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<DATE>2012-11-15</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Susie Lorand</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist: x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x Add DIV TYPEs, validate x Review structure, use BODY or rarely GROUP x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x Proof title page(s) x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE x Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initials, space between &amp;c. [and in blackletter, abper, abpro, abis...] x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE ABBR GAP x Check q; startq endq Q x Correct errors from proofsheet x Correct illegibles from proofsheet x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs x Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ 3 ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>To the right Honourable, the Lord <HI>GORING,</HI> his ever honoured Lord,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">To the right Wor&s;hipfull Sir <HI>John Rous,</HI> his mo&s;t Noble Patron,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">To the vertuous Lady, the Lady <HI>Jane Covert,</HI> his liberall Benefactor,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">To the truly worthy and Wor&s;hipfull, <HI>Master</HI> John Packer, <HI>his beneficent friend,</HI></HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Lionell Gatford, B. D. &amp;c. <HI>wi&s;heth all happine&s;&s;e both temporall and eternall.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right Honourable, right Wor&s;hipfull, &amp;c.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_ALthough my body be im|pri&s;oned, yet (I ble&s;&s;e the Lord for it) my &s;oule is free; &s;o free, that I fear not what man can do unto me. Tis not then to begg your helpe for my inlargement, or to crave your
<PB REF="2">&s;upport under my &s;ufferings during my re|&s;traint, that I thus addre&s;&s;e my &s;elfe unto you. <HI>God is my refuge and &s;trength, a very pre&s;ent helpe in trouble; Therefore will I not feare, though the earth be moved, and though the mountaines be carried into the mid&s;t of the Sea: though the waters thereof roare, and be troubled; though the mountaines &s;hake with the &s;welling thereof, P&s;al.</HI> 46. I have &s;o much faith (prai&s;ed be the Author and giver thereof) as to beleeve that &s;ome <HI>mountaines</HI> &s;hall be <HI>removed and ca&s;t into the Sea;</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Mat. 11.24.</NOTE> and then perhaps the Sea (as upon the ca&s;ting forth a runaway rebel, <HI>Jona.</HI> 1.) will cea&s;e from her raging. But whether &s;he doe or not, I tru&s;t I &s;hall never be of &s;o little faith, as over-much to be afraid of mine owne &s;inking. The true rea&s;on of my flying to you at this pre&s;ent, is, in plain tearmes, this: What externals &s;oever I either now po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e, or have hitherto &s;ub|&s;i&s;ted by, I have received from God by the hands of one, or more, of you; and therefore before I am denuded or &s;poyled
<PB REF="2">of what I have (which &s;ome have threat|ned) I would have the world know where I had it; otherwi&s;e, I &s;hould &s;u&s;pect that my ingratitude might betray it into their hands that are ready to catch at it. Some|thing I confe&s;&s;e I have by your meanes, though from the &s;ame fountaine, more then is vi&s;ible; and &s;ome thanks I mu&s;t re&s;erve for you, more then is expre&s;&s;able. This poore, but &s;incere (Exhortation to Peace, &s;ent forth in the&s;e times of tumultuous in|&s;urrections, will, I hope, render me to you, and to all that &s;hall chance to peru&s;e it, a true Sonne of Peace, and a peaceable Son of Truth. And if no other return &s;hould be made you for what ye have adventured in &s;o weake a ve&s;&s;ell, I am confident yee would not thinke it lo&s;t; &s;o intirely doe ye love, and &s;o highly doe yee pri&s;e both tho&s;e graces, in whom&s;oever you finde them. But if God &s;hall vouch&s;afe, among&s;t many petitioners, to heare my prayers for Peace, you &s;hall be &s;ure to feele that I am a Sonne of Prayer too, by the ble&s;&s;ing of
<PB REF="3">Peace, which I &s;hall never cea&s;e to pray for, upon you and all yours, with as many o|ther as love the peace of our Jeru&s;alem. And this I am a&s;&s;ured ye will accept as the proper retribution of a poor pri&s;oner, and</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your bond-&s;ervant, <HI>L. G.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>Errata.</HEAD>
<P>Page 5. line 14. <GAP DESC="foreign"> read <GAP DESC="foreign">. p. 8. l. la&s;t, dele of. p. 9. l. 8. for rag r. ray. p. 12. l. 3. for as frees any &s;uit, r. if they can finde any &s;uch. p. 13. l. 5. for promi&s;e r. premi&s;e.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="3">
<HEAD>To all the Sonnes of Peace throughout the divided Kingdome of <HI>England:</HI> Lionell Gatford <HI>B. D. &amp;c.</HI> wi&s;heth <HI>Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father of peace, and from our Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t the purcha&s;er and fini&s;her of our peace.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_WHen the &s;ound of a civill warre within the bowels of this King|dome fir&s;t tingled mine ears, be|ing neither <GAP DESC="foreign"> nor <GAP DESC="foreign">, neither without naturall affecti|on nor without Chri&s;tian com|pa&s;&s;ion, I could not but take up to my &s;elfe the Prophets &s;ympathizing complaint, <HI>Jerem.</HI> 4.19, 20. <HI>My bowels my bowels, I am pained at the very heart, my heart maketh a noi&s;e in me, I cannot hold my peace, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t heard O my &s;oule, the &s;ound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, de&s;truction upon de&s;truction is cried, for the whole Land is spoyled, &amp;c.</HI> But then knowing my &s;elf to be <HI>&s;et a watchman</HI> to o|thers, and &s;o the crying to, or within my &s;elfe alone, when I <HI>&s;aw the &s;word come,</HI> would not excu&s;e me, but that I &s;tood obliged to <HI>lift up my voice like a trumpet</HI> and <HI>to give others warning thereof,</HI> or el&s;e their <HI>blood would be required at my hands, Ezek.</HI> 33.6. <HI>(And what wil it profit a man,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Pro&s;per.</NOTE> non pro &s;uo puniri peccato qui puni|endus e&s;t alieno; not to be puni&s;h'd for his own &s;in who &s;hal be condemned for anothers)</HI> I began to ca&s;t about, how I
<PB REF="4">be&s;t <HI>deliver mine own &s;oule</HI> by helping to &s;ave others.</P>
<P>Whereupon, ob&s;erving, that not &s;o much the par|ticular mi&s;under&s;tanding each other in &s;everall pa&s;|&s;ages and me&s;&s;ages betwixt the <HI>King</HI> and <HI>His great Councell,</HI> as the Generall not-under&s;tanding of the Subjects loyalty and obedience to their Sovereigne, clouded by the fogs and mi&s;ts of fal&s;e teachers, ex|haled from the bogs and creekes of Anabapti&s;ts and other Sectaries, had both begotten and nur&s;ed up our mi&s;eries to that height of growth, whereunto they are now come; I re&s;olved, as well for the free|ing mine owne &s;oule from the guilt of others blood, as for the preventing others from further embrew|ing their hands in the blood of their Chri&s;tian Bre|thren, faithfully to impart to this whole Nation, not mine owne private opinion, but the <HI>publike received Doctrine of this whole Church, and the harmonious con|&s;ent of the mo&s;t eminent Members thereof, as al&s;o the publike Doctrine and unanimous con&s;ent of other re|formed Churches, and many renowned Worthies therein, concerning the Right, Power, Honour and Dignity, of Kings and &s;overeigne Princes, and the loyalty and obedience due unto them from all their Subjects; together with a di&s;covery of who and what &s;ort of men have been the prime disturbers of Peace, and ray&s;ers of Rebellion, &s;ince the fir&s;t &s;hining forth of the glorious light of the Gospell, in tho&s;e places especially where the Gospell hath been propagated; as al&s;o a &s;upplement of &s;atisfying an&s;wers to the maine arguments and objecti|ons, wherby the enemies of this Kingdom and their own peace, would evade what&s;oever is a&s;&s;erted again&s;t them.</HI></P>
<P>But this my intention was fru&s;trated; for on <HI>Jan.</HI>
<PB REF="4">26. <HI>in the night, Ma&s;ter Crumwell,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Job 24.16.</NOTE> a Member of the Hou&s;e of Commons, &s;eized upon the Coppy of that Tractat compo&s;ed by me for that purpo&s;e, as it was then in the pre&s;&s;e at <HI>Cambridge,</HI> and fifteen or &s;ixteen &s;heets thereof printed, and the &s;ame <HI>night with his Troopes he apprehended my per&s;on</HI> quietly re|po&s;ed in <HI>Je&s;us-Colledge,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Luke 22.13.</NOTE> which with the Coppy he tran&s;mitted hither to <HI>London,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Act. 25.27.</NOTE> <HI>on the next Lords day</HI> following, and on munday <HI>Jan.</HI> 30, I was by the Honourable Hou&s;e of Commons committed pri&s;o|ner to <HI>Ely-Hou&s;e,</HI> where I am &s;till re&s;treined <HI>without any charge again&s;t me,</HI> that I can yet heare of.</P>
<P>Now remembring holy <HI>Jeremiahs</HI> practi&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 36.</NOTE> who when he was <HI>&s;hut up in pri&s;on,</HI> thought not that an ex|cu&s;e &s;ufficient for not making known to the people tho&s;e things which concerned them, but &s;ent forth <HI>a roll, written from his owne mouth, to be read in the eares of all Judah;</HI> I could not &s;atisfie my con&s;ci|ence quickened with &s;o good an example, and incou|raged with Gods gracious deliverance of him that &s;et it, till I had &s;ent abroad &s;omething, whereby I might in &s;ome part informe the people of this Land of their duty, and di&s;charge mine owne; and have|ing nothing in a readine&s;&s;e (now that my former in|tended treati&s;e is &s;trangled in the birth) &s;o &s;ea&s;ona|ble and &s;uitable for the&s;e tumultuous and di&s;tracted times, as this exhortation to peace, I have adven|tured that among&s;t you.</P>
<P>You will finde it indeed flatly oppo&s;ite, nay fully contradictorie to multitudes of exhortations, wher|with not onely our <HI>parlours</HI> are pe&s;tered,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 3. v. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.</NOTE> but our very Pulpits are profaned in the&s;e <HI>perilous times.</HI>
<PB REF="5">It mu&s;t therfore be your care with tho&s;e <HI>noble Bere|ans, Act.</HI> 17. <HI>to &s;earch the Scripturs daily, whether tho&s;e things</HI> affirmed by tho&s;e <HI>Salij</HI> or <HI>Prie&s;ts of Mars</HI> in their <HI>skipping voci&s;erations,</HI> or the&s;e avouched by me a <HI>Mini&s;ter of peace</HI> in this &s;low-paced Sermon, be according to what is there recorded or not.</P>
<P>For my part I challenge nothing to my &s;elfe, but weakne&s;&s;e and unworthine&s;&s;e; but by the grace of God I am what I am, and to the prai&s;e and glory of his free grace be it a&s;cribed, I have ever been ortho|doxall in judgement, and conformable in practi&s;e, to the e&s;tabli&s;hed doctrine and di&s;cipline of the Church of <HI>England,</HI> without &s;warving or digre&s;&s;ing therefrom, either to &s;erve the times though never &s;o turbulent, or to ob&s;erve mens humors though never &s;o potent, during freely to reprove corruption and innovation in Religion and religious wor&s;hip, where I met with any &s;uch, when the <HI>Stentors</HI> or <HI>Baaling</HI> cryers of the&s;e times dur&s;t not mutter again&s;t them, and alwayes labouring (though compa&s;&s;ed about with many imperfections) to adorne Religion and the profe&s;&s;ion therof by faithfulne&s;&s;e in my calling, and by un&s;tainedne&s;&s;e of life and conver&s;ation.</P>
