do not believe and obey the things written and commanded in the holy Scriptures for as Christ saith to the Sadduces They erre not knowing the Scriptures 4. I understand that the great difference amongst men lyeth in the practical part of Religion for the Devill and wicked men do not care how much truth men know and believe so they practise none for the greater is their condemnation But if any come to practise it by keeping the commandments of God by which doing they exercise a good conscience towards God and are blameless and righteous before him as Zacharias and Elizabeth were Luke 15. then presently persecution ariseth for Satan well knoweth that to believe and obey both will bring a man to happiness in dispite of him and therefore it is that the poor Saints are so much persecuted for practising nothing but what is written in the word of God and was practised before in the days of Christ and his Apostles But let men take heed how they offend those which earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints not in King Henries or Queen Elizabeths days onely but I mean all that was first preached and practised by the Lord and his holy Apostles even as it was delivered at first Therefore my prayer shall be for all those in Authority That they may learn to know that they are ordained of God to judge between man and man and not between God and man and to rule over mens bodies not souls But this I speak in the behalf of those which go not beyond the Scriptures and do not presume above what is written but if any deny them I have nothing to say for them they must answer for themselves when they are called to it Thus hoping that the Magistrates in generall will be as willing to protect all people fearing God and walking according to the rule of his word as they are willing to pray for and assist them in time of need I shall conclude this matter and proceed to the next particular viz. to shew what is the Saints duty and how they ought to behave themselves in these dangerous days and perilous times briefly in these words First let not our hearts be troubled at the wars and rumours of wars distresse of nations and perplexity that is now upon the face of the earth for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet Mat. 24.6 7 8. for these are the beginnings of sorrow and the days of vengeance in which all things must be fullfiled that are written in the Prophets Luke 21.22 Therefore the second thing we are to be exhorted unto is to take heed to our selves lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with surfetting and drunkenness and the cares of this life and so we be taken unawares in that snare that shall come upon all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth which do not take heed Therefore let us watch and pray always that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass on this side the grave and that we may have our part in the Resurrection of the Just and stand before the Son of man with great boldness Luke 21.34 35 36. for they which have their part in the first Resurrection are blessed and happy and shall shine forth as the Sun in the kingdome of their Father when our vile bodies shall be changed and made like the glorious body of the Lord as it is written Rev. 20.6 Mat. 13.43 with Phil. 3.21 But the wicked shall not be able to stand in the Judgement nor sinners in the congregation of the Righteous in that day when the Heavens shall depart or pass away with a great noise and the elements shal melt with servent heat the earth with the works therein shall be burnt up At which time the dead both great and small must all appear before the Judgment-seat of Christ to receive according to their deeds done in the flesh whether they be good or bad The consideration of which righteous judgement to come made Felix tremble although he was a judge therefore dear Christians and all that feare God and believe that all these things shall come to pass let us us as Peter saith 2 Pet. 3 10 11 12. consider what manner of persons we ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and making haste unto the coming of this great day of God for it 's the property of the wicked to put the evil day far from them but let us so much the more as we see the evil day approaching prepare to meet the Lord by putting off the work of darkness and putting on the armour of light walking honestly as the children of the day Laying aside all superfluity of naughtiness and receiving with meekness that ingrafted word of God which is able to save our souls And forasmuch as we know that godliness is great gaine having both the promise of this life and that which is to come let us put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness and let us be clothed with humility then shall we be fit and ready to meet the Lord at his coming and to look death in the face whensoever it shall approach Let us take heed of lying and deceit and let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying and building up each other in our most holy faith and let all bitterness and wrath and evil speaking filthiness foolish talking and jesting be put away from us and not once be named amongst us as becometh Saints for for these things sake cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience let us not therefore be partakers with them but see that we walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise children of the light redeeming our time because the days are evil And in a common calamity many times all things fall out alike to all and as dieth the wiseman so dyeth the fool and there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked to the clean and to the unclean to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not and to him that sweareth as to him that feareth an oath so that no man knoweth either love or hatred by all the things that are before him in this present evil world Eccle. 9.1 2 3. But this we know through believing that our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from them and all the corruptions and pollutions that are therein through lust and by him is given unto us exceeding great and pretious promises that by them we might be made partakers of the divine nature Let us therefore give all diligence to add to our faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to that temperance and patience and godliness and brotherly kindness and love that we may be fruitfull in the knowledge
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
