A SERMON PREACHED UPON SUNDAY THE THIRD OF MARCH In St Mary's OXFORD, BEFORE The Great Assembly of the Members, OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF COMMONS There Assembled. OXFORD, Printed by LEONARD LICHFIELD, Printer to the university. 1643. contribute, such as I have, (Qui non potest Agnum, Columbam ferat:) Offering up a Stone, how Rough and unpollished soever, to the Building of this Temple: Which Stone, if any man shall go about to asperse with his untempered mortar, not suffering it to be laid (as the stones in Solomon's Temple were) without noise; Let him know, that He, who has already sacrificed his whole Fortunes, (such as they were,) and is ready with all cheerfulness to lay down his Life, will not be unwilling to Expose his Name; if hereby, he may be made able, in the least measure to promote the Glory of his God, and the welfare of his Brethren. Sir, This is That which I plead for in the Pulpit, though, I confess, with more zeal, than Learning; and this is That which you Fight for in the Field, with no less Courage than Loyalty. I have the honour and happiness to be a witness of your Compassion towards your Brethren, and of your zeal towards God: And therefore, while I see You bear in one hand a Sword, 1. Sam. 13. 20. sharpened in Israel, not among the Philistines, against the Rebellious Sheba; and in tother a Stone, hewn out of the spiritual Rock, for Sacrilegious Achan▪ I hope, this Your known detestation of Rebellion and sacrilege; Your clear and unbiaced pursuit of Religion and Liberty; will encourage that in Another, which You practise yourself. The confidence whereof invites Me to beg Your Protection to this Sermon, and the Author of it, SIR, Your most observant, at Your Command, GEORGE wild. PSALM. 122. Vers. 8, 9 For my Brethren and Companions sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Yea, Because of the House of the Lord our God, I will seek thy Good. THat there may be an unjust Peace, and that there may be a just war, is so clear and evident a Truth, that in most ages of the World, we shall find it written with the point of a sword, in Characters of Blood; And as clear it is, that we are bound to Pray against them both: Against such a Peace, as only skins the sore, but repairs not the body; a Peace that promises a subtle superficial Quiet in the father's days, but threatens the sons with an intestine and more lasting war: And against all war; if not for the many sins which List themselves even with the justest Cause; yet at leastwise, for the Temptations sake, which in the holiest war too often assault the bravest Champions: And we are bound to pray against all Temptations in what kind soever. I am not, dare not be of his Religion, who said, that Gunpowder in the Field gave as sweet a Perfume, as Incense at the Altar: And yet, such may be the case, and such now it is, that the Incense at the Altar burns the sweeter for the Gunpowder in the Field. The smoke of the Canon is good or bad, as the cause is so; and that which proves a stench, an odious stench in the nostrils of the Almighty, when it is fired to blow up a State, when it is fairly exercised to defend Religion, than it smells like the precious ointment upon Aaron's Head. I presume, the Socinian is not here, who subscribes to the unlawfulness of all war; so subtly taught the Anabaptist once, till he had compassed a mighty strength, and a Power of resistance: He taught so, till he made Germany reel with his thundering Legions, borrowing that very argument to beat down the sword of war, which the Jews at this day make use of, to cry down the Saviour of the World, and the Prince of Peace, as not yet come; viz. That in the time of the gospel all Nations are required to beat their Swords into Plow shares, Esa. 2. 4. and their spears into Pruining hooks. Mic. 4. 3. Whereas indeed the Prophets do hereby commend unto us, not the Practice of Christians, but the Doctrine of Christ. If we would put on the Lord Jesus, that same love and meekness, which we ought to do, and become such men, as Christ in his gospel chargeth us to be, there would be no need of the Sword then; we should be greater strangers then to the loud reports of war, than we are now to the sweet sounds of Peace. But now, the Almighty, who is himself the Lord of Hosts, as well as the God of Peace, hath put a Sword into the hand of the supreme Magistrate, a sharp edged Sword, not a painted Dagger; and wars well grounded are nought else (saith my Author) but suits of appeal to the great Consistory of Heaven. However, it will appear that Israel found not so much comfort in David's victorious laurel, as under Solomons ever peaceful Vine. There may dwell more of Honour in a scarified face, but in a smooth skin there shines more of Beauty; this a work of Creation, and that of chance. We must still prefer the Olive to the ivy. David one of the three Worthies of Israel did so: Whose sword, though it were drunk with the blood of God's enemies; yet you shall never find him to begin the quarrel with them; he was forced in a manner to Fight for the Peace of Jerusalem; and to show how great an Enemy he was to war, (which most commonly has been an Enemy to Religion and Liberty) he not only called upon his Brethren to Pray for that Peace, but for their sakes is resolved to lead them the way. For my Brethren and Companions sake I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the House of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. Religion and Liberty, those two Atlantes, the Pillars upon which Jerusalem stands, and which are now so much pretended by our Enemies, so much sought after by us, are the two motives in my Text, which here first set a good King upon his knees to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem; and then set him upon his legs again, (if need be) to fight for that Peace. For my Brethren and Companions sake: there's his Charity; or, you may call it in a larger sense, the Liberty of the Subject. For which we have the royal word of a King; I will now say (saith he) Peace be within thee; or, I will wish thee Prosperity: as some read it. Now Peace without Liberty, Prosperity and Bondage are they not inconsistent? But secondly, Because of the house of the Lord our God: Behold here his Piety; behold here, the Religion of our David; and for which (O Jerusalem) he will more than Wish, he will endeavour thy good. So that, if either his Heart or his brain, if either his Pen or his Sword can purchase the Peace and Prosperity of his Brethren, together with the pure worship of his God, we have his full and Princely Resolution. I will say, and I will seek. The words then in brief contain in them a double Act enforced from a double motive: an Act of wishing, and an Act of seeking. The first relates unto the Heart and the Tongue, Loquar de Pace tuâ; I will pray for thy Peace, or I will wish thee Prosperity: The second employs the brain and the Hand, indeed all the members, Quaeram bonum tibi. I will Study, I will seek thy good. Corresponding to which double Act, we have a double Motive. 