Protection proclaimed (through the loving kindness of God in the present Government) to the three Nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland: WHEREIN The GOVERNMENT Established, in the Lord Protector and his Council, Is proved to be of DIVINE INSTITUTION; AND The great Stumbling-block of thousands of Christians (in regard of his Title) removed; proving it to be none other than what hath been given to those whom God hath made instrumental for his People's Deliverance of old.  
Written to satisfy unsatisfied Consciences, By JOHN MOOR, a wellwisher to the peace of our English Jerusalem.  
— Pray for the peace of Jerusalem— Peace be within thy walls.— For my brethren and companions sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee.  
— Thus saith the Lord, I will restore unto thee Judges as at first, and Counsellors as at the beginning.  
London, Printed by J. C. for Henry Fletcher, at the three Cups in Paul's Churchyard, near the West-end. 1656.   

The Author's Address to God, before he put Pen to Paper, to write the ensuing Lines.  
GReat God of heaven, thou God of Truth, do thou my thoughts direct,  
That I may write but what is right, of Him who doth protect  
(Subordinately to thyself) this Land wherein I live:  
A spirit of Discerning, Lord, do thou unto me give;  
That I may clearly apprehend thy mind in this great Change,  
And from thy mind and will therein, let not my spirit range.  
Let no contempt of him that rules harbour within my breast,  
Since under him, through providence, tranquillity and rest,  
And peace for tender Conscience is ratified by Law;  
A privilege of Liberty which England scarce ere saw.  
Let every tender Conscience be satisfied likewise;  
Yea, such a Liberty Lord grant, that all of us may prise;  
And from our very hearts and minds acknowledge it from above,  
And own it as a special Pledge and Emblem of thy love;  
That thou hast given us one to rule, whose soul desires the good  
Of all thy servants in this Land, who for the Truth have stood.   

To his Highness OLIVER By the Providence of God, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Dominions thereunto belonging: J. M. wisheth length of days with Peace and Safety here; and eternal Life with Christ in glory hereafter.  
My Lord,  
WIth the poor widow, I have put in my Mite into the Public Treasury of acknowledging the Lawfulness of submitting to the present Government, in which the Eternal God hath invested Your Highness at this day. I have taken the boldness to present it to Your Highness, for these Reasons:  
First, because, of all men, you are most concerned in it.  
Secondly, because, of all men, it belongs most to you, to patronise and protect the weak acknowledgements of submissive affectionate Obedience.  
Thirdly, that you may know that God is still owning you, and working for you, not only by his Providence, in protecting your Person against the secret Combinations of a common Enemy; but by the more immediate working of his Spirit, to the satisfying of the Consciences of many unsatisfied servants of Christ, whether the present Government, with its endowments, be of God or no; in which my own soul was very lately unsatisfied.  
Fourthly, that under your Protection and Patronization, it may bring forth some fruit of Satisfaction to the Consciences of some others (though never so few) that are yet at enmity in their spirits against the Title and Dignity of the Government.  
I have presented it to public view, for this Reason:  
That the world may know, that I am neither afraid, nor ashamed, to own, acknowledge, and confess, the good hand and providence of the God of heaven and earth, in exalting your Person to that Honour and Dignity, and placing you as his (hitherto) undaunted and unwearied Servant in subordination to himself, to sit at the Helm of Government as at this day. Where sitting to govern, it is the unfeigned desire of my soul, for You, and those Honourable men in Counsel with You, That the Spirit of Christ may be your Guide, the Power of Christ your Lifeguard, the Laws and Ordinances of Christ the Basis and Foundation of yours, the Glory of Christ your greatest Aim, the Advancement of the Gospel your greatest Glory, the Flourishing of it your chiefest Joy: That you neglect no opportunity of doing good, when Christ commands it to be done, and in your power to do it: That in all your Undertake and Counsels, you may lay yourselves open to the allseeing eye of God; that so you may escape that Curse, which the Prophet Isaiah pronounceth against those that seek deep to hid their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seethe us? and who knoweth us? Isai. 29.15. That your Body may possess as resolved a heart to keep touch with God, in performing Vows and Promises made to him, as there was in Jephthah, who was once a General, and a subordinate Protector in the hand of God, of his people Israel from the hand of the children of Ammon; who having opened his mouth unto the Lord, was so careful of his promise, that he parted with the dearest thing he had in the world, his only child, for beside her he had neither Son nor daughter. Judg. 11.30, 31, 34, 35.  
The further desire of my soul for your Highness, is, That God would give you (not only) a spirit of discerning, to see where injustice and iniquity doth yet remain and continue amongst the people; but also a free and resolved spirit to improve such power as God hath put into your hand, for the speedy reforming and purging of it out: That your Council-chamber may be free from evil Counsels, and falsehearted dissembling Counsellors: That both your Highness and your Council may be of one heart and one mind, free from all manner of dissension and discord; because that  
Concordiâ parvae res crescunt,  
Discordiâ magnae dilabuntur.  
