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Quhou the affligit
lady exortis the thre
estaitis, to tak exempil of diuerse
cuntreis that gode hes releuit
fra persecutione
Chap. IX.
O ze my thre sonnis i
exort zou to praye to releif
zou of zour afflictione, & alse to put zour
handis to verk to help zour selfis, than doutles
god sal be mersyful to zou, & he sal fulfil his promes
that is vrittyn in the xxvi of leuitic. that is to saye, fiue
of zou sal chaisse ane hundretht of zour enemeis & ane
hundretht of zou sal chasse ten thousand of zour enemeis,
for god is as mychty nou as euyr he vas, it is
vrityn in the lix of Esaye thir vordis. Behold. the hand
of the lorde is na scheortar nor it vas, na it maye saue
zou: nor his eyris ar nocht stoppit bot he maye heir
zou bot zour iniquiteis hes maid diuisione betuix zou
ande hym, ande zour synnis hes hid his face fra zou.
Ze maye persaue be
thir vordis of Esaye. that the
scurge that hes affligit zou, is ane punitione
<f60r> for zour
demeritis: ande alse ze maye persaue be this sammyn
text, that zour grite afflictione ande tribil sal turne in
ioye ande prosperite, gyue sa beis that ze vil retere fra
zour vice. ze haue mony manifest exemplis of diuerse
cuntreis that hes bene scurgit be the hand of gode, ande
hes bene in dangeir of final exterminatione. zit nochtheles
gode of his grace hes restorit them eftiruart in
ane mair abundand prosperite. nor thai var of befor, fra
tyme tha be cam obedient til his magestie. Quhar is
there ane mair euident exempil nor is in the bibil in
the fyrst beuk of the machabeis, quhou anthiocus kyng
of sirrie, be vsurpatione ande tirranrye subdeuit the
cuntre of iuda ande the cite of ierusalem? he spulzeit
the tempil ande reft the goldin alter, the chandelaris of
lycht ,ande al the goldin veschel, ande the tabil of propositione,
the coupis, tassis, crouetti,s crounis, ande al
the goldin ornamentis of the sanctuar. he sleu men,
vemen ande childir, zong ande ald, ande brynt there
housis. the remanent of the pepil var constrenzeit to fle
to strait montanis ande deseirtis for refuge, for al iherusalem
ande mekil of iuda vas put tyl extreme desolatione. At that
<f60v> tyme ane man of israel callit matathias
the neuo of Symeon the hie preist, vas sittand on
the hil of modin, ande his fiue sonnis besyde hym, callit
Iohannam gaddes, symon thasi, iudas machabeus, eleazar
abaron, ande iehonathan aphus. thir fiue bredir var soir
vepand for the desolatione of iuda ande iherusalem.
Than matathias there father said to them. vanhap be
on me, allace that euyr i vas borne, to see the distructione
of my pepil & the tribulatione of the holy cite of
iherusalem, quhilk is violentlye possest be my enemeis.
ald ande zong ar slane on the reuis but mercy, & the
remanent of the cuntre ar in captiuite or ellis fled to
the strait montanis for refuge. allace quhat bettir vil
ve be to lyue ony langar considerand of this myschief
that is fallin on oure cuntre? Allace my fiue sonnis, i
praye zou to be zelaturs of the lau of gode, ande to
gyue zour saulis for the alliance of zour foir fathers,
ande remembir of the verkis thai haue dune to there
generations, ande than ze sal resaue grite gloir ande
eternal name. tak gode for zour protector ande ze sal
prospir. vas nocht oure father Abraham faythful in
temptatione, quhilk vas repute til hym for iustice?
<f61r> Ioseph keipit the command of the lau, quhen he vas persecutit,
there for he vas maid lieutenent to pharon
kyng of egipt phinehes oure foir father vas maid hie
preist of the tempil for the zeil that he hed to the lau
of god. Iosue for the keping of his promis vas maid
captan of Israel. Dauid for the pitie that he hed of
the pepil that var affligit be the philistiens, conqueist
the royal sege of Israel. Ananias, Azarias and misael
var delyuerit fra the flam of the fyir throucht the faitht
that tha hed to god. Danyel throucht his simplicite
and meiknes vas delyuerit fra the throttis of the lyons.
