love and respects toward Me, as to make Me to despaire of their returne; when besides the bonds of nature and conscience, which they have to Me, all reason and true policy will teach them, that their chiefest interest consists in their fidelity to the crowne, not in their serviceablenesse to any party of the people, to a neglect and betraying of My safety and honour for their owne advantages: however, the lesse cause I have to trust to men, the more I shall apply My selfe to God.

The troubles of My soule are enlarged, O Lord, bring thou Me out of My distresse.

Lord direct thy servant in the waies of that pious simplicity, which is the best policy.

Deliver Me from the combined strength of those, who have so much of the serpents subtiltie, that they forget the doves innocency.

Tho hand joyne in hand, yet let them not prevaile against My soule, to the betraying of My conscience,

and honour.

Thou, O Lord, canst turne the hearts of those parties in both nations, as thou didst the men of Judah and Israel, to restore David with as much

loyall zeale, as they did with inconstancy and eager

Preserve the love of thy truth and uprightnesse in Me, and I shall not despaire of My subjects affections returning towards Me.

Thou canst soone cause the overflowing seas to ebbe, and retire back again to the bounds which thou hast appointed for them.

O My God, I trust in thee; let Me not be ashamed; let not My enemies triumph over Me.

Let them be ashamed who transgresse without a cause; let them be turned back that persecute My soule.

Let integrity and uprightnesse preserve Me, for I wait on thee, O Lord.

Redeeme thy Church, O God, out of all its trou

bles.

XIV. UPON THE COVENANT.

THE Presbyterian Scots are not to be hired at the ordinary rate of auxiliaries; nothing will induce them to engage, till those that call them in, have pawned their soules to them, by a solemne league and covenant :

pre

Where many engines of religious and faire tensions are brought chiefly to batter, or rase episcopacy; this they make the grand evill spirit, which, with some other imps purposely added, to make it more odious, and terrible to the vulgar, must by so solemne a charme and exorcism be cast out of this Church, after more than a thousand yeares possession here, from the first plantation of Christianity in this island, and an universal prescription of time and practice in all other Churches since the Apostles times till this last century.

But no antiquity must plead for it; Presbytery, like a young heyre, thinks the Father hath lived long enough, and impatient not to be in the bishops chaire and authority (though lay-men go away with the revenues) all heart is used to sink episcopacy, and lanch Presbytery in England;

which was lately boyed up in Scotland by the like artifice of a covenant.

Although I am unsatisfied with many passages in that covenant (some referring to My selfe with very dubious and dangerous limitations) yet I chiefly wonder at the designe and drift touching the discipline and government of the Church; and such a manner or carrying them on to new waies, by oaths and covenants, where it is hard for men to be engaged by no lesse, then swearing for, or against those things, which are of no cleare morall necessity; but very disputable, and controverted among learned and godly men: whereto the application of oaths can hardly be made and enjoyned with that judgement, and certainly in ones selfe, or that charity and candour to others of different opinion, as I think religion requires, which never refuses fair and equable deliberations; yea, and dissentings too, in matters onely probable.

The enjoyning of oaths upon people must needs in things doubtfull be dangerous, as in things unlawfull, damnable; and no lesse superfluous, where former religious and legall engagements, bound men sufficiently, to all necessary duties.

Nor can I see how they will reconcile such an innovating oath and covenant, with that former protestation which was so lately taken, to maintaine the religion established in the Church of England: since they account discipline so great a part of religion.

But ambitious minds never think they have laid snares and ginnes enough to catch and hold the vulgar credulity: for by such politicke and seemingly pious stratagems, they think to keep the populacy fast to their parties under the terror of perjury: whereas certainly all honest and wise men ever thought themselves sufficiently bound by former ties of religion, allegiance and lawes, to God and man.

Nor can such after-contracts, devised and imposed by a few men in a declared party, without My consent, and without any like power or precedent from Gods or mans lawes, be ever thought by judicious men sufficient either to absolve or slacken those morall and eternal bonds of duty which lie upon all My subjects consciences both to God and Me.

Yet as things now stand, good men shall least offend God or Me, by keeping their covenant in honest and lawfull waies; since I have the cha