To the Right Honourable, THE LORD FAIRFAX, AND His council Of war: THE humble address OF HENRY HAMMOND.  
LONDON. Printed for Richard Royston in ivy-lane. 1649.   

My Lord, and Gentlemen,  
HAving by the Weekly occurrences of your proceedings, not onely taken notice of the weighty matters which you have of late chosen to be the subject of your Debates, such as never any council in this kingdom are known to have taken into their cognizance, or consideration; but withall, discerned the cheerful and hospitable reception of one mean Persons advice, which pretended to have received some counsel from God to communicate to you: And having also as sincere a desire and zeal to your good,( testified by my daily prayers to God, that he will incline your hearts to thoughts of true Christian meekness and charity) and consequently, as deep an interest in the due management of your affairs, as any others; and as great an assurance, that what I shall say to you, proceeds from a peaceable, and an humble spirit; and which tends more immediately to your welfare, and honour, both before God and man, than any thing which is known of late to have been represented to you: And lastly, having among you some of the nearest of my blond, whose eternal weal must needs be very dear and precious to me; I am in the fear of God, and the profecution and discharge of my duty and conscience, desirous to make this short address to you, to desire you, in the name, and in the bowels of Jesus Christ, and by all the obligations of Christian duty and Charity, to review some of the principles by which you seem to be acted, and whereon to ground the high enterprises which you have now in hand.  
And 1. whereas you seem to believe, that God by his Spirit hath put it into your hearts to do what hitherto you have done, and what now you profess to deliberate to do further against His Majesty, and all others, who are now fallen into your hands; I beseech you to consider in the presence of that God, to whose directions and Spirit you pretend, what safe ground you have for so doing. For, I shall suppose that the plain words of Scripture are not that voice of the Spirit which is your onely guide in this matter: or if it be, I desire that Charity from you for myself and others, that you will point us out those Scriptures: and I must profess to believe you bound in duty to God, and man, and to yourselves, to satisfy this desire, to produce that voice of the Spirit in the received Scriptures of God, which may say that to other Christians also which it appears to do to you. But if Gods Spirit be by you conceived to have spoken to you any other way than in, or by some part of the written Word; then my second request is, that you will declare to others the ground of this your persuasion, that you have received any such Revelation from God; that so that pretended Spirit may according to the rules prescribed by God in his acknowledged Word be tried and examined regularly, whether it be of God, or no? before the subject-matter of such Revelation be believed infallible, or accordingly built upon by you as your warrant or principle of acting any thing. For, there are evil Spirits that come into the world, and which many times are by God permitted to seduce men, and that they may do so the better, they constantly pretend to come from God, and assume divine Authority to recommend and authorize their delusions;( a thing so ordinary in all Ages, that the Poet that would express the Imbroyling of a kingdom, thinks he cannot do it better then by bringing in allecto, a Fury, with a Message from Heaven, to avenge such or such an injury.) And of these our Saviour forewarns us, and tells us, that we shall know them by their fruits; and so directs i● to judge of the truth of their pretensions by the goodness and commendablenesse, at least, justifiablenesse of their actions, and not to judge of their actions by their pretences. And besides chest evil spirits from without, there is also an evil spirit within, a great deal of disguised wickedness in the heart of man, which when it remaines unmortified in those who believe themselves to be Gods chosen Saints, and taught by him, is very apt to be mistaken for an inclination of Gods Spirit, and a flamme of zeal, when it is really the most contrary to it: and because there is so much danger, that what is not fetched from the acknowledged Word of God, may thus flow from one of these contrary principles: my next request is, that it be considered, whether when an Angel from Heaven, in case he should teach any other Doctrine, than what had been by Saint Paul preached to his Galathians, were to be anathematized, and when the judgments are so fearful, which are pronounced against them which shall add to the Words of that prophesy, which we now retain under the title of the Apocalyps or Revelation( which being the last Writing which is known to be dictated by the Spirit, may very probably contain a severe denunciation against all those, who pretend to any Revelation or prophesy after that, concerning the Christian Church) whether I say it be not a