That your Courtly Attendants may be men of upright and faithful hearts, fearing God, and hating Vice: That all other inferior Officers, in their several places subject to the Power by which they act, may discharge their duties with care and conscience, void of Dissimulation and Hypocrisy; not from Fear, but Affection to the Government which they seem to own: That the Army and Navy may be at peace in themselves, free from the least Mutiny: That all unsatisfied Consciences touching the Legality of the Government, may be satisfied: That all heart-burnings of the People against it, may be quenched, through their causeless complain in the streets, of Tyranny and Oppression. And lastly, That the God of heaven would more and more enrich your Valiant heart with all such endowments of Grace, Wisdom, and Virtue, as becomes the mind and person of a Christian Potentate, is and shall be the continual prayer of  
Your Highness most affectionate Servant, upon all just Commands, John Moor,   

The Epistle to the Readers.  
My Friends, (if I may call you so)  
I Dare be bold, many of you will admire and wonder (especially those of you to whom I am known) at this my public Testimony of affectionate Loyalty to the present Government, having hitherto scarcely given the least solid Testimony of it: for I must confess, at the first appearance of it, I was (as many thousands beside) troubled in my mind, and unsatisfied in my conscience concerning it; and the reason why, (as I now apprehend) was, because (according to the determinate counsel of God, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will) it was brought forth and established, before it was so much as thought of; so that the sudden appearance of it, did startle many thousands of tenderhearted Christians, lest Christ thereby should lose his honour and glory: out of which tenderness to the honour of Christ, many dear servants of God, without deliberate consideration, or without waiting to know the mind of God in such a Change; did presently, rashly, and (in my apprehension) unadvisedly, give public testimony of the dislike of their spirits to the Government, and the enmity of their hearts to the Person to whom God hath given it.  
Whereupon, the Common Enemy (although before, utterly vanquished in the Field) seeing his dear Friends and Companions declare their open enmity against him, and their dislike of the Government, do take to themselves fresh Courage, and re-animate themselves, to plot and contrive his death, who had so many times jeoparded his life, for the peace and safety of his new declared 
* Discontented Friends.  Enemies; nor is it unknown to England, that at length it broke forth into an open Hostile Insurrection, which if it had taken effect, what could those his discontented friends have expected, but the utter ruin of themselves and their Families▪ and the absolute undoing, yea beggary, of all their innocent friends in England? for their dislike of the present Government would not have quit them of their former enmity against the Royal party of the King's Army, unless they would (as others had done before them) return to their vomit.  
But by this time, me thinks I hear some Reader say, that I have wrote this Testimony of my affection to the Government established in the Protector and his Council, for some by-ends and self-respects, and not from a real satisfaction of Conscience. I do therefore give such to know, that I take God to witness, who knows the secrets of all hearts, and as I believe I shall one day stand before the Judgement-seat of Christ, to give an account of my faith, and all deeds done in the flesh from thence, That it is from a fully-satisfied Conscience, of the lawfulness of submitting to it, and from a full resolution to the utmost of my power to own it, so far as it hath hitherto declared itself, yea, though it be to the laying down of my life, which with his Highness, to whom God hath given the Power, I have heretofore been free and willing to do: having still, (as I have always had, since I had the least knowledge of the worth of Christian Liberty) this Motto upon the Shield of my mind:  Praestat emori per Virtutem, quam per Dedecus vivere. 
Esteeming it a thousand times better to resign my Heartblood for the Testimony of my Conscience, at the feet of an Enemy, than to live in contempt and disgrace in obedience to his will. The same resolution I find to be in Samson, (although I am a worm and nothing in comparison of him) who, rather than he would live in disgrace to the Philistines, (whose professed Enemy he had formerly been) and be a laughing stock to them; he desired of God, that he might die with them: a remarkable pattern, and worthy of a serious survey of all English godly men, (and else) that have openly engaged against the late King and his party; that if we (through our own divisions and dissatisfaction one towards another) should suffer a vanquished Enemy to break in upon us, it would far full as evil with us as it did with Samson: all that we have would soon be taken from us, the eyes of our comfort would soon be put out, and we should see that Freedom and Liberty that we have in the Gospel no more, our consciences bound to all their impositions with brazen Fetters, and be forced to grind in the Mill of their cruelty; not a bit of bread should we eat, but with sorrow of heart: our lives would be bitter to us; yea, our lives would be a heavy burden to us: every one of us from the highest to the lowest, would be a Samson to make them sport and pastime, and the main Petition of our Prayer to God would be for death.  
