Prevention as it is now with us which God and the King will use to keep the State and the Church from melting This Remedy and the Prevention is just the same is expressed first in the execution of Justice And this God promises for the King and the King promises under God I will judge according unto right saith God and I saith the King Now Iustice and Iudgement is the greatest binder up of a State The great bounder of Peace and Warre And it is not possible to find dissolving sinews in a Kingdome that is governed by Iustice For if the King flourish the Kingdome cannot melt And the Kings Throne that is established by Iustice Nay farther Nothing but Iustice can establish the Throne and make it firme indeed But when God blesses the King with a heart full of Iustice when God strengthens the King in the Execution of Iustice when the King followes God as close as he can with Ego judicabo I my selfe will looke to the administration of Iustice with which God hath trusted me there can be no melting about the Throne of the King none in the State none in the Church But then this Iustice which preserves the King and blesses the people must be habituall To doe Iustice casually though the thing done be just yet the doing of it is not Iustice The State may melt for all that because the Remedy is but casuall Again since the whole State hath interest in the Justice of the King his Iustice must be spreading over all persons and in all causes And so 't is plurall in the Text I will judge Iustitias for every mans cause so far as it is just Why but then must the King doe all this himselfe No God forbid that burthen should lye all upon him Moses was not able alone for that It was and it is heavie What then why then Jethro's counsell must be followed There must be inferiour Iudges and Magistrates deputed by the King for this Men of courage fearing God and hating Covetousnesse These must quit Moses from the inferiour trouble that he may be active and able for the great affaires of State For if they be suffered to melt and drop downeward there can be no standing dry or safe under them And hence it followes that Ego judicabo I will judge according unto right is not onely the Kings engagement betweene God and the People but it is the engagement of every Iudge Magistrate and Officer betweene God the King and the State The Kings power that 's from God The Iudges and the subordinate Magistrates power that 's from the King Both are for the good of the people That they may lead a peaceable life in all godlynesse and honesty All Judges and Courts of Iustice even this great Congregation this great Councell now ready to sit receive influence and power from the King and are dispensers of his justice as well as their owne both in the Lawes they make and in the Lawes they execute in the Causes which they heare and in the Sentences which they give The King Gods High Steward and they Stewards under him And so long as Iustice and Iudgement sits upon all the Benches of a Kingdome either it s not possible for Fluxes and Meltings to begin in the State or if they doe begin their Drip will be cured presenly Now while the King keepes close to Ego judicabo I will judge that which comes to me according unto right if inferiour Iudges which God forbid judge other than right they sinne against three at once and against God in all For first they sinne against the people by doing them wrong in stead of Iustice Secondly they sinne against their owne conscience not onely by calling but by sentencing Good Evill and Evill Good Thirdly they sinne against the King the fountaine of Iustice under God in slandering of his Iustice to the people with the administration whereof they are trusted under him And once againe for inferiour Governours of all sorts The King is the Sunne Hee drawes up some vapours some support some supply from us T' is true he must doe so For if the Sunne draw up no vapours it can powre downe no raine and the Earth may be too hard as well as too soft and too melting Now this Raine which descends and is first caused by the Sunne is prepared in the Clouds before it falleth on the Earth And all Great men that are raised higher than the rest especially Iudges Magistrates of all sorts they are the Clouds They receive the more immediate influence from the King and if they be Gods Clouds and retaine what he gave them they drop fatnesse upon the people But if they be clouds without water they transmit no influence If they be light clouds in the wind then no certaine influence If they be clouds driven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by a whirlewind then it is passionate and violent influence And the Clouds I hope are not I am sure should not be thus betweene the King and his People There is then Ego judicabo I will judge according unto right both for the King and all subordinate Magistrates under him But here 's Ego judicabo and I will judge according to right for God too For many of the Fathers will have this to be Gods speech or Davids in the person of God And then whatsoever men do with Iustice and Iudgement God comes two wayes in upon the judgements of men to review them For first God comes in when the Earth is melting by violence and injustice And then Gods Ego judicabo I will judge is either in Mercy to repaire the breaches to stay the melting of the State or else in Iudgement to punish the debasers of Iustice And this God sometimes doth in this life But if he doe it not here yet he never sailes to doe it at the last and finall Iudgement to which divers of the Fathers referre this passage of my Text. Secondly God comes in when the Seats of Iustice supreme and inferiour all are entire And then Gods Ego judicabo I will judge is alwayes to confirme and countenance the proceedings of Iustice and to blesse the instruments And my Text hath it full For it is not here said I will judge the cause onely or the men only whose cause it is or the Iudges onely that sentence the cause but Ego justitias I will judge the very Iudgements themselves how right or otherwise thy passe And then this must needs be to confirme honour them if they be just or to condemne and dissolve them if they be unjust rather than they shal melt or dissolve the State or somtimes to send a melting into that State in which Iustice is perverted Now howsoever men somtimes breake from their duty in judging according to right yet there can be no question of Gods proceedings He will be sure to judge all things and all men according
my Text A or Cum or Juxta or Apud vultum For the King needs all and God gives all For when he is once come to Tu laetificasti this joy begins at à vultu from his Countenance It goes on cum vultu in company with his Countenance It enlarges it selfe Iuxta vultum when it comes neere his Countenance And at the last it shall be made perfect apud vultum when it comes to his Countenance to vision And as Davids cares were great so God would answer them with degrees of joy For had God any more Faces than one as Ar. Mont. renders the Original Cum faciebus ejus he would hide none of them from David If any were more comfortable than other he shall see that And indeed though the Countenance of God be but one and the same yet it doth not looke joy upon all men But his Aspects to the creature are Planetary as it were and various And David is happy that in the midst of all these various turnes of Gods Countenance A and Cum and Iuxta and Apud we find not nor I hope never shall that disasterous Aspect of opposition which is contra against for then all joy were gone For if it should be Rex contra vultum Dei then it were all sinne and if it should be Vultus Dei contra Regem both which God forbid then it were all punishment In neither Joy in neither Blessing It is far better in my Text if we take care to hold it there Cum vultu with or in the favour of his Countenance Thirdly this joy begins at the King Laetificasti eum thou hast made him glad He must have the greatest care and therefore the joy must be first or chiefest in him and if you will take a view of my Text you will find Him excellently seated for the purpose for I find Eum that is David that is the King standing betweene Laetificasti and Gaudium as if God would have the Kings place knowne by joy on the right hand and joy on the left here God places the King this is his ordinance to season his cares therefore if any attempt to displace him to plunge him into griefe to make him struggle with difficulties it is a kind of Deposing him The care of Government should be eased not discomfited else doubtlesse God would never have placed David betweene Laetificasti and gaudium Joy and Joy And it is fit for the people especially the greater in their families to look to this that David may keep Inter laetificasti gaudium the place where God hath set him for when all is done and the braine weary of thinking this will be found true They cannot hold their places in gaudio in joy if David sit not sure in his and it is an excellent observation made by Cassiodore a Senator he was and Secretary of State to Theodoricus and after a most strict and devoted Christian He makes all sad that endeavours not the Kings joy Et omnes affligit qui Regi aliquid necessarium subtrahit And he afflicts all men that withholds necessaries from the King And certainly it is the glory of a State to keep David upright where God sets him and that you see is Inter laetificasti gaudiū between Joy and Joy where God ever keep Him and His. And now I am come to the second generall of the