any branch of goodnesse or perfection This is the first foundation of our Faith layd by his onely Sonne Aske and it shall be given unto you seeke and ye shall finde knocke and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened Or what man is there of you whom if his sonne aske bread will he give him a stone Or if he aske a fish will hee give him a serpent Math. 7◠vers 7 8 9 10. Every Father that heard Him would have beene ready to have answered no yet none so ready or carefull as they should be to give or provide best things for their children because all besides him are evill Fathers If ye then being evill know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that aske him ver 11. Hee is then so much more willing to give good things to his children as he is better or greater than other Parents His love to all men seeing all are his sonnes by a more peculiar reference than Abraham was Adams or Isaac Abrahams is infinitely greater than any Parents beare to the fruits of their bodies Mortall fathers love children when they have them but love to themselves or want of means to immortalize their owne persons makes them desire to have children The onely wise immortall God who is all-sufficient to all most to himselfe unacquainted with want of whatsoever can bee desired out of the abundance of his free bounty and meere loving kindnesse did first desire our being and having given it us doth much more love us after we are instamped with his Image For he sowes not wheate to reape tares nor did he inspire man with the breath of life that he might bring forth death 3 The Heathens conceived this title of Father as too narrow for fully comprehending all references of loving kindnesse betwixt their great Iupiter and other Demigods or men Iupiter omnipotens regum rex ipse Deusque Progenitor genitrixque Deum Deus unus omnis And another Poet Iupiter mas est nescia faemina mortis And because the affection of mothers especially to their young and tender Ones is most tender the true Almighty hath deigned to exemplifie his tender mercy and compassion towards Israel as David did Ionathans love towards him far surpassing the love of women yea of mothers to their children Sion had said the Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten mee But her Lord replyes Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the sonne of her wombe yea they may forget yet will I not forget thee Esay 49. ver 15. And if his love could sufficiently bee expressed by these dearest references amongst men whose naturall affection towards their tender brood in respect of meaner creatures is much abated by wrong use of reason as many mothers by greatnesse of place or curiosity of education are lesse compassionate towards their children then other silly women are he hath chosen the most affectionate female amongst reasonlesse creatures to blazon his tender care and loving protection over ill-deserving children How often would I have gathered thy children together even as a Hen gathereth her chickens under her wings Math. 23. ver 37. Finally as he gives much more to our being than our earthly Parents whom we suppose to give us being so all the sweet fruits or comforts of love whether of fathers and mothers towards their children of husbands towards their wives or of brethren to brethren sisters to sisters or one friend to another their sinfulnesse onely excepted are but distillations or infusions of his infinite love to our nature To witnesse this truth unto us the son of God was made both father and brother and husband to our nature c. Every reference or kinde office whereof reasonable creatures are mutually capable every other creature though voyd of reason so not voyd of love and naturall affection may expresse some part of our heavenly Fathers loving kindnesse but the love of all though infinitely increased in every particular and afterwards made up in one could no way equalize his love towards every particular soule created by him Feare of death or other danger hath such joynt interest with love as well in the heart of man as in other creatures that albeit they would doe more for their yong ones than they doe if they could yet they doe not usually so much as they might not so much for their model of wit or strength as God for his part though infinite in wisedome power doth for the sonnes of men He that feareth none but is feared of al he that needs no Counsellor but hath the heart of Prince and Counsellor in his hand makes protestation in his serious griefe that he hath done all for his unfruitfull vineyard that he could as much as possibly could be done for it Or if his serious protestations cannot deserve credit with deceitfull man his solemne oath is witnesse of greater love than hath beene mentioned of greater than the heart of man is able to conceive even towards such as all their life time have hated Him As I live saith the Lord I will not the death of him that dyes If besides the authority of these and infinite more sacred texts most perspicuous in