promises was lifted vp with pride and presumption For hauing no lawfull cause either Ecclesiasticall to leuie a subsidie for the maintenance of Gods religion as Moses prescribeth in the 30. of Exodus or else ciuill as was oftentimes lawfully practised in time of warre he alledgeth only his vaine curiositie that he might know the number of them thus did Sathan beginne to plant the roote of pride and insolencie in the hart of Dauid which as it is a vice in al men most odious so to be in a Prince is most daungerous and that for many causes All which Sathan did well foresee when he maketh his assault vnto Dauid with the sinne of presumption first of all for that of all othervices Princes are most easily drawne to pride and insolencie both bicause the nature of all men is most prone and apt to fall into pride in prosperitie and for that Princes and high estates being aduaunced to such greatnesse aboue all other men haue so many occasions to be pfst vp with presumption if they be not mightily and maruelously defended by the singular grace of God So that a Prince that is humble and lowly in heart is one of the greatest miracles of the world and in deede so great a wonder that it can not be brought to passe but by him which onely worketh great maruelles Thus Sathan beeing most malicious and moste subtill in his malice to bring his purpose to effect more speedily vseth such a meane by whiche hee may worke most easily Neyther hath hee regarde onely to the easinesse of his enterprise but that the same also is most apt to ouerthrowe the Churche and people of GOD. for by pride and insolencie most of all other vices a Prince is made vnapt to exercise his office and duetie The office of a King standeth in two pointes The first is in maintenance of true religion the second is prouision for the common wealth and publique peace of his subiectes but neither of these can he exercise to the glorie of God benefite of men if his heart be ouercome with presumption for touching the first if pride possesse the heart of a King he will either neglect religion altogether or else thinke that he may doe and decree in religion what he list If he neglect the cause of religion he will haue no regard to set out Gods glorie he passeth not whether y e worde of God be preached or not preached whether the sacramentes be ministred or not ministred discipline exercised or not or whether all thinges be well done or yll done finally he careth not whether religion goeth backward or forward But if he will intermeddle with religion with a presumptuous insolent minde he wil imagine that all things in religion are subiect to his wil and pleasure Vzzia otherwise not the worst Prince was so lifted vp with pride that he vsurped the Priestes office and would needes offer incense but he was plagued for his presumption and stricken of the Lorde with a leprosie Achas commaunded Vrias the high Priest to remoue the altar of the Lord out of his place and to set vp an other altar of an other fashion according to the patterne which he sent him from Damasco Ieroboam thinketh it lawfull for him to chaunge the decree of GOD concerning worshipping at Hierusalem and setteth vp an newe forme of worshippe in Dan and Bethel Saul thinketh long to tarie for Samuel and offereth sacrifice without him These examples and many other doe shewe how dangerous to the state of religion is the sinne of pride and presumption in the heart of a Prince No maruell therefore if Sathan which maliceth most the good proceedings in religion that he might vndermine the tower of the church to the vtter ouerthrow of y e same prepareth his way by puffing vp y e Kings heart with pride insolencie knowing that he which is proude and insolent towards men can not be humble obedient vnto God The second part of the office of a king is to prouide for the common wealth the peace and prosperitie of his subiectes which can not be without great trauell and labour of minde and body But if the Prince be ouercome with pride he will neuer abase him selfe to take such great paines as he ought to doe for the benefite of other men in so difficult dangerous a matter Therefore Moses in the 17. of Deuteronom where he describeth what manner a King is to be chosen by the Israelites and what is the office of a King when he is elected ioyneth both these partes together and for the performance of the later especially admonisheth them to beware of presumption when the King saith he shal sit vpon the throne of his kingdome he shal write out by a copie receiued of the Priestes a booke of the law of the Lord and that shal be with him to read therin al the dayes of his life y t he may prosper and learne to feare the Lord his God to keepe al y e words of y e lawe to do thē thus hauing prescribed the booke of y e lawe to be y e directiō of his gouernmēt as wel in religiō as in affaires of y e cōmoon welth to which burdē y t the king might submit his shoulders and not thinke scorne to beare it he addeth īmediatly y t his hart be not lift vp aboue his brethren what meaneth Moses by this y t a king should not shew him selfe to be a king When by Gods ordinance he is aduaunced lifted vp aboue all other men no verily he meaneth not so but that the king is lifted vp aboue his brethren to be a father vnto them and to haue a fatherly care which hee can not haue if his heart be lifted vp aboue them to contemne them whereas he ought not only to reteine his loue to them which he had