coming of Christ did ever bear the name of the Lords Anointed so much as in the type but onely those that were Kings and had rule over Gods own peculiar people Abrahams seed which teacheth us thus much That none are now the Lords Anointed but he onely he that is Lord and King over the house of Israel Abrahams seed which in Christ the Lord that was borne King of the Jews Mat. 22. whom God hath Anointed himself not with oyle-olive sweetly perfumed but with the oyle of gladness above his fellows Heb. 1.9 even with the Holy Spirit of wisdome and understanding and of Counsel and might and of knowledge and the fear of the Lord See Act. 10.30 with Isa. 11.2 5. he is the Lords Anointed to whom God hath given a name above every name and him hath God highly exalted and set him at the right hand of his Majesty on high far above all Principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not onely in this world but also in that which is to come Psa. 2.9 10 11. with Eph. 1.20 21 22. And to him hath God committed all power in Heaven and in Earth Mat. 28.10 to give commandments to the sons of men for whom he hath dyed Act. 3.22 23 24. and also to reward them that observe and do them with the things promised which is to partake of the same eternall life and glory with himself that the Father hath given him according to these Scriptures Psal. 103.17 18. Rom. 2.6 7. chap. 8.17.1 Pet. 1.3 4 Rev. 2.26.27 chap. 3.21 22 chap. 22.14 and to reward those that know him not and obey not his holy Gospel according to their works Rom. 2.8 9. To those that are contentious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness he will render indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil whether Jew or Gentile and will destroy them with an everlasting destruction from the presence of God and the glory of his power And this honour and glory he received from God the Father in the holy mount when Peter James John were eye-witnesses of his Majesty and that voyce they heard that came from the excellent glory saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased 2 Pet. 1.16 17 18. This is the Lords Anointed who is the onely King of Kings and Lord of Lords by whom Kings raigne and Princes decree Justice even all the Judges of the earth Counsel is his and sound wisdome he is understanding and he hath strength Prov. 8.14 15 16. he loves them that love him and those that seek him early shall find him But those his enemies that will not that he should Reigne over them shall be brought and slaine before him Luke 19.27 And thus have I shown and clearly proved by the Scriptures that Christ is the Lords anointed King onely and alone and none of the Kings of the Nations can have any right to such a title any otherways then the Saints and all that fear God in generall have which is by partaking of the same anointing Spirit through believing as it is written The anointing that ye have received of him abideth in you and you need not that any man teach you but as that anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth 1 John 2.27 And againe he saith We have an unction from the holy One vers. 20. and he that stablisheth us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God who hath also sealed us and given us the earnest of his Spirit in our hearts 2 Cor. 1.21 22. and this anointing is as proper to a Begger as to a King if he be a believer and if a King be an unbeliever he hath no Right at all to it for there is no respect of persons with God but he hath chosen the poor in this world rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdome prepared for them that love him James 2.5 And he hath revealed his Truth to Babes and Sucklings and hid it from the wise and prudent Insomuch that Paul saith that none of the Princes of this world knew it For had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2.7 8. Therefore saith James 1.9 10. Let the Brother of low degree rejoyce in that he is exalted but the Rich in that he is made low For God will raise them both up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Eph. 2.6 And he will make them partakers of his fulness and members of his Body of his flesh and of his Bones Chap. 5.30 Therefore let the Kings Princes and Rulers of the Nations be wise and learn to know what the Lord meaneth when he faith Touch not mine Anointed and do my Prophets no harm For he that once reproved Kings for their sakes and slew great and Famous ones for them Psal. 105.14.15 with 136.17 18. is now about to reprove all the Kings upon the face of the Earth for their sakes as I shall now make it appear by shewing Gods dedesigne against them in these last days And first The designe of God and his purpose is in this last age of the world to staine the pride of all their Glory and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the Earth Isa. 23.9 and to pour contempt upon Princes and to cause them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way and to set the poor on high from affliction and to make him families like a flock Psa. 107.40 41. Again the purpose of the Lord is to sacrifice the flesh of Kings and mighty men and the Chiefe of the Earth and to give their flesh to be meat to the fowls of Heaven Rev. 19.17 18. with Ezek. 19.17 18. where he saith They shall eat the flesh of the mighty and dâ—ink the blood of the Princes of the earth Now if the Lord will do these things to the great and mighty Kings and Princes of the earth who then can give them honour and deliver them in the day of