estate of freedome and liberty Heretofore they had beene the House of limping Iacob but now a preuailing Israel heretofore the House of Hadadrimmon of woe and weeping but now a place of ioy and gladnesse heretofore a Beth hauen but now a Bethel In a word when I see Israel to become a King yea to become two Kings and to haue two Kingdomes I say the World is well amended with Iacob since the time hee went ouer Iordan with his staffe since he made a stone his pillow since hee serued twice seauen yeeres with his churlish Vncle Laban and since he knew not where to lay his head I admire therefore that euer any of his generation should offend so gracious a God But that of the Apostle is most apposite to this purpose All are not Israel that are in Israel or of Israel This further appeares how the common people are blessed on euery side First from the State politique both in generall and in particular In generall the Apostle saith That the Magistrate is a Minister of God to thee for good but if thou doe that which is euill be affraid for he beareth not the Sword in vaine For he is the Minister of God a reuenger to execute wrath vpon him that doth euill By the blessing of the higher power euerie man liueth in quiet vnder his owne Vine and vnder his owne Fig-tree and the reason is Because God hath set vp the King for a blessing to the people that the weaker should not be oppressed by the stronger What else would become of the helpelesse multitude if they had not one set vp by God to order many Surely if God had not taken care of mankinde euen in this case the wicked nature of man would daily breake forth into shamelesse and bloudy shambles of thefts butcheries murthers adulteries rapines incests treasons and what not And vnlesse Christian policy had found out dayes times places and persons to redresse wrongs and to distribute right to euery man no man should haue enioyed the comfort of one day nor knowne the blessed state or condition of any pleasing time or place Secondly in particular this blessing of God appeareth both especially and indiuidually for body goods and good name for the body Cannibals must not liue among Christians For the state-politique taketh care that the hand of violence shall not touch any subiect and if any man shed the bloud of another by the man of authoritie his bloud shall be shed Yea the tender hearts of true Christian Princes haue prouided against the hot-spirited duels that the image of God may not be destroyed by sudden enraged passions nor Subiects wound their owne soules by bringing in the price of bloud vpon their owne Families as a Noble Lady once said to her brother in the like case For Goods the State-Politique prouides that euery man eate his owne bread No Platonicall community no Anabaptisticall Anarchy nor yet Plutonicall villany is heard of in a Christian Common-wealth For he that doth not labour must not eate Ideots say that which is mine is thine and that which is thine is mine yet Indians and Tartarians speake not so Vngodly persons say that which is thine is mine and that which is mine is mine owne Indeed so speakes the violent theefe that is the robber by the high-way and the slie theefe which is the Vsurer Mediocrity and Pietie speake otherwise in a Christian Common-wealth Mediocrity saith that which is mine is mine that which is thine is thine so speaketh the morall Christian. But Pieties parlee is that which is mine is thine to pleasure and profit thee and that which is thine is thine owne Yea the politique State taketh care not onely against out-rage and violence but also that no man be cosoned or abused by forged cauilations Otherwise there were no voyaging by Sea for Pyrats no trauelling by Land for Robbers no sleeping in an house for Burglaries no commerce for violence cosenage deceipt and fraud did not the wholsome Lawes of the State-politique preuent these miserable mischeeuances Blessing comes vpon our good names which is as a pretious oyntment for our Reputations would be tainted by the stinking Flies of Aegypt if the State-politique did not prouide Antidotes against so Epidemicall a poyson Yea heauen and earth would be infected with Libels of blacke obloquie and the sons of men would fat themselues with infamings and reprochings of others Euery mans braine would be a forge of choller and passion euery mans studie a dung-hil of vntruths all things would be carried by passion not by iudgement yea the giddy multitude of the sonnes of men would become a rabble of blasphemous Goliahs against God the Lord of hosts a rout of rayling Rabshekahs against their betters a skull of scoffing Ismalites against their brethren a fry of scorning Iebusites against those that are in authority and euery man would giue liberty to that vnruly euill of the tongue which the Apostle saith is enraged by hell fire Thus are the people blest by the State-politique in body goods and good name Blessed they are also vnder the politique State by the State-Ecclesiasticall both in their soules and consciences Blessed in their Initiation and reception into the Church for when they