return into our own bosoms 10. Matt. 13. Secondly It is very apparent of what use these Prayers are to the world For many times the Prayers of good men avert those Judgments which hang over a wicked Nation and procure publick Blessings for them Those who never pray for themselves may reap the benefit of other mens Prayers and the Prayers of those who do pray for themselves will be more effectual when they are backed and reinforced by the united Prayers of the whole Church for them It is a mighty comfort to every good Christian to think that he shares in the Prayers of the whole Christian Church especially when he is under a cloud himself and either cannot pray himself or prays with great disturbance of thoughts with great diffidence and distrust and despondency of spirit at such times especially all men are very desirous that other good Christians would pray with them and for them and such men may comfort themselves that how unfit soever they are to pray themselves they have the Prayers not only of their Friends and immediate Pastors who personally know them but of all good Christians all the World over who offer up their Prayers for themselves and for all Mankind especially for all the Members of Christ's Mystical Body which is a priviledge to be valued next to the Intercession of Christ for us all and should mightily reconcile us to a duty which is so universally beneficial for praying for other men intitles us to their Prayers for us and though we are not particularly named in their Prayers God knows to whom they belong and will apply them himself Thirdly And there is great reason why God should command and encourage and reward our Prayers for each other Not only 1. Because it is the exercise of the most Divine Charity and the Instrument of many Christian Virtues as you have already heard which you will grant a sufficient reason why God should encourage it But 2 dly Because it is the most becoming Address we can make to God and that which also makes the most glorious and lovely representation of him that he is the Prince and the Father of all Mankind who made and who governs and who preserves and provides for all his Creatures which is as great and honourable a thought as we can have of God and indeed this teaches us how to pray to God and what to expect from him That we must not flatter our selves that he will be fond and partial to us for all men are his Creatures the Soul of the Father and the Soul of the Son are both his and therefore as we may expect from God the kindness of a Gracious and Merciful Creator and through our Lord Jesus Christ the kindness of a Father so we must expect that he will deal equally by all That he will make no other difference but what our personal Qualities and Virtues make And therefore we must not presume to ask any thing of God which is to the injury or prejudice or lessening of our Brother to gratify our Pride or Revenge or some other evil Passions for we pray to a common Father who will adjust the Interests of Mankind and have a due regard to the happiness of all And 3 dly This gives credit and reputation to Religion in the World that true Piety and Virtue makes the Prayers of good men effectual not only for themselves but for others that the better men are the more power they have with God which makes them a kind of Patron Saints and tutelar Angels to the places where they live this is a mighty honour to be the Friends and Favourites of God to be able to fetch down Blessings from Heaven by our Prayers This makes Religion and Virtue truly venerable in the sight of all men and it becomes the Wisdom of God to dispence his Blessings in such a manner as may conciliate Esteem and Reverence to true Religion in the World It is time now to pass from this general Command of praying for all men to that particular direction to pray for Kings and for all that are in Authority But before I shew you what great reason there is to pray for Kings it will be necessary to inquire what Kings we must pray for For though St. Paul makes no difference there are some who do Some there are among our selves who withdraw from our Communion because we pray in our publick Offices for Their present Majesties King WILLIAM and Queen MARY whom God long preserve There is not a more express Command for any thing in Scripture than there is for praying for Kings and for all that are in Authority 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a state of Eminence and Superiority above others And if Their present Majesties be so as it is visible to all the World that they are then they are included in this Apostolical Precept to pray for Kings and all in Authority Upon what Pretences some among us reject so plain a Duty is sufficiently known They say by Kings the Apostle means only Lawful and Rightful Kings that is such Kings as are advanced to the Throne by an antecedent Legal Right according to the Laws and Constitutions of the Countries and Kingdoms which they govern And therefore in an Hereditary Kingdom no man is or can be King and no man must be prayed for as King but He who has the Hereditary Right as being the next lineal Heir This Right they say is in the late King Iames not in Their present Majesties and therefore notwithstanding Their being in possession of the Throne we must not own Them nor pray for Them as King and Queen I do not intend nor is it fitting to dispute Their Majesties Right which is no matter of Scruple to me Nor would it become me before Two such learned Societies of Law to say what the Laws of the Land require in such Cases And therefore to keep to my own Profession I shall only desire these Persons to tell me where there is any such distinction as this in Scripture viz. That we must not pray for all Kings but only for legal Kings who had an antecedent legal Right for in any other sense those are legal Kings who are invested with the Regal Authority with all the Legal Rites of investiture The Command is in general to pray for Kings and for all that are in Authority and if we may excuse our selves from so plain a Duty by distinctions of our own inventing there are few Duties in Religion but what we may deliver ourselves from by such arbitrary Distinctions As for instance There is an express Command in Scripture Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve Which one would think were a very express Prohibition of the Worship of Saints or Angels or any other Being besides God But the Papists easily avoid this by the help of a Distinction which the Scripture is unacquainted with They say we must worship God only with
