Eikon Basilike Part 22

Keep you to true Principles of Piety, vertue, and honour, You shall never want a Kingdom.

A princ.i.p.al Point of Your honour will consist in Your referring all respect, love, and protection to Your Mother, My Wife; who hath many waies deserved well of Me, and chiefly in this, That having been a means to bless me with so many hopeful Children; (all which, with their Mother, _I_ recommend to Your love and care) Shee hath been content with incomparable magnanimity and patience to suffer both for, and with Me, and You.

My Prayer to G.o.d almightie is, (whatever becomes of me, who am _I_ thank G.o.d, wrapt up and fortified in my own innocency, and his Grace) that he would be pleased to make You an Anchor, or Harbour rather, to these tossed and weather-beaten Kingdoms; a Repairer by Your wisdom, justice, piety, and valour, of what the folly and wickednesse of some men have so far ruined, as to leave nothing intire in Church or State, to the Crown, the n.o.bility, the Clergie, or the Commons, either as to Laws, Liberties, Estates, Order, Honour, Conscience or lives.

When they have destroyed me, (for I know not how far G.o.d may permit the malice and crueltie of my Enemies to proceed, and such apprehensions some mens words and actions have already given me) as _I_ doubt not but my bloud will cry aloud for vengeance to Heaven: so I beseech G.o.d not to pour out his wrath upon the generality of the people, who have either deserted me, or engaged against me, through the artifice and hypocrisie of their Leaders, whose inward horrour will be their first Tormentor, nor will they escape exemplary judgements.

For those that loved me, I pray G.o.d, they may have no miss of me, when I am gone; so much I wish and hope, that all good Subjects may be satisfied with the blessings of your presence and vertues.

For those that repent of any defects in their duty toward me, as I freely forgive them in the word of a Christian KING, so I beleeve you will find them truly Zealous, to repay with interest that loyalty and love to you, which was due to me.

In summe, what good I intended, do you perform, when G.o.d shall give you power; much good I have offered, more I purposed to Church and State, if times had been capable of it.

The deception will soon vanish, and the Vizards will fall off apace; This mask of Religion on the face of Rebellion (for so it now plainly appears, since my Restraint and cruell usage, that they fought not for me, as was pretended) wil not long serve to hide some mens deformities.

Happy times I hope, attend you, wherein your Subjects [by their miseries] will have learned, That Religion to their G.o.d, and Loyalty to their King, cannot be parted without both their sin and their infelicity. I pray G.o.d bless you and establish your Kingdoms in righteousness, your Soul in true Religion, and your honour in the love of G.o.d and your people.

And if G.o.d will have disloyalty perfected by my destruction; let my Memory ever, with my Name, live in you; as of your Father, that loves you, and once a KING of three flourishing Kingdoms; whom G.o.d thought fit to honour, not only with the Scepter and Government of them, but also with the suffering many indignities and an untimely death for them; while I studied to preserve the Rights of the Church, the Power of the Laws, the Honour of my Crown, the Priviledge of Parliaments, the Liberties of my People, and my own Conscience, which, I thank G.o.d, is dearer to me then a thousand Kingdoms.

I know G.o.d can, I hope he yet will restore me to my Rights. I cannot despair either of his mercy, or of my peoples love and pitie.

At worst, I trust I shall but go before you to a better Kingdom, which G.o.d hath prepared for me, and me for it, through my Saviour Jesus Christ, to whose mercies I commend You and all mine.

Farewell, till we meet, if not on Earth, yet in Heaven.

28. _Meditations upon Death, after the Votes of Non-Addresses, and His_ Majesties _closer Imprisonment in_ Carisbrook-Castle.

As I have leisure enough, so I have cause more then enough, to meditate upon, and prepare for My Death: for I know, there are but, few steps between the Prisons and Graves of Princes.

It is G.o.ds indulgence which gives me the s.p.a.ce, but Mans cruelty that gives Me the sad occasions for these thoughts.

For, besides the common burthen of mortalitie, which lies upon Me, as a Man; I now bear the heavy load of other mens ambitions, fears, jealousies, and cruel pa.s.sions, whose envie or enmity against Me, makes their own lives seem deadly to them, while I enjoy any part of Mine.

I thank G.o.d, My prosperitie made Me not wholly a stranger to the contemplations of mortalitie.

Those are never unseasonable, since this is alwaies uncertain: Death being an eclipse, which oft happeneth as well in cleer as cloudy dayes.

