The Consolations of David Applied to Queen Elizabeth, Text
PSALME. 23. ver. 4.
Though I ſhould walke through the valley of the ſhadowe of death, I wyll feare no euill: for thou art with mee.
THe caſe with Dauid at this time was not ſo hard, as to walke in the valley of the ſhadowe of death. For the Lord was his ſheephearde in open ſight, and ledde him as a ſhepe of greateſt care into his paſtures, and they greene and ſweet for foode, ſoft and eaſie for reſt, Situated by the waters ſide for beſt refreſhing in hotter countries.
OnelyOnly in this verſe he may ſeeme to put the caſe, and conſidering the goodneſſe of God ſundry times to him-warde experienced, he ſolemnely proteſteth vponupon the ſuppoſall, fal out what may, and though he walke and often conuerſe in the vallie of the ſhade of death, that is, in the middes of moſt gloomie and horrible daungers, hee would not feare, for his hope was with God.
Forecaſting what may comeBy the way I note: that Dauid amideſt his greene paſtures, where hee wanted nothing, and in his greateſt eaſe, and higheſt excellencie, recordeth the vallie of miſerie, and ſhade of death which might enſue, if God ſo would, and therewithall reckoneth of his ſafeſt harbour, and firme repoſe, euen in God alone.
And this is true wiſedome indeede, in fay…e weather to prouide for a tempeſt, in health to thinke of ſickneſſe, in proſperitye, peace and quietneſſe, to forecaſt the worſt, and with the wiſe Emite in ſommer to lay vp for the winter following.
The ſtate of man is full of trouble, the cō dition of the godly man more. Sinners muſt be corrected,The troubles of this life. and ſonnes chaſtiſed, there is no queſtion. The Arke was framed for the waters, the Ship for the Sea, & happy is the marriner that knoweth wher to caſt Anker. But O bleſſed is ye mā, that can take a right Sanctuary, and knoweth wherupon to rely and in whom to truſt in the day of his neede. I wil not feare: for thou art with me.
A ſheepe is a ſimple thing to deuiſe eſcape, impotent and vnarmed, and fearefull by nature, and therefore vnable to reſiſt daunger, wherevnto notwithſtanding Dauid reſembling him ſelfe, voucheth boldly he will not fear, the Lord being with him.
In the whole I obſerue, and ſhall moſt beate vponupon theſe three thinges. Firſt, the gate and conuerſation, the walk of the godlye vppon Dauids ſuppoſall. Though I walke. Then, his comfort he conceiueth in all his waies, I will not feare. And thirdly the grounde of his confidence to bee in the preſence of God, For thou art with me.
The tennor of Dauids life, and the waies he walked are manifeſt in the comperts and euidences of the Bible.
In his nonage he was the leaſt, and of leaſt account in the familie of Iſai, contemned of his father, not called to the feaſt, and in the campe diſpitefully reproched of his eldeſt brethren, afterward Saul enuieth, Shimy raileth, Abſalon rebelleth, Achitophell conſpireth, &c. Theſe were vallies of vehement diſtreſſes, briefelye theſe with diuers others as you may reade, collected and quoted,By D. Rainoldes 1586. & I pray you doe in a Sermon of thanks giuing at ye apprehenſion of traitours, to wit, Ballard and Babington, and their complices.
But you wil ſay, how ſaith Dauid he wold not feare: did he not flye & diſſemble who he was? Or if he fled, as no doubt he did, from the ſpeare of Saule, was it not for feare?
Feare is a quality incident to all fleſh: & in this, & the like naturall affections,Feare. a fixed mind, & the cōſtant mene, is hardly obtaned. What Dauid did is not denied, & it is granted y• as elſe when, ſo namely he greatly fered,1. Sam. 20. whē he fled to Achis, his & gods enemy, & whē he ſaid in a ſhiuering perplexity: Surely, ther is ſcāt a ſtrid betwixt me & death.