the Worship of Latria but we may worship Saints and Angels with the Worship of Dulia tho' the Scripture appropriates all Religious Worship to God Thus as our Saviour tells the Pharisees God commanded saying Honour thy Father and thy Mother and he that curseth Father or Mother let him die the death But ye say Whosoever shall say to his Father or Mother it is a gift by whatsoever thou maist be profited by me and honour not his Father nor his Mother he shall be free thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition 15 Matth. 4 5. Thus it is in our present Case the Apostle commands us to pray for Kings and for all that are in authority No say these Men not unless they be Legal Kings tho' they have all the Ensigns of Majesty and are invested with the Regal Authority and Power with all the Legal and Customary Rites and Solemnites of Investiture and are acknowledged and recognized for King and Queen by the Estates of the Realm And thus this Command is of no effect neither for it seems it is a matter of Wit or Law or Philosophy to know who is King whereas St. Paul supposed that it was a plain matter of sense that he who administred the Government with a Regal Authority and was owned and submitted to by the Nation was the King for whom we must pray There is reason to conclude that St. Paul speaks of such Kings if we will allow that he spoke the Language of the Age wherein he lived for in that Age and in all the Ages of the World ever since those were called Kings and had the Preheminency of Power and Authority who by the Consent and Submission of the People administred the Government with a Regal and Soveraign Authority whether they had any Anticedent Right or Title to the Government or not I will not now dispute this matter but would only desire these Persons to consider whether they are as certain that by All Powers 13 Rom. 1. the Apostle onely means all such Powers as had an antecedent legal Right and Title to Power as they are that he expresly teaches That all power is of GOD Whether they are as certain that it is unlawful to pray for Kings who are legally invested with the Royal Power though as they imagine without any antecedent legal Right to the Crown as they are that the Apostle commands us to pray for Kings and for all that are in authority Whether they are as certain that it is their Duty to adhere to a supposed Right against the publick Judgment of the Nation in opposition to their Present Majesties who fill the Throne by the Consent and Authority of the Estates of the Realm though to the great Disturbance of Government and to the most apparent Ruine could they prevail of the true Religion the Lives and Fortunes of their Fellow-subjects and the Liberties of their Native Country as they are that it is our Duty to pray for Kings In a word whether they are as certain that the Roman Powers at that time were Legal and Rightful Powers by such an Antecedent Legal Right as they now insist on as they are that St. Paul commanded the Christians to be subject to those Powers and to pray for them These are very proper Questions about the degrees of Evidence and Certainty For if the Rule be plain and certain and the Exceptions from this Rule uncertain if the Rule have a Divine Authority and the Exceptions have nothing to support them but some uncertain Reasonings such Reasonings as contradict the general Sence and Practise of Mankind in all Revolutions I think wise and good Men ought to chuse the safer side and to suspect their own Reasonings since the Scripture has made no such Exceptions no not in a time of the most violent Usurpations when if ever there was the greatest reason to have made them and the generality of Mankind and even the most sober and considering Men reject them as having no solid foundation in Reason and Nature Having premis'd this I proceed now to consider the Manifold Obligations which lie upon us to pray for Kings First Because Kings are the great Instruments of the Divine Providence in the World they are those great Wheels which move and alter the whole Scene of humane Affairs every Irregularity in their Motions is soon felt and causes very fatal Convulsions in the State their Mistakes are like the Eclipses of the Sun but more portentous and ominous than they their Smiles or Frowns are like the kind or malign Influences of the Heavens which revive drooping Nature or threaten an universal Ruine Quicquid delirant Reges the People suffer by the Indiscretions and ill Government of a Prince but a wise and just and religious King is the greatest Blessing in the World and therefore we have as much Reason to Pray for the King as we have to pray that God would make his Sun to shine or the Rain to descend on the Earth Secondly Though Kings act with a Sovereign Power yet they are intirely under God's Government The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water he turneth it whithersoever he will 21 Prov. 1. makes his Will and Affections run in this or that Channel as will best serve the ends of his Providence and Government The most absolute Prince is under secret and invisible Restraints God can a thousand ways change his Purposes and divert him from what he intended to something else which he little thought of and indeed it is very fitting that those who are so much above humane Restraints should be managed by an unseen Hand For if God does not govern those who govern the World there is in a great measure an end of his Providence for then the Fate of Kingdoms would be at the Will of Princes and that has the greatest Influence of any thing else upon the Happiness or Misery of private and particular Men. Now if God can if God does govern Princes this makes it necessary to pray heartily to God for them for there is the first Spring of Motion if we make God our Friend he will bless and direct and counsel our Prince who acts under him and in Subordination to his Counsels and Decrees Thirdly I need add no more to convince you how necessary it is to pray for Kings but to shew you how much they need our Prayers how much they need the Assistance and Direction of God to prevent those Inconveniences and Miscarriages which all humane Governments are subject to For 1. The Government of Kingdoms and Nations is a Work of great Difficulty and that which requires somewhat more than humane Art and Skill it is no easie matter to deal with the various Lusts and Interests and Passions of Men to maintain Peace at home and abroad to adjust the Interests of Subjects and Neighbour-Princes to make War and Peace to advance the Trade of the Nation and
