did for Pharaohs Daughter That she may forget her People and her Fathers house and that as God hath begun to make her a fruitefull Mother in Israel so hee would increase that fruitfulnesse and make her proue new-borne in Israel And with this bond of the fruite of her wombe that tyeth her to the King and this I land to tye her heart also to the Trueth professed amongst vs. To pray for our Prince That the matter of our Ioy in him may be constant That God with the increase of his Dayes would increase his Gifts and Graces and enable him for the Place hee hath appointed him that when his Father is full of good Dayes hee may succeede him in all these forenamed blessings as well as in these Thrones That so there never faile a Man of that Line to sit on the Throne of these Kingdomes That as Mankynd is increased by his Birth so the number of the Faithfull may bee increased by his new Birth in the â—awer of Regeneration And as God hath made him a Sonne of our Desires so hee would make him a Sonne of Delight to vs and the Posteritie by growing in favour with God and Man To pray for our Selues That wee may know the Tyme of our Visitation and the things that concerne our Peace and proue thankfull to God for his great Mercies Wee are like Ierusalem in the Happinesse of our Tyme and as like her in not knowing of it Wee are like that Figge Tree which was long spared and if wee bee vnfruitefull still wee are neere to a curse Wee are that Vineyard that was well dressed but if wee bring not our better fruits wee shall bee destroyed For all Estates of this Land from the greatest to the smallest doe meete Gods mercie with ingratitude and rebellioun God hath beene passing through the reformed Churches these yeares by gone with a fearefull yet a iust visitation Wee are as guiltie as they and yet God in a forebearing mercie is waiting if wee will repent If wee turne not to him vnfainedly let vs resolue that the dregges of this Cup are reserved for vs onely let vs take heede and keepe our Soule diligently lest we forget the things which our Eyes haue seene and lest they depart from our Hearts all the dayes of our life But let vs not thinke that our present businesse in this Church is sufficient wee must heereafter walke in a new obedience to God who ladeth vs dayly with blessings This is our best thanksgiving and a most forcible Prayer to obtaine new blessings vpon the blessings receaved and with all it is a Seale that Gods Mercies are given vs in Mercy If our Thanksgiving be a constant walking worthie of Gods blessings then he will delyte to dwell amongst vs and blesse vs more than shall we still be a matter of ioyfull wondring to the World and of comfort to our selues when the blessings of the Scepter of Christ and of the well sweyed Scepters of our Princes are visible amongst vs in Religion Iustice and Peace The Lord who hath blessed vs with this ioyfull Occasion and brought vs together in this house to testifie our ioy before Man and Angels put this Day amongst these white and ioyfull Dayes that are marked with rare blessings and make it a period and beginning of a ioyfull reckoning of yeares to come The Lord make vs constant in thankfulnesse that his goodnesse may continue with vs That the end of all his blessings may bee his Glorie in the Salvation of our Princes and of our selues through Iesus Christ our Lord. To this God Father Sonne and holy Ghost King of Kings and Lord of Lords bee praise honour and glorie now and for evermore AMEN FINIS A LOOKING GLASSE For PRINCES and POPES OR A Vindication of the sacred Authoritie of PRINCES from the Antichristian vsurpation of the Popes By the same Authour M. William Struther August Civit. lib. 4. cap. 7. Ipsi attendant speculum suum Bernard Consid. Lib. 4. Ipsi sint speculum ipsi forma Idem Lib. 2. Admove speculum faedus se in eo vultus agnoscat EDINBVRGH Printeed by the Heires of Andro Hart. 1632. The Preface of the Uindication REligion is the sacred Bond betweene God and vs And the certaintie of the Trueth professed maketh it stronger In this litigious age Contentions haue almost buried the Trueth And the inconsiderate Reader of Controversies shall neither finde Papists in their diverse and contradictorie opinions nor himselfe The best resolution for that certaintie next to Scripture is not so much by the theoricke of controversies as the practicke of Now-Romes pertinancie Therefore it shall be a price worth our labour to consider Rome as now it standeth and the graduall shifts whereby shee hath driven her selfe to it Her present estate is a judiciall hardnesse In that most obstinate pertinacie as Saint Austine calleth it that maketh men defend errour for trueth and pursue trueth for errour And all their businesse in wryting disputing c. is that made presumption as Patianus sayeth whereby they seeke only the victorie in any cause And like the olde Pagans they choose rather to obtrude their owne errours impudently than patiently to heare our Trueth as Cyprian said to Demetrian Potius tua impudenter ingerere quà m nostra