A THUNDERCLAP TO Sion-Colledge.  
OR, A Catalogicall hint of the Pulpit Inveteracy, and Apostasy, of that mischievous Assembly, or mystery of Iniquity, at Zion College.  
By S. T. A cordial Friend to Truth and Peace, etc.  Hos. 9.8. The Prophets are fools, the spiritual man is mad. Jer. 23.15. Behold, I will feed the Prophets with wormwood, and make them drink the water of Gall, for from the Prophets of Jerusalem, is profaneness gone forth into all the Land. Vers. 26. They are Prophets of the deceit of their own heart. Rom. 3.13. Their throat is an open Sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit: the poison of Asps is under their lips. 
LONDON, Printed for G. W. near the Royal-exchange. 1648.   

A THUNDERCLAP TO ZION COLLEGE.  
What? is Presbytery become a faction, will nothing satisfy them but a factious usurped interest of will and power: Boundlessly, and unsatiably to tyrannize over the Consciences of conscientious men: will they never leave bawling, unless all interests bow down, and be made subordinate to their interest: now we see, and all rational men may see (that are not resolvedly blind) what kind of Presbytery that is, which hath been so vigorously contended for this many years, viz. merely a domineering Interest over their Brethren, and to be Lords over God's heritage: now their undermining subtlety is unmasked, and that mystery of iniquity is discovered: and Antichrist in the form and shape of Presbytery must not think to deceive the Nations any more, and although Antichrist hath more beguiling tricks than one: yet that man of sin must be revealed, whom God will destroy with the spirit of his mouth. 2 Thes. 2.7.8. he can turn Prelate, and Presbyter, and Royalist; conform to any shape, and every form wherein he can most cunningly and plausibly deceive the Nations: But who would have thought that they would have turned absolute impostors, professed Royalists, and embraced and shaken hands with such horrible and detestable Apostasy: (O base principles) can you at pleasure, renounce and perfidiously desert that ancient just cause wherein you seemed to engage in, with all the godly party in the Kingdom 7. years ago, and ever since: can you without difficulty tear, rack, and wrend such public principles of justice, freedom, and common safety, (and as, if this were not enough:) But you must most irrationally lay aside and forget all the limits and bounds of moderation: you must make it your only business (contrary to the Gospel) both in Presses and Pulpits, inveterately to rail and envy against a successful, faithful Army: merely and alone for proceeding in, and pursuance of those very principles of justice, freedom, and common safety, in which you formerly engaged, though now apostatised: though in your letter to the Lord Gen. and general Council, you with brazen faces profess you adhere to the ancient just cause, and you are the same men still, and own the same principles you ever owned, (I wonder you are not ashamed of this dissembling:) give me leave to make use of your own phrase: (be not you deceived, for God is not mocked;) and though you turn with the times, and change your principles for the advantage of the corrupt interests: yet God laughs you to scorn, (look to it,) God from Heaven will so transact and regulate different mutable things, as that your inveteracy, and apostasy, shall manifestly appear to all the world: whereby unvindicable Infamy will avoidable rest upon you to posterity.  
Do but see a little your corrupt partial dealing; you perfidiously connive and wink at that in yourselves: which is the alone mark you shoot at in the Army, and others who are the objects of your inviteracy.  
1. You rail against them for usurping that which is not proper to them, and upon this account, all the Presbyterian Pulpits in the City must ring of them, as a seditious, factious Generation, and all the week long is little enough to study and knock your heads together: to bawl and mouth at them, with all the calumnies that can be invented the next Lord's day: But I pray bear with me a little.  
Adhere a little to this assertion: you call them usurpers, but I pray pull the beam out of your own eye, for it makes you judge partially and blindly: I think it would not be absurdity, or rudeness, to call you the most ambitious usurpers in all the world; for suppose them to be usurpers, as you call them; yet they usurp nothing but what is proper to men (though we deny this to your face:) But you must usurp and appropriate no less than the alone proper prerogative of Christ, (viz.) to be law givers to the Church, and to be Lords over God's heritage: as if Christ were not as faithful in all his house as Moses: Heb. 3.5. But through forgetfulness must leave his institutions, so lame and imperfect as must needs stand in need of some addition, or detraction from men: what may demonstrate you to be a faction, and what may illustrate your unparelleld usurpation, if this may not, nay, if this doth not.  