So that there is no way left us visibly appearing to escape these things, but to retain the strength of affection to the present Government; under which, we sit down under our Vines and Figtrees of spiritual freedom, and none to make us afraid.  
Now Reader, whoever thou art that hast formerly engaged with him whom God hath exalted to the Supreme place of Civil Government in subjection to himself over the three Nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and yet canst not fully close with him in it, nor art satisfied in thy conscience whether thou mayest lawfully do it; If the Testimony of the Word of God recorded in Scripture especially, or if Reason will satisfy thee, I have here presented thee with both; by which I myself was convinced, and my conscience satisfied.  
If it be the change of the Government itself, consider, that such an extraordinary and unheardof change of Government in a Christian Nation, could not have been, but by the special hand and determinate counsel of God, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.  
Secondly, is it the exaltation of his person, from a low estate, to such a height of greatness and honour, that is a stumbling in thy way of affection? consider what the Scripture saith, Psalm 75.6.7. Promotion comes neither from the East, nor from the West, nor from the South: but God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another. Compared with 1 Sam. 2. 7, 8. The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up; he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among Princes, and to make them inherit the Throne of Glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them. But I pray thee, without prejudice of Spirit, or hatred of Heart to his person whom God hath exalted amongst us, Consider the persons whom God hath of old exalted over his people for their protection and safety. What honour and glory did God exalt Joseph to, whose Father Jacob was but a Shepherd? Moses was a poor Shepherd, yet chosen of God to be a Governor of his own people. Joshua the Son of a poor Israelite, and a Servant of Moses, after his death had the command of Government over the people; because he followed the Lord fully: and the Lord emboldened him with a courageous heart, that he did animate the Captains that were with him, to tread upon the necks of five Kings; saying, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. After the death of Joshua, the people fell away from following the Lord, and the Lord afflicted them by the hands of the Midianites. And they cried unto the Lord, who for his Names sake appointed Gideon to be their Protector from the spoil of the Midianites: who being but of a mean Family in Israel, spoke thus unto the Angel of the Lord: O my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my Family is poor in Manasseth, and I the least in my Father's house. And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. After the death of Gideon, in their distress he gave them Jephtha, one of a small reckoning amongst them in their prosperity. After Jephtha, Samson was given them to be their Deliverer from the hands of the Philistines. Thus did God of old appoint men of his own choosing, to be Head in the Government of his people▪ and furnished them with parts suitable thereto; and raised them from a low estate to honour and renown.  
Thirdly, is it the Title of Protector, that thou stumblest at? then consider, that the Title of Protector was a Title given to the Governors of Israel long before they had a King to reign over them: for I will ask thee this single Question, What difference there is between a Protector and a Saviour. I find then in Scripture, that this Title of Saviour God hath formerly conferred upon those Worthies that have been faithful Instruments in his hand to go in and out before his people against his and their Enemies: which Title Nehemiah acknowledgeth; chap. 9 27. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hands of their enemies, who vexed them; and in the time of their trouble they cried unto thee, thou heardst them from heaven, and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them a Saviour, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. And this Title I clearly apprehend shall continue to those that shall be for the time to come instrumental in the hand of God for the safety of his people; God having promised by the Prophet Isaiah, That he will restore to his people Judges as at first, and their Counsellors as at the beginning, that Zion shall be redeemed with judgement, and her converts with righteousness; and the Title that they shall have at that time, when such deliverance shall be wrought, shall be Saviour's or Protectors, there being no difference as I know between Salvation and Protection: and that this shall be the Title of honour which God will give to such (a better name than that of Sons) read the last Verse of the Prophet Obadiah, where it is thus written: And Saviour's shall come up on Mount Zion, to judge the Mount of Esau, and the Kingdoms shall be the Lord's. But because I have written somewhat more of my mind concerning these and other Scriptures of like nature, in the ensuing Treatise; I shall refer thee to it for thy further satisfaction; desiring, that thy judgement may not be blinded by thy own will: which if it be not, I hope thou wilt have as much satisfaction in reading it, as I had in writing it; which is the main desire of  
him who unfeignedly desireth the Peace and Welfare of his Country, J. Moor.   

A Word to the Servants of Christ in Covenant with him through Grace, and in fellowship together under the Ordinances of the Gospel.  
I Do wonder and admire that so few of you have given public Testimony of your affection to the present Government, established amongst us through the providence of the Almighty; which makes me conceive it hath an ill savour amongst you, or out of a tenderness of Conscience to the exaltation of Christ's Kingdom, and longing for his reign, you cannot fully close with it. Now I beseech you Brethren, (from the tender love of my Soul to the Peace and Welfare of your Souls and Bodies) that you will without prejudicated thoughts weigh these two or three Considerations in the balance of your Spirits.  
