GEntlemen, Country-men, my noble friends and fellow Souldiers, I have a few words to deliver to you which may deserve your attentions; and will I hope meet as good welcome & acceptation from you, as they came from me, with the true zeal to your safeties and the wel-fares of the afflicted Countrey: we behold the flourishing and beauteous face of this Kingdome, over-spread with the leprosie of a Civill War: In which, since we are forced for the safeguard of our lives, the preservation of our liberties, the defence of Gods true Religion (invaded by the practises of Papists and Malig­nants) to become actors: I doubt not but each of you will play your part with that noble resolution and Christian cou­rage as the greatnesse and meritoriousnesse of the work does challenge. No man is born for his own use only, saith that [Page 4]great Common-wealths-man of the Romans, Cicero, his friends and Countrey-men claim an ample share in his abili­ties, as your friends, your Countrey, nay your Religion and God himself demands in yours. And surely it would be both unnaturall and impious to denie such powerfull suitors your assistance. I need not remonstrate what it is you are to fight for, the Cause is so open and obvious to every understan­ding. It is for your wives, your children, and your substance, your lives and liberties, nay that which is more powerfull to move mens affections, the testimony of good consciences, and what ever can be to humane frailty deare and precious; all these, as if they sought the way to new mischiefes through the old ones, are pointed at by the Popish malignants now in arms against us: they have plundered our neighbours, ra­vished their estates out of their possessions, and committed inhumane and unheard of barbarousnesse in every place where the tempest of their fury has had licence to shew it's malice: And can you imagin they would stay there, that their insatiate avarice & thirst of bloud wil be quenched and appea­sed with these petty spoiles: No Gentlemen, they aim at you, at all our ruines, desolations, & deaths, are machinated by these vipers, who would knaw a passage to their ambitions, throgh the intralls of their mother the Common-wealth; whose de­struction they have pursued as craftily and violently, as is pos­sible to be expected from persons of so much acrimony and spleen to the Subjects liberties, and aversion of true Religion and all goodnesse: perswasions to valiant men, as I know you to be, are uselesse, and if I thought there were any of you that was not incited more by the justice of the quarrell, then my Oratory to fight in this Cause, surely I should rather wish his room then his company; for if the Nobility and brave­ry of the Cause bee not sufficient to animate cowards, and [Page 5]make the meanest spirits couragious. I know not what pos­sible can stir up mortal men to put on undaunted resolutions: Behold your wives with teares in their eyes, and their little infants at their breasts or in their hands, imploring safety and defence from your armes, and should you desert them and expose their innocence to the rapine and fury of the Ma­lignants. I doubt not but they would be ready to meet you as those Roman Matrons of old did their flying persons and husbands, and aske if they thought to creep againe into their mothers wombs and hide themselves. Nay, which should be more prevalent, to excite your courage to fight this good fight for the Lord of hosts; your Religion and freedome of your Consciences, which far transcends your corporeall liberty, invoaks you to stand up it's champions a­gainst those Papisticall Malignants; who would strike at God through the very heart of his known truth, so long pra­ctised amongst us: And surely nothing can be dearer to any of Conscience, then the security of this his Conscience, and it's unvaluable freedome: you have viewd and heard my good friends and Countrey-men, with what severity and spight­fulnesse these adversaries to all truth and humanity, have de­populated the neighbour Townes and Countreyes, leaving them neither money nor victualls, and which is worse, de­priving them of all means to supply those necessities, or recti­fie those wants, by carrying away their cattell and horses, the instruments of their husbandry and tillage: expect you the same measure, Gentlemen, if you quit not your selves like men: and whereas the going against the King may stagger some resolutions, I shall easily disabuse you from those vaine surmises and incertain imaginations, 'tis for the King wee fight, to keep a Crown for our King, a Kingdom for our Sove­raign & his posterity, to maintain his known rights and pri­viledges, [Page 6]which are relative with the peoples liberties, from a sort of desperate State incendiaries, that in seeming to fight for his Majesty brandish open arms against his sacred Crown and Dignity. For if you will but observe the men of whom the adverse army is compounded, you shall find them eyther notorious Papists or Popishly affected