God save the King. A SERMON PREACHED IN St. PAUL'S CHURCH the 27th. of March. 1639. BEING THE DAY OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST happy Inauguration, and of His Northern Expedition. BY HENRY VALENTINE, D.D. LONDON, Printed by M. F. for JOHN MARRIOTT; and are to be sold at his Shop in St. Dunstan's Churchyard in Fleetstreet. 1639. God save the King. 1 SAM. 10.24. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King. THe Text is verbum diei in die sue; and a word spoken in due season is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. This is the King's Day, and this is the King's Text; and I will use the words of a King for my Introduction: My heart hath indicted a good matter, and I will speak of the things which I have made touching the King. God make my tongue the pen of a ready writer, and tune your tongues to the Duty of the Day, and Ditty of the Text, which is, God save the King: And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King. The Text presents you with two fair pieces. First, the Acclamation of the people, And all the people shouted; and this I call Vox populi, the Voice of the people. Secondly, the Apprecation of the people; it was not Vox & praeterea nihil, voice and nothing else, as we say of the Nightingale; but as they shouted, so they said something, and what was it? God save the King; and this I call Votum populi, the Vote of the people. In the first of these, three things are observable. 1. The ground and occasion of their joy, They had a King, that was one: and such a King as the like was not among the people, that was another. Both expressed in the beginning of the Verse. 2. The greatness and vehemency of their joy. They did not gaudere in sinu, their breasts were too narrow to contain it; but like jordan in the time of Harvest, it overflows the banks, and breaks out at their lips, so that heaven and earth rings, and resounds with the echoes of it, for they shouted. 3. The generality, and universality of their joy. The young men did not shout, and the old men weep, as at the building of the second Temple; but all the people shouted, the Choir is full, the joy universal. In the second, that is, the Apprecation of the people, two things are considerable. 1. Their Fa●…, they prayed for the King. For as he that prayeth not at all cannot be a good man; so he that prayeth not for the King, cannot be a good Subject. 2. Their Form of prayer, God save the King. For they knew that if God did not save their King, their King could not save them out of the hands of their enemies. These are the several parts of the Text, wherein at this time I shall exercise your patience and attention: and first of the grounds, and occasions of their joy; They had a King, and such a King as the like was not among all the people, and hence their shouting and ovations. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King. The first ground of their joy was that they had a King. Governors they had, Captains they had, judges they had, but a King they had not till now; and now they have him, they rejoice in him, for they shouted. Shouting is an expression of joy, and joy is a passion and affection of the mind, arifing from the sense and presence of some good. And that Kings are to be ranked in this Predicament, and enrolled in the number of Good Things, is most manifest from that promise which God made unto Abraham: I will (says God) make thee exceeding fruitful, Genes. 17.6. I will make Nations of thee, and Kings shall come out of thee. In which promise you may observe as it were three degrees of Comparison. First, God promises that he should be a Father; then, that he should be a Father of Nations; then, a Father of Kings, which is the superlative Blessing, and the very Crown and Crest of the Promise. Again, God is good, and so are all things that come from him; now there is no power but of God, says the Apostle: and how is it of him? not by way of permission, but of commission; not by way of Deficiency, but of Efficiency; not by way of sufferance, Rom 13.1. but of ordinance: for the powers that are, are ordained of God, and whosoever resisteth the power, Ind illis potestas, unde spiritus. Tertul. Apol. 30 Cujus jussu nascuntur homines, ejus jussu constituuntur Principes. Iren. resisteth the Ordinance of God. Thence have they their power, from whence they have their spirit, says Tertul. And he that made them men, makes them Princes, and that after the same manner, says Irenaeus. Hence is it that their Crown is said to be Gods, their Sceptre Gods, their Throne Gods, their anointing Gods: for he is the Master of the substance, whosoever be the Master of the Ceremony. I confess that the children of Israel are charged by Samuel to have committed grande malum, 1 Sam. 12.17. a great evil in ask a King, and God attested it by thunder from heaven. The truth is, they did not ask malum, a thing in its self, and simply evil; but they asked Bonum malè, a good thing in an ill manner; For they asked a King to the prejudice, and apparent injury of Father Samuel; they asked him out of wantonness, and pride of heart, that they might be like unto other Nations; and they were resolved to have a King, whether God and his Prophet would or no. Vide Abulens: in locum. Et Latimers' 5. Serm. before K. Edw. Nay (say they) but we will have a King. Now if malum be ex quolibet defectu, this must needs be grande malum, that had so many defects in it, though the thing they asked was Grande bonum, a great blessing and a precious treasure, as Latimer calls it, and it will appear by these particulars to be so. 1. A King is Decus Israelis, the Beauty, and Ornament of Israel: when Saul was slain, 2 Sam. 1.19. David lamented over him with this Lamentation, The Beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. For the King is the Fountain of Government, Government of Order, and Order of Beauty; so that a King governing his people with good and just Laws, makes the Commonwealth a Naomi, and the excellency of Beauty, which otherwise would be but rudis indigestaque moles, & monstrum inform; A mass of confusion, and ugly and deformed Monster. 2. A King is Lucerna Israelis, the Light and Lamp of Israel. 