<P>But for tho&s;e, who&s;e doctrine and practi&s;es this Sermon oppugnes; They bragge much of their <HI>light,</HI> bring them therfore into the <HI>light; To the Law and to the Te&s;timony, and if they speake not according to this word, it is becau&s;e ther's no light in them, I&s;a.</HI> 8.20. and <HI>he that &s;aith he is in the light and hateth his brother, he is in darkne&s;&s;e even untill now,</HI> 1 <HI>Joh</HI> 2.9.</P>
<P>They boa&s;t likewi&s;e that they, and onely they, have the <HI>spirit;</HI> But <HI>beloved, beleeve not every spi|rit,
<PB REF="5">but try the spirits whether they are of God: becau&s;e many fal&s;e prophets are gone out into the world,</HI> 1 <HI>John</HI> 4.1. If they have the <HI>spirit</HI> you &s;hall know it by the <HI>fruit</HI> thereof. Now <HI>the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-&s;uffering, gentlene&s;&s;e, goodne&s;&s;e, faith, meekne&s;&s;e, temperance, Galat.</HI> 5.22, 23.</P>
<P>They de&s;ire al&s;o to make you beleeve, what it &s;eemes by <HI>Jobs</HI> an&s;wer, <HI>Cap.</HI> 12.2. his <HI>mi&s;erable comforters</HI> would have a&s;&s;umed to them&s;elves, that all wi&s;dome is with them, yea, and <HI>&s;hall die with them,</HI> if they mi&s;carry; nay, their very folly and madne&s;&s;e is &s;tiled by them&s;elves and their Favou|rites, <HI>spirituall wi&s;dome:</HI> But the word of God will try that too; For <HI>the wi&s;dome that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, ea&s;ie to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocri&s;ie, James</HI> 3.17.</P>
<P>For their <HI>holine&s;&s;e</HI> and <HI>righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> none mayque|&s;tion it without the cen&s;ure of being a reprobate, for &s;uch a pre&s;umption; and yet the Scripture is a touch&s;tone that will prove the truth of that al&s;o, e|ven by their love to peace: For <HI>the fruit of Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e &s;aith Saint Iames, is &s;owne in peace of them that make peace, Cap.</HI> 3. <HI>v.</HI> 18. And <HI>where envying and &s;trife is,</HI> (much more where war and blood&s;hed|ding is) <HI>there is confu&s;ion and every evill work, v.</HI> 16. And <HI>from whence come wars and fightings among you?</HI> (&s;aith the &s;ame Apo&s;tle) <HI>come they not hence, even of your lu&s;ts, that warre in your members? Cap.</HI> 4. <HI>v.</HI> 1. But if you would &s;ee the holy warre of the pre&s;ent times lively &s;et forth, read on, v. 2, 3. <HI>Ye lu&s;t and have not, ye kill, and de&s;ire to have, and cannot obtaine; ye
<PB REF="6">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="6">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="7">fight and warre, yet ye have not becau&s;e ye aske not; ye aske and receive not, becau&s;e ye ask ami&s;&s;e, that ye may con&s;ume it upon your lusts.</HI></P>
<P>In a word tho&s;e new teachers, or teachers of newes (as the mo&s;t of them de&s;erve to be &s;tiled) would fain dreame you into an opinion, that they are for <HI>peace,</HI> as much, or more then any, onely they would have <HI>peace</HI> with <HI>truth.</HI> But who can beleeve them? when they <HI>make lies their re&s;uge,</HI> and daily wre&s;t and per|vert the <HI>Word of truth</HI> to encourage to warre: with|out <HI>peace, truth</HI> cannot be e&s;tabli&s;hed, and &s;o long as the people are <HI>given over to beleeve their lies,</HI> 'tis impo&s;&s;ible that <HI>peace</HI> &s;hould be obtained. Nay, had they been <HI>men of truth,</HI> neither <HI>peace</HI> nor <HI>truth</HI> had been now un&s;etled, much le&s;&s;e &s;hattered into &s;o ma|ny peices, as that it will be difficult to repaire ei|ther, and no le&s;&s;e then a miracle to re&s;tore both to their former &s;plendor and glory. Had your Prea|chers dealt <HI>truly</HI> with you, I &s;hould not have needed to have &s;ent this &s;ermon of <HI>peace</HI> at this time among&s;t you; for if &s;ome of them, when they were con&s;ulted by you (as that I pre&s;ume they were) concerning the lawfulne&s;&s;e of the pre&s;ent war, had not with tho&s;e lying Prophets 1 <HI>King.</HI> 22. encouraged to battell, with a <HI>Goe and prosper, for the Lord &s;hall deliver,</HI> not the <HI>City</HI> into the <HI>Kings hands,</HI> but the <HI>King</HI> into the hands of the <HI>City;</HI> certainly our <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> had &s;till enjoyed her ble&s;&s;ed <HI>peace,</HI> and all that love her <HI>peace</HI> had &s;till flowri&s;hed in their envied <HI>prosperity.</HI> I am no accu&s;er of my brethren, but if <HI>from the prophets of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as the Lord once complained by that holy prophet <HI>Jerem.</HI> 23.15. <HI>prophane&s;&s;e or hypocri&s;ie,</HI>
<PB REF="7">(for Gods Name is never more prophaned then by hypocriticall prophets) <HI>be gone forth into all the land,</HI> and both <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> and the whole <HI>Land</HI> be ready to be ruined thereby; I conceive I have authority &s;uf|ficient even from the <HI>Prophet Jeremy</HI> to complain of &s;uch <HI>Prophets,</HI> and that before the people, that &s;o the people may yet at la&s;t beware of them; onely this I mu&s;t tell the people, tho&s;e filthy dreamers, (as Saint <HI>Jude</HI> cals them) tho&s;e fal&s;e prophets (as the deceived people them&s;elves will ere long acknow|ledge them) who <HI>defile the fle&s;h, despi&s;e dominion and speake evill of dignities, Jude Epi&s;t. v.</HI> 8. teaching others to doe the like, doe but <HI>dreame &s;uch dreames</HI> as <HI>the people have cau&s;ed to be dreamed Jerem.</HI> 29.8. and although <HI>the prophet be a &s;oole, and the spiritu|all man mad,</HI> yet the <HI>people</HI> mu&s;t remember, that 'tis for the <HI>multitudes of their iniquity, and their great hatred, Ho&s;ea</HI> 9.7. Either the people being a <HI>rebellious people, lying children, children that will not heare the law of the Lord, I&s;a.</HI> 30.9. have &s;aid <HI>to the Seers &s;ee not, and to the Prophets prophe&s;ie not unto us right things, v.</HI> 10. Or el&s;e they have &s;hewn them&s;elves too well plea&s;ed with them when they have &s;o prophe&s;ied; but not a word more now ei|ther of Prophets or people in that way. I am to pre&s;ent you with an Exhortation to Peace, and ther|fore I &s;hall avoid as much as I can what&s;oever may exa&s;perate any that are <HI>peaceably</HI> inclined. The <HI>Prophets, Prie&s;ts, Princes and people of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> had all of them &s;inned highly again&s;t God, and &s;o provo|ked him, that he had made a breach among&s;t them, which threatned utter de&s;truction unto them, as you
<PB REF="8">may read at large, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 22. And yet God of his in|finite mercy was plea&s;ed <HI>to &s;eek,</HI> and to &s;eek but for <HI>one man among&s;t them</HI> all, to <HI>make up the hedge, and &s;tand in the gap before him, for the Land, that he &s;hould not de&s;troy it, v.</HI> 30. How then &s;hould we of this Na|tion, notwith&s;tanding all our &s;ins of <HI>Prophets, Prie&s;ts, Princes,</HI> and <HI>people,</HI> &s;o re&s;embling <HI>Judah's,</HI> as if cop|pied out by them (our rebellion onely excepted, wherein we exceed both them and the mo&s;t of other Nations) how &s;hould we be encouraged to &s;eeke to God to have our breaches made up, and to approach <HI>boldly</HI> unto the <HI>Throne of his grace,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 3.1.</NOTE> that we may ob|taine mercy, and &s;inde grace to help in time of need?</HI> How &s;hould we be quickned in our prayers, and be&s;t endeavours for the <HI>peace</HI> of our <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> when the prayers and endeavours of one man is &s;o prevalent with God, for the making peace for a whole Nation, and for the averting de&s;truction from it? Whether our prayers prevaile with God for the <HI>peace</HI> of our <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> or not, we our &s;elves that &s;o <HI>love Jeru&s;alem</HI> as to <HI>pray for the peace thereof,</HI> are &s;ure to <HI>prosper;</HI> we have Gods Word for it in our Text. To our pray|ers then, to our prayers with all po&s;&s;ible con&s;tancy and fervency, and &s;o to the Sermon with all due re|verence and &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion, humbly be&s;eeching our mo&s;t gracious God, who&s;e Word is here tendred us, to make this his Word &s;o effectuall to us all, that it may help to make us to pray more and more effe|ctually for <HI>Jeru&s;alems peace,</HI> on which depends all our pro&s;perity, <HI>Amen, Amen.</HI> </P>
<CLOSER>So prayes <SIGNED>A pri&s;oner of the Lord, and your daily Orator, <HI>Lionell Gatford.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE>Ely-hou&s;e, <DATE>Feb. 1642.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="8">
<EPIGRAPH>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Text. PSAL. 122. ver&s;. 6.</HI></BIBL>
<P>Pray for the Peace of Jeru&s;alem; they &s;hall pro&s;per that love thee.</P></Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_THE <HI>Scriptures</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Paul</HI>) <HI>are able to make a man wi&s;e unto &s;alvation,</HI> 2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.15. <HI>Liber p&s;almorum, &amp;c.</HI> The Booke of P&s;almes (&s;aith Saint <HI>Augu|&s;tine</HI>) comprehends in it as in an epito|mie, or ab&s;tract, what&s;oever nece&s;&s;ary things all other books of Scripture con|tain at large. Now among&s;t the P&s;almes the P&s;almes of degrees are by many accounted P&s;alms of &s;ome degrees of excellency above other P&s;ames; and among&s;t the P&s;ames of degrees (if there may be <HI>comparatio gradus ad gra|dum,</HI> a comparing of a degree with a degree, where each P&s;alme is in its degree &s;o admirable) this P&s;alme of degrees out of which my Text is taken is none of the lowe&s;t degree. The text it &s;elfe. I am &s;ure is one of the &s;weete&s;t and plea&s;ante&s;t &s;traines in all the P&s;ames. For what more delightfull and plea&s;ing to God then <HI>prayer? the prayer of the upright</HI> (&s;aith <HI>Salomon</HI>) <HI>is Gods delight, Pro.</HI> 15.8. and <HI>let my prayer,</HI> &s;aith <HI>David, be &s;et forth before thee as incen&s;e, P&s;al.</HI> 141.2. that is let it a&s;cend as a &s;weet perfume and plea&s;ant &s;mell into thy no&s;trils; it being the peculiar honour of prayer (as <HI>Dioni&s;ius Carthu&s;ianus</HI> hath ob&s;erved) to have the &s;tile of <HI>incen&s;e</HI> attributed to it, for <HI>nulla
