I have thus told you my thoughts; which truly I have declared to you in the fear of God, as knowing He will not be mocked; and in the strength of God, as knowing and rejoicing that I am supported in my speaking;-especially when I do not form or frame things without the compass of integrity and honesty; 'so' that my own conscience gives me not the lie to what I say. And then in what I say, I can rejoice.

Now to speak a word or two to you. Of that, I must profess in the name of the same Lord, and wish there had been no cause that I should have thus spoken to you! I told you that I came with joy the first time; with some regret the second; yet now I speak with most regret of all! I look upon you as having among you many persons that I could lay down my life individually for. I could, through the grace of God, desire to lay down my life for you. So far am I from having an unkind or unchristian heart towards you in your particular capacities! I have this indeed as a work most incumbent upon me; 'this of speaking these things to you.' I consulted what might be my duty in such a day as this; casting up all considerations. I must confess, as I told you, that I did think occasionally, This Nation had suffered extremely in the respects mentioned; as also in the disappointment of their expectations of that justice which was due to them by your sitting thus long. 'Sitting thus long;' and what have you brought forth? I did not nor cannot comprehend what it is. I would be loath to call it a Fate; that were too paganish a word. But there has been Something in it that we had not in our expectations.

I did think also, for myself, That I am like to meet with difficulties; and that this Nation will not, as it is fit it should not, be deluded with pretexts of Necessity in that great business of raising of Money. And were it not that I can make some dilemmas upon which to resolve some things of my conscience, judgment and actions, I should sink at the very prospect of my encounters. Some of them are general, some are more special. [Hear the "dilemmas."] Supposing this Cause or this Business must be carried on, it is either of God or of man. If it be of man, I would I had never touched it with a finger. [Hear!] If I had not had a hope fixed in me that this Cause and this Business was of God, I would many years ago have run from it. If it be of God, He will bear it up. [Yea!] If it be of man, it will tumble; as everything that hath been of man since the world began hath done. `And what are all our Histories, and other Traditions of Actions in former times, but God manifesting Himself, that He hath shaken, and tumbled down, and trampled upon, everything that He had not planted? [Yes, your Highness; such is, was and for ever will be, the History of Man, deeply as we poor Moderns have now forgotten it: and the Bible of every Nation is

its Own History; if it have, or had, any real Bible!] And as this is, so let' the All-wise God deal with it. If this be of human structure and invention, and if it be an old Plotting and Contriving to bring things to this Issue, and that they are not the Births of Providence, then they will tumble. But if the Lord take pleasure in England, and if He will do us good,-He is very able to bear us up! Let the difficulties be whatsoever they will, we shall in His strength be able to encounter with them. And I bless God I have been inured to difficulties; and I never found God failing when I trusted in Him. I can laugh and sing, in my heart, when I speak of these things to you or elsewhere. And though some may think it an hard thing To raise Money without Parliamentary Authority upon this Nation; yet I have another argument to the Good People of this Nation, if they would be safe, and yet have no better principle: Whether they prefer the having of their will though it be their destruction, rather than comply with things of Necessity? That will excuse me. But I should wrong my native country to suppose this.

His,'

For I look at the People of these Nations as the blessing of the Lord: and they are a People blessed by God. They have been so; and they will be so, by reason of that immortal seed which hath been, and is, among them: those Regenerated Ones in the land, of several judgments; who are all the Flock of Christ, and lambs of Christ. though perhaps under many unruly passions, and troubles of spirit; whereby they give disquiet to themselves and others: yet they are not so to God; since to us He is a God of other patience; and He will own the least of Truth in the hearts of His People. And the People being the blessing of God, they will not be so angry but they will prefer their safety to their passions, and their real security to forms, when Necessity calls for Supplies. Had they not well been acquainted with this principle, they had never seen this day of Gospel Liberty.

But if any man shall object, "It is an easy thing to talk of Necessities when men create Necessities: would not the Lord Protector make himself great and his family great? Doth not he make these Necessities? And then he will come upon the People with his argument of Necessity!"-This were something hard indeed. But I have not yet known what it is to "make Necessities," whatsoever the thoughts or judgments of men are. And I say this, not only to this Assembly, but to the world, That the man liveth not who can come to me and charge me with having, in these great Revolutions, "made Necessities." I challenge even all that fear God. And as God hath said, "My glory I will not give unto another," let men take heed and be twice advised how they call His Revolutions, the things of God, and His working of

things from one period to another,-how, I say, they call them Necessities of men's creation! For by so doing, they do vilify and lessen the works of God, and rob Him of His glory; which He hath said He will not give unto another, nor suffer to be taken from Him! We know what God did to Herod, when he was applauded and did not acknow ledge God. And God knoweth what He will do with men, when they call His Revolutions human designs, and so detract from His glory. These issues and events have not been forecast; but 'were' sudden Providences in things: whereby carnal and worldly men are enraged and under and at which, many, and I fear some good men, have murmured and repined, because disappointed of their mistaken fancies. But still all these things have been the wise disposings of the Almighty; though instruments have had their passions and frailties. And I think it is an honor to God to acknowledge the Necessities to have been of God's imposing, when truly they have been so, as indeed they have. Let us take our sin in our actions to ourselves; it's much more safe than to judge things so contingent, as if there were not a God that ruled the Earth!

