short discourse of the four Empires The Babylonian The Persian That of the Greekes And the fourth of the Romanes in the destruction whereof rose up that last Beast which he affirmed to be the Romane Church for to none other power that ever hath yet beene do all the notes that God hath shewed to the Prophet appertain except to it alone And unto it they do so properly appertaine that such as are not more then blinde may cleerly see them But before he began to open the corruptions of Papistrie he defined the true Church shewed the true notes of it whereupon it was built why it was the Pillar of Verity and why it could not erre to wit Because it heard the voyce of the onely Pastor JESUS CHRIST would not heare a stranger neither would be carried with every winde of Doctrine Every one of these heads sufficiently declared he entred to the contrary and upon the notes given in his Text he shewed that the Spirit of God in the new Testament gave to this King other new names to wit The man of sin The Antichrist The Whore of Babilon He shewed That this man of sin or Antichrist was not to be restrained to the person of any one man onely no more then by the fourth Beast was to be understood the person of any one Emperour But by such names the Spirit of God would forewarne his chosen of a body and a multitude having a wicked head which should not onely be sinfull himself but also should be occasion of sin to all that should be subject unto him as Christ Jesus is the cause of Justice to all the Members of his Body and is called the Antichrist that is to say One contrary to Christ because that he is contrary to him in Life Doctrine Lawes and Subjects And there began to decipher the lives of divers Popes and the lives of all the Shavelings for the most part Their Doctrine and Lawes he plainly proved to repugne directly to the Doctrine and Lawes of God the Father and of Christ Jesus his Son This he proved by conferring the Doctrine of Justification expressed in the Scriptures which teach that man is justified by Faith onely That the blood of Iesus Christ purgeth us from all our sinnes And the Doctrine of the Papists which attribute Justification to the works of the Law yea to the works of mens inventions as Pilgrimage Pardons and other such baggage That the Papisticall lawes repugned to the Lawes of the Gospel he proved by the Lawes made of observation of dayes abstaining from meats and from Marriage which Christ Jesus made free and the forbidding whereof Saint Paul calleth the doctrine of devils In handling the notes of that Beast given in the Text he willed men to consider if these notes There shall another rise unlike to the other having a mouth speaking great things and blasphemous could be applyed unto any other but to the Pope and his kingdome For if these said he be not great words and blasphemous The Head of the Church most holy most blessed that cannot erre That can make right of wrong and wrong of right That of nothing can make somewhat And that had all verity in the Shrine of his brest yea That had power of all and none power of him Nay not to say That he doth wrong although he draw ten thousand Millions of souls with himself to hell If these said he and many other easie to be showne in his own Cannon-Law be not great and blasphemous words and such as never mortall men spake before let the world judge And yet said he is there one most evident of all to wit Iohn in his Revelation sayes That the Merchandise of that Babylonian Harlot among other things shall be the bodies and souls of men Now let very Papists themselves judge If any before them took upon them power to relax the pains of them that were in Purgatory as they affirme to the people that daily they do by the merits of their Masse and of their other trifles In the end he said If any here and there were present Master Iohn Maire the University the Sub-Prior and many Cannons with some Friers of both the Orders that will say That I have alleadged Scripture Doctor or History otherwise then it is written let them come unto me with sufficient witnesse and by conference I shall let them see not onely the Originall where my Testimonies are written but I shall prove That the Writers meant as I have spoken Of this Sermon which was the first that ever Iohn Knox made in publike was divers brutes Some said He not onely hewes the branches of Papistry but he strikes at the root also to destroy the whole Others said If the Doctors and Magistri nostri defend not now the Pope and his Authority which in their own presence is so manifestly impugned the devill may have my part of him and of his Lawes both Others said Master George Wischarde spake never so plainly and yet he was burnt even so will he be In the end others said The Tyranny of the Cardinall made not his cause the better neither yet the suffering of Gods servant made his cause the worse And therefore we would counsell you and them to provide better defences then fire and sword for it may be that else ye will be disappointed men now have other eyes then they had then This answer gave the Laird of Nydrie a man fervent and upright in Religion The bastard Bishop who yet was not execrated consecrated the Sub-Prior of S. Andrews who Sede vacante was Vicar Generall That he wondered that he suffered such Hereticall and Schismaticall Doctrine to be taught and not to oppose himselfe to the same Upon this rebuke was a convention of gray-Friers and black-Fiends appointed with the said Sub-Prior Deane Iohn Winrame in S. Leonards Yard whereunto was first called Iohn Rough and certain Articles read to him And thereafter was Iohn Knox called for The cause of their