TO lament is a thing seasonable to all that are in mise­ry. And of all miseries, Warre is the greatest, for it doth most mischiefe, and hath least mercy. And for that cause David chose rather to fall into the hands of God, then into the hands of men. But of all Warre, that we call Civill is the most rude, mer­cilesse and unnaturall, (of which I think wee are not now to be instructed) for it armeth the Father against the Son, and Son against the Father. One Kinsman against ano­ther, and one Friend against another. It bringeth desolation and confusi­on to a Kingdome. By it all Order is broken; all Laws are violated, all Decency is anoulled. In the time of her impious raigne, Liberty gives strength to Errour, Coveteousnesse uphouldeth Extortion, and Ambiti­on nourisheth Discord. Vice rideth on her Foot-cloth, and Vertue way­teth at the Stirrop. Whatsoever listeth is lawfull; what is truth and ho­nesty, doubtfull; and all villany usefull, it is like a Wilde Boare in a Vi­neyard, that maketh havock of the Grapes and destroyeth the Vines. Like a great wind vpon the Land that overthroweth Townes, Towers and Castles. It is the Be [...]st that with his tayle sweepeth downe the Starres from the Firmament▪ The Land Leviathan that swalloweth and devou­reth all, as well th [...] g [...]at ones as the fry. It is the Varlet of that Martiall Divell that is sworne to betray his owne bloud to misery, his owne Coun­try to ruine. Of which poore England, who is at this present under the bloudy wings of this fatall mischiefe, doth not a little, nor without cause complaine in her lamentation following.

Have pitty on mee! have pitty on mee! at leastwise you that are my Freinds, for the hand of my Lord, hath toucht mee. God has sprung the Mine of his wrath into me, and wounded me with a most unnaturall civill warre, which is of all other the most grievous and destructive. Every day hee cutteth mee with the whetted sword of his irefull justice with the rod of his fury; with the iron rod of his indignation he hath whipped mee on all sides. On the East, and on the West. On the North, and on the South. I am full of stripes. He has not lest a free place in me. O have pluy on me!

By what a steepe precipic [...] have I fall'n downe headlong to destruction [Page 2] and ruine! I that whilom enjoyed sweetes of peace, and blessed plenty with so great quiet and security. I that was so late admired of the whole World for faire and opulent Cittys. For buildings of honor and antiquity: For houses of liberall and hospitable entertainment; For fields as fertill and profitable as delightfull; For woods and forrests both beautifull and spacious; For good and wholsome temper, subject to no malignant influ­ence: For all manner of provision. My downes were covered ore with sheepe, my vallies fil'd with neate, my parkes with deere, my ponds with fish; and the fethered game in every species abounding, and multiplying. Nothing that could be thought necessary either for pleasure or suste­nance, but I could boast of it from the liberall hand of God and nature.

But now the black curtaine of desolation is drawne over mee, which was evicted from every Kingdom that is divided within it selfe. God has let downe the visitation of his wrath upon mee, because I would not know him in time of plenty. Because in time of peace I would not make my peace with him; therefore he hath removed that Candlestick of his bles­sing, and hath brought in a foe that hath besieg'd mee round. A Warre, a Civill Warre, by which I am in all things impoverisht and brought to beggery. The hookes of Warre are fasten'd into my sides, by which ma­ny of my fairest Townes and Edifices have beene pulled downe and de­molished, without regard either to honour or antiquity. Yea my very Chur­ches have beene cast downe to their first bedds, and their steeples layd le­vell with the earth. Many a good house by violence and unjust oppressi­ons, are become both inhospitable and inhabitable My fields are filled with Warres, irefull confusion. The greene soar [...] is turned into a crimson goare: All fragrancy and delight converted into [...] spectacle of horror. The tillage and labour of the painfull O [...]e is trampled under foo [...]e. My forrests lie at waste: My woods goe to decay by the cruell Axe of Warre, that has pierced the heart of many a sound oke. I have lost my temper: And my very aire now is infected with malignancy. There is no health nor security in mee at all. The Lambe is not secure in the sold nor the bird in the nest, nor the infant at the breast of the Mother. My woes are be­yond expression. I am cast downe belowe the bose of misery. I am fallen into the pitt of ruine. O have pitty on mee! have pitty on mee! at least­wise you that are my Friends!

