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rious exceffe. Openly proclaming themfelvs now in the fight of all men to be those which for a while they fought to cover under fheeps cloathing, ravenous and favage wolves threatning inrodes and bloody incurfions upon the flock of Chrift, which they took upon them to feed, but now clame to devour as their prey. More like that huge dragon of Egypt breathing out waft, and defolation to the land, unleffe he were daily fatn'd with virgins blood. Him our old patron Saint George by his matchleffe valour flew, as the Prelat of the Garter that reads his Collect can tell. And if our Princes and Knights will imitate the fame of that old champion, as by their order of Knighthood folemnly taken, they vow, farre be it that they should uphold and fide with this English Dragon; but rather to doe as indeed their oath binds them, they should make it their Knightly adventure to pursue and vanquish this mighty failewing'd monfter that menaces to fwallow up the Land, unleffe her bottomleffe gorge may be fatisfi'd with the blood of the Kings daughter the Church; and may, as she was wont, fill her dark and infamous den with the bones of the Saints. Nor will any one have reafon to think this as too incredible or too tragical to be fpok'n of Prelaty, if he confider well from what a maffe of flime and mud, the floathful, the covetous and ambitious hopes of Church-promotions and fat Bishopricks fhe is bred up and nuzzl'd in, like a great Python from her youth, to prove the general poyson both of doctrine and good discipline in the Land. For certainly fuch hopes and fuch principles of earth as these wherein the welters from a yong one, are the immediat generation both of a flavish and tyrannous life to follow, and a peftiferous contagion to the whole Kingdom, till like that fenborn ferpent she be shot to death with the darts of the fun, the pure and powerful beams of Gods word. And this may

serve to describe to us in part, what Prelaty hath bin and what, if she ftand, fhe is like to be toward the whole body of people in England. Now that it may appeare how the is not fuch a kind of evil, as hath any good, or use in it, which many evils have, but a diftill'd quinteffence, a pure elixar of mischief, peftilent alike to all, I fhal fhew briefly, ere I conclude, that the Prelats, as they are to the fubjects a calamity, fo are they the greatest underminers and betrayers of the Monarch, to whom they seem to be moft favourable. I cannot better liken the state and person of a King then to that mighty Nazarite SamJon; who being difciplin'd from his birth in the precepts and the practice of Temperance and Sobriety, without the strong drink of injurious and exceffive defires, grows up to a noble strength and perfection with those his illuftrious and funny locks the laws waving and curling about his god like shoulders. And while he keeps them about him undiminisht and unshorn, he may with the jaw-bone of an Affe, that is, with the word of his meaneft officer fuppreffe and put to confufion thousands of those that rise against his just power. But laying down his head among the ftrumpet flatteries of Prelats, while he fleeps and thinks no harme, they wickedly fhaving off all those bright and waighty treffes of his laws, and just prerogatives which were his ornament and ftrength, deliver him over to indirect and violent councels, which as those Philiftims put out the fair, and farre-fighted eyes of his natural discerning, and make him grinde in the prison house of their sinister ends and practices upon him. Till he knowing this prelatical rafor to have bereft him of his wonted might, nourish again his puiffant hair, the golden beames of Law and Right; and they fternly fhook, thunder with ruin upon the heads of those his evil counsellors, but not without great affliction to him

felfe. This is the fum of their loyal service to Kings; yet these are the men that ftil cry the King, the King, the Lords Anointed. We grant it, and wonder how they came to light upon any thing fo true; and wonder more, if Kings be the Lords Anointed, how they dare thus oyle over and besmeare so holy an unction with the corrupt and putrid oyntment of their base flatteries; which while they smooth the skin, strike inward and envenom the life blood. What fidelity Kings can expect from Prelats both examples past, and our prefent experience of their doings at this day, whereon is grounded all that hath bin said, may fuffice to inform us. And if they be such clippers of regal power and fhavers of the Laws, how they ftand affected to the law giving Parlament, your felves, worthy Peeres and Commons, can best testifie; the current of whofe glorious and immortal actions hath bin only oppos'd by the obfcure and pernicious defignes of the Prelats, until their infolence broke out to fuch a bold affront, as hath justly immur'd their haughty looks within ftrong wals. Nor have they done any thing of late with more diligence, then to hinder or break the happy affembling of Parlaments, however needfull to repaire the shatter'd and disjoynted frame of the Common-wealth, or if they cannot do this, to croffe, to difinable, and traduce all Parlamentary proceedings. And this, if nothing else, plainly accufes them to be no lawful members of the house, if they thus perpetually mutine against their own body. And though they pretend like Salomons harlot, that they have right thereto, by the fame judgement that Salomon gave, it cannot belong to them, whenas it is not onely their affent, but their endeavour continually to divide Parlaments in twain; and not only by dividing, but by all other means to abolish and destroy the free use of them to all pofterity. For the which and for all their for

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mer misdeeds, wherof this book and many volumes more cannot contain the moytie, I fhal move yee Lords in the behalf I dare fay of many thousand good Chriftians, to let your justice and speedy fentence paffe against this great malefactor Prelaty. And yet in the midst of rigor I would befeech think of mercy; and fuch a mercy, I feare I shal overshoot with a defire to fave this falling Prelaty, fuch a mercy (if I may venture to say it) as may exceed that which for only ten righteous perfons would have fav'd Sodom. Not that I dare advise ye to contend with God whether he or you shal be more merciful, but in your wife efteems to ballance the offences of thofe peccant Citties with these enormous riots of ungodly mif-rule that Prelaty hath wrought both in the Church of Christ, and in the state of this Kingdome. And if ye think ye may with a pious presumption strive to goe beyond God in mercy, shall not be one now that would diffuade ye. Though God for leffe then ten just persons would not spare Sodom, yet if you can finde after due fearch but only one good thing in prelaty either to religion, or civil goverment, to King or Parlament, to Prince or people, to law, liberty, wealth or learning, fpare her, let her live, let her spread among ye, til with her shadow, all your dignities and honours, and all the glory of the land be darken'd and obfcurd. But on the contrary if the be found to be malignant, hoftile, destructive to all these, as nothing can be surer, then let your fevere and impartial doom imitate the divine vengeance; rain down your punishing force upon this godleffe and oppreffing government: and bring fuch a dead Sea of fubversion upon her, that she may never in this Land rife more to afflict the holy reformed Church, and the elect people of God.

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Lthough it be a certaine truth that they who undertake a Religious Caufe need not care to be Men-pleafers; yet because the fatisfaction of tender and mild confciences is far different from that which is call'd Men-pleafing, to fatisfie fuch, I fhall adreffe my felfe in few words to give notice before hand of fomething in this booke, which to fome men perhaps may feeme offenfive, that when J have render'd a lawfull reafon of what is done, I may truft to have fav'd the labour of defending or excufing hereafter. Wee all know that in private and perfonall injuries, yea in publique fufferings for the cause of Chrift, his rule and example teaches us to be fo farre from a readineffe to speak evill, as not to answer the reviler in his language though never fo much provok't. Yet in the detecting, and convincing of any notorious enimie to truth and his Countries peace, efpecially that is conceited to have a voluble and fmart fluence of tongue, and in the vaine confidence of that, and out of a more tenacious cling to worldly refpects, ftands up for all the reft to juftifie a long ufurpation and convicted Pfeudepifcopy of Prelates, with all their ceremonies,

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