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A04597 A spiritual chaine, and armour of choice, for Sion souldiers Which, whosoeuer weareth graciously, shall be sure of the best honour, comfort and safetie (whether he liue or die in the battell) that can come to a Christian souldier. Very necessary for these times. Jones, Anthony, fl. 1622. 1622 (1622) STC 14717.5; ESTC S114423 39,266 114

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A SPIRITVAL CHAINE AND ARMOVR OF CHOICE FOR SION SOVLDIERS Which whosoeuer weareth graciously shall be sure of the best honour comfort and safetie whether he liue or die in the battell that can come to a Christian souldier Very necessary for these times LONDON Printed by William Iones for Robert Mylbourne at the great South doore of Pauls 1622. TO MY ESPECIAL REVEREND LOVING AND BELOVED FRIENDS BOTH Magistrates Ministers and others who loue the Sion of our God and to such friends of theirs also as vnto whom they shall thinke good to impart this booke for the end here proposed and in conclusion to all them who intend to publish any Treatise Grace and peace be multiplied from God the Father and from our Lord Iesus Christ Amen REuerend louing beloued in the God of honor loue it so pleasing his diuine Maiestie to withhold me by much weaknesse a great while of late from preaching his holy word I searched my heart wherein I might do most seruice in these my old yeares and decaying dayes to my good God and most good to his Church by any other talent which he hath bestowed vpon me Hauing a small one in writing I resolued to vse it now as called thereunto Our glorious God saith by Solomons pen Without counsell Prou. 15.22 purposes are disappointed but in the multitude of counsellers they are established I desire therefore to haue my poore labours perused by many of my iudicious friends and theirs also thereby to obteine sound counsell Heartily then I beseech you in that gracious God of ours to shew me your loue in this action herein chiefly viz. if you finde any thing in this Treatise which might dishonour our good God or do any maner of hurt to his Sion that you will admonish me of it As I ought not so I will not be iudge of mine owne workes there being nothing wherein a man may sooner deceiue himselfe Bookes in my iudgement require a greater purifying then gold yea and a more excellent fire also to purge them No materiall fire purgeth gold so well as the spirits of Gods childoen a famous kind of fire do purge those bookes which are submitted to that most true and trustie triall So I call it because such spirits doe make their triall by the word that fire of fires though I be not of his minde for the time of impression who said Nonum premantur in annum publish your bookes the ninth yeare yet am I iust of the same man minde for taking a large time both to reuise and aduise yet I desire not to tie others vnto my maner of publishing bookes or to taxe any who take lesse time and counsell in penning spreading abroad of their works if they take so much as may shew that they be not of a priuate spirit and readier to offer vnto the world nimis praecocia quam satis praeparata things rather too hastily ripened then sufficiently prepared There will be wants when the longest and best care is takē for who can say that his heart pen or tongue are perfect much more doth great haste make great waste You shall perceiue that I finde fault with such kinde of haste and here I aduise all writers to take good leisure This also I adde out of my experience from the present Treatise for inducing others the sooner and the more to rely on that old prouerb Plus vident oculi quam oculu● a great many of eies see more then one viz. that to my remembrance I neuer shewed this booke to any but I was moued necessarily to put in or take out somewhat so against the next impression if the godly experienced see cause I purpose to do And I most humbly thanke our gracious God for giuing mee the minde and the meanes to haue the iudgement of diuers godly and worthy men in this action which yet also I seeke more and more vsing the Presse as a helpe at this time to that end No more now but that I humbly beseech our blessed God to blesse you and yours and all your emploiments and studies and withall I desire your prayers for a blessing to me and my endeuours so as we all in all our purposes and actions may seeke his glorie To God our Father almightie and to his dearely beloued Sonne our blessed Lord and Sauiour Christ Iesus and to the holy Spirit three Persons and one God most wise holy iust and mercifull be all honour praise and thankes for euer and euer Amen To those patterne Captaines so I call them who are Leaders by their godly example of the Artillerie and Militarie in the Citie of London that famous Citie of the kingdome his Maiesties most strong safe and trustie Chamber and to all others there who any way haue any speciall hand for vpholding the practise of Chiualrie in what offices soeuer they be setled I wish all maner of peace from the God of peace and all holy and prouident preparation for all kinds of godly warre THe Wife whō Bethsheba described Prou. 31. hath bin is now and for euer shall be a peerlesse patterne to all vertuous wiues right so your worthy actions concerning matters of Chiualrie that the knowledge and exercise thereof may not decay in Citizens