Gods Saints and servants may well be called violent and cruell and that in three respects first in respect of their affection secondly in respect of their words thirdly in respect of their actions First I say in respect of their affection for the hatred they beare to the Saints of God as it is unjust in respect of the ground of it and deadly in respect of the project so it is irreconciliable in respect of the continuance of it First I say it is unjust in respect of the ground of it for they hate the Saints of God for the excellent graces which they see in them * 1 Ioh. 3.12 Cain slew his brother Abell because his own works were evil and his brothers good and therfore one said well (i) Si non esset claritudo sanctorum non surgeret invidia impiorum Lyra. cap. 4. Epist 1 Ioan. If the brightnesse of the Saints did not shine the invie of the wicked should not arise against them Next it is deadly in respect of the project of it for wicked men desire the utter ruine of the Saints of God and that not of a certaine number but of all the godly without exception for as the cruell Emperour Caligula wished that all the Romans had but one head that he might strik it aff at one blow So the desire of the wicked is that the Saints of God might perish from the earth The confederate Nations * Psal 83.4 will have Israel to be rooted out of memorie that they be not a nation Haman wil have all the Iews to perish in one day Dioclesian and Iulian the apostate had a purpose to roote out the name of Christians from under heaven Lastly their hatred is irreconciliable in respect of continuance Cain will not be reconciled to his brother albeit the Lord offer himselfe to take up the matter * Gen. 4.6 Esau layeth up in his heart the hatred of his brother untill the death of his father For this * Gen. 27.4 cause they are called not only enemies but likwise foes * Psal 27.2 because their enimitie is altogether implacable and their seed like that of Amalecke is irreconciliable Secondly They are violent and cruel in respect of their words whereby sometimes they expresse how they despise and contemne the Saints of God as Nabal spake of David Sometimes they threaten to execute the extremity of their rage and furie as did Senacherib against Ezohia and some-times they burden the Saints of God with calumnies and reproaches as Shimei railed against David In all which respects they are said * Psal 27.12 To speake cruelly and their words are compared * Psal 120.3 to a great scourge * Psal 58.3 and to sharpe arrowes to burning coales and to the venome of Aspes for as any of these things can griveously hurt mans body so the cruel words of violent men do greatly grieve and afflict the hearts of the Saints of God Thirdly They are called cruell and violent in respect of action and so their cruelty is best seen by some and felt by others for when they are permitted by the Lord to afflict his Saints they expresse all manner of cruelty that can be devised or executed without regard of sex or age or quality of persons Therefore it is that in holy Scripture they are called * 2 Thessa 1.6 Troublers Oppressors * Psal 10.18 Persecutors * Ioh. 15.20 Troublers because they suffer not the Saints of God to live in peace and quietnesse but frequently give them occasion of griefe and sorrow under the sense whereof they are forced to complaine to God They are called Oppressors by reason of the manifold injuries which they doe to the Saints of God without any cause or occasion they do to others what they would not be content should be done to themselves And they are called Persecutors partly because though they finde not opportunity at the first to execute their malice yet they diligently seek occasion and wait till they finde it and partly because they invade the Saints of God as savage beasts doe set upon their prey to which they are compared by the Prophet David in the 22. Psalme The Turks History telleth us that Bajacet the fourth king of the Turkes by his countrey-men was called Gilderin which signifieth lightning because in a great battell which his father Amorath fought against the Christians he brake in with a part of the Army so fiercely and terribly as if it had beene thunder and lightning But there is a word in the Text which is not to be lightly overpassed seeing it includeth more than at first it would seeme to doe For when the enemies of David are said To seeke afttr his soule there are two things included First When the enemies of David seeke after his soule there are two things included That the harme which Davids enemies would doe to him is not a light but a grievous hurt Secondly That they wish not only the death of Davids body but likewise the destruction of his soule First I say that the hurt and skaith which they wished him is not a light harme which easily may be comported with soon repared but a great and grievous hurt which can