before he was a king as vnto his brethrē but also to put on a greater affection of loue when he is a king as of a father towards his children Wherfore the meaning of Moses is that the Kings heart should not be lifted vp aboue his brethren to cōtemne them to tread them vnder feete to exercise tyrannie ouer them but to be humble and lowly minded of loue willingly chearfully to take such trauels and to ouercome such difficulties as is necessarie for all them which shall gouerne well and to the profite of others We see that naturall parentes which haue the greatest authority ouer their children of whom they are to be honoured notwithstanding their dignitie doe willingly and gladly indure any trauell which they thinke may be profitable and beneficiall to their children euen so ought the parents of the countrie whose honour obedience is confirmed vnto them by none other but euen by the same commandement not disdaine any labour trauell or industrie which is necessarie to be imployed for the wealth and preseruation of their subiects But such Princes as haue not learned out
A GODLY and learned Sermon preached before an honourable auditorie the 26 day of Februarie 1580. ¶ Imprinted by Henrie Middleton for Thomas Man A GODLY AND learned Sermon Preached in Lent last 1580. THE place of scripture moste honourable and welbeloued in our Sauiour Christ which I haue chosen to entreate of is written in the 24. Chapter of the second booke of Samuel in these words Vers`l ' And the wrath of the Lorde was yet more kindled against Israel and he moued Dauid against them in that he saide goe number Israel and Iuda c. The whole Scripture of God as the holy Apostle S. Iames teacheth is cōpared to a glasse wherein al estats and degrees may see what to imbrace and what to eschew and it is cōmonly said of al histories that they are y e looking glasses of mans life Therefore this text beeing both a story and parcel of holy Scripture must needes be a most cleare glasse in which are represented vnto vs diuers things worthie to bee seene looked vpon Among which I haue thought good to shew vnto you three especiall and most notable images The first is the iustice and righteousnes of God the second is the malice of Sathan the thirde is the frailtie of man not meaning to describe them all at large which would require much longer time then is graūted to this exercise but onely to shewe euerie one of them so farre foorth as it is set forth with in y e compasse of this text which I haue read vnto you Concerning the firste therefore which is the iustice of God it is described in these wordes And the wrath of the Lord was yet more kindled against Israel c. By the wrath of the Lorde is here ment the iustice of God prouoked to punish sinnes as in an hūdreth places of scripture besides By the wrath of the Lorde therefore wee must not vnderstand any passion or disordered affection such as is the wrath of man of which the Apostle saith that it worketh not y e righteousnes of God but is often prouoked with small causes or with no worthie causes at all and yet boileth immoderately in the hart of man whereby he is vnmeasurablie desirous of reuengement but the iustice of God which is figuratiuely called his wrath is neuer stirred vp to reuengement but vppon great and waightie causes neither rageth with blinde furie but keepeth a most perfect moderation in all things And there are two reasons which may be yeelded of this figuratiue speache wherefore Gods righteousnes is called his wrath the first is to strike through our heartes with terrour of his iustice for the name of wrath is more terrible then the name of iustice and our nature is more familierly acquainted with the one thē with the other y e wrath of a mā if he be of power to hurt is greatly feared The wrath of a Prince saith Salomon in the 16. chapter of the prouerbs is the messenger of death howe much more y e wrath of y e Lord of hosts in cōparison of whose power glorie al earthly princes are but dust ashes The second reasō why y e iustice of god is called the wrath of God is that we may learne and vnderstand that as the wrath of mā wherwith we are acquainted is not pacified but by two meanes either by reconciliatiō or reuengemēt so it is with the iustice of God Therefore when soeuer wee haue prouoked y e wrath of God against vs by our sins and wickednes which we doe daily and hourely we must either seeke to be recōciled to him by true repentāce or else looke for sharpe punishment we must either humbly submit our selues acknowledge our offences hūbly desire pardon or els we must assure our selues y t the wrath of the Lord being once kindled against vs there is no way to escape vengeance We see now wherefore the iustice of God is called the wrath of God Now must we looke for what cause the wrath of God was kindled against Israel how the Israelites had prouoked the iustice of god to punish them The cause in deede is not set downe in expresse wordes but it is easie to gather by the effect for it is manifest y t when the iustice of God is kindled against Israel it is for none other cause but for their sinnes it is needles to inquire what particuler sins were the cause for it was not one or two but all kind of sinnes especially their vnthankefulnes for the Lord had giuen them Dauid a most excellent gouernour who both had established the puritie sinceritie of Gods true religion and also had kept them in peace trāquillity for many yeres together