are children they are brought into the Church by Baptisme afterwards confirmed in the grace receiued which is as Palmes to their hands Crownes to their heads Wreaths to their browes Triumphs and Trophies to their whole life Blessed they are by the ministeriall function in restrayning the sonnes and daughters of men from their exorbitant and extrauagant courses by all meanes possible that can be Sometime by the menaces of Gods Desertion for Church-men tell them if they forsake God God will forsake them Sometime by threatning them with Gods fearefull traditions that hee will deliuer them that forsake him into a three-fold misery that is vnto vile affections vnto their owne hearts lusts and into a Reprobate sence Sometime with menacing of iudgement to come which hath caused the very Heathen to tremble as is apparent in the case of Faelix Blessed they are when they are ready to fall by the effectuall assistances of ministeriall supportations both Externally Internally and Eternally Externally by the preaching of the Word that heauenly Manna to feed their soules by prayer and sollicitation to God for them and also by application of the Word which is as the balme of Gilead to the seuerall cases of their distressed consciences Internally blessed they are by the meanes of the outward ministery which worketh the illumination of grace inwardly by the motion of the spirit and in the communion of Saints by the prayers of the whole Church both of the triumphant Church in generall and of the militant in particular Moses prayeth and Iosua ouer-commeth Peter is imprisoned the Church prayeth and he is deliuered Eternally are they blessed by the meanes of Gods Church in the reception of the blessed body and bloud of Christ
iudgement is greater then thou And let not great ones forget by whom they raigne For what was more excellent in Heauen then an Angell yet for his pride hee was cast downe to Hell What on earth more glorious then an Emperour yet Charles the fift being a most fortunate Prince in many enterprises yet when hee set himselfe against God in warring with the Duke of Saxony the Lant-Graue of Hessen and others of the Religion hee was put to the worst by Mauritius a meane Duke What more imperious in the Sea then a Whale yet in his pride when he endeuoureth to swallow vp all the little Fishes that come neare him in the end with a herring fry and scull that comes on so fast he is cleane choaked The Spaniard in eightie eight that brought to Sea that inuincible Atalantado as the Nunne of Portugall called it for power and number was scattered in the pride of the imaginations of his owne heart And most memorable is that of Henry the fourth the last King of France hauing two of his teeth strucken out by Iohn Chastell a Iesuites Scholer one of the Religion standing by perceiuing the wound not to be mortall be-spake the King on this fashion O King thou hast denyed God with thy mouth meaning the Kings outward reuolt to Popery but when thou shalt deny God with thine heart God will stabb thee through the heart which fell out diuers yeares after in the bloudy blow that Rauillac gaue him which was both fatall and finall for the Knife was found through his heart The last practise is of thankes-giuing which belongeth vnto the house of our Israel to yeeld vnto Almightie God for the house of the King For God hath loued the glory of our kings house and the place where his honour dwelleth in giuing vs our King the foundation of this house as another Zâ—robaâ—ell The Kings children to be as Cedars in the sides of this house his prudent Counsell as a most prouident Sanadrim his Peeres and Nobles the beames and rafters to be as the worthies of Dauid and the valiants of Iehu his Iudges the standards to be as Vshai the Archite his Courtiers attendants and officers the hangings of this house to be as faithfull Mordocheus Let vs not forget therefore seeing it hath pleased God that wee liue in a Common-wealth vnder a Monarchy which is the most absolute forme of gouernement Wherein the King is the Vnite from whence all numbers are deriued hee is the Father of the Families vpon whom the whole houshold depends he is the Pilote that stands at the helme he is one in the Common-wealth as one Sunne in the Firment as one heart in the bodie and as one God in Heauen And seeing in the high Court of the State which wee call a PARLIAMENT which consists of a threefold State and all of God the King as the Monarchy the Vpper-house the Aristocracy and the Lower-house as the Democracy which nathlesse hath freedome and libertie both of suffrage voice and vote Let vs not I say forget to begge of our God that of his infinite goodnesse and mercie hee would remoue from about the Kings sacred person and from all his all treacherous flatterers and time-seruing whisperers from his Councell all Matchauelian practisers from his Peeres and Nobles all base Oppressors and hard-hearted Land-Lords who by Iesuited improuements grinde the faces of the poore Husbandman to make the most of their owne from his Iudges and Iustices all corrupted base bribed partiall