Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A46742
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A sermon preached at the assizes held in Warwick, March the nineteenth 1682/3 by Samuel Jemmat ...
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Jemmat, Samuel.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing J550; ESTC R34479
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10,599
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38
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A SERMON PREACHED at the Assizes held in WARWICK MARCH the Nineteenth 1682 3. By SAMUEL JEMMAT M. A. sometimes Fellow of Vniversity Colledge OXON now Vicar of St. Nicholas's Church in the Borough of WARWICK OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield Printer to the University for George Teonge Bookseller in Warwick 1683. To the Worshipful THOMAS LUCY of CHARLECOTE Esquire HIGH SHERIFFE of the County of Warwick THere are three things which if universally conjoyn'd would certainly make this Nation happy The just Awe and Reverence of the Divine Nature Loyalty to the King God's immediate Vice-gerent upon Earth And the due Execution of Justice for the terror of evil doers and the praise of them that do well The first would make them good Christians the second would make them good Subjects and the third would either perswade or force them to be good Men. In order to the attaining of these ends I have made it my business according to my slender capacity to evidence that there is a God who ruleth over the highest and that He is so far graciously pleased to promote the good of Humane society as to make Government his own Ordinance that they who are Subjects are bound to be obedient and loyal by God's authority and that they who represent our gracious Sovereign in the high seats of Judicature are obliged to fidelity by the greatest Commands and Encouragements SIR being selected by Your undeserved favour to be your Chaplain at this remarkable time I was perswaded that I could no way better publish the true sentiments of your Loyal heart or discharge my Own Duty than by endeavouring to instill into the minds of my Auditory these weightier matters of the Royal Law If I have in the least degree promoted the Honour of God and the King satisfied your Self confirmed any true Christians in their just sentiments and convinced or confuted any seditious Anarchical spirits I have compassed my end shall give God the glory and remain Honoured SIR Your most Humble and Faithful Servant SAMUEL JEMMAT 2 CHRON. 19.6 And said to the Judges take heed what ye do for ye judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the Judgment IEhoshaphat was one of the best of all the Kings of Judah it having pleased the Spirit of God to record it of him about the beginning of his Reign a 2 Chron. 17.3 4. that he walked in the first ways of his Father David and sought not unto Baalim but sought to the Lord God of his Fathers and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Israel And afterwards towards his latter end the same spirit testifies b 2 Chr. 20.32 that he walked in the way of Asa his Father and departed not from it doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. And on the other side He only chargeth him with breaking Leagues with c 2 Chr. 18.3 Ahab and d 2 Chr. 20.3 Ahaziah two wicked Kings of Israel which according to humane policy might seem agreeable enough with the reasons of State and for not removing the High places e 2 Chr. 20.33 which the people still had recourse unto having not throughly prepared their hearts to the God of their Fathers By all which it is intimated though his Predecessors had their failings yet He in the beginning progress and end of his reign was highly commendable That he had a constant respect unto the holy commandments of God and made them the rule of his own life as well as the Government of his Kingdom The consequent whereof was this that he did more in the reformation both of Civil and Ecclesiastical affairs than any that had gone before him since the days of David The words which I have read are part of the charge which this good King gave to the Judges commissioned by himself And therefore from them we may rationally expect to learn some of the main and principal duties which concern all those who live in any degree of Eminency or Authority either in Church or State and more especially those that are in office appertaining to Justice This good King being dead yet speaks and that aloud in the words of the Text saying to the Judges take heed what ye do for ye judge not for man but for the Lord who is with you in the judgment Which words present us with four remarkable and profitable truths The two first of which ought to be of general influence and the two latter principally concern those Sages which are in Commission They are these Truth I That the primary source and original of Judgment is God Though Judges are chosen commissioned by and must give their accounts to the King yet they judge not for man but for the Lord. Truth II That the Kings of the earth are the secondary springs and fountains of Justice Next and immediately under God judgment flows from them And therefore the King in the Text gives his command to the Judges in these words He said to the Judges Truth III That it is highly incumbent upon all Judges to be most critically cautious and careful Both God and the King say to them take heed what you do Truth IV That all they who are duly advanced to such eminent places of trust and dignity have the greatest motives in the world to be faithful in the performance of their duty and that because God is with them in the judgment I begin with the first of these viz. That the primary source and original of Truth I Judgment is God Though Judges are chosen commissioned by and must give their accounts to the King yet they judge not for man but for God I am not ignorant that there were two sorts of Judges among themselves in the days of Jehoshaphat such as were concern'd in Ecclesiastical and such as were intrusted only with Civil affairs The constitution of both is manifest from vers 11. of this chapter where the King declares Behold Amariah the chief Priest is over you in all matters of the Lord and Zebediah the son of Ishmael the Ruler of the house of Judah for all the King's matters Yet do I not think it rational for any man so to appropriate Ecclesiastical affairs to the Lord as to exclude him from his interest in those that are Civil but have good reason to conclude that the King speaks to both sorts of Judges when he saith ye judge not for man but for the Lord. That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which he makes use of vers 10. by instancing in particular cases sufficiently proves what I say And what cause soever shall come to you of your Brethren that dwell in their cities between blood and blood between law and commandement statutes and judgments ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the Lord. Those criminal causes between blood and blood were certainly Civil as well as those which related to the statutes and judgments were Ecclesiastical and yet the
