will endeavour to discharge his duty by good report and evil report 2. You may observe that goodness it self is hated and truth it self slandered and traduced for in his mouth was found no guile but as Saint John saith he is the way the truth and the life and yet all that malice can invent is thought little enough to be laid on him he must bear in his bosom the reproach of a mighty people and he must endure the contradictions of a wicked generation And therefore what wonder is it if the best King and Governour in the world were he as mild as Moses as religious as King David as upright as Samuel and as bountiful to Gods servants as Nehemiah or if as worthy Preachers as ever trod pulpit were they as faithful as Saint Peter as loving as Saint John and as zealous as Saint Paul should be maligned traduced and slandered for you may assure your selves it is no new thing though a very true thing for the wicked to deal thus with the good and godly at all times But among all the subtil arguments doubtful questions and malicious disputations that the Scribes Christs good deeds inraged the wicked Pharisees and Heredians had with our Saviour Christ which were very many and all only for to intrap him in his speech that they might bring him to his death and not to beget faith in their own hearts that they might attain-to eternal life this conflict in this chapter seemeth to be none of the least for after he had so miraculously healed the poor man that was born blind their malice was so inraged and their rage so furious against him that they excommunicated the poor fellow and thrust him out of their Synagogue for speaking well of him that had done so much good for him or because he would not be so wicked and so malicious as themselves and then gathering themselves together round about Christ they began to question him about his office and very strictly to examine him whether he was the Christ the Messias or not And Our Saviour Christ Christ answereth for the good of the godly that knew their thoughts better then themselves intendeth not to satisfie their desire which was to receive such an answer whereby they might accuse him yet for their instruction that would believe in him he setteth down an institution or an infallible induction whereby both their subtil question was fully answered and his own true servants perfectly expressed and distinguished from them that serve him not in these words My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me Wherein The means ways to save us our Saviour setteth down the means whereby the true Christians are eternally saved in being called justified and sanctified which are the three main steps or degrees whereby we pass from our natural state of corruption unto the blessed state of grace that brings us to eternal glory 1. Called in these words My sheep hear my voice 2. Justified in these words I know them 3. Sanctified in these words They follow me 1. Then the Christians are called to come to Christ in that he saith My sheep hear my voice for as Adam after his transgression never sought for God until God sought for him and said Adam Where art thou So all the children of Adam would never come to Christ if Christ did not call them to come unto him but as wisdom crieth without and uttereth her voice in the streets Prov. 1.20 so doth this wisdome of God Jesus Christ cry Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and I will ease you and if he did not cry and utter forth his voice his sheep could not hear his voice but God sendeth forth his voice yea and that a mighty voice and as the Prophet David saith The Lord thundered out of heaven Psal 68 33. and the most high uttered his voice And that not onely as he did once unto the Israelites God uttereth his voice two wayes when he delivered his laws on mount Sinai but also to all others whom he calleth and uttereth his voice unto them two special ways 1. To the ears of his people by the mouths of his Prophets 1 To our ears Apostles and Preachers of his holy Word that do continually call and cry unto them to come to hear his voice and to obey his Precepts 2. To the hearts of his servants by the inspiration of his blessed Spirit 2 To our hearts which teacheth them to cry abba Father and perswadeth them to yield obedience to all his heavenly motions And our Saviour saith that his sheep or servants will hear his voice that is both uttered by his servants and inspired by his Spirit and they will neither neglect to hear the preaching of his written Word nor suffocate or choak the inspired Word that is the internal motions of his holy Spirit but they will most readily and willingly hear both these voices My sheep hear my voice howsoever uttered Three things observable For the further and the better understanding of which words you may observe these three things 1. The denomination Sheep 2. Their appropriation my sheep 3. Their qualification hear my voice 1. By Sheep here is understood not those four-footed silly creatures The children of God called sheep in a double respect that by their wooll and lamb and milk and their own flesh are so profitable unto us and by their simplicity are so easie to be kept and are the most innocent among all the beasts of the field but those children of God and true Christians that are called and compared unto sheep in a double respect 1. In respect of Christ that is their Pastour or Shepherd 2. In respect of themselves that are his flock 1. Christ is often called in the Scriptures our Shepherd 1 Grand Shepherd of the sheep Christ the good Shepherd in two respects 1. A lawful entrance into his Office Heb. 5.4 1. By the testimony of his own conscience 2. By an outward approbation and he is set forth unto us in this 10. c. by a double manifestation 1. Of a lawful entrance into his Office 2. Of an absolute performance of his Duties 1. The Apostle saith No man taketh this honour unto himself that is to be the Shepherd over Gods flock and a Priest to teach Gods people but he that is called of God as was Aaron And how was Aaron called 1. By God inwardly by the testimony of his own conscience that tells him the Spirit of God calleth him to such an Office 2. Because a man is not to believe his own private spirit that many times deceiveth us therefore God would have Aaron to take his commission and his ordination from Moses as you may see Exod. 28.1 and as the Lord had formerly said unto Moses that he should be instead of God unto Aaron to call him unto the Priests office And as no man taketh or should
