her adversariâ—s but the goodness of her cause he is no secret accepter of persons Job 13. 10. he hears causes without prejudicial impiety and judiciously examines them without sinister obliquity and sincerely determins them without sinful partiality It was said of Cato that he was one A quo nemo unquam rem injustam petere audebat So just as no man durst make any unjust request unto him He esteemeth royalty without righteousness as eminent dishonour guilded putrifaction glorious baseness riches retinue splendor and greatness no better then meer Pageantry shews and shadows of Nobleness which causeth his vigilancy over his own heart and his own family Righteousness is the way to ricâ—es goodness makes men glorious It was said by one of Constantine the Great Bonus Deus Constantinum magnum tantis tâ—rrenis implevit muneribus quanta optare nullus auderet The good Lord heaped so much outward happiness upon his faithful Servant Constantine the Great as no man ever durst to have wished more his glory like Sarah's beauty consisteth in the hidden man 1 Pet. 3. 4. He knows that Dignitas in indigno est ornamentum in luto That a jewel of gold in a swines â—nout is as comely as gay clothes upon vile persons painted Sepulchres Solomons wisdom rendred him more honourable then all his glittering and golden glory the justice wisdom righteousness of a pious Prince these are Ornaments of grace and Crowns of glory Prov. 4. 8 9. Riches honours delights pleasures life length of days seed and posterity are all entailed upon piety and holiness outward pomp greatness and glory suck out the goodness of the heart as the Ivy from the Oak except there be curious caution What are they but insufficient and unsatisfactory often provocations to vice and hinderancâ—s of vertue The Order of nature is inverted when vile men are exalted Psal. 12. 8. It is a foul incongruity and of very evil consequence vile persons are loathsom though veild with velvets and the children of Satan though in Sattin He hath great vigilancy over his own family he sees who they are and what they are every officer every servant he keeps is of his own choyce or approbation He cannot rule well in the Church much less in the Nation that ruleth not his own house well He bewares of an Achitophel a Doeg an Haman It was said of a Prince of Germany That esset alâ—uâ— si esset apud alios He would be another man were he with other men He takes heed who gets the royalty oâ— his ear lest he doth with him what he list David would not know i. e. own a wicked person Psal. 101. 4. and vers. 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house he that telleth lyes shall not tarry in my sight An hypocrite an Ismaelite shall not dwell wiâ—h him He takes heed of proud servants knowing that men will be apt to mistake him in them and think they read him in them A wicked person in his family is as an Achan in the Army a Jonas in the Ship 'T is his honour and wisdom to be loved and feared of his family which he will never be except they be wise and honest He that delicately bringeth up his servant shall have him become son at the length Prov. 29. 21. Solomon himself that sometimes knew better how to give good counsel then to take it entertains Jeroboam gave him great power in his house admitted him into so much familiarity that he let loose the bridle of domestical discipline unto him in so much that he took state upon him as a young Master in the house and soon after turn'd Traytor See the like in Abner Ishbosheths servant who grew so haughty that he must not be spoken to and so Zimri whom his Lord and Master Elah 1 King 16. 11. advanced Captain over half of his charets being thus like a begger set on horsebâ—ck â—ides without reins to the ruine of his Master and whole house Asperius nihil est humili dum surgit in altum It is with a Ruler in respect of evil servants as with a creature called Millipeda the more feet it hath the flower it goeth corrupt servants hinder the course of Justice this reflects upon their Lords His frowns are upon evil and his favors upon wise servants which is Solomons counsel Prov. 14. 3â— as was Pharaohs towards Joseph Darius towards Daniel Henry the Eâ—ght towards Cromwell who for his wisdom and faithfulness he raised from a mean person son to a Blacksmith to be Master of his Jewel-house Baron of Okeham in Rutland-shire then Knight of the Garter Earl of Essex Lord great Chamberlain and at last his Vicar General A wise servant may have rule over a son without dishonor to the father and discredit to the son Amongst his servants some may be wiser some better some more in Gods favour then others He lets such have rule over his houshold by his commission and suffers not the bâ—ambles to domineer over the Cedaâ—s The leâ—ity luxury idleness wantonness of the quondam Court at White-hall together with their concomitants were none of the lâ—ast onâ—â—ns of their destruction It is observed by one that among all the servants pleasures and delights which Solomon had he got him no fool or