But England, whom doest thou speake unto? whom doost thou call upon for pitty? upon Friends! what Friends? where are they? in the Citty? in the Country? in the Court? I must confesse all ought to be thy Friends, from the highest Rulers to the meanest Subject. For thou Eng­land hast beene a deare Mother unto us all. Our first aire wee drewe from thee, and our first milke. I is a just loyallty of us all, and a duty which [Page 3] wee all owe to love and not our thee, in regard thou are our dearest Country, and wee are all thine by birth right. Thy King. Thy State. The whole Common-wealth is thine. Why should not all then be thy Subjects, and thy Friends? why should any degenerate from his loyalty to thee? or be so cruell as by sword or fire to looke and worke thy destru­ction? Children are condemned that are unnaturall to their Parents. None but vipers destroy their Mother. What name then is due unto such as seeke the ruine of their Country? thou hast beene our Nurse and Suckler in all our necessities; and now to returne thee so much evill for good, is a hard measure.

Wee have no reason; wee are madd: wee knowe not what wee doe. Else wee would collect and understand, that all the abuse and wrong wee doe unto our Country; all the spoyle and havock wee make on her, is a rape and violence committed upon our selues. Wee drawe our owne bloud in drawing hers. Wee cut off the brest from whence wee have our milke. Wee destroy the hand hat putreth bread into our mouthes. Wee ripp up and riffel the womb from whence proceedeth all our plenty and livelihood. And not only to our selves is this done, but also unto our Children that shall com [...] [...]fter, whose curses will hang upon us in poste­rity.

Yet there is nothing now left unattmpted not unperpetrated which the malice of this cruell and unjust Warre can reach unto. All Grace, all Ver­tue and Goodnesse whatsoever, wee see brought to the battery, and sub­dued by their Opp [...] ▪ Modesty is expulsed by the strength of Impu­dence: Coveteou [...] [...]ath mastered Liberallity: Pride insulteth over Humllity: Falsho [...] [...] beaten Truth out of the field: Errour maketh Religion her quarry. These are the Conquerours of the times. These are they that have set up Liberty in the Throne of discipline: By whom all good Laws both divine and humane are violated: All holy engage­ments and Covenants of Religion are broken: All obligations of amity and friendship are made voyd; and even the neerest bonds of nature can­celled. O lamentable Times! O execrable manners! It were misery e­nough to see such impleties, such hellish wrath und cruelty in the hearts of any Christians whatsoever. For they ought to be of a Celestiall and Divine temper. But much more in the hearts of Christians and Country­men in the hearts of Kindred and Alliance of Friends and Acquaintance. That such hearts should differ; or have that hardnesse and stony rancor, as to oppose and injure one another so inhumanly, filleth with amazement and wonder.

What then! shall wee never recover reason? shall wee still persever in our frenzies and madnesse, under the protection of (wilfull) ignoranc [...], [Page 6] [...] [Page 7] [...] [Page 6] and misunderstanding one another? after so great a draught is it not time to close the veine? wee have gone out Tigers hitherto; shall wee never returne men? doe wee find so much sweetnesse in the game, that wee can­not forsake the sent? it is the nature of houndes never to bee reclaimed from bloud that they are once flesht in. Are wee gone so farre a field in heate of bloud, so much astray from humanity, that wee can find no passage backe?

O unhappy England! what remedy then must thou fly unto? what physick must thou take to purge away this malignant fever? what antidote is the best to expell the banefull humours from thy sick heart? nothing but Dens-Gordium: God only who is the King of hearts: tis hee must doe it. This is an evill which none but that King can cure. And therefore since the meetings and Councells of earthly Physitions can doe no good, nor afford one proposition of comfort, nor minister any case unto thee: Thou must have recourse to him. Thou must referre the whole cure to him, who knows thy frame and constitution: and is (too much) acquain­ted with thy disease. Prostrate thy selfe before the Synod of his Divine Wisdome, and beseech him for his mercy sake to help thee. For hee will surely and infallibly prove thy Friend, so soone [...]s thou hast taken thy po­tion of repentance into the bottome of thy heart, according as he hath per­scribed. And not only a Freind to thee, but unto all that come so prepa­red to aske his help. Say therefore unto him. Have pitty on mee, O God, according to thy great mercy! heale me [...] Lord, for I am sick!

