yet this is so far from being an Argument to justisie Rebellion or taking up Arms against the King as that it doth altogether condemn it For notwithstanding so great strength yet David never pursued Saul never sought after Saul never discharged one Canon one Murtherer one Gun against Saul but still fled from him and to put him out of all such Fears jealousies got himself and his Forces out of Sauls Kingdom and begged a place for his habitation of Achish the King of Gath. Let all Rebells follow David in the whole Example and we shall both allow this Quotation and also commend their Imitation yes and pray they may have so many Followers that there may be no Rebel left to lift up an hand against the Lords Annointed The second Objection I meet with of any colourable strength Object 2 For I shall passe all those frivilous ones 1. Of the Peoples rescuing Jonathan from Saul Their whole Act. being nothing but a mediation in the behalf of Jonathan and nothing lesse then a Rebellion against Saul as any man may evidently percieve if he reads the whole Story and so Junius Borrhaus Osiander and Willet himself say and determine of it and Peter Martyr adds That if the People did more then pray if they pressed violently upon Saul in making a mutiny they sinned Liberaverunt says St. Jerome Redimerunt says Tremelius In Reg. c. 14 and so says Gregory Magnus i. e. They delivered they redeemed they freed Jonathan that he dyed not And how did they this Certainly not Fustibus but precibus by Prayers not by Pole-axes For if the did more then pray says Peter Martyr they sinned I forbear likewise 2. The Example of Elisha's shutting the door 2 Reg. 6.32 and holding fast the Messenger that came from King Joram to take away his Head For Elisha had Revelation from God as well of Jorams repentance as of his former and furious Message And 3. Of Jehu who killed this King Joram For this was by special and particular command from God 2 Reg. 9.14.24 and not by any Law of God or Man and extraordinary Oracles may not be our Examples And 4. Of Ahikam For he defended not the Prophet from the Tyranny of King Jehojakim but from the fury of the people Jer. 26.4 Had he had any hand in that tumultuous insurrection with the People he had been a Rebel like the People but being he did what he did by that credit and authority which he had with and under the King he shewed himself both a faithful Magistrate and a Loyal Subject And 5. the withstanding of Uzziah the King by Azariah the Priest For this was by words 2 Chron. 26.17 not by Swords and besides God struck him with Leprosy and so by the Law he was to be removed from the concourse of the people for fear of of Infection And 6. That of Deposing Athelia For She was but an Usurper of the Crown The second Objection I say of any seeming validity is that of Jeroboam 1 Reg. 12. from whence it is argued thus Rehoboam the Son of Solomon refused to ease the People of their burthens and therefore they rebelled against him and set up Jeroboam to be a King over them and this was so far says the Objector from being a sin that the Text says It was from the Lord and Therefore Subjects may in some cases bear Arms lawfully against the King and without sin And this Objection I answer thus The Scripture here sets down Rei gestae veritatem Answ 2 non Facti aequitatem the Truth of a thing done not the Right of a Thing to be done Quia factum legimus non ideó faoi â—ndum credimus says St. Austin sectando enim exemplum violemus praeceptum If we follow the Example of men we may break the Commandement of God Nor can we any more be free from the breach of the 5. Commandement and Disobedience if we rebell against our King upon this Example then we can from the breach of the 8. Commandement Theft if we plunder and rob our Neighbours upon Example of the Israelites spoyling the Egyptians In a word God made Jeroboam King and in that Act punished Solomons Idolatry and Rehoboams folly but notwithstanding This Act of the People in revolting from Rehoboam was Rebellion and so called by God himself in two several places 1 Reg. 12.19 2 Chron. 10.19 And Israel rebelled against the House of David unto this day And Israel rebelled against the House of David unto this day And God punished this Rebellion of theirs so fearfully that he first gave them up to Idolatry and afterwards drave them out into Captivity And I do assure you That there are ten Examples for one to shew Rebels have been first Idolaters and so hated by God and afterwards Slaves and so hated by Man That we may never fall into the one or the other either Idolatry or Captivity Almighty God keep us from Rebellion And whatsoever some People say and make shew of I will make it good That there is not one more Example in Scripture of any colour or worth a straw to dispute much lesse to justifie the taking up of Arms against the King There is one Objection made from the example of our own Object 3 Progenitors Richard the Second was deposed and deposed by Parliament and therefore says the Objector A King of England may be resisted With shame and sorrow I canfess the Factum but without blushing and in truth Answer I deny the Iusâ—um The honest Bishop of Carlile opposed it and howsoever the Rebells of those daies ended that good mans daies in prison for his honesty yet by this very Act of deposing King Richard they brought such miseries and mischiefs such Battails Bloudsheds such Rapines aâ—d Murthers upon