First, consider, That the chiefest ground of all our Engagements, Watchfulness, Weariness, Painfulness, the shedding of our own and friends dearest Blood; yea, the Prayers and Tears that have been offered before the Lord in your several Congregations, hath been for the full Enjoyment of Freedom and Liberty in the service of Christ, from the coercive compulsions of bloody, persecuting, penal Statutes: and now it is granted both from God, and by Oath from his Highness the Lord Protector to the utmost of his power to be protected in it (as if we were already weary of it) we hate the Instrument by which it is confirmed.  
Secondly, consider the frame of your own Spirits at present, with what they once were, when such Freedom and Liberty was precious to you: would you not once have owned almost any civil Government that would have granted that spiritual Freedom which we now enjoy? I dare be bold, that if the late King had proclaimed such Liberty to his Subjects, he had been alive to this day, except sickness had cut him off; and that the people of God in England, formerly called by the name of Puritans, to whom such Freedom was precious, would have laid their Bodies and Estates at his feet, to manifest their affection. And pray you, what is the reason that we are so dull, so dead, and so void of our public manifestation of affection to him, that with the often hazarding his life hath been made instrumental in the hand of God to purchase it for us? yea, we are so far from declaring our affection, that a great part of us swell with hatred towards him; an evil requital for his labour of love towards us: for if you well consider how many fell away to the Enemy, and sought our destruction; and others that had been admirable Instruments for a season, threw up their Commissions, refusing to act any further; and how he, (I mean the Lord Protector that now is) never refused to act for that Freedom we now enjoy; but like another Joshua or Caleb followed the Lord fully in the work that he was called to, and left us not till we had enjoyed that Liberty in the Gospel that we long looked for, (except we are blind, and can't see when good cometh:) I say, If we consider these things, we have not the least cause to manifest the least disaffection, either to the Government, or the Person to whom it is given; but contrariwise, hearty affection, with all cheerfulness that we can.  
Thirdly, Measure the disposition of your Spirits with the Saints in the primitive times of the Gospel, and you'll find, that such peaceable Liberty which we enjoy under the present Government, was of such worth to them, that they could pray for Kings, and all that were in Authority, that under them they might lead a peaceable and a quiet life: and acknowledge, that the Powers that were, were ordained of God; although at that time they were generally Enemies to Christ, and Persecutors of his Gospel. And lo, we are so different in our Spirits, from the qualifications of theirs, that we cannot own that power to be of God, that hath made provision for the peace and tranquillity of the servants of Christ, in the Freedom of their Consciences, and is tender of their welfare.  
Now I beseech you dear Friends, if Freedom and Liberty in the service of Christ be of any account with you; be not sullen in your Spirits, put away that peevishness of heart that is yet remaining in any of you against the Government established amongst us: say not, That is not of God, that is a furtherance to, and a countenancer of godliness: call not that your Enemy, which hath vowed your Protection: let's not say to him that hath stood to the face of Pharaoh for us, Who made thee a Judge and Ruler over us? as the Israelites did to Moses. But let us unanimously close with and own him, that hath so cheerfully engaged for our safety, when others left us: for in all probability, our murmuring and repining at his exaltation, may continue fresh plottings and contrivings of the common Enemy to take away his life; and from thence foster their hopes of enslaving us again.  
Now that you may consider these things with an equal hand, for the preventing of your own ruin, and the loss of the most precious Liberty in the World; and, that the Lord would open the Eyes of our Judgements, that you may see where you are, is the unfeigned desire of him, who desires to commend himself to every one of your Consciences in the things presented to you, and remain  
Your poor Friend, and unworthy Fellow-Servant in the Bonds of Peace, J. M.   

Protection proclaimed, etc. The present Government established in the three Nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, etc. is of God.  
THE great Creator of Heaven and Earth, who by his providence supporteth the whole Creation, hath made of one Blood all Nations of Men, for to dwell on the earth, and hath determined the times appointed, and the bounds of their Habitation; even he that worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, though man know it not, and perceive it not; without whom there is not a sparrow falls to the ground, nor the hair from a man's head; who hath bounded and limited all his Creatures, so that their bounds and limits they cannot pass without him: the Sun, and Moon, and Stars in their constant course are subservient to his will, the Sea keeps its bounds at the command of the Almighty; yea, every little Water course observes its Maker's will: the same God by his determinate counsel, hath bounded and limited the sons of men, both in their habitations and power, beyond which they cannot pass; Moses the servant of the Lord witnesseth, Deut. 32.7, 8. saying, Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations, ask thy Father and he will show thee, when the most high divided to the Nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. The same God, the same yesterday, to day, and for ever, by the same power will, and counsel, hath bounded, limited, and put an end to the power and reign of the Norman Race of Kings and Queens in England; yea, the time of the late Parliaments Government was limited by God. So that let them all be discontented never so much, fret, chafe, and rage; yea, nil they, will they, they must stoop to the determinate counsel of Jehovah's will: so that by the Divine institution of him, who hath wrought all these things after the counsel of his own will, is the present Government established in Oliver Cromwell, (subordinately to God) the entitled Lord Protector thereof; and whosoever he be that denies it, or speaks against it, denies the Omniregency of God, and the Ordinance of his will: for the Scripture saith, That promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south: but God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another.  
