gundian league betwixt us, but chiefly religion, fhould bind to us immortally; even fuch friends as thefe, out of fome principles inftilled into us by the prelates, have been often difmiffed with diftafteful anfwers, and fometimes unfriendly actions: nor is it to be confidered to the breach of confederate nations, whofe mutual intercfts is of fuch high confequence, though their merchants bicker in the Eaft Indies; neither is it fafe, or wary, or indeed chriftianly, that the French king, of a different faith, should afford our neareft allies as good protection as we. Sir, I perfuade myself, if our zeal to true religion, and the brotherly ufage of our trueft friends, were as notorious to the world, as our prelatical fchifm, and captivity to rochet apophthegms, we had ere this feen our old conquerors, and afterwards liegemen the Normans, together with the Britains our proper colony, and all the Gafcoins that are the rightful dowry of our ancient kings, come with cap and knee, defiring the fhadow of the English fceptre to defend them from the hot perfecutions and taxes of the French. But when they come hither, and fee a tympany of Spaniolized bithops fwaggering in the foretop of the ftate, and meddling to turn and dandle the royal ball with unfkilful and pedantic palms, no marvel though they think it as unfafe to commit religion and liberty to their arbitrating as to a fynagogue of Jefuits.

But what do 1 ftand reckoning upon advantages and gains loft by the mifrule and turbulency of the prelates? What do I pick up fo thriftily their fcatterings and diminifhings of the meaner fubject, whilft they by their feditious practices have endangered to lofe the king one third of his main ftock? What have they not done to banifh him from his own native country? But to speak of this as it ought, would ask a volume by itself.

Thus as they have unpeopled the kingdom by expulfion of fo many thousands, as they have endeavoured to lay the fkirts of it bare by disheartening and difhonouring our loyalleft confederates abroad, fo have they hamstrung the valour of the fubject by feeking to effeminate us all at home. Well knows every wife nation that their liberty confifts in manly and honeft labours, in fobriety and rigorous honour to the marriagebed, which in both fexes

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should be bred up from chafte hopes to loyal enjoyments; and when the people flacken, and fall to loofenefs and riot, then do they as much as if they laid down their necks for fome wild tyrant to get up and ride. Thus learnt Cyrus to tame the Lydians, whom by arms he could not whilft they kept themselves from luxury; with one eafy proclamation to set up ftews, dancing, feafting, and dicing, he made them foon his flaves. I know not what drift the prelates had, whofe brokers they were to prepare, and fupple us either for a foreign invafion or domeftic oppreffion; but this I am fure, they took the ready way to defpoil us both of manhood and grace at once, and that in the fhamefulleft and ungodlieft manner, upon that day which God's law, and even our own reafon hath confecrated, that we might have one day at least of seven set apart wherein to examine and increafe our knowledge of God, to meditate and commune of our faith, our hope, our eternal city in Heaven, and to quicken withal the study and exercife of charity; at fuch a time that men should be plucked from their fobereft and faddeft thoughts, and by bishops, the pretended fathers of the church, inftigated, by public edict, and with earneft endeavour pushed forward to gaming, jigging, waffailing, and mixed dancing, is a horror to think! Thus did the reprobate hireling prieft Balaam feek to fubdue the Ifraelites to Moab, if not by force, then by this devilish policy, to draw them from the fanctuary of God to the luxurious and ribald feafis of Baal-peor. Thus have they trefpaffed not only against the monarchy of England, but of Heaven alfo, as others, I doubt not, can profecute against them.

I proceed within my own bounds to fhow you next what good agents they are about the revenues and riches of the kingdom, which declare of what moment they are to monarchy, or what avail. Two leeches they have that ftill fuck, and fuck the kingdom, their ceremonies and their courts. If any man will contend that ceremonies be lawful under the gofpel, he may be answered other where. This doubtlefs, that they ought to be many and overcoftly, no true protefiant will affirm. Now I appeal to all wife men, what an exceffive waste of treasure hath been within thefe few years in this land, not in the expe