<PB N="2" REF="9">justatia</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>thumiamits comparatur ni&s;i &s;ola oratio,</HI> No other theologicall vertue is compared to incen&s;e, but onely prayer, at lea&s;t not &s;o properly. And this we finde incited unto in the fir&s;t word of my text, <HI>pray, pray, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Againe, as nothing is more delightfull and plea&s;ing to God then <HI>Prayer,</HI> &s;o nothing is more &s;weet and acceptable to men (except they be <HI>men of Belial</HI>) then <HI>Peace, Pax non re duntaxat amica, &s;ed nomine quoque ip&s;o jucunda,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Nazianzen, Peace</HI> is not onely lovely in the thing, but plea&s;ant al&s;o in the very name; <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith <HI>Ba&s;il,</HI> the ab&s;olute&s;t of Ble&s;&s;ings; <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;aith <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome,</HI> there is no Ble&s;&s;ing equall to <HI>Peace;</HI> and the Scriptures make good what they all &s;ay by putting <HI>Peace</HI> &s;o often for all Ble&s;&s;ings, as comprehending all other Ble&s;&s;ings in the bo&s;ome of it, as among&s;t other places, P&s;al. 125.5. <HI>But peace &s;hall be upon I&s;rael;</HI> and P&s;al. 29.11. <HI>The Lord will ble&s;&s;e his people with peace:</HI> or as the ordinary tran&s;lation reads it: <HI>The Lord &s;hall give his people the Ble&s;&s;ing of peace.</HI> In both which places the word tran&s;lated, <HI>Peace,</HI> as expo&s;itors have ob&s;erved, <HI>non tantum pacem &s;ed reliqua bona omnia complectatur et corpori et animo nece&s;&s;aria,</HI> doth not only comprehend <HI>peace</HI> within it's &s;ignification, but all other good things what&s;oever nece&s;&s;ary both for body and &s;oule, as it doth al&s;o in &s;undry other places of Scripture. And this we are called upon here in my Text to pray for; pray for the <HI>peace, &amp;c. The peace,</HI> what <HI>peace?</HI> not the peace of <HI>Babylon</HI> (though when the <HI>Jews</HI> were delivered into the hands of the King of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and carried away captive thither, they were commanded both to <HI>&s;eek the peace</HI> of that City and to <HI>pray for it, Jerem.</HI> 29.7.) but the <HI>Peace</HI> that our text exhorts to pray for, is the <HI>Peace of Jeru&s;alem;</HI> that is, according to the literall &s;en&s;e, the <HI>Peace</HI> of that City which the <HI>Lord</HI> hath <HI>cho&s;en among all the tribes of I&s;rael to place his name there,</HI> 2 <HI>Chr.</HI> 6. as al&s;o to place the <HI>throne of David,</HI> and &s;o of ju&s;tice and judgement there, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 5.5. both expre&s;&s;ed in the three immediate ver&s;es before my Text, as arguments to make way for the praying for the peace there|of. <HI>Jeru&s;alem is builded as a City, that is compact together,
<PB N="3" REF="9">whither the tribes go up the tribes of the Lord, unto the te&s;timony of I&s;rael, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord; for there are &s;et thrones of judgement, the thrones of the hou&s;e of</HI> David, then followes <HI>pray for the peace of Jeru&s;alem, &amp;c.</HI> Or els by the <HI>peace of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> we may under&s;tand here, according to the mi|&s;ticall &s;en&s;e of the words, the peace of Gods Church, in what Cities or Nations &s;oever it be planted; called <HI>Jeru&s;alem which is above and the mother of us all, Gal.</HI> 4.26. <HI>the City of the li|ving God, the heavenly Ieru&s;alem, Heb.</HI> 12.22. and that not without allu&s;ion to that and the like prophe&s;ie of preaching the Go&s;pell, <HI>E&s;ay</HI> 2.3. <HI>Out of Sion &s;hall goe forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Ieru&s;alem:</HI> that is the Go&s;pell &s;hall fir&s;t be preached, and &s;o the Church fir&s;t planted in <HI>Ieru&s;alem;</HI> and from thence the Go&s;pell &s;hall be publi&s;hed, and &s;o the Church tran&s;planted in all the world: and therefore the Church having her fir&s;t ri&s;e, and beginning from <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;he might well beare <HI>Ieru&s;alems</HI> name. <HI>Pray for the peace of Ieru&s;alem.</HI> I had once thought to have opened the other part of the Text, ere I had let you further into the trea&s;urie of this: but me thinks I &s;ee you impatient of being kept off any longer, from ta&s;ting of the&s;e rarities which have been already pre&s;ented be|fore you: I forbeare therefore all &s;uper-addition of arguments to invite your attention to the Text, and fall clo&s;e to the un|bowelling of it. The Text at the fir&s;t touch fals into two parts; a <HI>Precept</HI> and a <HI>Promi&s;e.</HI> The <HI>precept</HI> in the fir&s;t words, <HI>pray for the Peace of Jeru&s;alem.</HI> The <HI>promi&s;e</HI> in the following words, <HI>they &s;hall prosper that love thee.</HI></P>
<P>In the <HI>precept</HI> the&s;e five particulars offer them&s;elves to our con&s;ideration. 1. The <HI>Act</HI> or <HI>Duty</HI> commanded; and that is to <HI>pray. Pray &amp;c.</HI> 2. The <HI>object</HI> of that <HI>Act;</HI> and that is <HI>peace, Pray for the peace.</HI> 3. The <HI>Specification</HI> or <HI>determination</HI> of that <HI>object;</HI> not for all <HI>peace,</HI> nor the <HI>peace</HI> of all; but for the <HI>Peace of Ieru&s;alem. Pray for the Peace of Ieru&s;alem.</HI> 4. The <HI>par|ty by whom</HI> this <HI>precept</HI> is delivered; and that, as the title of the P&s;alme &s;hewes, is <HI>David. David</HI> the King of <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> take <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> in the letter; but <HI>David</HI> the &s;onne or citizen of
<PB N="4" REF="10"><HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> take <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> in the mi&s;terie. 5. The <HI>party unto whom</HI> this precept is recommended; and they are no where expre&s;&s;ed, but fully implyed in the word <HI>precamini,</HI> or <HI>rogate, pray ye:</HI> all <HI>ye</HI> that have any intere&s;t in or relation to <HI>Ieru&s;alem, pray for the Peace thereof;</HI> &s;o farre the <HI>precept</HI> extends: but the <HI>promi&s;e</HI> reacheth further, and fetcheth in all tho&s;e that love pro&s;perity, a&s;&s;uring them that they &s;hall all <HI>prosper</HI> that &s;o love <HI>Ieru&s;alem:</HI> wherein three other particulars require our ob&s;er|vation. 1. The <HI>&s;ubject matter</HI> of the <HI>promi&s;e;</HI> and that's <HI>Pro&s;pe|rity; they &s;hall prosper.</HI> 2. The <HI>condition</HI> of the <HI>promi&s;e;</HI> and that is, the loving <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> &s;o as to <HI>pray</HI> for her <HI>peace; they &s;hall prosper that love thee.</HI> 3. The <HI>extent</HI> of the <HI>promi&s;e,</HI> collected from the per&s;ons unto whom this promi&s;e is made; namely, <HI>they,</HI> and all <HI>they,</HI> and onely <HI>they,</HI> that &s;o love <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> as to <HI>pray for</HI> the <HI>Peace</HI> thereof.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the parts of the Text, and the&s;e are the particulars of each part: but for feare le&s;t the Text might lo&s;e &s;ome of its &s;trength and virtue, by being chopt into &s;o many &s;mall pie|ces. I &s;hall forbear the pro&s;ecuting that divi&s;ion and &s;ubdivi&s;ion, and choo&s;e rather to give you the juce and &s;ub&s;tance, if not, the &s;pirit and quinte&s;&s;ence of all the&s;e particulars, in the&s;e 4 propo|&s;itions.</P>
<P N="1">1 <HI>That the peace of</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>is a thing mo&s;t de&s;irable, wor|thy of the best prayers, and the prayers of the be&s;t.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2 <HI>That the prime meanes, both of procuring and pre&s;erving the peace of</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>is to pray for it.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3 <HI>That it is the duty of all men, that have any intere&s;t in or re|lation to</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>to pray for the peace thereof them&s;elves, and to incite others to doe the like.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4 <HI>That they, and all they, and onely they &s;hall prosper, that &s;o love</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>as to pray for the peace thereof,</HI></P>
<P>I begin with the fir&s;t propo&s;ition: <HI>That the peace of</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>is a thing mo&s;t de&s;irable, worthy of the be&s;t prayers, and prayers of the be&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>This propo&s;ition I &s;hall endeavour to make good, both ac|cording to the literall, and according to the mi&s;ticall accep|tation
<PB N="5" REF="10">of this terme <HI>Ieru&s;alem;</HI> and fir&s;t according to the literall.</P>
<P><MILESTONE UNIT="Doct."> <HI>The peace of</HI> Jeru&s;alem, <HI>as</HI> Jeru&s;alem <HI>is taken for the place of Gods wor&s;hip, and the &s;eat of ju&s;tice, and judgement, was then, and &s;o is, the peace of all &s;uch places &s;till, a mo&s;t de&s;irable thing worthy of the be&s;t prayers &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Tantum est pacis bonum</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine lib.</HI> 19. <HI>de Civitate Det cap.</HI> 11.) <HI>ut etiam in rebus terrenis atque mortali|bus nihil gratius &s;olcat audiri, nihil de&s;iderabilius concupi&s;ci, ni|hil po&s;&s;it melius inven<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ri;</HI> &s;uch is the good of Peace, that a|mong&s;t earthly and tran&s;itory things, nothing is to be heard of more acceptable, nothing is to be wi&s;hed for more de&s;irable, nothing can be found out more excellent. <GAP DESC="foreign">,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Chry&s;o&s; ho<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> 3. in Colo&s;&s;.</NOTE> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tome</HI>) the mother of all good things, are the ground of all joy: and as there is no man <HI>qui gaudere nolit,</HI> who would not re|joyce; &s;o there is no man <HI>qui parem habere nolit,</HI> who would not have peace, is Saint <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> po&s;ition in the <HI>booke</HI> be|fore cited <HI>cap.</HI> 12. and he there makes it good: and 'tis &s;o good what he there &s;aith, that I thinke it worthy both of our repeating and ob&s;erving, <HI>ip&s;i qui bella volunt</HI> (&s;aith that &s;tout Champion of the Church) <HI>nihil aliud quam vincere volunt,</HI> they that mo&s;t de&s;ire warres, doe therefore de&s;ire them that may conquer and overcome: and &s;o in the up&s;hot, they de&s;ire wars that may obtaine a more glorious <HI>peace:</HI> for what is victory or conque&s;t, but the &s;ubduing and bringing into &s;ubjection tho&s;e that oppo&s;e and re&s;i&s;t? and what is that when it is accompli&s;hed, but very peace? &s;o that warres them&s;elves are waged upon an intention of <HI>peace,</HI> and <HI>peace</HI> is the de&s;ired end of all warres. They which doe mo&s;t di&s;turbe the <HI>peace</HI> which they enjoy, and therefore are accounted enemies of <HI>peace,</HI> yea of their owne <HI>peace,</HI> they doe not &s;o properly hate <HI>peace,</HI> as de&s;ire to exchange one <HI>peace</HI> for another; neither would they that there &s;hould be no <HI>peace</HI> at all, but that &s;uch a <HI>peace</HI> &s;hould be as they would. The mo&s;t factious, &s;editious fellowes that are, though out of their factious, &s;editious &s;pirits, they &s;eperate them&s;elves from
<PB N="6" REF="11">&s;ociety and <HI>peace</HI> with others; yet with their fellow-con&s;pira|tors, they ob&s;erve and keep an exact kind of <HI>peace,</HI> or el&s;e they could never improve their con&s;piracies to &s;o much mi&s;chiefes as they doe. Theeves and robbers could not either with the lea&s;t &s;afety or &s;ucce&s;&s;e, infect and trouble the <HI>peace</HI> of others, unle&s;&s;e they did pre&s;erve a firme &s;eeming <HI>peace</HI> among&s;t them|&s;elves: or if there be any &s;uch bea&s;t of prey, that is either &s;o powerfull in &s;trength, or &s;o fearfull by nature, that he need not, or dare not commit him&s;elfe to any companion, but plots and acts all his robberies and other outrages him&s;elfe alone, yet in his owne hou&s;e, with his owne family, he &s;tudies <HI>peace</HI> and qui|etnes; and if any di&s;turbance chance therin, none more forward, then he to correct and vindicate it, <HI>domus &s;uae pacem &s;i ita ne|ce&s;&s;e e&s;t</HI> (&s;aith Saint <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> of &s;uch a one) <HI>etiam &s;aeviendo componit,</HI> he compo&s;eth the peace of his hou&s;e, if it be needfull &s;o to doe, even by tyrannizing and exerci&s;ing cruelty on tho&s;e that infringed it. Nay, I will crave leave to &s;tep one &s;tep fur|ther with that father; let us for once &s;uppo&s;e &s;uch a mon&s;ter as the <HI>Poets</HI> faigned their <HI>Cacus</HI> to be, whom for his in&s;ociable &s;avagene&s;&s;e they called <HI>&s;emi hominem non hominem,</HI> but halfe a man not a man; one <HI>cujus regnum dirae &s;peluncae fuerit &s;olitu|do,</HI> who&s;e lone&s;omene&s;&s;e in a direfull cave was his Kingdome, and who&s;e wickedne&s;&s;e was &s;o beyond other men's, that like the Divell he had his name from it;
