A Key Opening Mysterious Texts of Scripture, Collection of sermons 1 · Sermon 18
THE GENERALL HIS COMMISSION. A Sermon preached at S. Jones's before the right honourable the Earles of Oxford, Exeter, and Southampton; and divers other Captaines and Commanders ready to take their journies into the Low-Countries, in the yeere 1621. THE EIGHTEENTH SERMON.
JOSUAH 1.9.
Have not I commmanded thee? bee ſtrong and of a good courage, bee not afraid, neither bee thou diſmayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whitherſoever thou goeſt.
Right Honourable, Right Worſhipfull, &c.
I Find this Aphoriſme in the prime Writers of our common laws, Gladius gladium juvat, the one ſword ſteeds the other: whereby is meant that the Eccleſiaſticall and Temporall powers mutually ayde and aſſiſt each other; that Canons improve lawes, and lawes corroborate canons; that where the arme of the ſecular Magiſtrate is ſhort in civill puniſhments, the eccleſiaſticall lengtheneth it by inflicting Church cenſures; and againe, where the eccleſiaſtical arme is weak, the ſecular ſtrengtheneth it by executing corporall puniſhments upon ſuch delinquents as ſtand out in contempt of ſpirituall. The like may be ſaid of theaEpheſ. 6.17. ſpirituall and military ſword, Gladius gladium exacuit, the one whets & ſharpens the other. For the word of God, which is the ſword of the ſpirit, by divine exhortations and promiſes ſets ſuch an edge upon the material, that Gods men of war therewith eaſily cut in pieces the armour, and put to flight or death the armies of thebHeb. 11.34. Out of weakneſſe were made ſtrong, waxed valiant in fight, put to flight the armies of the Aliens. Aliens. The Jewes never acquitted themſelves ſo worthily, nor fought ſo victoriouſly, as when they received their armour out of the Temple from the Prieſts hands: and after Conſtantine the great having ſeen a viſion in the ayre, and heard a voice from Heaven, In hoc ſigno vinces, ſet the croſſe upon the Eagle in his Enſigne, his Chriſtian ſouldiers marched on ſo courageouſly, and drave with ſuch ſpeed before them the bloudy enemies of their faith, that they might ſeem to bee carried by the wings of an Eagle. The ancient Laced aemonians alſo before they put themſelves in the field, had a certaine Poem of Tyrtaeus read unto them; but no Verſes or Sonnets of Tyrtaeus, Pindarus, or Homer, are comparable in this reſpect to the Songs of Sion: no Cornets, Fifes, or Drummes in the campe ſound ſo ſhrill in a Chriſtian ſouldiers eares, as the ſilver Trumpets of the Sanctuary: no ſpeech or oration like to a Sermon to rowze up their ſpirits, and put courage and valour into their hearts, who fight the Lords battels. None putteth on ſo reſolutely, as hee who hath Gods command for his warrant, and his preſence for his encouragement, and his Angels for his guard, and a certaine expectation of a crowne of life aftercRevel. 2.10. Be faithfull unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. death for his reward. Hee cannot but be ſuch as Joſuah is here willed to be, that is ſtrong, and of a good courage, affraid of no adverſe power, diſmayed with no preparations on the contrary part, appaled at no colours, no not at the wan and ghaſtly colours of death it ſelfe: For if dRom. 8.31.God be for us, who can be againſt us; or if they be againſt us, hurt us?
Have not I commanded thee? be ſtrong therefore, &c. As God at the firſt, by breathing into man theeGen. 2.7. And he breathed into his noſtrils the breath of life, and man became a living ſoule. ſpirit of life, made him a man; ſo here by breathing into Joſuah the ſpirit of courage, hee made him a man of warre. Reaſon is the forme and ſpecificall difference of a man; and fortitude and valour of a ſouldier: Be ſtrong therefore, and of a good courage. This courage cannot be well grounded, unleſſe it have Gods command, or at leaſt warrant for the ſervice (Have not I commanded thee?) and his preſence for our aide and aſſiſtance (The Lord thy good is with thee.) If we have Gods command or allowance for the ſervice we undertake, if we fight under his Banner, and follow his Colours, we may well be ſtrong, and of a good courage. The HeathenfOvid. faſt. l. Tu pia tela feres, ſceleratas ille ſagittas, Stabit pro ſignis faſ que piumque tuis. Poet could ſay, that thoſe who have Religion and Juſtice on their ſide, may promiſe themſelves happygforeign. Eraſ. Adag. ſucceſſe. A good cauſe maketh a good courage, as wholeſome meat breeds good bloud (Have not I commanded thee?) be ſtrong, &c. A good courage in a good quarrell cannot want Gods aſſiſtance, The Lord thy God is with thee.
