A SERMON PREACHED On the ANNIVERSARY OF THAT Most EXECRABLE MURDER OF K. CHARLES The First Royal Martyr.  
By EDWARD PELLING, Rector of St. Martin's Ludgate, and Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Somerset.  1 Sam. 26. 9 Who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's Anointed, and be guiltless? 2 Sam. 1. 14. How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's Anointed? Eccles. 1. 4. Where the Word of a King is, there is Power; and who may say unto him, what dost thou? 
LONDON, Printed for J. William's at the Crown in St. Paul's Churchyard, and Joanna Brome at the Gun at the West-End of St. Paul's. 1682.   

To His Grace, my ever Honoured and Dear Lord, Charles Duke of Somerset, Marquess and Earl of Hertford, Viscount Beauchamp, and Baron of Trowbridge.  
MY LORD,  
SEveral Passages in this following Sermon, having been maliciously misrepresented by Men who hate the Government, and love Lying, divers Friends have advised and importuned me to make the whole Discourse Public.  
Not that any Hopes are conceived, that it will work much upon those whom Interest or Malice engageth to be Obstinate, and whom Obstinacy encourageth to be clamorous; especially if there be upon their Consciences any Gild of that Murder, which on so Solemn an Occasion, we cannot reflect upon, without the greatest Horror, Astonishment and Indignation. Of such, little Good is to be expected, who have sinned away a great Stock of Grace; which is so commonly the miserable case of Inveterate Rebels, that to the Observation of the World they very seldom repent.  
But, God be blessed, the Generality of Men among us, mean well, and are so honest in their Intentions, that they cannot easily be rifled of a good Conscience, but by some Cheat, and for want of due Information; because the shedding of the King's Blood was a Crime of that Horrid Nature, and the Subversion of the Established Government, was a Mischief of such ill Effect, that every Sober Man, whose Eyes are open, cannot but tremble, at the Memory of the One, and for the future dread the very Thoughts of the Other (though some few Spirits may be so far possessed with the Devil, as that they could again be glad and rejoice at Both.)  
Now the Design of this Discourse is, to serve the Sincere and Simple-minded part of the World, by affording a short View of the Sin acted in 48, and of the Methods and Degrees by which the King and the Government were destroyed together; and of the Miseries in Church and State, which by the just Judgement of God this Nation smarted under, that we might be made sensible of our foolish Exchange, and be Disciplined into Wisdom for the future. But alas! since we have been healed of our Stripes, some seem to have almost forgotten the Rod, and are not only Willing, but Desirous to come under the Lash again. So unfixt and mutable are many English Spirits, that the only Centre they can rest in, is the Grave: For as the Moon, after so many Periods, returns into the same Phasis; so some Erratic Humours, after so many Years, revert into the same Motion; and the only Way to save men the Charge of being cured again of their Lunacy, is to prevent the Disease: And for this Reason I did Discourse upon this Theme, because it is presumable, that though there be in the World some Fickle, some Factious, and many Atheistical Spirits, that could be content to try another Fall for the Government, yet all men that are truly Conscientious and Wise, will beware of encouraging Attempts of that Nature; especially considering what a sad Booty this Nation did get by its former Wrestle.  
And now, my Lord, I hope your Grace will not wonder, if I present this Sermon to your Lordship as a Patron, though you was not an Auditor. My Great Obligations to yourself, and to your Honourable Relations for your sake, do challenge Higher Testimonies of Gratitude than my Skill can Express, or your Modesty will Bear. Yet were there nothing to be considered but that Natural Love and Duty which I own your Grace, I do most Thankfully Acknowledge, that Your have a Just Right to all the Services which are Possible to be done either by Me or Mine; because we are All your Lordship's Servants by Birth. So far am I from owning that Principle, That every man is born Free, that I confess myself, and all that bear my Name, to have Inherited such a State of Servitude to your Lordship, as if (according to the Mosaical Custom) your Noble Ancestors had bored the Ears not of our Progenitors alone, but of their whole Issue. For your Grace knows (and I cannot without Ingratitude conceal it from the World) that as we have been (of every Generation One of us at least) Clergymen, from Father to Son, ever since the Reformation; so we have had the Honour to have been all along Successively Chaplains to your Noble Family: Such a singular respect to the Church, and (God be blessed) to an Honest race of Churchmen, as hardly any Nobleman in the Kingdom, but yourself, can Own.  
