Three Sermons, Sermon 3
The third SERMON.
GEN. 49. 5, 6. and 7. verſes.
Simeon and Levi are Brethren, Inſtruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my ſoule come not thou into their ſecret, into their aſſembly mine honour be not thou united, for in their anger they ſlew a man, and in their ſelfe will, they digg'd a wall, curſed bee their anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruell: I will divide them in Iacob, and ſcatter them in Iſrael.
THis Chapter containes the laſt Will and Teſtament of the Patriarch Iacob, made on his death bed, and it conſiſts of two parts.
Firſt, the Legacy and portion that he bequeathes to his children.
Secondly, his care concerning his buriall, together with the manner of his death.
My Text is part of the firſt part, and contains that part and portion that appertaines to Simeon and Levi, wherin be pleaſed to conſider with me two generalls.
Firſt, their ſinne.
Secondly, their cenſure.
Their ſinne in the fifth and part of the ſixth verſes.
Their cenſure in part of the ſixth and ſeaventh verſes.
Their ſinne was murder, amplified and aggravated,
Firſt, by their mutuall conſent and agreement in ſinne, Simeon and Levi are brethren. Iunius ſaith on the Text, Iacob doth not call them brethren, becauſe they were ſo in nature, but becauſe they were brethren in the murder.
Secondly, their ſinne is aggravated and amplified, from the manner of their acting and perpetrating it, they did it wilfully, revengefully, in their anger they ſlew a man, in their ſelfe-will they digg'd a wall.
Thirdly, from the extenſion the meaſure and degree, their anger was fierce, their wrath was cruell.
Their cenſure, that alſo is aggravated,
Firſt, by the perſon that adjudgeth them, it was their father.
Secondly, from the circumſtance of time when he did it, when he was on his death bed.
Thirdly, from the manner how, he did it,
Firſt, with indignation and deteſtation, denying any further protection to them; O my ſoule come not into their ſecret, unto their aſſembly mine honour be not thou united.
Secondly, with malediction, and execration, curſed be their anger, it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel.
Laſtly, with a Propheticall prediction, what ſhould become of them, I will divide them in Iacob, and ſcatter them in Iſrael, Of theſe in their order briefly.
Revenge is a baſe and cowardly paſſion, proceeding from a weake, effeminate abject mind, unworthy the breaſt of men, much more of men of God: thunder, haile and tempeſt, and the reſt of thoſe fearefull motions that we have in the aire here below neither trouble nor hurt celeſtiall bodies, anger reſts in the boſome of fooles; but revenge to kil, argues wicked weaknes, and ſavage cruelty, murdering revenge indeed ends the quarrell, but wounds the reputation: he ſtrikes ſafely, but villanouſly and diſhonourably that ſtrikes and kils: And this was the ſin of Simeon and Levi. The ſtory is well known: if any be ignorant of it, read it at better leiſure in Gen. 34.25.
Their bloudy maſſacre will appeare more horrid, if you be pleaſed to conſider with me theſe aggravating circumſtances, ſome are in the text, the reſt in the ſtory. I muſt make choiſe of ſome, I cannot travell through all.
Firſt, in their anger they ſlew a man, Thargum Ieruſalem reades it, Kings and Rulers, Hamor and Sechem, the chiefe of them murdered, was the King and Prince of the Country; He that kills a man, ſtrikes at Gods Image, he that kills a King ſtrikes at his Soveraignty. Kings are Gods, though not by participation of nature, yet of name and power; They that conſpire againſt Kings, they fight againſt God; Thou ſhalt not (ſaith the God of theſe Gods) revile the Gods of thy people. God imparts his own name to them, that they might have his own ſafety. Kings are living and breathing Images of God: it is againſt the Law of nations, againſt the Law of nature, againſt the Royall Law of God, to kill, to ſmite, to touch a King, yea to revile him, or in our ſecret Chambers to thinke evill againſt him; The greater was the ſinne of Simeon and Levi; In their Anger they ſlew a man, a King; This is the firſt aggravation.
Secondly, Innocents are not to be puniſhed with the guilty,Ezek. 18.3 As I live (ſaith God) this Proverb ſhall be uſed no more in Iſrael, The fathers have eaten ſowre grapes, and the childrens teeth are ſet on edge.
Gen. 18 25Farre be it from thee (ſaith Abraham) to deſtroy the righteous with the wicked: even heathen Abimelech could plead,Gen. 20.4. wilt thou deſtroy a Righteous Nation? ſhall one man ſinne, and the whole City periſh? I have ſinned, but theſe ſheepe, 2 Sam. 24.17.what have they done? If Hamor and Sechem had beene worthy of death, what had the reſt of the Citie done? what had their wives, their children, their ſervants, their horſes, their cattell, their oxen done? The Greeke, Beza, and many others reade it, in the plurall number, ſlew men, and digg'd downe walls, overthrew their houſe, or (as in the Margin) houghed the Oxen in pieces. This is the ſecond Aggravation.
Thirdly, there ought to bee a proportion betwixt the puniſhment and the offence: though all ſinnes are mortall, yet all are not equall: wee are ſo farre Catholicke, that we are not Stoicall: leſſer ſins are not to be puniſhed with the great cenſures of the law, anger in heart is not ſo evill as Raca in the frowne, or foole in the mouth: the perſon againſt whom, as well as the perſon that offends, aggravates the ſinne; That word which is ſpoken againſt a private man will but beare an action, againſt a Lord of the Councell is Scandalum magnatum, againſt the King, Treaſon, againſt God, blaſphemy: ſinne and judgement have their Climaxes: ſimple fornication was not to bee puniſhed with death, but with maryage or a Dowry, Sechem was guilty of no more, yet they kill'd him; This was the third aggravation.
Fourthly, Miniſters of juſtice ought not raſhly to proceed in judgment. God hath proclaimed himſelfe; and would have the Gods of the earth to take notice of it, that he is ſlow to wrath, ready to forgive; Our Law forbids all men trading in bloud to beare the ſword of Government, Veſpaſian ſighed and groaned, at juſt execution: Nero wiſhed he could not write, when hee was to ſigne a condemnation, Queene Elizabeth (next to the holy Scriptures) prefers (as the beſt piece) Seneca his booke of Clemencie; Our Gracious King (you have often heard it,) proclaimed how backward hee is to unſheath the ſword, even as to draw bloud from his owne veines; If puniſhment muſt follow, revenge may not; a member may not be cut off without ſighes and teares; ſoftly, deliberately muſt men execute judgement: the greater was the ſin of Simeon and Levi, that in their anger ſlew a man, and in their ſelfe will digg'd downe a wall, this is the fourth aggravation.
Fifthly, to do as we would be done unto is the ſtanding Law of God and Emperours, oathes and covenants are to be ſacred and inviolably kept: Shall he proſper (ſaith God) ſhall hee breake the covenant and bee delivered? Ezec. 17.15Thou Ieſus (ſaith Amurath the great Turke) if thou be a God, as they ſay thou art, Revenge the treachery of thy ſervants. Covenants and agreements ought to be moſt ſimple and moſt naked; Hamor and Sechem were at Truce with Iſrael, at Peace: not only in covenant with them, but in covenant with God, they were proſelytes in Religion, they dealt ſincerely and truly, the greater was the ſin of Simeon and Levi, that dealt treacherouſly and falſly. This was the fifth Aggravation.