Text the Reason both of the Thing and the Meanes of the Honour and the Manner of Gods laying it upon Kings And the Reason is Quia sperat because the King puts his trust in the Lord. In which may it please you to observe three circumstances The first of these is the Vertue it selfe which God first gave the Prophet and for which he after gave him a blessing to the People and joy in himselfe The Vertue is Hope that Hope in the Lord. Now Hope followes the nature of Faith and such as the Faith is such is the Hope Both must be in Domino in the Lord or neither can be true And it is in a sort with the denyall of Hope in any Creature That the Hope which is founded upon God alone I say alone as the prime Author may be firme and not divided Nulli hominum fidens trusting upon no man is Theodoret. Not in Armies nor in riches nor in any strength of man is Euthymius Not in sword nor speare nor shield but in the name of the Lord of Hosts is David himselfe 1 Reg. 17. And David could not lay better hold any where For since before all lies upon God Tu dedisti and Tu laetificasti Thou hast given and Thou hast made glad where could any man fasten better And indeed the words are a reciprocall proofe either to other For because God gives David hopes and because David hopes God gives more abundantly Honour Blessing and Joy It is in the Text Quia sperat even because he trusts Secondly Is Trust then and relying upon God a matter of such consequence that it alone stands as a cause of these Yes Hope Trust rightly laid upon God have ever been in his children loco meriti in stead of merit And what ever may be thought of this Hope it is a Kings vertue in this place And Thomas proves it That Hope is necessary for all men but especially for Princes And the more trust in God Honoratior Princeps the more honour hath the King as Apollinarius observes it And therefore Hope is not here a naked expectation of somewhat to come but it is Hope and the ground of Hope Faith as some later Divines thinke not amisse And Faith embraces the Veritie of God as well as the Promises made upon it And this was right For so God promised and so David beleev'd he would perform 2 Reg. 7. 29. And since we have found Faith and Hope in this action of Trusting God as our English well expresses it let us never seeke to shut out Charitie And if Faith Hope and Charity bee together as they love to goe then you may understand the Text Quia Sperat because he Hopes de toto cultu of the entire worship of God For as S. Isidor observes in all inward worship which is the heart of Religion are these three Faith Hope and Charity And in the most usuall phrase of Scripture though not ever scarce one of these is named but all are understood to be present and if so then because he trusts is as much as Quia colit because he worships So at last we are come to the cause indeed why God set David for such a Blessing to his people why he filled him with such joy of his countenance and all was Quia cultor because he was such a religious worshiper It is in the Text then that a Kings Religion is a great cause of his happinesse The greatest Politicians that are have confessed thus farre that some Religion is necessary to make a King a
David as Davids was now at Jerusalem A built A furnished A strong an honourable House I know you would You are a Noble a most Loyall People Why then I will not take upon me to teach but onely to remember you of the way The way is Am I out No sure The way is to set David once upon his owne feet to make him see the strength of the house which God hath given him to fill him with joy and contentment in his peoples love to adde of your oyle to make him a cheerefull countenance now that God hath anointed him with the oyle of gladnesse over you that in a free Estate he may have leisure from Home-Cares every way to intend the good and welfare of his people and to blesse God for them and them in God And for David God hath blessed him with many royall Vertues And above the rest with the knowledge that his House is a foundation A foundation of his people and of all the justice that must preserve them in unity and in happinesse But t is Domus ejus His House still even while t is your foundation And never feare him for God is with him He will not depart from Gods service nor from the honourable care of his people nor from wise managing of his treasure He will never undermine his owne house nor give his people just cause to be jealous of a shaking foundation And here in the presence of God and his blessed Angels as well as of you which are but dust and ashes I discharge the true thoughts of my heart and flatter not And now my Dread Soveraigne upon you it lyes to make good the thoughts of your most devoted Servant Thus you have seene as short a Mapp as I could draw of Ierusalem She was famous for her unity and blessed too when it was within her selfe Shee was famous for her Religion and devout too when all the Tribes went up to the Arke of the Testimony to give thanks to the name of the Lord. She was famous for Justice and successfull too both at home and against forreigne enemies when the Seates of Judgement Ecclesiasticall and Civill were all as their severall natures beare founded upon the House of David This Ierusalem of ours is now at unitie in it selfe And I see here Capita Tribuum the Heads and Leaders of the Tribes and People of the Lord come up and present in his Temple I would to God they were all here that with one heart and one mouth we might all pray unto God for all his blessings to come down and dwell in the House of David and to rest upon this great and honourable Councell ready to sit You are come up to begin at the Temple of the Lord. The Arke was wholly Ceremoniall that 's not here But the Testimonie of Israel the Law yea and a better Law than that the Law of Grace and of Christ that 's here Here it is and open ready to teach the feare of the Lord which is the beginning of all wisdome Psal 111. In this Law you can read nothing but service to God and obedience to the House of David And so you find them joyned 1 S. Pet. 2. Feare God and honour the King And 't is a strange Fallacie in Religion for any man to dishonour the King and to make that a proofe that he feares God To the Temple and the Testimony you are come up When God would give Moses more speciall direction he declared himselfe from the Mercy-seat which was on the Arke Exod. 25. The Mercy-seat was wholly Ceremoniall as the Arke was on which it stood that is the Seate Ceremonie but the Mercy Substance And though the Seat be gone with Moses yet I hope God hath not left will never leave to appeare in Mercy to the House of David and this wise Councell If he appeare in mercy I fear nothing If he appeare otherwise there will be cause to feare all things And the way to have God appeare in mercy is for both King and People not onely to come to the Temple that 's but the outside of Religion but also to obey the Law the Testimonie Judgement went out from God lately and it was fierce How many thousands strong men which might have been a wall about Jerusalem hath the Pestilence swept away But his mercy soone overtook his Judgement For when did the eye of man behold so strange and sodaine abatement of so great Mortality A great argument that he will now appeare in Mercie And I cannot tell which hath got the better in the vie Your Honour or Your Religion that you have made suchhast to bring the Tribes to the Temple to give thanks to the name of the Lord for this The first Lesson of this dayes Evening prayer is Exod. 18. There 's the Story of Iethro's counsell to Moses for assistance of inferiour Officers This was not the beginning of that great and parliamentary Councell which after continued successefull in the State of the Iewes For that was set after by GOD himselfe Numb 11. yet I make no great doubt but that the ease which Moses found by that Councell made him apt to see what more he needed and so farre at least occasioned the settling of the Sanhedrim I take the omen of the day and the Service of the Church to blesse it That our David may be as happy in this and all other Sessions of Parliament as their Moses was in his Councell of the Elders That the King and his people may now and at all like times meete in love consult in wisedome manage their Counsell with temper entertaine no private businesse to make the publike suffer And when their consultation is ended part in the same love that should ever bring King and People together And let us pray That our Ierusalem both Church and State which did never but flourish when it was at unitie it selfe may now and ever continue in that Vnity and so bee ever successefull both at home and abroad That in this unity the Tribes of the Lord even all the Families and Kindreds of his people may come up to the Church to pray and prayse and give thankes unto him That no Tribe or Person for any pretences for they are no better may absent themselves from the Church and Testimony of the Lord. That the Seates of Iudgement Ecclesiasticall and Civill af all sorts may not only be set but set firmely to administer the justice of God and the King unto his people That all men may reverence and obey the House of David who it selfe upon God is the foundation of all these blessings That God would mutually blesse David and this People That so the People may have cause to give thankes to God for David And that David may have cause to take joy in the love and loyalty of his people and blesse God for both Till from this Jerusalem and this Temple and these Thrones Hee and wee all
