Baxter - BX5207 B3 A2 1696

P A R T I. Reverend Mr. RichardBaxter. 63 6 94 The King fending his final Anfwers to the Parliament, the Parliament hada long Debateupon them, whether to acquiefce in them as a fufficient Ground for Peace ; and many Members fpake for rating in them, and among others Mr. Prin went over all the King's Confceffrons in a Speech of divers Hours long, with marvellous Memory, and (hewed the Satisfaâorinefs of them all, ( and after printed it :) So that theHoufe voted that the King's Conceffions were a fufficient Ground for a Perfonal Treaty with him; and had fuddenly fent a concluding An- fwer, and fent for himup, but at fuch a Criss it was time for the Army to bellir them : Without any more ado Cromwell and his Confidents fend Collonel Pride with a Party ofSouldiers to the Houfe, and let a Guard upon the Door ; one Part of the Houfe ( who were for them ) they let in ; another part they turned away, and told them that they mull not come there and the third part they imprifoned ( the fobereft worthy Members of the Houfe); and all to prevent them from be- ing true to their Oaths and Covenants, and loyal to their King : Tofo muchRe- bellion, Perfideoufnefs, Perjury and Impudence, can Error, Selßmeß and Pr de of great Succeffes, tranfport Men of the higheft Pretences to Religion. g 9S. For the trueunderftanding of all this, it muff be remembred, that though in the beginning of the Parliament there was (carte a notedgrofs Seetaryknown, but the Lord Brook in the Houle of Peers, and young Sir Henry Vane in the Houfe ofCommons ; yet byDegrees the Number of them increafed inthe Lower Houfe; Major Sallowey and fome few more SirHenry Pane had made hisown Adherents: Manymore were carried part of the way, to Independency, andLiberty of Reli- gions; and many that minded not any fide in Religion,did think that it wasno Po- licie ever to trust aconquered King, andtherefore were wholly for a Parliamentary Government : Of thefe Tome would have Lords and Commons as a mixture of Ariftocracie and Democracie, and others would have Commons and Democracies alone ; and fome thought that they ought to judge the King for all the Blood that had been flied. And thus when the two Parts of the Houfe were ejeaed andim- prifoned, this third part compofed of the Vani/lr, the Independants, and other Seâs, with the Democratical Party, was left by Cromwell to do his Bufinefi under the Name of the Parliament of England ; but by the People inScorn commonly called, The Rump of the Parliament. The fecluded and imprifoned Members publifhed aWriting called, their Vindication; and force of themwould afterwards have thruft into the Houfe, but the Guard of Soldiers kept them our, and the Rump werecalled the Hone/l Men. And thefe are the Men that henceforward we have to dowithin the Progrefs of our Hiftory, as called, The Parliament. 96. As the Lords were difaffeâed to thefe Proceeedings, fo were the Rump andSoldiers to the Lords: So that they puffeda Vote (fuppofing that the Army would ftand by them) to eftablifh the Government without a King andHoufe of Lords; andfo theLords diflolved, and there Commons fat and did all atone. And being deluded by Cromwell, and verily thinking that hewould be for Democracie, which they called a Commonwealth, theygratified him inhis Defigns, and them- felves in their difloyal Diftruils and Fears ; and they caufed a High Court of Ju- ftice to be crated, and fens for theKing from the Me of Wogbri Collonel Ham- monddelivered him, and to WeJtminfler-Hall he came, and refuting to own the Court and their Power to try him, Cook as Attorney having pleaded againft him, Bradfhaw as Prefident andJudge recited theCharge andcondemned him : And be- 4ln.1648 fore hisown Gate at Whitehall they ereâed a Scaffold, and before a full Affembly of Peoplebeheaded him: Wherein appeared the Severity of God, theMutability and UncertaintyofWorldly Things, and the Fruits of a finful Nation's Provoca- tions, and the infamous Effeâs ofError, Pride and Selfifhnefs, prepared by Sa- tan to be charged hereafter upon Reformation and Godlinefs, to the unfpeakable Injury of the Chriftian Name and Proteftant Caute, the Rejoicing and Advantage of the Papilla, the Hardning of Thoufands againft the Means of their own Sal- vation, andthe Confufion of the Aâors when their Day is come. § 97. The Lord General Fairfax all this while flood by, and, with highRelent ment, faw hisLieutenant do all this by tumultuous Souldiers, tricked and over- powered by him ; neither beingfufficiently upon hisGuard to defeat the Intreagues of filch an Aâor ; nor having Refolution enough (as yet) to lay down the Glo- ryof all his Conquetis andforfake him : But at theKing's Deathhe was in won- derfulPerplexities, and when Mr. Calamy and force Miniflers were fent for to re- folve him, and would have farther perfuaded him to refcue the King, hisTroubles fo confounded him, that they durft let no Man fpeak to him : And Cromwell kept him (as it was laid) in praying and confulting till the Stroke was given, and\

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