Votivæ Angliæ, Englands complaint to their king:, or, The humble desires of all the zealous and true-hearted Protestants in this kingdome, for a speedy and happy reformation of abuses in church government, being the onely meanes to remove these distractions, and to avert the judgement of God from us. : As they were expressed in sundry petitions, remonstrances and letters, lately presented from them to the king, upon sundry occasions. / Collected by a wel-wisher to reformation.

A Copy of a letter to his brother Nicholas Spencer, to disswade him from his inordinate delight he took in Cock-fighting, which soon after he happily and abso∣lutely gave over.

IT is said of the churlish Inne-keeper of Bethlehem Luke 2. 7. who entertained so many guests in the Inne, that the virgin Mary and our blessed Savi∣our, were thrust out into the stable, because there was no roome for them in the Inne: but let us in in the fear of God take heed of such Jewish tricks, lest in the end we force our Saviour Christ to leave us in the fight of our sins, and ingratitute, and then it will cost us many a grievous sigh, many mourn∣full teares before we finde him againe, read Cant. 5. 6. Nay, so wofull shall our estate be that it shall be never out of our minde: and now out of my brotherly love unto you I must admonish you of that bewitching and vain pleasure of Cockfight∣ing, wherein you are so strangely transported that both my selfe and many of your faithfull friends wi^th grief of heart discern a great alteration in your affections to those courses of religion wherein heretofore you have shewed your selfe more for∣ward and zealous. I beseech ye in the fear of God consider to be a stunling in religion is a fearfull thing, but to go ten degrees backward with Ezeki∣ahs diall is most intollerable; alas shall we begin in the Spirit and end in the flesh, shall we be snch greedy Elues in our pleasure, sell those heavenly ioyes and blessed hope of our heavenly inheri∣tance

for a messe of vaine delights: Oh consider how farre we are from the holy zeale of those blessed Saints in Queen Maries dayes, that for∣sook both their goods, wives, and children for the glory of God and the safety of their soules: What vaine wretches shall we approve our selves to be, if we will not forsake our vaine pleasures? It is not your faire house, nor your children, nor loving wife I perswade you to forsake, it is the vaine and unprofitable sport of Cock-fighting, which brings ruine to your state, and the endangering of your everlasting happinesse: and therefore if either a desire to preserve your estate, or to preserve your everlasting inheritance might prevaile, my suit were soone granted. But it may be you will say, if I can prove this you will give over Cock-fight∣ing; Well, upon that condition I will take some paines to make it manifest: First, to the matter of the ruine of your state, I referre you to the exami∣nation of your particular exspences of those occa∣sions, and I pray let Sir William Dyers ruinate estate be a meanes to make you take heed by other mens harms; for the matter of discontentment I appeal to no other judge then your loving wife, which can tell you what discomforts she often times findes in your long absence, & the dangers that doth fright her when she considers that you are in the com∣pany of such swaggering companions, for the latter which is the maine point I purpose to insist upon being a matter of such high concernment, first because you make that a cause of your jollity and merriment, which should be a cause of your griefe and godly sorrow, for you take delight in the

enmitie and cruelty of the creatures, which was laid upon them for the sinne of man, for the earth was accursed with thorns and briers for our sins, and therefore the blood-shedding of the creatures should rather teach us to shed teares for our sins: thus did Saint Peter when he heard the Cock crow he went out and wept bitterly: I would to God you Cock-masters would make that use of these Cocks. Secondly it is dangerous unto your soul in regard of the time that you mispend, for if ye must give an account of every idle word that we speak Matth. 12. 36. How much more of idle houres and dayes, and if you did keep as strickt an account as you do of your houshold expences you should at the weekes end see what a heavy reckoning you should make when you shall see before your eyes thus many houres of such a day and so many daies of such a week, I have spent in my vain delights, and thus few houres in the service of my God; well, howsoever we are loath to come to this account now, yet we shall be one day, brought to it whether we will or no. Thirdly it is dangerous to your soul in regard of the company with whom you do converse who for the most part are either swearers drunkards, or licencious people, now if it be most true that the prophet saith Psal. 18. 25. With the holy, thou shalt be holy, and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect. Then on the contrary it must needs be, that with the wicked we shall learn wickednesse, and with the prophane we shall learn prophanes, for it is a hard matter to handle pitch and not to be de∣field with it, or to lie among thornes and not be pricked with them, as the Prophet saith

