wonderfull to see what false colours and feighned causes by slanderous lyes made upon their Prince and the Counsellours rebells will devise to cloake their rebellion withall which is the worst and most damnable of all false witnesse-bearing that may be possible The tenth Commandement For what should I speake of coveting or desiring other mens wives houses lands goods and servants in rebells who by their wills would leave unto no man any thing of his owne Thus you see that good lawes are by rebells violated and broken and that all sinnes possible to bee committed against God or man be contained in rebellion which sinnes if a man list to name by the accustomed names of the seven capitall or deadly sinnes as Pride Envie Wrath Covetousnesse Sloath Gluttonie and Lechery he shall finde them all in rebellion and amongst rebells For first as ambition and desire to bee aloft which is the propertie of pride stirreth up many mens mindes to rebellion it commeth of a Luciferian pride and presumption that a few rebellious subjects should set themselves up against the Majestie of their Prince against the wise-dome of Counsellours against the power and force of all Nobilitie and the faithfull subjects and people of the whole Realme As for envie wrath murther and desire of blood and covetousnesse of other mens goods lands and livings they are the inseparable accidents of all rebells and peculiar properties that doe usually stirre up wicked men unto rebellion Now such as by riotousnesse gluttonie drunkenesse excesse of apparell and unthriftie games have wasted their owne goods unthriftily the same are most apt unto and most desirous of rebellion whereby they trust to come by other mens goods unlawfully and violently And where other gluttons and drunkards take too much of such meates and drinkes as are served to tables rebels wast and consume in short space all corne in barnes fields and else where whole garners whole store-houses whole cellers devoure whole flockes of sheepe whole droves of Oxen and Kine And as rebells that are married leaving their owne wives at home doe most ungraciously so much more doe unmarried men worse then any stallions or horses being now by rebellion set at libertie from correction of lawes which bridled them before abuse by force other mens wives and daughters and ravish virgins and maydens most shamefully abominably and damnably Thus all sinnes by all names that sinnes may be named and by all meanes that sinnes may be committed and wrought doe all wholy upon heapes follow rebellion 2 King 14. and are to be found altogether amongst rebels Now whereas pestilence famine and war are by holy Scriptures declared to be the greatest worldly plagues and miseries that likely can be it is evident that all the miseries that all these plagues have in them doe wholly altogether follow rebellion wherein as all their miseries be so is there much more mischiefe than in them all For it is knowne that in the resorting of great companies of men together which in rebellion happeneth both upon the part of true subjects and of the Rebels by their close lying together and corruption of the ayre and place where they doe lye with ordure and much filth in the hot weather and by unwholesome lodging and lying often upon the ground especially in cold weather in Winter by their unwholesome diet and feeding at all times and often by famine and lack of meate and drinke in due time and againe by taking too much at other times It is well knowne I say that as well plagues and pestilences as all other kinds of sicknesses and maladies by these meanes grow up and spring amongst men whereby moe men are consumed at length then are by dint of sword suddenly slaine in the field So that not onely pestilences but also all other sicknesses diseases and maladies doe follow rebellion which are much more horrible then plagues pestilences and diseases sent directly from God as hereafter shall appeare more plainely And as for hunger and famine they are the peculiar companions of rebellion for while Rebels doe in a short time spoyle and consume all corne and necessary provision which men with their labours had gotten and appointed upon for their finding the whole yeare after and also doe let all other men husbandmen and others from their husbandry and other necessary works whereby provision should bee made for times to come who seeth not that extreame famine and hunger must needs shortly ensue 1 King 24. and follow rebellion Now whereas the wise King and godly Prophet David judged warre to bee worse then either famine or pestilence for that these two are often suffered by God for mans amendment and bee not sinnes of themselves but warres have alwayes the sinnes and mischeifes of men upon the one side or other joyned with them and therefore is warre the greatest of all worldly mischeifes but of all warres civill warre is the worst and farre more abominable yet is rebellion then any civill warre being unworthy the name of any warre so farre it exceedeth all warres in all naughtinesse in all mischeife and in all abomination Math. 32. And therefore our Saviour CHRIST denounceth desolation and destruction to that Realme that by sedition and rebellion is divided in it selfe Now as I have shewed before that pestilence and famine so is it yet more evident that all the calamities miseries and mischiefes of warre bee more grievous and doe more follow rebellion than any other warre as being farre worse than all other warres For not onely those ordinary and usuall mischeifes