patienter audire As Copernicus in Astronomie and Paracelsus in Physicke loathing olde Trueths layed their new Hypotheses and threw all things by the haire to countenance them so doe they in their new broached heresies And like Photinus c seeke not to show a reason of their doctrine to their hearers but draw things that are simply spoken to the colouring of their errour as Ruffinus speaketh of him Ut simpliciter ac sideliter dicta ad argumentum sui dogmatis traheret The first Ages delighted to comment Scripture But when Lombard gathered his sentences their itching ingines loathed Scripture and commented Lombard And when Thomas the floure of the Schoole had diggested his summes they were made the Text for commenting and reading in Schooles And the Canons of Trent are more holy than all not to bee commented least Trueth breake out amongst their hands but to bee believed and adored as Oracles So they stand now in the pertinacious defence of the Antichristian Faith canonized in Trent This is the present estate of the Romish Church wherevnto shee hath drawne her selfe by seven necessarie but miserable shiftings First at their great challenge by Luther they began with Scripture Though Caietan lurked in the bushes of Schoole-divinitie and Prierias worbled in his Cases yet Eccius and others appealed to Scripture But when they had assayed they found it hurtfull I herefore they cast it away with contempt calling it a nose of waxe a leaden sword c. like the olde Hereticks who as Irenie b sayeth turned to the accusation of Scripture when they were convinced by Scripture Cum à Scripturis
a Gift the other conferring the sought Gift or rather declaring that it was to bee conferred on Solomon Parents haue a Fatherly authority ouer their Children to blesse them and are obliged to seeke their good because like Adam and Eue they are first their murtherers ere they bee their Parents And Kings as Fathers ouer their Subjects but Prophets are aboue them both in this point what the former haue by nature and Gods power committed to them that and more had Dauid a Prophet as being priuie to Gods purpose So that this Prayer is not so much a Prayer for obtaining as a prophecie that hee shall obtaine That extraordinar Gift is now ceased in the Church yet euery one should take heede how hee prayes That as the matter hee seekes is good in it selfe needfull for vs and promised so it be sought with confidence and liberty If the Lord so open our hearts to seeke it hee will also satisfie our hearts in granting None knowes his minde nor hath giuen him counsell but when Prouidence is performing his promises hee will giue some notice of his purpose to his owne in these particulars GOD had purposed this blessing to Solomon and now hee moueth Dauid to pray for it as a meanes both to giue his purposed Gift to Solomon and to oblige Dauid the more for obtaining of it by prayer The Blessing hee hath ordained for vs hee giues an heart to seeke it and in the very time of so free and affectuous seeking worketh in vs an hope of receiuing For wee know not what wee shall pray for as wee ought But the Spirit it selfe maketh intercession for vs with groanings which cannot bee vttered And hee that searcheth the hearts knowes what is the minde of the Spirit because hee maketh intercession for the Saintes according to the will of God Gods Spirit will not assist vs with a spirituall libertie and confidence in seeking that that God is not purposed to giue for GOD is euer like Himselfe Prayer is on our part a Condition required and a meane to obtaine and on Gods part a sort of beginning and obligeing to giue vs that blessing that he hath made vs to seeke These are both temporary effects of Gods eternall purpose and meanes to performe it This is the couenant of grace to turne the Condition in a promise and then to performe it in vs that as GOD presenteth Saluation vnder condition of Faith and other workes of grace so hee promiseth these conditions and worketh them in vs. Hee promised that they should beleeue who said And they shall not teach euery man his neighbour Know the Lord. Hee promised that they should bee pardoned who said I will bee mercifull to their iniquities Hee promised that they should obey who said I will put a new heart in them Hee promised that they should perseuere who said I will put my feare in their heart so that they shall not depart from mee So then Grace purposeth Grace promiseth Grace maketh vs to pray and Grace performeth the promise in answering our prayers that it may bee seene Wee are saued by Grace This wonderfull disposition of Gods Grace in prayer is summed vp in one verse Lord Thou hast heard the desire of the humble thou wilt prepare their heart Thou wilt cause thine Eare to heare And Dauid on this same purpose Thou hast said That thou wilt builde mee an house Therefore haue I found in mine heart to pray this Prayer to Thee To the KING The second part Of a Monarchie THis much for the Person that prayeth To wit King Dauid the next is for whom hee prayeth and that is the King