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<NAME>Angela Berkley</NAME>
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<P><PB REF="1">
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<HI>The Humble PETITION</HI> OR <HI>REMONSTRANCE Of RICH: DAY OF</HI> Eton <HI>neer</HI> Wind&s;or,
<HI>To the PARLIAMENT of the Common-wealth of ENGLAND.</HI></P>
<P N="1"><HI>I.</HI> For the repairing of the Decay of Wood and Timber.</P>
<P N="2"><HI>II.</HI> For the Planting of an able Preaching Mini&s;try through|out the Land.</P>
<P N="3"><HI>III.</HI> For the Working of the Works of Mercy and Charitie: and for an Act again&s;t the pride of Apparell.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI>Printed by <HI>M. Simmons </HI>in the Yeare, 1652.</P>
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<PB REF="2">
<PB N="1" REF="2">
<HEAD>Honourable Sir&punc;</HEAD>
<P>_ABove a yeare agoe I petitioned your <HI>Honour,</HI> and under your name the <HI>Parliament of Eng|land,</HI> for the rai&s;ing of a future Plantation of Wood and Timber throughout the Land: Con&s;idering it as one of the greate&s;t com|forts of life, a worke of mercy and charitie to the poore, of piety towards God, and his Church, and of ab&s;olute nece&s;&s;itie for the maintenance of Navigation, the building of Hou&s;es, the maintenance of hu&s;|bandry, and divers u&s;efull and nece&s;&s;ary Trades in the Com|mon-wealth. All which notwith&s;tanding, it was not my opi|nion that the matter could be throughly proceeded in &s;o &s;oone as my &s;elfe and others could wi&s;h or de&s;ire: Neither doe I hould it the worke of one yeare, but rather &s;uch as will take up an employment for divers yeares one after another &s;ucce&s;&s;ively. True it is, if it like your <HI>Honour,</HI> I have heard it e&s;timated by &s;ome of good under&s;tanding and knowledge, that the lo&s;&s;e of any one yeare in the due pro&s;ecuting of this affaire for the Common-wealth, is of no le&s;&s;e value, if not farre greater, then the lo&s;&s;e of one hundred thou&s;and pounds. Yet this I con&s;ider with my &s;elfe, that the State may be &s;o employed otherwi&s;e, that they cannot &s;o in&s;tantly pur&s;ue it as &s;ome thinke they may. Such a di&s;honourable, di&s;loyall conceit cannot enter in|to me, that tho&s;e which &s;it at the Sterne, watching and waiting all opportunities to doe publique good, can wilfully, enviou&s;|ly, or carele&s;ly betray the honour, &s;trength, comfort, and con|&s;ervation of the Common-wealth in &s;uch a maine, and mo&s;t important bu&s;ines as this. In as much as Wood and Timber will alwayes be worth money, it is in the power of the State, very ea&s;ily, and within a rea&s;onable time, to rai&s;e divers milli|ons of money, by planting and encrea&s;ing of woods: be&s;ides o|ther comforts and commodities ari&s;ing thereof. On the con|trary, woe to this Land, at lea&s;twi&s;e as I conceive, for the decay of Woods, not onely if Shipping &s;hall faile, whereof it is &s;ayd

<PB N="2" REF="3">
to be in apparant danger for time to come, but if Sea-coale &s;hall faile, as I am &s;ure it may by more accidents then one: the mi&s;ery whereof began to be &s;eene and felt not very many yeares agoe, when the <HI>Scots</HI> were po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of <HI>New-Ca&s;tle.</HI> Certainly, it is the will of God, that mens lives &s;hould by all means be made comfortable, and that we u&s;e our wits, &s;trength, &amp; knowledge, what&s;oever it is, to the profiting of one another, and &s;etting forth the prai&s;e of God in the world. Imitating the nature of good Angels, who though they excell in dignity and beauty all other creatures, yet they di&s;daine not to be &s;erviceable to men, doing it with &s;ingular love, and good will; and infinitely re|joycing therein. In con&s;ideration whereof a certain Theologi|call Writer hath this excellent &s;aying: <HI>That after the example of Angells we ought to employ our &s;elves, in &s;oule, and body, calling, credit, and all we have for the good of men.</HI></P>
