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A02456
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A learned sermon handling the question of ceremonies, controuerted in our church: by Roger Hacket Doctor in Diuinitie
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Hacket, Roger, 1559-1621.
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1605
(1605)
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STC 12588; ESTC S119068
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22,518
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70
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of God seeke yee the peace of Hierusalem doe not yee by your vnconsiderate zeale your vnholied hāds seeke to staye the tottering arke of Gods troubled Church lay to your hearts the death of Vzza Your good intents must haue warrant from the Lord goe vp to Hierusalem there cōsult with the mouth of the Lord for flesh and blood are ill aduisers in matters concerning God As the Lord spake to Israel so to you if so be you will preuaile with him heare O Ismael and hold thy peace rest content with his good pleasure and say with Samuel speake Lord thy seruant heareth And to you the Gouernours of the people which sit on the seates of iustice to judge for God in the cause of right the peace of Hierusalem must be the scope of your iudgements the forth and end of your desires Let the feare of the Lord bee alwaies with you and since you are the eies of the kingdome prouidently foresee the armes of authoritie powerfully procure the peace of Hierusalem it is not inough for you with the Priests to pray or people to desire but you must in the best of your indeauours seeke and seeking finde and finding worke forth the peace of the Church and kingdome which you gouerne for you execute not the iudgements of man but of the Lord. Therefore thus shall ye doe in the feare of the Lord faithfully and with a perfect heart In this manner Dauid aduiseth Priests People and Rulers to seeke the peace of Hierusalem Thus much for the exhortation now let vs speake of the reason why Priest People and Gouernours should seeke the peace of Hierusalem The reason is twofold which is gathered out of the words that followe They that loue her shall prosper First if they seeke her peace it will be an euident argument that they loue her Secondly they shall not leese the fruite of their labour God shall make them to prosper as if he would haue said seeke the peace of Hierusalem thereby shew forth your loue vnto her and cause the God of blessing for the peace you procure her to poure down his blessings vpon you and yours they that loue her shall prosper Otherwise knowe that as there were many in the daies of Dauid which for all their faire shewes as Chrysostome speaketh had euill will at Sion yea and that as Musculus obserueth who in hearts were ioyned with the professed enemies of Hierusalems peace and vnder hand fought to trouble and vnquiet her estate so certainely although for a while they were not seene nor discerned of men but were honoured of many as men of a deepe reach and politique carriage yet were they then despised of the Lord and in the appointed time God shall cause them to be taken in their owne wiles and will preserue his Hierusalem from harme This is that which Isaiah after prophecied of the Church Behold the enemie shall gather himselfe but without me saith the Lord whosoeuer shall gather himselfe in thee against thee shall fall Behold I haue created the smith that bloweth the coales in the fire and him that bringeth forth an instrument for his worke I haue created the destroyer to destroy but al the weapons that are made against thee shall not prosper and euery tongue that shall rise against thee in iudgement thou shalt condemne Pray for therefore and seeke the peace of Hierusalē in so doing you shall shewe that you doe loue her for this your loue in seeking her peace God shall make you prosper Thus much for the opening of this text now let vs seeke to fitte it to these times This Hierusalem is a figure of our Church this Dauid a figure of our king the placing of the arke on Moūt Sion which before wandred here and there through the tribes of Israel and had no setled and abiding place a figure of the Gospel of Christ Iesus which although it hath had long aboad in this land as the arke in Israel yet it seemed to many of vs to haue no sure ground of a continuall abode till the Lord God in loue to our nation and fauour to his Church setled as the arke on Mount Sion the imperiall diadem of this kingdome vpon the person of our renowmed Soueraigne and of his most royall and euer blessed issue The which as it hath of all sorts of people beene most gladly acknowledged so the better to remember vs of this and other our loyall duties let me speake vnto you as sometime did Dauid vnto his people O pray for the peace of our Hierusalem the Church of England let them prosper O Lord that loue her In which my discourse that I may the more distinctly proceede obserue with me first the cause of this my exhortation secondly the exhortation it selfe first to you my brethren of the ministrie as Dauid to the Priests secondly to you of the people as Dauid to the tribes of Israel thirdly to our Gouernours as Dauid to them that sate on the seates of iustice Thirdly the reason why all estates should receiue this exhortation because they that loue Hierusalem and seeke her peace they shall prosper Concerning the cause of this my speech since this Hierusalem resembleth the Church whereof we are mēbers which as Ierom speaketh is not fully builded but is daily a building wherein not dead but liuely stones are laid on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Iesus being the head corner stone And wheras during this our building many the aduersaries of Iudah and Beniamin of God and of his trueth haue come to our Zerubabell and cheife fathers and sayed vnto them we will build with you for we seeke the Lord your God as ye doe But purpose indeede to discourage the people and trouble this building Nay since we cannot say of our Church and builders as Dauid there of that Hierusalem that it is a citie which is builded at vnitie in it selfe but we may euery where heare men complaining of and taxing our many iarrings idle disagreements Let no man aske the reason why I take vnto me these words of exhortation O pray for the peace of Hierusalem let them prosper that loue her Whē many in our Church walke after the flesh not after the spirit seeking to serue their owne phansies and worldly respects and not the trueth of Christ Iesu in the singlenesse of their hearts When many as we may see stumble at strawes and leape ouer blockes straine at gnats and swallow camels tithe minte and commyn leaue the greater matters of the lawe neglected Nay when many in stead o◠a good zeale for Gods glorie and for his truth bring strange fire such which neuer burnt on Gods altar but was fetched from the fire of hell it selfe as though without it Gods truth could not stand nor we be known to be the seruants of God except we weare the cognizance of the deuill When the words and deeds
