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A27356
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City security stated in a sermon preached at St. Pauls August 11th, 1661 before the right Honourable the Lord Mayor / by William Bell ...
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Bell, William, 1626-1683.
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1661
(1661)
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Wing B1809; ESTC R12348
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22,139
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32
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City Security STATED IN A SERMON Pâ—eached at St Pauls August 11th 1661. Before the Right Honourable THE LORD MAYOR By â—illiaâ— Bell B. D. late Fellow of St John Baptists Colledg 〈◊〉 and now Chaplain to his Majesty in his Tower of LONDON LONDON Printed for John Baker at the Sign of the Peacock in St Pauls Church-yard 1661. City Security PSALM 127. the latter part of the first Verse Except the Lord keep the City the Watchman waketh but in vain THere is a naturall necessitous humility lodged in persons of mean and low spirits men of no parts or no knowledge of their parts or who have no just esteem of them And there is an artificiall flagitious humility when like the Hawk men stoop for a quarry 2 Sam. 15.5 6. Thus Absalom stole the hearts of his Fathers subjects out at their mouths by his treacherous kisses And there is a penall calamitous humility when God trips up the heels of insolent persons such was that of proud Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 4.33 when devested of Empire and Reason Humiliatus erat quid humilis non erat humbled because not humble And there is a Celestiall gratious humility when men of eminent parts and place own God as the fountain of all they have and are that fills and feeds their Channells A royall virtue indeed when Kings acknowledge their Thrones to be set upon Gods foot stoole and though in all Causes and over all Persons as well Ecclesiasticall as Civill in their own Dominions Supream heads and Governours yet pay their ho … … nd fealty to the King of Kings in confessing they are all this under God and his Christ It is the method of proud men to compare themselves with their inferiours and as the Pharisee to cry out Lord what am I not like those that measure themselves by the declining Sun and so seem taller than they are But the humble person compares himself his power his wisdome his holinesse his honour with those of God and as the Publican cries out Lord what am I As those that measure themselves by the Sun at noon and their bedwarfd shadow and are more than they seem It is Moses his Title of Honour to be stiled Gods servant And Davids chief ambition to be a Nethenim in the house of God The threshold of whose Temple was a step above his Throne and he takes a degree to be a Porter at it Rev. 4.10 The Elders cast down their Crowns at the feet of God And as all subordinate Powers give in at the presence of the King as Stars return their light to the Sun at his arising so even Kings lower their Scepters when God exalts his since the best of them are but the off-sets thereof The most absolute Monarchs are thus far relative that they subsist by God there being no independency in reference to him There are no designes be the means or men that carry them on never so potent that come not to naught if blown upon by God Nor is any instrument so impotent that with God is not efficacious Phil. 4.13 This is the ground of St Pauls omnipotency I can do all things through Christ which strengthneth me Proud Babel that was raised in Rebellion against God was razed in confusion by him Zech. 4.6 7. But where not an Army nor strength but the Spirit of God builds there even the head stone is laid and the shouting is grace grace God blessed the Aegyptian Midwives Exod. 1.21 by his building them houses for their supporting the houses of the Israelites And he who blessed them for their work blessed them in it And as he suited the reward to the work so he suited the work to his own promise for he had pronounced that primitive blessing of Increase Gen. 1.28 and Multiply on that people and man cannot substract where God will multiply No nor yet multiply where he will substract He who keeps the key of David opens the barren Rev. 3.7 and shuts up the fruitfull Womb And as from one Vine one fertil Wife Psal 128.3 he can draw forth the blessing of Clusters of Children for him that feareth him Verse 1. 1 Kings 11.3 so from seven hundred Wives and three hundred Concubines the product to Solomon was but a single Rhehoboam so farre as Scripture undertakes the Genealogy but one Grape from so many Vines and that too but such an one as men gather of Thornes who like Ivy plucked down the house he pretended to support Both the fruit of the common Womb the earth is Gods for The earth is the Lords and the fullnesse thereof Psal 24.1 and that of every particular one too of every Mother as well as that generall one Psal 12â— 3 for Children are the inheritance of the Lord and the fruit of the Womb is his reward So that there is neither fertility nor security plenty nor safety without God for except he build the house they labour in vain that build it Except he keep the City c. Which words are whether written by Solomon Scope of the Text. Eccl. 8.4 or by David for Solomon as is most probable the words of a King and there is power and truth in them as they are a proof of the necessary concurrence of divine providence to the undertakings of men And the procedure of the argument is a minore ad majus from the lesse to the greater that that providence is so particular as to extend to the Oeconomy of every private family except the Lord build c. that is Clarius Castalio in loc nisi augeat rem familiarem familiam unlesse he improve the estate and houshold haeredes liberos the heirs the children there can be no increase or improvement of either by any And yet that providence is withall so generall as to comprehend the polity of a whole City Except the Lord keep the City c. The name of a family shall rot unlesse God shall vouchsafe to preserve it by a numerous and perfume it by a gratious succession of generations And the City shall be buried in its own ruines for all its fortifications of dead earth its Walls and Towers and of living earth its Militia and Magistrates unlesse God shall supervise and blesse all Except the Lord keep c. Division The words are a modâ—l Proposition The Proposition The Watchman waketh but in vain The modus or limitation Except the Lord keep the City I shall not mangle the words by any more minute division of them that I may not part God from the City the Watchman from God vigilance from the Watchman nor successe from his vigilance But I shall speak to it by way of Explication and Application 1. By way of Explication in unfolding these four particulars First What is intended by the word Watchman Secondly What is meant by the City Thirdly What is the purport of this phrase of Gods keeping the City Fourthly I shall insist on what
