A JOYFULL MESSAGE SENT From the Citizens of London, to the Kings Majesty in the Isle of Wyght, And their Declaration for his present coming to London, to sit in Parliament in Honour, Magnifience, and Tryumph; With his Majesties new Covenant and Protestation to the Citizens, and all other his loyall and liege people within his Realms and Dominions, [upon his re-inthroning] to be read in all Churches throughout the 3. Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and Principality of Wales. With his last and finall Declaration touching the same, delivered to the Right Honorable, the Earl of Northumberland, on Fryday last. Novemb. 17. 1648.
London, Printed for R. Williamson, 1648.
A Message and Declaration sent from the Citizen of London, to the Kings Majesty in the Isle of Wyght Novemb. 17. 1648.
VVHereas it doth evidently appear to the world, that your Royall Person is now the Center of Peace. We therefore the most humble and most unworthy of all Your Majesties Servants and Subjects, having a long time, from our very souls grieved the sad condition of your sacred Person, your Royall Consort, and most Princely and Numerous Issue, the sad and languishing Estate of your Majest [...]es 3. Kingdoms, the horrid and dayly bloodshed of your poor Subjects, perpetreated by your own hands, after some earnest prayers to Almighty God (from whom alone cometh every good and perfect gift) to enable us some way to express to your Majesty and the Kingdom, somthing which might, at least, point out the way to a [Page 2] happy peace, and a perfect and right understanding between you and your people. It hath pleased God of his infinite goodness and mercy, to open unto us this door or entrance at least for your Maj. if you are so pleased, to passe through into the Temple of peace; which Temple is only in your Maj. power to build, and in the power of no mortall man besides: Your sacred Maj. must take the pains to lay the first and the last in this building; Your self must begin and perfect this great work: It is you alone that have found the Art of Oblivion, as well as you have the power to give an Act of the highest Oblivion, that was ever read of in the Annalls of any Monarch whatsoever. Your Maj. many Declarations to both Houses of Parl. and to your 3. Kingdoms, have so deeply seized our souls with belief, that we are confident, your Majesty will not refuse to do or offer any things to your people, in your power, that may conduce to a safe and well-grounded peace, so as that you are not in the least prejudiced in what you are so great a Master of, Reason, & so great a Servant to, Religion; and for this poor Talent which God hath vouchsaffed us, & which we here most humbly prostrate at your Maj. Feet. We hope you will not find, that in the least, we have been so presumptuous, or proved our selves such Traitors, to your Reason or Religion, as to have offered any violence, in the least degree, to either of them; If your Maj. in the perusal, shall find it so, we know, as an Angell of God, so is our Lord the King to discern good and bad. Therefore thy Lord, thy God, shall be with thee, and so shall they for ever pray, who subscribes,
His Majesties Speech to the Earl of Northumberland on Friday morning last, and his Protestation thereupon.
THis morning his Maj. and the Commissioners met in the Treaty Chamber, where the King, (according to his usuall manner) sat down in the Chair of State, and after some further debate, about the Bill of Church Government, His Maj. rose up, and made a Speech: where he most graciously unfolded the Secrets of his royall breast; protesting, That he never had so good an opinion of his 2. Houses of Parl. since the unhappy separation, as now at present, and that he doubts not, but he shall give them good satisfaction, in all things by them desired, sobeit, it may stand with the honour of his Majestie, and the fundamentall Lawes of the Realm.
His Majesties Courtiers begin to frown upon the joyful results of the Treaty, fearing that they shall not accomplish that which they first aimed at; for upon a motion to his Maj. touching a general act of oblivion, and his Maj. to enter into a Protestation to his people, for their future safety, liberties and Freedoms, divers of the great ones shewed a dislike thereof, others countenanced it with a smile, and upon the Agrement, and close of the Treatie, it is conjectured. His Maj. will firmly tye himself in Covenant with his people in a strong Protestation and Engagement, A Copy whereof I have sent you here inclosed.
Newport. Novemb. 18. 1648.
The Kings new Covenant and Protestation to his people.
I C. R. Do here in the presence of the blessed Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the holy Ghost) profess to all the world, without any Equivocation or mentall Reservation, that I now do, and for ever will forget and forgive all kinds of offences against me, either in word or deed, committed by any of my Subjects of England, and contained in the Act of Oblivion; and this of my own free will and desire, I do, That all my people may see and behold the Candor of my heart. And I do here bury in the grave of Oblivion, all things contained in the Act of Oblivion, in my Soul not desiring to remember it, and vowing never to revenge it. So help me God, and the Contents of this holy Book: and this I confirm by the taking of the Sacrament.
A new Remonstrance to his Majesty, from his Subjects of England, at Newport in the Isle of Wyght.
COnsider I beseech you the value of the Soul, that is thus cast down, That your Sighs are the breath of Heaven, your Teares are the wine of Angells, your Groans the Eechoes of the Holy Ghost, that therefore to imploy this sacred Treasure in prophain expences, to lay it out on the trifles of this world, is a sin no lesse then Sacriledge; Be therefore more thrifty of your sorrow, for the time may come, when you shall want those sighs, which now you so impertinently throw away; nay, saith Bonaventure, should the Devil set 3. on that Pinacle where he had our Saviour, should he offer thee all the Kingdoms of the whole world for one Teare, to be spent in his service, O do not give it him; for on thy Death bed for that one Teare, perhaps thou wouldst give a Thousand worlds.
Think of this, ye that feel the heavinesse of your soul, think of it ye that do not, for ye may feel it. Know there is a sorrow that worketh repentance not to be repented of, Again, there is a sorrow that worketh Death. Remember there were tears, that got sinfull Mary heaven, Remember again, there were tears that could get Esau nothing. For as in Martyrdom it is not the sword, the boyling lead, or fire, not what we suffer, but deep they wound, but why, that justifies them. Let every one therefore, that hath a troubled heart, ask his soul the why, Why art thou cast down? Is it not for thine own sins, or for the sins of others? take either of them, thine eyes will have a large field to water; it is for that thou hast been a Child of [Page 6] wrath, a Servant of the Devil? Is it for that thou art a Candle set in the windblown at by several temptations; or is it for that thou wouldst be freed from them▪ Woe is me that I dwell in Mesech, that I dwell so long in the tents of Kedar. Art thou troubled, as St. Austine was; when he read that the way to Heaven was narrow, the number small that [...]rrvailed thither? Or hast thou put on St, Barnards resolution, who had made a compact with his soul, never to joy till he had heard his Saviour call him, Come thou blessed, nor never to leave sorrowing till he had escaped the bitter sentence. Go ye cursed? If any of these be the Why, the ground of thy sorrows, if such thoughts have cast thee down, know that thy Savour hath already blessed thee; For, Blessed are they that mourn. The Angels are thy Servants, they gather thy Tears, God is thy Treasurer, he layes them up in his bottle, the holy Ghost is thy Comforter, he will not leave thee. Fear not then to be thus cast down, fear not to be thus disquieted within thee.