matter of fear and just apprehension, to all those, who shall affix or impose upon the Spirit of God( or pretend to be revealed to them from that) any matter of Doctrine or practise, which acknowledges not the Spirit of God speaking in the Scripture for its onely warrant or foundation. Or lastly, if from the Scriptures you conceive it may be proved, that any part of the Unction mentioned there so far belongs to you, that it shall surely led you into all truth: then first, I beseech you to consider, whether you do not oblige yourselves by the same, or some other Scripture to prove to others( and not onely yourselves to be persuaded) that you are those special Saints of God, to whom that privilege peculiarly belongs, and as clearly to demonstrate that all others who conceive that that Unction teaches them directly the contrary to that which you profess to be taught by it, are impious Persons possessed with that deluding Spirit, which I now desire you to beware of. And secondly, to examine whether this differencing of yourselves from others, this bearing witness to yourselves, and judging others( beside that it will look like an act of most pharisaical presumption, and the very thing, which from Simon Magus downward, hath been observed in all heretics, calling themselves the spiritual, and all others Animal, carnal Men) will not be also a great injustice at this time toward them who pretend not to learn any thing from this Unction, but what they receive from the Doctrine of the Gospel, in those Books, which have in effect, and in the last result, the testimony of God from Heaven, that they are his true infallible Word, and dictate of his Spirit; and which desire to make no other use of this to their own advantage, but onely to preserve them in a quiet possession of what by Law belongs to them and a capacity of making good their Allegiance to Him, to whom they have often by Law been required to swear it.  
A second principle which I must desire you to review, is that, upon which you conclude that God hath born testimony to your Cause by the many Victories which he hath given you: this concluding of yours, first, proceeds upon a premise directly false in matter of fact. For, you say that the King by taking up arms made His appeal to Heaven, which 'tis most certain that He never did,( but onely used a strength which God put in his hands to repel them, whom He looked on as His Subjects declining their duty to Him, and invading the settled laws, and never referred the right of the Cause to be judged by the success of His arms) nor indeed could rationally have occasion to do so, any more than any one of you would make such appeal, when a violent Person should invade, what you conceive to be your undoubted right; nor could He religioufly, or Christianly have done this, when those laws that allowed of such appeals by Ordeals, or Duell, and the like, have been justly censured as unchristian and barbarous. Nay secondly, this concluding of yours will by the same reason infer that Christianity is not, and that mahumetism is the true Religion, because when the Turkes asserted one, and the Greek Church the other, and that difference begot a war betwixt them, 'tis clear that the Turkes were successful, and the greek Church was most fadly wasted and subdued by them, and so remaineth to this hour in that unreturn'd Captivity. Which will therefore be a fit opportunity to make you revert to the trying of that Spirit( which inclines you thus to argue) by this touchstone. 1. By considering and examining whether in the written Word any thing be more frequent and visible than the sufferings of Gods people, the shedding the blood of the Sain●s, the fasting all kind of contumelies on such, particularly that repreach of [ you bloody man] upon David, who was a King after Gods heart, the sending or permitting an Host against the daily sacrifice to cast down the truth to the ground, and to practise and prosper. 2. Whether it were not Rabshekeh's Argument against the Peoples adhering to their lawful King Hezekiah, that his Masters arms had been invincible. 3. Whether that saddest fate of nabuchadnezzar, who for conquering of Gods people, and others, was by God styled his Hammer, and Battleaxe of the whole earth, may not be expected the final lot of others also; first, to destroy men, and then to be cast out into the field, to inhabit among Beasts. 4. Whether it were not a crime complained of by the people of God, in those, which, when God was a little displeased, did as Adversaries, help forward their affliction. And 5. whether the Psalmist lay not the like ill character on all, who persecute those whom God hath smitten, and talk how they may vex them whom God hath wounded? By all which it is most evident,( without any necessity of desining or demonstrating any thing of the justice of the Cause) that most commonly the prosperity of arms hath not been the lot of the most righteous, but that either the chastisement of the Sword is thought fit to be their discipline, or the comforts of peace( and not the triumphs of war) their blessing in this life.  
