CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE COMMONS, IN This Age of Distractions.  
OUr present breaches call out to every honest Christian to become a continual centinel, watching against the incessant assaults of such as endeavour to undermine the peace of this Kingdom, therefore seeing a storm Inevitably falling its good to meet it with understanding rightly informed, that so we may know how to propose the way of truth to others, and how to prosecute it ourselves. It hath ever been, and still is, the constant practice of the common enemy to set at variance not only the Princes of several Nations, but each Kingdom against itself, dividing betwixt Prince and people, and incensing subject against subject, that so they might the more easily accomplish their wicked intentions in our divisions; and how zealously this design of the adverse party hath been carried on of late years in these Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, I think there is no intelligent ones but they can readily trace it in sundry particulars, and now at last having crowned their endeavours with the accursed fruits of engaging this Kingdom in a civil war, they drive on furiously in the pursuance of this their hellish design, which must of necessity usher in ruin, and destructions, if not speedily opposed and crushed: and let all good Christians be careful lest by their own backwardness they make good that base assertion of some malignants, That the Protestant profession is too tame to withstand them.  
Now therefore since our present breaches call for a contribution from every one, it's no more than our own interest requires, that we apply ourselves to the common good, and that we may the better know our duty, and how we are to dispose of ourselves either in the assisting of the one side, or in resisting of the other as we are thereunto called, Let us briefly take a view,  

1. Of the chief authors and fomenters of these unhappy distractions.  
2. Of the ends they drive at.  
3. Of the means they use to accomplish those ends.  
4. Of the dangerous inconveniences that will ensue if these be not opposed.   
1. For the Authors of our present miseries, the several Declarations of Parliament tell us that they consist of Papists, of an ambitious and dissolute Clergy, of delinquents obnoxious to the Justice of Parliament, together with some part of the Nobility and Gentry that either fear reformation, or else seek to lay the Foundation of their own honour and preferment in the ruin of the Kingdom, and we appeal to all the World, whether all of them or at least the greatest party of them that have withdrawn His Majesty from his Parliament, and are now about him, do not come within the compass of this definition, being such as have constantly laboured to bury the happiness of this Kingdom in the ruin of the Parliament; and therefore they that trust these Men too much, questionless they know them too little: for surely there is no man unless he be wilfully blind and stupid, but will conculde that the many eyes of those famous Peers (that have sometimes been adjudged the ablest Statesmen in this Kingdom) accompanied with so many choice worthies out of all parts in the Land, should see more plainly and discern more clearly into those things that tend ro the good and safety of King and people, than those dim lights about of Majesty which can see no further than their own personal preferments and base ambitious aims do lead them; now accordingly let people adhere to the Counsels and commands of the one or the other, as in reason they shall find cause.  
2. Consider the ends that this malignant party hath hitherto and still continues to drive at (and their practices shall be judged) one chief and main end they drive at, is the destruction of this present Parliament, and in it all future Parliaments, and together with them, the alteration of Religion, the subversion of the Laws of the Kingdom, with the utter abollition of the rightful liberties and privileges of the Subjects. All this will clearly appear if you take but a brief survey of their proceed from time to time, first their love (or rather indeed inveterate hatred) to this Parliament appears in the many consultations they had, and attempts they made (as is plain by the depositions of many) to bring up the Northern Army against the Parliament; and likewise in that unjust charge of Treason which was pretended against some members of both Houses, and the Kings coming with a company of Cavaliers to the House of Commons to fetch them away by force, and then that which adds vigour to all the rest, their withdrawing of His Majesty, from his great and best council into the Northern parts of this Kingdom under pretence that His Person was in danger at Whitehall, which was a notorious black lie. Then for their love to Religion, I think that is manifest to the World by their conversation, their affecting of Blood, rapine, Torture, Oppression and Cruelty, their frequent Swearing, God dam me, and God sink me; together with that sweet harmony and mutual corespondency betwixt Romanists and they, the Counsels of Jesuitical Papists having a chief influence into their proceed, Judge if these render them defendours of the true Protestant Religion. And then the great care they take for upholding and maintaining the Laws of the Land, appears by their love to Parliaments which are the Law's protectors, as also by their favourable construction of the Commission of Array, the putting of the Sword of Justice into the hands of divers Popish and ill affected persons, giving them places in the Commissions of the Peace, and outing of others which it seems were too zealous of the good of King and Kingdom. And lastly their care of preserving the liberties of the subject appears by those many illegal taxations of old, and of their late endeavours to possess the World of an absolute, and unlimited power in Princes. Thus for the ends.  