In this Pſalme, I take it is rather vouched not what the Prophet alwaies performed, but what in duety muſt be performed, and what Dauids purpoſe was to endeuour vntounto for the time to come. For after ſo many pledges of Gods infinite goodnes vnderunder the guidaunce of his rodde, and ſtay of his ſhepe-hooke, godwilling he would not feare and this is the groūd-worke of his affiance.
Peter in the goſpell by our Sauiour in conſideration of infirmity thorough feare denying his maiſter,Mat. 26. is willed after his conuerſion by that fauorable aſpect of our ſauiour, to confirme his brethren, & to traine thē in conſtancy: for verely god requireth ſetled minds, reſolute men & confirmed brethren.
So vponupon occaſions paſt, Dauid found it true that he ſhould not hauehave bene heretofore at any time, and therfore profeſſeth, that, for the time to come, he would be no Marigold-ſeruaunt of God, to open with the Sun and ſhut with the dewe, to ſerue him in calmer times only, and at a neede to ſhute neck out of coller, fearefully and faithleſly to ſlippe a ſide, or ſhrinke away.
Newters reproued.(Good people) in all hartleſſe imperfectiones, marke I pray you, that they, who feare eueryevery miſt, that ariſeth, or cloude that appeareth, who are like the Mulberie tree, that neuer ſhuteth foorth, or ſheweth it ſelfe till all hard weather be paſt, who like ſtanders by and lookers on, Neuters, and internimiſters, who like Metuis Suffetius dare not venture vponupon, nor enter into, nor indeuour any good action of greateſt duetie to God, Prince or Countrie, till all be ſure in one ſide, are vtterly reprooued by this enſample.
If the cauſe bee Gods, if the quarrell bee neceſſary, if thy calling ſuteable, if it bee a croſſe that God layeth vponupon thee in a matter of faith and trueth, and requiſite offices appertayning to pietie and charity, though it be a vale of daungers, Loe, Dauid profeſſeth he cannot, he will not yeelde, he will not feare, much leſſe diſpaire, and houer a loofe, or let all alone as men amazed and aſtoniſhed in their feminine affections.
Peter, of whom before, hearing that the ſheepeheard ſhould be ſmitten,Peter. and the ſhepe ſcattered into ſundry vallies of imminent daunger, notwithſtanding boſteth himſelfe that he forſooth, hee would not forſake his maiſter, and though the reſt flie, hee alone would endure the combate, and not relente at all.
The ſheepheard is ſmitten, and the flocke indeede is ſcattered, the reſt flye, Peter more then flyeth,Preſumption performeth little. for he denieth; and more then feareth, for he, of all the reſt, forſweareth his maiſter. And ſo it fareth euer, when men cō paringly ſet out themſelues as Giantes, in theyr own conceites, though it be in cauſes of beſt account. Yet in the ende they come ſhorte of theyr reckoning. But Dauid buildeth vponupon a ſurer rocke, then on himſelfe.
In ſo many his exceeding daungers, hee will not feare. Why? the Lord is his ſheep-heard, no Idoll, or abſent ſheepehearde, but ready to helpe: and able to ſuccour.
In the boke of Geneſis this was Iacobs comfort continually in all his viages,Iacob. whether frō Canaan into Meſopotamia, or from Meſopotamia into Canaan, to and fro ſtill, Loe, the Lord was with him.
In the ſix and fortith Chapter, he is willed to repaire into Aegipt, and expreſly forbidden to feare, and the reaſon was, God himſelfe would goe downe with him, and conduct him thither, & preſerue him there.
And for that as children, which ride on reedes, are ſoone ouertaken in their folly, ſo olde men may become children againe, and reſt ouer much in ordinary hopes liable to ſenſe, and probable in reaſon. God willeth Iacob in effect, to forſake ſuch vaine cogitations, for cheefe releefe in the vſage, as of his own experienced yeres, his ſons place & fauour with the prince, & the like, and only commandeth: Fear not Iacob, I wilbe with thee.