But as it vsually cōmeth to passe through the corrupt nature of man which is made insolēt with prosperitie y e people not considering those gret benefits of God were not onely vnthankful to him for so happy a gouernmēt but fol lowed euery one the lustes of his owne hart not fearing to trāsgresse y e cōmandements of the Lord but yet retaining an outward forme of Godlines by external exercise of religion the vertue power whereof they denied in life cōuersation and so prouoked y e wrath of the Lord of hoastes to be kindled against thē but we must consider wherfore y e scripture saith The wrath of the lord proceded or was yet more kindled you must vnderstād as we read in y e 21. cha of this booke y t the wrath of the Lorde was kindled before this time against y e people so y t he plagued thē with three yeares famin for the crueltie that Saul to gratifie them committed gainst the Gibeonites whō he had slain sought to root our cōtrarie to a couenant whiche their auncetors had made confirmed with a solemne oath in y c days of Iosua These three yeeres of hunger were now past this was the fourth yeere in which God after he had auenged the bloud of the Gibeonites vpon the posterite of Saul had restored plētie and aboundance of al things for the maintenance of mans life with externall peace prosperitie for which benefits blessings of God bestowed vpō thē they were boūd to haue serued God in holines and righteousnes before him all y e dayes of their life like as by the former plague they were admonished to forsake their sinnes which were the cause thereof and truly to turne to him But they cleane cōtrariwise abusing his mercy tooke occasion to prouoke his iustice euen as the froward nature of man is so long as they are plagued and the hande of the Lord is heauie on them they humble them selues before him or at least pretend so to doe but when the plague is seaced and they find them selues relieued they returne againe to their former wickednesse So was it with the Israelites they had bene punished with famine but they were not thereby reformed and therefore the wrath of the Lord is still kindled
for the continuall mightie assistaunce of his holy spirite y t seeing our weaknes is so great we may alwayes finde his grace whose power is made perfect in infirmitie to bee sufficient for vs so that although of frailtie wee fall often yet by grace wee may alwayes rise againe so that wee neuer fall away Finally we haue need I say in respect of our infirmitie to pray for strength earnestly of God for if Dauid being a man after Gods owne heart did but trip surely we are readie to fall downe right yet we see y t Dauid did not only slide out of the way of humane slipprinesse but also did fall into some great and notorious offences Dauid therefore was a Saint but he was no Angell it is an Angellike perfection to doe the wil of God in al things The Saintes vpon earth must pray for the same and contend to come as neare it as they can and by their imperfection be instructed to humilitie vntill by the grace of God in Iesus Christ they be brought into the same estate of perfection with the Angels In the person of Ioab we haue to consider two thinges first the aduice which he giueth and secondly his execution of the Kinges commaundement Ioab was a man as his storie declareth indued with great courage and diuers other good qualities yet not simply to be commended for there were great faults in him He was a man in whō vertues vices were almost equal such a one as Alcibiades is discribed of y e Greciās Marius of the Romanes But his chiefest vertue was valiancie courage yet in his example he is noted by the holy ghost in giuing counsel to Dauid to be faint harted cowardlik For first y e holy ghost testifieth y t he vtterly misliked this interprise of Dauid and as a man wel acquainted with the affaires of y e realme and knowing there was not iust cause why the people should be mustred he did easily coniecture y t the kings commaundement proceaded of vaine prid and presumption therefore hee had no good will to execute it In so much that it is shewed in the booke of Chronicles that he did performe the Kings precept negligently for he not onely omitted to number the tribe of Leui for which he might haue some excuse because they were addicted to the seruice of religion but also he left out the tribe of Beniamin The reasō is alledged because the kinges cōmandement seemed abhominable vnto him and as he did abhorre and detest the kings commandement so he shewed diuerse reasōs of his misliking for after protestation of his goodwil desire of y e kings honour in y t he wished the Lord might increase the people an hundreth times as many as there were y t the king might not suspect him as one that refused to take paines in his seruice first he sheweth that there was no sufficient cause of this muster when hee saith wherefore doth my lord the king desire this thing And againe hee saith are not they all the seruauntes of my Lord the king For one cause of numbring the people was vsed euen of heathen princes that the sublectes thereby should professe their obedience but at this time there was neither suspition of war abrode nor rebellion at home Moreouer he did also insinuate that the kings transgression would be y e cause of Gods punishment to fall vppon the people where he saith and why shoulde this be an offence or guiltines vnto Israel by vsing these reasons to diswade the king from his