one is life and of the other hell death and damnation Whether agreeth best with the honor and reputation of a souldier to be carnall and careles or to bee watchfull and sober Put away then all wrath anger maliciousnes cursed and filthie speaking out of your mouthes It shall nothing diminish your valour neither shall you appeare more singular then becommeth Christians if you cleerely put off the old man with all his workes which clogge you that you cannot march rightly like souldiers to the end of true honor Put on the new man which is shaped in holinesse and knowledge for by it most high and pretious things are gotten euen al things that pertaine to life and godlines through the knowledge of him that hath called vs all from the corruptions which are in this world to be partakers of heauenly things And therefore we must indeuour to adde vertue to vertue and faith to faith that we may attaine to that absolute perfection which imbracing temperance bringeth foorth patience which importeth that contentation that is neuer moued with any temptation but delighteth only in godlines approued by brotherly kindnes which commeth of loue He that attaineth vnto this marke which is set before all men to aime at hath the true fruites of the knowledge of our chief Lord and commander Christ who knoweth how to deliuer his out of all temptations and to reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgement to be punished and chiefly them that walke after the flesh in the lusts of vncleannes and despise gouernment which are presumptuous and stand in their owne conceit and feare not to speake euill of them that are in authoritie ouer them Thus doth the spirit most euidently depaint out the true mortification of our corruptions and the terrible threats of Gods vengeance for disobedieÌ„ce to Rulers and loosenes of life It is dangerous to shew our selues rebellious against this sacred counsell And by their patience souldiers may be put in minde of too much forgetfulnes of their duties to God and their immoderate boldnes to sinne wherein as I cannot altogether excuse my selfe or any other so I heartilie wish reformation in all and all estates For it is time to thinke of Gods iudgements begun not onely against our Christian armies abroad encountering the Turkes our owne and our neighbours neere but also against our selues here at home whom God hath forwarned to forsake our pleasures by plagues lately past by dearth and famine present and by warres threatned Among many other enormities proceeding of the want of warres true discipline it is not the least that our pretended souldiers returning from the warres should haue either hearts in themselues or sufferance by law to become vagabonds for their parts they bewray their cowardly mindes in that they will leaue the honorable practise of warre and betake them to ignominious begging whereby the profession of armes is dishonored and the Magistrates power is thereby discredited the force of the lawes shewed to be of small effect and the common quiet disturbed But for such idle persons as pretending shame to begge which indeede is shamefull to able persons seeme not to be ashamed that they work and labour not which is both an honest and godly meane to relieue themselues without disparagement of the reputation of their militarie profession as they vainly pretend it Indeede such is the casuall course of warre that thereby sometime the rich are made poore and the poore inriched And therefore it behooueth a souldier to lay downe before hand to bee constant in euery fortune for if he faint vnder the burden of the aduerse and become more grieued than agreeth with his professed magnanimitie hee bewraieth himselfe to be but a dastard For it is no shame for a man to become poore for his countrie in the warres but the disgrace is his countries if he deserue well and yet wanteth reliefe If he be ouer much eleuated in conceit with prosperitie he bewraieth his vainglorie which hee knoweth by experience may alter in a moment If he bee sicke in the warres it is incident euen to Princes that liue in pleasure at home with dainties and phisicke therfore let the souldier beare it with courage wherein it beseemeth the most worthie yea the best Commanders to be seene carefull that al possible comfort be yeelded to such as are visited for that they haue no reliefe or comfort but inwardly from God in whom they ought to trust and from their companions strangers in effect who indeede if they be true souldiers will aide one another To be wounded in the warres is glorie and to dye in a iust cause purchaseth immortall memorie And because of all other things incident to militarie men nothing is so certaine as death for that it is decreed that all flesh shall dye and the effect of warre is to kill and to destroy men euery souldier must say vnto himselfe when hee goeth to the warres hee goeth to finish a long pilgrimage Though wee see it happeneth not to all souldiers to dye in the warres yet some spend many yeares euen from their yong yeares to gray haires continually in the warres induring many bickerings fightings hurts and hurting and yet end their daies in peace at home in their beds Our own late deseruers testifie the same to their glorie that shall not dye But admit thou knewest thou shouldest die in the field be couragious for death neuer