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<DATE>2007-11-05</DATE>
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<NAME>Elspeth Healey</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed text and corrected markup.</ITEM>
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<STC T="W">E3295B</STC>
<STC T="T">669.f.21[73]</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99870000</BIBNO>
<VID>163568</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="document">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD><GAP DESC="missing" REASON="page cropped" EXTENT="1 span"> perillous time, by a few, who have been bewailing their own, and others Abominations, and would not be comforted, until their <HI>Redeemer,</HI> who is <HI>holy,</HI> be exalted in Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and his Name which hath been &s;o much bla&s;phemed, be &s;anctified in the &s;ight of the Nations.</HEAD>
<P>_THough we cannot but &s;ee cau&s;e bitterly to bewayle our own great iniquities and failings, under the profe&s;&s;ion of <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> both as King of Saints and Nations, and the abominations al&s;o of an haughty and abu&s;ive &s;pirit, found in the late &s;ingle Per&s;on (in a profe&s;&s;ed pur&s;uite of Reformation) not di&s;tingui&s;hing the precious from the vile, in the force he exerci&s;ed upon the long Parliament (after the Lord had &s;o long honoured them in his work, and pre&s;erved in the very fire a faithful Seed among them) which, with the like in&s;ulting and contempt, that afterward triumphed over a faithful people in the little A&s;&s;embly that followed, hath returned in ju&s;t reproach &amp; &s;hame upon their heads who &s;o in&s;ulted, and could not, therfore in that &s;pirit, make any ble&s;&s;ed u&s;e of the be&s;t of men who cleaved to them, the mo&s;t hopeful means bringing little forth, but meere confu&s;ion, yet we cannot but acknowledge to the glory of God on high, that &s;uch rebuke was ju&s;tly poured out upon the prevailing party of the &s;aid Parliament; and none but the upright and truly penitent among&s;t them, in &s;en&s;e both of neglect of duty and great Corruptions, ought of right, or acceptably in our e&s;teeme, to be &s;harers in the tru&s;t of Rule, over the &s;o hardly ran&s;omed People of this <HI>Nation.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Then we do in humility and feare, witne&s;&s;e again&s;t the &s;etting up or introducing any Per&s;on what&s;oever, as King, or chiefe Magi&s;trate, or a Hou&s;e of Lords, or any other thing of like import, under what name or title &s;oever, or any power ari&s;ing from the <HI>Nation,</HI> as a Nation upon the old corrupt and almo&s;t ruinated con&s;titution, apprehending that the great work of taking the Kingdome from Man, and giving it to Chri&s;t, hath had its beginning in the revolutions wee have been under.</P>
<P>Secondly, Wee do humbly witne&s;&s;e again&s;t the foundation of future Violence, of bringing into, or continuing in Au|thority any who joyned with the late &s;ingle Per&s;on, otherwi&s;e then by fir&s;t manife&s;ting fruit meete for repentance, for &s;uch mi&s;demeanors, by which our Rights, both as Chri&s;tians and as men have bin &s;o much betrayed, and the name of our hea|venly Father, after all his works of wonder with us, &s;o much thereby prophaned, to our greate&s;t griefe even throughout and beyond the bounds of the&s;e three <HI>Nations.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, Wee do hereby humbly witne&s;&s;e again&s;t the imploying in the Armies, or Navy, any Commanders who have been active in the Re&s;ignation of the Government to the decea&s;ed &s;ingle Per&s;on, or in the abu&s;ing any Chri&s;tians mett to mourne over their back-&s;lidings and abominations, or that informed again&s;t or &s;upplanted their di&s;&s;enting Brethren, or were princi|pall in contriving or pre&s;enting any of the bla&s;phemous or flattering addre&s;&s;es, or were Jaolers or Keepers of their Bretheren, in Holds or Pri&s;ons, or that received extraordinary rewards or titles of honour from the late &s;ingle Per&s;on or his Succe&s;&s;or, or any deriving power from them, or that acted by either of their Arbitrary Commands, to the bani&s;hment of any (without legall Tryall) out of the <HI>Nation,</HI> or that contrived or acted in the unrighteous and &s;hamefull proceeding again&s;t &s;uch of the late E|nemy as lived peaceably, and had no hand in the in&s;urrection, by decimating of them contrary to Articles and publique faith of the <HI>Nation,</HI> unle&s;&s;e &s;ome good proofe of repentance in truth, be manife&s;ted for the&s;e, or &s;uch of the&s;e abominations, as they &s;hall be found guilty of.</P>
