To the unprejudiced Christian Reader.

KInd Reader, the 80. Psal. in my weak judge∣ment, is both a lively Character of the deplorable condition of Gods Church of late years, and likewise a most excellent Morning and Evening Prayer for it, in publick or private. The Psalmist thus complains, That God (by the a OPPRESSING SWORD of combined enemies, as Psa. 83. imports) had broken down his Churches hedges, so that all they that passed by the way did pluck her, the Boar out of the forrest did waste it, and the wild beasts OF THE FIELD devour it. The antient b hedges of the Church here planted and spread in our Nation, to wit, Gods divine protection and Law; the Patronage, Rights, Franchises, Privileges, Immunities, granted, confirmed to our Churches, by the manifold c great Charters, Lawes, Sta∣tutes, of such bountifull devout Kings and Queens as God himselfdpredicted, should be NURSING FATHERS and NURSING MOTHERS UNTO HIS CHURCH under the Gospel, and bring their Glory and Honour to it; and Kings of Iles, amongst others; having been of late years very much broken down and almost levelled to the dust, by arbitrarie Committees, Sequestrations, and the op∣pressing all-devouring Sword of War, (which God hath kept so long unsheathed, e without returning into the Scab∣berd these many years, for the just punishment of our mani∣fold sins and enormities) all they that go by the way (or in Page  [unnumbered] by-wayes) taking advantage thereof, have so plucked, and the wilde-boares out of the wood, and wilde-men, and wilde-beasts of the field, have so wasted, devoured the best and richest part of our Churches Patrimony, originally design∣ed by the Parliament, by a f special Bill tendered to the late King at Oxford, April 1643. (when Arch-bishops, Bishops, Deans and Chapters were first voted down, and g extirpated as none of our Heavenly fathers plants or planting) for the encrease of the Crown-Revenues, to ease the people in their future Taxes; and the Augmentation of our Ministers Maintenance and incompetent livings: that there is little or none of it now remaining undevoured by them, for either of these two publick ends: And many new highway men, wilde-boares and Beasts, as well as old, encouraged by former rich Church-plunders, in stead of imitating h faithfull Abraham, (whose heirs and children they professe themselves) who gave i THE TENTH OF ALL HIS SPOYLS OF WARRE to Melchisedec Priest of the most high God, (a type of our Sa∣viour Christ, if not Christ himself, as k some probably assert) they most eagerly and violently attempt to spoyl, plunder all the Evangelical Priests and Ministers of God through∣out the Nation at one blow (without any lawfull Tryal by their Peers, due processe of Law, or l Legal conviction of any Capital crimes, which cannot forfeit their Churches inheritance, which is not so vested in them as either to forfeit or alien, by the Law of God or the Realm) of all their inconsiderable remaining Tithes, Glebes, and setled antient Maintenance, and of their very Ministry too, as JEWISH and ANTICHRISTIAN, as John Canne the old Anabaptist, in his new Voice from the ALE∣HOUSE RATHER, than the TEMPLE (which cer∣tainly is as Jewish and Antichristian as he would have Page  [unnumbered] Tithes to be) with sundry late m Petitions, Proceedings, proclaim to all the World, and strip them naked of all other coercive maintenance for the future, to starve them and their families bodies, and the peoples souls: that so a new generation of ambulatory Fryers Mendicants and Itinerary Predicants, fixed to no certain Parish or Parishes, selected out of those swarms of Jesuits, Seminary Priests and Po∣pish Fryers, now in England under the disguises of Anabap∣tists, Gifted Brethren, Dippers, Seekers, Quakers, New-lights, Mechanicks of all Trades, Gentlemen, Troopers and Souldiers too, (Ignatius Loyola n their Father and founder of their Order, being a SOULDIER by his profession, as di∣verse of his Disciples are now amongst us, as many wise men believe, and some on their own knowledge averre) may succeed them in their Ministry, to subvert our Church, Religion, and reduce us back to Rome; The Pope now li∣ving, within these few years, affirmed to some o English Gentlemen of quality in Rome (who out of curiosity only went to see him, being Protestants) that he hoped before he died (though he were aged) to see England perfectly reduced to her former obedience to the See of Rome, having sent many Jesuits, Priests, Fryers from all parts into England, and par∣ticularly into THE ARMY (as p Ramsy the late detect∣ed Jesuit at New-Castle, under the vizor of a converted Anabaptized Jew, confessed in his printed Examination there lately taken, and sent up with him to Whitehall.) A∣gainst whom John Canne might have done well to have pressed those, to whom he dedicated his Voice from the Temple, to execute the Statute of 27 Eliz. c. 2. particu∣larly made against them, as most dangerous insufferable Traytors, purposely sent over, TO WORKE THE RU∣INE, DESOLATION, and DESTRUCTION OF THE WHOLE REALM, as well as of our Church and Page  [unnumbered] Religion, as that Statute resolves; and not to have most ignorantly and maliciously wrested it, (contrary both to the very letter and intention) against our godly Protestant Ministers only (their greatest opposites, eye-sores) to strip them of their Benefices, Livelihood and lives together (the whole scope of his q Lamentable Voice) without so much as uttering one word against these wilde boars and beasts of Rome, with whom he and his Companions the Ana∣baptists, are apparent Confederates, both in their r prin∣ciples and practices against our Ministers Maintenance, Tithes, Callings, Laws, and setled Government, to their eternal Infamy.

