confidences and how their hearts departed from their GOD for so much as the heart drawes and inclines to the creature so much and by the very same steps and degrees it withdrawes from GOD so much of the world as comes-in so much of heaven goes-out This were excellent matter to dilate upon but every good mans spirit is fitted for such a worke selfe-searching and triall what spirit he is of and how it has been discovered to himselfe all this time O the murmurings of his spirit how many have they been what haste has he made If he be not delivered now he shall be tyred and can follow GOD in His way no longer It is not necessary nay nor possible to set downe the murmurings warpings hastinesses of the best mans spirit but he will confesse he has in his HASTE limited the Holy One of Israel and tyed GOD like a creature to his owne time and way A man would doe it at such a time and by such meanes Therefore GOD must doe so too GOD must worke like a man This argueth a great distemper of spirit and must be corrected Alas shall David be delivered at this present time It cannot be the Servant of the Lord must be instructed first to a constancy of spirit so as he can come to this Period and stop there David shall be delivered the fittest time and after such a manner as shall most gloriously exalt GODS Name and Davids comfort and that I hope will best content and so he will conclude Therefore he will doe his worke and let GOD alone to perfect His and he will let GOD alone to His owne Time and to His owne Way in confident assurance That if Davids deliverance be delayed there is mighty Reason why it is so and the prime Reason is that David may be discovered his owne spirit made fully manifest to himselfe Secondly That Davids adversaries every one may be discovered too all the Right-men his true Enemies and false friends all their fine designes all their horrid hellish machinations that all may be discovered and layed open before all Israel and before the Sun David thought GOD was slack touching His Promise He was indeed as we count slicknesse when things are not done and deliverance wrought by the very same meanes and at the very nicke of time which we in our haste have concluded upon GOD was not slacke nor is he slacke towards David He is working wonders for David and we shall see it anon Davids deliverance stayes a little Why That all Davids enemies may be discovered how wicked how pernicious they are how mightily they fight against GOD and His servant David The enemy must be clearly convinced too we will take this and Davids adversaries in order and proceed upon discovery First Sauls most malignant spirit shall be made as manifest and naked to Israels eye as his body was in the day he was born He made shewes of love to David all his shewes shall shrinke-up to nothing or prove reall hatred Saul would have it told David That the King delighted in him Does â—e so Heare what Saul sayes and tell your selfe Saul blesseth the Ziphites those Murtherers 1 Sam. 23.19 Blessed be ye of the LORD Why blessed Because they undertooke Davids destruction in designe in the manner as they did at Bristoll London Lincolne To deliver David into Sauls hands that he might doe to him according to all the desire of his soule What desire was that To sheath his sword in Davids bowels Will the Ziphites give such a price into Sauls hand that he may doe to David according to all the desire of his soule will they so Blessed are ye of the Lord O strange Nay it was not strange it was ordinary with Saul to blesse his Right-men Murtherers and no others Blessed are ye of the Lord. O monstrous what abominable words are these Saul blesseth the Ziphites I ask againe Why does he so Because the Ziphites have a fine designe upon David as our Right-men upon Bristoll c. as was said to deliver him into Sauls hand that Saul may doe to David as we understood before The Ziphites have that in designe and Saul blesseth them for it and so his wickednesse is shewne before the whole congregation Prov. 26. For that is GODS designe too Saul shall not couzen the world any longer but GOD will turne Sauls blessings into curses Saul blesseth Murtherers GOD curseth them a treacherous and a murtherous Generation though they curse yet blesse thou So GOD will and curse them whom Saul blesseth Saul applauds their designes GOD abhorres them and their designes too and the Hang-man is appointed to give them their wages for their worke Observe further the Evill spirit of the man must be made more manifest for he saith ye have compassion on me What ye or who were they The same men who would lay a City waste so they might gratifie Saul in the destruction of David and this Saul calls compassion O blindnesse O desperate wickednesse he counts that a COMPASSION to his soule the working his will upon David which will destroy Sauls life here and his soule for ever Who is there that understands this and does not pray Lord leave me not in the lap of my owne will to run mine owne way and to accomplish my owne desire Does not many a man now-a-dayes count the granting of that a Compassion to his soule which being granted and effected to his hearts desire will destroy body and soule both eternally But I