TIS storyed of Craesus King of Lydia, that when a dumbe Son of his, saw a Traitor ready to stab his Father, he conquered the naturall impediments of speech, and di­stinctly cry'd out, kill not the King. That which wrought this wonder, was the power of naturall affection, by the operation of an extraordinary Sympa­thy. Surely they are chargeable with a more then brutish (even insensate) stupidity and want of affection and Sym­pathy, who will not now use, what nature ordinarily affords to all (speech at least) yea imploy the primest powers and faculties of soule and body, not the tongue and pen only but hearts, heads, and hands also, to rescue their dear mo­ther, their native Country from ruine and slavery and re­store the Father thereof, their liedge Soveraigne Lord and King, to his just rights Crowne and dignity, and pre­serve both from the destructive designes and Traiterous attempts contrived and intended against them. An honest Heathen will not be bribed by the offer of immortality to doe his Country injury, ne immortalitatem contra pa­triam acceperim.

Tis a fire in bones and I cannot suppresse it, &c.

Davids zeal on this occasion is to be desired if I forget thee O England, let my right hand forget &c. if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roofe of my mouth, yea if I preferre not the good of my King and Country to my cheife joy, Psal. 137.5, 6.

This duty puts the pen into my hand, and (without paint of Apology) presseth me (though least able of any) to declare how dangerously the States Empericks practice upon the Bodies Politick of great Brittain and Ireland; making it (as the evill one) their main work to propagate the since of their rebellion unto others, other­wise well affected loyal & faīthful to their King & Coun­try: and their poysonous pills are guilded with the pretence of piety, the publick peace, and safety of the people; whereas sad experience too truly shews, nothing is pro­duced, but oppression and slavery, confusion and calamity both in Church and State to the three Nations; a flourish­ing glorious Commonweald is pretended and promised, whilest a common woe and misery, is the sole fruit we find of these golden promises. And the principall designe of the contrivers hereof, being to make themselves Masters of those, that deserve better servants then themselves, to continue an unlimited command and domination over the Nations, exercise an arbitrary power over the people, forcing them by an Army (which the people must also maintain) to submit to their insupporable oppressive taxes and impositions; assuming to themselves, the dispo­sition of all the wealth and treasure, places of profit, trust and honour in the three Kingdomes, yea arrogating a power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the freeborn peo­ple thereof.

By this time, I hope tis cleer day, even their eyes whose unwillingnesse to believe it, made them as blind as Barti­meus, are now open and awake; to see how sadly a setled happy Government is subverted our lawfull liberties in­fringed, our fundamentall laws contemned and everted, and freemen made vassals to vile usurpers, so that we may [Page 3]take up that sad lamentation with Jeremiah, Lam. 5.5, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16. Our necks are under persecution: we are weary and have no rest: Servants have ruled over us, none would deliver us out of their hands. The Princes are hanged up by their hands: the faces of the Elders were not had in honour. The Elders ceased from the gate; there is no law nor form of Government, the joy of our heart is gone, our dance is turned into mourning. The Crown of our head is fallen, woe now unto us, that we have sinned, ver. 12, 14, 15, 16. Our Idolatry of a pretended Parliament and rebellion against our King, hath brought this woe up­on us whiles we waited for our vain help, our eyes fail for in our waiting, we looked for a people that could not save us, Sam. 4.17. There the Prophet sets forth a two-fold cause of Israels destruction, their cruelty and their vaine confidence in an arm of flesh, which is cursed. Jer. 17.5. Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and Isa. 31.1, 3. Woe unto them that stay upon their horses and trust in horsemen: the help, and the helped shall fall and faile together.

The Breath of our Nostrels, the annointed of the Lord was taken in their nets, of whom we said under his shadow, we shall be preserved, our good King Josiah is slain by them ver. 20. doth not the Prophet speak of our times think yee? I am sure tis a perfect paralell of our present condition. And not unlike to this, is that of the Prophet Isaiah, where a Chaos like confusion is described. The Nobles thereof shall call to the Kingdome, and there shall be none none, and all the Princes thereof shall be as nothing, Isa. 34.12. &c. Intimating that there shall be neither order, nor policy, nor state, nor Commonweale, a sad presage for any place or people: yet this hath been the [Page 4]portion of these Nations, for almost twenty years last past.

