to lavish but with the High-Priest and certainly the King is higher then the High Priest St. Paul would never have said The Lord smite thee thou whited wall if he had known the man to whom he speak Act. 22.3 5. had been the High Priest But this place because is may be extended to Rulers in General and therefore may meet with some colourable evasion I shall give you some other Texts concerning Governours in particular and especially and namely Kings Eccl. 8.2 3. viz. I Counsel thee says Solomon to keep the Kings Commandement and that in regard of the Oath of God Be not hasty to go out of his sight stand not in an evil thing for he doth whatsoever pleaseth him where the word of a King is there is power and who may say to him What dost thou Mark the words Beloved and deal truely with your own Souls as you will answer it at the dreadful great and fearful day of Judgment I Counsel thee I that have more Wisdom then ever any man had before me or shall have after me I that am Directed by the Holy Ghost I Counsel thee i.e. I Command thee from God To keep the Kings Commandement i.e. Whatsoever he Commands thee so it be not against the Word of God And what did the late King Command thee He Commanded thee to assist him with men mony and Ammunitions He Commanded thee not to furnish an Army that was raysed against him by what Power soever under whose Conduct or Command soever with either men mony or Ammunition And Could any of you doubt whether you were bound to observe and obey that Command Solomon told you then you were and tells you now you are and tells you the reason why you were and are Even in regard of the Oath of God And what is that Oath of God Why it is that Covenant thou didst make with it is that Oath thou didst enter into to thy late Sovereign Lord King Charles viz. The Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy But it may be thou wilt say This was the Oath of man It was so but withal It was the Oath of God too For thou didst make and take these Oaths to the King by and with Gods approbation Thou didst call God to be the Witnesse of thy true Intention Endeavour and Resolution to perform those Oaths and assure thy self If thou dare so far to sin against thine own Soul for any by-respect whatsoever either for fear of plundering and undoing by Death or Torment or for hope of keeping thy Estate and getting more by Life and preferment thou shalt find God to be a severe punisher of thee Exod. 20.7 God will not hold him guiltlesse that takes his Name in vain He that uses Gods Name to vanity is damnable and in a possibility of Damnation and therefore He that uses Gods name to Perjury is damned and in a certninty of Damnation Be not hasty to go out of his sight i. e. says Tremelius Né ab obsequio illius te subducito animo perturbato Do not draw thy neck out of this yoak withdraw not thy self from his the Kings Allegiance in an angry mood or discontentednesse of Spirit Stand not in an evill thing i.e. Imperturbation et Rebellione quae tibi malum allatura erit In thy fullinesse in thy peevishness in thy discontentedness in thy Rebellion If thou doest stand out and refusest or neglectest the Kings offer of Grace and Pardon This thy standing out will at last bring mischief and evil upon thee For He the King doeth whatsoever pleaseth him i. e He hath a long hand and though for a while thou be sheltred from him yet at last He will reach thee and condemn the to the Gallowes if thou bear Arms against him if thou contributest to maintain a War against him Where the word of a King is there is Power Power to break a Loyal Subjects heart into Duty and Power to break a Rebels heart into Death and Confusion For a while The word of a King like the word of God may be slighted and resisted but in the end it will appear to be a word of power and shall be suffered with Death where it was not obeyed with Duty And who may say to him the King What doest thou i. e. Questiones affirmativas resolvendo negativè by the old Rule None may say unto the King what dost thou ot call him to account None may not the Judges of his Bench not the Captains of his Host not the Grooms of his Stool not the Masters of his Horse not the Nobles and Gentlemen of his Chamber nor yet his Great Council None whatsoever may say it It is not fit says Job not fit for any man whosoeoer Job 34.18 nor fit for any sort of men whatsoever to say to a King Thou art wicked or to Princes you are ungodly and Solomon gives you the reason of it saying Against the King there is no rising up Pro. 30.31 Nemo qui insurgit says Junius No man that rises up against him now Nemo qui insurgat says Clarius No man that may rise up against him hereafter No man either Clergy or Layety No man either privat Persons or Representative Body None either Lords or Commons Amen say