and that he hated them both alike, his expreffions every where manifeft. Some fay his purpose was to have come to London; till hearing how ftrictly it was proclaimed, that no man fhould conceal him, he diverted his courfe. But that had been a frivolous excufe: and befides, he himself rehearfing the confultations had, before he took his journey, thows us clearly that he was determined to adventure "upon their loyalty who first began his troubles." And that the Scots had notice of it before, hath been long fince brought to light. What prudence there could be in it, no man can imagine; malice there might be, by railing new jealouíies to divide friends. For befides his diffidence of the English, it was no finall difhonour that he put upon them, when rather than yield himfelf to the parliament of England, he yielded to a hireling army of Scots in England, paid for their fervice here, not in Scotch coin, but in English filver; nay, who from the firft beginning of thefe troubles, what with brotherly affiftance, and what with monthly pay, have defended their own liberty and confciences at our charge. However, it was a hazardous and rafh journey taken," to refolve riddles in men's loyalty," who had more reafon to miftruft the riddle of fuch a difguifed yielding; and to put himself in their hands whofe loyalty was a riddle to him, was not the courfe to be refolved of it, but to tempt it. What Providence denied to force, he thought it might grant to fraud, which he ftyles Prudence; but Providence was not cozened with difguifes, neither outward nor inward. To have known "his greateft danger in his fuppofed fafety, and his greateft fafety in his fuppofed danger," was to him a fatal riddle never yet refolved; wherein rather to have employed his main skill, had been much more to his prefervation. Had he known when the game was loft," it might have faved much conteft; but the way to give over fairly, was not to flip out of open war into a new dif guife. He lays down his arms, but not his wiles; nor all his arms for in obftinacy he comes no lefs armed than ever cap à pè. And what were they but wiles, continually continually to move for treaties, and yet to perfift the fame man, and to fortify his mind before-hand, ftill purpofing to grant no more than what seemed good to that violent and lawless triumvirate within him, under the falfified names of his reafon, honour, and confcience, the old circulating dance of his thifts and evafions? The words of a king, as they are full of power, in the authority and strength of law, fo like Samfon, without the ftrength of that Nazarite's lock, they have no more power in them than the words of another man. He adores reafon as Domitian did Minerva, and calls her the "Divineft power," thereby to intimate as if at reafoning, as at his own weapon, no man were so able as himself. Might we be fo happy as to know where thefe monuments of his reafon may be feen; for in his actions and his writing they appear as thinly as could be expected from the meaneft parts, bred up in the midft of fo many ways extraordinary to know fomething. He who reads his talk, would think he had left Oxford not without mature deliberation: yet his prayer confeffes, that "he knew not what to do." Thus is verified that pfalm; "he poureth contempt upon princes, and caufeth them to wander in the wildernefs where there is no way." Pfal. 107, XXIII. Upon the Scots delivering the king to the English. THAT the Scots in England fhould "fell their king," as he himfelf here affirms, and for a "price fo much above that," which the covetoufnefs of Judas was contented with to fell our Saviour, is fo foul an infamy and difhonour caft upon them, as befits none to vindicate but themselves. And it were but friendly counsel to with them beware the fon, who comes among them with a firm belief, that they fold his father. The reft of this chapter he facrifices to the echo of his confcience, outbabling creeds and aves; glorying in his refolute obstinacy, and as it were triumphing how "evident it is now, that not evil counfellors," but he himself hath been the author of all our troubles. Herein only we fhall dif agree agree to the world's end, while he, who fought fo manifeftly to have annihilated all our laws and liberties, hath the confidence to perfuade us, that he hath fought and fuffered all this while in their defence. But he who neither by his own letters and commiffions under hand and feal, nor by his own actions held as in a mirror before his face, will be convinced to fee his faults, can much lefs be won upon by any force of words, neither he, nor any that take after him; who in that refpect are no more to be difputed with, than they who deny principles. No queftion then but the parliament did wifely in their decree at last, to make no more addreffes. For how unalterable his will was, that would have been our Lord, how utterly averte from the parliament and reformation during his confinement, we may behold in this chapter. But to be ever anfwering fruitlefs repetitions, I fhould become liable to answer for the fame myself. He borrows David's pfalms, as he charges the affembly of divines in his twentieth discourse, "To have fet forth old catechifins and confeffions of faith new dreffed:" had he borrowed David's