A HEARTY PRAYER, In a needful time of trouble. THE SERMON Preached at THEOBALD'S, before his Majesty, and the Lords of the Privy Council, an hour before the Death of our late Sovereign KING JAMES. On Sunday, March 27. By D. PRICE, Deane of Hereford, then in Attendance, and now Chaplain in Ordinary to his MAJESTY. IER. 30.7. Alas for that day was great, so that none was like it: it was even the time of JACOBS' trouble, but he is saved out of it. LONDON, Printed by M. FLESHER, for JOHN GRISMAND, and are to be sold at his shop at the Sign of the Gun in Paul's Alley. 1625. TO THE KING'S MAJESTY. Royal Master: Your gracious aspect to my poor endeavours, often presented in your religious presence, hath encouraged me to this Dedication of my last service to your blessed Father; and first, to your Majesty: for the whole world hath no greater Patronage of goodness, than yourself: and our daily bread, and hourly breath serveth us to beseech the Almighty, that you long be the gracious Patron and Pattern of Religion. That I presume to offer it unto your Majesty, in this time of our just cause of joy, wherein the Lilies and Roses, the Olive and Vine, are conjoined; I excuse it by the Pattern I see in Mount Thabor, wherein our blessed Saviour, when he shown his Disciples a glimpse of his glory in his Transfiguration; he seasoned their Souls, rapt up in those unspeakable joys with the remembrance of his Passion: What this is, is like Benjamin, the birth of sorrow, and of so much sorrow to me, as had almost sequestered my Soul from my Body. The hand of Heaven that hath wiped away our tears, keep us long and long from such occasion of tears, and Crown your Royal Person, and Gracious Queen, with the blessings of Goodness; which is the continual Prayer of your Majesty's most humble Chaplain, DANIEL PRICE. The Sermon at Theobalds', an hour before the death of King JAMES. PSAL. 118.25. Save now I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee send now prosperity. THE first fruits of Sin, are Shame and Sorrow; and ever since Sin brought in Death, Death the lodge of all men's lives, driveth out Sin, and triumpheth over Sinners. Look on the four first Fathers of the World; Adam signifieth earthy; Abel, mourning vanity; Enosh, sorrow; Kenan, lamentation: and ever since, all times and all places, were and are (as this time and place, representeth unto us) a time of mortality. and a Region of death in the shadow of Death, Nun haec est regio mortuorum, saith Ambrose, Ambr. ubi umbra mortis, janua mortis, vincula mortis, & corpus mortis. The present Cloud wherein we are inveloped, and stand all as an amazed poor flock of sheep, beholding a savage Wolf worrying our Royal Shepherd; looking upon the wrestling of our Royal jacob, he that is spiritus oris nostri, Christus Domini, the very breath of our nostrils, the Lords Anointed, now in Combat with the last enemy that shall be destroyed; the contemplation of it striketh us with a terrible terror: our sighs, & tears, and prayers witness it; and unless the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day springeth from on high, do now visit us, to give light to us that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, we shall find, that our strange neglect of the Sabbath, the Lords day, doth portend our fatal flight upon this Sabbath day. But Lord, whatsoever shall become of us the poor sheep of thy pasture, O look upon thy Royal Servant, O hide not thy face from thine Anointed: save now, and hear our gracious Sovereign, O King of heaven, now he calleth on thee: now that the Angel of Death struggleth with him, let the Angel of the Covenant bless him; and as the Angel of Death striveth with him, so let the Angel of the Covenant strive for him, and free his precious soul from all pain, all sorrow, all adversity, and present it to thy divine Majesty without spot or wrinkle. O Lord God save our King, mercifully hear us now we call upon thee, Pitifully behold the sorrows of our hearts, Favourably with mercy hear our prayers, Both now and ever, vouchsafe to hear us O Christ, Graciously hear us O Christ, graciously hear us O Lord Christ. O Son of God, O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, mediate with thy blessed Father, if it be possible that this cup may pass from him, or else that his gracious soul may be bound up in the bundle of life, to live for evermore with thee in glory. In the time of jeremy, it was the style of mourning for Royal Personages, Alas, Alas: jer. 22.18. for that noble Prince, we may take up that Alas, Alas. How lately have we celebrated David's diem solennitatis, Psal. 77.2. our sacred Sovereign's Inauguration? on which day, Thursday before his Majesty's death. he that crowneth the year with good things, crowned the Crown of our Head, our Royal King, with an especial measure of grace, in manifesting his hearty and devout profession of the Faith and Protestant truth, which he had lived in, and maintained, and resolved to dye in, desiring us all that were present, to bear witness, sealing that resolution with the blessed Sacrament: after which divine repast, his soul was settled in so joyful a repose, as that all worldly content could not compare with it. But Alas, that day, dies solennitatis, Psal. 81.3. is become dies tribulationis: and as jeremy spoke, Lam. 2.22. in this solemn day our terrors are round about us: and this Lord's day is the day of the Lords anger. And therefore let every sorrowful and faithful heart, pray hearty, and cry mightily into heaven, Save now I beseech thee O Lord: O Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity. We need not now to call for Sorrow before she come, it is now the time that the Church hath allotted to eat the sour herbs of repentance in Lent, that we may the more savourly relish the sweet Passover of Easter, it is the spiritual Seedtime which ought to be waterish, and we are wont to be content with a wet Spring, to be sure of a joyful Harvest. Our true sorrow is Repentance which is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an afterwit, and after-wisdome, wherein when we see, how we have betrayed ourselves into the hands of Satan, we may justly wish that the Heavens above would weep with us, the Earth lament, the Rocks rend, the Mountain's echo groans, and rivers run with tears: and indeed I had provided by God's good hand, such a portion of food for this daily bread, and would have endeavoured by his Spirit, to have watered this Gedeons' fleece with that dew of Heaven. For as Ezekiel describing the Temple, the Image of God's Church, calleth it, Ezek. 48.35. jehovah Shammah, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Lord is there; So all our Prayers and preaching are only to stir up these graces of God in your holy devotion and conversation, that your light may shine before men, to stop the mouths of any interloping Priest, or jesuited Proselyte, that cometh to pry and spy, that he may see, that this place is, jehovah shammah, the Lord is here, though he