A DECLARATION OF THE LOYALTY OF THE Citizens of London TO THE King and Parliament.  
WHEREIN Their Fidelity and true Affection to the public good is cleary manifested, by their Voluntary Contributions, Personal Actions, and Strong Fortifications, for the safety of the King, Parliament and Kingdom.  
Published for a precedent to the whole Kingdom.  
June 3 d. LONDON, Printed for T. Cook. 1643.   

A Declaration of the Loyalty of the Citizens of London to the KING and Parliament.  
MAny expressions of loyalty to a Prince from his subjects may be showed, acceptable, but not profitable to the public good, some aiming at their own particular preferment, and some to win his Prince his favour, this fidelity is in these unfortunate times too frequent, this is loyalty without considerable premeditation, hurtful and pernicious, this is exercised by temporary observances, the very Papists Enemies to the cause of Christ, may be endued with this kind of loyalty, but there is a loyalty which is unparallelled, which the best and wisest men, which are not endued with worldly, but spiritual wisdom, have rooted and fast fixed in their hearts, this loyalty is Duplex nay triplex, and unremovable, as Solomon, a threefold Cord is not easily broken, this hath its aspect fixed upon a triple object, upon their Prince, upon religion and upon law, upon their Prince as the head of that body of which they are members, and this loyalty is expressed in the endeavour to preserve both from Indemnity and dislocation or Fraction, for if either, both must needs languish and in the end perish by a Consumption, the second is upon religion, this should be the primum mobile, the chief mover and loadstone to draw the sincerest and heartiest affection thereto, if this loyalty be wanting which is called fidelity to God, in vain can a Prince expect hearty affection from his people, if piety be not the ground of all their actions, all will come to naught and prove frustrate whether it be by Counsel, or external actionate appearances: But here is not to be understood every man's religion regulated by particular fancy, for there is but one true religion grounded upon Divine Doctrine recorded in the sacred and Canonical writings of the Old and new Testament; loyalty in religion must be constant & settled, not mutable: retain the truth and keep it, let not times alteration change our Religion, let not temporary division divide the heart from his God and his verity. The third object is love, and this is Duplex, Divine and humane, upon the law of God, and Ordinance of man, the first is Divine obedience and loyalty, the other is politic fidelity, of the last I will most speak, because it is now the secondary cause of dissension, this is also twofold, grounded upon common and fundamental laws of this kingdom, and upon Parliamentary government both known and of long continuance, the first unalterable, the last mutable according to the mutability of times, both the only preservatives conjunctively, of kingdom's prosperity and tranquillity. If either fall or be destroyed, the total frame of politic government must needs perish, for in this Consists the well being of the whole nation, no surer ground of peace and happiness, than the preservation of this ancient established government, the neglect of which breeds such ulcers and deep wounds in the body, that the cure must be so sharp and bitter that the remedy seems to many worse than the disease, being tedious & wearisome: It happens just so in these times; the oppressions of the subjects of this kingdom by tyrannical courts are now almost buried in oblivion, through the dilatory preventions of Malignant spirits, actors in the precedent tragedy of state oppression, whose power hath been and is so prevalent that they want not regal protection to defend their actions. Now then is the time to show true loyalty to God, king and country: now is the time to lay open the distinction of true and false obedience, now is the time if ever to show who are true Patriots of the country, and who are perfidious betayers of the same to the will malice and tyranny of particular persons, Court favourites, and public enemies to peace and piety.  
Having now to my weak ability made distinction between true loyalty and false, I will proceed to parallel the Actions of the worthy Citizens of the City of London, to particulars before recited whereby it may be made manifest to the whole world, that their loyalty hath been singular and indefatigable, no trouble raised against them either in their persons or estates, hath changed their true loyalty no, thunderbolt of Proclamations or Declarations against them can alter that fast grounded fidelity seated in their hearts, although in this kind they have had many discouragments if the same might have wrought upon there affections well versed in sacred writ, he that forsaketh father mother kindred friends, lands, houses, goods, even all for the cause of God, shall receive an hundred fold in the day of their Accounts.  
The many contributions and dibursments that have been parted from by them, like continual streams flowing with constancy, without intermission might have been ground sufficient to have declined their fidelity, and the little benefit they have as yet received by the same, might have drowned their hopes of future happiness, if they had not been truly loyal to the King and parliament.  
