these things written in thy book v. 8. Hide me from the gathering together of the froward and from the insurrection of wicked doers Psal 64.2 For under the shadow of thy wings shall be my refuge till this Tyranny be overpast Ps 57.1 J will call unto the most high God even unto the God that shall performe the Cause which I have in hand v. 2. He shall send from Heaven and save me v. 3. Yea his right hand shall hold me up and his loving correction shall make me great Ps 18.35 Let them rejoyce and be glad that favour my righteous dealing yea let them say blessed be the name of the Lord that hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant Ps 35.27 Then cannot you but think you are invited to apply unto God in the behalfe of your King your selves and your Cause as followeth The PSALME PLead thou our cause O Lord with them that strive with us and fight thou against them that fight against us Ps 35.1 Lay hand on shield and buckler and stand up to help us v. 2. Help us O God of our Salvation for the glory of thy name O deliver us and be mercifull unto out sinnes for thy Names sake Ps 79.9 Lead us in the right way because of our Enimies and deliver us not over to the will of our Adversaries for there are false witnesses risen up against us and such as speak wrong Ps 27.14 Remember O Lord the rebuke that thy servants have and how thine Enemies have slandered the footsteps of thine Annoynted Psal 89.49 Stand up O Lord of Hoasts and be not mercifull unto them that offend of malitious wickednes Psal 59.5 For the sinne of their mouth and for the words of their lips they shall be taken in their pride for why their preaching is of cursing and lyes v. 12. Oh turne not away the face of thine Annointed Psal 132. Oh prepare thy loving mercy and faithfulnes that they may preserve Him Psal 61.7 Stretch forth thy hand upon the furiousnes of His Enemies and let thy right hand save Him Ps 138.7 Yea let Them be cloathed with shame but upon Himselfe let His Crowne flourish Psa 132.19 So shall the King rejoyce in God and the mouth of them that speakes lyes shall be stopped Ps 63.12 Yea their owne tongues shall make them fall insomuch that they which see it shall say This hath God done for they shall perceive it is his worke Psa 64.8,9 The Prayer for the Morning O Almighty Lord God I blesse thy Name for that thou hast kept me this night past from all dangers notwithstanding all my sinnes and ill deserts I beseech thee to pardon them all in Iesus Christ and to guide me this day by thy Grace that I fall not into any presumptuous sinnes but may have thee alwayes before mine eyes to feare thee in all my wayes And seeing nothing is safe without thy defence or prosperous without thy blessing keep I beseech thee and defend Our gratious King protect Him in His Person blesse Him in his Counsells prosper Him in his Just Designes Blesse also and protect all his Armies Vs especicially that attend here to serve Him under thee who art the Everliving God Grant this for Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour AMEN The Prayer for the Evening O Almighty Lord God which hast made the out goings of the Morning and of the Evening to praise thee blessed be thy Name for that thou hast kept and preserved me this day I acknowledge my manifold sinnes and transgressions in thought word and deed committed against thee beseeching thee to pardon what I have done amisse for thy mercyes sake in Jesus Christ Defend O Lord the Kings Majesty and His Army watch thou over us and keepe us all from the dangers of this night through Jesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour AMEN Occasionall Devotion AS every day requires the performance of your Duty to God so doth every speciall occasion in order to the Battell and the Issue thereof call you to some Act of Devotion which may be performed either more solemnely or abruptly according to the straits of time We have King Asa's prayer when he went out against the Ethiopians 2. Chr. 14.11 and King Iehosaphats upon the like occasion 2. Chr. 20. v. 6. Now as it belongs to Authority and is the duty of every General to command the publique and solemne performance of this duty before the joyning of Battell if the time will permit so doth it concerne every Souldier to lift up his heart to God in order to the occasion and performe this duty in some sort answerable to the straits of time And therefore be your service and imployment never so suddain and urgent yet will it admit the private ejaculations of the heart be you in a March or Motion towards the Enemy the mind can move faster towards heaven or be you in the very Encounter the suddain thoughts and desires darted from the Soule are more ready then the dischargings of your Gunns more quick then fired Powder or flying Bullet Moses being in a strait between the Red-Sea and the pursuing Enemie is said to cry unto the Lord yet we read not that he speak any thing Exod. 14.15 it was the cry of the heart and that also sounds in Gods eares Iehosaphat when oppressed in battel by the Syrians cryed unto the Lord and God moved them to depart from him 2. Chr. 18.31 So the men of Iudah when the battel was before and behind them cryed unto the Lord 2. Chr. 13.14 The good Emperour Theodosius in the like danger prayed and was delivered the darts and arrowes that came from the Enemie being by a mighty wind borne back again upon them And we read of the Christian Legion which serving under Antoninus an heathen Emperour did by prayer save the whole army from the necessity of perishing either by drought or by the Enemy for out of the same cloud at their prayer did issue Raine to refresh the Army and Thunder and Lightning to strike and confound the Enemy For direction of your thoughts and desires in order to the Battell take what followeth The PSALME THou art our King O God send help unto Iacob Psal 44. v. 5. Through thee will we overthrow our Enemies and in thy Name will we tread them under that rise up against us v. 6. For we will not trust in our Bow it is not our sword that shall help us v. 7. There is no King can be saved by the multitude of an Hoast neither is any man delivered by much strength Psal 33.15 But it is thou that savest us from our Enemies and puttest them to confusion that hate us Psal 44.8 Through God will we doe great Acts for it is he that shall tread downe our Enemies Psal 60.12 The Prayer O Almighty God King of Kings and Lord of Hoasts it is nothing with thee to helpe whether with many or with them that have no power Helpe us O Lord and deliver us