But, my Lord, I am a Debtor not to your Person only, but to your Spotless Virtues, that which makes you Truly Honourable, and, I had almost said, the Rarity of our Age. It is a Common Happiness, that what was Great and Good in your Noble Ancestors, You are the Apparent Heir of; and those Surviving Virtues in You, which were so Eminent in that Excellent Person your Noble Brother, (against whose Memory I should Sin, should I rob him of that Just Character, that for his Years he was one of the Flowers of the World) do something abate the Sense of that (otherwise Irreparable) loss, which the whole Kingdom sustained by his Unfortunate and Undeserved End. His Piety, Humility, Chastity, Sobriety, Sweetness of Nature, and (which I could not but observe in Him) His utter Hatred of all Profane and Irreverent use of God's Holy Name; they were Virtues which do rarely meet in a Gentleman of Twenty years Old: But this is all your Friends Comfort, that while I count up some of your Brother's Virtues, I mention Yours too; and that Your Lordship's Name may be ever Dear to all Good Men, I must beg the wont Freedom You give me, to beseech You with the most Passionate Affection to be to your dying day Careful of your Virtue, being confident of this, that as it is now your singular Honour, so it will certainly be your Best Interest.  
One thing I must put your Grace in mind of, that your Noble Predecessors have been Eminent, among other Virtues, for their Fidelity to the Crown, and their Zeal for the Prosperity of our Established Church. And this I know to be your Lordship's hearty Resolution, and a considerable part of your Lordship's Honour. Upon which account also I crave leave to offer these few Sheets to your Grace; humbly begging your kind Acceptance, and beseeching God to Bless you with all the Blessings of his Right hand, and of his Left; which is the constant Prayer of,  
My Lord, Your Grace's most Humble, Faithful and Affectionate Servant and Chaplain, Edw. Pelling.   
LAM. 5. 16. The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have sinned. 
A Crown fallen? Had the Prophet gone on, and spoke of the fall of a Crowned Head too, we might have guest that by his Prophetical Spirit he had pointed as far as Forty Eight. But to shed Blood Royal, as if it differed not from the Blood of a Vulgar Person; and to cut off the Neck even of a Neighbour Prince, as if he had not been anointed with Oil, was looked upon as an act too Barbarous to be done by those very Barbarians, who thought it just and safe to put out the Eyes of a Conquered Monarch. For if we look into the History of those Times to which my Text doth relate, we shall find, that no less than Five Kings of the Jews had been successively Captivated by the Assyrians; and though Most of them, if not All, had been Unfaithful to the King of Babylon, and Rebelled against him after they became his Servants, yet Sentence of of Death passed not on any One of them: but Deposing, Imprisonment, and Fetters, were the usual Punishment of their Perfidiousness; only Zedekiah, who was the Last of the Five, and had sworn Fealty to the King of Babylon, and had given greater Provocations than the rest, was handled more severely than the rest: But, though his incensed Enemies slew his Sons before his face, yet the Judgement given against Him, was only the taking away of his Eyesight: the Destruction and Killing of Kings being looked upon as a Crime of a most Horrid and Detestable Nature, even by men who were in a state of Brutality, and even then when they were armed with Power, transported with Rage, thirsty of Revenge, and fleshed with Victory.  
However, to rid himself of a necessity of Forcing the Jews into Subjection at every turn thus, Nabuchadnezzar resolves to make very short work with them: and in order thereunto he Sacks Jerusalem, sets Fire on the Temple, maketh Spoil of all the costly Furniture and Utensils thereof, burneth down the Houses within the City, demolishes the Walls, destroys their whole State and Government, and carries the King and People, and all away into a strange Land, leaving only some of the poorer Sort to be Vinedressers, and Husbandmen, as we read at large, 2 Kings 25.  
Now it was This Sad and most Dolesome time which the Prophet pointed unto in this Book of his Lamentations, especially in this part of it, where he grieved at This, as the Epitome and Sum total of all their Evils, that the Crown was fallen from their Head. And in the whole Verse we may observe, First, The Calamity so lamented here by the Prophet; It was the falling of the Crown. Secondly, The Cause of this Evil; It was the People's Sins. Thirdly, That woeful Condition, those Plagues and Punishments which were Consequent hereunto; Woe unto us, for we have Sinned.  