The third principle is, your persuasion that the community of the People is the Suprome power, and that the KING is inferior to them, and to them accountable for His breach of Trust, of which you now affirm Him guilty. In this procedure of yours, there be many things worthy of your serious pondering: As whether 1. by Scripture: or 2. by Reason: or 3. by Story of times it can be concluded, that the Supreme Power was ever by God put into the hands of the community of the People. For the first way of concluding it,( the testimony of Scripture) I cannot but take notice of one place, which hath been produced to that purpose, 1 Pet. 2.13. Be subject to every human Ordinance, or Creature, or Creation, &c. This place I have some reason to believe to carry some weight with you, because it was 6 years since for the justifying the Cause against the King's party, produced by a Person of great dexterity, That very Person, who hath now undertaken to justify your late proceedings so far as not onely to clear them from all blame, but also to pretend to demonstrate the honour and worth of them, and to lift them up to an high pitch, not onely, 1. of a blessed victory( the highest that Christians are appointed to aspire to) of overcoming evil by doing good: but 2. of calling to mens minds the unparellable example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who went down into the Chambers of death, from thence to bring up with him a lost world: and 3. of being a lineament of the face of Divine goodness, in the doing good to so many, as well Enemies, as Friends: and 4. deserving that place at the table of honour, which the Roman Orator saith, all Nations bestowed on the asserters of their Countries liberties, even next to the immortal Gods themselves: and 5. of imitating the method of the warfare of Heaven, and seeking to reconcile a Nation to themselves by not imputing their unthankefulnesse. The largnesse and exorbitancy of these expressions I was myself so amazed at, that I cannot but mention them to you( by the way) as matters of horror, which like the Peoples acclamation to Herod, or the Lycaonians to Paul and Barnabas, if they beget not in you a just indignation with the latter, may very probably bring the just fate of the former upon you, to be eaten up with worms,( after you have been thus deified) now, that you have no other visible Enemy but yourselves, and such Flatterers,( that I say no worse) to appear against you, having craved your pardon for this not unseasonable excursion, I return now to the view of that Scripture, produced from Saint Peter, to prove Kings to be a creation or creature of men, and so their power to be derived from the People. To which I Answer, 1. that there is a fignall character in that very Text, that keeps it from concluding the supreme power to be originally in the People, not only by calling the King in the end of that Verse, Supreme; such as in Saint Pauls divinity, Rom. 13. are affirmed to be ordained of God, and so no human Ordinance, but also by distinguishing the Governours, v. 14. from the King or Supreme, v. 13. by this that the Governours are sent by( i.e. have Commission from) the King, which might in like manner be also affirmed of the King, that He were sent by the People, if He were the Creature, or creation of them, but is not so much as intimated by that Apostle; but on the contrary, supremacy affixed to Him, and subjection commanded to be paid Him( not for the Peoples, but for the Lords sake) as subordination to, and mission from the King, is affirmed of all other Magistrates. But then 2. to take away all colour of plea for populacy from this Text, it is to be observed what is the meaning of the Greek word in the New Testament, which is there rendered 
* 〈◇〉.  ordinance, or creature, or creation. That word when it is set in its largnesse without any restraint, signifies generally all mankind, Gentiles, as well as Jews. Thus [ the creation] and [ the world] are all one, and [ all the ereation]( or every creature) Mar. 16.15. the same with [ the whole world] in the beginning of that Verse, and [ all Nations] in the parallel places of Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. And thus Rom. 8.19. [ the expectation of the creature, or creation] is the hope which the heathen world had, that at the revelation of the gracious privileges of the messiah, they ( i.e. the Gentiles) also should be freed from the slavery of corruption( their villainous heathen sins) unto the liberty, &c. that true liberty not from obedience to superiors, but from slavery to lusts and passions, which Christ came to bestow upon us; And so when v. 22. 