I I would to God there had been none of late against King Charles I. If there may be none hereafter against King Charles II. If there be they will find Power in his word to punish those who resisted the word of his Father and that when come to passe they will find Answer enough against all Objections they can raise agafnst this last Passage Thirdly Lastly for I will not burthen you with many though I could with a whole Volumn I present you with that of St. Paul even that which some Anti-Royallists because they cannot evade it countercolour it and excuse it do scoffingly and contemptuously call our great and Goliah Text viz. Let every Soul be subject to the higher Powers Rom. 13.1.2 for there is no power but of God The Powers that be are ordained of God whosoever therefore resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation Here again let me advise you to deale ingenuously sincerly and truly with your own Soules and here give me leave to ask you or rather do you seriously ask of and enquire and Catechise your own Soules who or what doest thou think is meant by the Higher Powers Doest thou canst thou think That nothing is meant hereby but a Naked Authority as Mr. Burrowes would have thee believe 2 Thess 2.11 Take heed thou be not given over or givest thy self over to believe a lye Take heed I say take heed of such a construction of such an Exposition for admit that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did signisie Power in the Abstract or the Power of the Law without relation to the Person that made the Law yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 must
of necessity note the Person and the Superiority of the Person that hath that Power conferred upon and given to him and such Power no Person in England hath but only the King of England His great Council may Jus dicere propose Lawes but He only can jus dare make Lawes They the Lords and Commons may give weight and Testimony to the Law but He only The King can give Force and Authority to the Law And therefore by Higher Power we English men must needs understand the King of England To whom the King every Soul i.e. All People in the Kingdom of England must be subject subject Actively If He commands not what is against Gods word Subject Passively if He do whether He do or do not we must be so far Subject as that we may not Resist For if we do we shall receive to our selves Damnation Not the Plundering of our Goods at Home not the hanging of our Bodies in the street or field but the Damnation the everlasting Damnation of our Souls and Bodies in Hell for ever Now search and examine your selves Art thou any where in the whole word of God commanded to bear Arms or to contribute to maintain a War against thy Lawful and Rightful King Art thou any where forbidden by the word of God to Assist thy King in his just Wars Nay Doeth not the word of God forbid thee That and command the This It does thou knowest it does and so I conclude this Proposition from the Scripture and say Therefore it is not lawful for any man to bear Arms or to contribute to the maintenance of a War against the King For no man may curse the King in his thoughts for no man may revile the King by his words For no man may resist the King with his Hands yea Therefore every man must assist the King with Arms and contribute to the maintetenance of a War for him with his Purse because they that do not are the Children of Belial The Children of Belial said How shall this man save us and they despised him and brought him no presents And this I shall endeavour to make good Thirdly 3. Fathers By the contemplation and conversation of the Fathers by their Practise and by their Opinion and that I may not tyre you or my self I shall give you but a Taste instead of a Feast and name you but Few instead of Many I begin with Justine Martyr Ad inquisitionem vestram Secund. Apolog ad Anto. Imp. p. 113. Christianos nos esse profitemur c. says he to Antoninus an Emperour bad enough At your Inquisition we Professe our selves to be Christians though we know Death to be the Guerdon and reward of our Profession Did we expect an Earthly Kingdom we would deny our Religion that escaping Death we might obtain our desires For the preservation of publick peace we Christians O Emperour yield you our help and assistance We Christians says Tertullian to Scapula the Vice-Roy are defamed for Seditious Persons against the Imperial Majesty Lib. ad Scap. but we were never yet found to be either Albinians Nigrians Cassians or any other sort of Traytors No we know the Emperour is ordained of God and therefore we love him we honour him we reverence him we pray for him and for the welfare of his whole Empire Una nox pauculis faculis c. says he In Apolog. in his Apologetical Defence of the Christians One