convention and why that they were called is expounded And the Articles were read which were these 1. No mortall man can be the head of the Church 2. The Pope is an Antichrist and so is no member of Christs mysticall body 3. Man may neither make nor devise a Religion that is acceptable to God but man is bound to observe and keep the Religion that from God is received without chopping or changing thereof 4. The Sacraments of the New Testament ought to be ministred as they were instituted by Christ Iesus and practised by his Apostles nothing ought to be added unto them nothing ought to be diminished from them 5. The Masse is abominable Idolatry blasphemous to the death of Christ and a prophanation of the Lords Supper 6. There is no Purgatory in the which the soules of men can either be pined or purged after this life But heaven resteth to the faithfull and hell to the reprobate and unfaithfull 7. Praying for the dead
gave to Peter teacheth us That God doth not flatter nor conceal the faults of his Elect but maketh them manifest to the end that the Offendors may repent and that others may avoid the like offences That Christ called Peter of little faith argueth and declareth as we before have noted That Peter was not altogether faithlesse but that hee fainted or was uncertain in his faith for so soundeth the Greek terme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereof we ought to be admonished That in passing to Christ thorow the storms of this world is not onely required a fervent faith in the beginning but also a constancy to the end as Christ saith He that continueth to the end shall be saved and Saint Paul Unlesse a man shall strive lawfully he shall not be crowned The remembrance of this ought to put us in minde That the most fervent man and such as have long continued in profession of Christ is not yet sure to stand at all hours but that he is subject to many dangers and that he ought to fear his own frailty as the Apostle teacheth us saying Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall for if Peter that began so fervently yet fainted ere he came to Christ what ought we to fear in whom such fervency was never found No doubt we ought to tremble and fear the worst and by the knowledge of our own weaknesse with the Apostles incessantly to pray O Lord increase our faith Christs demand and question asking Peter Why doubtest thou containeth in it self a vehemency as if he should have said Whether doubtest thou of my power or of my promises or of my good will If my power had not been sufficient to have saved thee then could I neither have come to thee thorow the stormy Sea neither have made the waters obey thee when thou beganst to come to me and if my good will had not been to have delivered thee and thy Brethren then had I not appeared unto you neither had I called upon thee but had permitted the Tempest to devour and swallow you up but considering that your eye saw me present your ears heard my voice and thou Peter especially knewest the same and obeyedst my commandment why then doubtest thou Beloved brethren If this same demand and question were laid to our charge we should have lesse pretence of excuse then had Peter for he might have alleadged That he was not advertised that any great Storme should have risen betwixt him and Christ which justly we cannot alleadge for since that time that Christ hath appeared unto us by the brightnes of his Word and called upon us by his lively voyce he hath continually blown in our ears That persecution and trouble should follow the Word that we professed which dayes are now present Alas then why doubt we thorow this storme to go to Christ Support O Lord and let us sink no further Albeit that Peter fainted in faith and therefore was worthy most sharply to be rebuked yet doth not Christ leave him in the Sea neither long permitted he that fear and tempest to continue but first they entred both into the Ship and thereafter the winde ceased and last their Ship arrived without longer delay at the place for which they long had laboured O blessed and happy are those that patiently abides this deliverance of the Lord The raging Sea shall not devour them Albeit they have fainted yet shall not Christ Jesus leave them behinde in the stormy Sea but suddenly he shall stretch forth his mighty hand and shall place them in the Ship amongst their brethren that is He shall conduct them to the number of his elect and afflicted Church with whom he will continue to the end of the world The Majestie of his presence shall put to silence this boysterous winde the malice and envy of the devill which so bloweth in the hearts of Princes Prelates Kings and of earthly men that altogether they are conjured against the Lord and against his Anoyned Christ in despight of whom he safely shall conduct convey and carry his sore troubled Flock to the life and rest for which they travell Albeit I say that sometimes they have fainted in their journey albeit that weaknesse in faith permitted them to sink yet from the hand of Christ can they not be rent he may not suffer them to drown nor the deep to devour them But for the glory of his own Name he must deliver for they are committed to his charge protection and keeping and therefore must he keep and defend such as he hath received at his father from sin from death from devil and hell The remembrance of these promises is to mine own heart such occasion of comfort as neither can any tongue nor pen expresse but yet peradventure some there is of Gods elect that cannot be comforted in this tempest by any meditations of Gods election or defence but rather beholding such as sometimes