herein and that is that all and every one that had any hand or finger in that good King's Death or in the death of any of those His good Subjects that were unjustly and illegally sentenced to death I do not speak of them that were killed in the War because as the Poet Lucan saith Pharsal lib. 1. Victrix causa Diis placuit sed victa Catoni And as the Prophet David saith The Sword devoureth the one as well as the other but of those that in cold blood by usu ping Judges under the Colour of Law were contrary to the Laws both of God and of the Land most unjustly condemned unto death should for that their unjust Proceedings be justly questioned and legally tryed for their former Offence the same being of so high a Nature as I shewed to you before But you will say many of them as blinde Bartimaeus might easily see that acted very highly against the last King and as it is conceived had their hands deep in his death were as active as any others and most special Instruments to bring His now Sacred Majesty unto His Right whereby they have fully expiated their foul offence and deserve rather to be well rewarded and honoured as some say they are then any ways questioned as their Adversaries would have them to be I answer that His Majesty is wise as the Angel of God and knoweth best what he should best do and the Policy of State is far beyond the Sphere of mine Intelligence and their doings therein ought highly to be commended and deserve not meanly to be rewarded though as Will. Sommers told King Henry the Eight that such a Gentleman threatned to kill him and the King answered that if he killed him he would have him hanged for it Will. Sommers replied Nay good King let him be hanged before he kills me or else his death will not preserve my life and his hanging will do me no good so I heard some say that they would have had the Enemies of the last King first punished for their Rebellion and the Murder of Him and then rewarded for their good Service to His now gracious Majesty or else reward them well for their good Service done to our now gracious King and then question them and punish them answerable to their Deserts for their Disloyalty and Treachery to our late King as I read it in the Turkish History and in some other Historians of some very wise Kings that did so to the like Offenders because we may believe it for a truth that they which have proved false to their own true just and lawful Prince will scarce ever prove faithful to any Prince nor seem to be but either for hope still to reap the fruit of their Subtlety to turn when the Winde turns or for fear to be dash'd in Pieces if they turn not their Sayls to escape those Rocks which they cannot otherwise avoid and no thanks to such men for any good they do when they do it perforce and therefore should be trusted perchance And it may be many of the very Murderers both of the good King and of his loyal Subjects have robbed and spoyled not the Aegyptians of their Jewels but the Israelites their Brethren of their Goods Lands and Possessions which they have gotten into their own hands and thereby became exceeding rich and enabled themselves to match their Sons and their Daughters to great Families and to bestow large Gifts that do blind the eyes of the wise on others to make to themselves Friends of their unrig hteous Mammon to preserve them from ther just deserts and to pull down the Wrath and Vengeance of God on others for this their obstructing of the straight rule of Justice that teacheth us to do otherwise Or if it were not so many men do wonder how so many men as were conceived to have been active and most of them to have their hands embrued in the good King's Blood and were likewise guilty of the death of His innocent Subjects should escape uncensured and so few of them sentenced to expiate and appease the Wrath of God for such horrible unparallebd and transcendent Murthers for I knew eight persons executed at Dublin for the Murther of one ordinary Traveller and is it not strange that we see no more brought to their Trial for such a Sâ—aughter as was done upon our good King and His innocent Subjects so judicially and yet so illegally and altogether unjustly sentenced to death or shall we think that no more were guilty then were condemned or not rather that the guilty Murtherers by their Wealth Subtlety and Friends made many others guilty of God's anger and the pulling down of God's vengeance upon many more for their excusing covering and clearing such abominable Transgressours for I would have all men to consider duly how destructive Murther is to mankinde and how odious and hatefull it is to God above all other sins whatsoever especially when an innocent man is judicially and illegally Murthered as you may rightly finde the truth hereof fully proved in the fifth Chapter of the first Book of The Great Anti-Christ revealed and in these Sermons following And I would the Protectours of the King's Murtherers would rightly weigh what the people