this Kingdom that until two Kings viz. One Prince ten Dukes two Marquesses one and twenty Earls seaven and twenty Lords two Viscounts one Lord Prior One Judge one hundred thirty and nine Knights four hundred one twenty Esquires Gentlemen of a vast number and Common Souldiers to the number of an hundred thousand were slain in Civil Wars England never saw happy daies And setting Kings and Princes aside I believe there hath been more lost in a latter Rebellion against King Charles I. That we may yet see and enjoy Peace and Happinesse in our daies God keep us all from bearing Arms against King Charles II. when he shall be enabled by Gods raysing him Friends abroad and converting or consternating the Hearts of His Enemies at home to require his own Amen For it is altogether unlawful as appears Secondly by Scripture 2. Scripture and the first Scripture I offer to your Consideration is that of Moses Exod. 22.28 Speak not evil of the Ruler of thy people And this very place touched St. Paul so far that it brought him to a Peccavi when he had suffered his Tongue to run a little over and be
of the Kingdom and first here I shall examine what is meant by these words They despised him The meaning of this consists in three branches and they are these 1. They did Male-cogitare think evil of him in their hearts and so came within the compasse of Solomons prohibition Curse not the King in thy thought Eccle. 10.20 A thought of despising the King is Treason as well as a Word and a Word as well as an Action so says the Scripture of the Intention of Bigthan and Teresh Traytors they were and yet they never came to an Insurrexerunt or any Act of Treason Ester 2.21.23 but only to a Voluerunt an Intention they sought or they thought to lay hands upon King Ahasuerus and for this very thought of Treason they were hang'd And as the Law of God so the Law of this Kingdom doth construe a bare purpose against the King a despising thought of the King to be Treason and makes it deadly My prayer therefore is Convert them O God if they will not be Converted confound them O God and let them perish as many as have evil will against the King and do Male-cogitare despise him in their thoughts 2. They did Male-dicere despise the King with their tongues and speak evil of him saying How shall this man save us and this is the second Branch whereby the meaning of this word is explained They despised him i.e. they speak evil of the King and so came within the compasse of Moses's prohibition Thou shalt not speak evil of the Ruler of thy people Deut. 27.16 A Word against the King is Treason as well as a thought or Action Greater Treason then a thought and lesser Treason then an Action And they that Word it against the King if they be of the Clergy they are of Balaams Ordination Numb 23. because they Curse whom God hath blessed and he was killed with the Sword If they be of the Layety they are of Shimei's condition 2 Sam. 16.5 because they revile whom God hath annointed and he was put to death And of late by the Law of this Nation there stood one Pym condemned for saying He would if he could embrue his hands in the blood of King Charles the first and many more in good time may be condemned and executed for saying They will if they can embrue their hands in the blood of King Charles the Second My Prayer again therefore is Convert them O Lord if they will not be converted confound them O God and let them perish as many as speak evill of my Lord the King and do Male-dicere Despise Him with their Tongues 3 They did Male facere Despise the King with their Hands for they brought him no presents and so came within the compasse of King Davids prohibition 1 Sam. 26.9 Thou shalt not stretch forth thy hand against the Lords annointed I know King David there speaks by way of Interrogation Who can stretch forth his hand against the Lords Annointed and be guiltlesse but I know withal that Interrogative Quis Who can is a most triumphant Negative and says Nullus No man can and be guiltlesse or No man ought unless he will bring Guilt upon his own Soul Absolon did was hang'd 2 Sam. 10.9 Robert late Earl of Essex did against Elizabeth our late Queen of England and was beheaded and how many that were in the same Conspiracy were hang'd you may read in that Chronicle My prayer therefore is gain Convert them O Lord Convert them and return them to their Duty of Loyalty to thine Annointed If they will not be converted confound them O Lord confound them and as many as lift up their hands against or withdraw their hands from my Lord the King Amen You see what is meant by these words 1 a. 2 a. They despised him will you now see Why they despised him why it was Because they lookt upon him as a single man How shall this man save us Happily they thought him greater then any of themselves in particular but they thought themselves in a collective or Representative Body greater then him the King and this brings me to the unfolding of the second Question which is Whether the King be singulis major Question 2 greater then single persons but Universis minor lesse then collected Persons or the Body Representative I shall not need to speak of the first Branch of this Question viz. Whether the King be Singulis major Greater then any single Person For it is not denied by any or if by any yet only by such who are more Beasts then Men and live more by Sense then by Reason or Religion or rather have lost both their