THREE SERMONS Preached in St. Maries Church IN CAMBRIDG UPON THE Three Anniversaries OF THE Martyrdom of Charles I. Jan. 30. Birth and Return of Charles II. May 29. Gun-powder Treason Novemb. 5. By JAMES DUPORT D. D. Dean of Peterborough and Master of Magdalen College in Cambridg and one of his Majesty's Chaplains in Ordinary LONDON Printed for Henry Brome at the Gun in St. Pauls Church-yard the West end M DC LXXVI REVERENDO DOCTISSIMOQUE VIRO ROBERTO HITCH S. T. P. ECCLESIAE METROPOLITICAE EBORACENSIS DECANO TUTORI SUO AETERNUM COLENDO TRES HASCE CONCIONES LEVIDENSE QUIDEM MUNUSCULUM INDUBIUM TAMEN GRATI ANIMI AMORIS ET OBSERVANTIAE PIGNUS AC MONUMENTUM LUBENS MERITO D. D. D. JACOBUS DUPORT IMPRIMATUR Ro. Mapleloft Procan Ja. Fletewood Ri. Minshull Jo. Pearson now Lord Bishop of Chester A SERMON Preached upon the Anniversary of the Martyrdom of King CHARLES the First Acts 7. 60. Lord lay not this sin to their charge IT is the Prayer of St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr for his Persecutors and Murderers and it was the Prayer of our late Royal Martyr for his Persecutors and Murderers too for these were his words in his Speech at his Death I pray God with St. Stephen that this be not laid to their charge And this is one part of the Parallel may be drawn between these two Martyrs to make the Text verbum diei sutable to the time Another may be taken from the 9 and 10 Verses of the foregoing Chapter where we find the Synagogue of the Libentines and others disputing with Stephen and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake And did not our Royal Martyr too dispute with the Libertines for Liberty was the pretence both in Church and State did he not dispute with the Kirk-men of Scotland and others here at home and so confound 'um that they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake as is notoriously known and yet to be seen in his incomparable Works 3. Was it not for the Cause and t is the Cause that makes the Martyr of God and a good Conscience and the Gospel and the Church of Christ and true Religion that he suffer'd as well as Stephen 4. Some part of a parallel by way of allusion may be in the name Stephen signifies a Crown and ever since 't is call'd the Crown of Martyrdom Martyrium Stephani Martyrii Stephanus 't is not mine but Gregory Nyssen's in his Encomiastic Oration upon him Stephen was the first that wore the Crown of Martyrdom And was not the Murther of our Royal Charles the Martyrdom of a Crown for our Regicides did not only kill the King but the Crown it self as much they could not only an annointed Crowned King but the Crown and Kingdom too Thus they found out a way to bring Caligula's wish to effect and by a Compendium of Cruelty uno ictu to decoll the whole Kingdom for when they cut off his Head they cut off the Head of the People so Carolus in Greek signifies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and they made account the People shu'd never have a head more but be Acephali both in Church and State not any one head no Monarch nor King but I know not what and so they shu'd have been a kind of a Hydra or bellua multorum capitum 5. And lastly St. Stephen was the Proto-Martyr or first Martyr and so was our St. Charles but how can this be you 'l say is not this a contradiction that there shu'd be two Proto-Martyrs two first Martyrs and those so long one after another but my meaning is ours was the first that ever was Murder'd or Martyr'd in the like kind for was it ever heard of recorded or read in any Story that there ever was in any age of the world the like horrid Barbarity such a quintessence of Treason Rebellion and Cruelty as was acted this day upon his Sacred Person He being the first crown'd and anointed King that was thus murder'd by his own Subjects at his own Palace-gate and that by a Mock-High-Court of Justice or rather by a deep-dissembling Court of most high Injustice the first example in this kind and so a Proto-Martyr too But I shall leave these and return to that part of the Parallel which we meet withal here viz. his praying for his Enemies Persecutors and Murderers as St. Stephen does in the words of the Text Lord lay not this sin to their charge In which words observ with me these five particulars 1. Here 's Designatio criminis the designation of a Crime or Sin the pointing out of some special signal remarkable Sin this Sin 2. Reatus or meritum peccati the guilt or demerit of Sin in general 't is to be layd to the Sinner's charge 3. Misericordia Dei the mercy of God in giving a discharge to Sinners sometimes and not laying their sins to their charge This suppos'd else it had been in vain for Stephen to ha' made such a Prayer 4. Virtus Orationis the efficacy and power of Prayer in procuring a pardon and prevailing with God to grant a discharge and not to lay sin to the charge of a Sinner 5. And lastly Officium Christiani the duty of Christians under the Cross by St. Stephen's example to pray for their Persecutors as he did here Lord lay not c. 1. Here 's Designatio criminis the pointing out of some special signal remarkable Sin this Sin some