Zibah insinuate into Mephibosheths wealth if at any time by errour you haue done wrong in this kinde 2. Kings 16 as sometimes no doubt you doe NoÌ„ voluntate nocendi sed necessitate nesciendi as S. Aug. pleadeth for you not of purpose to doe wrong but because you cannot come to the knowledge of the right recall and cancell your former acts put Zibah out of Mephibosheths possessioÌ„ let not your laws be like printers characters that with the same leters caÌ„ print heresy principles of the true religioÌ„ let it not be double tonged to speake to the Protestant in his laÌ„guage the language of Hierusalem and to the Papist as kindely in his language the languag of Ashdod Let it not haue mensuram mensuram a measure and a measure poÌ„dus pondus a waight a waight one waight for great men at the court another for poore of the Country one for your kinsman and freind another for your enemie one for the Laity another for the Clergy Let it not be said of you as of some iudges in S. Aug. time alienus animus alienum tribunal thaâ— if the iudge fauor you not the law shall not favor you or if so yet let it not ' ô let it not be said of you that you are some of those iudges in the Psalme Ps 93 Qui fingunt afflictionem pro lege who giue wormewood and bitternesse insteed of iudgement and turne Mispat into Mispah â—udgement into a snare to ensnare the simple â—nnocent And you the Gent. of the Country doe not end your countenance to strengthen the arme of sinne And you Councellours doe not lende â—our tongues to varnish over the rotten body of sinne And you I urers doe not lend your â—oules which you haue impaned by oath to set â—inne loose out of fetters Againe you Gent. of the Country do not lend your countenance â—o the discountenance or oppression of the inâ—ocent And you Councellors doe not lend â—our tongues to make vertue ilfauored or iuâ—tice guilty And you Iurers doe not lend your â—ouls either in favor of the Iudge or some great man on the Bench to finde a wounde for the stroake of iustice where there is none And I beseech you my L. for the honour of your Christian profession for the peace securitie of our King and Gospell vnder him for the glory of your God which may be hence ilâ—ustrated Let not the equiuocating Iesuite slippe â—rom vnder or out dare your laws let not Recusants beare false witnesse anie longer against â—heir own soules in complaining with Crocodils â—eares of imprisonment and losses Let the statute as far forth as it was intended you may make them speake truth Let not women by priviledge of their sexe haue impunity to do whaâ— they list in the matter of Religion Againe let not Ahab range at loose without a hooke in his nostrells Let not nobility vnderproppe it selfe with titles to oppresse Let not the wealthy increase their gaines by swallowing vp the poore and beggaring the laborers of the Land Let not Officers strippe and grinde the people with trickes and devises of cosnage Let not Naboth loose his vineyard or if his vineyard must needs goe let him not loose his life for crying out of wrong and oppression Da propriam Thymbraee domum da moenia fessiâ— Let equity be mingled with iustice both put in practise according to the law and Christian charity and a good conscience let sinne beare its burden and haue his wages punishment Let vertue haue her reward impunitie acceptance praise so shall hee who made you iudges on earth make you Angells in heauen and shall bring you out of these Courts on earth to the assemblies of the first borne which are in heaueÌ„ to God the Iudge of all and Christ the Iudge of the world to come FINIS
man not instituted by man for it hath his beginning from God By me Kings raigne and Princes decree iustice by mee Princes rule and the nobles and all the Iudges of the earth Prou. 8. c. 15.16 ver Omni homini to every mā Ergo omni Tyranno therefore to every Tyrant saith Caietan we must obey good Princes willingly endure evill Tyrants patiently Omni to every one Non distinguendo inter Ethnicos fideles not distinguishing between Christians Infidels saith Catarinus S. Aug. giueth a reasō of both Nam qui regnum dedit Caesari De civ Dei l. 5. c. 21. dedit Mario qui Augusto Neroni qui Constantino Christiano Apostatae Iuliano He who gaue the Empire to Iulius Caesar gaue it also to Marius to Augustus and to Nero to Constantine the Christian and to Iulian the Apostated Infidell 3 The distribution of this obiect into his partes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The King as the superiour to other Inferiour Magistrates as his subordinat Lieu-tenants to Pharaoh and to Ioseph to Caesar and to Pilate to Moses and to his Sanadrim 4 The reason of our duty before enioyn'd Propter Dominum for the Lords sake Sic ordinantem so ordaining it All power is of God he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God Ro. 13 or Propter Dom for the Lords sake that is not outwardly only with eie service but inwardly also in the heart where the Lord seeth Or thirdly propter Dominum for the Lord huius exemplum ostendentem giving vs an example hereof in his own persō * Luk. 2.51 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here is the verie word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was subiect vnto them and hee saith to * Ioh. 19.11 Pilate Thou couldst haue no power at al against me except it were given thee from aboue Romani Caesaris potestatem Christus super se quoque fatetur fuisse ordinatā S. Be. Christ cōfesseth