Henry Scudder (d. 1659) was an English clergyman of presbyterian leanings, and the author of an influential devotional work, The Christian's Daily Walke in Holy Securitie and Peace. A prominent parliamentarian during the English Civil War, Scudder participated in the Westminster Parliament which undertook a restructuring of the Church of England during the Commonwealth. The present work is a sermon preached before the House of Commons during the Long Parliament. Here Scudder radically reworks Biblical typology, calling the parliamentarians the “repairers of our breaches” and calling on them to be “Mosesses and Phineasses to our Israel.” The pluralizing of prophetic activity, reflective of an emergent democratic sensibility, was echoed by others (such as William Greenhill in The Axe at the Root in 1643). Works by clergy such as Scudder are illustrative of the theological, non-secular character of much of the political radicalism in England during the period. References: ESTC R209986; Wing S2139; Thomason, E.18[20].

Small Quarto, [12], 35 pages, [1]. In Good condition. Disbound pamphlet, with residual thread along spine edge. Pages show several 17th-century ink marks to imprimatur and title pages (including hand-drawn manicule), a small puncture to final leaf (impacting one word, and slight age-toning overall. Signatures are loose, but attached and all present. RW Consignment. Shelved case 7