euen his Sonne Solomon and that for three causes The first is common to Kings whom GOD respâ—cts as his Deputies among men The next is particular to Solomon as beeing designed in Gods promise to be a successour to Dauid The third is typicall because hee was the type of Christ the King of his Church and so had a right to competent giftes for his place for the better typifying of such a truth Heere is the great respect that God hath to Kinges he causeth pray for them marke their businesse and write portions of Scripture for them So Solomons designing to the Crowne gaue vs this Psalme and his Mariage the 45. Psalme and their Acts hath giuen vs manie Histories in Scripture that his Prouidence about them may bee more manifest and his care of them may witnesse his care of all mankind God hath set them vp to bee respected as the Heades of humane Societies and though there bee innumerable people in the World different in Lawes Manners Languages c. Yet hee hath summed them vp in seuerall Societies vnder Princes and prouided not onely Order but also degrees whereof Kings are the Heads Therefore the holy Apostle calleth them supereminent Powers and the primitiue Church expounded that clearly Wee honour the Emperour next to God and lesse than God alone This leads vs to consider in principalitie the Authour the Necessitie the Excellencie and Limitation The Author of Principalitie is GOD the King of Kings either immediatelie designing them as hee did Dauid and Solomon c. or mediately mouing the heartes of people to choose them Hee hath made man a sociall creature delighting in Society and Necessitie and Profit hath confirmed that sociablenes and drawne them together in Societies and Incorporations they know by the light of Nature that Societie is better than Solitarines and that a multitude with equalitie hath confusion and Order without Authoritie is an Anarchie with Oppression Therefore as GOD wisely ordained so they willingly admit these graduall respectes of higher and lower degrees and take on that beautifull Order which hee established Hee appointes an outward Gouernement to mankind and giues the influence of it not indifferentlie to all but to Kings and Princes as the most eminent parts of mankind If wee looke to man simplie as hee is reasonable it is not vnpossible for him to liue without publicke Gouernement but if wee consider him as hee is now with corrupt reason it is altogether impossible Hee could not liue alone without Societie and in Societies hee was worse than alone because of injuries the wealthie oppressed the poore and the stronger the weake so that by time Societies agreed vpon a common Gouernement and set vp some one who excelled the rest to gouerne all and that common consent gaue him power to rule and disposed the rest for more heartie obedience So GOD by his Law written in their hearts led them to Gouernement to deuolue their power in the hand of one for eschewing of injuries and procuring both publicke and the priuate good Societie remeeded Solitarinesse and Principalitie remeeded the iniuries of Societies Some haue drawne Principalitie simplie from the Ambition of men because Cain Nimrod and such like were vsurpers But they should distinguish betwixt mans Ambition and
that hee is that man of sin that exalteth himselfe aboue authoritie And this one point of Antichrist may resolue all the questions betweene them and vs. For it is an infinite labour to cast over all the Controversies but this one virtuallie hath all Some haue thought to bee resolved of all by the Question of Scripture because it containes the places of arguments Others from the question of the Church because of her authoritie c. But this one of the Pope hath all because hee is both Church Scripture and all to them and when it is clearlie proven that he is that Antichrist it will follow necessarlie that in all questions controverted they haue the worst part So that the point of Antichrist proponed by the Apostles mysticallie and knowne by the first Ages coniecturallie by the doctrine and practice of Rome is made now so cleare that wee may say with reverend Iuell Multi quidem loci de Antichristo obscuri erant iam verò Ecclesiae Romanae doctrina institutis effectum est ut quibus oculi non desunt ne Sol ipse clarior fiet Though many places of Scripture concerning Antichrist were of olde obscure and ambiguous because as then it appeared not to what policie they should apply them Yet now by the doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome it is come to passe that the Sunne himselfe is not clearer to such as want not eyes For which cause the Pope when hee saw that his person estimation was touched by the things that were spoken of Antichrist he discharged straitlie all Preachers that none of them should so much as surmise any thing of the comming of Antichrist This is nothing else but secret conviction that the notes of Antichrist appertaine to him And that same Leo the tenth more fullie in his Bull discharges that same the yeare preceeding Luthers kything Therefore