Behold here then, noble Commanders and Souldiers in the Lords battels,
1. Your commiſſion: Have not I commanded?
2. Your duety: Be ſtrong.
3. Your comfort, and ground of confidence: The Lord is with you.
Have Gods word for your warrant, and his preſence for your aſſiſtance, and you cannot but bee valiant and courageous; your commiſſion will produce courage, and your courage victory. As you are to receive commiſſion from God, ſo bee ſtrong in God, and God will bee with you: firſt have an eye to your commiſſion.
Have not I commanded thee? As Moſes was a lively and living type of the Law, ſo was Joſuah of the Goſpel. Moſes commendeth Gods people to Joſuah; the Law ſendeth us to the Goſpel. Moſes led the people through the Wilderneſſe, and diſcovered the Land of promiſe from Mount Nebo, and dyed; but Joſuah brought the people into it, and put them in poſſeſſion thereof. The Law leadeth us in the way, and giveth us a glimpſe of the celeſtiall Canaan; but the Goſpel, by our Joſuah Chriſt Jeſus, bringeth us into it, and poſſeſſeth us of it. That which the Hebrew pronounce Joſuah, Saint Luke and the 70. Interpreters writehActs 7.45. Hebr. 4.8. Jeſus. AndiElias l. vos. Rabin. Judaei nolunt dicere foreign ſed foreign quia non confitentur ipſum eſſe ſalvatorem, poſſumus etiam dicere id factum eſſe, quia pronuntiatio literae ע difficilis eſt Gentibus. Baal Aruch in lexic. talmud. Mos linguae ſyrae eſt elidere ח & ע literas. Druſius, in his Commentary upon the Hebrew words of the New Teſtament, out of Baal Aruch, and Elias, proveth, that Joſuah and Jeſus are all one name. Joſuah is Jeſus in the hiſtory, and Jeſus is Joſuah in the myſtery. Joſuah is typicall Jeſus, and Jeſus is myſticall Joſuah. Here then adamas inſculpitur adamante, one diamond cuts and points another. Jeſus Chriſt inſtructeth and encourageth Jeſus Nave, the ſubſtance formes the ſhadow, the face drawes the picture, the truth fitteth and accommodateth the type. As thoſe who deale in curious ſtuffes that are wrought on both ſides, view the flowers as well in the in-ſide as the out; ſo in the ſacred context of this book, we are as well to handle and take ſpeciall notice of the in-ſide as well as the out-ſide: the myſticall reference, as well as the hiſtoricall relation. When wee reade of Joſuah, let the eye of our faith bee upon Jeſus: when wee reade of his paſſing over Jordan, before hee gained his greateſt victories, we muſt thinke of Jeſus paſsing the river Cedron before his paſsion: when we reade of Joſuahs kJoſ. 4.8.placing 12. ſtones for a memoriall to the children of Iſrael for ever, let us thinke of Jeſus his ſetting 12. preciouslApoc. 21.19. ſtones in the foundation of the heavenly Jeruſalem: when we reade of*Joſ. 12.7. Joſuahs ſlaying, or driving out of all the old Inhabitants of Canaan, let us thinke of Jeſus his deſtroying the*Eph. 4.22. old man in us, and driving out all the native, and (if I may ſo ſpeake) aboriginall ſinnes out of our conſciences: when wee reade of Joſuahs vanquiſhing 31. Kings, let us thinke on Jeſus his victories over ſinne, hell, and death, his leading captivity captive, and ſubduing all principalities, and powers, and thrones, and dominions, and whatſoever lifteth it ſelfe up againſt his Croſſe: when we reade of the Sunne ſtanding ſtill inmJoſ. 10.12. Joſuah his battell againſt the Amorites, let us thinke of the Sunnes vailing himſelfe, and the Heavens mourning in ſables at the paſsion of our Saviour. Laſtly, when we reade of Joſuahs forcible entry, and taking poſſeſsion of the earthly, let us meditate upon Jeſus his victorious entry into the celeſtiall Canaan.