boldly have professed Christs Verity now to be returned to their accustomed abominations And also themselves to be overcome with fear that against their knowledge and conscience they stoup to an Idol and with their presence maintaineth the same and being at this point they begin to reason Whether it be possible that the members of Christs body may be permitted so horribly to fall to the denyall of their Head and in the same to remain of long continuance And from this reasoning they enter in dolour and from dolour they begin to sink to the gates of hell and Ports of despair The dolour and fear of such I grant to be most just For oh how fearfull is it for the love of this transitory life in the presence of man to deny Christ Jesus and his known and undoubted Verity But yet to such as be not obstinate contemners of God and of all godlinesse I would give this my weak counsell That rather they should appeal to mercy then by the severe judgements of God to pronounce against themselves the fearfull sentence of condemnation and to consider that God includeth all under unbelief that he may have mercy upon all That the Lord filleth and giveth life he leadeth down to hell and yet lifteth up again But I will not that any man think That by this my counsell I either justifie such as horribly are returned back to their vomit either yet that I flatter such as maintaineth that abominable Idoll with their dayly presence God forbid For then were I but a blinde guide leading the blinde headlong to perdition Onely God knoweth the dolour and sobs of my heart for such as I hear dayly do turn back But the cause of my counsell is That I know the conscience of some to be so tender that whensoever they feel themselves troubled with fear wounded with anguish or to have sliden back in any point that then they judge their faith to be quenched
that the Prophet Isaiah saw not the destruction of Ierusalem much lesse could he see the restitution of it with his corporall eyes but he leaveth this as it were in testament with them That when they were in the extremity of all bondage they should call to minde what the Prophet of God had before spoken And lest that his doctrine and this promise of God made unto them by his mouth should have been forgotten as we are ever prone and ready to forget Gods promises when we are pressed with any sorrow God raised up unto them in the midst of their calamity his Prophet Ezekiel unto whom among many other visions he gave this The hand of the Lord first led him in a place which was full of dry and dispersed bones The question was demanded of the Prophet if these bones being wondrous dry should live The Prophet answered The knowledge thereof appertained unto God Charge was given unto him that he should speak unto the dry bones and say Thus saith the Lord God to these bones Behold I shall give you breath and you shall live I shall give unto you sinews flesh and skin and you shall live And while the Prophet spake as he was commanded he heard a voyce and he saw every bone joyn in his Marrow he saw them covered with flesh and skin albeit there was no spirit of life in them He was commanded again to speak and to say Thus saith the Lord God Come O spirit from the four quarters and blow in these that are slain that they may live And as he prophesied the spirit of life came They lived and stood upon their feet Now doth the Lord interpret what this vision meant saying O Son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel Behold they say our bones are dryed our hope is perished we are plainly cut off But behold saith the Lord I will open your graves I will bring you forth of them ye shall live and come unto the Land of Israel and ye shall know that I am the Lord. This vision I say given to the Prophet and by the Prophet preached to the people when they thought that God had utterly forgotten them compelled them more diligently to advert what the former Prophets had spoken It is no doubt but they carryed with them both the prophesie of Isaiah and Ieremy so that the Prophet Ezekiel is a Commentary to these words of Isaiah where he saith Thy dead O Lord shall live with my body they shall arise The Prophet bringeth in this similitude of the dew to answer unto that part of their fidelity who can believe no further of Gods promises then they are able to apprehend by naturall judgement As he would say Think ye this impossible that God shall give life unto you and bring you to an estate of a Common-wealth again after that ye be dead and as it were raced from the face of the earth But why do ye not consider what God worketh from yeer to yeer in the order of nature sometimes ye see the face of the earth decked and beautified with herbs flowers grasse and fruits Again ye see the same utterly taken away by storms and vehemency of the Winter What doth God to replenish the earth again and to restore the beauty thereof He sendeth down his small and soft dew the drops whereof in their descending are neither great nor visible and yet thereby are the pores and secret veins of the earth which before by vehemency of frost and cold were shut up opened again and so doth the earth produce again the like herbs flowers and fruits Shall ye then think that the dew of Gods heavenly grace shall not be as effectuall in you to whom he hath made his promise as that it is in the herbes and fruits that from year to year buddeth forth and decayeth If ye do so the Prophet would say your incredibility is inexcusable because ye do neither rightly weigh the power nor the promise of your God The like similitude useth the Apostle Paul against such as called the resurrection in doubt