heart, it had been much the holier theft. For fuch kind of borrowing as this, if it be not bettered by the borrower, among good authors is accounted plagiary. However, this was more tolerable than Pamela's prayer, ftolen out of Sir Philip. XXIV. Upon the denying him the attendance of his Chap lains. A Chaplain is a thing fo diminutive and inconfiderable, that how he thould come here among matters of fo great concernment, to take fuch room up in the dif courfes of a prince, if it be not wondered, is to be finiled at. Certainly by me, fo mean an argument fhall not be written; but I thall huddle him, as he does prayers. The fcripture owns no fuch order, no fuch function in the church; and the church not owning them, they are left, for aught I know, to fuch a further examining as the fons of Sceva the Jew met with. Bishops or prefbyters we know, and deacons we know, but what are VOL. III. chaplains? F 1 chaplains? In ftate perhaps they may be lifted among the upper fervingmen of fome great household, and be admitted to fome fuch place, as may ftyle them the fewers, or the yeomen-uthers of devotion, where the master is too refty, or too rich to fay his own prayers, or to blefs his own table. Wherefore fhould the parliament then take fuch implements of the court cupboard into their confideration? They knew them to have been the main corrupters at the king's elbow; they knew the king to have been always their most attentive fcholar and imitator, and of a child to have fucked from them and their closet-work all his impotent principles of tyranny and fuperftition. While therefore they had any hope left of his reclaiming, thefe fowers of malignant tares they. kept asunder from him, and fent to him fuch of the minifters and other zealous perfons, as they thought were beft able to inftruct him, and to convert him. What could religion herself have done more, to the faving of a foul? But when they found him paft cure, and that he to himself was grown the moft evil counfellor of all, they denied him not his chaplains, as many as were fitting, and fome of them attended him, or elfe were at his call to the very laft. Yet here he makes more lamentation for the want of his chaplains, than fuperftitious Micah did to the Danites, who had taken away his household prieft: "Ye have taken away my Gods which I made, and the priest, and what have I more?" And perhaps the whole ftory of Micah might fquare not unfitly to this argument: "Now know I," faith he, "that the Lord will do me good, feeing I have a Levite to my prieft." Micah had as great a care, that his prieft fhould be Mofaical, as the king had, that his should be Apoftolical; yet both in an errour touching their priests. Houtehold and private orifons were not to be officiated by priests; for neither did public prayer appertain only to their office. Kings heretofore, David, Solomon, and Jehofophat, who might not touch, the priesthood, yet might pray in public, yea in the temple, while the pricfts themfelves ftood an heard. What ailed this king then, that he could not chew his own matins without the prieft's Ore tenus? Yet is it like he could not pray at home, who can here 1 publish publish a whole prayerbook of his own, and fignifies in fome part of this chapter, almoft as good a mind to be a prieft himself, as Micah had to let his fon be! There was doubtlefs therefore fome other matter in it, which made him fo defirous to have his chaplains about him, who were not only the contrivers, but very oft the inftruments alfo of his defigns. The minifters which were fent him, no marvel he endured not; for they preached repentance to him: the others gave him eafy confeffion, eafy abfolution, nay ftrengthened his hands, and hardened his heart, by applauding him in his wilful ways. To them he was an Ahab, to thefe a Conftantine; it muft follow then, that they to him were as unwelcome as Elijah was to Ahab, there as dear and pleafing as Amaziah the prieft of Bethel was to Jeroboam. Thefe had learned well the leffon that would pleafe; "Prophecy not against Bethel, for it is the king's chapel, the king's court;" and had taught the king to lay of thofe minifters, which the parliament had fent," Amos hath confpired against me, the land is not able to bear all his words." Returning to our firft parallel, this king looked upon his prelates, " as orphans under the facrilegious eyes of many rapacious reformers:" and there was as great fear of facrilege between Micah and his mother, till with their holy treature, about the lofs whereof there was fuch curfing, they made a graven and a molten image, and got a prieft of their own. To let To let go his criticizing about the "found of prayers, imperious, rude, or paffionate," modes of his own devifing, we are in danger to fall again upon the flats and fhallows of liturgy. Which if I fhould repeat again, would turn my anfwers into Refponfories, and beget another liturgy, having too much of one already. This only I fhall add, that if the heart, as he alleges, cannot fafely" join with another man's extemporal fufficiency," because we know not fo exactly what they mean to fay; then thofe public prayers made in the temple by thofe forenamed kings, and by the apoftles in the congregation, and by the ancient chriftians for above three |