Of this sort (o ze my fiue sonnis) ze may beleue that
fra generation to generatione, that al thai that puttis
there hope in god sal nocht be distroyit. quhen matathias
hed endit his miserabil and piteous regret in
presens of his fiue sonnis, than his thrid sone callit
Iudas machabeus past athort the montanis and desertis
and gaddyryt to giddyr al the desolat bannest pepil,
and vitht ane gryt curage, heffand hope in god thai
cam contrair anthiocus and venqueist hym vailzeantly.
and also venqueist al the israliates that var part takers
vitht hym. and ther eftir thai reformit
<f61v> the distructione of the tempil and vsit extreme punitione on the
tratours and conspiratours, and thai gart extreme necessite
becum prosperus vertu: for thai changit the dispayr
of mennis help in esperance of goddis help: quhar for
throucht the mytht of god, venqueist men be cam
conqueriours and fugityuis be cam assailzeours, and
humil affligit pepil of ane lytil nummer be cam lordis
and maisters of ane gryt multiplie of tirrans. There is
ane vthir exempil of gedeon in the tyme of the cruel
oppression that the kyng of madian did on the pepil of
israel gedeon vitht thre hundretht men discumfeist
ane hundretht and tuenty thousant men, and he delyuerit
the remanent of the pepil of Israel fra captiuite
and misere zit nochtheles he vas ane pure lauberar of
lytil reputatione and discendit of smal linage of the
tribe of menasses, quhar for ve may persaue that quhar
the grace of god and the vertu of men ar coniunit to
giddir, there is no leiful thing onpossibil to be exsecut,
And oft tymis god puttis in the pouer of men the thing
that mennis vit can nocht beleue that it is possibil to be
done. There is ane vthir exempil of darius kyng of
perse
<f62r> that entrit in grece vitht ane hundretht thousand
fut men and ten thousand men of armis, At that
tyme thair vas gryt sedition and discentione amang al
the gryt personagis of grece quhair for athenes vas of
ane opinion to randir them to darius be rason that the
grekis var diuidit amang them selfis. Bot noththeles
god sterit vp ane duc in athenes callit miltiades quhilk
vitht ten thousand men discumfeist al kyng darius
gryt armye and delyuerit al grece furtht of captiuite.
Thair is ane vthir
exempil of xerxes kyng of
perse the sone of kyng darius quha gadderit ane armye
of thre scoir and ten thousand men of armis of his auen
realme of perse, and alse he hed of strangearis that var
his frendis and of his allya to the nummer of thre hundretht
thousand men, as iustin rehersis, and also he
brocht sa mony schipis to grece vitht al ordonnance
quhilkis closit al the reueirs quhairfor it vas moist lyk
that he hed maid ane brig of tre to couuer al the see:
zit noththeles his pride vas sune put doune, for leonides
kyng of lacedemonia cam be hynd the gryt
armye of perse vitht four hundretht lacedemoniens and
escharmouschit xerxes gryt
<f62v> armye and sleu tuenty
thousand persuns betuix tua hillis, zit noththeles the
remanent of his gryt armye past til athenes quhilkis
var reddy to be randrit til xerxces throucht the counsel
of ane prince of athenes callit circisus quha hed
secret intelligens vitht xerxes kyng of perse, quhilk vas
occasione that he seducit diuerse grit personagis to rebel
contrar athenes bot the prudent themosticles vas contrair
til his opinione (sayand) O nobil vailzeant pepil of
athenes ze suld keyp the liberte of zour cuntray &
notht to thole the persans to be zour superiors for
fra tyme that ze be subiect til xerxes al zour honest
policie sal be aboleist & al verteous industrie sal be
brocht to notht, for the persans sal do vitht zour
vyuis and cheldyr at there pleseir as it is manifest
quhou thai haue dune til vthir partis of grece that is
nou in thair subiection, there for it is mair honest to
dee in the deffens of zour liberte nor to liue lyik venqueist
slauis in captiuite. Throcht the counsel of themistocles
al the atheniens tuke gryt curage contrar the
gryt armye of perse, and also the vemen of the toune
stanet cyrsilus to deitht be cause of his euil counsel.