his wrath And that the Lord will do it consider further what is written Jer. 25.31 32. A noise shall come from the ends of the Earth for the Lord hath a controversie with the Nations he will plead with all flesh he will give them that are wicked to the sword Thus saith the Lord of hosts Behold evil shall go forth from Nation to Nation This the Lord will do untill he have stained the pride of all their glory viz. untill he have taken away their Kings wherein they glory and of whom they so much boast That this is so consider the fore-going words They shall eat the flesh of Kings and Princes and mighty men and chief Captaines and of all that stand up with them against the Lord And for further confirmation of these words consider what is written Ier. 25.15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel to me Take the wine-cup of this fury
friends when you have read and considered what I have written and tried it by the Word of God if then you shall finde any thing too light or useless that you will impute it to that imperfect part which in some measure doth dwell in all men and remain fully assured that what I want in words and expressions is fully made up in my affection toward the State and Commonwealth in general Thus destring that what is according to Truth and sound Reason may be profitable to all I commit what is written to your serious consideration and impartial judgement and you into the hands of the Lord and remain to the utmost of my power Your faithful brother stedfast in the faith of the Gospel of Iesus Christ And his servant for your sakes HENRY HAGGAR The Particulars of the Book are in order at followeth I. THat it is God alone that ruleth in the Kingdoms of men and they have nothing to do to question him how whether it be by Kings as supreme Heads as in and after the days of Saul David and Solomon or by the Elders of the people to rule and judge them as before there was any King but God himself in Israel II. What it is to rule with God III. What was the original of Monarchy amongst men or whence it first came that a man should bear the name of King over the people of God IV. Who is of the Royal blood V. Who is now the Lords Anointed VI What is Gods desine against the Kings and Rulers of the Nations in these last days VII Wherfore he will destroy them VIII What they may or should do to escape the hand of God lifted up against them IX What the Saints and people fearing God should do in these days of vengeance X. Their duty to this Present Power acknowledged and they vindicated from the reproaches and slanders falsly cast upon them by wicked men Viz. That they are the false Prophets of the last times and those that cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine of Christ and the ignorant and unlearned that Peter speaks of which wrest the Scripture to their own destruction and despise Government and are not afraid to speak evil of dignities and will not obey Magistrates but have slain their King c. No King but JESVS c. ANd now according to the method propounded I shall proceed to shew first that it is God alone that ruleth and men have nothing to do to question how whether it be by Kings as supreme heads as in and after the days of Saul David and Solomon or by the Elders of the people to rule and judge them as before there was any King but God himself in Israel But now let me not be mistaken and abused as if I went headlong without wisdom or the fear of God to rail against kingly power or Kings like those that spake evil of things they know not for I approve of Kings and Rule by Kings as well as of ruling or judging the people by Elders but it must always be considered in all ages and generations of the world what Rule and Rulers God doth approve of for it is he that setteth up one and pulleth down another and he it is that ruleth in the kingdoms of men and giveth them to whomsoever he will yea and setteth over them the basest of men Dan. 4.17.25 And now let us consider if the God of heaven did in that age take away the Kingdom and Dominion of the whole earth from Nebuchadnezzar that head of gold and turn him out a grasing among the Oxen and give his kingdom to whomsoever he pleased then let not men in this generation think it strange though God Almighty hath taken away the kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland which are but a small part of the earth from Charles Stuart and given them to the honorable Parliament which were indeed at first confirmed by him before his evil Counsel had drawn him away from them therefore none can say they gathered together without him to conspire against him for they gathered together to him and were confirmed by him and with him and he with them and so were a lawful Assembly of Magistrates according to the Law of God and a lawful Parliament according to the Law of Nations and from this lawful Assembly and powers ordained of God he withdrew and by evil Councel rent himself from them and would come no more at them notwithstanding all the invitations they gave him in all humility as will yet appear by their Propositions and Remonstrances all which plainly sheweth the immediate hand of God against him and against his family his sins and the sins of his forefathers being now at the full And further let it be considered that God will have the living men to know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever he will yea and settetth over it the basest of men Dan. 4.17 Now if the Lord will take a Kingdom from a King and give