sayd to King David that His life was worth ten thousand of the lives of the common people and how the Lord punished the whole house and posterity of Saul and all the Kingdom of Israel until his wrath was satisfied for the innocent death of the Gibeonites that were but a poor contemptible people but killed without cause 2. Sam. xxi and especially that there be not any more but two sins that I can finde in the whole Book of God that the Lord saith cannot be pardoned and obliterated without their due punishment and they are 1. The high Abuse of God's Messengers and Publishers of his Will 2. The unjust shedding of innocent Blood For Of the First the Spirit of God saith that when the Lord God sent his Messengers unto the Children of Israel and they mocked the Messengers of God and despised his words and misused his Prophets the wrath of the Lord arose against his People until there was no Remedy as if he had said For other sins of these Israelites some ways and remedies might have been found out as Moses and Aaron by their prayers and censers appeased the wrath of God to turn away the Punishment of them and David and Ezra did the like from the Jews but when they mocked his Messengers despised his Word and misused his Prophets which were the onely Sâ—â—ve or Medicine that could heal their sickned Souls when they refused and cast away these Remedies from them then there was no Remedy in the World for them to preserve them from their just deserved Punishment and therefore saith the Text The Lord brought upon them the King of the Chaldees who slew their young men with the Sword in thâ— House of their Sanctuary and had no Compassion
upon young Man or Maiden old Man or him that stooped for Age he gave them all into his Hand for that there was no Remedy 2 Chron. xxxvi 15 16 17. And of the Second the Spirit of God saith that the Lord sent against Jehoiakim bands of the Chaldees and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Children of Ammon and he sent them against Juda to destroy it and to remove them out of his sight for the sins of Manasses and for the innocent blood that he shed for he filled Hierusalem with innocent blood as the Judges of the Rump-Parliament did fill Ingland which the Lord would not pardon 2 Reg. xxiv 4. as if he had said though the Lord God might have been perswaded by Prayers and Tears and Sacrifices to pardon all other Sins yet this sin of shedding innocent Blood especially when it is judicially shed the Lord will no ways nor by any means pardon it and though men would fain pardon it yet God will not pardon it because God which is the God of truth and Truth it self hath said it and that we should not doubt of it he hath said Surely your blood of your Lives will I require at the hand of every Beast will I require it and at the hand of man at the hand of every man's Brother will I require the life of man And Whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed for in the Image of God made he man Gen. ix 5 6. and see how fully and how energetically the Lord hath said and the Scripture hath set down all these things against the pardoning of them that shed innocent blood And then these things being duly weighed as Saint Ambrose said to Theodosius Quod inconsulto fecisti consultius revocetur so I believe that if any man hath inconsideratly either through ignorance corruption or partiality caused or consented to let any Agag to escape whom the Justice of God hath designed to death he would assuredly consultius errorem corrigere amend His former errour and not let the death of such a King as was worth ten thousand of us and the Blood of so many of His loyal Subjects as were judicially and unjustly condemned to death pass away unpunished and unquestioned whensoever any of the Authours or Contrivers of their death should be found out or at least wise he would be satisfied and not blame others for doing if they do what he should have done It is no matter when better late then never for Nunquam sera est ad Justitiam via The way to do Justice is never too far nor the time too late and God deserreth his Judgments for many years together when we finde Murderers flourishing in all Pomp and Power a long time as I have shewed it at large in the Tragedy of Zimri and yet at last to come to tast of their just deserved Punishment as Pilate and Herod and the rest of the Murderers of Jesus Christ were not apprehended by God's Justice some of them in fourty years after they had condemned their just and lawful King and many more such Murderers you may finde in Dr. Beard 's Theatre of God's Judgments and in other Authours to have lain secure and to have slept in their sins for a long Season before the hand of Vengeance hath rouzed them up and yet after many Ages to pay Death for Death And therefore though the Parliament and Parliaments have passed over and perhaps pardoned those whom God saith he will not pardon yet I conceive that whensoever any of them that had their hands imbrued or the least finger stayned in our King's Blood or in the Blood those His loyal Subjects that were judicially unjustly condemned shall be found out and made known to be such they should be brought unto their Trial especially when we consider that Justice donâ— upon such transcendent Malefactours that do now as yet as it is conceived wallow in those innocent Bloods that they have spilt and do jet up and down most proudly in the spoils of their Slaughtered and Beggered Brethren would as the Scripture testifieth purge the Land from the stain of that innocent Blood which they have so plentifully lost and doth still crie like Abel's Blood for Vengeance against them appease the Wrath of God for our former neglect of doing Justice increase the King's Revenues by the