because that by naturall judgement they could not apprehend that flesh once putrified and resolved as it were in other substance should arise again and return again to the same substance and nature O fool saith he that which thou sowest is not quickned except it dye and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare corn as it falleth of wheat or some other but God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him even to every seed his own body In which words and sentence the Apostle sharply rebuketh the grosse ignorance of the Corinthians who began to call in doubt the chiefe article of our faith the resurrection of the flesh after that it was once resolved because that naturall judgement as said he reclaimed thereto He reproveth I say their grosse ignorance because they might have seen and considered some proofe and document thereof in the very order of nature For albeit the wheat or other corn cast in the earth appeareth to die or putrifie and so to be lost yet we see that it is not perished but that it fructifieth according to Gods will and ordinance Now if the power of God be so manifest in raising up of the fruits of the earth unto the which no particular promise is made by God what shall be his power and vertue in raising up of our bodies seeing that thereto he is bound by the solemne promise of Jesus Christ his eternall wisdom And the verity it self that can not lie yea seeing that the members must once communicate with the glory of the head How shall our bodies which are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones lie still for ever in corruption seeing that our head Jesus Christ is now exalted in his glory Neither yet is this power and good will of God to be restrained unto the last and generall resurrection onely but we ought to consider it in the marvellous preservation of his Church and in the raising up of the same from the very bottome of death when by Tyrants it hath been oppressed from age to age Now of the former words of the Prophet we have to gather this comfort That if at any time we see the face of the Church within this Realm so defaced as I think it shall be sooner then we look for when we shall see I say vertue to be despised vice to be maintained the verity of God to be impugned lies and mens inventions holden in authoritie and finally when we shall see the true Religion of our God and the zealous observers of the same to be trodden under the feet of such as in their heart say That there is no God Let us then call to mind what have been the wonderous works of our God from the beginning that it is his proper Office to bring forth light out of darknesse order out of confusion life out of death and
it betwixt them for that day The feare riseth and at an instant they which before were victors and were not yet assaulted with any force except with ordnance as is said cast from them their spears and fled So that Gods power was so evidently seen that in one moment yea at one instant time both the armies were fleeing The shout came from the hill from those that hoped no victory upon the English part The shout rises we say They flee they flee but at the first it could not be beleeved till at the last it was clearly seene that all had given back and still began the cruell slaughter which was the greater by reason of the late displeasure of the men of arms the chase and slaughter lasted till neer Edinburgh upon the one part and toward Dalketh upon the other The number of the slain upon the Scottish side were judged nigh ten thousand men The Earle of Huntly was taken and carried to London But he relieved himselfe being surety for many reasons Honesty or unhonesty we know not but as the bruite was he used policie with England In that same time was slain the Master of Erskin dearly beloved of the Queene for whom she made great lamentation and bare his death many dayes in minde When the certaintie of the discomfiture came she was in Edinburgh abiding upon tidings But with expedition she posted that same night to Sterlin with Monsieur Dosell who was as fearfull as a Fox when his hole is smoaked And thus did God take the second revenge upon the perjured Governour with such as assisted him to defend an unjust quarrell Albeit that many innocents fell amongst the middest of the wicked The English armie came to Leyth and their taking order with their prisoners and spoile they returned with this victory which they looked not for to England That Winter following was great hearships made upon all the borders of Scotland Broughtie mountain was taken by the Englishmen and besieged by the Governor but still kept And at it was slain Gawine the best of the Hamiltons and the ordnance left Whereupon the Englishmen encouraged began to fortifie upon the hill above Broughty house which was called The fort of Broughty and was very noisome to Dundie which it burnt and laid waste and so did it the most part of Angus which was not assured and under friendship with them The Lent following was Hadington fortified by the English men The most part of Lothian from Edinburgh East was either assured or laid waste This did God plague in every quarter But men were blinde and would not nor could not consider the cause The Lairdes Ormeston and Brunstone were banished and after sore assaulted and so were all those of the Castle of S. Andrews The sure knowledge of the troubles of Scotland coming to France there was prepared a Navie and Army The Navie was such as never was seen to come from France for the support of Scotland for besides the Gallies being twenty two in number they had threescore great Ships besides Victuallers How soon