that the power of the Roman Emperor was over him to and an other where S. Be. Quid saecularitatē cōtēnitis Ad Hen. Sen. Arch. saecularior nemo Pilato cui Dominus adst◠tit iudicandus Why do yee contemne the secular powers No mā was more secular thē Pilate before whose barre our Lord stood to be iudged Or fourthly and lastly propter Dominum for the Lord that is In his quae ordinātur ad Dominū In those things which are in respect ordination to the Lord and then as before he taught Quibus debēt to whom they ought here he teacheth In quantum debent how farre forth they ought to obey viz In all things where the Lord is not preiudiced For if S. Aug. case be August de verb. dom 2. Mat. ser 6. Aliud Imperator aliud Deus the Emperour commādeth God countermandeth the same we haue our answere whether it be better to obey God or man iudge yee If Cesar say Solve tributum Ibib. pay thy tribute Esto mihi in obsequium yeeld me thy service and obedience We answere it is right we owe service we owe tribute we must obey but if he bid vs to bow the knee to Baal or to leaue a hoofe behinde vs in Egypt or not to name Iesus in our preaching and profession there we are forbidden saith he who forbiddeth A greater power Da veniam Imperator tu Carcerem ille gehennā O pardon Emperour thou threatnest but prison he threatneth Hell thou to kill the body for a time he to kill both body and soule for ever 5 The persons who must performe this duty Yee Be yee subiect c. Yee who are called at the 9. v. A chosen generation a royall Priesthoode an holie nation a people set at liberty and yet this Christian liberty no way exempting thē from subiection Libertas per Christum Cōcessa Aquinas est libertas spiritus caro adhuc remanet servituti obnoxia and there be for it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lib. 5. de Rom. pont cap. 3. Lordes after the flesh Eph. 6. and Bellarmine himselfe Non obest regibus Christi beneficiū The liberty of the Gospel benefit of grace by Christ do not preiudice kings in the right of their obediēce But be yee subiect 6 The end of al both command and subiection praemium poena rewarde and punishment Both the King his Iudges are sent of him that is of God for the punishment of evill doers and for the praise of them that do well It would be too long to handle each severall part apart And I shoulde to much abuse your Honorable patience Marc. 12. Wherefore in imitation of him who contracted 10 words into 2 Deum proximum God and our neighbor the many books of the Old new Testament into 2. Ioh. 1.17 Mosen Christum Moses and Christ I reduce all vnto these two heads Lineam Lineam a line and a line praeceptum praeceptum a precept and a precept 1 The first praeceptum nostrum a precept for vs our duty the duty of the Subiect obedience Be yee subiect c. 2 The second praeceptum vestrum A precept for you R. H. The duty of the Magistrate care and conscience For the punishment of evill doers and for the praise of them that do well First of the first Our duty the duty of the subiect Obedience Be yee subiect That Christians are to be subiect in Gods ordinance vnto the Civill Magistrate is evident to every one that doth but obserue howe in the whole book of God al both the language actions of al the servants of God doe savour of very perfect obedience Daniell never spake vnto the king of Babylon but with tearmes of respect My Lord the dreame be to them that hate thee and the interpretation thereof to thy enimies and againe to Darius O king liue for ever the Iewes were commanded to pray for the life of Nabuchadnezar and for the life of his sonne Baltazar and the forme of praier is prescribed them ut aetas eorum aevo Coeli respondeat that their daies might bee vpon Earth as the daies of Heaven Baruc. And in the time of the gospell wee shall finde this Doctrine of obediēce to be cōsecrated in the persō of our Saviour Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire but mine eares hast thou opened The L. God hath opened mine eares and I was not rebellious He lived obediently As a sheep before his sheerer so opened he not his mouth he died obediently to Ne perderet obedientiam perdidit vitam hee lost his life that he might not loose his obedience And the Apostles that we may know them to be the disciples of this Master did ever teach this dutie of Obedience Put them in minde saith Paul to Titus Tit. 3. that they submit thēselues to powers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very word of my Text and an otherwhere to the Rom. Rom. 13. Let every soule be
they haue their high places and Hill-altars and groues amongst vs where they pray ô Baal heare vs and sweare not by the feare of Isaak 1. Kings 18.26 but by the sin of Samaria saying thy God ô Dan liueth the manner of Bersheba liueth There be to to manie Michahs in our Lande Iudges 1 who haue a Priest and a Teraphim in Mount Ephraim in some private Chapple or Chamber or Closset or the like 1. King 1 to many who with Obadiah hide Prophets but false Prophets by fifties in a Caue these woulde be looked after and bee drawne to the Barre to receiue their demerit for their treasonable charity at the least such order woulde bee taken with them as that their Recusancy shoulde not bee to the advantage of their estates If you talke with them they will tell you of disgraces imprisonment and losses of their inexplicable griefe of hart for the aversion indignation of his Maiestie more grievous and heavy vnto them then all