men which they could not otherwayes extort out of them and at the last some part of the goods that were confiscated might accrew to the Informer for their labour and for the hire of such information Thirdly they must be content with their wages such pay as was allowed unto them by the Emperor for their labor pains taken in war for the defence of the commonwealth or with such proportion of victualls as was appointed them for in times past souldiers had not their pay in mony but in victualls and with this Iohn teacheth them to be content and not to extort mens goods from them or to grate giftes out of them or to borrow any thing or buy it of them and pay them either slowly little or nought at all Thus the words are expounded by divers Authors of great learning and famous in the Church from all which we learne how innocent souldiers ought to be and to offend or wrong no man in body name or goods Not in body They must do violenâ—e to no man not in name They must not accuse any falsely nor in goods by force or fraud for injuries may be done either by open force or cunning subtility but they must be content with their wages That I may drive this nayle as Solomon cals the words of the wise to the head give me leave to beate it home with some reasons or Argument And first because I speak unto Christians this may be learned from Christ who commands us to be innocent or harmlesse as Doves This we are taught to be the foundation of our spirituall building up in a Christian practice and upright living by an Ancient Father thus speaking Whilst thou art building thy spirituall house let the foundation be first layd not upon light sand but upon the solid Rock upon which thou maiest more easely reare up the high top of Righteousnesse for he fulfilleth the greatest part of righteousnesse that hurts no body and he which shall lay the foundation of innocencie and proceed on the high topp of Righteousnesse howsoever he shall be tossed in tumultuous warres and troubles for a short while in this life yet shall hee be sure to find rest and peace at the last if not in his life yet at least in his death as we learne from Davids words Keep innocency and take heed unto the thing that is right for that shall bring a man peace at the last or as the other Translation reades it Marke the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace or as another readeâ— the last thing that shall be given to such a man is peace A second Argument to induce souldiers to innocencie shall be the same that Abigail used to restraine David from plundring and destroying Nabal as he had resolved in revenge of a discourtesie in Nabals refusing to send him some small provision which he requested of him in his great necessity My Lord said shee fighteth the Lords battels and evill hath not been found in thee all thy dayes it is thus read by a learned Translatour If my Lord fight the Lords battels and evil should not be sound in thee And another thus Seeing thou my Lord wagest the Lords warres therefore let not iniquity bee found in thee Teaching us that those that fight the Lords battels as all those doe who fight under a just Authority in a good and just cause should be carefull to be free from violence and iniquity It is a disgrace to an honest man to have wicked persons lodge in his house and to a School-master to have Rakehells under his tuition and to a Generall to harbour villains under his command but most of all it is a dishonour to the Majesty of the Lord of hosts that wickednesse and villany should march under his colours and take up quarters in his leaguers and garrisons A third reason may be collected also from other words of Abigail in the pursuit of her businesse unto David This shall be no griefe unto thee nor offence of heart to my Lord saith shee either that thou hast shed blood causelesse or that my Lord hath avenged himselfe if her former argument will not move her latter surely will prove effectuall though a man respect not the glory of God yet surely he will even of selfe-love have respect to his owne comfort and freedom from a tormenting conscience which by innocencie is conserved and know all men assuredly that those who now lay siege to Townes and Castles shall one day either in warre or peace in bed or battel be besieged with the memory of their sinnes and then This unto him shall be a Brazen Wall His Conscience to fear no sinn at all A strong Fort I say it shall be and impregnable to all the Hellish Furies to have a Conscience void of offence before God and man when innocent and causlesse blood plundered Goods and unjust Booty shall be unto the Actors thereof as the Elephants blood unto the Dragons that sucking the blood of the Elephants do kill them and they themselves being drunk therewith oppressed not able to digest it die also So those that by violence rapine and injustice have killed and undone others shall by such deeds be utterly and eternally undone themselves A fourth reason recalling souldiers from violence