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<DATE>2009-05-27</DATE>
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<NAME>Megan Marion</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
xAdd DIV TYPEs, validate
xReview structure, use FRONT,BODY, BACK or rarely GROUP
xCheck PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
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xCheck # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A90401">
<STC T="W">p1215</STC>
<STC T="T">E983_21</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99863299</BIBNO>
<VID>168582</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>To the <HI>Parliament,</HI> the <HI>Army,</HI> and all the <HI>Wel-affected</HI> in the Nati|on, who have been faithful to the <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e.</HI></HEAD>
<P>THat there hath been a back-&s;liding and turning a&s;ide from the GOOD OLD CAUSE, even by the Army (who formerly were glorious In&s;truments in the hand of God) hath been lately confe&s;&s;ed, and that they have cau&s;e, and de&s;ire to take &s;hame to them&s;elves.</P>
<P>Now that they may &s;ee the cau&s;e of &s;hame that lies upon them, and may aba&s;e them&s;elves in the &s;ight of God, and before all the World, it behooves them to &s;earch narrowly into their back-&s;lidings, and con&s;ider the fruits there|of, that they may be truly humbled, and turned from that Spirit which led them a&s;ide, le&s;t any of them take advantage to make a feigned Confe&s;&s;ion for their own ends, and fall afre&s;h to &s;eek them&s;elves; and their own Intere&s;ts, and not the <HI>God Old Cau&s;e</HI> &s;ingly, and nakedly, as in the &s;ight of the Lord.</P>
<P>Many bad fruits have grown from this Corrupt Spirit, and the cor|rupt cour&s;e it hath run in the&s;e late years, which would be narrowly &s;earched into, and con&s;idered of: Some few general ones I may mention.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Name of God hath been bla&s;phemed in the &s;ight of the whole Earth, and that holy Spirit and Power (which many hearts can witne&s;s was the Beginner and Carrier on of this Work) made a &s;coff and deri&s;ion to the Enemies of Truth in the&s;e Nations, and in the Nations round a|bout, who watched to &s;ee the i&s;&s;ue and re&s;ult of the&s;e things. The Con|trover&s;ie was very great and eminent, and drew many eyes upon it, the Lord was Appealed to on both &s;ides to decide it; and many know, That by his Pre&s;ence and Power in the Army, the Scale was turned, (even when they were very low, and cryed out for Prayers, and made large Pro|mi&s;es in the day of their Di&s;tre&s;s.) Yea, the Lo<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">d did not de&s;ert the Army, but heard their Prayers, and the Prayers of his People for them, carrying on the Deliverance, until he had given a perfect Victory into their hands. But then the Army de&s;erted the Lord; and ju&s;t like men that were ruled by the Spirit of the World, forgot the Lord, and his Cau&s;e and Intere&s;t, and their fellow companions in the hard Travel and Service, and &s;et up them|&s;elves, and their own Intere&s;t, making their General the greate&s;t, and their Officers great. Thus the Cau&s;e was betrayed, the mea&s;ure of it lo&s;t, a Private, Particular, Selfi&s;h, Earthly, Corrupt Intere&s;t &s;et up, and men
<PB REF="2">countenanced and advanced, not according to their Fidelity to the <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e,</HI> but according to their complyance with this new &s;elfi&s;h Intere&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. The great work of God, both in the&s;e Nations, and in the World, hath hereby been turned backward. In the&s;e Nations, that Spirit which be|gan this Work (when at any time it hath appeared in &s;implicity and &s;ingle|ne&s;s for the pro&s;ecution of it) hath been &s;nibbed; what was built up for|merly, thrown down; and that which was thrown down, now again built up; &s;o that the Face of the Nation was changed, and unrighteous ones came into place and power, and the innocent and upright (tho&s;e that feared God, and could not &s;eek them&s;elves, or the plea&s;ing of men&punc;) have been oppre&s;&s;ed and cru&s;hed. And if the work was thus &s;topt in the&s;e Nations, its advan|tage of &s;preading further mu&s;t needs be interrupted. God had rai&s;ed up a Power again&s;t Oppre&s;&s;ion, in which he eminently appeared, even to the dread of the Nations round about: and how far this Power &s;hould have gone on in his work, by the Leadings of his Spirit, had they waited in his Council, kept to their Leader, and not turned a&s;ide to another Spirit, and to other Ends and Intere&s;ts, who can tell?</P>