maintaines nothing contrary to the Analogie of faith nothing that hinders the context nothing that crosses any determination of the Church nay since there is in it more piety to God more duty to himselfe more instruction to his Sonne and more good example to other Kings that the prayer begin at himselfe I will take the prayer as I find it in the very words of the Psalme to be a prayer first for David and then for his Sonne and so proceed Well then Davids prayer here is first for himselfe we shall come to his Sonne after And he is an excellent example to Kings in this for the first thing that makes prayer necessary absolutely necessary for a King is himselfe that a superiour hand even Gods hand would set and keepe him right whom so many inferiour hands labour to set awry I but what need the King to pray for himselfe he wants no prayers whom all the people pray for Indeed it is true the people are bound to pray for their King 1 Tim. 2. and I make no doubt but that the people performe this duty as they are bound since it is a tribute which by the Law of God they ought to pay and David so great and so good a King had out of question the prayers of all his people both for himselfe and his sonne yet for all that you shall find David at his prayers for himselfe too And certainly there is great reason for it for of all acts of Charity this of Prayer is aptest to begin at home It is true indeed the King ought to have the prayers of his people and that man cannot deserve so much as the name of a Christian that prayes not heartily for the King because that is not the Kings good onely but the peoples way to lead a life in godlinesse and honesty 1 Tim. 5. Therefore that man that makes no conscience of praying for the King let him pretend what he can he must be presumed to have as little care of all godlinesse and honesty I but though the King ought to have the prayers of his people yet in the performance of their duty I read not of any dispensation the King hath to neglect his owne not to pray for himselfe If he be a King like David he must be a King at his prayers too especially in those great things that concerne the King that concerne the Kingdome that concerne his Son and his succession to his kingdome there he of necessity must pray for himselfe He may joy in his peoples prayers there but he must pray for himselfe too And God be ever blessed for it you have a King that is daily at his prayers both for himselfe and for you yet here I pray take this along with you that as it is the peoples duty to pray for the King and that takes not off their King to pray for himselfe So on the contrary side the Kings religious care in praying for himselfe is so far from lessening that it augments the obligation of the people to pray for the King And when both pray the King for himselfe and the people for the King God will not refuse their prayers And the prayer granted though it fall first upon the head of the King as good reason it should yet it becomes as Aarons oyle Psal 133. for it runs to the skirts of all his people so that they have the benefit both of their own and of his prayer I will never misdoubt the piety of this nation in the performing this duty of which both here and in all places they are met this day to make publick proofe For the person that keeps close to this duty among many others he shall be sure of this one great blessing he cannot fall into the opposite sinne of murmuring against the King David the King in the text he had faithfull and religious people yet there was a Shimei among them that in stead of praying for the King cursed and reviled him 2 Sam. 16. David was very patient but I pray remember what Solomon the Kings Sonne did to Shimei 2 King 2. remember that and if the memory of his punishment would affright other men from running into this blasphemous iniquity all would soon be well We are to consider in the next place to whom it is here that the Prophet prayes and that is exprest A deo Give the King thy judgements O God Doe thou give And as this is all mens duty so it it is the duty of the King too among the rest to goe in prayer to God and to God alone Therefore Damascene puts God into the very difinition of prayer Prayer saith that Father is petitio decentium à deo the asking of those things that are fit to be asked of God For prayer is one of the greatest pats of divine worship so great that Parmatius disputing against Sermonian takes prayer for the whole entire worship of God No Pope can dispense with King or people either not to pray or not to pray to God but Saints or Angels As for their distinctions they are all new the antient Church knew them not though these have their use sometimes yet they are a great deale too nice to be used in prayer that is so essentiall a part of divine worship And you have great cause againe to blesse and magnifie God for a King so constant in religion so devout in prayer so direct in his devotion to God alone as he hath ever shewed himselfe to be and God for his mercy sake ever hold him there And indeed to whom should he or any of you goe in prayer but to God for none can give but he nor none can blesse or preserve that that is given but he If the King look to have his Throne established to himselfe or his Son after him he must go to God for the setling of it or else it will shake then when he thinkes it surest And since God hath proclaimed it himselfe By me Kings reigne Prov. 8. Princes have reason to looke up to him that they may reign by him since against him nay without him they cannot reigne To God then the King goes by prayer But al this is lost except we know for what And that followes next in the text It is for Judgement It is indeed for all that a Kingdome is but principally for judgement First because under God that is the establishing of the Kings Throne Prov. 25. Secondly because that is one of the Kings maine vertues for the ordering of his people for they cannot have their well-being but by justice and judgement Therefore in the Common Law of this Kingdome justice is rightly styled The supporter of the Common-wealth I will not fill your ears with curiosities nor trouble you with disputes wherein this judgement desired for the King and this justice and righteousnesse for the Kings Sonne differ one from another I know they differ in Schoole learning Judgement standing usually for the habite Justice
Circumcision and a paring off round about of heated and unruly affections in the handling of differences And there must be a Circumcision and a paring off of foolish and unlearned Questions yea and of many Modal too such as are fitter to engender strife than godlinesse 2 Tim. 2. or no peace This is the way and no other that I know to see Jerusalem flourish as a City at unity within it selfe both for State and Church The second praise of Jerusalem is from the Religion of it For thither the Tribes goe up even the Tribes of the Lord to the Testimonie of Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord. Jerusalem is very right now At unity and Religious Oh that It had knowne the day of its visitation and continued so Luk. 19. For at this time the Tribes went up to the Temple It begins well for to the Temple to the Church to the consecrated place of Gods service is one of the best journies men of all sorts can make And you may give a shrewd guesse at the devotion of the time by the frequenting of the Church And this their publike comming to worship at the Temple was Gods expresse commandement Exod. 23. Therefore assembling and meeting at publike service in the Church is no humane Institution but from God himselfe Nor is this Ceremony Jewish or Ambulatory to cease with the Law and that Temple but omnino perpetuum altogether permanent in the Church of Christ Christians must to the Church and place of service too Why but what are they to doe when they come there What why Jerusalem was right here too They did give thanks to the name of the Lord and there 'T is no good signe when men are to seeke what they should doe when they come to Church Yet if any man be ignorant my Text will informe him men are there now to doe as they did then to give thanks to the name of the Lord. The 70. and the Vulgar have it To confesse to the name of the Lord. It comes all to one For be the word Thanke or Confesse it stands here expressive of the whole Liturgie of all the publike externall Service of God All which if it be not accompanyed with the inward service of the heart is worth nothing So they went to the Temple as we must goe to the Church to confesse to pray to worship to praise to give thanks to God which even under the Law was preferred before Sacrifice it selfe Psal 50. Nor may the wisdome of the world think that to pray and to give thanks to God are void actions For what ever worldlings think the Church doth great service to the State while it prayes And it is no hard thing to prove this out of those Politicians themselves which have given the world just cause to think they wrapped up God in their pocket when they went to counsel For their great Master confesseth that not a few but many things happen to States ex fato urgente out of such a pressing destiny that they cannot be prevented though the remedies be obvious and at hand And is it so Why then where is the wisdome of the Wise 1 Cor. 1. Is it not confounded out of question ' t is For ye see the remedy is acknowledged to be at hand and yet not found This purblind wisdome cannot see it But to