Thus briefly of the perſon commanding, and the perſon commanded, both literally and myſtically. The command it ſelfe is to be a valiant Commander and Leader of Gods people againſt the Amorites, Amalekites, Jebuſites, and all the ſeverall ſorts of the Canaanites. For the clearing of which commiſsion of Joſuah, two queſtions are to be debated:
1. Whether warre in generall can ſtand with Religion.
2. Whether this warre in particular could ſtand with Juſtice.
Both are briefly reſolved in one word, I: God commandeth Joſuah to fight; therefore warre is lawfull: hee appointeth Joſuah to command in chiefe in this warre againſt the Canaanites; this warre therefore was juſt. Yet to remove all ſcruples out of weake conſciences, I crave leave to bring out before you, and breake in peeces thoſe weake and dull weapons wherewith ſome fight againſt all warre and fighting in generall, and this warre in ſpeciall.
Firſt, they alledge that Chriſt our Lord is ſtiled the Prince of peace, that his Spouſe, the Church, is ſaid to have nothing red about her but her lips; which are deſcribed to bee ruddy, becauſe all her diſcourſe is of Chriſts bloudy paſsion.
Secondly, by the Chriſtian law, ſay they, wee muſt rather dye than kill, rather patiently ſuffer our owne bloud to bee ſpilt, than ſpill any others: if we muſt render to no man evill for evill, nor rebuke for rebuke, much leſſe blows for blows: they that ſmite with a ſword, ſhallnMat. 26 52. periſh with a ſword.
Thirdly, they labour alſo to make the ancient Fathers on their parts, and by name Lactantius, and Cyprian. oLactant. di…in. …. Si qu… … homin… …gulaver … …nta … ac …at…o… betur, n…d te… …e… hoc domicilium eum admittifas putant: ille autem qui infinita hominum millia truc…dave…it, cruore campos inundaverit, ſlumina infecerit, non modo in Templu… ſed etiam in coelum admittitur.Lactantius argueth thus: If any man cut the throat of one man alone, he is taken for a nefarious malefactor and bloudy murtherer, and ſhut out of the houſe of God on earth: and ſhall he who hath been the death of many millions, who hath coloured the rivers with mans bloud, and made an inundation thereof in many pitched fields, not only be admitted into the Temple, but into Heaven? And SaintpCypr. ep l. 2. Madet orbis mutuo ſanguine, & homicidium cum admittant ſinguli c…men eſt. virt…s vorat i… cum publicè petitu…. Cyprian purſueth the ſame argument: The world, ſaith hee, ſwimmeth with mans bloud, and murder, if it bee committed by ſingle men, or one by one, is a hainous crime; but an heroicall vertue, when by publike authority thouſands of men are miſerably ſlaughtered. Can hee be a good Warriour, who is taught to ſeeke peace and enſue it; if his enemies ſtrike him on the right hand, to turne the left; if he compell him to follow him one mile, to accompany him two?