so ever they took the plain seas the red Lion of Scotland was displayed and they holden as rebels unto France such policie is no falshood in Princes for good peace stood betwixt France and England And the King of France approved nothing that they did The chiefe men to whom the conducting of the Army was appointed were Monsieur Dandelott Monsieur de Termes and Peter Strozi In their journey they made some harship upon the coast of England but it was not great They arrived in Scotland in May in the yeere of our Lord 1549. The Gallies did visit the Fort of Broughtie but did no more at that time Preparations were made for the siege of Hadington but it was another thing that they meant as the issue declared The whole body of the Realm assembled the form of a Parliament was set to be holden there to wit in the Abbey of Hadington The principall head was the Marriage of the Princesse by the State before contracted to King Edward to the King of France and of her present deliverie by reason of the danger she stood in by the invasion of the old enemies of England Some were corrupted with buds some deceived by flattering promise and some for fear were compelled to consent for the French Souldiers were the officers of Arms in that Parliament The Laird of Balcleuch a bloody man with many Gods-wounds swore They that would not consent should do worse The Governour got the Title of Duke of Chattelherauld with the order of the Cockle and a Pension of 12000. lib. turn with a full discharge of all intermissions with King Iames the fift his treasure and substance whatsoever with possession of the Castle of Dumbartane till that issue should be seen of the Queenes body With these and other conditions stood he content to sell his Soveraigne out of his own hands which in the end will be his destruction God thereby punishing his former wickednesse if speedie repentance prevent not Gods judgements which we heartily wish Huntly Argyle and Angus were likewise made Knights of the Cockle and for that and other good deeds received they sold also their part Shortly none was found to resist that unjust demand And so was she sold to go to France To the end that in her youth she should drink of that liquor that should remain with her all her life time for a plague to this Realm and for her own ruine And therefore albeit that now a fire cometh out of her that consumes many let no man wonder she is Gods hand in his displeasure punishing our former ingratitude Let men patiently abide Gods appointed time and turn unto him with hearty repentance then God will surely stop the fire that now comes from her by sudden changing her heart to deal favourably with his people or else by taking her away or by stopping her to go on in her couâ—se by such meanes as he shall think meet in his wisdom for he having all in his hand disposeth of all and doth with all according to his own will unto which we must not onely yeeld but also be heartily pleased with it since it is absolutely good and both by Sacred and Prophane History we are taught to do so for in them we finde That Princes have been raised up by his hands to punish his people But when they turned unto him with hearty repentance he either turned the heart of the Prince to deal kindly with his people or else did take him away or at least did stop his violent course against his people Of this the examples are so frequent that we spare to name them heere But to returne to our Historie This conclusion That our Queene without further delay should be delivered to France The siege continued great shooting but no assaulting and yet they had fair occasion offered unto them For the English-men approaching to
deep But such was the deadly despair of him that alwayes had despised Gods Prophets and had most abominably defiled himself with Idolatry that no consolation could enter into his heart but desperately and with a dissembling and fained excuse he refused all the offers of God And albeit God kept touch with that hypocrite for that time which was not done for his cause but for the safety of his afflicted Church yet after escaped he not the vengeance of God The like we reade of Zedekiah the wretched and last King of Iudah before the destruction of the City of Ierusalem who in his great fear and extreme anguish sent for Ieremiah the Prophet and secretly demanded of him How he might escape the great danger that appeared when the Caldeans besieged the City And the Prophet boldly spake and commanded the King if he would save his life and the City to render and give up himself into the hands of the King of Babylon But the miserable King had no grace to follow the Prophets counsell because he never delighted in the said Prophets Doctrine neither yet had shewed unto him any friendly favour But even as the enemies of God the chiefe Priests and false Prophets required of the King so was the good Prophet evilly used sometimes cast into prison and sometimes judged and condemned to die The most evident testimony of the wilfull blinding of wicked Idolaters is written and recited in the same Prophet Ieremiah as followeth After that the City of Ierusalem was burnt and destroyed the King led away prisoner his sons and chief Nobles slain and the whole vengeance of God poured out upon the disobedient yet there was left a remnant in the Land to make use of and possesse the same who called upon the Prophet Ieremiah to know concerning them the will and pleasure of God Whether they should remain still in the Land of Iudea as was appointed and permitted by the Caldeans Or if they should depart and flie into Egypt To certifie them of this their duty they desire the Prophet