Assizes God hath given his sword a Commission it hath beene many yeares in the Circuite 't is now come neere unto us The sword cannot bee quiet See Ieremy 47.6 7. O thou sword of the Lord how long will it bee ere thou be quiet put up thy selfe into thy scabberd rest and bee still How can it bee quiet seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against ASKELON and against the Sea-shore there hath hee appointed it The sword hath beene long unsheathed and hath gone in triumph over all the world besides how can it bee quiet till it come among us See what danger we are in the sword hath beene in other parts Thirdly consider warre hath beene at our very doores we have not only heard of it with our eares but our eyes have seene the smoake the fire of it hath toucht our bodies the enemy hath beene as neere us as David to Saul when he cut off the lap of his garment The last yeare was not the enemy strong upon our coast a Potent a powerful a malicious enemy I question not the end of their comming God and they know it but was not the warre at our gates did not the States and the Spaniards fight before our eyes when wee stood still and looked on God might have joyned them together against England But he made their sword drunke in the bloud one of another as the Lacedemonians made their servants and slaves drunke that we might see it and feare Againe was not the Trumpet the last yeare blowne was not a Generall made choise of Leivtenants Coronels Captaines and all officers were there not many horse and foote they that went voluntary and they that were pressed did not the King goe himselfe in person set up his Royall standerds lye in the eye in the sight of the enemy surely the sword was then drawne the knife was at the throate the men of warre were prepared for the fight there was great expence of men time and money yet then the Lord delivered us he returned the King backe again and we had peace David was in great danger when Saul and his men of warre encompassed him about yet then GOD brought Saul backe againe Ierusalem was straitly besieged by the Caldeans yet God hasted them away warre was at the back-doore Lastly consider the warre is now begun the sword hath begun to eate and drinke our flesh and bloud now is the time that Kings goe forth unto war Our preparations are farre greater our hope of preservation farre lesse relapse is the most dangerous The second wrath is seldome appeased God is now ingaged in the warre the meanes of deliverance became vaine and empty there hath beene rysings and rebellions in the chiefe Citie of the Kingdome the Ordinances of warre are in print amongst us the men of warre are gathered together wee waite daily to heare of some bloudy encounter of some fearefull Stratagem of some devillish damnable Massacre some horrid and dreadfull Tragedy The Pharisees were weather-wise it will bee foule weather to day the skie is red and lowring they could discerne the face of the sky but they could not discerne the signes of the times cast up your eyes and you shall see a Cloud comming from the Sea black and dreadfull covering the face of the heaven hearken a little and you shall heare a sound of abundance of Raine yea the drops begin to fall upon your faces stand still and be quiet and you may behold the approach of the enemy the horror the terror they bring with it certainely he that sees not that there is but one step betwixt him and death that we are all but dead men hee is either blind or starke madde for the Sword is drawn Warre is fully prepared War is ready Thirdly consider what possibility there is yet of escape what probability what hope what comfort remaines Is there no balme in Gilead Is there no Physitian there Iacob was almost desperate the famine was sore in the Land Ioseph was not Simeon was not they were taking away Benjamin also The Chiefe Governour of Egypt hee spake roughly to them he imprisoned them as spies hee conjures them that they should not see his face without their brother Benjamin Iacob was resolved hee should not goe his sonnes would not goe without him the famine encreased upon them something therefore Iacob must doe If it must bee so now saith hee doe thus take of the best fruits of the Land in your vessels and bring the man a present a little Rosen and a little hony spices and Myrrhe Nutts and Almonds and take double money in your hand and the money that was brought againe in your sackes mouthes carry it againe in your hands lest it were some oversight Take also your Brother and arise and goe againe to the man And God Almighty give you mercy in the sight of the man that hee may deliver you your other Brother and Benjamin c. There is the same beame of light and comfort left to us as was to Iacob there lyes a necessitie upon us it must bee so wee must downe into Egypt there is yet a little Balme in Gilead we must take double money increase our prayers to God wee must pray God Almighty give us mercy c. David