2 Sam. 21.17. David being rescued from a great danger, the people swore that he should go no more out with them to battle, lest the Light of Israel should be quenched. The King by his Laws, as the Sun by his Beams, dispels and scatters those deeds of Darkness which otherwise would cover the face of the Commonwealth: so that his subjects live in Goshen and have light in their dwellings; and the light is good, for he that made it, said it: and if there be any that rejoices not in this Light, I dare say his deeds are evil. 3. A King is Imago Dei, the bright Image of God, and the most magnificent and conspicuous representation of the Divine Majesty; Nec alio animo rectorem suum intuetur, quam si Dii immortales potestatem visendi sui faciant. Senec. l. 1. de clem. cap. 20. and we joy in the Pictures of our friends, when we cannot behold their Persons. All Governors (says Greg. Naz.) are God's Pictures. Inferior and subordinate Magistrates are half pieces drawn from the head to the shoulders, or middle; but Kings are the Pictures of God at length, and represent him in such due proportions, that as God is our invisible King, so the King is our visible God. One hath said it that cannot flatter, Dixi Dii estis, I have said ye are gods, and if he have said it, we may say it after him. 4. A King is Pastor populi, the Shepherd of the people, so Cyrus is called, and so David whom God took from feeding of sheep, to feed jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. And no expression more frequent in profane Authors. The people then that have no King are like a flock of sheep that have no shepherd; and sheep that have no shepherd will be scattered: 1 King. 22.17. I saw (says the Prophet) all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have no shepherd. And sheep that are scattered are easily devoured, according to that of Ezech. They were scattered because they had no shepherd, Ezech. 34.5. and they became meat unto all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. So then with a King we are Oves pascuae, sheep of the Pasture feeding by still waters: but without a King we are Oves occisionis, sheep of the shambles, and appointed to be slain. And therefore good reason that we should hear the voice of our shepherd, and rejoice in him when he goes in and out before us. Lastly, Kings are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Benefactors, according to that of our Saviour, Luke 22.25. The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called Benefactors. And if we look into the Catalogue of the Egyptian Kings, we shall find two of them so surnamed. And well may the King be called a Benefactor, for he is the Minister of God to thee for good, (says the Apostle.) He conserveses thy life and body which is thy natural good; he cherishes virtue, and punishes vice, which is thy moral good; he secures thy estate and possessions, which is thy civil good; he defends the faith, and maintains God's true Religion, and worship, which is thy spiritual good. So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, A King is the best Benefactor, and the greatest friend we have upon earth; for we may say of him as Solomon did of wisdom, when he comes, all good things whatsoever come together with him. Now recollect and lay all these together, that a King is the Beauty of a Nation, the Light of the Commonwealth, the Image of God, the Pastor of his people, and the best Benefactor to his subjects; and we cannot but acknowledge that the oil of anointing is Oleum laetitiae, the oil of gladness. For I dare say, that next to Christus Dominus the Lord Christ, Christus Domini the Lords anointed is to be preferred in our mirth as the chief of our joy, and the Crown of our rejoicing. And therefore the children of Israel had good reason to be joyful in their King, especially in such a King as the like was not among all the people, and that is the other ground and occasion of their rejoicing. Solomon, the most glorious King that ever wore a Crown, or bore a Sceptre, Wisd. 7.1, 2, 3. confesses that he was but Mortalis a mortal, and similis omnibus like unto all; conceived alike, borne alike, nursed alike, and there is no King (says he) that is otherwise. There are a generation of men in the world which like the frogs in Egypt swarm in King's Chambers, who poison unwary Princes with the breath of flattery, blowing them up with monstrous and prodigious conceits of a supposed Divinity. If Alexander be victorious, he hath them about him will say and swear too that he is the son of jupiter, and decree him divine honours. If Demitian send out a Decree, Mart. it is Edictum Demini Deique nostri: If Herod sit on the Throne and make an elegant Oration, it is the voice of God and not of man. And when once the spirit of Princes is infected with this poison, they think they may thunder with jupiter, and command the Sea, For — Quid credere de se Non possit, Juven. cum laudatur Diis aequapotestas: The truth is, that he that sits upon the Throne is but a man, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, subject to the same passions that others are, and Morietur sicut home, he shall dye like a man, and his pomp shall not follow him: so that the difference betwixt Saul and the rest of the people is not to be sought for in his natural principles, or essential properties: but either in the Ornaments of his Body, or in the endowments and accomplishments of his mind, or in both. As for the ornaments of his body, there was none like him among all the children of Israel, for he was a goodly person, and from his shoulders upward higher than any of the people. It pleased the wisdom of God to make choice of such an one for his first King, that the eminence of his stature, and procerity of his person might speak him Dignum imperio, and conciliate reverence, and obedience from the people. Xenophon reports of the Lacedæmonians that they fined their King Archidamus because he married a little woman, fearing lest they should have 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not Kings but Kinglings; which might prove a blemish to their State, and a diminution to Majesty. When Samuel was sent to anoint one of the sons of jesse, no sooner did he see Eliab the eldest, but he concluded that the Lords anointed was before him, and the reason was, because he looked upon his countenance, and the height of his stature. Pliny reports of the Bees, Nat. Hist. lib. 11. cap. 16, 17. Insignis regis forma est, dissimilisque caeter is tum magnitudine, tum nitore. Sen. l. 1. de clement. cap. 19 that esse utique sine Rege non possunt, they cannot be without a King: yet the Bee which they choose is duplo caeter is major, twice as big as any of the other. Or it may be God made choice of such an one, that the eminency of his stature might be an Emblem of the sovereignty and supremacy of his office. Kings in the Scripture are called the Higher powers, the Heads of the Tribes, the children of the most High, the high Hills, and tall Cedars. A King (says Tertull:) is à Deo primus, post Deum secundus: count not God, and he is the first; count God, and he is the second. Honour the King (says Ignat:) for there is nothing more great, Ep. ad Smyrn. or excellent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in all created nature. So then the Priest, yea though he be the high-Priest must not measure with the King, or think to hold up his head as high as his Sovereign. Abimelech was high-Priest, 1 Sam. 22.15. yet confesses himself twice in one verse to be saul's servant. Abiathar was high Priest, yet Solomon deposed him, and invested Zadok with his office. To see a Bishop tread upon the neck of an Emperor, and mount his Steed whilst a King holds his stirrup, are as prodigious and portentous spectacles as the Eclipses of the great Luminaries of heaven. S. Bernard writing to an Archbishop in France, Siomnis anima, & vestra: quis ves excepit ab universit te? si quis tentat excipere, tentat decipare. Bern. Epist. 