A Soveraigne Salve for healing the Sores of the Nation.
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.
2This 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 may3 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 the4 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 accompliſhment5 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 receive5 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.