that are in high places for the God Israel hath said They which rule over men must be just ruling in the fear of God and as the light of the morning when the Sun ariseth in a morning without clouds and as the tender grass springing out of the earth by the clear shining after raine 2 Sam. 23.3 4. And truly there hath bin a great shower upon the nation these many yeers but now it is ended therefore the Lord grant that after you may so spring up and grow in works of Justice and mercy and righteousness that by them you may shine forth in the nation So as both your selves and they which do behold you may have cause to rejoyce and glorifie God Otherwise I for my part am very Confident that Englands miseries are not yet done but the Lord will again chastise us with chastisements seven times worse then before but I hope for better things although I thus speak Sixthly The example of Solomon is worthy of serious consideration who when the Lord had made him ruler over his people he then besought him for an understanding heart that he might discern between good and bad and that he might know how to judge righteously between man and man and how to go out and in before so great a people and this thing pleased the Lord so that he did not onely grant him his request but also gave him riches and honour which he did not aske nor cover after and promised him further that if he would walk in his ways and keep his statutes and commandments as his father David did he would also lengthen his days 1 King 3.5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. Now would the honorable Rulers of this nation know how to discern between good and bad and to judge righteously between man and man and how to go out and in before this great people which the Lord hath set them over Would you have honour and riches here and true happiness hereafter with God in glory Then ask it of the Lord as David and Solomon did meditate in his law and exercise your selves therein day and night learn out of that what is Justice and Judgement and equity and the Lord will be with you and give you wisdome and understanding in all things for he is no respecter of persons but giveth to all that ask in faith freely and upbraideth not James 1.5 Therefore Right Honorable dispise not these sayings because of the weakness of the instrument who at this time puts you in mind of them but let the counsell of the Lord be acceptable to you it may be as Daniel saith a lengthening of your tranquillity Chap. 4.27 therefore let all that are in authority labour to be such as they ought to be namely men fearing God and hating covetousness for if any be otherwise minded let them know the Lord will have such to rule before he hath done and aske the Lord for wisdome even that hidden wisdome which few or none of the Princes of this world have attaind unto 1 Cor. 2.8 that so you may wise and understanding hearts to judge the people righteously for without this wisdome who is able to go out and in before so great a people as God hath set you over especially when the eyes of most of them are upon the Rulers for evill and do watch for their haltings Be wise now therefore you that are the Rulers of the Nation and be instructed yee that are the Judges of the people and remember that although you be called Gods yet you must die like men and after that cometh the righteous and impartiall Judgement of God to whom you must give account at the great day of all your actions Therefore take heed ye be not conformable to their Image which God hath cast downe by you and do not tread in the footsteps of them whom God hath destroyed by your hands for their pride vaine-glory covetousness and oppression which wickedness in them was now come to the full But especiaily take heed of persecuting the Saints and men fearing God for conscience sake in the things of God the which they were deluded and led into by those wicked Antichristian Ministers which attended upon them in the Bishops days a great part of whom is left amongst us to this day and some of them so transformed into Ministers of righteousness that they will hardly be discerned from them but this need be no wonder for Paul saith the Devill himself is transformed into an angel of light 2 Cor. 11.14 15. but by their works they may be known Therefore if there be any secretly inticing your Honours to persecute men fearing God which make the holy Scripture a rule both for their faith and obedience you may be sure they are of that old generation the Lord Christ speaketh of you may read their genealogie and see whose children they are Mat. 23.27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37. compared with John 8.44 But I know by wofull experience they have so much of the wisdom from beneath as to call us Hereticks and pestilent fellows and movers of sedition and ring leaders of sects for after the same manner they accused Paul Act. 24.5 But his answer is sufficient for all those which tread in his footsteps and contend earnestly for that faith which was once delivered to the Saints in Pauls days which answer is written Act. 2.4.13 14 15 16. in these words They cannot prove the things whereof they accuse me but this he confessed to Felix that after the way which they call Heresie so worship I the God of my fathers beleiving all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets and have hope towards God which they themselves allow that there shall be a resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust And herein do I exercise my self always to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man From which words of Paul I observe these things 1. That they which persecuted him did themselves allow that it was lawfull for him to beleive all things written in the Law and the Prophets and yet they accused him for an heretick even so do men in these days they will allow us to beleive all things written in the Law and the Prophets and all the gratious words of Christ and his Apostles but if we practise them they will accuse us for hereticks 2. Those which do believe all things written in the holy Scriptures and acknowledge the resurrection of the just and unjust and labour to keep good Consciences void of offence towards God and towards man they are no Hereticks let them believe and do what they will if it be no more then is written in the word of God to believe and obey Therefore let all men take heed how they persecute any for believing or practising any thing written therein although it be never so contrary to their judgement 3. If any be Hereticks it must needs be they which