extraordinary great Sin sure it was a Sin of the first magnitude crimen majoris abollae This appears by our Martyr's Praying and Praying so earnestly with a loud voice for the pardon and forgiveness of it lay not this sin this Sin with an emphasis this great grievous heinous Sin lay not this Sin to their charge 'T is true there 's no Sin but stands in need of pardon yet all Sins are not equal as the Stoics wu'd have them but some greater than others and so require a greater measure of repentance and men must pray and cry louder than ordinary for the pardon and forgiveness of them Especially when we pray for the pardon of other mens Sins making particular mention of 'um we do not commonly take notice of Gnats but Camels not of Moats but Beams not of Mole-hills but Mountains I mean we do not use to specifie or particularize any with a demonstrative hoc peccatum this Sin unless it be some extraordinary heinous crying Sin and such a one it seems was this here a crying Sin or else Stephen wu'd never have cry'd so loud for the pardon and non-imputation of it Indeed this was the last Sin he knew they were guilty of and they were now flagrant in the actual commission of it and so he might be the more concern'd for 'um and the more sensible of it and the rather because he felt the fruit or rather the smart of it while the stones came ratling about
received opinion of their chief Doctors and Casuists especially the Jesuits and their Adherents who bear the great sway in the Church and Court of Rome This I could shew at large by producing the concurrent testimonies of Becanus and Bellarmine Suarez and Lessius Mariana and Santarell Bonarscius or Scribanius which ye will and Emanuel Sa and divers others I shall only quote the sayings of one or two for all Kings have no wrong done them saith Bellarmine if they are depriv'd of their Kingdoms when they prove Heretics Nec ulla eis injuria fiet si deponantur And again Hereticum est saith he 't is a point of Heresie to say that the Pope as Pope has not power Jure Divino by Divine right to depose Kings but indeed you must understand him right 't is onely in ordine ad spiritualia viz. Cùm id bonum spirituale sive ingens Ecclesiae necessitas requirit when the caus of God and the Church when the Catholic caus or if you will when the Good Caus shall require it And a little after Pontificem habere potestatem deponendi Principes est de fide the Pope's power of deposing Kings is a matter of faith and therefore to hold the contrary must needs be a point of heresie No marvel we are counted Heretics for denying this article of the Romish Creed and no marvel saith Lessius that it is De fide and we are bound to believ it as an article of faith seeing it hath been determin'd and given as an Oracle out of the Infallible Chair for Gregory the 7th alià s Hildebrand has decided it long ago in express terms in a Council held at Rome 600 years since Quòd Papae liceat Imperatores deponere and saith Santarel whose Book being Printed at Rome was burnt at Paris Ringente Papâ multùm frendentibus Jesuitis Potest Papa Reges movere mortis poenâ punire depose Kings and put 'um to death and that sine Concilâ—o Papa sine Concilio deponit Imperatorem si sit Haereticus How does he prove it Quoniam Papae Christi unum est tribunal And again Qui Religionem Catholicam Romanam deserit regnandi jus omne amittit that 's down-right so says our Countryman F. Creswell in his Philopater I shall name but one more and that is Emanuel Sa in his Aphorisms Verbo Clericus Clerici rebellio in Regem non est crimen laesae Majestatis quia Principi non est subditus Excellent Jesuitical Doctrine enough to make Kings and Princes in love with Jesuites as long as they live A Church-man cannot be guilty of treason because he is none of the Prince's Subjects and no marvel as long as he is one of the Pope's Vassals But this wu'd not serv F. Garnet's turn who was convicted and found notoriously guilty of this day's treason by his own confession and suffer'd accordingly 'T is true this Aphorism of Em. Sa's either for shame or rather for fear is left out of the Paris Edition this Doctrine being not so current in France as at Rome but 't is still extant in the first Colen Impression and in that of Antwerp Well it seems this is the new Heresy of the Jesuits as a late Author even a Papist calls it and these Doctrines they commonly vent and publish in their Books Printed Con Licenza at Rome and elswhere nor did they ever retract or recant them as far as I could hear I know what is commonly pleaded and pretended of late by our Romanists viz. that these dangerous destructive King-killing Doctrines are but the private Tenets and Opinions of some particular Doctors and were never own'd and receiv'd as the public Doctrines of the Romish Church nor ever decreed nor confirm'd by the Church of Rome in a Council And this is the last and latest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the newest shift and refuge they have found out for themselvs But let me ask 'um 1. Is not the voice of their Pope Boniface the 8th claiming a right to the Temporal Sword by vertue