and miseries of other warres doe follow rebellion as corne and other things necessary to mans use to bee spoyled Houses Villages Townes Cities to bee taken sacked burned and destroyed not onely many very wealthy men but whole Countries to bee impoverished and utterly beggered many thousands of men to bee slaine and murthered women and maids to bee violated and deslowred which things when they are done by forraigne enemies wee doe much mourne as wee have great cause yet are all these miseries without any wickednesse wrought by any of our owne Countrey-men But when these mischiefes are wrought in rebellion by them that should bee friends by Countrey-men by Kinsmen by those that should defend their Countrey and Countrey-men from such miseries the misery is nothing so great as is the mischiefe and wickednesse when the subjects unnaturally doe rebell against their Prince whose honour and life they should defend though it were with the losse of their owne lives Countrey-men to disturbe the publique peace and quietnesse of their Countrey for defence of whose quietnesse they should spend their lives the brother to seeke and often to worke the death of his brother the sonne of the father the father to seeke or procure the death of his sonne being at mans age and by their faults to disinherit their innocent children and kinsmen their heires for ever for whom they might purchase livings and lands as naturall Parents
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Established by PARLIAMENT against Disobedience and wilfull Rebellion Published by G. I. for satisfaction to his Parishioners of WATTON in the County of Hartford Printed for William Sheares at the signe of the Bible in Coven Garden 1642. TO His loving Neighbours of WATTON in the County of Hartford Brethren BE loved in the bloud of JESUS for preaching obedience to God and the King I am and have beene more then a mouth a prisoner and cannot get my liberty unlesse I would promise to forbeare preaching to you as I have done and yet I have promised to preach nothing to you but what I shall prove plainely from the word of God the doctrine of the Church of England the oath of Supremacy the oath of Allegiance and our late Protestation all which I have published for your satisfaction If you will read those oaths and these Sermons in my absence you shall find that I have dealt faithfully with you and am ready to seale my doctrine with my dearest bloud if God shall call so great a sinner to so great an honour Neither Living nor Liberty nor Life is precious to mee when I should sacrifice them all to the glory of my great good God the service of my gracious Soveraigne and the discharge of a good conscience towards my selfe and you I told you before how sensible I was of danger for this my fidelity but for Zions sake I could not I cannot hold my peace God will imprison mee to Hell if I imprison his truths Feare God Honour the King is both Law and Gospell and my prayer is that you all may live and dye good Christians and good Subjects and as the Church prayed for Saint Peter in prison so doe you for your affectionate Pastour in prison for his God his King his Conscience regulated by the word of God the Doctrine of the Church of ENGLAND and his Oaths G. I. Decemb. 3. 1642. A SERMON against Disobedience and wilfull Rebellion The first SERMON AS GOD the Creatour and Lord of all things appointed his Angels and Heavenly Creatures in all obedience to serve and honour his Majesty so was it his will that man his chiefe creature upon the earth should live under the obedience of his Creatour and Lord. And for that cause God assoone as hee had created man give unto him a certaine Precept and Law which hee being yet in the state of innocency and remaining in Paradise should observe as a pledge and token of his due and bounden obedlence which denunciation of death if hee did transgresse and breake the said Law and Commandement And as God would have man to be his obedient subject so did hee make all earthly creatures subject unto man who kept their due obedience unto man so long as man remained in his obedience unto God in which obedience if man had continued still there had beene no poverty no diseases no sicknesse no death nor other miseries where with mankind is now infinitely and most miserably afflicted and oppressed so here appeareth the originall Kingdome of God over Angels and Man and universally over all things and of Man over earthly Creatures which God had made subject unto him and withall all the felicity and blessed estate which Angels Man and Creatures had remained in had they continued in due obedience unto God their King For as long as in this first Kingdome the Subjects continued in due obedience to God their King so long did God embrace all his Subjects with his love favour and grace which to enjoy is perfect felicity whereby it is evident that obedience is the principall vertue of all vertues and indeed the very Root of all vertues and the cause of all felicity But as all felicity and blessednesse should have continued with the continuance of obedience so with the breach of obedience and breaking in of rebellion all vices and miseries did withall breake in and over-whelme the World The first Authour of which rebellion the Roote of all vices and Mother of all mischeifes was Lucifer First Gods most excellent creature and most bounden subject who by rebelling against the Majesty of God of the Brightest and most glorious Angell is become the blackest and most foule fiend and Devill and