I am indeede: heart sick: grieveously distem [...] [...] my head and all my members. I am sick to death. I have a disease th [...] [...]ence of which will ruine mee. It is desperate, it rageth in all part [...] [...] [...]leaguereth my ve­ry heart. My life-bloud is in danger. It bruseth and mortifieth my flesh; even into my marrow it searcheh: & causeth a disturbance in all my bones. It straineth my sinnewes, and breaketh insunder the strongest ligaments of my body. My reeme is broken, my navill uncloseth, my bowells ap­peare. O all yee that passe by the way! attend and see if there be any griefe like my griefe! attend you that stand aloofe! you that are my neighbours; and behould my miseries! behould in what a dangerous case I am, through mine owne depraved and perverse humour! observe my troubled state! (a good warning peace) see how I lie a bleeding! what a stux of bloud hath issued from me; and yet for all this I feare the plurisie will choke mee.

I am faint. Let mee bleed no more. I have lost too much bloud all­ready: and that of the purest; of the noblest; and good bloud; and inno­cent bloud: Such as the butcher Cain drew from Abel. Physick more mild and gentle hath beene offered mee; but I would take none. I would [Page 7] digest none. I have wrested too much with my selfe. I have built too much upon the strength of mine owne body. A sick body. A severish body. A very fowle body. A body without all symetry, naturall dispo­sition or temper. My veines are on fire; my pulse is out of order! My temples burne and beate into the plamater of my braine, which makes mee groane and sigh deepe, in jealously that I am past cure. And there­fore it is, indeed high time to change my Physition. To repose no more in earthly Councells, but with an camest heart, and syncere intention, to lift up my hands and voyce to Heaven from whence all help commeth, and say, heale mee O Lord, for I am sick!

Lord in this hot fitt and bitter conflict, drawe the curtaine of thy mer­cy; and refresh mee with the comfortable ayre of thy holy Spirit! before I utterly perish, open the Casement of thy Divine Providence and send into my heart the Dove of Peace! for there is no physick else can doe mee good: No ballam is agreable to my disease as that. Death and misera­ble confusion is the object of warre: Of which I am made allready too sadd a spectacle, but peac [...] [...]s health, and all effects contrary, what warre turneth to malice, peace [...]verteth to love, what warre woundeth, peace healeth, what warre ru [...]n, peace repaireth, what warre taketh, peace restoreth: If I had peace I should be well: If I had peace (yet) I should perfectly recover, my head would leave aking, my heart would receive comfort, I should tak [...] [...]st in all my members.

Lord thou hast do [...] [...]reater cures in Israell! there is nothing impossi­ble with thee, thou [...]west all, thou canst doe all: And therefore, Lord, if thou take mee in [...] I will not misdoubt my cure: If I were dead thou canst raise me▪ [...] were blind, thou canst restore mes unto true and perfect sight, if I were deafe, thou canst renew my hearing, if a Leaper, thou canst cleanse mee, if I had Divells in mee, thou canst cast them out: No heart so hard but thou canst soften, no will so perverse and stubborne but thou canst breake and master, no minde so high and puffed up, but thou canst humble. All things are confin'd to thy power: And there is not any that can resist thy will.

I doe confesse, Lord, that I am guilty of all: I am dead with sinne; I am blind with errour; I am deafe which obstinacy: revive mee with thy grace, enlighten mee with thy truth, and reconcile mee to thy holy Spirit: I am grievously defiled with the leprosie of all unrighteousnesse, but Lord who dare presume of righteousnes before thee, the heavens are not cleane in thy sight: Much lesse I that am a sinfull nation; given to all manner of lewdnesse and excesses: I am full of Devills and factious spirits, that have raised this civill tempest; that have caused all these rumours and combus­tions in mee. Vouchsafe (O most mercifull God) to lay and suppresse [Page 8] them with the power of thy opposite grace and vertues, suppresse pride with humility, envy with patience, wrath with meeknesse, and malice with charity. Be exquisite in thy cure as thou art exquisite in all things: Thrust thy tent into my broken and contrite heart, and search what is amisse, heale that which is wounded, cleanse that which is fowle, refresh and water that which is withered: Nourish that which is cold, move that which is slowe, soften that which is hard, reduce and bring home that which is wandring.

And graunt Lord, that all stubbornes, and worldly respects being layd aside, I may make a full and perfect resignation of my will to thine. That I may henceforward cover nothing that is unlawfull, nor usurpe nothing wrongfully: But that all my conversation and traffick be in thy businesse and for thy glory; And finally that I may be truly penitent and sorrowfull for all my misdeeds, and repent mee sore for the innocent bloud that I have spilt; for the families that I have ruin'd, for the Townes that I have demollisht, for the houses that I have subverted, for the plenty that I have destroyed and wasted, and the famin that I have made way for: That so by true sorrow and humiliation recovering p [...] with thee, I may have peace with my selfe. Amen. Amen.