neither be indured nor repared This is not like other kindes of hurt that sometimes by men is done to men King * 1 Sam. 11.7 Saul threatneth that the oxen of the Hebrews shall be cut in pieces which follow him not to war against the Ammonits cruel * 1 Sam. 11.2 Nahash will put out the right eyes of the Citizens of Iabesh * Luke 23.16 Pontius Pilate will scourge Iesus and let him goe But the enemies of David seeke after his soule they wil not only spoil him of his wealth and honour but likewise of his life they are set against him as the Pharisees were set against Christ * Luke 23.21 That will have him put to death And as the Iewes were against Paul when they said * Acts 22.22 It is not fit that he should live And as History telleth That Charles Duke of Anjew was so cruelly set against Conradine king of Cicily that the proverbe vvent through the world Vita Caroli mors Conradini The life of Charles was the death of Conradine he should not live except he died And so the Scripture telleth us That the life of David was fought by his enemies both by secret plots open violence which not only maketh him to say * Psal 56.1 That his enemies would swallow him up but likewise he compareth them to savage beasts which when they set upon a man doe not simply byte him untill he bleed neither take they away one of his members but they leave him not untill he be dead and have eaten their pleasure of his carcase wherefore he saith * Psal 27.2 That his enemies come upon him to eat up his flesh Secondly It importeth that the enemies
of David not only desired the death of his body but likewise they wished that his soule might perish forever the like example of matchlesse cruelty we shall hardly finde in prophane History for some-times we read of men that hath wished the death of their enemies and yet afterwards hath lamented their death As it is said of Alexander the great that weeped over the dead body of Darius king of Persia Some-times though they lament not their death yet they will cause them to be buried as * 2 Kings 9.34 Iehu would have done to Iezabel And as it is said that Hannibal the famous Carthaginian Captaine caused the Romane Consuls to be honourably buried whom he had valiantly vanquished some-times they will not suffer them to be buried which was the despite that Caesar used against the Armie of Pompei who was vanquished in the fields of Pharsaly Albeit as one said well (k) Ignobilia sunt odia qua ultra mortem procedunt Barclaus lib. 4 argendis That is base hatred that goeth beyond death The Scripture telleth us of the base and barbarous despite of the Caldeans that did open the graves of the Iewes and scattered their bones upon the earth The writters of the Indian Histories relate that many of these nations have a custome to eat their enemies which they take in the warre and to make musicall instruments of their bones One example we read amongst the Pagans who in his booke that he writeth against his enemie whom he dar not name he not only wisheth many bodily miseries to befall him but likewise (l) In loca ab elisiis di versa fugabere campis quasque tenent sedes noxia turba coles Et ibid nec mortis paenas mors altera finiet huius horaque erit tantis ultima nulla malis Ovid. in thin That his soule may be tormented in hell with endlesse paine We read in the Gospel that the Iewes thinke not enough that Christ should die unlesse he be crucified because so they thought his soule should perish by dieing a cursed death But if it be asked how may it be known that this was the dispight of Davids enemies against him I answere briefly in this plaine comparison if one man shall desire another to goe from one place to another in a way that he knoweth to be ful of robbers and savage beasts out of all question he desireth him to die So the enemies of David did not only banish him from the house of God where he was most desirous to dwell but likewise they bid him goe and serve the gods of the Gentils the 26. Chapter of the first of Samuel that by cōmitting idolatry he might perish eternally and therfore * Psal 86.13 he magnifieth the mercy of God who in this respect delivered his soule from the lowest hell A two-fold use may be made of this point First The consideration of the cruelty of Davids enemies teacheth us a two fold use Christians should have a singular care not only to look to their words and wayes that they show no signes of crueltie but likewise that the spirit of crueltie be not harbured in their hearts but rather that they may studie to meeknesse and the exercise of mercie and that for foure reasons First because so we are taught by the word of God We should avoid crueltie and studie to mercy for four reasons Secondly because crueltie maketh men like Sathan Thirdly in respect of our union with God Fourtly In respect of divine vengeance which is the reward of crueltie First I say because Christians are taught by the word of God to flee crueltie and follow mercie and that by no lesse example then God their Creator and Christ their Redimer * Luke 6.36 Be mercifull as your heavenly Father is mercifull * Matth. 