may be taken from the malignant effect or consequence hereof that it makes the expedition unsuccessefull and prepares discomsiture to the whole Army and that by these particulars First hereby the accesse of their prayers unto God his acceptance of them is hindered according to the menace of the Prophet Isaiah VVhen you spread out your hands I will hide mine eyes yea when you make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood The necessity of innocent hands to be presented to God in prayer those that had onely naturall Theologie well perceived and therefore the Persians arriving at Delphos with a Navy of a thousand Ships did present in Apolloes Temple rather religious then rapicious hands And for the practice and efficacy of prayers in Armies we have the examples of Jehoshaphat assaulted by the Moabites and Ammonites and of the Christian Emperours Constantine who appointed prayers unto his souldiers and taught them to ascribe the Victories unto God and to crave his blessing and assistance for the time to come and Theodosius who counted his prayers his best and accustomed Forces Besides our own Chronicles relate the effect of prayer in the Army of King William the Conquerour who the night and morning before the Battell with Harold did give themselves to acknowledge their sins prayer and communicating the Lords Body whilest Harold and his Forces spent the whole night in drinking singing and dancing 2. The conscience wherin remains the memory of former violence injustice makes men Cowards and afraid to grapple with death which they
souldiers may serve under a wicked King or Prince and yet may be free from sinne A just man if happily he serve under a King that is a sacrilegious man may rightly warre vnder his Command if instead of peace keeping the order of warre he be assured that the thing which is commanded him be not contrary to the commandement of God or bee vncertaine whether it be so or not and thus the unjust command may make the King an offendex but the order of serving may shew the souldier to be innocent Unto the question which is sometime made Seeing Princes do sometimes raise warres from bad Affections and for wicked ends and purposes how should the consciences of the Subjects be satified It is answered thus or to this purpose The Subjects either know the cause wherein the King commands their service to bee just or wicked or else they are ignorant or doubtfull whether it be so or not in case of sure knowledge there is no difficulty in answering but they ought to obey the cause being just and to refuse obedience the cause being apparantly unjust and any thing commanded repugnant to justice godlinesse and Religion and are rather to suffer his displeasure then fullfill his will contrary to a good conscience remembring God is to be obeyed before man but if they be doubtfull or ignorant then the Subject ought to be perswaded that the cause and intended ends of such warre are just and that it is not undertaken contary to the word of God and because subjects cannot alwayes understand the councels of their Princes here in the case of doubting the Rule must be followed hold that which is certaine and leave the vncertainty but the certaine is that Princes and Powers are to be obeyed which command nothing contrary to the word and in so doing as a Sanctuary or Refuge was appointed by the Lawe to him that killed his Neighbour not wilfully or of set purpose so the subjects are worthily excused whilest in a doubtfull cause they obey their Prince Thirdly this consolation and encouragement extends not only to Princes and souldiers prest and compelled to Armes by their Authority but even unto voluntiers such as upon the knowledge and perswasion of a just cause for love to uplhold the honour of God and the King his vicegerent and for the safety of their country Church Laws liberties and Religion or for the defence and vindication of their friends Allies and confederates do of their owne free will and meer motion betake themselves to Armes so as not being moved with mercenary ends respecting pay and hire which are the Attractives of mercenary souldiers A sort of men condemned not only of divine but even humane Authors As of the noble Pyrrâ—us it is said that he would not have Hucksters of warre That would sell their strength and kill for mony And a Poet Satyrically thus declames against them Faith and devotion are of one account To men that Campeâ— and mexcenary warre Frequent there's right where greatest pay doth mount For little hire they serve that 's all they care But not being drawne by this consideration of pay or intent together wealth by pillage and booty respecting neither the cause for which they fight nor person whether Turke Tyrant or Traytour under whom they serve which doth render the warre unlawfnll according to the saying of S. Austen to warre it is not a sin but to make warre or serve in warre for the prey or booty is a sin but those I say whose candid spirits are free from such