Forfeited estates of these Transgressours satisfie the Friends of those Murthered innocents terrifie all other Rebellious hearts from such horrible attempts and all other Judges from abusing the Laws and perverting Justice and be an excellent Example of a just and unpartial proceeding against Traitours for the Foreign Kings to applaud it and for their Subjects to fear it if ever the like thoughts should enter into their hearts of doing such things as were done by these Murtherers And truely it hath often grieved me to hear the vulgar people so generally complaining that they see divers of the late King's Enemies and Rebels that they suspect guilty some way of the Kings death so much favoured in the World and so domineering over others jetting up and down in Pride so gloriously trimmed with the spoils of the loyal Subjects and some of the King's Friends and faithfull Servants sneaking up and down wholly dejected so as if there were an Act of Oblivion past of the King's Friends and an Act of Indempnity for His Adversaries To whom I have often answered that our King is wise as the Angel of God and He knoweth best what He hath to do far better then the best of us all and they should rather remember what the Psalmist saith Fret not thy self because of the ungodly neither be thou Envious because of the wicked doers for they shall soon be cut down like the Grass and be withered like unto the green Herb especially when their Iniquitie their Treasons and Treacheries that as yet are hidden from the Eyes of men shall be found out and be made apparent unto the World And therefore though I say all this that I said before as from the straight unpartial rule of severe Justice yet as I am a Bishop of Jesus Christ and a Messenger of the God of mercy that takes no delight in the blood of his Brethren nor desireth the death of any one I am obliged most humbly and earnestly to pray and beseech Your gracious Majesty to be still gracious as You have demonstratively shewed Your Self to be hitherto unto these ungracious Offenders and when the Law of Justice hath decreed their Desert to stretch forth unto them the right Hand of Mercy and to do with them as the Wisdom of the most merciful God shall direct Your Majesty Secondly The next thing that I am bound to declare and to remonstrate unto Your Majesty and to all others is lest Your Majesty should be misinformed concerning me as I understood by Mr. Secretary Nicholas I have been misrepresented in Your Majestie 's Court most humbly to
that the Herodians are his bitter enemies and do intend to kill him and therefore he should do wisely to convey himself out of their reach But of every such Pharisee Cum tibi dicit Ave tanquam ab hoste Cave 5. For their observation of the Sabbath they are so zealous or rather superstitious that the Disciples must not pick an ear of corn and put it in their mouth to asswage their hunger nor Christ speak a word to heal a lame or a blind man on that day without danger of a Câ—uncell to be severely censured and we read that if a barrell or vessel of wine leakt and run out on the Sabbath they would rather suffer the same to be all spilt then stop it on that day and Stow writes it in his Chronicle that one of them dwelling in the Old Jury in London happened to fall into a Privie upon the Saturday which was and is their Sabbath day and he refused to be pluckt out because he would not have his neighbour to prophane the Sabbath and his neighbour being a Christian denied to help him out on the Sunday which is the Christian Sabbath saying If thou art so precise to observe thy Sabbath I will be as zealous for my Sabbath and before the Munday he was stifled with the ill savour of his lodging So religious were these Saints in their superstition so fair in their outward holinesse of fasting praying and hearing Sermons exceeding all other men so far as Religion seems to exceed prophanenesse But he that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the searcher of all hearts and seeth the secrets of all thoughts tells us plainly they were but meer hypocrites appearing unto men like silly sheep but were indeed ravening Wolves that devoured widowes houses and plundered all their poor neighbours not leaving to many of them bread to put into their childrens mouthes under the colour of their long prayers and the pretence of Zeal and Religion this is the very truth of the matter How mighty these hypocrites increased in number in power and authority And yet these wicked men these holy hypocrites by their dissembling and faigned holinesse grew so great both in number and power that they soon over-spread the whole land and became as it were the only Oracles of the people and their faction ruled upon the matter not only the City of Jerusalem but almost all the land of Jury so farre that as Josephus saith Herod himself was afraid to displease them they had so infinitely bewitched the people with the opinion of their knowledge in the Scripture and their zealous profession that nothing was thought well done but what they did or approved of as it appeareth by that question unto the Officers Have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him But let such hypocrites go on in their hypocrisie John 7.48 â—â—arth 5.20 and let them be deceived that will believe them it is not these outward shewes of holinesse and shadows of Religion that pleaseth God who is not mocked as the Apostle speaketh but requireth truth in the inward parts as the Psalmist saith and therefore tells us and we may believe him that except our righteousnesse exceed the righteousnesse of the hypocrites that do but deceive the world and bewitch the simple people we shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of heaven 2. 