<P N="3">3. Great and Va&s;t Trea&s;ures have been expended, for the maintaining of you in greatne&s;s in your black-&s;lidings, and the poor have groaned to bear the burthen: and while ye have grown thus high, extravagant, and exceffive, many (who remained faithful) have wanted even that which was their due, and have undergone great hard&s;hips thereby.</P>
<P N="4">4. The Account of all the Blood which hath been &s;hed lies &s;omwhere. Was it for a thing of Nought? Was in of no Value? Nay, It was preci|ous in the &s;ight of the Lord; many (yea very many) in the &s;inglene&s;s and &s;implicity of their hearts lo&s;ing their lives for the Cau&s;e. And yet how &s;oon had you forgot all this, ca&s;ting it, and the Cau&s;e behinde your backs, and &s;etting up your &s;elves! Thus have ye grieved that good Spirit, which never gave you Victory over your Enemies for this end, that h<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">s Name, and Cau&s;e, and Intere&s;t &s;hould be forgotten, and yours grow great: but the Name of the Lord &s;hould have been exalted by you, and ye &s;hould have remained low and little, both in your own eyes, and in the eyes of others. But the Lord hath been Vailed by your Greatne&s;s, and that Vail lies upon him at this day: Read this in the true humility, and in the fear and dread of his great Name, who will be exalted over all, and whom no power or greatne&s;s on earth &s;hall be able to hinder from ari&s;ing. Remember the&s;e things, &ocirc; ye back-&s;liding children, and be aba&s;ed; that the Lord may forgive you, and may vouch&s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">e yet once more to make u&s;e of you in his &s;ervice.</P>
<P>But I am jealous over you with a godly jealou&s;ie, le&s;t ye &s;hould confe&s;s, and turn back, not with an upright heart, but feignedly: and it &s;o, then you will not lie flat in your &s;pirits, either before the Lord, or before men, but will be keeping up the greatne&s;s ye have got in your back-&s;lidings, and &s;eeking your own intere&s;ts, and &s;elf-ends afre&s;h. There hath been often a naked, hone&s;t, &s;imple, pure thing &s;tirring in the Army, which the great ones (&s;eeing &s;ome pre|&s;ent u&s;e of) fell in with, and improved for their own ends, but de&s;troyed the thing it &s;elf; &s;o that it attained not to the bringing forth of that righteous liberty, and common good which it &s;eemed to aim at (and did indeed aim
<PB REF="2">at in tho&s;e in whom the &s;tirring did ari&s;e) but was made u&s;e of as an advantage to advance them in their particular Intere&s;ts again&s;t their E|nemies, and &s;o &s;et them up. Have ye &s;een this u&s;e made formerly of &s;uch lively &s;tirrings in &s;ome, and &s;uch fair preten&s;es in others after righteou&s;ness, liberty, and the Common good? Take heed of it now. Let not the pure &s;tirrings after good, be betrayed into the &s;elfi&s;h lu&s;ts and intere&s;ts of your own corrupt hearts. Do not fall &s;o ha&s;tily to the work of Reformation nor be not &s;o forward to propo&s;e things for &s;ettlement; but wait to be purged from that back-&s;liding &s;prit (which &s;ticks clo&s;er to you and makes you unfitter for this &s;ervice then you are aware) that you may come into a capacity of de&s;iring the Common good, and of being faithful in the pro&s;ecution of it; and put off your greatne&s;s and &s;welling honours that ye have contracted in the time of your back-&s;lidings, and come at lea&s;t into an equal ballance with them that remained faithful. Are ye humbled before the Lord for your back&s;lidings, and yet keep your corrupt &s;tandings? Is this true humiliation? Is this taking of &s;hame to your &s;elves? Ah, do not force the Lord to deal with you! do not force the Lord to &s;trip you, and manife&s;t your &s;hame! If it be truly in your hearts, that the work of the Lord &s;hould go on, let &s;uch be picked out who have not back &s;lidden, and let them carry it on; and &s;tand ye by a while, till it be made manife&s;t that your hearts are changed, and there be a Te&s;timony given to the Nation, that you are truly humbled, and become men of other &s;pirits: For while this &s;pirit remains in you, ye will be &s;ecretly for your &s;elves, and cannot po&s;&s;ibly be cordial, either to the Lord, or to the Nation, in the work of Reformation; but while you &s;eem to be &s;etting your hands to it, your hearts will be erring from it, and your endeavours will be to ob&s;truct tho&s;e who&s;e hearts are entire and faithful to it.</P>