to pray unto God for them Who condescending and granting their Petition promised to keep back nothing from them which the Lord God should open unto him And they in like manner taking God to record and witnesse made a solemn Vow To obey whatsoever the Lord should answer unto him But when the Prophet by the inspiration of the Spirit of God and assured revelation and knowledge of his Will commanded them to remain still in the Land that they were in promising them if they so would do That God would there plant them and that he would repent of all the plagues that he had brought upon them and that he would be with them to deliver them from the hands of the King of Babylon But contrariwise if they would not obey the voyce of the Lord but would against his Commandment go to Egypt thinking that there they should live in rest and aboundance without any fear of Warre and penury of victuall then the very plagues which they feared should come upon them and take them For saith the Prophet it shall come to passe That all men that obstinately will go to Egypt there to remain shall die either by sword by hunger or pestilence But when the Prophet of God had declared unto them this plain sentence and will of God I pray you what was their answer The text declared it saying Thou speakest a lie neither hath the Lord our God sent thee unto us commanding that we should not go into Egppt but Baruch the sonne of Neriah provoketh thee against us that he may give us into the power of the Caldees that they might kill us and lead us prisoners into Babylon And thus they refused the counsell of God and followed their owne fantasies Here may be espied in this people great obstinacie and blindnesse for nothing which the Lord had before spoken by this Prophet Ieremy had fallen in vain Their own eyes had seen the plagues and miseries which hee had threatned take effect in every point as he had spoken before yea they were yet green and fresh both in minde and presence for the flame and fire wherewith Ierusalem was consumed and burnt was then scantly quenched and yet could they not beleeve his threatnings then spoken neither yet could they follow his fruitfull counsell given for their great wealth and safeguard And why so Because they never delighted in Gods Truth neither had they repented their former Idolatry but still continued and rejoyced in the same as manifestly appeareth in the four and fortieth Chapter of the same Prophet and therefore would they and their wives have been in Egypt where all kinde of Idolatry and Superstition abounded that they without reproach or rebuke might have their Bellyes full thereof in despight of Gods holy Lawes and Prophets In writing hereof it came to my minde that after the death of that innocent and most godly King Edward the sixt while that great tumult was in England for the establishing of that most unhappy and wicked womans Authority I mean of Mary that now reigneth in Gods wrath entreating the same argument in a Town in Buckingam Shire named Hammersham before a great congregation with sorrowfull heart and weeping eyes I fell into this exclamation O England now is Gods wrath kindled against thee now hath he begun to punish as he hath threatned a long while by his true Prophets and Messengers he hath taken from thee the Crown of thy glory and hath left thee without honour as a body without a head And this appeareth to be onely the beginning of sorrows which appeareth to increase for I perceive that the heart the tongue and hand of one English man is bent against another and devision to be in the whole Realm which is an assured signe of desolation to come O England England doest thou not consider that the Common-wealth is like a Ship sailing on the Sea if thy Marriners and Governours shall one consume another shalt thou not suffer shipwrack in short processe of time O England England alasse these plagues are powred upon thee for that thou wouldest not know the most happy time of thy gentle Visitation But wilt thou yet obey the voyce of thy God and submit thy self to his holy words Truly if thou wilt thou shalt finde mercie in his sight and the estate of thy Common-wealth shall be preserved But O England England if thou obstinately wilt return into Egypt that is If thou contract Mariage Confederacie or League with such Princes as do maintain and advance Idolatry such as the Emperour who is no lesse enemy unto Christ then ever was Nero if for the pleasure and friendship I say of such Princes thou returnest to thine old abominations before used under the Papistrie then assuredly O England thou shalt be plagued and brought to desolation by the means of those whose favours thou seekest and by whom thou art
Realms Nations yea certain great revelations of mutations and changes when no such things were feared nor yet was appearing a portion whereof cannot the world deny be it never so blinde to be fulfilled and the rest alas I fear shall follow with greater haste and in more full perfection then my sorrowfull heart desireth Nothwithstanding these revelations and assurances I did ever abstain to commit any thing to writing contented onely to have obeyed the charge of him who commanded me to crie If any then will ask to what purpose this onely Sermon is set forth and greater matters omitted I answer to let such as Sathan hath not altogether blinded so upon how small occasions great offence is now conceived This Sermon is it for the which from my Bed I was called before the Councell and after long reasoning I was by some forbidden to Preach in Edinburgh so long as the King and Queen were in Town This Sermon is it that so offendeth such as