God by his Prophet Zachariah sharply chargeth Israel, as justly he may England, with great ingratitude, which would not be ruled by his most beautifull order of Go­vernment, nor continue in the bands of brotherly unity; and therefore he breaketh the two staves of beauty and bands; the beauty of orderly Government, & bands of uni­ty, Zech. 11. Not unlike that judgement denounced against Israel, for the wilde Grapes: I will take away the hedge and fence from the vineyard, Isa. 5.4.5. &c. So the Foxes of the Wood and the Bores of the Forrest may devour & destroy. So here the Lord menaceth them with merciless destructive Governors, who should consume them with­out any remorse, thinking they did no evil. They that pos­sesse them slay them, and sin nor: and they that sell them say, blessed be the Lord for I am rich: Zech. 11.5. &c. Their own sheephards spare them not: A just judgment, upon them that spared not their milde and gentle Ruler, therefore oppressing Hypocrites are set over them; who have the name of God in their mouths, but in their doings deny God; attributing their gain to Gods blessing, which cometh of the spoile of their brethren: and for those and such like accounts have daies set apart for publick thanks­giving.

The Children of Israell (saith the Prophet Hosea) shall remain many daies without a KING, and with­out a Prince, and without an Offering, and without an Ephod, and without Teraphim, &c. Hosea 3.4 signi­fying that they should have neither Religion nor Policy, Ecclesiasticall nor Civill Government, and their Idolls wherein they trusted should be destroyed, as the margent renders it. Hath not this prophesy had full accomplish­ment [Page 5]in England? hath not that Beautifull and flourish­ing Government both in Church and State setled, and famous throughout Christendome, been not for many daies onely, but many years broken and interrupted? and the Idolized Parliament the cause thereof, and many o­ther dolefull breaches in the Nations, often also dissolved, and now totally determined, and infamously branded with an odious name of unfavoury reproach? and their pillars of power, their arm of flesh shrunk up, and like Jeroboams hand withered, most of their principall Offi­cers cashier'd, &c. who seeth not the hand of God here­in? none but digitus dei hath done this.

The Prophet proceeds in the next verse to prescribe a cure for this confusion, vers. 5. Afterward shall the Children of Israell returne, convert, and seek the Lord their God, and David their King, and shall feare the Lord, and his Goodnesse in latter daies. The accomplish­ment hereof is at hand, The Lord hath touched the hearts of the People, and now after they have tasted the bitter fruit arising and growing from the root of Rebellion, which beareth nought but the wormwood of woe & wretch­edness, and the gall of grief and oppression, they feel and find the want of their gracious KING, and of an hap­py Government under him, and resolve to returne from Rebellion, and call home their banished, and restore their lawfull KING CHARLES, the most renouned Prince in Christendom to his rightfull Throne and Do­minion.

The same Prophet proceeds, cap. 10. to shew how the great disposer, in whose hands are the hearts of both King. & People, hath changed the Subjects hearts; so that in stead of their former crucifige's, they are now ready to receive [Page 5]their King with Hosannahs and Allelviahs, and to make Re­cantation of their rebellion; their heart is divided, and now are they found faulty: for now they shall say we have no King: because we feared not the Lord: is not our condition correspondent to Israels in that respect? may we not say truly, that the want of the fear of God hath been the cause we have so long wanted our Kin?g behold saith the Lord the voice of the cry of the people; is not the Lord in Zion, Jer. 8.19. in England? Is not her King in her? why have they pro­voked me to anger? intimating that, as an argument of his displeasure, hath nor the Government been toss'd and tum­bled from hand to hand, and none stands, still remaines un­setled? Hath not the Lord divided the hearts of the people and still continues a spirit of division among them, that they shall not unite, untill he come whose right it is to rule these Nations? Set up what Governors or Goverment you can, with all your turning devises, contrive to resist your true King, there is a mene, mene, &c. ordained for preven­tion of all your designes. The hand writing on the wall shall set you on shaking, so that all your powers and policys shall fall and fail, a tremor cordis shall possesse you, trembling of soul shall cerify you, and God shall blast all those unjust enterprises, that tend to the resistance of the Kings resti­tution, with a triple defeate and disappointment. Accord­ing to that of the Prophet Ezek. 21.27. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, and it shall be no more, untill he come whose right it is and I will give it him.

But hereof more in the next, this being but the first of seven stars, which (by divine assistance) shall be set forth to shine as bright beams and illustrious rayes of the Sun like glory of this right Royall Plant of Renown.