But for further satisfaction, (to my Country in general, & in particular to all those that have heretofore engaged for that Liberty we now enjoy) that the present Government established in his Highness and his Council, is of God, I have inserted these Arguments following.  
First, that Government and Rule that answers the main desire and request of God for his people, must needs be of God. Now if it be proved, that this Government is correspondent to the main request and desire of God for his people on earth, than it must be of God: and that it doth so, I prove it thus:  
God's main desire for his people on earth is, That the powers below touch not his Anointed, and do his Prophets no harm; but, that they may serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life.  
Now this Government hath answered the desire of God herein, and hath made provision for their peace and safety, and hath vowed their protection: so that they may without fear of any penal, bloody, persecuting Law, worship him in the administration of the Gospel with Freedom and Liberty, without confines of time or place.  
Therefore of God.  
God hath promised by his servant Obadiah the Prophet, That Saviour's shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau; yea, this I say, that such shall come, and one is, that shall judge, condemn, and throw down the Mount of Esau. Esau was a Persecutor of his Brother Jacob, because he had obtained the blessing of spiritual things, and himself went without them. Now by this Mount of Esau, I understand the Mountainous Power of Persecutors of the Servants of Christ for their Faith in him, which shall in due time be consumed like stubble, and by degrees come to nought, by the hand of those whom God shall send as Saviour's for the same purpose.  
Object. I know that this will be objected: If this Government be so careful of the Freedom and Liberty of the Servants of Christ, why then are so many eminent Servants of Christ restrained in prison?  
I answer, Although the Lord knows I have both in private and public prayed for their deliverance, and that the difference between them and the Lord Protector (by whom they are imprisoned) may be reconciled; he to them in loving kindness and favour, and they to him by acknowledging the hand of God in exalting him to the Government in which he is invested: Yet I say, That they are not imprisoned as they are Servants of Christ, nor is it for their Conscience in the worship of Christ, in the Faith of the Gospel, that they are restrained of Liberty: but for their discontent, dislike, and dissatisfaction towards him, and the Government which God hath put into his Hand: and for my part, I think it no indiscretion nor cruelty for any man to tie down (for a time) that hand that cannot hold still, but must be scratching at his body till it bleed, and so endanger the whole to destruction: caetera mitto loqui; lest any should think that I either wish or desire their restraint from their Liberty, which the Lord knows I do not, but from my very Soul desire their enjoyment of it; so that it may stand with the peace and preservation of the whole body.  
Secondly, Consider that the ways and workings of God, especially in things of such great concernment as the Rule and Government of his people, do not answer the expectation, thoughts, nor will of man. I know, that if this Nation had been divided into ten parts, nine of them would have had the yoke of the Norman Race to have continued: if there had been one part of ten left, nine parts of that one, would have subjected themselves to the yoke of a Parliamentary Government; now that God might cross the expectation of man, and let us know, that our thoughts herein were vain, he did upon a sudden bring forth and establish such a Government that we lest thought of; that less of Man, and more of God might be seen in it.  
When the time of Saul's Reign over Israel in God's Decree was accomplished, he commanded the Prophet Samuel to leave off grieving for Saul; telling him, That he had rejected him for being King over his people; and told him, That he had provided for himself a King amongst the Sons of Jesse the Bethlemite, one that was not so much as thought of, (in regard of ruling over them for the future) not in all Israel. The Prophet at first was afraid to go, for fear of Saul, that he would kill him; but at last he did go: and when he came and beheld his Sons, he found the secret will of God clean contrary to his thoughts and purpose: for when he beheld Eliab, he thought him to be most likely, and did purpose to anoint him for a future Governor of the people; but the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature, because I have refused him; for the Lord seethe not as Man seethe; for Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart; and the most unlikely to carnal apprehensions, did God make choice of to be the Governor of his people, and by his Decree anointed him in Spirit for the same end, long before he came to the Government.  