<P>Thus I have pre&s;umed (under a&s;&s;urance of honourable fa|vour and leave) to revive the memory of my late Petition, Pro|po&s;ition, or Remon&s;trance, for repairing the decay of Wood and Timber. Toward the latter end whereof I did intimate to your <HI>Honour,</HI> how that I had al&s;o travailed with the late King for the planting and propagating of the word of God in a ju&s;t and due manner throughout the Land. I did it by way of Petition, as the ca&s;e nece&s;&s;arily required, and briefly, and &s;ummarily the ef|fect was this: In the fir&s;t place I did ju&s;tly and truely affirme it, that the &s;tate and condition of Impropriations is apparantly derogatory to the glory of God, and &s;alvation of &s;oules. Next, I &s;hewed unto the King, how it re&s;ted in his owne &s;ole power, to grant Licences in <HI>Mortmaine,</HI> whereby to make the Churches capable of a re&s;tauration in that ca&s;e by due cour&s;e of Law, and not otherwi&s;e. Thirdly, I propo&s;ed a Collection of benevolen|ces to be had and made throughout the Realme of <HI>England,</HI> whereby Appropriatories might be &s;atisfied, either in Land, or money, to the full value of their e&s;tates. La&s;tly, I &s;ugge&s;ted a competency of yearly rent to be re&s;erved upon all tho&s;e Li|vings, as they &s;hould grow to be purcha&s;ed, to the King, his heires and Succe&s;&s;ors, in lieu, of fir&s;t Fruits, Tenths, and Sub&s;i|dies: to the end that the revenew of the Crowne or State, might not &s;uffer diminution by any device or propo&s;ition of mine. This was the maine ground, and the &s;umme and &s;ub|&s;tance of my Petition. Whereby it may appeare, as I &s;uppo&s;e,

<PB N="3" REF="3">
that I intended no wrong or violence to any, but proceeded in a lawfull, peaceable, and &s;atisfactory way, and not otherwi&s;e. As for a generall, free re&s;titution of Impropriations (which hath been often &amp; earne&s;tly urged heretofore) I have ever held it a mo&s;t unrea&s;onable, and uncharitable demand, be&s;ides the impo&s;&s;ibility of obteining it. And in ca&s;e that it were po&s;&s;ible to have it prevailed in at this day, it would not onely be the undoing of private Families, but al&s;o the di&s;&s;olving of Colle|giate Societies, which are the Seminaries &amp; Nurceries of good learning, and of Gods true Religion in the Land. It was meer|ly a Satanicall device, tending to the de&s;truction of &s;ouls, when Impropriations were put upon Colledges in exchange for Lands of another tenure. For then, and from thence-forth, the Church could not build up it &s;elfe without de&s;troying it &s;elfe: In as much as Colledges are rightly called, <HI>Semen Eccle&s;iae,</HI> the &s;eed of the Church.</P>
<P>I omit for brevity &s;ake, to &s;hew how the matter was di&s;cu&s;&s;ed at my attendance at the Councell board, how the King was rea|dy to have proceeded, and by whom, and under what pretence the proceeding was &s;ecretly &s;topt and &s;tayd. What&s;oever &s;hall be conceived of my proceeding with the &s;aid late King, which is here above recited, it is a comfort to my Con&s;cience, that I have faithfully travailed in a lawfull and peaceable way for the propagating of the word of God, which is the glory &amp; &s;trength of a Nation, and the light, and life, and everla&s;ting happines of every true Chri&s;tian Believer. I never propo&s;ed any thing to the &s;aid late King, but what I meant to ju&s;tifie at, and to a Parlia|ment when&s;oever. For though the times then were &s;uch, that no Parliament could be had (the rea&s;on whereof I well perceived, and under&s;tood) yet I did not believe that the &s;tate of tho&s;e times would continue long, what&s;oever the alteration &s;hould be. And the ground &amp; rea&s;on of my conjecture did not faile me.</P>
