THat whereas your Lordships humble Petitio­ner (upon Remonstrance of his case, that hee hath been these five years Prisoner to this Ho­nourable House, in which time having suffe­red the often Plunder of his goods, to the very clothes on his backe, and Sequestration from any benefit of livelihood or maintenance, and being unmarried, is thereby excluded from plea to so much as any fifth part) did thereupon prefer his humble Petition, that your Lordships would be pleased, either to allow him some necessary sustenance out of his owne Estate, or such liberty (upon Baile to appeare before this Ho­nourable House upon any terme to be limited by your Lordships) whereby he might be enabled to seeke, and find some end of his extreame miserie, either by some poore honest life, or death: In answer to which Peti­tion, your Lordships were pleased to returne, that for maintenance out of his owne Estate, it was not in your Honourable power to allow it; and for liberty upon Baile, your Lordships were ready to grant it, but only upon condition of his taking the Covenant be­fore-hand.

Hereupon your Lordships humble Petitioner makes request, first of all that he may present to your Honourable Remem­brance, that there was a Convocation of this Church represen­tative summoned, and called by the same Authority, together with this present Parliament now sitting, and that the Mem­bers of that Convocation (by the Statute of 8. Hen. 6.) are to enjoy the same immunities (as touching their Persons and per­sonall Attendants) from imprisonment, that any Peeres in the House of Lords, or Members of the House of Commons (for themselves and theirs) doe challenge to that effect: May it then please your Lordships to give your humble Petitioner leave to present to your honourable Notice, that himselfe is actually at this time a Member of that Convocation; howso­ever he shall not insist any further upon this, then your Lord­ships please, but submits both this, and the law, and Statute it selfe to your honourable arbitrement and pleasures, how far it is to be regarded or superseded; and craves onely leave of your Lordships, that he may without offence expresse his sense and minde in certain considerations upon the sole condition where­on his liberty and livelihood at this present depends.

1. First, he findes this Covenant (for many intrinsecall in­ordinations in the same, which by divers learned men have been worthily and weightily pressed, and may further be amplified and noted, as your Petitioner is ready to declare, whensoever by your Honours he shall be thereunto required) so opposite to his Religion, Faith, and all his duties to God and man, that daily he doth humbly beseech Almighty God to strengthen him with grace, that he may endure and embrace any extremity of torture, or death, rather then in any sense of his own or others, take, or seeme to have taken that, which for ought he can any wayes informe himselfe (and other meanes of information in this long and strict durance he can have none) must needs run him into a desperate hazzard of all the good he can hope for in this or any other world.

2 Next, he desires to present to your honourable considera­tions, that those Recusants in this Kingdom, who professe them­selves of the Communion of the Church of Rome, are very sel­dome (if at all) pressed or urged by any House or Committee [Page 3] (to their great commendation be it ever mentioned) to that Covenant; upon supposition, that they are so farre honest and true to their owne soules and consciences, that they will never sweare that which is inconsistible with their Faith. May it then please your Lordships to consider, that the Church of England, as it stood established by divine and humane Lawes, and still stands (to all those men upon whose consciences Lawes have any obligation) wherein your humble Petitioner was made a Mem­ber of Christ, & hath received such sensible impressions of Gods grace, as obliges him to perseverance therin against all the temp­tations of the World, the Flesh, or the Devill. May it please your Honors to consider, & assuredly to beleve, that this our Church of Christ may by Gods Grace breed & nourish men every whit as honest and true to their soules and consciences, and as con­stant to their Faith and Principles, as your Lordships conceive the Church of Rome doth, (where notwithstanding Dispensati­ons and mentall Reservations, we are sure we may say without offence to any man, are more impetrable and allowable then with us;) And therefore may it please your Lordships to vouch­safe that Christian men of this our Church (wherein your very Lordships have held and professed Communion) may finde so much credit and countenance from your Honours, as those of the Church of Rome daily doe; and may be thought possibly so farre true and fast to their Principles and Faith, that they can­not admit their soules into a Sacrament and Covenant, wholly destructive to their Religion, and indeed more individually and immediately penned, meant, and intended by the Authors of it against their Church, Doctrine and Government, then against the Church of Rome; there being no mention therein of any singular thing proper to the Church of Rome, but either com­mon to us with them, or proper to us alone.