With theſe weapons certaine cowardly Heretickes warre againſt all warre, and ſharpen their pens againſt the ſword: but they are eaſily beat backe. As Chriſt is ſtiled the Prince of peace, ſo God is in holy Scripture every where honoured with the title of the Lord of hoſts; and the Spouſe of Chriſt is deſcribed to be terrible as an qCant. 6.4.Army with banners. It followeth not, that becauſe Chriſtian Religion perſwadeth patience, that therefore it abates courage: that becauſe it forbiddeth private revenge, therefore publike juſtice: becauſe it condemneth bloudy cruelty, therefore martiall proweſſe. Hee which ſtriketh with a ſword, unleſſe lawfull authority put it into his hand, ſhall periſh with a ſword; but where God and his Vicegerent putteth a ſword into our hands, wee muſt ſmite with it, or wee deſerve to be ſmitten with it. Wee muſt ſeeke peace, and enſue it by all meanes; whereof one, and that a moſt powerfull one, and ſometimes the onelyonly one, is by managing a juſt warre. And therefore, as Saint Jerome, though otherwiſe hee ſeem partiall for virginity againſt marriage, yet in this reſpect hee preferreth marriage, becauſe it begets virgins: in like manner thoſe who are moſt averſe from warre, muſt yet hold with it in this reſpect, becauſe oftentimes nothing but a good ſword can make a ſure and ſettled peace. And therefore though in the firſt building of the Temple there were no noiſe of any iron toole, yet in the ſecond they built with their rNehem. 4.13.tooles in one hand and their ſword in the other. And doe wee not reade, that the ſervants of God byſHebr. 11.33. faith have ſubdued Kingdomes? Was it not fore-told of them, that they ſhould binde Kings in chaines, and Nobles in linkes of iron, to execute upon them the judgement written, This honour have all his tPſal. 149.8, 9.Saints? Doth not the Kingly Prophet David by the ſpirit give them the word, Arme, arme: Let the high praiſes of God be in their mouths, Ver. 6.and a two edged ſword in their hands? If Saint John Baptiſt had judged the profeſsion of a ſouldier incompatible with the calling of a Chriſtian, when his ſouldiers came unto him, and demanded of him what they ſhould doe, hee would have returned them this ſhort anſwer, Quit your calling, and throw away your armour, and undertake another profeſsion: but on the contrary, he allowing their calling, directeth them how to demeane themſelves in it, ſaying, Doe uLuke 3.14.violence to no man, nor accuſe any falſly, and be content with your wages. Chriſtian Religion is pureſt of all religions from all ſtaine of bloud. A Chriſtian Commander would more heartily wiſh than ever Antonius did, Utinam poſſem multos ab inferis revocare; I would it were in my power to reſtore thoſe to life, whom the ſword hath devoured: but when the onelyonly meanes to ſave the life-bloud about the heart, is to let out ſome of the corrupt bloud in other parts, hee is a cruell Phyſician that will n… pricke a veine. When the right of a Crowne, when the honour of the St…e, when the Common-wealth, and every mans private fortunes, when R…i…ion and our Faith lyeth on bleeding, not to uſe the ſpeedieſt meanes that …y bee to drive away Uſurpers, Invaders, Rebells, Traitors, and other bloud-ſuckers, is bloudy cruelty, and which is worſt of all, cruelty to our ſelves and our own bowels. To conclude, if any upon what pretext ſoeve… ſhall caſt a blurre upon the noble & honourable profeſsion of a ſouldier, he goeth about not onelyonly to take off the Garland from the heads of all Davids Worthies, but alſo the Crowne from David himſelfe, and Conſtantine the great, and Theodoſius, and many other the moſt glorious Princes that ever ſwayed mortall Scepters. All that Chriſtianity requireth in waging warre, is compriſed in that golden ſentence of Saint Auſtin, Eſto bellando pacificus; Be thou a peace-maker even in warring, warre with peace, warre for peace. Warre with peace, being perſwaded in thy conſcience of the lawfulneſſe of the quarrell, and beare no private malice, nor bloudy minde towards thine enemy: conquer him as fairely as thou canſt; and let this be the end of taking up armes, that armes may be ſafely laid downe on all hands And that warres eſpecially thus managed are lawfull and warrantable even among Chriſtians, none but braine-ſicke Anabaptiſts doubt: But what kinde of warres are lawfull, is a point not ſo ſoone determined. Some are meerly for defenſive warres, *Ovid. l. 1. Faſtorum.Sola gerat miles quibus arma coerceat arma.