doth not know it. But as Saint Paul was called by an Angel in a Vision, when about to go to Bythinia, one of Macedonia appeared unto him, and said, O Paul come and help us: Act. 16.9. so when my intentions were settled on meditations of repentance, the sad face of this sorrowful family represented itself unto me, and diverse wise and religious desired the Conclusion of this text, begun on Thursday last, unto which sudden motion I the rather yielded, because S. Paul had taught me, & encouraged me in that confidence, that he that beginneth every good work, will perform it, Phil. 3.6. and perfect it unto the day of jesus Christ. The Text is like that Petition in the Lord's Prayer, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive, Sola petitio orationis Dominicae cum repetitione. There be two twins in the womb of my Text. Gen. 38.30. Pharez and Zarah were twins, but they were of an incestuous birth. Gen. 24.22. jacob and Esau were twins, but there was a battle between them in the womb before they were borne; but these two twins, two petitions, are like Esayes two Zeraphins singing one with the other: or like two fiery Cherubins taking wing together, and flying up to heaven, in a needful time of trouble, to seek divine assistance. In this later Petition, observe plainly as in the former, 1. Cui, to whom it is directed, Lord. 2. Quis, the person who it is by whom it is uttered, I. 3. Quomodo, the manner how earnestly inplored, Lord I beseech thee, I beseech thee. 4. Quid, the matter of the suit so required, Lord I beseech thee send prosperity. Lastly, Quando, the time so urgently, instantly importuned; Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity. The sad presence and representation of this day, delighteth not in descant. Our Royal Master is in his sad Passover, and my meditations shall keep the Passover; The Lord jesus who was our true Passover, be present with us. It was a wise speech, justin Martyr doth cite out of Pythagoras, in his book de Monarchia, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, If any shall say, I am God, besides that only one God, let him create and make another world like to this, that we may believe him. And Tully in his 2. book de legibus, speaketh to this purpose, Nemo separatim habuisset Deos, neque novos neque advenas: for God saith St. Bernard is not only unus but unissimus: and as St. Gregory, Deus est intra omnia, extra omnia, supra omnia, infra omnia: superior per potentiam, inferior per sustentationem, exterior per magnitudinem, interior per subtilitatem: creating all things, disposing all things, ruling all things, directing all things; and therefore God only to be invocated as the Psalmist admonisheth, whom have I in heaven but thee, and in earth none in comparison of thee. It is the Lords day, and to bestow this precious time impertinently, were but to gather sticks upon the Sabbath day. In this religious assembly, you may ask as he did after a long Oration spent in the praise of Hercules, Quis vituperavit? who dare derogate from this great part of God's service, which indeed containeth the whole worship of God? so Scripture expresseth it, Gen 3. men began to call upon the name of the Lord. I answer, we know, and God knoweth that the Land mourneth for the apish Popish Idolatry of many who call upon, not only imaginary saints, but upon Statues, and pictures, and medals, and Idols, creeping to Crosses, bowing to Images, like those who turned the glory of the invisible God, Psal. 106.20. into the similitude of a Calf that eateth hay. Give me leave therefore most briefly to put my into this Harvest, not only, to cut down those cursed tares, but also to gather some sheaves for the present occasion of this distressed Family, who when they see all help to be vain, may the more earnestly rely upon the God of jacob for their refuge: It is enough to stifle and strangle this monster of Idolatrous Superstition, that in all the Bible there is no one called upon but God only; the godly in all ages never knew any other, and Rome hath no argument out of all the Scripture, but of damned Dives in hell, and let the wicked be turned into hell, with all the people that forget God. The voice of the Church is, Te Deum laudamus, We praise thee O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord: All the earth doth worship thee: To thee all Angels cry aloud: To thee Cherubin and Seraphin, continually do cry: The glorious company of the Apostles, the goodly fellowship of the Prophets, the noble army of Martyrs, the holy Church throughout the world, doth knowledge thee. Hear our Prophet David for all the rest, as collecting this from all the rest before him, and commending this practice unto all that shall be after him, Thou Lord art the hope of all the ends of the Earth: Thou art God only to be feared: Thou art God over all the Earth: Among the Gods none is like unto thee: Thou art my rock, my refuge, my shield, my buckler, my castle of defence, my deliverance in whom I trust. O love the Lord all ye that are his. And let me draw you with a threefold cord of this love, not easily to be broken, twisted of the most precious twines of his presence, his omnipotence, his beneficence. For his presence, he is a present help in trouble, he filleth Heaven and Earth: and as there is no place, where there is vacuity, so there is no place, where there is not the presence of the Deity. Non est locus, ubi non est Deus: in the field with Isaac, in the highway with jacob, in the pit with joseph, in the prison with Micheas, in the dungeon with jeremy, on the dunghill with job, in the wilderness with john Baptist, on the Sea with Peter, in the Sea with jonas, in the nethermost hell with David, Thou hast brought my soul from the nethermost hell. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, so nigh as that he prepareth their hearts to call, hearkeneth to them when they call, inclineth himself to receive their call, boweth down his care unto their call; nay more, boweth the Heavens and cometh down upon their call; nay more, he cometh into them, stayeth with them, suppeth with them, lodgeth with them; nay yet more, will never be absent from them, but be about their beds, about their paths, about all their ways, & will for ever dwell in their hearts by faith. And as for his presence, so for his Omnipotence, He is Creator adesse, Conseruator in esse, Recreator in bene esse, Glorificator in optimo esse, He that measureth the Heavens with a span, holdeth the Sea in his palm, weigheth the mountains in scales, bindeth the earth in a girdle; He that out of the Stones in the street can raise children unto Abraham, open the windows of heaven and rain plenty, can make fruitful land barren, and water-springs of a dry land: He that bringeth down the high tree, and exalteth the low tree, and drieth up the green tree, Eccle. 