But My now long and sharp adversity hath so reconciled in Me those natural Antipathies between Life and Death, which are in all men, that I thank G.o.d, the common terrors of it are dispelled; and the special horrour of it, as to My particular, much allayed: for although My Death at present may justly be represented to Me with all those terrible aggravations, which the policy of cruel and implacable enemies can put upon it (affaires being drawn to the very dregs of malice) yet I bless G.o.d, I can look upon all those stings, as unpoysonous, though sharp; since My Redeemer hath either pulled them out, or given Me the Antidote of his Death against them, which as to the immaturity, injustice, shame, scorn, and cruelty of it, exceeded what ever I can fear.

Indeed, I never did find so much, the life of Religion, the feast of a good Conscience, and the brazen wall of a judicious integrity and constancy, as since I came to these closer conflicts with the thoughts of Death.

I am not so old, as to be wearie of life; nor (I hope) so bad, as to be either afraid to die, or ashamed to live: true, I am so afflicted, as might make Me sometime even desire to die, if I did not consider, That it is the greatest glory of a Christians life to _die daily_, in conquering by a lively faith, and patient hopes of a better life, those partiall and quotidian deaths, which kill us (as it were) by piece-meales, and make us overlive our own fates: while we are deprived of health, honour, liberty, power, credit, safety, or estate; and those other comforts of dearest relations, which are as the life of our lives.

Though, as a KING, I think My self to live in nothing temporall so much, as in the love and good-will of my People; for which, as I have suffered many deaths, so I hope I am not in that point as yet wholly dead: notwithstanding; My Enemies have used all the poyson of falsity and violence of hostility to destroy, first the love and Loyalty, which is in my Subjects; and then all that content of life in me, which from these I chiefly enjoyed.

Indeed, they have left me but little of life, and only the husk and sh.e.l.l (as it were) which their further malice and cruelty can take from me; having bereaved me of all those worldly comforts, for which life it self seems desirable to men.

But, O my Soul! think not that life too long, or tedious, wherein G.o.d gives thee any opportunities, if not to do, yet to suffer with such Christian patience and magnanimity, in a good Cause, as are the greatest honour of our lives, and the best improvement of our deaths.

_I_ know that in point of true Christian valor, it argues pusillanimity to desire to dye out of weariness of life, and a want of that heroick greatness of Spirit which becoms a Christian in the patient and generous sustaining those afflictions, which as shadows necessarily attend us, while we are in this body: and which are lessned or enlarged as the Sun of our prosperity moves higher, or lower: whose totall absence is best recompensed with the Dew of Heaven.

The a.s.saults of affliction may be terrible, like _Sampsons_ Lyon, but they yeild much sweetness to those that dare to encounter and overcome them; who know how to overlive the witherings of their Gourds without discontent or peevishness, while they may yet converse with G.o.d.

That _I_ must die as a man, is certain; that _I_ may die a King, by the hands of my own Subjects, a violent, sodain, barbarous death; in the strength of my years, in the midst of my Kingdoms; my Friends and loving Subjects being helpless Spectators; my Enemies insolent Revilers and Triumphers over me, living, dying, and dead, is so probable in humane reason, that G.o.d hath taught me not to hope otherwise as to mans crueltie; however, I despair not of G.o.ds infinite mercy.

I know my life is the Object of the devils & wicked mens malice, but yet under G.o.ds sole custodie and disposal: whom I do not think to flatter for longer life by seeming prepared to die; but I humbly desire to depend upon him, and to submit to his will both in life and death, in what order soever he is pleased to lay them out to me. I confess it is not easie for me to contend with those many horrours of Death, wherewith G.o.d suffers me to be tempted; which are equally horrid, either in the suddennesse of a barbarous a.s.sasination or in those greater formalities, whereby my Enemies [being more solemnly cruel] will, it may be, seek to adde [as those did who Crucified Christ] the mockery of Justice, to the cruelty of malice: That I may be destroyed, as with greater pomp and artifice, so with less pity, will be but a necessary policie to make my Death appear as an Act of Justice, done by subjects upon their Soveraign, who know that no Law of G.o.d or Man invests them with any power of Judicature without me, much lesse against me: and who, being sworn, and bound by all that is sacred before G.o.d and man, to endeavour my preservation, must pretend Justice to cover their perjury.