1. Let us look a little, first, into the Calamity itself, The Crown is fallen from our Head: And for the opening of the Prophet's Sense, we are to know, that by the Crown some understand the Joy of God's People, Diadems and Coronets being wont formerly to be used in some places at Solemn times of Festivity. Others interpret it of the Glory of the Jewish Nation, which Glory consisted in this, that hitherto they had been peculiarly favoured and honoured by God above all other Nations in the World. Others will have it to be meant in a more strict Sense of their Temple and Priesthood, in the possession whereof the Jews had all along Boasted and Prided themselves to a most high degree. Others again do (and as I conceive, with better Reason) understand by the falling of the Crown from their Head, the loss of their Kingdom and established Government, and the stripping of their Princes from that State, Power, Greatness and Royalty, whereof the Crown was an Emblem and Argument. For this was the Compliment of their Misery, and the reason of all their other Evils was resolved into This, that their King's Throne was now quite cast down to the Ground; and hereupon, by necessary Consequence, their Religion was overthrown too, the Glory of Israel was departed, the Liberties of the People were utterly lost, their Laws cashiered, Church and State Both were now gone to wrack, all Joy was vanished, their Harps were hung up upon the Willows in a strange Land, and they themselves sat weeping by the Rivers of Babylon, while they thought of their dear, and now ruinated Zion; Briefly, whatever did help and concur to make them Desolate and Miserable, all was owing (next unto their Sins) to the Ruin of that Monarchy and Government, wherewith hitherto they had been Blest for so many Ages: The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have Sinned.  
The Calamity than was Judah's, but the Sin too was England's on this day, when Men not only with their eyes Saw, but with their own hands Caused the downfall of the best of Kings, and the Funeral of the best of Monarchies, till God by a Miraculous hand gave it a Resurrection out of that Grave, wherein it had been buried by those Cursed and Domestic Babylonians, who said, Down with it, down with it, even to the ground. We do not wonder at the ruin of Zedekiah, nor was the ruining of him a Crime on Nebuchadnezzar's part: for even Absolute Princes are Coordinate, and stand upon the same Level; and if upon sufficient Provocations the one happens to gain his Neighbour's Crown, the fact is Just by right of Conquest. But if the one be Subordinate to the other, (which was clearly the case of Zedekiah) the Recovery of the Crown is in the Supreme Prince an act of Justice; and the Punishment of an inferior Prince, who abjureth his Fealty, is by all Nations allowed to be a Righteous act of Vengeance. Upon this account the Jews may be said to have been rather an Unhappy People; for though they were wicked in This respect, that their Sins Occasioned their Misfortune, yet they were not, they durst not be wicked in that respect wherein the People of this Land Sinned; who risen up against their own Sovereign, and Natural Lord, in whose Person the Supreme Power was vested by God Himself; they themselves first pulled off their Prince's Crown from his Head, than proceeded to bow down the Prince himself upon the Scaffold, and at last dared to strike off his Head from his Shoulders: So that though the falling of the Crown was to the Jews a Calamity, yet being contrived here by Men, who (whether Severally or Jointly considered) were but Subjects; being attempted by Resistance against the Authority and Person of the King, who was the Only Supreme; and being in the end brought about by most Unjustifiable Methods, such as were contrary to all Laws, Divine and Human; contrary to so many Voluntary Protestations, and Repeated Oaths; and contrary to that Natural duty of Allegiance which every born Subject oweth his Prince, whether he entereth into the Oath of God, or no; the falling of This Crown is justly accounted to the People of this Land to have been Rebellion, Treason, Murder, and the Highest act of Parricide, which (taking it with all its Circumstances) perhaps was ever done upon a mere Man since the World was first Created.  
And though there may be some, who will not take up the Confession in the Text, that they have Sinned, either in laying the Crowned Head Low, or in abjuring the interest of the Crown to the World's end, but Lament for this only, that the Imperial Diadem is not a falling the Second time; yet the Sin of this day calleth aloud for Sincere Repentance from All, and even from Us, who were neither Actors in it, nor Abetters of it; nor perhaps could have known it, but by the hearing of the Ear. And to the end that our Repentance may express itself by Amendment of Life, and may be attended with Watchfulness and Caution, lest we fall under the same Gild, and smart under the same Calamity again, that we may not be Wicked and Miserable hereafter, 'tis necessary that with the Prophet we reflect upon those Sins which formerly brought us under Both: Woe unto us that we have Sinned.  