2. Sam. 23. 6, 7. But the wicked shall be every one as thornes thrust away because they cannot be taken with hands, but the man that shall touch them must be defen∣ced with iron, or with the shaft of a speare, and they shall be burnt with fire in the same place. Therefor dear bro∣ther, if you did rightly consider of the hatefull and infectious qualitie of the wicked, it will make you stand upon thorns while you are in their company and to bewaile the hardnesse of your heart which hath not felt them such pricking thornes all this while.

Lastly it is dangerous to your soule in making your soul guilty of many other mens sinnes, by drawing away many a poore man from his honest labour whereby he should maintaine his wife and children, to spend his time and money in such an idle manner, but also you are guilty of many great mens sins whilest you see and hear the glorious Name of God dishonoured, and dare not, or will not reprove for the same, consider what the Psalmist saith. 50. 16. But unto the wicked said God, what hast thou to do to declare mine ordinances, that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest to be reformed, and hast cast my words behinde thee? For when thou seest a thiefe, thou runnest with him, and thou art partakers with the adulterers. vers. 22. O consider ye that forget God, least I teare you in pieces, and there be none to deliver you. Now therefore I beseech you observe that those that run with the wicked and are partakers with the ungodly in their wicked de∣lights are those whom the Lord shall tear in pieces: thus you see that not onely the wicked themselves, but also their associates and partakers shall be torne

in pieces in the day of Gods fearfull wrath: O con∣sider this, sweet meat must have sower sawce, and then I trust through the Lords great mercy you will utterly refuse it upon those tearmes: for what were it to gaine the whole world and to loose our soules.

But to conclude if neither perswasions nor ex∣hortations may prevaile with you to break the neck of your Cock-fighting pleasures, consider wel with your self that the Lord hath put you as it were into the Cock-pit of the round world to fight his battel against the flesh, the world and the divel, the strong∣est striking, the sorest hitting, and the cunningest fighting Cock in the world, who is onely to be wounded with the spurres of faith and piety, and that all those that wil overcome in this battell must be thorowly fed with the word of God, and dayly breath with prayer and, meditation, whereby they strengthen their faith, and sharpen the spurres of their holy zeale: and those that neglect this meanes let them brag never so much upon their own dunghill, yet when it comes to a sound tryall they will prove themselves to be brand fallen Cra∣vens, and likewise consider that every houre idely spent, and every vaine word that proceeds out of your mouth is as it were vain to your soule: and all unlawfull pleasures like hovells upon the spurres of your devotion: and then with wisdom consider what an unlikely, or rather impossible a thing it is for a poor famisht Cock pitifully vained and thus hung and hovelled to overcome a Cock of that wonderfull strength and devilish spirit that you are matched withall. Again suppose that those that sit

in the lower ring of the Cock-pit are the Divells and wicked Spirits, and those that sit in the upper ring of the Cock-pit are the glorious Angels and blessed Saints, both behoulding this doubtfull bat∣tell, though with contrary affections, the angels re∣ioycing when they see you fight this spirituall bat∣tell like a good souldier of Jesus Christ, the wick∣ed Spirits wohping and hallowing when they see you strike faint, fight like a Craven, and fall beastly, and hear dear brother that we make our selves a laughing stock to this wicked spirits: let us pray unto our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen our faith and to assist us with his grace that we may resist the devill and make him flie from us and in the end tread Sathan underfoot and give us a crown of immortall glorie. Amen Lord Jesus.

From your truly loving bro∣ther though he deals thus plainly with you. Iohn Spencer.