Laſtly, Religion ought to bee the ſureſt bond: men that profeſſe Religion, that countenance their doings by Religion, ought (eſpecially to them that are without) to be moſt Religious, juſt and exact, that the name of God be not blaſphemed, that the holy profeſſion be not evill ſpoken of. Simeon and Levi were viſible members of the Church militant, they themſelves profeſſed Religion, and undertooke all the Treaty in the way of Religion, the more Irreligious their treachery, and perfidious their cruelty, this is the ſixth and laſt aggravation.
Collect theſe all together (my brethren) Their ſinne was murder, they ſhed the ſacred bloud of Kings, they murdered Innocents, they deemed them above their offence, they delight in puniſhing, they breake oathes and covenants, and they did all this under a pretence of Religion; Laborat Annalium fides. After ages would never have beleeved this, if Gods ſacred Annals, the Hiſtory of this book had not recorded it: you have ſeene the ſin of Simeon and Levi, more briefly ſee their cenſure.
The ſecond Generall.Curſed be their Anger: ſometimes wee ſhall have the holy man David, curſing, not onelyonly mens paſſions, (as Iacob his ſonnes here) but alſo their perſons, but then his curſes are Indefinite, or conditionall, or propheticall: either hee names not the man, or intends it if God intend it ſo; or his curſes are rather predictions, than male-dictions: Non tam vota, quam vaticinia. God appointed ſixe Tribes to curſe, as well as ſixe to bleſſe, Moſes the meekeſt man in all the earth was mediator of the condemning Law, Saint Paul that was compounded of affection, yet pronounced the greateſt curſe in the Book of God; mens perſons ought not ſo to be had in admiration, that their wickedneſſe paſſe without condemnation: In Courts of Iuſtice mens cauſes (not their perſons) ſhould ſpeake. Iacob lookes not on his ſons cruelty with a fathers indulgent lenity, but with a frowning Auſterity: whom GOD curſes, Iacob will not bleſſe, curſed be their anger.
This cenſure will aggravate their ſinne, if you conſider theſe circumſtances.
Firſt, The Parents curſe (ſaith the wiſeman) rootes out the foundation of a child: Gods curſe uſually goes along with theirs. Noah curſed Cham, and the Canaanites were curſed of God. Saint Auſten tells us of a Mother curſing her tenne Children, that immediately from Heaven they were ſhattered in pieces; Camerarius relates of one curſed by his father, that preſently by a miracle hee was faſtned to the ground, of a ſecond devoured by Serpents, of a third torne by devils; ſad and dreadfull examples, a fearefull document to Parents to take heed how they raſhly curſe their children, and for children how they provoke their Parents. Parents are not eaſily moved to curſe their children, eſpecially if they be religious parents, men fearing God, and yet Iacob (Simeon and Levi's father, holy Iacob) curſes, but it is their anger, not them; their paſſions, not their perſons, curſed be their anger: this is the firſt aggravation.
Secondly, the words of dying men, are living oracles, then men ſpeak moſt affectionately, and their words pierce moſt deepely. Iacob at this time was on his death bed, his ſons crave his bleſſing, he loves them, but hates their ſins; as his ſoule at firſt gave no conſent, ſo his tongue now ſhall give no approbation to it: at firſt he reproves them, but having more liberty he deteſts it; He was preſently to appeare, before Gods Tribunall, ſo he calls them to his.
Thirdly, an honeſt heart doth not only not act wickednes, but abhors it: Iacob as hee was no Counſellor to the offence, ſo he would be no Patron to the offendors, O my ſoule come not into their ſecret, unto their aſſembly mine honour be not thou united: Iacob as before he proteſted againſt it, ſo now he diſclaimes it.
Fourthly, it's the curſe that followes the Iewes to this day, to be a ſcattered people on the face of the earth: diviſion will follow unity in ſin: Simeon and Levi brethren in evill, therefore Iacob makes them ſtrangers in dwelling, I wil divide them in Iacob, and ſcatter them in Iſrael: Simeon had no entire inheritance, Levi no certaine. Thus you have ſeen their ſin, and their cenſure.
But what's this to us, (wil you ſay) or what's this to the buſines of this day; Have patience and this ſhall give more light, and bee more welcome to you, conſidering that Iacob in thus ſpeaking is our ſpokeſman. Brightman ſpeaking of the ſeaven Churches ſaith, they were Typicall of the Churches of the Gentiles, to the comming of Chriſt. I ſhould be too ſingular if I did ſay, this hiſtory were Typicall, and did ſet forth the tragedy for this day. I wil not undertake to give an interpretation, but I will promiſe, and your ſelves ſhall ſee an exact application in all the particulars, be pleaſed therefore once more to have recourſe to the words of the Text, and with a little variation of names and time, read it thus, Ieſuites and Ieſuited Papiſts, are Brethren, Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my ſoule come not thou into their ſecret, unto their aſsembly mine Honour be not thou united, for in their Anger they ſlew a man, and in their ſelfe will they digg'd downe a wall, curſed bee their Anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruell. God divide them from the ſonne of our Iacob, and ſcatter them from our Engliſh Iſrael.
I will follow the ſame method that I did before, I will ſhew you the ſinne of theſe and their cenſure, and that, aggravated with the ſame circumſtances as that of Simeon and Levi.