And good cauſe, and why ſhould Iacob, or Ioſua in the firſt of Ioſua, or Gedeon in the ſixt of Iudges, or Moſes before theſe, the 4. of Exodus, or any of vsus all after them feare, if God be with vsus, as he wil be,Matth. 28 With his to the end of the world? If God be wt vsus who can be againſt vsus, effectually againſt vsus to our finall deſtruction?
If God be with vsus, what can we want? he that walketh in the ſun, doth he lack light? He who walketh with God by his conuerſation, as Enoc did, and with whom God walketh by his ſpeciall grace (for there is a ſpeciall reſpecte betwixte the grace of God and a gratious life) what is there, or what can there be wanting? By the grace of God we are that we are, and his grace in his is not in vain. In his light we ſee light, & in his ſtrength we are more than conquerors ghoſtly euer & euer bodily if it bee for the good of the ſufferer, and for the glorie of god, for whoſe cauſe, and in whoſe preſence, and by whoſe wiſedome we ſuffer, and hold out.Gods prouidence is known but vntounto gods own children.
The true meditation whereof (deer brethren) to the careleſſe & godles man, is as a riddle, or a claſped booke, or ſealed letters, which are brought by the carier & hādled of many, but are read of none, nor vnderſtoode of anie, ſaue of him that of him that openeth them, and conceaueth the purport of them, and meaning of the ſender.
Iob (the holy man) in his loſſe of goods,Iob. death of children, perſonall extremities, wiues curſed motions, and to thoſe vnwiſe inferences and concluſions of his friendes replyeth, at one time: Naked I came into the world, at another time, The Lord gaue and the Lord hath taken away, at another to his Wife, ô foliſh woman: & to his friendes, ô ye Phyſicions of no valu. But euer reſolutly that euen in death he knew that he hadde a liuing redeemer, and ſo thorough faith controuling his ſome impatiencie, recognizeth, that God the redeemer of al his, was alſo in ſpeciall his redeemer, and that it was not with God, as it may bee with mā, who ſtanding on the ſhore, may ſe a far-of theyr deereſt freendes and fellowe parteners plunged in daunger, and cannot helpe them, nor dare come to them.
When I recount the great deliuerances of olde, in fiers, in waters, in miery caues, & dreadfull priſons, of Elias vnderunder the Iuniper tre, Moſes in the flagges, the three children in the furnace, and of Ionas in the bellie of the Fiſh, in the bottome of the ſea, and altogether intangled, as it were, in ye rootes of the depth, who was with him, or with the reſt? or if God had not beene with them, in what caſe had they beene?
Theſe were men as we are, and as ſaint Iames ſpeaketh of one of them,I am. 5, 17. ſubiect to the like paſſions: The onelyonly difference is, they were more excellent mē in their daies, and famous in theyr times, and therfore the rather regiſtered as moſt fitte examples of comfort to al poſterity for the time to come.
More generall are the enſamples of Iſraell in Aegipt, and of Iudah in Babilon, both which people God in his good time, remembring his mercy, and pittying theyr miſery, did wonderfully deliuer.
But there is no difference with God, to be with one or with many, to deliuer ſome fewe, or greater companies. All is one with the almighty. Some difference only may be this, which is in books printed of a large or a leſſe letter, and paper, the matter not varying at all.
When God tooke his people from the fierie furnace, and mierie clay, and from the vnceſſaunt toile of gathering ſtrawe, when he brought all Iſraell out of bondage, and left not an hoof behind, here the preſence of God is printed as it were in Royall paper and in Capital letters. Againe, when Abrahams wordes,Gen. 22. Deus prouidebit, when, I ſay, Gods prouidence is ſeene priuately, and felt priuately of ſome one, the foorm and paper are leſſe, and the letter leſſe, but the prouidence of God is the ſame, And yet the perſonage may bee ſuch that it may be more to doo for one, then for many, and I conſter Dauids caſe to be of this kinde.
