ENGLANDS REDEMPTION OR, PATH-WAY TO PEACE.

AS a diſtracted Ship (whoſe Pilot the raging violence of a tempeſtuous ſtorm, hath caſt down headlong from the Stern) ſtag­gereth to and fro amongſt the unquiet Waves of the rough Ocean; ſome•imes claſhing againſt the proud ſurly Rocks, and ſome­times reeling up and down the ſmoother waters; now threatning preſent ſhipwrack and deſtruction, by and by promiſing a ſeeming ſafety, and ſecure arrival, yet never ſetled faſt, nor abſolutely tending to the quiet and deſired Haven: So the vexed Government of frantick England, ever ſince the furious madneſs of a few turbulent Spirits beheaded our King and King­dom, threw down Charles the Martyr (our onely law­ful Governor) from the Stern of Government, and4 took it into their unskilful and unlawful hands, it hath been toſſed up and down, ſometimes falling amongſt the lawleſs Souldiers, as a Lamb among Wolves, or as a Glaſs upon Stones) yet in all our Revolutions, (although many gaps have been laid open) the Go­vernment hath not ſteered its courſe directly to Charls the ſecond, its onely right and quiet Haven.

O therefore let our di••racted England be a Warn­ing-Piece to all Nations, that they never attempt to try and judge their King, for what cauſe ſoever; and let all Traytors and Tyrants in the world learn by the example of our Engliſh Rebels, that their proſperity and dominion (though it ſeemeth never ſo perpetual) is but momentany, and as the w•nd which no man ſeeth; for who ſo much applauded and look'd upon, as the Long Parliament, when they firſt took upon them to correct and queſtion the King? and who now ſo ridiculous and ſcorned? They were then ad­mired by the people as the Patrons, Vindicators, Re­deemers, and Keepers of their Liberty: Nay, I may moſt truly ſay, that the people did Worſhip and Adore them, more than they did God ▪ But now they aae be­come a by-word, the ſcorn and deriſion both of men, women and children ▪ and hooted at by every one, as the greateſt and moſt ſhameful laughing-ſtock in the world.

O abominable! that Engliſhmen ſhould degene­rate into ſuch impudence: for this is the truth of their Caſe; Might they but ſtill have the Kings and Bi­ſhops Lands, which they have gotten by their horri­ble Treaſon and Rebellions, and be ſure to live ſecure from the puniſhment which the Law of the Land5 would inflict upon them, they would eaſily confeſs, (if the Devil have not made them Contradictors of all manner of truth) That Monarchy is the beſt of all Governments, eſpecially for the Engliſh Nation, where (as one may ſay) it grew by Nature, until theſe Deſtroyers of the Laws of God, Nature, and the Realm, rooted it up, and endevoured to plant their fancied Commonwealth in its room, which will grow there, when Plums grow in the Sky, or when Rocks grow in the Air, not before; as you may ſee by the ſmall Root it hath taken, ever ſince the Reigne of Charles the Martyr: Reade his incomparable hea­venly Book, which will make thee weep for our loſs, but rejoyce and admire at his piety.

As for our riſing Sun, Charles the ſecond, though hitherto obſcured by the foggy Miſts of Treaſon and Rebellion in his own Kingdoms, yet do the rayes of his Sacred Majeſty ſhine throughout the world be­ſide, and his Renown ecchoeth in every part of the Earth, to the admiration of Foraign Kingdoms, and to the envy and hatred of the Rebels in his own: yet cannot their malice but marvel at the Vertues and Pa­tience of their King, whom they ſo much wrong; and it grieves them to ſee that Royall Progeny (whoſe ruine they ſo greedily hunt after) flouriſh with ſuch glorious ſplendor amongſt the Kings and Princes of the Earth, growing in favour wit•God and man, whilſt they (odious to all but themſelves) by their Tyranny and Rebellion, incur the diſpleaſ•re both of Heaven and Earth, and become a ridiculous Rump, the ob­ject of the S•orn and Deriſion both of old and yong, rich and poor: And had not theſe infatuated Rebels6 brazen faces to deny what their own Conſciences telleth them is true, they would preſently Declare, That the onely way to ſettle our Diſtractions, and re­ſtore our Nation to its priſtine Happineſs and Glory, were to call in the K•ng, and re-eſtabliſh him in his own, which they unjuſtly pocket from him: for ſo long as there is one of the Race of the Stuarts (which God long preſerve) and any Foraign King or people remain alive, we muſt never look for peace or plenty, but (as publick Thieves) always live in a poſture of War, and ever expect Foraign Nations to come in, and ſwallow us up, who account it (as indeed it is) the greateſt piece of Juſtice under the Sun, to re­venge (with our Bloods, and utter Deſtruction) the bloody Murther of Charles the firſt, and the unna­tural Baniſhment of Charles the ſecond, our onely lawful Soveraign.

Therefore let the cries of the People come unto thee, O God; and reſtore our gracious King Charles the ſecond to his Hereditary Crown, whoſe Youth thou haſt ſeaſoned with the Afflictions of King Da­vid; and clouded the Morning of his and our hap­pineſſe, with the Miſery of an unchriſtian Exile, which hath made him the fitter for his Throne, and thy Mercy.

Reſtore our Ancient Liturgy, and our Lords Spi­ritual and Temporal, to their undoubted rights and Priviledges in Parliament: Reſtore the Commons to their right Wits, and learn them to know, That the Head is above the Feet: So that our King one­ly, with the Aſſent of the Lo•ds and Commons, may make, and give us Laws, as it was in the beginning:7 Until which time I will put down my Sails, and keep cloſe under the Haven, being ſure to have nothing elſe but Tempeſts and Storms, and no clear ſetled Weather, until then, either in Church or Common­wealth: Let our Republicans boaſt of their Free-State, or of what elſe they pleaſe; for a bone out of joynt, will never be ſetled right, but in its proper place.