it galleth them at the heart to call the Pope Antichrist and Maximilian Duke of Bavere tooke occasion thereof to dissolue a Dispute at Ratisbone betweene the Theologues of Saxonie and the Iesuits of Bavere Hee saw his Iesuits failing in the matter while they cryed continuallie ad formam ad formam and sought but a colour to breake the Dispute And when Hunnius occasionallie called the Pope Antichrist he fretted and discharged any further proceeding Baronius railes against vs in vaine for that same cause saying that the vile Novators vse reproachfull names and pictures to the disgrace of the Apostolicke Sea but they neede not for the Pope endeth the plea and bee vsurping on Princes exalting himselfe aboue them and putting them out of the way by excommunication and tyrannie giveth a iust Commentar of the Apostles words proclaimeth himselfe to be that great Antichrist hee expresseth more vyle lineaments than the Protestants can attribute vnto him And it was the prime question that the Emperours Commissioners for the reformation or rather the deformation of Germanie proponed to the Preachers of Augsburgh To declare if they counted the Bishop of Rome to bee Antichrist adhâ—ret capiti lethalis arundo The deadlie dart of their discoverie hath wounded their head grievouslie that they can not heare of it CHAP. XXV Of the fourth fruite of their folie Their just destruction THe fourth fruite of this vsurpation is their destruction The Apostle descryveth it in two degrees consumption and abolition The Lord will consume him by the Spirit of his mouth and abolish him by the brightnesse of his comming This consumption is by the word of God a most powerfull meanes to destroy poperie for it is a worke of darknesse begunne increased and perfected by the graduall obscuring and depressing of Scripture And therefore the graduall revealing and manifesting of Scripture is sufficient to banish that darknesse So the Waldenses began with a private vse of Scripture and thereby troubled Antichrists Kingdome VVicliffe brought it to Lectures in the Schoole and wrought them more harme Hus broght it to the Pulpit and made it shine clearer But Luther Calvine and other VVorthies of reformation made that Light to shine clearer in manie places at once and so brought a great destruction vpon Antichrists kingdome and made many Nations forsake him and turne to the Lord. The Light of the Gospell discovered two thinges at once the Popes heresie and tyrannie by the first discoverie it looseth the bands that formerly held people in awe Superstition so puddled their consciences that they indured his verie tyrannie as equitie But when the shining truth discovered him to bee an Antichristian seâ—ucer their irritation was doubled to avenge themselves on him both for his misleading of them and vsurpation Doubtlesse this is the secret cause why so farre they abuse Scripture they accuse it of insufficiencie and forbid the translating of it in vulgar tongues and reading of it to people because Sathan maketh them presagious of their destruction to come by it Their adoring of the Nailes the Speare and weapons that killed Christ argues their sympathie with Sathan the Iewes that crucified him And their abhorring of the Sword of Gods word argues their Antipathie to it as a malefactour abhorreth the Sword of the Magistrate And the three Bishops at Bononia who gaue advise to Paul the third for reformation besought him to put the Bible out of the way because it was the Booke that wrought them most woe This their consumption they acknowledge with griefe for who is ignorant sayeth Bellarmine That the Lutheran Trueth which hee calleth a Pest arose in Saxonie and thereafter occupyed almost all Germanie Thence it went to the North and to the East and consumed Denmarke Norraway Swaden Gothland Panonia and Hungarie Thereafter with the like swiftnesse to the West and the South and in a short time destroyed France England Scotland some time floorishing Kingdomes And lastlie that it passed over the Alpes and pearced into Italie it selfe The Gospel preached into these places was like the sounling of the Trumpets about Iericho to throw downe mightilie the abominations of Babel And Cotton confesseth further that the authoritie of the Pope is incomparablie lesse than it was and now the Romane Church is but a diminitiue of that it was as may bee seene in the ardidinals who were wont to meete oftner but now meete oneâ— onelie once a weeke because the businesse of the Court of Rome decressed The order of their consumption is verie considerable that such Nations for sooke the Pope first who were most abuâ— sed by his vsurpation They abused Germanie pittifullie in the dayes of the Henries and Fridericks No reason could content them the Emperors found more patience to suffer than the Popes tyrannie found measure to bound it selfe England also was to them a Paradise of delight and an inexhaustable fountaine at every occasion they sent Legats to presse that Kingdome for money as a sponge is pressed for water and imposed the