is indeed the whole concernment of the Text that Except the Lord keep c. which I shall assert 1. By Precedents that so it hath been 2. By Arguments that so it must be 1. Watchman what First What is intended by the word watchman It signifies a Centinell or one of a Guard appointed and sent forth for the safeguard of some place or persons It is applicable 1. Ecclesiastical Ezek. 3.17 1. To Ministers Sonne of man I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel therefore hear the word at my mouth both mission I have made thee a watchman and commission from God therefore bear the word at my mouth But an enlargement on this sense in this place at this time is not pertinent It is 2. Civill Governour Ezek. 33 2. 2. Therefore put for the Civill Governours and particularly for Magistrates by Election If the people of the Land take a man from among them and make him their watchman c. And the expression is significant there is an Analogy or correspondence between the Magistrate and Watchman in the unde ubi and quare of their imployments 1. Taken from 1. The Centinell or Watchman is taken from his fellows and onely differenc'd from them in respect of his present charge so is the Magistrate who though cloathed with the Name and Image of God in regard of his power above his brethren Yet must dye as a man Psal 82.7 and fall like one of the Princes The Robes and Dresse distinguish him but the flesh and blood is the same it is not the metall but the superscription of Cesar on him that makes him differ in value 2. The Watchman was set in a Tower Isai 21.5 8. The Magistrate is exalted above his brethren 2. Prefer'd above his place is a place of eminence annointed above his fellows taller by the Crown by the head than the rest 3. For his fellowes 3. Though the Watchman be taken from and preferred above his brethren yet all this is for them As the Ecclesiasticall so also the Civill Ruler Heb. 5.1 is taken from among men and ordained for men for salus populi the peoples safety it should be suprema lex Magistratui the Magistrates chief Law because it is suprema ratio Magistratûs the finall cause of Magistracy Isai 45.4 For Jacob my servants sake and Israel mine elect I will even call thee by thy name and name thee to wit Cyrus which neither descended of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 authority or which is a derivative of that from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord shew'd he had that and was this for Jacobs and Israels sake But enough of this whereof we have had too much so lately Rulers necessary to the being Now Magistracy is necessary adesse to the being and bene esse to the wâ—ll-being of a people 1. To their being they cannot be a people without it Could we have leave to look through the Act of Indempnity we should quickly take a prospect of those confusions an Vsurping Government had involved us in Hosea 1.4 Anarchy would have been worse by that we were Israel a scattered people by this we should have been Loammi not a people And well being of a City 2. Magistracy is necessary to the well-being to the strength and opulency of a people Bees tast the sweet of Governement who fill their Combs under their King And you cannot forget for all an Act of Oblivion under whom you cram'd your Coffers and under whom you drain'd them Who render'd you fear'd abroad for your Powers and envied for your Peace and plenty at home and who made you scorned or pittied when like earthen Vessels they had emptied and dashed you to shivers against each other But because the Magistrate here under the notion of a Watchman is set rather for the preservation than improvement of his peoples peace to keep the City that is to secure what they have not to acquire what they have not we shall in three words consider our Magistrate as necessary to the being of his City as a Watchman set out or up Rulers Watchmen 1. To prevent dangers 1. To prevent And truely as it is rather eligible to avoid sinne than censure to be innocent than pardoned 1 Sam. 15 22. Obedience being better than sacrifice in this among many other respects since that prevents the guilt which this but atones for so is it more commendable to intercept mischiefs Prov. 22.3 than to overcome them It is the prudent mans Character that he foreseeth the plague Now to speak in my own sphear he that prevents sinnes prevenâ—s dangers for sinne is the harbinger of plagues For this cause many are sick 1 Cor. 11.30 and weak among us and many are fallen asleep for as intemperate diet in the naturall body breeds ill humours and they engender death so in the body politick ill manners beget publick distempers and they close in a generall confusion Cant. 3.3 Therefore as the Watchmen walk about the City to prevent the designes of thieves murderers and incendiaries so must the Magistrate his eye must walk the round of his limits to obstruct sinnes in their spring and outburst a finger may hinder there and then when brachia contra torrentem when grown large and swift and strong those weak and contemned waters will bear down all the banks and dams of Laws and Auctority Magistrates are called shields and you know a shield is a defensive piece of Armour Psal 47.9 and its use is to ward off blows from the body And better have a shield to prevent a wound than the ablest Chyrurgeon to cure it 2. To discover 2. The Magistrate is a Watchman to discover and intimate dangers therefore is the Watchman in the day on his Tower to foresee and forewarn in the night with his Lanthorne to descry Ezek. 1.16 18. The Magistrates are those wheels mentioned by the Prophet said to be full of eyes eyes to pry into sinnes and like those of Tiberius able to see in the dark Watchman what of the night Is 21.11 And they have motion and weight to track and overtake thrash grind and crush sinners to pieces The Watchman or Centinell is to give the Allarme to his Officers on the approach of the enemy so must inferiour Magistrates discover to their superiours those evils that are too strong for themselves to grapple with Ezeck 33.3 The Watchman when he seeth the sword come upon the Land must blow the Trumpet and warn the people Neither of which Isaiahs blind Isaiah 56.10 and dumb Watchman can do nor see nor warn 3. To repell dangers 3. The Magistrate is a Watchman to repell dangers Therefore hath the Watchman his Bill and the Magistrate his Sword and neither of them are to bear them in vain If he cannot prevent them by caution and discovery he must valiantly attaque them If as