forbeare Here was a full discovery of Sauls spirit But let me speake a word for Saul for truely he had good things in him which must be remembred though the Evill spirits the Divell and his owne Spirit perverted all the contrary way Sauls good spirit was discovered too we fâ—â—de him weeping in one place and blessing David in another True But the Text sayes David would not trust him for all that Saul gave David good words and Blessings too and there was an Oath betwixt them and doubtlesse All was done heartily Saul did not treat with David and in the meane time carry on a fine designe to take away Davids life No doubtlesse Saul spake as he thought and meant to performe 1 Sam 24.22 But sayes the Text David would not trust Saul he and his Men got them up into the hold And the Reason was David knew an Evill Spirit haunted Saul an Edomite besides still at his Elbow and Saul had his foot entred into bloud up to the ankles David would not trust him Had Saul shed but a bottle of Bloud he might have bethought himselfe upon cold bloud as we say and repented and he might shew favour to an Edomite being his Herdsman But Saul has filled Nob with bloud from Corner to Corner And now that the Edomite is declared to be the Chiefe Malignant to Israel that ever was in Israels Land Saul approves of him the more The more bloud he hath shed the
ENGLANDS Third Alarm TO VVARRE Stirring up the whole Land as one Man to help the LORD and His servant David all the Faithfull in the World against most bloudy Adversaries mighty Hunters before the LORD In which Warre No Resistance is maintained but what has now as in Davids time a sweet agreement with Duty and affinity with the best Obedience No Resistance then or now of Regall Authority or Higher Power but of those who are the greatest Enemies thereunto Such were Sauls willing Helpers in his War against David such are the Kings Helpers in his Warre now against his best Subjects the Faithfull of the Land Jer. 48.10 Cursed be he that keepeth backe his Sword from bloud 1 Cor. 7.23 Ye are bought with a Price be not ye the servants of men Joel 2.11 Feare not O Land be glad and rejoyce for the LORD will doe great things Gen. 8.1 God remembred Noah and every living thing and all the Cattell that was with him He will remember David and all his afflictions Psal 132.1 Chrysos Serm. 68. Oremus ut Christus suo semper regnet in Milite ut Miles semper suo triumphet in Rege Let us pray That Christ would evermore be King in his Souldier That His Souldier may evermore triumph in his King London Printed for Thomas Vnderhill in the second yeare of the Beasts wounding warring against the Lamb and those that are with Him Called Chosen and Faithfull 1643. TO THE READER This Epistle shewes the purpose of the Book what could not be shewed in the Tiâ—tle cleares the Duty of all good people to stand-up now all as one man Gives Arguments full to that purpose answers all materiall Arguments against is HEe that speaks to All speaks to none Words as Physicke cannot be applied to MAN under that generall notion but to this or that man in particular Therefore I intend all this unto thee who hast taken it into thy hand that thou maist lay it unto thy heart The noise of the Drum and sound of Warre still in thine eares has awakened thee sure no Sleeper now when such a Tempest lyes upon us unlesse thou art as one of those who can be secure in the midst of the Sea or lye asleepe upon the top of a Mast I suppose thee awakened and hearing thy selfe summoned to Warre Thy Call is from Heaven A supposition oâ—ly that the Reul enites and Gadites had built an Alâ—ar contrary to Godâ— command did stir-up the whole congregation of Israel to warre against them Iosb 22.12 So did the forcing a Concubine All Israel arose and were knit together as one man foure hundred thousand men to warre with Benjamin refâ—sing to give up 〈◊〉 Delinquents to death Iudg. 20.1.8.11.13 See Ep. p. 4. all the Lawes of Heaven and Earth have sealed thee thy Warrant for the cause is Gods His Peoples To maintain all that is dear to Him them in Earth Heaven Thy enemies are the Lords Enemies the most insulting that ever the Church was infested with for they are most of them home-bred that are helpers with the Beast of the same Countrey with thee and have the same Mother Besides they have the hornes of a Lamb they will fight under formall colours semblances shewes and pretences of Law and Justice which they carry upon their Swords point It will be the hottest Warre that ever was yet If these Adversaries have the day expect no more mercy from them then from the mouth of the Devourer be it Cannon Dragon Wolfe Lion or she Beare or from the Divell himselfe for indeed he playes Rex now he has armed the Edomite Papist I meane with a Sword and with a Sword Spirit though he be he must be resisted But in warring now Ob. I may resist the King No thou shalt resist no other Ans but that Evill Spirit which has put a Sword into an Edomites hand now and has engaged the heart of the King to her who has pawned the Jewels of the Kingdom to purchase Instruments of death thereby to lay waste the Kingdome of Israel and to dethrone the King thereof The soule of the King cleaves in love to