dient, but in the idolatrous erection of temples beautified exquifitely to outvie the papifts, the coftly and dearbought fcandals and fnares of images, pictures, rich copes, gorgeous altarcloths: and by the courfes they took, and the opinions they held, it was not likely any ftay would be, or any end of their madness, where a pious pretext is.fo ready at hand to cover their infatiate defires. What can we fuppofe this will come to? What other materials than these have built up the fpiritual Babel to the height of her abominations? Believe it, fir, right truly it may be faid, that Antichrift is Mammon's fon. The four leaven of human traditions, mixed in one putrefied mafs with the poifonous dregs of hypocrity in the hearts of prelates, that lie basking in the funny warmth of wealth and promotion, is the ferpent's egg that will hatch an Antichrift wherefoever, and engender the fame monfter as big, or little, as the lump is which breeds him. If the splendour of gold and filver begin to lord it once again in the church of England, we fhall fee Antichrift fhortly wallow here, though his chief kennel be at Rome. If they had one thought upon God's glory, and the advancement of Chriftian faith, they would be a means that with these expenfes, thus profufely thrown away in trafh, rather churches and fchools might be built, where they cry out for want, and more added where too few are; a moderate maintenance distributed to every painful minifter, that now fcarce fuftains his family with bread, while the prelates revel like Belshazzar with their full caroufes in goblets, and veffels of gold fnatched from God's temple; which (I hope) the worthy men of our land will confider. Now then for their courts. What a mafs of money is drawn from the veins into the ulcers of the kingdom this way; their extortions, their open corruptions, the multitude of hungry and ravenous harpies that fwarm about their offices, declare fufficiently. And what though all this go not over fea? It were better it did: better a penurious kingdom, than where exceffive wealth flows into the graceless and injurious hands of common fponges, to the impoverishing of good and loyal men, and that by fuch execrable, fuch irreligious courses.

If the facred and dreadful works of holy difcipline, cenfure,

cenfure, penance, excommunication, and abfolution, where no prophane thing ought to have accefs, nothing to be affiftant but fage and chriftianly admonition, brotherly love, flaming charity and zeal; and then according to the effects, paternal forrow, or paternal joy, mild feverity, melting compaffion; if fuch divine minifteries as thefe, wherein the angel of the church represents the perfon of Chrift Jefus, muft lie prostitute to fordid fees and not pafs to and fro between our Saviour that of free grace redeemed us, and the fubmiffive penitent without the truckage of perifhing coin, and the butcherly execution of tormentors, rooks, and rakeshames fold to lucre; then have the Babylonish merchants of fouls just excuse. Hitherto, fir, you have heard how the prelates have weakened and withdrawn the external accomplishments of kingly profperity, the love of the people, their multitude, their valour, their wealth; mining and fapping the outworks and redoubts of monarchy. Now hear how they ftrike at the very heart and vitals.

We know that monarchy is made up of two parts, the liberty of the subject, and the fupremacy of the king. I begin at the root. See what gentle and benign fathers they have been to our liberty! Their trade being by the fame alchymy that the pope ufes, to extract heaps of gold and filver out of the droffy bullion of the people's fins; and juftly fearing that the quick fighted protefiant's eye cleared in great part from the mift of fuperftition, may at one time or other look with a good judgment into these their deceitful pedleries; to gain as many affociates of guiltinefs as they can, and to infect the temporal magiftrate with the like lawlefs, though not facrilegious extortion, fee awhile what they do; they engage themselves to preach, and perfuade an affertion for truth the most falfe, and to this monarchy the most pernicious and deftructive that could be chofen. What more baneful to monarchy than a popular commotion, for the diffolution of monarchy flides apteft into a democracy; and what stirs the Englishmen, as our wifeft writers have observed, fooner to rebellion, than violent and heavy hands upon their goods and purfes? Yet thefe devout prelates, fpight. of our great charter, and the fouls of our progenitors that wrefted

wrefted their liberties out of the Norman gripe with their deareft blood and higheft prowefs, for these many years have not ceased in their pulpits wrenching and fpraining the text, to fet at naught and trample under foot all the most facred and lifeblood laws, statutes, and acts of parliament, that are the holy covenant of union and marriage between the king and his realm, by profcribing and confifcating from us all the right we have to our own bodies, goods, and liberties. What is this but to blow a trumpet, and proclaim a firecrofs to an hereditary and perpetual civil war? Thus much against the subjects liberty hath been affaulted by them. Now how they have fpared fupremacy, or are likely hereafter to submit to it, remains latly to be confidered.

The emulation that under the old law was in the king towards the prieft, is now fo come, about in the gofpel, that all the danger is to be feared from the pricft to the king. Whilft the priest's office in the law was set out with an exterior luftre of pomp and glory, kings were ambitious to be priefts; now priefts, not perceiving the heavenly brightness and inward fplendour of their more glorious evangelic miniftry, with as great ambition affect to be kings, as in all their courfes is eafy to be observed. Their eyes ever eminent upon worldly matters, their defires ever thirsting after worldly employments, instead of diligent and fervent study in the Bible, they covet to be expert in canons and decretals, which may enable them to judge and interpofe in temporal caufes, however pretended ecclefiaftical. Do they not hoard up pelf, feek to be potent in fecular ftrength, in ftate affairs, in lands, lordships, and demains, to fway and carry all before them in high courts and privy councils, to bring into their grafp the high and principal offices of thekingdom? Have they not been bold of late to check the common law, to flight and brave the indiminishable majesty of our higheft court, the lawgiving and facred parliament? Do they not plainly labour to exempt churchmen from the magiftrate? Yea, fo prefumptuously as to queftion and menace officers that reprefent the king's perfon for ufing their authority against drunken priefts? The caufe of protecting murderous clergymen was the first heartburn