'tis added, that the whole creation groans, &c. the clear meaning is, that the Gentiles as well as Jews did thus, as might be evidenced at large. Agreeable to this notion of the whole creation, or every creature, is this same phrase( with the addition of bumane, to take off all restraint, and to extend it as far as all mankind) to be understood, and so the meaning of the precept of Saint Peter to his Jew-Christians is clearly this, and no more, that they must be obedient not onely to Christian Magistrates, but to Gentiles, Heathen also,( such as they should fall under in all their dispersions) i.e. to all whatsoever they were, and that for the Lords sake who constituted those Heathens also, as Saint Paul saith. If to this it shall be objected, that by this way of interpreting, the precept will be extended so, as to subject us to all Heathens, and not onely to Magistrates: I answer, that this, which is the onely objection against this interpretation, is of little force, and is answered. 1. by observing the word [ be subject] which relating to Magistrates will require our obedience to none, but those, as v. 17. when he commands to honour all, it must be understood, all to whom honour belongs; superiors, not inferiors: or as, when ch. 5.5. he commands them to be subject to one another, it must not be understood, that the superior must be subject to the inferior, as the inferior to the superior, but as the nature of the duty enforces to interpret, the inferior to be subject to the superior onely: and 2. by the Apostles express enumeration of those to whom this obedience must be paid in the end of the Verse, to the King as Supreme; and then, v. 14. to Governours, as inferior Magistrates sent by Him. That this is the full importance of that place, may( if there be any need) farther appear by the occasion of the Apostles discourse, which was the confuting of the vile sect of Christians then calling themselves gnostics,( as a title of great perfection of knowledge in the Mysteries of Heaven) who taught the doctrine of liberty and manumission to Christian Subjects or Servants, from heathen( yea and Christian) Masters, and Kings; To which false doctrine of theirs this Exhortation thus interpnted is directly contrary( and cannot otherwise be pertinent to it) and very coherent to that Admonition in the 12 ver. immediately preceding, of having their conversation good among the Gentiles, that they might not speak ill of them as evil Doers; which they would be justly apt to do, in case they should withdraw their obedience to their lawful Princes, as soon as they were become Christians; which, by the way, lays a very ill character upon those, who by pretence of Christianity, or piety, seek, or claim to themselves any other liberty, than what by the laws under which they are bome, doth confestly belong unto them.  
Having thus far enlarged to clear that testimony of Scripture, and not knowing of any other which is thought favourable to your pretention, I shall, in stead of retorting the multitude of plain places directly opposite, which will abundantly take away all force from this: proceed next to the second plea, that of Reason. And there I shall desire you to consider, 1. Whether if Adam had never fallen, and his posterity remained in the same innocence, they would not yet have been capable of positive precepts in order to civill life; and consequently, whether in reason some one or more men should not have had superiority over all others, Parents over Children, and the like; and to this purpose, whether the divers Orders, and subordination of the Angels, that never fell, be not an evidence that even in state of innocence, God designed superiority, not equality. But then 2. The passions of men being through sin grown irregular, and so needing Rules and laws, and Rulers and Law-makers, it was both reasonable, that God should, and is most certain that he did design and appoint Government( as appears by what is said by God to the first Woman, and second Man, to Eve. Gen. 3.16. and to Cain, Gen. 4.7.) and so gave not all men that freedom which is the supposed foundation of that doctrine, which places supreme power in the People. And of any rational person that yet thinks he did give this freedom to all mankind; I should but ask this one question, Whether ever any man were by God or nature invested with power of his own life; I mean, with power to take away his own life, or to kill himself? In every thing else man may be believed to have a power over himself, over his body, to cut or lance it, when that is for his turn, and particularly over that freedom which naturally belongs to him; whatever the degree of that be, a man may by act of his own will, part with it irreversibly. Thus might the Jew under Gods own government, give himself up wholly into