And truly for my part I do confidently believe from my very Soul, that from the beginning of these late Wars, the Lord did secretly Decree, and in his own purpose set apart Oliver Cromwell (our entitled Lord Protector) to be the head Governor, below himself, of all the people in the three Nations; Although at the beginning of these late Wars, it was as unlikely for him to be Lord Protector of three Nations in the judgement of man, as it was for David (in the apprehension of his Father and Brethren) to be Ruler over Israel. But let all the Servants of God know; yea, let every individual Soul in the three Nations know, That the counsel and determinate purpose of God will stand as an  prick against all that spurn at it, and a sharp thorn in the sides of all his enemies. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth; so are the ways and counsels of God higher than the ways and counsels of Men, and his thoughts transcending theirs. What earthly powers, what plottings and contrivings of an Enemy, what ragings, swell, tumults of vanquished Foes, what murmur repine, or discontents of any people, shall reverse the thing that God hath purposed to bring to pass? God is not a Man, that he should lie, neither the Son of Man, that he should repent: hath he said it, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? for whatsoever the Lord pleaseth, that doth he in Heaven and in Earth, and in all places.  
This therefore shall henceforth be the Petition of my Soul, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven: Let God make haste to complete his purpose.  
This also shall be my Soul's melody, which I will sing with a joyful noise in my heart, Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore: From the rising of the Sun, to the going down of the same, the Lords name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all Nations, and his glory above the Heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high? Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are done in Heaven and Earth. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill, that he may set him with Princes, even with the Princes of his people, Amen, Hallelujah.  
That Government that gives Christ the chiefest honour due unto him, is of God.  
The greatest honour that belongs to Christ here below, is, That he may bear Rule without interruption in the hearts and consciences of his Servants:  
If this Government then do leave the power over the consciences of the Servants of Christ solely to him, than it is of God.  
But this Government doth so:  
Therefore of God.  
I shall say no more to this first thing, namely, That the Government is of God, until occasion of reply (which I look for) doth engage me to it.  
Secondly, As the Government is of God, so there is none more deserving to sit at the helm of it (in subordination to God) than Oliver Cromwell, the present entitled Lord Protector.  
First, if constant, faithful, unwearied, undaunted Service, accompanied with Magnanimity, Valour and Courage, for the Liberty and Freedom of the people of God in England, from the bloody and persecuting Statutes and Laws do deserve it, then doth he deserve it: his Constancy hath appeared, in that he was in continual service day and night. His Faithfulness, in that he never betrayed the least of his Trust, but proved from first to last, as true as steel to his Country. His Unweariedness, in holding up his hand by Commission, when others let theirs fall; for if he had threw up his Commission when others did theirs, when the Scots twice invaded us with a numerous Army, I believe we had been in a miserable condition before now. His Undauntedness hath the whole Army seen: he was never known to decline action, although the advantage have been never so great against him; for the most part, if not always, charging in the Front of his Army, against the most resolved Enemy; and seldom, or never did he retreat without Victory.  
I have heard with my own Ears, some gallant Sparks of the Cavalry say; That he was the most gallant resolved General that ever drew Sword in Christendom, since the time of Scanderbag; and, that if it were against a Foreign Nation, they would as faithfully and as cheerfully serve under his Command, as under any one in the world: And that at last the very name of him was such a terror to them, that they could not force on their Men to fight, if they knew he was in the Field.  
A valiant and a courageous General strikes terror to the heart of an Enemy, although the number on his party be but few. The very name of Gideon struck terror into the hearts of the Midianites that lay as Grasshoppers for multitude; yea, at the very report of the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon, they fled and were discomfited, though he had but three hundred men with him.  
The Prowess and gallant Achievements of the Army (since he was their Head in chief) in bringing to subjection a potent enemy in three Kingdoms, and settling them in peace and quietness, (except a few hotspurs that bitten their tongues with the very anguish of their spirits against him; and clandestinely making a pit for his life, they fell into it themselves) hath made all the Nations stand amazed with admiration. His Understanding and Judgement both in religious and civil affairs, is acute and sharp; whereby he is able to judge the differences of the one, and with wonderful policy to act in the other for the protection and safety (in civil affairs) of the three Nations.  
Therefore laying aside all envy, heart▪ burn, dislike, contempt, hatred, enmity, meditations of division, murmur, repine, grudge, at the Government, and at the honourable Exaltation of the Person who (in submission to God) is dignified with the Titie of Lord Protector, it behoves all the good people of the three Nations, cheerfully and cordially to submit unto it, and acknowledge it a Mercy that God hath placed such an one over them, that hath been a chief instrument in his hand, an invaluable Liberty to purchase for them; and is tender and careful of the continuance of it: for, for my own part, I look upon it as one of the greatest mercies that ever England enjoyed, and that it behoves all the faithful in the three Nations to submit unto it, let them consider these things.  
First, Seeing that if there must be a Government till Christ shall come, let such a Government be acknowledged that comes nearest to Christ: and truly for my part it is clear to me, that this Government now established, comes nearer to Christ, (for reasons before alleged) then any that I have read of since Christ's incarnation; whose coming is prepared as the morning, which breaketh forth clearer and clearer to the perfect day: Let us not then be angry at the Sun, because it is not in the height of the Firmment, so soon as the day breaks; but let's wait upon God as he moves in exaltation, for he that believes will not make haste; learn what that means, and be not like the Israelites of old, who fell out with Moses, because they did not presently enjoy the land of Canaan, which he had promised them.  