3. Consider the means they use to accomplish these their ends; the main whereof is to raise up a spirit of divisions and continually to increase a disunion, first betwixt His Majesty and his loyal subjects, and then betwixt one subject and another; for they well know that where verity is accompanied with unity, it makes a people invincible; and therefore the better to carry on this their truth-detesting design, first the King must be dealt with that the Major part of Parliament (being seduced by a few Traitorous, factious spirits) endeavour to deprive him of his just prerogative, and to trample upon his Crown, and having thus impudently suggested a thing as false as the Father of liars can invent, than no stone must be left unrowled whereby this misunderstanding betwixt the King and his people may be increased. After this the Subjects they must be dealt with, by many specious pretences, and smooth expressions, and heartless Protestations of the zeal of these men both for the good of King and people, and of the earning desires they have after a reformation (as heretofore established) and that all their counsels and designs tend this way; And then they secretly stab the sides of those worthies in Parliament by their calumniations, and false aspersions, telling you of their countenancing, or at least not suppressing the Tumults of Sectaries, Anabaptists and Brownists that swarm in the Kingdom, and hence they will affirm that all our distractions have their rise, It's well we know to the contrary, however grant it were so, yet these men will be found to be the cause of the cause of our distractions, for had not they by their devilish subtleties engaged the Kingdom in this intestine broil, and brought our religion, lives and liberties and all to the stake, we need not to have doubted, but that the Parliament with the assistance of the assembly of Divines would by this time in so me good measure have composed the divisions in the Church. But the truth is the Malice of these men is so general against all goodness, that it had been a slander if these worthies in Parliament had not been slandered by them, for envy and slander do always attend good deeds in a bad age. Many other means that these malignants have used in the pursuance of their destructive designs might be added. Their frequent attempts of fetching in foreign Forces to invade us, and providing great supplies of ammunition beyond Seas to destroy us, Their complying with Papists, Atheists, fugitives, and other notorious delinquents, to the end they might enslave us, if these be not sufficient to render their intentions many miles distant from their Protestations of endeavouring the common good, let the World judge.  
Lastly, that the crafty devices and fraudulent pretences of these arch impostors may not be believed, nor their impudent expressions, threatened violence, and seeming courage may not be feared, It were good that people were rightly informed of the manifold benefits that must needs redound to themselves and posterity, by declining the ways and Counsels of these men, and by adhering to the faithful Counsels and obeying the just commands, of the Parliament by whose Wisdom and industry so many excellent works have been wrought for us, whose proceed from their first meeting to this instant have been so spotless, that the enemies of the State have been angry with them, because they could not be angry with them, finding no just cause wherein to accuse them, whereupon they have been forced to broach many notorious untruths from time to time, thereby scandalising the proceed of Parliament, which time having confuted and given them the lie to their Teeth, hath not a little redowned to the disgrace of themselves and the cause they favour; And doubtless those that have vented their minds against this Parliament, by such invective speeches upon all occasions, they would not be backward to nominate that factious party in both Houses ( to the promise made in a Message, etc.) had they had either ground or reason for it. But as hitherto we can neither hear the crimes of such as have been impeached, nor the Names of such as are thus threatened; for could we see any thing but mere words, we should the sooner believe that the King was necessitated to desert the Parliament. I would wish the Commons of England were able to build their hopes upon any probable grounds that they should receive good from these men, that have thus shamefully and despitefully spit their venom upon the heads of our Tribes. Nay I fear there is few that can apprehend a possibility, that His Majesty should really make good those solemn Protestations, of defending our Religion, Laws and Liberties, so long as these Achitophel's are about him. In the late breach betwixt Scotland and us, doubtless had not the King's ears been shut against the wholesome advice of his Scottish subjects, whilst they were open to the destructive counsels of some evil affected one's in England, the fidelity of the Scots and the treachery of those counsellors had been sooner discovered. Therefore if we do not stand to the cause now, and render ourselves loyal to our Sovereign, and faithful to the State wherein we live, by withstanding and opposing the destructive counsels and ways of those about his Majesty, who endeavour nothing more than to enslave the free subjects of this Nation, and to keep them continually under the harrow of oppression, we may forever bid adieu to all that we now enjoy. It ought therefore to be every man's wisdom and care seriously to consider, that in forsaking this Parliament, they forsake themselves, their Religion, Laws, and Properties, and all that can properly be called theirs, for our Liberties receive their life from the Law, and the Law its life and protection from Parliaments; so that in case we refuse to protect them that protect the Laws which are the protection of our Liberties, of necessity all must fall to the ground, and the will of the Prince and Favourites shall be the Law of the people, and so honest men will be out of hopes, and delinquents out of fear of justice.  
There is not any age that can produce a story of a Parliament, freely elected and held, that ever did injure a whole Nation; neither have we ever heard of Prince or people that casting themselves upon this well constituted Assembly that they were ever defrauded or prejudiced by them. But some we have heard of that never prospered having once diserted this great Council. And indeed it may seem strange to any reasonable man, that the Lords and Commons who are so deeply interressed in the Kingdom, and who must of necessity have a large share in the miseries thereof, that they should take such pains early and late in contributing to their own inevitable destruction and to the ruining of the freedoms of this Nation. But put the case that we by our wilfulness and gross stupidity should so fare provoke the Parliament as to desert us and our interest, and to pursue their own by complying with those Counsels that are now about his Majesty, let the World judge what were likely to be the portion of the Communality of this Kingdom, should the Parliament betray that trust we have reposed in them, themselves might live like Princes, but we like slaves.  