2. Now many Sins there were which cried for Vengeance against this Nation; but of these, some were more Vocal and Clamorous than others, and did more immediately and directly tend to the casting down of the Crown. First, The great Unthankfulness of Men for so many Mercies. It was that which so incensed God against the Jews, that he delivered their Kings, and Them, into the hands of the Babylonians; because he had carried them from the Womb, and they delighted in Frowardness; because he had nourished and brought them up, and they turned Rebels; because▪ Jeshurun had been high fed, and became wanton. And this was our very case before the Civil Wars broke out. God had blest us so in every Respect, that nothing but our own Follies could have made us an Unhappy People. In the Church we had a Faith that was free from all Corruption and Error; Sacraments that were Duly and Entirely administered; a Liturgy that was consonant to the Word of God; a Government that had been transmitted to us by the whole Catholic Church from its first Ages; Ceremonies that were but few, and those warranted by the general Practice of the Primitive Christians. In the State we had a Prosperous and Long Peace; Laws that were a Terror to all Wickedness, and a Security from all Oppression, as much of Liberty as was consistent with Obedience, and more than any other parts of the World did Enjoy; a Monarchy that was both our Defence and Honour; and (to Crown all our Felicities) a Prince whose Example was more Operative than his Laws; whose Endowments as he was a Man, whose Faith and Piety as he was a Christian, whose Clemency, Wisdom, and other admirable Virtues as he was a King, were enough to render him the Love of Mankind, as well as a Pattern to all Princes, and an Honour to the whole World. In a word, whatever Blessings were necessary to make us either a Religious, or a Wealthy, or a Potent, or a Free Nation, we had our Portion of them in abundance; and were Miserable only in this respect, that as Now, so Then, we had not the Sense to See, nor the Hearts to Value our own Felicities. Hence it was, that men were Peevish without Reason, and Troublesome without End: Hence it was, that the Same Pretences which are so Rife in this Age, were so Fatal in that: Our Regular Ministry was then traduced, as if it were Popishly affected; our Bishops, as if they were an useless and Wicked Order; our Doctrines, as if they had been minted at Rome; our Service Book, as if it were a Translation of the Mass; our Rites, as if they were the Relics of Popery; and our whole Church, as if it were given to Idolatry and Superstition. And from the same base Principle of Ingratitude it was, that the World was filled with Insinuations and Complaints, as if the Liberties of the People were in Danger; as if Religion was going out of the Land, and Arbitrary Power coming in; as if his Majesty's Counsellors were Evil; as if the Introduction of Popery and Tyranny were the Design, and the King himself were consenting to the Plot. All which  and Malicious Suggestions, though they were no other than the Arts of Unthankful Spirits; and though the World hath been since abundantly convinced of the Falsehood thereof, yet they were taken for granted then; and so did naturally help forward the downfall of the Crown, and the Sin of This day. Secondly, another way whereby Men Sinned in those days, was by Publishing the Doctrines, and Entertaining the wicked Principles of the Jesuits. For, seeing Religion and the Laws of the Land had provided Securities for the King's Life, Person, Power and Greatness, they found no way left them to Prosecute their Evil and Bloody Intentions, but by poisoning the Kingdom with such Foreign Principles as these, that the King's whole Power is derived from the People; that He is Such a Trustee and Servant as may be called to Account, before the face of the World; that if they Judge him to have been Unfaithful to his Trust, they may Lawfully Depose him; that if he be a Tyrant (whereof they are the Judges) they may, and are bound to Kill him; that it lieth in them to Set up what form of Government they please, and that the Crown is wholly at their disposal. Many other Doctrines there are which bear affinity with These, and which of Late have served to fill up a Leviathan, a Plato Redivivus, a Just and Modest Answer, so called, etc. besides whole Loads of Intelligences, and other Scandalous Writings, wherewith the World is even now pestered, as if it were not enough to have intoxicated the People, to have undone a Nation, and to have pulled down the Crown Once. For these were the Principles, upon which those Delicate Protestants, those Tender and Thin-skined Consciences, those goodly Loyal and Dutiful Subjects acted, when they fought against their King; when they Hunted him upon the Mountains, when they gave him a Crown of Thorns for a Diadem of Gold, when they translated his Chair of State out of the Parliament-house into Westminster-hall, and at his Palace erected him a Scaffold for a Throne, and made him a Glorious Martyr, whom they so often Swore they would make a Glorious King.  