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> one that tooke plea&s;ure neither in the winning &s;ociety of a wife, nor in the recreating &s;ports of children; one that would neither rule over others, nor enter conference with them; one that would give nothing to any, but take from all what&s;oever he could, and could take what&s;oever he plea&s;ed; yet this horrid mon&s;ter &s;o abhor|ring all <HI>peace</HI> with others, does by his very &s;olitarine&s;&s;e and de|te&s;tation of all &s;ociety, declare plainly that freedome from all mole&s;tation, and &s;o <HI>peace,</HI> is the prime &s;cope and aime of all his de&s;ires. And that I make not a fiction the uppermo&s;t &s;tep of my gradation, &s;uffer me to tell you that the very devils them&s;elves, what inveterate, implacable cruelty &s;oever they beare again&s;t the <HI>peace</HI> of men, among&s;t them&s;elves they con&s;pire for <HI>peace,</HI>
<PB N="7" REF="11">and doe to all admiration con&s;erve it: <HI>Satan is not divided a|gain&s;t &s;atan, Marke</HI> 3. and a whole legion of devils can dwell together, as one in one man, <HI>Marke</HI> 5.9. Nothing therefore is naturally more de&s;irable then <HI>peace,</HI> and there is none that hath all the impre&s;&s;ions of nature &s;o defaced in him, but that &s;ome <HI>peace</HI> or other is beloved and de&s;ired of him; how much more de&s;irable then, <HI>is the peace of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> as 'tis the place of Gods wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, and the &s;eat of ju&s;tice and judg|ment to all tho&s;e that love either? Where there is no <HI>peace,</HI> the publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God doth not onely lo&s;e its beauty and comline&s;&s;e, but &s;uffers much in its very e&s;&s;ence and being. <HI>One thing</HI> (&s;aies <HI>David) have I de&s;ired of the Lord that I will &s;eek after, that I may dwell in the hou&s;e of the Lord al the dayes of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord &amp; vi&s;it his temple, or enquire in his temple, P&s;al.</HI> 27.4. but becau&s;e <HI>David</HI> was <HI>a man of warre,</HI> and the time of his reigne a time of warre, he never could obtaine this his de&s;ire in any perfection, though he were mo&s;t zealous and earne&s;t in it. <HI>David</HI> never &s;o much as thought of building an hou&s;e unto the Lord, till he had &s;ome re&s;pite from warre as appeares, 2 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7.1, 2. &amp;c. and when he did thinke on it, God, who knew his thoughts, knew al&s;o that it was in a manner to no purpo&s;e for him, upon whom warres were pre&s;ently to returne, to undertake that worke; for neither could that worke it &s;elfe be &s;o well effected in &s;uch times nor the publike wor&s;hip of God in that hou&s;e if it &s;hould be built, be neer &s;o wel performed as it would be in more peace|able times. And therefore ob&s;erve how the Lord took off <HI>Da|vid</HI> from tho&s;e thoughts, as <HI>David</HI> him&s;elfe relates it to his &s;onne <HI>Solomon,</HI> 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 22. v. 7.8.9.10. <HI>And David &s;aid to</HI> Solomon, <HI>my &s;on, as for me, it was in my mind to build an hou&s;e unto the Name of the Lord my God; but the Word of the Lord came to me &s;aying, thou ha&s;t &s;hed blood abundantly, and ha&s;t made great warres; thou &s;halt not build an hou&s;e unto my name, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t &s;hed much blood upon the earch in my &s;ight, behold a &s;onne &s;hall be borne unto thee, who &s;hall be a man of re&s;t, and I will give him re&s;t from all his enemies round about; for
<PB N="8" REF="12">his name &s;hall be</HI> Solomon, <HI>and I will give peace and quietne&s;&s;e to I frael in his dayes, he &s;hall build an hou&s;e for my Name, &amp;c.</HI> Behold <HI>David, a man of warre,</HI> though a <HI>man after Gods owne heart.</HI> and his warres no other then what God had approved; he was inhibited the building of an <HI>hou&s;e</HI> for Gods publike wor|&s;hip and &s;ervice, onely for this rea&s;on; <HI>becau&s;e he had &s;hed much blood and made great warres;</HI> whereas the bloody reformers of the&s;e times cry up the laying of the foundation of their re|formation of Gods publike wor&s;hip in &s;ervice in nothing but blood, &amp; that the blood of tho&s;e who profe&s;&s;e the wor&s;hipping and &s;erving of God in that publike manner, and way; for the &s;ounding and erecting whereof, many renowned Mattyres were willing to lo&s;e their blood; &s;o &s;arre are <HI>their thoughts</HI> from <HI>Gods thoughts,</HI> and <HI>their wayes</HI> from <HI>Gods wayes.</HI> Ob&s;erve further, how God (to cleare his owne rea&s;on, of forbidding <HI>David</HI> to build him an hou&s;e, that it was therefore &amp; therefore onely, becau&s;e he had made great warres and &s;hed much blood) at the &s;ame time, when he inhibited <HI>David</HI> for that cau&s;e, he gave commandement to his Sonne <HI>Solomon to build him an hou&s;e for his name,</HI> and alleadgeth the ju&s;t contrary rea&s;on for that command, viz. <HI>becau&s;e he &s;hould be a man of peace and re&s;t,</HI> and one unto whom God promi&s;ed that he would <HI>give re&s;t from his enemies round about,</HI> and <HI>give peace and quietne&s;&s;e to I&s;rael in his dayes.</HI> And he indeed undertooke this worke and &s;o pro&s;pered in it, that he fini&s;hed it in &s;even yeeres. 1 <HI>Kin.</HI> 6.38. The inferences from hence are many and various ac|cording to the apprehen&s;ion of &s;everall Expo&s;itors; but all that I &s;hall urge from hence, is but what I have already toucht, That God by the very time appointed by him for the building of his Temple, the place of his publique wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, &s;ignifies unto us, that times of peace are the onely times for his publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice it &s;elfe, and that warres, though never &s;o ju&s;t, doe not onely hinder it but doe in a manner, yea and in a great mea&s;ure to, prophane it: and what I &s;ay of the times of peace and warre, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity reach to the places where peace or warres &s;ettle; and therefore as the <HI>hou&s;e</HI> for
<PB N="9" REF="12">Gods publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, was at fir&s;t built in time of peace, &s;o 'twas built in a City of peace in <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> which is by interpretation <HI>the vi&s;ion of peace.</HI></P>
<P>God may, I confe&s;&s;e, be wor&s;hipped and &s;erved publikely in &s;ome Camps or Leagers, yea in the <HI>mid&s;t of Mar&s;-hill</HI> (as 'tis &s;aid, Saint <HI>Paul</HI> once preacht, <HI>Acts</HI> 17.23.) But alas the wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, that is u&s;ually performed unto God in &s;uch places, hath &s;carce a rag of that beauty and &s;plendor, or a &s;park of that zeale and vigour, wherewith it is adorned and inclined in places of <HI>peace,</HI> unle&s;&s;e they be &s;uch places of <HI>peace,</HI> as doe not <HI>know what belong to their peace,</HI> which in|deed <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> her &s;elfe &s;ometimes did not, <HI>Luk.</HI> 19.42.</P>
<P><HI>How beautifull upon the mountaines</HI> (&s;aith the <HI>Prophet) are feete of him that bringeth good tidings, that publi&s;heth peace, I&s;a.</HI> 52.7. The <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI> appplies that &s;aying to the Preachers of the Go&s;pell, <HI>Fom.</HI> 10.15. <HI>How beautifull are the feet of them that preach the Gospell of peace, &amp;c.</HI> The <HI>beauty</HI> and excellency of preaching the <HI>Gospell</HI> is &s;uch, as neither the <HI>Prophet</HI> nor the <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI> could expre&s;&s;e, and therefore they cry out in admiration thereof, <HI>quam specio&s;i pedes, &amp;c. how beautifull are the feet of him</HI> or them, that <HI>publi&s;h</HI> or <HI>preach peace;</HI> and as there is <HI>beauty</HI> in the publike preaching the <HI>Gospell,</HI> &s;o there is <HI>beauty</HI> in the publike <HI>praying</HI> unto God, and prai&s;ing of him, as al&s;o in the re&s;t of Gods publike wor|&s;hip and &s;ervice rightly performed; and therefore is the whole wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God in his <HI>hou&s;e</HI> called, (as you heard but now) by the kingly Prophet <HI>David, the beauty of the Lord P&s;a.</HI> 27. and <HI>the beauty of holine&s;&s;e P&s;al.</HI> 29.2. But beloved in what places is this <HI>beauty</HI> and excellency of Gods wor&s;hip and &s;ervice to be found? Not in tho&s;e places where|in the &s;ound of the trumpet, and alarme of warre are daily heard; for what agreement hath the preaching of the <HI>Go&s;pell of peace</HI> with warring and fighting, or what entertainment can <HI>praying</HI> finde, where killing and murthering are pro|fe&s;&s;ed, and who can hope to heare the voice of <HI>prai&s;ing God,</HI>
<PB N="10" REF="13">where cur&s;ing and bla&s;pheming his Name are &s;o uncontrol|ledly practi&s;ed? 'tis a &s;hort but a &s;mart and pithy examinati|on of the Souldiers <HI>Pater-No&s;ter,</HI> which <HI>Era&s;mus</HI> takes in his <HI>Querimoniae pacis,</HI> I will adde but a little to it, and by it you may gue&s;&s;e how God is wor&s;hipped and &s;erved in tho&s;e pla|ces, where &s;uch men keepe their Randevooze; <HI>quid quae&s;o orat miles,</HI> what, I be&s;eech you (&s;aith <HI>Era&s;mus</HI>) does the Souldier pray, or how? Doe&s;t thou &s;ay <HI>Our Father?</HI> O im|pudent mouth! doe&s;t thou dare to call God father, who art flying at the throate of thy brother to cut it or teare it out? Doe&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>hallowed be Thy Name,</HI> when <HI>Gods Name</HI> is by none more bla&s;phemed and di&s;honoured, then by thee and thy Comrades? Doe&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>thy Kingdom come,</HI> when none is a greater enemy to the Kingdome of grace, and hath le&s;&s;e hope of the Kingdome of glory then thy &s;elfe? Doe&s;t thou &s;ay, <HI>Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven,</HI> and yet when God tels thee, that 'tis his will that thou &s;hould&s;t <HI>follow peace with all men, and holine&s;&s;e,</HI> thou delighte&s;t in war and all manner of wickedne&s;&s;e, refu&s;ing all ju&s;t conditions of peace and adhortations to piety? Doe&s;t thou &s;ay <HI>Give us this day our daily bread,</HI> and yet take&s;t away by violence and rapine, all the bread and other nece&s;&s;aries of life, that thy poore brother hath laboured for in the &s;weat of his browes? Doe&s;t thou be&s;eech the Lord to <HI>forgive thee thy trespa&s;&s;es as thou forgive&s;t them that tre&s;pa&s;&s;e again&s;t thee,</HI> when as nothing but thy brothers blood will &s;atisfie thee, and his too who ne|ver did, nor would have offended thee did&s;t not or had&s;t not thou fir&s;t beyond mea&s;ure provoked him? Doe&s;t thou pray not to be <HI>led into temptation,</HI> and yet accounte&s;t it pu&s;illani|mity not to venture upon any thing, that thy lu&s;ts tempts thee unto? And doe&s;t thou &s;upplicate to be <HI>delivered from all evill,</HI> and yet art never at re&s;t from plotting and practi|&s;ing all the evill thy heart can invent, making it thy trade of life, to live all thy dayes in that evill of evils bloody warre? What is all this praying but a mocking of God, and bla&s;phe|ming
