Swearing and Lying. OR AN ANSWER TO THE SWEARING PAMPHLET.
THat you do fear an Oath I dare not swear,
Especially, if it the cause advance,
And yet I dare swear that one Oath you fear,
And that the Oath is of Allegiance.
To God yet you will swear, and to your King,
Provided that the Oath be mystical:
You promise, and you must performe the thing,
Though with the
Forty, 'tis to kill Saint
Paul.
You are, you say, no
Quaker to protest
Against all Swearing; that indeed I grant:
But if with
Rome, you swore not East and West,
How a pox gulpt ye down that
Covenant ?
But what an alteration here is made ?
What subjects on a sudden ye commence ?
Maintain the Crown, and yet the Church invade;
Come ye'l yield all things, but Obedience.
But if that great King
Conscience sayes not nay,
You to the Kings Commands will freely yield:
But is not this that Conscience Sir I pray,
That has our Land with Blood and Rapine fill'd ?
What splay-mouth'd wish is this ? let all agree
When you the Concord crumble into parts:
But
Knaves of
Clubs maugre your Villany,
His Majesty shall still be King of
Hearts.
You swear forfooth you will the Crown defend,
And all the dignity of the Royal Oak:
But here the thief usurps the name of Friend,
The
Kirk the lvie is of which you spoke.
With the
Apochrypha you cannot bear,
And your Devotion stumbles at this logg:
And what's the reason ? 'tis because ye are
Like
Tobit blind, and madder then his
Dog.
But we are got to my Lord Bishop now,
Whose Government you dare not say is right Sir:
But shall I tell ye why your teeth ye show,
Jack has a peack at
Aaron for his Myter.
I'le swear and venture all that I am worth,
That Bishops last as long as King and Queen.
You have already as the Act holds forth,
Like baffled
Henderson your Doomsday seen
That
Peter was a Prelate I'le maintain,
But that he preacht so ost I doubt it greatly.
But by your leave, what
Peters do you mean;
Peters that preacht at
Charing-Cross so lately ?
Peter a Fisher was, and so are they,
Would you be caught you might Salvation get:
Their Sacred Nets they cast out day by day,
But it seems all's not Fish that comes to th' Net.
As for the Court, that
Court Ecclesziastick
As it is just, it merciful appears;
To wave all others, let me instance
Bastwick
Whose Head being forfeit could compound for's
Ears.
Archdeacons, Deans and Chapters, are the Men
Have honour, and your envy would implead it:
Turn over therefore, pray, your book agen,
'Tis a hard
Chapter, and you cannot read it.
Spirit'al Madam ? pray what Madam's that ?
Heraulds would swear you here false Doctrine teach.
You refuse Bishopricks ? away, ye prate;
But Foxes scorn the Grapes they cannot reach.
For holy Vestments Holland's sit, and Lawn,
But as for naisty
Scotch Cloath we'l have none;
And if the Kirkists wo'nt to this be drawn
Then give 'em Hemp as long as 'twill hang on.
That
Paul because here's mention of a Cloak,
A
Presbyterian was I cannot swear;
But this upon my Oath may well be spoke,
All he converted were by
Common Prayer.
You owe Allegiance to the King,
God save him,
(But on condition Bishops may go down)
But if he will not do as you would have him,
You neither value Myter, nor yet Crown.
And yet you seem to like of Myter'd men;
O Conscience see what Interest can do !
For if instead of one we should have ten,
'Tis ten to one, but one might fall to you.
In fine you must not sever Church and State;
If you not both obey, you both provoke:
But if you will not ? Porter ope the Gate,
And farewel
Presbyter, farewel
long Cloak.
LONDON, Printed in the Year 1666.