IF all were Gold that glisters, a filly Glo-Worme were pure mettle, and Ignis fatuis, the Moone-shine in the water, or a Blazing-Star would be made into ingots and wedges, and consequently translated into Coyne by out most earned Astronomicall Star-gazers.

This old Provetb is so full of my sterie, that it hath mat­ter enough in it to make a Historie: and as it is mysticall, so it is sophisticall, metaphoricall, and alegoricall, & liter­ally true to a tittle, and an excellent fore-warner and dis­coverer of dissimulation; a deadly enemie to Lyers, Flat­terers, Iugglers, Traytots, Agitators, Levellers, and a mortall foe to all the pack of Knaves that carrie two faces under one hood, or pretend one thing, and intend another; that salutes a man friendly in the front, and wishes him hang'd in the reare: of these inconveniences, this Proverbe gives you warning; All is not Gold that glisters.

Caine offered sacrifice, Jezabell fasted, Ahab repented; these made a glistering shew of pietie; Joab saluted Abner and Amasa, and Judas seem'd to kisse lovingly; this was all hypocrisie.

Thus did the drosse and dregges of vilianie shine and glister; and thus is King Charles made the most glorious King that ever raign'd in England: the corruscancie and fence-blinding refulgency of those golden promises, mis­guided many thousands of people into a fools paradice, like a false light call'd William with a wispe, or a Fire-drake, that leades folkes out of their way in the night. These glister­ing [Page 3] promises were no gold, for his Maiestie hath too much tried them, and touched them with the touch store of his hard and unexampled Afflictions, whereby he hath found them false, base, and counterfet, meere rottennesse, gilded o­ver on the out-sides with the varnish and polishing of adu­lation and delusions.

Anti-Jessus railes against Antichrist, and Religion is strangely metamorphoied into snarling; all such as are without the walls of the new many-headed Reformation, must not live within the Line of Comunication, amongst those spirituall-gifted Creatures, whose opinions doe roule and wheele with the various humours of Rhewma­tick Enthusias [...]s, for our long-winded Schismatiques are (most of them) tongue-swolne with inspiration. It was a custome amongst the ancient Romans, first to learne to he silent, and after that Lesson was perfect, then they learn'd to speake: But a generation of Tautologicall Tongue-men, have not yet learned how or when to speake, or hold their peace; these grave ungrammar'd Thebans, and most learned illiterate Athenians, (with much pumping for wit, and belabouring the cushion) have brought too much gall to the Pulpit, and such store of worme-wood to the Presse, that hath drench'd too many of us in the gall of bitternesse, and ensnar'd us too fast in the bond of iniquitie. For as Co­pernicus imagined that the Terrestriall Globe turn'd round with a quotidian vertigo, when it was his own giddie brain that put him into that whimsey conceit; so these sorts of Phoolosophers are infected with three strange diseases of body and mind, (namely, Frenzie, Heresie, and Iealousie) their mischievous imaginations doe hold all such as are not of their Round opinion to be in a dangerous and most desperate condition.

But the wise man saith, Ecclesiast. 21. That a wise mans [Page 4] tongue is in his heart, but a fooles heart is in his tongue. So I will conclude this point, That he that doth nothing but talke, doth talke nothing.

What a glorious shew of Allegeance and Loyaltie did too many of his Majesties false servants make; but all those faire shewes were no better then false shadowes: the Assu­rance of their faithfull dutie, was like an Obligation seal'd with &c. they were only tinsel'd over with Oathes, Vowes, flattering Cringes, and dissembling words & gestures: and yet this kind of scurvie counterfeit Stuffe did make an abo­minable shamefull glistring shew at the Court; but that was not Gold that glistred.

Our Blew-bonnetted bonny Brethren did sweare by their Soules, that they waud leeve & dey for the guds of the King and Kingdomes: Those Golden Promises did glister to us; for which, our Golden Treasure shined on them abundant­ly, foolishly, knavishly. We had ungodly false Knaves, and cut-throat Plundring Theeves and Villaines of our owne, but our owne would not serve our turnes; we were so prodi­gall to waste our Money, to buy and hire thousands of Tat­terdemalian, mad Raggamuffin, terrible Tarmagant Scots: but now our after-wit tels us, that we have as sufficient and able Rascals of our own English breeding, as either Scotland or Hell it selfe could afford us; so that our Money which we layd out, was meerly cast away: for if we consider what they did to deserve it, we shal find, that they did us but little good, and much mischiefe; all which we could have done our selves, & so have saved our glistring Gold in our purses. But though we did buy many Scots, yet we did not buy their Religion & Kirk Discipline: for if we could have bin con­tent to be Protestants, we would never have bin so mad as to have purchas'd a Presbyterian Church-Government; nor had they any reason, or manners, to presume audaciously to [Page 5] prescribe Religion and Lawes to us: Let them keepe their Doctrine and Statutes beyond Twede; we have no mind to impose our Rites and Customes upon Scotland, neither wil we receive any from them: As much as their Religion hath cost us, we are willing to lose; and we are contented, if they will take it againe for ha [...]fe the Money: which they may doe with a safe Conscience, for it is not a Groat the worse for our wearing. Yet we would have them to know, that we doe not write of, or to the whole Nation; we con­fesse, that there are many thousands Iust, Re [...]igiou [...], Loyall, and Valiant persons of that Nation, whom we doe most entirely love and honour.

If the most powerfull amongst us were the most peace­full, we might then have some hope to see some part of our former happinesse: But there are a Generati [...]n of Peace-haters, who drive a mightie Golden g [...]istring Trade out of the Ruines and Spoyle of their Countrey, with the bloud and sl [...]ughter of their B [...]ethren; these Monsters doe make Murther to be their May-game, and cutting throats their Pastime.