42. Acts 25.10. presses him with omnis anima, let every soul be subject, and if every soul, then yours, for he that goes about to exempt you, does but deceive you. S. Paul that great Doctor of the Gentiles stands at Caesar's Judgement seat, where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, I ought (says he) to be judged, and submit myself to his sentence. Nay, Christ himself, the Highpriest of our profession, and great Bishop of our souls paid tribute unto Caesar, and acknowledged the power of Pilate a subordinate Minister to be given from Heaven. And surely if the Doctrine of the Conclave which advances the Mitre above the Crown be new and nought: that of the Consistory cannot be good, for it advances the Thistle above the Cedar, the people above the Prince, witness these, and the like dangerous and seditious positions. Populus Rege est praestantior, & melior, the people are better than the King, Lib de jure regni. and of greater authority. The collective body hath the same power over the King, that the King hath over any one person. The people may arraign their Prince, and the Ministers excommunicate him; so far Buchanan. And another of the same stamp affirms that the power of the people over the King, is the same that the power of a general Council is over the Pope, and as the Council may displace the one if he be an Heretic, so the people may depose the other if he be a Tyrant * And a Tyrant he is (says another of them) if he hinder the bringing in of their discipline. . Thus Herod and Pilate, mortal enemies, become sworn brothers in persecuting the Lords anointed, and like Sampsons' foxes though they look contrary ways, yet are joined by the tails, and both carry the firebrands of sedition. But return we again to Saul who was not so eminent for the stature of his body, as he was for the gifts, and accomplishments of his mind, for in this respect also there was none like him among all the people. The vulgar latin reads it non erat vir melior illo, there was not a better than he among all the children of Israel. A Senuisti, was objected against Samuel, a David as yet was too young to come into competition with him. Or as Abulen: satisfies the doubt, persona loquens intelligitur excepta, the person speaking which was Samuel, must be excepted from the comparison. When our Saviour Christ gave this honourable testimony of john the Baptist, that among them that were born of women there was not a greater than he, it is manifest that Christ himself was excepted, for john was not worthy to lose the latchet of his shoe. The ordinary gloss says that Saul at the time of his election was in statu praesentis justitiae, in the state of present righteousness. Lyra says that he was not only vir bonus, but excellentis bonitatis, a good man, but of excellent, and exemplary goodness. S. Bernard speaking of perseverance says that bonus erat Saul, & optimus: sed cecidit, & reprobus factus est, Saul was a good man, yea the best in Israel, but he fell away and became a reprobate. As for humility, the Scripture gives him this testimony, that he was parvulus in oculis suis, little in his own eyes. And magna & rara virtus honorata humilitas, humility in robes is a rare and admirable virtue. As for piety, no sooner was he invested with the Kingdom but he accompanies Samuel unto Gilgal, and there sacrifices peace offerings unto the Lord. And so zealous was he of the Law of God that he would not suffer a witch to live. As for Clemency, he would not suffer those sons of Belial to be put to death who despised him in their hearts, and said, shall Saul reign over us? This was Saul; but to resume the words of S. Bernard, Cecidit, cecidit, he fell, he fell: His humility degenerated into pride: his piety into profaneness, his clemency into cruelty, for he that spared the sons of Belial, did not spare the Priests of the Lord. Let him therefore that standeth take heed left he fall, and whosoever thou art, work out thy salvation with fear and trembling, and be not highminded but fear. Look upon Saul in the New Testament, and thou wilt not despair; look upon Saul in the Old Testament, and thou wilt not presume: The one of the chiefest sinner became a Saint, and the other of the best man in Israel became a reprobate. And so we discharge the first circumstance, the ground and occasion of their joy, they had a King, and such a King as both in respect of the ornaments of his body, and the endowments of his mind there was none like him among all the people, and come to the second circumstance, which is the greatness and vehemency of their joy, they shouted. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King. Joy is a passion which spreads, and dilates, and enlarges the heart, and if the impressions thereof be strong and masculine, it cannot contain itself, but breaks out into sensible expressions. As sometimes into laughing, so did Sarahs' joy at the tidings of a Son; sometimes into singing, so did the Angel's joy at the birth of our Saviour; sometimes into shouting, so did the people's joy at the inauguration of their King, and this of all other is the loudest, and shrillest accent of jubilation. 