Dauid kept his fathers ſheepe,1. Sam. 17. and there came a Lion, and likewiſe a Beare, and tooke a ſheepe out of the flocke. But Dauid (far vnlike ſome hirelings) followeth after, ventereth his life, redeemeth his ſheepe, and ſlaieth the Beaſt. This had beene ouerhard for Dauid to hauehave done, had not God beene with him. For he was but a youth.
Farder, when he came to the campe, and heard the vncircūciſed Giāt braue the hoaſt of the liuing God, ſtraight way in a monomachie, that is to ſay, one to one, himſelfe alone with the Giant alone entred the cōbat, and according to Sauls wiſh at that tyme, The Lord was with him.
In proceſſe, when Saule ſlue his thouſand, Dauid ſlue his ten thouſand, eueryevery Damſell could ſing of the oddes, euen to the regreete of Saule, that ſought enuiouſly therefore to be diſpatcht of Dauid. But Dauid euer delt wiſely in all his waies, for why, The Lord was with him, ſayth the text.
Now yet if Dauid for euer after ſhould hauehave leade onelyonly a priuate life, the caſe had beene leſſe to ſee to then it was afterwards vponupon great euents enſuing. For God had a purpoſe to take him from the ſheepfoldes,Pſal. 78. & to place him in roome of his maiſter to feed his people and guide his inheritance, ſo that al along Gods, being with Dauid, was immediately by him to be with his people, and with his inheritaunce.
Princes good or bad are the good or the verie bane of their ſubiectes.For if God reſpect the Prince that preſently is, or apparantly & conſequentlie ſhal be, it is the benefit of many: for the Prince is as the ſtomacke in the body of a realme, it receiueth little for it ſelfe, but moſt for the reſt parts of the body. All ſence is from the head, all life is from the hart. The Prince is as the head and hart of his people and for the excellencye of his various properties, hath diuers reſemblances.
If the root be quicke the branches grow: if the foundacion be ſure, all the building is the ſurer. A ſcholerly recitall with application herein is ouer eaſie.
And againe if the foundation be as a tottering wall, or rotten hedge, or ſlippery ſoile and quick ſandy, the building cannot ſtand.
Like Prince,1. King. 14. like people for the moſt part as it is written, Ieroboam was not a ſinner alone, but he made all Iſraell to ſinne. And againe, Ieroboam fel away from God (like a great Oke) and Iſraell (ſome as greater armes, ſome as leſſer braunches) but all fell with him.
And contrariwiſe againe in times of better regiment, it went better. Iſraell ſerued the Lord all the dayes of Ioſue, Ioſu. 24.and all the like elders that ouer liued Ioſue.
Looke to it ye rulers, but you are not the cheefe rulers, if ſkilleth not, you are rulers, leſſe or more authoritie in rulers, dooth not alter the nature of ruling in your degrees. And water may be pure in the ſpring, & corrupted in the riuers, if it bee not looked to.
But God being both with the ſpring, and with the riuers, ſee, how is the lād refreſhed as in Dauids time and in Salomons time? And to theſe happy endes was God with Dauid, as with a ſhepe of his own paſtures and with the worke-manſhip of his owne framing, to moſt ſoueraigne purpoſes, as you hauehave heard.
AND now to looke homeward a little reflexiuely ſomewhat conſidering our own eſtate,Acts and Monumentes. euen by this glaſſe of Dauids example, you remember, I am ſure, who ſhe is that ſaid, Tanquā Ouis, that ſhe was a ſhepe, euen in the vallie of death, leade vntounto, & ſhut vp in the ſlaughter houſe, and you may not forget, who he is that tooke the knife out of the butchers hand.
You knowe who ſhe is that built vppon the rocke, and you know who that rocke is. Who hath not hard of that morneful voice, that She had no freend, & yet comfortable in this, But God alone: for how is he frindles, that hath god for his frind? his word is a good, & a true word. Win-God, and win al.
One ſayd, he was neuer leſſe alone, then when he was left alone, I ſay it is true, in ſence that when al men forſake vsus, and God alone tarieth with vsus, then are wee neuer leſſe alone.