come home to him This Fatum urgens what ere it be if there be a remedy and at hand it may be prevented 'T is true it cannot by worldly wisdome onely For nisi Dousinus except the Lord keepe the City all other watchfulnesse is in vaine Psal 127. But then allow God that which is fit for him due to him The highest roome at the Councell-Table hee 'l quickly divert this Fatum urgens this pressing necessity The time was when Ruine was travelling so fast toward Nineve that it came within 40. dayes of the City Ion. 3. And it was fatum urgens it came on apace Did any wiseman of that State discover that danger secure a remedy Not a man The Prophet preached the danger and Devotion as blind as 't is thought stumbled upon the Remedy Prayer and Repentance things with which worldly wisdome hath little to doe And therefore to pray and give thankes are no empty Actions for the State Well then To pray To praise To worship To give thanks here 's a great deale of service mentioned to God and yet sure no more than needs But in the antient Church of the Iewes was there no Reading no Preaching of the Law to informe people Yes out of question They heard Moses the Prophets in their Synagogues every Sabbath day Acts 13. yea and in the Temple too if S. Basil be right But marke then The Originall Copy of the Law The word of God written in Tables of Stone was in the Temple at Ierusalem And there the Priests which were to judge according to the Law Deut. 17. This Law they might and did expound but they might not crosse with it No preaching in their severall Synagogues and Parishes that I may so terme them but was according to the Law conteined in the Arke at the Temple the Mother Church And 't was fit For if every man may preach as he list though he pretend the Law and the Gospell too Ierusalem will be quickly out of unity in it selfe And if they leave comming to the Arke and the Testimony the world will soone have as many differences in Religion as there be yong ignorant and bold Priests in Parishes Now there was a double Testimony and Convention between God and the people The Law was the witnesse and covenant on Gods part with the people And that the people should come and tender their homage and obedience to God and the Law that was the Testimony and the Covenant of the people with God Deut. 16. God he promised to be present at the Arke Exod. 25. and he performed it Num. 7. And so God is alwayes ready at his end of the Covenant All the feare is we fall short and come not as we should either to heare Gods Testimony to us or to give Testimony to the world by our obedience And herein as in all things else Christ be mecifull that brought mercie into the Covenant And you may observe too that this comming to the Temple to pray and to worship is called here by the Prophet an Ascent or going up Ascenderunt and an Ascent it is It was fitted in the Letter For the Temple at Ierusalem was built upon mount Moriah no going up to it but by an Ascent And 't is fit in regard of the Materiall Church now For how low soever the situation of any of them be yet 't is motus sursum upward still and towards heaven to frequent the Church And 't is fit in regard of the whole Militant Church That 's an Ascent too to come out of Paganisme
compare their strength and the burden and the difference of the burden at severall times therefore while they compare they are sensible of the difference betweene supporting of earth and Terrae liquefactae dissolved or dissolving the earth For this latter is heavier a great deale therefore in the difference they can tell where they are likeliest to shrinke under the burden if God come not in to beare them up And in all these cases and many more the Pillars of the earth must goe to God as fast as the Inhabitants of the earth come to them They must pray for themselves And the Church and the people must pray for them too And the cloze of the prayers must still bee that God would beare up the Pillars that they may be able to beare up the earth And for the honour of Kings and their great assistants marke it God doth not say here I beare up the Earth and the Inhabitants of it though he doth that too and they cannot subsist without him but as if he had quite put them over to the King and the great Governours under him he saith I bear up the pillars and then I look and will require of them that they beare up the State and the people Let me speake a little boldly saith Gr. Naz. Shew your selves gods to your Subjects gods and no lesse Gods why then you must doe Gods worke And Gods work ever since the Creation is to preserve and beare up the world Therefore as God beares up you so you must beare up the Earth and the people God reteins his own power over you but he hath given you his owne power over them Rom. 13. His own power and that is to beare up the people at home and in all just quarrels to force enemies abroad And in all this 't is Gods power still but yet he will exercise it by the Pillars Therefore in the first great leading of his people himselfe went before them in the forme of a pillar Exod. 13. And when he smote the armie of Egypt he looked out of the pillar while he strook it Exod. 14. And because this was an extraordinary pillar and therefore can be no principle for ordinary conclusions Hee makes Moses which was the ordinary pillar not beare onely but strike too He must stretch out his hand upon the Sea Exod. 14. Now this great worke of God in supporting the pillars Kings and mighty Potentates of the Earth is so manifest that no reason can be brought to deny it First in that the wisest and mightiest Kings that ever were have been in their severall times most religious Secondly in that even those kings and great men under them which have not accounted God their strength have yet thought it necessary to beare the world in hand that they did relye upon God to beare them up And this is a full proofe that this principle is naturally printed in the heart of man that God is Basis Columnarum the foundation of the pillars Thirdly in that very many times weaker Governours both for wisdome and courage doe prosper and performe greater workes than some which in themselves had farre greater abilities and a more provident counsell about them A famous instance of this is Pope Julius 2. To ascribe this to Fortune onely worldly wisdome it selfe would condemne for folly To give it to Destinie is to bind up God in chaines unworthy for men For worldly wisdome knows this that God in his workes ad extra must be most free or no God To worldly wisdome it selfe it cannot be ascribed For she hath openly disclaimed many of their Actions which have prospered best Therefore of necessitie it must be ascribed to Gods blessing and protecting them And certainly there 's no true reason can be given of it but this First Ego confirmo I establish and beare up the Pillars For so long the world cannot shake them And secondly Ego apto I make fit the Pillars as Tremel reades it for so long they beare even above their strength And out of doubt there is very much in the fitting of the Pillars 'T is not the great massinesse of a Pillar but the cleane and true working of him that makes him beare the fitting of him in time and to his place And here as for many other so especially for two things we have great cause to blesse and magnifie God First that since he would remove our Royall Pillar which had stood now under the weight of this Government full 22. yeeres yet he would not doe it till he had prepared another and brought him to full strength to beare up this Kingdome to Gods great honour and his owne Secondly that by Gods great blessing and his Royall Fathers prudent education he is and was from the first houre confirmata Columna an established and a setled Pillar And I make no question but aptata Columna too A Pillar every way fitted to the State he beares fitted to the difficulties of the time fitted to the State and fitted to the Church Now the Church no question for the externall support of it hath need great need of Temporall Pillars too At this time a great Pillar of this Church is falne and doubtlesse a great part of the edifice had falne with it if God had not made supply of another and a very able Pillar I finde Gen. 28. that there was an Anoynted Pillar that it was anoynted by Jacob. The place was Bethel the house of God In it the Ladder of heaven by which the Angels goe and come But out of doubt this Pillar is here This Pillar not yet anoynted by the hand of the Priest but anointed already to the inheritance and by the blessing of Jacob. The place where Jacob left him behind is the Church of God and he left him a Pillar for so he rested on him and well he might Old Jacob is gone by the Angels way to heaven but he left the Pillar here behind at Bethel for the house of God And all the blessings of Heaven and Earth be upon him all the dayes of his life The Church in all times of her dissensions when schisme and faction have made great Rents in her buildings hath still had recourse to her Pillars to her Civil her Ecclesiasticall Pillars and she goes right For her Pillars must support her or she cannot be borne up This very time is a time of Church division What follows upon it what why the Church is become Terra liquefacta there 's melting almost in every part of it Christendome through melting in all places but not at the same Fire For in one place Truth melts away from the doctrine of the Church In another devotion and good life melt away from the practice of the Church In a third all externall meanes and necessary supply melts away from the maintenance of the Church And but that I know Hell gates cannot prevail against it it melts so fast