sinister and base intendements their voluntary and valourous endeavours and adventuring their lives and what is precious unto them like those noble Voluntiers the governours of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people as their Act is worthy of unfading honor so may they receive infallible comfort and incouragement and know themselves as well as others Not to be murderers but ministers of the Law not Revengers of their owne priviate wrongs but defenders of the publike safety As t is noted that Iohn Baptist did account these souldiers in our Text I will stretch this line no further least I seem to flatter only I crave leave to adde this pithy exhortation which I have borrowed from an Author not unlearned and here inserted it being very profitable for all souldiers to observe Let the Christian souldier therefore be ever doing something let him be couragious faithfull laborious and obedient to his Commanders Let him not slip any occasion but be excercised in military discipline let him not be cowardly but valiant not cruell and bloudy but yet severe and withall gentle and courteous as times shall require Let him spoile nothing that he can preserve and before all things let him not neglect his dayly and constant prayers unto God as well in safety as in midst of danger let him begin all things with God and without God attempt nought at all if hee taste Adversity let him not cast downe his heart and if he enjoy prosperity let him not be proud but ever thankfull and alwayes use the victory with clemencie and mercy let him totally depend upon God and desire nothing more then the defence of the Common-wealth lawes Religion Justice and the innocent and thus fighting the good fight he shall at last obtaine the crowne of righteousnesse and if the Lord of hosts which is the Generall of all Armies and other Generalls but his Officers at his comming shall finde him thus doing he shall be no lesse happy then if he were found imployed in the workes of his ordinary vocation or at his prayers and exercise of his most pious and sacred devotions and upon his Monument may worthily be inscribed this Epitaph Valour was the Associate of his life and the Comerade of his death was glory Having seen the lawfulnesse of souldiery let us now come to see what is unlawfull in souldiers taught us by these words of John Baptist Do violence to no man neither accuse any salsely and be content with your wages wherein are observable these things First that they must hurt no mans person oppressing the poore which cannot defend themselves wounding their Bodies unduly affrighting them or other wayes injuring them under pretence of their office for it usually happens that those Armes which the Prince commands to be taken up for the defence of the publike orders and honesty are turned to the dammage and ruine of the inhabitants of city and country For oftentimes the souldiers do plunder and burne houses drive away the inhabitants ravish the women breake open the doores and commic such like outrages all which they think lawfull for them being souldiers Secondly they must not accuse any man falsly or lay some capitall crime to his charge as some did accusing the innocent and making information against them to the Generall or other chiefe Commanders that they might thereby lick money out of the rich
must encounter together with their enemies in the field and so afraid of their enemies as Deaths messengers The reward of an evill Conscience is to fear those unto whom a man might be a terrour and this makes them to be as swift as Harts in time of warre that are as stout as Lyons in time of peace whereas a candid and clear conscience that is not terrified with the memory of by-past sins makes them that expedite a good cause as bold as Lyons It was a noble saying of one Dercyllidas a Senatour of Lacedemonia hearing that Pyrrhus lead a great Army against them and threatned sore If he be a God that threatens us let us not fear for we do nothing amisse but if he be a man let him know that he threatens men This I say is the fruit of a guiltlesse conscience which may encourage the possessor to say of his enemies Kill me they may hurt me they cannot But the evill conscience fearing death not onely as the dissolution of Nature but as Gods Provost-Marshall to arrest him binde him hand and foot neck and heels and so cast him into utter darknesse and eternall torments no wonder it is if it beget a cowardize the heart of Souldiers and so they become either Runawayes from their Colours or in hot service to hang back which giveth advantage to the enemie discourageth their fellows disorders the Army and hazzards all Thirdly violence rapine and injustice in some Souldiers causeth God to withdraw himself from the whole Army and so for wicked and impious men the rest are destitute of the help of God and beaten of their enemies yea although they otherwise prosecute a good Cause as is apparent in the case of Achan whereunto I referr you and of the Jewes