protection of the people, that entrusted them with the dangerous enterprise of being faithful to their country against the rage and malice of his tyrannous oppofition;

"If he will keep him from that great offence" of following the counfel of his parliament, and enacting what they advise him to; which in all reason, and by the known law, and oath of his coronation he ought to do, and not to call that facrilege, which neceffity through the continuance of his own civil war hath compelled him to; neceffity, which made David eat the fhowbread, made Ezekiah take all the filver which was found in God's house, and cut off the gold which overlaid those doors and pillars, and gave it to Senacherib; neceffity, which ofttimes made the primitive church to fell her facred utenfils, even to the communion-chalice;

"If he will reftore him to a capacity of glorifying him by doing" that both in church and state, which muft needs dishonour and pollute his name;

"If he will bring him again with peace, honour, and fafety, to his chief city," without repenting, without fatisfying for the blood fpilt, only for a few politic conceffions, which are as good as nothing;

"If he will put again the fword into his hand, to punish” thofe that have delivered us, and to protect delinquents against the justice of parliament;

Then, if it be poffible to reconcile contradictions, he will praise him by displeasing him, and serve him by differving him.

"His glory," in the gaudy copes and painted windows, mitres, rochets, altars, and the chaunted fervice-book, "fhall be dearer to him," than the establishing his crown in righteousness, and the fpiritual power of religion.

He will pardon thofe that have offended him in particular," but there fhall want no fubtle ways to be even with them upon another score of their fuppofed offences against the commonwealth; whereby he may at once affect the glory of a feeming juftice, and deftroy them pleasantly, while he feigns to forgive them as to his own particular, and outwardly bewails them.

These are the conditions of his treating with God, to whom he bates nothing of what he stood upon with the parliament;

parliament: as if commiffions of array could deal with him alfo.

But of all thefe conditions, as it is now evident in our eyes, God accepted none, but that final petition, which he fo oft, no doubt but by the fecret judgment of God, importunes againft his own head; praying God, "That his mercies might be fo toward him, as his refolutions of truth and peace were toward his people." It follows then, God having cut him off, without granting any of these mercies, that his refolutions were as feigned, as his Vows were fruftrate.

XXVI. Upon the Army's furprifal of the King at Holmby.

TO give account to royalifts what was done with their vanquithed king, yielded up into our hands, is not to be expected from them, whom God hath made his conquerors. And for brethren to debate and rip up their falling out in the ear of a common enemy, thereby making him the judge, or at leaft the well-pleafed auditor of their disagreement, is neither wife nor comely. To the king therefore, were he living, or to his party yet remaining, as to this action, there belongs no anfwer. Emulations, all men know, are incident among military men, and are, if they exceed not, pardonable. But fome of the former army, eminent enough for their own martial deeds, and prevalent in the houfe of commons, touched with envy to be fo far outdone by a new model which they contemned, took advantage of prefbyterian and independent names, and the virulence of fome minifters, to raise difturbance. And the war being then ended, thought flightly to have difcarded them, who had faithfully done the work, without their due pay, and the reward of their invincible valour. But they who had the fword yet in their hands, difdaining to be made the first objects of ingratitude and oppreffion, after all that expense of their blood for juftice, and the common liberty, feized upon the king their prifoner, whom nothing but their matchlefs deeds had brought fo low as to furrender up his perfon: though he, to ftir up new difcord, chofe rather to

give up himself a captive to his own countrymen, who less had won him. This in likelihood might have grown to fome height of mifchief; partly through the ftrife which was kindling between our elder and our younger warriors, but chiefly through the feditious tongues of fome falfe minifters, more zealous against fchifms, than against their own fimony and pluralities, or watchful of the common enemy, whofe fubtile infinuations had got fo far in among them, as with all diligence to blow the coals. But it pleafed God, not to embroil and put to confufion his whole people for the perverfenefs of a few. The growth of our diffenfion was either prevented, or foon quieted: the enemy foon deceived of his rejoicing, and the king especially difappointed of not the meaneft morfel that his hope prefented him, to ruin us by our divifion. And being now fo nigh the end, we may the better be at leifure to stay a while, and hear him commenting upon his own captivity.

He faith of his furprifal, that it was a "motion eccentric and irregular." What then? his own allufion from the celeftial bodies puts us in mind, that irregular motions may be neceffary on earth fometimes, as well as conftantly in Heaven. That is not always beft, which is most regular to written law. Great worthies heretofore by difobeying law, ofttimes have faved the commonwealth ; and the law afterward by firm decree hath approved that planetary motion, that unblamable exorbitancy in them.