1. For my Brethren and Companions sake; a Motive of Community and Compassion. 2. Because of the house of the Lord our God; a Motive of Piety and Religion. I begin at the double Act: which I shall twist together into one discourse, and (as I am able) discover unto you a good King labouring both in Word and Deed for the Peace of Jerusalem. I will now say, Peace, &c. I will seek thy Good. And here to faciliate the clearness of this point; let us first take a view of the State of the kingdom in the seasonableness of the wish. I will Now say. Which instant of time, though in the strictness of King David's Chronicle, it reflect only upon the returning of the ark unto Jerusalem from the hands of the Philistines; yet, because his scrutiny and search after Peace, was eminent throughout all his persecutions, both from foreign and domestic Enemies; and because this psalm of Degrees, was in lieu of a Te Deum, set and tuned for his harp, to be sung upon every solemn Feast day, and at all times whensoever he or his People approached the Courts of the Lord: Therefore we shall take leave to run this Now through each several trouble of holy David's reign. I will Now say. Now, that you have drank deep of the dregs of God's wrath; Now, that you have seen with horror, and rued with loss the cursed counsels of Ahithophel which yet you harkened unto, 2. Sam. 16. 23. as unto the Oracles of God: Now, that so many Israelites have fallen and perished in the unnatural Rebellion of Absalon and Sheba; Now, that the house of David waxeth stronger and stronger, 2. Sam. 3. 1. and the house of Saul waxeth weaker and weaker: Now, that the multiplied successes of a rightful sword, might entitle me to a more absolute Dominion, and invite me to expect a perfect and full signal Conquest over my Subjects; promising a double right to a Throne, as well through your Blood, as by Samuel's oil, yet Now am I ready to embrace a Treaty of Peace: and to evidence unto the World, that the prosperity and welfare of Jerusalem, is the prime aim of its sovereign, I will Now say, Peace be within thee. I will forget how Shimei cursed the Lord's Anointed; 2. Sam. 16. and how my Messengers whom I sent to Hanun with an Olive Branch in their mouths were villenously entreated by the Princes of the Children of Ammon: 2. Sam. 10. I will forget all this; and I will forgive moreover the churlishness of Nabal, 1. Sam. 25● and the false suggestions of Ziba: 2. Sam. 16. my household Servants who eat bread from the King's Table, they shall not for all their apostasy, be forced (as their Master was) to eat the bread of Affliction. And though the Ziphites and the Keilites, 1. Sam. 13. whom I rescued from danger, and protected by my presence, would secretly have betrayed me into the hands of mine Enemy; yet I will pass an Act of Oblivion upon this their treachery: I will Now say Peace be within thee. Nay, were that arch-rebel now living, who stole the hearts of the men of Israel from me; and who under pretence of doing justice, seized first upon the judicature; (There is no man deputed of the King to do right; and therefore, O that I (saith he) were made Judge in the Land, that every man which hath any suit or cause, might come to me, and I would do him justice. 2. Sam. 15. v. 3. 4.) And then under a colour of Religion, v. 7. seizeth next upon the Militia; who went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing, v. 11. but afterwards by a continual increase, grew up unto a great Rebellious Army, to take away not only the crown and Dignity, but the very life of their Liege Lord. 2. Sam. 17. 2. 4. Yet neither should he be exempted from Repentance and Pardon (if he would lay hold of it) I would Now say, Peace be within thee. 'Tis true, that Peace carries as glorious a presence with it, as harmonious a sound, as full a train of epithets, as (I think) any blessing under Heaven, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, in Aristides: Loud expressions all of them: yet they all come short of him, who fancied a kind of malaciousness even in an unjust Peace: Injustam Pacem justissimo Bello: the only place, that ever the term unjust, served to a good sense. But still we are too shallow. The blessings of Peace are beyond both Greek and Latin Oratory: the gospel, and Christ's most precious blood must come in to rate them. Our Peace, Pax nostra Christum valet, it cost God no less than an Incarnation, and a Crucifixion too: whereby he achieved the Title and honour, not only of being the Author of Peace. 1. Thess. 5. 25. but is the Prince of it. Esa. 9 Prince of that Peace, which is itself a Princess; if Saint Paul have any skill in Principalities and Powers: who therefore calls upon us for our Allegiance, to be loyal Subjects, and to suffer with all thankfulness the Peace of God to Rule in our Hearts: {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, Imperet, saith he, Coloss. 3. 15, Let it have Dominion over you; and therefore at least, a Princess. A puissant victorious Princess, Quae Superat omnem intellectum: a Wise and valiant Princess, Quae munit & custodit corda vestra. And the Peace of God (a Peace which I am confident David wished to be within Jerusalem, as well as an external Prosperity) And the Peace of God which passeth, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which subdues and Conquers all understanding, shall keep, {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, which is a military word, shall entrench and guard, your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philip. 4. 