as it were to the maintenance of it himselfe partly because some men will not and some men cannot defend his Cause And partly because it must be judged at some Tribunall Now there lye many appeales in the cause of God And all appeale is to a superiour Court The highest is Gods Therefore when Malice and Tyranny hath done what it can to Gods cause if his Servants do but Appeale as they ever doe The Cause must in the end revolve to God himselfe who alone hath no superiour Yet his very Enemies need not feare For he will so pleade and judge his owne Cause that their owne Consciences shall tell them his Judgement 's right Now one thing which layes a kinde of necessity upon God to maintaine his owne cause is as I told you that some Men will not and some men cannot maintain it I finde both these touched in the Text. First they that will not For these words Arise O God and maintaine thine own Cause are a grievous taxe upon all them to whom God hath given meanes and ability yet will not stir to succour his cause For 't is as if he had said Men will not maintaine thy cause If thou wilt have it defended thou must do it thy selfe The Jewes it seemes were now very guilty of this else the Prophet would never have runne with that earnestnesse to God He would have prayed to God had Men been never so willing yes God forbid else but had they done their duty the extremity had not beene fear'd And marke and tremble at the curse of God which was called for upon some of that People for this sinne Judge 5. Curse ye Meroz saith the Angel of the Lord curse the Inhabitants thereof Why because they came not up to helpe the Lord to helpe the Lord against the mighty To helpe the Lord. Why What cause of God was this What Why 't was his cause of Warre against Sisera as appeares Judg. 4. Against Sisera yet to helpe the Lord. And certainly 't is a great and grievous errour in any People as well as in Israel and in any age of the world as well as in that to fast and pray and call upon God to Arise and Maintaine his cause and their owne joyn'd with it if in the meane time they will put nor hand nor purse to maintaine either their owne or Gods Their owne in the State Or Gods in the Church These Men perhaps are of Tiberius his minde Deorum injuriae Diis curae And what that Oracle meant when he writ so to the Senate whether It belongs to God to vindicate his owne cause Or God will be sure to doe it Or let his cause sinke if he will not defend it I am not certaine This I am sure of God can defend himselfe sine Patrocinio nostro without any aide of ours But yet if we come not in to helpe when the Cause of God is deposited with us the feare is and 't is Just that God will Maintaine his cause and leave us to maintaine our owne Secondly They that cannot For these words Arise O God Maintaine thine owne cause imply disability in Man as well as malice For 't is as if he had said Men cannot at all times maintaine thy cause If thou wilt have it defended thou must doe it thy selfe And this is true of the strongest of the Sonnes of Men if they be left to themselves But this though it puts us in more feare yet it makes us not halfe so guilty For Guilt followes malice more then Impotency And our weakenesse and disability is such that we are not able to hold up against so many and great Enemies as the cause of God hath This was the case of Hezekiah He durst not trust to himselfe and his owne strength against the Host of Assiria Therefore to his Prayers he went 4 Reg. 19. O Lord God do thou save us out of his hand which is all one with the Text Arise and maintain thine owne cause But I pray take this with you When Hezekiah pray'd thus the People were in Armes No deserting the cause though no selfe-ability could hold it up But what Enemies had the cause of God then or hath it at this day that such earnest prayers were then and are now made that God would Arise and maintaine it Doe you aske what Enemies I 'le tell you Perhaps I shall not be able to tell you all But what my Text tells me I 'le shew you First the Text tells me the Enemies that came up against Gods cause were fierce and got some hope of Advantage Implyed in this that the Israelites were faine to call for maintenance had supply against them Next the Text tels me these Enemies were thought too cunning and too strong for Israil to whom the defence of Gods Cause was then committed Implyed in this that they were faine to flie to God and call him in to his owne defence A signe that all seconds were too weak Thirdly the Enemies were many and not like to be beaten or mastered at once And that 's expressed ver 20. A multitude of Enemies And last of all they were as cruel as strong and numerous For so we read ver 5. Where they are called Roaring Enemies A name which ever had some affinitie with the Devil 1 S. Peter 5. So in all likelyhood nothing remain'd but to get God to be absent and then they might easily swallow his People and his Cause together To prevent this was the Prophets prayer and so it is ours this day For so the Psalme begins O God considering how thy cause is streitned Wherefore art thou absent from us so long And it ends at Arise and maintaine thy Cause against them And the forme of the Prophets Prayer is very confiderable too and a great example to the Church of Christ The Prayer is that God would arise and maintaine his Cause The first thing the Prophet aimes at is the Cause the equity and right that belongs to it not the respect it had to Persons And this out of question is the way of Justice to honour the person for the Cause not to esteeme the cause of the person Now men for the most part goe a crosse way to this and therefore when they will come into the way of Justice I cannot tell For usually all businesse is sided into parties 'T is no matter for the Cause let who will maintaine that simply for it selfe If it make for us and our party so farre we will maintaine it else be it Gods cause or whose it will whether it sink or swim it shall not trouble us And I doubt as the practice of too many men is so is their Prayer For the Faction and the Party all not the Cause either as 't is Gods the Churches or the States And parties are ever private ends The Cause as 't is Gods the Churches or the Kingdoms is ever common ever fit to be
made the Object of our Prayers Yet this advantage may here be had If ever you may safely prefer the person before the cause and yet be just you may doe it here God before his owne cause And the reason is because God as he can never tender an unjust cause to his People so is he Justice it selfe And ever juster than any cause of his that is without him Therefore whatsoever others doe Arise O God and maintaine thy selfe and thine owne cause Maintaine it even from Heaven there 's no great trust to the Earth for that is full of darknesse and cruel habitations ver 21. Now all this while we have almost forgotten who 't is that makes this Prayer Saint Hierom tels me and he is not alone in the opinion the Psalme was Davids and therefore the Prayer too As a Prophet he foresaw the danger and as a King he went on directly to the highest remedy And though Kings now are not Prophets yet 't is a great blessing upon any Kingdome to have the King a Seer so farre as is possible To have him with both eyes open His right eye open and up to heaven for God to maintaine him And his other eye downwards but open upon his People to take care of them and maintaine them with the same support that he hath received from God And herein above other Nations we are blesed this day I say againe Above other Nations if we can see our blessing and be thankefull For the King keepes his eye as steddy upon God as if he had no helpe below him And yet at the same time as gracious an eye upon his People to relieve their just grievances as if he were more ready to helpe them than to receive helpe from them Let not your hearts be troubled neither feare S. Joh. 14. Here are two Kings at once at Prayer for you David and your owne King They are up and calling upon God to Arise For shame Lagge not behinde God and your King You have been and I hope are a valiant Nation let nothing dead your spirits in Gods and your Countries Service And if any man drop malignant poyson into your Eares powre it back into his owne bosom And Sir as you were first up and summon'd the Church to awake and have sounded an Alarum in the Eares of your People Not that they should Fast and Pray and serve God alone but goe with you into the House of the Lord so goe on to serve your Preserver Your Merit and the Noblenesse of your heart will glew the hearts of your People to you And your Religious care of Gods cause and service will make him I doubt not Arise and haste to the maintenance of your Cause as of his owne Onely in these and all times of difficulty be strong and of a good courage keepe close to the Law of the Lord. Be full of Counsell and then resolute to Act it Else if you shall not be firme to deliberated Counsells they which are bound to serve you may seeke and finde opportunities to serve themselves upon you This doe and God Arise and be with you as he was with Moses Jos 1. This doe and as S. Chrysost speakes Aut non habebis Inimicum aut irridebis eum Either you shall have no Enemy or you shall be able to scorne him the world over The second thing which the Prophet would have God doe when he is risen is that he would Remember how the foolish man blasphemeth him daily The Enemies of Gods Truth and of the peace of his People it seemes doe not onely seek to overthrow his Cause but base and uncivilly irreligious as they are they fly upon his Person too For so you see the Text changes from the Thing to the Person Maintain thy cause but remember the Reproach runs against thy selfe They blaspheme thee And by this you may see how dangerous a thing it is for any Men or any States to become Enemies to the Cause of God For sinne will not stay till it have wrought them farther even into enmity against God himselfe And therefore this sin here a high and a presumptuous sin is not called the presumption of them that hate Gods Cause but of them which hate God himselfe ver 24. Presumption easily falls to Reproach goodnesse it selfe But what Reproach is it these Enemies cast upon God What Why 't was in the highest degree 'T was Blasphemy For so Saint Basil renders my Text. And so 't is called againe Ver. 11. 