basket-Iudges chicking-Iustices and the like who will transgresse for a crust of bread as the wiseman saith in the Prouerbes and from his Court all contemners of his Gospel and despisers of the Word of Exhortation such as were Pharaoh Ahab Herod and the like miscreants And that I may moue you hereunto let the great ones of the World know that if they be scandalous a woe belongeth vnto them for Christ saith Woe vnto the World because of offences If woe to the whole World then vnto England It were better that a great one which giueth publique scandall had a great mil-stone hanged about his neck and be cast into the Sea then that hee should lay a stumbling blocke before Gods children or that his wickednesse should cause the whole land to mourne and bring in the sword of the enemie by Gods iust iudgement to be sheathed into our owne bowels Let not the greatnesse of other Kingdomes and States deterre you For as long as God is with your King and you feare not at all God vanquished the imperious Romans by the Herulians Gothes Vandales Visigothes and Ostrogothes pulled downe the Metropolis of the Assirians Tyre and Sydon aegypt and Persia Palestina and Constantinople by despicable and pooâ—â— means So also know yee that you through God shall vanquish the pride of the Spaniard and the fury of the French or what Nation so euer shall band it selfe against you At all times therefore it is our dutie according to the Apostles Councell Let prayers and supplications be made for all men but especially for Kings and such as are in authority that vnder them wee may liue a peaceable life in all godlinesse and honesty Thus haue you heard the summons and now heare the charge Heare this Hearken and giue eare It deerely and neerely concernes all degrees in Court Church and Common-wealth that they attend as well to the ripping vp of their sinnes and to the denunciation of Gods iudgements for the same as to the promulgation of Gods mercies in fauour of the penitent that all estates hauing a sence and sight of their iniquities may breake them off by repentance and obtaine pardon by Iesus Christ our Lord. THE charge to all is in these tearmes Heare Hearken and giue eare This three-fold repetition Heare Hearken and giue eare is no Battologie no Tautologie but an elegant elocution of the spirit of God vsuall in the Scriptures He that hath eares to heare let him heare saith Luke And he that hath eares to heare let him heare what the spirit saith to the Churches saith the spirit of God in the Reuelation to the seauen Churches of Lesser Asia Saint Augustine expounds it to our hands Heare all yee Estates that by the same Gate through which sinne first entered Grace may now enter Hearken that is to say attend with your mindes to vnderstand what God saith and Giue eare that is to say intend with your hearts to doe and practise what you heare and conceiue The reason why the Scripture vseth this earnest elocution as to say He that hath eares to heare let him heare as if men did any thing else with their eares but heare is this Many men see with their eares as they doe who but hearing ought of their neighbours especially if it be of euill report beleeue it to be true as if verily they had seene it with their eyes and these kinde of people indeed see with their eares The goutie haue two
miscreants But you will say what is all this to vs I will tell you I am no Prophet nor yet the sonne of a Prophet but without any challenge of Enthusiasme or any such dizzy dreame Tell me if Gods iudgements haue not beene towards vs in our Nation both in Court Church and Common-wealth In the Court was not Iudgement toward vs in the death of our late dread Soueraigne Queene Elizabeth when the eyes of the Iesuites were ready to drop out with expectation of our ruine and their braines aked with plotting villanies and perillous prophesies When as at the approach of our dread Soueraigne Iames this our state being in an Earth-quake was shaken and setled in a moment Was not Iudgement toward vs in that hateful and hellish gun-powder treason which had it been effected the very frame of the Court Church and Common-wealth had beene ouerthrowne in a moment Was not Iudgement towards vs when GOD tooke away from vs that hopefull peerlesse and valiant young Prince Henry Was not Iudgement toward the Church when a Praemunire was endeauoured to ensnare our Cleriques but that God diuerted it by affecting the Kings heart toward our reuerend Beaue-Peeres of Diuinity Was not Iudgement toward the Church when a nullity was intended and endeuoured to be brought vpon all proceedings of Episcopall iurisdiction in our Ecclesiastical discipline Was not Iudgement toward the Church in the decease of our rarest Diuines and greatest Schollars who were as the Chariots and Horsemen of our Israel Champion-like casting foorth their gauntlets of defiance against the proudest Prelate and most carnall Cardinall in the Conclaue of Rome If in these things the Iudgements of God had beene vpon vs as they were toward both Court and Church the Comminalty had certainely had a share therein and