roaring of a Lyon and the very messenger of death and that the subject that provoketh him to displeasure sinneth against his owne soule with many other things concerning both the authority of Princes and the duty of Subjects but here let us rehearse two especiall places out of the new Testament which may stand in stead of all other The first out of Saint Pauls Epistle to the Romans and the 13. Chapter Rom. 13. where hee writeth thus unto all Subjects Let every soule bee subject unto the higher powers for there is no power but of God and the powers that bee are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation For Princes are not to bee feared for good workes but for evill Wilt thou then bee without feare of the power Doe well so shalt thou have praise of the same for hee is the Minister of God for thy wealth but if thou doe evill feare for hee beareth not the sword for nought for hee is the Minister of God to take vengeance upon him that doth evill Wherefore yet must bee subject not because of wrath onely but also for conscience sake for for this cause yee pay also tribute for they are Gods Ministers serving for the same purpose Give to every man therefore his due tribute to whom tribute belongeth Custome to whom custome is due feare to whom feare belongeth honour to whom yee owe honour Thus farre are Saint Pauls words The second place is in Saint Peters Epistle and the second Chapter whose words are these Submit your selves unto all manner of ordinances of man for the Lords sake whether it bee unto the King as unto the cheife head either unto the ruler as unto them that are sent of him for the punishment of evill doers but for the cherishing of them that doe well For so is the will of God that with well doing yee may stop the mouths of ignorant and foolish men as free and not as having the liberty for a cloake of maliciousnesse but even as the servants of God Honour all men love brotherly fellowship feare God honour the King Servants obey your Masters with feare not onely if they bee good and courteous but also though they bee froward Thus farre out of Saint Peter By these two places of holy Scripture it is most evident that Kings Queenes and other Princes for hee speaketh of authority and power bee it in men or women are ordained of God and to bee honoured and obeyed of their subjects that such subjects as are disobedient or rebellious against their Princes disobey God and procure their owne damnation That the Government of Princes is a great blessing of God given for the Common-wealth especially for the good and Godly for the comforting and cherishing of whom God giveth and setteth up Princes And on the contrary part to the feare and for the punishment of the evill and wicked Finally that if servants ought to obey their Masters not onely being gentle but such as bee froward as well and much more ought subjects to bee obedient not onely to their good and courteous but also to their sharp and rigorous Princes It cometh therefore neither of chance and fortune as they termo it nor of the ambition of mortall men and women climbing up of their owne accord to Dominion that there bee Kings Queenes Princes and other Governours over men being their subjects but all Kings Queenes and other Governours are especially appointed by the ordinance of God And as God himselfe being of an infinite Maiesty Power Psal 1.6.16 and 45 6. c. and 47.2 and Wisedome ruleth and governeth all things in Heaven and Earth as the universall Monarch and onely King and Emperour over all as being onely able to take and beare charge of all Eccles 17. so hath hee constituted ordained and set earthly Princes over particular Kingdomes and Dominions in earth both for the avoyding of all confusion which else would bee in the World if it should bee without Governours and for the great quiet and benefite of earthly men their subiects and also that the Princes themselves in authority power wisedome providence and righteousnesse in government of people and Countries committed to their charge should resemble his heavenly governance as the Maiesty of heavenly things may be the basenesse of earthly things bee shadowed and resembled and for that similitude that is betweene the heavenly Monarchy PLACE = marg Matth. 18.23 and 22.12 and earthly Kingdomes well governed our Saviour CHRIST in sundry parables saith that the Kingdome of Heaven is resembled unto a man a King Psal 10.16 and 45. and 47.2 c. and as the name of a King is very often given and attributed unto God in the holy Scriptures so doth God himselfe sometime vouchsafe to communicate his name with earthly Princes terming them Gods Matth. 