slaughter and Spoyle as may represse Cruelty and Rapine and yet not be prejudiciall to the Cause When Elisha spoke what Hazael would doe to the children of Israel how he would set their strong holds on fire and slay their young men with the sword and dash their children and rip their Women with child Hazael replyed But what is thy servant a dog that he should doe this great thing 2. K. 8.12 In the judgement of an Heathen Commander cruelty beseems not a Souldier not a man We read how Gideon dealt with the men of Succoth which held out against him Iud. 8.16 he did not runne furiously upon them killing all that came to hand but took the elders of the Citty and with the bryars of the Wildernes taught them that is made them to know by their punishment what it was to resist such Rulers as God had set up over them So that the chief commanders of the Citty were called out to execution the People only affrighted by their example SPOYLES THe Act of Iacobs sons first slaying the inhabitants of Sichem without just cause thē fall ing upon the slain and spoyling the Citty was detestable both for the Cruelty and Rapine in it Gen. 34.26 this was a Cruel plunder Plunder is a new word but I cōceive it expresseth an old way of injustice implies such spoyles as are unlawfully taken In the taking of Spoyles the persons from whom they are taken and the manner of taking them are considerable First they are lawfully taken from a lawfull enemy For such an one being conquered forfeits life and goods to the Conqueror He is servant to him of whom he is overcome as our Saviour speaks that is he is altogether at his disposing and in the Parable when the strong man that keepes his Palace or Fort is vanquished by a stronger then he he is spoiled not only of his Armour but of his goods too Luk. 11.22 Secondly in the manner of taking the Spoyle there is a difference between the Spoyle of the Field and of a Town or Country for though the spoyling of the enimy taken or dead in the Field be permitted promiscuously to the Souldier as every one of Gideons Souldiers had the earerings of his prey taken from the defeated Ishmaelites Iud. 8.24 yet is the spoyling of a Town or Country to be orderly performed by command it being more to the preservation of justice and benefit of the Souldiers to have the spoyle of a Towne orderly taken and divided among them then that they should fly tumultuarily upon it and every one be his own carver We read not that the Spoyles allowed in Scripture were at the pleasure of the Multitude but orderly performed both for the taking of them and the dividing or disposing of them The Midianites are spoyled and all the spoyle and the prey is brought to Moses and Eleazer and so divided Num. 31.12 When Rabbah was taken by David it is said He brought forth the spoyle of the Citty in great abundance 2. Sam. 12.30 When Ioshuah sent home the Reubenites from the warre he bids them Divide the spoyle of your enimies with your brethren Ios 22.8 And when some that went down with David against the Amalekites grudged that any of the spoyle should be given to them that were left behind David replyed Who will hearken to you in this but as his part is that goeth down to the Battell so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuffe they shall part alike and he made it a statute for Israel unto this day 1. Sam. 30.22,24,25 and it were well it were better observed at this day for who will tarry by the stuffe willingly or keep the guard carefully if not provided for by the orderly disposing of the Spoyle The Israelites having taken and slain the men of Judah with much cruelty are reproved for it by the Prophet whereupon they took those of Iudah which they had as Captives or Prisoners and with the Spoyle cloathed and fed and shod them 2. Chro. 28.15 which as it forbids cruelty against an enimy and makes him sometimes the object of mercy so doth it much more condemne the injustice of some Commanders that engrosse the spoyle to themselves and make private benefit of that which is or should be appoynted for the cloathing and reliefe of their own poor Souldiers I defire you to remember what Iacob said to his sons returning with the spoyles of Sichem Ye have troubled me to make me stink among the inhabitants of the Land Gen. 34.30 and accordingly to consider what disservice you doe His Majesty if under colour of spoyling Rebellious enimies his peaceable Subjects be plundered by you Finally when I consider what fuccesse it has pleased God to give His Majestis forces and cannot find any reason of it either in the abundance of ammunition or the number of His men or in the holinesse of their lives and their care of serving God I must conclude and so ought you that the Lord doth thereby shew he justifieth the cause you defend and doth invite you still to ackuowledge him in all your enterprizes and to use the Victory he gives you with moderation and justice and to be more carefull of his service and worship When I spoke above of Prayer I shewed how necessary it is for you because thereby you return unto God his Worship and obtain from him protection and any thing you need also how much spare time you have that might be imployed in devotion and though the service be suddain many times upon which you are commanded yet may the heart be lifted up in praver according to the straites of times and occasions I now come to give you patternes for the practice of this in such set and daily devotion or such occasionall devotion as may and will concerne you The Souldiers private Devotion EVery day requires of you the performance of your duty to God which that you may doe more fitly in relation to the service you are engaged in I desire you first to consider how justly your King may say in the Psalmists words Be mercifull to me O God for man goeth about to devour me he is daily fighting and troubling me mine enimies are daily in hand to swallow me up for they are many O thou most High Psal 56.1,2 They daily mistake my words and all that they imagine is to doe me evill for they hold together and keep themselves close and mark my steps ibid. v. 5. 6. They runne and prepare themselves without my fault arise thou therefore to help me and behold Psal 59.4 Destroy their tongues O Lord and divide them for I have espyed unrighteousnesse and strife in the Citty day and night they goe about within the Walles thereof mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it Psal 55.9.10 Shall they escape for their wickednesse thou O God in thy displeasure shalt cast them downe Psal 56.7 Thou tellest my flittings put my teares in thy bottle are not