1 King. 1.40. At the Coronation of King Solomon the people rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth (says the Text) rend with the sound of them. It fareth with Kings as with all other blessings, carende magis quam fruendo, their worth and excellency is better known by wanting, then having them. We read in the book of judges that there was no King in Israel, and how went the squares then? why every man did that which was right in his own eyes. And what was that? Micah a private man sets up an Idol, and consecrates a Priest. Gibeah a City ravishes a woman to death. Dan a Tribe falls to robbing of houses, & cutting of Throats. Families, Cities, and Tribes all out of course, and no soundness at all in the body politic. The cause of all which disorder was the want of some body: Not of a Priest to teach them, but of a King to govern them. A Priest there was in Israel, but a King there was not, and hence it was that every one did that which was right in his own eyes, and no body did that which was right in God's eyes. God be thanked, a bad King is a Thing which the oldest man here cannot remember, yet let me tell you that Tyranny is rather to be chosen then Anarchy, and praestat sub malo principe esse quam nullo, better a bad King than no King at all, says Tacitus. Better it is to fear one then many, better one Lion, than all the Bears, and Boars, and wild beasts of the Forest. If the Trees cannot prevail with the Vine, or Olive to be their King, yet a King they will have though it be but the Bramble. I gave them says God a King in my anger, and took him away in my wrath. A bad King is the testimony of God's anger, but no King at all an argument of his wrath, and indignation; and wrath is the dregs, and lees of the cup, anger but the top of it. So then, the greatness of the evil which redounds to a Nation by the want of a King, sufficiently commends the greatness of the blessing, and great blessings must be entertained with suitable affections. It was truly said of Balaam a false Prophet, that the shout of a King was amongst them, for all other expressions are too low, and flat for it. But these latter times have produced a generation of Vipers called Anabaptists, who instead of rejoicing in their King, rail at him, and their devise is only how they may cast him down whom God hath exalted: for they affirm as impudently, as ignorantly, that Christian liberty makes the office of a Magistrate utterly unlawful, and Evangelicall perfection makes it altogether useless and superfluous: and if it be unlawful it is not a blessing, but a curse; if useless, not a benefit, but a burden. There is I confess a glorious privilege purchased for us by the death of Christ, which we call Christian liberty, but it consists only in a freedom from the ceremonies, the curse, and rigour of the Law, the power of Satan, and dominion of sin; not in a freedom from the Doctrine and Obedience of the Moral Law, or the yoke of lawful authority, Civil, or Ecclesiastical. For they that so understand it, and apply it (says S. Peter) use their liberty for a cloak of maliciousness. And S. Paul tells us that though we be called to liberty, Gol. 5.13. yet we must not use our liberty for an occasion to the flesh. As for Evangelicall perfection, in their sense it is but an Idea, a dream, a mere chimaera. For good and bad, wheat and chaff are mingled together in the floor, and sic fuit ab initio, thus it was from the beginning, and thus it will be unto the end, till Christ come with his fan in his hand and thoroughly purge his floor. They that are good are but imperfectly good, and so long as the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the law of the members fights against the law of the mind, offences must needs come; and Christians may do things punishable by the civil Magistrate. Moses the Magistrate of Gods own people had need have a rod in his hand, and he shall meet with those in the congregation that deserve to be beat with it: Else S. Paul had said in vain (writing to Christians) si male egeris, if thou dost that which is evil be afraid. And S. Peter's exhortation had been to no purpose; 1. Pet. 4.17. Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Sergius Paulus when he was converted to the Faith; did not abjure his authority as a thing Antichristian. Cornelius was made a Christian, yet ceased not to be a Centurion. The Eunuch was baptised, yet did not relinquish his office and authority under the Queen of the Aethiopians Christ and Caesar may dwell together; we may give unto God the things that are Gods, and yet give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's; we may fear God, and yet honour the King; and as they sinned that said we will have no King but Caesar, so do they also that say, we will have no King but Christ, no law but that of the Spirit. And therefore S. Peter hath marked those out to be chief reserved to the day of Judgement to be punished, 1 Pet. 2.10. who despise so great a blessing as Government. For Non minor est usus Magistratus quàm panis, aquae, solis, & aeris; Magistracy is no less needful and necessary amongst men than bread and water, the sun and the air, says M. Calvin. Inst. l. 4. c. 20. All which are blessings so great, and general, that men cannot live without them but by Miracle, which brings me to the third circumstance, the generality and universality of their joy, All shouted. 3. Fit it was that an universal benefit should be entertained with an universal joy. A King is common bonum, a common good; and good the more common it is, the better it is; and the better it is the more joy it occasions. The Magistrate (says S. Paul) is the Minister of God to thee for good, to thee whosoever thou art. To thee Nobleman, to thee Churchman, to thee Gentleman, to thee Tradesman, to thee Husbandman, to thee Merchant, to thou Mariner. Seneca tells Nero, Anima Reipublicae tu es, Lib. 1. de Clem illa corpus tuum; thou art the soul of the Commonwealth, and the Commonwealth is thy Body. Now the soul is tota in toto, & tota in qualibet parte, whole in the whole body, and whole in every part of it: Even so the King inanimates and informs the whole collective body of the people, and every particular man of it, of what degree, quality, or profession soever, so that to say we have no part in David is the voice of a rebel; for young men and maids, old men and children have all a part in him, and profit by him. Again, as a King is the soul, so also he is the Sun of the Commonwealth, according to that of the Psalmist, Psal. 89.36. His Throne shall be as the Sun. The Sun is Sponsus naturae, the beauty and Bridegroom of Nature, appointed by God to rule the Day, and it runs from one end of the Heavens unto the other, so that nothing is hid from the heat and light of it, but every creature from the Cedar to the Shrub receives benign and propitious influences from it: so a King (as before I told you) is Decus Israelis, the beauty of Israel, the supreme Magistrate, the effects and influences of whose government, as peace, justice, and religion extend over the whole Kingdom, and reach from Dan even to Beersheba, from Aaron's head to the skirts of his clothing; so that high and low, rich and poor, one with another, and all together own their bene esse unto him. And for this cause (it may be) amongst many others, Kings were of old Crowned near some Fountain, because they are Fountains and common blessings, the streams of whose government do glad the City of God, and refresh his inheritance. For Rogis vigilia omnium domos, illius labor omnium etia, illius