22.13 and 25.34 doublesse for that similitude of government which they have or should have not unlike unto God their King Psal 82.6 unto which similitude of heavenly government the neerer and neerer that an earthly Prince doth come in his regiment the greater blessing of Gods mercy is hee unto that Countrey and people over whom hee raigneth And the further and further that an earthly Prince doth swarve from the example of heavenly government the greater plague is hee of Gods wrath and punishment by Gods iustice unto that Countrey and people over whom God for their sinnes have placed such a Prince and Governour For it is indeed evident both by Scriptures and by dayly experience that the maintenance of all vertue and Godlinesse and consequently of the wealth and prosperity of a Kingdome and people doth stand and rest more in a wise and good Prince on the one part then in great multitudes of other men being subiects and on the contrary part the overthrow of all vertue and godlinesse and consequently the decay and utter ruine of a Realme and people doth grow and come more by an undiscreet and evill Governour then by many thousands of other men being subiects Thus saith the holy Scripture Eccles 10.16 Prov. 16. and 29. Eccles 10. Isay 2. Well is thee O thou Land saith the Preacher whose King is come of Nobles and whose Princes eat in due season for necessity and not for lust Againe a wise and righteous King maketh his Realme and people wealthy And a good mercifull and gracious Prince is a shadow in heat as a defence in stormes as deaw as sweet showers as fresh water springs in great drought Againe the Scriptures of undiscreet and evill Princes speake thus Eccles 10.16 Woe bee to thee O thou Land whose King is but a Child and whose Princes are early at their Bankquets Againe when the wicked doe raigne then men goe to ruine And againe Prov. 28. and 29. a foolish Prince destroyeth the people and a covetous King undoeth his Subjects Thus
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Established by PARLIAMENT against Disobedience and wilfull Rebellion Published by G. I. for satisfaction to his Parishioners of WATTON in the County of Hartford Printed for William Sheares at the signe of the Bible in Coven Garden 1642. TO His loving Neighbours of WATTON in the County of Hartford Brethren BE loved in the bloud of JESUS for preaching obedience to God and the King I am and have beene more then a mouth a prisoner and cannot get my liberty unlesse I would promise to forbeare preaching to you as I have done and yet I have promised to preach nothing to you but what I shall prove plainely from the word of God the doctrine of the Church of England the oath of Supremacy the oath of Allegiance and our late Protestation all which I have published for your satisfaction If you will read those oaths and these Sermons in my absence you shall find that I have dealt faithfully with you and am ready to seale my doctrine with my dearest bloud if God shall call so great a sinner to so great an honour Neither Living nor Liberty nor Life is precious to mee when I should sacrifice them all to the glory of my great good God the service of my gracious Soveraigne and the discharge of a good conscience towards my selfe and you I told you before how sensible I was of danger for this my fidelity but for Zions sake I could not I cannot hold my peace God will imprison mee to Hell if I imprison his truths Feare God Honour the King is both Law and Gospell and my prayer is that you all may live and dye good Christians and good Subjects and as the Church prayed for Saint Peter in prison so doe you for your affectionate Pastour in prison for his God his King his Conscience regulated by the word of God the Doctrine of the Church of ENGLAND and his Oaths G. I. Decemb. 3. 1642. A SERMON against Disobedience and wilfull Rebellion The first SERMON AS GOD the Creatour and Lord of all things appointed his Angels and Heavenly Creatures in all obedience to serve and honour his Majesty so was it his will that man his chiefe creature upon the earth should live under the obedience of his Creatour and Lord. And for that cause God assoone as hee had created man give unto him a certaine Precept and Law which hee being yet in the state of innocency and remaining in Paradise should observe as a pledge and token of his due and bounden obedlence which denunciation of death if hee did transgresse and breake the said Law and Commandement And as God would have man to be his obedient subject so did hee make all earthly creatures subject unto man who kept their due obedience unto man so long as man remained in his obedience unto God in which obedience if man had continued still there had beene no poverty no diseases no sicknesse no death nor other miseries where with mankind is now infinitely and most miserably afflicted and oppressed so here appeareth the originall Kingdome of God over Angels and Man and universally over all things and of Man over earthly Creatures which God had made subject unto him and withall all the felicity and blessed estate which Angels Man and Creatures had remained in had they continued in due obedience unto God their King For as long as in this first Kingdome the Subjects continued in due obedience to God their King so long did God embrace all his Subjects with his love favour and grace which to enjoy is perfect felicity whereby it is evident that obedience is the principall vertue of all vertues and indeed