It hath of late been the main design of our adversaries by their subtle insinuations to render the Parliament a void assembly because the King refuses to join with them. This was well answered by him that said, if the Parliament might not save the Kingdom without the King, he was sure the King might destroy the Kingdom in despite of the Parliament. It must needs sound harsh in the ears of a free people, that the King withdrawn by evil Council may at pleasure take away the very essence of Parliaments merely by his own dissent, thereby stripping them of all power in matters of judicature that they may not determine any thing for the good and safety of the Kingdom. If this be true, it must needs follow, that its both vain and needless to trouble the whole Kingdom to make choice of its representative body, since being convened and disserted by the King, they must stand as cyphers, and surely that time which was spent in preparing and passing the Bill for triennial Parliaments, and that for the not dissolving of this, was but lost labour, for not to exist, and to exist without any power, are things little differing in such a case as this.  
Never was there any age, wherein the hearts of people were more perplexed betwixt command and command then in this; We find the King commanding and the Parliament forbidding, the King affirming and the Parliament denying, now in this uncertainty each man is doubtful how to dispose of himself for the common good. If people could rightly distinguish betwixt protection and oppression, Monarchy and tyranny, they would the better understand their duty in such times as these. Questionless the duty that we own unto our Sovereign, it doth not deny us this privilege of having respect to our own safety. Now no man will deny the King to be the Lords anointed, his Deputy, and Vicegerent, and that every subject aught to honour, and obey him so fare as his commands thwart not the commands of God; this comes not in question, neither is it questioned, whether an absolute obedience is to be yielded to the unlawful commands of an evil Magistrate, for I presume none of our adversaries will affirm that; neither is the question, whether Subjects may make an offensive war taking up arms against their Sovereign (as some have falsely and despitefully suggested.) But the question is merely about our own safety, and just defence, and may be thus stated. When as the King is seduced by wicked men who have a constant opportunity of instilling their poisonous counsels into his sacred ears, venting such destructive arguments as may most conduce to their own ends, thereby prevailing over his innocent thoughts and purposes to his people (the most candid dispositions being subject to dangerous inconveniences by the constant concurrence of evil examples and counsels) and carrying him on to take up arms against his loyal Subjects, The question is, whether in such a case of extreme danger it be lawful for the subject to take up arms in his own defence.  
That a defensive war is lawful and warrantable in such a case as this, will appear by these reasons.  
1. Because the end of all government is to make provision for the good and safety of the people (that being the supreme Law) if then Princes being entrusted shall refuse to join with the people in their necessary defence, the people may without dis-loyalty save themselves, it being contrary to the nature and intent of such a trust, that necessary defence should be barred and natureall preservation denied to a people. It must needs be a direct overthrowing of the very foundation of policy for a people by preserving subjection to their Prince to give way to the destruction of the Commonwealth.  
2. If the people might not preserve their own peace against the unjust invasion, and causeless violence of their Prince, we must conclude that God hath left man destitute of any sufficient humane help of saving himself; for grant that, and this will follow, that when a Kingdom is exposed to eminent dangers, the people must of necessity yield their necks and submit their lives to the wills of cruel men, since the King denies them means of safety.  
3. The Law of nature binds each private man to defend himself against the Magistrate as a private man assaulting him by violence and not pursuing him in a legal way, and to repel force by force, the example of Naboth will clearly demonstrate this, when Ahab commanded him to give him his Vineyard, Naboth refuses to comply with the Kings command it being unlawful for him to part with the inheritance of his fathers: Well, Ahab by the instigation of his wife still pursues the design, and the thing must be put to the trial, and to this end witnesses must be suborned, and these to give in testimony to the Elders and Nobles so and so. Now in this case Naboth was bound to submit to his censure being tried in a legal way, & so to leave the undeservednesse of his death charged upon the consciences of the false witnesses. But now had Ahab come violently upon Naboth and attempted the kill of him for not subjecting to his unlawful command, will any man affirm that it had been unlawful for Naboth to have defended himself against the unjust invasion and violence of Ahab? If then it be lawful for a private person thus to defend himself (as doubtless it is) then much more it is lawful for a whole Nation.  
4. This is warrantable by Scripture examples, 2 Chron. 26. 17, etc. When Vziah the King entered into the Temple, and would have burnt Incense to the Lord, which was not lawful for him to do, Azariah the Priest and four score more withstood him and caused him to departed the Sanctuary, 1 Sam. 14. 45. When Saul would have unjustly put jonathan to death the people rescued him out of his hands and told the King plainly that he should not die, several other examples there be in Scripture which do clearly demonstrate this truth, That the unlawful acts and commands of Princes may be opposed,  
To conclude, that which gives men security in troublesome times, is the justness of the cause they endeavour to vindicate, let Achitophel's plot, Samballats mock, Rabshekahs' wail, and seducers wax every day worse and worse, yet Magna est veritas & praevalebit, The ways of the wicked though for a time they may prosper, yet they shall never be blessed; God hath hitherto carred on the work of reformation with a strong hand, in despite of all Anti-reformers, and doubtless the Church's cause shall prevail though second causes should fail, yet the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.  
FINIS.