And that ſuch warres are lawfull Nature her ſelfe teacheth:xCic. pro Milunc. Eſt enim haec non ſcripta ſed nata lex, ad quam non docti ſed facti, non inſtituti, ſed imbuti ſumus. This is a law written in the heart of all men, to repell force with force, and beat backe armes with armes; therefore defenſive armes need no apology or defence. Offenſive armes are allowed by the Oratour in two caſes, onelyonly pro fide & ſalute, when the ſafety, or honour of the State requires either to right or to ſave our ſelves. Chriſtian Religion is not ſo ſtrait-laced, But maintaineth all warres to be juſt, when they are neceſſary; and to judge when they are neceſſary, belongeth to the ſoveraigne power of the State, in whomſoever it reſideth, either in the Prince, as in all free Monarchies; or in the Senate and prime men, as in an Ariſtocratie; or the major part of the people, as in a Democratie. It may bee ſaid that no neceſſity can bee pretended to invade a forraine country, and root out all the natives and inhabitants, and ſettle our ſelves in their places, which was Joſuah and Iſraels caſe: How then was this warre lawfull?
The anſwer hereunto is two-fold.
Firſt, that the Iſraelites title was good to the Land of Canaan by the donation of God himſelfe, for more than foure hundred yeeres before this time.
Secondly, Joſuah had a ſpeciall command from God himſelfe, to root out the Canaanites, and to plant Gods people in their room. Therefore as he had good warrant to undertake this war, ſo he had great reaſon to purſue & manage it valiantly. For where God giveth foreign he giveth foreign; where God giveth authority to doe a thing lawfully, there hee giveth power to doe it effectually.
Be ſtrong, and of a good courage. In theſe words the Lord of hoſts inſpireth Joſuah the Generall of his Army with the ſpirit of fortitude and courage, to performe this noble ſervice, to ſettle his people in their long promiſed inheritance: hee exhorteth them to put on a reſolution to adventure upon all dangers, to breake through all difficulties, and contemne all terrours in the accompliſhment of this honourable worke. Be ſtrong, and of a good courage, there are the poſitive acts; Be not affraid, nor diſmayed, there are the privative acts of Chriſtian fortitude: ſtrength taketh away feare, courage diſmayedneſſe; be ſtrong in body, and of good courage in minde; or be ſtrong in thy ſelfe, and couragious againſt thy enemies: bee not ſurprized with any inward feare, nor diſmayed with any outward terrour. For I am the Lord, and can; I am thy God, and will be thy guard and convoy in all thy wayes whitherſoever thou ſhalt goe. Fortitude and magnanimity is one of the cardinall vertues conſiſting in a mediocrity, or middle temper of the minde, between audacious temerity, and timorous cowardize. It is uſually divided into two kindes:
1. Fortitudinem in ferendo: Fortitude in bearing.
2. Fortitudinem in feriendo: Fortitude in attempting, or aſſailing.
The former is the glory of the Martyrs, the later the crowne of Chriſtian ſouldiers; both are requiſite to make up the perfect entire vertue of Chriſtian fortitude, which muſt have as well a backe of patience to endure all hardneſſe, as an edge of valour or courage, to ſet upon all difficulties, and goe through all dangers, not ſticking at death it ſelfe, foreign, the king of all feares. This vertue is called in Greeke, foreign, from foreign, from a word ſignifying a man, as manhood in our Language, to intimate, that it is the moſt proper vertue of a man; and that hee is not a man, who is not manly and couragious in Gods cauſe, and his Countries. Degeneres animos timor arguit, Fearefulneſſe is an argument of a baſe minde, but valour is the proper ornament of a generous ſpirit; which hath beene alwayes held in that eſteeme in the world, that all trophees, triumphs, obeliskes, coats of armes, and other enſignes of honour have beene appropriated to this vertue, and that deſervedly. For all otherxCic. pro Murena. Omnes artes latent ſub tutelâ rei bellicae. arts and profeſsions whatſoever, lye under the ſafe protection of it. In which regard Fulvius removed the images of the nine Muſes out of a Chappell in Ambracion, and placed them in Hercules Temple at Rome; to ſhew that as armes need the commendation of arts, ſo all arts ſtand in neede of the defence of armes. To this vertue wee owe our liberty, our honour, our wealth, our ſtate: upon which premiſſes the Oratour inferreth this concluſion;yCic. pro Muren. Cedat ſtylus gladio, umbra ſoli, ſit que illa virtus in civitate prima, per quam fit ipſa civitas omnium princeps. Let therefore the pen give place to the ſword, arts to armes, the ſhade to the ſunne, and let that vertue have the preheminency in the State, by which the State it ſelfe getteth the precedency of all other; let that rule in the city, by which the city hath obtained the rule of the whole world. The great Philoſopher Ariſtotle ſeemeth to ſubſcribe to this concluſion: for in martialling morall vertues in their