The sad consideration whereof hath engaged me, though no Impropriator (whose cause I plead not) nor o∣ther Tithe-receiver, but a consciencious Tithe-payer (as my Ancestors were before me) without any retaining fee, or other Solicitation, to appear publickly in the defence of this common cause of God and all his faithfull Ministers Tithes and antient setled Maintenance, being through his mercy and their Prayers enlarged from my long close remote Imprisonments, as I did occasionally in private, whiles a close Prisoner in Pendennis Castle in Cornwall (in December and January last) against some Officers and Souldiers there, who publickly subscribed in the Castle by sound of Drum three several mornings, and promoted in the Country a Petition for abolishing all Tithes (though our Ministers own by all Divine and Humane Lawes, Rights; which neither our Souldiers nor any mortals now living gave to them, nor have any pretence of Law, Power or Authority from God or our Nation to take from them) and all other compulsory Maintenance in lieu of them for Ministers; sent to them (and to other Garisons, as they then informed me) by the General Councell of Of∣ficers Page  [unnumbered] of the Army from S^t. James, both for their own sub∣scriptions (though few or none of them or other sub∣scribers of such Petitions, Tithe-payers) and such hands of Countrymen, as they could procure. Upon which occasion, I had some brief discourses with some of them concerning the lawfulness and antiquity of Tithes, s First paid by Souldiers out of the very spoyls of Battel, taken in the very first War we read of, to the very first Priest of God we find recorded in the Scripture, and therefore admired that our Army-Officers, Souldiers in this age should so far degenerate, as to be the very ring-leaders and chief oppugners of them: drawing up some brief Notes of this subject out of Scripture (to help passe the time) in defence of Tithes, relating more particularly to Souldiers, to silence, satisfie, reclaim them from this Sa∣crilegious design: which having since enlarged with Ar∣guments and Answers to their chief Objections drawn from their own Military professions, for the better satis∣faction, conviction of all Sword men and others, I hope, neither Officers nor Souldiers, nor any others truly fear∣ing God (if they consider Levit. 19.17. Mat. 18.15, 16, 17. Prov. 19.25. & 10.17. & 12.1. & 13.18. & 15.10, 31, 32. & 17.10. & 25.12. Psal. 141.5. 1 Sam. 25.32, 33. 1 Tim. 5.20. Luke 3.14.) will or can be justly of∣fended with me, no more for writing truth, than speaking it to their faces, as I did upon all occasions whiles among them; not to defame, but to inform and reform them, for their own and the publick good, in what I conceive not warrantable by, but repugnant to Gods word and their duties as Souldiers, as Christians, and to those known fundamental Laws, Liberties of the Nation they were t pur∣posely raised, commissioned, waged, engaged by Protestations, Covenants, and their own voluntary u printed Declarations, Page  [unnumbered] inviolably to protect, but not subvert; and that they will not repute it a capital crime in me, not to prove a flatter∣er, dissembler, or not to act, or write wittingly against my Science and Conscience, when our Ministers Maintenance, Calling, Religion, Gods glory, Laws, Liberties, all we have, or hope for, are in danger of such a sad, sodain, destructive Convulsion, concussion (if not Subversion) as I long since by Authority of Parliament discovered in Romes Master-piece, (and since that in My Speech in Parliament and Memento, well worth perusal now) when so many known Jesuits under a new Provincial (which Hugh Peters himself re∣ported, as I have been credibly informed) are now even in London it self, acting as busily, and sitting there in * Coun∣cil as duely, as when the reclaimed Author of that disco∣very (purposely sent from Rome for the purposes therein