the very Root of all vertues and the cause of all felicity But as all felicity and blessednesse should have continued with the continuance of obedience so with the breach of obedience and breaking in of rebellion all vices and miseries did withall breake in and over-whelme the World The first Authour of which rebellion the Roote of all vices and Mother of all mischeifes was Lucifer First Gods most excellent creature and most bounden subject who by rebelling against the Majesty of God of the Brightest and most glorious Angell is become the blackest and most foule fiend and Devill and from the height of Heaven is fallen into the pit and bottome of Hell Here you may see the first authour and founder of rebellion and the reward thereof Here you may see the grand Captaine and Father of rebels who perswading the following of his rebellion against God their Creatour Lord unto our first Parents Adam and Eve brought them in high displeasure with God wrought their exile and banishment out of Paradise a place of all pleasure and goodnesse into this wretched earth and vale of misery procured unto them sorrowes of minds mischeifes sicknes diseases death of their bodies and which is farre more horrible then all worldly and bodily mischiefes hee had wrought thereby their eternall and everlasting death and damnation had not God by the obedience of his Sonne IESUS CHRIST repaired that which man by disobedience and rebellion had destroyed and so of his mercy had pardoned and forgiven him of which all and singular the premises the Holy Scriptures doe beare record in sundry places Thus doe you see that neither Heaven nor Paradise could suffer any rebellion in them neither bee places for any Rebels to remaine in Thus became rebellion as you see both the first and the greatest and the very roote of all other sinnes and the first and principall cause both of all worldly and bodily miseries sorrowes diseases sicknesses and deaths And which is infinitely worse then all these as is said the very cause of death and damnation eternall also After this breach of obedience to God and rebellion against his Majesty all mischeifes and miseries breaking in therewith and overslowing the World least all things should come to confusion and utter ruine God forthwith by lawes given to mankind repayred againe the rule and order of obedience thus by rebellion overthrowne and besides the obedience due to his Majesty hee not onely ordained that in Families and Househoulds the Wife should bee obedient to her Husband the Children unto their Parents the Servants unto their Masters but also when mankind inceased and spread it selfe more largely over the World hee by his holy word did constitute and ordaine in Citties and Countries severall and speciall Governours and Rulers unto whom the residue of his people should be obedient As in reading of holy Scriptures wee shall find in very many and almost infinite places as well of the old Testament as of the new that Kings and Princes as well the evill as the good doe raigne by Gods ordinance and that Subjects are bounden to obey them that God doth give Princes wisedome great power and authority that God defendeth them against their enemies and destroyeth their enemies horribly that the anger and displeasure of the Prince is as the
whom we yet account the worst of all people But no example ought to be of more force with us Christians Mat. 17.2 then the example of Christ our Master and Saviour who though he were the Sonne of God yet did alwayes behave himselfe most reverently to such men as were in Authority in the world in his time and he not rebelliously behaved himselfe but openly did teach the Iewes to pay tribute unto the Roman Emperour though a forraigne and Pagan Prince yea himself with his Apostles paid tribute unto him and finally being brought before Pontius Pilate a stranger born and an heathen man being Lord President of Iury he acknowledged his authority and power to be given him from God and obeyed patiently the sentence of most painefull and shamefull death which the said Iudge pronounced and gave most unjustly against him without any grudge murmuring or evill word once giving There be many and divers other examples of the obedience to Princes even such as be evill in the New Testament to the utter confusion of disobedient and rebellious people but this one may be an eternall example which the Sonne of God and so the Lord of all Iesus Christ hath given unto us Christians and servants and such as may serve for all to teach us to obey Princes though strangers wicked and wrongfuli when God for our sinnes shall place such over us Whereby it followeth unavoydably that such as doe disobey or rebell against their owne naturall and gracious Soveraignes how soever they call themselves or be named of others yet are they indeede no true Christians but worse then Iewes worse then heathens and such as shall never injoy the Kingdome of heaven which Christ by his obedience purchased for true Christians being obedient to him the King of all Kings and to their