2. You say they delight to rule, and will make all things subordinate to them and their Interest: (surely you do but forget yourselves) you suppose that to be in them, which is alone in yourselves: you cannot abide to set the saddle upon the right horse, I must tell you, it's a principle which they abhor; but a principle which you own & contend for, & it hath been your pulpit work for this many years together, to make all persons, and Interests, stoop and couch to your Interest, and yet you call that preaching of the Gospel, when presumptuously you preach only in pursuance of your own Interests, and how long have you desired and waited for that day, and for that power, whereby you might be whipping men into a subjection and subordination to your corrupt principles, Directories, and Doctrines; though never so opposite to the tenor and substance of the word of truth, and to the primitive institutions of Christ; for the truth of this, let your constant actions witness, and rational men judge.  
3. You go further, and cry out they act confusedly and irregular; but if you consider this well, you may very well hold your tongues: we need no other weapons to beat you then your own, is it not your own corrupt method, are you not always splitting yourselves upon this rock of irregularity and confusion: will you believe it when you fee it? You call yourselves ministers of Christ, and of the Gospel: (which I profess, all things considered, is very questionable.) But if you are so, why do you not preach the Gospel which is your own proper and alone work, and aquiesse within the compass of your own sphere and station, and not in the same breath quite exceed your bounds, and turn Statesmen: Nay, and which is worse, to take the fishwomens' trade out of their hands: (give me leave) are these the qualifications of Ministers of the new Testament: to envy, rail, and scold, as if you had served 7. years' Apprenticeship at Billingsgate; is this to preach the Gospel, to divulge your own corrupt fancies, and your own humane inventions, and make hodge podge of the Gospel: you are in your Element, when you are jumbling and confounding multitudes of distinct things of a retrogade nature into one bundle, and that Sermon is not accounted a Sermon amongst you: wherein you do not most inviterately bespatter, and throw dirt in the faces of them that are honester than yourselves: either you must be bawling against Sectaries, or mouthing at the Army, or envying against the Parliament in its present form and constitution, and yet this you do ambitiously and falsely call preaching of the Gospel: (what blind do are these:) do not you hereby make the Doctrine of the Gospel a Doctrine of division, a Doctrine of sedition and faction, a Doctrine of confusion: and how do you rack and wrest the infallible Scripture to the confused factious interpretations and expositions, and falsely you can render political expositions of spiritual Scriptures: if you must needs turn Statesmen, one would suppose it most proper for you, when you are out of your Pulpits: and not so irregularly make your Pulpits Chairs of State, and so confusedly jumble natural, civil, political, military and spiritual things together: this hath been too to much your Antichristian method, and if impudence did not hinder, you might be ashamed and blush at the thoughts of such prevaricating: if this be regular, what is irregular, if this be order, what is confusion, forbear lest it prove your confusion.  
Another object of your Inveteracy, are a Company of godly Conscientious men, whom you brand erroneous and Heretics: who do by that which you call Heresy, in the sincerity & integrity of their hearts, worship the God of their Fathers, Act. 24.14. But the People are so habituated to your perverse Doctrines, which you do so frequently sow amongst them; that all is taken for currant error & heresy; and on the contrary, for undoubted infallible truth that you set your stamp upon, be it never so scandalous and false. But if we come maturely and rationally, to examine what that is you call Error, and what that is you call Heresy, and what that is you call Schism. It's all, and only, such persons, and doctrines, that cross your usurped factious Interest of will and power; that refuse subordination to your Government and Sceptre; and from this rotten Principle radically flows, all that inveterate railing, scandalous abominating, most intolerable backbiting, and mischievous bespattering of men, whom their Consciences cannot but be (yea and are) convinced, they are conscientious godly men.  
But because they obstruct and stop the current and stream of their premised factious Interest, merely upon this very account, almost all the Pulpits in City and Kingdom must ring of them: O they are a seditious people, not worthy to live; they are the alone troublers of our Israel, and never expect Peace while these Sectaries have a being amongst us; (and just like the Pharisees) If we let this man (or these men) alone, all the world will believe on them, Joh. 11.48. And our trade that hath formerly been the best trade in the Kingdom (viz. Preaching) that is like to be engrossed from us; and consequently, our honour, and esteem, and eminency in the world, that decreases also; and our power, and interest, that will be trodden under foot; and therefore our best way is to do, as the Pope always doth; Vote godly men to be devilish, and then set the dogs on them; and the wild Bears and Tigers of the earth must be animated and encouraged to tear them in pieces; and if we can get but a Patent to Monopolise this trade, and to Monopolise the Gospel into our own hands, than we shall be well enough; Is not this your method.  