He means no good to either independent or prefbyterian, and yet his parable, like that of Balaam, is overruled to portend them good, far befide his intention. Those twins, that ftrove enclofed in the womb of Rebecca, were the feed of Abraham; the younger undoubtedly gained the heavenly birthright; the elder, though fupplanted in his fimile, fhall yet no question find a better portion than Efau found, and far above his uncircumcifed prelates.

He cenfures, and in cenfuring feems to hope it will be an ill omen, that they who build Jerufalem divided their tongues and hands. But his hope failed him with his example; for that there were divifions both of tongues

and

and hands at the building of Jerufalem, the ftory would have certified him; and yet the work profpered; and if God will, fo may this, notwithstanding all the craft and malignant wiles of Sanballat and Tobiah, adding what fuel they can to our diffenfions; or the indignity of his comparison, that likens us to thofe feditious zealots, whofe inteftine fury brought deftruction to the last Jerufalem.

It being now no more in his hand to be revenged on his oppofers, he feeks to fatiate his fancy with the imagination of fome revenge upon them from above; and like one who in a drowth obferves the fky, he fits and watches when any thing will drop, that might folace him with the likeness of a punishment from Heaven upon us; which he ftraight expounds how he pleafes. No evil can befal the parliament or city, but he pofitively interprets it a judgment upon them for his fake; as if the very manufcript of God's judgments had been delivered to his cuftody and expofition. But his reading declares it well to be a falfe copy which he ufes: difpenfing often to his own bad deeds and fucceffes the teftimony of divine favour, and to the good deeds and fucceffes of other men divine wrath and vengeance. But to counterfeit the hand of God, is the boldeft of all forgery: And he who without warrant, but his own fantastic furmife, takes upon him perpetually to unfold the fecret and unfearchable mysteries of high providence, is likely for the most part to mistake and flander them; and approaches to the madness of thofe reprobate thoughts, that would wreft the fword of juftice out of God's hand, and employ it more juftly in their own conceit. It was a fiall thing, to contend with the parliament about the fole power of the militia, when we fee him doing little lefs than laying hands on the weapons of God himfelf, which are his judgments, to wield and manage them by the fway and bent of his own frail cogitations. Therefore "they that by tumults first occafioned the raising of armies" in his doom must needs "be chaftened by their own army for new tumults."

First, note here his confeffion, that thofe tumults were the first occafion of railing armies, and by confequence

that

that he himself raifcd them firft, against thofe fuppofed tumults. But who occafioned thofe tumults, or who made them fo, being at firft nothing more than the unarmed and peaceable concourie of people, hath been difcuffed already. And that thofe pretended tumults were chaftifed by their own army for new tumults, is not proved by a game at tic-tac with words; tumults and armies, armies and tumults," but feems more like the method of a juftice irrational than divine.

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If the city were chaftened by the army for new tumults, the reason is by himself fet down evident and immediate, "their new tumults." With what fenfe can it be referred then to another far-fetched and imaginary cause, that happened fo many years before, and in his fuppofition only as a caufe? Manlius defended the Capitol and the Romans from their enemies the Gauls: Manlius for fedition afterward was by the Romans thrown headlong from the Capitol; therefore Manlius was punished by divine justice for defending the Capitol, because in that place punished for fedition, and by thofe whom he defended. This is his logic upon divine juftice; and was the fame before upon the death of Sir John Hotham. And here again," fuch as were content to fee him driven away by unfuppreffed tumults, are now forced to fly to an army. Was this a judgment? Was it not a mercy rather, that they had a noble and victorious army so near at hand to fly to?

"

From God's juftice he comes down to man's justice, Thofe few of both houses, who at firft withdrew with him for the vain pretence of tumults, were counted deferters; therefore those many must be alfo deserters, who withdrew afterwards from real tumults: as if it were the place, that made a parliament, and not the end and caufe. Because it is denied that thofe were tumults, from which the king made thow of being driven, is it therefore of neceffity implied, that there could be never any tumults for the future? If fome men fly in craft, may not other men have cause to fly in earnest? But mark the difference between their flight and his; they foon returned in fafety to their places, he not till after many years, and then a captive to receive his punishment, So

that