Secondly, consider that there can be no breach made against this Government, but by Civil discord and bloody division amongst ourselves; and except we delight in embruing our hands in one another's blood, we will not hearken to any Seditious Principle. And I beseech you, dear Friends and Countrymen, lay to heart the miserable desolation of Jerusalem; who though they were exceeding strong, and Victorious against an enemy, whilst they were united; yet what bloody slaughters, and unheardof massacres were wrought amongst them, by the civil discord of Seditious Captains, and their siding one against another! truly my very heart hath bled within me to read of it. What ruin and misery did the seditious discord of Corah, Dathan and Abiram, and those two hundred & fifty Princes of the congregation that came to Moses and told him that he took too much upon him to rule over them! the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up part of them; and seven thousand seven hundred were consumed by a noyson Plague: which shows the great wrath of God revealed from heaven against seditious principles amongst his own people, quarrelling at that Government and Governor whom he had placed over them. Now I beseech you, if you would not have your Country made an Akeldama, nor the channels of your Cities and Towns run down with blood; if you would not see your Wives and Daughters ravished before your faces, and the brains of your little ones dashed against the walls: if you would not hear your children cry to you for a bit of bread when you have none to give them, and yourselves stagger and reel in the streets for want of bread to support you feeble bodies? would you not be dragged by the hair of the head from your several meetings in the worship of God? would you not have your blood mixed with your Prayers? would you not have the eyes of all your comforts put out? would you not grind in the mill of a cruel enemy? if you love your lives and liberties, or any thing that is dear; if you value christian liberty at any price; if you count it worth any thing, let no principle of sedition against the present Government be entertained amongst you, lest you repent it when it is too late.  
There is no other way left to the enemy, for to break in upon us, but our own sedition and divisions; consider how forward the Devil hath been in all ages to blow with his mouth at such a coal, and what unquenchable flames he hath blown them to; 'tis that the enemy stands gaping for, you cannot do them a greater pleasure; how do they laugh in their sleeves when they hear of such a thing! 'Tis Nuts for them, you cannot offer them a greater present, 'twill make them more pastime than all the Playhouses in London: Remember how the Lords of the Philistines sent for Samson to make them sport; the Nations that are round about us that are our enemies, they hate us already with a bitter hatred, and wait for an opportunity to do us any mischief they can: this way they hope to break in upon us, even our disaffection to the Government, and divisions amongst ourselves; if you think it cannot be, why Jerusalem thought the same, yea their enemies thought so too: Jeremiah in his Lamentations, breaks forth into these words: The Kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed, that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. Lam. 4. 12.  
Let us frustrate all their hopes then, of bringing us into a twofold slavery, of conscience, and body, by a resolvedness of heart to submit unto that Government, under which we enjoy unspeakable liberty; considering that in the destruction of it, lieth our absolute ruin and misery: For I must tell you, whosoever you be, that cannot see it, and own it to be of God, ye are either as a common enemy possessed with desperate envy, or else as seeming friends with rash judgement of blind zeal. But for my own part I am satisfied in this one thing, that there have been very few in former ages (if any at all) whom God hath made choice of, and by providence kept and preserved, to Rule over his people, but some of their friends have either enviously magligned them, or else clandestinely sought their harm. Joseph speaks to his brethren, of God's exalting him above them; and they presently conspire his death. Moses (although he had oftentimes endangered his life before Pharaoh, for the Israelites, and was instrumental in the hand of God for their freedom; yet) could scarcely get a good word from many of them: they could ask him, Who made him a Ruler and a Judge over them? And Corah and his confederates could tell him to his face, that he took too much upon him, they were as good as he. It is written of them in the Psalms, that it did proceed from envy: Psal. 106.16. They envied Moses also in the Camp, and Aaron the Saint of the Lord. Gideon found but small kindness at their hands, for all his service done for their safety; So that Ephraim chid him very sharply: the like requital had Jephtha from Epbraim; because he did not acquaint them with his proceed, they threatened to burn his house over his head: sampson's friends for his service, could bind him and deliver him to the Philistines: how often was saul's Javelin cast at David enviously, because the Lord was with him, and had exalted him into the people's affection and love?  
So that it's no marvel though he whom God hath made instrumental for the peace and tranquillity of his people in England, do meet with the like ingratitude from some of them. I have observed this for a real truth, that if envy do fancy evil in a good man, it will both write and speak against him, as if he were the vilest man alive; because it is both blind, and is such a passion that will have no pacification,  
Did ever any General in this world, engage for a people, and obtain Victory, but he was made Ruler over them? Would not a Virgin if she be forcibly ravished against her will, and should be delivered out of the ravishers hand by some other man? Would she not all the days of her life, love, and honour and respect the rescuer? sure I think she would, or else she were very ungrateful.  