haue bin are now and I hope will be a notable example to the present age and to all posteritie Therefore as it is said of the vertuous wife A woman that feareth God Prou. 31.30 v 29. shall be praised Her children rise vp and call her blessed Her husband praiseth her her owne workes praise her So say I of you The training vp of the Cities valiant men yea youths nay very children in feates of armes being first taught to feare their God and to be armed against and fight against Satan causeth those children to rise vp and blesse both parents and Preachers and Captaines for their education yea and it maketh the whole land to reioyce in their good God for the worthie patterne which you giue to the kingdome in these right worthy actions both for bodie and soule Hereby you shew that you are not like the lazie people of Laish Iudg. 18.7 8 9. who by their carelesnesse were fit to be made a prey to any that would inuade them Go on good Citizens thus to ioyne religion and prowesse pietie by the peaceable word and policie by the preuenting sword so shall your workes continue to praise you in the gates and to cause the praise of our glorious God to sound both in earth and in heauen For your better progresse herein I haue sent you euen first of all a little Treatise touching the antiquitie and nobilitie of gracious Souldiers and concerning the holy behauiour which they ought to haue without which no science mysterie or art no not the seuen Liberall Arts no nor any other knowledge whatsoeuer are of any reckoning with our God The Lord our God blesse it to you and blesse you all and the whole Citie also
worthy names as are here giuen them for this departures sake so much the more they haue to answer hereafter because they abuse their honorable calling and name It is my dutie and not my offence to iudge in loue of such and to giue the best titles and termes I can to such whose Baptisme Profession Vowes Education Vocation and God do call them with a loud voice to be the selfe same in deed which I in words name them Sion souldiers sacred souldiers Gracious men wil not take so high titles in vaine but abandon vanities and follow the wayes of wisedome I desire that this little booke may do them good herein It cometh not hastily abroad no sooner penned but printed Lapwing-like They report that this bird is more forward both for foote and wing then other birds are insomuch as it will runne away with the shell on it head and quickly take flight also so do many Lapwing bookes now adayes For in our time this saying of Solomon is more and more verified There is no end of making many bookes and much studie is a wearinesse to the flesh and that also of the Poet Seribimus indecti doctique poemata passim Both learned and vnlearned men Each where apace we plie the pen. Had I therefore knowne of any in our dayes who had written purposely of this subiect I would haue kept silence and not ventured vpon the hazard of doing so needlesse a worke as that which already is done But finding none by sight or report who haue made it their labour in such sort as they who take it for their taske though some haue dealt graciously therein by the way and perceiuing it to be a thing worth the labour yea and a whole and long labour rather then it should be vnhandled I haue set a weake hand to it This matter offereth one iust occasion before I go any farther to write at large of the most worthy and ancient profession of a Souldier yet sith I doubt not but this truth is generally receiued I will onely handle it in briefe and so come to the maine point which I aime at that is The holy cariage of good souldiers whereby they ought to honour this high profession of theirs Touching the calling of a souldier to fight corporally that I may speake for better vnderstanding as the thing is indeed I say that the heauenly armour of a souldier was in truth and substance before the earthly howsoeuer for our weake capacitie the spirituall armour was afterwards made plaine to vs by the corporall so as according to a supernaturall sence the bodily armour may be said to take denomination of the armour of the spirit and the corporall combat denomination also of that spirituall combat which the children of God haue with Satan and his children For why the armour of armours belonging to this combate euen the armour of God was before any corporall combat could be vsed Adam presently after the promise no doubt did put it on I will put enmitie saith our God betweene thee and the woman Gen. 3.15 and betweene thy seed and her seed Hee shall breake thy head and thou shalt bruise his heele Here is mention made of a spirituall warre to which belonged spirituall armour instantly and the grand Captaine of the war pointed vnto That promised seed Christ Iesus whose souldiers all godly people must be both Captaine and souldiers fighting against the euill one Now as this enmitie is manifest in the soule of good men carying a godly hatred against the diuell continually and against the qualities of the wicked whilest they remaine in the old birth so it is also declared by an open corporall combat hand to hand against Gods foes in battell when our God will haue them punished or brought in subiection or put to death Therefore though fields and campes could not be at first till multitudes were increased yet a disposition to warre both spirituall and corporall