And yet these Principles were once the Proper Creed of the Jesuits; and it was ever called Jesuitism, till by going abroad to seek its Fortunes it changed its Name, and came to be called the Purity and Power of Religion, the Evangel of Christ, the Faith of God's Kirk, and the Law of the Holy Commonwealth. Originally these Doctrines were taught by Mariana, by Bellarmine, by Azorius, and divers Jesuits more; for many, even of the Romish Priests, have laid them to the charge of the Jesuits; and Watson himself, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, laid them particularly to the charge of the Jesuit Parsons, who had written several Seditious Books full of those Principles, and in particular a Book entitled, Doleman: And (that all Sober men among us may beware of those Principles, and see how powerfully they did work throughout the whole Civil War then, and how naturally they tend to embroil us in another, and will necessarily do it, when there is a fair opportunity,) I must observe unto you, that That very Book of Parsons, which had been written so many years before, was in the Year Forty Eight printed again with another Title, as if it had been newly Penned, not by a Jesuit, but a True Protestant. It is to be observed too, that a late Pamphlet entitled, the History of Succession, is an Abridgement of Doleman. which plainly shows, that those Traitors themselves were convinced in their Consciences, that nothing could justify the raising of the War, and the destruction of the King, but the Doctrines of a Through-paced Jesuit. Thirdly, It is certain, that an Erroneous Devil in the Understanding, will soon become a Furious Devil in men's Practice. For those wicked Doctrines being once received, presently showed themselves by innumerable acts of Sedition; and that was another Sinful way whereby the Crown fell. The Government was Libelled, every Order of Men in the Church was traduced, the Loyal Magistrates and Gentry were threatened and exposed, Nobles were voted Guilty upon public Fame, and killed, as it were, by the strength of People's breath; his Majesty's Palace assaulted by Land and Water, and himself forced to Fly in his own defence; and all these mischiefs were mainly owing to those Hucksters of Sedition and Treason, whose Fingers were daily employed to destroy the King with their Pens, as Scotus' Scholars destroyed their Master with Pencils; insomuch that being petitioned at Royston to return to his Parliament, His Majesty refused for this Reason, because the Scandalous Pamphlets that Swarmed abroad, had now brought his Person and Life into eminent danger. Fourthly, Nor did things stay here; but to pull down the Crown from our head effectually, an actual War is Levied, and Arms are taken up; which we cannot suppose to have been done without a direct Design against the King's Life, it being altogether uncertain, what the Fortune of War may be, and how a Single Bullet may be directed; as it happened near a Town of Cornwall, where his Majesty narrowly escaped, the next Man to him being shot by the Enemy. Which high provocation notwithstanding (that I may not omit a Singular instance of his Tenderness and Clemency) though his Ordnance were ready planted to batter the place down, he hindered the Attack with this noble Expression. I understand (said He) that I have many Good Subjects in the Town, and I had rather Spare the Lives of an hundred Rebels, than venture the Hurting of one of Them. Indeed the Hand of God was all along his Protection in the Field: but no thanks to those, whose very taking up of Arms was Murder in the Intent; and if my Author 
Symmond's Vindication of the King, pag. 90.  doth not deceive me, it is a memorable Relation which he tells us, that at the Battle of Edge-hill, his Majesty's Soldiers took certain Letters, whereby it was discovered; that they who then called themselves the Kings most Loving and Obedient Subjects, had hired one Blake to signify by some Token the particular place in the Field where the King was; that the shot might be directly levelled thither, and that they might speak Home to his Heart out of the mouth of their Cannon.  
5. We have now seen Some of those wicked Means, whereby the Calamity in my Text came upon us, Ingratitude, Jesuitism, Sedition, and actual Resistance: and were not the Instruments thereof past all feeling, methinks they should not stick to take up the Lamentation, The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have Sinned. But yet all these Arts, though Sinful, would have been Ineffectual, had it not been for Another wicked Course they took to Cheat the World into their Assistance; I mean their palpable and villainous Hypocrisy. Nothing is more Odious in the eyes of God, than Hypocrisy and Dissimulation; and yet what was pretended all along, but the Glory of God, the Honour of the King, the Interest of Religion, the Safety of the People, and the Welfare of Three Kingdoms? A specious Pretence, and a very Raree-Shew in the Original. But by too Sad and too Late Experience we found, that 'twas their Own Greatness, and their Own Interest that was at the Bottom; that Plunder and Sequestration were the things aimed at; that the Church was to be Purged, that is, from its Possessions; and that the Estate, Dignity, and Power of the Crown was to be Secured, but meaning to Themselves. In Forty One, they did Remonstrate, that they did not purpose or desire to abolish the Church Government; and disclaimed all intentions of absolving men from that Obedience, which they owed to his Majesty, whom they professed they knew to be entrusted with the Ecclesiastical Laws as well as with the Temporal. In Forty Two, they Declared, that they intended a due and necessary Reformation of the Government and Liturgy of the Church, and to take away Nothing in the one, or in the other, but what should be Evil, and justly Ossensive; or at least Unnecessary and Burdensome. In Forty Three, they Professed, that their Army was designed to defend the King's Person, Honour and Dignity, and to hinder all change in Religion: they Protested as in the Presence of God, that they had no Intentions to offer violence to his Majesty's Person, or to hurt his just Power, or to destroy his Monarchy. In the Third Article of the Solemn League and Covenant they Swore, to preserve and defend the King's Majesty's Person and Authority, in the preservation and defence of the true Religion; and that they had no thoughts to diminish his just Power and Greatness. And in Forty Six, they declared, that their sincere Intentions were to uphold the Ancient and Fundamental Government of this Realm, by King, Lords, and Commons. Now, whether these were not Rank and  Hypocrites, let the World judge; when instead of Reforming the Church Government, they Abolished it; when instead of Revising our Service-Book, they quite Removed it; when in their Negative Oath they afterwards Swore neither directly nor indirectly to Adhere unto, or Assist the King; when they took away the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and Proclaimed such Traitors as did stand for them; when they cashiered the Noble House of Peers; when they sought against the King's Person, attempted the shedding of his Sacred Blood, and at last drove him to the Scaffold; all their Remonstrances, Declarations, Protestations, Promises, Vows and Oaths to the Contrary notwithstanding.  