order, hee giveth magnanimity the firſt place: and hee yeeldeth this reaſon for it; the more difficult and dreadfull the ſubject, the more excellent the vertue which regulates the affection about it: now death is the chiefe of all feares, magnanimity therefore which conquereth this feare is the Prince of all vertues. As the ſtrength of a blade is tryed by the hardneſſe of the matter which it cutteth, bee it wood, ſtone, or metall: ſo the excellency of vertue is ſeene in the difficulty of the object about which it is converſant; and what ſo difficult as willingly to hazzard our life, & contemne death? If reaſon can work this in a morall man, ſhall not religion much more in a Chriſtian? If fame, & a garland of flowers, and a ſmall donative can produce noble thoughts & reſolutions in heathen, ſhall not immortall glory, and an incorruptible garland, and hope of an immarceſſible crowne breed more generous reſolutions in thoſe who have given their names to the Lord of Hoſts, to fight his battels? eſpecially conſidering that valour and courage, as it is more honourable, ſo it is ſafer than baſe feare. For it ſtrikes a terrour in the hearts of the enemies, and often times winnes a victory without ſtriking a blow. And as our courage maketh the enemies fearefull, ſo our timorouſneſſe maketh them valorous; our trembling at danger bringeth more danger upon us, by making us unable to reſiſt. For this cowardly affection worketh not onelyonly upon the ſoule, but upon the body alſo; and as it dejecteth and diſ-armeth the one, ſo it diſ-ableth and weakeneth the other. But the ſtrongeſt motive to fortitude, and moſt effectuall incentive to courage, and ſureſt ground of confidence, is that which now followeth in the laſt place.
The Lord thy God is with thee whither ſoever thou goeſt. The Lord, whoſe command is univerſall; God, whoſe power is invincible; The Lord thy God, whoſe mercies are incomprehenſible, is with thee whither ſoever thou goeſt. If the Lord thy God bee with thee, his wiſedome is with thee to direct thee, his power to protect thee, his ſtrength to ſupport thee, his goodneſſe to maintaine thee, his bounty to reward thee, his word to encourage thee, and, if thou dye under his banner, his Angels preſently to carry thee into heaven. Where the Iſraelites lamentably deplore their ill ſucceſſe in war, they attribute it to Gods abſence,zPſal. 44 9. & 60.10. Thou goeſt not forth, ſay they, with our armies. And to the end that they might be more aſſured of Gods preſence with them in their battels, they carryed the Arke of God with them, and were wont to aske counſell of him before hand, touching the ſucceſſe of their warre; and in ancienter times the Prieſts gave anſwer from God by the Ephod: but in the latter, if we may believeaJoſeph. antiq. Judaic. Joſephus, they gheſſed at the event by the glaring or duskineſſe of the Diamond on the Prieſts breaſt-plate. For if it ſhined brightly and cleerely, it foreſhewed certaine victory; but if it changed the colour, or loſt any thing of the luſtre, it portended ill ſucceſſe. The Lacedaemonians being overtaken by the Perſian horſe, and overwhelmed with great flights of arrowes, did notwithſtanding quietly ſit ſtill, without making any reſiſtance at all, or defence, till the ſacrifices for victory were happily ended; yea though many were ſore hurt, and ſome ſlaine out right before any good ſigne appeared in the entrailes: but as ſoone as their Generall Pauſanias had found good tokens of victory, and perſwaded his ſouldiers of the divine approbation of their warre, they aroſe, and with excellent courage firſt received the charge of the Barbarians, and after charged them afreſh, and ſlew Mardonius the Perſian Generall, and many thouſands of the reſt, and got the day. If the conjecturall hope of the aide and aſſiſtance of a fained deity put ſuch courage and reſolution into the Lacedaemonians, ſhall not faith in the true God, and confidence in his helpe, breede better blood, and infuſe nobler ſpirits into the hearts of Gods warriours, and Chriſtian ſouldiers? God can ſave his, and overcome the enemy, as well with ſmall forces as with great; but all the forces in the world without him have no force at all. Therefore though Captaines have many employments, yet they muſt looke eſpecially to hoc unum neceſſarium, this one thing moſt needfull, That they have God on their ſide, that they make him ſure for them. You will ſay, I know, How may this bee done? How may hee bee wrought and made thorough for us? Hee ſheweth at the 7. & 8. verſes. Obſerve to doe according to all the Law which Moſes my ſervant commanded thee: turne not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou maiſt proſper whitherſoever thou goeſt. This booke of the law ſhall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou ſhalt meditate therein day and night, that thou maiſt obſerve to doe according to all that is written therein: for then thou ſhalt make thy way proſperous: and then thou ſhalt have good ſucceſſe.
