Againft Opprefion. contented to be undone,and will·love and honour thofe that undo them. Therefore men mufi be taken as they are: If opprt/Jro1P1ta'<.etb wife mm mad, Ecclcf. 7· 7· much more the multitude, who are far from wifdom. Mifr:ry mak~:th men defperatc, when they. think that they cannot be much worfe than 1 hey are. Howmany Kingdoms have been thus fired, (as wooden wheels will be when one part rubbeth too hard and long upon the orher ). Yea, ifthe Prince be never fo good and blamclcfs, the cruelty of the Nobles and the rich men of the Land, may have the fame effects. And in thefe combuf1ions, the peace of !he Kingdom, the lives and fouls 9f the fedttious are made a facrifice ro the lulls of the OpprdTi1rs. '39 ~· 1 S· DireCt. 2· Confider with fear how Oppref!ion turncrl1 the groans and cryes of the poor, to the VirtU. 2 , God ot revenge againft the Opprrjf,rs. And wo to that man that harh the tears and prayers of op~ prdled innocents, fvunJing the alarm to vindiCtive JuUice, to awake for 'heir relief. .AndjhaU not God avenge hit own e/e{i, ahich cry day and night to bim, though he bear loxg with them l I tellyou, that In wiU avenge thrm fpeedi.ly, Luke 18. 7, 8. 1he Lordwill be a rEfuge to the opprt!Jed, Pfal. 9· 9· 7' 0 judge: the falhcrlc[J a;td the l'ljJprtfJ.d, that tbe man rf tbt eartb may no more opprcjl, Pfal. ro. 18. 1'he Lord cxwmth righuost{ncji and j11dgcmcm fir all tb.Jt are opprrjfed, P[al. I03· 6, & 146. 7· Yea, God is doubly engaged to be rcwnged upon opprelfors, and hat.h rhrcatned .a fpecial execution of his judgcmem againlt them above moll orher {inners: P.utly as it is an act of mercJ' and relief to rhe opprcffid; So that the matter ot threatning and vcngtance to the opprdfor, is the matter of Gods promife and favour to the fuffercrs: And partly as it is an a& of his Vinditiive Juftice againH fuch as fo heinoufly break his Laws. The opprelfor hath indeed his time of Power, and in that time the op~ prdfed feem to be forf.Jken and negleCted of God ; as if he did not hear their cryes; But whm his patience hath endured the tyranny of the proud, and his wifdorn hath tryed the patience of the fuffcrers, to the determined time; how fpecdily and terribly then doth vengeance overtake rheoppref- {i;rs, and make them warnings to thofC that follow them. In the hour of the wick'ed and of the power of darkncfs Chlifi. him{df was opprclJtd. and affWJcd, [[a. 53· 7· and i11 his humili#ion hi1 judgement taken wM away, Ads 8. But how qmckly d1d the deflroymr; revenge overtake thofe bloody Zealo!s, and how grievous is the ruinc which they lye under to this' day, which they thought by that f1me mnrda to have fcaped? Solomon iairh, Eccl<.f. 4· I· he conftdn·ed all tbe oppreffia,u th.Jt are undtr the Sun, and behold. tbe tearJ effuch aJ were oppreffid, and th1y bad no comforter; and on the fide of the opprcfforJ there was power, but they bad no comforter. Which made him praifc the deadand the unbor11: But yet he that goeth •.virh Vavid into the Sand'uary, and fCcth rhc md of the·oppre!fors, ilull perceive them fet in fl.ippery places, and tumbling down to deHrutfion in a moment, Pfal. 37• & 73· The IfrarlittJ in JEgypt fcemed long to groan and cry in vain·; Bur when the determinate time of theit deliverance came, God [aich, I h..we furely ·rem tf:Je affllClion if my people, and have heard their cry by rcafon of their taJJttnafters; f or I /{now their {orrows : and I am come down to deliver them~Behold the cry of the children of Ifracl fi come up unto me, a11d I have alfo ften the opprrffion wherewith the ./Egyptians opprt[I them. ,Exod. 3· 7, 8·, ~9. · ·Deut.• 26. 6, 1· '1he iEgyptians evil intreated m, and ajjliUed ru, and laid upon U5 hard bond:Jge, and whm we·cryed to the Lord God of our FathcrJ, theLordhe:~rd our voice, a;rd looited on our ajfllllion, and our labour, and our uppreffion. See i'fal. 107.39, 40, •fl, 42. Sn Pfal. 12. ), 6. For the opprcf!ion f['rhe poor, fw tht fighing efthe nwly, 1toW rriU I ari{e, faith the Lord; I JViU fez him in fafety from him ·that Pulfeth at him (or wore/.d. fn~ {nare him) Tbon jh:llt kpp them, 0 Lord, thou jhalt prefervt tLem 'from thM gcf.erati!Jn for ever. 1tuji not rbcrefore in opprcffion, P(al. 62. I O· for God iJ the 11-vengrr and his plagues 01111 revenge the in- ,1. juries ot the of>prefled. 1 ·~i 9· 16. Direa-. 3· Remember what an odio1u name Oppreffors commonly leave behind them upon earth, Dire{}. 3• No fort of men are mentioned by poflerity with greater hatred and comempr. For the interejl of m,mkj"nd dlrectcth them hercllnto, and may prl)gnojficate ir, as well as the Juftice ofGod. However the power of proud opprdfors, may make rnt:n afraid of fpeakihg to their faceJ what they think yet thofc that are out of tbeir reach, will pour out the bitternefs of their fouls ag:ainll them. AnJ when once death hath tyed their cruel hands, or any judgement of God hath caft them down, and knockt our their teeth, how freely will thcdifirdfed vent their grief; and fame will not be afraid to deliver their ugly picture to poRerity, according to their defcrr. Methinks therefore that even Pride it felf ihould be a great help to baniih oppreJ!ion from the world? What an honourable name hath a1rajan, a 'Titu!, an Antonine, an Alexander Severus? And what an odious name ·hath aNero, a Caligula, a Commodm, aD' Alva, &c.? Mofi proud men affl!d: to be extolled, and to have a glorious namt: fi.\[vive thc:m when they are dead: and yet they take the courfe to make their memory abominable; So much doth fln contradiQ and difappoint the £inners hopes ! §. 17. D:rcd-. 4• Bt not jlrangcrs to the condition. or complaints of any that are your inferiours. It Dire{]. 4 . , is thc-mifery ofmany Pris::~ces and Nobles, that they:are guarded about with fuch as keep all the la· mentations of their Subjtcts, and Tenants from thetr ears; or reprefcnt them only as the murmu· rings of unquiet difcnntemcd men : So that Superiours (hall k~ow n9 more of their inferiours cafe, than their attendants plcafe; nor no rnor~ of the reproach that falleth upoa thert:~felves. . Their cafe is to be pitied ; but the cafe of their inferiours more : ( For it is their own wilful choice which 'hath imprifoncd their underftandings, with 'fuch informers; and it is their unexcufable negligence, which keepcth them from feeking truer information.) A good Landlord will be familiar with the meaneft of his Tenants, a11d will encounge them freely to 0pen thcircomplain1s, and will labour to inform h1mfclf, who i1 in poverty and diitrc:fs, and how it 'omcth to pafs; that when he hath heard a\1, he may underfiand, whether it be his own oppreffion or his Tenants fault, that is the cau[e: when proud
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