Is not the conscience more pure than the body? the defilement of the body is nothing to the pollution of the conscience; the ravishment of the body is nothing to the forcing of the conscience.  
If then he hath stood up faithfully and stoutly, to rescue us from the bloody penal persecuting Laws of Tyranny over the conscience; if we do not all the days of our lives, love, honour and respect him, we are as ungrateful a people both to God and to him the instrument in chief as ever were in the world, and cannot in conscience desire any good from him. But the reasons (as I apprehened) why so many Christians zealously professing Christ, are unsatisfied in their conscience, at the establishment of the Government, are these.  
First, the sudden appearance of it, contrary to their thoughts and expectations; because their thoughts and minds were contented and satisfied in the Government of a Parliament, not thinking in the least, that God would have established any other Government in the Nation; the appearance of such a Government, which was directly contrary to their faith and premeditation of heart, startles their Spirits, and fills them, not only with doubt whether it be of God or no, but with absolute persuasions, that it was not of God.  
Now then, my dear Friends, I would ask you this single Question, If God will restore to his people, Judges as at the first, and Counsellors as at the beginning, then whether or no that the ancient Commonwealth of Israel was not governed by Moses as a Protector, who also had Counsellors with him; by Joshua, Gideon, Jephtha, and the rest, before either Kings or Parliaments? So that I clearly see in the establishment of this Government, the beginning of God's work in fulfilling his promise of primitive restitution of Judges and Counsellors, as at the beginning, before they were governed either by Kings or Parliaments. All the Promises of God are yea, and Amen: Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the promises of the Lord, till all of them be fulfilled. And I am sure that's one.  
Let us take heed then of murmuring at the appearance of the fulfilling of God's promises, lest God hid it from us again, as he did from the Children of Israel in Egypt, God having told Abraham above four hundred years before, That they should be Strangers in a Land that was not theirs, and that they should be afflicted four hundred years, and that afterwards he would bring them forth of it: the time being come that God would accomplish his promise in his own secret will and determinate counsel, he did purpose to make it good by the hand of Moses; who, when he was full forty years old, God put it into his heart to visit his Brethren, the Children of Israel; and seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: for he supposed, that his Brethren would have understood, how that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood it not. And when he would have made peace betwixt two of his Brethren that were at strife, one of them asked him, Who made thee a Ruler and a Judge over us? at this saying, Moses fled▪ And forty years more affliction did God continue unto them for this one Murmurer. Let our English Israelites consider this, and take heed of murmuring and repining at the good hand of God in giving us a faithful and a careful Governor of his people's Liberty, lest God withdraw his hand, and leave us and our children to a farther trial of Bondage.  
The second I apprehend was and is this: they did not wait upon the Lord, nor seek unto him by prayer to know his mind and will in such a sudden Change: so that in stead of waiting upon God, and seeking unto him by prayer to know his mind and will therein; supposing it not to be of God, because it was contradictory to their thoughts and expectation; they rather bent their minds and studies to find out something of corruption in it, that might make it appear not to be of God; and finding something in it, which their Spirits did not disrelish, they could not be satisfied that it was of God: whereas I am confident, if they had waited upon God, and sought unto him by Prayer, to know his mind and will in such an extraordinary change, they had been satisfied, and could not but have seen it to be of God.  
A third Reason was: they were afraid, lest way would have been made by it, for the induction and bringing in of such false worships, as would embondage the free Spirits of the zealously godly people in the three Nations; whereas provision is made to the contrary, and their protection vowed; yea, and we shall enjoy it, if we do not wilfully deprive our▪ self of it, and by our own divisions make ourselves a prey to our enemies: for that Proverb is certain true,  

Whilst the Boar and Lion strives,  
The Eagle waits for both their lives.   

The meaning is, whilst Friends contend,  
Their Foes will spoil them in the end.   
A fourth Reason was, Because they were not made acquainted with it; and so like Ephraim, against Jephtha, they were displeased with him, though he had deserved no such thing at their hands.  
Fifthly, being formerly their equal, they took it ill (many of them) that he should be exalted to rule over them: therefore many of them thought, and do still think, that he hath taken too much upon him. Corah and his Accomplices told Moses as much; but the Holy Ghost commandeth us to rejoice, when a Brother of low degree is exalted: for such a one is most fit for it, especially being endowed with suitable qualifications, as none alive I think can deny, but that our present Lord Protector is, and as prudent Counsellors for his Assistants. So that in such a Government, and such Governors to manage it; let all the well-affected people of the three Nations rejoice, Amen.  
FINIS.