For this is that which perplexes these men, to see other men, whom they ambitiously call Mechanics and Laymen; to sell, or preach the Gopel at an under rate; because they do not preach for hire, as they do; and preach for Honour and a reward as they do; this makes them ready to gnaw their tongues for pain, and yet they think they cannot tumble out their venoms fast enough; but rail on them, almost till they foam at the mouth; and in the midst of this, are like a Fish in the water, in their desired element; they are so united and habituated to this frame and form, of Pulpit cavilling, and Pulpit inveighing, that I am Confident, were it possible, they could preach whiles doom's day, they would never forget this perverse trade; and the reason is, because they have so little reason, that they are enforced to make it up with passion: but what Gospel is this, to patch up Sermons out of such a detestable lust, as passion is, and fill the people's ears with such railing ruffish.  
But if you were taught of God, and if you learned the truth as it is in Jesus, you would comfortably and freely acquiesce in the declaration of this truth; for this is the Gospel method, and if you are Ministers thereof, this is your alone work, (viz.) to preach the truth: and consequently, error and delusion will fall to the ground. Never think to scatter and destroy error, by your irregular and perverse jumbling, and inveighing against it: in so doing what do you less then delude the people; and like the Priests of old, you cause the people to err, Micha 3.5. For I hope you are not so ambitious to think that you are the only infallible Judges of truth: but you may, (you do) err as well as others; and therefore, whilst you persist in this confusion, you are so fare from convincing men of error, that you confirm them therein. Man is a rational creature, and error where it is, it lies in the understanding; and therefore its only reason, concurring with the power of truth, can enlighten the understanding, and convince the person so erring. Error is no otherwise but a mistake in the judgement, and the judgement must be satisfied and convinced, before error can be subdued, this is undeniable; the conscience that will adhere to what the judgement believes. Must you go whip the conscience, now this is according to the rule of your invention: Not according to the infallible rule of Scripture. The Lord make the people of this Kingdom wiser than their Teachers.  
But now a few words touching your Apostasy: Bear with my Pen a little, for it's no absurdity to call it so. You are turned professed Royalists, and you are interwoven into the King's principles; insomuch that now the King's design is your design, and your Pulpit work is to propagate the King's Interest, though retrograde and destructive to the public interest: & you could own that perfidious treacherous treaty, & adhere to Malignants in their engagements, & pray devoutly for the restoring the King to his Crown, Sceptre, and Dignity. (What is Presbytery Kingified now:) can you with the face of reason, or Christianity, attempt or presume to appear for the King's interest. But truly, all things considered, we need not wonder at it: for Ecclesiastical Interest and Monarchical Interest, hath been, and must be jumbled together, as interwoven one in another: Suitable to that Text, Revel. 17.7. The beast must bear the whore. A lively portraiture of your Church. Such is your Interest, that it cannot stand unless upheld by the Kings of the earth; your Kingdom is of this world; Contrary to the nature of the Kingdom of Christ; and upon this account, you may well struggle and bustle for Monarchy; because your Interest depends upon it. But one would think, you should not be so mad, and so perfidiously irrarionall, as to attempt, own, or prosecute the destructive propagation of the corrupt Principles and Interest of this King; so palpably destructive to the Kingdom, and to the whole public Interest.  
I beseech you look back a little, and take a particular survey of the wonderful transacting of things, in relation to the Kings proceed: did ever any Engage, Contrivers, contend for him, and prosper: hath God, think you, (I appeal to your Consciences) fought so wonderfully, so unparalleldly, so miraculously, against both foreign, and domestic enemies, and blasted all Plots, Contrivances, Attempts, and Stratagems, for nothing, I say, is it for nothing, that God hath done all this.  
Nay, what hath the People of England fought for this many years, if not for a free, and impartial execution of Justice upon Capital offenders, and original Authors of all the blood, misery, and ruin of the People of this Nation: and dare you (I say, dare you) in person press, or Pulpit attempt to stop the Current of Justice, (I wonder at your Impudence) is not Impartial Justice, the alone solid Foundation of all the peace, liberty, and freedom that can be expected?  
Object. But you would have the King exempted because there is no precedent for the like Action, (I wonder at your weakness.)  