would please Court and will not appear to be enemies to the Truth yet they dare affirm That I exceeded the bounds of Gods Messenger I have therefore faithfully committed unto writing whatsoever I could remember might have been offensive in that Sermon to the end That as well the enemies of Gods truth as the professors of the same may either note unto me wherein I have offended or at the least cease to condemn me before they have convinced me by Gods manifest Word If any man think it easie unto me to mitigate by my pen the inconsiderate sharpnesse of my Tongue and so cannot men freely judge of that my Sermon I answer That I am neither so impudent that I will studie to abuse the world in this great light neither yet so void of the fear of my God that I will avow a lie in his own presence and no lesse do I esteem it to be a lie To deny or conceale that which in his Name I have once pronounced then to affirm That God hath spoken when his Word assures me not of the same for in the publike place I consult not with flesh and blood wha◠I shall propose to the people but as the Spirit of my God who hath sent me and unto whom I must answer moveth me so I speak and when I have once pronounced threatnings in his Name how unpleasant soever they be to the World I dare no more deny them then I dare deny that God hath made me his Messenger to forewarn the inobedient of their assured destruction At that Sermon were auditors unto me not onely professors of the truth and such as favour me but rank Papists dissembling Hypocrites and no small number of covetous Clawbacks of the new Court now I will appeal to the conscience of them all as they will answer in the presence of the Eternall God that either they bear me record now writing the truth or else note unto me the sentences offensive then by me pronounced and now omitted in writing for in Gods presence I protest That so far as memory would serve me I have written more vehemently then in the action I spake and pronounced but of purpose I have omitted perswasions and exhortations which then were made Quaedam hîc desunt A SERMON Preached By John Knox. Esay 26.13 14 15 16 c. O Lord our God other lords besides thee have had dominion over us but by thee onely will we make mention of thy Name They are dead they shall not live they are deceased they shall not rise therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish Thou hast increased the Nation O Lord thou hast increased the Nation thou art glorified thou hast removed it farre unto the ends of the earth Lord in trouble have they visited thee they powred out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them c. AS the cunning Marriner being Master having his Ship tossed with a vehement tempest and contrary windes is compelled oft to traverse lest that either by too much resisting to the violence of the Waves his Vessell might be over whelmed or by too much libertie granted to be carried whither the fury of the tempest would his Ship should be driven upon the shore and so make shipwrack even so doth our Prophet Isaiah in this Text which now you have heard read for he foreseeing the great desolation that was decreed in the Councell of the Eternall against Hierusalem and Iudah to wit That the whole people that bare the Name of God should be dispersed that the holy Citie should be destroyed the Temple wherein was the Ark of the Covenant and where God had promised to give his own presence should be burnt with fire the King taken his sons in his own presence murthered his own eyes immediatly after to be put out the Nobilitie some cruelly murdered some shamefully led away captives and finally the whose seed of Abraham razed as it were from the face of the earth The Prophet I say fearing these horrible calamities doth as it were sometimes suffer himself and the people committed to his Charge to be carryed away with the violence of the tempest without further resistance then by pouring forth his and their dolorous complaints before the Majestie of God as in the 13 17 and 18 verse of this present Text we may reade At other times he valiantly resisteth the desperate tempest and pronounceth the fearfull destruction of all such as trouble the Church of God which he pronounceth that God will multiply even in such time as when it appeareth utterly to be exterminate But because there is no small rest to the whole Body till that the Head returne to judgement he calleth the afflicted to patience and promiseth such a Visitation as whereby the wickednesse of the wicked shall be disclosed and finally recompenced in their own bosoms These are the chiefest Points of which by the grace of God we intend more largely at this present to speak First the Prophet saith O Lord our God other lords besides thee have ruled us This no doubt is the beginning of the dolorous complaint in the which he complaineth of the unjust tyranny that the poor afflicted Israelites sustained during the time of their Captivity True it is That the Prophet was gathered to his fathers in peace before that this apprehended the people For a hundred yeers after his decease was not the people led away captive Yet he fore-seeing the assurance of the calamity did before-hand endite and dictate unto them the complaint that after they should make But at the first sight it appeareth That the complaint hath but small weight For what new thing was it that other lords then God in his own person ruled them seeing that such had been their Regiment from the beginning For who knoweth not that Moses Aaron and Ioshua the Judges Samuel David and other godly Rulers were men and not God And so other lords then God ruled them in