it to the basest of men how can the most honourable of men help it They may gnaw their tongues for anger and blaspheme the God of Heaven yea they may be found fighters against God as many have been but they shall not prosper as we see they have not in our days consider it for it was not because they wanted the noble blood for they had the King himself and the greatest Nobles in the Land with them neither was it because they wanted stout men of resolved spirits for they had of the prime of the Nation as they themselves have oftentimes boasted and for the number of men they far exceeded and the affections of the Country were generally towards them therefore it was the immediate hand of God against them who in his time pulleth down one and setteth up another whom he pleaseth who at this time hath pulled down the King and Lords of this Nation and hath and will make the Elders thereof Rulers and Judges in their places and who can say to him What doest thou Be wise now therefore O ye kings and be instructed ye that are judge's of the earth Psal. 2.10 Be still and know that he is God learn to know that The Lord of hosts is with us and the the God of Jacob is our refuge Psal. 46.10 11. Again that God alone is King and ruleth the Nations how he pleaseth or by whom he pleaseth is evident by considering that in 1 Sam. 12.12 where the Lord by Samuel reproveth the children of Israel for chusing another King besides himself in these words And you said Nay but a king shall reign over us when the Lord your God was your king And again he saith When they said Give us a King they rejected the Lord that he should not reign over them 1 Sam. 8.7 Therefore the Lord lamenteth over them saying O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thine help I will be thy king for there
have done the same to Charles deceased which their fore-fathers did to King Ahab in stirring of him up to war against his subjects especially against those that most feared God and so have brought him to destruction And these are still at this present time deluding his ignorant son calling of him Charles the second having his person in admiration because of advantage as Jude saith v. 16. and by this means they stir up him and his poor deceived supposed subjects to war against the Powers of this Nation of England so wonderfully set up and established by God himself and powerfully preserved and defended by his immediate hand against all enemies whatsoever which all that have but eyes open may easily see and yet these Seers are so blinde that they cannot see the hand of the Lord lifted up against them and that Kingly power as they call it which hath always joyned with them being deceived by them to persecute the Saints and children of God of whom God is now taking vengeance yet they are still leading their King whom they have chosen and his subjects whom they have deceived into the pit of destruction without remedy they themselves being certain to fall with them for if the blinde lead the blinde they shall both fall into the ditch Matth. 15.14 Therefore let the honourable Parliament of England beware of them let the noble and valiant Army take heed of them and watch them as the worst enemies they have For what Satan and his instruments cannot do by tyranny and strength that they will accomplish by treachery and deceit if possible Therefore let the Commonwealth of England in general with all the noble Governours and Officers and honest plain-hearted Country-men learn to watch them with a single eye lest they seduce you and cause you to divide and so bring you to destruction before you are aware Therefore dear Country-men take heed of being deluded by them again to war and bloodshed lest you provoke the Lord to anger and so the whole Nation be drowned in blood without remedy for then they that now complain of some Taxes necessitated by these present troubles stirred up first by them will have cause to complain for want of bread to eat and cloathes to put on Therefore having food and raiment let us be therewith content and serve the Lord our God with gladness and joyfulness of heart for the abundance of all things lest he give us up to serve our enemies which he shall send against us in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in want of all things and he put a yoke of iron upon our necks until he have destroyed us See Deut. 28.47 48. Thus have I in some measure discovered who are the instrumental causes of our unhappiness I shall proceed to the third particular viz. Whence the original of Monarchy did spring And in the clearing of that I shall not make use of the worst of people viz. the Nations of the world for they were enemies to God and given up to work all manner of wickedness with greediness although they had Kings as appeareth by their adulteries abusing themselves with mankinde and with beasts and causing of their children to pass thorow the fire to Molech allowed of by their Kings like the wicked Rulers of Sodom Levit. 