Good Queene Elizabeth hath founde it ſo, and God mollified the harts of ſome of her foes for his mercy ſake at her praiers, & raiſed vp ſome others, dutifully and honorably to demeane thēſelues vntounto her grace, and one ready to die at her foote, if vilanous bouldnes ſhould cauſe ſuch neede, and after ſome long ſeaſoning of ſo precious a woode for an excellent building, the happy 17. day of Nouember, 1558. commeth, and God maketh it manifeſt to all the worlde, that himſelfe was with her in all theſe tempeſts, and then the plat-forme was broken vp, and the ſnare taken away, and a daughter of Dauid had as great deliueraunces as euer Dauid had, and ſo her owne confeſſion both then an ſince is a duefull and true confeſſion, That neuer Prince, no neuer creature had euer greater.
Yet becauſe this world is not the land of entire bleſſednes, euerlaſtingly to endure, ſundry vncleane beaſts hauehave entered, with ful entendment to ſtaine the greene and fertle paſtures wherein God hath placed her, and had done ſo (ſo it might hauehave beene) if God and his Chriſt, the great ſheepehearde of our ſoules had not exerted his arme, and ſhewed himſelfe, and ſtoode in the gap, and driuen away the Lion and the Beare, and the Popes ſundry Bulles.
Verily as Elias his ſeruaunt ſawe a ſmall cloud by little and litle growing to a greater matter: ſo (good countrimen) the cheefe ſeruauntes of God in the honorable ſeruice of the realme and her Maieſty by that prudency which God hath lent them, hauehave a long time ſince, looking for ſuch extremities, as the wicked world offereth eſpied the riſing and proceedinge of a cloude to come, ſometimes thickning in the North, & ſometimes threatning in the Weſt, and of late time, all the waters of the ſalt Ocean, and briniſh natures aſcendinge and leaguinge themſelues together to hauehave ouerwhelmed vsus all, but the ground and ſubiect of theyr practiſes and complots failing them, and that onelyonly or cheefe Pole-ſtarre of theſe home-conſpiracies and forraine drifts and troubles euen againſt her own onelyonly ſonne, being taken away, they hauehave miſſed theyr aime, Her will and teſtament, mencined in her letters to Mendoza to giuegive away the realme, to the King of Spaine, could not be prooued, nor that Tragical execution be executed & performed. And all theſe waues breaking in the fale, hauehave ſwallowed vp many of them, who would hauehave deuoured vsus: & by the prouidence of him that keepeth Iſraell, the ſtrong horſe & the proud rider, thoſe tale ſhips, and furniture in them lie floting in the waters, and ſincke in the ſea. for ſince we deſiſted to chaſe and perſue them moſt of this is come to paſſe, to the ende cheeflie to ſhewe and declare that this was not the worke of man, but the hand of God.
At theyr comming wee had warning of thē, at their entry we had a good beginning in their paſſage we gained the winde, or rather God gaue it vsus, & when they were rooted ouer-right vsus, they were diſplanted againe. In theſe things, & in whatſoeuer elſe either going before, or paſſed ſince, hee that ſeeth not the finger of God to hauehave bene, and to be with Queen Elizabeth, ſeeth nothing and the brightnes of God ſhining vponupon her, and by her vponupon vsus, dooth dazell his ſight, that he cannot ſee.
Wherin, the care of her maieſty, the vigilancy of her honorable councel, the faithfulnes of nobles, courage in Captains & ſouldiers, with ioynt willingnes of all Engliſhe harts in the realme, were merueilous vaileable, & commendable, but except God keepe al in order & except he had vnited vsus in true wiſedome to forſee and in harty rep…ntance to fly vntounto him, & in his ſtrength boldly and happily to withſtand theſe titulary conquerers, their pride might hauehave made thē more fooliſh and moſt wicked to venter vppon other mens dominions without end. Plus vltra, More, ſtil More, was his fathers poſie.Charls the. 5.