17.24. and maketh the dry tree to flourish: he who with a word made all things, and with the same facility doth govern all things, and with the same ability shall destroy all things: he who worketh all things, and is never troubled; who worketh always, and is never disquieted: who is in all places, and never moveth; who both filleth and encloseth all things: He that is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we can ask or think, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ jesus throughout all ages. Eph. 3.20. And as in his presence and omnipotence, so in his beneficence: his grace, his goodwill towards men▪ the tender mercies, the bowels of his mercies, the merciful loving kindness of the Lord, the height, the depth, the breadth, the length of the love of God in Christ jesus. Deus meus, misericordia mea: not misericors Deus, but Deus meus, misericordia mea: not, my merciful God, or God of mercy; but, my God, my mercy. O nomen sub quo nemini desperandum. Come hither then sorrowful Christians, Use. that feel an invisible hand cutting down our Royal Cedar, under whose gracious branches we thought to have seen many good days; now ye see that they whom God hath called Gods, & sons of the most high, Quos homines, coelestibus aequat, hath taught them that lesson, they must dye like men, Et Sceptra ligonibus aequat. O then trust not in Princes. O blessed is the man that hath the God of jacob for his help: Psal: 146.4. whose hope is in the Lord his God. It was a good Speech in a bad King, who when the poor woman cried out, Help me O my Lord the King, 1 Kings 6.29. he answered, How should I help thee when the Lord hath not helped me. Alas, vain is the help of man whatsoever he be. The first and last, highest and lowest of all the sons of Adam, are all vanity. Some few of them may be Honourable because Princes; but they are borne sinful, the sons of men; and borne weak, there is no help in them; and borne mortal, their breath departeth; and borne corruptible, they return to their earth: Trust not then in Princes. And sure, if the great Characters of Nobility, whose mortality this year hath made a large Commentary upon those words, serve not, The fatal Earthquake under which this great Pile, and every person therein, now laboureth in the bitter conflict between life and death of our Royal Master, (wherein O Lord send help unto jacob;) his sad and heavy day, this disastrous hour, might seal this lesson to us all our days, and lay it up till the last hour of our life, Trust not in Princes, Blessed is the man, who hath the God of jacob for his help. Alas, how hath the witchcraft of Court so enticed and entangled many, that settling their eyes upon sublunary objects: with the Israelites, they forget God their helper, who still haunt the Court, because an unquiet spirit haunteth them, whose ambitious wits being as high houses upon weak pillars, are easily blasted and blown down, from advancement or hope, from fruition, or possibility, though they thought to steal away preferment without God's knowledge, besides Gods will, and so they remain bladders puffed up with the wind of false hope and self love, confused heaps of envy, pride, and emptiness: and why, because they called not upon God: Happy is he, and blessed be God there be in Court many so happy, that know that the Court of heaven and earth, are not contrary but subordinate, and that the best Courtship springs from devotion, when neither the name of Court, nor grace of a Prince, nor applause of inferiors can make them look above themselves, or forget God or goodness; to whom honesty, reason and religion be their chiefest compass, the Dial which they observe how to spend their time: Providebam Dominum, I did set the Lord always before my eyes: and so live that though they know Princes favours nor lives be permanent, yet in the great eclipses of Court, such as this our present distraction is, they remember there is a wide world besides the Court, and a heaven above this world, where there is a God not subject to change, but ready to hear, to help in a needful time of trouble, as David's own experience here, Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity. And so we are passed our first step. I beseech thee: 2. The person who it is by whom it is uttered. The Author of the Ecclesiastical story relateth, that when the Temple was to be built, there was a stone often taken up, but as often refused by the workmen, sometimes too big, sometimes too little, till at length it was placed as a conspicuous corner stone above all the rest. Mist. Eccl. in 3. Reg. David passed through the Zodiac subject to many disastrous influences, and yet remaineth still the same, until the storm of tyranny be overpassed: Envy is like the Sunbeams, that beat more upon a rising ground, then upon a level; by many indignities he came unto that dignity he had, his standing was slippery, constrained to fly into the Rock, to wander in the wilderness, to lodge in a Cave, to beg his bread of Abimelech, to make himself a madman before Achish, to serve the Philistines his enemies; yet, all eyes are fixed upon him, all tongues, all hearts, entertaining him the object of their discourse and desires; he being young and lusty as an Eagle, strong as a Unicorn, bold as a Lion; running his race as a Giant, flourishing as an Olive-tree; established as Mount Zion which cannot be removed. I will not launch forth into the Ocean of David's life, I will content myself to walk by some rivulets of the waters of comfort, which fall into the great Sea, wherein are things innumerable to be observed. In the Genealogy of Christ; among all the Kings there is not one styled a King, but David, Math. 1.6. jesse begat David the King, and David the King begat Solomon. And of all the Kings of juda or Israel, David was the Pattern. Amasiah did uprightly in the sight of the Lord, 2 King. 14. yet not like David his Father. And Asa did right in the sight of the Lord as did David his Father, 1 King. 15. and so of the rest; David is so much renowned, as the principal and Paramount Pattern of all the Royal line, that as in the Catalogue of bad Kings, Rehoboam did ill, and jeroboam worse, and Omri worse than he, and Ahab worse than all; so in the number of the good, though Solomon did well, jehoshaphat better than he, and josias better then both, yet David best of all, and therefore David the King, the Diamond of the Diadem of all Kings, and of all other Kings this attribute in Scripture is given David above all Kings, and before all Kings, David the King. When David was with Achish at Gath, Achish giveth this testimony unto him, Thou art good in my sight as an Angel of God: 1 Sam. 29.9. when the woman of Tekoa, came with a pretence of getting a pardon for her banished son, she useth the same terms to David, As an Angel of God, 2 Sam. 14: 17. so is my Lord the King to discern good and bad: when David found the imposture, that she was joabs' instrument, the Tekoite applies this again to him, My Lord is wise according to the wisdom of an Angel of God, 2 Sam. 14.20. to know all things that are in the earth: when Ziba had slandered Mephibosheth, and Mephibosheth