2 The Scribes The next Sect that were most sedulous to betray Christ and to murder their King were the Scribes such as were the continual Writers not of Bills and Bonds Like our Presbyterians in dependants and Lay-Preachers as our Scriveners do but of the Holy Scriptures and therefore they pretended that they alone had the perfect knowledge and understanding of the same consequently that they alone were the only people of God all the rest no better or but little better then cast-aways so censorious were these scribling gnosticks But if you would examin their Exposition you should find that praeter falsitatem hypocrisin uihil habent they were such Interpreters of the Scripture as Hogs are dressers of Vines and when they stuffe their impertinent discourses with more impertinent Texts of Scripture 2 pet 3.16 they do but as Peter saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wrest it and pervert it and as the word implies deal with it as Shoemakers do with their Leather stretch it and tear it oft-times with their teeth when it is so that of it self it cannot reach to fit their purpose And truly the Church of God never wanted such Scribes in every place Tertullian saith credunt Scripturis ut credant adversus Scripturas they alledge Scriptures to overthrow the Scriptures and no Scripture shall be believed but as themselves interpret it and to give you a taste of their Expositions 1. When the Prophet Joel saith Your sons and your daughters shall prophesie Joel 2.28 they will justifie their Revelations and their speciall inspiration of Gods Spirit when as the Prophet meant it only of the Apostles and the immediate disciples of our Saviour 2. When the Prophet Hosea saith The children of Israel shall remain without King Hos 3.4 and without Prince many dayes this is a sufficient proof they shall be independent from all Government but their own and therefore being thus inspired by the lying spirit they were earnestly set on to kill their King and to abjure their Prince that they might still continue Independents without any regal Government 3. When Obadiah saith Thy mighty men O Teman shall be dismaid to the end that every one of the Mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter Obadiah v. 9. Malach. 4.2 3. and Malachy saith To you shall arise the Sun of righteousnesse and you shall tread down the wicked as ashes under your feet this is a sufficient warrant to destroy all Malignants and to root them out of the world as the enemies of Gods people which they say are themselves and none else 4. Esay 61.6 When the Prophet Esay saith You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and in their glorie shall you boast your selves this is a good warrant for them that take all the wealth and possession of their malignant neighbours they need no more but take them and seize upon them and never call them to answer Whether they have offended the Law and so forfeited their estates or not And is the world now free from such Scribes as do falsifie the sayings of the Apostles as these Jewish Scribes did the words of the Prophets No no for you may find many writings and Pamphlets of our Scribes that have most strangelie perverted the words of S. Paul Rom. 13.1 2 3. to cast off all Regall power and to establish the Democratical government and as peevishiy expounded the words of S. Peter to prove the lawfulnesse of deposing and decollating their Kings many more such Scriptures you may find perverted by our new-sprung Scribes if you cast your eye
Saints and Angels where there is no provocation to evil or to serve God aright where there is neither Sectary nor Heretick But the praise of Gods servants is to live among the wicked and yet not to follow their evil examples and to be in the midst of Hereticks and all kind of Sectaries and yet not suffer our selves to embrace their false opinions or to approve their wrongserving of God and yet still to honour them to love them and to be at peace with them And 2. 2 The great desire we should have to peace That we should not fail in this duty the Apostle saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 follow after peace As the Grey-hound followeth after the Hare that he may catch her So do you follow after peace that you may have it and that is not only to accept of peace when it is offered but also to purchase peace at any reasonable rate and upon any reasonable terms And we have an excellent example of this great desire of peace that should be in us The most excellent example of Abraham Rom. 4.13 in Abraham who though he was told by God Himself that he should be the Heir of the World which was a Title and interest good enough when God gave it him yet rather than he would strive with his inferiour his Nephew Lot he was contented cedere de jure to wave his right and to let him take his oboice of all the land what he would and where he pleased Gen. 13.8 9. And the like desire of peace we find in Pharaoh Necho King of Egypt when he sent Embassadours to Josias saying What have I to do with thee thou King of Judah I come not against thee this day but against the house wherewith I have war 2 Chron 35.21 for God hath commanded me to make haste forbear thee from medling with God who is with me that he destroy thee not and so he was destroyed for refusing to live in peace And the reason The reason of this great desire of peace is twofold 1. Because war is the greatest of all the plagues of God why we should love and honour and thus labour to live in peace with all men is because wrongs and injuries breed hatred suits and wars and war will be the death of many men and God made not death neither can he endure that any one man should malicioâ—sly destroy another God making not men to kill one another And therefore