Firſt then Simeon and Levi in their anger they ſlew a man, a King; The lives of Kings are ſacred, therefore thoſe doctrines, the moſt remote conſequences whereof will maintaine killing of Kings are to be abhor'd among us. But as for the doctrine of Ieſuites, and Ieſuited Papiſts, their Tenets and and principles ſticke point blancke to this killing of Kings, and in this, their cruelty is farre worſe, than that of Simeon and Levi. Simeon and Levi did once kill a King: though, de facto, they did it, yet they did it but once, and their Religion condemned it, and their father Iacob curſed it: But it is the Religion of the Church of Rome, and the conſtant practiſe of the Ieſuites to doe it not only once, but often, yea their Religion maintaines it, and in ſome caſes makes it meritorious; yea the Pope their father allowes it, countenances and bleſſes it; you were once taught to ſay on the ſervice of this day, that their Religion is Rebellion, and their faith faction, it is now altered; And I have reaſon enough to beleeve there's ſufficient Reaſon of State for it, though I ſee none; I hope I ſhall make it eaſily appeare to you, that the Religion of the Church of Rome maintaines killing of Kings. Bellarmine in his Letter to Blackwell the Arch-Prieſt of England makes this Rhetoricall flouriſh, did ever any Pope from the Infancy of the Church at any time command any King (though heatheniſh) to be kill'd, or approve the Act, after it was done; Therefore (ſaith hee) why ſhall the King of England feare that, that never any Chriſtian King in the Chriſtian world did ever, or hath cauſe to feare? boldly ſpoken, and as a Cardinall Ieſuite: Let Bellarmine anſwer Bellarmine, and throw bluſhing in his owne face. I have the rather made choice of him, becauſe he is their Coripheus, and few of them (I beleeve) deny what he affirmes, yea I have him to ſhew, if any denies what I ſay to you, in his fifth booke De Roman. Pontific. 7. cap. he ſaith plainly, Non licet Chriſtianis, &c. It is not lawfull for Chriſtians to tollerate a Heatheniſh, Infidell, Hereticall King, yea (ſaith hee) it pertaines to the Pope alone to judge if the King be ſo or no, he ſaith alſo in the ſame place, if any ſheepe become a Wolf, any Chriſtian Prince become a Heretick, and labours to withdraw his ſubjects, then the Pope ought to expell them, excommunicate them, drive them away from their kingdome, and diſcharge their ſubjects of obedience; And he gives this Reaſon (and I beſeech you marke it) why the Chriſtians in the Primitive times did not thus proceed againſt Nero, Caligula, Diocleſian, Iulian the Apoſtate, Valerian, and the reſt of thoſe monſters (Gods plagues to the Church) becauſe they wanted force, So that by the doctrine of Bellarmine, if Chriſtian Kings are once Hereticks, by the Pope they may bee excommunicated, depoſed and deprived, and experience ſhowes, it neceſſarily followes they muſt be murdered. The ſame Bellarmine in his fift booke ſixth chapter ſpeakes out; The Pope may change kingdomes, and take them from one, and give them to another, and gives this Reaſon, elſe (ſaith hee) Kings may pervert their people, experience ſhewing, that as the King is, ſo is the kingdome, Inſtancing in Ieroboam, Constantine, Conſtance, Iulian, King Henry the eight, King Edward the ſixt, Queene Mary, Queene Elizabeth; All whoſe kingdomes changed with their Kings; He affirmes this to bee a Catholike Doctrine, and to prove it, brings in the Verdict, of Twenty Italians, foureteene French, nine Germans, ſeaven Engliſh and Scots, nineteene Spaniards, all theſe prime Authors, yea the Prieſts and Ieſuites the great fomentors of thoſe damnable Treaſons againſt Queene Elizabeth, give up father Bellarmine for their chiefeſt authority, for their Oracle: you ſee Bellarmine ſpeakes plaine, he ſaith enough, yet not all, I muſt tell you, Bellarmine is modeſt to others that come after him, though he ſaith ſomewhat, yet they much more; He maintained indeed againſt Aquinas, that Kings are not to be murdered, though they are Hereticks, except they labour to make their people ſo too, and maintaines againſt others that except the Pope have excommunicated and accurſed them, ſubjects are not to riſe againſt their King. But others, Mariana, and the reſt of that blacke Guard ſpeake out, people are to riſe againſt their King, and though the Pope neglects his duty, they are not to neglect theirs, hee adviſes rather to poyſon their chaire, Incarnate devils! yea the very vow that the Ieſuites take will neceſſarily inferre this conſequence, therfore it's not the opinion of a few alone, but the whole order muſt avouch it, I will not ſay every Ieſuite and Papiſt (de facto) is not loyall and dutifull to their Prince, I will ſay, all their Loyalty depends on the Popes pleaſure; And what a rotten thread this is to hang ſo ſharpe a pointed ſword in, over the head of Kings, what loyall heart doth not tremble to thinke of it? After a ſolemne profeſſion that they beleeve the Popes abſolute authority over all, as the Vicar of Chriſt, they make this vow to doe whatſoever the Pope or the Generall of the order ſhall command them, immediately without any Tergiverſation, diſputation, or excuſe at all, and to goe whereſoever he ſhall command them, whether to the Turks, Infidels, and Indians, or Hereticks and Schiſmaticks among the Chriſtians; yea they are bound to beleeve that no error, impiety, injuſtice can come from the Pope, but that all is Religion, Zeale, Devotion, Equity and Truth; My Brethren, doe not theſe men commit themſelves ſoule and body to the Pope, doe not they give themſelves not to beleeve their owne ſences, their owne Reaſon, Iudgment and underſtanding; And doe they not vow to goe, to come, to doe, to ſay, to execute upon all perſons, and againſt all perſons, whatſoever he ſhall command them and if this be true, what hope, what ſafety, what meanes of refuge have Chriſtian Kings and Princes but the Popes pleaſure, when theſe, the ſlaves of the Pope, (for ſo the Ieſuites call themſelves) which care not for their owne lives, bee maſters of the Kings; And yet (ſaith Bellarmine) was it ever heard, or read, or did the Pope approve the fact after it was done, if the Pope doth not allow of the killing of Kings and Princes, wherfore (I pray you) doth he not ſet ſome ſevere Cenſure, and with a fearefull frowne cry downe thoſe Ieſuiticall bookes of Mariana and the reſt, that not only approves, but commends King-killing ſervice; Wherefore doth his holineſſe ſuffer at Rome even under his noſe, thoſe Ieſuites that had the chiefeſt hand in Treaſons, to be pictured in Bookes like Martyrs, and ſuperſtitious worſhip by the common people to bee done to them: And thoſe two Kings in France (both murdered by Ieſuites) why did not his holineſſe teſtifie to the Chriſtian world his apprehenſion of ſo great misfortune, which all Europe had cauſe to lament, why hath not his holines made a Law, and a decree againſt killing of Kings and Princes, whereby they may enjoy more ſafety; Let not words be credited when deeds ſpeake ſo lowd, King Iames in his anſwer to this fla… ting lye, brings a full Iury of witneſſes; And Bellarmine himſelfe in his eight Chapter, twelve ſeverall examples to prove the lawfulneſſe, that Kings may be depoſed by the people. I will keep at home, and only tell you how the Pope proceeded againſt our King Iohn, Queene Elizabeth, King Iames: Innocentius the firſt, hee firſt interdicted the kingdome, excommunicated the King, curſed his perſon, animated his ſubjects againſt him, gave his kingdome to the King of France, at laſt when the King ſomewhat relented and ſubmitted to him, he forced him to reſigne his Crowne and kingdome to Pandolphus his Legate, who kept it three dayes, and after gave it him, and made him tributary for his own kingdome.
That Bull of Pope Clement ſent out againſt Queene Elizabeth is infamouſly and notoriouſly knowne, whereby after much railing and blaſpheming of her ſacred perſon, hee curſes all that adhere unto her; This Bull he ſends into England, faſtened it on one of Saint Pauls Gates, Saunders in his writings maintained it. Briſtow in his Motives, approved it, ſome of the Nobility and many of the Gentry were ſaid to execute it: From this fountaine all thoſe bitter ſtreames of curſed water flowed out, damnable Treaſons againſt her perſon. But to paſſe all other, the Treaſon intended this day, ſpeakes loud enough, occaſioned by Popiſh Religion, attempted by Popiſh Catholikes, encouraged by Popiſh Doctors, maintained and bleſſed by the Pope himſelfe; I ſay, the Pope himſelfe, for when father Garnet deſired to know the Popes Reſolution concerning the bloudy Tragedy, Catesby preſently reſolved him; The Pope (ſaith hee) that commanded our endeavours to hinder his comming in, is willing enough wee ſhould throw him out.