the power of his Master. and by having his care bored through, become from a Free-man, a Slava for ever, and generally thorough the whole world the course hath been the same, that he which if most free hath power over his own liberty so to divest himself of it, as that it shall never revert to him again; and our Saviour that is thought to have brought liberty into the world, doth yet, by the quality of most of his precepts, given to Christians by himself and his Apostles, mark out this condition of subjection to them, as that under which they were generally to live, and from which the Christian profession should be so far from freeing them, that the strict practise of obedience to heathen Rulers or Masters, is oft prescribed as a special means to advance Christs main end, to magnify and promote the Gospel. But for power over a mans own life no man can be believed to be born with it, for if he were, he might then as lawfully kill himself( and if he might do it lawfully, there are many cases which might make it prudent for him to do it at some times) as pull out an aching tooth, or dispose of his liberty or estate out of his own possession; a thing which no Christian hath ever thought lawful, but made this feloniae de se, this self-murder, or felony against ones self, a crime, as contrary to the sixth Commandement, as the killing of any other man. Having proceeded thus far, I shall now take that for granted, which, that I know of, is denied by none, I am sure, which is not denied in the published scheme of the designed Representative, viz. that the supreme power includes the power of life,( I mean not such an arbitrary power of killing whom they please without sin, but a power of putting capital Malefactors to death, and so a power over every( call it Subjects or Free-mans) life in case of capital crime) And the granting of this( as 'tis too visible that it is by you a granted truth) being added to the former, doth to me irrefragably conclude, that the supreme power neither is, nor can be in the community of the People, or in their Representative, by force merely of their original or natural liberty; The inference is clear, because the power of life which is part of the Supremacy, is not part of that natural liberty, and therefore is neither inherent naturally in that community of men,( which is but, in other words, so many particular men together, endowed with that power( and no more) which every man hath singly over himself) nor consequently by them communicable to any Representative. And by this also it appears, that supreme Magistracy, wheresoever 'tis truly placed, is the ordinance, and creation of God,( who alone hath power of all mens lives) and not of man, who hath no power of his own, much less of any others life, any farther then he is a Representative, or Proxy, or Deputy of God, who hath that Power, not of the People, who have it not. For it is possible I may put you in mind of an evident truth, which perhaps you have not taken notice of; That, as the original of Government in any particular place cannot be imagined to be by any more than two ways, Either Gods designment, or the Peoples act; so in either of those two cases 'tis God onely, and not the People, that gives the power of the Sword, or power of Life to the governor; when God himself sets a King over men, 'tis so clear that he thus empowers that King, that that need not be proved; and when the community of a People( suppose in the original, ten men in the freedom of nature) choose one of themselves, or more to rule over them; 'tis clear, they do not invest him with more power than themselves had; & that he that was thus chosen by them, hath the power of life over any of them( which they single, or all together in the community had not) must needs come from some other, and not from them; and if you will know from whom it comes, I answer, that it comes from Gods appointment( for the economy of the world) that the supreme Magistrate shall as his Deputy have this power from God communicated to him, as an endowment necessary to that power which is designed to protect, and govern others. And in case it were the act of the People, and not of God immediately, that designs or nominates the Person to that Office, yet doth not this nomination bestow this power, but God who alone hath that power, bestows it on him who is thus nominated. In this case all that the People bestow, or part with by their act is their own liberty, or that part of it of which they voluntarily divest themselves, that they may by obedience empower him, whom they have set over them; & that they may reasonably part with for that greater benefit of protection from him, which, while he is obeied by all, he may by their united