<P>Now to the Parliament, let me &s;ay this, Ye have one day more by the good hand of God, by the great mercy of God, ye have one day more; (not for your righteou&s;ne&s;s, not for your fitne&s;s for the work; but for the unrighteou&s;|ne&s;s of that power, which would not go on with the Lords work, but bring back again to <HI>Egypt,</HI> hath the hand of the Lord been &s;tretched forth again&s;t them.) Be not &s;l<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">thful, be not &s;elfi&s;h, be not wi&s;e in the fle&s;h: but know that Wi&s;edom which is to be your Guide and Leader, and let it be your wi&s;edom to follow. A Providence hath brought you together; let the &s;ame Providence lead you. Be &s;ingle and hone&s;t to the Nation, and upright hearted toward God; and if any &s;traights come, be not ha&s;ty, but wait for the manife&s;tati|on of his Council, for the unvailing of his Arm to protect you. Let not the Army be your confidence. Do not any one thing to plea&s;e the Army; much Je&s;s a corrupt intere&s;t of a part of the Army; but apply your &s;elves to do that which is truly ju&s;t and righteous in the &s;ight of God, of the Army, and of all men. The Lord hath as it were new Created you, and given you a new Be|ing; look up to him to pre&s;erve you, and apply your &s;elves faithfully to his work, without &s;elf-ends and intere&s;ts in your &s;elves, and again&s;t all &s;elf-ends and intere&s;ts in others, leaving it to his power to &s;tand by you and p<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ve you therein; and do not joyn (through fear or favour) with that which is great and powerful, but with that which is &s;ingle and hone&s;t. Mind the &s;tir|ring
<PB REF="3">of that Spirit in the Army, and in the Nation, which revived the <HI>Good Old Cau&s;e;</HI> and cheri&s;h it, and cleave to it: Mind likewi&s;e the Apo&s;tatizing Spirit, which would colour over the Apo&s;tacy, and make it &s;eem as little as they could, and frown upon it, though in per&s;ons never &s;o great. Ye are in the place of God; re&s;pect not per&s;ons, but righteou&s;ne&s;s, and ye &s;hall have honour, even that honour which will &s;tand, when the vain honour and titles which corrupt man a&s;pires after, whereby his heart is lifted up above his bre|thren (which the King of <HI>I&s;raels</HI> was not to be) &s;hall fall to the ground, do men what they can. Open your eyes (that eye in you which alone can &s;ee the power that hath wrought this change) there is the Arm of Fle&s;h, and the Arm of the Lord before you, chu&s;e which you will cleave to. The Lord hath a work to do, a great work, and he will not want In&s;truments. Ye have a time of tryal, whether ye will become fit In&s;truments in the hand of the Lord; im|prove it in his fear and in his wi&s;edom; and do not think your &s;elves &s;ecure, as ye can gain the pre&s;ent Powers on your &s;ide; but be &s;ingle to the Lord, and he will bring over the hearts of the Army and Nation to you. And take heed of your debates; let every man fear his own wi&s;edom and his own will, in every word he &s;peaks in the Hou&s;e; for that which comes from &s;elf, will be but for &s;elf (though under a pretence it may &s;eem to be for God) but pur&s;ue what is manife&s;tly good and righteous, and not what the wi&s;edom of the Serpent can ca&s;t a colour over, and make appear &s;o.</P>
<P>To tho&s;e who have remained faithful in the Nation, and waited for this day, I have one word al&s;o. Keep your eye on the Lord; fix not your hopes on the Army, or on the Parliament; but look through them, to him who hath the power over them. Man is a vain, empty, fooli&s;h thing, there is no good to be expected from him. If the Lord appear in them, and they abide in his fear, and be guided by his council, they may be In&s;truments of good in his hand, otherwi&s;e they will prove but broken reeds; but he that waiteth on the Lord &s;hall not be di&s;appointed, but &s;hall meet with and receive the good in the Lords &s;ea&s;on. The Lords mighty Power is at work, he &s;nap|peth In&s;tuments a&s;under at his plea&s;ure. When they are wi&s;e, when they are &s;trong, when they are puft up in the imaginations of their hearts, he over|turneth them with his finger, and calleth up that which was not, that which the foot of Pride trampled upon. <HI>The Lord is known by the Judgment which he executeth; the wicked is &s;nared in the work of his own hands.</HI> Wait on the Lord: If the&s;e al&s;o prove trecherous, his hand can overturn them al&s;o; and he will at length bring forth an In&s;trument, which his Soul can take plea|&s;ure in, and which he will make faithful to him in his work. O Nation of <HI>England,</HI> wait on the Lord! wait on the Lord, O my Soul!</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>From <HI>Chaffont</HI> in <HI>Bucks,</HI> <DATE>the 18. of the 3. mon. 1659.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>This from one who is a friend to the Com|mon-wealth, a lover of true Freedom, and de&s;ires the good of all men. <HI>I&s;aac Penington</HI> the younger.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
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<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>J. M.</HI> for <HI>Giles Calvert,</HI> at the Black <HI>Spread-Eagle</HI> near the We&s;t end of <HI>Pauls,</HI> 1659.</P>
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