we find that the Sentence of Cain's punishment for killing his brother Abel is far heavier than Adam's punishment for eating of the forbidden fruit when God said unto Adam Cursed is the ground for thy sake and so forth But to Cain he said Cursed art thou from the earth which is a far greater curse than the former as is the rest of his censure in very many particulars whereupon Cain perceiving the heaviness of his Sentence so far exceeding his fathers curse Gen. 4.13 said My punishment is greater than I can bear And after the Flood the first Precept and the strictest charge that God gave to man was to prevent and hinder the shedding of mans blood which being shed he would require at the hand of man and at the hand of every beast which should be put to death if they were the death of any man And the Propheâ— saith That God will make inquisition for all the blood that shall be spilt that is search and find out them Murder shall never escape undiscovered that have been the death of any man yea though they should do it never so cunningly and secretly yet rather than they should escape undiscovered and so passe unpunished the Birds of the air as they did the death of Ibicus should betray their wickedness or the very blood that they have spiâ—t if there be none other witnesse shall with Abels blood cry out of the earth for vengeance against them because bloody men that delight to kill their brethren are an abomination to the Lord who as the Prophet saith abborreth both the blood thirsty and the deceitful man for Psal 5.6 Quem videris sangâ—ine gaâ—d â—teâ— lupus est saith S. Chrysostome hom 19. opef imperfect And therefore War which is a Feast celebrated to the honour of Death and is Mâ—ter omnium malorum The mother of all miseries the greatest shedder of blood upon the earth and the unjustest instrument of death that can be found when contrary to all Law and beyond all Justice nothing else is to be seen in war but fire robberies treasons tortures War the worst of all the plagues of God and slaughters inflicted as well upon the innocent as the nocent is deemed the worst of all the plagues of God the most direful and most destructive unto mankind For when the Lord with rebukes doth chasten man for sin and is sore displeased with any Kingdom he whippeth it with one of these threefold scourges Plague Famine and War And the first two Plague and Famine do but take away the men and take them so that most commonly they have time to repent and to humble themselves under the Mighty hand of God but the war casteth down houses burneth Cities subverteth Castles The many mischiefs that war bringeth destroyeth the creatures and shaketh the very foundation of all earthly happiness and not only suddenly cutteth off the lives of many thousands and sometimes Infants and Innocents from the earth but also introduceth Famines and Plagues after it at the heels And therefore David when he was necessitated to undergo one of these three scourges and had the favour to take his choice of them 2 Sam. 24.14 he would not choose war by any means And truly it were a happy thing that there were neither Souldier nor War nor cause of any war in all the World but that the people should beat their swords into Plowâ—shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks and that Nation should not lift up a sword against Nation neither learn war any more as the Prophet speaketh Because Esay 2.4 as one saith God made Souldiers the worst of men as he made the Devils the worst of spirits to plague the World and to be the Executioners of his anger and just judgements against his children when they do offend him That is for the generality of them otherwise many of them are very just and religious as the Scripture testifieth And the very Heathen man could say of the Souldiers Nulla fides pietasque viris qui castra sequuntur Lucan Phars 2. As War is such a dismal Apollyon 2 Because peace is the greatest of all earthly blessings and so furious a destroyer of all mankind the poison of Religion and the hated enemy of all creatures So on the other side the love of neighbours and peace among men is the greatest the best and the most excellent of all earthly blessings And as Ignatius saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is nothing in
take this office upon him but he that is as well outwardly approved by such as are lawfully authorized to approve him Exod. 4.16 as inwardly called by the restifying spirit of his own conscience so also Christ saith the Apostle glorified not himself to be made an high Priest and to become the great Shepherd of Gods flock Heb. 5.5 c. 17.21 but he that said unto him Thou art my son this day have I begotten thee and hath sworn Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech And therefore if no man no not Christ himself taketh this holy office upon him but he that is lawfully called by such as have lawful authority to call him I wonder how any man dares to intrude himself into the Ministry without any mission from Christ or commission from such as are lawfully authorized by Christ to admit them You know what our Saviour saith As my father sent me so send I you and they that were his Apostles never went until he sent them for there must be an Ite go ye Mat. 28.19 Mar. 16.15 John 10.1 before Praedicate preach ye and you see what our Saviour saith here Verily verily I say unto you he that entreth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way the same is a thief and a robber that is he that is not lawfully called and comes not the right way into the Ministry to be the shepherd of Gods flock the same is none of Gods Ministers Jer. 23.21 14.14 but is a thief and a robber stealing to himself what of right belongs to another And yet I fear