Jester which formerly Princes could not be without in this Nation no not when they should be most serious It is recorded of Henry the third King of France that in a solemn Pâ—â—cession at Paris he could not be without his Jestâ—r who walking between the King and the Cardinal made mirth to them both Was not here sweet devotion The truth is â—â—eir religious actions were all in jest their wicked in earnest I hope no such vile and vicious persons will be ever found more in our English Courts He is the joy of the just the delight of their souls the breath of their nostrils He lives beloved he dyes desired is buried with lamentations his generation is blessed and his name is had in everlasting remembrance The Death of Josiah struck the heart of Israel and Judah making their eyes as fountains of tears and their mourning so grâ—at that it grew to a Proverb The mourning of Hadadrimon in the valley of Megiddon Zach. 12. 11. His memory shall be blessed his name shall be heir to his life and hâ—s posterity shall enjoy the fruit of his vertue His children are blessed after him Prov. 20. 7. His righteousness is inherited by his posterity and laid up in everlasting remembrance and his translation shall be unto an incorruptible Crown of Glory which is undefiled and fadeth not away with the whole Family of God and the Spirits of just men made perfect where he shall receive a prepared Kingdom and dwell among those Mansions shining as the Sun in the Firmament for ever and ever FINIS * Kings and Bishops * Veraciter se excusavit de honore regni
TYRANTS AND PROTECTORS Set forth In their Colours OR THE Difference between Good and Bad MAGISTRATES In several Characters Instances and Examples of both PROV. 28. 15. As a roaring Lion and a ranging Bear so is a wicked Ruler over the poor people Chap. 16. 12. It is an abomination to Kings to commit wickedness for the Throne is established by Righteousness By J. P. London Printed for H. Cripps and L. Lloyd and are to be sold at their shop in Popes-head Alley 1654. To the READER Reader A Tyrants Test and a Protectors Pourtraiture are worthy thy contemplation in these froward times in the one thou mayest read what thy condition had been through Gods most righteous severity had he not graciously interposed in the other what thy condition is and mayst expect to be through his meer mercy so interposing Tyranny makes Earth a hell and a Tyrant is a Devil incarnate Just Government makes Heaven on earth and good Princes Gods in the likeness of men No Government is hell broke loose where all would rule and none be ruled every mans lust would be every mans law his wants measured by his will and his deserts by his desires which would render men Furies in flesh and daily tormentors to themselves and others and therefore any Government is better then none Tyranny then Anarchy but just Government banisheth the wicked from a Nation as it did the evil Angels out of Heaven making the remaining Inhabitants to shout for joy Here thou shalt find a Tyrant tryed and a Protector pourtraitur'd by plain Characters brief instances and examples of both which truly considered with our own concernments in both respects would muzzle the mouths of our muttering murmurours and render us more sensible of our present happinesse and thankful for it thou shalt not here find a censorious Condemnation of the long and short Parliaments nor a flattering congratulation of all publick transactions since their date for although these be ad nos in respect of their events yet are they supra nos in respect of our censures this is my principle this is my prayer that wherein men have been wise and done worthily for their Countreys Liberties and the Saints Interest God would remember it and never forget it and that wherein they have been weak and failed in their duty being but flesh and blood and men at best though the best of men God would forget it never remember it the Demonstration of Tyranny the Commendation of Magistracy the characterizing of good and bad Magistrates in their principles and practises with the effects thereof to themselves and their people was the designe of my heart had the fact answered the fancy and the product the project Reader If thou beest a Son of Sion and a Citizen of Jerusalem which is from above the peace that is within thy gates and the prosperity that is within thy palaces must needs render thee sensible of thy felicity by thy freedom from tyranny and fruition of liberty by our present Government thankful for it and fruitful under it except like Jessurun thou art waxen fat and kickest up the heel hast turned thy grace into wantonness and thy table be made a snare unto thee if thou beest one of them that have thus converted their fulness into folly and their liberty into licentiousness murmuring that Moses and Aaron I mean thy quondam preservers are thy present Protectors and hast forgotten the days of old and the years of many generations who hath sown that crop in tears yea in blood which thou now reapest in joy if