7. But these, however convincing arguments in their own nature, (and methinks the gospel should need no Second, no other Spokes man then the Messiah) yet when they encounter ours so perverse and stubborn, they win but weakly upon our affections. The only Masculine logic now lies in the Sword; and we must haste unto the Camp for a true definition of Peace. When once we begin to find the sword stealing from a neighbour's bosom to lighten in our faces, and to lodge in our bowels; Then presently we advance into an ecstasy of Expression, blessing those former days, now forfeited by our sins, wherein we could call somewhat our own; our Estates and Fortunes our own; our Children and Servants our own; our own Bodies, yea and our Consciences they were our own: For even in Religion we can remember the day, when we had a Propriety in that too. Then we can say, O thrice happy Peace, wherein we might see the King and Subject so incorporated each into other, as that Salus Populi, was not distinguished into frenzy, or put upon the rack to make an argument for Rebellion; Nor yet Praerogativa Regis, raised as a step or stair to Tyranny: But were both of them like the two eyes in the Body, shedding equal light, and darting forth a comfortable shine to the head and to the inferior members. Compare these times with what we have lost, and our father's days will run the danger of an Utopia; be deemed rather the sport of a luxuriant Fancy, than any real truth. Then, when the King seemed rather a Steward for the people, than a Lord over them; and when the People were so endeared into the favour of the Prince, as if there had been an holy kind of Anarchy in State, and every man had been both a King and a Subject: well may we ingeminate the Rapture, and Cry, O thrice happy, O thrice blessed Peace. And yet to redeem those times, and to recover that Peace, the blessings whereof we have learned so throughly from the miserable effects of war; God knows how few there be who are contented to spend more than an empty Prayer, a little wholesome breath, and a cheap wish: I will wish thee Prosperity; and I will now say, Peace be within thee. If words could make the purchase, should we not all be buyers? But, I will seek thy good; seek it through fire and water; engage my Life & Fortune for the Peace of Jerusalem; I doubt me this will prove a hard Chapter to those, who through avarice, laziness, or Cowardice, have causelessly resolved before hand, we shall be all undone; and therefore make it their only shifting study, how to fall last in the Field. Whereas indeed God may justly challenge the very spring of our Actions; and therein is to be invocated and petitioned, not only with the Heart and Tongue, but likewise with the Hand, or what other member we can find more Active, for the procurement of our Peace. For otherwise, to Pray with the lips, and unpray with the Hand, i. e. to beg Peace at God's hands, and scarce stretch out our Own to take it, what is this, but to play handy dandy with our maker? We would have Peace, but not yet, Lord; or, we would have Peace but are loath to Buy it; Or, if Buy we must, will not a little Sweat serve the turn? This marketing and chaffering for God's blessing, which was wont to be cheap at the price of Blood; is to dally with his mercy, and calls assuredly for his justice. How much better therefore that posture of the men of Judah, whom we find with a Petition in their mouth, and a sword in their hand? They cried unto the Lord their God, and Fought with their enemies. 2. Chron. 13. 14. & 14. 11. indeed, as the Kings {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, in the last verse of this psalm, signifies a through Seeking, a Search with Prayer; so at the sixth verse, the Peoples {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, is a through Praying, a Prayer not without Seeking; and in both words we read great endeavours. It seems, the Peace of Jerusalem was lost, as doth appear by David's seeking for it: And he sought it in the wilderness, at Nob, in Gath; he sought it at the hands of friends and Strangers; nay, he saught it most passionately from them who had least reason to deny it. And, think we, he would have parted with his Wives, his Jonathan, his friends and servants, (and you know, all this he parted with afterwards, out of a pure love to Peace) would he have fled from the great City to Mahanaim, and changed the royal Palace for the Cave Adullam? 1. Sam. 22. 2. Where we read, that every one that was in distress, (to wit, for a good conscience sake) and every one that was in debt (i. e. beggared and undone, they and their Children, by the rage of a prevailing Enemy) and every one that was discontented, or bitter of soul (to wit, to see the Lords anointed so maliciously traduced and persecuted) gathered themselves unto him, and he became a Captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men: not above four hundred men at first, when he defended himself fronassassines; and but six hundred men at first, to shield him from the Rebellion of Absolom, 2. Sam. 15. 18. And (think we) he would have endured all this, and have set up with a handful of men against the many thousands of Israel, had it not been by some particular Item and encouragement from Heaven, to go in quest for some such rare public blessing, as the good and prosperity of Jerusalem? I (saith he) will seek thy good▪ as if he had said: Well, I see how bloodily Doeg that Edomite, 1. Sam. 22. is bent against the Prophets of the Lord: I hear of a Trumpet blown by the treacherous Sheba to unite Ephraim and Manasseh against loyal Judah. 2. Sam. 20. Ahithophel too, who plots how to dry up the Holy oil wherewith I was anointed, 2. Sam. 17. and so consequently to alter the very Ordinance of God, and to bring Confusion upon Jerusalem; let him plot and contrive still: But mark the end of him. ●. 23. And though Joab and Abner should be so little touched with the feeling of God's instant judgements, as to sport in Blood; (Let the young men now arise and Play before us. 2. Sam. 2. 14. a strange bloody kind of Play, for every man to thrust his sword in his brother's side, vers. 16.) could they have the heart to hackney out this kingdom, to Husband the present war, and to spin out the sword, only for their own Profits sake: Yet, believe me, O Jerusalem, and take it upon the word of a King, I will seek thy good. Nay, take it under my Hand; Which is the greatest security I can give thee for the present, against the disloyal and unsubjectly diffidence of some distrustful Israelites; Who though they slander us with an intention to subvert the Peace of Jerusalem in her Liberty and Religion; Yet we say (and he would have his Subjects to Remember it) we say, His majesty's answer to a remonstrance or Declaration, May 26. 1642. pag. 7. with a clear and upright conscience to God Almighty, whosoever harbours the least thought in his Breast of ruining or violating the public Liberty or Religion of this kingdom let him be Accursed: And he shall be no counsellor of Ours, that will not say Amen. Now time was, when a King's word, and the handwriting of a King, would have passed without other security: (I inquire not what they will do now) and whatsoever the King did, pleased the People. 2. Sam. 3. 36. His bare example was both a Law and a Demonstration. Vita Principis censura est: the very Life and Conversation of a chaste Prince, is a good Sermon, and Preacheth downright at the Libidinous Subject: His yea and nay strikes dumb the Blasphemer: and God's House is still the fuller for the presence of the royal Majesty. It were a reproach to our Nation to let the King be the sole pacific. 