discovered) was resident amongst them. O that these professed Enemies of our Church, Religion, Nation, and those Janizaries of Rome, may x not sow their Tares of error, and seeds of ruine and desolation amongst us, whiles almost our whole Nation (for ought I can dis∣cern) if not those who call themselves Watch-men, are in a dead sleep or Lethargy, and heaving at our most faithfull Ministers Maintenance and Callings too, in stead of enqui∣ring after, discovering these Arch-traytots, and executing the good Laws against, and administring those necessary Oaths of Supremacy, Allegiance and Abjuration unto them, to prevent those treasonable practices, destructive designes, miseries, and that ruine to our Protestant Religion, Kings, Government, Governors, Laws, Parliaments, Church and Common-wealth, which the wise vigilant Protestant Par∣liaments of 13 Eliz. c. 1. 23 Eliz. c. 1. 27 Eliz. c. 2. 35 Eliz. c. 2. 1 Jac. c. 4. 3 Jac. 1, 2, 4, 5. 7 Jac. c. 6. with some hundreds of y printed Declarations, Ordinan∣ces, Page  [unnumbered] Remonstrances of the Lords and Commons the last Parliament (and the good new Laws, Oaths they provided against those Romish Vipers quite buried in Oblivion) have published, to allarm all drowsie, stupid, careless people; all lovers of God, their Religion, or Country against them, even at this very season, when they and their con∣federates are (wittingly or ignorantly) over-turning, over-turning, over-turning, whatever is not yet totally subver∣ted among us, and carrying on these their designs, to their full accomplishment. If these my impotent under∣takings, with a sincere affection only to Gods glory, the real weal, safety, preservation of our Religion, Ministry, Laws, Native Country, and z all Protestant Churches (now indangered by their mutual discords, wars and Jesu∣itical Emissaries to soment their intestine differences) may so far open the eyes of all Degrees in our Nation really fearing God, as a to know in this their day the things which belong unto their peace and settlement, and move them e∣fectually to pursue them, before they be hid from their eyes; I have all the reward I do expect, and shall blesse God for the good successe. If any shall be offended with me, or it, and requite me only with envy, hatred, persecution, new Oppressions, Bonds, close Imprisonments, for well-doing and endeavouring any more publick good, for our tottering Church, Religion, Country; I shall b commit my cause to God, which judgeth righteously, who hath so often c brought forth my righteousness as the Light, and my judgement as the Noon day, to the shame and confusion of my causelesse enemies: and shall carry this comfortable cordial within my brest, to any Prison, Pillory, Gibbet, Grave, that the malice or power of poor vapouring Mor∣tals (who know not how soon d their violent dealing may come down upon their own pates, as well as on my other po∣tent Page  [unnumbered] adversaries) shall be able to hurry me to, and ascend triumphantly with it even to heaven it self; that I have discharged that duty which God, Conscience, Provi∣dence, the publick danger of our Ministry, Religion, Nation, and my sacred Oaths, Protestation, Covenant, have engaged me unto. And e if I perish for it, I perish; and in perishing shall (by Gods assistance) depart with this Swan like, Saint-like Song of that eminent f Prisoner of Jesus Christ (who was in g Prisons more frequent, in Pe∣rils, Afflictions, Persecutions often, as I have been for the faithfull discharging of my duty) I have h fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: hence∣forth is laid up for me a crown of righteousnesse, which God the righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all them also which suffer for his truth, and love his appearing: which is the unshaken constant faith, hope, expectation of thine, our Churches, Religions, Ministers, Countries unmercenary faithfull Friend and Servant,