vndoubtedly had tasted of the same bitter Cup. Were not these things the fore-warnings of future sorrowes That many other Iudgements were not continued vpon this our Nation as the vniuersall plague of pesti'ence which extended it selfe euen to the mountaines of Wales the inundation which ouerflowed some part of our Land What time the waters saw thee O God the waters saw thee were affraid and returned into their streame-race againe the inflamation of the Element which not many dayes before the Gun-powder treason in the West-part of this Land seemed all on fire some foureteene yeeres sithence the first great frost and this later that made not onely the poore of the Land to mourne but the very beasts of the field to roare and the Birds of Heauen to droope was it not I say the wonderfull riches of Gods great mercy If now in the blessednesse of peace soundnesse of health quietnesse of state plentifulnesse of feasts and fulnesse of bread the people of this our Nation shall runne to excesse of ryot and great ones become Nets and Snares in their high places Mizpah and Tabor to their poore brethren sing Requtems to their owne soules and contemne heauenly admonitions take heede lest this Iudgement which is said to be but towards vs be not very neere vnto vs yea euen at the doore The case is otherwise with vs in England God be blessed then it was in Israel at the time of this prophecie For in our state neither Prelates nor Preachers become Nets or Snares vnto our people They make no merchandizing of the word of God as doe the Italian Montebanks of Rome Our Church-men ensnare vs not as the Romanists doe theirs with conceited Saints as salues for all sores or with rotten Romish Reliques such as are Martines bootes George his Sword Crispines cutting Knife Iosephs breeches Thomas his Shooe the swadling Clowts of Christ the Milke and Haire of the Virgin Mary and the like sopperies Neither doe they tell vs that the Breath of Christ is in that boxe as some hideous blasphemous impostors of the Latian-Lateran-monster haue made the seelie multitude beleeue The Church men of England preach vnto vs nothing but Iesus Christ crucified the great Angel of the Lord presenting to our God the vialls of odours which are the prayers of the Saints They preach vnto vs the pure Word and administer the blessed Sacraments without blending or mixture as the reliques of Iesus Christ. In the ministration whereof albeit they are by some sort of miscreants meanly handled and coursly entertained yet they haue resolued with Gideons souldiers to lap colde water before they would for filthie lucre or vaine-glorie become Nets and Snares to entangle the consciences of any the least of Gods deare ones with mis-leading vntruths or mis-perswading traditions Let vs not therefore become a by-word to forraine Nations but let vs shew our selues to be Gods true Israel as a people beleeuing that God hath appoynted a day wherein he will iudge all orders and conditions of all things that they haue done either on Mizpah or Tabor in Church or Common-wealth In which day of Iudgement he will iudge our fins that in this life haue beene precedent present or to come In which day the omnipotent omni-scient Iudge will appeare the Assessors will be innumerable and all men of all sorts shall there be presented naked Where Christ shall be the Law-giuer the Impleader the Witnesse Aduocate and Iudge Where many Orators shall impleade one the Angels whom we haue grieued by our impenitencie the poore and helplesse whom wee haue wrongfully vexed Vriah shall vrge Dauid and Naboth shall impleade Ahab for their blouds Those that haue beene corrupted by our perswasion example meanes or money shall cry out against vs. In which iudgement there shall be no cuasion no appeale For if we deny any thing heauen and earth shall witnesse it against vs If we translate our crimes we shall be pointed at with this Thou art the man If wee pleade ignorance the long time of Gods sufferings and the many yeares of the preaching of the Gospell shall be vrged against vs If we pretend necessity of sinning it will be answered it was not of co-action but of our owne corruption If wee aplogize for our selues in a Panegyricall commemoration what good deedes we haue done and how many Sermons wee haue heard the voyce will come forth from God I know you not that worke iniquity And if we become Suppliants it will not serue our turne for the maister of Requests will then bee come out of heauen If we appeale it will be told vs that God hath delegated all the iudgement to his Sonne Listen therefore vnto the voyce of Iehouahs fatherly Admonitions so shall you stand in that Iudgement Lift vp your heads and reioyce to heare Christ say Come yee blessed But if you will not heare his Commonition Confusion shall couer you as a Cloake you shall roare for dolour and that great Anathema Maranatha shall plunge you into hell with Goe ye cursed There remayneth onely an Exhortation Deprecation and Supplication wherewith I will conclude First I exhort therefore That Prayers and Supplications be made for all Estates of this