'Tis true (and to your lasting Honours it will be spoken) that you have not suffered your David to tread the way of Peace, alone. Witness the Dove which you sent at first from this floating ark; which, though it returned not home unto you with an Olive-Branch; (as you might expect) though they answered your Dove with a Raven; The Covenant as is pretended of both Kingdoms. which you expected not; yet we have heard of your sending the Dove abroad, a second time, to discover whether the Waters be abated; (those Waters which King David complains of, that they overwhelmed him; and which in time, would rot and quite sink the ark itself) and to learn, whether the Deluge of Blood, which has now prevailed more than an hundred and fifty days twice told, may yet find some hopes to fall, or run into an Inundation of joy. However, if They, who first embarked this kingdom for a Tempestuous sea, have not only torn down the sails, but cut off the Anchor; as if it were all one to them, sink or swim: If they, who first drew the Sword, have quite thrown away the Scabbard, with intent never to sheathe it more, unless in the bowels of their poor Brethren; yet this whole Kingdom, even all, whom ignorance, or malice have not left desperately blind, do plainly see, and can cheerfully attest, how pressing You are to rebuild the Walls of Jerusalem, and the Temple of Peace, (if it may be) with the trowel only, Nehem. 4. 17 without the supplement of a Sword. Yea, and they greatly rejoice to see, how unanimously You are inclined to compassionate your Brethren; to preserve their Religion, and so, (that I may speak to you in your own words) to boy up this Church and State from ruin and Desolation. Indeed, your Brethren, they are your Brethren, the sons of your Mother, who now Bleed in every vein of this kingdom: The Fortunes of your Brethren, which are now wounded and sacrificed to the present fury of the Sword: The Wives and Children of your Brethren which are menaced with an ensuing Famine: yea, and many your poor Brethren Themselves, who are already overtaken with it, now crying aloud unto you for bread; Upon occasion of their Petition, which was made known in the Church and accordingly the Charity of the Congregation implored. (Do you not hear them from Lambeth and from London hither?) and who being imprisoned for no other Crime but their Loyalty and Allegiance, are there ready to starve for the Testimony of a good Conscience. O let your Charity be heard anon to out-voice, & to cry down their hunger! and that too, in some measure, for Their sakes, who are our Prisoners veriest Enemies; viz. that they may nor be guilty of murdering them in cold Blood: They also are your Brethren, according to the Flesh; and we have no warrant to promote or wish any man's damnation. But you have other Brethren in that great City; who are more at Liberty in their Bodies, but nothing so free in their souls: I mean such who adhere outwardly to the Rebellion, though in their Hearts they daily curse the Authors and Fomenters of it; Those who deny Christ for their Wives and children's sake; and comply with the Times, not for Love, but out of fear; just as the Romans who deified Diseases, or, as the Indians who now worship the devil, Non quòd amant, sed ne noceat, that he may do them no hurt. Yet these poor timorous souls deserve some Compassion; They are your Brethren. And then secondly Religion, it is Religion that now runs Retrograde; Religion that now lies a-bleeding. The pure Service of our God blasted and scandalised with the name of Anti-christianism: The House of our God converted into a den of thieves; or, whatsoever Denne else you know more savage: The navy of our God crucified and torn to pieces; and that too, I wish I could not say, as well by Royalists, as by rebels. And therefore, I hope you shall not need a stronger conjurement than this: indeed I know not who can find a stronger than Brother and Maker: For my brethren's sake, and for God's sake. We read at the first of Kings and the twentieth Chapter, that when Benhadad, and his two and thirty Kings had drawn out into the Field, and besieged Samaria, that Benhadad sent Messengers to the King of Israel, in a manner, to demand his whole kingdom. Thy Silver and thy Gold is mine, thy Wives also and thy Children, (thy Servants) even the goodliest are mine, v. 3. Now can we imagine it to stand with the Honour of a King of Israel, to yield to so unequal Conditions? And yet yield he did. According to thy saying (saith he) I am thine, and all that I have, v. 4. Yet this (as God would have it, who can draw Good out of evil) would not content Benhadad and his 32 Kings. For perceiving the easiness of the King, and with what Facility they had obtained thus much, They make this grant but a step to a fresh Demand; and now, they must have more: Even his men of war, his strongholds, his Cities, his Forts and Magazines; yea, and the house of his God; Whatsoever was most desirable and pleasant in the eyes of the King, v. 6. Whereupon he begins now to consider the unreasonableness of their demand: collects himself; summons the Princes, the Nobles, and the Elders of Israel, v. 7. whose general Vote it was, by no means to yield to such inequitable and unprincely Conditions: And all the Elders, and all the People said unto him, harken not unto them nor Consent, v. 8. He did so, as they advised him: and the next news is, The Syrians are smitten twice by the sword of Israel, v. 20. & 29. If either the Liberty of our Brethren, or the worship of our God be demanded as a Prey and spoil for the railing Rabshakeh or imperious Benhadad; the promise of private ease and an effeminate Peace, must not lock up the Sword within the scabbard; But let the King say then, as Nehemiah did, unto the Nobles, and the Rulers, and to the rest of the People, Nehem. 4. 14. Be not ye afraid of them; Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your Brethren, your sons and your Daughters, your Wives and your Houses; and for the house of the Lord. Thus did Nehemiah; who sought for Peace, and was forced upon a posture of war: And thus did David; who ever prayed for Peace, though sometimes with a Sword in his Hand. And that, For his Brethren and Companions sake: and because of the House of the Lord his God. Which leads me from the double Act to the double Motive. A Motive of Community and Compassion; and a Motive of Piety and Religion. But first of the Motive of Community and Compassion. [For my Brethren and Companions sake.] That is, (as I told you at first) for the Liberty of the subject. A thing which at this day is invaded, nothing more; and yet nothing so much pretended to make the Invasion good. Liberty, which is so often acknowledged from the Quill of an Eagle to be the proper Birthright of every true Subject (indeed though David offer us a kindly shelter from the scorching heat, under the Branches of his royal oak; yet he denies us not the shade of our own fig