THE ROVND-HEAD UNCOVERED.  
Being a moderate trial of his spirit.  
With a distinction betwixt the roundheads, and such as Papists call Puritans.  
27 July  
 printer's or publisher's device  
LONDON, Printed for George Lindsey, 1642.   

The Round-head uncovered.  
THe soul of man being so excellent piece of workmanship of the Almighty Creator, and then so dearly ransomed by his onely Son; she must needs be more tenderly loved, cherished and preserved by al the friends of God, then the rest of the Creatures; and consequently more hated, envied and chased by his enemies. Hence it is that the devil and his Angels,( her old professed enemies) Ambit quasi lo rugens. Goes about her like a roaring Lion, traceth her steps, and by a long practise in temptation and a deadly rancour, by so much the more cruel, by how much it grows inveterate, doth continually lay traps and ambushes for her destruction; takes all occasions and inclinations to work upon; and together with her other confederate foes make continual war against her. Now this war being onely visible to the intellectual sense, or inward eyes of the soul, and those eyes bleared and dimmed with mortality, bodily corruption and frailty; Shee is often beguiled, misled with illusions and false lights in her earthly pilgrimage: And the devil being all Spirit, and( as our Saviour faith) transforming himself( by permission as he had to tempt job) into the shape of an angel of light to deceive us; our poor souls are thus apt to bee induced into manifold errors and schisms.  
By which means doubtless it cometh to pass that in this long liberty wee have enjoyed of the gospel( when most reformed Christians take leave to make their own way, in point of exposition of Scripture, as well as in other points of Christian duty) there are sprung up so many strange heresies and opinons. For as in the Primitive Church when the laity& unlearned sort were contented with the plain rule of faith set down in the Apostles Creed without further peeping into mysteries, or comparing partes of Scripture, to try or question the truth of other parties; the lives and conversations of humble and devout Christians, and especially of their Pastors; were the bright lamps that lighted them in their way to God: So in these later times, through an unconfined liberty of expounding, and over public and unseasonable reasoning and disputing upon that subject; every one presuming of his own Talent either of wit or grace; the sacred Text is so abused and mangled with variety of Opinions that it is become the common subject of discourse, as well in taverns and upon Alehouse benches, as, in private houses and out walkings. No marvel then that there are now well-nigh as many Sects and different opinions sprung as there be professors. But this redounds to the great disparagement of the reformed Church in general; especially to ours, which hath so long flourished and shined in the worlds view in an Orthodox and settled discipline, without any material interruption, and still would flourish, but for a crew of Hypocrites and roundheads, who taking the advantage of these late unlucky differences betwixt the King and his great council, have partly by their loud whispers, and libellous Pamphlets, and partly by their mutinous assemblies, not onely sent his Highnesse a dangerous voyage into the North; and thereby deprived the whole kingdom of that happy union betwixt him and his Parliament, which might otherwise have been expected: But by poisoning the hearts of many a thousand good Protestants, have new made a wide overture amongst many of the illiterate People( of London especially) to let in Innovations, both of doctrine and discipline into our Church: which cannot choose but produce some sad effect of a civill dissension amongst us: forasmuch as there is nothing that so much urgeth mans patience, as to be thrust out of a long continued possession upon new-found pretences, and principally of a settled form of Divine worship; which commonly forerunnes a change of Religion itself. But because wee are not yet( thankes be to God) come to that; I will break off from this tender point, to fall into the description both of that Zealous sort of Christians, which the Papists have long distinguished from the colder, and more remiss sort of Protestants, by the name of Puritans: And of that other sort who for their hypocrisy may be termed Anti-Puritans, or roundheads.  
For the first, as it was given them by that common Adversary the Papists, but by way of mockery for their zeal in Gods cause against them, so in regard the word Puritan carries no sense of disgrace, I could wish them to accept of it,& by making good the Title( as our late Protestant Princes have done that of Defendor of the Faith contrary to the Popes intention) to confront and beat down their specious Title of Universality and Superstition, with Christian purity and plainness, and the onely way to be pure indeed.  