industria omnium delicias, illius occupatio omnium vacationem tuetur, When the King watches we may all sleep, when he labours we may all rest, his Term is our Vacation, and when he works every man may keep holy day. And now when I look upon this congregation of Israel, I cannot but break out into the words of the Psalmist, Ecce quàm bonum, & quàm jucundum, behold how good and pleasant a thing it was to see so many men of one mind, and one mouth! for all shouted, and all said the same thing, Gaudium omnium gaudium singulorum, & gaudium singulorum gaudium omnium. The joy of all was the joy of every one, and the joy of every one the joy of all. Thus it is in heaven, and thus it was here, and I would to God it was thus in all places. But oh the strife of tongues! Oh the great thoughts and divisions of heart that are amongst us! Contempt of Authority is become the character of a Christian, the cognizance of a sincere professor; libelling and speaking evil of dignities the language and dialect of God people; preaching Obedience to the Magistrate civil, and Ecclesiastical, is interpreted down right flattery, and gaping after preferment. Prejudice & faction hath so shuffled and confounded all things, that a man can come into no parish, nor congregation but he shall find some Mutes, some but half Vowels, some not doing their duty at all, others doing it so faintly, that a man may perceive their hearts are not right in this matter. Well far this Congregation of Israel, Mens omnibus una, & vox omnibus una, they were all of one mind, and one mouth; they all thought the same thing, and spoke the same thing; every one in the Choir was a loud Cymbal, for all shouted; and a well tuned Cymbal too, for all prayed; which brings me to the second part of the Text; the Vote and Apprecation of the people: And all the people, etc. First, I exhort (says the Apostle) that supplications, and prayers, and intercessions, and giving of thankes be made for all men, and first for Kings, and such as be in Authority. And what manner of Kings were there in those days? Idolaters, Infidels, Tyrants, Persecutors, those of whom David long before had prophesied; Psal. 2.2. The Kings of the earth have set themselves, and the Rulers take counsel against the Lord, and his anointed. Nero the Roman Emperor, and supreme Magistrate was a Lion, so S. Paul calls him; he was Dedicator damnationis nostrae, the first that drew out the sword of persecution, so Tertull. He was so profligately, and desperately wicked and tyrannical, that many thought he should rise again, Lib. 20. de civ. Dei cap. 19 and be that Antichrist and man of sin which was to be revealed, so S. August. and yet as bad as he was, S. Paul enjoins prayers for him, and so does S. Peter for the Emperor Claudius one not much better. For Suetonius reports of him that he was so merciless, and given to bloodshed that he would have tortures, and punishments executed in his own presence, and delighted to look upon the faces of Fencers as they lay gasping, and yielding up their last breath; beside he was a man inordinately given to the wanton love of women; yet for all this the Christians of those times must honour him. And this these blessed Apostles did not to curry favour with the Emperors, or to flatter themselves into preferment, but to copy out their Master's lesson, and to show that they were his Disciples, who said, Pray for them that persecute you. And that this was the constant practice of the Primitive Church, justin Martyr in his Apol. 2. Origen in his 8. book count. Celsum. Arnob. in his 3. book count. Gentes. Tertull. in his Apol. 30. besides the ancient Liturgies, are my witnesses. Of all Christian duties Prayer is the best; the Apostle hath given it the chief seat, and set it at the upper end of the Table. And of all kind of prayers Intercession is the best; for necessity (says Chrysost:) enforces us to pray for ourselves, but charity invites us to pray for others. And charity is that which gives a tincture, and relish to all our prayers, for without it the tongues of men and Angels are but as sounding brass, and a tinkling Cymbal. And surely the best kind of Intercession is that which is made for the best, namely, for Kings, and such as be in Authority. Hence is it that our Mother the Church of England is so copious in it. For in her Liturgy she prays for the King four or five several times, and yet I dare say commits no Tautology, or idle repetition. For his several capacities as a man, as a Christian, as a Magistrate, as the Supreme Magistrate, upon whom lieth the care of the Church and Commonwealth, require it of us. Those than that do curtail divine Service as Hanun did the garments of David's Ambassadors, and use the prayers of the Church as a noise of Music at a Play to entertain the company till the Actors be ready, are not only disobedient to the Church in not observing her order, but injurious also to the King in depriving him of the benefit of those prayers which the Church hath appointed for him. And this is no small injury, for Preces subditorum vires Regum, the prayers of the people are the power of the King: Kings are the heads of the people, but the prayers of the people are those locks of hair wherein their strength principally consisteth. Sure I am that none stand so much in need of prayers as Kings, and such as be in Authority. For such is the weight and multitude of their employments; that many times they cannot pray for themselves. Well might S. Ambrose wonder at David's septies in die, seven times a day do I praise thee, and make this inference upon it: Si David septies regni licèt necessitatibus occupatus, etc. If David notwithstanding the affairs of a Kingdom could do it seven times, private men may do it seaventy times seven. But besides this, Kings and such as are in Authority are most assaulted with temptations. That which Christ said of his Disciples is true of Kings, Satanas appetiit vos, Satan desires to have you, and like the King of Syria bends his power especially against the King of Israel. So that were it not that cor Regis in manu Domini, the heart of the King was in the hands of the Lord, I should wonder with S. Chrysostome if any of the Rulers could be saved. For the devil opens his envenomed Quiver, and shoots all his fiery darts at such persons, as well knowing that Regis ad exemplum, the example of a King brings vice into fashion, and gangrenes the whole body. For says Siracides, Eccles. 