from the height of Heaven is fallen into the pit and bottome of Hell Here you may see the first authour and founder of rebellion and the reward thereof Here you may see the grand Captaine and Father of rebels who perswading the following of his rebellion against God their Creatour Lord unto our first Parents Adam and Eve brought them in high displeasure with God wrought their exile and banishment out of Paradise a place of all pleasure and goodnesse into this wretched earth and vale of misery procured unto them sorrowes of minds mischeifes sicknes diseases death of their bodies and which is farre more horrible then all worldly and bodily mischiefes hee had wrought thereby their eternall and everlasting death and damnation had not God by the obedience of his Sonne IESUS CHRIST repaired that which man by disobedience and rebellion had destroyed and so of his mercy had pardoned and forgiven him of which all and singular the premises the Holy Scriptures doe beare record in sundry places Thus doe you see that neither Heaven nor Paradise could suffer any rebellion in them neither bee places for any Rebels to remaine in Thus became rebellion as you see both the first and the greatest and the very roote of all other sinnes and the first and principall cause both of all worldly and bodily miseries sorrowes diseases sicknesses and deaths And which is infinitely worse then all these as is said the very cause of death and damnation eternall also After this breach of obedience to God and rebellion against his Majesty all mischeifes and miseries breaking in therewith and overslowing the World least all things should come to confusion and utter ruine God forthwith by lawes given to mankind repayred againe the rule and order of obedience thus by rebellion overthrowne and besides the obedience due to his Majesty hee not onely ordained that in Families and Househoulds the Wife should bee obedient to her Husband the Children unto their Parents the Servants unto their Masters but also when mankind inceased and spread it selfe more largely over the World hee by his holy word did constitute and ordaine in Citties and Countries severall and speciall Governours and Rulers unto whom the residue of his people should be obedient As in reading of holy Scriptures wee shall find in very many and almost infinite places as well of the old Testament as of the new that Kings and Princes as well the evill as the good doe raigne by Gods ordinance and that Subjects are bounden to obey them that God doth give Princes wisedome great power and authority that God defendeth them against their enemies and destroyeth their enemies horribly that the anger and displeasure of the Prince is as the
doe take care and paines and to bee at great cost and charges and universally instead of all quietnesse joy and felicity which doe follow blessed peace and due obedience to bring in all trouble sorrow disquietnesse of minds and bodies and all mischiefe and calamity to turne all good order upside downe to bring all good lawes in contempt and to tread them under feet to oppresse all vertue and honesty and all vertuous and honest persons and to set all vice and wickednesse and all vicious and wicked men at liberty to worke their wicked wils which were before bridled by wholesome lawes to weaken to overthrow and to consume the strength of the Realme their naturall Countrey as well by the spending and wasting of money and treasure of the Prince and Realme as by murthering the people of the same their owne Countrey-men who should defend the honour of their Prince Prov. 14. and liberty of their Countrey against the invasion of forraigne enemies and so finally to make their Countrey thus by their mischiefe weakened ready to bee a prey and spoile to all outward enemies that will invade it to the utter and perpetuall captivity slavery and destruction of all their Countrey-men their children their friends their kinsfolkes left alive whom by their wicked rebellion they procure to bee delivered into the hands of the forraigne enemies as much as in them doth lye In forraigne warres our Countrey-men in obtaining the victory winne the prayse of valiantnesse yea and though they were overcome and slaine yet winne they an honest commendation in this World and dye in a good conscience for serving God their Prince and their Countrey and bee children of eternall salvation But the Rebels how desperate and strong soever they bee yet winne they shame here in fighting against God their Prince and Countrey and therefore justly doe fall headlong into Hell if they dye and live in shame and with a fearefull conscience though they escape But commonly they be rewarded with shamefull deaths their hands and carkasses set upon poles and hanged in chaynes eaten with Kites and Crowes judged unworthy the honour of buriall and so their soules if they repent not as commonly they doe not the Devill hurrieth them into Hell in the middest of their mischiefe Rom. 13. For which dreadfull execution Saint Paul sheweth the cause of obedience not onely for feare of death but also in conscience to God-ward for feare of eternall damnation in the World to come Wherefore good people let us as the children of obedience feare the dreadfull execution of God and live in quiet obedience to bee the children of everlasting Salvation For as Heaven is a place of good obedient subjects and Hell the prison and dungeon of Rebels against God and their Prince so is that Realme happy where most obedience of subjects doth appeare being the very