<P>Now to crave humble leave to &s;peak &s;omewhat of the matter in generall, although but briefly in compari&s;on of that which might be &s;aid, I doe thus conceive of it. There is nothing dea|rer to God then his &s;acred Word, and the &s;aving of &s;oules, for which the Son of God was incarnate, and &s;uffered &s;hame &amp; re|proach, and a cruell death. Now when once the true Religion is e&s;tabli&s;hed in a Nation, the planting and propagating of it is of all religious cau&s;es the next in order by the nece&s;&s;ity of ju&s;t

<PB N="4" REF="4">
con&s;equence. For otherwi&s;e, we make our &s;elves unworthy of &s;o great a benefit, and at length we hazard the lo&s;&s;e of it. As for this our Nation, it hath abounded in wealth and peace hereto|fore, and that of a very long time together, through the great and rich ble&s;&s;ing of God upon it. Wherefore it is much to be la|mented, that in all that peaceable time, a pious learned Mini|&s;tery hath not been planted, and &s;etled throughout the Land, as it might and ought to have been. For this cau&s;e e&s;pecially, as I in my con&s;cience am per&s;waded, is the wrath of God incen&s;ed, and &s;tirred up again&s;t the Land. Other &s;ins there are very great, and many, even a multitude and heape of them. But the neglect and contempt of the Word of God in this kinde, overthroweth all in the foundation. Under correction, it may &s;eeme to over|throw the ground of publick proceeding in the late lamenta|ble warre. Which I could declare more particularly, if I thought it convenient. Sure I am, if we refu&s;e to plant our own, and the onely true Religion, when God giveth time and meanes to doe it, our con&s;ciences, if we aske them, will tell us, that we doe al|together de&s;erve to be plagued with the contrary. It is Gods exceeding great mercy, &amp; forbearance, that the true Prote&s;tant Religion (which we prai&s;e, and profe&s;&s;e) is not utterly taken from us a good while agoe, and the Antichri&s;tian placed, and &s;et up in the roome thereof. Wee have wanted neither time nor means to do the will of God in this kinde, but we have wanted love and good will to &s;tirre us up thereunto. If we have found and known the &s;weetnes of the Word of God in our &s;elves, and for our own particulars, how is it that we have not earne&s;tly &s;ought to communicate it to others? <HI>When thou art converted,</HI> &s;ayth he, <HI>convert thy Brother.</HI> It is extreame cruelty, thus to neg|lect the &s;oules of our Brethren, and Neighbours, which ought to be as deare unto us as our owne. He liveth not the life of a Chri&s;tian, but a dead, dull, uncomfortable being he hath in this world, what&s;oever he is, that enjoyeth not the benefit of the word of God duely preached &amp; taught in the dayes of &s;olemne A&s;&s;emblies, I meane, the Sabbath dayes in the publique Chur|ches, according to the Ordinance and appointment of God. There is nothing under heaven that may be compared to the benefit thereof. It is the ea&s;e and relea&s;e of all weekly labour, all worldly &s;orrow, mi&s;ery and trouble. And in &s;ome degree it is a lively repre&s;entation of the Kingdome of heaven, where the

<PB N="5" REF="4">
P&s;alme-&s;ingers, the holy Saints and Angells are filled with un|&s;peakable joy &amp; gladne&s;&s;e by their continuall beholding of the glorious pre&s;ence of God, and giving him thankes and prai&s;es: As it is written in the booke of the <HI>P&s;almes; In thy pre&s;ence is the fulne&s;&s;e of joy, and at thy right hand there is plea&s;ure for evermore.</HI> I will &s;hortly conclude this point, with a briefe recicall of that which was uttered at the Councell, or rather the Con&s;piracy of <HI>Trent.