<PB N="11" REF="13">of his Name; and how then can praying, or any other part of Gods &s;ervice, be performed as it &s;hould in tho&s;e pla|ces where warres rage? when the actors in that bloody tra|gedy, being the onely men of power and &s;way in tho&s;e pla|ces, are &s;o flatly oppo&s;ite in all their practi&s;es to what is com|manded by God or de&s;ired from him; I but will &s;ome Soul|diers of the&s;e times &s;ay, you are quite mi&s;taken in us, we doe not u&s;e the <HI>Lords Prayer</HI> at all, but we pray onely as the <HI>Spirit</HI> teacheth us: but what <HI>Spirit</HI> is it. I be&s;eech them? Who&s;e teaching they follow in their prayers, when they lay a&s;ide and de&s;pi&s;e the <HI>prayers</HI> which the Lord Chri&s;t him&s;elfe hath <HI>taught</HI> them? Certainly 'tis not that <HI>Spirit</HI> of God which <HI>helpeth our infirmities, and when we know not what we &s;hould pray for as we ought, doth it &s;elfe make interce&s;&s;ion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, Rom.</HI> 8.26. For that <HI>Spirit</HI> would never teach men to contemne and reject that <HI>prayer</HI> Chri&s;t by the &s;ame <HI>Spirit</HI> hath taught them, but on the contrary would &s;o in&s;truct and quicken them in their powring forth that and other prayers, now &s;lighted by them, that the u&s;ing thereof once would more effectually prevaile with God, and more feelingly comfort them&s;elves then all the vaine tedious tautologi&s;ing bablings, that ever fall from them; be&s;ides men taught by that <HI>Spirit</HI> would ab|horre to appeare in any acts &s;o repugnant to each clau&s;e of that <HI>prayer.</HI> I confe&s;&s;e for my &s;hare, that, as where I call to minde the reigning &s;innes of the&s;e times, &s;uch as <HI>blindne&s;&s;e of heart, pride, vaine glory, and hypoci&s;ie, envy, hatred, malice,</HI> and all manner of <HI>uncharitablene&s;&s;e, fornication, and other</HI> &s;uch like <HI>deadly &s;innes, &s;edition, and privy con&s;piracy, fal&s;e do|ctrine and here&s;ie, hardne&s;&s;e of heart and contempt of Gods Word and Commandement, &amp;c.</HI> I doe not wonder to &s;ee and heare of &s;uch multitudes, that &s;tartle at our &s;et formes of publike prayer, wherein the&s;e &s;innes are &s;et forth, ript up and prayed again&s;t with &s;o much plainne&s;&s;e of expre&s;&s;ion and no le&s;&s;e vehemency and ardency of devotion, and to de&s;ire ra|ther
<PB N="12" REF="14">to u&s;e &s;ome loo&s;e prayers of their owne, wherein they may take their owne liberty, and pray again&s;t tho&s;e &s;innes as frees any &s;uit whereof others are guilty, not them&s;elves. So when I ob&s;erve of what <HI>spirit</HI> many men are, calling dai|ly for <HI>fire from heaven</HI> upon their fellow brethren, or &s;tirring up what fire earth and hell can helpe them to kindle a|gain&s;t them, I doe not admire that even the <HI>Lords prayer</HI> al&s;o is, which is compo&s;ed of a <HI>&s;pirit</HI> &s;o much contrary to theirs, laid a&s;ide by them. But 'tis a &s;ad ca&s;e in the interim, that &s;hould either be given up to &s;uch a reprobate mind, or live the lea&s;t time in &s;uch an ungodly cour&s;e of life, as not to dare to u&s;e that forme of <HI>prayer</HI> which Chri&s;t hath pre&s;cri|bed, or if they doe, their very u&s;ing thereof proves no bet|ter then a mocking or an abu&s;ing of him that pre&s;cribed it. I doe not condemne all Souldiers, nor all &s;ouldiers prayers, the <HI>faith</HI> of that <HI>Centurion</HI> in the <HI>Go&s;pell,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Math.</HI> 8. <HI>Acts</HI> 10.</NOTE> and the <HI>prayers</HI> of <HI>that Centurion</HI> in the <HI>Acts,</HI> and the <HI>faith</HI> and <HI>prayers</HI> of many devout &s;ouldiers both before and &s;ince, would ri&s;e up in judg|ment again&s;t me, if I &s;hould &s;o judge them and their devoti|ons: but the more devout &s;ouldiers are, the more they will a&s;&s;ent to truth propugned by me, that warres are an enemy to publike devotion, what&s;oever interruption, private praiers &s;uf|fer by them; I doe confe&s;&s;e, we doe not read that ever <HI>David</HI> was more fervent or frequent in his prayers, then when he was encompa&s;&s;ed or pur&s;ued by his warlike enemies; but then it mu&s;t be al&s;o acknowledged, that even in tho&s;e times, <HI>David</HI> prayed for nothing more then for &s;uch times, wherein he might againe, as formerly he had in times of peace,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>P&s;al.</HI> 27. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 42. <HI>P&s;al,</HI> 84.</NOTE> pre&s;ent both him&s;elfe and his prayers to God in <HI>Gads hou&s;e, has holy Temple or Sanctuary,</HI> the place of publike wor|&s;hip.</P>
<P>The <HI>Scythians,</HI> who as <HI>Herodotus</HI> reports of them, did wor|&s;hip very many Gods, did erect neither Temple, Altar, nor &s;tatute to any God, &s;ave onely <HI>Mars</HI> the God of warre, in|timating, that where warres are predominant, there all con|&s;tant
<PB N="13" REF="14">publike wor&s;hip and &s;evice of God or what&s;oever is cal|led God is quite ca&s;hiered. This we finde in &s;acred records the <HI>Prophets</HI> prophecying to the <HI>Jews</HI> the free liberty &amp; happy en|joying of Gods publike wor&s;hip &amp; &s;ervice among&s;t them, did commonly join with it or rather promi&s;e before it, &s;ome pro|mi&s;e of <HI>peace, I&s;a.</HI> 52.7. a place even now cited, <HI>How beautifull upon the mountaines are the feet of him that bringeth good ti|ings, that publi&s;heth peace, &amp;c.</HI> &amp; then follows v. 8. <HI>Thy watch|men &s;hall lift up the voice, &amp;c.</HI> There is little or no lifting up of the <HI>voice</HI> of <HI>watch-men</HI> to be excepted in any place till <HI>peace</HI> be proclaimed. So <HI>Nahum,</HI> 1.15. <HI>Behole upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that pub|li&s;heth peace,</HI> then followes, <HI>O Judah keep thy &s;olemne fea&s;ts, performe thy vow,</HI> where <HI>peace</HI> is, there the publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God may be performed with &s;ome &s;olmnity; but where <HI>peace</HI> is not, though men &s;hould divote them|&s;elves to it never &s;o much, yet they cannot performe it with any &s;olemnity, nay &s;carce with any tolerable reverence: if then there were no other rea&s;on of <HI>praying for the peace of Jeru&s;alem,</HI> but its being the place of Gods publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, that alone is &s;ufficient to ingage any man in that duty that de&s;ire to wor&s;hip and &s;erve God as he &s;hould.</P>
<P>But then confider <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> as it is al&s;o the &s;eat of ju&s;tice and judgment, and &s;o the force of the argument for the <HI>pray|ing for the peace</HI> thereof is in a manner doubled; <HI>let judge|ment</HI> (&s;aith the <HI>Prophet Amos) run downe as waters and righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e as a mighty &s;treame Cap.</HI> 5.24. that is, let ju&s;tice and judgment have their free cour&s;e, and run in their owne channell without chick, &s;top, or outlet; now that cannot be but where God is plea&s;ed to grant <HI>peace</HI> to a place, if God do not <HI>extend peace</HI> to a place <HI>as a river I&s;a.</HI> 66.12. Ju&s;tice and Judgement can never run downe there as a &s;treame: <HI>Righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e and peace</HI> (&s;aith the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t) have ki&s;&s;ed each other, P&s;al.</HI> 85.10. ('tis as true of this Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e and peace whereof we are now di&s;cour&s;ing as of any) and &s;ince they fir&s;t
<PB N="14" REF="15">greeted, it can never be found, where ever this Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e was without <HI>peace,</HI> though this <HI>peace</HI> hath been in many places without Righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. Ju&s;t and &s;trickt di&s;cipline may be and is ob&s;erved in warre, &s;o farre as it may advantage either the de&s;igne in hand or the whole Armies &s;afety, or the Commanders honour; but for common ju&s;tice equally com|municating it &s;elfe unto all men, 'tis onely to be &s;ound where <HI>peace</HI> is, <GAP DESC="foreign"> (&s;aith <HI>Maxi|mus Tyrius</HI>) warre is the teacher or ma&s;ter of inju&s;tice. In warres, <GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. (as that woman complaines in <HI>Homer</HI>) they, kill men, they fire Cities into ruinous heapes, they lead away women and children into captivity; or as <HI>Tacitus</HI> de&s;cribed the iniqui|ty of a warre waged by <HI>Antonius,</HI> and is found true of all warres, <HI>Non dignitas non at as protegebat, quo minus &s;tupra cae|dibus, caeda &s;tupris mi&s;cerentur, &amp;c.</HI> neither honour, nor age, nor ought el&s;e did protect any, but rapes, warre mingled with murders, and murders with rapes; hoarihared men, and &s;uperanuated women, e&s;teemed not worthy to be made a prey or &s;poyle, were drawn and dragged up and downe the &s;treets for &s;port and pa&s;time, and young and tender Virgins, together with youthes of any comeline&s;&s;e and feature, were even torne in peices by the lu&s;tfull Souldiers, and the Soul|diers them&s;elves, many of them &s;laine in their lu&s;ts by their owne fellowes, burning in the &s;ame lu&s;ts with them. O the inju&s;tice of warre, 'tis not to be expre&s;&s;ed with ju&s;t expre&s;&s;i|ons! 'tis a <HI>maxime</HI> of warre, <HI>quodcunque libet facere victori licet;</HI> 'tis lawfull for the victor to doe what him plea&s;eth, and victor or not victor, <GAP DESC="foreign"> (as <HI>Euri|pides</HI> hath it) he is accounted an ill Souldier that does not &s;ome mi&s;chiefe; and if any that are injured or abu&s;ed, prove &s;o ridiculous or rather &s;o mad as to complaine thereof, either to the Generall or to &s;ome &s;ubordinate Commander, the be&s;t an&s;wer they can expect, is that of <HI>Cae&s;ar</HI> to <HI>Metellus,</HI> when <HI>Metellus</HI> urged certaine lawes for not taking away
<PB N="15" REF="15">the money in <HI>Saturnes Temple,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">). The time of warre is no time for ob&s;erving lawes or that of <HI>Caius Marius</HI> to &s;ome that accu&s;ed him and his Souldiers of great wrongs, <GAP DESC="foreign">. I cannot heare (&s;aith he) the lawes for the noi&s;e of Armes the ratling of drums, and the roaring of Ordnance, &s;ilence the lawes &amp; &s;trike the very Judges them|&s;elves deafe: If then it were but for <HI>Jeru&s;alems</HI> being the &s;eat or place of ju&s;tice there being the <HI>Thrones</HI> of <HI>judgment, the Thrones of the hou&s;e of David; Jeru&s;alem</HI> de&s;erved, and &s;o doe all &s;uch places &s;till, the be&s;t prayers and prayers of the be&s;t for the <HI>peace</HI> thereof.</P>
<P>Thus you have been &s;howne the de&s;irablene&s;&s;e of <HI>Jeru&s;a|lems peace</HI> as <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> is taken litterally for that place which God had made choice of, to be the place of his publike wor|&s;hip and &s;ervice, and the &s;eat of ju&s;tice and judgement; now take <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> in the mi&s;tery, as it &s;ignifies <HI>Gods Church</HI> in what place or places &s;oever it be planted or di&s;per&s;ed, and &s;o the arguments for the de&s;irablene&s;&s;e of <HI>Ieru&s;alems peace</HI> may be doubled and trebled; but I &s;hall for the pre&s;ent choo&s;e rather to give you the application of what hath been delive|red and re&s;erve my meditations on the <HI>peace</HI> of <HI>Gods Church,</HI> till I have liberty to enlarge them to &s;ome proportion befit|ting that &s;ubject.</P>
<P>If the peace of <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> as <HI>Ieru&s;alem</HI> is taken for the place of Gods publike wor&s;hip and &s;ervice, and the &s;eat of ju&s;tice and judgement were then, and &s;o the peace of all &s;uch places is &s;till, a thing mo&s;t de&s;irable worthy of the be&s;t pray|ers, &amp;c.</P>
<P>In the fir&s;t place, you may from hence learn what to think of them in part who goe about to di&s;turbe the peace of &s;uch places, yea and to bani&s;h if it were in their power, all peace from them; I &s;ay you may from hence learne what to thinke in part of &s;uch, for what heart &s;o large, what thought &s;o va&s;t, as to be able to comprehend what they de&s;erve in the totall?
