the Sin of Judah begets in him a just Indignation So that whilst he bewails the Wound he justifies the Hand that strikes and laments the Sins of the People with deeper Groans than their Punishment Wo unto us that we have sinned These Words together with the occasion upon which they were spoke suggest to us these two Considerations I. The Loss of a Good King gives just Cause of Lamentation to a People The Crown is fallen from our Head II. In the Day of our Lamentation we should lay to Heart those Sins which brought this Judgment upon us in order to prevent the like for the future Wo unto us that we have sinned The first of these Propositions appropriates our Lamentation to the Loss of a good King such as was Josiah of whom the Prophet so pathetically speaks The breath of our nostrils the Anoynted of the Lord Lam. 4.20 was taken in their Pits of whom we said under his shadow we shall live among the Heathen Or as Grotius renders the last words In spite of the Heathen The Fresh Air through the Nostrils makes its way to the Lungs and with them fans the Heart by its nitrous Spirit advancing and by its Coolness adjusting the Circulation of the Blood and thereby imparts new Vigour to each Member of the Body Thus good Josiah 2 Chron 34 3â— by reading the Book of the Law to the People and renewing the Covenant with the Lord restrained those Feuds and Quarrels which the variety of their Idolatries produc'd and united the different Sects into the Worship of one God By this he gave new Strength to Judah and Benjamin for their Support against their Enemies What Streams of Tear did the Loss of such a Prince call for But had they liv'd under a King who by ans open Example and Encouragement of Debauchery should have drawn the People from their Covenant with the Lord and by secret Favours bestow'd on Idolaters should have tempted Judah from worshiping the God of Jacob If he should have prepar'd the way for Pharo Necho by crumbling his People into Factions and by turns wheting the Anger of Judah against Benjamin and Benjamin against Judah it would be hard to perswade Men to call such a King the Breath of their Nostrils And when they were in so much Danger of Ruine by his Life they would be apt not to be very passionately concern'd for his Death From what has been said the Reason of the first Proposition will appear viz. Why the loss of a good King gives such cause of Lamentation 'T is because he has no Interest separate from that of his People This is plainly implied in the Words of the Text The Crown is fallen from our Head That is as the People have no Head but their King so the King has no Body but his People and that there can be no more separate Interest of a Sovereign from his People than of the Head from the Body And that this is the true Notion of that relation which is between Prince and People appears from all those Characters by which Supreme Magistrates are describ'd to us in the Book of Go which are these Five viz. Fathers Captains Judges Shepherds Gods 1. Fathers so God promiseth to a good People suitable Governours Kings shall be thy Nursing fathers Isa 49.23 and Queens thy Nursing-mothers Now what interest can a Father have separate from that of his Family Or can a Mother divide her Assection from her Children the pretended Mother who appear'd before Solomon would have divided a Living Child that she might have had part of it to her self 1 Kings 3.26 while the true Mother could not separate her Bowels of Compassion from the Fruit of her Womb. This Title of Father expresses justly the nature of that Love which is owing by the Prince to his People It has indeed been made use of by some to a very different purpose to prove that Regal Authority is founded in Paternal although whoever considers the Relation between Father and Son will see how absurd this Notion is For 1. Nature gives to all Parents equal power over their Families so as to exclude the Unkles power over his Nephews Family and the Grandfathers nay Fathers over the respective Families of Son and Grandson 2. The Mother has to Filial Obedience equal Right with the Father 3. Execution of Vindictive Power whereby a Father shall pass Sentence of Death upon his Son seems unnatural Nor do we find it came into the Thoughts of Adam to avenge the Murther of Abel by adjudging Cain to death nor can I perceive that the imaginary Patriarchal Authority has any Foundation in Nature so as to render the younger Brother upon the Father's death subject to the Elder For 1. Brotherhood bespeaks equality as appears by what God saith to the Elder Brother of all Mankind when he had conceiv'd Wrath against his younger Gen. 4.6,7 And the Lord said unto Cain why art thou wrath And why is thy countenance fallen If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted If thou dost not well sin lyeth at the door that is the punishment of thy sin draws near the following words of the Verse want only a point of