Answ. This is your great Argument that makes a monster through City and Kingdom. But, If examined, as light as vanity itself; (for mind) if no Precedent can be produced, or extracted from our Ancestors. Then this Parliament hath made, and may proceed, to make a precedent for Posterity, upon such solid, stable, answerable, justifiable grounds of Reason, Equity, Justice, and Common safety: that all the world, if they judge impartially, cannot possibly contradict: now as Presidence are not constant Rules to act by; so no former precedent whatsoever can bond or limit the proceed and actions of the succeeding Generations: because precedents of necessity, may, and must differ, according to the mutable different conditions of times. But the reason of no precedent is clear, because no King did ever Personally, or Commissionally, so perfidiously attempt the ruin and desolation of the public Interest; and therefore no cause of a precedent of this nature. I hope gainsayers will be silent in this; for whoever deny it, must exceed the bounds of Reason, and common sense.  
And whereas you falsely affirm and declare in your pernicious letterto the Lord Gen. that its an action contrary to the Law of God and man: if you study and prevaricate while doom's day, you can never prove it: I demand, whether the Law of God, or Nations: the Law of equity, justice, and safety: do more or less in reference to dignity, or a title of Honour: exempt a man from deserving justice, he that sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. Gen. 9.6. now this text nor no other text hath the least limitation or restriction to the title King. But if he be a man, interpret as falsely as you will, or can; he is not exempted, but comes within the compass of justice.  
But when every thing desert you, then as your last support, you fly to the Covenant, and you can pull and wrack that with all the false misconstructions that can be invented, to patch up all your weakness and inveteracy, and like your perfidious Scots, your dear Brethren, you can strike through the heart and bowels of the Covenant, with the Covenant in your mouths.  
But if it be demanded, why I direct my speech to Zion College: it's because I conceive that to be the conservatory, or fountain original from whence flows all that rubbish, trash, and trumpery that is publicly divulged in most Pulpits throughout the City, in your monthly morning Lectures, and every Lord's day: though I despise not your Lectures, if either intended or acted for good.  
Is this the best eggs you can hatch at your daily and weekly meetings at SionColledge; that as the results of your pernicious Counsels, you must allot and appoint every one his work: one shall rail against the Army, another inveigh against the present form and Constitution of the Parliament; another must pray and preach devoutly for restoring the King; another cry up the secluded Members. What ruffish is here to stuff Sermons withal? have you nothing else to do, but to poison, pervert, distract, and disquiet the Spirits of men, who would otherwise willingly, and freely aquiese, were they not by you enraged, encouraged, incensed, and animated against the Army and Parliament.  
If you were not as blind as Beetles, you may be satisfied; that the Army in conscience could do no less; unless they were so mad as to stand still and serve 7. or 8. years' labour, travel, and hazard, so perfidiously lost: and resign up their Liberties and Freedoms (which is the price of their blood) into the hands of theirs, and the Kingdoms thrice Conquered enemies; It's as clear as the Sun, that the Parliament was then going about to sell them, with all the honest party in the Kingdom, into the blood and revenge of an enraged and tyrannical King; who I am confident, would under some pretence or other, have cut the throats of all the godly in the Kingdom by thousands; and all the Liberty, Freedom, Privilege, and public Interest, fought for eight years together, would have been swallowed up into perjury and professed tyranny; and all the circumstances, and parts of that treacherous agreement for Peace with the King, considered; compact, and patched up together, were destructive to the public interest; and upon this account, whether the necessity were not absolute, or else ruin unavoidable: I leave to the judgements of rational, impartial principled men public. If the Army which you contemn, had not taken more for the care than you, but derogated from their principles, as you have done, all the godly in the Kingdom might have hanged their harps upon the Willow trees, and sought a residence in a strange Land (and get you like ungratfull wretches) now they have done the Kingdom such unparallelled service, you could now cut their throats for their labour.  
I wonder, you are not ashamed to bring such an infamy upon your Coat; are you not in a direct way, to lay a platform for a new Summers bloody ruining War, do you love to fish in troubled waters, and delight to be kindling the fire of dissension and discord, and perpetual rigid opposition in the Kingdom: (look to it) these principles are rotten principles; and unless you forbear, they will make you obnoxious to the just Censures of all men: and if a third war follow, we must be necessitated to conclude from rational grounds, that you are the fomenters and abettors thereof; and that it is the consequent of your inveterate railing, and perverse mouthing against your Brothers, who would willingly (if possible they can crave so much favour at your hands) as Freeborn Subjects of England, enjoy a peaceable and quiet residence amongst you. It's well such cursed Cows as you are, have short horns; otherwise, if special providence did not interpose, you would tear and rack your discenting Brethren, as you have torn and racked your own principles.  