Firſt, the Lords Joſuah's muſt looke ſtrictly to their life and converſation, ſo much the rather by how much in battell they are nearer death; which points to them in every ſword and ſpeare, and giveth them a ſummons at the report of every Cannon, and diſcharging of every Piece.
Secondly, they muſt looke to their companies and troupes, and ſee that there bee never an Achan among them, never a ſacrilegious, prophane, or abominable perſon, whoſe horrible crimes, if they bee not diſcovered and puniſhed, may prove the loſſe of many a battell, and the ruine of a whole army. The Barbarians hands, ſaith SaintbBarbari noſtris vitiis fortes ſunt. Jerome, are made ſtrong againſt us by our grievous tranſgreſſions; our infirmities are our enemies greateſt ſtrength, our diſtractions their ſecurity, our crying ſinnes their thundering ordnance.cSal. l. 4. de provid. Salvianus acknowledgeth that it was juſt with God to ſtrengthen the armies of the Gothes and Vandals, though they were heretickes, againſt the right beleeving Romanes, becauſe thoſe barbarous nations obſerved moſt ſtrict diſcipline, and lived more chaſtly and temperately than the Romane ſouldiers.
Laſtly, when you put on your corporall armour, forget not to put on the ſpirituall, laid out for you by the Apoſtle, and gilt by his divine eloquence; I meane,dEph. 6.14, 15, 16, 17. The breaſt-plate of righteouſneſſe, the ſhooes of preparation, the ſhield of faith, the helmet of ſalvation, and the ſword of the ſpirit. Learne of that fortunate Commander of the Gothes, who, like lightning, in a moment appeared from one part of the earth to the other, and nothing was able to withſtand him. This Emperour never put himſelfe into the field to fight with his enemy, before at home hee had made his peace with God. Salvianus, who lived at the ſame time, and accurately obſerved his demeanour, attributeth his miraculous victories to nothing more than to his extraordinary and admirable devotion.eSal. de prov. l. 7. Ipſe rex hoſtium uſque ad diem pugnae, ſtratus cilicio preces fundit, ante bellum in oratione jacuit, ad bellum de oratione ſurrexit. The King that warreth againſt us, to the very day in which hee draweth out his forces to fight, lyeth on the ground at his devotion in ſackcloth and aſhes; before hee goeth into the battell hee is at his prayer in private, and never riſeth but from his knees to fight. Wreſtle you in like manner with God, that you may bee Iſraels; keep his Law as ſtrictly as your Martiall diſcipline, and I will be bold to give you now at your parting the benediction of the Pſalmiſt:*Pſal. 45.3, 4. Gird your ſwords upon your thighes, O yee mighty, with glory, ride on with honour, becauſe of truth, meekneſſe, and righteouſneſſe, and your right hand ſhall teach you terrible things; your arrowes ſhall bee ſharpe in the heart of the Kings enemies, whereby the people ſhall fall under you. Hath not the Lord by his Vice-gerent commanded you to help and aſſiſt your brethren? Bee ſtrong therefore, and of a good courage, and the Lord God ſhall bee with you whitherſoever you goe. To whom, &c.