Interrogation to make 'em understood for instead of Vnto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him The Learned P. Fagius thus renders it Num Abelis desiderium ad te erit num tu eris ejus dominus Shall his desire be to thee Shalt thou rule over him Such an Interrogation is a strong denial of any Authority the Elder Brother can by nature claim over the Younger But 2dly How can we conceive that Nature gives the Nephew Authority over his Unkle and Great Unkle Which the Notion of Patriarchal Power does necessarily infer And 3dly To found Kingly Power in Patriarchal Primogeniture seems as Impolitick as 't is Unnatural because it shakes the Thrones of all Kings there being no Throne at this time fill'd with the true Patriarch Lineally descended from the Eldest Son of Noah Or at least who is able to derive and prove such a Pedigree But to return from this digression We are sure that we can justly say of a good King He is a Father of his Countrey 'T is Fatherly Care he expresses in the Administration of his High Office he provides for the Education of his People in good Living he restrains the publishing of Bad Principles he checks ill Tempers and chastiseth those wicked Servants who by their ill Examples would endanger the corrupting of his Family he bears an equal Affection to all his Dutiful Subjects not suffering himself through any unaccountable fondness to distinguish some of his Children from others so long as all join in an equal respect to him But if there be any such in his Family who have the impudence to own another Father either Spiritual or Civil 't is a just provocation for him to disown them and look upon them as the Children of
ASHVRST MAYOR Jovis primo die Februarii 1693. Annoque Regni Regis Reginae Gulielmi Mariae Angl. c. Quinto THIS Court doth Desire Mr. Stephens to Print his Sermon Preached before the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Citizens of this City at the Parish Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow on Tuesday the 30 th of January last GOODFELLOW A SERMON Preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor AND ALDERMEN OF THE City of London AT St. Mary-Le-Bow Jan 30 th 1693 4 By WILLIAM STEPHENS B. D. Rector of Sutton in Surrey LONDON Printed for John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultrey And Brab Aylmer at the Three Pidgeons in Cornhill 1694 Mr. STEPHEN's SERMON Preached before the Lord Mayor AT St. Mary-Le-Bow Jan. 30. 1693 4. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE Sir WILLIAM ASHVRST Lord Mayor OF THE City of London AND THE Worshipful the Court of ALDERMEN My LORD ALthough the Sins of this Nation which call for frequent Fasting and sincere Humiliation might give us but a very Melancholy Prospect of Affairs yet when we call to mind the many Deliverances which God hath heretofore and of late wrought for us it will point out a Door of Hope to us and may serve for a promising presage that he will go on to do us good will perfect our Deliverance and secure our Righteous Establishment But St. Austin teaches us That he who made us without any help of ours will not save us without our own Concurrence and this is true as well in respect to our Happiness in this Life as in another Men who are well-affected to the common Interest of their Countrey must be Zealously Active to promote it watch the seasonable Appearances of God in their behalf and cheerfully co-operate with those Means which his Providence has recommended to 'em for their common Preservation Your Lordship is one of those who cannot satisfie your self with an Vnactive Vertue You sludy the Welfare of your Countrey Diligently and pursue it Affectionately And it ought to be no little matter of Joy to us all to see the Chief City of the Kingdom acting by so Noble a Principle in the Choice of Magistrates to Rule over them as to pitch upon one who could never stoop so low as to serve a narrow Interest or a base or private End who prays for the Peace of Jerusalem and without regard to any Party wishes all may Prosper that love it may this good Example of the Metropolis have a happy Influence upon all other Corporations and engage them to an Imitation of such a Choice If the Soveraign Prince be taught from all the Characters by which his Super-eminent Office is describ'd in God's Word that he can Espouse no Interest separate from that of his People as is shewn in the ensuing Sermon which was at first Preach'd and is now Publish'd by Your Lordship's Order surely no Man is qualify'd for any Inferior Magistracy who can be so far misguided as to act the Business of a Party or will suffer any private Interest to mislead his Affection from the common Good Plato had once a Project to preserve the Community by destroying Property he suppos'd that a common Fund set up for the whole Body Politick would necessarily engage a publick Spirit in every Individual but a greater Law-giver than he has taught us that Property and publick Weal are to be preserv'd by loving our Neighbour as our self And when this Spirit prevails among the Rulers of a people what may not be hoped for in Favour of such a Nation That Almighty God may still continue a Succession of such Magistrates in the Chair which Your Lordship so Honourably fills is the Hearty Prayer of My LORD Your Lordships most Obliged and Humble Servant WILLIAM STEPHENS LAM V. 16. The Crown is fallen from our Head wo unto us that we have sinned HOW the Death of good King Josiah was lamented is thus Recorded in the Chronicles And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah 2 Chron. 