18.19 20 21 22 23 24. and God in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways Act. 14 16. therefore they are no example for us to walk by But we shall look into the ways of the children of Israel God's peculiar people for I know that the people of England in general would gladly be counted the people of God and would be offended if we should deny them the name of Christians We shall therefore consider how there came to be a King in Israel at first over the people of God Whether it was by the commandment of God and so according to his pure minde or whether it did not spring from a corrupt principle in the people and was the pride and wickedness of their hearts and not the least but the greatest of all the sins they committed to chuse any other King to rule over them but God onely For the clearing of which I shall examine these following Scriptures 1 Sam. 8.4 5 6 7 8 9. we read that all the elders of Israel gathared themselves together and came to Samuel and said Behold thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways now make us a king to judge us like all the nations Here we see the pride and wickedness of their hearts in that they would have a King to judge them like all other nations whom God had given up to walk in their own ways and according to the lust of their own hearts Therefore observe what followed first it displeased Samuel the Prophet of the Lord secondly he prayed to the Lord and sought him about it thirdly the Lord answered saying Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they have said unto thee for they have not rejected thee but they have rejected me that I should not raign over them according to all the works which they have done since they came out of Egypt even to this day wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods so do they also unto thee Now therefore hearken to their voice howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them Thus we see that though they pretended good in it namely that it was because Samuel's sons were wicked yet the Lord was angry with them and said that they rejected him in so doing notwithstanding he gave them their desire which was a King but it was in his anger and he took him away again in his wrath See Hos. 13.11 Again when Samuel had declared the manner of their King and told them that they should cry out in that day because of their King which they had chosen but the Lord would not hear them yet still they refused to obey the voice of Samuel and said Nay but we will have a king over us to judge us and go out before us and fight our battels that we may be like all the nations So Samuel rehearsed all these words again in the cars of the Lord by which he was provoked and said in his anger Give them a King And here 's the beginning of Kings amongst the people of God And thus have I shewed plainly that it was not at all of God but contrary to his holy will that any should have the name of a King over his people but himself and it did arise from the pride and corruption of the people as further appeareth in these words And Samuel called the children of Israel together unto the Lord to Mizâ—eh and said Thus saith the Lord God of Israel I brought up Israel out of Egypt and delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians and out of the hands of all kingdoms and
of them that oppressed you and you have rejected your God who himself saved you out of all your adversities and tribulations and you have said to him Nay but give us a king Chap. 10.17 18 19. Surely I might now take up the complaint of Moses against them Deut. 32.6 O foolish people and unwise do ye thus requite the Lord Is he not thy Father that bought thee hath he not made thee and established thee Remember the days of old consider the yeers of many generations ask thy father and he will shew thee thy elders and they will tell thee c. I desire to apply it to England Dear Country-men consider it in time before you provoke the Lord to anger Hath not God himself now of late years done as great things for us Hath not he by his immediate hand delivered us out of all our troubles and out of the hands of all that hate us so as they do not rule over us Consider the condition the Nation hath been in within these few yeers and how the Lord hath remembred us in our low condition and changed it and beyond all expectation hath given us Peace and Plenty in stead of War and Famine in our Land Consider how he hath prospered all things under the hands of this present Authority both at home and abroad and all that rise up against them are confounded and brought to nothing and that by weak means which shews the immediate hand of God amongst us Let us therefore take heed that we do not requite the Lord evil for good like a foolish and unwise people by desiring a King to satisfie our own lust pride and vain-glory for the Lord is now our King and will be if we do not reject him and cast him off by chusing a Man in his stead to reign over us judge us and fight our battels And to that end let us again consider what a great wickedness it was in the people of Israel and how mightily the Lord was displeased with them for asking a King See 1 Sam. 12.16 17 18 19. in these words Now therefore stand still and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes Is it not wheat-harvest to day I will call unto the Lord saith Samuel and he shall send thunder and rain that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of God in asking a king So Samuel called unto the Lord and the Lord sent thunder and rain and the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel And all the people said to Samuel Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God that we die not for we have added to all our sins this evil to ask us a king And his answer was vers. 23 24 25. God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you But I will teach you the good and right way which is onely to fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your hearts and consider what great things