not prepare your hearts vnto the God of your fathers you will not take nor giue notice of them Wherefore as Christ to the angels of the seauen Churches so he speaketh vnto you I haue somewhat to say against you in that you foster the wicked in their sinnes nay in that ye make the sinnes of other your sinns and by your winking at and cloaking of them plucke the curses of God vpon your heads and vpon his Church for as Ieremie speaketh Cursed is he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently this is Gods worke and the cause of his Church you haue in hand shew your diligence in the search of sinnes that God may turne his curses from you and you may see Hierusalem liue in peace Neither let the offendour take to wrath that for his crying sinnes he is presented but rather let him humble his soule bewaile his faults and thanke God that this occasion is giuen him to amend Thus let them that present seeke the peace of Hierusaem by presenting the offendour and let the presented seeke the peace of Hierusalem by repenting their sinnes and let the god of peace be at peace with our Church because shee wincketh not at the faults of her children but reprooueth and punisheth them in them to the example of other and for the amendment of their wicked liues Thus much to you of the people the tribes of Israel pray and seeke for the peace of Hierusalem Nowe are we to speake vnto the gouernours of the people facti estis sedes domini iudicatis as Austin speaketh ye sittel on the seates of the all-iudging God and haue authority to command from the throne of Dauid the scepter of the king because they that iudge doe aske as Austin there noteth they that are iudged are asked Interrogate inquire after those things which make for the peace of Hierusalem For as Prosper after him writeth ad ipsas sedes propheticus sermo dirigitur vobis ait qui iudicaturi estis per quos fiet conscieÌ„tiarum interrogatio discernite à superbis humiles ab implacidis separate pacatos that is to the very seats of iniustice the propheticall speech is directed vnto you be saith which are to iudge by whome is to made the examination of consciences discerne ye the humble from the proud and put a difference between the troublesome and the quiet It is not enough for you with the priests to pray or people to desire but you must by diligent inquirie seeke and seeking finde and finding further the peace of our Hierusalem which is of God The vnquiet of our Church makes vs to pray and the people to desire that the God of peace would dispose your hearts to seeke for the things that make for our peace as Athanasius Non pugnamus Caesar sed rogamus O ye rulers we doe not fight the weapons of Christians are prayers and teares Yet as Abraham to God so I to the Gouernours of our Church Behold I haue beganne to speake vnto my Lords and yet am but dust ashes yet not with my words but with the words of Hierom Seeke after those things which make for the peace of this citie and followe it that by the loue of peace ye may attaine the fruit of euerlasting blisse Remember you must giue an account of your doings to the Lord. Wherefore let vs make bould to remember you of your duties and vpon what disturbers of our peace you are principally to looke First vpon the whole and halfe recusants and other fauourers of the Romish superstition which if they come are drawne to our Churches which backbite our persons depraue our preachings and speake in corners against the profession of the trueth let them not boast themselues of your fauours for of them many vnto this day haue showen that they seeke not the peace of this Church and kingdome in which they liue Secondly looke to the open and notorious offendours which are either publikely infamed or detected in your courts whose euil ensamples imbolden other to sinne and are an offence vnto the godly with whome they liue and a note of rebuke and shame vnto our church when they escape vnpunished for by their crying sinnes they disturbe the peace of our Hierusalem in prouoking the Lord to be angrie with this land Lastly looke to the proudly wilful forwardly disobedieÌ„t which speake euill of authoritie and contentiously broch and maintaine their follies contrarie to the wholsome lawes and orders of our Church these are seedes-men of Schisme fathers of coÌ„tention whose troublesome and euer varying humours cannot brooke the quiet of our Church Thus seeke yee the peace of our Hierusalem O ye our Gouernours and then doe yee which thus seeke the priests that pray the people that desire her peace hearken to the words that follow They shall prosper that loue her This is the soule and life of the exhortation and a forcible motiue to mooue all estates to seeke Hierusalems peace they shall prosper that loue her Heare ye my fellow brethren and yee the people of God the tribes of Israel and yee the fathers and Gouernours of our Church and looke into the bosome of your hearts if ye loue our Hierusalem which is our Church yee will seeke for her peace nay if ye loue her ye shal prosper and all things shall goe well with you but if yee doe not loue her nor yet in truth for all your faire shewes doe seeke for her peace you shall not prosper And if for a while God suffer you to flourish yet the sunne of your prosperitie shall soone set and all your glorie shall be as the flower in the field which is soone withered and gone Heare O ye sinners which with your crying sinnes trouble the peace of our Hierusalem and cause the Lord to be angrie with his people what the Lord spake to Achan by the mouth of Iâ—â—â—â—…h for whose sinne Israel turned his backe before his enemies when he willed the people to stone him and his euen to the death In as much as thou hast troubled Israel the Lord shall trouble thee his day They that loue not Hierusalem nor seeke her peace they shall not prosper Heare O ye Seminaries and Iesuites and you Romish fauourites which with your seditious practises and vnholy deuotions haue hindred the successe of the worde interrupted the peace of our Church and haue furthered if not fathered many the rents and diuisions that haue sprung vp amongst vs that they that hindred the building of the Temple in the daies of Zerubabel discouraged the people of Iudah and procured of the Kings Counsaile to worke the King to forbid the work heard after to their rebuke the decree of Darius that the Temple should bee builded and that whosoeuer should after seeke to alter this sentence the timber should bee pulled from off his house and should be set vp and he to be hanged thereon They that loue not Ierusalem