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<DATE>2014-05-08</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140311.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<HEAD>The Humble and Serious <HI>TESTIMONY</HI> Of many Hundreds, of Godly and well affected <HI>People</HI> in the County of <HI>BEDFORD,</HI> and parts adjacent, Con&s;tant Adherers to the Cau&s;e of God and the Nation.</HEAD>
<P>_IT is well known to all the Faithfull and Godly People of the&s;e Nations, that the late great conte&s;t, and grievous war among&s;t us, was not onely to recover our civill, but al&s;o religious rights and Liberties, undertaken and managed not by one, or a few per&s;ons, but by the common faith, prayers, and endeavours of the People of God in the&s;e Na|tions: who upon &s;o manife&s;t a call of God, as they then had, loved not their lives unto the death, for the word of God, and te&s;timony which they held. And as God him&s;elfe led them unto the&s;e great Undertakings, &s;o he was pre&s;ent with them, on all occa&s;ions, and in all places, whither&s;oever his &s;peciall providence led them, for the performing that glorious work of his, till he had &s;ubdued his enemies under them, and the Nations under their feet; by which means they that feared the Lord, were put into a reall capacity to have done his whole plea&s;ure upon <HI>Ba|bylon</HI> in the&s;e Nations, and to recover to the people their ju&s;t freedome and liberties both in &s;pirituall, and civill things; which during the reigne and authority of the late King and his Prelates, was impo&s;&s;ible for us to enjoy.</P>
<P>But we now unexpectedly beholding this &s;o good and glorious a cau&s;e of Chri&s;t, as ever was on foot in any age, &s;o far de&s;erted, even by many of tho&s;e who had before been chiefe In&s;truments in it, and to be now in a great mea&s;ure changed from what it was then, and &s;o by degrees in danger to be brought into a particular Quar|rell between Per&s;on and Per&s;on, Family and Family, touching the admini&s;tration of Goverment in the&s;e Na|tions: And we al&s;o perceiving tho&s;e very things which we had de&s;troyed, through the good hand of God with us, to be by &s;ome attempted to be built up againe, both in Church and State, to the great di&s;honour of God and reproach of the Go&s;pel, both at home and abroad, and al&s;o to the great di&s;couragement and danger of Gods own people, and incouragement of the common enemy, who &s;eeing this defection of ours (contrary to &s;o ma|ny Publick Prote&s;tations, Declarations, Remon&s;trances, Engagements, and &s;olemn Appeals, before God and man) doe rejoyce thereat among them&s;elves, and &s;ay, <HI>So, &s;o would we have it.</HI></P>
<P>Now through the deep &s;ence of the&s;e things, we (having been long pained at the very heart, and fearing le&s;t our further &s;ilence &s;hould be reckoned an approving of the fore-mentioned evills) are now at la&s;t pre&s;t in Spirit, for the love of Chri&s;ts Kingdome, and welfare of the Nations, no longer to hold our peace, but (looking unto God our hope, and ca&s;ting off the care of the things that are &s;een, for the hope of the things that are not &s;een) we doe give forth this our hearty Te&s;timony (with others el&s;e where, that have borne witne&s;&s;e in the &s;ame cau&s;e,<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The Seri|ous <HI>Atte&s;ta|tion</HI> of many Tho&s;ands, Religious &amp; well di&s;po&s;ed people, living in <HI>London, We&s;tmin&s;ter</HI> Borough of <HI>Southwark,</HI> and parts adjoyning.</NOTE> who&s;e Atte&s;tation we have &s;een) <HI>viz. That the Lord of his e&s;peciall grace hath &s;o kept us in this time of Back-&s;liding, that we have alwayes endeavored to have neither heart, nor hand, in the&s;e late Declinings from the cau&s;e of Chri&s;t; nor in the change of the Government from a Commonwealth, whereby we conceive a founda|tion is laid for a new, mo&s;t bloody and de&s;olating, War.</HI></P>
<P>And though we judge all formes of civill Government may be u&s;efull, yet we apprehend the forme of a Common-wealth as oppo&s;ed to Monarchy, to be more expedient, yea nece&s;&s;ary (having been led thereinto both by the Declarations of the Parliament and Army, as al&s;o by the apparent providence of God) for the pre|&s;ervation of the peace of the&s;e Nations; &s;eeing the intere&s;t of no &s;ingle per&s;on will probably be able long to &s;tand out, again&s;t the Intere&s;t and Family of the <HI>Stuarts,</HI> which a Common-wealth wifely managed (in an ordi|nary way of providence) may better doe.</P>
<P>Wherefore we declare that we &s;till remaine faithfull to the fir&s;t good cau&s;e, which God him&s;elfe &s;et on foot among&s;t us, and witne&s;&s;ed to from Heaven by &s;o many m ghty and wonderfull providences, and from which through the goodne&s;&s;e of God, we tru&s;t we &s;hall never depart, neither for the obtaining any profits, or prefer|ments, or for the avoiding any evills or tribulations of this pre&s;ent world.</P>
<P><HI>And this we doe willingly Te&s;ti&s;ie both before God and men, and &s;hall wait in all meekne&s;&s;e, patience, and long &s;uffering, in our &s;everall places and callings, till God &s;hall appeare againe in his own due time, and &s;hall fulfill his gracious promi&s;es, wherein he hath cau&s;ed us to tru&s;t, for the full de&s;truction of</HI> Antichri&s;ts <HI>Kingdome and for the advancing of the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, together with the obtaining of our ju&s;t rights and freedomes in civill things which thereby will undoubtedly accrue to the Nations.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE>April 14. 1657.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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