The modern pleas for comprehension, toleration, and the taking away the obligation to the renouncing of the covenant considered and discussed.

A Postscript to the Reader.

WHen I had put an End, as I thought to your Trouble (Good Reader) and my own, there came to my hands a new Pamphlet, entituled, Certain Considera∣tions tending to promote Peace and good Will amongst Protestants, very use∣ful for the present times: The Design of which is to promote the foremen∣tioned Comprehension, which the Author doth endeavour to put a very good colour upon by laying down several Propositions; the Third of which is this, That the late Civil Wars in England were not begun for the Ex∣tirpation of Episcopacy and Liturgy, or to settle the Presbyterian Government here, but merely for Civil Rights, as he adds afterwards. Now if this Gentle∣man only means, that the Grandees of the Party had in their Hearts no manner of zeal for or against any Form of Religion, any farther than

as thei•• other Ends and Designs were carried on by it, I shall readily grant it him; ••ay, I shall say this farther, That, besides Religion, the Ci∣vil Rights of the Nation were but plausible Colours, by which the Lead∣ing Men of that Party did set off their other Ends; such as Revenge, Hu∣mour, Discontent, Covetousness and Ambition. And this they were told publickly by one whom they knew to be able to make it good, in the excellent Declaration of Aug. 12. 1642. Themselves know what Over∣tures have been made by them, and with what Importunity for Offices and Pre∣ferments, what great Services should have been done for us, and what other undertakings were (even to the saving the Life of the Earl of Strafford) if we would confer, such Offices upon them. But that Religion was the thing which they did make shew of, and by which they drew abundance of well mean∣ing but deluded People to their as∣sistan••••, is so plain, and known so publickly, that it is no little wonder, that any should offer to outs•••••• the

Nation in so no••••••ious a Case. Did not every Press and every Pulpit declare against Episcopacy, Liturgy and Ce∣re••onies? Did not the Lords and Commons, by their Votes of March 12. 1642. resolve upon the Questi∣on, That an Army be forthwith raised for the Safety of the Kings Person, &c. and PRESERVING THE TRUE RELIGION? &c. Did they not in Iuly following put forth a Delaration concerning the miserable Distractions and Grievances this Kingdom now lieth in, by means of JESUITICAL and wicked Cousellours now about his Majesty? wherein they tell us over and over again of the Protestant Religion, a great Change of Religion; That they should be for ever earnest to prevent •• Civil War and those miserable Effects which it must needs produce, if they may be avoided without the Altera∣tion of RELIGION, &c. And in their Resolutions to live and die with the Earl of Essex, they tell us, That their Army was raised, for the MAINTE∣NANCE of the TRUE PROTE∣STANT RELIGION. The Pla••e,

Wedding-rings, Thimbles and Bod∣kins had never been brought in, if it had not been that the Cause was so often called, the Cause of God. Let any man read the Remonstrances and Declarations of the Two Houses, and then see whether Religion was not one of those things which they all a∣long declared their Zeal for; and ac∣cordingly in all the Parliaments Quar∣ters, the poor Surplice, the Organs and the Common Prayer-book were the first Objects of all their Fury. But because this present Design of Comprehension is particularly intend∣ed to gratifie some Clergy-men, let us enquire under what name they re∣commended the War unto the Peo∣ple: Was it not under the name of Gods Cause; the setting Christ on his Throne; fighting the Lords Battels? There is a Collection of their Sermons Printed, which will not suffer any Man to doubt of this; out of which there is enough gathered to this pur∣pose in, Evangelium Armatum. And This Mr. Baxter hath in a late Book confessed as to himself: When the Wars

began, though the Cause it self lay i•• Controversies between King and Parlia∣ment; yet the thoughts that the Church and Godliness it self was deeply in dan∣ger by Persecution and Arminia••is•• did much more to byass me to the Parlia∣ments side, than the Civil Interest (which at the heart I little regarded.) This Author likewise confesseth, That whatever was the Cause at the first, it soon became a War for Religion. And Mr. Love, a Person mentioned by this Author as one of great Merit, in his Sermon at the Vxbridge- Treaty com∣plains of the so long letting alone the Two Plague-sores of Episcopacy and Common Prayer-Book.

The Seventh Proposition is this, That the Parliamentarians in the begin∣ning of our Troubles declared, to ab∣horr and detest all Designs of deposing and murthering his Late Sacred Maje∣sty. That they did declare against a∣ny such thing I readily grant, and, a∣mongst other Reasons, for this, laid down by our Author, That it had been else impossible for them to have gain∣ed the people as they did. But that there

were among the chief Contrivers of the Wars, Those who had a design upon the Kings Crown and Life, is a thing where of there is great Evidence. If it be lawful to fight with a King, why is it not lawful to kill him? Swords and Bullets are Things which are by no means to be used against that Person which we think we ought not to destroy: And of the great danger which his Majesties Person was in at the Battel at Edge-hill, him∣self hath informed us in a Declara∣tion on that Subject. And in the Re∣monstrance of May 26. 1642. the Lords and Commons did plainly assume to themselves a Right to depose the King, in these words; If we should make the highest Precedents of former Parliaments our Patterns, there would be no cause to complain of want of Mo∣desty and Duty in us, when we have not so much as suffered those things to enter into our thoughts, which all the World knows they put in act. In which words there is thus much plainly contained, That whatever former Parliaments have done, they take themselves to

have a Right to do; Now former Parli∣aments have been over-awed into the deposing of Kings: Now that they had their Eyes upon those particular Proceedings of former Parliaments, appears by those Words, All the World knows what they put in act: His Maje∣sty in His Answer to that Declaration of theirs, tells us of two Gentlemen who said publickly, unreproved in the Parliament House, one, That the H••p∣piness of this Kingdom did not depend upon Him, or upon any of the Royal Branches of that Root; Another, That He was not worthy to be King of Eng∣land: And as for the Royal Power it was plainly demanded from him in the Nineteen Propositions.