19 You may be sure the Prophet mistook it not It went not single there were more than one and Theodoret calls them Execrations Cursings and Revilings of God And men of all sorts as well as usurping Enemies had need be watchfull over this sinne For a man may quickly be within the borders â—o it before he be aware especially â—â—he be bold and busie with the Cause of God as it is reserved and secret in himselfe For since all Blasphemy is a Derogation of some Excellencie chiefly in God the Schoole collects and truly That whosoever denies to God any attribute that is due unto him or affirmes any of God that is not agreeable to his Nature is within the Confines of Blasphemy Entred though perhaps not so farre gone But these Enemies it seems stuck at no degree of Blasphemy Spared God himselfe no more than his Cause And what reason can this State of Church have to thinke these Enemies or their like that spared not God nor his Cause will if they have power enough spare them or theirs But I pray who or what manner of Enemy was it that made thus bold with God Who why my Text answers that too Stultus fuit it was the foolish Man And you may know so much by his boldnesse We find Psal 14. There was a Foole that blasphemed God But 't was in his heart Out of his mouth he durst not let it goe not once And this Foole was in the same feare at first For his Blasphemy kept in his heart ver 9. But now he was grown impudent it brake out at his Lipps For as S. Basil and others observe he did Palam maledicere Blaspheme at large The Prophet no question knew these Enemies what they were that they had other names beside Fools But he fits them with their Name of Merit That they deserved that he gives them I told you these Enemies were cunning subtill Enemies And 't is true But Malignity against Gods cause and Blasphemy against his Person will make the greatest Wisdome in the world turne Foole. And Follie dares adventure any thing against Man Nay against God too which is alike true of the Foole at home and the Foole abroad The Prophet pray'd against their Enemies as we doe now against ours O my God make them as a wheele Psal 83. And see in what a wheele they are The worst that ever moved For their Blasphemy
carries their Wisdome round into Folly And their Folly turnes their malice round into higher degrees of Blasphemy Thus is this Enemy no sooner a Blasphemer but a Foole And no sooner a Foole but a greater Blasphemer So Blasphemy is punished with Folly and Folly with Blasphemy There 's the wheele both in the sin and the punishment And I pray observe These Enemies that beset Gods Cause at Jerusalem were a Nation And so some reade here Not the Foolish man but the Foolish People And a powerfull Nation they were were they Babilonians Syrians or Romanes And one of them they were And yet you see the Prophet gives them no other no better name then Fool when they violently persecute Gods Cause Indeed they deserve it And this Sinne is as able to Foole a whole Nation as a particular Man Nay the holy Ghost here speakes of them as of one Man As if Blasphemie could change a whole Nation into one Foole. And surely 't is no hard thing with God to make the wisdome of the whole world foolishnesse 1 Cor. 1. And 't is as easie with him to confound the wisdome of a whole Nation as of one Achitophell And see I beseech you how their sinnes continue Once a Foole in this kinde and an Enemie to Gods Cause and a Blasphemer of his Person ever after without a great deale of mercy And this is noted in the circumstance Tota Die and Quotidie Daily and all the day long at this Blasphemy And 't is usuall this with Enemies All the day For their studdy is upon it And every day For these Enemies were the same in Blasphemy The day of their preparation The day of their Fight and the day of their Victory And Ruffinus observes that this Blasphemy grew in the continuance And either it derided God in his Servants or it menaced men for serving God How it flatter'd it selfe there while against both Man and God is thus farre apparent in the Text That they never durst have beene daily Blaspemers against God if they had not beene Opinators at least that God could never have maintained and made good his cause against them It is too much to see the cause of God opposed To heare the name of GOD Blasphemed were it but once But all the day long and every day is a Tentation almost unsupportable to Christian and religious hearts Yet this we must be Inur'd to heare against King and Church and God himselfe if we take not better course than hitherto we have done to keepe out the Enemy and his Blaspehmy Against this 't was time for the Prophet and 't is time for us to pray The Blasphemy of an Enemie is a very urgent Motive to make Men pray And the Prayer of the Prophet here that God would remember the Blasphemer was very fervent For he begins this Prayer at Remember the Rebuke of the Enemy ver 20. And he ends his Prayer with Remember the Blasphemy of this Fool ver 23. Remember and forget it not ver 24. This was the Prophet's Zeale for Gods Cause and you may learne by it that cold Prayers are not they which remove the Blasphemy of Enemies The Prayers indeed of but one righteous Man doth much but 't is when they are fervent Saint Jaco 5. But you will say What needes all this calling upon God to Remember Is it possible he should forget not possible certainely But then as before Though God cannot sleepe Yet to awaken not him but our poore understanding concerning him the Prayer was Arise O God So here though God cannot forget yet because in his providence he sometimes carries himselfe to our sense and apprehension Ad modum obliviscentis as if he did forget and threatens that he will forget Oblivione obliviscar eorum Ose 1. Forgeting I will forget them Therefore here againe the Prayer runnes after the manner of men Arise O Lord yes and Remember too Why but since here 's Enmity against the Cause of God and Blasphemy against himself why doth the Prophet aske no more of God but that he would Remember this Why why certainly 't is because there 's abundantly enough of that He knew if God did Remember he would punish And as S. Jerome observes hee therefore Remembers that he may confound in Judgement And indeede in Gods Language to Marke and Remember is many times to punish and not to Remember is to forgive sinne If thou Lord shouldest be extreme to marke and observe that is to punish What is done amisse Psal 130. And the Church hath learn'd not onely to speake but to pray of the Prophet For so the Church prayes in the Letany Not punish not but Remember not Lord our offences And therefore the Prophets Prayer was home enough Remember Lord Yes doe but that and we either have or shall have enough and our enemies too We I hope of deliverance and preservation and they of punishment Thus you have heard the Prophets prayer and I hope made your owne that God would Arise and bestir himselfe And what he desired God would doe both for State and Church when he was Risen that is That he would plead and maintaine his owne Cause And Remember that is punish in his owne time the Blasphemy of all them that reproach or detract from it or him One thing yet remaines and 't is fit to be thought upon this day every day all the day long And that is what it it is that makes God a Protector of any King any State any Nationall Church against either in-bred or forraine Enemies Against the Fox at home and the Lion abroad And that certainly is for the State to goe on with Honour and Iustice And for the Church to labour Devotion as much at least if not more then knowledge For else Gods Cause and ours may be two And then God may Arise and maintaine his owne but leave us to the Famine to the Pestilence to the Sword to any other Judgement The onely way to make God Arise as soone as ever we call Nay to prevent our call and come in to helpe before we pray is for both King and People State and Church to weave their Cause and Gods together To incorporate them so that no cunning of the Devil may be able to separate them For then the benefit is apparent God cannot Arise and maintaine his owne cause but he must maintaine ours too because 't is one with his And his owne doubt you not he will maintaine against the proudest Enemy that can come against it And certainly the greatest hope and confidence of Gods Assistance to any Nation to any Man that can precede deliverance it selfe is to make their Cause all one with Gods And that is done by upholding his and conforming theirs Our safety then is when our cause is one with Gods Our danger when they differ But what is it that puts the difference between them What why that which put the