he hath done for you But if ye shall still do wickedly ye shall be consumed both ye and your king And thus we have considered from the beginning to the end what great sin and abominable wickedness it was for the people of God to chuse any other King but himself to rule over them judge them and fight their battels And it is considered to that end that we the people of England professing our selves to be the people of God in our generation amongst whom also the immediate hand of God hath been lifted up and his arm made bare for us I say that we run not headlong into such sin and wickedness as to ask us a king when the Lord hath taken away our King in his anger and is become our King himself Let us remember from what principle it did arise and from what root it did spring that a Man should be chosen King and bear the name of King over the people of God it was from the pride and corruption of their own hearts and of all their wickedness and sins that they had committed there was none like this that they should ask another King and reject God as is formerly proved by these Scriptures 1 Sam. 8.4 5 6 7 8 9. Vers 19 20. Chap. 10.17 18 19. Chap. 12.16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25. Therefore he gave them a King in his anger and took him away again in his wrath Hos. 13.11 And seeing they would have a King the Lord would have him of his own chusing and therefore he chose David his servant a man after his own heart and took him from the sheep-folds from following the ewes great with young he brought him forth to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance Psal. 78.70 71. But I am afraid that if the Lord should now take a young shepherd from following the ewes great with young and set him over us to be our King even those that so much desire a King would be as much displeased then as they are now What shall the Lord do to please these people He must not reign over them himself although he have all power in heaven and earth in his hands and their own lives also but they reject him saying Nay but give us a king and he must not chuse a man after his own heart for them but he must be a man after their own corrupted hearts And who is that Truely one of the Blood Royal one that is by descent come out of the loyns of the Lords Anointed as they apprehend Therefore seeing it is such a hard thing to please these people that God himself cannot please them except he should let them walk in their own ways and give them up to their own hearts lusts as he did the Nations in times past which he destroyed Why then should I or any man under heaven think to please them by speaking the truth Yet notwithstanding I will perform my duty at this time to my country-men and acquaintance according to the flesh and would gladly make use of the talent or mite which God hath given me for their profit and his glory Therefore I shall speak a few words to these two things so stumbled at amongst men viz. the Royal Blood and the Lords Anointed It may be if these stumbling-blocks were taken away men would walk more uprightly and in less danger And first I shall speak of the Royal Blood I would gladly learn of any man from whence the Royal Blood came first Not that I deny that there is Royal blood or persons noble and honourable and to be honoured more then others but my question is How they came so whether by Generation or Exaltation If by generation and so must continue then I shall easily prove that all the men in the world are of the Royal blood and so have all right to be Kings and Princes one as well as another if that give them right And if
it do not why do men plead it But it is evident that the Noble blood comes not by Generation for God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth Acts 17.26 Now if they were all made of one blood that was either Noble blood or Ignoble If it were noble then all men were noble for he made them all of one blood and so they continue and will continue until the end of ages Therefore it is by Exaltation namely when God exalteth men as the Prophet saith Psal. 113.7 8. out of the dust and lifteth them out of the dunghill to set them with princes even with the princes of his people then they are honorable and not before Again if the same God will cast down the same persons for their wickedness whom before he exalted and pour contempt and shame upon them and their posterity and bring them again to dishonour Who can give them honour It is not in the power of all the men of the earth to do it if they should stand up for one man for it is God that poureth contempt upon princes and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way Psal. 107.40 and it is God that changeth times and seasons and removeth kings and setteth up kings Dan. 2.21 And it is God that turned out the greatest King that ever reigned upon the face of the earth to grasing among the beasts and made him even that head of gold more contemptible then the bafest of men Dan. 2.38 with Chap. 4.25 And it is the same God that exalteth the needy out of the dust and taketh the poor out of the dunghill that he may set him with princes even with the princes of his people and then they are of the Royal blood if men will plead for it let them But yet I humbly conceive that it is the vertue of all the honorable of the earth to consider from whence they were taken and though they be called Gods Psal. 82.6 7. yet they must die like men and return to the dust and after that cometh Judgement that so when they shall come to give