But they are well read in Physical documents, concerning the health of material bodies similized to politic, contracted and composed of a Commonwealth, that a long sickness must have long cure and a dangerous sore have a desperate medicine, and that if the same be applied and withdrawn before its operation, it may prove more dangerous and deadly than the malady: Therefore the having well considered and pondered the premises, count it no loss either of time or expense to wait God's leisure for the redress and curation of their evil, and lay no negligence or carelessness therein, upon the Parliament whose daily labours, dangers and vast distributions exceed any Parliament that ever sat in England before, for the defence and maintenance of the public good.  
No record of former ages can manifest the like loyalty. But to the shame of those times, the subject hath happened to forsake their Parliament in Ric. 2. and exposed both them, and themselves to the government of particular Parasites, and Herodian foxes, which proved destroyers of their country & Prince too at last: for it is received Maxim in State policy, he that is a traitor to himself can never be loyal to his king, and he that is a Traitout to his Country, is a traitor to himself, being a member and part of his Country.  
I now come to the loyalty of the Citizens of London, in their personal actions as well as in their purse-contributions, and in this respect the City may be called the Chamber or Storehouse of true loyalty, a glass wherein the whole Kingdom may see not only the stamp or character of loyalty, but the substance itself. What City in England can compare with it, I mean not in respect of its largitude, but in respect of its alacrity and cheerful performances of public personal Offices tending to the common safety, the willing mind is discerned aswel in little as much, and the affection as really expressed; their industry so great, and operative actions so tractable, that it is meet to be recorded in tables of brass, to be had in perpetual memory, a pattern of constancy to be imitated by all nations in the world. I am not able to express the worthiness of their actions, conducing not not only to their own safeties and preservations, but to the benefit and profit of these whole Kingdom.  
Their extraordinary guards, by the heroic Companies of trained soldiers, daily exercised for the security both of Parliament and City is another demonstration of their true loyalty, maintained at their own charge, without being burdensome to the rest of the Kingdom, the activity of their spirits, complete habiliaments, may well render her to be the Lady and Queen of Cities, and glory to other nations, not equalised by the most famous cities of Europe, none or very few serving in this cause but the chiefest and best of the Citizens both for personage and estate, and so experienced in their martial discipline and exercises, that the meanest may be an Officer for his skill, in a Regal Army, the pattern of magnanity and true valour, and what can more strengthen a King, and preserve the peace of his Kingdom, then true loyalty joined with valour and courage in his people.  
No antiquity can record the like fortifications, bulwarks and trenches to have been about this city, as now are raised and made, for the strengthening and security thereof, who can testify that former ages have produced such examples of loyalty; that even from the greatest to the least of the said City, from the highest to the meanest, have put their hand to the work, who can report of times past, that ever so many thousand did daily work in their own persons, as now is seen, freely and with the work of their own hands, secure themselves by such outworks? who living can report that every day in the week in a warlike manner with their Commanders Colours, Drums and weapons of war in one hand, and instruments of labour in the orher, so many thousands should march to the work, as to a field of fight, imitating the Israelites in the days of good Nehemiah, working with one hand, and upon the sound of the Drum, Arma parata, to fight with the other, and all this out of true loyalty to their King and Country, for the defence of the person and royal posterity of their Sovereign, of the true religion grounded on the Word of God, of the Fundamental and Parliamentary Laws, and the Rights, Privileges and Immunities of the freeborn subjects of the English Nation. This is the triple object upon which the true loyalty of the Citizens of London hath been hitherto, and yet is fast fixed and grounded: yet one mark more of their true fidelity (I had almost forgotten) worthy to be retained in perpetual memory to succeeding ages, and that is, their searching out and rejection of the disloyal hearted amongst them, and willingly exposing them to exemplary punishment for the same. There is no garden, be it never so decked with rare flowers and variety, but hath in it some weeds that must be plucked out and cast away, for the better growing of the serviceable and delectable flowers: no city that is free from evil members, that must be taken notice of, and either cropped or rooted out, lest they overgrow the good, and hinder their flourishing and increase. And thus I end, wishing the whole Kingdom in general may imitate this renowned City in its true loyalty and fidelity to God, their King and Country.   
FINIS.