was exceedingly distressed when the Amalekites burnt Ziklag and had carried their wives and al that they had captive when all his people were disheartened and discouraged when they lift up their voyces and wept when they mutined against David and spake of Stoning of him yet then David encouraged himselfe in the Lord there is yet this left how ever wee are sore distressed yet we may encourage our selves in the Lord we may enquire of the Lord Consider therefore to encourage you to this duty this leading mercy that God hath vouchsafed unto us this libertie and opportunitie that God hath given unto us this price that God hath put into our hands that the whole kingdome may yet appeare before God and cry unto GOD my Brethren this is not a little mercy In the Prophet Malachy's time when the state of Gods Church and people was as desperate as now both in respect of sinne and in respect of judgment they that feared the Lord spake often one to another It was a priviledge they might have such free accesse such communion such fellowship together the times have beene when the people of God have fled into the wildernesse into the deserts into dens and caves when they could not meete to fast and pray without great danger of distraction of discovering of presenting of imprisoning The last yeare I heard it often whispered in the eare and secretly muttered that the kingdome should prepare to warre and that God should not be called in to the warre that there was no prayer no fast injoyned this made some to feare least God would joyne against us See my brethren the King to whom alone it belongs to proclaime publike Fasts
and the famine together poysonous beasts travell over those parts of Germany where the sword hath raged and tell me if the plague the famine and the pestilence if one of these plagues be so terrible what will they all be when they are confederate and joyn'd in one when the sword comes there will be no escape for hee that flyes the one shall bee overtaken with the other The sword is one of Gods foure last judgments the last of the foure that which hath the rest attending on it Secondly the misery that war brings is of that nature that the spirit of ingenuous and free borne men of which we are if any nation under heaven be can the least brook it of any judgment Goe saith God to Gad Davids seer and say unto David thus saith the Lord I offer thee three things choose thee one of them that I may doe it unto thee It was a favour that God vouchsafed unto David that he never did as I read of to any beside that hee should choose the rod David had offended there was some ranke bloud in his veines GOD must let him bloud or he must dye and better hee must loose his corruption then GOD lose him purge him God will but whether with Pills or with Potions or with some Chymicall preparations David hath the choise choose thee one of them there was three evils proposed unto him three of the greatest evils three of those foure evils which God usually reserves to the last to extremity David must choose one and by this he was sure he should not be afflicted with all I am in a great straite Hee was much troubled terrified affrighted whereever he should make his choise misery would follow his election the least of the three judgments was plague enough yet he resolves Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord for his mercies are great and let me not fall into the hand of man It is uncertaine what Iudgement DAVID made choise of whether the plague or the famine 't is certaine he would not have the sword hee had rather have any Iudgement then to flye before his enemies Indeed of all judgments it is the judgement of judgments I may call it the plague of plagues which an ingenuous people can least stoope to Iob the mirror the miracle of patience shewed as much impatience in this temptation as in any I am in derision with them that are yonger then I whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flocke yea whereto might the strength of their hands profit mee c. they were children of fooles children of base men they were viler then the earth they made mee their song peruse Habacuk the first from the fifth verse to the eleaventh Behold yee among the heathen and regard and wonder marveilously for I will worke a worke in your dayes which you will not believe though it bee told you For loe I raise up the Caldeans that bitter and hastie Nation which shall march through the breadth of the land to possesse the dwelling places that are not theirs they are terrible and dreadfull their judgement and their dignity shall proceed of themselves Their horses also are swifter then the Leopards and are more fierce then the evening Wolves and their horse-men shall spread themselves and their horse-men shall come from farre and shall flee as the Eagle that hasteth to eate They shall come all for violence their faces shall sup up as the East wind and they shall gather the captivity as the