from the people, as to make him, instead of their protector, their declared destroyer; and not only to make parties among the people contrary to his league and covenant, but to draw and divide the whole people into a party with perjuries.  The generality, notwithstanding, did own allegiance to the head of these incendiaries and malignants, yea, a Popish incendiary, because he wore a crown on his head; and did pay the cess imposed for the maintenance and encouragement of malignants; many did associate with them in expeditions of war, drawing up with them in their musters and rendezvouses, thereby countenancing a malignant cause, and listing themselves under a malignant—­yea, Popish banner; many subscribed and sware themselves contrary to the covenant by taking tests, oaths, and bonds, obliging them to surcease from covenanted duties, and to keep the peace and good behaviour with them, whom they were obliged by covenant to seek to bring to punishment; yea, some, and not a few, were inveigled in the snare of the oath of delation, to delate the persecuted people of God to their courts, and thereby made them (instead of discovering malignants according to the covenant,) to discover their brethren to malignants.  And very many, almost the universality of the land, were involved in the snare of the oath of abjuration, renouncing the principle of declaring war against a malignant King, and of asserting the lawfulness of bringing his murthering accomplices and incendiaries to condign punishment; but, on the other hand, some of the suffering party did sometimes exceed the bounds of moderation in this matter, in usurping the sword without God’s call, without respect to the rule, and against the scope of their own declarations, to take vengeance on them at their own hand; yea, even to that degree, of taking the lives of some of them in an extravagant manner;[27] for which, they were sadly rebuked of God, an occasion was given and taken to reproach and blaspheme the way of God upon that account.  But to descend to our own time, we have it to bewail, that whatever alteration there is in the face of affairs since the yoke of tyranny was taken off our neck, yet there is no alteration in this matter to the better, but rather to the worse; malignants are so far from being brought to condign punishment, that they are the whole administrators of the affairs of the kingdom; whence it is come to pass, that the supreme judicatories which should take trial of such and bring them to punishment, and to whom they should be delated, are wholly, or mostly composed of such; yea, none may now be reputed malignant unless he be disaffected to the civil government; so that malignancy is not now disaffection to the cause and work of God, but disaffection to the present establishment, and so far are they that are truly disaffected to Christ and his interest this day advanced and strengthened in their designs, that they have (so far as in them lies) put a final stop to all further progress in