3. May it likewise please your Honours to consider, that all our late Parliaments in England (and, most of all, this wherein your Honours are now sitting) have professed alwayes great se­verity, and made strict inquisition against all men that should intend, practice, or endeavour by word, or writing, any alte­ration of Religion, or Innovation in Doctrine or Worship, as a capitall offence: (and indeed what phantasie can be more de­rogatory [Page 4] and contrary to all Christian Religion, then that men should be of any Religion that in these last days is to be set up?) wherefore when your Petitioner daily sees and considers men that endeavour, professe, Print, and practice Innovations and Alterations in the Church, Doctrine, Worship, and Govern­ment, in the very Creed, in the 39. Articles of our Confession, in all the Ecclesiasticall Canons, Muniments, Ceremonies, Sa­craments, and in the whole substance of Religion, the Publike Service of God, and Liturgy of the Church, sealed in the blood of so many Martyrs, and setled by the sanction of so many Par­liaments: And when he sees such men goe about every where, not onely with indemnity, and without question, but also re­warded with Preferments, Immunities, Priviledges, for their Apostacie from that Faith which they have so often subscribed, preached, practised, and whereunto before God, Angels, and men, they have plighted their troth: When he sees againe men constant to their Religion, and to their Foundation, persecuted and brought to nought (himselfe especially) not onely with to­tall and finall Sequestration, but also with a destinie of perpetu­all Imprisonment, without all necessaries, even to famine, unles he will for sweare and renounce that his Religion (to which if he were not by his owne inclination, education, breeding (but chiefly by the feare of God) obliged, yet the severe proceedings of all Parliaments (this especially) against the introducers of Innovations in Religion, were sufficient to keep him, and awe him, or any man else to his Rule and Conformity: When hee sees such a time of Jubilee and Indulgence on the one side, and when hee beholds such a time of hot persecution on the other side: he cannot entertaine a more honourable opinion of your Lordships, then to conceive, that your Lordships in a zealous prudence (as Jehu once served Baals Prophets) have a desire to sift and winnow this populous Kingdome, and by such a see­ming distribution of rewards and punishments, do intend only to find out, and to root out all those worshippers of Baal, those false, hypocriticall, adulterate pretenders to a Religion, who manifestly give sentence upon themselves, that either they have all this while formerly (notwithstanding all their subscriptions, Oathes and Professions) lived, and gone in a wrong way, or else [Page 5] that they will now swear themselves into a wrong way for their advantage: Neither can your Petitioner any wayes beleeve, that it can possibly be your Lordships will, & Honorable pleasure, that either he or any constant Christian (who cannot but abho­minate such hypocrisie, false dealing, and Merchandise in Reli­gion) should by perjury seem to be what he is not.

4. Besides, may it please your Lordships, to give your Peti­tioner leave to mention that too, which your Honours know and understand best of all; that there is a great deale of diffe­rence between Christian and Pagan Allegeance: Pagan Allege­ance is a vertue actuated out of the habit of prudence and Mo­rall goodnesse, acceptable to God, and most commonly rewar­ded with the temporall goods only, and benefits of this life, but cannot of it selfe alone preferre a man any higher.

Christian Allegeance is a vertue incorporate in the other good workes of a Christian Faith, wrought out of the supernaturall principles of Gods Grace and Word. A pagan may be loyall to his King, because the rule of Prudence and Moral vertue pre­scribes him so to be. A Christian must be loyall to his King a­bove all men, because the Word of God (above all rules of Mo­ral prudence) commands him so to be: And so it comes to passe that Christian Allegeance issuing from the supernaturall pow­ers of Gods Word, Spirit and Grace, is an act and work of Faith in Christ, and efficatious to preferre the Subject to a supernatu­rall happinesse in life eternall. Now your Petitioner being obli­ged by Sacrament no lesse then 14. severall times to this Chri­stian Allegeance and profession of his Kings Supremacie overall persons in England whatsoever, or howsoever; and having like­wise as often declared upon Sacrament of Oath, that he doth not beleeve that any Dispensator in the world (no not the Pope him­self, the greatest pretender that way that he ever yet heard of) is able to free, or absolve him from that obligation: Now this Co­venant quite dissolving that Bond of Christian Allegeance, and obliging him cleane contrary wayes, though he will not judge, much lesse condemne other men; yet if he should take it, all circumstances considered, he could not but judge and condemn himself apostatiz'd from his Christian Allegeance, which is a great part of that Christian Faith, in which he hath hitherto lived, and wherin he desires God to grant him strength and grace to dye.