first Enmity betweene God and Man Sinne. And therefore if we wil quit the Enmity and be made friends the onely way to reconcile us with God and our Cause with his is by Faith and Repentance to banish Sinne. The sooner this is done the sooner we are safe which cannot be till our Cause be one with Gods One and yet when 't is one the preheminence is still with Gods Cause we must not suffer ours to step on before him For our Cause as 't is spirituall and concernes our soules if it be never so good never so close joyned with God's yet God's is to have the precedence For be ours never so good I must beg of your humility to Remember that Gods Grace did both prevent and follow to make it so And therefore we are to put his cause first and to pray chiefly for the maintenance of that which gave worth to ours And for our cause as 't is temporall and concernes this life onely Our safety life and lively-hood Gods cause is to have the precedence of that much more Father and Mother Wife and Children Brethren and Sisters Life and all must be accounted as nothing to Gods Cause S. Luke 14. And it hath ever beene a signe that the soule of a man goes right That a whole People keepe upon Gods path when they seeke first the Kingdome of GOD and the righteousnesse thereof and leave God to minister and maintaine the rest S. Mat. 6. When they are more tenderly affected to the Cause of God and more sensible of the Reproach or Blasphemy of his Name than of any calamities that might or malice can bring upon their persons And yet our giving Gods Cause the precedence in our Love to it and our Prayers for it is no exclusion of our owne Cause Nay the preferring of Gods before our owne And the making of our owne conformable to Gods is the way to make God as jealous of our safety from all extremity as he is to vindicate his owne honour from Reproach and Blasphemy And therefore though the Prophet here as Theodoret observes doth not say Arise O God and maintaine Causam meam my cause but thine owne Yet the same God that will have us prefer his cause will have us pray for our owne likewise And so the Prophet did For though he be here all for Gods cause yet we have him very earnest for his owne too Plead thou my cause O Lord with them that strive with me and fight thou against them that fight against me Psal 35. And defend my cause O God against the ungodly People Psal 43. 1. Well then Thy cause O God and my Cause O God But the Rule of Practise goes here Gods cause must leade that ours may follow it under the protection of God As we have therefore now begun so let us pray on as the Prophet did That God even our Gracious Father will be no longer like unto one that sleepes That he will Arise and blow over these feares from us 'T is but his Breath and he can dry the Cloudes that they drop not Rottennesse upon our Harvest 'T is but his Breath and he can cleare the Ayre of Infection as well all over the Kingdome as he hath beyond admiration done it in our chiefe City And 't is but the same Breath and he can shake our Enemies to peeces in the Sea That God being Arisen and come neare in providence will pleade first and after maintaine his owne Cause His owne in the hand of the King His own in the heart of the Church And his owne in the Holinesse of his Name That he will give this State and Church and every Member of both such grace that our cause may be his and his Maintenance ours That he will remember and that 's enough that if his Cause be ours our Enemies are his That we may so order our lives by his Grace that if these or any Enemies will Blaspheme it may not be Him for our sinnes but Vs for his service That our Enemies and his how-wise soever in other things yet in their plots and practises against us may be written in the Text-Letters FOOLES That we being preserved from them and all other Adversity may take warning in time to mend our lives and so hereafter live to honour and serve him that the world may see he hath beene mercyfull and we labour to be Thankefull That after the maintenance of his and our Cause here we may in our severall times be received up to him in Glory Through Jesus Christ our Lord To whom with the Father c. SERM. VI. Preached on Monday the 17. of March 1628. at Westminster at the opening of the Parliament EPHES. 4. 3. Endeavouring to keepe the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace THIS Chapter is a great Scripture for Unity For here we finde there is but One Lord whom we serve v. 5. But One God and Father whom we worship and obey ver 6. But One Spirit whom we receive while he sanctifies us ver 4. One Lord One God and Father One Spirit Three in One all Three but one God blessed for ever But one Baptisme by which we are cleansed But one Faith by which we beleeve ver 5. But one hope upon which we relye ver 4. But one knowledge by which we are illightned ver 13. But One Body of which we are members ver 4. Different Graces but all tending to One Edification Divers offices but all joynt-Overseers of the same worke Till the Building be One and we One in it ver 11. This Chapter is as pressing a Scripture for Exhortation And the first Exhortation is That men would walk worthy of their calling ver 1. Their calling to be Christians their calling in Christianity And that to shew themselves worthy they would endeavour to keep the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ver 3. All for Unity And let me tell you We often reade of One in the Scripture but the word Vnity in the abstract is no where read either in Old or New Testament but onely in this Chapter and here 't is twice For we are exhorted to keep it ver 3. But how long why even till we be made perfect ver 13. that is to the end of this life Why but what need was there of this Exhortation at Ephesus what why sure very great need For Saint Anselm tells us Schisma suit there was a Schisme and a rupture there And Charismata the eminent Graces which God had given many of them was made the cause of the Schisme For Corruption at the heart of man breeds pride even out of Gods graces And they which had these gifts despised them which had them not and separated from them This gave occasion to false teachers to enter in and lye in wayt to deceive ver 14. This was the state of the Church of Ephesus
calls it Concors Odium unity in hatred to persecute the Church And to this worke there 's unity enough Men take counsell together Psal 2. Saint Augustine calls it unitatem contra unitatem a unity against unity when Pagans Jewes and Hereticks or any prophane crew whatsoever make a league against the Churches unity And about that worke that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance that there may be no Church or no reformed Church Gebal and Ammon and Amaleck the Philistims and they that dwell at Tyre are Confederates together Psal 83. S. Hilary will not vouchsafe to call such union unity Indeed It deserves not the name 'T is not unity saith he be it in Church or be it in State but 't is a Combination And hee gives his Reason For unity is in faith and Obedience but Combination is Consortium factionis no other no better the consenting in a faction And all Faction is a Fraction too and an Enemy to unity even while it combines in one For while it combines but a part it destroyes the unity of the whole Is the Spirit in this Out of question No. For a Faction to compasse it's end I will not say when it sees a theefe it consents to him or that it is alwaies partaker with the Adulterers but this it doth It speaks against its owne Brother and slanders its owne Mothers Sonne Psal 50. Can any man call this the unity of the Spirit or is this the way to Unity And now I cannot but wonder what words S. Paul were he now alive would use to call backe Vnity into dismembred Christendome For my part Death were easier to me than it is to see and consider the face of the Church of Christ scratched and torne till it bleeds in every part as it doth this day And the Coat of Christ which was once spared by Souldiers because it was seamblesse S. Ioh. 19. Rent every way and which is the miserie of it by the hand of the Priest And the Pope which Bellarmine hath put into the Definition of the Church that there might bee one Ministeriall head to keep all in Vnity is as great as any if not the greatest cause of divided Christianity Good God what preposterous thrift is this in men to sowe up every small rent in their owne Coat and not care what rents they not onely suffer but make in the Coat of Christ What is it Is Christ onely thought fit to weare a torne garment Or can we thinke that the Spirit of Vnity which is one with Christ will not depart to seeke warmer cloathing Or if he be not gone already why is there not Vnity which is where ere he is Or if he be but yet gone from other parts of Christendome in any case for the passion and in the bowels of Iesus Christ I beg it make stay of him here in our parts For so the Apostle goes on Keepe the Unity of the Spirit This Exhortation requires two things saith S. Ierome the one that they which have this Unity of the Spirit keep it the other that they which have it not labour to get it And certainly nothing can be more beneficial or more honourable either for Church or State than to get it when they have it not or to keepe it when they have it And this is implyed in the very word which the Apostle uses Keepe For no wise man will advise