become pitch and brimstone to maintaine the fire of Gods scorching wrath in thy sinewes spirits and inward bowels drinking out in full measure the dregges of the wine of his rage and fury and canst thou be so blind and reachlesse that for the vaine pleasure of sinne for a little while thou wilt constraine God to torment thee euerlastingly who it may be euen at this instant if thou wilt still trie his patience and long sufferance will sodainly take thy spirite from thee or come in iudgement to recompence to all sinners by his finall sentence in the burning of the whole world the stipend of horror shame confusion vtter reprobation and waigh with thy selfe that to approch to God is the chiefest ioy of the chosen to behold his glorious countenance in the face of his sonne whereas thy sinnes doe separate thee from him and make thee afraid to speake to him by prayers which is thy chiefest and greatest solace in this mortall life How much more wil thy vngodlinesse make thee wish delay of the last iudgement the speedie and present comming whereof is a chiefe prop of our fight in the midst of so manie troubles and temptations and withall remember how the diuell that roring lyon laboureth by this impure act to make thee most filthie and lothsome in the sight of God and reioyceth to see thy gracious father mercifull Sauiour and comfortable sanctifier so abused and withstood and angred by thee whom he hath wonderfully made carefully preserued and deerely redeemed and tenderly loued that if it may be thou shouldest by vtter apostasie dishonour him in the face of the world who hath aduanced thee in the presence of all his Angels and though thou be so sure in faith that thou canst not vtterly fall the consideration whereof should make thee more duetifull and not incourage thee in a sinful course yet maist thou by little and little and by often falling bring thy selfe into a better liking both of the wicked and of wickednes itselfe whom thou oughtest to hate with a perfect hatred and then God by iust iudgement cast thee into a sure sleepe that thy filthihesse may be seene of men and thou condemned to the griefe of the righteous and scorned to thy shame of the vngodly and in the meane season by prouoking Gods iudgement be spoiled of thy goodly ornaments of thy godly desires of religious thoughts of zealous affections of christian communication of holy indeuours of assured perswasions of faith of stedfast waitings through hope of constant suffering by patience and heartie reioicings from loue In the perfect consummation of which things because all happinesse consisteth beware thou carelesse wretch lest sodainly by thy abhominable filthinesse thou either for a time wholly depriue thy selfe of comfortable feeling of these things or much diminish thy present graces and blessings receiued of the holy spirite to the glorie of God the Father But why doe I vtter my voice or striue to make a dead carkas moue O quicken thou me that art the fountaine of life and call thou out of heauen thy dwelling place that my wandring soule may heare the voice of her shepheard and follow thee whither soeuer thou leadest nay of thy tender compassion take me vp vpon thy shoulders and carrie me gently into thy fold againe for theeues haue stolne me away and haue bound my feete so that I cannot go and they watch for me vntil thou art gone that they may carrie me away quicke from thy pastures O do thou therfore presently deliuer me and giue me thy helping hand O cast thou downe by thy spirite my raging lust and by thy grace subdue mine vntamed affection I am weake O Lord and vnable to resist the force of my mightie aduersarie send thy helpe from aboue and saue me out of the iawes of the cruell lion thou hast deliuered me out of the mouth of hell ô let not the gates thereof anie more preuaile against me let me not anie longer be occupied in vngodlinesse least mine enime triumph ouer me saying in his malicious hart there there so would I haue it Let this sinne be farre from me ô Lord that I should defile my selfe anie more with this notorious wickednesse worke therefore in mine heart an vtter detestation of it that I may euer hereafter keepe my selfe pure and vnspotted for thy kingdome Thou that art able to make of stones children to Abraham mollifie I praie thee my stonie heart that all manner of son like affections may be imprinted therein plucke vp ô good father these rootes of bitternesse that no vnsauorie fruite may come of the tree which thou by thine owne hand hast planted I desire I looke I call I crie for thy assistance that I may cōquer this vnruly motiō O blessed sauiour that hast grāted so manie petitions vpon earth to them that were carefull for the bodie fulfill I pray thee this my desire not for health nor strēgth nor riches nor honour nor for food nor apparell but for thine heauenlie grace and inspiration yea let me lose all those rather thē be left to my sinfull flesh that I should be ruled anie longer thereby Mortifie good father in me the old bodie of sinne and giue vnto me a new bodie purged frō these dead workes to serue the liuing God renew my spirite dayly that I may cast away these works of darknes let it be enough ô merciful Father that my weaknesse in failing heretofore hath bin made known vnto me least I shold be too proud Now let thy strength appeare in putting this mine enimie vnder my feete that thereby I may be bold to put my confidence in thee Why should my bodie made by thine hand and my soule framed according to thine