themselves the interpretation of the Church be required for establishing of the doctrine delivered the whole ancient Church some peeces of Saint Austine onely excepted which may bee counterpoyzed with other parts of the same Fathers writings is ready to give joynt verdict for us And whether the restrictions which some reformed Churches have endeavoured to lay upon Gods promises be compatible with the doctrine of the English Church comes in the next place to be examined CHAP. 15. What the Church of England doth teach concerning the extent of Gods love of the distinction of singula generum and genera singulorum of the distinction of voluntas signi and voluntas beneplaciti 1_WHat middle course soever the Church of England doth hold or may take for compromising contentions betweene some other reformed Churches in points of Election and Reprobation of free wil or mans ability before the state of regeneratiō She doth not in her publike and authorized doctrine come short of any Church this day extant in the extent of Gods unspeakable love to mankind No nationall Councell though assembled for that purpose could fit their doctrine more expresly to meet with all the late restrictions of Gods love than the Church our mother even from the beginning of reformation hath done as if she had then foreseene a necessity of declaring her judgement in this point for preventing schismes or distraction in opinions amongst her sonnes First she injoynes us to beseech God to have mercy upon all men This was the practice of the Ancient Church which in
from their greatnesse but from some other causes best knowne unto himselfe His judgements upon Princes and other Potentates are often executed according to the most strict arithmeticall proportion that can be required in the rule of Retaliation upon equalls as well for the manner as for the matter of punishment And although God in this life never plagueth any according to the full measure of their offences committed against himselfe yet he often visiteth Kings and Monarks with a fuller visible measure of calamity than they have brought upon others and with calamity of the same kinde Though Pharaoh had beene the greatest Monark and his Court the most glorious seat of Nobility till their time on earth yet because hee and his Nobles had plotted cruelty against the innocent without relentance or remorse the dignity of his or their persons procures no mitigation either for the matter or manner of punishment Their dues are fully paid them as we say in kinde the guiltlesse blood of poore Hebrew infants is rendred seven â—old into the bosome of the Aegyptian Nobility and men of Warre 2 Never did any State or Kingdome since the foundation of the world were laid receive so terrible a wound within its owne territories in one day as at this time Egypt did but females did in some measure feele the smart Yet in this last as in the former plagues no Egyptian woman had cause to lament for her selfe for her sister or daughter but many for their husbaÌ„ds their brothers or sons What was the reason The Egyptian Mid-wives and they were women if no other of their sex besides had beene more merciful to the infant males of the Hebrewes than the Egyptian men had been And as they had done so hath the Lord requited the one and rewarded the other To the mercilesse Courâ—iers Politicians and men of Warre he hath rendred vengeance and judgement without mercy and punished them with miserable and ignominious death shewing compassion on the weaker and more pitifull sex 3 It was a rare document of divine justice to ordaine of divine wisdome so to contrive that the dogges should lap King Ahabs blood in the same place where they had lapped the blood of Naboth stoned to death through his connivance or permission As sure a token it was of justice tempred with mercy and of the great Kings speciall grace or favour unto this gracelesse King of Israel that the dogs which lapped his blood should not so much as touch his body Being slaine in battell his death was honourable as the world accounteth honour yet was it not so much the dignity of his royall person as his humiliation upon the Prophets chalenge which made him capable of this favour but not a dram either of disgrace or misery from which Ahab was by Gods mercy in part released which did not fall into the scale of Iustice wherein the impiety of proud Iezabel was exactly waighed The measure of her husbands punishment is not so much less as hers was fuller than Naboths had been The sight of her coÌ„manding letters caused poore Naboth to be stoned to death by the men of his citie and at Iehues call her body is dashed against the stones by her owne servants The dogs lapped Naboths blood but they devoured Iezabels flesh she had beene shamelesly cruell in her life and she hath a most shamefull and a most fearfull death Nor would the all-seeing Iudge suffer that respect to be done to her corps which her cruell executioner intended upon remembrance that she had beene daughter to a King It was I must