Than the atheniens and ther allya
<f63r> be gryt vailzeantnes
assailzet the persans be escharmouschis and incursions
quhil that exerxes and his gryt armye var constrenzeit
to depart fra grece. of this sort god turnit the
hazard of fortoune and tuke vengeance on xerxes gryt
pryde quhilk suld be ane gryt exempil til al princis,
that thai gyf notht there trest in ane particular pouer
of multiplie of men, bot rathere to set there trest in
god, for xerxes vitht four hundretht thousand men
purposit til vsurpe the dominione of al grece bot fra
the tyme that the greikis accordit amang them selfis
ane sobir companye of greikis chaissit the persans
furtht of grece. It is notht sex scoir of zeiris sen the
inglismen var violent dominatours of mekill of Piccardye
and of al Normandye, Gascunze, guien and of
mekil of France, and the kyng of ingland vas crounit
kyng of France in Paris, bot as god vald, he vas
schamefully chaissit furtht of France and his pepil
slane doune be gryt multiplie. The exempill of the
persecutione of oure auen cuntre is manifest til vs al,
quhou the inglismen var violent vsurpatours of al scotland
est vest and northt quhar thai duellit paciablie
and vsit thare auen
<f63v> lauis, thai biggit triumphand
edeficis in al the burrous of scotland, as the grondis of
there fundatione makis manifest presently at this tyme:
kyng eduard throucht supple and trason of ihone balzol
and vthir scottis tratours vas cronit kyng of scotland
vitht in the toune beruic and the rychteous kyng of
scotland Robert bruce durst nocht remane in no pacebil
place, he tint threttyne battellis contrar inglismen,
then he fled furtht of scotland to norouay to saue his
lyue, zit nochtheles god almythty hauand pitie of our
affligit cuntray he restorit Robert bruce to the crone
quha rytht vailzeantly brocht the realme in guid ordour
vitht gryt confusion til our ald enemis. Be thir
exemplis ze maye euidently persaue that god almychty
tholis notht violent vsurpatours of realmes to ring
lang bot rather he scurgis and distroys the tirrans and
he restoris the affligit innocentis til ane guide stait.
The famous historiographours and croniklis of al cuntreis
makis manifest of the miserabil ruynis that god
sendis on vrangus conquestours quhilkis be ambitione
and oultrageus pryde hes be thair tyranny inuadit vthir
cuntrays and eftiruart hes tint there auen cuntray
<f64r> and there self hes maid ane euil end. The queen semeramis
vas nocht contentit vitht sirrie and babillon
bot sche vald pas to mak veyre contrar ethiope and
Inde, sche vas slane vitht hyr auen son. Hercules vas
nocht content vitht the gryt cuntray of libie and of
creit bot vald pas to conques the occian see, than ane
voman poysonit hym vitht ane sark. Mitridates vas
nocht content of his auen realme of pont, bot vald pas
in batel contrar the romanis he dred neuyr to dee bot
be poyson quhair for he bure ay apon hym tuenty
leyuis of reu, tua kyrnellis of nutis, & tua feggis and
ane lytil quantite of salt, the quhilkis he mixt al to
giddyr, and thai mixtions he eit euyrie daye vitht ane
fastan stomak to keip hym fra poysonyng. that confectione
vas callit to name eftiruart antidotum mitridates,
bot zit that drog culd notht saue his lyif fra his
sone that sleu hym. kyng philip vas notht content of
the ryche realme of macedone quharfor he past and
perturbit al greice bot syne he vas slane vitht ane of
his auen sodiours. Grite alexander vas notht content
of al the varld, bot syne ane drynk of poyson gart hym
be content of ane sepulture of fiue fute of lyntht
<f 64v> or there by. xerxes vas nocht contentit of tua realmys,
perse and meid, bot ane of his officiaris contentit hym
vitht ane dagar throucht the hart. kyng cirus vas nocht
contentit of his auen realme bot vald pas to conques
sithia zit thomaris gart hym be content quhen sche
pat his hede in ane pipe ful of bluid sayand til it. O
cirus thou culd neuyr be saciat of menis blude bot nou
thou maye drynk thy fil of blude. Annibal that
redoutit capitan triumphit in conquessing of vthir
realmis bot in his last days he vas fugitiue fra al cuntreis
and for melancolye he poysonnit hym self. It is
nocht necessair to multiplie ouer mony of thir exemplis,
there for quha listis to reid the tragedeis of lucius seneque
or ihone Bocchas in his buik of the ruuyne of
nobillis, thai sal fynd al cruel vsurpatours of vthir cuntreis
mak ane mischeuous ende. There for i hope in
god that vitht in schort days the protectour of ingland
and his cruel counsel sal be put in the croniklis in as
abhominabil stile as vas philaris, dionysius, nero callugala
or domician, the quhilkis maid ane mischeuous
ende, for the violent inuasions of vthir princis cuntreis
but ony iust titil.
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