was at first and that as well in the bad to offend as in the good to defend This euill disposition was quickly seene in Cain Lamech and Esau And a kind of duell there appeared when as yet there were but a few men in the world namely betweene Cain and Habel Cain offending and Habel we may well thinke striuing as nature taught to defend himselfe but he was a stronger spirituall souldier then temporall God suffering his bloodie brothers strength to preuaile so far as to take away his mortall life in that corporall combat Here were both warres begun in two brethren Cain exercised a most vngracious fleshly warre as his wicked murder declared he fought for Satan Habel by his fathers example practised the gracious spirituall warre as his holy and well accepted sacrifice declared Gen. 14. he fought against Satan The father of the faithfull did know and practise this warre both wayes with faith he made warre against Satan and with weapons of warre against fiue wicked Kings Hereby it plainly appeareth that the calling and dignitie of them that warre on Gods side is very ancient and no lesse honorable then that calling whereof Christ Iesus being King of Kings and supreme Commander in the warres is Head and chiefe Leader If we looke to the temporall warre this he acknowledgeth himselfe to be euen a Captaine of the Lord of hoasts we may perceiue in the booke of Iosua Ios 5.13.14.15 at the besieging of Ierico And it came to passe when Iosua was by Ierico that he lift vp his eyes and looked and behold there stood a man ouer against him with his sword drawne in his hand and Iosua went vnto him and said vnto him Art thou for vs or for our aduersaries And he said Nay but a Captain of the hoast of the Lord am I now come And Iosua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped If wee looke to the spirituall warre there also he professeth himselfe to be our most powerfull Pr●nce and gouernour yea the author and finisher of our faith without whom we can do nothing a Captaine of Captaines therefore and we also most ioyfully confesse this esteeming it our greatest renoune to fight vnder his banner though with afflictions as his souldiers So saith Saint Paul to his sonne Timothy Thou therefore suffer affliction as a good souldier of Iesus Christ And of himselfe he saith I haue fought a good fight Abraham I say againe was such a souldier both spirituall and temporall Spiritually wee may see it vvhere our God saith I know him that hee will command his children and his houshold after him Gen. 18.19 and they shall keepe the way of the Lord to do iustice and iudgement that the Lord may bring vpon Abrahā that which he hath spoken of him And corporally we may not doubt but that he taught his people what to do in battell against those cursed Kings And no maruell that so good a sonne and seruant as Abraham did imitate so good a father and master
campe be holy that he see no vncleane thing in thee and turne away from thee This holdeth in spirituall things much more then in corporall Our God is a spirit and vieweth the spirit of man and requireth spirituall cleanlinesse inward cleanlinesse specially Math. 11.18 Is this commandement of God true and this presence of God true Yea they are most true O then let Sion souldiers be Cornelian souldiers such I meane as feare God and are deuout Acts 10.2,7 for this end and purpose I heartily with and pray and aduise that all Sion souldiers may now and for euer earnestly consider of and diligently labour to get and put on the spirituall Chaine and Armour which now I come to describe I shew it but God onely can bestow it This Chaine is made of eight heauenly linkes I haue here by Gods assistance collected eight worthy things from his owne word the mouth of the Lord hath declared them which they that make true vse of shall proue true souldiers of Iesus Christ their heauenly Captain Euery Christian must haue these eight linkes according to their seuerall places and occasions and weare them close together as in a chaine and put on this armour also but specially these double souldiers who fight both corporally and spiritually they must haue double care to enioy them graciously They that despise any one of these linkes or any part of this armour our God wil despise them and they shall be found vnworthy of the name of Christian souldiers God grant that such as make shew to fight on his side may in truth weare these eight worthies worthy links I meane graciously ioyned together as a spirituall chaine about their holy necks These they are 1. Person Gen. 4.1.4 5. First they must consider of their persons how they stand in Gods fauour As the sacrifice of a wicked man is not acceptable to our God no more is his person if not his person then no action which he performeth 2. Cause Ios 10.5.8 Deut. 23.4 Secondly they must looke to the cause for which they must fight that it be holy our iust God will maintaine no vniust cause Thirdly they who fight the Lords battels 3. Courage Ios 1.6 must see to their courage that it be valiant He sends not forth cowards to fight for him but valiant men and this valiantnesse is setled on a firme resolution at all assayes Fourthly they must consider of such mercie as belongs to Christian souldiers 4. Mercie Iam. 2.13 and that must be abundant for our God delights in mercie Fiftly they must obserue truth in all their leagues and promises