up their account to God at the Great Day they may be able to do it with joy for then cometh that everlasting honour and glory which shall not be taken away from them that shall once be counted worthy to be made partakers thereof And thus much concerning the Blood Royal who are of it and how they came so And now I shall come to speak of the Lords Anointed whose name we ought not to take into our mouthes but with reverence and godly fear But I know that Ignorance hath been the mother of Devotion in this thing also and men have put Light for Darkness and Darkness for Light and called Evil Good and Good Evil speaking evil of things they know not calling the Lord Bishops Anointed the Anointed of the Lord and have thrown down Christ the true Anointed and as much as in them lay have laboured to lay his honour in the dust reviling and persecuting him in his poor Saints wheresoever they found him even to the death not remembring the words of our glorious Lord Jesus Matth. 25.40 considered with 45. by which words we understand that what is done to his Saints is done to himself be it good or evil according to his words to Paul Acts 9.4 Saul Saul why persecutest thou me which was his Saints holy people which contended earnestly for that faith once delivered by himself And thus have the kings of the earth stood up and the Rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord and against his Anointed as it is written Act. 4.26 Therefore now the Lord that sitteth in heaven is laughing of them to scorn and hath them in derision and is vexing of them in his fore displeasure Psal. 2.1 2 3 4 5. staining the pride of all their glory and is bringing into contempt all the honourable of the earth and thus the poureth contempt upon Princes by casting down and destroying of them even by men that have been and are base and contemptible in their eyes And thus the Lord is vexing of them and will vex them in his sore displeasure until he have destroyed them from off the earth because they have vexed persecuted and shed the blood of his Saints therefore he will give them blood to drink for they are worthy And thus will God the Lord let his King upon his holy hill of Ston and learn all men to know who is the Lords Anointed For the clearing of which I would gladly be answered this Question if any will or can namely How King Charles or any of the Kings of the Nations became the Lords Anointed or when or what day was it What was done to them by which they were made the Lords Anointed But this I confess that when the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Charles the first deceased to be King of England that then he became the Lord Bishop of Canterbury's Anointed but no other Lords Anointed that I know of and therefore we may observe that when that Lord that anointed him lost his head he that was anointed by him could not keep his long And so their old Proverb was verified No Bishop no King But I much wonder what Lord 's anointed Charles the second is seeing there was no Lord Bishop in Scotland to anoint him Surely the highest Title he can claim is but Sir John Presbyter's Anointed But for the further clearing of this thing I deny that any King whatsoever he were since the Lords Anointed Christ came in the flesh was ever called the Lords Anointed See Acts 10.36 37 38. with Chap. 4.25 26 27. And let any of the most wise and zealous people in the Land for that thing prove it if they can and if they cannot let them confess that they have been zealous but not according to knowledge Another Question is Where ever any were called the Lords Anointed before Christ came in the flesh but onely those that had the rule and dominion over the Jews which were the people of God and Abraham's seed according to the flesh of whom as Paul saith Christ or the Lords Anointed came See Rom. 9.4.5 And therefore they were called so in the type as they were figures of Christ the true Anointed that was to come and be born of the Jews Matth. 2.2 If any shall object and say that Cyrus was called the Lords Anointed Isai. 45.1 I answer That is the same which I said before for he was at that time King and had rule and dominion over the people of God Abraham's seed and the Lord telleth us in vers 4. wherefore he calleth him so in these words For Jacob my servants sake and Israel mine elect I have even called thee by name and surnamed thee though thou hast not known me And thus the Lord himself hath fully answered that Objection and it 's clearly proved that none before the
of Christ and abound in the work of the Lord for asmuch as we know our labour shall not be in vaine and if we do these things we shall never fall but an entrance shall be opened to us abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2 Pet. 1 so that we may stand by saith and rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God even that eternal weight of glory the Apostle speaketh of 2 Cor. 4. 16 17 18. which will make our affliction seem light and momentary and though our outward man should perish yet our inward man will be dayly renewed Let us therefore consider these things lest we faint and be weary in our minds and that we may lift up our heads and rejoyce knowing the day of our Redemption draweth nigh Thus having laboured to stir up your pure minds in some measure by way of remembrance I shall proceed to the last particular namely the vindication of the Saints from the false aspersions cast upon them by wicked ignorant men First they assirme that we will not obey Magistrates but have rebelliously rose up against and prevailed over the King to the taking away of his life and therefore they conclude that we are those that dispise dominion and ars not afraid to speak evil of dignities To which answer This is no more true then that which Ahab spake of Elijah when he told him that it was he that troubled Israel 1 King 18.17.18 and therefore the same answer may well serve us viz. That it is not we that have troubled the Nation by fearing God and keeping his Commandments which are written in his Word of Truth for that is the whole duty of man Eccle. 