appaleth the vertuous For as Cicero saith All wisemen dye willingly But the word of God affirmeth that the godly dye more willingly for that they be the Lords And that made Thomas to exhort his fellowes to dye with Christ. Paul sheweth a reason why the godly need not onely not to feare but to bee willing to dye namely to be with Christ. There is a notable mirror of this disdaine of death in Callicratides General vnto the Lacedemonians who being readie to giue battell to his enemies was warned by his Soothfayer that the entrailes of the sacrifice promised victorie to the armie but death to the Captaine whereunto he answered as one resolute to dye Sparta consisteth not in one man for when I shall bee dead my countrie shall be nothing lessened but if I to saue my self should absent me from the battell or goe backe the reputation thereof will be diminished Whereupon he substituted Cleander in his place and gaue battell wherein he was slaine What Christian souldier will not imitate his râ—solution to dye sith wee haue a better assurance to liue after death And if our Creator haue decreed our death sith it cannot be auoided let no man couet to start aside contrary to dutie in hope of safetie for it not onely auaileth nothing but it increaseth the burden of our feare and it argueth distrust in his prouidence that made vs and who can find vs out and confound vs. But rather grounding our assurance
vpon future consolation euen here reueiled to a good conscience let vs rest vpon God who is able to saue one among many and let euery one thinke he is that one A thousand shall fall on the one side and tenne thousand on the other of him that God will defend and it shall not touch him for euery mans dayes yea the haires of his head are numbred and the time of his death appointed neither policie nor force can preuent it If death daunt not what can or should dismay a resolute souldier For he only is free and happie that can be ouercome with no distresse We may say of Religion and the feare of God as Thales sayd of vertue Vertue sayd he is the profitablest thing in the world because it maketh all other things profitable by causing men to vse them well But we may say that all other gifts and vertues too are not onely vnprofitable but hurtfull without the feare of God and vse of religion which is profitable to all things wherewith who so is truly decked and adorned is so happie as he needeth to wish for nothing with any immoderate affection in this life no not for the preseruation of life it selfe in regarde of the world and worldly things nor to thinke anything grieuous or euill which the ordinance of God bringeth vpon him And therefore the constant souldier needeth not to grieue at any hard successe in warre nor feare death sith all things both prosperitie and aduersitie freedome and imprisonment losse and gaine life and death are all at the disposition of the highest who giueth and taketh heaueth vp and throweth downe saueth and killeth whom he will and all to the aduantage of them that feare him That Prayer is necessarie among men of armes as a principall and chiefe meane both to defend themselues and to annoy the enemie and that after victorie they ought to praise God I Haue endeuoured before to shewe that the maine hope which a soldier ought to haue in the proceedings of warre is the feare of God and the true practise of Religion as a thing whereby he becommeth truely valiant and without which hee is but a dastard and without strength were hee of as powerfull a bodie as Hector Hercules or Goliah Now it is to be knowne and considered that this heauenly vertue the feare of God hath continually following it an inseparable and most helpefull assistant prayer which is as a spiritual incense ascending from the faithfull heart to heauen euen vnto the throne of his Maiestie that descendeth againe by his spirit and dwelleth where he findeth so sweete a sauour This is an exercise onely of the godly although the wicked also may intrude themselues into the same in outward shew like Nadab Abihu but their praiers pierce not the heauens they profite not by their prayers The true exercise of praier is not like the idle talke of soldiers other men one with another vaine and wanton whereby they corrupt the aire with the vapors of their sinfull breathinges their maners with filthie words but like the ioyfull songes of the Angelles in heauen who see God face to face as he that praieth truely seeth him by faith and talketh with him by his spirit Much hath bin spoken of many of this diuine exercise and much might be here remembred But as â— began heretofore to speake of the necessarie vse of Religion in men professing armes whose profession tendeth to obtaine victorie against enemies so I holde it conuenient to applie this treatise of prayer also as it may best steed a soldier in the warres For such are the singular effecteâ— of this sweete exercise if they could be all numbred at full and spoken of at large as it woulde appeare an approued remedie for all diseases inward and outward a meane to resist all the euilles which threaten vs to obtaine all the necessaries that behooue vs. It is a vertue of such power and effect as it ouercommeth not onely our enemies but euen God himselfe who must bee made on our side or else we arme our selues in vaine we march to the battell in vaine and