image be giuen ouer as a pray into the hands of Sathan Deliuer me ô Lord from the snare of the hunter and preserue me from the hand of mine enimie who lieth in waite for my spirituall life and laboureth mine euerlasting destruction so shal I praise thee for thy great goodnes and magnifie thy name for giuing me conquest ouer my aduersarie that is too strong for me To thee I fly for succour till this tempest be ouer past hide me I pray thee vnder thy shield bucker that none of the fierie dartes of Sathan take hold on me Good Lord for the loue thou bearest vnto mankind or thy sons sake who hath taken our nature vpon him graunt that I may not be tempted aboue my strength and that in all temptations I may flie vnto thee as a horne of my saluation yeelding thee most humble and heartie thankes for that thou hast giuen me a desire to withstand my sinfull flesh which thy worke I beseech thee for thy namesake to perfect and fully accomplish VVatch and pray lest you enter into temptation the spirite indeed is vvilling but the flesh is vveake Matth. 26. 41. Another zealous prayer ETernall God almightie and all mercifull we thy vnworthy seruants prostrate before thy
THE MAGISTRATES SCRIPTVRE PSALME 82. 6. 7. I haue said yee are gods and yee all are the children of the most highest but you shal die like men fall like one of the Princes I May call this text the Magistrats scripture considering the state of kings gouernors how much good they might do and how little they performe God becomes a rememberancer vnto them and first shewes what a high calling Princes and rulers haue and then least they should be proud of it make their magistracy a chaire of ease he turnes vpon them againe as though he had another message vnto them tels them that though they be aboue other yet they shall die like other and though they iudge here yet they shall be iudged hereafter and giue account of their stewardship how they haue gouerned as straite as their subiectes how they haue obeyed A good memorandum for all in authoritie so to deale in this kingdome that they lose not the kingdome to come I have said yee are gods c. How can he call them gods which cals himselfe the onely God saith there are no more gods but he Esay 44. 5. 45. 21. I haue made thee Pharao his God saith God to Moses Exod. 7. 1. because he had giuen him power to speake vnto Pharao in his name and to execute his iudgements vpon them Out of this name Rulers may learne how to gouerne subiects how to obey As inferiour Magistrates do nothing but as the superiour Magistrate prescribeth so they which rule vnder God for God must rule by the prescript of God and do nothing but as their conscience tels them that God would doe himselfe Therefore they which vse their power against God which beare the person of God and execute the will of the diuell which make lawes against Gods law and be enimies to his seruants are worse then Balaam which would not curse whom God blessed and so much as in thē lieth make God a lier because they cannot so wel be called gods as diuels such gods go to hell I haue said yee are gods c. First this name enformes vs what kind of rulers magistrates we shold choose Those which excell all other men like gods amongst men for a king should be a man after Gods owne heart like Dauid as all those whom God set ouer his people in his mercie and not in his anger had some note of excellencie aboue the rest which God chose them by as it is the Magistrates marke the mildest man Numb 12. 3. or the wisest man 1. Reg. 4. 31. or the iustest mā Heb. 7. 2. As though if al these had met in one the Inquisition should haue stayed there all giue place to him but our vertues are so singled that he which was called the mildest is not called the wisest and he which was called the wisest is not called the iustest as though God found some defect in his owne election for when he chose one milde another wise and another iust he shewed that hee would haue one which is milde and wise iust like himselfe Elisha thought that the single spirite was not enough but required that the spirite of Eliah might be doubled vpon him because he was a Prophet which should teach other So we should picke out thē which haue a double spirit to be Magistrats because they must gouerne other as God picked forth Iosua in Moses his roome He might haue chosen manie out of all Israel which had the spirite of wisedome but he chose Iosua of whom he saith that he was full of the spirite of wisedome Deut. 24. 9. Shewing that if one be better then another he should be chosen before the rest Therefore Samuel went ouer all the sonnes of Ishai to annoint a successour to Saul and put backe one after another which thought themselues fit yet there was but one amongst them which pleased God the Prophet could scarce discerne him so necessarie it is that this choice be committed to none but the godly because he which would haue chosen the best yet liked another before him Therefore there was such a scrutenie amongst the tribes to finde out the mā whom God had chosen as Iethro taught Moses to cull out of all the people those which had best courage and feared God and dealt truely and hated couetousnes Therefore a wicked man may not supply the place of God as the Scribes Pharisies sate in Moses chaire but as it is said of Iudas let another take his place so let better take their place for they which are called gods must be like God If all should be holy as he is holy how much more should they be pure as he is pure wise as he is wise iust as he is iust which beare his name which supplie his person and guide the world to good or euill If the race should be to the swift and the battell to the strong then as Saul did exceed all the men of Israell from the shoulders vpward so he which commaunds other should exceede other in gifts of grace that they may know him from the rest and say this is hee that excells the rest in vertue as Saul did in stature like the king of Bees which is fairest of all the hiue Therefore if Pharao would let none but Ioseph gouerne Egypt in whom was the spirite of God Gen. 41. 