Sense their Reason and their Religion The enquiry therefore here must be upon the other branch of this Question viz. Whether the King be Universis minor lesse then the Body Representative For this was the thing in agitation in this late wicked Age and affirmed by these wicked men the Children of Belial who did de facto murther King Charles I. of blessed memory and would have done as much upon King Charles II. if they could have fastened upon him at Worcester but God I trust hath preserved him for better times I must at first take leave to tell them That the Ground on which they build is false and meer Sophistry That the assumption and Inference which they build is weak and meer Fallacy For thus they argue The Fountain or Cause of a King is greater then the King but the People Representative is the Fountain and Casue of the King Therefore the People Representative is greater then the King And here I say The Ground is false the Assumption is untrue and the Inference therefore is so too 1. The Ground is taken from an old Axiome Quickquid efficit tale est ma gis tale whatsoever effects a thing is greater then the thing effected This though true Ante effectum productum before the effect produced yet it is often false Post effectus productionem after the production of the effect v. g. The Fountain was once bigger then the River but now the River is bigger then the Fountain A spark of fire was once more Fire then all the Wood in the Chimney but when the Wood becomes one Flame the Wood is more Fire then the Sparke You see the Ground is not ever true and sure I am the Assumption laid upon this Ground-work is never true viz. The People is the Fountain or Cause Efficient of the King For God as I have shewed you before and whether I referr you is the only Efficient of Monarchy Only I add thus much Were it so that the People did make the King yet it would not follow That therefore the People is greater then the King For this Axiome is true only in those Agents in whom the Quality by which they work is Inherent and from whom it cannot be separated But the People if they had Power to make the
fift was made by Josia King of Israel with God that he and his People would walk after the Lord and keep his Commandements and his Testimonies and his Statutes with all his heart and his soul and that he would accomplish the words of the Covenant and he caused all the people to stand to it 2 Cron. 34.30 The sixt and last was requested by the people of the Captivity from Ezra who was then Instar locâ— Râ—gis in these words now therefore let us make a Covenant with our God to put away all our strange Wifes These are all the Covenants I have read of or can remember in the whole Bible and all these were made by and with the severall Kings Ezra 10.3 none without or against them But the English Engagement and Covenant was made without and against the King of England and howsoever those were commendable and extenuated the Israelites sins yet this must needs aggravate the English sins and condemne them who contrived it and took without much Repentance in themselves and more mercy in God and the King to which mercy God incline the heart of the King for Jesus Christ his sake Amen And 〈…〉 â—orse then the former for the former 〈◊〉 only engage against the Kings person 2. â—â—tion and the other part of it promised and pretended to fight for him in order to the preservation of Religion which might and did easily beguile many simple and well minded people but this same Oath of Abjuration was against the Kings Posterity not one of his Race or Name to raign over us any more nay against Lords of both sorts Ecclesiasticall and Temporall yes against the office of Episcopaâ—y so that we should not have had so much as a Skeleton of Monarchy nor a shape of any one of the Royal Tribes none of Benjamin or Nepthali none of Asher or Ephraim not a Duke Marquess Earl Lord or Barron nor any one of an Apostolicall Church not a successor of Aaron not a successor of St. Peterâ— St. Paul or any other of the Apostles some of the Tribe of Levi we might have had in a settell'd Presbytery to the loss of the English and gaine of the Romish Church And had not this been a greater Aggravation of our Countrymens sins in compelling some to be their Prosolites and ten times more the Children of Satan then themselves then a bare knowing and doing those sins with delighting in others that do the same comes short of compelling others to do those things which we know to be sin Delectation comes short of Compulsion and therefore once more I pray O thou Eternall and Mercifull God suffer not againe such Commanders to rule over us or if thou had'st not yet sufficiently punisht us for our former Malignity and Murther yet give us not over to obey such evill Commands that when thou makest Inquisition for blood for common blood for sacred blood or Noble blood for Royall blood our souls may be sprinkled with the saving and all sufficient blood of Jesus Christ 〈…〉 â—â—â—scription which these Master Murtherers required and would have compelled us to do under the specious pretence of against the Common Enemy but in truth with the horrid guilt of shutting out if possible for ever of King Charles the second whom God Almighty preserve to these three Kingdomes England Scotland and Ireland till in a good old age he be received into the Kingdome of Heaven for Jesus for Jesus for Jesus Christ his sake Amen Amen Amen FINIS