊〉 Subiects hearts at home and his owne fame every where In further proofe whereof I neede say the lesse seeing vox populi votiva Angliae and Tom tell-troth have said so much yet som men make a god of him and urge his Sonne to follow his fathers wisdom as if wee had not yet had mischeife enough by the reviveing Romish and Spanish factions But God graunt it may be a warning to him and all other protestant Princes to abandon all such fruitles and drangerons policies as favour divers religions together with the treacherous promoters of them to hearken in such cases to that which the Wisdom of God saith Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and leane not to thine owne understanding Cease from thine owne wisdom Aske counsell of God at his oracles for therefore Wisdom saith to such a one as hath not so consulted with Gods word as he ought Heare councell and receive instruction that thou maiest be wise in the later ende and for policies and counsels that stand not with Gods word My Sonne heare no more the instruction that causeth to erre from the words of knowledge Wisdom saith in the multitude of the people is the honour of a Kinge and for the want of people commeth the destruction of the Prince that is whether he lack people or haveing multitudes want theire hearts which Rhehoboam found true when embracing evill counsaile and seeking to be a more absolute Lord over them then his father he thereby lost the most of them and so his greatest strength under God whereby he was exposed to the more danger of all foraigne enemies which proves it to be one of the most traiterous offices that can be in councellours to alienate the heart of a Kinge from his subiects Here therefore questionles they can not be excused who incensed the King against his subjects in Parliament I know som lay greate fault in the Knights and Burgesses for delaying the graunt of the subsidie of tunnage and poundage considering the Kings wants The truth is they had beene worthy of greate blame if the necessity that compelled them to it had not pleaded for them which was to get som things before that