sand And they shall scoffe at the Kings and the Princes shall bee a scorne unto them they shall deride every strong hold for they shall heape dust and take it Bring these home to your owne doores suppose that Nation of the Spaniard which the English have had cause to have had in the greatest detestation and abomination that insolent and proud Nation that they were at this present marching into the Towne with their Colours flying their drummes beating their Trumpets sounding suppose their Souldiers the rubbish the scum the filth of the Nation were to ransacke and rifle your houses or at least to be but billetted among you how could your spirits brook it to see them sit and command whilst you wait and attend to see them embrace your wives kill your servants beate your children breake open your Chists take away what ever is pretious in your eyes you that are now so high and loftie so tender and impatient of the least injury that cannot passe by any offence of your neighbours of your equalls of your superiours what if your servants your prentices your drudges should rise against you yea what if they that your servants your Prentices your drudges would hate to have any service from those that are prest out of your streetes whom your charity formerly releeved those whom your moneys clothed who while they were amongst you would have beene glad with your dogges to have gathered the crums that fell from your Table if they should returne and rule and command among you if they should with Briers and Thornes whip you every morning if they should take your cloathes from your backes and teare your skin from your flesh if they should lye with your daughters before your faces and commit all villanie and after all should fire your Towne should lead you captive away should make you horses for their carriages ô the miseries of war what nature could stoope unto it Thirdly this judgment of all judgments God is the most backwards the most unwilling to bring upon his people this showes the greatnesse of it Physitians will try all meanes before they will cut off they will let bloud prescribe Pills and Potions Sed si convaluerit malum ignis adhibetur ferrum The sword is the last thing that God will use yea God seemes to be afraid to use it and therefore he deferres it from day to day from yeare to yeare They that are troubled with the Stone they will hardly bee brought to bee cut for it they will endure much first they will try severall Physitians severall experiments they will send for the Surgeon and they will reason with him they will see his knife they will enlarge their discourses they will send them away againe and again and they will send for them againe and for other Surgeons they are scarce drawne to it see the same of God I said I would scatter them into corners I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy least their adversaries should behave themselves strangely and least they should say our hand is high and the Lord hath not done all this God loves not to afflict any he afflicts none willingly from the heart affliction is a strange worke to him If necessitie urgeth hee doth it with the Roddes of men for their amendment he will but correct them not destroy
a time of peace there was no instrument of Iron no toole of the work-man heard in the rearing of it Christ the Prince of peace his Disciples the children of peace quiet fishermen not hollowing hunters and whooping Faulkoners may the Church be as the Temple Ierusalem as the Schoole of Christ a Citie a house of peace take Ierusalem in in the third sence in the largest acception of the word for the whole kingdome of Israel of which Ierusalem was the head Citie and then pray for the peace of Ierusalem for peace in the kingdome pray that there may be no homebred conspiracies none left of the house of Saul to wage warre with the house of David no discontented Sheba to blow the Trumpet of sedition and rebellion no flattering Absalom to steale away the hearts of the Kings people no gallant Adonijah to make a strong partie against Salomon no Achitophel Politician to give pernicious counsell against David pray that there may bee no revolting in the kingdome that neither Edom nor Libnah no kingdome nor Country no Citie nor Towne nor person may fall from their allegiance to the King Pray that there may bee no forraine enemy no Syrian no Assyrian no Egyptian no Roman no Turke no Saracen no Italian no Spaniard no Dutch no French Pray for the peace of Ierusalem for all the kingdomes that pertaine to the King of Ierusalem for all the Countries Cities and Townes in these kingdomes for the Church in the kingdome Pray for the peace of Ierusalem the Citie the Church the kingdome Peace is taken in as large a sence as prosperity it comprehends all blessings in the wombe of it I shall principally take it in the strictest sence and Ierusalem in the largest and then the duty is Pray for the peace of Ierusalem that there may bee no