came being lame, somewhat late to answer for himself to David, My Lord the King, saith he, is an Angel of God: An attribute given him especially among all the Kings, before all the Kings, and above all the Kings in Scripture, by enemies, strangers, subjects, servants, friends, good, bad, all, 2 Sam. 19.27. David as an Angel of God. St. Gregory's observation is true, Per incrementa temporum, Greg. 16. Hom. in Ezek. crevisse scientiam spiritualium Patrum: Moses partaked more divine knowledge than Abraham, the Prophets than Moses, the Apostles than the Prophets; Chrys. Ep. 6. ad Theodorum. but of David St. Chrysostome noteth, ut in ordine regum, sic in numero Prophetarum electum fuisse, Regum vero constat omnium optimum fuisse, etc. And Philaster in the same kind, Sicut sanctis alijs diversam tribuit Christus Dominus gratiam, it a majorem huic concessit scientiam, dicente Domino, Dabo vobis sancta fidelia David. Aquinas proveth all the premises, quia Davidi modus Prophetiae nobilior, videlicet per immediatam illustrationem intellectus: and David himself explaineth the manner of his Illumination in Prophecy, as the light of the morning when the Sun ariseth, 2 Sam. 24.4. even as a morning without clouds, as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after rain: Summing up Gods extraordinary graces in this kind, Lord saith he, Psal. 119.99.100. thou hast given me more understanding than mine enemies, than my teachers, than my Elders. So that David a Prophet, and more than a Prophet, a King, & the most worthy of all Kings, an Angel of God, and more than an Angel, as I shall now prove: for if the distinction of Angels and their Hierarchy do hold, and that of Cherubins be true, Dion. Arcop. which the Ancients teach us, Cherubin ordo Angelorum qui velocissime pareant Deo, I say David was as a swift winged Cherubin, of all others; through all the Scripture none so divinely inspired, with a hearty, holy, fiery zeal, flying up into the sphere of divine & sacred contemplation; none but he that was the son of David excelled David in this kind. I know it is a strange curiosity to make a mans-selfe so skilful in the orders of heaven, as to advance Angel above Angel, and here it is little less than an Impertinency; and I remember St. Austin dares not positively affirm it; but when I find of all other orders of Angels the Cherubins at the gate of Paradise, Cherubins over the Ark, Cherubins in the Temple, the Oracle placed between the Cherubins, and the Chariot of Majesty drawn by Cherubins, according to that, Psal. 18.11. Nyss. de Asc. Domini, Davidem maiorem esse Apostolis; & Euangelica voce, sublimiorem. He road upon the Cherubins and did fly, I then think, that as one star differeth from another star, so one Angel may differ from another Angel in glory; and if any Angel excel, the Cherubins do; and if David were as an Angel of God, because he excelled other men, I dare say by his devotion wherein he excelled, he was a glorious Cherubin: devotion was his daily bread, his meat, his drink, his divine and dearest exercise; I give myself, saith he, unto Prayer: doth dedicate & consecrate his time & study and labour and endeavour, his heart and tongue, and body and soul unto this blessed duty and service, to this divine and heavenly exercise, I give myself unto Praeyer. The Lord hath chose unto himself the man that is godly; that is, saith the Chalde Paraphrase, Psal. 4.4. the man that can pray. The Lord hath magnifyed, so St. Austin readeth magnificavit, or as Jerome, mirificavit. Surely blessed is that man that the Lord hath endowed with the least measure of his spirit, with one dram of goodness, with one spark of godliness, one drop of heavenly dew, one mite of grace, one grain of faith, one jota of firm obedience; but when the Lord hath showered so plentiful a dew upon his inheritance, and so variously magnified and multiplied all these blessings upon a man, than we may say as it was of Mordochai, Thus shall it be done unto the man, Est. 6.11. whom the King of heaven delighteth to honour; and such honour have all his Saints; but above all David had this honour, which being distilled and infused on him, he deriveth to others, Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his Commandment, Ps. 112.1.2. his seed shall be great upon earth, his generation shall be blessed, wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness shall endure for ever. To close up my observation of David's person, he was not only God's friend as his name importeth, but God's favourite, like the Disciple whom jesus loved, and therefore most familiar in God's bosom, and chief of his sacred and privy Council. Six times we read of David's familiar access, to consult God himself; David enquired of the Lord, 1. Sam. 23 2. Shall I go smite the Philistius. David again enquired of the Lord, 1 Sam. 23.4. Shall I go down to Keilah. David yet again enquired of the Lord, whether he should pursue the troop that had sacked Ziglag. 1 Sam. 30.8. When he newly came to the Crown; David enquired of the Lord, 2 Sam. 2: 1. Shall I go into any of the Cities of judah: when all the Tribes had anointed him King in Hebron, 2 Sam. 5.19. and the Philistines came against him, David enquired of the Lord▪ when the famine came upon Israel for saul's bloody act in slaying the Gibeonites. David enquired of the Lord; or, as in the Original, 2 Sam. 21.1. Sought the favour of the Lord. The Imitation whereof will bless your gracious Highness; for as Gregory proposeth the examples of Moses, and David, of all others, to incite Rulers to enter into the Tabernacle, to consult with God; not to come to their Counsel-table, before they ask counsel, and pray for counsel from God; and even Pliny giveth a reason hereof, Nihilrecte, nihil prudenter, nihil providenter, homines sine Deorum immortalium , consilio, honore, auspicari: Let it not be unseasonable, that I press this at this instant, now your Royal Father lieth upon the Altar of his Deathbed, for the sacrificing of his blessed Soul to his Redeemer, The Lord help him in this Day of trouble, the name of the God of jacob defend him. I will not say that trouble is hard at hand; and yet Corona gemmarum, is but Corona spinarum; but a great and weighty Charge, is ready to fall upon your Princely shoulders, a great door is opening to your Highness, and there be many Adversaries: upon whom are all the hearts and eyes, I say, not of these Kingdoms, but of the Christian World, set, but upon your Highness? and as Mordecai spoke, who knoweth whether you are come to the Kingdom for such a time as this is? to be the glory of the Christian, Ester 4.14. and envy of the Antichristian World; for, since the Saviour of the World went down into Egypt, ut qui populus persecutor fuit populi primogeniti, fieret custos filii Primogeniti, never was any Prince so delivered out of the hands of his Enemies, that he might serve the Lord without fear; never any Prince brought back from the imminent, eminent, emergent jaws of death, as your