of Ecce duo gladii and Repone gladium in Vaginam and the like and when he told King Philip of France Scire te volumus We wu'd have you to know that you are Subject to us both in Spirituals and Temporals I say is not this Vox Ecclesiae the public voice of the Church of Rome Let me ask 'um 2. Has not that of their Pope Gregory the 7th alià s Hildebrand Nos nos Imperia Regna Principatus quicquid habere mortales possunt auferre dare posse as Platina has it in his life 'T is in our power to give and take away Empires and Kingdoms at our pleasure I say has not this fine Hildebrandine Doctrine been the public acknowledged Doctrine of their Popes and of their Church at least of the Court of Rome ever since 3. Was the 4th Lateran Council under Innocent the 3d a General Council or no If not as sure it was not nothing being fully and openly determin'd in it saith Platina Nec decerni quicquam apertè potuit how then comes their Transubstantiation to be made an Article of Faith by vertue of a Decree of that Council If it was a lawful Oecumenical Council as they will needs have it then that the Pope has power to absolv Subjects from their Oath of Allegiance and fealty to their Princes is a receiv'd authentic Doctrine of their Church for that they confess was decreed in a Canon of that Lateran Council under Pope Innocent 4. Suppose these King-killing Doctrines are not publicly own'd and declar'd to be the Doctrines of their Church nor decreed in their Councils either of Lateran Florence or Trent are they a whit the less dangerous and pernicious for that seeing they are the current Opinions of their most learned Casuists Doctors and Confessors commonly receiv'd and embrac'd I and openly publish'd and printed by their greatest Clarks among 'um and that without any check or controul yea with great Approbation Licence and liking But now 5 and lastly If in good earnest the Church of Rome disallows and renounces these dangerous Doctrines and Opinions so destructive to Kings and Kingdoms then I pray let his Holiness seat himself in his Chair and condemn these Doctrines as he did or wu'd have seem'd to do those of the Jansenists lately let him limit his Ordo ad Spiritualia and disclaim and quit his Temporal Monarchy let him disown all power so much as indirect over Princes Temporals let him confine himself within his own Precincts and Territories and renounce his Catholic Supremacy and his Universal Jurisdiction over all the Kingdoms and Churches of Christendom Let the Church of Rome publicly declare to the world in Print that she disowns and disclaims these treasonable disloyal Loiolitical Principles these pestilent pernicious Antimonarchical Tenets of the Canonists and Jesuits and then we may hope that our Romanists may be good Subjects But till this be done and while the Doctrine of
require a volume or rather many volumes to be writ of it yea he that wu'd paint out this Sin in its colours must not do it in writing not in black and white but in black and red for 't was as black as hell and as red as blood as red as the red Dragon yea as red as Scarlet as the Scarlet whore if Rome be she and sure the hand of Joab the Jesuit with his King-killing Doctrine was in all this and every one o' the Regicides had a Pope in his belly to give him a Dispensation and absolv him from his Oath of Allegiance This was the Sin o' the day hoc peccatum this Sin and so much for the first particular wherein the longer I ha' been the shorter I must be in the rest that follow 2. Reatus or meritum peccati the demerit and guilt of Sin in common right and justice 't is to be laid to the Sinners charge 't is to be imputed to him and laid upon him 'T was God's saying to Cain the Ring-leader of Homicides the first man that ever committed Murder Sin lies at the door Every sin especially this bloody crying Sin lies at the door at the Sinner's own door and he must take the brat home to himself and not father it upon any other none else to bear the blame of it nor to be chargeable with it neither 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his leav in Homer neither God nor Fate nor Destiny nor Chance nor Providence nor Nature unless it be corrupt nature and that 's the Sinner himself No nor yet is the Devil by himself alone chargeable with it he is suasor but not actor the Tempter but not the Sinner speaking of this Sin you may call him the Father of it as he is of every Sin for as he is a lyar and the Father of it so he was a murtherer from the beginning and the father of it so then he may pass for the father if ye will but the flesh or our sinful corruption is the mother and that 's the surer side and so every man's Sin to be laid to his own charge at his own door Noxa caput sequitur Now of all others a Murderer is a Sinner in grain a deep dy'd Sinner as deep-dy'd as blood can make him and as every Murderer is such an egregious Sinner so every Sinner is an egregious Murderer for he 's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Self-murderer he 's felo de se guilty of his own death he contracts a guilt and incurs a penalty and that no less than of death and that