warre in the kingdome Warre is only sweete to them that are ignorant of it Our kingdome hath enjoyed a longer time of peace then some kingdomes have of being Our age hath not beene rowsed with the barking of uncouth-Wolves the midnight drum hath not frighted our sleepes the sounding trumpet hath not deaft our eares our beacons have not beene fired our shippes arrested our walls manned our Townes have not beene ransacked our houses ruined our women ravished our infants dashed against the stones wee have not sowed and the stranger reaped we have not built and the enemy possessed we have not beene confounded with strange languages but peace hath beene within our walls and plenteousnesse within our dwellings Peace the daughter of the Gospell of peace Plentie the daughter of Peace Peace the glory of Heaven the joy of the whole world Pray for the peace of Ierusalem IN the prosecution of which I will shew you the misery of Warre the great danger that wee are in of having warre the hopes that remaine to escape it I begin with the first First consider the misery of warre The sword is one of Gods foure sore Iudgements whereby he layeth waste and maketh desolate the greatest kingdomes And I will appoint over them foure kinds saith the Lord the sword to slay and the dogges to teare and the fowles of the Heaven and the beasts of the earth to devoure and destroy For thus saith the Lord how much more when I send my foure sore Iudgments upon Ierusalem the sword and the famine and the noysome Beast and the Pestilence to cut off from it man and Beast Where you may be pleased to observe the sword is not only one of the foure but the first of the foure the most devouring the most destroying God usually sendeth none of these judgments but when his patience is much wounded when his Royall Indignation is kindled when his Iustice is forced when his mercy hath no more to say God hath a store house a rich treasury a Magazen of judgments there are all Instruments of death and bloud sicknesse to death and sicknesses not to death Agues and Feavours and consumptions and these God usually sends before the destroying Pestilence God hath his Staffe and his Rod his Bow and his Arrowes with these he corrects the sons of men before he drawes his sword his sword furbished and glittering to make a sore destruction Iupiter throwes not at first his dreadfull Thunderbolts The heavens usually grow darke and blacke the clouds gather together the raine falls the lightning breaketh forth the sword the famine the noysome beast and the Pestilence they are in the darkest in the most inward roome of the Castle and Tower which God never opens till he be hard put to it till his lesser judgments are despised see the method of Gods proceedings he will proceed from few to many from lesse to greater he will punish us seaven times more for our sinnes when the foure winds breake loose when any of these foure judgements come then God is angry indeed of these foure judgments the sword the famine the pestilence and noysome beasts the sword is the worst of the foure that which God reserveth till the last as the greatest witnesse of his displeasure and the swiftest messenger for our destruction any one of these foure brings feare and trembling horror and terror palenesse and death if the pestilence which is but Gods Arrow if that bee let off of the string though in any part of the kingdome the Arrow that flyes in the darke that usually poysons most in the darke corners of the land amongst the poorest sort of people yet what a feare it strikes into the body of the whole kingdome if but one Citie be infected what flying out of the Citie what watch and ward what strict examination and doings of all that come from that Citie every one being like Cain afraid of every one that meete them least they should kill them runnagates upon the face of the earth Remember the feare that surprised you when GOD shot this Arrow but into one house of this Towne when it fetched the heart-bloud but from a few what flying what posting away your selves your households my Brethren if the plague bee so terrible what will the sword bee that comes after the plague more fierce more terrible by how much the mercies of man are lesse then the mercies of God yea when the sword comes the rest of these foure Iudgements attend on it The plague may come alone and the famine may come alone and noysome beasts may come alone these oftentimes come before the sword if possible to prevent it but when they cannot doe the work the sword will then contemne the rod set at naught what ever the former judgments have done it will come furbished and sharpened and this blacke guard of pestilence famine noysome beasts will be at the heeles of it The sword layes men dead in the fields it ruines Townes and houses it leaves the fields unplowed unharrowed unsowed hence famine growes grievous that kills whom the sword escapes the noysome stinch of the dead begets plagues that