We know the Lord hath poured this Nation from vessel to vessel, till He poured it into your lap, when you came first together. I am confident that it came so into your hands; and was not judged by you to be from counterfeited or feigned Necessity, but by Divine Providence and Dispensation. And this I speak with more earnestness, because I speak for God and not for men. I would have any man to come and tell of the Transactions that have been, and of those periods of time wherein God hath made these Revolutions; and find where he can fix a feigned Necessity! I could recite particulars, if either my strength would serve one to speak, or yours to hear. If you would consider the great Hand of God in His great Dispensations, you would find that there is scarce a man who fell off, at any period of time when God had any work to do, who can give God or His work at this day a good word.

"It was," say some, "the cunning of the Lord Protector,”—I take it to myself,--" it was the craft of such a man, and his plot, that hath brought it about!" And, as they say in other countries, "There are five or six cunning men in England that have skill; they do all these things." Oh! what blasphemy is this! Because men that are without God in the world, and walk not with Him, know not what it is to pray or believe, and to receive returns from God, and to be spoken unto by the Spirit of God, who speaks without a Written Word sometimes, yet according to it! God hath spoken heretofore in divers manners

* if that you would revolve' in orig.

Let Him speak as He pleaseth. Hath He not given us liberty, nay is it not our duty, To go to the Law and the Testimony? And there we shall find that there have been impressions, in extraordinary cases, as And therefore there is no well without the Written Word as with it. difference in the thing thus asserted from truths generally received,-except we will exclude the Spirit; without whose concurrence all other teachings are ineffectual. [Yea, your Highness; the true God's-Voice, Voice of the Eternal, is in the heart of every Man;—there, wherever else it be.] He doth speak to the hearts and consciences of men; and leadeth them to His Law and Testimony, and there also ' He speaks to them; and so gives them double teachings. According to that of Job: "God speaketh once, yea twice;" and to that of David: "God hath spoken once, yea twice have I heard this." These men that live upon their mumpsimus and sumpsimus [Bulstrode looks astonished], their Masses and Service-Books, their dead and carnal worship,-no marvel if they be strangers to God, and to the works of God, and to spiritual dispensations. And because they say and believe thus, must we do so too? We, in this land, have been otherwise instructed; even by the Word, and Works, and Spirit of God.

To say that men bring forth these things when God doth them,— I wish that every sober heart, though judge you if God will bear this he hath had temptations upon him of deserting this Cause of God, yet may take heed how he provokes and falls into the hands of the Living God by such blasphemies as these! According to the Tenth of the Hebrews: If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin." A terrible word.' It was spoken to the Jews who, having professed Christ, apostatized from Him. What then? Nothing but a fearful "falling into the hands of the Living God !"—They that shall attribute to this or that person the contrivances and production of those mighty things God hath wrought in the midst of us: and fancy' that they have not been the Revolutions of Christ Himself, "upon whose shoulders the government is laid,”—they speak against God, and they fall under His hand without a Mediator. That is, if we deny the Spirit of Jesus Christ the glory of all His works in the world; by which He rules kingdoms, and —we provoke the Medoth administer, and is the rod of His strength,— diator: and He may say: I will leave you to God, I will not intercede for you; let Him tear you to pieces! I will leave thee to fall into God's hands; thou deniest me my sovereignty and power committed to me: I will not intercede nor mediate for thee: thou fallest into the hands of the Living God!-Therefore whatsoever you may judge men for, howsoever you may say, "This is cunning, and politic, and subtle,”

-take heed again, I say, how you judge of His Revolutions as the product of men's inventions !—I may be thought to press too much upon this theme. But I pray God it may stick upon your hearts and mine. The worldly-minded man knows nothing of this, but is a stranger to it, and thence his atheisms, and murmurings at instruments, yea repining at God Himself. And no wonder; considering the Lord hath done such things amongst us as have not been known in the world these thousand years, and yet notwithstanding is not owned by us!

so:-but

There is another Necessity, which you have put upon us, and we have not sought. I appeal to God, Angels and Men,-if I shall 'now' raise money according to the Article in the Government whether I am not compelled to do it!' Which 'Government' had power to call you hither; and did;-and instead of seasonably providing for the Army, you have labored to overthrow the Government, and the Army is now upon Free-quarter ! And you would never so much as let me hear a tittle from you concerning it. Where is the fault? Has it not been as if you had a purpose to put this extremity upon us and the Nation? I hope, this was not in your minds. I am not willing to judge so:such is the state into which we are reduced. By the designs of some in the Army who are now in custody, it was designed to get as many of them as possible,-through discontent for want of money, the Army being in a barren country, near thirty weeks behind in pay, and upon other specious pretences,--to march for England out of Scotland; and, in discontent to seize their General there [General Monk], a faithful and honest man, that so another [Colonel Overton] might head the Army. And all this opportunity taken from your delays. Whether will this be a thing of feigned Necessity? What could it signify, but "The Army are in discontent already; and we will make them live upon stones, we will make them cast off their governors and discipline?" What can be said to this? I list not to unsaddle myself, and put the fault upon your backs. Whether it hath been for the good of England, whilst men have been talking of this thing or the other [Building Constitutions], and pretending liberty and many good words,-whether it has been as it should have been? I am confident you cannot think it has. The Nation will not think so. And if the worst should be made of things, I know not what the Cornish men nor the Lincolnshire men may think, or other Counties; but I believe they will all think they are not safe. A temporary suspension of caring for the greatest liberties and privileges" (if it were so, which is denied) would not have been of such damage as the not providing against Free-quarter hath run the Nation upon. And if it be my "liberty" tc walk abroad in the fields, or to take a journey, yet it is not my wisdom to do so when my house is on fire !—