persons, and then be convinced in your own reasons, if it be possible, that those men should take up arms in the Kings defence whom by so many divellish plots and hellish stratagems, have sought not onely his precious life, but the lives of his Predecessors Queen Eli­zabeth, and his Father of sacred memory, as that never to be forgotten powder plot shall for ever testifie to their shame & confusion of face: wherein they would at one blow not only have destroyed our pious King that now reignes (and long may he live and reign over us) but his Father, brother, and all the royall Progeny with the chiefe of the Nobility of the Kingdome. And if these men be competent persons to be intrusted with the Kings safety, who have so apparantly sought his ruine, let all indifferent men be judg, or that Pa­pists and Jesuited persons will ever fight to maintaine that Religion which they manifestly oppugne in their lives and doctrines, and have both by foraign and domestick treache­ries sought to root out from the face of the earth, as by 88. and other of their attempts is manifest and perspicuous, that they should be patriots to keep our lawes and religion from violation or alteration, whose Justice points them out for disturbers of the publique Peace, and renders them able to punishments in their estates and persons, as notorious and convicted Malefactors; as well we may believe the light is a friend to darknesse, or that the warring Elements should cease their perpetuall difference, as allow that paradox.

But I would not, Countrymen, be too tedious to you. And [Page 7]touching these Gentlemen, who being strangers come hither to proffer us their service, and in testimoniall of their abili­ties and that they have been Commanders in the Germane Warrs, have here produced their severall Certificates.

I must needs thanke the Gentlemen for their kind proffer, and yet desire licence to be plaine with them, hoping they will not take it as a disparagement to their vallours, if I tell them we have now too woefull experience in this Kingdom of the German warres; and therefore cannot so well approve of the ayde of forraigne and mercinary auxiliaries. In Ger­many they fought onely for spoile, rapine and destruction, meerely money it was and hope of gaine that excited the Souldier to that service: It is not here so required as the cause stands with us; Wee must rather imploy men who will fight meerely for the Cause sake, and beare their owne char­ges, than those who expect rewards and salaries, for by such meanes we shall never have a conclusion of these warres; for mercenaries, whose end is meerely their pay, whereas their subsistance rather covet to spin out the warres to a prodigi­ous length, as they have done in other Countries, then to see them quickly brought to a happy period; wee must dis­patch this great work in a short time or be all liable to inevi­table ruine. I shall therefore freely speake my conscience, I had rather have a thousand or two thousand honest Citizens that can onely handle their armes, whose hearts goe with their hands, than two thousand of mercinary Souldiers, that boast of their forraigne experience. For such make money meerely the end of their endeavours, without looking into the Justice of the Cause, when those well-affected Citizens being acquainted with the cause which is for Almighty God, their Religion, the Lawes of the Land, the Subjects Liberty and safety wil now be a means to be incouraged & be anima­ted [Page 8]to goe on couragiously in this great work, (knowing that good deeds are rewarded in themselves) if God bee not pleased to give a blessing to the work in hand by a faire and honest Accommodation betweene his Majesty and Parlia­ment to give a cessation to these warres. And yet I heare of many who will neither lend their money nor give their ayde and assistance in this so weighty a matter, (as I have said be­fore;) yet looke to bee defended and kept from violence as well as those men which so freely and voluntarily contribute to the great charges, why should such men stand, and onely looking on like ciphers, yet hoping to have share and benefit in the common good; when other men both take the pains, hazard their lives, and spend their estates for them and theirs, what man would not give the twentieth part of his e­state to save the other nineteen from being taken from him, nay, and it may bee his life too. And so I shall con­cinde my Speech, and turne into prayer this my Discourse; That God Almighty will arise and maintaine his own cause, scattering and confounding the devices of his enemies, not suffering the ungodly to prevaile over his poore innocent flocke. Lord, we are but a handfull in consideration of thine and our enemies, therefore O Lord fight thou our battailes, goe out as thou didst in the time of King David before the Hosts of thy servants, and strengthen and give us hearts, that we shew our selves men for the defence of thy true Religion, and our owne and the King and Kingdomes safety.