and that must be vnfained and constant 5. Truth Psal 15.4 The God of truth loueth truth Sixtly they must haue consideration of their wages 6. Wages Luke 3.14 when to take it holily and when to be without it patiently Seuenthly they must haue care of their spirituall armour 7. Armour Ephes 6.13 this armour they must put on and keepe on for euer and not their corporall onely Eightly and lastly 8. Consultation Iudg. 20.18 they must alwayes consult with their good God in all plots enterprises and actions whatsoeuer Of these eight things briefly according to my little skill and strength For the first worthy that is to say a worthy person Sith our glorious God is the God of battell 1 A worthy person and ruleth all things therein both for beginning middle and end For of him and through him Rom. 11.36 and to him are all things How can a souldier haue any blessing in warre if his person be not loued but hated of this all-gouerning God Except his person be found worthy in that Worthy of worthies Christ Iesus whereby his conscience is more and more purified he is like an outlaw Tit. 1.15 depriued from all comfort in and protection from the high God As an earthly Courtier can haue no likelihood to be graced and preferred but rather to be disgraced and deiected if there be euident tokens that the King of that country abhors him so it is with euery souldier in Gods campe if his person be not gracious with that heauenly Captaine of Captains Michael whose great name declares his greatnesse Who like our God Faith with a gracious purpose of amendment of life if God lengthen the dayes are inward tokens of Gods fauour to a souldiers person The outward signes to be seene of men are A reall change of their old life for that sheweth the new birth Zeale for Gods glory with an vtter detestation of all leud companie and generally a holy cariage and behauiour in words and deeds gouerned by the word as in Gods presence Such sanctified souldiers may assure themselues that they are well accepted by the God of battell be it by life be it by death Therfore all wicked souldiers that are hardened in notorious vices are quite excluded whiles they so remaine from all hope that their persons please God and thereby haue iust cause to quake at euery sound of the Trumpet or Drum This being true as it is most true it behoueth Christian souldiers to consider deeply hereof and to labour by all meanes that their persons may be gracious in the eyes of their God yea and to know it and make it known by those tokens aboue named and such other before they put foote to warre lest they fall into horrible danger of soule and bodie state and name I write not this to discourage any sinner but rather to hearten them more by becoming holy I who write this do acknowledge that both my selfe and my fathers house and my owne house haue sinned and do sinne but I write it to stir vp my selfe and mine in our places and all Sion souldiers in their places to a gracious regard of holinesse more and more without which neither can we looke for any blessing in peace nor they in battell Therefore that you may prosper in war leaue off your grosse sinnes and come to the battell and stand in the battell graciously and holily that so your persons may be accepted in and by Christ Iesus our Lord. Thus much for the first consideration the first link the first worthy thing The second thing for Sion souldiers to consider of is the cause for which they fight 2. A worthy cause they must haue a worthy cause A souldier how valiant and vertuous soeuer who hath no consideration of this is in no better case then his horse the horse goeth willingly and fiercely to the battell as well as his master looke whither he rides him thither the horse hasteth against whom or for what cause the beast cares not because it is a beast it sufficeth the dumbe creature that his master sets him forward but this is not enough for a man especially for a Sion souldier he may not suffer himselfe to be drawn on to war by his owne vainglorie or couetousnes without due respect to the cause no nor to be
to be practised here by Christian souldiers doubtlesse there is For though no man goeth a warfare at his owne cost as the Apostle saith yet in dayes of necessitie sacred souldiers must take their God for their pay-master and rest quiet and stand couragious for a time without their pay Nay a degree further then this too Say that victuals wax scarce as well as wages yet Sion souldiers will make no mutinies for all these wants no though vnder officers should neglect or abuse them in all these things which God forbid and giue wisedome and care to superiour magistrates to looke narrowly to that point holy souldiers will not murmure as the wicked Israelites did in the wildernesse but rather submit themselues as meeke lambes vnder the mightie hand of their heauenly Father euen as Samson did when our good God quenched his thirst presently whereby he was refreshed in a time of great want and sooner giue comfort to their gouerners whom they see grieued for their sakes then adde afflictions and griefes vnto them by their discontentments It is one thing to keep backe the hirelings wages or foode out of a couetous or carelesse mind and another thing to be wounded in heart because the strait is so great that Kings Princes Generals and Captaines cannot do that for their souldiers which their