Beloved, I have not searched into the Villainies of former times with any manner of Delight, but out of pure Necessity; that by seeing the Methods whereby the World was Deluded, and the Throne Subverted in One Age, we may learn to Beware; lest we be led by the Nose, and Tricked out of our Obedience and Loyalty in Another. For it is a Pleasure and Pastime to some to play Pranks, and to Show how Dexterous and Artificial they can be▪ at Cheating the unwary Populace, and Hurling the World into Confusion. Therefore, if God in Vengeance for our Sins shall at any time Suffer our Government to Shake; let us Remember Epicharmus his Rule, and not be too Credulous, nor be deceived with Popular Professions of Zeal and Conscience; a thing which many times is Pretended, just as a fine Show is hung up upon a Signpost, only to draw in Custom. When the late Unhappy Troubles were breaking out, were there not Thousands of well-meaning Persons that were Imposed upon, and abused with False Notions and-Appearances? As Truth came more and more to light, did not many Desert that Cause which they found to be wicked, and turn to the interest of the Crown? Had not divers an Hand in the War, who did not Foresee, nor Dream, that it would End with such a sad Tragedy? and when the Fatal Blow was given, did not the Generality of men Lament to see, what a dreadful Issue things were brought to, by the Subtle Designs of some, and by the Rashness, Easiness, and Folly of others? Why, they are the maddest people in the World, that will not be Disciplined into Wit, nor taught to be Wary by their own Costly Experience; especially when they have time to cast up their Accounts, and to compare their Acquests with their Losses; and have the greatest Reason to consider, what Woes and Miseries did Presently and Naturally follow upon the falling of the Crown: which brings me  
3. To the third and last thing in my Text, that woeful Condition which the Prophet Lamented upon the Ruin of Their Government, and which we were enthralled in, upon the Subversion of ours: The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have Sinned.  
I would entreat every Thinking man (who is not in Love with Misery, nor desirous to Court and Invite his own Ruin) to consider Seriously, whether the whole Christian World could show another Nation, which was so Miserable as this Poor Kingdom was, before the Restauration of his present Majesty. We drank off indeed the very Dregs of the Cup of Bitterness; and (which made it the Bitterer) we mingled the Draught ourselves. We were not Forced (as the Jews) but Sold, and that by ourselves, into the hands of the Babylonians. This People were there own Captives; Submitting to Tyrants of their own Making; Purchasing their Slavery with their Blood; Contracting to be undone by Leagues, Covenants, Associations, and other Acts and Deeds of their Own. It is their Usual Fate, who are given to Change, that they commonly change One Government for a Worse; and the quartering out of a Kingdom into a Commonwealth, is but the drawing on of that Curse upon a Nation, which King Solomon meant, when he said, that for the Transgression of a Land, Many are the Princes thereof, Pro. 28. 2. For as all Republics have been originally Raised upon the Ruins of Monarchy, so they who Erected them, have ever Groaned under the works of their own hands; and there is not a Commonwealth in the World, but may attest the Truth of that in Maximus Tyrius, that Happy is that State, which hath a King for its Governor. We may easily see by some instances abroad, that men are great Losers, both as to their Spiritual and Temporal Interest, by being Members of a State that is Popular: and my Author hath rightly Observed of the State of the Low-Countries in particular, that (though they are happy in being freed from the Yoke of Popery, yet) having fought with the King of Spain about Two things, Religion and Taxes, they have so far prevailed, in respect of Both, that They have gotten all the Religions in Christendom, and pay the greatest Taxes in the World. But of all the People under Heaven This Nation most deserved to be Plagued with the Worst of Governments, who would not be contented with the Best. And the truth is, we had Woes with a witness, and were so Surfeited with Evils, which Then we accounted Plagues, that Wise men could not think, we should ever long to be Sick with them again. For whereas these things were promised us; a Settlement of the Nation, together with a Security for our Religion, Property, and Liberty; let every impartial man look into the History of those Times, and judge whether in every of these respects, we did not receive a Curse instead of a Blessing.  