affairs in their warrs it is observed by Chrysostome that they were conquered not of the weaknesse of Body but of their wickednesse and further notes how the Midianites understanding that the Israelites could not be vanquished by the sword cunningly sought to bring them into sin by sending their daughters to commit whoredome with them and then after they fell into sin they became easie to be subdued of all and those whom Arms and Horses and Souldiers and so many enemies could not take the nature of sin betrayed them bound unto their enemies And not unlike to this observation of this Ancient Father is the observation and sad complaint of the impiety and wickednesse of some souldiers by a learned Author of latter times what fruit I pray you reap we from such seed we are conquered of the Turks we are a scorn to all Nations Kingdoms perish and are subdued to Mahometisme and wee are daily involved in inexplicable miseries Thus by violence rapine and other sinns in souldiers whilest their prayers are rejected their courage abated and Gods favour and help alienated are whole Armies routed and discomfited and thereby Kingdoms overthrown and ruinated A fourth reason and that a very forcible one to disswade souldiers and indeed all manner of men from violence rapine and injustice may be taken from the unfruitfulnesse of such Acts and consideration of what benefit is gotten by such deeds suppose a man could get into his hands all the wealth of the world and bring the Kingdoms under his dominion when he shall thinke to sing a Requiem to his soule and to take his ease having goods laid up for many years at last hee must heare or feele what is spoken to the Richman Thou fool this night shall they fetch away thy soule from thee then whose shall those things be that thou hast gotten Those Kingdoms which thou hast subdued those Lands and Houses which thou now possessest having expelled the old inhabitants those clothes and jewells wherewith thou now arrayest and adornest thy selfe whilest the ancient owners goe fortorne and distitute whose shall they be thine they shall not be for thy soule shall be fetched away from thee and for thy body naked camest thou out of thy mothers wombe and naked shalt thou returne thither All thy high Trophies and rich prizes and booties left behind thee â—nd thou if thy desires were as boundlesse as Alexanders of whom it was said that One world doth not the Pellaean youth suffice Yet Then with a Cophine thou must be content But if thy Ashes after thy death shall have the honour of a Statue or a rich Monument yet time will consume it or malice breake it downe As Scipio Africanus his Statue was broken downe and removed from the place where it was first set and the brazen urne wherein his ashes were put with an Epitaph inscribed of which these verses were a part Whom neither Europe could resist nor Afrique in times past See mens Affayres how him doth hold a little â—â—rn at last But might they so part with on even hands their acts of violence plundering and injustice happy were they but then comes their mischiefe that 〈◊〉 S. Austen sayth This is the unhappinesse of men that the thing for which they sin when they die they leave here behind them But their sinnes themselves they cary along with them and an heavy burthen will such a carriage be unto their soules Aâ—hans heape of stones which were cast upon him were heavier sure then the Babylonish garments and all the Gold and Silver that he had plundered at Hiericho But if those stones were poysed they would be found lighter by much then the guilt of those sinnes which by violence plundering rapine and other Acts of injustice men doe contract unto their soules â—o heavy is it as they are not able to beare it and yet so adhering that they were not able to shake it of Oh who is able to expresse with what unwillingnesse the soul at death doth undertake its necessitated departure being loath to leave the things that were precious to it and appear before God with a conscience blotted with innocent blood and other acts of cruelty and injustice which if it might it would now cast away with as much disdaine and anguish of spirit as Iudas did the thirty peeces of silver gotten for betraying Christ and through the terrour of an accusing conscience despairing cry out I have sinned in shedding the blood cheating extorting and plundering the goods and in slandering and defaming the credits and causes of just and innocent persons There is an excellent passage in S. Bernard which we will borrow being very profitable to the pursuance of this Argument When the soul with great feare and mighty griefes is separated from the body then do the Angels command arrest it and bring it before the Throne of the dreadfull Judge and then the silly soule remembring all the evil yea the worst deeds which day or night it wrought shal tremble crave sparing or as wee say cry quarter saying give me leave spaning if it be but for an hours space but then his sinnes as it were