her even her who bends all her power against the LORD CHRIST and His Kingdome And To purchase this cursed end which will cost the best Flower in their Crowne and they shall misse of it too when all is done To carry on this horrid designe they have joyned hearts and hands with Irish Rebels and English Monsters men skilfull to destroy whose hearts and hands are steeped in bloud and brawned in villanies There can be no question now of the lawfulnesse of resistance for thou shalt offer no more violence to the King and Kingdome then what thou shouldst offer to the Kingdom of Heaven a sweet violence in contending for the Faith and the trust of the Kingdome But some there are most contrary minded Ob. Lawyers and DIVINES both these are against the Covenant now which engageth to defensive Armes and they say their Reason and Conscience is against it too * and this their example may very well stumble thee Example may win much with unstable mindes Ans But surely the example of such men whose walking is as contrary to a common Light and principles as darknesse is to light as contrary to Christ His wayes and servants as the Divel is or as Hell is to Heaven surely the example of such men cannot perswade with thee These men have so long shut their eyes against a naturall light and so long laboured to stifle and choak a naturall Conscience that now they have not so much Logicke Reason I meane then has a Dog nor any more good Conscience then has a Beast I would rather my tongue should cleave to the roofe of my Mouth then that it should send forth the scum of a foule stomack or corrupt heart rotten speeches The Lord knowes I speake what I know and what all may know that will observe the conversation of these men Anti-Covenanters now like as the inti-petitioners before I will say it againe They have no more true Reason nor good Conscience then a Bâ—ast has No their pleasure and profit are their gods their glory their shame unreasonable men they are And this is the clearest evidence thereof that ever was given a â—â—ll 3.19 They mind earthly things No matter what such Cretians say alwayes Lyars evill Beasts slow Bellies Shew thy selfe a man bring forth the speare and stop the way against these Murtherers for even these men are as one of them Obad. 11.12 They stand on the other side They have looked on the day of their Brother They have rejoiced in the day of his destruction and have spoken proudly in the day of distresse these are as one of them Thou wilt wish that these may be cut off that so trouble us and bring forth the speare against those Murtherers whose notorious violences are more legible all over the Land Ob. No thou
the Edomite in our sense and in Scripture language That Legion of the Papists now Raging and Rioting in our Land we shall resist the King too for this Edomite is the chiefe MANAGER next to the Divel of all the Kings affaires in this Kingdome his very best Subjects and truest Friends O horrible what words are these Papists his best Subjects It must passe for it has the Kings allowance he has declared it so he has proclaimed it so once and againe and a third time The Edomites in Ireland in England they are the Kings best Subjects those he may confide-in his heart may cleave to them in love when David The faithfull of the LORD are called Traitors every day and his good People Rebels all O David cannot be silent now any longer GOD knowes and all the Christian world knowes Davids heart is upright and his hands cleare and his prayer pure touching this matter Their hands have not shed innocent bloud nor have their eyes seen it but with indignation and Zeale against these Murtherers And we say That many Kings have beene seduced by evill counsels Many whose hearts have beene stolne away from their good people and given-up into their enemies hands cleaving to them in love and some have shed bloud to their power as Saul here and others after him But oh how loth I am to speake The Evill Counsellours have carried-on the King in the Path of the destroyer beyond all These for he has given a Commission to destroy his good people and makes shewes That his soule bleeds over them He pittieth his Peoples nakednesse and takes from them their cloathes hee calls them Rebels in Ireland and entertaines the same Rebels here He professeth to do all by helpe of GOD and the Law and all he does has a manifest contrariety to GOD and contradiction to the Law He professeth with his tongue to be for Religion indeed when his heart and hand is utterly against the professors of the same To take them from the Earth He professeth to maintaine his Peoples liberties and does all that is in the power of his hands to inthrall and oppresse his people To make their neckes bend to the Edomites yoake he would make beleeve his hand goes along with GOD when hee puts it forth against The Almighty in all his peoples sight as if he had an arm like GOD. But the bloudshed in both his Kingdomes this The Lord sees and heares the voice of it too And which maketh the voice yet louder The LORD heares how he chargeth it upon the innocent and blesseth the Murtherers those that have shed it indeed The LORD lay it close to the heart of his Majesty that his soule may bleed