But bee it that they hauehave receiued no harme by our reſiſtaunce, as their louers faine, bee it that our weapons hauehave ſtunge them like Plinies flies, and that for the preſent they doo not feele what we hauehave don by Our peccatores, by our little poor ſinners, For ſo at firſt they could terme our Nauy & imagine of our ſhips, bee it that God by vsus was not againſt them, yet certainely, they cannot deny and wee muſt confeſſe to the worlds end, that The Lord was with vsus, & herein we reioice & praiſe his name for euer more, & the more we giuegive to God, it is moſt true, that the great benefit of the ſea about vsus: wtin our Queene, her Councel, nobles, & peoples: abrod her Admiral, Viſeadmirals and ſkilful Sea-men: or any where elſe, her forces, poliſies, and helpes whatſoeuer, ſhal hauehave neuer a whit the leſſe, as the widdowe had neuer the leſſe,1. King. 17 the more ſhee gaue to Gods Prophet.
Wherfore (my good brethren and deere countrimen) lift vp your harts, lift them vp vntounto the Lord and praiſe his holy name. He that offereth praiſe, honoureth him with an acceptable ſacrifice.
Conſider then all his benefites, his olde, late, and his preſent benefites euen heaped vponupon our Queene, and vponupon vsus her ſubiects and lay them all as diuers ſweetes togeather, to make a Leuits fier of perfit thankefulnes that ſhall neuer out.
When a Spaniſh Prince and an Italian Prieſt ruled England, when ſuperſtition, humane deuiſes, will-worſhippinges, and groſſe idolatrie in a ſtrange toung ouerruled al, then were our goods ſpoiled, our fleſh martyred, our bodies burnt, and our aſhes ſcattered, and our very ſoules ſterued.
A ſlight remembraunce of this good deliuerie from theſe calamities is little worth and as fier of bruſh ſoone extinct, lay altogeather which hath followed ſince, conſpiracies detected, rebellions repreſſed and preuented, inuaſions diuerted euer by the Lords owne doing, & ſtil bleſſing embrodered, infolded, & powred down bleſſing vponupon bleſſing with a full horne? Truely the deliueraunces of Dauid were but a caſt of thoſe which we feede on.
Papiſts, the peeuiſhe and worſt ſorte of them bite the lippe hereat, and hang downe head not knowing, God knoweth, that their heads ſhould be hanged vp ſooneſt ſpecially the heades of the richeſt, for Lutherans and Caluineſts, as well as other. Alas Cardinall Allen, C. Allen.who euer ſtandeth aloofe as Pirrhus poſt principia, cannot be alwaies at hand with eueryevery barberous ſouldier, to ſay, This man forſooth is a Catholique.
Well, for this time hether to (God bee thanked) Iacobs hand hath beene ſtronge enough to hold Eſau by the heel, and if ſome Midwiues helpe out blooddy Eſaus forces once againe, God that hath preſerued vsus ſo long, will not, we hope, forſake vsus now.
Yet ſweete wordes lull men a ſleepe, the beſt Remora and ſtay to keepe them of, is an vnfayned repentaunce, and a generall conuerſion, and certaine determination of the whole lād to ſerue him better thē in former time, & in all theſe victories, or happie ſucceſſes to preſcribe al to ye cheefe directer.
The Flye in the Beaſts eare, or the Emmite on his horne cānot ſay they were they who plowed the land, and brought, aboute theſe matters.
If we hauehave done great thinges, hee hath don them by vsus, & as one ſaid to his ſouldiers, if I be an Egle, you be my feathers: ſo if▪ Captaines or Souldiers hauehave done any thing, the Lord of hoaſts hath beene with vsus all in al. And as he is a fooliſh Inne-keeper that keepeth not a perfect remembraunce of his cheefeſt geaſtes by whom he gaineth: ſo vnwyſe are we, if we forget by whom we hauehave profited, and by whome wee hauehave ſo greatly and ſo often gained,
Leah beareth one ſonne, and calleth hys name Reuben, Gen. 29.a ſecond ſonne, and calleth him Simeon, and a third, and calleth hym Leui. But when aboue expectation ſhe conceiueth, and bareth the fourth time, ſhe purpoſely calleth his name, Iudah, and expreſly proteſteth that She will praiſe the Lord.