we encounter the enemie in vaine And sith he is not like other princes that may be hired for money and like other men that may be induced for gayne to take our partes wee must deale with him according to his nature which is to doe all thinges freely without compulsion or constraint without lucre or looking for any reward So freely may we come vnto him so boldly intreat him and truely trust him in all thinges And herein we must be carefull that as we couet to be seene and noted to pray to become instant petitioners vnto him for any grace fauour or reliefe so we must indeede be truely prepared for the word without the heartie and spirituall consent is but a vaine labour of the tongue whose effect is like Caynes sacrifice reiected and ascendeth not whither it seemeth to be sent And therefore hee that is not first instructed what praier is by what meanes it is effected and to what ende it tendeth though he pray without ceasing as he thinketh he prayeth not at all but vttereth with his lippes an vnprofitable sound which conuerteth to nothing because it proceeded of no good ground it came not of knowledge feeling as Paul teacheth saying I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with vnderstanding also Whereby it appeareth that it is not enough to be wise as we may thinke vs in worldly thinges and martiall feates but wâ— must haue vnderstanding not carnall wisedome spirituall and sanctified knowledge praying in the spirit that is with the inward consent of the soule moued thereunto by that sanctifiyng spirit which God sendeth to his children to helpe their infirmities By which we are made able to discouer our necessities according to true knowledge For if wee well consider the cause why God hath promised to send that comforter which shall teach vs all thinges we shall find it to be for that we are of our owne natures carnall corrupt and ignorant of euery good thing which doth estrange vs from God God from vs. So that if we speake as of our selues we speake but of the corruptions and vanities of our owne thoughtes and our praiers are neither heard vnderstood nor graunted and that is the cause that the carnall man asketh and receiueth not for that he asketh contrary to the meaning of the spirit But when that spirit of regeneration possesseth our heartes wee become capable of better thinges illuminated by that spirit which being the third person of the Deitie teacheth vs the thinges of God not suffering carnall reason to take place in thinges wee desire but speaketh it selfe in vs whose affinitie is such with God the Father and his Christ that it reueileth our wils to God Gods will to vs making such an affinitie betweene the spirit of
in the time of all their perils and greatest daungers to flye vnto him by hartie prayer that it might please him to yeeld them his strength and power which they acknowledged farre to exceede the power of the strongest and policie of the wise on earth and yeelded themselues vnto his will in a liuely hope of his helping hand And wee haue no lesse reason in religion hauing Christ our sworne defender as long as we continue true Christians but to be faithfull and forwarde and in all our attempts to flye vnto God in the name of our deare and neuer failing Mediatour by whom the weakest are made strong to ouercome the strongest and without whom the mightiest fall to the ground before the weakest So that we see God is all in all powerfull and alsufficient and as Dauid saith he is present with all that call vpon him in faith and becommeth vnto them a tower of inuincible strength to keepe them from their enemies furie a sworde vnresistable to confound their aduersaries on euery side Happie are they that dwell vnder the shadow of his protection for they abide safe for euer The very Name of this great King is terrible vnto our enemies our prayer a greater terror vnto our aduersaries theÌ„ the roaring Cannon prayer blesseth our counselles and consultations it incourageth the hearts it strengthneth the bodies it obteineth surest victories best confirmeth peace They called vpon the Lord saith Dauid and he deliuered them And of his owne experience he speaketh saying I called vpon the Lord and hee heard me at large Wherein is expressed the patience of the Lorde who disdaineth not to heare a mans whole griefe The immortall God is not so curious to be spoken with as mortall man Nobles men in great place dignitie in the warres or common wealth thinke it a great sauour to heare a poore suiter shortly and thinke long ere they haue done they must be briefe to tell their tale and they shall haue answere at leasure but the Lord of Lordes heareth the poorest man at large he is not wearie to heare a poore suiters complaint And therefore may euery poore soldier captaine and Generall haue like free scope to speake their fill to this most louing God who will most assuredly answere euery one according to the necessitie of his cause and according to the substance of his petition And as he is the God of hoastes so he disposeth of Armies as he will and euer to the good of his children howsoeuer it fall contrary to the hope of flesh bloud The godly find not this true onely but euen the very heatheÌ„ can confesse that a diuine power beareth rule in the warres And therefore such as attribute the successe of warre and other waightie things to