I know this Anniverſary remembrance of this great deliverance, troubles the hearts of tender Ieſuites and Papiſts, ſome in Print condemne it, and ſay that the treaſon of the Powder Traitors, ought to bee buryed in the grave of the offendors, and not to be imputed to their Religion, ſome impudently now begin to deny it, and ſome with blacke mouthes labour to faſten it on the Puritans, God rebuke them; Tis no new thing (my brethren) to diſavow that which took no effect: But had this damnable Treaſon beene executed, it would not have wanted Patrons highly to have maintained it. When that Parricide killed Henry the third King of France, did not the Pope in full conſiſtory of his Cardinalls make a glorious relation of it, comparing the Aſacinat to Eleazar and Iudeth, forbidding all Maſſes and dirges to bee ſaid for the ſoule of the King? Is not his picture compleately ſet up in the Ieſuites Colledge: over the Altar, with Angels protecting and crowning him? I could at large relate the manner of the Ieſuites proceedings, how they raiſe the ſpirits, and ſteele the reſolutions of others, whom they ſet apart to this King-killing ſervice. I am ſorry for the Chriſtian Name, that ſuch damnable poſitions ſhould bee publiſht among heathen nations, to the diſgrace of Chriſtendome; The Apocryphall booke of Iudeth the Pope receives into the Canon, it may be for this reaſon, becauſe it commends this Act of Simeon and Levi which Iacob curſes: There wants not Ieſuites to Apologize for, and juſtifie the powder Treaſon. Saint Paul calls the Pope (for on him I faſtned it this day Twelve month) the man of ſinne, that exalts himſelfe above all that is called God: ſome there are that exalt his holineſſe above God himſelfe, but hee himſelfe and all that adhere to him, exalt him above all that is called God, above Kings and Emperours. The Pope makes himſelfe good ſport with the Crownes of Kings, Kings and Emperours are his ſervants and Vaſſals, they hold his Stirrop, lead his horſe, goe before him in a kinde of proceſſion; The Pope at his pleaſure tramples upon their necks, hee crownes and uncrownes them with his foote, he makes them waite bare foote at his gate, he excommunicates them, Armes their ſubjects againſt them, gives their kingdomes to others, diſcharges their ſubjects of obedience to them, they poyſon them at the Sacrament, ſtabbe them in their Coaches, murder them in their Courts, they make themſelves fatte with the bloud of Kings. O might thoſe Kings, thoſe tenne Kings ſpoken of in the Revelations 17.16. (amongſt whom ſome there are that name the King of England, and the King of France to be there ſpoken of,) O may they hate the whore, make her naked and deſolate, eate her fleſh and burne her with fire! Simeon and Levi kill'd a KING, that's the firſt thing.
Secondly, Simeon and Levi, Maſſacred Innocents, it's a ruled caſe among the Ieſuites, where the Catholike cauſe may be advanc't, there the murdering of a few Innocents, though hundreds and thouſands is not to bee ſtood upon. When Garnet was queſtioned by Cateſby, whether with a ſafe conſcience they might proceed with the Powder project, becauſe in blowing up the Parliament houſe they ſhould kill ſome of their owne Religion, he quickly replyed, ſuch as this was not to bee ſtood upon; And this Eudemon with great earneſtneſſe defends, and it hath beene the conſtant practiſe of the Ieſuites, to this day; I muſt now lead you into Golgotha, a field of dead mens bones, a field very ample and large, as that to which God brought Ezechiel, Eze. 37.I am bold to affirme unto you, that the tenne perſecutions of the Heathen Emperors of Rome, never put to death ſo many nor with that cruelty as the power of the Biſhop of Rome, Inſtruments of Cruelty indeed are in their habitations. In their anger they kill men, ruine Cities, Countries, nations full of men; The heatheniſh perſecution was long and bitter, but as for Catholike perſecution, it is more tedious, more bitter, more cruell. Pope Theodorus, Biſhop of Rome, when the ſecond time he excommunicated Pyrrhus Patriarch of Conſtantinople, he mixed ſome of the conſecrated Cup with Inke, wherewith hee wrote the ſentence of the curſe, a new unuſuall forme of curſing, not heard of before. Something the Ieſuites have added to former perſecutions to make them more bitter and fierce: this man of ſinne Saint Paul cals the ſon of perdition, and ſo he is, both Active and Paſſive. Genitives, put for Adjectives, adde to their ſignification, ſon of perdition, becauſe he deſtroyes moſt, Saint Iohn calls him Apollyon, a deſtroyer; He ſaith they make themſelves druncke with the bloud of the Saints: To ſpeake of the Murders, Maſſacres, Treacheries, Cruelties of the Papiſts, it is ſo large a field, that entring into it, I know not where to begin, nor where to end. I could (my Brethren) ſhow you a Sea of bloud, flowing from the Sea of Rome, like to the Sea Ezechiel ſpeakes of,Eze. 47.3. which was at the firſt to the Anckles, then to the knees, then to the loynes deeper, and deeper; If I ſhould race them by the bloud, I ſhould ſoone tire my ſelfe, and your Attention. I ſpure to relate their horrible cruelties and treacheries, againſt the Albigenſes, and Waldenſes, the Cities of Merindoll and Cabriers; The Hiſtory is in Engliſh, and worth your reading, I will not tell you what cruelty they have done in Germany, nor ſpeak of that damnable Maſſacre in France, I will not bee your Pilot to wa…t you unto the Indians, where the Chriſtian Romans have kill'd more Pagans, then ever Pagans kill'd Chriſtians; OnelyOnly take notice of one ſpeech, the Duke of Alba ſaid, who confeſſed in cold bloud, that in ſixe yeares government of the Nether-Lands hee had put to death of the reformed Chriſtians meerely in the cauſe of Religion, eighteene thouſand; in thirtie yeares after the Ieſuites roſe, I find nine hundred thouſand Proteſtants, murdered in Chriſtendome, in a ſhort time one hundred thouſand in France, I could deſire to enlarge my ſelfe in declaring of the monſtrous cruelty of the Inquiſition, 'Tis a matchleſſe, Intollerable, unſufferable perſecution, an invention found in hell, and uſed ſtill by helliſh furies; Give me leave I beſeech you, to recite one example of our own fellow ſubjects, by that Iudge of the reſt. Lithgow a Scot having attained King Iames his Letters for his commendation, for his ſafe travell through the world, hee paſſes through the greateſt parts of the knowne world, amongſt Turkes, Pagans, Infidels, Iewes; He travelled through Forreſts, Wilderneſſes, and deſerts, hee met with theeves and murderers, Lions, Beares, and Tygers, yet came off ſafe: But as he paſſed through Spaine in the Citie of Maligo, on a ſuddaine he was ſurpriſed by nine Sergeants, who faſt grapled him about the throat that he could not ſpeake, violently ſnatched him away, carryed him before the Governour, who firſt offered to him (as he called it) that tyrannicall oath, to anſwer to whatſoever they ſhould aske Him, they ſtrip him naked of his cloathes, Robb'd him of his money, put him into a Dungeon without any light at all, with great fetters and ſhakles on his legges, fed him many dayes with a little muſty bread and cold water, they ſtarved him, wounded him; In tenne houres he received ſeaventy ſeverall torments, at laſt all the Lords Inquiſitors commanded him to receave Eleaven ſtrangling torments at midnight, and to bee burnt body and bones to aſhes, though they had nothing againſt him but ſuſpition of Religion, contrary to the peace then agreed upon, that none ſhould come into the Inquiſition: And yet after this, God wonderfully delivered him, hee was brought on his bed to our King, wounded and broken, who made this relation to the face of Gundimor the Spaniſh Embaſſador.