</HI> It is well knowne that that Councell was packt and plotted for the Pope. Neverthele&s;&s;e, there were divers grave, learned, judicious, and religious men convened therein, and no great favourers of the Pope. Among&s;t whom the Bi&s;hop of <HI>To|ledo</HI> &s;itting as Amba&s;&s;adour for his Mai&s;ter the King of <HI>Spaine,</HI> &s;pake thus; <HI>I have heard it often &s;aid, that if there were yet but one &s;oule to be &s;aved</HI> (&s;uppo&s;ing that the propitiation for &s;ins were not throughly made as it is) <HI>Chri&s;t would de&s;cend againe and &s;uf|fer. Wherefore,</HI> quoth he, <HI>I marvaile with what Con&s;cience the Pope can give him&s;elfe any re&s;t, having the cure of &s;o many Churches lying upon him, and no cour&s;e taken to di&s;charge the &s;ame.</HI> Thus &s;pake he according to the common error and opinion of the deluded Princes and people of tho&s;e times, as touching the unlimited power and juri&s;diction of the Pope over all Churches: The ap|plication whereof were ea&s;ie to be made in regard of tho&s;e ma|ny de&s;olate and unprovided Churches in this our Land, but I omit it for brevity &s;ake, humbly referring it, to all pious, pru|dent, &s;erious, and religious con&s;ideration. For the longer that this matter is deferred, the more pernitious it is to the State. God never yet left the contempt of his holy word, and the ho|ly Mini&s;tery thereof unrevenged, nor never will.</P>
<P>From hence I &s;hall humbly crave leave to de&s;cend to the third, and la&s;t particular, which I had in mine intention to have pro|po&s;ed to the &s;aid late King, that is to &s;ay, for the working of the works of mercy and charity towards the poore, in a mag|nificent &s;ort, an&s;werable to his regall e&s;tate, and in &s;ome degree to the exigency of the people. For otherwi&s;e, as for the di&s;tri|buting of &s;mall &s;ummes of money at certaine times, we know there was an ordinary cour&s;e &s;etled in the office of the Kings Almoner. About a yeare or two agoe, I heard of &s;omewhat that was intended by the <HI>Parliament</HI> to be done in this kinde within the Citie of <HI>London.</HI> Which gives me the greater encouragement to &s;peake and treate of the matter here. I would not pre&s;&s;e this

<PB N="6" REF="5">
duty to the pre&s;ent State in the&s;e &s;o chargeable times, but that I know mo&s;t a&s;&s;uredly how it may be mo&s;t ea&s;ily and conveni|ently performed, notwith&s;tanding any taxes or payments now already impo&s;ed upon the people, or ever likely to be impo&s;ed. It may be done in a privative way, &amp; in a po&s;itive. In this place I &s;hall onely in&s;i&s;t upon the privative, for the encrea&s;e of the workes of charitie, by &s;ub&s;tracting and taking away from the works of &s;uperfluitie, vanity, and overflowing wickedne&s;&s;e. My mo&s;t humble and earne&s;t reque&s;t now therefore is, that a &s;trong permanent Act, may be framed and put forth again&s;t the pride of apparell. As I conceive it, the pride of this Land will be the de&s;truction thereof, if it be not timely repre&s;&s;ed: It is &s;o ex|ce&s;&s;ive, that I &s;uppo&s;e the divine ju&s;tice of God cannot beare it. Let not my fancy or folly be objected again&s;t me in this ca&s;e, but let the matter be examined by the Word of God, which is the rule of truth. In the third Chap. of the Prophecy of <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> there is a particular enumeration and recitall of tho&s;e proud fa&s;hions and ge&s;tures which were u&s;ed among the <HI>I&s;raeliti&s;h</HI> wo|men in tho&s;e dayes. If any man &s;hould goe about to doe the like among us, as the Prophet doth there, he would &s;eeme to trifle and to deale ab&s;urdly and ridiculou&s;ly. But the Spirit of God doth not trifle, neither is any Word of God idle or vaine. If any man &s;hould doubt whether the eye and ob&s;ervation of God were &s;o upon all the actions of men and women on earth, as to mark and take notice what apparell they weare, and what ge&s;ture of body they u&s;e, he might be &s;atisfied in it by the per|u&s;all of that place of Scripture. In the end and clo&s;e whereof there is no le&s;&s;e puni&s;hment threatned, then the de&s;truction of the Land. And did God &s;o hate the pride of women in tho&s;e dayes, and will he tolerate it now in the people of this our Na|tion? If the mi&s;ery of a civill warr (which did manife&s;tly threa|ten our de&s;truction) cannot &s;erve to bring downe our pride, how, doe we thinke, &s;hould God deale with us? For in re&s;pect of our ob&s;tinate rebellion, and di&s;obedience, we doe none other in the effect, then make this the que&s;tion: Whether we &s;hall hum|bly &s;ubmit to God, and feare before him as we ought, or that he &s;hould yeeld to us, to give us leave to live, and doe as we li&s;t? <HI>Doe we provoke him to anger,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, are we &s;tronger then he? And both in <HI>Leviticus,</HI> and <HI>Deuteronomy,</HI> God threat|neth the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> that if they will not turne and repent upon

<PB N="7" REF="5">
his fir&s;t cha&s;ti&s;ing of them, he will encrea&s;e their plagues &s;even|times more. Our ble&s;&s;ed Saviour in his divine Sermon upon the Mount, pronounceth them ble&s;&s;ed that are mercifull, as it is in the &s;ixt Chapter of the Go&s;pel of S^t <HI>Matthew, Ble&s;&s;ed are the mercifull, for they &s;hall obtaine mercy.</HI> If they are ble&s;&s;ed that are mercifull, then they are cur&s;ed that are unmercifull, and cruell. It is a true inference, and it is <HI>Englands</HI> ca&s;e concerning alms|deeds, and the reliefe of the poore. In the proud carriages of men in the&s;e dayes, and their vaine, fooli&s;h, and gari&s;h attire, as there is a bold audacious pre&s;uming again&s;t God him&s;elfe (for it is done in his &s;ight) &s;o moreover there is a mercile&s;&s;e, cruell per&s;ecuting of the poore, who&s;e eyes cannot but behold it, to the griefe of their hearts: according to that &s;aying; <HI>The poore are per&s;ecuted in the pride of the ungodly.</HI> I know there are di|vers other ungodly, and uncharitable wayes of mi&s;&s;pending the good gifts and ble&s;&s;ings of God in the world, be&s;ides the vanity of apparell. But I in&s;i&s;t upon this, becau&s;e I hold it for the mo&s;t generall &amp; expen&s;ive way. Concerning my poore and unwor|thy &s;elfe, I declare my con&s;cience in this re&s;pect: I would not de&s;ire to be the Planter of wood, no, nor of the Word of God it &s;elfe, without exerci&s;ing the works of mercy&punc; and charity to the poore, according to that ability and meanes, which God &s;hould plea&s;e to put into my hands: Con&s;idering how the Son of God, the &s;econd per&s;on in Trinity was content to make him|&s;elfe poore, that he might enrich others, and how the diffinitive &s;entence of ab&s;olution and condemnation &s;hall goe upon it at the la&s;t day. It is not Popery to relieve the poore, as &s;ome are plea&s;ed to account it now adayes: It is pride, covetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, and cruelty, not to doe it. No man po&s;&s;ibly can know aright how to give almes, or to doe any good worke what&s;oever, &s;ave one|ly the true Prote&s;tant, who beleeveth, and knoweth that &s;alva|tion, life, and glory, are already purcha&s;ed by the death and merit of Chri&s;t, and therefore good workes mu&s;t be done to the glory of God, and Chri&s;t, to te&s;tifie our faith in him, and our love to him, who hath &s;o loved us, that <HI>he gave him&s;elfe a propi|tiation, and ran&s;ome for our &s;ins.</HI> The&s;e things I am bould to pro|po&s;e, becau&s;e I hold my &s;elfe bound thereunto in the behalfe of God, and for the publique &s;afety of the Land, that the loving favour of God may re&s;t upon it.</P>
<P><PB N="8" REF="6">