over the blood he hath shed That he may forbeare to say so till he does so That his soule may shed teares for the bloud he hath shed indeed and indeed Let others pray The LORD bring his Majesty home to his Parliament upon the wings of the Churches Prayers They that pray so pray well but they pray better who pray The Lord open the Kings eyes and heart that he may discerne the Path he has trod the way he is in and feele the working of that bloud shed upon his soule working in him a sorrow after a godly sort The LORD shew him the falshood the hypocrisie of his heart make it as manifest to him as it is to all his good People That his uncircumcised heart may be humbled that he may abhorre evill and loath himselfe for what he has done Amen say I and all who wish that his soule may prosper He may come home to his Parliament and doe more hurt then good there unlesse his heart be humbled for all he has done first I remember very well the Eleventh King of Scotland the worst King that ever was I thinke yet was brought home to his Parliament I meane he came-up to his good People even to all the desire of their hearts for thus he did Those pernicious Counfellors he had many and they stole away his heart or he stole away theirs surely the King was worst because chiefest in the trespasse he suffered to be imprisoned and over some the wheele was turned And all this he did in deep dissimulation that he might the more freely with no resistance worke-out his owne will and doe according to his owne pleasure afterwards And so he did the yeare after by that time he saw all cleare before him the hearts of his Nobles gained for he gave the offenders into their hands and all was well and now they must be feasted They were glad of that and to supper they came which was served-up in a Lordly dish and after the meat Wine they are and dranke and their hearts were merry but the worst Wine was kept last towards the close of the Feast the Nobles were made drunke with their owne bloud as with sweet Wine A few escaped and those few by the helpe of the People rose-up against their King and slew him I shall not meddle with that though in the close of the worke I shall point to that King againe and another halfe as bad I conclude from hence That till the King be truly informed for what he has done That he has walked in the counsell of the ungodly his foot has stood in the way of sinners and he sitteth in the seat of the scornfull Till his heart be humbled for this Tâ—ll his soule cleaves to the ground for this and what else God and his conscience best knowes Till this be the King cannot come-back to his Parliament he caâ—not be to the heart and desires of his good People there Therefore pray we LORD turne the heart of the King give him a sight of what he has done and humble his soule in the sight of it th the hath blasphemed the Name of his GOD deal deceitfully with his Maker treacherouoy with His People abominably with His Day prophaning it by a Law He must be restlesse in his spirit till he hath vindicated That dishonour done to That Rest forcing and persecuting His best Servants touching that matter and shedding their bloud to his power ever since LORD give the King a sight of all this and of all that The Searcher of hearts and his owne heart knowes by himselfe and kindly humble him for all Then all the rest followes the King will be right for his Parliament his heart will be with them then it will be said and not till then What the King does pleaseth all his people and what his good people doe pleaseth the King Amen But if the King doe not his duty his people must doe theirs if hee looke not to his charge how he rules not his but Gods People THY PEOPLE sitting in GODS Throne Yet must the people look to their obedience they must be subject to the higher Power notwithstanding I come then to resolve what this higher Power is and the cases of conscience thereabouts Not touching the giving of
Israelite wherein Israel now must not be wanting neither but doe as Israel did and as their Brethren in Scotland have done of late and in ancient Times DAvid greatly distressed has encouraged himselfe in The LORD his GOD then enquiring of The LORD is commanded to pursue after his enemies and assured without faile to recover all His army is but in an ill case for service six hundred in all two hundred so faint that they could not go Notwithstanding GOD who hangs the greatest waights upon the weakest wyers does the greatest matters by the weakest instruments has done His worke by these weake men But yet that all Israel may attest Davids innocency and secure him from Sauls and his Edomites insolencies GOD sends them all-in now to help David And in they come with a blessing in their mouths Peace peace be unto thee and peace be unto thine belpers for thy GOD helpeth thee 1 Chro. 12.18 Here is a grave question now touching the manner of resistance If the Tribes come-in not to resist Saul Obj but as affirmed before his private will or spirit like a strong man keeping possession in Sauls heart and holding his tenure therein more firmly by the activity and effectuall working of the evill spirit which came upon Saul and never left him to the day of his death If so Then me thinkes this kinde should have beene cast forth by Prayer and Fasting The meaning is Israel should not have taken Bow and Arrowes Shield and Buckler into their hands but have fallen downe upon their knees and have prayed for their Master and so by mighty-wrastlings have dispossessed Saul of his own spirit so by mighty in him This had been according to the Rule and word of The LORD Christ Matth. 