THE FATAL FEASTS, OR GOD'S Finger upon the WALL, Appearing At the great thanksgiving Festival (upon cain's slaughter of his Brother Abe●) Solemnised by the General, Army, Parliament, Council of State and City of London, at Grocers-hall June the 7. 1649.  DANIEL 5 25, 26, 27, 28. 
In the same hour came forth fingers of a Man's hand, and wrote over against the Candlesticks upon the plaster of the Wall—.  
And this is the writing that was w●itten. 
 MENE MENE TEKEL PERES.  
God hath numbered thy Kingdom and finished it, thou art weighed in the Balances, and found wanting.  
Thy Kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians (to wit Foreign Nations.)  G●n. 4.11, 12. 
And now thou art Cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy Brother's blood from thy hand.  
— A fugitive and a vagabond shalt tho● be in the Earth.  
He that readeth and considereth, shall find it no FABLE.  
LONDON, Printed, in the Year of our LORD, 1649.   

The Fatal Feasts.  
THe rule of equity planted by God in every man's Conscience is so strong and vigorous, that in spite of ●he stoutest and strongest hearted man, it continually and undauntedly accuses or excuses him, to his face, in public, in private, in afflictions, in ●a●●i●g, in feasting, according as he ●●i●ket●; peaketh or practiseth, good or evil, in sincerity or in hypocrisy; so as he continually heareth from within himself, and that so loudly too, as drowneth all the acclamation of flatterers; the noise of 10000 drums and trumpets, ●o nor all the Ordinance upon a feasting day can out-roar this inward v●yce; 〈◊〉 in the midst of all jollity, noise, music, dalliance, it will be heard: Proclamations of Kings, Declarations, V●tes of Parliament, cries of Cities, P●●ple, Nation's ar● bugbears o●t, if once offended.  
A most blessed a●d up●i●ht Judge it is, judging impartially of the action and intention, according ●o ●he unquestionable rule of God's justice: So that thou (who ever th●u art that hast thriven and prospered in thy wickedness, and hast do●e it up●n such plausible pretences as might and doth often dec●●ve ●he very Elect: pled thy success unto thy conscience, and tell thy conscience (as thou 〈◊〉 to do thy ignorant flattering and timorous hearers) that he that is the Lord ●f Hosts, the God of battles hath given test in  on thy side by many continual, ev●n miraculous victories; and it will immediately tell thee; Cain after he had slain his innocent brother Abel, might as justly have u●ged the same argument in his justification.  
No, if thou wilt live in peace with G●d, and hold friendship with thine own Conscience, th●u must neither regard success, nor the acclamations of flatterer's, not the approbation of preachers nor the acceptation or rejoicings or feast of p●●ple; but b●fore thou act or do any thing, inquire the mind of God in his holy word, and take council then of thine own conscience, and accordingly act or not ●ct, and stand clear in thy judgement from all passion and corrupt affection in understanding what that voice within thee speaketh, and swerve not for thy life or any worldly thing, from that easily known and ap●oved rule of equity, of doing as thou wouldst be done unto; if thou do, assure thyself, thou wilt be condemned of thyself; and if thy conscience condemn thee, God is greater than thy conscience, and will not acquit thee (●oast thou never so much of success) so everlastingly true will that saying of God to Cain prove in all times and cases; If thou dost evil, sin lieth at the door.  
The serious consideration whereof as it is necessary for all times, so especially in this time and age we live in, the voice of God's word and the voice of conscience being never more neglected, men seeming not to regard any thing but the praise and approbation of another, and no argument so generally used for justifiing men's actions, yea of war, of killing and slaying of men of all sorts, yea of pious religious known friends, as success and prosperity in the undertaking.  
And therefore it may prove good counsel to all sorts of men, yea the highest, strongest and most successful, timely to hearken and give good heed to the voice of their own consciences, and to mark in all ages how conscience works, and how surely the judgements and vengeance of God follows all such as make sleight of that rule of equity he hath therein planted.  
God is the searcher and tryer of the Reins, a most exact observer of men's intentions, holding perpetual intelligence with the conscience of every man, Conscience being God's agent.  