I might enlarge this Di&s;cour&s;e to a very great length, but I will rather abridge it. In the fir&s;t Covenant that came forth from the Parliament divers yeares agoe, this rea&s;on was given of all the common calamitie that hath befallen us, namely this, that <HI>we have not received Chri&s;t into our hearts:</HI> And I doe verily believe it to be &s;o. For if the love of Chri&s;t had been &s;hed abroad in our hearts, it would have kept us from tho&s;e great, and ma|nifold tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions, which we now &s;tand guilty of: It would have led us into all good wayes, and learned us to keepe his Commandements. Nothing in the world would have been &s;weeter, and dearer to us. Since I knew this world (in which I have lived a long time) I never heard the name of Chri&s;t &s;o much in the mouths of men as it is now adayes, and hath been of late yeares. That great, and holy, and excellent Name is worthy to be mentioned, and had in honour, and to be exalted, and magnified at all times, and in all places throughout the world. But God grant we may have him in our hearts as well as in our mouths, lea&s;t otherwi&s;e our deepe hypocri&s;ie &s;hould be di&s;covered at the la&s;t, and we be found to have collogued with the world, and dealt untruly with God. <HI>Amor &s;i e&s;t, mira operatur; &s;i operari renuit, amor non e&s;t.</HI> The love of Chri&s;t, if it be in us indeed, will con&s;traine us to doe tho&s;e good things, which will &s;eeme &s;trange unto the world: but if we refu&s;e to propound him to us as an en&s;ample, that we may tread in his &s;teps, how then abideth his love in us? If we have yet received Chri&s;t into our hearts, or if we will yet receive him, I am ve|ry &s;ure, the things that I have here propo&s;ed will be readily a&s;|&s;ented unto, and put in due execution: Wherefore I will not doubt of the integrity, and &s;inceritie of the Superiour Powers under which we live, but that they will &s;et them&s;elves with all faithfulne&s;s and diligence to doe the will of God in all things. It was the voyce of an envious malignant Papi&s;t, namely, the Cardinall <HI>Matheolangi,</HI> that was heard in the Councell of <HI>Trent,</HI> &s;peaking thus to &s;ome of his intimate friends, as concerning <HI>Luther: That Luthers demands, and his vehement complaints again&s;t the abu&s;es of the Court of Rome were ju&s;t, and rea&s;onable; but that a poore Fryar &s;hould reforme all, this was not to be endured.</HI> I am not &s;o jealous of my poore credit in the world, but I can be con|tent to be neglected, and de&s;pi&s;ed of all that are of it, of all that

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are in it, &s;o that God may vouch &s;afe to have re&s;pect unto me, as to one that de&s;ireth to feare his Name in truth and &s;inceri|tie, and to &s;eeke his glory, and the good of his people. Al|though Monarchy were &s;till on foote, and in place, and power, yet neverthele&s;&s;e I would be bold to affirme thus much, being able to prove it: that if this State and Common-wealth &s;hall be pre&s;erved from ruine and de&s;truction, it mu&s;t be by the bene|fit of Parliaments, in ordaining good, and whole&s;ome Lawes, and not onely &s;o, but &s;eeing them put in due, and &s;trict execu|tion, partly by imitating the office of Cen&s;or&s;hip among the old <HI>Romans,</HI> whereof we read in their Hi&s;tory. I will &s;hut up all with little more then the recitall of a very briefe &s;aying in <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> but &s;omewhat pertinent, as I &s;uppo&s;e, to the&s;e proud, licentious, and luxurious times in which we live: <HI>It is not &s;o hard to refute Heretiques, as to reforme vices.