Gracious Person: O, let it never be unsavoury to remember that miraculous safety of your Highness' return; wherein the right hand of the Lord had the pre-eminence, Psal. 116. the right hand of the Lord brought mighty things to pass. O, let it be your Religious care, that ever your Soul may be satisfied with the blessings of good things by prayer, that your Sacred Person may be, as ever hitherto you have been, a blessed Pattern of this holy practice; for such as your Highness shall appear to be by example and proucation, such will your Servants be by imitation: For, as all in Alexander's time, did affect Chivalry, because he was a Soldier; and Poetry in Augustus' time, because he loved Poets; and Music in Nero's time, because he was a Musician; and Fencing in Commodus time, because he delighted in Fencers: so all were forward in Christianity in Constantine's time, because he loved Christians; of whom as the powerful examples of other ages in Hercules' fortitude, Guevar. Epist. Marcus Aurelius his wisdom, Antonius Pius his care of the Commonwealth, Aristotle his learning, Cato his Severity, Scipio his Continency, and Laelius his Amity, were Precedents to all succeeding Ages; so was Constantine of devout Piety: who, the better to instruct his People in Devotion, by his own example, ordained that his Image, which we know Princes do use to coin upon their money, should be stamped with the resemblance of him praying: And to say no more herein, Euseb. de vita Constan. C. 15. Cyp. de coena Dom. I close this with Cyprian, Quoties in conspectu Domini video aliquem suspirantem, toties Spiritum sanctum non dubito inspirantem: As often as I see any one in God's fight sighing out prayers; so often I doubt not God is present, breathing his Spirit upon such a holy suppliant. Divinity buildeth upon this, Christianity doth require it, necessity doth enforce it, and no faithful man maketh doubt of it; and he that shall be frequent in it, shall be sure to find favour of the Almighty: O, did they consider this that dote upon Courtly favour, the Courts deity, Ambition's Darling: upon favour that flower, vapour, meteor; palea, festuca, umbra, pluma, spuma; that shadow, that dust, that mote, that feather, that froth: upon favour that ebbeth as the Sea, passeth as a wind, and droppeth down as the leaves in the fall, they would learn David's lesson, to seek favour and familiarity with God, for that shall bring a man peace at the last, Psal. 37.37. & would make this their daily suit, as David, a King, being Master of Requests for himself, here doth, I beseech thee O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee: and so I have done with the second step. I beseech thee: 3. the manner how he prayeth. Devotion delayed or lingered, is soon quenched, but when heated, and hastened, when the passions are lively and strong, when an earnest, Zealous, impetuous Petition is offered to God, not drawn from the lips or lungs, but from the inwards of a contrite, confident Soul, it never wanteth success; for not only the Body but the Soul hath a mouth, and language; and as the heart giveth aspiration to the arteries, so doth the conscience to the affections; and as we breathe in the air, so grace is breathed into us from Heaven; the motions of God's Spirit are the lungs, knowledge and devotion are as the lips, faith as the tongue, zeal as a string that passeth from the heart unto the tongue; Prayer is the language of Canaan, the holy Tongue; for she was bred in the holy Land, and the elegance of this Tongue, is the eloquence of importunity. Chrys. Quam grata apud Deum importunitas▪ how gracious and grateful is importunity in the ears of God? Non importunus neque impudens, Aug. de verb. Apost. saith S. Austin, it is not a saucy or a shameless part in thee to ask any thing of God with great importunity, he bids thee ask, and seek, and knock, and knock not only till he hear, but till he answer, and open, and grant thy request. David hath a double supplication, it is like the former and the latter rain, the ingemination noteth an unremovable and constant affection to the suit he desireth; man's impatience in prayer can never offend God's patience, the Music of Angels doth not more delight the Lord, than the redoubled obsecrations of his Servants, whereby he doth suspend their desires in expectation, & extend them by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, their earnest importunity: Note only the Parables of a friend called up at midnight, the most unseasonable and deadest time, wherein any would be loath to be troubled, the doors shut, the children asleep, the sable mantle of the silent night, covering all the World; yet upon importunity the friend riseth at midnight, answereth, openeth, granteth, Luk. 11. the request, tendereth and giveth, because of the importunity; so also that Parable of the unjust judge, that cared neither for God nor man; yet because of the constant, continual Solicitation of the poor woman, he heard her, and granted her suit: we cannot hold a meaner opinion of God, then of a common vulgar Friend, (which were too base to conceive) or a more unrighteous judgement of him, then of the most unrighteous judge, (than which, Aqu. Cat. Aug. what can be thought more blasphemous) they both were won, non amicitia, non iustitia compulsi, sed taedio. Famous is the importunity of the poor woman of Canaan, miserere fili David. 1. She cryeth, and calleth, and followeth: our Saviour vouchsafeth not an answer, not a word, not a look, yet she surceaseth not, but calleth and cryeth out still. 2. The Disciples her back-frinds, they would have her sent back, Send her away, she cryeth after us, and yet she is not retarded, but continueth her calling. 3. Our Saviour answereth her, and rejecteth her, as not capable of any good from him, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of Israel: she a Canaanite, yet neither Disciples nor Master can beat back her Faith, she followeth, and falleth down, and worshippeth, and cryeth Lord help me. 4. Our Saviour replieth in the most bitter Phrase that ever he used to any poor Suitor, It is not meet to take the children's bread and to give it to dogs. Mat. 6. The daughter possessed with a Devil, the mother accounted a dog, and holy things not to be given to dogs, this had been enough to have blasted her hope, and rooted up her faith, and have confounded her confidence, and wounded her distressed soul, and silenced her importunity; yet behold, she that had all these discouragements, replieth, and by her reply crowneth her confidence with a blessed conquest, Truth Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their Master's table. She wrought a miracle upon her Saviour, made the deaf ears to hear, and the dumb tongue to speak: to tongue and ears, she cried as Christ to the eyes of the blind, Ephata, be opened, hear and answer my petition, and grant my request. O how well pleased is the Lord with the importunity of his servants when they cry day and night, and double their ingeminated obsecrations. Look upon blessed Hezekias his manner of Prayer, Isay 37.17. Incline thine ears O Lord and hear, open thine eyes O Lord and see, & hear; and when he lay upon his deathbed chattering like a swallow, mourning like a Dove, I am deprived of the residue of my years, I said I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the Land of the living: he knew that no balm in Gilead, no unguent of the Apothecaries, no skill of Physicians, no fruits of the fields, no flowers of the garden, no minerals of the ground, Esay 38. could give the least allay unto his sick and sorrowful soul, but only the Lord, whom therefore he remembreth, and six times in his Prayer repeateth that sacred name of the Lord. It is observed that God himself doth seem to be pleased to use often an ingemination of the names of those he best loved, in Scripture; Gen. 22.11. Exod. 3.4. 