THE PURITAN ARMY TAKES UP ARMS
AGAINST THE KING IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.
This image is from
the video "Cromwell".
It reveals America forming within the womb of
England 130 years before the actual birth of the nation in 1776.
Here the Puritan Army goes to the Battle of Naseby singing hymns.
John Bunyan, writer of Pilgrim's Progress, was with the Puritans
in this decisive battle against the king.
Note the the cavalry officers in the Puritan
Army wearing
yellow ribbons and yellow sashes
and the banner
'In God We Trust'.
Is this heraldry of the Puritans still with us today?
The bitter feud between
King Charles 1 and the
Puritan leaders in Parliament got progressively worse.
Finally it erupted into
the awful English Civil War.
See the video below.
The player below contains a short 8 minute video for broadband users.
May it serve as a trailer for the movie
"Cromwell" .
This excellent film is available at Vision Video.
The war went on for some years
eventually ending in the defeat of the royalists at the
Battle of Marston Moor
in 1644 and then at the Battle of Naseby in 1645. Parliament having
defeated King Charles on the field of battle then tried to
make a deal with
him over issues of sovereignty.
All their efforts of persuasion were to no avail. The king would merely
look at the Puritan leaders in Parliament and calmly ask,
"By what authority do you bring me here?"
Finally matters came to a head. During the war King Charles had sought
to enlist help from foreign nations abroad. Seizing on this infraction,
Parliament, under Oliver Cromwell, finally had the king arrested.
He was confined at St James' Palace for the duration of his trial which took place in 1649.
The charge was nothing less than high treason against
the English people. Condemned by Parliament as a traitor King Charles
was taken to the Banqueting House on Whitehall for his execution.
He walked from a window onto a specially constructed Scaffold to face the axeman
Upon his execution the crowd uttered a cry of mixed exultation and deep groaning.
The Puritans had triumphed in the political arena. Oliver
Cromwell, became a virtual Puritan dictator over England. He ruled as
'Lord Protector' until his death in 1658. England prospered greatly
during those years.
So as we can see, the Puritans back then meant business!
They were totally and absolutely committed to establishing a
Christian nation with a representative government elected by and
subject to a Christian people.
And so they remain today.
In the years
following the English Civil War the Puritans were somewhat subdued
in their political activity. England reverted back to the monarchy
again after Cromwell's death. Many Puritans in fact had given up
on seeing their dreams fulfilled in England.
Many were now on their way to America
hoping to see their dreams fulfilled there.
Meanwhile, the evangelical zeal
among the separatists in England was just as strong as ever.
After the English Civil War the Non-Conformist John Bunyan even went out
preaching openly in the streets.
He preached the Gospel without proper ordination and
authority from the Church of England.
This was something that was highly improper. It just wasn't done.
But John Bunyan with the fire of the Gospel in his heart did it anyway.
He paid the price for this by being imprisoned
for many years at Bedford Gaol. During his imprisonments
John Bunyan wrote that classic piece of literature,
'Pilgrim's Progress'.
In the 1600’s Non-Conformist churches, such as
those of the Congregational, Baptist, and Brethren Church traditions, were
changing the spiritual climate of England. The seeds of
the Great Awakening were sown during that time and England and America
both saw a series of revivals. This would really pick up steam
during the following century, the 1700's, which saw
preaching of John Wesley and George Whitefield.
This image is from
the video "Cromwell".
It reveals America forming within the womb of
England 130 years before the actual birth of the nation in 1776.
Here the Puritan Army goes to the Battle of Naseby singing hymns.
John Bunyan, writer of Pilgrim's Progress, was with the Puritans
in this decisive battle against the king.
Note the the cavalry officers in the Puritan
Army wearing
yellow ribbons and yellow sashes
and the banner
'In God We Trust'.
Is this heraldry of the Puritans still with us today?