that liberty will not satisfie the like whereof is not in all the world that liberty the like whereof the generations that are past did never understand that liberty a greater then which thou knowest not how to desire except it be to have power to tyrannize it over thy brethren dissenting from thee as precious in the eyes of the Lord as thy self and it may be more in the truth then thy self not a Son of Belial suffered to molest thee nor a dog to move his tongue against thee If thou canst not in this fulness sit down with content who will pity thee if thou risest up and fall If thou wilt read and consider the difference between good and bad Magistrates thou mayest see the misery which thy Fore-fathers felt and our selves but lately feared under the one and thy present felicity which our fore-fathers desired and we now enjoy under the other the due and spiritual effects of which vision upon all our hearts through the Grace of our God in Jesus Christ is the fervent Prayer of Thy Friend and Servant J. P. ERRATA Page 31. l. 32. for spoil you read spoil him p. 11. l. 34. for violendum r. violandum p. 12. l. 13. r. profuseness p. 15. l. 32. for Asses r. Lasses These besides some others which I pray thee correct with thy Pen A Tyrant OR Homo Homini Demon 1. TYranny is a Complication of Iniquity whereby men being Gods in Power become Devils in practise to terrifie and torture all that withstand them in their devilish dealings A Tyrant is a Devil in heart a Man in shape a Lyon in power a Bear in practise affrighting his People with his rage and roaring and tearing them limb-meal with his teeth and â—aâ—ons The tendâ—r mercâ—es of Tyrants are cruel the Scripture calls them roaring Lyonâ— evening Wolâ—es that gnaw not the bones till the morning Zeph. 3. 3. not satisfied so long as any thing is left dealing by the people as the cruel Spaniards do by the Indians of whom it is storied that they shew them favour when they do not for their pleasure whip their nakâ—â— bodies with â—oards and dayly drop them with the â—at of â—uâ—ning â—acon They cause the just to perish and the wicked â—o flâ—uâ—â—sh quâ—ffiâ—g the tears of the oppressed making mâ—lody with their misâ—ry and musick with their signs The oppressed Romans complainâ—d to Pompey Nostra miseria tu es magnus Thou arâ— become great by our miseries like those Miscreants in Micah 3. 3. they â—at the flesh and flâ—y the skin break the bones and chop them in pieces as for the pot Like those American Canibals who when they take a prisoner feed upon him alive and by degrees cutting off from his body now a meal and then a meal which they roast before his eyes fearing up the wounds with a firebrand to stanch the blood to the unutterable aggravation of his horror and torment Such a Lyon â—ampant was Nero 2 Tim. 4 17. I was delivered out of the mouth of the Lyon and the rest of those Monsters of mankind the bloody Tyrants Româ—sâ— Emperors in the primitive Persecutions and their Romish Successors the same in cruelty though not in profession extâ—râ—ing complaints against them 〈…〉 m the people of God in the voyce of the Prophet Jeremiah personating Sion Jer. 51. 34. Nebuchadnâ—zzar King of Babylon hath devoured me he hath crushed me he hath made
dead Sea where presently they dye and know Jordan no more What 's become of those gallant Grandees roaring Roisters with their glittering Giâ—ls and mad Mates the wanton Wagâ—ails of our English Courts who fleared when they should have feared and laughed when they should have lamented how soon are they put out as the fire of thorns Psal. 118. 12. Did not our English Courts swarm with these lustful Locusts almost in all Ages and the chiefest therein commonly chief in these sins Edward the Fourth had his holy Whore as he was used to call her that came out of a Nunnery at his bâ—ck to satisfie his lust May not large volumes be fil'd with the historical Narrations and that according to truth of the pride gluttony drunkenness wantonness luxury lasciviousness of the Kings and Courts of this Nation in their constant succession one after another until the hand of Vengeance did put a full stop hereunto by that fatal Blow at White-hall Gate 1648. They are extinct dead and buried and I wish such an immoveable stone may be layd upon the mouth of their Sepulchres by our present and successive Governors that they may never rise again that as their names so their sin may rot and consume away and the eyes of this English Nation may never behold such vanity at Court any more where lasciviousness and luxury were accounted meer peccadilloes not worthy repentance or remorse 12. He commonly wades through blood to his bloody Throne and having once scared his conscience by spilling the blood of a Father or Brother to attain the Crown he can eat the flesh and drink the blood of millions of his people to satisfie his lusts without reluctance and judgeth it his right to wrong whom he will Tyrants are men of blood fierce fiery furious spirits cross curst and cruel dispositions the