35.25 and all the Singing Men and the Singing Women spake of Josiah in their Lamentations to this day and made them an Ordinance in Israel and behold they are written in the Lamentations It was no small loss to Judah that such a Prince fell by the Sword whose Heart was so tenderly affected towards his Country Who remov'd all the Abominations out of the Land making a Covenant before the Lord 2 Chron. 34.27 and causing all Jerusalem and Benjamen to stand to it He had a right Sense of that true Politick Maxim which Solomon his Predecessor lest behind him viz. Prov. 14.34 Righteousness exalteth a Nation but Sin is a reproach to any People This good Disposition towards his Subjects was rewarded with that gracious Answer God sent him from the Mouth of Huldah the Prophetess when he enquir'd of her what should become of his Kingdom The Effect of which was That he should honourably end his days and not see the Captivity of his People And as for the King of Judah 2 Chron. 34.26 who sent you to enquire of the Lord so shall ye say unto him Because thy Heart was tender and thou didst humble thy self before God when thou heardst his Words against this place and against the Inhabitants thereof I have even heard thee also saith the Lord Behold I will gather thee to thy Grave in peace neither shall thy Eyes see all the evil I will bring upon this place and upon the Inhabitants thereof If it be ask'd How was this Prophecy fulfill'd when Josiah died of a Wound received in Battle against Necho King of Egypt Let the Enquirer put on those Bowels of Compassion to his Country which Josiah took with him then to the Battle of Megiddo 2 Chron. 25.22 that he might stop the Passage of Pharo Necho and prevent the swarming of the Egyptian Locusts over Judah and he will think his honourable Death in Defence of his People to be the last and greatest distinguishing Mark which God could in this World bestow upon so good a Prince St. Paul has indeed told us 1 Cor. 13.3 that a Man may give his Body to be burnt and not deserve the Name of a Martyr because he may yet want Charity And we see 't is possible for a Sovereign Prince to hazard his Crown not out of Charity to relieve his Country but from a Desire to oppress it and so may die the Martyr or live the Confessor of his own Folly When good Josiah put his Life into his hand to keep out that Egyptian Slavery which an ill Prince would willingly introduce And thus I have set forth the occasion of Judah's Tears and Jeremy's Lamentation viz. The Loss of a good King and what not long after followed the Captivity of the People To this the Prophet relates in these Words of the Text The Crown is fallen from our Head But whilst the Reflection upon his Countrey 's Ruine fills him with a just Grief the Consideration of the Cause of it
become the one no less than the other And when God found out a Man atter his own Heart to preside over his peculiar People He chose David his Servant Psal 78.70,71 and took him from the Sheepfolds following the Ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his Inheritance That watchful Care which he exercis'd in the Shepherd's Tent prepar'd him for the Business of the Throne That concern which he shew'd for a Lamb taken from him improv'd it self into a Zeal to rescue Israel from the Philistin Army The Courage which he shew'd against the Lion and the Bear who were about devouring his Flock recommended him to be Saul's Champion against Goliah and the Blessing of God upon his first Enterprize gave him hopes of success in the second 1 Sam. 17.36 Thy Servant slew both the Lion and the Bear and this uncircumcis'd Philistine shall be as one of them Nor did he forget the Crook when he was possess'd of the Scepter but had the same regard to his People which before he shew'd towards his Flock as appears by that Address which in a Shepherds Style he made to God when he saw the Angel smiting Israel with Pestilence 2 Sam. 24.17 Lo I have sinned and I have done wickedly but these Sheep what have they done Let thy hand I pray thee be against me and against my Fathers House If a People be bereft of such a Shepherd such a Prince as this we may conclude with Zachary they had reason to be troubled because they had no Shepherd Zach 102. 