10.2. As the Judge of the people is himself, so are his officers; and what manner of man the Ruler of the City is, such are they that dwell therein. For the people like jacobs' sheep conceive by the eye, and like the inferior Orbs follow the motion of the primum mobile, contrary to their own natural inclinations. If jeroboam sin he makes Israel sin too, and if he set up Calves at Dan and Bethel, all Israel will be such Calves as to go up and worship them. But suppose Kings stood not in need of our prayers, yet sure I am we ourselves stand in need to pray for them, for as jacobs' life was bound up in the life of Benjamin, so is the good of the subject in the prosperity of the Prince. Hence the jews were commanded to pray for the life of Nabuchadnezzar, and the peace of Babylon, because in the peace thereof they should have peace. And S. Paul exhorting us to pray for Kings and such as be in Authority, draws his motive ab utili, for by this means we shall live a quiet and a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Kings and Queens are nursing Fathers, and nursing Mothers, and if the nurse be ill, the child that sucks the breast cannot thrive and prosper. Nay the Lords anointed is Spiramentum nariam, Lam. 4.20. the breath of our nostrils; stop and extinguish that, and death ensues immediately. So that in praying for Kings we pray for ourselves, our prayers return into our own bosoms, for the blessings poured upon them like the ointment poured on the head of Aaron stays not there, but runs down to the beard, yea to the very skirts of the clothing. Or as the rain falls first upon the hills, but stays not there, but descends into the valleys from whose vapours at first it was engendered. When the sons of jacob went into Egypt to fetch corn for their Father, did they not fetch it for themselves & their Families? When the members of the body feed the belly, do they not feed themselves, and provide for their own nourishment? When we pray for the King, what do we else but pray for ourselves, and provide for the welfare of our own Families and posterities, for under his shadow we live, and like the ivy cannot grow without his supportance? Acts 12.20. So that as they of Tyre and Sidon saw a necessity of making a peace with King Herod because their Country was nourished by the King's Country: So a necessity of praying for the King lies upon every one of us, not only because Dominus opus habet; but because we ourselves have need of it, for our welfare is nourished by the King's welfare, our honour by the King's honour, our peace by the King's peace, our safety by the King's safety, and therefore God save the King, which is the Form of their prayer, and the last circumstance in the Text. And all the people shouted, and said, God save the King. 2. Pineda observes that it was the custom of all Nations at the inauguration of their Kings, Lib. 2. de reb. Salom. cap. 6. to use solemn Appreciations, boni ominis ergô. As sometimes foeliciter, sometimes De nostris annis tibi Iupiter augeat annos. Sometimes Augusto foelicior, Trajano probior. Sometimes Dii te servant, and the like: all which (says he) were doubtless derived from this sacred and ancient form in the Text, Vivat Rex, let the King live, for so it is in the Hebrew, and the Septuagint renders it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, and our old English Bible reads it, God lend the King life; and no form of Apprecation more full, or fit then this. For the blessing of life, is the life of all blessings, it being the foundation of whatsoever we have or hope for. Hence pellem pro pelle, skin for skin, and all that ever a man hath will he give for his life, and a living dog is better than a dead Lion. And as none more full, so none more fit; for Vita omnium brevis, Regum plerumque brevissima, the lives of all men are short, but the lives of Kings for the most part shortest. It was a King that complained, My soul is continually in my hands; Psal. 119.109. and in another place, Fear is on every side, for they take counsel together against me, and devise how they may take away my life. Darius did wisely to allow money for the building of the Temple, Ezra 6.9, 10. and bullocks and rams for the offerings, that so the jews might offer sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his sons. If we reflect and look back upon former ages, we shall find Shimeis and Shebai, Absaloms' and Achitophel's, Tereshes, and Bigthans, all sons of Belial flying in the face of sacred Majesty, and seeking to lay violent hands upon the Lords Anointed. And howsoever these spirits were once well laid, and walked not in the Primitive Church, yet in these latter times they have been conjured up by the seditious Doctrine of the jesuites, and are become familiar spirits in all parts of Christendom. Haec est salutaris meditatio says Mariana, this is a wholesome meditation for Kings next their heart, to think, se eâ conditione vivere, that they live in that case and condition, ut non solum jure, sed cum laude & gloria perimi possint, that they may not only be slain lawfully, but to the praise and glory of them that do it. And I would to God this was the doctrine of the jesuites only, for we know the men, and we know their communication; but this leaven hath spread further, and even soured them that take upon them to be reformers of the reformed Churches. And whereas Mariana says it may be done cum laude, Buchanan goes further, and would have it done cum praemio too. For if I (says he) had power to make a law, I would award recompense to be given for killing of Tyrants, as men use to reward them for their pains who kill wolves or bears, and destroy their young ones. Surely (beloved) this Doctrine deserves to be the Inprimis in the black Catalogue of the Doctrine of the devils, it is the doctrine of Beelzebub the Prince of devils, it is the bane of men's souls, the blemish of Christian religion, and the breach of all common tranquillity. And is it not high time to pray for the lives of Kings, when ambition, envy, faction, and all discontented humours are thus clapped on the back, and set on to offer violence to their persons whom God would have accounted sacred and inviolable, and hath therefore hedged them in as he did the Tree in the Garden, with a nolite tangere, touch them not? Saul was a barbarous Tyrant, for he hunted the life, and sought after the soul of David who was most faithful among all his servants; he commanded Doeg to fall upon the Priests of the Lord, and to slay fourscore and five persons which did wear a linen Ephod; and not satisfied therewith, commands him further to smite Nob the City of the Priests, both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and ass with the edge of the sword. Besides, he neglected the care of God's public Worship and Service, for the Ark of God was not enquired at in the days of Saul; beside he was rejected of God, and traditus Satanae, delivered into the actual possession of the devil; yet notwithstanding