world is fill'd with volumes of their viâ—lanies in this kind all Ages and Countries without exception have wofully felt the truth hereof in so much as if men had the use of their mental ears as they have of their corporal the cries of the thousands and ten thousands millions and tens of millions of the slain and murthered by the hands of Tyrants would be so great that they would hardly hear the living for the dâ—â—d The Turkish Spanish Roman French Scottish English Histories are they not stufft and cram'd with innumerable Instances of the cruelty of Tyrants and their pleasure therein No sight pleased Hannibal better then a ditch running over with mans blood Châ—rls the nineth of France Author of that bloody Mâ—ssâ—cre in France looking upon the dead carkass of the Admiral that stank by long keeping unburied uttered this wretched saying Quam suaviter olet cadaver inimici How sweet is the smell of an enemies carkass And the Queen Mother of Scotland beholding the dead bodies of her Protestant Subjects whom she had slain in Battel said that she never saw a finer piece of Tapistry in all her life To spend time on this were to waste a candle before the Sun Englands Chronicles the Books of Martyrs the late bloody Massacres and Wars in Ireland England Scotland are fresh and bleeding evidences of the bloodiness of Tyrants I shall not here speak of the death of Prince Henry King James the bloody Massacres of the Protestants in Ireland by whose Commissions and Commands how cruelly and deceitfully they have been carried on God hath made inquisition for blood he hath remembered and not forgotten the complaint of the poor he hath cut off Saul and his bloody house according to his word Psal. 55. 23. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days They are cut off before their time their branches shall not be green but shaken off as the unripe Grape from the Vine and cast off as the flower of the Olive Job 15. 32 33. 13. Prerogative Pleaders are his Orthodox Preachers that make his mouth their Oracle his Dictates their Doctrines all Scriptural Precepts of the Subjects duties the only Canonical but the duty of Princes Apocryphal writings Tyrants have their Chaplains according to their Religions who rather preach from their Masters mouths then to their ears and principle the people according to their humors to maintain their Prerogative Hence we shall find in Scripture that wicked Kings had their Priests and Prophets of their own tempers who did always charm the people into base slavery by their base preachings Zeph. 3. 3. When the Princes in Jerusalem were rearing Lions and her Judges evening Wolves her Prophets were treacherous betraying the poor people by their cheating charmings into a stupid â—ordid and silly subjection Wicked Kings Princes Priests and Prophets are chain'd together Jer. 2. 26. they commonly keep one Court and one Councel and as they live together in sin so perish together commonly in punishment Jer. 4 9. You may see how these wicked Priests and Prophets did cling together against Jeremiah who protested against their flatteries and â—alsities Jer. 26. 7 8 10 11. See again their cursed Conâ—ederacy in doing evil in the sight of the Lord Jer. 32. 32. Ahab had a mind to make War against Ramath Gilead for the enlargement of his Territories he had no sooner signified his royal pleasure herein but his whole Kingdom of Priests and Prophets allarms the people to War and promise them success in the Name of the Lord yea one of them viz. Zâ—dekiah the son of Chenaanah like an Ape did imitate the custom of the Prophets of the Lord and makes himself Iron horns carries them unto the King as if sent by a very special Commission and tells him Thus saith the Lord With these horns shalt thou push the Syrians until thou hast consumâ—d them but you know they all told lyes in the Name of the Lord and one Michaiah that spake the truth they buffeted and imprisoned And was it not thus in Englands Courts during the Rule of Tyrants amongst us No sooner had the late King a resolution to war with the Scots his native Countrymen but all the Pulpits from White-hall round the Nation did allarm the people to rise up with him promising them success in the Name of the Lord Were not those wicked Kings Priests and Prophets of the English Nation link'd together as with chains of Adamant in so much that if the one be destroyed the other must fall hence grew that ominous Proverb No Bishop no King which fell out accordingly How hath God destroyed those dens of Lions those Magpyes nests those black Ravens that deceived the people with their rough garments I am no adversary to the lawful Ministry and let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth and my pen drop from my withered right hand rather then I should willingly speak or write against the Lords true Messengers but meer pretenders of the Lords message when they utter only visions of their own hearts are the abomination of my Soul 14. The greatness of his height causeth giddiness in his