1. For a Settled we had a most Distracted Nation, so that Rome itself, that had Shifted its Government so often, could not compare with this Little Island wherein there was such a Variety of Scenes. We had Plague upon Plague, as if our Land had been another Egypt, save only in This, that we could not find a Goshen in any part of our Country. To day we had one form of Government, and the next day another, and every one a Plague; nay, to go on upon the Parallel, not only our Waters were turned into Blood, but even Flies, and Locusts, and Lice, and Frogs (that croaked in the King's Chambers) were the Plague Epidemical, and (which is worse) Men were forced to Worship and Adore these Vermin, and as at first they set them up, so at last they bowed down before them.  
2. As for Religion, the great Lesson which was taught us was, to be Silly and Dishonest; to have the Wisdom of the Dove, and the Innocency of the Serpent. Hence came such numerous Sects and Divisions, in a short time, as by the Confession of Some of That Party were never known before under that Government which they decried as Antichristian. Hence came Atheism, the Daughter of That Age, and the Monster of This: for when Men found, that the Quarrel was about Religion, and saw that many Pretenders to it were Religious Cheats, they were apt to Mistrust, and for their Vice's sake to Believe, that the whole business of Religion was a Cheat too; and so Mr. Hobbs was followed as a greater Apostle than St. Paul. Let me add one thing more; hence it came to pass, that Popery hath gotten such Elbow-room among us. For the Subtle Romanists easily perceived, that there was no way for them to introduce their Religion into this Kingdom, but by creating first such Factions and Schisms, as in time would overthrow the established Government. Therefore did Campanella the Jesuit, advice the King of Spain to use this Project, First to Divide 
De Monarch. Hisp.  the English, and then to persuade the Parliament to turn the Kingdom into a Commonwealth. And in like manner Cardinal Richelieu counselled the French King, To use all possible means to change the Monarchy of England into a Commonwealth. And it appears by the Letters which were written 
See the Grand Design, etc.  by Andrea's ab Habernsield, a Bohemian, That Cardinal Richelieus Chaplain, together with Cunaeus, and divers other Romish Priests were employed here, before the Civil War broke out, to bring the King, and the Archbishop of Canterbury that then was, to Destruction. And the Truth is, the Jesuit could never hope for a more fair Opportunity of doing his Own Work among us Safe and Undiscerned, than when he had turned the Nation into Factions, and set every one of them to grapple with the Government. So that things falling out just according to the Jesuits Directions, the King being Murdered, the Archbishop being Sacrificed, and the Monarchy being changed into a Republic, every Child may easily understand, that it was not the Security, but the Ruin of our Religion, that was intended all along from the beginning. Briefly, If Rebellion be Religion, than were our Pretending Reformers the Undoubted Patrons of it. If the Destruction of the Church be the Preservation of Protestancy, than were the Papists and They the Only True Protestants in the World. If to cut off the Defender of the Faith; if to Harass and Ruin the Ministers thereof; if to banish all Order; if to throw away all Forms of Divine Worship; if to turn Oratories into Stables; if to render the Service of God Ridiculous and Contemptible; if to play the Hypocrites, and to violate Oaths; and by all instances of wickedness to bring a Reproach and Odium upon Christianity; if such Religious Villainies as these, did speak Men to be the True Friends and Patrons of Religion, I am Sure no Age of the Church ever produced Such Friends and Patrons before; though I cannot undertake but This Age possibly may produce the like.  
3. Next, let us consider a little in what a Miserable case we were, in respect of the Subjects Property; to Defend which, they pretended a Particular, and more than Ordinary Zeal; insomuch that thousands of Men were persuaded to believe that their Designs were Honourable, to Secure every Man's Right, and to make the whole Nation Great and Prosperous. But were we not Cheated of our Hopes in that respect too? While the King Sat Easy in His Throne, every man Sat Safe in his Possessions; and we were then (as God be blessed we are now) under our own Vines, and under our own Figtrees; Paradise was in in our Land, Prosperity was our Portion, the King was our Guardian, the Laws were our Security, and every Man's Riches were his Own. I pray what became of our Magna Charta when our Monarch and Monarchy were cut off? Indeed we had Laws, but like the Laws of Draco, that were written in Blood; we had Courts of Justice, such as were almost as Just and Merciful as the Thirty Tyrants of Athens; and Estates we had, in the hands of Sequestrators, who Kept them Safe for us; and our Estates yielded their yearly Fruits of Increase, for Locusts and Caterpillars; but Taxations we had none, only such as we could not Pay; nor any Grievances in the Nation greater than were our very Rulers.  
