The churches thank-offering to God her King, and the Parliament, for rich and ancient mercies; her yeares of captivity; her first yeare of iubile; that is, for the marvelous deliverances wrought with God the first wonderfull yeare (since the yeare 88) beginning at September 1640. and ending the ninth of the same moneth following: in all which time, the Lord appeared for his church, as in the dayes of old, out of the middest of the bush, so the church burn'd with fire, and was not consumed. In the preface, the thank-offering is vindicated, and set free, from all the cavills and charges against it; where also it is cleared to be, as every mans duty, so every mans purpose, to offer willingly now, who doth not make full proofe, that he falls short of pagan, papist or atheist; and is wilfully resolved to walk crosse to the most supreme law, the highest reason, and the unquestionable will of God.

¶ 2.

As Sibboleth to the Wicked; It discoveres the Priests and their Peo∣ple; It hampers the Malignant, though, like possessed Men; No Cords will hold the Papists; Their obstinacy in Gods house: how to judge of the Legality of an Oath.

THis PROTESTATION or sacred covenant is a Destingui∣shing character; Thereby you shall know, who is a true English-man; Who, a Treacherous Priest Papist, or Malignant person. Give it to a right English-man, a True Israelite in whom is no guile, He goes cleare and smooth away with it; He takes it with all his heart, and stands to it, rejoyceth at the Oath k 1.1, that is, he pronounceth it right. Give it to the Priests, they will refuse it, or fumble at it, they cannot frame to pronounce it right ^•: Present it to the Papist, you shall see vvhat he will doe anon. This is to the Priests (the two Armies of them) to the Papists also, as SIBBOLETH to the Ephraimites l 1.2: Now you shall know whose eyes are evill against you,

because your eye is good, and you are resolved to doe the thing that good is. Now yee shall see, who they are, that puffe at you, deride you (blow their nose at you b 1.3) Because you vvould have them protest to take God for their God; (and not their bellies;) to bind them∣selves in covenant with Him, as the very word (Religion) imports. But see how their mind and affection stands! They protest to take God for their God! no not they, Their belly, ease, profits, pleasures are their gods; these and other Lords have ruled over them, and they shall rule by their meanes. So now you know them; their madnesse is manifest; this very Protestation hath discovered them; it is a SIBBOLETH unto them; bid them take it; They vvill refuse; or, if they doe take it, they fumble at it, they cannot frame to pronounce it right;

Nor the Papists neither; Yes but they can you will say, for they can frame their mouthes to pronounce any thing, to sweare and lye both: What care they vvhat covenant they enter into, what Oath they take, when they are resolved to breake it, and are resolved upon the Question, that they may break it, for it is their Doctrine c 1.4. They are as the man possessed with the Divell, no coards, no bands can hold them, they breake all, Words, Oathes and all, as you can flaxe, that is burnt with fire d 1.5. An Oath is a great binder, (it cannot bind them) the strongest cord, the greatest security, the only chaine on earth (as one saith e 1.6) besides love, to tye the conscience of a man and humane Society together, yet the Papists can turne it over as a Gipsies knot, fast or loose at their pleasure. We heare and see that they take the Oath of Supremacy now, &c. What then? Then they are good Subjects. No, the most treacherous and mischievous men in the world, and the truest enemies to the Lords annoynted, none like them. Now beware of these men, for now they will act villany, they will kill, stabbe, poyson, murther, massacre, they will act any thing, which the Divell can suggest. Why so? Because they doe not awe, they doe not reverence the Oath of God: they count it a Gipsies knot fast, or loose as the Malignant Church will. No Oath will serve them but the Bishops Oath, with their &c. which fits the mouth very well, though it be an open Sepulcher. But for all their sleight in turning over Oathes, vve may see them hampered anon, after vvee have laid open their cunning a little more, first,

Oaths will not hold them, the Church shall for an houre: Thi∣ther some of them goe, never more frequently then now. There is some hope then, you will say, They will prove honest men and good Subjects. Yes, or the contrary, and the latter most likely. The Church (as it is commonly called) is as the poole of Bethesda; if I goe rejoycing thither, and have the same desire the poore man had to be made whole, it is the likeliest place in the world to find cure there. But if I goe thither to cloake my wickednesse, &c. then I doe aggravate my sinne, I make it as the sinne of witch-craft:

The Papists goe to Church, that hath been the manner, but observe still, they commonly goe thither, where a Dogge, that cannot barke, keepes the House That adds something to their sinne; but this makes it above measure sinfull: There they sit, and there they meet with their Adversary every houre, that is certaine: A••d this is as certaine, they ••re fully resolved bef••r•• hand not to AGREE with him. The WORD saith This is my Lords will: They ••ay, they wi••l d••e their owne vvill The word is flat against them, and they as contrary to it, Thou shalt not make, saith the WORD: They will make Images and bow before them; so they say and doe. They goe to Church ••nd have concluded, are setled and resolved upon it, not to conclude their soules under the power of Gods Word: Here they prevaricate fe••refully, and, as with Oaths, so they play fast and loose in Gods House too: Let them alone traversing their way in their Moneth a 1.7, they sh••ll be found crying out like a travelling woman, for that is the time vvhen they must cast forth their sorrowes. In the m••an time, ye must look to th••se men now more narrowly, and with a more vvakefull eye, now that they stand before the Lord in His house out-facing H••m there Now surely they vvill be more abominable then ever, They will murder and commit Adultery, and sweare false∣ly and burne incense unto Baal, and walke after other gods. All this they will doe the more boldly now, now that the House of the Lord is a DEN of ROBBERS in their eyes. But see how the * 1.8 LORD takes all this, and how His Servants should lay it unto heart; BEHOLD I HAVE SEENE IT, saith the Lord. And vve must behold also how ye have hampered them as a Bull in a Net. Blessed be ye of the Lord, Who hath instructed you to discretion, and hath made you to be quicke o•• understanding. Never vvas there any engine invented like this Protestation, to batter their strong holds, and to confound them in their cursed craft

Ai, but you vvill say, the Papists will not come vvithin a mile of it; no matter, that vvill come to them, and plucke off their vizard, vve shall know them, now their madnesse vvill bee made manifest. But it is ILLEG••LL you say; say so still, and say the Bi∣shops Oath i•• LEGALL but let my soule goe out vvith that, vvhich the Divell and his Kingdom are most against b 1.9. That vvhich pinch••th and galleth there, my soule upon it, that is Truth * 1.10, that vvhich ought to be, and vve stand bound unto. Marke it ever-more, That which cuts the vvicked to the heart, vvhich makes them gnash on you with their Teeth▪ that's GOOD, very GOOD, good Law and good Reason, and good Conscience for it too, there is no doubt of it; every wise m•••• will give as much credit to that signe, as to the word of the greatest Gamaliel ••n the world.

Lastly, It may be said, Have not the Papists a sleight to turne this ov••r the Thumbs too, as the other two O••thes?

Truly I thinke not, This vvill hamper them sure; for it seemes

to me, this PROTESTATION hath bound up Satan. No you will say, he rageth, never more. A good signe that he is in chains, ne∣ver closer pent up then now, and his servants with him; and that they have but a short time, because they have so much wrath. They are met vvith now, and held-in short, and pinched very sore, for though they dare doe much, even to the putting out of the Light of Nature, and the casting the conscience into a deepe sleepe, yet I must suppose that this little remaining light is so prevailing vvith them, as that, though they could dispence vvith the taking of it, yet that light vvould so flash in their face, that their tongues vvould but fumble at it, they could not frame to pronounce it right. Now the Church puts up a prayer to her God.

Notes

• k 1.1

  2 Chro. 15. 15.
• l 1.2

  Iud. 12. ••.
• b 1.3

  Luk 16. 14. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• c 1.4

  Dogmatiza•• mendaciae.
• d 1.5

  Iud. 15. 14.
• e 1.6

  Dan. Hen. 3. ••. 167.
• a 1.7

  Ier. 2••
• * 1.8

  Ier. 7.
• b 1.9

  Gaudeo sic Sata∣nā indignari & blasphemare quo∣••••es •• m•• tangitur. Luther •• Epist. ad Am
• * 1.10

  Q••od signum maioris ••••••riae est omnes haeretici de∣••estantur. Hier.