My Brethren, if the monſter of this day, which was brought to the birth, could the Devill have forced it forth; O what maſſacring, murdering and butchering of Innocents would there have beene, beſides the Maſſacre and murder of the day, wherein the King, and Queene, the Prince, the ſacred houſe of Parliament, and all that dwelt thereabouts, had beene deſtroyed: who can conceive the ſad and bloudy conſequences of it; The ſword would not onelyonly have paſſed through Weſtminster, London and the Regions about, but all the Country and Kingdome ſhould have felt the fury of it, yea Children unborne ſhould have beene ſmothered with the ſmoake of it; When the Sicilians Maſſacred the French, their fury was ſo great, that they did not only not leave one French man among them, but ript up all their owne women that were with child by the French, that not one droppe of French bloud might remaine among them.
When that great diſſention in Italy, and thoſe factious names of Gibilines and Guelphs came up, one adhering to the Emperor, the other to the Pope; When the Gibilines called in a third to aſſiſt them, promiſſing their goods, they having obteyned the victory fell a Rifling of both without diſtinction, being charged with breach of promiſe, they replyed, your ſelves are Gibilines and ſhall be ſafe, but your goods are Guelphs. I make no queſtion but the Engliſh Papiſts that now complaine of Salomons yoake, if ever the French, Spaniſh or Italian ſhould come victoriouſly among us (which God forbid) they would find Rehoboams burden, all their goods ſhould be Engliſh, if not they themſelves; Arch-Biſhop Cranmer, was not hee burnt though hee recanted? My ſword (ſaith the Duke of Parma) knowes no difference; In the troubleſome Reigne of King Iohn, when the traitorous and rebellious Nobles called in the French, and joyned with them againſt their King; You may remember what Vicount Melun (troubled in Conſcience upon his death bed) told the Lords, affirming it upon his ſalvation, that Lewes and ſixteene Lords, had taken an oath, that if ever the Crown were ſet on his head hee would condemne to perpetuall exile and utterly extirpate all their kinred that adhered to him, as Traitors to their owne Soveraigne; when the proud Spaniards exerciſed thoſe Tyrannies in the Netherlands, they firſt pretended the maintenance of the Romiſh Religion, yet they ſpared not to deprive very many Catholikes and Eccleſiaſticall perſons of their Liberties and priviledges, and the chiefeſt that was executed of the Nobility, was that valiant Count Egmund, that moſt zealouſly was effected to their Religion, yet moſt cruelly tormented: examples are infinite, but I haſten to the third aggravation.
Thirdly, Simeon and Levi puniſht them above their offence, nothing is more ordinary in the writings of the Ieſuites, then this, that Hereticks can never bee enough puniſhed; One complaines of that bloudy duke of Alva, that hee made the Netherlands worſe by ſhewing too much mercy, from Spaniſh mercy, Lord deliver us. Ariſt. ſaith; There ought to be a Geometricall proportion betwixt the puniſhment and the offence, leſſer offences are not to bee puniſhed with the great cenſures of the Law. Doctor Burges preaching before King Iames, relates a ſtory of Pollio's Wife, that commanded her Butler to be hanged for breaking of a Glaſſe; The Emperor paſſing by, ſtayed the execution, and ſaid the ſight of the Gallowes was enough for ſuch an offence, and to prevent the like, commanded all glaſſes to be broken; It's Tyranny, bloudy cruelty to puniſh every ſinwith death. When men exerciſe great cenſures for ſmall offences; It is (as one ſaid) to kill a fly upon a mans forehead with a great Beetle: The Papiſts will allow veniall ſinnes againſt God, but all are mortall againſt their Pope; There's no command of the morall Law, but they can diſpenſe with it, but none of their Ceremoniall Law, diſobedience to Parents, Murders, Treaſons, Treachery, Adultery, Inceſt, Theft, Sacriledge, Lying, Perjury, are all pardoned, but nothing againſt him. Let God ſay they, looke to the breach of his owne Law, wee will looke to ours.
Austin put to death 1200. Monks of Bangor becauſe they differed ſomething from him in the Liturgie and ſervice; Its a ſigne of a trifling Age, when the fathers of the Church trouble the peace of the Church for trifles, when they excommunicate one another for Tything Mint and Comin; As the Eaſterne and Weſterne Churches about the keeping of Eaſter; What great offence did Alexander, Biſhop of Ieruſalem, and the Biſhop of Ceſarea commit, when they layd their hands upon Origen, ſo highly to offend the Biſhop of Alexandria? it argues uſually bloudy times when eaſie offences are puniſht with death. Pope Innocentius in words thundered out againſt Groſted that good Biſhop of Lincolne, becauſe he denyed to preferre an Italian Boy commended to him by his Holineſſe, hee ſwore he would hurle him to ſuch confuſion, as to make him a fable, a gazing ſtock and a wonder to the world; But hee thundered indeed that caſheered one of his Officers, becauſe he kept not the legge of a Peacocke, blaſphemouſly ſaying, God baniſht Adam out of Paradiſe for an Apple, and may not I his Vicar for a Peacocks legge. To excommunicate Kings and Princes, to interdict kingdomes, to raiſe motions and commotions, to ſend out Croſado's againſt Chriſtians as againſt Turkes, becauſe in every thing they conforme not to the Pope, what greater injuſtice, tyranny and oppreſſion; To raiſe one kingdome againſt another, to give one to another, what greater tyranny and cruelty: What had our King and State deſerved of the Gunpowder-Traitors that they ſhould reward it with ſo great cruelty? They were not put to death, as wee were in Queene Maries dayes: our State had not erected an Inquiſition like that of Spaine. It hath beene the conſtant atteſtation of our Princes and States, that not one Papiſt hath ſuffered in the cauſe of Religion; They enjoyed their poſſeſſions, their liberties, their titles of honour, they were admitted neare to the Kings perſon, had the protection of our Lawes, no violence was offered to them, Engliſh Papiſts (ſaith one) are more pontificiall then the Spaniſh or French: That is, more falſe, treacherous, traitorous, bloudy and cruell. Soe that when the Romiſh Religion was in place among us, there were more invaſions and Rebellions then ever ſince, that it became proverbiall of our King and kingdome, that our King was the King of devils; Now ſince the puritie of the Goſpell among us, all Rebellions and Commotions have been of the Popiſh faction, I am ſure the conſpirators of this day were bloudy Papiſts. One ſaid to Q. Elizabeth, commending Seneca's booke of Clemencie, and ſaying it had done her much good, yea (ſaith hee) but it hath done your ſubjects much hurt. You know not what Powder-Treaſon, may bee hatching in Rome, nor what Invincible Armado preparing in Spaine, nor what Incarnate Devill, and deſperately reſolved Ieſuite, with murder in his heart, may be lurking in ſome ſecret corner of the kingdome. I know while the Devill is in hell, and the Pope in Rome, and the King of Spaine aſpiring to bee univerſall King as the Pope univerſall Biſhop, while the Ieſuites are ſuffered in England, and the Engliſh are reformed, there wil not want Plots to confound us all; O they are active ſpirits, firy Gunpowder Traitors: A French Papiſt made this Apoſtrophe to Henry the fourth King of France; Great Prince (ſaith hee) Your Majeſtie need not feare the treaſon of the Ieſuites, for you are protected by the particular care and extraordinary favour of GOD, which over-ſhadowes you, and makes you redoubtable to all your enemies. But Sir (ſaith hee) what hopes or meanes of ſafety or refuge to poſterity, when the Rat is in the Bagge, when the Serpent is in the boſome, the powder in the Piſtoll, Ieſuites (ſaith he) that are ſworne ſervants to the Pope, can never bee true ſubjects to their Prince, they exempt themſelves, from obedience, and avouch the ſame of all Clergie men, to make their party the more ſtrong, yet poore Prince, after a little while had the Ieſuites knife in his heart. God preſerve our King, and hee that brought him from Spaine to the admiration of many, that he might preſerve him a bleſſing to this age, preſerve him from the power and cruelty of Spaine: yet as a Privie Counſellor ſpake of Q. Elizabeth concerning the Papiſts, he never went to bed but awaked with feare, leaſt he ſhould heare of her death by Treaſon, nor never Roſe in the morning but expected the ſame ere night; So wee may bee ſure of this where ever occaſion is offered, how ever for the preſent they may ſtrive to appeare good ſubjects, traitors wil be ever traitors, ready to vent their Treaſon, the leaſt occaſion ſhall be enough to kill Kings and blow up Parliaments; This is the third Aggravation.