the treasuring up and keeping of any thing but that which is of use and benefit And the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth not barely signifie to Keepe but Tueri to defend too which is the stoutest keeping Now all wise men are for Vnity And all good men for the Vnity of the Spirit Yes saith S. Isidor Boni servant Good men keepe it Wise and good men keepe it why then none but fooles and bad men breake it Sly and cunning men perhaps may have their hands in Divisions but wise or good men they are not For are they not all without understanding that worke wickednesse Psal 53. And a greater wickednesse men can hardly worke than to dissolve the Vnity of the Spirit in either Church or Common-wealth For they doe as much as in them lies to bring profanenesse into the Church and desolation upon the State Keepe therefore the Vnity of the Spirit Keep Vnity why but what needs that will not unity keepe it selfe T is true unity is very apt to hang together It proceeds from Charity which is the glue of the Spirit not severed without violence Yea but for all this it needs keeping In the Church it needs keeping And therefore the Prophets and Governours of the Church are called Custodes Keepers Watchmen and Overseers Ezek. 3. and Acts 20. And they must watch as well over her Peace as her Truth And yet there are so many that scatter the tares of Schisme and Heresie that her Vnity is not kept In the Common-wealth it needs keeping too For her Governours are Custodes Civitatis Keepers of the City But there also there are not few that trouble the waters for their owne fishing And many times a Common-wealth is in danger to lose her Unity just as Ephesus did Act. 19. At which time all the City was troubled but the greater part knew not why And the true cause of the Division was no more but this Demetrius and his fellowes were afraid they should lose their gaine if Diana and her Temple kept not up their greatnesse Now this noyse at Ephesus doth not onely tell us that unity needs keeping but it informes us farther of the way to keep it The way to keep unity both in Church and State is for the Governors to carry a watchfull eye over all such as are discoverd or feard to have private ends For there 's no private end but in some thing or other it will be lead to run crosse the publique And if gaine come in though it be by making shrines for Diana 't is no matter with them though Ephesus be in an uproare for it And certainly there 's no keeping of Unity in either Church or State unlesse men will be so temperate when it comes to a lump at least as to lay down the private for the publique's sake and perswade others to do the like Else saith Saint Chrysostome Quicquid ducit ad amorem sui dividit unitatem whatsoever leads men to any love of themselves and their owne ends helpes to divide the unity And the Schoole applyes it both to Church and State For in the Church they which seeke their owne and not that which is Christs who is publicum Ecclesiae the publique interest of the Church depart from the Vnity of the Spirit And in an earthly City the unity of that is gone when the Citizens studdy their owne not the publique good Why but when then is Vnity to be kept When why surely at all times if it
goes round about it to keepe it in And where the two ends of Peace meete there Unity is fast and knit up And the knot is of the same substance with the bond Peace too And therefore where the antient reading of the Text is To keepe Unity in the bond of peace there some will have it to keepe Vnity in vinculo quod est pax In that band which is peace This bond as 't is the bond of unity so 't is well fitted to the unity it bindes For if you marke it it bindes unity and the bond is but One In vinculo pacis in the bond of peace One band And yet that which is unum is not unius that which is but One is not onely of One For it bindes many whole Churches whole Kingdomes And both bodies are ever safest when the bond is One and that One able to hold them For when this One bond of peace cannot bind close 't is a shrewd argument either that some ill humor swells and will not endure the bond or that the bond it selfe is strained and made weake And in both these cases timely helpe must be applied or the Vnity of the Body is in Danger You may see this plaine in the Naturall body The out-bond of the body is the skinne If the body be too full of humors and they foule and in Motion the body swells till the skinne breakes So t is in the Church and so t is in the State when the body is too full of humours The inner-bond of the body is the Sinew 'T is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very word which the Apostle uses The bond or the sinew of peace If the sinew be broken or over-strained there 's much paine and weakenesse in the body and the members hang as loose as if they were falling one from another And so t is in the Ecclesiasticall And no other than so in the Civill Body If there be but a straining in the bond though perhaps the sinew be not yet broken t is high time to looke to the Unity of the Body Well What Remedy then What Why sure there 's none but Vinculum Vinculi The sinew must have a swathe And that which was wont to bind the Body must be bound up it selfe And if the Cure light not into honest and good Chirurgions hands it may prove a lame Church and a weake State ever after God blesse the Body therefore and direct the Chirurgions Now as the bond of these great bodies the Church and the State may be broken so the knot which hath ever beene hard to unty may be cutte And both Church and State have ever had Cause to feare both both breaking and cutting Saint Ignatius was afraid of this in the Church by and by after the Apostles times And therefore He writes to the Church of Philadelphia In any case to to flie and shunne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the partition or cutting off this knot And indeed t is not fit for any man imployed about this bond of peace to have his Rasor about him And David was afraid of this in the State and he had cause great cause For some wilde unruly men cryed out then Let 's break their bonds in sunder and cast their cords from us Psal 2. What bonds Why All the bonds of peace and all the bonds of allegiance too For the Consultation then was saith Calvin to depose David But he that dwells in heaven laughed them to scorne ver 4. And then brake them in pieces like a Potters vessell ver 9. Now the Breakers of the bond of peace both in Church and Common-wealth are pride and disobedience For these two cry one to another That is Pride to disobedience Come let 's breake the bond And this is very observable and with reference to this bond of peace too You shall never see a disobedient man but he is proud For he would Obey if he did not thinke himselfe fitter to govern Nor shall you ever see a proud man stoope to binde up any thing But if you see him stoope take heede of him 't is doubtlesse to breake the bond of peace The Reason's plaine if hee stoope to binde up He knowes he shall be but one of the bundle which his pride cannot endure But if he stoope to loose the bond then he may be free and shew his vertue as he calls it that is hope To runne formost in the head of a Faction Fond men that can be thus bewitched with pride against themselves For when they are bound up though but as one of the Bundle yet therein under God they are strong and safe But when the Bond is broken and they perhaps as they wish in the Head headlong they runne upon their owne Ruine Thus you have seene the Apostles care for Vnity For Unity but faine would he have it of the Spirit This Unity he desires you should keep yea studdy and endeavour to keepe as the Spirit is ready to prevent and assist that you may be able to keepe it This Unity must be kept in peace And if you will have it sure in the bond of peace That which remaines is that you obey and follow the Apostles Exhortation That all of you in your selves and with others endeavour to keepe the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of peace both in Church and Common-wealth For good Counsell such as here our Apostles is doth not make Church or State happy when 't is given but when 't is followed And to the danger that may come it addes guilt to all such as will not obey the counsell that they may prevent the danger And let me say thus much for the Vnity of the Spirit 'T is that which ties us one to another and all to God and God to all Without God we cannot be safe either in this life or that to come And without this Vnity no man is sure of his Neighbours assistance nor any man of Gods But by this Unity GOD himselfe is content to be bound to you And that which is bound is sure and ready at need Et sortis cum debili ligatus illum portat se saith Saint Chrysostome And strength bound to weakenesse beares up both it selfe and weaknesse And in this sense I can admit of Scaligers Subtilty That Vnity is Omnipotent Keepe Vnity then and be sowre t is honourable Justice upon any that shall endeavour to breake it He deserves not to live that would dissolve that bond by which God hath bound himselfe to assist the Church and the Common-wealth Our adversaries make Vnity a Note of the Church and they perswade such as will beleeve them that we have no Unity and so no Church I would not have Occasion given them to inlarge their doctrine lest in the next place they take upon them to prove that we have no Common-wealth neither for want of Vnity Now to keepe Vnity I have made bold to direct you one