as due as the workman's wages for the wages of sin is death there 's a charge drawn up against him under his own hand in the Court of Heaven a guilt cleavs unto him and that not only reatus simplex as they call it or a guilt in actu 1 0 but also reatus redundans in personam or a guilt in actu 2 0 without the mercy of God through the merits of Christ interceding for him This St. Stephen supposes that in the ordinary course of God's justice Sin is laid to the Sinner's charge and he to bear the burden and to undergo the penalty of it and yet he supposes withal that the mercy of God sometimes intervenes and takes off the charge And that 's the third Particular Misericordia Dei the mercy of God in giving a discharge to Sinners sometimes and not laying their Sins to their charge were it not for this and for hope o'th is neither of our Martyrs wu'd ha' thus pray'd for their Murderers When a Sinner is arraign'd and condemn'd at the bar of God's justice he sometimes finds both a reprieve and a pardon at his mercy seat when he 's cast in Law and the Cause carry'd against him in the ordinary Court of justice he finds some relief and favour by getting a pardon under the broad seal of Heaven the Gospel of Grace sign'd and seal'd with the blood of Christ. Were it not so wo worth the day that ever we were born the best of us all if God shu'd charge home upon us and lay all our Sins to our charge But blessed be God there 's hopes yea very good hopes to the contrary be our sins never so great and grievous that 's our comfort and that 's the ground of our Martyr's Prayer Lord lay not this sin this heinous and crying Sin Lay not this sin to their charge Sins may always be laid to the Sinner's charge that 's their merit but they are not always so laid that 's God's mercy they may de jure that 's the guilt o'Sin but they are not de facto that 's the goodness o'God But I shall wave the further prosecution o'these and pass to the 4th Particular and that is Virtus Orationis the efficacy and power of Prayer in procuring a pardon not only for our selves but for others I say in procuring a pardon and prevailing with God to grant a discharge and not to lay sin to the charge of a Sinner though never so great and grievous That God is a God forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin as he says himself i. e. all manner of Sin Sins of all sorts and sizes that he sometimes acquits and discharges even the greatest Sinners releasing 'um from the penalty and guilt o' their Sins non imputat that we had before and St. Stephen takes it for granted but now Quare non imputat whence comes it to pass by what means or motives is God prevail'd with and wrought upon so as non imputare to deal so graciously with the wretchedest and vilest Sinners as not to lay their sins to their charge no not hoc peccatum not this Sin though never so foul horrid and heinous this we have here viz. St. Stephen's earnest and fervent Prayer for ' um Stephen was a righteous man justitia causae and justitiae personae both met in him and that in an eminent manner he was a righteous man and had a righteous cause and the Prayer of such a man says St. James of a righteous man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is very effectual and availeth much O the perswasive Rhetoric of a good man's Prayer The Prayer of a Saint of a Martyr especially is very powerful and prevalent for procuring a pardon and that not only of his own Sins but of the Sins of others even to a nè imputes so as to take off the charge and free 'um from the guilt and penalty of ' um But what shall we then make Saints and Martyrs our joint-Mediators and Intercessors or shall we say that their Blood and Tears and Prayers procure a discharge and sue out a pardon and obtain a non-imputation of Sin Is not this derogatory to the mercy o' God and the merit o' Christ not at all for the Prayers of the Saints are prevalent only through his
and so lay 'um home to their hearts that they may never be layd to their charge You 'l say these are close and secret enemies the Text speaks of open and publick ones Persecutors and Murderers and we hope we ha' none such I hope so too Blessed be God we are not yet ad eculeum redacti not brought to Racks and Strapado's Axes and Gibbets nor are we in danger o' wearing a stone coat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as he calls it in Homer yet I must tell you and I think I may tell you without breach o' that charity which I am commending to you That if some men had their wills and were well arm'd and had stones i'cheir hands and I as Stephen stood i' their way I wu'd not trust ' um You easily ghess who I mean they are those fratres in malo those red-hot fiery Zealots o' both sides your furious hair-brain'd Fanatic and your perfidious disloyal Loiolite I joyn 'um together Bithus cum Bachio for I know not which is the worse o' the two and I think they plough with one anothers heifer But as for the Persecutors and Murderers those ' ithe Text and those o' the day especially they are the objects of our Martyr's charity and therefore of ours I mean them that are capable