Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A02591
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The true peace-maker laid forth in a sermon before his Maiesty at Theobalds. September 19, 1624. By Ios. Hall deane of Worcester.
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Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656.
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1624
(1624)
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STC 12715; ESTC S103756
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11,389
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49
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vnquiet breast boiles continually with the conscience of any foule sinne whose heart is daily tyr'd vpon by the vultur of his secret guiltinesse whose bosome is gnawed before-hand with that hellish Worme which can no more giue ouer than die It boots not to aske thee if thou wouldst haue peace Peace Rather than life Oh wherewithall shall I come before the Lord and bow my selfe before the most high God Shall I come before him with burnt offerings Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rammes or with tenne thousand Riuers of Oyle Shall I giue my first borne for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sinne of my soule Heare O thou distracted heart what talkest thou of giuing to the owner The world is his thou art not thine owne Yea were these things thine and not his yet know it is not giuing but taking that must procure thy peace An infinite Iustice is offended an infinite Iustice hath satisfied an infinite mercy hath applied it Take thou hold by the hand of faith on that infinite mercy and justice of thy Sauiour The worke of his Iustice shall be thy peace Fly about whither thou wilt O thou weary Doue thorow all the wide Regions of the heauen and waters thou shalt no where finde rest for the soles of thy feet but in this Arke of Christs perfect righteousnesse In vaine shalt thou seeke it in schooles of morality in learned Libraries in spacious fields and forrests in pleasant gardens in sullen retirednesse in witty conuersation in wanton Theaters in drunken cellers in tables of gluttony in beds of lust chests of Mammon whiffes and draughts of intoxication songs of ribaldry sports of recreation No no the more thou seekest it in most of these the further it flies from thee the further thou art from finding it and if these things may giue some poore truce to thy thoughts it shall soone end in a more direfull warre There is no peace saith my God to the wicked Stray whither thou wilt O thou wounded heart thorow the Lawnds and Woods alas the shaft sticks still in thee or if that bee shaken out the head None but the soueraigne Dittany of thy Sauiours righteousnesse can driue it out and till it be out thou canst haue no peace In plaine termes wouldst thou haue peace None but Christ can giue it thee He will giue it to none but the penitent none but the faithfull Oh spend thy selfe into the sighes and teares of true repentance and then raise thy humbled soule to a liuely confidence in thine all-sufficient Redeemer Set thy Lord Iesus betwixt God and thy sinnes God cannot see thy debt but through thine acquittance By his stripes we are healed by his wounds we are stanched by his death we are quickned by his righteousnesse we are discharged The worke of his righteousnesse is our peace Oh safe and blessed condition of beleeuers Let sinne Satan world death hell doe their worst Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect It is God that iustifieth who shall condemne It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen againe who is also at the right hand of God and maketh intercession for vs Our enemy is now our Father our Iudge is our Sauiour the offended our surety that precious bloud our ransome that perfect righteousnesse our euerlasting peace Thus much of our spirituall Iustice and Peace The Ciuill followes I know these two are wide termes Iustice comprises all vertue as Peace all blessings For that is iust in all kinds which hath a meet adequation to the rule All vertue therefore conforming vs to the law of God which is the rule of perfection challengeth iustly to it selfe a stile of justice Narrower bounds will serue our turne We speake of Iustice first as a single vertue Habits are distinguished by their acts acts by their obiects The obiect of all morall vertue is good as of all intellectuall is True The obiect of this vertue of Iustice is the good of men in relation to each other Other vertues order a man in regard to himselfe Iustice in regard to another This good being either common or priuate common of all priuate of some the acts and vertue of Iustice must bee sutable Either as man stands in an habitude to the whole body or as he stands to speciall limbs of the body The former of these is that which Philosophers and Casuists call a legall and vniuersall Iustice The latter is that particular Iustice which we vse to distinguish by Distribution and Commutation the one consisting in matter of Commerce the other in Reward or Punishment both of them according to a meet though different equality An Arithmeticall equality in Commutation a Geometricall in distribution the former regarding the value or worth of the thing the latter regarding the proportionable difference of the person The worke of all these three Iustices is Peace First the legall Iustice is the apparent mother and nurse of publique Peace When Gouernors and subiects are carefull to giue each other their owne when both conspire to command and obey for the common good when men frame their liues to the wholsome lawes of their Soueraignes not more out of feare than conscience when respect to the community caries men from partiall reflections vpon thēselues As contrarily distractions and priuate ends are the bane of any state When the head and members vnite their thoughts and endeuours in the center of