vncertaine fortune doe slatly deny there is a God whose power is alsufficient and whose iustice is inuiolable and that the effects both of falshood and trueth were of like hope or probabilitie and that the issue of the one as of the other should like necessarily follow which should depriue man meerely of all faith assurance which are grounded vpon a certaine knowledge of an absolute power And it behooueth a soldier to haue an especial consideration of this point of the deuils fallacies who to bereaue him of faith the maine anchorholde of safetie saluation setteth this glimmering before the eyes of his thoughtes to hinder the pure pearcing light of diuine reason whereby he may easily discouer all thinges to come to passe by an ineuitable ordinance of God Who alâ—hough he precisely gouerne all thinges by his owne power affordeth vnto man sundry secondary meanes to effect their endeuours And by reason of mans owne imbecillitie and corruption these meanes be often peruerted and come not with wished effectes to the ende intended because they wholy depend vpon the bare meanes themselues and cast behind their backs the helpe which is froÌ„ aboue without which nothing commeth well to passe whereby they want that blessing which is promised to the faithfull which relie vpon God stumble vpon that which is contrary to their desires accusing then this peeâ—ish and false gouernour of euents Fortune neuer reproouing their owne ignorance infidelitie to God whereby they runne headlong into that which he hath forbidden and refuse that he hath commanded But the faithfull and the true children of God vse not to attribute the issue of their affaires to fortune that is so muffled as it knoweth not the faithful from the infidell but to the God almightie of whose mercie loue power and prouidence they are so assured as they lay downe all their endeuours in faith at the throne of his grace assuring themselues that what is fittest for their good they shal receiue whether it be prosperitie or aduersitie life or death and that the godly shall not be sent away emptie and the wicked rewarded as it faâ—eth with such as thinke that fortune and meere casualtie dispose all thinges wherein they argue against all diuine power and seeke to maintaine humane policie and warlike stratagemes aboue all religion faith and prayer which is a most infernall practise coined to the destruction and ouerthrowe of all godly discipline in warre which yet shall preuaile when all Machiauils witty propositions shall be confuted together with all carnall hope and inuentions But as it is strongly defended by the word of trueth that onely God alsufficient by his power effecteth all thinges as hee will yet it disalloweth not but appointeth inferiour meanes vnto his children to worke by as hath appeared by all the actes of our godly fathers as of Dauid â—y a sling ouercame Goliah Ioshua by the noyse of trumpets of Rams hornes threwe downe the walles of Iericho Gideon with pitchers and lampes discomfiâ—ed the Madianâ—tes and many such like which are most weake meanes but being blessed of God by prayer they preuaile mightily But such as feare God attribute their good successe to the sword of the Lord and not to fortune they accompt not that casuall which is assured theÌ„ by faith and if they succeede not as they desire they attribute their losse and the contrary issue of their hope vnto their owne sinnes as gentle corrections for their offences and leaue not the Lord vpon their fall but seeke him againe and againe in faith by prayer and leaue him not til they preuaile againe This is the operation of faith founded vpon true knowledge and this is the power of prayer builded vpon a true faith So that neither wished successe can make theÌ„ proud neither doth aduerse dismay the godly vpon earth but the more they are afflicted and discomfited the more they sticke vnto this meane and the better they prosper the more thankefull they are to God Ioabs incouragement vnto his brother when they were to fight against the Sâ—rians may be remembred of Christian soldiers wherein he
you abound in loue one towards another that your hearts be stable and vnblameable in holines before God euen our father at the comming of our Lord Iesus Christ with all his Saints So necessarie is this most singular gift of loue that the Apostle seemeth to labour it aboue all things as the meane to bring men to absolute perfectiō in dutie towards God and their brethren And indeed it draweth with it all other diuine vertues and excludeth al carnall affectiō making men to liue according to y e rule of the spirit Magistrates to gouerne and giue sentence in matters of controuersie without rewards Priests to teach without lucre Prophets to prophesie without monie Iudges to iudge rightly and all to imbrace Christian religion If this sweete concording harmonie bee amongst vs wee are assuredly the Lords and the Lord is ours and with vs at home and with our forces abroad But we must not flatter our selues with the outward shew of these diuine things it will little aduantage vs for our soules lye manifest before the highest and he seeth all mens doings not onely as they are done but as they be intended he surueieth euery mans secret chamber and what is done therein he searcheth the hearts and raines he recordeth with vs or against all our actions bee they