euill purpose hee mght seeme to some men to haue discharged the dutie of a trustie and faithfull counsellour But the holy Ghoste noteth him of great frailtie and fainte hartednes when he saith neuertheles the kinges commaundement preuailed with Ioab and with the capitaines of the hoste The rest seeing the kings humour held their peace said nothing onely Ioab vseth some speach to alter the kinges minde but perceiuing with what affection the king was carried he thought it was not best for him in policie to set himselfe altogether against the kinges affection though hee bare the kinge good will and wished to haue him remoued from that vnprofitable attempt yet hee durst not aduenture to incurre the kings displeasure by doing his duetie throughly and discouering y e hidden wound which he thought was to sore to abide any sharp medicine for in such a case as this hee thoght it was not best to be to earnest vehement a persuader so followed Machiauils philosophie 2000. yeres and more before Machiauil was borne His cowardnes in this case is rather to be noted for that at other times he had shewed great courage and valiantnes and giuen such faithful aduise counsell that his example is worthie to bee followed of all good counsellours For in the I9 Chap. of this booke we read that when Dauid after the slaughter of Absalom yeelded so much to the naturall affection of a father in lamenting for the death of his vnnatural son that he forgot the duetie of a king whiche was to encourage and rewarde his good subiectes for their seruice in somuch that when y e people heard what lamentation hee made for Absalom they were clean discouraged and came by stealth into the Citie more like to men that had fled from the feelde thē such as had obtained so notable a victorie against the kings enimies Assone as Ioab heard thereof hee came boldly into the kings presence and with great courage he did the duetie of a faithfull counsellour for he tolde the Kinge of his fault plainely and shewed him the daunger throughly you haue discouraged saith he the hearts made ashamed the faces of all your faithfull seruauntes which haue deliuered your life and the liues of your wiues and of your sonnes and daughters and haue established the kingdome this daye in your hand you loue thē that hate you hate thē that loue you For you haue shewed this day that you make no accompte neither of your princes nor of your people For I perceiue if Absalom had liued and all wee had beene slaine this day you woulde haue beene well pleased with it But nowe I aduise you leaue your mourning and goeforth speake comfortably vnto the people or else I sweare vnto you by the Lord you will vtterly alienate the minds of your subiectes from you So that you shal not haue one man tarrie with you this night And this affliction shall bee greater then all the troubles and daungers you haue susteined euen frō your youth Wherevpon Dauid arose and went encouraged his souldiers so y e kingdom was established in his hands you se how roughly effectually Ioab dealt with the king in that case But at this time he is noted to haue dealt faint lie and timerously For although hee apposed some reason against the kings vnlawfull desire yet hee did it with a weake arme and so of frailtie fayled of his duetie Concerning the execution of the kinges commaundemente there is some controuersie Whether Ioab shoulde haue obeyed the kinges precept when he knewe it proceeded frō an euill affection The time will not serue me to discusse the reasōs on both the sides therfore I will speake of the case briefly and generally If the prince commaund any thing to be done whiche of it selfe is vnlawefull and against the commandement of God that commandement of any subiecte is not to be excuted for we are so boūd to obey earthly princes that we disobey not the God of heauen earth therfore Ioab shold haue suffered death rather then to haue obeyed Dauids cōmaundement in betraying murdering of Vrias with y e sword of y e Amonites which was a faithfull subiect a valiant captaine I say he should haue suffered death rather then to haue executed such a commandement because y e fact was altogether vngodly vnlawfull of his owne nature But in this case where the fact of his owne nature was indifferent and lawfull of it selfe as to number the people in some cases is not onely lawfull but also necessarie If Ioab had done his duetie throughly in admonishing the king of his corrupte affection and of the vengeance of GOD like to ensue if hee proceeded therein and that when hee had done all that he could ought to haue done to disswade him his aduice woulde take no place but the kinge would stil vrge his commandement enforce Ioabs obediēce I see no cause but y t he might haue executed y e kings cōmandemēt the conclusiō of y e whole matter because I see y e time is past I would be looth to abuse your honorable patience too long in few wordes is this The iustice of God is set foorth to this ende that wee might bee affraide by sinne to prouoke his wrath the malice of Sathan is described that we might be carefull to beware of it and by faith to withstande it the frailtie of man is shewed that seeing our weakenesse wee might bee humbled thereby and taught to seeke for strength only at the hands of GOD whose grace through our Lorde Iesus Christ shall bee sufficient for vs To whome with the holy Ghost one eternall and euerlasting God bee all honour and glory wolde without end Amen