<P>And po&s;itively, we do now de&s;ire witne&s;&s;e for, and humbly a&s;&s;ert, that the <HI>right</HI> of making and giving Lawes unto men, <HI>is originally in God,</HI> who hath given this power, as well as the execution thereof, unto <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> as hee is the Sonn of man, and <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> New-Havens <HI>Lawes in</HI> New-Eng|land, <HI>&s;old by</HI> L. Chapman, <HI>p. 12. &amp;</HI> 17.</NOTE> therein made univer&s;all Lord and Soveraigne over the whole World, and under Chri&s;t as his Mini&s;ters, a certaine number of men qualified and limitted according to his Word, ought to be &s;ett apart to the Office of chiefe <HI>Rule and Government</HI> over the&s;e <HI>Nations,</HI> as part of Chri&s;ts univer&s;all Kingdome. And we do claim, that only men of courage, fearing God, and hating Covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, might be imployed in the tru&s;t of <HI>Rule,</HI> and in all places of publique Judicature; yea, if it be po&s;&s;ible, in every place of publique Tru&s;t in the&s;e three <HI>Nations.</HI> And that all the Lawes re&s;pecting the right of men, might be &s;o truly ordered by the Scriptures to the exaltation of Chri&s;t, our Lord, King, and Law-giver, as that in point of right no difference might be made betwixt good and bad, nor this or that profe&s;&s;ion in Religion, but by one right Role the offendor may be puni&s;hed, and the injured effectually relieved with expedition: the &s;aid Lawes being fir&s;t &s;o plainely declared, as the poore&s;t in the Land may under&s;tand their Ca&s;e; and that it be di&s;pen&s;ed &s;o nigh their dwellings, as that Judgment might not be turned into Wormwood, as hitherto it hath been, through partiality, intricacy, vexatious delayes, and di&s;tances.</P>
<P>That as an intollerable burthen and oppre&s;&s;ion, incon&s;i&s;tent with the Rights afore&s;aid, or true liberty of Con&s;cience un|to all, the Rulers over men forbeare for ever to impo&s;e any nationall, parochiall Mini&s;try, &s;o as to inforce any forme of Wor&s;hip &s;uited to their intere&s;t, or compell men of one per&s;wa&s;ion, to maintaine any man of another, in the Mini&s;try.</P>
<P><HI>That thus doing Ju&s;tice, loving Mercy, and walking humbly with our God, which is the good he hath &s;hewed to us, as onely tending to true Settlement, the whole </HI>Nation<HI> may be ble&s;t, and all iniquity may &s;topp her mouth, is the </HI>Publique good Old Cau&s;e,<HI> we de&s;ire may be &s;o revived in truth, as that all the upright in heart throughout the Land may follow it, again&s;t every private factious or Carnall (though nationall) &s;pirit and oppo&s;ition what&s;oever, which under the &s;hadowe of the Lord our God Almighty, we &s;ett forth as our Te&s;timony, and Sub&s;cribe</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM>John Owen.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hen. Je&s;&s;ey.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Va. Powell.</ITEM>
<ITEM>J. Vernon.</ITEM>
<ITEM>H. Courtney.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Will. Allen.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Phil. Pinchon.</ITEM>
<ITEM>John Poortmans.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Clement Ireton.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Rob. Rum&s;ey.</ITEM>
<ITEM>P. Goodricke.</ITEM>
<ITEM>R. Price.</ITEM>
<ITEM>James Hitt.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Jo. Wigan.</ITEM>
<ITEM>H. Danvers.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Rich. Goodgroome.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Hen. Par&s;ons.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Ro. Overton.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Rich. Salton&s;tall.</ITEM>
<ITEM>Wentw. Day.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<DIV1 TYPE="note">
<P><HI>THe preceding Te&s;timony was prepared, and ready to be publi&s;hed at the breaking forth of the late in&s;urrection, which occa&s;ioned a for|bearance, lea&s;t it might &s;eeme at that &s;ea&s;on to gratify the Adver&s;ary; concerning which in&s;urrection, &s;ome of us have bin eye witne&s;&s;es of &s;uch abominable treachery, malignity, and enmity in many in eminent power, and in Armes under them, and in the publique Ministry, as more expo&s;ed the good Old Cau&s;e and people ingaged therein, then the&s;e who openly without &s;uch power ro&s;e up again&s;t them, which in due time, if not prevented by effectuall reformation herein, wee intend to witne&s;s again&s;t with full evidence, to the conviction of &s;uch upright ones, as might not &s;ee them&s;elves &s;o immediatly expo&s;ed, as their brethren were, by the new rai&s;ed Militia in many places of the Nation.</HI></P>
<BIBL><HI>Judges.</HI> 19. 30. </BIBL>
<Q>Con&s;ider of it, take advice, and &s;peake your minds.</Q>
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<P>Printed for <HI>Giles Calvert</HI> at the black Spread-Eagle, at the We&s;t end of <HI>Pauls.</HI> 1659.</P>
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