<PB N="16" REF="16"><HI>Ble&s;&s;ed</HI> (&s;aith our <HI>Saviour</HI>) <HI>are the Peace-makers for they &s;hall be called the Children of God, Math.</HI> 5.9. And if the <HI>Peace|makers</HI> are ble&s;&s;ed, we may conclude by the law of contraries that &s;urely the peace di&s;turbers are accur&s;ed, and if they &s;hall be called the <HI>Children of God,</HI> the&s;e may be called the Chil|dren of the divell. And indeed none but &s;uch cur&s;ed chidren of that accur&s;ed father, would ever have attempted the di&s;tur|bing of the peace of tho&s;e places, wherein God is &s;olemnly wor&s;hipped, and ju&s;tice and judgement duly executed. For what is the <HI>glory</HI> and <HI>&s;trength</HI> of a Nation but the&s;e two; the wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God rightly performed, and ju&s;tice and judgment faithfully admini&s;tred? <HI>The glory is departed from I&s;rael</HI> (&s;aith the wife of <HI>Phineas</HI>) <HI>for the Arke of God is taken,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 4.22. The <HI>Arke</HI> of God, being the &s;igne of Gods pre&s;ence among&s;t the people of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> is &s;tiled the <HI>glo|ry of I&s;riel:</HI> And what doth now manife&s;t Gods pre&s;ence a|mong&s;t any people &s;o evideutly and lively as the true wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God doth? Nay what is there but that which makes God to be pre&s;ent among&s;t any people? God him&s;elf I confe&s;&s;e, or the pre&s;ence of God among&s;t a people, is pro|perly the <HI>glory</HI> of that Nation, &s;o <HI>Ierem.</HI> cals him, 2.11. <HI>My people have changed their glory for that as doth not profit;</HI> &s;o the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t, P&s;.</HI> 106.20. <HI>Thus they changed their glory, &amp;c.</HI> But this name may by a <HI>metonimia</HI> be a&s;cribed al&s;o to that which is the &s;igne of Gods pre&s;ence, and &s;o as well to Gods wor&s;hip and &s;ervice now, as ever it was to the <HI>Arke.</HI></P>
<P>And that Gods wor&s;hip and &s;ervice is al&s;o the <HI>&s;trength</HI> of a Nation as well as the <HI>glory,</HI> no other Te&s;timony need be produced then that, 2 <HI>Chron.</HI> 11.17. <HI>&s;o they &s;trengthened the Kingdome of</HI> Judah, <HI>and made</HI> Rehoboam <HI>the &s;on of</HI> Solomon <HI>&s;trong three yeeres, for three yeeres they walked in the way of</HI> David <HI>and</HI> Solomon, that is, they wor&s;hipped and &s;erved the Lord as <HI>David</HI> and <HI>Solomon</HI> had done.</P>
<P>Then that the executing of ju&s;tice and judgment is like|wi&s;e both a <HI>&s;trength</HI> and a <HI>glory</HI> to that Nation that is ble&s;|&s;ed
<PB N="17" REF="16">therewith, may be &s;een &s;ufficiently, either <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 1. from v. 17. to the end of v. 27. or Cap. 9.7. It being declared in the latter place, that a Kingdome is both ordered and e&s;tabli&s;hed by ju&s;tice and judgement, and in the former, that the want thereof is a main cau&s;e of a Kingdomes ruine. Now this being cleared, that the wor&s;hip and &s;ervice of God rightly perfor|med, and ju&s;tice and judgment faithfully admini&s;tred, are both the <HI>glory</HI> and the <HI>&s;trength</HI> of a Nation; and it being at large demon&s;trated, that neither of the&s;e can be performed where <HI>peace</HI> is not pre&s;erved; what can we conclude le&s;&s;e of tho&s;e that labour to undermine and blow up the <HI>peace</HI> of a Nation, wherein both tho&s;e rich gemmes of a Nations <HI>glory,</HI> and firme pillars of her <HI>&s;trength</HI> are, then that they are <HI>Traytors</HI> to that Church and &s;tate? It de&s;erves to be reputed trea&s;on again&s;t a Kingdome, if any of that Kingdom e&s;pecially, &s;hould attempt ought again&s;t the <HI>peace</HI> of it, though the &s;ound of Gods wor|&s;hip and &s;ervice hath &s;carce been ever heard therein; of &s;uch un&s;peakeable worth and excellency is <HI>peace</HI> it &s;elfe: of what brand then are they worthy, that have attempted the utter ruine of a Nations <HI>peace,</HI> (I need not name the Nation) wher|in God hath beene longer and more eminently wor&s;hipped and &s;erved (to his glory not ours be it &s;poken) and ju&s;tice and judgement more &s;trictly and duely executed, then in any one Nation what&s;oever? To call their crime high trea&s;on is too low a terme for it; for take the crime in its true altitude, and you'le finde, that it reacheth from hell where it was fir&s;t con|trived, to Heaven it &s;elfe, again&s;t which it is complotted and &s;o 'tis high trea&s;on to the &s;tretch of height, being trea&s;on again&s;t the mo&s;t highe&s;t. Every one &s;ees, or at lea&s;t may if he doe not &s;hut his owne eyes or &s;uffer others to blindfold him, that the &s;acred Per&s;on of our mo&s;t gracious Soveraign and &s;ome of the be&s;t of His blood, &amp; divers of His Nobility, are (for what they lately have been I tremble to recall) in imminent danger on the one part, and the repre&s;entative body of the Kingdome (as they them&s;elves declare them&s;elves) are but in little le&s;&s;e
<PB N="18" REF="17">hazard on the other; and for ought any that are be&s;t skilled in Armes know, ere the &s;word be put up againe, the whole Kingdom may be ruined. And this one would think is trea&s;on high enough, to contrive all the&s;e into &s;o much perill, the Lord di&s;cover the contrivers who&s;oever they be.</P>
<P>But alas who, who &s;ees or is able to conceive, what bla&s;|phemy again&s;t God and Chri&s;t, what &s;candall to <HI>Religion</HI> and <HI>Chri&s;tianity</HI> it &s;elfe, will from hence be occa&s;ioned and that too too ju&s;tly? For what fir&s;t will the Heathen and other In|fidels &s;ay? Are the&s;e the Chri&s;tians? are the&s;e they that glory &s;o much in their Lord Chri&s;t, and call them&s;elves after his Name? Why they tell us, that Chri&s;t was no warrier, no fighter, no revenger, no &s;piller of blood, &amp;c. but was the <HI>Prince of peace, who&s;e government and peace</HI> is in&s;eparable, as well as endle&s;&s;e; they tell us that Chri&s;t did no <HI>violence</HI> to any, no nor &s;o much as <HI>opened his mouth</HI> when he was afflicted and oppre&s;&s;ed him&s;elfe, but was <HI>led as a lambe to the &s;laugh|ter, and as a &s;heepe that is dumbe before her &s;hearers.</HI> They would make us beleeve al&s;o, that Chri&s;t came into the world to make <HI>peace</HI> betweene the world and his Father, and that at his comming the very <HI>Angels &s;ang</HI> of <HI>peace on Earth,</HI> and that all the time of his being here on earth he preacht <HI>peace,</HI> and a little before his returne to heaven he <HI>prayed for peace,</HI> and at his very leaving his Di&s;ciples, he <HI>left peace with them</HI> as his la&s;t legacy; but he that &s;hould ob&s;erve how little the&s;e <HI>Chri&s;tians</HI> regard <HI>peace,</HI> and how &s;mall a thing will pro|voke them to &s;pill one anothers blood, to teare out one ano|thers throat, or to doe one another any mi&s;chiefe, cannot be|leeve that them&s;elves doe beleeve their <HI>Lord Chri&s;t</HI> to have been &s;uch a <HI>peace-maker, peace-preacher,</HI> and <HI>peace-practi&s;er,</HI> as they &s;ay he was. They call them&s;elves <HI>Chri&s;ts &s;heepe</HI> and Chri&s;t their <HI>Shepheard,</HI> but did ever any man &s;ee &s;heep &s;o worrey and devour one another? Why Wolves or Tygers, Beares or Lyons cannot deale more cruelly with one another then they doe. They call them&s;elves the <HI>Vine-branches</HI> and
<PB N="19" REF="17">Chri&s;t their <HI>Vine;</HI> but was it ever heard that Vine-branches did gall, oppre&s;&s;e and vex one another as they doe? Why briars and thornes doe not &s;cratch and ra&s;e one another halfe &s;o much. They &s;ay they are all <HI>members</HI> of one and the &s;ame body, but did ever any members of one and the &s;ame body &s;o fight and quarrell with one another, &s;o mangle and martyr one another? They &s;ay they are &s;ervants to one and the &s;ame Lord, but did ever fellow-&s;ervants &s;o beat and butcher one a|nother? They &s;ay they have all but one <HI>faith,</HI> but would any man thinke they had any faith at all, when they &s;eeke to &s;up|plant and ruine one another &s;o as they doe? They &s;ay they are all bapti&s;ed into one <HI>bapti&s;me,</HI> but he that ob&s;erves how they delight in one anothers de&s;truction, might well doubt whether they were dipt or be&s;prinkled with the <HI>blood of the Lambe</HI> as they give out, or with the blood of &s;ome bea&s;t of prey? They &s;ay they eat all of the &s;ame <HI>spirituall meat,</HI> and <HI>drink all of the &s;ame spirituall drink,</HI> and indeed among&s;t us <HI>Heathen,</HI> the eating together at one table is to us a &s;trong tie of friend&s;hip, and &s;ome of us as the <HI>Scythians</HI> by name have accounted no obligation greater for the ingaging us in all firmne&s;&s;e of love and fidelity each to other, then the ta&s;ting together a little blood in the &s;ame cup; but as for the&s;e <HI>Chri|&s;tians,</HI> neither eating together at their <HI>Lords table,</HI> and that of that <HI>bread</HI> which they &s;ay <HI>came downe from heaven,</HI> can qui|et their ri&s;ing &s;tomacks, nor their drinking together of that cup, which they acknowledge to be the cup of the <HI>new Cove|nant in Chri&s;ts blood,</HI> can allay their fiery &s;pirits, from taking up Armes one again&s;t another, to the &s;pilling each others blood. One of their <HI>Apo&s;tles</HI> tels them, that 'tis <HI>a &s;hame for them to goe to law with one another,</HI> e&s;pecially <HI>before</HI> us <HI>In|fidels,</HI> but they are not a&s;hamed to goe to warre with one a|nother, and that before us or any el&s;e. In a word they com|plaine of us <HI>Heathen,</HI> for <HI>offering</HI> our <HI>&s;onnes and</HI> our <HI>daughters</HI> in &s;acrifice to <HI>devils,</HI> and yet they &s;acrifice daily their &s;onnes and daughters and them&s;elves and al to their own divili&s;h ma|lice
<PB N="20" REF="18">and revenge. A&s;&s;uredly the&s;e practi&s;es will never gaine us to be of their profe&s;&s;ion, and either let them tell us of &s;ome other <HI>Chri&s;t,</HI> or let them never tell us that they are <HI>Chri|&s;tians,</HI> for we &s;hall be <HI>Infidels</HI> (as they call us) in that too, as in other things, till we &s;ee a better agreement betwixt Chri&s;ts actions and theirs, and betwixt their owne profe&s;&s;ion and practi&s;es. Thus is Chri&s;t and <HI>Chriscianity bla&s;phemed a|mong&s;t the Heathen;</HI> and what think you will our adver&s;aries the <HI>Papi&s;ts</HI> &s;ay? Nay what will they not &s;ay that is evill both of us and our Religion? I dare not &s;peake what they will &s;ay le&s;t &s;ome &s;hould &s;ay that I taught them what to &s;peake; but I will be hold to tell you what &s;ome of them have &s;aid upon le&s;&s;e occa&s;ion, as Doctor <HI>Kelli&s;on</HI> by name in his <HI>&s;urvey of new Religion lib.</HI> 6. <HI>cap.</HI> 1. <HI>&s;ect.</HI> 4.5. The reformers (as he cals us) urge nothing &s;o much as that we mu&s;t obey Princes and their injunctions, but this they doe onely when Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall pow|er calls them to an account, or when the Princes lawes doe favouri&s;e their doctrine; and if any doe marke their procee|dings they &s;hall &s;ee that they honour not Authority, but love their herefies, (as that railing <HI>Romanist</HI> calls our orthodox opinions) which if Princes will not like, then they contemne and de&s;pi&s;e all Authority, and will not let to make a mutiny, and &s;tir up Subjects to rebellion; thus that foule mouth hath &s;landered us and our Religion upon no occa&s;ion given no not the lea&s;t, for he feigns the occa&s;ion upon the Prote&s;tants carri|age towards Queen <HI>Mary,</HI> which to the eternall honor of our Prote&s;tant Religion in generall, and to the perpetuall renown of the anciently religious Prote&s;tants within the Counties of <HI>Suffolk</HI> and <HI>Norfolk</HI> in particular, was &s;o humbly and faithfully loyall, as it could not well be tran&s;cended; and what thinke you then will &s;uch bold calumniators ca&s;t on us and our Re|ligion, now upon the&s;e &s;ad and unnaturall differences and di|vi&s;ions betweene our mo&s;t pious Sovereigne and his Great Councell? I mourne to thinke what a &s;candall our Religion is like to undergoe, unle&s;&s;e God doe miraculou&s;ly interpo&s;e