But here let me pause a little, to give some of the unlearned sort of them, also this Christian Caveat; That whilst they condemn the Papists for replying too much on their own merits, they give them not as just occasion to condemn them for as great a presumption; which is to trust to their own sense in the exposition of mysterious points of Scripture: But rather to read and practise those other parties that conduce to a good and virtuous life, without expense of their feable faculties, or perplexing their mindes with things above their reach, as if they studied the Philosophers-stone.  
For though it be granted that Gods grace is never wanting to a devout soul, yet is it a question whether every mans self seeming devotion bee guided by a right spirit. Therefore it is that St. Paul bids us work our Salvation with fear and trembling. For Satan is a cunning Cheater, and like a Hocus Pocus, spies now and then occasions to throw in his false flashes into the soul, upon the sudden extinguishment of those true lights of grace, which sometimes are as soon put out as kindled, by the stinking damp of some odious, unrepented sin, which passing for currant, and embraced by presumption, for want of a right examen and trial of the heart, the mind is lead awry with an ignis fatuus, or a Will with the wisp towards some dangerous precepice.  
And it is upon the most spiritual and inaccessi●●● 〈◇〉 that the black engineer practiseth most 〈…〉 wi●d-fires or illusions, such as make con 〈◇〉 their ways, and are impregnable by the shot of Worldly and Fleshly provocations.  
Is it not therefore pity that the weed of false zeal should be so firtile in these our times, and so prevalent, as to overrun the wholesome herb of integrity? Is it not indeed a lamentable case that by means of this Gallimaufry of strange new Sects( united onely in unity of mischief) our Book of Common Prayer( being every word Scripture) penned doubtless by the finger of God, and our decent and our orderly discipline in the House of God, should be thus shamelessly questioned and controverted, not onely by a few of our over singular Divines, but by the rabble of the illiterate Laietie: who under the specious pretext of opposing Popery, and apprehensions of dangers to the Religion and State of England, do hazard by these uncontrolled disorders the ruin of them both?  
Is it not pity( I say) that our eminent English Church after this long prosperity, should( like a faire ship at Sea) be overwhelmed by a shoal of Herrings: a swarm of buzzing roundheads; a flock of straggled sheep, who misled by some scared Bell-weathers, do thus leap& frisk all after each other, over their lawful bounds into unknown dangers.  
For admitting the State or Religion were in peril, would it stand with honour of either of them to accept of their preservation from an unmershalled and disorderly Rout of roundheads? such who for the most part, for their unconformity in Religion, are as malign and dangerous as the common Enemy? God forbid. There be regular men enough, and true-hearted to the State and Religion here established, to be entrusted with the defence and conservation of the public liberty and privilege of Parliament without them.  
It is a wonder to me how these roundheads( unless perhaps there be many of them Turners or Wheelers) have thus with their whimsies& devices turned the head of many a good Protestant as round as their own. And though I believe the name of Roundhead was invented by some maligner of Parliamentary privileges. Yet is it evident, by the time of its first raising, that it was upon occasion of their mutinous clamours and assemblies to the no small disturbance of the King and Parliament.  
But this term is grown too general, for though all Citizens and many other civill persons that wear no locks are by most of the Cavaliers and Souldiers of this time( for antipathy sake) comprised in the number of Roundheads, yet am I of opinion, that in judgement of few wise and impartial men they will be so esteemed.  
For conclusion, I will onely admonish my Reader( who ever he be) to refrain siding, or to blow the already too much glowing coal of Sedition on either side, and with Christian humility to resign all to Gods Providence, and to the managing of the superior Powers. For that can be no right spirit( without doubt) which delights in aggravation of offences, especially in this weighty cause betwixt our sovereign and his highest council the Parliament.   
FINIS.