obedience to his commands be able to afford them, and could not probably without it; now this giving up their liberties to one, or more, makes that man, or men a Ruler over them; and being a Ruler, to him belongs( derived from God, not from them) that power of life, and death, which Gods forementioned decree hath instated on the supreme power, or Ruler; who is therefore in that relation( of Avenger for wrath, or punishment) styled by the Apostle, the Minister of God, Rom. 13. and not of the People. By this it appears that( for the original of power) the utmost that comes from the People, is that of which they have the power, till by some act of Gods, or their own, they have partend with it, the liberty or power of their Persons( or in some sort and degree, as they shall part with it, of their bodies, or possessions in like manner) but not of their lives; For that other is of an higher origination; and therefore, supposing the power they had partend with, should, upon any emergent, revert to them again, yet the power of life and death, or of the Sword can never revert, because it never proceeded from them, but as the soul that came from God doth at the falling of the body back to its elements, or earth, from which it was first taken, return to the hands of God that gave it, so the power of life, the prerogative first, and then the gift or investiture of God, must at the dissolution of any Government, and the supposed reverting to its principles again, return to its proper fountain, to God, and none but him. And to imagine it to divolve to the community of the people, is the same unreasonable, as to conceive the immortal soul, that one beam of divinity( as this power of life and death is another) to accompany the carcase to the grave also. I have insisted the longer on this to make the mistake the more palpable, and the more impossible not to be discerned by you; and if I could foresee any colour of reason, that could possibly pretend against this evidence, I should yet enlarge yours, and my own trouble, to discover it; but being, I profess, unable to mention any thing, which the grounds, which are already laid, have not prevented: I shall now proceed to the third and last way of examining this truth.  
By the history of times, and there I shall be forced to retract, at least to suspend the acknowledging of that, which, that I might examine it by reason, I was willing to suppose, but not grant, and shall now demand,  
1. Whether by any anthentick story it appears, that there ever were any Nation or People in the world, who can be presumed or proved to have had this supreme power vested in the whole community originally, or from their first coming together? or if so, whether Gods judgement so visibly interposed, and the example of his instituting of Judges, and of Kings,( neither of them accountable to the People) be not to be preferred before all such presidents?  
2. If 'twere granted, that in some one, or more places the power hath been originally in the People, yet it will never appear by the originals of all, or of this kingdom, that in all or in this it was so; or if men will still opiniate, and affirm against the evidence of the laws, and constitution of this kingdom, and against those Oaths which have for so many yeares acknowledged the seat of the Supremacy in the King, and not in the People; yet that, which is so false in matter of fact, being taken for truth also, there will again be matter of inquiry, in point of reason, which will deserve your farthermost serious pondering:  
1. Whether, after that the People have upon deliberation, and from choice entrusted some one or more Persons( in any certain course of succession by Law designed) to rule over them, and after the long hath declared the person of that supreme Magistrate not to be accountable, but his Ministers only,( which may be a prudence of State, more advantageous to a peoples peace, then possibly is well understood) whether, I say, in this case any number of men whatsoever, can, upon any pretence, schismatical that Trust, and voided that Law, by which that King, and His Heires for ever, were constituted the Ruler of them? or if they might, whether this were not most contrary to the end of all Government, quiet, and peace, and probably the parent of all confusion in the world, which is much worse than the hardest subjection?  
Nay 2. if it should be ganted still, that the community of people have power to recall, or voided that trust, yet 'twill be matter of more than doubt again, whether at this time in this kingdom there be any way for the whole community to act, or whether it can by any man be reasonably believed, that what is now done, is acted by the community of the People?  