the common good the head to deuise and command the eies to see the eare to heare the palate to taste the heart to moue the bellowes of the lungs to blow the liuer to sanguifie the stomach to digest the guts to export the hands to execute the tongue to talke for the good of this naturall Common-wealth of the body all goes well and happily but if any of these parts will be gathering to themselues and obstructions grow within and mutinous distempers arise in the humors ruine is threatned to the whole If either the Superiors miscommand or the inferiors disobey it is an affront to Peace I need not tell you that good lawes are the walls of the Citie the sinewes of the politicke body the rule of our life the life of our state without which men would turne brute yea monstrous the world were a Chaos yea an hell It is wisdome that makes lawes it is Iustice that keeps them Oh let this Iustice still blesse vs with a perpetuall peace as those that doe not thinke the world made for vs but our selues made for the world let vs driue at an vniuersall good let there be euer that sweet correspondence betwixt Soueraignty and subiection that the one may be happy in the other both in peace Secondly the distributiue Iustice is not lesse fruitfull of peace when rewards of honors gracious respects are suited to the well-deseruing when malefactors smart according to their crimes This Iustice hath stocks for the vagrant whips for harlots brands for
ciuill effect of Peace What is Righteousnesse but the sincere vprightnes of the heart to God in all our waies He is perfect with God that would be so What need I tell you that this is the way to true inward peace Nil conscire A cleare heart will be a quiet one There is no feast to a good conscience this is meat musicke welcome It seemes harder that true spirituall honesty should procure euen outward peace Heare wise Salomon By the blessing of the vpright the city is exalted Prou. 11. 11. When a mans waies please the Lord hee maketh euen his enemies to bee at peace with him Prou. 16. 7. Righteousnesse exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people Prou. 14. 34. It followes then as a iust corollary That the honestest and conscionablest man is the best subiect He may perhaps be plaine perhaps poore perhaps weake but the state is more beholden to his integrity than to the ablest purse than to the strongest arme Whereas the gracelesse and vicious person let him be neuer so plausible a talker neuer so carefull an Officer neuer so valiant a Leader neuer so officious a courtier neuer so deepe in subsidies neuer so forward in actions is no other than an enemy to the state which hee professes to adore Let no Philosopher tell me of malus vir bonus ciuis I say from better authoritie that a lewd man can no more be a good subiect than an ill subiect can bee a good man Heare this then wheresoeuer ye are ye secret oppressors ye profane scoffers yee foule-mouth'd swearers yee close adulterers ye kind drūkards and who euer come within this blacke list of wickednesse how can ye be loyall whiles you lodge traytors in your bosomes Protest what ye will your sins breake the peace and conspire against the sacred Crowne and dignitie of your Soueraigne What care wee that you draw your sword and vow your bloud and drinke your healths to your Gouernours when in the meane while you prouoke God to anger and set quarrels betwixt your Country and Heauen That I may winde vp this clew It were folly to commend to you the worth of peace we know that the excellency of Princes is expressed by serenity what good hath the earth which God doth not couch vnder the name of Peace Blessed be God and his Anointed we haue long and comfortably tasted the sweetnesse of this blessing the Lilies and Lions of our Salomon haue beene iustly worded with Beati pacifici Would we haue this happinesse perpetuated to vs to posterity Oh let Prince and people meet in the ambition to be Gens iusta a righteous nation righteous euery way First let God haue his owne His owne daies his owne seruices his feare his loue his all Let Religion leade all our proiects not follow them let our liues be led in a conscionable obedience to all the lawes of our maker Far bee all blasphemies curses and obscenities from our tongues all outrages and violences from our hands all presumptuous and rebellious thoughts from our hearts Let our hearts hands tongues liues bodies and soules be sincerely deuoted to him Then for men let vs giue Caesar his owne Tribute feare subiection loyalty and if hee need our liues Let the nobility haue honour obcisance obseruation Let the Clergy haue their dues and our reuerence Let the commons haue truth loue fidelity in all their transactions Let there be trutinae iustae pondera iusta Let there be no grinding of faces no trampling on the poore Amos 5. 11. no swallowing of widdowes houses no force no fraud no periury no perfidiousnesse Finally for our selues let euery man possesse his vessell in holinesse and honour framing himselfe to all Christian and heauenly temper in all wisdome sobriety chastity meeknesse constancy moderation patience and sweet contentation so shall the worke of our righteousnesse bee peace of heart peace of state priuate and publike peace Peace with our selues peace with the world peace with God temporall peace here eternall peace and glory aboue vnto the fruition whereof he who hath ordained vs mercifully bring vs for the sake of him who is the Prince of Peace Iesus Christ the righteous FINIS God the auenger The sonnes of wrath Morall righteousnesse Mat. 11. 28. Micah 6. Rom. 8. 33. Psal 106. 3. Lord of the world Ouer Emperours and Kings Whence but from vs In decrees of faith or precepts of manners He absolues from the oath of Allegeance The like discourse to this ye shall finde in Conrad Schlusselburgius in his preface to his 13th. booke Catal Haeret. Not to bee guilty of ill An ill man a good subiect Leu. 19. 36. Iust balances iust weights