temporall losses and afflictions And yet if you looke vpon their estates you shal finde many of them gaine by this trade In an anâ—wer to a poâ—ish libell inâ—ituled a peâ—ition to the â— Preach Gospellers by Francis Bunny It is a story printed to the disgrace of our Laws that a prisoner in Yorke Castle got so by this lost that he gaind where by to purchase lande worth an hundred pounds by the yeare and it were greatly to bee wished that recusantes vnder this colourable pretense of their losses might not racke their rents and deale hardly with their Tenantes as they do nor lessen their charge and liue far vnder that state there Ancestors haue heretofore lived and they might yet if they pleased Againe there is a custome I feare me permit and pardon my iealousie for women to reconcile to the Church of Rome The womaÌ„ Iezable is the Prophet and vnder the warrantable liberty of her husbands conformity shee entertaines instructs reconciles all commers and by these sugred Syrens many of the kings loyall and honest subiects are brought acquainted with Forraine opinions Dearely beloved the Divell was ever wont to vse the woman for his last most forceable helpe to speede his Temptations with all Quid non mihi Foemina praestas And I cannot but thinke that in this eager busines of his hee vseth their helpe beyonde our knowledge and suspicion this also would be looked vnto The second sort of wicked ones is the wicked and cruel man the greedy depopulator who to make roome for a sheepheard and his dog doth send a whole worlde of people a begging these are the wicked of whoÌ„ Iob speaketh they haue vndone many they haue forsaken the poore spoiled houses which they never built Iob. 20.19 and concerning which wicked ones it is said to you R.H. Let no man oppresse and circumveÌ„t his brother for the Lord is avenger of all these things 1. Thes 4. Ahab will haue Naboths vineyeard giue me thy vineyard he confesseth it to be his vineyeard 1. King â— 2. Confitetuâ— lienam vt poscat inâ—bitam Amâ— and yet hee must haue it from him or he wil be sicke after it And why because it is neere by mine house These great men must dwell alone in the worlde they cannot endure the shouldring of neighbours * Vers 2â— Lion-like they make a partition of al to themselues for so saith S. Aug. Amat avaritia vnitatem De verb Dom. seâ— 20. Covetousnesse loveth a kinde of vnity to ioine house to house and land to land that he may dwell alone on the earth and to what vse must Achab haue Naboths vineyard only to make Hortum Olerum * Vers â— that I may make a garden of hearbs thereof that I may make a sheepe pastour for my profit or a parke for my pleasure or peradventure that I may only be said to be Lord of all this large circuit and yet be Achabs reasons never so weake or his end never so vnlawfull let the Prophet Isay cry never so lowde in his eares Is 5. v. 8. Wo vnto them that ioine house to house lay field to field till there be no place Mich. 2.2 and the Prophet Michah Wo vnto them that covet fields and take them by violence so oppresse a man and his house a man and his heretage Let God and his Ministers say what they will Ahab must will haue Naboths vineyarde Historia Achab tempore vetus est * Ambr. de Nabuthe Jesraelita cap. 1. vsu quotidiana saith S. Amb the story of Achab and Naboth is old indeed but the example of Achab Naboth is every daies example Ibid. Quotidiè Achab nascitur Quotidiè Nabuthe sternitur every day there is an Achab borne into the world every day there is a Naboth sent out of the world A lamentable case that men should better endure the bleating of sheepe Oxen in their eares then the teares and groanes cries of there harbourles desolate brethren And yet if they did but strip theÌ„ of their vineyards only and turne them out of house and home it were well but sometimes it commeth to passe Ibid. cap. 1. vt possessio pauperi eripiatur vita pulsatur that the possession may come the better over there be devises to fetch the poore owner within the compasse of the law And be cause it was Achabs method ociidisti et possedistis the poore maÌ„ shal suffer at the gallows 1. King 21.19 that he may suffer the Rich quietly to enioy the inheritace of his fathers This is a thing R.H. which coÌ„cerneth you neerely Let not such Ahabs find favour in your Courts let not ô let not Iustice Ar. in eth which is as the beauty of the morning and evening starre be thus blemisht Ordinatio divina non est peccatorum obstetrix saith S. Aug. Courts of Iustice which are Gods ordinance are not ought not to be a mid-wife to helpe into the world or bolster out sin And if there be any Ahabs that heare me to day my couÌ„sell to them is that of Daniel to Nabuchadnezar Dan. 4.24 break off your sins by righteousnes your iniquities by mercies towards the poore quem vltoreÌ„ timetis facite debitoreÌ„ whom you either do Amb. de Nab. c. 2. certainly do or should feare your iudge for the cause of the poore and widdowe make him your debtor He that giueth vnto the poore leÌ„deth vnto the Lord as you haue turned their ioy into mourning Ipse cibo in paupere pascitur Amb. and their gladnesse into sackcloath so go back againe and turne their mourning into ioy and sackcloath into gladnesse let their loines blesse you and warme them with the fleece of your sheep For the praise of them that doe well I feare me I haue bin too long Al that I would say in the remainder is this Dishearten and oppresse not innocency let not flattering