Imprimatur Ra. Barker Reverendissimo in Christo Patri ac Dom. Domino Iohanni Archiep. Cant. à Sacris Domesticis Ex AEdibus Lambith June 10. 1692. A SERMON Preached at the TEMPLE-CHURCH MAY 29. 1692. And Printed at the Desire of the BENCH-TABLE OF THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF THE INNER-TEMPLE By WILLIAM SHERLOCK D.D. Dean of St. Paul's Master of the Temple and Chaplain in Ordinary to Their MAJESTIES LONDON Printed for Will. Rogers at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet MDCXCII To the WORSHIPFUL The MASTERS of the Bench OF THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF THE INNER-TEMPLE My Honoured Friends TO justify my Publication of this Sermon which the Reader will easily perceive was not intended by me for the Press I must acquaint the World that it is done in perfect Obedience to your Commands Your great Loyalty and Zeal for Their Majesties Government gave you too good an Opinion of it when you heard it from the Pulpit and if it should not answer your Expectations from the Press yet I hope you will own it as a Testimony of my due Submission to your Iudgments and of those just Respects which your many and repeated Favours daily challenge from Gentlemen Your much obliged and humble Servant WILL. SHERLOCK 1 TIM II. 1 2. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men For Kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty ST Paul wrote this Epistle to Timothy to instruct him in the discharge of his Episcopal Office and Power to which he had ordained him And the first thing he gives him in charge whereby we may guess what weight he laid on it is this in my Text I exhort therefore That first of all or I first of all exhort that supplications prayers intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men To affix a proper and distinct signification on these words Supplications Prayers Intercessions and giving of thanks which are recommended as the distinct parts of Prayer Learned men tell us that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we render Supplications signifies Prayer to avert evils 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prayers for the obtaining some good and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are properly Intercessions or Prayers for other men but this is too general a notion of it since in this place the Apostle applies Supplications and Prayers as well as Intercessions to praying for other men even for all men And therefore the proper notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to intercede for a sinner for the pardon of his sin and to reconcile him again to God whom he hath offended as the word is most commonly used Giving of Thanks is blessing God for good things already received which the same Apostle makes essential to an acceptable and effectual Prayer 4. Phil. 6. Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God Thus we pray for our selves That God would deliver us from evil that he would do us good that he would forgive our sins and we thank him for the Blessings and all the good things we already enjoy and thus we must do for others even for all men tho the Apostle has not so much regard here to our private Prayers as to the Publick Offices of Religion those Publick Prayers which are made in the Publick Assemblies by the Bishop and Ministers and the whole Congregation of Christians For this advice which St. Paul gives Timothy in these Epistles concerns the Publick Worship and Government and Discipline of the Church we must in our private Devotions pray not only for our selves but for all mankind but Publick Prayers the united Desires and Petitions of the Church offered up by the Ministers of Christ whose office it is to Bless and to Pray for the people are most effectual and prevailing Before I proceed to what I principally intend viz. Our Prayers for Kings and all that are in Authority it will be useful to show you on what great Reasons this Duty is founded of praying for all men as well as for our selves and that both with respect to our selves to other men and to God First With respect to our selves Now 1. This is the noblest exercise of the most Divine Charity this is truly to love all men as our selves when we are touched with a sense of their wants as well as of our own and do heartily beg all those Blessings for them of God which we do for our selves when we are so far from envying their happiness that we rejoice in it and bless God for it as we do for our own Our Charity cannot be perfect without this for our power of doing good extends but to a few instances and can reach but a very few persons and if our Charity be no larger than our power it is a very worthless thing But a Divine Charity wishes well to the whole Creation and therefore recommends all mankind to the care and protection of that Almighty Goodness which governs the world This is the highest Perfection both of the Man and the Christian this is the true Spirit of Prayer to offer up our Prayers to the God of Love in the Spirit of Love and Charity 2 dly This obliges us to the exercise of many Christian Graces and Vertues if we pray God to forgive our enemies to be sure we must forgive them our selves we must exercise great Patience and Meekness and Forbearance towards them if we pray God to relieve the poor to restore the sick to reform the vicious to enlighten those who are in error and darkness and to reduce wandring sheep into his fold to deliver the oppressed to support and comfort those who suffer for Righteousness sake each of these Petitions involve a Duty in them for what we pray God to do we must do our selves as far as it is in our power and therefore our Prayers for other men oblige us to do good to them both to their souls and bodies and he who does heartily pray for other men will do them all the good he can The same Charity which inspires his Prayers will govern his actions for it is a prophane Contempt and Mockery of God to ask him to do that which we will not do our selves 3 dly Our Prayers for our selves are most acceptable to God when we pray for other men also as they must needs be because they are offered up in the spirit of universal Charity which alone through the Merits of our Saviour Christ makes our Prayers our Alms and all the good we do acceptable to God No Prayer can be lost which is put up in Faith and Charity If our Prayers do no good to those particular men for whom we pray if they be not fit or worthy to receive the Mercies we pray for yet our prayers our peace our blessing shall