Fourthly, Simeon and Levi, in their anger they ſlew a man, in their ſelfe will they digg'd downe a wall; Their anger was fierce, their wrath was cruell Salvian asketh, What? ſo great wickedneſſe in the Chriſtian Religion? that for this cauſe Parents curſe their children, and children their Parents? No anger ſo fierce, nor rage ſo cruell, as that againſt ſincere profeſſors, I cannot but admire at the diveliſh rage of the Church of Rome, againſt us, they eſteeme all the reformed Churches no better then Turkes, Iewes and Infidels, nay worſe, for they admit theſe to dwell in the midſt of them.
Blaſphemers, murderers, witches, perjured perſons, traitors, they can diſpenſe with, they account us dogs, worthy nothing but rackes, torture, torment, worthy cruell death, and beaſtly buriall, they will not allow us a place in their purgatory, but ſend us to Hell, yea thoſe damned Hypocrites, the Lords Inquiſitors (the very Nero's and Caligula's of the Age) ſay, they ſhow too much lenitie to ſuch dogges as we are. Theodoſius in his hot Rage cauſed 7000. of Theſſalonica cruelly to be put to death; for which cauſe Ambroſe excommunicated him, and he relenting made this Law, that execution ſhould not ſoone follow ſentence, but thirtie dayes ſhould paſſe betweene them; They have not the reaſon of men, but the rage of Lions, the Venym of Serpents and devils, that are haſty to ſhed bloud. It was a cruell wiſh of Caligula, that wiſh't all Rome had but one neck, that he might cut it off at one blow, and the King of Spaine that wiſh't all the Netherlands a Sea; My brethren, there is no rage, wrath nor malice, like to the wrath of Rome, I cannot enlarge my ſelfe in every particular; No piety to God, no juſtice to Innocents, no pitty to their friends, no loyaltie to their Soveraign, nothing is able to keep them in, Romes Babylonicall furnace is ſeaven times hotter, their rage and ſuperſtition (like two impetuous torrents,) beare down all reſpects before them, but that rage is moſt helliſh, which in peace ſtorms and thunders, which brings me to the fift Aggravation.
The fifth circumſtance that aggravated the ſinne is that they falſified their words, they broke their covenants. The Papiſts teach that no faith is to be kept with Infidels, Heretickes, Oathes and agreements, ought to bee ſacred, and kept among all nations, Heathens will not infringe their oathes, when once the name of their God is upon them, for the terror of that God; Therefore the Heathen Embaſſadors of Rome, choſe rather voluntarily to returne and be tortured to death then perjured: When one of them equivocated to ſave his life, the Senate put him to death. But the Rome Chriſtian not onelyonly practiſe, but teach that men may, men muſt breake, and the Pope can diſpenſe with the breaking of the oath. The Councell of Conſtance determined this in the caſe of Iohn Hus and Ierom of Prague, whom they illegally burnt though they had promiſed ſafety, ſaying, no faith was to bee kept with Hereticks. This made the friends of Luther ſo unwilling to let him goe to Wormes, though his reſolution was unalterable, I go (ſaith he) in the name of God and of Ieſus Chriſt, though as many Devills were in Worms as there be tyles on the houſes, I would goe. And indeed it was the ſame Ieſus Chriſt preſerved him, for Baals Prieſts there would have him put to death, and had not the plaine oppoſition of Lewes Elector Palatine prevailed with the noble diſpoſition of Charles the ninth, they had burnt him alſo.
Good God! that they that have the faces of men, the Intellect of Angels, the profeſſion of Chriſtians, the Repute of learning, ſo great a name through the whole world, yet notwithſtanding maintaine ſuch diveliſh, Atheiſticall and damnable poſitions, contrary to all humane ſociety, to the ſhame of Chriſtians, to the ignominie and reproach of Christ Ieſus, Saint Paul in the 2 Theſſalonians 2. calls him the lawleſſe man, no law can bind him, no covenants, no agreements; When the Cardinals meete to chooſe a Pope in the Conclave, they make a vow, whoſoever is choſen Pope he ſhal ſweare to ſuch Articles as they make, And Sleydan ſaith the Pope is no ſooner choſen, but he breaks them all, and checks their Inſolencies, as if they went about to limit his power to whom al power is given in heaven and in earth; The Chriſtian Religion never ſuffered ſo great a ſcandall and loſſe, as when Iulian the Legate diſpenſed with the oath wch Vladiſlaus made to Amurath the Turk. The cauſe (ſaith Sir Walter Rawleigh) of the cruell war forty yeares betwixt the Netherlands and the King of Spaine, which coſt one hundred Millions of money, and the lives of foure hundred thouſand of men, is diſpenſing with the oath the King of Spaine took; Ile inſtance in one to which a ſecond cannot bee added, Henry the ſecond, Emperor, and Paſchall the Pope, made an agreement, for further teſtimony of their Reconciliation, and for more ſecurity the Pope doth adminiſter the Sacrament with theſe words; Take this pledge of my true love and our unfained reconciliation, let him bee divided from Ieſus Chriſt, and have no part in his kingdome who firſt breakes covenant, yet the very next yeare with the conſent of his Cardinals hee broke this oath, when oathes and Covenants are like Sampſons cords, not able to binde, what ſafety can there be in the world? Some Ieſuites laugh at the Zeale of our King and State, in making the oath of Allegiance, and ſay it's to bind ſilly Foxes, and is eaſily broken, and ſay the Pope can diſpenſe with the oath, one ſaith the oath is voyd, and holds it ſinne for a Papiſt, to performe his word to a Proteſtant, I make no wonder that ſome Papiſts take the oath, I wonder that any refuſe it, when the Pope can diſpenſe with it, and deale with them as hee did with the French King, give him leave to take an oath, and then promiſed to diſpenſe with the breaking of it; what certainty or ſecurity can Kings have, when ſuch damnable Tenents are broached in the world, that oathes are not to bee kept with Hereticks, and they are Heretickes whom the Pope will have ſo; This is the fifth Aggravation.