It is, indeed, a sad fate for any man to have his Enemies to be Accusers, Parties, and Judges; but most desperate, when this is acted by the insolence of Subjects against their Soveraign; wherein those, who have had the cheifest hand, and are most guilty of contriving the publick Troubles, must by shedding my bloud, seem to wash their own hands of that innocent bloud whereof they are now most evidently guilty before G.o.d and Man; and I beleeve in their own Consciences too, while they carried on unreasonable Demands, First by Tumults, after by Armies. Nothing makes mean spirits more cowardly-cruel in managing their usurped power against their lawful Superiours then this, the _guilt of their unjust Usurpation_: notwithstanding those specious & popular pretentions of Justice against Delinquents applied only to disguise at first the monstrousnesse of their designs, who despaired, indeed, of possessing the power and profits of the Vineyard, till the heir whose right it is, be cast out and slain.

With them My greatest fault must be, that I would not either destroy My Self with the Church and State by My word, or not suffer them to do it un-resisted by the Sword; whose covetous ambition no Concessions of Mine could ever yet either satisfie, or abate.

Nor is it likely they will ever think, that Kingdom of brambles which some men seek to erect (at once weak, sharp, and fruitlesse, either to G.o.d or man) is like to thrive till watered with the Royal bloud of those, whose right the Kingdom is.

Well, G.o.ds will be done, I doubt not but my Innocencie will finde him both my Protector and my Advocate, who is my only Judg; whom I own as King of Kings, not onely for the eminency of his Power and Majestie above them; but also for that singular care and protection which he hath over them; who knows them to be exposed to as many dangers (being the greatest patrons of Law, Justice, Order, and Religion on earth) as there be either Men or Devils, which love confusion.

Nor will he suffer those men long to prosper in their _Babel_, who build it with the bones, and cement it with the bloud of their Kings.

I am confident they will find Avengers of my death among themselves: the injuries I have sustained from them shall be first punished by them, who agreed in nothing so much as in opposing me.

Their impatience to bear the loud cry of my bloud, shall make them think no way better to expiate it, then by shedding theirs, who with them most thirsted after mine.

The sad confusions following my destruction, are already presaged and confirmed to me by those I have lived to see since my troubles; in which G.o.d alone (who only could) hath many ways pleaded my cause; not suffering them to go unpunished, whose confederacy in sin was their only security; who have cause to fear that G.o.d will both further divide and by mutuall vengeance, afterward destroy them.

My greatest conquest of death is from the power and love of Christ, who hath swallow'd up death in the Victory of his Resurection, and the Glory of his Ascention.

My next comfort is, that he gives me not only the honour to imitate his example in suffering for righteousness sake (though obscur'd by the foulest charges of Tyranny and Injustice,) but also, that charity, which is the n.o.blest revenge upon, and victory over my Destroyers: By which, I thank G.o.d, I can both forgive them and pray for them, that G.o.d would not impute my blood to them, further then to convince them, what need they have of Christs bloud to wash their souls from the guilt of shedding mine.

At present, the will of mine Enemies seems to be their only rule, their power the measure, and their Successe the Exactor, of what they please to call Justice, while they flatter themselves with the fancy of their own safety by my danger, and the security of their lives designs by My Death: forgetting, That as the greatest temptations to sin are wrapped up in seeming prosperities, so the severest vengeances of G.o.d are then most accomplished, when men are suffered to compleat their wicked purposes.

I bless G.o.d, I Pray not so much, that this bitter Cup of violent Death may pa.s.s from Me, as that of his wrath may pa.s.s from al those, whose hands by deserting Me, are sprinkled, or by Acting and Consenting to My Death are embrued with My Bloud.

The will of G.o.d hath confined, and concluded Mine; I shall have the pleasure of Dying, without any pleasure of desired vengeance.

This I think becomes a Christian toward his Enemies, and a King toward His Subjects.

They cannot deprive Me of more then I am content to lose, when G.o.d sees fit by their hands to take it from Me; whose mercy I beleive, will more then infinitely recompence what ever by mans injustice, he is pleased to deprive Me of.

The glory attending My Death, will far surpa.s.s all I could enjoy, or conceive in life.

I shall not want the heavy and envyed Crowns of this world, when My G.o.d hath mercifully Crowned and Consummated his graces with Glory, and exchanged the shadows of My earthly Kingdoms among men, for the substance of that Heavenlie Kingdom with himself.