11 2◠And learn of me that I am meek and lowly in heart We justly thinke that both the Religion of Papists and the Religion of the Machometans cannot be a good religion seeing their religion teacheth them the practice of crueltie and to force people with fire and sword to imbrace it whom they cannot perswade by their arguments even as Ambrose speaketh of the carriage of the Arrians in his time towards the Orthodox Christians (m) Quos non possunt sermonibus decipere gladio clamant feriendos cruentas leges ore dictant manu scribunt putant quod lex fidem hominibus imperare possit Ambros lib. 5 epist 32 Whom they cannot deceive by word they cry that they are to be killed by the sword they indite cruell and bloudy lawes with their mouth they write with their hand and thinke that their lawes can command Faith unto men But the Christian and true Religion which is grounded in the word of God in this is known to be a good Religion because it injoyneth the hatred of crueltie and love of mercy and will have none to be forced by violent compulsion but rather perswaded by powerfull preaching and evident arguments from divine truth that men may acknowledge and imbrace the truth according to the worthie saying of Tertulian (n) Religionis non est cogere religionem quae sponte suscipi debet non vi cum hostiae ab animo libentiexpostulentur Tertu lib. ad Scapulam It is not the part of Religion to constraine Religion which men should willingly receive and not by force seeing the sacrifices of the Lord are required of a willing minde howbeit it cannot be denied but although the Lord only can perswade the heart yet when the professors of the truth have to doe with Heriticks and Schismaticks and prophane persons that live amongst them but walk not with them in the unitie of faith and in the way of godlines refusing to be informed and hating to be reformed such may be constrained by humane Lawes to use the meanes of the true Religion that either their soules may be saved or their impictie may be restrained that it prove not scandalous to the people of God and so the Scripture telleth us that when Iosias in the Reformation of the people of the Iewes renewed the Covenant betwixt God and his people * 2 Chro. 34.32 He caused all Iudah and Benjamine to stand to it albeit we have reason to thinke that many of them were affected to idolatrie in their hearts But Papists and all other enemies of the Truth who thinke rather by rigorous persecution than by right imformation to bring people to their erroneous profession thereby they declare to the world the cruelty and falshood of their Religion And therefore whosoever is delighted with the exercise of cruelty and is averse from the works of mercie what ever profession he make of the true Religion he hath not found the converting power of the Gospel of Christ seeing though * Gen. 27.22 he hath the voice of Iacob yet he hath the hands of Esau together with the cruell heart of Esau Secondly
Because meek and merciful men are most like God who glorieth in his mercy so fierce and cruel men are most like Satan who delights in cruelty to whom is given the name of a destroyer in the 20. of the Revelation because he taketh pleasure to destroy the creatures of God so that when he cannot extend his malice to men he is content to exercise his cruelty on beasts as the Gospel telleth us of the legion of devils that drowned the Swine Thirdly Because our happinesse standeth in an union with God and the neernes of our accesse to God augmenteth our blessednesse according to the saying of the Psalmist * Psal 65.4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and whom thou causeth to come to thee Cruell men can have no society nor fellowship with God * Psal 5.6 Who abhorreth the bloud-thirstie for amongst all things that can be presented to the minde or senses of man there is not any two things so contrary to another as the mercifull Creator and cruell creature 4. Because albeit cruel and malicious men for a time may get liberty to exercise their fury yet in end they shal not escape the vengeance of God which is the just reward of their cruelty Amongst the Pagans Hercules and Theseus were famous that subdued and punished cruell men by whom many had beene injured and oppressed And shall it not much more concerne the glory of Gods power justice to render to cruel men the reward of their cruelty It was observed by Plato the Philosopher (o) Nullus tam severe inimicum saum ulcisci potest quam deus solet miserorum oppressores Plato in Timaeo That there is no man upon earth so sevirly can take vengeance on his enemie as the Lord God useth to take vengeance on such as oppresse poore men