<PB N="21" REF="18">and compo&s;e tho&s;e di&s;tractions. <HI>Offences mu&s;t come, but woe be unto them</HI> who&s;oever they are <HI>by whom the offence cometh,</HI> e&s;pecially &s;uch an offence as brings with it a &s;candall upon Religion. <HI>O pray then for the peace of our Jeru&s;alem;</HI> and pray that the prime di&s;turbers thereof may be di&s;covered who&s;oever they are, and then I am confident, the Papi&s;ts mouthes will be &s;topt from charging the Prote&s;tants with re|bellion again&s;t their Prince: for what&s;oever they &s;hall plea&s;e to call our pre&s;ent divi&s;ion, (as le&s;&s;e then rebellion who can call it, that would not &s;uffer his tongue to rebell again&s;t his heart, or both again&s;t God and his King?) It will appeare upon di&s;covery of the Authors thereof, that they them&s;elves, e&s;pecially the Je&s;uits and their old friends the Anabapti&s;ts, together with the Browni&s;ts and other <HI>Sectaries,</HI> like <HI>Samp|&s;ons foxes</HI> tied together by the tailes, though their heads look contrary wayes, have been the maine, if not the onely incen|diaries of the&s;e our never-&s;ufficiently to be deplored tumults and in&s;urrections; but I &s;hall not trouble my &s;elfe or you further about this deep-laid and high-rai&s;ed iniquity. <HI>They encourage them&s;elves in an evill matter, they commune of lay|ing &s;nares privily, they &s;ay who &s;hall &s;ee them? They &s;earch out iniquities, they accompli&s;h a diligent &s;earch, both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart is deep, but God &s;hal &s;hoot at them with an arrow, &s;uddainly &s;hall they be wounded, &s;o they &s;hall make their owne tongue to fall upon them&s;elves, all that &s;ee them &s;hall flee away, and all men &s;hall fear and declare the worke of God, for they &s;hall wi&s;ely con&s;ider of his doing, P&s;al.</HI> 64, And then though the crime it &s;elfe may want a name, yet the Actors and complotters thereof, at lea&s;t the chiefe of them, will not want for &s;uch vengeance, as we hope &s;hall terrifie others from ever attempting the like horrid en|terpri&s;e.</P>
<P>Secondly, we may from hence al&s;o be informed what to judge of tho&s;e, who if they have not been the fir&s;t movers, or prime contrivers in the betraying the ble&s;&s;ed peace of this
<PB N="22" REF="19">Nation, wherein God hath been &s;o &s;olemnly wor&s;hipped and &s;erved, and ju&s;tice and judgement &s;o duly executed, yet they have been too great encouragers and abettors of &s;uch traytors.</P>
<P>It was a complaint taken up by <HI>Era&s;mus</HI> again&s;t &s;ome <HI>Cler|gy-men</HI> in his time and in the times not long before him, that when any <HI>Princes</HI> were inclinable to warres, <HI>Alius e &s;acro &s;ugge&s;to promittit omnium admi&s;&s;orum condonationem, &amp;c.</HI> One (&s;aies he) promi&s;eth from the &s;acred pulpit, pardon of all offences what&s;oever, to all &s;uch as will fight under &s;uch or &s;uch Princes banners, <HI>Alius clamat invicti&s;&s;ime Princeps,</HI> ano|ther cries out mo&s;t mighty Prince, doe but you hold your re|&s;olution, for the favouring of this Religion, and God &s;hall fight for you, <HI>Alius promittit certam victoriam, propheta|rum voces ad rem impiam detorquens,</HI> another he promi|&s;eth certaine victory, wre&s;ting the very &s;ayings of the holy Prophets to that mo&s;t unholy bu&s;ine&s;&s;e, <HI>Tam bellaces concio|nes audivimus Monachorum, Theologorum, &amp;c.</HI> &s;uch warlike Sermons (&s;aith that Author) have we heard from <HI>Monks</HI> and other Divines; and I would we had never heard the like from &s;ome of our Preachers; have not &s;ome of our Prea|chers of late, runne up and downe from pulpit to pulpit and there lifted up their voices like <HI>Trumpets,</HI> not to &s;hew the <HI>people their tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion and the hou&s;e of</HI> Jacob <HI>their &s;innes,</HI> which they have a commi&s;&s;ion for, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 58.1. but to &s;ound an alarme, and to incite to warre; for which I beleeve they have no particular Commi&s;&s;ion, and their generall Commi&s;&s;i|on I am &s;ure is quite contrary, they being &s;ent to proclaime and publi&s;h and &s;o to incite unto and per&s;wade peace and not warres: One he cryes out in <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> words, <HI>Exod.</HI> 32.29. <HI>con&s;ecrate your &s;elves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his &s;onne and upon his brother, &amp;c.</HI> forgetting that though he be allowed to &s;it in <HI>Mo&s;es &s;eat,</HI> yet the u&s;e of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;word is denied him, much le&s;&s;e hath he the command there|of; be&s;ides <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> though he were the &s;upreme Magi&s;trate, urged a particular command from God for what he then in|cited
<PB N="23" REF="19">unto v. 27. whereas this <HI>Levit</HI> excluded all Magi&s;tracy, cannot &s;hew the lea&s;t authority &s;o much as from <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> for what he cals for. Another makes bold with <HI>Davids</HI> words 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 22.16. <HI>Ari&s;e and be doing; ari&s;e and be doing?</HI> What I be&s;eech him? Would he have the people build an <HI>hou&s;e</HI> to the Lord? For it was to that purpo&s;e that <HI>David</HI> u&s;ed tho&s;e words to his &s;on <HI>Solomon:</HI> I am afraid <HI>Gods hou&s;e</HI> is not &s;o well beloved of him; no, rather ari&s;e and be pulling downe <HI>Gods hou&s;e,</HI> orari&s;e and be plundering thy neighbours hou&s;e: this I beleeve comes &s;omewhat neere his meaning, I am &s;ure as neere as his does <HI>Davids.</HI> A third ecchoes forth that bitter cur&s;e of the <HI>Angel</HI> of the Lord again&s;t <HI>Meroz. Iudg.</HI> 5.23. <HI>Cur&s;e ye Meroz (&s;aid the Angel of the Lord) cur&s;e ye bitterly the Inhabitants thereof, becau&s;e they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord again&s;t the mighty.</HI> And ob&s;erve how pertinently and punctually he applies it; the ca&s;e of the <HI>Merozits</HI> as you may read <HI>Iudg. cap</HI> 4. and 5. &s;tood thus, <HI>Iabin King of Canaan</HI> with his peo|ple the <HI>Canaanites</HI> farre <HI>greater</HI> and <HI>mightier</HI> then <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> had <HI>twenty yeers together mightily oppre&s;&s;ed I&s;rael;</HI> then <HI>Deborah a Prophete&s;&s;e in I&s;rael,</HI> and one that was &s;upreme <HI>Iudge</HI> in <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> at that time, upon a particular expre&s;&s;e command from God (be&s;ides Gods general command long before given for the <HI>utter de&s;troying</HI> of the <HI>Canaanites</HI> &amp; making no <HI>covenant with them, and &s;hewing no mercy to them, Deu.</HI> 7.1, 2.) cals to <HI>Barak to gather together ten thou&s;and men of the Children of Naptha|ly</HI> and <HI>Zebulum,</HI> the two Tribes that were neeere&s;t him, and to encounter with <HI>Iabins</HI> mighty Ho&s;t at &s;uch a place, a&s;&s;u|ring him that the <HI>Lord</HI> would <HI>deliver that great Ho&s;t into his hand.</HI> Now becau&s;e the <HI>Merozites</HI> were neere at hand, and yet would not come out and &s;hew them&s;elves in the a&s;&s;i&s;ting and helping forward this de&s;igne, thus commanded by the <HI>Lord</HI> (what&s;oever cau&s;e el&s;e there were unrevealed) the <HI>An|gel of the Lord</HI> denounced this heavy cur&s;e again&s;t them &s;ay|ing, <HI>cur&s;e ye Meroz, cur&s;e ye bitterly the Inhabitants therof, &amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="24" REF="20">again&s;t them, I &s;ay, the <HI>Angel</HI> of the <HI>Lord</HI> denounced this cur&s;e, and again&s;t them onely, though &s;undry other Tribes came not out to this help be&s;ides them, as <HI>Ruben who abode among the &s;heepefolds,</HI> and <HI>Gilead</HI> or <HI>Mana&s;&s;ch, who abode be|yond Iordan,</HI> and <HI>Dan who remained in &s;hips,</HI> and <HI>A&s;her who continued on the &s;ea &s;hore and abode in his breaches, Iudg.</HI> 5.16.17. None of the&s;e came to this <HI>help of the Lord,</HI> and yet they were at the mo&s;t but reproved or marked for it by the <HI>spirit</HI> of <HI>God,</HI> not cur&s;ed by the <HI>Angel of the Lord</HI> as the <HI>Me|rozites</HI> were. Now compare our pre&s;ent ca&s;e with theirs; doth any Idolatrous King and his people, farre more mighty and potent then we, oppre&s;&s;e our <HI>I&s;rael?</HI> Are he and his peo|ple, &s;uch as are commanded by Gods command, to be utter|ly de&s;troyed and no covenant to be made with them, nor mercy &s;hewn them? Or is there any expre&s;&s;e particular com|mand from the Lord at this pre&s;ent, for the rai&s;ing an Army again&s;t them, with an a&s;&s;ured promi&s;e of victory over them? And doth the &s;upreme <HI>Iudge</HI> in our <HI>I&s;rael</HI> call to any to put this command in execution? Let all the&s;e or any of the&s;e be &s;hewne, and when they are, let him blame tho&s;e that doe not <HI>come to the help of the Lord:</HI> but let him then al&s;o take heed of cur&s;ing any more of them, then the <HI>Angel</HI> of the Lord commandes him to cur&s;e, le&s;t the cur&s;e fall upon his owne head for cur&s;ing Gods owne <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and perverting Gods Word to the ju&s;tifying his owne cur&s;ing contrary to Gods command. A fourth, he thunders out that cur&s;e <HI>Ier.</HI> 48.10. <HI>Cur&s;ed be he that keepeth back his &s;word from blood;</HI> but from what blood doth he meane? Doth he meane from the blood of <HI>Moabites,</HI> who&s;e King had formerly hired <HI>Ba|laam</HI> to cur&s;e Gods <HI>I&s;rael, Numb.</HI> 22. and who&s;e daughters had tempted <HI>I&s;rael</HI> to commit whoredome with them, to the great provoking of the Lord again&s;t them, <HI>Numb.</HI> 25? Doth he mean from the blood of <HI>Moabites,</HI> who&s;e Kings and peo|ple both, had at &s;undry times &s;orely oppre&s;&s;ed <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and are now them&s;elves, for tho&s;e and other their impieties, de&s;tined
