Petition of Two Sisters, Reason 4
The fourth reaſon; this Incloſure is againſt the eſtate of Chriſts Church and kingdome.
ESay thus propheſieth of it: Violence Eſa. 60. 18.and hard dealing ſhall no more be heard of in the land, neither deſolation nor deſtruction within thy borders, but thou ſhalt call ſaluation thy wals (of a word deriued of the name of Jeſus) and I…shu…gatha.praiſe, thy gates. Our wals ſhould taſte of the louelove of Jeſus, and ſhould be like him; they ſhuld all be built of frée ſtones, and not of flint ſtones; and all our gates ſhould be praiſe; we ſhould neuer ſet foote out of doore, but we ſhould be merry and ioyfull: And are Incloſers tenants of this kingdome? Is not their hard dealing and violence almoſt in all places complained of? Are not their deſolations and pulling downe of farmes apparant in eueryevery mans eyes? Are the wals and dwelling houſes of their Tenants built of frée ſtone, and not rather of flint ſtone? Doe their rents taſte of Jeſus Chriſt, and not rather of worldly couetouſneſſe? Are the doores of their Tenants houſes praiſe, and not rather lamentation, ſighing and mourning?
Add againe, he deſcribes vntounto vsus the eſtate of Chriſts Church, thus: The Wolfe ſhall dwell with the lambe, &c. And, the Cow and the Beare ſhall feede, their yong ones ſhall lye together, &c. This communitie of dwelling, Incloſers do ſomtimes take away in Chriſts Church: for they will hauehave no man almoſt dwell néere them. We may sée many of their houſes built alone, like hauens neſts, no birds building néere them: but eſpecially this community of féeding, they like not of. They will eate their paſtures by themſelues, they will hauehave none to enter common with them. Geminianus a very learned man, agreeing herein with the Prophet Eſay, writes thus very excellently; Good men Gemin. lib. 4. cap. 11.euer louelove a common and ſociable life, and they flie ſingularities or ſolitarineſſe by the example of Bees: For Bees, as Ambroſe writes, doe chuſe vntounto them a common manſion or dwelling, and they are all ſhut vp with one doore, and they all labour together; their meate is common, as alſo their worke; as they worke together ſo alſo they eate together. Their occupation (as I may ſo tearme it) is common, and their gaine is common, and their ſwarming is common. And hath God giuen Bées theſe excellent vertues in vaine, or for themſelues only, and not rather to teach men Chriſtian charity, and humane ſociety? Such angrie creatures doe thus louelove, and liue in common together, and ſhal not much more men, to whom God hath giuen no ſtings? Nay Chriſtians, to whom he hath giuen that louing and ſociable doue Mat. 3. 16.of his holy Spirit?
The Prophet Micah alſo thus deſcribes vntounto vsus the eſtate of all Gods people in his Church. But they ſhall ſit Micah. 4. 4.eueryevery man vnderunder his vine, and vnderunder his Figge tree, and none ſhall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord hath ſpoken it. Where the Hebrewe word (Charadh) ſignifies to mooue one with thought, and care. All ſhall liue merily in Chriſts Church; they ſhall neuer feare thought nor care, much leſſe taſte of it. And doe not Incloſers, not onelyonly make their Tenants feare thought and care, but alſo fill their heads with it? England hath béen famous throughout all Chriſtendome by the name of merie England: but couetous Incloſers hauehave taken this ioy and mirth away; ſo that it may be now called ſighing or ſorrowfull England.
In England we hauehave euer had thrée States, Lords Spirituall, Temporall, and the Commons. And theſe Commons are diuided againe into Gentlemen, Yeomen, and Husbandmen. But in other Countreyes there is no Yeomanrie, but only in England. In France all are Gentlemen, or Peſants: In Denmarke all are Noblemen, or Ruſtici, as they tearme them: And in High & Lowe Germanie there are the Nobilitie, and the Boores. So that, Gentlemen which are Incloſers, ouerthrowing the Yeomanrie, and decaying the Communalty, doe blotte out the ancient glory of England: for, no doubt, by the ſtrength and hands of theſe two, hauehave béen heretofore euer obtained, our admirable conqueſts, and moſt famous victories throughout all Chriſtendome. So that now theſe Incloſers doe goe about to make England as barbarous, and as weake in this reſpect, as other nations. Nay let them take héed that they prooue not themſelues Egyptians: for not the countrey, but the conditions & maners, are wont to giuegive names. As we may learne out of the Prophet Eſay, whereas Eſa. 1. 10.he calles the Noblemen of Iewrie Princes of Sodome; and the people, the people of Gomorah: though neither they nor their anceſtors were borne there. So I feare we hauehave ſome Landlords of Aegypt in England: for (Mitſraijm) the name of Aegypt, in our language is as much to ſay, as an Afflicter, or one that makes another ſorrowfull: and are not theſe Incloſers Egyptians then, which pinch, and vexe their brethren? Let them take heede; the name agrées vntounto them: let them feare the puniſhment; God is the ſame God ſtill. He that heard the grones, and ſighes of his Pſal. 102. 27. Exod. 3. 7. 8.people in Aegypt, and came downe to deliuer them, will no doubt doe the ſame in England.