</HI> Religion will decay and dye where di&s;&s;olutenes of manners is not repre&s;&s;ed and kept downe. It is not any &s;ingular, cen&s;orious conceit of mine, but a common complaint, that the pride of this Land was never &s;o great as now. I am &s;ure, it is &s;uch, and &s;o great, that it cryeth for Judgement, True it is, we enjoy great peace, and quietne&s;&s;e at this day, being farre above, and contrary to our de&s;ert. Neverthele&s;&s;e, I hould it a cleare ca&s;e, and undeni|able, that by rea&s;on of tho&s;e great, and &s;trange alterations, which have lately happened in our Land, we doe live as yet, but in a controverted divided State: And it is impo&s;&s;ible to &s;e|cure, and &s;tabli&s;h it by any other way, &s;ave onely by repenting (without hypocri&s;ie) for the fore-pa&s;&s;ed time, and now hence forward walking humbly with God, holding clo&s;e with him, and working the workes of piety, and charity, and &s;o advan|cing his glory: Becau&s;e his loving kindnes, and goodnes to|wards us, and our late Ance&s;tors, and Predece&s;&s;ors, hath been exceeding great, but we all have been unfaithfull, and unthank|full, abu&s;ing our long peace, neglecting his glory, and our owne, and others Salvation, re&s;olutely provoking his wrath. Wherefore God al&s;o hath as re&s;olutely revenged his own cau&s;e by drawing out money, and bloud in abundance; as it is writ|ten; <HI>I &s;et every man again&s;t his neighbour.</HI></P>
<P>And he the &s;ame God can and will yet further by one meanes or other, avenge him&s;elfe, and will doe it like a God indeed&punc;

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if we deale &s;toutly, perver&s;ly, or deceitfully with him. <HI>Who ever waxed feirce again&s;t him, and pro&s;pered?</HI> So &s;aith the Scrip|ture. And againe, it bringth in God thus &s;peaking of him&s;elfe; <HI>I the Lord am he that &s;earcheth the reines, and the heart.</HI> There is no State in the world, but is &s;ubject to alteration: not any people more api&s;h, more ridiculous, more fickle, and incon|&s;tant then a &s;ort of the <HI>Engli&s;h.</HI> There is no &s;tability to be found in the world, nor in the minds of men. It is onely found, and founded in God, who alone is immovable, immutable, wor|thy to be honoured, and magnified throughout the world, having freely reconciled it to him&s;elfe, in a wonderfull, ineffa|ble way, by the death of his onely begotten Sonne; In who&s;e hands is our life, and our breath, who is ble&s;&s;ed for ever. As long as I live I will &s;eeke the honour of his Name, though o|thers bla&s;pheme it, and will endeavour my &s;elfe to &s;hew forth his prai&s;e: <HI>For his loving kindnes is better then the life it &s;elfe,</HI> even as <HI>David</HI> &s;aith: Con&s;ider we then on the contrary part, what his anger, and di&s;plea&s;ure is. And let not mortall, and wret|ched creatures, poore &s;illy wormes, and vermin, be pre&s;ump|tuous out of mea&s;ure, lea&s;t their breath be &s;uddenly &s;topt, and then they rue it to all eternity. For there is &s;omewhat to be feared that is wor&s;e then the fire of Hell, if a true Saint, and Servant of God were not infinitely deceived in &s;o &s;aying, who yet, without que&s;tion knew very well, and throughly con&s;ide|red what he &s;pake, and &s;aid in that point: <HI>Multi gehennam cre|dunt e&s;&s;e extremum omnium malorum; at ego &egrave; contr&agrave; <GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> hoc &s;emper prae|dicabo, mult&ograve; tolerabilius e&s;&s;e gehennam pati, quam offendere Chri&s;tum. Chry&s;o&s;t. in Matheum.</HI> Thus did he e&s;teeme of the &s;in and guilt of offending Chri&s;t, counting it much more intolerable then the very flames of the fire of Hell. Woe unto tho&s;e &s;oules that &s;hall one day experience it in them&s;elves. The mercifull and gratious Lord pre&s;erve this our State from being deepe in that condemnation of offending Chri&s;t, and provoking that mo&s;t holy One either by words or deeds.</P>
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</DIV1>
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</EEBO>
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