5. The last and greatest Title which the Holy Scriptures give to Sovereign Princes is that of Gods Thou shalt not revile the Gods Exod. 22.28 nor curse the Ruler of thy People So high so superlative a Title may perhaps have given occasion to Flatterers and ill Men to suggest to Princes such Notions of their Glory as might be distinct and separate from their Peoples good But I cannot find that the Glory of God himself as Sovereign of all is seperate from the good of Mankind either in his Creation Preservation Redemption Sanctification or Salvation all which are the Works of his Sovereign Power and said to be wrought for his Glory The two first of these may be considered together because the preservation of Beings is but the continuance of the power exerted in their Creation 'T is only the permanency of that Word or Will by which all things were made And if The Heavens declare the Glory of God Psal 19.1,2 and the Firmament shews his Handy-work if one day tells another and one night certifies another Do not all these Works of God as clearly demonstrate to us our own Advantage as much as their Maker's Glory Was not the Earth Water and Air commanded to bring forth Plants Fish Fowl and Beasts for the use of Man as for the Glory of God! Or did God make known the Riches of his Glory on the Vessels of Mercy Rom. 9.23 24. which he had afore prepar'd unto Glory viz. Accomplishing the Redemption of Lost Man by the Mediation of Christ Jesus Heb. 1.3 Who was the brightness of his Glory and express Image of his Person And did he not in this glorifie himself by the greatest Gift the Heavenly Father could bestow upon his Children Or the Son of God purchase for his Brethren And how is God glorified by our Sanctification but as he enriches our Hearts with the Gifts of his Holy Spirit and Treasures of his Divine Graces the only true Comforts and Support we are capable of in this Life and the Earnest of that immarcessible Crown of Glory i.e. The full Completion of Happiness we expect hereafter In all these respects St. Paul joins God's Glory and our Good together Eph. 3.14 c. For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that he would grant you according to the riches of his Glory to be strengthened with might by his Spirit that ye may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the length and breadth and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge In Sum. God who is self-subsisting Perfection who in the language of Nature is styl'd Optimus Maximus the best and greatest of Beings cannot serve himself any way by us so as to add any thing to his Power Wisdom Goodness Justice Veracity Immutability or Eternity but on the contrary God serves us by himself Luk. 22.27 so Christ was amongst us as he that serveth and we are every moment sensible of the Benefits we receive from the Power Wisdom Goodness and all the Attributes of God Nay every Precept of his Law contains a Favour bestow'd on us as well as a Duty enjoyn'd And in this Kings are as Gods to their People their Power is imploy'd for their Protection their Wisdom for their Direction their Goodness for their Support and their Veracity is a full Security to them for relying upon their Promises 'T is true the Justice of God executes Vengeance upon Evil-doers and hereby he preserves the Souls of his Saints Psal 97.10 and delivers them out of the hand of the wicked Without this Justice how could his Kingdom stand in this World And had he not so ordered it Psal 55.23 that the bloody and deceitful man should not live out half his days and that the lapsed Angels should be reserv'd in everlasting Chains Jude 6. how could he be called the Preserver of Men In like manner 't is the Glory of a King by Judgment to establish a Land Prov. 29.4 by giving the Law its due course upon all the Enemies to his Government all Oppressors of his Subjects And if a mighty Hunter after Blood shall arise as Nimrod was of old who shall look upon the Prosperity of his Neighbours to be a Diminution to his Glory In such a case 't will be the true Glory of God's Vicegerents to execute St. Paul's Anathema against such an Enemy of the Cross of Christ and make such an Oppressor feel that his end is Destruction because his Glory is in his Shame Phil. 3.19 The Naâ—… of Gods given to Sovereign Princes may import thâ—… they are unaccountable to their People And yet wâ—…nd the Supream Majesty of Heaven and Earth wâ—… receives not his Crown from another does render 〈◊〉 Account of himself to us 〈◊〉 18 25 Hear O House of Israel Is not my way equal Are not your ways unequal He does in a manner set his People on the Seat of Judicature and place himself at the Bar intreating them to give their Judgment upon his Administration Isa 5.3,4 And now O Inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah judge I pray you betwixt me and my Vineyard what could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it In such a manner as this Princes may be said to be accountable