I hauehave heard of an olde propheſie, that Horne and thorne ſhall make England forlorne. Incloſers verifie this by their ſhéepe and hedges at this day. They kill poore mens hearts, by taking from them their auncient commons, to make shéepe paſture of; and by impoſing vponupon them great rents, and by decaying tillage; ſo that now they are forlorne hauing no ioy to liue in the world.
And according to theſe ſhadowes, Saint Iohn deſcribeth to vsus the truth of Chriſts Church: But if that we walke 1. Ioh. 1. 7.in light (ſaith he) as he is in light, we hauehave fellowſhip one with another, and the blood of Ieſus Chriſt his Sonne cleanſeth vsus from all our ſinnes. Here is, euen to force vsus to the communicating of our vile earth one to another, the communicating of Jeſus Chriſts moſt pretious blood: as though they which would not maintaine this chriſtian communion and fellowſhip among themſelues, ſhould not be partakers of that. They are not children of God, but children of the diuell, that walke not in this light: they are not of Gods familie and Church, but of Sathans Synagogue, that hauehave not this fellowſhip among themſelues. And Saint Paul commaunds Timothie, and 1. Tim. 6. 17in him all miniſters, to teach rich men the ſame leſſon; Charge them that be rich in this world that they be not high minded, &c. but to be very ready to giuegive and to be foreign, making common their talents among their brethren: but Incloſers doe not ſo.
To conclude this point: Eſay in his propheſie, may ſéeme to teach, and touch vsus alſo very narrowly, that hauehave liued vnderunder the gratious raigne of Quéene Elizabeth, and doe now liue vnderunder the happie and religious gouernment of King Iames: for he alſo propheſied in the daies of godly Ezechias, to whom Eſa. 11.both theſe may be compared. And God there complaines, that when as he had planted a moſt pleſant vine in Iewrie, and had hedged it from the hands of the enemie, and had picked out of it Eſa. 5. 2.ſtones, that is, many vnprofitable members and traytors, and when he had planted a wine-preſſe in it, that is, a famous Schoole of the Prophets which 1. Sam. 19. 20. 2. King. 2. 3. 5.ſhould yéeld vntounto them the moſt pleaſant wine, and alſo had built in the middeſt of it a ſtately tower of defence, euen a moſt godly and mightie Prince and Magiſtrate: yet for all theſe benefits, when as he looked for ſwéete grapes at their hands, they brought forth ſower grapes. And hath he not beſtowed all theſe former benefits and bleſſings vponupon vsus in England? He is very vnthankfull, or ſtarke blind that will not acknowledge this: and yet for all theſe benefits theſe Incloſers (with thoſe vnkinde Jewes) yéelde ſower grapes.
And what theſe ſower grapes are, the Prophet Eſay after moſt manifeſtly ſheweth vsus. Woe vntounto them (ſaith he) Verſ. 8.that ioyne houſe to houſe, and lay field to field, till there be no place, that you may be placed by your ſelues in the middeſt of the earth. Is not this the marke that incloſers doe aime at, to be placed alone by themſelues on the earth? But to ſuch ſtragling ſhéepe, from the holy fellowſhip of the Lords flocke, the Prophet here, cryeth woe. And are not theſe plainely the grapes that Incloſers doe yéelde, to ioyne field to field? and theſe, they account gainefull and pleaſant grapes. Oh men deſperately ſicke, whoſe mouthes are thus out of taſte; And doe they thinke that God will take theſe grapes at their hands?
What talke they of the goodneſſe of their land, that it is worth this, or that? let them praiſe God that they enioy it. If he had not hedged it about; not long ſince, the cruell Spaniard had deuoured vsus all. Oh, remembring this, let them offer ſwéete and moſt pleaſant grapes vntounto the Lord, that is, deale as mercifully with their poore Tenants as is poſſible. All the mercy which they can ſhew, is nothing to that merciemercy, which God hath ſhewed to them already; nay, to that he muſt ſhew to them hereafter, or elſe they ſhalbe damned. And let them take héede; for with what meaſure they Math. 7. 2.doe now meate, ſhall be meaſured to them againe: as it was done to that rich man, who, as he would not giuegive a crum Luk. 16. 21.or droppe here on earth, ſo he could not hauehave one crumme or droppe of comfort then graunted him in hell: though he could cry father Abraham neuer ſo loud, his vncharitable and vnmercifull faith could doe him no good; no more ſhall theirs profit them: Let all men marke this well; It is written for our learning. Rom. 11. 4.And let them marke well what meaſure of merciemercy they now giuegive; and let them be ſure, that they giuegive meaſure enough: for, without all doubt, at that day, they ſhall receiue the ſame againe. And I pronounce vntounto them, that, doe what they can, they ſhall ſtand neede of it all. Let them not flatter themſelues in doing ſome ſmall trifles, and in giuing the paring of their nailes, and thoſe things which they may well ſpare: for as Saint Peter tels vsus, at that day 1. Pet. 4. 18.the iuſt man ſhall ſcarcely be ſaued: and then what caſe ſhall vnmercifull men be in?