The Eighth Consideration is this, That the Non-conforming Presbyteri•••••• had both their hearts and hands in the Restauration of His Majesty to His Royal Throne, for which Mr. Love, and Mr. Gibbons lost their Heads.

Of all things I should least have e••∣pected, that the Advocates for the Presbyterians should have insisted up∣on their Merits to His Majesty, or the

Royal Family, for which their best Apology is the Act of Oblivion; and if they would have insisted, yet how∣ever methinks they should of all men not have made Mr. Love the Person to have insisted on: As for that Party of the Scots, which he corresponded with; it is no Part of their Wisdom to remind His Majesty of the Usage which he found from them. As to Mr. Love, the Learned Author of Sa∣••aritanism hath informed us; p. 152. That at the Execution of Archbishop La••d, he uttered these Words with great Triumph, Art thou come Little Will? I am glad to see thee here, and hope to see the nest of the Bishops here e're long; and having dipped his Handker∣chief in his blood, he rode with it to Vxbridge, and used these Words; Here is the Blood of that Proud Prelate, I hope for more of their Bloods e're long. And this doth against my will lead me to the consideration of his Sermon at Vxbridge, at the time of the Trea∣ty. Amongst many Scandals cast up∣on the King, he herein compares Him to Charles the Ninth of France, who

after a Treaty of Peace made the Mas∣sacre, and to Antiochus, of whom we read, Dan. 11. 23. That through his Policy he shall cause Craft to prosper i•• his hand, and by Peace shall destroy m••∣ny, and, after the League made with him he shall work deceitfully: After these great Complements toward the King, he tells us in his Preface; 'Tis the Sword, not Disputes or Treaties which must end this Contro∣versie, wherefore turn your Plowshares into Swords, and your Pruning-hooks into Spears to fight the Lords's Battles, to avenge the Blood of the Saints which hath been spilt, it must be avenged either by us, or upon us: Let me but quote the Words of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chap. 48. vers. 10. Cursed be he that doth the Work of the Lord negligently: Cursed be he that keepeth his Sword from Blood, &c. And I will be bold to say this, that the most malicious suggestions which are insisted upon in the Votes of Non-Address are to be met with in one Page of that Sermon, p. 32. We read 'Twas the Lord who troubled Achan, because he troubled Israel. O that

in this our State-Physicians would re∣semble God, to cut off those from the Land who have distempered it. Meli••s est ••t per••at Vnus quam Vnitas.

He tells us, pag. 36, 37, of three sorts of Persons, with whom Peace is not to be made: First, Truce-break∣ers: O what deceitful Work hath our Parliament met with on the very nick of Treaties for Peace, &c. Secondly, Ido∣laters are not meet Persons to have a Peace with, Jehosaphat was checked for having an Affinity with Ahab an Idola∣trons King, because he loved him that hated the Lord, therefore wrath was up∣on him from the Lord: But Asa ••as commended because he removed Maa∣chah from being Queen, because she was an Idolatress: I may say, what Jehu said to Joram, what Peace can there be so long as the Whoredoms of Jezebel THE QUEEN are so many, we may make Peace with Papists now, but who will give us assurance that they will keep their Covenants: Thirdly, men wholly under the guilt of much Innocent blood are not meet Persons to be at peace with, till all the guilt of blood be expiated

and avenged, either by t••e Sword of the Law, or the Law of the Sword, else a Peace can neither be safe nor just, and pag. 42. Are Peace and Truth the Ingre∣dients which must heal us? O then dote not too much upon this Treaty of Peace, which is this day beginning: And again, Will the Blood-thirsty Rebels of Ireland, the Idolatrous Papists of England, the Pompous Prelats, the rest of the corrupt Clergy, and the profaner sort of the Na∣tion, who joyn hand in hand together: Are these likely to be Patrons of Truth? Deceive not your selves, there is little likelihood of Peace with such: What I said before, I say again, Either they must grow better, or we must wax worse, be∣fore we can agree.

I should willingly have suffered these Things to sleep, but that our Author forced me upon it, by insisting upon the Merits of Mr. Love, and Mr. Love himself in his Speech upon the Scaffold justifies himself as to all that he had done in relation to the Pub∣lick Differences; I bless my God, I am free from the Blood of all men, &c. I do declare that I dy with my Iudgment

set against Malignity, I do h••••e both name and thing, I still retain AS VE∣HEMENT A DETESTATION of Ma∣lignant Interest AS EVER I DID: And again, I dy cleaving to all those Oaths, Vows, Covenants, Protestations, that were imposed by the Two Houses of Parliament, as owning them, and in dy∣ing with my Iudgment for them. To the Protestation, the Vow and Covenant, the Solemn League and Covenant.

This Author cannot deserve any way so well of the Party he pleads for, as not to give us occasion to en∣quire into past Matters: For whatever Inconveniencies may be expected from Comprehension or Toleration, by the nature of the things them∣selves, they will be found to be very much ascertained and increased, if we consider the Persons who do desire either of them: I suppose we shall hear no more of the Merits of Love, and if this Gentleman doth think fit to change him for any other Instance: I shall advise that he would pitch up∣on such a Person as hath wrote no∣thing, nor been in any Publick Em∣ployment,

lest otherwise he should force us upon those Enquiries which will be, it is to be doubted little for the credit of him whose name is brought in Question, and which I shall take very little delight in.

The End.