[Page 6]5. Moreover, may it please your Lordships seriously to con­sider, how detestable to all posterity the memory of those Gun­powder Traytors is, who took the Covenant to extirpate our Religion, root and branch, by taking away our King, Queene, Prince, Royall issue, Lords, Commons, Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Deanes, Deanes and Chapters▪ Arch-Deacons, all the rest of our Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy, and all persons in whom our Religion was conserved: There was nothing in the persons destined to destruction, (neither Blood Nobility, nor any other Malignan­cie) offensive to the Covenanters and Conspirators, but the Doctrine, Worship, and Government of this Church; and that only of this Church, not that of Scotland, Geneva, or any to be set up, for those were not in any being here at that time, but pro­hibited, and proscribed by the same Lawes and penalties, wher­by that of the Church of Rome was eff [...]ned; and our whole Na­tion by a solemn Decree hath devoted already to God Almigh­tie the perpetuation of the 5. of November, throughout all Ge­nerations, to an Anniversary Thanksgiving for that his preser­vation of this Doctrine, Worship and Government in these bles­sed persons, without whose conservation, Posterity had never come to see this light; and in this Thanksgiving all men of this Church for these 42 yeares have ingaged their soules to Al­mighty God, either cordially, or at least hypocritically (your humble Petitioner for his part professeth cordially) with what face or heart then can he possibly sweare to the extirpation of that Religion, for the preservation whereof before men & An­gels, he hath so often given God hearty thankes?

Or with what devotion can he ever againe upon the 5. of No­vember enter into Gods House, to give God thankes and praise for the preservation of that Religion, which God sees him en­tred into a Covenant to extirpate? Nay, your humble Petiti­oner appeales only to your Honourable Lordships, whether the blood of our fore-Fathers and Ancestors, shed, and ready to be shed in Martyrdome, for the Profession and maintenance of [...] Faith, Worship, and Government (and not that of Scotland, or Geneva) would not cry to Heaven for vengeance against their Posteritie, that should now justifie their Persecu­tors, and sweare themselves into the Office to extirpate all, [Page 7] without any exception of King, or Parent, if addicted to that Religion, for which they so readily laid down their lives? And whether the blood of those Gun-powder Conspirators can bee silent against these men that enter into Covenant now adayes to extirpate that Religion, for the attempting whereof, the mouthes of the new Confederates even to this day give sentence upon those Gun-powder Covenanters, that they justly deserved those shamefull deaths and executions, which by legall judge­ments came upon them? Your Lordships Petitioner is there­fore confident, that in your Honourable and Noble Bloods there cannot be any desire, that either he, or any true Christian Eng­lishman should give the world an instance of such degenerous unworthinesse.

6. Last of all, seeing that your Lordships humble Petitioner after the losse of all in this world, at your Honourable pleasure hath passed the probation of 5. yeares in 6. Gaoles, by land and by water, with plunders, Sequestrations, necessities, want of all meanes and support, save (that onely which at this blessed time we solemnly celebrate) the mission of God the Comforter into the hearts of faithfull Christians; (the publike commemo­ration of that too by the consequence of this Covenant (should your Petitioner take it) he must sweare for ever hereafter to a­bandon;) and seeing that all these Sufferings have not been of force to impugne that grace of God, by which only (and not by any strength or ability of his own) he professes himselfe to out­stand.

May it therefore please your Honours, that this 5. yeares pro­bation of extremities, may suffice to give your Lordships indu­bitable satisfaction, that your humble Petitioner cannot by any meanes of life, or death, bee moved to enter into this Cove­nant; and therefore that your Honors would be pleased to thinke of any other course for the expiation of your Lordships displeasure upon him, rather then to order him to perpetual imprisonment, even to death, and that by want and Famine too, only for the preservation of that Faith, in which he hath with unspeakable comfort engaged his Soule to Almighty God.

And Your Petitioner shall pray, &c.