tree: And then, is it not fit, that we again should convey some sap and moisture to the Root of that oak, that so his Branches may still flourish and protect us? Is it not fit, that we should return and afford him some shade, yea, and reach him some Fruit too from our Figtrees? Thou canst not be said to rob thyself, when thou givest Caesar his due; Tribute doth no way diminish or undermine Liberty.) I say, Liberty (notwithstanding the former Benefit) is now armed to cut the Throat of Liberty, and made the only stale to bring in Slavery. Quidam ut Imperium subvertant Libertatem proferunt; si subverterint, Ipsam aggredientur. The Historian writes as a Prophet of these times. Now Liberty, In Paradox. it is ill defined by Cicero to be Potestas vivendi ut velis; to be a Power of doing whatsoever seemeth best in our own eyes, without Check or control. (and such a time there was once in Israel; but 'twas, when there was no King there) no: true Liberty consists in an orderly subjection of the will to Law and Equity. It is indeed (as the Civilians tell us) a natural faculty, Faciendi quod cuique facere libet; L. libertas. but then with this following restriction, nisi si quid vi aut Iure prohibeatur. F. de stat. hom. And Excepto si quid Masuri Rubrica vetavit; so Persius. And then, as Seneca informs us, speaking of the state of Rome, in the times of Julius and Augustus, Salva esse Roma non poterat, nisi beneficio servitutis; So, give me leave to construe Servitude into a Subjectly Obedience, and I will say, that neither can this Island ever be safe, but through the benefit of such a Subjection. Indeed, take away the Boundary of the laws; & what is this but to erect a Tyranny within every breast? if that question be rightly put, (as I conceive it is) What is Tyranny, but to admit no Rule to govern by; but our own Wills? Take away our sub and supra; the Power of Dominion, & the Right of subjection: change but Liberty into licentiousness; and you open the floodgate to that impetuous Torrent, and that now justified and experienced truth, which has been twice or thrice honoured with the Quotation of a Prince, though to the great Dishonour of the Author; viz. Lust will be a Law unto itself, Incest will be a Law, and Theft will be a Law, and Rapine will be a Law, and murder will be a Law. Incest and Theft, and murder, are these the wholesome good laws which we have so long looked for? Yes, these are the unlucky, the illegitimate brats and spawn of our teeming Rebellion. Silent inter Arma Leges, Fides Pietasque. If at any time, 'tis now, that we may behold the triumphs of Sedition and Heresy, profaneness and Blasphemy enthroned; and the High-noon of Violence and Oppression: Which since they cannot but fall heavy upon David's Brethren and Companions; therefore is it especially that he so earnestly prays & sues for Peace upon Jerusalem: For my Brethren and Companions sake. He calls them Brethren who yet was their Father, and deigns to be a Companion to those whose Master he was. As Majesty doth become the Person of a King, so likewise doth Affability. The Men of Mexico, who dare no longer look their sovereign in the Face, after the Solemnities of the Inauguration are passed over; what do they hereby, but Rob the King of his Humanity? And those on tother side, who think a little d'offing off the Hat, and a Good morrow for all day, Respect and Reverence enough for the Lord's anointed; do not they Pillage him of his Divinity? Princes are God's, to teach us, not to Play with that holy flame which at an awful distance Warms, but Burns upon too near & bold Approaches: But Princes, they are Men too; to teach them from the Humility of their own mould to Compassionate, and not to overlook their Brethren. Now our pity and Compassion is a rich endowment, and choice affection of the soul, becoming us both as Men and Christians; and of which the very Beasts are Capable: insomuch that if Balaam smite his ass without a cause, the dumb ass doth not want a Tongue to reprove him of Cruelty. How much more than ought we to Compassionate our languishing brethren, when we are bound to be merciful to our fainting Beasts? For my Brethren and Companions sake: methinks this verse carries an Especially in it: Especially to Pray for Peace, because of Them. For howbeit that Christian Love be due to all from all men; yet is not Grace so thwarting and cross to Nature, but that it will allow our Affections to settle more upon One, then upon another. There is an Especially to them of the household of Faith. Galat. 6. 10. Especially do good to them. You that sit here to heal up the Wounds, and to repair the Breaches of a kingdom; Yet, so far as it doth not impair the Honour and safety of the republic, you are to be allowed and cherished in your more singular Care and Affections for the Peace of your own particular Counties. We may be very loyal Subjects, and yet be very Loving Neighbours; even Christ, who was a most indulgent and tender Master to All his Disciples, had yet his Beloved John; nor doth his bosom lie open for every one to lean upon. If at any time you find him Bemoaning the unthankfulness of Corazin and Capernaum; yet you shall see Him downright to Weep over the Ingratitude of Jerusalem. We are bound by the Badge of our Christian Profession, to Compassionate the miseries of Gasping Germany: we have Brethren there, whose sad and woeful estate implores and Commands our pity and our Prayers for them. And yet That hindered not, but that we might, ere while, have advanced our Compassion over the miserable Condition of Bleeding Ireland. Nor doth This hinder but that we are still to keep a choice Reserve of tears and Prayers, for the Peace of our distressed Mother England. England at this day, you may behold her weeping for her Father and her sons; for her Head that is crowned with thorns; for her Two eyes, the universities of this Land, which grow dim & darkish; (God keep them from being quite put out!) for her Hands, the Courts of justice, which are Palsy-shaken, and scarce able to hold the Scales and the Sword, for her Feet viz. the Common People, who are carried away like Sheep without a shepherd, Non quâ eundum, sed quâ Itur; wandering up and down in the By-paths of Ignorance and disobedience. O ye that pass by, All ye that bear good will unto Zion; Come, and lend us here your tears and your Prayers; For your Brethren and Companions sake, O Pray for the Peace of this Jerusalem. 1. For my brethren's sake, My Brethren, not only those who dwell within the Walls of Jerusalem; but also those who Visit her from abroad. The faithful, be they of what Place or Country soever, never so high, or mean in their Condition, they are all Brethren, and Christ himself is but our Elder Brother: the Root of this our Consanguinity (if I may so call it) and near alliance unto Christ, springing from our obedience to his father's Will. For whosoever (saith he) shall do the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the same is my Brother and Sister and Mother. Mat. 12. 