we have now too many of whom the Lord may say as he doth by the Prophet Jeremy I have not sent these Prophets yet they ran I have not spoken unto them yet they prophesied for we are not onely to consider whether they be called and approved to be the Ministers of Christ but we must likewise consider by whom they are called and approved for as idem est non esse non apparere so it is all one to be not called and not approved as to be called and approved by such as have no right nor authority to call and approve them as when a company of thieves and robbers gives power and authority to a man to be Justice of the Peace or a Judge of Assize we say his power and authority is null and of no validity so they that give orders and approve of Priests and have no right no power nor authority to give orders and to allow them do just nothing in the just way and their orders is worth nothing But you will say this may be true of the Lay-preachers but those that are ordained by the Presbyterians and approved by an assembly of Presbyters cannot be denied to be lawfully called and to enter in by the door into the sheepfold I answer that I will not at this time discuss who gave them this power and authority to ordain Priests but I say that I dare not I cannot approve and justifie their authority let them answer for it that presume to do it I have shewed you their error in my discovery of the great Antichrist So you see how this grand Shepherd did lawfully enter into his office and how all his under-Shepherds should imitate him in their lawfull entrance and not intrude themselves nor be unlawfully admitted into the Ministry 2. 2 A perfect performance of all the duties of a good Shepherd Philo Jud. in l. de opificio mundi The other point here spoken of this great Shepherd is a perfect and most absolute performance of all the duties of a good Shepherd Where first of all you must observe that Theocritus Virgil and others writing of this office of Shepherds do make three kindes of Pastors or Shepherds and so doth Philo Judaeus where he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Shepherd Goatesman and Herdsman drive the flocks of sheep goats and bullocks and it is observed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dici de pastore omnium animalium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cum relatione tantum ad oves that the Greeks do call him onely that keepeth sheep 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a shepherd and our Saviour saith not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am the good goatsman or the good herdsman John 10.14 but he saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I am the good Shepherd that taketh care for his sheep but not for goats because the Lord careth for the righteous but as the Prophet saith he scattereth abroad all the ungodly And seeing that he is a Shepherd you know what the Poet saith Pastorem Tytere pingues Pascere oportet oves Vagil Eglog 6. The Shepherd ought to feed his sheep for as the old proverb goeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Spartam nactus es hanc orna every one should look to his own office as the learned Divine to preach the Word of God the Cobler to mend his shoes the Countrey-man to plough his ground curabit prelia Conon and the King or whosoever is the chief Magistrate to provide for war and to conclude peace which is the onely way to keep all things in the right way because that mittere falcem in alienam messem for the Coachman with his whip to lash the pulpit the Taylor with his shears to divide the Word of God the shepherd with his hook to rule the people and the unruly people to reign as Kings is that which as the Poet saith Turbabit fadera mundi Lucan phars l. 1. and is the readiest way to pull all things asunder to tear in pieces the whole course of nature and to subvert all the order of Gods creatures and indeed to reduce the total frame of the creation to a speedy dissolution whereas that man is worthy of all praise as Aelian saith which meddleth with nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that pertaineth nothing unto him but looketh onely and carefully to his own duty and he is worthy to be reproved as our Saviour checkt Saint Peter for his curiosity to know what John must do that is a stranger in his own affairs and busieth himself onely with what onely belongs unto others And therefore not to do my self what I blame in others or to extend my discourse beyond my line to treat of the art of war with Phormio before Hannibal or to tell you the office of a King or a Judge when my text tels me I am to treat of a Shepherd but to keep my self contrary to the common practise ad idem to my own proper task I shall desire you to remember that the duty of a good Shepherd consisteth chiefly in these two points 1. Negatively what he should not do to his sheep 2. Affirmatively what he should do for them 1. The heathen man could tell us that boni pastoris est pecus tondere non deglubere it is the part of a good Shepherd to fleece