Sixtly, Simeon and Levi coloured their revenge and crueltie, under a cloak and maske of religion: Religion ought not to bee a Bond of Iniquitie, yet under Religion in the Church of Rome all iniquitie (eſpecially Rebellions, treaſons, Perjury,) Iuſtifies it ſelfe, They make the cauſe of Religion to deſcend to the execrable Acts of the murdering of Princes, Butchering of Innocents, firing of States, no men more pretend and boaſt of perfection, and the holineſſe of their meditations, then the Ieſuites doe, yet this Platforme is heatheniſh, Tyrannicall, and able to ſet Aretine, Lucian, Machiavell and the Devill himſelfe to Schoole. I want words to expreſſe that peſtilent project of the Popes, coloured under a pretence of Religion, for the recovery of the holy Land; For two hundred yeares together they made the flower and Chivalrie of Chriſtendome to fall by Millions in the fooliſh Conqueſt of Ieruſalem; They ſent Chriſtian Princes far from their own kingdomes, to inveſt themſelves into them: never any Nation ſo heatheniſh, and barbarous and diveliſh, whoſe Religion maintained Murder, Treaſon, Treacheries, Perjuries. In every Religion and State have beene ſome ſuch found, but none whoſe Religion hath maintained them as the Religion of Rome doth. Fawkes had nothing to charge the State withall, but that Religion prompted him to this Treaſon; When Ravilliac murdered Henry the fourth King of France, being tortured to know his incouragers to it, he ſent them to the Sermons made by the Ieſuites in Lent. They that read Bellarmine, Suarez, Eudeman, Becanus, Emanuell Say, ſhall eaſily perceive their Religion teaches Rebellion, Treaſon; That Act of Iehu in proclaiming a ſolemne ſervice to Baal, and then murdering of them, and that of Conſtantine, commanding all his chiefe officers to worſhip the Idol, and then caſheering them, wants more ſubtill Patrons to maintaine it, then either my Religion, or my reaſon can reach to: Religion needs not to bee ſhrowded under the Cloak of policy. That great Diana of Rome they have lifted up to ſo high a ſtraine that they equall him to God, and ſay there is no appeale from him to God, God and he are of one and the ſame Conſiſtorie; He can determine againſt the Law of Nations, againſt the Law of nature, againſt the Law of God. Yea that his power and actions are no way to bee diſputed of; That is the cauſe of cauſes, and the juſt cauſe of all: O, I am weary of the Blaſphemy and cruelty of the Church of Rome, their Blaſphemies are ſo innumerable, their tyranny ſo execrable, their cruelty ſo unſupportable, their deluſions ſo heatheniſh, their perjuries ſo diveliſh, that the like was never in any ſtate: Murders, Treacheries, Treaſons are there in their proper place, they are no ſinnes in Rome, or at leaſt but Veniall ſinnes, eaſily diſpenſed with by the Pope, rebellions and Treaſons, Maſſacring, and butchering of Innocents, Draco's lawes and Spaniſh inquiſitors, inſupportable wrath and inveterate rage, perjuries and breaking Covenants, theſe are the Religion of the Church of Rome; It was once in the Engliſh Liturgy (King Henry the eighth put it in, Queene Mary put it out,) That we ſhould pray that our Kingdom ſhould bee delivered from ſedition, tyranny, and conſpiracy of the Pope, wee may doe it ſtill, (at leaſt in private prayers,) from the treaſons, treachery, perjury of the Church of Rome, from the rage, malice and cruelty, from the Religion of the Church of Rome, from Ieſuites and Ieſuited Papiſts, Good Lord deliver us.
And thus I have done with the firſt Generall, the ſinne of Ieſuites and Ieſuited Papiſts; It now onelyonly remaines to ſpeake of the ſecond, their cenſure.
Their cenſure, ſhall I ſmite them (my Brethren?) Iacob you heare would not ſpare his own ſons though in the ſame houſe with him, though they ate the ſame bread, drank of the ſame Cup, were of the ſame faith, though what they did, they did it in revenge of the wrong done to their ſiſter, ſhall we then ſpare them? No, I muſt follow Iacob ſtill, O my ſoule, come not thou into their ſecret, unto their aſſembly mine honour bee not thou united: curſed be their anger for it was cruell, and their wrath for it was fierce: God divide them from the ſon of our Iacob, and ſcatter them from our Engliſh Iſrael.
O my ſoule, come not into their ſecret: we muſt neither with heart nor tongue, affection nor action, neither in word nor deed, no (my Brethren) not ſo much as in thought nor look, ſhow any countenance to Popiſh Cruelty, their treaſons, murders, perjuries, and the reſt of that Heatheniſh cruelty; It hath beene the deſire of many, the endeavour of ſome, to worke a reconciliation betwixt the Church of Rome and us, Franciſcus de ſancta clara, whoſe booke of reconciliation hath been 23. times printed, I have read it, and I will ſay of it, that the diſcourſe doth more confirme mee, that it's impoſſible to make a reconciliation betwixt them, indeed there may bee ſuch a forme of confeſſion drawn up in termes that both ſides may ſubſcribe to, but then the termes ſhall bee ſo Ambiguous, that at the next opening of the ſore (the skinne being but heal'd over before) the breach will be more deadly; A Botch is never cured as long as the core remaines, excrements will grow on a dead body while the humor laſts: Arius preſented the Emperor Conſtantine, with ſuch a forme of confeſſion, that when the Orthodox read it, they conceived it for their ſide, and the Arians for theirs. The quarrell betwixt Rome and us is not like Caeſar and Pompey, which ſhould be chiefe, but like that betwixt Rome and Carthage which ſhould not be: if Rome prevaile we ſhall not ſtand; and if we prevaile, they ſhould not ſtay long, Bellar. ſaith plainly, the controverſie betwixt them and us is whether the Church of God conſiſt or no, or be ſhattered in peeces. A learned man of our Church, yet very moderate too, conceives it impoſſible that ever there ſhould be reconciliation betwixt them. Therefore (ſaith he) if theſe reconcilers were the wiſeſt men under heaven and ſhold live to the worlds end, they would be brought to their wits end, before they could accompliſh this works end, to make a reconciliation, betwixt Rome and us: you know who printed it long agoe, no peace with Rome, that King of Preachers, ſo called by the King of Schollers, ſaid plainely, The Northerne and Southerne Poles may ſooner meete in one, then a Reconciliation betwixt the Church of Rome and us. I could bring in the teſtimony of many Reverend men of our Clergy: if nothing elſe, yet, this is enough to free them from being limbs of Antichriſt, in regard that a reconciliation is impoſſible, and if there can be no reconciliation, I truſt the reformed Churches will ever ſcorne to accept a diſpenſation, and the piety and policy of our Chriſtian ſtate to admit a tolleration among us.