50. For my brethren's sake therefore; i. e. inclusively, for Christ's sake too, (a strong melting conjurement) for Christ's sake, let us Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, But than secondly, For my Companions sake. And here's another Especially; a Gradation above Brother. Indeed, every one that I acknowledge to be my Brother, I do not presently think it meet and necessary to make him my Companion. All men are not made for Jonathan's; nor doth a nearness of Blood conclude infallibly a nearness of Affection: And though in latter ages there have still been such, who under the name of Gavestons' have gone about to tear even the most faithful Servants, from the side of Majesty; yet certainly, as it is wisdom in Princes to admit Favourites near them, who may receive the shafts of Envy upon Themselves, which otherwise would light upon the sacred Person of the King; (there being no kingdom upon Earth, without its Male Contents,) So is it but justice in us to submit, that they may freely choose their own Companions: lest by forcing the contrary, we bereave them of a Right which Nature grants unto every Creature; and deprive them of that Liberty, which the meanest of their Subjects do enjoy. Some time or other, it must prove ill with that State, where the Prince is necessitated to such Companions, whom he cannot but suspect for Spies. But King David's Companions were not such; But Those, who, when Rebellion had driven him from the Gates of Jerusalem, 2. Sam. 15. 23. forcing him to pass over the Brook Kidron, and so toward the way of the wilderness; stuck close to their Lord the King; and followed him both with their Lives and Fortunes, like so many most loyal Ittai's: each of them Protesting, Vers. 21. as good Ittai did. As the Lord liveth, and as my Lord the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King shall be, whether in Death or Life, even there also will thy servant be. And therefore for these his Companions sake, that Their Loyalties might be remunerated, and their Fortunes, which in maintenance of the King's Honour have been Plundered, sequestered, Sold; That These may be again Repaired; no marvel, if David so heartily wish for Peace. Which Motive answers tacitly to an Objection, wherewith some of the Malignant ones were armed. For what? say they; doth He pray for the Peace of Jerusalem? and would he have us pray for it too? 'tis wisely and politicly done of him. It seems then, he would gladly change his Bramble into a Cedar; and have the needles picked out of his crown; enjoy his Wives again, his Baths, his Vineyards, all quietly unto himself, and sit upon an unmolested Throne: He doth not like these Absoloms, these uncircumcised Philistines; nor would he be troubled with more Goliah's or another Saul. To this King David answers, and testifies to all the World, that he Wishes and seeks for Peace; not so much for his Own sake, as for his good Subjects: not so much that He might enjoy his Ease, as that God might have from Him and Them, a greater measure of Glory and Worship. Which leads me to my second Motive, and the more eminent of the twain, a Motive of Piety and Religion: as being asterisked with a Yea of specialty and Gradation above all the Rest, Yea, Because of the House of the Lord our God. The first Motive looked nakedly upon the State: This second most properly upon the Church: unto both which we are all bound in duty, by so near a Relation, that, 'tis observed, the self same men, which in a temporal respect make the commonwealth, do in a spiritual build up the Church. The Church and State; they are the Moses and the Aaron of Israel: Or, what if we should call them the two Tables? Cut off the Church, and you lay yourselves open to that Reproach of being, only, second Table men; Cut off the State, and you pretend to give God so much, that there is nothing left for your poor Neighbour. But there is Domus Davidis, and there is Domus Dei; both in this psalm: God's House, and the Kings are joined together by that wise Builder, Solomon; Nor shall he stand in need of any Curse, that goes about to Divorce them. Pro Aris & Foris, The Roman Eagle was never taught to speak other Language in the Field: And that more Christian impress of our Chavalry, Pro Regno & Religione, it were a shame for us, only to wear so right a Motto in our ensigns. No: they who ingeminate that Cry, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord: let them Silence the latter voice, and Proclaim in its room, the Gates of Jerusalem; The Temple of the Lord, and the Gates of Jerusalem, they are not so long-winded a Note, nor so large a Cry, but we may speak and link them in a Breath. Preface to King James, before his Book against sacrilege. Then only can we expect it should go well with a kingdom when in the Phrase of learned Sempil a Scottish Knight, (and I would to God that all his countrymen were of his mind) When the Church Courteth it, and the Court Churcheth it. And you will say, there is as little Treason in those words of a most Reverend Father in our Zion, who, like Saint Paul still preacheth it in his Bonds, calling earnestly upon You, That when You sit down to Consult, for the commonwealth's sake, Archbishop of C●nt. in his Sermon upon Psal. 122. 6. You forget not the Church; And as earnestly upon us, that when we Kneel down to Pray, for the church's sake, we forget not the Common wealth. Indeed a commonwealth without a Church, without Religion, even the very Atheist will cry this down for Paradox. Who though with David's fool, He himself say in his Heart there is no God; yet he is Wiser than to speak it out, among the common People. Religion, he takes it for a convenient Property at least, a necessary state-bug-bear; and if the ignorant multitude should not be Awed (thinks he) with the pretended notion of a Deity, it were impossible to keep up the Port of public Societies. No Flourishing commonwealth then, by the Confession of Atheists, without this Palladium, without Religion. And as for Religion, 'tis the voice of all Christendom, that it will starve and die, unless it find a support and nourishment from the commonwealth. The Vine which only creeps upon the Ground, how subject is it to be trampled on, and trod under Feet by the Caledonian boar? Whereas when it is erected and propped up with Poles, or climbs upon the Branches of an elm, it doth not then, only Lodge its Grapes in a safe Bed, but likewise helps to Build up an Arbour with its Leaves, for each Israelite to sit under. The Truth is; Preach we may till our hearts ache; Preach at both kinds of Rebellion, as