figure of Heaven and contrariwise where most rebellions and Rebels bee there is the expresse similitude of Hell and the Rebels themselves are the very figures of fiends and Devils and their Captaine the ungracious patterne of Lucifer and Sathan the Prince of darknesse of whose rebellion as they bee followers so shall they of his damnation in Hell undoubtedly bee partakers and as undoubtedly shall the Children of peace bee Inheritours of Heaven with God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost To whom bee all honour and glory for ever and ever Amen The fourth SERMON FOr your further instruction good people to shew unto you how much Almighty God doth abhor disobedience and wilfull rebellion specially when Rebels advance themselves so high that they arme themselves with weapons and stand in the field to fight against God their Prince and their Countrey it shall not bee out of the way to shew some examples set out in Scriptures written for our eternall erudition Wee may soone know good people how haynous an oftence the treachery of rebellion is if wee call to remembrance the heavy wrath and dreadfull indignation of Almighty God against subjects as doe onely but inwardly grudge mutter and murmur against their Governours though their inward treason so privily hatched in their breasts come not to open declaration of their doings as hard it is whom the Devill hath so farre entised against Gods word to keepe themselves there No hee meaneth still to blow the coale to kindle their rebellious hearts to flame into open deeds if hee bee not with grace speedily withstood Some of the children of Israel being murmurers against their Magistrates appointed over them by God were stricken with foule leprosie many were burnt up with fire suddenly sent from the Lord sometime a great sort of thousands were consumed with the pestilence sometime they were stinged to death with a strange kind of fiery Serpents and which is most horrible some of the Captaines with their band of murmurers not dying by any usuall or naturall death of men but the carth opening they with their wives children and families were swallowed quick downe into Hell Which horrible destructions of such Israelites as were murmurers against Moses appointed by God to bee their head and chiefe Magistrate are recorded in the booke of Numbers and other places of the Scriptures for perpetuall memory and warning to all subjects how highly God is displeased with the murmuring and evill speaking of subjects against their Princes for that as the Scripture recordeth their murmure was not against their Prince onely being a mortall creature but against God himselfe also Now if such strange and horrible plagues did fall upon such subjects as did onely murmure and speake evill against their heads what shall become of those most wicked impes of the Devill that doe conspire arme themselves assemble great numbers of armed Rebels and lead them with them against their Prince and Countrey spoyling and robbing killing and murthering all good subjects that doe withstand them as many as they may prevaile against But those examples are written to stay us not onely from such mischiefes but also from murmuring and speaking once an evill word against our Prince which though any should doe never so secretly yet doe the holy Scriptures shew that the very birds of the ayre will bewray them and those so many examples before noted out of the holy Scriptures doe declare that they shall not escape horrible punishment therefore Now concerning actuall rebellion amongst many examples thereof set forth in the holy Scriptures the example of Absolom is notable who entring into conspiracy against King David his Father both used the advice of very witty men and assembled a very great and huge company of Rebels the which Absolom though he were most goodly of Person of great Nobility being the Kings Sonne in great favour of the people and so dearely beloved of the King himselfe so much that hee gave commandement that notwithstanding his rebellion his life should bee saved when for these considerations most men were afraid to lay hands upon him a great
such furious maintenances as is rebellion and of such Patrons as are rebels being ready not to dye for the true religion but to kill all that shall or dare speake against their false superstition and wicked Idolatry Now concerning pretences of any redresse of the Common-wealth made by rebells every man that hath but halfe an eye may see how vaine they be Rebellion being as I have before declared the greatest ruine and destruction of all Common-wealths that may be possible and who so looketh on the one part upon the persons and government of the Kings most honourable Counsellors by the experiment of so many yeares proved honourable to his Majestie and beneficiall to our countrey and countrey-men And on the other part considereth the persons state and condition of the rebells themselves the reformers as they take upon them of the present government he shall finde that the most rash and haire-brained men the greatest unthrifts that have most lewdly wasted their owne goods and lands those that are over the eares in debt and such as for their thefts robberies and murthers dare not in any well governed Common-wealth where good lawes are in force shew their faces such as are of most lewd and wicked behaviour and life and all such as will not or cannot live in peace are alwayes most ready to move rebellion or take part with rebells and are not these meete men trow you to restore