Observe how God and Conscience works together with Cain and Abel, and so work they with all sorts of men, Gen. 4.5. the text saith, Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiler of the ground; and they were both so Religious, as they did apply themselves unto God by way of sacrifice (a sacrifice of thanksgiving) vers. 3. And it came to pass in process of time, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an Offering unto the Lord: vers. 4. And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his Offering; but unto Cain, and to his Offering he had no respect. See how God observes the reality of the heart, as the words And of the fat thereof, import; Cain was merely formal and in show, Abel real; see then how this works on Cain, he soon discerns God's non-acceptance, which should have wrought his repentance; now he swells against the light of his own Conscience, and was very wroth, and his countenance fell; Conscience disturbs him, vers. 6. And the Lord said unto Cain, why art thou wrath? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou dost not well, sin lieth at the door: (thy Conscience will be sure to tell thee of it) vers. 8. And Cain TALKED with Abel his brother, and being in the fieild together slew him; it is probable under colour of Treaty and friendship; never was cause more unjust, yet strength and injustice prevails, and might be justified, if success were a good argument with God or Conscience.  
But see how God and conscience follow him, thy Brother's Blood saith God cryeth unto me from the ground, thou art cursed from the earth, a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth: And cain's conscience echoes to the Lord, forcing him to cry out, My punishment is greater than I can bear: And from thy face shall I be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth: And it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me: Now conscience enforces him to acknowledge that never failing rule of equity, what measure thou hast met unto others shall be met unto thee again; though when time was, he could not prevail with him to do as he would be done unto.  
And though this be the way of God in all ages, yet still vain man renounces the clear judgement of God in his own conscience, goeth on in ways of blood, cruelty and injustice, and if God immediately take not vengeance, he adds iniquity to iniquity, and boasts that God by success haah given clear testimony of the righteousness of his cause, of the equity of his proceed, and in effect, that Cain is more righteous than Abel, because Cain was too strong and too politic and slew him.  
But this is so deceitful a way of judging, as it is wonderful, a time admitting the least dram of Christian knowledge, should admit; The experience of all times, ages, places, persons, evidencing the weakness or wickedness thereof: I saw (saith David) the wicked flourish, but I looked, and behold his place was no more to be seen; fatal are the rejoicings of the hypocrites, and of the man that pursueth the righteous unto blood.  
What greater wickedness can there be in the earth, then for a man to hate his Brother because God loves him? to hate him to the death, because he offers unto God a more acceptable sacrifice; because his heart is more clear and more large in thankfulness unto God for his extraordinary favours.  
Yet this is the case betwixt men that have long time lived together as brethren in these times, men that have been bosom friends, children of one cause, made dear unto each other by mutual obligations of love, of friendship, and of defence, carrying their lives and their strength in their hands more for others safeties then for themselves; yet now in process of time that they have been at Peace, and have gotten sheep to keep, and land to till, shame in some, and conscience in others importunes for sacrifices of thanksgiving unto the Lord of Hosts that hath preserved them, and given them strength to go through with so many victories.  
The effects of shame produce lean sacrifices; those that when they were in the storm and doubtful how to get forth, that promised mountains of freedom and redress of grievances to the people in thankfulness to God, are no sooner out of the Storm, but Molehills a●● great m●tters with these our firstborn Officers: And because our well meaning Abel's are mindful what they promised, what the poor people that stuck to them deserve, and in conscience and thankfulness to God off●r now the firstlings of their flocks (the best they can imagine) and of the fat, the purest of the●r love, and think the utmost of their freedom, and the removal of all grievances, and that for ever by an Agreement of the People littl●●nough in lieu of so great mercies, so large and fair opportuniti●e of doing good.  
B●cause God manif●sts his acceptance unto the sacrifice of those innocent Abel's, ●y th● Testimony of all u … el●sh men, increasing their numbers continually, and manif●sts his disrespect to those cain's and their Musty-●ffering, by the General complaints of all goo●-hearted people.  
Our cain's grew v●ry wroth, and their countenance fell, and the Lord said un●o them by his faithful Servant Master Sal●marsh; Why are ye wroth, and why are your countenances fall●●? if you do well and perform your promises and engagements to the people, your consciences cannot witness against you, shall you not be a●●epta●l● both of God and man? but if you do evil, if you break all promises and engagements with all sorts of people as ye have done, and now think to fl●tter God and man with crying Corban, with s●tting days apart to fast in, and to hang down the head for a da● like a Bulrush; Nay, to give no more to the Nation ●or all the blood and misery it hath suffered, but a Bulrush but the shad●w of Freedom and ease of Burdens; nor to render no more honour to God for all his mercies, but to set up yourselves in t●e places 〈◊〉 those you have removed with the price of otho's blood: If you do this evil, know then (saith he) sin lieth at the door, and the Judgement of God shall pursue you as it did Cain; ye shall in time be cast out as unsavoury salt that hath lost its saltness, the love of God, and the affection of the people shall forsake you, and the fear of Cain shall be upon you, you shall be afraid of yourselves, and thos● that a●● nearest to you; and though ye may prevail against some of the Abel's and sl●y them, yet in time ye shall be as vagabonds and runagates upon the earth, and your consciences shall tell you continually, that it sha●l come to pass, that every one that is near you, shall slay you, every one that findeth your delusion shall destroy you.  