confesse a ruefull case and yet a judgement more righteous than rufull that she which had issued from royall womb she from whose wombe had issued royall progenie for she had beene respectively lawfull daughter lawfull wife and lawful mother unto three Kings should be entombed ere her corps were cold in the entrailes of dogs should have no better burial than the dead Ass or other carion albeit she died in her owne royall palace But thus the Almighties arme sometimes reacheth greatest Princes even in this life heavier blowes than they can give unto their poorest subjects But where the blow or matter of punishment which falls on them is much lighter the wound or torment may be more grievous as was observed before than their furie can procure unto their despised brethren 4 But neither doth the sacred relation concerning Pharaohs overthrow or Iezabels death containe a more perspicuous ocular demonstration of Divine Iustice executed according to the rigour of Retaliation than hath beene represented or rather really acted upon a publike Stage within the memory of some now living The subject of this rufull spectacle was Henry the second French King of that name The accident is not recorded by Gods Spirit yet the experiment as unpartiall Writers which I take it were eye witnesses of it have related is as exactly parallell to the rules of Gods Spirit and affords as good instruction for moderne Princes as examples in the Sacred Story did to posterity This youthfull King in the beginning of his reigne had licenced others to feed their eyes with the sight of a deadly Duell authorized by him in favour of Vivonus to the disgrace and prejudice as the Court of France expected of Chabotius whose hands notwithstanding the Lord did strengthen to kill the Favourite who after many bitter provocations had drawne him within the Lists more against his will than an old Beare is brought to the stake The death of Vivonus though most just doth no way excuse the barbarous injustice of this King who hath this justice done upon him hee had made a sport of shedding blood and he himselfe is slaine in Ludicro certamine running at Tilt and slaine by that hand which had beene his instrument to apprehend those Noble and religious Gentlemen which had been lately imprisoned and in whose misery the Court of France did then rejoyce and adding gall to wormwood solemnized these and the like triumphant shewes or sportings in their sight yet was it not Count Montgomeries hand but the right hand of the Lord which did at one and the same instant unty the Kings Bever and guide the splinter or glance of Montgomeries Speare into that eye which had beheld a Duell that could not be determined without the death of the one or other combatant both being Frenchmen his natural subjects with such delight as yong Gallants do ordinary prizes or other like spectacles of recreation Of Vivonus his death few or none but Frenchmen were eye-witnesses but of this Kings tragicall triumph Spain Germany with other countries were spectators by their proxies or Ambassadors As if the Lord would have these theÌ„ present to cary this message to their masters to be by theÌ„ directed to the rest of ChristiaÌ„ Princes Discite justitiaÌ„ moniti non temnere divos Take warning by this Princes Fate Not to approve what God doth
effects are all directed to the accomplishing of Gods revealed purpose or consequent will upon Babylon as it were so many arrowes to their marke The Lord of hoasts was the Archer and Cyrus his bow whose intentions against Babylon must therefore prosper because The Lord of hoasts hath sworne by himselfe saying Surely I will fill thee with men as with caterpillers and they shall lift up a shout against â—hee Ier. 51. vers 14. There is not one clause of Cyrus his advise or exhortation to his followers after they had found the river to bee passable or of his proclamation after their entrance through the water-gate which Xenophon relates but is parallell to some part or other of Ieremies Prophesies Wee may boldly say all that Cyrus commanded was faithfully executed that the scripture might bee fulfilled 8 That which in reason might most daunt or deterre his souldiers from raunging the streets of Babylon was opportunitie of annoyance from the tops of their flat-roofed houses But this inconvenience Cyrus by his good foresight turnes to his advantage If any sath hee clime up to the tops of their houses as it is likely many of them would we have God Vulcan our confederate for their porches are very apt to take fire their gates being made of palmetrees asphaltites inunctae which will serve as oyle to cause them to take fire and wee have store enough of torches pitch and straw to inlarge the flame after the fire be once kindled By this meanes either we may enforce them to forsake their houses or burne both together The execution of this stratagem would quickly amate men already affrighted with the sudden surprisall of the Citie To this purpose the Lord had spoken long before The mightie men of