<PB N="25" REF="20">to utter ruine by an expre&s;&s;e decree from the Lord? Doth, he I &s;ay, meane the blood of &s;uch when he rends his throat with roaring out a cur&s;e again&s;t tho&s;e that &s;hall <HI>keepe back their &s;word from blood?</HI> If &s;o, he doth in &s;omething re&s;emble the <HI>Prophet;</HI> yet 'tis not unknowne to a meane Di|vine, that the <HI>Prophets</HI> are not to be imitated in every thing which they did or &s;aid; witne&s;&s;e <HI>Elijah's</HI> act in cal|ling for fire from Heaven. 2 <HI>King.</HI> 1. which when the Di&s;ci|ples of Chri&s;t would have imitated, Chri&s;t &s;everely rebuked them for it, <HI>Luk.</HI> 9.54, 55. But alas is it not other blood that this blood-hound hunts after? Is it not the blood of Chri&s;tians? Is it not the blood of Prote&s;tants? Is it not the blood of tho&s;e that are of the &s;ame blood with us? Nay, I pray God the be&s;t blood among&s;t us, the <HI>Blood Royall</HI> it &s;elfe be not too much hankered after by him. I am &s;ure the &s;word would put but little difference, and the bullet le&s;&s;e, betwixt that and other blood in a common battell, did not the Lord both of &s;word, bullet, and battell, in his more then ordinary love and care of &s;uch blood, guide them all other|wi&s;e then bloody men aime and intend them. Be&s;ides to whom is this charge given, not to <HI>hold back the &s;word from blood</HI> upon perill of a cur&s;e, for that's al&s;o worthy our taking notice? Is it to the <HI>Heathen</HI> &s;uch as the <HI>Babylonians</HI> were, to whom the <HI>Prophet</HI> there &s;peakes, or (as &s;ome Expo&s;itors would have it) who are there brought in by the <HI>Prophet</HI> as &s;peaking it them&s;elves? No 'tis to <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> tis to Prote|&s;tants, 'tis to <HI>Engli&s;h-men,</HI> that this new Prophet &s;peakes; he would have us, for whom Chri&s;t was <HI>made a cur&s;e,</HI> and &s;hed his own mo&s;t <HI>precious blood to reconcile us to God,</HI> think our &s;elves to be accur&s;ed if we &s;hould with-hold our &s;words from that cur&s;ed act of &s;hedding one anothers blood. Well then may learned and pious <HI>O Ecolampadius</HI> his intimation given upon tho&s;e very words, be made our ob&s;ervation. <HI>Se|ditio&s;i hunc ver&s;um pro &s;e trahunt, &s;ed declarant, quod Baby|lonijs &s;imiles &s;int, imo licet dicas inferiores, quod nullum ha|beant
<PB N="26" REF="21">mandatum a domino, &amp;c.</HI> Seditious men wre&s;t this ver&s;e to &s;erve their owne &s;editions humors; but they herein declare them&s;elves to be like the <HI>Babylontans,</HI> tho&s;e &s;o much abominated cruell Heathen; nay thou mai&s;t &s;ay farre wor&s;e then they, for that the&s;e have no command to take up tho&s;e words, which the <HI>Babylonians</HI> had. And thus what <HI>Ezekiel</HI> &s;aid of the Prophets of <HI>Jeru&s;alem, Ezek.</HI> 22.25, 28. is found by wofull experience, too true of too many of the Prophets of this Nation, <HI>There is a conspiracy of her Prophets in the mid&s;t thereof, like a roaring lyon ravening the prey; they have devoured &s;oules, they have taken the trea&s;ure and precious things, they have made her many widowes in the mid&s;t thereof. They have dawbed</HI> her Princes <HI>with untempered morter, &s;eeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, &s;aying, thus &s;aith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.</HI> Or to take up the complaint of the Prophet <HI>Jeremiah, Cap.</HI> 5. v. 30, 31. <HI>A wonderfull and horrible thing is committed in the Land,</HI> the <HI>Prophets prophe&s;ie fal&s;ly, and the Prie&s;ts beare rule,</HI> or as it is in the margin, <HI>take into their hands by their meanes, and my people love to have it &s;o, and what will ye doe in the end thereof?</HI> What will ye doe in the end thereof? Nay, I leave that to God to di&s;po&s;e, and to you to expect. Onely for further caution to my &s;elfe and fellow-preachers, &s;uffer me in a word more, to &s;hew how ill-be&s;eeming and in|congruous, if not wicked and pernitious, it is for us Preachers of the <HI>Gospell,</HI> (&s;uppo&s;e we did avoid tho&s;e gro&s;&s;e exorbi|tances now mentioned) to encourage to warres, unle&s;&s;e we have &s;ome &s;peciall calling from God thereunto. For what hath a Preacher of the <HI>Gospell of peace</HI> to do with war, except it be to preach again&s;t it? 'Tis &s;aid, that by the Law a <HI>Prie&s;t</HI> &s;hould not have his vote in a cau&s;e of blood: I am &s;ure 'tis incongruous (to &s;ay the lea&s;t of it) that a Mini&s;ter, who is commanded both to pray daily in the Congregation, <HI>Give peace in our time O Lord,</HI> and to di&s;mi&s;&s;e the Congregation with a benediction of peace, <HI>The peace of God which pa&s;|&s;eth
<PB N="27" REF="21">all under&s;tanding keepe your hearts, &amp;c.</HI> &s;hould have his voice &s;o deepe in blood, as to encourage any to the waging of warre; wherein the blood not of one or two, but of many thou&s;ands is often &s;pilt in one battell. <HI>Tune codem ore quo Chri&s;tum praedicas bellum laudas, cademque tuba Deum canis et &s;atanam?</HI> Doe&s;t thou with one and the &s;ame mouth both preach Chri&s;t that great Peace-maker, that Prince of peace, and prai&s;e warre? What is that but with the &s;ame voice to trumpet forth the prai&s;e of God and of Satan? Whence did&s;t thou learne this Doctrine, or what example had&s;t thou to preach &s;uch? 'Tis certaine neither <HI>Chri&s;t</HI> nor his <HI>Apo&s;tles;</HI> for they ever taught and per&s;waded to peace, as might be &s;hewne by multitudes of examples, whereof thou can&s;t not be ignorant and yet thou wante&s;t no ignorance. Take we heede then, we that are Preachers, (and &s;o I winde up this le&s;&s;on) le&s;t whereas 'tis &s;aid of the Preachers of the <HI>Gospell,</HI> (as you heard once, and againe) <HI>How beautifull are the feet of him that brings glad tidings, that publi&s;heth peace;</HI> the contrary be &s;aid of any of us, How foul is the very tongue of &s;uch or &s;uch a Mini&s;ter, that brings &s;ad tidings, that incites to warre; certainly &s;uch a Preacher either mi&s;tooke his cal|ling, or his commi&s;&s;ion, or both.</P>
<P N="3">3 I have but a word more to adde, and that is a word of Ex|hortation (for I am unwilling to leave you with a reproof) that you would be plea&s;ed to &s;uffer your &s;elves to obtaine what is, or ought to be, mo&s;t de&s;ired by you, your owne <HI>peace</HI> in the <HI>peace</HI> of our Nation; and to that end, that you would ca&s;t not oyle, but water on that fire, which now threa|tens the con&s;umption, not of the <HI>Cedars</HI> of <HI>Lebanon</HI> alone but the very &s;hrubs and brambles of the <HI>Forest,</HI> at lea&s;t be per|&s;waded to with-hold what fuell you can from it, for feare your &s;elves be &s;uddenly made the fuell of it. You both &s;ee and heare, that unle&s;&s;e you purcha&s;e warre at a very deare rate, peace will follow you, though you doe not follow it. And doe you love blood heding &s;o dearly, as that you will
<PB N="28" REF="22">freely part with that, which at other times drops from you as &s;o much of your blood, to help forward the &s;pilling of others blood and your owne too? O the blindne&s;&s;e and mad|ne&s;&s;e of &s;uch a people! none &s;o blind as they that will not &s;ee, and none more mad, then they that &s;top their eares at the voice of the Charmer, charme he never &s;o wi&s;ely. Who hath bewitched you, or what people were ever thus be&s;otted? I cannot finde in all &s;acred or prophane hi&s;tory, (that ever I &s;et eye on) any example to parallell this. That ob&s;tinate &s;ot|ti&s;hne&s;&s;e of the people of <HI>Judah</HI> and <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> &s;et forth in a dialogue betwixt <HI>God</HI> and the <HI>Prophet I&s;aiah Cap.</HI> 6.9, 10, 11, 12. comes the neere&s;t this, of any that I can remember; (I pray God it be not brought neerer in the conclu&s;ion) yet all this re&s;emblance is onely in generals; but for particulars I challenge all the encouragers to warre (and they will &s;treine hard for an example) to match it if they can; and 'tis a &s;trange ob&s;tinacy, whereof no record can &s;hew a pre&s;ident, nor any fal&s;e prophet feigne one. O my beloved! (if I may call tho&s;e beloved that love not the <HI>peace of Jeru&s;alem</HI>) bethink your &s;elves in time, le&s;t the Lord <HI>bring</HI> upon you <HI>the fruit of your thoughts, Jerem.</HI> 6.19. That as now, when <HI>the &s;word of the</HI> Lord would in all probability be quiet,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ier.</HI> 476.</NOTE> and <HI>put up its &s;elf into its &s;cabbard,</HI> and <HI>re&s;t and be &s;till,</HI> ye will not &s;uffer it,
<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>v,</HI> 7.</NOTE> the Lord ere long <HI>give</HI> it a <HI>charge again&s;t</HI> you not to be quiet, till it have devoured at lea&s;t all tho&s;e who de&s;ire that it may &s;till devour. The Husband-men call for <HI>peace,</HI> that they may now in their &s;ea&s;on <HI>beat their &s;words into plow&s;heares, and their speares into pruning hookes.</HI> The Merchants and Sea|faring men call for <HI>peace,</HI> that they may now at their ac|cu&s;tomed time, <HI>goe downe to the &s;ea in &s;hips</HI> and <HI>doe bu&s;ine&s;&s;e in great waters,</HI> bringing a rich &s;upply of all &s;orts of mer|chandize from all parts of the world. The Trade&s;-men they call for <HI>peace,</HI> that they may recover their langui&s;hing tra|ding ere the &s;pirits thereof be quite &s;pent. Wives and Chil|dren cry for <HI>peace,</HI> that they may not &s;it as widowes and
<PB N="29" REF="22">Orphans lamenting the lo&s;&s;e of their deare husbands and carefull fathers. All that are oppre&s;&s;ed and wronged cry for <HI>peace,</HI> that the Judges of our Land, like <HI>Samuel</HI> in the <HI>dayes</HI> of <HI>peace,</HI> may keepe their con&s;tant circuites,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 7. <HI>v.</HI> 14, 15, 16.</NOTE> and judge their cau&s;es in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">onted places. All the faithfull and loy|all hearted Subjects call for <HI>peace,</HI> that they may &s;ee <HI>their Lord the King delivered from the &s;trivings of the people,</HI> and <HI>brought back</HI> again to his <HI>hou&s;e,</HI> and &s;it on his throne in &s;afety and honour. The King him&s;elfe cals for <HI>peace,</HI> that his &s;ub|jects may &s;it under their owne vines, and under their owne figgetrees enjoying their wonted happine&s;&s;e accounted his. Nay the <HI>King of Kings</HI> here in our Text cals upon all the&s;e to call and cry to him for peace, that all the&s;e and many o|ther ble&s;&s;ings which accompany <HI>peace,</HI> may once againe re|turne to us and &s;ettle their abode among&s;t us. Let us then in obedience to Gods command, if not in the &s;en&s;e of our owne pre&s;ent condition, ha&s;ten unto with all &s;peed, and ply with all importunity, that <HI>Throne of grace</HI> to which we are thus graciou&s;ly invited; and <HI>for Zions &s;ake</HI> let us <HI>not hold our peace, and for Jeru&s;alems &s;ake</HI> let us <HI>not rest, untill the righ|teou&s;ne&s;&s;e</HI> and peace <HI>thereof goe forth as brightne&s;&s;e, and the &s;alvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.</HI></P>
<CLOSER>Glory be to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will towards men.</CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