4. Nor, Lastly, did it Far better with the People's Liberty, whereof they professed to be the most Trusty and Faithful Keepers. See what became of it, when the Crown was fallen. For to Preserve our Liberties, they made us Slaves; and to keep all Arbitrary Power out, they brought it in: So that 
Vid. Delegat. Scot Chart. ult.  the Scots themselves in an Instrument directed to the Traitorous Juncto at Westminster, in February Forty Eight, upbraided them tartly for exercising that Tyranny Themselves, which they pretended forsooth, to remove all danger of, by taking away the High Commission-Court, and the Star-Chamber. The Civil Liberty of a People is wrapped up in the Laws, and this great Blessing we have had under our Kings, that we have been dealt with according to those Laws, to which we ourselves have by our Representatives given our own Consent. Happy are the People which be in such a case: But what a miserable plight were we in, when instead of One King, we had an Army of Usurpers? and instead of a Golden Sceptre to bow down to, we had an hundred Iron Rods to be beaten with? Yes, it was a Glorious Liberty, when the Scum of the Nation could Imprison without Reason, could Kill without Law, could Live without Religion, could Tyrannize without Conscience, could do every thing that was good in their own Eyes. In short, They had the Liberty to Plunder and Oppress, and We had the Liberty to Beg or to Starve; They had the Liberty to be Cruel and Savage, and We had the Liberty either to be Dishonest, or to be Hanged.  
Let us learn therefore to be Wise in time, and in a Ticklish Age be careful to distinguish between the Lambskin and the Wolf; and having had the Experience of Former times to instruct us, give great heed, as to avoid our old Miseries, so to forbear the old Methods which brought them about: Let us not suffer ourselves at any time to be Abused with a Show, nor to trust rashly to Pretences, because what Hath happened may happen again; and to tread in the Same tract, is the ready way to drop in the Same Snare.  
And this I would crave leave to recommend especially to your Consideration, who are Members of this Great and Honourable City; because it is notorious, that the Original and Growth of our Late Troubles, and the Sin of This Day, were all in a great measure owing to the wicked Practices of a prevailing Party here, whose Confederacies in Treason did help strongly to give the Fatal blow to Three Kingdoms. 'Twas here, that Traitors were Harboured, and Carried in Pomp. 'Twas here, that Firebrands were thrown, even from the Pulpit, to inflame the whole Nation. 'Twas Hence that Petitions were presented against the Orders of the Church; that Clamours were fomented against Churchmen; that Tumultuous Routs were sent to cry for Justice, and to frighten the King from his own Palace. 'Twas hence, that Associations against the Government were encouraged; that a wicked Covenant was dispatched abroad into all parts of the Kingdom; that whole Treasures were issued out to begin the Rebellion, and an Army raised too to carry on the Blessed Work of the day. I do not care to instance in particulars; do but Look into the Annals of the Times, and you will Blush to see, that so much Gild was contracted within the Walls of London. I cannot therefore, without being wanting in that duty which I own to God, to the King, and to yourselves; but earnestly beseech you, that you take great heed of those Means whereby the Crown fell once, and both Dread, and as much as Lieth in you, Labour to Prevent the Like Miseries, as presently came upon the fall of it. I should be Unjust to this City, should I not own my confidence, that there are now many as Loyal, as Great, as Brave Spirits in it, as any Age could boast of; and let me add, it is both your Honour and the present Happiness of the Kingdom, that there are so; and God increase their Number, Strength, and Fortunes. Yet we see (what in such a great Body we cannot but Expect) what different Interests and Parties there be, and how Blind Some are, I will not say Wilfully, but yet so Unfortunately, that they do not discover the manifold Blessings of God wherewith they are Surrounded, in the midst of some Discouragements. However, since I perceive men on All hands do profess themselves most Loyal and most Dutiful Subjects, I hope it will be acceptable Counsel unto All, if we Exhort you, that ye Fear God, and the King, and never meddle with them that are given to Change. In order thereunto, Study to be Quiet, and to do your Own business; follow Holiness and Peace, endeavouring, by all possible means, to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace. Let the Spirit of God rule in all your Hearts, the Spirit of Love and Obedience, the Spirit of Humility, Unity, and Concord. Let all Bitterness, and Wrath, and Envy, and Clamour, and Railing be put away from you, with all Malice. In fine, Love the Brotherhood, Fear God, and Honour the King; that so God may Bless us, and make us once more an Happy, Prosperous, and United Nation; and that neither We, nor our Posterity, may ever have cause to take up the Church's Lamentation in my Text, The Crown is fallen from our Head: woe unto us that we have Sinned.  
FINIS.   

ERRATA.  
Note, that these words, Pag. 15. [It is to be Observed too, that a late Pamphlet entitled, The History of Succession is an Abridgement of Doleman.] ought to have been put in the Margin.