short night with a few Fire-brands or Torches would work our deliverance and revenge our wrongs if it were lawful to requite evil with evil Vetat autem Deus ut aut ab igne humano vindicatur Divina secta aut doleat pati in quo probatur But God forbid that the Christian Religion should be revenged with humane fire or that Christians should grieve for suffering because in suffering they are refined and for suffering they are rewarded Apol. Atha ad Constant Holy Athanasius in the clearing of himself against the Accusation of the Arians to Constantius the Emperour thus expresses his own Duty and the Duty of all good Subjects I am not so mad neither have I forgotten the voice of God which says Curse not the King no not in thy heart and backbite not the Mighty in the secreets of thy Chamber for the Birds of the Aire shall tell it and the winged Fowle shall bewray thee It is not for any man to say otherwise then well of his Majesty in the opinion of this holy man and therefore certainly it is not for any man to do otherwise then well To bear Arms or to contribute to maintain War against the King Orat. 1. in Julian Nazianzene the Divine so termed for his Excellent Knowledge and profound Learning speaks to this purpose Repressus est Julianus Christianorum lachrymis quas multas multi profuderunt hoc unum adversus persecutorem medicamentum habentes Julian that great Apostata and persecutor of Christians was restrained by the Tears of Christians which many of them shed and powred forth aboundantly unto God nor had they any other remedy against the Persecutor because they knew it to be unlawful to use any other means then Sufferance or else they might having so much strength as they had have repelled their wrong with violence St. Ambrose being commanded to deliver up his Church in Millane to an Arian Bishop Contr. Aux Ep. 31 32 33. his people being very sorry for his departure he thus resolves and comforts both himself and them Quid turbamini Volens nunquam vos deesram Why are you troubled I will never willingly leave you Repugnare non novi dolere potero potero slere potero gemere adversus Arma Milites Gothos Lach rymae meae mea sunt Arma aliter nec debeo nec possum resistere If I be compelled I have no way to resist I can grieve and sorrow I can weep and sigh my Tears are my Weapons against Souldiers Armors Goths such is the Artillery and Ammunition of a Priest otherwise then with Tears I neither may nor must nor ought resist St. Chysostome in one Epistle tells us Ep. ad Tim. 2. That though Kings continue obstinate in Infidelity yet they must be prayed for they must not they may not be resisted The Apostle commands prayers supplications and intercessions to be made for all men especially for the King What he hath said in another you have heard before and thither I refer you St. Augustine is of the same opinion Julianus extitit Imperator Infidel is Julian was an unbelieving Emperour In Ps 124. he was an Apostata an Oppressor a Tyrant and Idolater yet the Christian Soldiers served this anbelieving Emperour They obeyed him in all things for Christ and when he commanded them any thing against Christ yet they resisted him not though they did not obey him Gregory the Great might if he would Ep. l. 7. Ep. 1. but would not though he could destroy the Lombards
the Faith of Blood to Justification We may not with Balaam desire to dye the death of the Kighteous and live Covetously Nâ—â—b but we must with David lead the life of the Righteous and dye Comfortably If we would dye in the Lord and receive the end of our Faith which is the Salvation of our Souls we must first Live in the Lord by laying the Foundation of Faith by doing the Act of Faith and by bringing forth the Fruit of Faith 1. Fundamentum autem Fidei quid But what is the Foundation of Faith Why it is Cognitio Dei nostri the Knowledge of God and of our selves The Knowledge of God the Father and our Fall He made us upright and we found out many inventions He made us in his Image and we defaced it The Knowledge of God the Son and our Redemption we were lost and He sought us we were sold and He bought us 1 Cor. were slaves and He enfranchised us The Knowledge of God the Holy Ghost and our Sanctification by Him Such we were Druâ—kards Revilers Fornicators c. But we are sanctified by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor. This is the Foundation of Faith and it must be laid by Knowledge 2. The Act of Faith and it must be effected by Applying Actus autem Fidel quid And what is the Act of Faith Why it is Fiducia A perswasion that God the Father so loved me Joh. 3.16 that he gave his onely begotten Son for me A perswasion that God the Son so loved me That he came in the similitude of sinful flesh Rom. 8.3 and for sin condemned sin in the flesh A perswasion