The two gre [...]t Generals, Joab and Abner, when they met together by the Poole of Gibeon, they made but little ac­count of the lives of men, when they made sport with the deaths of 204 at one time, as it is in 2 Sam. 2.13, 14, 15, 16. the words are these.

And Abaser said unto Joab, Let the young men now arise and play before us; and Joab said, Let them arise.

Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Ben­jamin, which pertained to Ishhosheth, the sonne of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellowes side, so they fell downe together.

This was the pleasing tragicall play before Joab & Abner: [Page 6] and that bloody sport was much like ours, for they were all of one Countrie, & one Nation, as we are. But the gallants of the [...]e dayes are so madly desperate, that the name of Peace in Odious to them; they will daily venture their lives in seeking their deaths, and hazard the losse of Heaven to purchase Hell; their felicity is in Armes & most redoubted Deeds, Warres, dreadfull Warres, and politick designes: But all this stir is not to kill Pagans, Heathens, Infidells, Iewes, surkes, or savage Monsters; these bloody Bickrings and surious Slaughters have not bin, or are like to be, for the glory of God, or making the King glorious, for the Kingdomes good, for the peoples freedome, for the Laws preservation, or the liberty of the Subiect; These were the promises that glistered like Gold, which appeares now to be meere drosse: for the very contrary calamities to all our fore-named blessings are now upon us; God is blasphem'd, in stead of being glorified; his Word prophaned, in lieu of obedient reverence; his Church despised and disperst, in stead of honorable and Christian settlement; his Houses of Prayer pollured and desiled, in stead of repairing and re­gard; the King hath had a great share of thraldom, & long­lasting captivitie, which attends His Maiesty in the rooms of Loyaltie and Allegeance; the Laws are trampled down, in stead of being kept up in authoritie; the Subiects right is, that no man can be certaine to call any thing his owne; and the libertie of the people is bondage and slavery; inso­much, that (as the case stands now) it is a dangerous thing to be rich, for every mans wealth is his crime; a good estate wil trans forme a man into three shapes in short time: first, to a Delinquent; secondly, to a Malignant; and thirdly, to a Begger.

To draw to a conclusion, let us thinke a little upon the King: let us consider, that disloyaltie to him, is disobedi­ence [Page 7] to God; Kings are cal'd Higher Powers, Heads of Tribes, Children of the most High, high Hills, and tall Cedars; and therefore God is to be accounted (amongst us) in the first place, and the King in the second: foure wayes the King is the Minister of God for the good of his people; first, he is our Naturall Good, in the preservation and conservation of life and body, by his soveraigne Power in maintaining the Lawes; secondly, he is our Morall Good, for that he pro­tects Vertue, and corrects Vice; thirdly, the King is a Civill Good, in his securing our estates and possessions: and fourthly, he is a Spirituall Good, in defending the Faith, and Gods true Religion. All these Goods, good King Charles was, as long as he had Power; and all, and more then all these, would be heap'd upon us, if he did but enjoy his right Dignitie and K [...]gly Authoritie.

As God is our Almightie invisible King, so (by his grace and favour) the King is our visible God: A King is said to be the Light of Israel; people without a King, are like sheepe without a Shepheard, 1 Kings 22, 17. The Crownes, Scepters, Thrones, and anoyntings of Kings, are Gods pe­culiar Rights; and God is Master of the Substance, who­soever is Master of the Ceramonie: And that God that made all men, did make some men to be Kings; amongst whom, our gracious Soveraigne Lord, King Charles, is one, and one of the best that ever reigned in England; and ab­solutely the best, but the worst dealt withall.

If it were considered how the case stood with him when he came to the Crowne, that consideration would give all reasonable men satisfaction, he was hemd round about with cares and troubles; first, his Father King James (of blessed memorie) left him deeply in debt, besides great debts he himselfe owed; secondly, he had Warres with two migh­tie Kings, of France and Spaine, both at once and the same [Page 8] time; thirdly, the Coffers and Treasurie was low, or neare emp­t [...]e; fourthly, the King had no Navie at Sea, nor any meanes to set forth one, and the Ships much out of repaire; fifthly, the King had no f [...]wer then fifteene or sixteene of the Blood Royall to keepe and maintaine; yet (according as the time was then, and as it is now) without any great Taxes he paid his Fathers debts and his owne, he secured himselfe and Kingdomes from soreigne Invasion, he maintained his great charge, and kept a Royall House, as befitted the Majestie of a King of Great Britaine and Ireland, he refurnish­ed the Navie, and in that shewed his clouded magnificence on the Seas, to the admiration and astonishment of other Nations: for the effecting of which the Ship-Money was laid upon the people, whereof his Majesty had never the value of one peny into his Cof­fers, but it will be easily proved, that he did lay many thousand pounds to it to increase it, and all was little enough to defrand so great a charge; which Tax was levied for no other end, but for the honour and safetie of the Kingdome, and to desend those that have sought to destroy the King for doing so good a worke.

Let us with griefe of heart call to mind the happinesse which we have lost (which we enjoyed sixteene yeares) by his gracious government; then we had peace and plenty, no taking prisoner or being taken, uo leading into captivitie and no complaining in our streets; a man might then (in those dayes) not have beene ashamed or afraid to be a true Subject and an honest man, hee migh [...] boldly say (as I now say) God save the King: which good dayes and times I hope are suddenly comming; and so I close up all with, Vive le Roy.