1 Sam 3.10. as when he called Abraham, Abraham, Moses, Moses, and Samuel, Samuel: & in a like manner we ought to be well pleased and much delighted in the blessed remembrance and invocation of his name. And sure when the hart is full of God, the tongue will not refrain to talk of him, they that rarely think on God, show how miserable their estate of grace is. If the Lord be not in our hearts we are godless; if in our hearts without joy, we are hopeless: If we rejoice in him, and speak not of him, we are shamefully thankless; If he be in our hearts in our tongues, in our joy, coldly and perfunctorily, we are negligently faithless: and therefore as we must think on the Lord always, so speak on him often, and when we pray to him, do it earnestly, and zealously; in faith without wavering, in confidence without doubting, in perseverance without desisting, crying out as jonas Mariners, jon. 1. We beseech thee O Lord, we beseech thee; or as David here, I beseech thee O Lord, O Lord I beseech thee. To land this point, remember that the Church hath appointed us to pray, in all time of our tribulation, in all time of our wealth, & in the hour of death. In all time of our tribulation we are ready to pray, but in the time of our wealth and prosperity we are strangers to devotion; yet in the time of thy wealth and health remember tribulation, remember in the days of thy peace, thy visitation; remember thy hour of death: for when riot hath been master of misrule, and turned sobriety the good steward out of door, and Intemperance an unbidden guest, hath got in, and defiled all the rooms of thy body; Nature like a good-huswife would willingly cleanse the house, and desires the help of Physic, as a Scavinger, to make clean the rooms; but alas, she findeth that sin lieth like a dog at the door, and death the cruel Sergeant threatens to serve an extent upon the whole house, there is no such means to quit thee of thy disease and of thy direful enemy as prayer: it is David's Antidote, but thou must take it fasting, and be sure to take it warm, it must be fervent prayer; and take it not only morning and evening, but take it as a continual Cordial, and cry mightily, Have mercy, have mercy, Spare me O Lord, spare me O Lord, I beseech thee to hear me good Lord, I beseech thee to hear me. And so being steadfast, and unmoveable, and always abounding in this work of the Lord, thou shalt find that thy labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. And so I have ended my third step, the manner how he earnestly implored: I will mend my pace, for it is the day of our Royal jacobs' wrestling, and I fear, as Elisha heard the sound of jehorams' feet following the bloody messenger sent to take away his life, so my heart trembleth to think it, and my cares tingle to hear, the heavy and sad approach of pale Death entering into this Kingly Palace. O that we could with Elisha look heedfully now this messenger, this murderer cometh, 2. Kings 6.32. and that we could by our prayers shut the door, and hold him fast at the door, and this prayer might prevail, O Lord I beseech thee save now, O Lord I beseech thee send now prosperity. Send Prosperity: Praeventions of Paliticians, presumptions of the foolish, circumspection of the wise, circumvention of the wits, are all Arts Cobwebs, and experience paper Castles, the Silkworms work, and the fool's wonder, Prosperity is only the gift of the father of lights. The old Speech is, that wise men cause prosperous times: But alas, Policy trippeth up sacred Wisdom, for Policy and Wisdom differ as much as Scripture and Apocrypha; and Policy is often as offensive to true Wisdom, as Hagar to Sarah, and sometimes as injurious, as Elimas the Sorcerer was to Peter, or Alexander the Coppersmith to Paul. Laertius tells us of certain young men of jonia, Diog. Laer. de vit. Philos. standing on the shore, agreed with certain Fishermen for the next draught, in which there being a rich and precious piece of Plate, they not agreeing whose by right it was, they went to consult the Oracle; the Oracle enjoined them to send it to the wisest man alive, they thereupon sent it to Thales, he disclaimed it, and sent it to another, who also refused it, till having passed through many, who all denied that attribute of the wisest, to belong to them, at length they bring it to Solon, and he wished them to send it to the Temple at Delphos, and to present it to God, as being the most wife, according to that of S. Paul, To God only-wise. And surely, as God is called by the name of Wisdom; so men come near to God in nothing more than the study of Wisdom; wherein all the Politicians of the World out of their Chemical limbiques, with all their extraction, can never do good, unless their wisdom be seasoned from above. It is God only that can both make wise men and prosperous times: and therefore our Prophet directeth his Prayer aright, O Lord send prosperity: The Hebrew readeth, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hosanna, which was sung before Christ, is now sung before David: a word that is variously interpreted by the Ancients and Modern, signifying, saith Euthymius, a Hymn or Song: or the branches of Olives and Palms, born before Christ, as Caninius: or the redemption of the house of David, as Ambrose: or grace and glory, as Chrysostome: it is interiectio gaudentis, & obsecrantis, as Austin: and as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, processus, successus, a voice and vote of happy success. It is like that in the first Psalm, Omnia quaecunque faciet prosperabuntur. All the four Evangelists mention this jubilation at the coming of our Saviour to jerusalem, wherein Disciples and followers, and young, and old, men, women, and children bore a part. It is a frequent acclamation in Scripture, God save the King, not only to Solomon the good, but to Saul the bad, and to Adonijah the Usurper; 1 Kin. 1.39. 1 Sam. 10.24. 