For if( to that purpose) it be conceived, that the House of Commons is( or that the two Houses together are) the Representative of all the People; Then first, it is to be considered that there is a great number of men in this kingdom, that are not represented by these, and who never put( nor can by any interpretation be thought to have put) into their hands that Power, which is supposed to be in every free Commoner in this kingdom. 2. That you yourselves have expressed your opinion, that this, which now is, is an unequal Representative, and have on that consideration thought yourselves obliged to propound another form. 3. 'Tis sure, that( whatever possibly might have been) yet they, that have ever till this time chosen Knights or Burgesses to the Parliament, did never actually put into their hands, as into their Representatives, all that power, which( in this case of the Peoples being the Supreme Power) is naturally supposed to be vested in them, but only a power of doing those things, for which the Writ( sent out under the Broad Seal) did command them to be returned, i.e. to consult with the King of the difficult affairs of the kingdom, not to settle any part of it without, or against Him. And 4. 'Tis clear, that in such an acknowledged conjuncture of time as this is, a small( far less) part of those that were returned by the Countries, cannot be said to be that entire company, or body, by which the whole community is represented; Or if it be said, that the godly People of the Land, who by Petitions to the general, the Lord Fairfax have expressed their desires, that Justice be executed upon those, whom they call Delinquents, are to be reputed as the community of the People: then first, it will be clear, that those that have so Petitioned( beside, that they are most of the body of the Army) are not the thousandth part of the people of this kingdom, and therefore cannot by any rule of Judgement or Estimation be reputed as the whole Community; and if this president might be admitted, that a few persons, under the title of the Godly, may pretend to the right of the whole, tis very well worth foreseing, how dangerous such examples may prove to the peace of Posterity. 2. All the evidence of their godliness that we can perceive, is only their desiring liberty for themselves and others, and therefore Justice on those who sta●d in their way to that liberty; and I conceive it demonstrable that a quiet submission and obedience, and a desire not to cast off their duty, but still to continue under it, rather then to be their own carvers, or contrivers of liberty, is a far surer sign of true godliness. And thirdly, there hath yet been no fair indifferent means used to know whether there be not far greater numbers of such godly meek men, who would rather desire that the KING should be restored to His Government, then that any course should be taken by any, without, or against the KING. And the plain truth is, that if you will go on in the course you are in, and yet desire freely to appear, and be accounted the Conservers, and not conquerors of the liberty of your Country-men, if you will not impose upon the people, as you say Kings have done; Nothing can be more suitable to those pretences, then to declare mast publicly, that it shall be free for every man to subscribe, whether he doth desire this total change by you tendered in the draft of your Representative, or the continuance of the present established Government,( with an assurance of your submission thereunto.) 4. 'Tis( upon supposition that all power is originally in the People) most undeniable and clear, that nothing but the consent of each person( at least of a mayor part of the whole being convoked together) can divest any one, or more men of that their supposed original right; and consequently, that other mens saying that they are not Godly, and that themselves are so, can never exclude them from their Birthright; By which it will infallibly be concluded, that all those that have adhered to the KING all this time, or that favoured the Vot●s of the two Houses, which resolved the KING's late Concessions at Newport to be a fit ground of peace( whatsoever censure or brand is by you set upon them) are as much to be considered to the making up the community of the People, as any others. And if so. Let it then be considered by all equal minded men, what a violation it is of those Rights, which you pretend to vindicate, what an invasion of the natural freedom of your Brethren( by you acknowledged, the inheritance of each man) to force them against their wills, with their very great incommodation and detriment, to revert to that liberty, which is by you supposed to belong to all naturally, but without which we of this Nation have happily lived, under the far greater advantages of regal government. And yet so contrary to this principle have you now proceeded, that when you have thus thrown us back into our first chaos again, onely that you may reduce our liberty, you then immediately by your Representative so bind us up, that we are not permitted, upon whatsoever emergency, to cast ourselves into any new form, although the exchange should appear never so advantageous, and gainful to us; which besides that, it is an evidence of your inward fear, that the change now designed will be soon repented of again, is certainly so far from being an enlarging, that it is the retrenching of our liberty, and denying us that freedom, of which the most barbarous and the most civilized People have been equally partakers, when subjection seemed better for their turns. As beside the examples of the Servants in Exodus, which are there supposed sometimes to prefer their servitude to their Masters before the privilege of the Sabbaticke year, we find practised by the Campanians, who voluntarily cast themselves at the feet, and surrendered themselves into the power of the Romans, to purchase thereby that right of being protected by them; & by many Barbarians in Appian, who sent ambassadors to Rome on purpose to petition the favour of being received into the number of their subjects.  