Prince whom he hath placed over them to the which Kingdome the peculier place of all such obedient subjects I beseech God our heavenly Father for his Sonne Iesus sake to grant unto us The Third SERMON AS I have in the first Sermon of this Treatise shewed unto you the Doctrine of the holy Scriptures as concerning the obedience of true subjects to their Princes even as well to such as be evill as unto the good and in the second Sermon of the same Treatise confirmed the same Doctrine by notable examples likewise taken out of the holy Scriptures so remaineth it now that I partly do declare unto you in this third Sermon what an abominable sin against God and man rebellion is and how dreadfully the wrath of God is kindled an inflamed against all Rebells and what horrible plagues punishments and deaths and finally eternall damnation doth hang over their heads As how on the contrary part good and obedient subjects are in Gods favour and be pertakers of peace quietnesse and securitie with other Gods manifold blessings in this world and by his mercies through our saviour Christ of life everlasting also in the world to come How horrible a sinne against God and man rebellion is cannot possibly be expressed according to the greatnesse thereof For he that nameth Rebellion nameth not a singular or one onely sinne as is thest robbery murther and such like but he nameth the whole puddle and sinke of all sinnes against God and man against his Prince his Countrey his Countrey-men his parents his children his kinsfolkes his friends and against all men universally all sinnes I say against God and all men heapeth he together that nameth rebellion For concerning the offence of Gods Majestie who seeth not that Rebellion riseth first by contempt of God and of his holy Ordinances and Lawes wherein he so straightly commandeth obedience forbiddeth dis-obedience and rebellion And besides the dishonour done by Rebells unto Gods holy Name by their breaking of their oath made to their Prince with the attestation of Gods Name and calling of his Majestie to witnesse who heareth not the horrible oathes and blasphemies of Gods holy Name that are used dayly amongst Rebells that in either amongst them or heareth the truth of their behaviour Who knoweth not that Rebells doe not onely themselves leave all workes necessary to be done upon worke dayes undone whilst they accomplish their abominable worke of Rebellion and doe compell others that would gladly be well occupied to doe the same but also how Rebells doe not onely leave the Sabbath day of the Lord unsanctified the Temple and Church of the Lord unresorted unto but also doe by their workes of wickednesse most horribly prophane and polute the Sabbath day serving Sathan and by doing of his worke making it the devills day in stead of the Lords day besides that they compell good men that would gladly serve the Lord assembling in his Temple and Church upon his day as becommeth the Lords Servants to assemble and meete Armed in the field to resist the fury of such Rebells yea and many Rebells least they should leave any part of Gods Commandements in the first Table of his Law unbroken or any sinne against God undone doe make Rebellion for the maintenance of their Images and Idolls and of their Idolatry committed or to bee committed by them and in despight of God cut and teare in sunder his holy Word and tread it under their feete as of late ye know was done As concerning the second table of Gods Law and all sinnes that may be committed against man who feeth not that they be contained in Rebellion The fist Commandement For first the Rebells doe not onely dishonour their Prince the Parent of their Countrey but also doe dishonour and shame their naturall parents if they have any doe shame their kindred and friends doe dis-inherit and undoe for ever their children and heires The sixt and eight Commandements Thefts robberies and murthers which of all sinnes are most loathed of most men are in no men so much nor so pernitiously and mischievously as in rebells for the most arrant theeves cruellest murtherers that ever were so long as they refraiue from rebellion as they are not many in number so spreadeth their wickednesses and damnation unto a few they spoyle but a few they shed the blood but of a few in comparison But rebells are the cause of infinite robberies and murthers of great multitudes and of those also whom they should defend from the spoyle and violence of others and as rebells are many in number so doth their wickednesse and damnation spread it selfe unto many The seventh Commandement And if whoredome and adultery amongst such persons as are agreeable to such wickednesse are as indeede they be most damnable what are the forceable oppressions of matrons and mens wives and the violating and deflowring of Virgins and maydes which are most rife with rebells How horrible and damnable thinke you are they Now besides that rebells by breach of their faith given and the oath made to their Prince The ninth Commandement be guilty of most damnable perjurie It is