1 Kin. 1.25. but Hosanna only sung to David, and to the Son of David, Christ jesus. I will not strive to enter into the meaning or mystery of this word of jubilation; Alas, it is a word out of season, and all our Instruments are out of tune, and we are here as they that sat weeping at the waters of Babylon, we have hanged up our harps upon the willows; this is not a time to sing the songs of Zion, none may require this song of us in our heaviness. Lorinus observeth, Lor. in Ps. 116. that of all other the Evangelists, S. Luke omitteth this word Hosanna, Qui Graeci sermonis eruditissimus, videns se proprietatem sermonis transferre non posse, melius arbitratus est tacere, quam id ponere quod legenti faceret quaestionem, and therefore I will content myself as it is here rendered, Lord send prosperity. It was an usual form of Morning Prayer among the jews, Prosper us O Lord, O Lord send us now prosperity; prosper thou the work of our hands unto us, O prosper thou our handy work. It was the Religious care of Abraham's Servant, when being sent to solicit for a Wife for Isaac, and knowing that it was not to be enterprised unadvisedly or lightly, he prayed in his journey: Gen. 24.12.21. O Lord God I beseech thee send me good speed, or prosperity, this day. And when he came unto the Well, he stood wavering in contemplation, whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not; and when the Match was concluded, Hinder me not saith he, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way. Prosperity is not the fair Gale of temporal carnal security, puffing up the superstitious sails of pride and ambition. If thou hadst, Aug. saith Austin, the wise doom of Solomon, the strength of Samson, the beauty of Absalon, the long life of Methushelah, the riches of Dives, the diet of the Glutton, who fared deliciously every day. Quid prosunt haec, cum caro datur vermibus, Anima Daemonibus? Look upon David's two trees, the Bay-tree, and the Olive-tree, and then observe the difference between true and seeming prosperity. I have seen the wicked in great power, Psal. 37.36. and spreading like a green Bay-tree: yet he passed away & lo he was not: I sought him, but he could not be found. Here is that enticing trap, sugared poison, venomous pill, stupifying perfume, that golden net, and goodly, Babylonish garment, like that Fruit which our first Parents tasted: Pro. 1.31. Pulcher in visu, mollis in tactie, dulcis in gustu, mortifer in effectu. The prosperity of fools shall destroy them, possessing them with irreligious profaneness, and so infatuating them, that their hearts are as dead pieces of flesh, without sense of fear, or love, or care, or pain, from the deaf strokes of a revenging conscience. This drew that strange expostulation from jeremy: jer. 12.1.2. Righteous art thou O Lord, when I plead with thee; yet let me talk with thee of thy judgements: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are they happy that deal treacherously? Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root, and grow and bring forth; thou art near in their mouth, but far from their reynes: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, & prepare them for the day of slaughter. But now, if you please, look upon David's Olive-tree, or rather David as an Olive-tree; I am like a green Olive-tree in the house of my God for ever; Psal. 52.9. not as Nebuchadonozors' tree, hewed down; or as the wicked man's Bay tree, feled down; or as john Baptists tree, cut down and cast into the fire: but the green, pleasant, fragrant, flourishing, Olive-tree: Gen 8.11. Noah's Dove came to him with an Olive branch, in her mouth, and that branch was the Emblem of a blessing: St. Chrysostome giveth the reason, why an Olive branch; not only because the leaves thereof are most beautiful, but that they live under water, as it is certain the Olive-tree continued in the great Cataclisme and Inundation of Waters: And indeed, the Spirit of God, of all trees, maketh especial mention of the Olive-tree, that whereas job compares the Richman to the Palmtree, and Solomon the Old man to the Almond-tree, and Esay the Great man to the Cedaer, and Ezekiel the Poor man to the Fir-tree; David compareth the wicked man to the Bay-tree, and the good man to the Olive-tree, among the rest, and above the rest ever flourishing. It was the conceit of the jews, that the Dove brought this Olive branch from Paradise: surely, whencesoever, or howsoever it came, it was a blessed token, and ever since the Olive branch hath been the Emblem of a blessing; and happy is that man that may bear an Olive branch, in all the waves of this troublesome world, that may be as an Olive tree, steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted in charity, and can think his Prosperity enough to live out of the noise of the world, as fare from starving as burning, and when heavenly contentments have possessed his Soul, he looketh down upon the earth displeasedly, as the region of his sorrow and banishment, still praying for the prosperity of jerusalem, and peace upon Israel, as our Royal Prophet now doth. Now, the last Circumstance. This Psalm was made by David, when he was first invested into his Kingdom. Of all other persons it concerns Kings to pray, & of all other times, at their first entrance to their Government: David and Solomon begun their Rule with the rule of Prayer: The goodness of a private man is his own; of a Prince, the whole worlds; his words are Maxims, his actions examples, his examples rules. David, both privately alone, and publicly in the Congregation, prepareth himself to prayer, in this Psalm, and the people provoked by their King's example, pray for the continuance, and long life of their Prince and Prosperity, That God may distribute to the King gifts proportionable to his greatness, that the head may enjoy all the senses of the whole body, that the Church and Commonwealth, the King, and judges, Heraclit. and Laws, & all, may flourish; for as Heraclitus observeth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The King is the Image of God, the judge is the Image of the King, the Law the work of the judge, and justice the end of the Law. And David had especial reason to pray, at this his Inauguration; for he knew a great and dangerous war was in hand, the Philistines were his deadly enemies, he had been among them, and knew them, and was now to make provision against them. And therefore, as Numa, Lor in Ps. 44. p. 915. when a rumour of War was raised; Sacrificabo, saith he, I will sacrifice; so, when David forseeth this fear of foreign enemies, he betaketh himself unto prayer. But I must leave David at his Prayer, and conclude with our times: Time is the conclusion of all things. Lord send now prosperity. And if we look upon our times, upon this sad, swift, speedy time, feathered with flying hours, upon this fatal Year; Senec. Epist. 