of it For as for those Alastors the prime men and ringleaders of 'um who sign'd the Writ and had an immediate hand in the Royal blood that was shed this day some of those blood-thirsty men did not live out half their days at least not the days that they might ha' liv'd but were deservedly cut off by the Sword of Justice and made a Sacrifice to divine and humane Laws here on earth If any of 'um repented and found mercy in heaven before they dy'd well far◠our Martyr-King with his Prayer and charity for 'um while they were living but whether they repented or no they have had their doom already now they are dead and in another world our charity will do 'um no good 't is in vain to pray for 'um The living the living are they we must pray for and they to whom we must extend our charity If then there be any of 'um yet alive who had either a head in plotting and contriving or a hand in acting and executing the hoc peccatum the Sin o' this day our charity bids us pray and we cannot do less for 'um that God wu'd give 'um a sight o' their horrid Sin and Grace to repent earnestly and heartily of it that so it may never be layd to their charge nay further our charity that believeth all things and hopeth all things bids us believ and hope that some of 'um at least I wu'd willingly say many of 'um have already repented and are become real Converts And this though we may wish to see more apparent signs of it yet where we see no manifest signs to the contrary this I say in charity we are to hope and believ And if we thus hope and believ then let us forgive and forget forgive after the example of our Martyr King and forget according to the pattern of his Son our now Gracious Soveraign whom God long preserv who has profess'd as I have heard that he that touches his Royal Act of grace and favour I mean that most gracious and merciful Act of Indemnity touches the apple of his eye Let us then pass such an Act of Amnestie and Oblivion too in our own breasts I mean an Act of Oblivion as to others but not to our selves for we must never forget but remember that we our selves all of us more or less have had a finger if not a hand i' this Sin o' the day I know this will startle some How will some say I hope not so God forbid who I a hand i' the King's death I defy him that says it I thank God I am as innocent herein as the child unborn I am innocent of the blood of that good King that just person So said Pilat but yet he was not for all that he wu'd ha wash'd his hands of it but cu'd not No more I fear can we for some guilt o'th is blood must neede stick upon us in some degree or other seeing our Sins were the meritorious cause of the shedding of it We curse the Jews that crucify'd Christ we cry out o' them that stoned Stephen and we exclaim o' those that murder'd the King as a pack of most vile Varlets and Miscreants and as we cry out upon 'um so it may be we cry out for 'um I mean cry earnestly and with a loud voice too as St. Stephen did with as loud a voice but not with so good a heart as he nor wi' so much charity Lord lay not this Sin to th 〈…〉 〈…〉 arge But now after all this let us a little I pray 〈…〉 ct upon our selves This Prayer I told you was a Prayer of charity and charity begins at home Let us then look homewards and see whether we our selves are altogether free from the guilt o' this blood or whether we have not cause to read the Text with a little alteration by changing the person Lord lay not this sin to our charge For did not God take away our good King in his wrath and were not the Sins o' the Nation the fuel that kindled and fed the fire of his wrath and ha' not we contributed some sparks at least yea and some fuel too to this fire God be merciful to us all for sure we must all cry guilty before him and take shame to our selves And that indeed is the business of this day not to make bitter invectives and declamations against others but in the bitterness of our Souls to lament and bewail our own sad condition to weep bitterly for our own Sins whereby we ha' made our selves accessory in some kind or other to the commission of so execrable and horrid a Crime I say in some kind or other remotely at least if not immediately meritoriously if not executoriously virtually if not formally by consequence if not directly by a sinful connivance and complyance it may be though not by a down-right plotting and contrivance However accessories we are though not the Principals our Sins being the procuring meritorious cause of God's permitting this Sin this bloody Sin this Sin of the day 'T was for our Sins our national Sins our personal Sins that God open'd the flood-gates and suffer'd the banks to be broken down and let loose those torrents of Belial those floods of ungodliness that deluge and inundation of wickedness that overwhelm'd and drown'd both King and Kingdom We abhor the very name and memory of those cursed and cruel Rebels and if we shu'd meet any of 'um we are ready to cast dust and dirt and throw stones at 'um But if none but he that is without sin among us shu'd take up the first stone to fling at 'um truly the stones might lye still