that God the Holy God so loved me that he hath baptized me into the death of Christ and hath thereby made me the Temple of Himself a Member of Christ and the Child of God In a word 1 Tim. 1.15 when I believe Though I am the greatest of all sinners yet Jesus Christ came into the world to save me 3. Fructus autem fidei quid And what is the Fruit of Faith Why it is Charitas Charity Charity to God by Prayer Charity to my self by Fasting and keeping my Body under Charity to the Poor by Almes These These are the precious Fruits that grow upon the precious Tree of Faith Faith believing in God thorow Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost to be saved does therefore pray to God against sin and keeps the Body under from sin and gives Almes to the Poor And when we do this why then as Christ saies you shall know the Tree by his fruit we live in the Lord and therefore we shall dye in the Lord. The word of my Text is not Qui vivunt They which live but Qui exeunt They that dye in the Lord Nor did I say this to deviate from my Text but to tell you How you may fulfil the Text and dye in the Lord and no way for this but by living in the Lord for otherwise the Lord may be said to Dye in us we cannot be said to Dye in the Lord. Nor yet did I say this That the man that lives not in the Lord cannot dye in the Lord For God can fetch water out of the flinty Rock but to tell you That ordinarily Few dye in the Lord that do not first live in the Lord They that live in sin may dye in the Lord and such A course may speed But it is a dangerous and indiscreet pare to venture a Soul upon such an hazard This course is sure to speed ' They that live in the Lord do alwayes dye in the Lord. It is storied that the French ad judged certain ground to the Irish against the Scotch because Spyders Toads and such poysonous Creatures did presently dye if they were put there So you may be our own Judges and know to what Master you belong If siâ—ful lusts words and works dye when they come upon the Ground of your Souls you belong to the Lord He lives in you and you shall dye in him Once more Would you dye in the Lord Why then as St. Paul saâ—es Dye daily i. e. Master your Lusts Subdue your Wrath Humble your Pride Resist all Temptations v.g. more plainly Suppose Covetousness were now breeding in my heart and Money perswaded me to become another Judas to betray my Soul my Saviour my King my Countrey Yet remember I it is but a sad bargain I am about No profit to gain the whole world and loose mine own Soul And what I say of this sin I say of all sin Take them while they are but little ones Mat. even but Temptations and dash them against the stones Against the stones of Mortification and Repentance Obey the Precepts of God and resist sin Believe the Promises of God and relye on Christ and so you shall live in the Lord Continue in this Obedience to the Law Persevere in this Belief of the Gospel and though you do sometimes fall and God forgive us all for who falls not often yet Rise again by Repentance and at the Hour of your Death Then six your Faith upon the Mercies of God in the Merits of Jesus Christ and you shall Dye in the Lord And Dying so you shall be blessed Etiam sic dicit Spirius For so saith the Spirit It is my second General Pars 2. I called it the Witness to assure the Deposition to confirm the truth of the Proposition and I must tell you It is beyond all exception Etiam sic dicit Spiritus For so sayes the Spirit But of this I shall not need to speak much For I hope in Christ There is no Athist here to deny the Truth of God or of his Word No Schismatick or Heretick here I hope to deny this Book of Revelation though penned by St. John to have proceeded from the Spirit Not any Carnal or Private Spirit not any Giddy or worldly spirit but the Holy and Blessed Spirit and therefore I forbear to prosecute this Point and thank your Piety for saving me the pains Nor shall I dare to trespass upon your Patience Pars 3. in speaking much of my Third General This Depositaries Exposition of the Proposition And yet least I should injure your Expectation I shall venture upon a word or two If any one askes wherein are the Dead Blessed They that dye in the Lord wherein are they blessed Loe The Spirit makes answer and sayes They are blessed two wayes 1. In Relaxation They rest from their Labours 2. In Retribution Their Works follow them They are two Blessednesses and two such Blessednesses as this world cannot afford Ease and Glory both In this world If sometimes we have Rest in our Studies by Divine Contemplation yet there we have no Glory we are but poor Schollars still And if sometimes you have Glory in the Court by Royal admission yet there you have no Rest you are but Observing Courtiers still But in Heaven Both you and we shall have