18. Mensis olim December, saith Seneca, nunc annus est. This whole Year hath been composed of the fall of the leaf, and Winter. O ye Mountains of Gilboa, how many noble and valiant have fallen this year, D. of Richmond. E. of Dorset. D. of Lennox. E. of Notingh. E. of Southampton and his Son. L. Belfost. M. Hamilton. they that were lovely and pleasant in their lives, swifter than Eagles, stronger than Lions: How many noble Families have been like the naked twigs of Winter, shivering all for cold, and dropping down their tears abundantly? How many of the choice Peers and Pearls hath Death stolen out of the Coronet of our Nobility? How many poor Firre-trees may mourn, for their Cedars be fallen? And is not this an ill boding prodigious time, wherein with hearts, and tongues, and tears, and prayers we had need to cry, Lord, now send prosperity. Cast your watery eyes upon the fatality of this bloody Month, and not to look upon the ancient Triumph of Funeral Solemnities in March; March. 24. remember how in this Month we were deprived of blessed Queen Elizabeth, the Paragon of mortal Princes, the Woman after Gods own heart, the Virgin-Queene of the Earth, the glory of the Christian, the envy of the Infidel World; who came so near unto the blessed Virgin Mary, that she was borne upon the Vigil of her birth, and died upon the Vigil of her Annunciation: Remember the sable time since the Death of the Royal Vine of this Kingdom, Martij 20. 1618. die Martis. Queen Anne in this very month; a Queen not superstitious, not factious, not tyrannous; but religious to her God, and most gracious to all the Subjects of this Land, and her well deserving servants: Not a Lioness hunting for the prey as jezabel, or a Typer greedy of the spoil as Athaliah; but a sweetly tempered & Royal Lady, whom Grace and Peace crowned, and Glory hath made Conqueror, and God, Martij 23. 1618. die martis. in this Month not many years since, took from us, as one, of whom the world was not worthy of, Inter foelices & foelicissima quondam Regis enim Conjux, Eilia, Mater, erat. Remember the fatal sickness at Royston, when that acute and violent disease, seized upon our Royal Sovereign, in this very month, when our fears increased with the minutes, and every messenger was as one of the Chorus in a Tragedy; as jobs messengers, every one adding to the sorrows of those sad times, and when — Duxisset mox fila secanda sorores, Non sic est visum Sceptris:— Our Royal Hezekias recovered miraculously to God's glory, Lam. 4.20. the good of the Church and State, and great comfort of all his good Subjects. But alas, our sins have fought against our good, and now Death the ledge of all men's lives, that sets upon men with stealing steps, & insensible degrees, threatens a final arrest upon our Royal Master. The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord is taken in the snare, of whom we said, Lam 4 20. Under his shadow we shall live. The Crown is falling from our head, woe unto us that we have sinned; for this, Lam. 5.16. our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim. O thou God of jacob defend him; send him help from thy Sanctuary, & strengthen him out of Zion, for thou Lord remainest for ever and ever, thy Throne from generation to generation, Lord we beseech thee save now, Lord we beseech thee send now prosperity. It was a divine Canticle of a sweet Singer of Israel, upon his Majesty's last recovery, D. Goodwin Deane of Christ. Church. why this Month was so infestuous to our King. Tu Martem odisti, Mars odit pacis amantem, Hinc tantae clades, hinc tot conamina Martis, It was about this very time of the year say some that the first foundation of Venice was laid, Hosp. de Orig. F sure I am we stand here upon a watery foundation, the water-Springs of our own tears are able to sink us: The computation of some is approved, who hold, that the world was created about this very time, and I remember the first work in the Creation was that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. We are now labouring under a new Creation, the same blessed spirit of God move upon our watery faces, & dry up the tears of our eyes. It is the Liturgy of our Church that teacheth us, that in the midst of life we are in death. But blessed be our God in the midst of death we are now in life; there is present a gracious Dove with an O live branch, that shall bring comfortable news to our world, and the waters shall cease: I never was like to that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that base flatterer, who is, In vita Constan. as Aurelius Victor well observed, sorex & tinea Palatij: I know his Princely disposition hath ever hated a Parasite as the worst Traitor; God keep two mischiefs ever from within the smoke of his Court, Flattery and Treachery; the Inquitie of the times may make us fear these, not his gracious inclination: but this I may say before God, and men, and Angels, seldom ever have those years promised, seldom have performed so much, and we have seen enough to make us think we can never be enough thankful to God for him. I remember an observation of an Historian, concerning Charles the Fift, Knolls in the Ger. Histor. who being borne upon Mathias day, and having an Elder brother alive, his Grandmother applied by a Phrophecy, that of Mathias election unto Charles the new borne Prince, that as the Lot fell upon Mathias, though last in place, so the Lot of the Empire should fall from the Elder brother upon Prince Charles, though last in birth. The like Lot is now falling unto your Princely Highness, and my prayers be, that all your days may be like the two Saints days of this month, Foelix and Perpetua, that when your Royal Father shall pass à Corona ad Coronam, as it was one of the Divine meditations proposed this morning to his Majesty by that most honourable Bishop, and that he shall exchange this mortal for a Crown of immortality; The Lord Keeper. that the spirit of your gracious Father may be doubled upon your Highness, as the spirit of Elias was upon Elisha, that true Religion may flourish under you; and that you may ride on in Majesty prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness: That you may ride on in truth, for State without truth, is like Pride without Power, an umbrageous Pageant for sight not for service. That you may ride on in truth and Majesty, for truth without Majesty is like a Talon hid in a bank, or a Candle under a bushel: That you may ride on in truth and Majesty and meekness, for Majesty without weakness, is like greatness without goodness, the Politicians Character, but the People's curse: That you may ride on with truth and Majesty and meekness and prosperity, for Majesty without prosperity is like Heaven without a sun, or the Summer without a Harvest. That you may ride on in Majesty, truth, meekness, and prosperity and righteousness, for Majesty without righteousness, is like beauty without honesty, a wanton dead soul in a painted sepulchre: but when your Canopy of Majesty is supported by truth, and meekness, and prosperity and righteousness, Blessings and prayers will be showered upon you, God, even your own God shall give you his blessing, and God, even our own God shall send us prosperity; Which the Lord grant, for his mercy, for his promise, for his Zion, for his Son's sake Christ jesus, Amen. FINIS.