all this, yea notwithstanding a concurrence of all desirable circumstances of opportunity, yea, notwithstanding David was the man that was anointed by Samuel, and appointed by God to the Kingdom, yet he durst not lay his hands upon the Lords anointed, but reverenced the Unction, and spared his enemy, saying, Who can lay hands upon the Lords anointed and be guiltless? Rodolph Duke of Suevia endeavouring to take away the Empire from Henry the Fourth, whom Hildebrand had excommunicated, lost his right hand in the battle, and being ready to breath out his distressed soul, looking on the stump of his arm and fetching a deep sigh, he said to the Bishops that were about him, behold this is the hand wherewith I did swear allegiance to my Sovereign Lord Henry. And therefore Vivat Rex, let the King live, be he an Infidel, an Heretic, a Tyrant, an Apostate, a Persecutor, or deposed and excommunicate by the Pope, for none of all these can unloose the bonds of allegiance, evacuate God's ordinance, or cut in sunder the sinews of the subjects obedience. But because, Mart. as the Poet says truly, Nonest vivere, sed valere, vita; this apprecation must reach further than a bare life, and simple subsistence; namely, to the health of his body, the quiet of his mind, the prosperity of his affairs, the success of his government, the victory of his Armies: and the Hebrew word is of that latitude to bear it, and the Caldee paraphrases it, Let the King live, i.e. Sit Rex foelix, cedant omnia regi foelicitèr, Let the King live happy, let all things succeed fortunately, and whatsoever he doth let it prosper. Then Solomon lived indeed when he sat not only in the Throne of God, 1 Chron. 29.23 as King in stead of David his Father, but prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. Apolog. 30. And Tertullian is my witness, that the Primitive Christians prayed not only for the life of the Emperor, but for his happiness and prosperity also. His words are these; we wish the Emperor a long life, a secure Empire, valiant armies, a faithful Council, a loyal people, a quiet government; Et quaecunque Hominis & Caesaris vota sunt; whatsoever good things else, either Man or Caesar can desire. And who was this Emperor for whom they thus prayed? It was Severus, for in his time (says St. Jerome) Tertullian flourirished; and Severus was an Infidel, a Tyrant, and the author of the fifth persecution, and yet they wish him prosperity in the name of the Lord. And if it was thus done for the dry tree, what shall be done for the green? if thus for the bramble, what for the Olive? if thus for persecutors of the Faith, what for the defendors of it? O pray for the peace and prosperity of such, they shall prosper that do it. Pity it is but that man's tongue should for ever cleave unto the roofe of his mouth, that lives under a gracious and religious government, and yet says not so much as, God save the King, and so our last translation renders it, and departs not from the original, for the Septuagint in several places renders the Hebrew word by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies to save. There is no King that can be saved by the multitude of an host. I will not trust in my how, neither shall my sword save me says King David. Salvation belongs unto the Lord, he alone is the Master of the Salvation Office; I am, and besides me there is no Saviour. And therefore the people did well to address their devotions to the God of Israel, for the King of Israel. For his arm of protection cannot whither, nor his wings of salvation moult their feathers. Besides, it is the observation of josephus upon a danger which Titus escaped when he came to view the City of Jerusalem, Imperatorum pericula Deum curare, De Bel. Jud. lib. 6. cap. 2. that God takes the persons and perils of Princes into his special care and cognisance. To God than they go, and they go for that which of all other things is most behooveful, safety and salvation. There is a twofold salvation; one of the soul, the other of the body; one from sin, the other from danger; and Kings stand in need of the first as well as others, and of the second more than others, so that salvation is that Vnun necessarium, that one and only thing which is necessary for them. As for the first, we are all Oves perditae, lost sheep, the sin of our first parents was commune naufragium, an universal shipwreck: for in Adam all sinned, yea the blessed virgin herself, for her soul rejoiced in God her Saviour. Now howsoever Kings in respect of Office, as they are Filii altissimi, the sons of the most High are Transcendents: yet in respect of Nature, as they are Filii Adam, sons of men, they are in the same predicament with others, i. e. sinners. So that without salvation, Tophet is ordained of old, and prepared for the King, as well as for the people. As for the other kind of salvation we all need it, but Kings especially, because their persons are most exposed unto dangers. They have Foes abroad, and Traitors at home. There be enemies to do them violence, and sons of wickedness to hurt them. Hence is it that they walk in danger, eat in danger, sleep in danger. Solomon's bed must have threescore valiant men about it, Cant. 3.7, 8. of the valiant of Israel, every man having his sword girt upon his thigh for fear in the night; and surely it is the mercy of the most High that they do not miscarry; so that nothing so fit for them as salvation, without which their lives will be trodden down, and their Honour laid in the dust. Which our Church rightly understanding, uses this Suffrage in her Liturgy, O Lord save the King. And again, in the prayer for the state of Christ's Church militant here on earth, prays in this manner; We beseech thee also to save and defend all Christian Kings, Princes, and Governors, and especially thy servant Charles our King; and now that we are come to him, we are come to the business of the day: and as you have lent me your patience hitherto for a Survey of my text, so the King's name may command it a little longer for a review, and application, which I shall dispatch with all convenient brevity, and so dismiss you. No sooner was our Sun set in the death of King james of blessed memory, but it rose again in the happy inauguration of King Charles, so that no night followed, for Regem habemus, a King we have, and such a one as the like is not among the people, nay such an one I dare say as the like is not among the Kings of the earth; whether we respect the beauty of his person, or the graces of his foul: God hath blessed him with a strong and healthful constitution, a comely and Majestical presence, an active and a vigorous body; and yet this is is but the Cabinet, the jewels that are locked up in it