Come out of Babylon, is the voyce from Heaven, come out in affection, come out in perſon, ſeparate farre from them, ſay with Iacob, ô my ſoule, come not into their ſecret: unto their aſſembly, mine honour bee thou not united; But what? is this enough to abhorre future agreement with them, to deny them approbation to their deeds? Iacob goes further, and we muſt follow him, curſed be their anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruell; One ſaith, Babylons brats, muſt not bee dandled on the lap, but daſht againſt the Stones: Another, painted Iezabel the whore of Rome, muſt be throwne out at the windowes, to be troden under foot of horſes; Another, Rome is like a Nettle, ſtings them that handle it ſoftly; A fourth ſaith, they are like unto bells, never well tuned, till they be well hang'd; Only I ſay, as Iacob ſaith, Simeon and Levi made themſelves ſtinke among the Nations, and one day the Nations will conſume them and their houſe. I would not (my brethren) blow the Trumpet to this Warre; Let Rome founded in bloud, propagate her Religion in bloud: I have otherwiſe learned Chriſt Ieſus, the King of peace.
I hate the perſon of no Papiſt under heaven, I know God hath a great people among them, elſe he would never ſay, come out of Babylon, yea Countries, Nations and kingdoms that now adhere to the beaſt ſhall hate the Whore; I ſee Ieſuites themſelves may be converted, I dare not hate them, nor ſo love their perſons as to ſpare their wickedneſſe: curſed be their anger for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruell: curſed be the Religion that cauſes rebellion, Treaſon, murdering of Innocents, treachery, perjury; The worſt I will doe againſt them, is to pray, God divide them from the ſon of Iacob, and ſcatter them from our Engliſh Iſrael.
This was the laſt part of the cenſure, Iacob powred on his ſonnes, and it was not to be accompliſht til they came into the land of Canaan: my brethren, we have a certaine prophecy, God will divide them from his Church, but we muſt waite till we come neere the land of Canaan: what ever faire face Rome hath, yet her eyes are ſparkling Baſilisks: that whore of Babylon, her breath is the breath of Vipers, her voyce is as the voyce of the Hyena, that cries, as the Crocodile to deceive and deſtroy us: They are the beſt that are furtheſt ſeparate both in affection and perſon; we muſt come out of Babylon: would God we could ſend them into Babylon, Bellarmine tells us out of Theodoret: That the boyes of Samoſatenea (playing at Tenis-ball in the midſt of the market) did ſolemnly caſt it into the fire, becauſe it had but toucht the foote of the Aſſe whereon Lucius the Heretical Biſhop rod; And we read in the Spaniſh Hiſtory of the zealouſly ſuperſtitious Biſcans, who were buſied many dayes in ſcraping up the duſt, trode upon by the horſe, whereupon a certain Biſhop rode, that accompanied the Emperor Ferdinando, and threw it (as a thing infected) into the Sea; The Iewes once every yeare burnt all the Leaven, that was in their houſes, they ſwept the houſe cleane, and ſearcht every corner, and curſed what was left. Moſes ſaith to the people of Iſrael, comming into the land, take heed that you make no covenant with the people of the land, no, cut downe their groves, and ſtampe their Images in peeces. Eſay and Ieremie are very earneſt with Gods people to come out of Babylon. S. Paul would not have beleevers to beare the Yoke with unbeleevers, nor Saint Iohn, to ſay good night to an obſtinate Hereticke. Bellarmine ſaith; The Catholicks will not ſuffer any that ſeeme to favour Lutherans in the leaſt degree, they have their flies and familiars, Prieſts oathes and Inquiſitions to diſcover good Proteſtants. O then that our Purſevants, Paritors, Church-Wardens, Conſtables, Iudges, Iuſtices, Conſiſtories, High Commiſſion, Courts of Iuſtice, that they would diſcover all theſe bloudy Papiſts and ſend them to Rome again. I am no enemy of theirs to wiſh them where they would bee, there they are in ſoule, I would they were there in body; there they are in Affection, I would they were there in perſon.
I have now done with my Text and with the Application alſo, and yet remaines ſome little of my Sermon behind: you have heard (my Brethren) Simeon and Levi fit parallells of Ieſuites and Ieſuited Papiſts: as face anſwers face in a glaſſe, ſo the cruelty of the one, anſwers the cruelty of the other; Simeon and Levi in cruelty againſt Hamor and Shechem & the reſt of the Citie, will be Typicall for the Tragedy of this day; I ſee little difference, but now in one thing, in the laſt thing, in the concluſion of all, (with which I will conclude my Sermon) O they differ altogether; They as their reſolution was fierce, ſo their execution was cruell: they did not onelyonly meere and conſult, plot, and contrive, and combine themſelves in one, but they did accompliſh, and finiſh, and perfect their intention. The laſt Act was Tragicall and bloudy; But as for ours, God fruſtrated all their preparations, and that, when it was but late, there was not many ſands to runne in the glaſſe, not many ſtrokes to ſtrike at the Clocke, not one Tide to paſſe the Bridge, it was late laſt night, that God diſcovered it, and this morning it ſhould have beene executed; The knife was at the Throate, the dagger at the breaſt, the powder in the Barrell, the Match burning in the hand, there was the villaine ready to give fire: But God delivered us, and they periſhed in their Treaſon, and let their memories periſh with them.
But behold the ſervants of the Lord, the King, the Queene, and that ſacred Senate walking looſe in the midſt of the fire, on whoſe bodies the fire had no power, their rayment was not changed, nor was the ſmell or touch of fire upon them at all; ô tell it in Gath publiſh it in the Streets of Aſcalon, that the enemies of the Engliſh Nation, may bee aſhamed and confounded at their cruelty; Let Popiſh Factors, Spaniſh Merchants blunder out blaſphemouſly and ſay, GOD is the GOD of England: Tell it to your Children, and to your Childrens Children; Let the fifth of NOVEMBER bee for ever kept holy in the Engliſh Nation: O let the heavens Eccho out praiſes to God, let there bee all outward ſignes of Ioy; Let our Bells ring, to drowne the noyſe of the thundering skies: Let fires flame to darken the light of the Sunne; Let our Organs and Singers lift up their voyces, that it may be heard and Ecchoed by Angels and Saints: Let all that hath a tongue and breath praiſe the Lord.
I conclude with Paul, 2 Cor. 1.9, 10. But wee had the ſentence of death in our ſelves, that wee ſhould not truſt in our ſelves, but in GOD which raiſeth the dead, who delivered us from ſo great a death, and doth deliver, in whom alſo we truſt, that he will yet deliver us. *⁎*
FINIS.
End of the text · Richard Heyrick, Three Sermons (1641)