This vengeance the Lord some time executeth by the hand of man which did make * Iudges 1.7 Adonibezek to acknowledge the justice of God albeit it often falleth out that men whom God useth as instruments of his justice looke not to the glory of God but to sacisfie their owne vindictive humour * Isai 33.1 Woe to thee that oppresseth for when thou shalt cease another shall oppresse thee The Meeds and the Persians were no lesse cruell to the Caldeans nor they had been to the people of God but more frequently the Lord plagueth cruell men by his own immediate hand with visible judgements in the sight of the world to the glory of the power justice of God We read in the history of the Macabees that the bowels of the cruel Antiochus were tormented who had caused the bowels of others to be tormented and in the Iewish history we read of the punishment of cruel Herod the great for his crueltie as well against his owne Children as against the Nobles and people of the Iews The Scripture likewise telleth us of the condigne punishment of the wicked * 2 Chro 21.8 Iehoram king of Iudah And in the sea of histories it is related of the cruel and bloudy Attila king of the Huns who was never moved with tears of any to shew mercy or pitie but as he delighted in the sheding of humane bloud while he lived he was overtaken by the vengeance of divine justice in his greatest triumph in his mariage day for he was chocked with his own bloud which did flow abundantly from divers parts of his body untill his wretched life was finished There are infinite examples both in Ecclesiastick historie in the book of the Martyrs of the just punishment wherewith the cruell persecutors of the Saintes of God in all ages have beene plagued therefore it was worthily observed by Cyprian (p) Certi sumuset fidenres quod inultum non remanet quod perpetimur quantoque mator fuerit persecutionis iniuriatanto et iustior pro persecutione viudicta Cypreanus tract coutra Demetrium We are sure confident that what we suffer shall not be unrevenged and the greater the wrong of the persecution be somuch the more just and grievous shall be the revenge which God shall take of the persecutors The Second use which here is to be observed whensoever we heare of the cruelty of wicked men against the Saints of God in any place of the world and when we our selves are threatned with their cruel hostility then we should put up our humble prayer to the Lord our God We should pray to God to be delivered from cruell enemies for two reasons that if he will chastise us for our sins and offences he would doe it with his own hand and not give us * up to the will of our enemies For David wisely choosed * to fall into the hand of God rather than into the hand of men Thus we should pray for two reasons First because no favour towards the Saints can be expected at the hands of their persecutors Secondly because God to whom the Saints pray is both willing to heare and able to helpe First I say because no favour but extreme cruelty to the people of God may be expected at the hands of the cruell enemies of God and his people as Ieremie speaketh of the king of Babylon * which did show no mercy to the people of the Iews The Scripture compareth persecution to a floud of water for as a floud of water is not like an ordinary river which runneth along in its owne channell but altogether overfloweth banke and brae and violently carieth away whatsoever it overtaketh So persecution is not like an ordinary war betwixt two Nations that can give take reasonable quarters as occasion is offered but persecution passeth the bounds of Humanity and breaketh the bonds of Nature and committeth outragious crueltie that Humane sense abhorreth the committing whereof maketh the eares to tingle the flesh to quake and the heart to tremble (q) Quamquam animits meminisse horret luctuque refugit Virg. lib. 2. Aentid So that the minde of man will abhorre the remembrance thereof with greife and sorrow We need not to call to minde the antient examples of cruelty that are registrate in Ecclesiastick history seeing of later times we heard of the Spanish inquisition and that which hath beene used in the prison houses and pillories of England while as the tyranny of the Prelates advanced to that hight that it could not stand and that these yeares by-past hath beene more than barbarously practiced by the Irish Rebels against the Saints and servants of God All this should make us draw near to God by humble prayer that we be not exposed to the cruelty of our enemies especially seeing as Solomon saith * The very mercies of the wicked are cruell For whatsoever favour cruell persecutors offer to the people of God is alwayes upon conditions that are worse than death For as Wizards and Witches when they cure mens bodies of diseases bring greater hurt to their soules by the use of unlawfull meanes whereby they draw guilt