Babylon have forborne to fight they have remained in their holds their might hath failed they became as women they have burnt their dwelling places her barres are broken Ier. 51. vers 30. One post shall runne to meete another and one messenger to meet another and shew the King of Babylon that his citie is taken at one end And that the passages are stopped and the reedes they have burnt with fire and the men of warre are affrighted verse 31 32. Xenophon tels us that after Cyrus had given Gobrias and Gadatas in charge to conduct the Armie with all speede to the Kings Palace Si qui occurrebant of such as came in their way some were slaine others retired againe into the citie others cryed out That which made the noyse more confused and the danger lesse apprehended was that Gobrias and his souldiers being Babylonians by birth did counterfaite the roaring of that unruly night Whatsoever occasion of distast or implacable discontent the proud King had given to these two captaines whether those which Xenophon reports or others the finall cause of that successe which their bloody intentions against their native King did finde was the accomplishment of Gods will reuealed against him for his Grandfathers crueltie against Ierusalem whereof being gently warned by Gods Prophet he no way repented but added gall to wormwood and thirst to drunkennes O thou King the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdome and majestie and glorie and honor And for the Majestie that he gave him all people nations and languages trembled and feared before him whom he would he slew and whom hee would he kept alive and whom hee would hee set up and whom hee would hee put downe But when his heart was lifted and his minde hardened in pride he was deposed from his Kingly throne and they took his glorie from him And hee was driven from the sonnes of men and his heart was made like the Beasts and his dwelling was with the wild Asses they fed him with grasse like Oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till hee knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdome of men and that hee appointeth over it whomsoeuer he will And thou his sonne O Belshazzar hast not humbled thine heart though thou knewest all this but hast lifted up thy selfe against the Lord of heaven and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee and thou and thy Lords thy wives and thy Concubines have drunke wine in them and thou hast praysed the gods of silver and gold of brasse yron wood and stone which see not nor heare nor know and the GOD in whose hand thy breath is and whose are all thy wayes hast thou not glorified Then was the part of the hand sent from him and this writing was written And this is the writing that was written MENE MENE TEKEL VPHARSIN This is the interpretation of the thing MENE God hath numbred thy kingdome and finished it TEKEL thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting PERES thy kingdome is divided and given to the Medes and Persians Dan. 5. vers 18. to 29. 9 Thus wold Daniel have cured Babel but she was not cured by him howbeit Belshazzar was more kinde to Daniel then to himselfe then most great Princes are to Gods best Prophets that reprove them For he commanded and they cloathed Daniel with scarlet and put a chain of gold about his neck made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third Ruler in the kingdome In that night was Belshazzar the King of the Caldeans sâ—aine And Darius the Median tooke the kingdome being about threescore and two yeere old Dan. 5. vers 29 30 31. For it is not the bestowing of a Scarlet robe of Court holy water or of reall honour in greatest measure upon Gods servants that can couer a scarlet sinne in Princes The staine of blood can never be washed off nor the crie of the oppressed blowne away though the whole element of water winde ayre were at their commands without the teares and sighs of the oppressors whose hearts cannot be cleansed without repentant prayers Ierusalems sighs and teares in her sorrow had sunke too deepe into the Almighties eares to be expiated without the sacrifice of many sorrowfull hearts and contrite spirits throughout Babel Israel is a scattered sheepe the Lyons have driuen him away first the king of Assyria hath devoured him and last this Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon hath broken his bones Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel behold I will punish the King of Babylon and his Land as I have punished the king of Assyria And I will bring Israel againe to his habitation c. Ier. 50. vers 17 18 19. Thus Israel is revolved from Gods consequent wil to his antecedent Babylon from his antecedent to his consequent will And for the speedy execution of both parts of this his will for Israels good and Babylons hurt the Persian Monarchy is with such speed erected 10 But some happily will here demand wherein the similitude mentioned by Ieremie betweene the King of Assyria and the King of Babylons punishments did consist Senacharib