If one benefit moue thee not, O England, many ſhould, if many hauehave not done it, yet this late deliueraunce paſſeth all others, O call it Iudah, and let vsus prayſe the Lord. For any comfort ſaue in the Lorde, is like Agars water, that is ſoone dryed vp: but that ſweete acclamation in the Prophet Zacherie, Grace, Grace, Zach. 4.is the euerlaſting duetie of our Churche and common weale and the fatneſſe of his Oliues, and the conſolations of his ſpirite, and his beeing with our Candle-ſtick is our onlie comfort.
Legendary news in Spaine. 1569.Others imagine fabulous tales, and wicked hopes: feare them not: About the yeere of our Lord 1569. or ſome-what after, I reade, of falſe newes ſpread in Spaine of a ſuppoſed great battaile betwixte the Papiſts and Chriſtians, wherein an Angell with a Challice in his hand, was reported to hauehave diſcomfited manie thouſands of our Queenes ſubiectes for the which putatiue victorie, there were in Spaine gratulations and triumphes in the bieſt degree with concourſe of nobles, ringings and ſingings, and much mad mirth, for the fortunate ſucceſſe againſt the heretiques according to the meaning of the Pope-holy league, and charitable conſpiracy of the couent of Trent. Belike ſome Mēdoza ſent theſe news, they were ſo true. Sence the Spaniards themſelues hauehave had a long thirſt to drink of the ſame cup, and out of the Challice which the Angell held then forth. And this fatall yere 88, they hauehave ſought for it in England, and they hauehave taſted thereof in Ireland, wee know, and I think al Spaine would ring if not therefore, yet thereof by this time, if the king, or rather, if the holy houſe would ſuffer them.
A little thing would make fooles fayne now, they were ſo a gogge at nothing then. But proud Bennadab, muſt not boſt, when he girdeth his harneſſe, as when he putteth it of. But O fooliſh fugitiues and Engliſhe Seminaries, & ſeedemen of theſe tumults, what meane you, why ſeeke yee amity with eueryevery ſtraunger? Euen therefore God hath demonſtratiuely taught you that your trecheries are wicked. Why goe you abroade? what want you at home? Becauſe our Queene truſteth in the Lord & in the mercy of the moſt high, ſhe and we hauehave not miſcaried, and God hath beene with vsus, and though we be not as we ſhould be, yet, good God, make vsus better. They are thine open enimies. To make an ende for this time tyl on Tueſday next, when (God willing) accordinge to our bounden duetie we meete againe, and then we ſhall ring for them, and ſing for our ſelues and profeſſe in a moſt certaine veritie, that not an Angell, but God himſelfe had a fauourable eye towarde vsus, & an holy hand ouer vsus, and that hee was as much with vsus as euer with any Nation, when notwithſtanding all their crakes and famous Dons, and doutie Aduenteres, huge ſhippes all to be-ſwathed with gables and printed vauntes, we loſt by them, who are now ſent home a wrong way, neither man, nor ſhip, nor boat, nor maſt of ſhip. O Grace, Grace. Thanckfulnes, Thankfulnes, call it Iudah, and praiſe the Lord, the King of Kings, the God of armies and the Lord of hoſts, and mighty Iehoua for euer more. Amen.
FINIS.
2. KINGS. 6.
15 Elizeus ſeruaunt ſeeing a great Hoaſt compaſſing the Cittie, Saieth to his maiſter: Alas maiſter what ſhall we doo?
16 The Prophet anſwereth. FEARE NOT: For they which be WITH VSUS (to witte God and his ſtrength) are moe then they which bee with them. And God opened the mans eies, who looked and ſawe that it was ſo.
End of the text · John Prime, The Consolations of David Applied to Queen Elizabeth (1588)