well that against the King, (and 'tis possible such an one may be, whatever some teach to the contrary) as the other against God; Command Obedience to God's laws; yes, and to the Kings: But then our Power of Commanding is not Coercive, in the King's Name, and Under pain of losing Life or Liberty: But Declarative, in the name of God, and under pain of losing Body and soul. Which denouncing yet (such is the blindness and hardness of man's Heart) is undervalued to the Former; and will prove but Brutum Fulmen, unless you that are Masters in Israel do Countenance the Ministers of the gospel: and surely, that is not done by making them Poor and Contemptible. Should you shave the crown of the Prophets, and denude them of their Ornament: Children would hardly be kept from calling them baldpates; and then how shall God be kept from sending his bears among those Children? The Pulpit must be backed and seconded with the tribunal, or both will sink. And if the great Courts of justice, as well as the Holy Mount of God; If the grave Magistrate, as well as the painful Minister, do not now especially plead the Cause of Religion, Actum est, I pray God we do not shortly come to that miserable Comfort, of an Angliam Fuisse: Time was when We were a Church; time was, when this was a kingdom. I hope there are none here, who long to hear an oyez in the Market place, or to see a Si Quis, set upon the doors of God's House, inviting any man that can but read distictly, to take this House into his Cure. None here (I hope) who wish a Reverse of those days in the first of Queen Elizabeth, Injunct. 53. when (as we may read in her Injunctions) some Ministers (because they were but mean Readers) were enjoined to peruse over before, once or twice, the Chapters and Homilies, to the intent they might read to the better understanding of the People. And since there are none such here; I hope again, they will not the least way countenance or suffer them anywhere else, who go about to rob the Bride of her Dowry (as Saint Chrysostom calls the maintenance of the Church) and to bring in beggary into God's House; which will bring in Ignorance, which will bring in barbarism. For, is not that Religion like to prove a fine Child, which hath Ignorance for its Mother, and Poverty for its Nurse? And here (Fathers and Brethren) let me tell you, 'tis happy for your Zion, that David and his Worthies become her Champions. For should Ye of yourselves; If the Sons of Levi should become the only Advocates for their poor Mother; If they alone should Petition for the House of the Lord, that it may not be thrown out at the windows; But that the just Rights and Ceremonies of holy Church, which preserve even the Substance itself, (as the Bark the Tree, or as the Hedge the Field,) may be Themselves preserved from Violence and ruin; should They alone Petition, in the behalf of their Maker; that the Lord of Heaven and Earth, who hath given to all Creatures, not only whereby to Live, but wherewith to Frolique; (figleaves could serve to cover our Forefathers nakedness; yet he has given the silk worm, and the Golden Fleece to thee:) That this liberal Creator may not be pinched, put to Board-wages, pittanced and Dieted in his Service and Servants: should They alone sue for this; as also that no impious Belshazzar may be suffered to seize upon the Vessels, and sacred utensils of the Temple; There would be those, to take them short, with, Ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi; and have invented a scarecrow, ycleaped sacrilege, only to keep up and secure your own Pomp and Luxury. But consider we a while, the Vanity of these men; For does not Saint Paul tell us roundly of such a sin as sacrilege; ranking it in the same Equipage with Idolatry, if not Above it? Rom. 2. 22. Do not the Primitive Fathers with one voice declaim highly against the sin of sacrilege? and of latter days, has not many a pious Founders Curse, in the heavy judgements of God, Preached woefully against the sin of sacrilege, proving the truth of Solomon's saying from the ruin of whole Families, viz. That it is a Snare to the man who devoureth that which is Holy? Pro. 20. 25. And lastly, does not that learned Antiquary (whom therefore I do the rather quote, because he was no clergyman) in his De non temerandis Ecclesiis (a Book, 'tis pity 'tis locked up so from the World, and made of no more public view, by a Reprinting) does not he prove at large there, and most pithily, that there is scarce a word in all the 83. psalm, but strikes against those that take the Houses of God in Possession; This being the centre of that psalm, and wherein all the Lines of the prophet's invectives do precisely incur? Daniel in the life of King Stephen. Our English Tacitus reports it of the reign of King Stephen, that, notwithstanding the miseries of war which continued in an eminent Height throughout all his days, yet there were more Religious Houses built in his reign, then in an hundred years before. Which shows (saith he) though the times were Bad, they were not Impious. And so zealous were they in after ages, in promoting this kind of Piety, that if there had not been a timely Remora found out (as in like case there was once by Moses at the building & beautifying of the Tabernacle) by way of mortmain, 7. Edw. 1. 'Tis conceived they would have decked all places with their hallowed Temples, and converted our whole Island into Holy Ground. Now I think there is no man, but will grant that this same stop might seem as just in King Edward, as in the Emperors, Constantine & Valentinian; who did almost the very same before them: to preserve unto the Crown that Homage and those services of the Subject, which began to lessen by laymen's entering themselves into Religious and ecclesiastical Courses. And I conceive, it will not be denied, neither, That which is acknowledged by a loyal pen in this university, Preface before the true Subject to the rebel. That the Means as well as the Ministers of the Church, as they are liable to notorious Abuses, should submit to a Reformation. Mistake me not, a Reformation, I am sure, he means, not such an one, (if any such there can be) as Alienates from the Church, but which Rectifies in it. Why, that great Courtier and Politician of his Time, within this last Century, who was so earnest to raise himself a Name upon the ruins of the Church, could not prevail so far, even with the then prevailing Faction, as to get them to subscribe, That the Lands of the Church, which they unjustly laboured to Alienate unto Themselves, might yet be Alienated from the Church. And again, should submit to a Reformation, not such an one as would Feed all the lamps of the Sanctuary, with oil alike, making no distinction between a Torch and a Taper, between the Golden Candlesticks and the Brazen ones; But