soule desireth in such a case sanctified souldiers will rather cheere vp their valiant gouernours by their holy learning to abound and want then make tumults for lacke of cheere How far then will they be from such an vtter falling away as to forsake God and gouernours cause and campe because their purses and mouthes be not alwayes filled Many wicked souldiers are vtterly voide of this godly minde who vpon the least want of pay or prouision do shew all maner want of patience and contentednesse yea so far as to make insurrections Some in this case fall to cursing railing and rauing and othersome fall away to the enemie No longer plentie no longer dutie no longer pay no longer Prince Such souldiers as thus forsake God and gouernours for want of mony and meate do bewray great emptinesse of grace and do much disgrace the honourable profession of a souldier This sheweth that their grounds and resolutions in coming to war were sinister and quite voide of all godlinesse As betweene man and wife parents and children friend and friend there is a firm indissoluable bond of loue as well in aduersity as prosperitie so it is betweene gouernours and their souldiers nothing must part them but death vntill by a generall consent they giue ouer war If at any time the wants be so great as they cannot be endured then it will be the wisedome and mercie of supreme Leaders and Commanders to relinquish and breake vp for a time and to vse all good meanes for their souldiers safetie as for their owne but whiles hope of victorie remaineth and matters go in a tollerable sort no want of wages in any wise nor any sufferable want of any necessaries will cause souldiers that haue tasted of the new birth to abandon the campe or curse and ban their Rulers knowing that so much the more patience as they haue in extremities so much the more recompence they shall haue both with God man in victories As they that faithfully suffer other losses at home in lands houses goods or liberties with our most blessed Sauiour shall vndoubtedly reigne with him so they that in war suffer with their Leaders in hard straits shall vndoubtedly triumph with them at length if not in earth yet let them know that if they suffer Christianly in war for Christs sake I say this is also a right blessed meanes through Christs merits to reigne with him and with his Deputie-Captaines eternally Let not Christian souldiers then looke with the eye of flesh vpon present meanes but with the eye of faith vpon Gods power and promise and wholy commit themselues vnto this good Father of fathers esteeming his glory and his Deputies comfort and protection to be of more value then all the wages and victuals in the world Let it neuer be said that Sion souldiers are like couetous worldlings all for mony nothing for loue The ancient heathen shall condemne such selfe-louers yea weake women amongst the heathen shall condemne them euen a Moabite did Ruth leaue Naomi though greatly vrged because she was now become poore No sure she cleaued to her in a time of penurie much like a time of war and that in a most louing and constant maner Naomi you know was in very extraordinary griefe and distresse when she was to trauell alone for ought she knew from Moab to Iudea This tender mother in law was loth to haue her daughters in law with her lest they should come to dangers and wants At length the one of them was perswaded to returne but the other would by no meanes leaue her come what wants might come Ruth would not forsake Naomi Naomi did say nay rather Marah as she calls her selfe she would take part with her in bitternesse Ruth 1. Ponder well vpon her most kind words a rare daughter in law Intreate me not to leaue thee or to returne from following after thee for whither thou goest I will go and where thou lodgest I will lodge Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God where thou diest will I die and there will I be buried The Lord do so to me and more also if ought but death part thee and me Doubtlesse gracious souldiers wi●l say as much for the loue which they beare to their louing Kings Princes Gouernours and Captaines they will not leaue them nor forsake them for want of wages no nor for want of food so long as nature hath any strength to hold out Sion souldiers would think it great shame and disgrace that any woman specially a Moabite should go beyond them in close standing to a deare friend in time of aduersitie As Ruth then ventured to gleane for her mother in law and her selfe amongst strangers and some of them of strange and boisterous qualities so will they venture to roue and reape in the enemies countrie for their owne and their Captains sustenance yea to rush through multitudes 1 Sam 13.15 ●● like Dauids Worthies for the water of Bethlehem rather then exclame against their Leaders for such wants as lie not in their power to supply A low ebbe of earthly maintenance will not bring a Sion souldier to a low ebbe of heauēly loue Good King Dauid was brought to a low ebbe when hee and his men are the Shew-bread And what great store of prouision may wee suppose that hee had 1 Sam. 21.7 when hee sent to Nabal for some of his store or when King Achish asked him Where he had bin a rouing that day 1 Sam 15.6 Neither is it like that hee had much wages to giue his souldiers in the wildernesse Behold here a great Captaine in great wants yet his