38. much more ought Christian Princes in the choosing of Iosephs in their common wealthes And therefore they ought not to be like Rehoboam which made them his counsellers whom he should haue banished the court 1. Reg. 12. 8. Secondly this extolleth the calling of Magistrates as Iacob honoured Iosephes children whē he said they should be called after his name so God honoureth the Magistrates when he giues them his owne name calling them gods as though there were a kind of godhead in them These things pertaine to the wise and they themselues doe not alwayes see it yet he which hath a spirituall eye and carrieth the paterne of God in his heart may see another likenesse of God in Magistrates then in common persons as the builders of the temple had a speciall wisedome and spirite which God gaue them for that work which they were chosen vnto So when Samuel had annointed Dauid he saith that the spirite of the Lord came vpon Dauid from that day forward as though he had another spirite after then he had before So there is a difference betweene kings and subiects though they be not gods yet they are liker God then other the Prince is like a great image of God the Magistrates are like little images of God appointed to rule for God to make lawes for God to reward for God to punish for God to speake for God to fight for God to reforme for God and therefore their battailes are called the Lords battailes and their iudgements the Lords iudgements and their throne the Lordes throne and
throne of grace do yeeld our selues body and soule vnto thee for all thy benefits which thou from our birth hast heaped vpon vs as though we had alwayes done thy will although wee occupied about vaine things neuer marked neuer loued neuer serued neuer thanked thee so heartelie for them as we esteeme a mortall friende for the least courtesie Therefore we come with shame and sorrowe to confesse our sinnes not smal but grieuous not a few but infinite not past but present not secret but presumptuous against thy expresse word and will against our owne conscience knowledge and liking if any had done thē but our selues O Lord if thou shouldest require but the least of them at our hands Sathā would chalenge vs for his and we should neuer see thy face againe nor the Heauens nor the Earth nor all the goodnes which thou hast prepared for mā What shall we do then but appeale vnto thy mercie and humblie desire thy fatherly goodnes to extend that compassiō toward vs which thy beloued sonne our louing sauiour hath purchased so mightely so gratiously and so dearely for vs we beleeue and know that one drop of his bloud is sufficient to heale our infirmities pardon our iniquities and supplie our necessities but without thy grace our light our strength our guide we are able to do nothing but sinne as wofull experience hath taught vs too long and the example of them which are void therof whose life is nothing else but the seruice of the world the flesh and the diuel Therefore good father as thou in speciall fauour hast appointed vs to serue thee like as thou hast ordained all other creatures to serue vs so may it please thee to send downe thy heauenly spirite into this earthly mansion to illuminate our minds mollifie our hearts change our affections subdue our reason regenerate our wils and purifie our nature to this duetie so shall not thy benefites nor thy chastismentes nor thy word returne void but accomplish that for the which they were sent vutill we be renued to the image of thy sonne Good Lord we beseech thee looke downe in the multitude of thy compassions vpon thy millitant Church this sinful Realme thy gracious handmaid our dread soueraigne her honourable Counsell the ciuill Magistrates the painfull Ministers the two Vniuersities the people that sit in darknes and all that beare thy crosse Gather vs into one cōmunion of thy truth and giue vnto euerie man a spirite to his calling that we being mindfull of the accompt and that we are called Christians may firmely resolue speedely begin continually perseuer in doing suffering thy holy will Good Lord blesse and sanctifie our meeting that no temptation hinder me in speaking nor them in hearing but that thy word may be heard and spoken as the word of 2. King 2. 9. 1. Sam. 16. 5. 1. Sam. 10. 20. Exod. 18. 21. Matth. 23. 2. 1. Sam. 9. 2. 1. Sam. 16. 13. 1. Sam. 28. 26. 2. Chron. 9. 6. Psal. 2. 6. Matth. 14. 19. 2. Chron. 9. 8. Matth. 11. 29. Deut. 17. 19. Psal. 139. 21. Exod. 32. 27. Num. 16. 15. 1. Sam. 10. 9. 1. King 3. 9. 1. King 4. 30. 1. Sam. 25. 25. 2. Thess. 2. 4. 2. Cor. 4. 4. Dan. 4. Nehem. 6. 1◠2. King 15. 30. 1. Sam. 22. 7. 1. Sam. 19. 4. 17. 1. Sam. 21. 17. 1. Sam. 14. 45. 2. Sam. 5. 10. 1. Sam. 10. 26. 1. Sam. 3. 26. Prou. 14. 21. Rom. 13. 5. Iohn 19. 11. Heb. 5. 4. Acts. 8. 9. Rom. 13. 7. 1. Pet. 2. 23. Iere. 27. 12. 2. Chron. 9. 8. Gen. 1. 1. Sam. 17. 39. Zach. 13. 4. Gen. 11. Ruth 1. 20. Exod. 20. 23. Exod. 9. 16. Gen. 11. 4. Gen. 5. 27.