17.21 This kind is not cast forth but by Prayer and Fasting To this I reply first and doe grant 1. That this kinde while it does act as a spirit is to be resisted by the spirit of Prayer and so alwayes has beene cast forth But when his actings are more open and visible upon any person as upon that Lunatick there Then if there had beene force enough to resist him the father of the childe would not have called it a Resistance of his childe which was but the restraining of the childe from falling into the fire and into the water So we see in this case There might have been a resisting of the divell which had had an affiance and good agreement with duty Much more then had this Lunaticke Person played the Edomite flourished with his sword slaine all he met man woman and childe sucklings too beasts also made Cities ruinous heaps Should Israel goe to prayer now Pray the divell to be quiet So they might have beene killed upon their knees Israel knew the divell well enough and the Edomite too That the more they prayed them the fiercer they would be as Rabshakeh cried the louder in the Jewish language the more he was prayed to speake in the Syriacke tongue 2 Kin. 18.28 When the divell has put a sword into an Edomites hand we must not use supplications but put force to force and conjure-out the divell with the Sword If the divell make you bleed try a conclusion whether you cannot make the divell bleed which is very poffible sayes Zanchie and he has a large discourse upon it and touching the methods of Satan The divell acts now by the hand of an Edomite he must be resisted by the hand of an Israelite This first I affirm 2. That Israel Priests and People there went by their Rule doubtlesse they had used all fair means before they tooke the sword in hand They had prayed for Saul and to make their prayer the more fervent they fasted for him also But here was a sad case you read it before Saul has murthered those Priests who were the likeliest men in all Judah to pray and fast for him he murthered them Indeed it was as sad a case as I thinke is imaginable for whereas he might have had groanes and Prayers put up to the throne of grace in his behalfe from the Priests mouth he makes the good Priests groane because of his oppression The good Priests would have cryed for him spake good for him before his and their LORD night and day Saul regards not that he has shed their bloud and now their bloud cries against him night and day How long LORD how long â—er thou doest avenge our bloud that is shed Truely this is an heavie case certainly Israel went by rule they prayed for their King they were not wanting in that point Indeed there is one thing touching this matter which seemed strange to me All this time which Soul has cast away and worse then lost in persecution of David I heare not one word of counsell or Prayer from Samuels mouth that good old Prophet It is true before this persecution begun we read Samuel came no more to see Saul 1 Sam. 15 35. till the day of his death Yet me thinkes it is very cleare and expresse though not in words that Samuel prayed for Sauâ— Neverthelesse Samuel mourned for Saul sayes the Text Then he prayed for him sure 1 Ioâ—n 5.16 There is a sin unto death sayes Saint Iâ—hn I doe not say that be shall pray for it But sayes another If thou maist not pray for him yet maist thou grieve Si non ores gema tamen sortassis gemitus tuas penetâ—et quo oratio non pâ—aesumat tendere and â—â—â—urne for him perhaps thy sighes groanes and in urnings of thy sâ—irit may ascend thither where thy prayer presumes not to come Samuel MOVRNED for Saul That was a servent prayer And certainly the LORD answered Samuels Prayer touching Saul though not as Samuel desired yet as best pleased the Lord. He answered him and in a very effectuall way and manner of answering for thus we read So David fled and escaped the hands of Saul and came to Ramih 1 Sam. 19 18. and told him all that Saul had done to him all Sauls ungodly deeds and hard words committed against David he told Samuel all and they dwelt together at Naioth Saul heares of this thing and where Davids abode is and he sent messengers to take David GOD prevented them Verse 20. and made a change of them quickly no sooner came they thither but they doe for the time as others did they prophesie Saul heares all this he will have his Will sends more Messengers and thither they came and it was with them as it was with the former Ver. 21. they prophesie also Then Saul went himselfe to Ramah for he will have David whether GOD will or no But when he comes thither he is changed for that season and does as all his messengers befâ—re him and then it became a Proverbe How was this sudden change made in Sauls messengers and in himselfe It is answered The Spirit of GOD came upon them That is true