because this our City is built upon a Rock and the gate of hell shall never be able to prevail against it not only because that being upon a Rock it can never be undermined but especially because as S. Cyprian saith Cyprianus Non plus valet ad dejiciendum terrena paena quam ad erigendum divina tutela And this good Shepherd which is the Lamb that standeth upon Mount Sion to defend it is more powerful to save it then the Roaring Lyon which is the Prince of darkness to destroy it 2. The same Prophet David saith The Lord is my Shepherd 2 From wants Psal 23.2 therefore I shall want nothing he shall feed me in a green pasture and lead mo forth besides the waters of comfort And in the Propher Ezekiel this good Shepherd saith Ezek. 34.14 The best food for Gods sheep what it is I will feed my sheep in a good pasture and upon the high Mountains of Israel shall their Fold be there shall they lye in a good Fold and in a fat Pasture shall they feed upon the Mountains of Israel where you must observe that this Fold is the Church of Christ and the fat Pastures are the Lilies Violets and the sweetest of all pleasant flowers especially the three leaved grass that as Aristotle saith is most delight some unto the sheep for this is the food of the Shepherd even as he professeth in the Canticles Cantic 2. that he feedeth among the Lilies and that is as Psellus doth interpret it where he seeth the graces of Gods holy Spirit and the virtuous examples of the Saints these are as meat and drink unto him and so they are unto his sheep For as S. Ambrose saith the Pastures of Gods sheep are the blessed Sacraments the holy Scriptures heavenly Sermons pious books and holy meditations of heavenly things and especially the three leaved grass which is the understanding of that great mystery of godliness that our God which is but one God in Essence is distinguished into three Persons the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost And the waters of comfort The waters of comfort what they are are those plentiful streams of milk and honey of Divine Consolation wherewith the Spirit of God doth as it were inebriate the souls of his servants for the Church of Christ is the Land of Promise which floweth with milk and honey it is the Wilderness where the Lord raineth Manna the bread of heaven to fatisfie the fouls of his children it is the Spouse of Christ whose loves are better then Wine and it is the House of God Cantic 2. whereof the Psalmist speaketh that the sheep of Christ shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of his house and he shall give them drink of his pleasure as out of a River that is alwayes running Psal 36.8 and yet never dried up And Christ being our Shepherd his sheep shall not only have the spiritual food of their souls and be satisfied with these heavenly juncates but they shall have also whatsoever is necessary for the sustentation of their temporal life For as S. Paul saith Godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life that now is 1 Tim. 4.8 and of that which is to come And our Saviour saith that if we first seek the Kingdome of God and his righteousness and so to become the sheep of this good Shepherd Matth. 6. then 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all the other things that you seek as food and rayment shall be given unto you for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of these things therefore he that feedeth the young Ravens that call upon him will much rather feed you that are the sheep of Christ if you relye upon him And they shall not only have sufficient for themselves but also to help and to relieve many others as the poor and their children and their childrens children for the blessing of the Lord saith Solomon maketh rich and a good man leaveth an inheritance to his childrens children Prov. 10.22 Prov. 13 22. Psal 112. v. 2 3. Iob 22.23 for riches and plenteousness are in his house and his Seed is blessed And Eliphas the Temanite saith If thou return to the Almighty and put away iniquity far from thy Tabernacles then shalt thou lay up gold as dust and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks Yea the Almighty shall be thy Defence and thou shalt have plenty of silver even as the Lord blessed Abraham that he became very rich in cattel Gen. 13.2 c. 12.16 in silver and in gold and had sheep and oxen and he-asses and men-servants and maid-servants and she-asses and Camels Or were it so that God did not thus bless us with outward wealth but suffer the world to frown upon us and to bring us to some want and poverty as he did to Job Lazarus and others either for the tryal of their faith patience and constancy in his service or for some other causes best known unto himself yet if we be the sheep of Christ what need we care or fear any such want so long as we want not the Wedding Garment and the spiritual food of our souls Quia major est suavitas mentis quam ventris because the garment of righteousness is of more worth then any Imperial Robe and the satisfying of our Souls is a great deal better then the filling of our bodies whose food be the same never so dainty is compared with the other nothing but ackorns and husks and other like vanities that are as soon done and gone as they are begun whereas a good conscience is a continual feast and the food of our souls Iohn 6.50 54. which our good Shepherd giveth us never perisheth but feedeth us to everlasting life as our Saviour sheweth O then beloved Brethren What a blessed and a happy thing it is to be the sheep of Christ to be thus innobled with such a Master thus protected from all evil and thus satisfied with all good though therefore the Proverb tells us and it is very true if thou make thy self a sheep the Wolfe will eat thee yet it is far more excellent and to be chosen rather to be a sheep of Christ then a wolfe of the world and to be a Lamb of God rather then a Lyon of the devil when at the last we shall find it far better to be devoured then to devoure and to be spoiled then to spoil our Neighbours 3 The duties and properties of Christ his sheep Two special points Iohn 10. v. 5. But then 3. If you would be the sheep of Christ you must be qualified with these two special properties 1. To hear the Voice of Christ 2. To refuse the hearing of a strangers voice For So our Saviour saith My sheep hear my voice but a stranger will they not follow but will fly from him because they know not the voice of strangers So