12.13 but it was he and his fathers house in that he had forsaken the commandments of the Lord and brought in the commandments and traditions of men in stead therof as Ahab followed after Baalim and therefore in vain did they worship God as Christ faith But let our accusers remember those prophane days of Liberty which were set up by Authority and Books of liberty read in stead of preaching by which they strengthened the hands of the wicked that they could not turne from their wickedness for they thought all was well so long as it was set up and allowed by Authority and read by the Parish-Priest Secondly Let them remember the persecuting of them that feared the Lord in those days by banishment imprisonment and spoiling their goods and some by death whose blood cried for vengeance in the eares of the Lord with the prayers sighs and grones of the other banished out of their native Countrey from friends and acquaintance and those in Prison the wife being separated from her loving husband and the husband from his dear wife the children from their parents and parents from their children being thereby made uncapable of getting a livelihood in the world even to the utter undoing of many and all because they would but search into the Scriptures for eternal Life further then the Bishops and the King and his counsel would have them By all which it is evident that it is the just hand of God that hath taken vengeance upon his Teachers and Counselers and will yet find out more of them and that not onely in this Land but in other Nations also untill he hath stained the pride of all their glory and brought into contempt all the honorable of the earth the which is sufficiently proved before in the sixth and seventh particulars of this Book Thirdly Let them consider the abundance of wickedness that was at Court in his days what gluttony drunkenness pride swearing lying whoring carding dicing and all manner of unlawfull gaming allowed of practised and maintained by him his Courtiers and their attendance all which with the reft of their wickedness procured the just judgement of God upon them for because of these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience Eph. 5.3 4 5 67. Againe whereas they accuse us of speaking evill of dignities and for resisting of powers I answer It 's false for there is no power but of God the Apostle saith Rom. 1.3.1 2. And how to know what power is of God he sheweth in the 3 4 verses in these words for Rulers and powers that are of God are not a terrour to good works but to the evil Therefore if thou doest that which is good thou shalt have praise of the same for he is the servant of God to thee for good and is for the praise of them that do well and for the punishment of them that do evil And saith the Apostle To such a power we must needs be subject not onely for wrath but also for conscience sake Object But the powers that are be of God and must be obeyed though they should be wicked Answ. I deny it for wicked men in Authority commanding wicked things ought not to be obeyed but opposed either actively by doing or passively by suffering Therefore said the Apostle to the Magistrates Act. 4.19 Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you more then to God judge you And again Chap. 5.28 29. Peter and the other Apostles told the Magistrates they ought to obey God rather then them Thus we see Magistrates are not to feared and obeyed because they are Magistrates and powers but because they are good Magistrates and powers ordained of God such as are for the praise of them that do well and a terrour to them that do evill 1 Pet. 2.14 Therefore saith the Apostle Rom. 13.3 they that do well shall not need to be afraid of the powers that are of God but we know by wofull experience that those that did well had most cause of fear and were in greatest danger therefore that power was not of God and is cast down Againe if we must understand it in their sence viz. that all powers are of God and must be obeyed because they are powers then we shall prove the Devil and all wicked men as theives and murtherers must be obeyed for the Devil is both a Prince and a power even the Prince of the darkness the Prince of the powers of the aier the Spirit that now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience Eph. 2.2 but now I hope none will say that because he is a power that therefore he ought to be obeyed or that he is of God But if the other argument be true this must needs follow but men reason thus because they are ignorant and are indeed of the number of those that speak evil of things they understand not and shall utterly perish in their own corruptions except they repent 2 Pet. 2.12 for indeed these men know not neither do they consider what God hath done in former ages much less what he is doing and will do yet before the end of all things and therefore speak they evil of things they know not and as Peter saith