are of inestimable value. As for his Humility, you may read it in his apparel, especially in the passages of these times, wherein he hath condescended as low to accommodate causeless discontentments, and to remove offences taken, not given, as the respects of Majesty would well suffer. As for his Piety, I challenge envy and malice itself to speak their worst. Is he not constant to his devotions, and reverend in them? Hath he desired or endeavoured any thing more than a Conformity and Uniformity in God's Service, that there might be but via una, and cor unum, one way, and so one heart? Hath he not been zealous of the glory of God, and the public places of his worship? If I should hold my peace, these stones would speak, I mean the stones that are brought to this Temple, to beautify and vindicate it from a long and intolerable profanation. As for his Clemency, do we not all sit under our own Vines, and eate the fruit of them without any trembling, or palpitation, lest we should be arrested with the message of death or confiscation? Hath he inflicted any punishments but such, as the offence impartially considered, mercy itself might have been both the judge and Executioner? Or to express it in his own royal language; Hath he not now for a long time together endeavoured by all calm and fair ways to appease the disorders, and tumultuous carriages, raised by some evil affected persons, and fomented by some factious and turbulent spirits? and now that his patience is abused, and the sword in his hand, doth he not call God and the world to witness that he is forced and constrained thereto? A King than we have, and such a King as this, show me a better among the people. I may say of him and the people, as the Epigrammatist does of Trajane and the Senate; Mart. lib. 11. Epig. 5. Moribus hic viv at principis, ille suis: Let them live after his manners, and he after his own. And if it be thus, how much are they to blame, who (though rebus sic stantibus, they dare not rail at the King as Shimei did, or throw stones at him) yet in their Sermons, Conferences, Libels, and Pamphlets they misinterpret his actions, for his piety with them is Popery and Innovation, his clemency with them is cruelty and persecution. And thus the people are brought into a dislike and detestation of the present government, and both the Person and Authority of the King cunningly undermined. If the Serpent can but buzz a jealousy and suspicion into the heads of our first Parents that God envies their happiness, the Apple will go down without chewing. If Absalon can possess the people that justice is not administered, nor matters well carried, it is an easy matter to steal away their hearts from their Allegiance to his Father. And well it is that the holy Ghost gives it no better a title than stealth, for it is a theft of the highest nature; they rob not a private man, but a King; and that not of his Plate, his Jewels, or apparel, but of the ●…ts of the people, and consequently they rob him of the Arms of his people, of the purses of his people, of the prayers of his people, and make him as much as in them lies Lodovicus ●i●…, Lewes no body. as sometimes an Emperor of Germany was called; and for this stealth was Absalon justly and deservedly hanged. And Solomon copied out this lesson from his ruin; My son, sear God, Prov. 24.22, 22. and the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change, for their calamity shall rise suddenly, and who knows the ●… of them both? Let as then, seeing we have a King, rejoice in him; and seeing we have such a King as the like is not, rejoice, yea I say againt rejoice. Let our joy be as great, and as full as we can make it. For the blessing is great, and aught to be celebrated with as great solemnity as is possible. And that our joy may not be as the crackling of thorns under a pot, but long and lasting; let us not only rejoice in him, but pray for him. Pray for his life, Vivat Rex, let the King live; Let the soul of our Lord be bound up in the bandy of life; 1 Sam. 25.29. but as for the souls of his enemies, sting them out O God, as out of the middle of a sting. Prolong O God the King's life, Psal. 61.6, 7. and his years as many generations; Let him abide before thee for ever: O prepare thy loving mercy, and faithfulness, that they may preserve him. And as for his life, so pray also for his prosperity. Sit Rex f●lix, let the King prosper and flourish. Give him O Lord the desire of his heart, and deny him not the request of his lips; prevent him with the blessings of goodness and set a crown of pure gold upon his head: Let his glory be great in thy salvation. Honour and Majesty do them lay upon him: Psalm. 2. ●. give him everlasting felicity, and make him glad with the joy of thy co●…enance. As for his enemies, Psal. 132.18. cloth them with shame, but upon himself let his Crown flourish. Good ●…ke have be with his honour, and let him ride on prosperously, that they that hate him may bow before him, and lick up the ●…st of his fe●…e. And because both these depends upon the safety of his Person; Let us pray also, Domine salvum fac Regem, God save the King. And never was this prayer more seasonable, for Lord how are they increased that trouble him, many they are that rise up against him! They that have eaten of his bread, have lift up their heels against him: Psal. 83.2.5. His enemies make a tumult, and they that hate him have lift up their heads, they have consulted together against him with one consent, and are confederate (or, as the word signifies) entered into Covenant against him. Be thou therefore O Lord a shield for him, Psal. 3.3. his glory and the lifter up of his head: Psal. 20.1.2. Hear him O Lord in the day of trouble, the name of the God of jacob defend him; send him help from his Sanctuary, and strengthen him out of Zion. Psal. 91.4. Defend him under thy wings, and let him be safe under thy feathers, let thy faithfulness and truth be his shield, and buckler. Psal. 121.7, 8. Preserve him from all evil, preserve his going out and his coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. But as for his enemies, destroy them O God, let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against him. Psal. 3.10. Let them melt and consume away as the fat of Lambs. Psal. 83. Deut. 33.11. Make them as a wheel, and as the stubble before the wind. Smite thorough the loins of them that rise against him, that they rise not again. Beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him, and let him see his desire upon his enemies. So we thy people, and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thankes for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations. FINIS. Imprimatur THO: WYKES. March 28. 1639.