the Common-wealth decayed who have so spoyled and consumed all their own wealth and thrift and very like to amend other mens manners who have so vile vices and abominable conditions themselves Surely that which they falsely call Reformation is indeede not only a defacing or a deformation but also an utter destruction of all Common-wealths as would well appeare might the rebells have their wills and doth right well and too well appeare by their doing in such places of the Countrey where rebells doe rout where though they tarry but a very little while they make such reformation that they destroy all places and undoe all men where they come that the child yet unborne may rue it and shall many yeares hereafter curse them Let no good and discreete subjects therefore follow the flagge or banner disployed to rebellion and borne by Rebells though it have the Image of the plough painted therein with God Speed the Plough written under in great letters knowing that none hinder the Plough more then rebells who will neither goe to the Plough themselves nor suffer others that would goe unto it And though some rebells beare the picture of the five wounds painted against those who put their onely hope in the wounds of Christ not those wounds who are painted in a clout by some lewd painter but in those wounds which Christ himselfe bore in his precious body though they little knowing what the crosse of Christ meaneth which neither Carver nor Painter can make doe beare the Image of the crosse painted in a ragge against those that have the crosse of Christ painted in their hearts yea though they paint withall in their flagges Hoc signo vinces by this signe thou shalt get the victory by a most fond imitation of the Poesie of Constantinus Magnus that Noble Christian Emperour and great conquerer of Gods enemies a most unmeete ensigne for rebells the enemies of God their Prince and Countrey or what other banner soever they shall beare yet let no good and godly subject upon any hope of victory or good successe follow such standard bearers of rebellion For as examples of such practises are to be found aswell in the histories of old as also of later rebellions in our fathers and our fresh memory so notwithstanding these pretences made and banners borne are recorded withall to perpetuall memory the great horrible murthers of infinite multitudes and thousands of the Common people slaine in rebellion the dreadfull executions of the Authors and Captaines the pittifull undoing of their wives and children and dis-inheriting of the heires of rebells forever the spoyling wasting and destruction of the people and countrey where rebellion first began that the children then and yet unborne might rue and lament it with the finall overthrow and shamefull deaths of all rebells set forth aswell in the histories of forraigne Nations as in the Chronicles of our owne Countrie some thereof being yet fresh in memory which if they were collected together would make many volumes and bookes but on the Contrary part all good lucke successe and prosperity that ever happened unto any rebells of any age time or Countrey may be contained in a very few lines or words Wherefore to conclude let all good subjects considering how horrible a sinne against God their Prince their countrey and countrey-men against all Gods and mans lawes rebellion is being indeede not one severall sinne but all sinnes against God and man heaped together considering the mischievous life and deedes and the shamefull ends and deaths of all rebells hitherto and the pittifull undoing of their wives children and families and dis-inheriting of their heires for ever and above all things considering the eternall damnation that is prepared for all impenitent rebells in hell with Sathan the first founder of rebellion and grand Captaine of all rebells let all good subjects I say considering these things avoyd and flee all rebellion as the greatest of all mischefes and embrace due obedience to God and our Prince as the greatest of all vertues that we may both escape all evills and miseries that doe follow rebellion in this world and eternall damnation in the world to come and enjoy peace quietnesse and securitie with all other Gods benefits and blessings which follow obedience in this life and finally may enjoy the kingdome of heaven the peculiar place of all obedient subjects to God and their Prince in the world to come which I beseech God the King of Kings grant unto us for the obedience of his Sonne our Saviour Jesus Christ unto whom with the Father c. The Fifth SERMON VVHereas after both Doctrine and examples of due obedience of subjects to their Princes I declared lastly unto you what an abominable sinne against God and man Rebellion is and what horrible plagues punishments and deaths with death everlasting finally doth hang over the heads of all rebells it shall not be either impertinent or unprofitable now to declare who they be whom the devill the first author and founder of rebellion doth chiefely use to the stirring up of subjects to rebell against their damnable suggestions avoyd all rebellion and so escape the horrible Plagues and dreadfull death and damnation eternall finally due to all Rebells Though many causes of rebellion may be reckoned and almost as many as there be vices in men and women as hath beene before noted yet in this place I will onely touch the principall and most usuall causes as specially ambition and ignorance by ambition I meane the unlawfull and restlesse desire in men to be of an