such an one, as takes Order that every Lamp may have proportionably its oil and Light in due Measure and in due Season. Great talk has been of Abuses and of Reformation. But, Woe unto such who make Beams of our moats; who call every spot in the Moon a total Eclipse, and cry up every Peccadillo in a private Member for no less than capital to the whole Body. But then again, much more We unto such, who fancy & find Abuses where there are none; Who being well read in the Florentine, accuse the Church, for no other end but to get her means. Let them take heed, that the Jews do not rise up in judgement against the men of this Generation, for They only Bought & Sold in the Porch of the Temple, they did not Buy and Sell the Porch & the Temple too. It is not for me to plead in this Place, that we are the King's Subjects, as well as God's Ministers; And, that the laws of the Land have not the spread-Eagles two necks, nor Janus his two Faces, to look East upon the Rising Laity, and to reflect a Westernly Glance upon the declining Clergy: No. The Great Charter of England casts an equal Eye, and gives a just Protection to us Both: Though (with humbleness, and in all submission be it spoken) Jacobs' Right hand seems to be laid (though some, Gen. 48. 17. as once Joseph did, call to him to remove it thence) upon the younger Child; viz. the Church: (the Church is they younger Child: Ecclesia est in Republicâ, non Respublica in Ecclesiâ; is Optatus; And Nature first calls us Men, ere Faith speaks us Christians:) And the first blessing in the very first lines there, Compare this with the King's Oath throughout, taken at His Coronation, as it is cited out of the Records of the Exchequer, by His most sacred majesty himself, in his answer to the forequoted Declaration. is Deo & Ecclesiae; We have Granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirmed for us and our heirs for Ever more, that the Church of England shall be Free, and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolable. But proofs of this Nature come not so properly, perhaps, within my sphere. My chief business therefore shall be, to Remember you, that, not without the Great hand of Providence, these Houses of the Prophets (as in diverse former Parliaments, so now especially) have been miraculously Reserved for You. Now, how can you look upon the Houses of the Prophets, and Forget the Sons of the Prophets? They that sit and Consult in Naioth, cannot, they cannot but Remember Bethel. And when the Master is pleased to come into the Harvest field, surely it is not to Rob the Labourers, but to Remunerate them. For otherwise should you go about (as God forbid I should dare to think so) to barter away the Glory of God's House, to buy the Peace of your Own; should you seek to destroy with a Breath, a work of sixteen hundred years; And endeavour to appease Simeon & Levi with the thraldom of Jacob, the Rage of your Brethren with the ruin of our Fathers, bringing their grey Heads with sorrow unto the Grave; How Cheap soever at first you might think your Bargain, I am afraid to tell you, how dear at last you would find the Covenant. judgement, you may begin it at the House of God; but than it will never Rest, till it have over run the commonwealth. A Parity in the Church, will usher in an Anarchy in the State; and the Multitude, that innovating, unseltled, inconstant Creature, will find in time, as little use of a Peerage as of a Prelacy. Yea, and what if they should ask you, as once they did, Where was the Gentleman, when Adam eat his Bread in the sweat of his brows? I fear me this Knot, if they should tie it once, would cost you all the drawing of your Swords to Cut it. Deut. 33. 11. For my part when I cosider how Moses upon his deathbed, Blessed the substance of the Tribe of Levi, in bestowing a Curse, even the Curse of the Sword upon its Enemies: I cannot forbear, but I must make this Application, and think, That therefore God now suffers us to endure the longer banishment by means of the Sword, from our Own Houses; because, when time was, we were so cold and feeble in defending His. {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, a Kyrke or Church, the very name of the House speaks the Lord and Master of it: Which since it is a name too, imposed (saith Eusebius) not by man, but by himself, who is Lord over all; methinks we should never mention, nor never look upon a Church, but with joy and Reverence we should be mindful of the Owner: David's Companions did but name it unto him, and presently it puts him upon a jubilee. I was Glad, I was glad; when they said unto me, we will go into the House of the Lord. vers. 1. It was joy enough (one would have thought) for him to see his Brethren so at unity among Themselves; but to find them thus at amity with their God too; This makes him Tune his harp unto a higher Key;' {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman}, I was exceeding Glad at this. Indeed, it is the House of the Lord, and our meeting here, which makes the name of Brother and Companion sweet unto us. In a word. You see, how that God's House was an especial motive unto David, both to Pray and Seek for Jerusalem's Peace: And you see again, how this House of God has been made by some a black Incentive for a most unnatural war. Are there not those who cruelly go about to die the Churches white Garments in the Gore Blood of her sons? And God put it into your Hearts, that when this war is at an end, she may never find cause to wash them in her own tears: unless they be in tears of joy and Thanksgiving. Are there not such who think it a mean sacrilege to steal Flesh only from the Altar? And therefore have they not in diverse Places ravished thence the Priest too? O Let it be your Pious and Worthy Care, to restore them Both. Methinks I see here, so many men almost so many Obed-edoms: Be ye therefore like that good Obed edom; Do but receive God's House into Yours, & God shall one day receive Your House into His. Do but ye admit Christ and his Disciples to come under Your roof, and he shall receive you and your Brethren into His joy. Every day shall wait upon you with glad tidings; And Domitian's dream of a Golden-head, arising behind upon his shoulders, shall be unriddled in the peaceful and Golden times which will succeed this Bloody and Iron Age. Be we but content to wait God's leisure, without murmuring and distrust, here in his Own House; & we shall behold the Buckler of the North, and Sword of the West meet, and concentre Triumphantly in the East, and there make up a Wreath of bays, and a Chaplet of Roses, for that Head which has so long been crowned with thorns. Yea, and he will crown us All, with his Mercy and Compassion here, in his House Militant; and with Glory and everlasting Peace in his House Triumphant. AMEN. FINIS.