neuer so couertly and closely done The counsell of the heart cannot bee so secret nor the hand so close but he seeth the desires of the one and the defilings of the other And though a man may seeme by his outward and open conuersation before men to bee holie it iustifieth him not before God vnlesse he be pure within And therefore in this case euery soule is to examine himselfe and purge the dregges of such corruptions as may seeme to hinder his iustification before God in Christ that is hee must reforme his waies and bee warie in his walking that all things may answere diuine dutie towards God to feare to doe euil and to couet to doe good And when he hath done his best he must say his workes are vnprofitable And that if any bee a sinner he is a greater if any haue deserued to be punished he hath deserued it and to thinke worse of himselfe then of another and to thinke hee neuer commeth neere enough to God in holie conuersation So shall hee proceede daily from knowledge to knowledge from faith to faith frō prayer to praise God and neuer be idle from doing the will of God allowing all things expedient and profitable that may please God be it warre or peace life or death And to hold all other things base vile and hurtfull that haue only the words of the world and not the word of the Lord to warrant it Yea though a man thinke himselfe in the right way and finde no stop or let but all his desires are plausible to flesh and bloud fauoured of the world worldly minds it is good to make triall how he standeth by conserring his life by Gods lawes and his will with Gods word and his workes by Gods will and his safetie by Gods assurance and his daungers by Gods threats For the light of the diuine spirit of God discouereth euery darknes and his trueth bewrayeth euery falshood And therefore we cannot stand vpon a good intent haue we neuer so good allowance of fleshly policie But if wee bee studious in his lawes if wee desire to know his will and pray for his direction we shall neuer faile in our proceedings The most doubtful things shall be made plaine vnto vs the darkest shall be manifested and the best rightly performed They that are farthest from safetie may indeede dreame of securitie building their hope vpon carnall meanes which many times are blemished before the face of God by their owne grosse impieties and so a curse rather then a blessing may follow them Such were the vainly hoping Israelites to whom Esay cried out saying Heare the word of the Lord ye scornefull because ye haue sayd wee haue made a couenant with death and are at agreement with hell saying though a scourge runne ouer and passe through it shall not come at vs for wee haue made falsehood our refuge and are hid vnder vanitie This was the resolution of a secure people that put their confidence in flesh for gate the liuing Lord of hoasts This people spake not thus vainely with their tongues but testified the corruption of their hearts by their deeds that argued no lesse the spirit of God found out their dissimulation and proclaimed their madnesse to posterities to their perpetuall ignominie for our learning that now liue But woe vnto the people that bee in such a case for while they carke and studie too much on vaine thinges and rocke thēselues asleepe with peace peace they forget God their strength and so discouer their heartes wherein they likewise say we neede not to feare though the scourge come Euery man hath a conceit of his owne estate and howe hee standeth either fearing or presuming or resting carelesse what becommeth of these rumors of warres And he that is the Lordes and commeth neerest to true obedience hee in his owne eyes seemeth most vnworthie of the fauour and protection of God yet not so but his feare is a fear◠to offend mixed with faith to be defended not by his owne power or merites but by the free fauour of God in Christ. And the most wicked seeme to bee at a league with death presuming that God seeth not their sinnes and therefore they are carelesse of Gods iudgementes threatned couering themselues with vanitie as with a helmet flatter themselues in their iniquities as though it behooued them not to remember their owne dangers at home nor the perilles of such as are in their behalfes in the warres If any such bee amongst vs English christians as the purest wheate hath some chaffe let them looke about them for they are neare the period of their prosperitie For their couenant with death shall bee disanulled and their agreement with hell shall not stand when a scourge shall come then shall they be confounded by it They that sinne without feeling or feare and yet say peace peace are but in a dreame for when the Lord in his furie shall awaken thē they shal stand dumbe for the horror before their eyes The wisdom of these wise men shall perish and their hope shall turne to trembling and despaire for the sinners in Sion shall be afraid and feare shall come vpon the hypocrites and who may assure himselfe of safetie who shall bee able to abide the deuouring fire the day of Gods vengeance euen he that walketh vprightly speaketh righteous thinges refusing the gaine that commeth by oppression that shaketh giftes from his fingers that desireth not to heare of bloud that shutteth his eyes from seeing euill he shall dwell vnder the protection of the highest his defence shall be the