But though God by him in effect told them long since thus much; yea, and though already they have found much of it come to pass; yet all this and more hath but hardened the hearts of all our cain's; nor would they give ear to the voice either of God, his servants, or their own consciences, but with Ahab they have sold themselves to work wickedness.  
They have TALKED with those Abel's, they have flattered them, they have taken them out-into the field upon renewed promises, and renewed repentances, they have made them a Game, a●d v●ntured their lives in their defence; but all this in treachery, and now at length in process of time it's come to pass that those cain's arose against those Ab●ls, in time of Treaty, and to●k them, and murdered them.  
And having done, hand joins in hand, and as before a Jesabels' Feast was proclaimed, and men of B●lial hired to swear, those Abel's, and Naboth's sought to destroy all Religion and to level all men's estates: so having killed and taken possession, their consciences are yet more dead than cain's; they having notice that those Abel's and Naboths were sto●ed and dead, these Jesabels' worse than cain's, said to Ahab their confederates, Come let us rise and take possession, let us eat, drink, and be merry, let us Proclaim a day of Thanksgiving.  
Almighty God who hath owned our cause, and given testimony against these Atheists, these Levellers, as he hath done against other enemies by giving us Success, the undoubted testimony of his approbation; he hath blessed our perfidiousness, our cruelty and our murdering of our Brothers, as he blessed Cain against Abel his Brother, and Jesabel and Ahab against Naboth: Therefore let us eat our meat with gladness, and drink our wine with merry hearts, for God now accepteth our sacrifice.  
But being at Grocers-hall in the midst of their Jollity, Pride, and Feasting, the spirit of Eliah comes into the Consciences of these Caines, with this dismal Message from the Lord.  
Hast thou killed and taken possession? (are ye so proud and pampered with success?) in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, of Lockier and the rest; shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine O Faixfax, and thine O Crumwel; and thine, and thine O Parliament, O Council of State, O Major, O Aldermen, that thus countenance those bloody inhuman and treacherous Monsters, and thine O Officer, and thine O Soldier that willingly hadst an hand in slaying thy most innocent and righteous Brethren, abels and Naboths, under the name of Levellers; and I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy prosperity, and will cut off from thee him that pisseth against the wall: and thy Feasts shall prove unto the chiefest guests, as the Earl of Sommersets Feast when he espoused a Strumpet (as ye have done corrupt interests) as Buckingham's Feast before his fall (against whom no complaint could be heard) as the King's Feasts at Mayor Freeman's, when he had corrupted him (as ye have done this covetous Mayor) to betray the Nations Liberties (calling it the triumph of Peace) he never prospered after it; The Mayor's tongue was cankered and cut out, that had made a false report, for white soap: Essex was so Feasted, and Hollis and his Facton was so Feasted, rejoicing in iniquity, but they are all perished and become as the dung of the Earth.  
Look! look! saith conscience and tremble! see you not Belshazzar like an hand writing upon the wall! R●ad, what writes it? what sh●ke ye, ye stoutest men of war! fear ye, ye men of greatness! start ye ye covetous wretches! what writes it, that ye are so much amazed? the thing is truth; your own consciences will tell you so when you woul● sleep; your Kingdom is rend from you, your reign is at an end, your wine i● mingled with innocent blood, and your venison is the fl●sh of freeborn Englishmen, and it shall breed a Pestilence among y●, that shall d●vour you: God will awaken the Consciences of the upright in the Army and all places, and they shall abhor and detest you; yea a devouring seed shall be raised up that shall tear you in pieces, and there shall be none to deliver you; for the very hope of such Hypocrites shall rot; after this so Impudent, Abominable, Atheistical, or blasphemous Defiance of God: never, never look to prosper; your strength is departed from you, the people hate you, God and your own consciences must be your Enemies; and ye may truly say with Cain, my punishment is greater than I can bear. I, and I, and I shall be a Fugitive and vagabond upon the Earth, and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me, shall slay me. So may all thine Enemies perish O Lord God.  
FINIS.