offenders in both cases are warned not to trespass against the Lord. Which plainly discovers God's interest in Judgment be it of what kind or nature soever whether it be Civil or whether it be Ecclesiastical God is the primary source and original of it And whatsoever they be that are intrusted with the executive parts of Judgment they judge not for man but for the Lord. This I am sure is agreeable with the analogy of Scripture which informs us not only f Is 30.18 that the Lord is a God of judgment implying that it is his nature or unalterable property or that g Ps 33.5 Is 1.8 he loveth judgment to denote his affection or h Deut. 32.4 that all his ways are judgment to discover his steadiness and uniformity in the exercise of it or i Ps 9.16 that the Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth to show how remarkable he is for this property or that k Job 27.33 the Almighty is excellent in judgment to demonstrate how far he transcends those that are most critical amongst men but it also assures us that the judgment is Gods l Deut. 1.17 to teach us this lesson that though the Ministers and Executioners of Justice may be varied according to the exigencies of times and places yet wheresoever Judgment is faithfully done God is the director author and owner of it By that emanation of power from himself whereby he communicated existence to the World and all the Creatures that are therein He became the absolute Sovereign of the Vniverse and did Himself at first exercise this jurisdiction which I am speaking of As appears by his punishing of Cain for murdering his Brother before the Promulgation of any Law to the contrary And by his Commissioning Abraham to kill his Son which made the real intentions of the Patriarch so to do an act of Faith and commendable obedience which without that would have been down-right murder And t is as certain that he did afterwards devolve this power upon Man when he delivered that Law to the sons of Noah whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed m Gen. 9.6 which power he cannot be imagined to have committed promiscuously to every man who would be glad to be an avenger of blood because that would have given authority to the most notorious murthers and countenanced the vilest outrages in the world but to persons of knowledge and fidelity elected commissioned and set apart for that Office Since which time t is manifest he hath in all Ages selected choice persons for the administration of Justice hath given to some the spirit of Government and to others the spirit of Subjection hath given to the Higher Powers the greatest encouragements they are capable of by his Promises in case of diligent faithful Obedience and hath deterr'd Subjects from injustice and disobedience by the great movers of mankind viz. Temporal and Eternal Death Use 1 How bold and couragious how diligent and faithful how resolute and unmoveable by the entreaties threats flatteries collogueings and all other artifices of men should the consideration hereof make all those who judge not for Man but for the Lord A wicked Baalam could say n Numb 22.18 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more Nehemiah could say in the sincerity and integrity of his heart Should such a man as I fly Nehem. 6.11 And it will well become every person that is entrusted with Judgment to take up the like forms of speech and say Should I he faint-hearted or negligent should I be partial or injust shall I be drawn aside by any sinister respects who judge not for Man but for the Lord Sure I am they have as good a ground so to do because God's Commission doth not only license them to execute justice and judgment but it lays a necessity upon them by making it their Duty And on the other side how ready to obey Use 2 and fearful to offend should it make all those who are subjected to their Power How should they be inclined to account their persons Sacred and to look upon them as Representatives of God himself Yea how thankful to God should it Use 3 make all those who are under jurisdiction for being so mindful of the Sons of Men God is that High and Holy one who sits upon the Circle of the Heavens and beholds all the Inhabitants of the Earth as Grass-hoppers all the Kingdoms of the World are very little and inconsiderable things to Him There can be no advantage accrue to God by their felicity nor detriment though all their counsels be turn'd to folly and all Civil Government to Anarchy and Confusion And yet he is pleased to contrive the good of All and to fortify Civil Powers by his own Commission that Judgment may run down like water and Righteousness like a mighty stream Lord What is man that thou art so mindful of him or the son of man that thou dost so regard him Use 4 How effectually should this convince all the Anarchical spirits amongst us and assure them that Dominion is neither founded in Power nor Property nor Compact nor Grace but in the great Authority of the Absolute Sovereign and most gracious Governer of the whole World Could it be founded in Power Angels would have a right to destroy all Mankind Children their aged Parents nay Thieves themselves would have an undeniable title to the goods of the Impotent Could it be founded in Property it must be possible to suppose that Man had a right to Sovereignty before God gave him a dominion over the fish of the Sea and the fowls of the Air and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth o Gen. 1.28 which was long before he back'd it with that commandment Thou shalt not steal p Exod. 20.25 Could it be founded in Compact 't would have been at the pleasure of the People heretofore and would be so still whether they would engage themselves or not and they might have frustrated the great design of the Almighty by their refusal Could it be founded in Grace there must have been some better 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 than we now enjoy whereby to distinguish between the Holy and the Vile or the crafty hypocritical Pretenders would certainly go away with the greatest shares of the Earth But being founded in the power and wisdom of God and it being determined that he is the primary source of Judgment it will necessarily follow That the subordinate Authors of Judgment are not meerly the ordinance of Man They are so indeed subjectivè as the Offices of Justice are born by Men not immediately by God himself not hy Angels or any other Creature They are so objectivè as Justice is imployed among men they being the persons who are to be restrained or punished by Laws They are so