I have insisted the longer upon this, in obedience to your own invitation; which was also a great motive and encouragement to make this whole address to you, and gives me assurance of your kind reception of it.  
The last principle to be reviewed is this, That there having been much blood spilled in this kingdom in the late Warres, there must now be some sacrifice offered to God( i.e. e. some more blood  shed) for the expiation of that sin of bloudguiltinesse, before God can be pacified, or reconciled to the Land. On which particular, it will first be worth your serious enquiry, how it should appear that that great issue of blood, let out in the late Warres( which hath with great reason been looked on, as the sharpest of Gods plagues, and the saddest part of punishment of the former sins of this Nation) is now the main, and onely sin of the Land, with which God is not reconciled: Or 2. if it were supposed to be so, yet how it can be thought that a general Reformation of that sin, an humiliation before God for it, through the whole Land, and a resolution never to spill one drop more, were not a more Christian probable means to pacify God, than the proceeding in could blood to the effusion of more: The blood of men being never thought a fit sacrifice for any, but the evil Spirit; and peaceable-mindednesse, and charity, and the contrite heart being the special, if not onely sacrifices, which we find mentioned in the Gospel. Or 3. how it can appear that if God require any such sacrifice, you, or any but those whom the known laws of the Land have placed in a tribunal( and that legally erected for such cognisances) have any right to put yourselves into the office of gentle Priests, as the onely Persons appointed to slay that sacrifice. Nay 4. it will be worth your observing, that Christ disclaimed the office of a Judge, and thereby rendered very unfit for any of you to put yourselves unto that office by virtue of no other title, but that of being his Disciples. And lastly, it is worth your saddest thought, Whether by your present council, and the necessity by you supposed of changing the former Government, it do not now appear, that the defence of the established laws was on the KING's part the occasion of His taking arms, and on Your parts, the design of altering those laws, and introducing others more suitable to your inclinations. And if now by a civill or martiall course, in an arbitrary way of trial, contrary to the laws established, it should be by you thought fit to proceed to blood against those whom engagements have been for the defence of those established laws: Let it be considered, how impolitic this may be, and what matter of discouragement to all that shall be entrusted with the managery, or defence of future Government: Which single consideration will, I hope, abate much of your designed severity. But if God should permit you to go on undisturbed to the shedding of more blood, as the Jews did from other lower acts to the crucifying their King: How possible were it, not onely that this should prove the provoking of God to deliver you up for ever to your own hearts lusts, but be to the whole Nation a filling up the measure of our iniquities, and the forerunner of all the calamities, that can be fall a People.  
Having mentioned the weakness, and falliblenesse of these few principles, I shall leave you to the farther consideration of the frailness, and danger of those superstructures, which shall be erected on any, or all of these. And if there were never a God in the world to avenge them, yet the experience now before your eyes, how easy it is for principles taken up for mens present advantages to prove within a while most disadvantageous, and pernicious to them( as the weapons of a disarmed man turned into his own breast) may infuse into you that fear and temper, that caution, and moderation, and timely wisdom, which the author of this address may be otherwise too unskilful to impress on you: Who yet, if he might any way be useful to you, doth profess to be ready to contribute his utmost endeavour to your service, if it be but thereby to demonstrate to you, how just it is for him( and what a duty, and obligation of charity toward you) to intercede daily at the throne of grace, that God would mollify your hearts toward the KING, and all His conscientious faithful Subjects, or else interpose his hand, to rescue His royal Person out of your power; believing confidently, that, if God have any remainders of mercy for this kingdom, or the true Protestant profession in it, he will in his good time hear and answer this prayer of all true Englishmen, and among them of  
Jan. 15. 1648. Your Lordships humble Servant, H. HAMMOND.  
FINIS.