But what means your uncessant inveighing& clattering against the Parl. Some of you call them a broken Parl. others no Parl. and that Apostate Prinne calls them an unparliamentary junto. And the great reason is, because (they say) they are under a Force, and consequently, no legal Authority (Good lack, what a base pvinciple and Interest will do.) It's high time that the Clergy should be made Judges of Parliamentary Authority: have they not voted themselves the supreme Authority of the Kingdom, and consequently, a free Representative; and it was your own Argument not long since, that themselves were the competent sole Judges of their own Authority; and have they not jointly approved of the reasons of the Gen. Counsel, for secluding, and securing some of their treacherous Members, for perfidious diserting, and betraying their trust. But because you cannot have a Negative voice, and because they proceed without, and against your approbation, advice, and concurrence: therefore you will dispute the legality of their authority: what perfidious (in and out, fast & lose) dealing is this?  
For notwithstanding, that unparallelled cruel violence of the riotous tumultuous Apprentices, upon the House, in July, 1647. forcibly keeping the Speaker in his Chair, and putting things to the question themselves, after the House was desolved, and when after this, the Speaker, with many other faithful Members of the House were necessitated to fly to the Army: In whose absence the Royal Party chose a new Speaker, and attempted (might and main) to levy a force against the Army, thereby engageing the Kingdom in blood. Notwithstanding all this, your resolved blindness could not own it as a force: but then they were the Parl. of England, and you could freely read, (and enforce obedience to) their destructive Ordinances for raising of Forces: and still so long as they have been your Parl. and served your Inrerest, so long, and no longer have they been the Parliament of England. You can dance no longer, than they pipe your Interest.  
And you can like Royalists profess and declare in your Pulpits, against the Legal just proceed of Parl. (I profess its insufferable) you detest the thoughts of calling the King to an account, and its unparallelled and destructive for Protestant Kingdoms, to stain themselves with the blood of their Kings. Nay, which is more than all; It's contrary to the subtle Nationall Covenant. Mr. Calamie, that old Conformist, will never leave turning and conforming for the best advantage of his Interest; but must divulge such nonsensical doctrines as these, to confound the ears of his Auditory.  
But in order, It's destructive and unparallelled, to be stained with the blood of Kings; but mind, it's neither the one nor the other for you to be stained with your own corrupt, factious, usurped tyrannical Interest: although you engage the whole Kingdom in war and blood to accomplish it. But what a guilt and stain it is for a Protestant Kingdom to execute justice: Is it not a treacherous and destructive principle, to detest the thoughts of Justice. I wish you appear not to be (for you give us probable grounds to believe it,) the chief obstructers of Justice this 7. years together, by your Parliament whispering and insinuating, having had such an Antichristian influence upon the House.  
But than you fly to the Covenant, to catch some false interpretation, the better to enforce the King's interest, and your delight in prevaricating, & cheating the people: in taxing the Army with your own perjury for all bonds in the Covenant, (if you are not mad or blind) touching preserving the King, are only conditional (not absolute:) But you are positively and absolutely engaged to bring all Delinquents to condign punishment, and would it not be partiality and perjury in the highest degree, that that grand Delinquent and original public Author and Abettor of all our bloodshed, ruin, and misery, should be exempted, and inferiors only punished, who acted commissionally from him, and actually for him; I am confident, you may as well remove a Mountain into the midst of the Sea, as deny it to be justice in the impartiality of it; and how hath God contmually crossed, confounded, battered, and shattered to pieces all plots, contrivances, and attempts to vindicate the truth of the premises: not to be treacherized, and creacified into slavery (which you promoted:) but to produce a free currant of impartial Justice. The premises maturely and solidly considered: your Pulpit barking and mouthing against Parl. Army, and your Brethren: is nothing but a probable introduction, to a third bloody War; to the great hazard (or at least much damage) to the public interest, and as much as possible you over shadow and eclipse those dawnings and appearings of liberty, freedom, privilege, and solid security to the public interest, that upon foundations of Justice and righteousness are (we hope) flowing in as the proper fruits of all so long fightings, wayting, and expectations.  
FINIS.